This lecture is organized in conjunction with the exhibition From the Hudson to the Nile: Dows Dunham and the archaeology of Egypt and Sudan. One of the greatest archaeologists to work in the Nile Valley, Dows Dunham was born in Irvington, New York on June 1,1890, to a prominent banking family. He began his love affair with ancient art during a ‘grand tour’ taking in the museums of Europe, and during a horseback trip from Nazareth to Damascus in 1908. He then enrolled at Harvard where he was invited by the great archaeologist, George Andrew Reisner to accompany him to Egypt. Working as Reisner’s chief assistant he excavated the ‘secret’ tomb of Queen Hetepheres, and the Step Pyramid of Djoser, as well as a whole series of pyramids and temples in Sudan. He was also a pioneer in Museum Education, including creating models of some of his most important discoveries.