Egypt’s dispersed heritage: Multi-directional storytelling through comic art

This paper responds to a need to address the colonial history of collections of Egyptian archaeology and to find new ways in which Egyptian audiences can assume greater agency in such a process. The ‘Egypt’s Dispersed Heritage’ project presents a model of engagement whereby foreign museum collections become the inspiration for Egyptians to express their own feelings about the removal of their heritage abroad using idioms and traditional storytelling of cultural relevance to them. A series of online comics confronting contentious heritage issues, including the display of mummified human remains, eugenics, looting and destruction, is discussed. It is argued that this approach is not only more relatable for Egyptian communities, but moreover provides space for the development of grass-roots critique of heritage practices, both in the UK and in Egypt. Museums have a responsibility to take on board these critiques, curating not just objects but relationships forged amongst them in historical and contemporary society.

Methods of site survey and excavation in Egypt

Site survey and excavation, within the subject of Egyptology, have historically aimed at the ‘discovery’ of monuments and objects. Gradually survey and excavation methodologies have shifted to a search for information. Current excavation and recording methodologies provide an understanding of site formation processes, while modern site survey methods provide alternatives to intrusive—and by their nature, destructive—excavations. Contemporary challenges concerning excavation methods in Egyptian archaeology include excessive focus on ‘discoveries’ rather than information, and a general dearth of archaeological context, which often neglected or poorly understood. A perceived lack of practical archaeological training has been partially addressed by field-schools.

Sudan and the Petrie Museum: Histories of Display, Scholarship and Engagement

Of the 80,600 objects in UCL’s Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, around 4000 are from Sudan. 1 Flinders Petrie himself did not travel south of Aswan, and these items were acquired through different channels after his death. While many of these are on display in the Museum galleries—albeit tucked amongst the greater proportion of archaeological material from Egypt—much of the Sudanese collection remains in storage due to historic limitations of space. This paper presents an overview of the history of this collection, how it has inspired creative engagement projects targeting diverse museum audiences, and thoughts on future work.

The Petrie Museum’s Collection of Funerary Wooden Models: Investigating Chronology and Provenance

The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology at UCL houses a diverse collection of funerary wooden models. These objects, deposited in the tombs of the Egyptian elites between the end of the Old Kingdom and the Middle Kingdom to guarantee the deceased a wholesome rebirth, come from excavations carried out or purchased by W.M F. Petrie in Egypt. Complete or fragmentary, with an often unclear archaeological context, these objects constitute a particularly interesting source of information on wood craftsmanship. The comparative study of this material will shed new light on this form of artisanal production by specifying its chronology and origins, but also on the archaeological works and the acquisitions of Petrie in Egypt from the end of the 19 th century.

Kronprinz Thutmosis als sm-Priester: Eine Rekontextualisierung des Sandsteinfragmentes UC14797 im Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology (London)

Ein in der Vergangenheit nur wenig beachtetes, im Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology (London) unter der Inv.-Nr. UC14797 geführtes, fein reliefiertes, kleines Sandsteinfragment trägt die stilistische und ikonographische Handschrift der Regierungszeit König Amenhoteps III. Die stilkritische Analyse des Reliefs erbrachte besonders auffällige Übereinstimmungen mit den seltenen flach- und rundbildlichen Darstellungen des Königssohnes Thutmosis, dessen Vita bis dato nur lückenhaft rekonstruierbar ist. Das Relieffragment lässt sich vermutlich als Teil einer (Ritual-)Szene deuten, die im engen Zusammenhang mit der Inszenierung des ersten Sedfestes König Amenhoteps III. in Theben(-West) gesehen werden kann.

Schiaparelli et les archéologues italiens aux bords du Nil : égyptologie et rivalités diplomatiques entre 1882 et 1922

In 1903, Ernesto Schiaparelli made the decision to excavate directly in Egypt rather than purchasing objects for the Museo Egizio of Turin on the art market. The MAI, the Italian Archaeological Mission in Egypt, was thus born, marking the first steps of the newly unified Italian nation-state in the field of Egyptian archaeology. When investigating the context of these early Italian excavations and the way the thriving science of Egyptology was managed in Egypt between 1882 and 1922, one notices the paramount importance of geopolitical stakes in the matter, and particularly the prominence of Anglo-French rivalry. The article explores how Italian Egyptology managed to thrive in this international political context, and seeks to assess to what extent these diplomatic stakes impacted the work of Schiaparelli’s team and its dissemination among the international Egyptological community. The author first looks into the organization of Egyptology and its Service of Antiquities as a tool of colonialism, as well as a political stake among European powers at the turn of the century, especially as regards the internationalization and expansion of archaeological excavations along the banks of the Nile. She then turns to the place of Italian Egyptology within this framework, and notably its relationship with the Service of Antiquities, its discoveries, and how knowledge about these discoveries was disseminated through official publications. ملخص البحث: أتخذ إرنستو سكياباريللى فى عام 1903م قرار الحفر (التنقيب عن الآثار) مباشرة فى مصر بدلاً من شراء القطع الآثرية للمتحف المصرى بتورينو من الأماكن المخصصة لبيعها. وهكذا ولدت البعثة الآثرية الإيطالية فى مصر(MAI) ، رمزاً إلى الخطوات الأولى للأمة الإيطالية الموحدة حديثاً فى مجال الآثار المصرية. عند إستقصاء ودراسة السياق والمحتوى لهذة الحفائر الإيطالية المبكرة، وإذا درسنا الطريقة التى أدارت إزدهار علم المصريات فى مصر بين عامى 1882 و 1922، يمكننا أن نلاحظ الأهمية الكبيرة للتحديات الجغرافية السياسية (الجيو-سياسية) فى هذة المسألة، وخاصة بروز التنافس الانجلو-فرنسى. يستكشف هذا المقال كيف تمكن علماء المصريات الإيطاليين من الأزدهار في هذا السياق السياسي الدولي، كما يهدف أيضاً إلى تقييم مدى تأثير هذه الرهانات والتحديات الدبلوماسية على عمل فريق سكياباريللى ونشره بين مجتمع علماء المصريات الدولى. تحرى المؤلف أولا تنظيم علم المصريات ومصلحة الآثار كأداة للاستعمار، بالإضافة إلى التحدى السياسى بين القوى الأوروبية في مطلع القرن، وخاصة فيما يتعلق بالتدويل (المشاركة الدولية) وتوسيع الحفائر الأثرية على طول ضفاف نهر النيل. ثم انتقل المؤلف إلى الحديث عن مكانة علم المصريات الإيطالي في هذا الإطار، ولا سيما علاقتها مع مصلحة الآثار، واكتشافاتها، وكيفية المعرفة عن هذه الاكتشافات كان من خلال النشر فى المنشورات الرسمية.

Gurob: Luxury Goods Manufacture in a Harbour and Palace City

The site of Gurob lies in the south-eastern section of the Faiyum region, on a desert plain, adjacent to the fertile land. It is located in the area that would have formed the entrance to the Faiyum in the New Kingdom. As with Amarna, it has also been possible to undertake a spatial analysis for Gurob, at least with the material recorded in recent years through the work of the active mission. Artefactual evidence from previous missions, such as Petrie’s and Hughes-Hughes’, was also considered, but can only be discussed with regard to its nature, as precise find locations were, unfortunately, not recorded. Gurob, like Amarna, can be regarded as an atypical settlement. The palace, which is this site’s main element, has been interpreted as a harem palace, the dwelling of the ladies belonging to the royal household. A variety of Ramesside papyri making reference to high officials belonging to the royal harem of Mer-Wer (translated as ‘the Great Canal’) form the largest group of evidence of this interpretation. Other factors in this connection are the purchase of the famous head of Queen Tiye by Borchardt, as well as the very frequent finding of clay woman-on-bed figurines by the present mission, which probably had a place in ritual activities. Gurob, with its position at the entrance to the Faiyum in the New Kingdom, would have played an important role for trade and diplomacy in the area. Despite its somewhat specialized function the settlement has been included in this analysis, as it was occupied for a considerable amount of time and thus represents a valid example of a New Kingdom royal city. Petrie excavated at Gurob for two seasons, in 1888 and in 1889–90. He excavated in the cemeteries, but mainly in the palace buildings and enclosure, as well as the area he initially interpreted as a temple. The majority of finds from his excavations are in the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London, although only about forty finds can be regarded with certainty as having come from Gurob.