With Prof. Bárta, the Neuron Club set off for ancient Egypt

Another of the regular gatherings of scientists, patrons and supporters of the Neuron Foundation took place at the National Museum. The programme of the summer Neuron Club was a visit to the exhibition Sun Kings, guided by Prof. Miroslav Bárta.

On the evening of Thursday 17 June, forty visitors saw an exceptional exhibition of the greatest archaeological discoveries of Czech Egyptologists at Abusir. Miroslav Bárta, who leads the research in Egypt and has worked with the foundation for many years, prepared a ninety-minute commentary in the halls of the museum's historic building.

Prof. Bárta stopped at the most important exhibits, which the world came to know thanks to the work of Czech scientists. As a researcher who has been returning to Africa for decades, he presented life in ancient Egypt from the point of view of governing the country — there was a gradual evolution in which the ruler's government and its apparatus grew to such a size that they paralysed themselves internally. In the long term that led to the disintegration of a complex power structure, its simplification and a new beginning.

In themselves, regardless of the current ruler, the Egyptians were a very well organised and effective society with superbly functioning infrastructure. Up to 25,000 people (builders, suppliers and their relatives) were involved in building a single pyramid, and with the primitive technology of their crafts they achieved magnificent results.

Using similar examples, Prof. Bárta showed parallels between ancient culture and today's world. He compared the capacities of that civilisation and ours, focused on the role of leaders in history and recalled the principles of their rule and their ability to lead their citizens. The Neuron Club programme ended with a joint discussion in a pleasant bistro in front of the museum.

"Thank you to everyone who took part in our meeting and who, with the help of the Neuron Foundation, supports Czech science," the foundation's founder Monika Vondráková thanked the participants, "and I look forward to the next meeting, which we are planning for the beginning of September, just before the gala presentation of the Neuron Awards."