Welcome to North Texas ARCE
Welcome to the North Texas Chapter of the American Research Center in Egypt
We are one of the oldest and most active of the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) chapters with regular programs, occasional seminars, and a variety of other activities. At our events you will hear and have a chance to talk with prominent Egyptologists from around the world as well as up and coming scholars. Lectures are free and open to the public.
Our monthly lectures are preceded by a social half hour with refreshments, and we enjoy a post-presentation "no host" dinner with our speaker at a nearby restaurant.
Come join us! Our schedule of events appears below for 2026.
Redesigned NT-ARCE Website Launched
The 2026 board was able to fully redesign and launch this rebuilt NorthTexasARCE.org in the first 90 days of the 2026 term. It is the next step in restoring and building upon what has preceded it. Please send us a note with what you like and don't like so far.
Announcements
Eleanor Ossian Luncheon
Please join us as we honor Eleanor's memory on April 18th, 11am - 1pm at Chocolate Angel, 635 W Campbell Rd Ste 310, Richardson, TX 75080. $35/person. Please RSVP to David Kuhlmann by April 11th so we have a headcount.
"Nefertiti and Akhenaten: New God, New City, Ancient Enemies" with Gayle Gibson
April 15th, 2026 (Lecture 3 of 4) — Akhenaten had sworn never to leave the city he established on virgin soil in Middle Egypt, Akhetaten, the place we call Amarna. Nefertiti enjoyed extraordinary prominence and power, perhaps becoming her husband's co-regent. The workers who built the new city did not share the royal obsessions. Amarna was no Utopia for them; their cemeteries tell of hard labour and cruel punishments. Join Gayle Gibson for this fascinating deep dive.
Learn more about this Online Event Series
This event is not presented by NT-ARCE, but by long time member and friend of the club Gayle Gibson.
National ARCE Conference
On April 10th-12th in Denver, Colorado the 2026 ARCE Conference will take place. The event will feature over 100 presentations under various themes such as archaeology, Greco-Roman Egypt, art history, Women in ancient Egypt, philology, religion, and more!
Our Next Event
Our thanks again to Eric Cline for visiting our chapter to deliver his talk on March 28th, and also for allowing us to include the lecture video here.
“Speak to the King, my lord and my Sun god”: Love, War, and Diplomacy in Canaan during the Amarna Age
In 1887, a cache of nearly 400 clay tablets inscribed in cuneiform was discovered at Tell el-Amarna, the capital city of the heretic Pharaoh Akhenaten. Dating to the fourteenth century BCE, it is the only royal archive that has been discovered from New Kingdom Egypt so far. Within the archive are fifty letters exchanged with the other great powers of the day, including the Hittites, Babylonians, and Assyrians. However, there are also nearly three hundred letters sent by vassal Canaanite rulers, such as Biridiya, the king of Megiddo; Abdi-Heba, the king of Jerusalem; and Rib-Hadda, the king of Byblos.
The letters offer a glimpse into the vibrant diplomatic world of the Late Bronze Age, revealing royal marriages, elaborate negotiations, and exchanges of luxury gifts between the great kings, as well as political maneuvering and appeals from the vassal kings of Canaan, including Biridiya, who sent six letters to the Egyptian pharaohs. They also provide a window through which we can glimpse the competition among antiquities dealers and museums to acquire the tablets; the scholarly race between British and German teams to decipher them; and the colonial-era context in which they were unearthed.
About the Speaker
Eric H. Cline is Professor of Classics and Anthropology and Director of the Capitol Archaeological Institute at George Washington University. A two-time Fulbright Scholar, National Geographic Explorer, NEH Public Scholar, and Getty Scholar, he has more than thirty seasons of excavation experience in Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Cyprus, Greece, Crete, and the United States, including ten seasons at Megiddo and ten at Tel Kabri where he currently serves as Co-Director. He is the author or editor of more than twenty books, perhaps best known for 1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed (revised 2021) and After 1177 BC: The Survival of Civilizations (2024).
The Club Thanks
Our members, guest speakers, and visitors, and...
Our Generous Sponsor
Southern Methodist University’s Clements Department of HistoryNT-ARCE 2026 Officers
- President: David Kuhlmann
- Vice President: Teri Kuhlmann
- Treasurer: Samantha Tennant
- Secretary: Jennifer Danford
- Membership Chair: Mike Randrup
- Officers-At-Large: Karlene Schoonover & Susan Patterson
Refreshments generously provided by Jennifer & Butch Danford
See any of the above listed people at a meeting to discuss ideas, offer suggestions, ask questions, or volunteer to help out the club together.
Join ARCE
Join our parent organization, the American Research Center in Egypt for online lectures, periodic reports of current excavations and projects in Egypt, and other member benefits. Don't forget to designate North Texas ARCE as your affiliated local chapter.
See more information at ARCE.org
Renew ARCE
For member & membership questions, you can write to your club membership volunteer Mike Randrup.
Here is a link to national ARCE if you'd like to renew your membership now.