Daan Smets - Milling from the Middle Kingdom through the Graeco-Roman Period

This lecture will be hosted on Thursday, 12 February 2026 at 6:00 pm.

The Grind Goes On: The Flourishing Business of Milling from the Middle Kingdom through the Graeco-Roman Period

Since the emergence of sedentary agricultural society in Egypt and the wider Near East, grain milling has been one of the main economic activities in both household and the economy at large. After an early emergence and taking up a key role in Egyptian society, this process has seen both continuity and change over time.

The combination of papyrological, literary, epigraphic, and archaeological evidence helps to form a more complete picture of this very fascinating and indispensable cornerstone of everyday life. Based on information from these sources, this lecture covers how this process evolved between the Middle Kingdom and the Greco-Roman period in Egypt, with a focus on grinding techniques, mill types and components, and the types of flour used. Special attention is paid to the production and consumption contexts of flour, particularly flour-making outside of the Nile Valley during the Graeco-Roman period.

About the Speaker

Daan Smets is a PhD student at the Ancient History Department at the Faculty of Arts, KU Leuven. His doctoral research focuses on the cultivation, production, processing, conservation, and consumption of various foodstuffs in Egypt, with a focus on cereal products such as flour, bread, and beer. His primary sources are documentary papyri, archaeological evidence and classical literature, and he uses relevant iconographic and epigraphic material from the Pharaonic period. His research is part of the international and interdisciplinary AGROS project “Agriculture, diet and nutrition in Greco-Roman Egypt: Reassessing ancient sustenance, food processing and (mal)nutrition”, bringing together various disciplines, including archaeology, archaeobotany, biochemistry, veterinary medicine, and Egyptology.

This lecture is also available via Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84246092658
Meeting ID: 842 4609 2658
Passcode: 222462

Attention!

The lecture starts at 6 pm. The number of seats is limited and we work on a first-come, first-served basis. We open our doors at 5:30 and close them at 6:15 or earlier in case the lecture room reaches its full capacity.