Deir el-Medina: The Village and Rediscovery

Last week I started my new Egypt Centre short course on Deir el-Medina. As with previous courses, the next five blog posts will be written by different members of the class. As their knowledge and levels of Egyptological background vary, the posts will likely present quite different perspectives on the classes. Since these differences and views are valued, the entries will undergo as little editing as possible. First up is Mark Ponman, a retired former civil servant from London who is studying for the Diploma in Egyptology at Manchester University, having already completed the Certificate. He volunteers with the Sudan Archaeological Research Society (SARS) at the British Museum and helps moderate several Egyptology Facebook groups.

This week a new five-week course on Deir el-Medina began and Ken Griffin explained about the site and how it was rediscovered in modern times. The village of Deir el-Medina is located on the West Bank of the Nile in a desert valley opposite Luxor, ancient Thebes. It is located next to some of the best-known locations of ancient Egypt that are favourite sites for tourists to visit. It is near Deir el-Bahari, Medinet Habu, the Ramesseum, and a short walk over the mountain to the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. Its Arabic name means “the monastery of the town” after a Coptic monastery that was built near to a Ptolemaic temple that was later converted into a Coptic church.

The site is famous as the New Kingdom village of the workmen of the rulers of Egypt who built their tombs in the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens, and for the splendid tombs of the inhabitants of the village buried next to the settlement (fig. 1). It is also well known for being the best preserved Egyptian settlement site and the richness of the textual evidence preserved in the abandoned rubbish of the village. The settlement continues to fascinate and to deliver much knowledge about life in the New Kingdom.

Fig. 1: Necropolis of Deir el-Medina

At the start of the New Kingdom the Pharaohs of Egypt started to build their tombs in the Valley of the Kings, a task that required a skilled workforce and a place for them to live that was close to the Valley for ease of access. The village is about thirty minutes walk from the Valley of the Kings and about fifteen minutes from the Valley of the Queens. The village was probably under construction during the reign of Amenhotep I, though for this there is no solid archaeological evidence. However, there is evidence for his successor Thutmose I at the site. The village became associated with Amenhotep I who was viewed as the patron god of the village (fig. 2).

Fig. 2: Turin Museum 1372

The village grew to contain about 70 houses within its walls and about 45 outside. It had a main street and the houses had stone foundations and mudbrick walls. Unusually, the cemetery is located very close to the village; unlike Amarna and Lahun where they were much further away. The houses were of varying sizes according to rank, but would typically include a reception room with household shrines, a main room for the males of the house, a bedroom, and kitchen (fig. 3). Some had cellars. There were probably no upper floors as the walls were too thin to support them, but it may have been possible to sleep on the roof accessed by stairways. We are fortunate to know the names of the house owners as some of their names were written on the door lintels and can be linked to the tombs of the owner nearby.

Fig. 3: Houses at Deir el-Medina

The site was active for about five hundred years as a village for the tomb builders before being abandoned during the reign of Ramesses XI at the end of the New Kingdom. The village was probably abandoned as it was prone to raids by Libyans and the fact that the rulers were no longer buried in the Valley having reverted to northern burial sites. Deir el-Medina, when abandoned, was used as a place of storage and later as a tourist site for Greek and Roman visitors. A small Ptolemaic temple dedicated to Hathor and Maat was built by Ptolemy IV (fig. 4) and in Coptic times it was converted into a church and a monastic community took up residence nearby. It gradually became covered and fortunately was not built upon. The site is unique for retaining the original ground level as layers of settlement were not made that normally created a Tell (mound).

Fig. 4: Deir el-Medina temple

At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the site was “rediscovered” for Europeans by the French traveller Claude Sicard (1677–1726) at a time when, due to political instability, few Europeans travelled that far south in Egypt. In January 1738, Richard Pococke drew a plan of the temple at the site but no mention of the village was made. The temple was later visited by engineers as part of the survey of Egypt ordered by Napoleon. In 1777, the first object that could be assigned to the village came to light. It was a statue of Neferabu, one of the workmen under Ramesses II, which was acquired by an Italian monk and eventually ended up housed in the museum in Valletta Malta (fig. 5). A few further travellers explored the site but it was the visit by the Italian Bernardino Drovetti (1776–1852) that resulted in a more detailed examination and the start of looting by Europeans that went on for many decades. Drovetti found a statue of Amenhotep I, which is now in the Turin Museum and possibly originated in the sanctuary of his temple in Deir el-Medina.

Fig. 5: Statue of Neferabu

Later visitors included John Gardner Wilkinson between 1827–1829 and Champollion between 1828–1829. Robert Hay visited the tomb of Pashedu (TT 3) and made a sketch that included a sarcophagus, which was destroyed shortly afterwards leaving his drawing as crucial evidence. Parts of the sarcophagus are now being put back together like a jigsaw puzzle in Luxor. The British Museum was able to acquire, via the Duke of Hamilton (1767–1852), the sarcophagus of Ankhnesneferibre (BM EA 32), a daughter of Psamtik II, which had been transferred from the original burial site at Medinet Habu to a shaft at Deir el-Medina (fig. 6).

Fig. 6: Sarcophagus lid of Ankhnesneferibre (BM EA 32)

On 1 February 1886 the tomb of Sennedjem (TT 1), an elite tomb worker, was discovered. It was richly decorated and contained the family mummies and grave goods and is considered one of the greatest discoveries in Egypt (fig. 7). Full-scale excavation was undertaken in the twentieth century and is ongoing. The Italian Ernesto Schiaparelli (1856–1928) dug in at the site in the early 1900s and found the tomb of Kha (TT 8), which was intact and is a jewel of the Egyptian collection in Turin. Such tombs of senior workmen revealed the astonishing riches that such people could afford to take to their grave.

Fig. 7: Wall in the tomb of Sennedjem

The French Institute of Oriental Archaeology (IFAO) excavated the site under the direction of Bernard Bruyère (1871–1971) from 1922 until 1951. He made meticulous notebooks, many of which remain to be published. The IFAO have provided a large volume of publications on the site and also have a large online collection to view. The Czech Egyptologist Jaroslav Cĕrny (1898–1970) also made a significant contribution, especially with publication of the non-literary ostraca. Most recently, a Finnish team excavated the huts of the workmen on the ridge above the village, finding pottery and a stela of the snake goddess Meretseger (fig. 8).

Fig. 8: Workmen's huts

The village, however, is most noted not just for the houses and tombs, but for the textual remains that bring the characters and everyday lives of the inhabitants to life showing us who they were, family relationships, and how they worked and meted out justice in the village. Texts reveal that water and food had to be brought daily to the desert location and rations were provided by the Egyptian state. Much of this textual material was found in what is called the “great pit” (fig. 9). The texts identified individuals who could be linked to their tombs and houses.

Fig. 9: The Great Pit

This was a fascinating introductory lecture to the village and I look forward to finding out some more about the site and those who lived there.

Bibliography:

Bierbrier, Morris 1982. The tomb-builders of the pharaohs. A Colonnade Book. London: British Museum Publications.

Černý, Jaroslav 2001. A community of workmen at Thebes in the Ramesside period, 2nd ed. Bibliothèque d’étude 50. Cairo: Institut français d’archéologie orientale.

Gobeil, Cédric 2015. The IFAO excavations at Deir el-Medina. Oxford Handbooks Online 2015 (August).

Meza, Alicia I. 2003. An Egyptian statuette in Malta rediscovered. Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 40, 103–112.

Kate’s Museum: Transcribing the Daybooks of Käthe Bosse Griffiths

The blog post for this week is written by Dr Dulcie Engel, a previous contributor. Dulcie is a former lecturer in French and linguistics and has been volunteering at the Egypt Centre for the last six years. She is a gallery supervisor and associate editor of the Volunteer Newsletter. She has a particular interest in collectors and the history of museums.

    

Käthe Bosse (fig. 1) was born in Wittenberg, Germany in 1910. She gained a PhD in Classics and Egyptology at the University of Munich in 1935, and then took up a post at the Berlin State Museum. However, she was dismissed soon after when it emerged that her mother was of Jewish origin (her mother would later perish at the notorious Ravensbrück camp). Käthe fled to Britain, and undertook research work at the Petrie Museum (University College London) and the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. There she met fellow Egyptologist Gwyn Griffiths and they married in 1939. They settled in Wales and became involved in the Welsh literature movement. Käthe Bosse Griffiths learnt Welsh during this period, later publishing literary works in Welsh. When Gwyn Griffiths took up a lectureship position at University College Swansea (UCS: now Swansea University), Kate (as she was now known) became honorary Keeper of Archaeology at what is now Swansea Museum, the oldest museum in Wales, founded in 1841 as the Royal Institution of South Wales (RISW). She remained involved with the RISW for many years.

Fig. 1: Kate Bosse-Griffiths (Y LOLFA/FAMILY COLLECTION)

Through their friendship with fellow Welsh Egyptologist David Dixon at University College London, Gwyn and Kate Griffiths were instrumental in bringing part of Henry Wellcome’s Egyptological collection out of storage in the Petrie Museum to UCS. This was part of the main distribution of Wellcome’s Egyptological legacy. The other main beneficiaries were Birmingham Museum, Durham Oriental Museum, and Liverpool World Museum. At the time, Swansea had Egyptology teaching staff, and a small collection of classical Greek and Roman objects. In 1971, 92 cases arrived in Swansea from London, containing around 4500 items, which make up just over 80% of the items in the collection (fig. 2). With that loan, a small teaching collection in the classics department was transformed into the Swansea Wellcome Museum (also known as the Swansea Wellcome Collection of Egyptian Antiquities), which first opened to the public in 1976. It was finally moved to a purpose-built museum in 1998, and was re-named The Egypt Centre. Kate was honorary curator of the collection from 1971 until the early 1990s; the post was passed onto David Gill (in 1993). Kate Bosse-Griffiths died in Swansea in 1998, aged 87.

Fig. 2: Kate unpacking the collection

During her time at the museum, she unpacked, restored, and cleaned objects; lobbied for better facilities, equipment, and repairs; she identified, researched, catalogued, and published objects from the collection, welcomed students and scholars to the collection, corresponded with Egyptologists from around the world, and set up the display cases, labels, and boards ready for the official opening in June 1976.

We know quite a lot about her activities from the daybooks she kept. So far, fifteen books have been found, covering the period from 1972 to 1987. Each book contains around 150–200 pages of Kate’s rather challenging handwriting! Mostly in English (with some Germanisms), Kate also writes in German, Welsh, and French (fig. 3). She includes sketches of objects and copies of hieroglyphic inscriptions. Through Ken Griffin’s initiative, these daybooks have been scanned, and a group of volunteers have been involved in transcribing them since 2018. It is hoped they will prove a useful resource for researchers.

Fig. 3: An example of a page from Kate's daybooks

Most recently, I have been transcribing the 75–76 daybook (13/11/75–7/5/76) and the 1976 daybook. These books are of particular interest as they relate in part to the period of preparation for the opening of the museum to the public, originally planned for March, but delayed until June 1976. We also see her thoughts on a possible future for the collection at RISW (Swansea Museum) and for her in Oxford, her notes on receiving a donation of ring bezels, and her wicked sense of humour when she receives a letter not intended for her… These gems appear between notes from textbooks (often in German or French), ‘to do’ lists, lists of objects to be photographed, lists of objects to go into certain cases, rough drafts of correspondence, talks and articles, decisions on colours of hessian, possible Egyptian symbols to represent the museum, etc. The entries also reflect the period: no computers or mobile phones, communication by landline telephone or by letter; drafts of documents handwritten before being typed up, copies of photos by Xerox or prepared slides; the wonder of basic audio and video tape recorders and closed circuit television. I have also started on the 1978 daybook (16/1/78–4/9/78). Here are some entries, which give a flavour of the books:

Setting up a museum for public opening

The first extracts here deal with the planned March opening of the museum. Although 17 March is mentioned here first, later the date is given as 15 March. The list of jobs ‘to do’ gives a great insight into a typical workload for Kate and her helpers at this time, foremost amongst whom was Roger Davies, the Arts Faculty photographer. Roger was far more than a photographer of artefacts: he was actively involved in various aspects of the work to be done, and truly appreciated by Kate. The translation of labels is important: David Dixon insisted on bilingual labels for the collection, which would have been welcomed by Kate. Indeed, it is now the law in Wales that public documents and displays be in both English and Welsh. We also have an insight into her feelings about the work to be done: the game of chess is an interesting analogy, suggesting the need to plan ahead and protect one’s own ideas. Indeed, she may have felt some threat to the collection (as the section below dated February 1976 illustrates):

21.X1.75 (fig. 4)

In meeting of principal, Collard, Georgia Bonns (registry) Glanmor it was decided to have official opening on 17-III-76 at 6 o’clock with slides, address of Dr Dixon & handing over, visit of museum. Sherry party in Staff Common Room.

Fig. 4

Looking at the Collection the things which have to be done next are:

filling in of hole of ventilator

getting responsible person from works department to decide how to store monuments

O.K. lintel and stela of Guardian can be put up

copying out of case descriptions

photo of Akhenaten and Nefertiti

also arranging of Amarna case

new perspex case for crocodile

choosing of pictures for window wall

putting up Amarna corner

Horus the saviour corner

Translation of labels

4-XII-75

Telefon (German: telephone) from Works Department that there is no money to do the work ordered to finish Museum (pediment for statue – fixing stone slab – painting, filling hole? – shelving)

…(Strangely enough I should be glad if Opening were postponed as I have finished all major work & don't like to be pressed with finishing of minor details – students could come to see all the same.)

The moment of reckoning has come as predicted – like playing chess.

9-12-75

Roger Davies has asked Dean for three weeks exclusive work for Collection before opening, that will answer “my prayers”.

Opening to be on Wednesday March 15 1976 at 6pm.

In the 1976 daybook, we learn that the opening is now scheduled for the start of June, but actually takes place on the 16 June. We do not know the reason for these various delays, although Kate was away in Egypt from mid-March to early May, and she says above that she would be happy if the opening were delayed:

11-v-76

Opening to be on June 1st one day after ‘Spring Holiday’,

Guests: possible list.

P & R (Welsh speakers & religious interest)

RISW President, GD, MI

National Museum NS

Glyn Vivian (?)    B

Mayor!

Art Gallery?

School of Art (helping with Tape) Cover?

TV.

Radio

Coleg of Education?

Wednesday 23-VI-76

And on 16-VI-76 the official Opening took place in Museum of an invited audience including

the mayor & mayoress of Swansea & representatives of RISW & Glyn Vivian Art Gallery.

Where a close circuit film was shown of Collection in which members of the Classics Department took active part.…This film made in Welsh & English is played to school classes before they actually see the Museum Room.

Fig. 5: Photo of the official opening of the museum

Receiving a donation

Throughout the museum’s history, the main donation from the Wellcome Trust has been supplemented by many other donations and loans from institutions and individuals. The section below refers to a loan by Anthony Donahue (1944–2016), an Oxford-based Egyptologist who was a great friend of the Swansea Wellcome Museum/Egypt Centre. Apart from recording the circumstances of the loan and the provenance of the items as shown below, Kate also described each ring bezel in great detail (for cataloguing), and researched various references on Amarna excavations to find either the actual pieces (a few have excavation labels) or parallels (fig. 6):

2-I-1976

Receive from V. ANTHONY DONAHUE …OXFORD

on loan 31 Amarna faience ring bezels which he bought from Eg.Expl. Society some years ago in toto.

after examining them at Alan B. Lloyd’s Home…

Three of these carry excavation numbers…

Fig. 6: Ring bezel with the name of Akhenaten

Financial strains: A suggestion to move the collection and that Kate might move!

Just over a month before the museum was due to open to the public, and while Kate and Roger were busy organising for that, Kate felt the need to write down why she would not want the collection to be moved to RISW. As we know, Kate was involved with both institutions and knew their set-up well. However, she was ‘in charge’ at the university, and clearly appreciated the academic setting of the collection: as well as Roger! The mention of the lack of an expert curator is a little strange as Kate herself was the expert in both museums, although of course not in overall control of the whole collection at RISW. It is unclear where the suggestion came from, and the timing is strange. However, UCS was in 'partnership' with RISW from the early 1970s until 1991 when Swansea Council took it over and it was renamed Swansea Museum. The taking on of RISW by UCS did cause quite a lot of resentment as it was seen as diverting scarce financial resources away from the college. Thankfully, for the integrity of the collection, this move never happened.

10-II-76

To be thought about. Why do I not want to take the Egyptian Collection to R.I.S.W. Museum.

Certainly according to my ideas a museum give(-s) zest to University but few professors seem to agree.

For my own purpose:

There is no workshop in R.I.S.W.

No photographer

and if these were, there is no money to spend

no machine to cut Perspex

no experts to help with objects

no expert curator

Financial issues threatening the future of the Wellcome collection at UCS also incensed Kate later on in the year. We get a real sense of her fighting spirit in this entry:

11-V-76 (fig. 7)

Chris comes to tell me that Wellcome money has come from Classic funds and that Classics are in the Red & possibly money will have to be repaid over years from W Funds!

At last the confrontation and that at psychologically right moment as I have laid the fundaments and can withdraw ad libidum (i.e. Latin ad libitum: at one’s pleasure) in fact will withdraw to Oxford any hour.

Tell Chris that I have waited for this moment. That I consciously did not count the cost and that on the moral ground then I put more into it than I demand for collection.

It could be a beautiful confrontation & I have to consider whether one should do that during or before Opening –

N.B. Principal asked department to help to increase student population through special effort

How much are they willing to do to support this effort?

[Chemists show interest not only because they have helped the Collection in the beginning but because they are tired of working on material without meaning

Egyptology has material & meaning]

Or could it be a sign of stirring in the minds that dirt rises to surface?

____

Promiss (sic) freedom of spending for growing Collection (apart from Classics)

No Committee

growing like baby, in spite of everybody giving from own money for things like labelling tape, plastic bags, bostic (i.e. Bostik glue), books

Fig. 7

A Hands-on approach to conservation

Museum conservation principles and practices have evolved since Kate was trained in Berlin in the late 1930s; and since she practised those skills in Swansea in the 1970s and 80s. It would horrify any modern curator to think of someone taking artefacts home to clean, or for experimentation, in particular by someone who was not the curator!

10/2/76

Take home for cleaning 32508 Egypt XVIIIth dyn. – 323

(sketch of vase) returned washed & silicon-polished.

*Thanks to the numbers listed here, it was possible to identify on Saturday the object in question as W5386 [KG] (figs. 8 & 9).

18-III-76

(sketch of jug) Take home for cleaning N.K. jug with handle

21-I-78

small eye mould 1891

sitting goddess mould 1813

loan for experiment. LT - Montpelier Terrace

Fig. 8: Daybook entry

Fig. 9: W5386

Writing to fellow Egyptologists

The daybooks are filled with drafts of letters from Kate, including to other Egyptologists and museum curators. There is a particularly friendly exchange in 1978 with a fellow German Egyptologist, Emma Brunner-Traut (1911–2008) who published various books, including one on Egyptian tales in 1963. This volume clearly included a tale about mice (I am defeated by the ‘crimpers’!):

(Translation from German original) (fig. 10)

Dear Emma,

Heartfelt thanks for your letter, which arrived today (23-1-78). I almost think that our letters have crossed. I had enclosed for you a modern version of the old mouse crimpers, which amused me, and shows how correct your findings ‘Tales’ are. My bead story is now in press, and I am very pleased that my reading is so similar to yours…

Fig. 10: Letter to Emma Brunner-Traut

A wicked sense of humour

This must be my favourite page: Kate received a letter in an envelope wrongly addressed to her and not only read it, but transcribed it in English: despite an attempt to hide the issue by using a German phrase at the top of the page! And as for the content: the person who wrote this has misunderstood exactly how the Wellcome items came to Swansea, and seems to regret a time when anyone could literally pick up antiquities in Egypt and bring them home for their own collections… (fig. 11)

Friday : 12-III-76

Der Lauschen an der Wand (German: listening at the wall/eavesdropping)

Receive wrong letter in envelope written by Gibbs & read:

“I was invited to a newly formed Egyptological Museum at Swansea University by Dr. Kate-Bosse-Griffiths. She and her husband are Egyptologists at the University – known her for years – she’s helped me with my collection – they are off to Egypt on 20^th March – guests of the Egyptian Govt. The collection was part (90 cases) of the Wellcome Archaeological Expedition – Egypt. Tell el-Amarna. There were fabulous exhibits found at Amarna – huge complete vases - complete necklaces – jewellery – sculptures collected 1900–1908 when pickings were agogo

nowadays we can hardly find a small sherd of Amarna pottery...

Fig. 11: Entry in daybook

  

These extracts give a flavour of the treasures hiding in the pages of Kate’s daybooks, and are a wonderful record of her legacy to the Egypt Centre. She was a truly indomitable woman; a refugee who became a leading figure in Egyptology and Welsh literature. She will not be forgotten in Swansea.

Acknowledgements

With thanks to Ken Griffin for getting me involved in the daybooks, and giving me extra information on KBG and her daybooks; and to Syd Howells for filling me in on the relationship between RISW and UCS.

References

Engel, Dulcie M. 2017. ‘Henry Wellcome’s Egyptian Legacy’                    http://www.egypt.swan.ac.uk/henry-wellcomes-egyptian-legacy-by-dulcie-engel/

Griffin, Kenneth 2020 ‘A brief history of the Egypt Centre’ https://egyptcentrecollectionblog.blogspot.com/2020/04/a-brief-history-of-egypt-centre.html

Griffiths, J. Gwyn 2000. Museum Efforts before Wellcome’ Inscriptions 5, December 2000: 6 http://www.egypt.swan.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/inscriptions5.pdf

Gruffudd, Heini 2014. A Haven from Hitler: A young woman’s escape from Nazi Germany to Wales: The Story of Kate Bosse-Griffiths and her Family. Y Lolfa.

‘Kate Bosse-Griffiths’ https://www.100welshwomen.wales/100-women/kate_bosse-griffiths/

‘Käthe Bosse-Griffiths’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Käthe_Bosse-Griffiths

Lloyd, Alan B. 1998. ‘Kate Bosse-Griffiths’, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 84: 191–193.

Stephens, Meic 1998. ‘Obituary: Kate Bosse-Griffiths’ The Independent 10.04.1998 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-kate-bosse-griffiths-1155460.html

Egypt and its Neighbours: Object-centred Approaches to Articulating Local Identity and Cultural Diversity in Antiquity

The blog post for this week has been written by Dr Ersin Hussein, a lecturer in Ancient History at Swansea University with a specific focus on Roman Cyprus. Since arriving to Swansea in 2018, Ersin has been a great supporter and collaborator with the Egypt Centre. This post details the most recent collaboration, which resulted in funding to develop a new display of non-Egyptian objects in the museum.

2020 has been quite a year for teaching and research institutions globally! The pandemic has forced us all (staff and students alike) to react quickly and rethink how we engage and interact with one another—whether in a personal or professional capacity. For many, research has taken a back seat as the focus has been on expediting and maintaining excellent teaching remotely as well as support for each other during these difficult times. The challenges have been met admirably and with tireless energy by my colleagues across the board here at Swansea.

One aspect of university life that has been affected dramatically has been the crucial work that the university’s award-winning Egypt Centre does. While the temporary closure of the museum has seen staff, volunteers, students, and visitors unable to ‘get hands on’ with antiquity (something that this institution does so well with its focus on object-centred research and teaching initiatives), work has carried on remotely to ensure that the local community can continue to come together in a research and social capacity.

Fig. 1: From left to right: two Roman oil lamps; a terracotta figurine from Cyprus; a marble head of a goddess from Cyprus; a terracotta figurine from Boeotia; a terracotta horse from Cyprus; and (one of my favourite objects!) a votive of a man holding a sacrificial animal from Cyprus.

By moving many of the museum’s research, teaching, and outreach initiatives online (such as its annual Wonderful Things conference), opportunities to seriously rethink how to develop public engagement arose. This blog post introduces my ongoing work with the Egypt Centre that has focused on raising awareness about the museum’s lesser-known collection of classical artefacts (fig. 1). It also discusses the impact that a generous grant, awarded by the Institute of Classical Studies, will make to this collaboration.

Fig. 2: The Egypt Centre: a local institution with global impact. The museum is internationally recognised for innovation in widening participation and education. It plays an integral role in teaching, research, and widening participation across Swansea University. The museum attracts ca. 22,000 visitors each year and welcomes on average four schools (KS1–2) a week (in total ca. 150 a year). Valuable research and teaching resource embedded in the university and local community.

The Egypt Centre (fig. 2) houses almost 6,000 artefacts, 300 of which are non-Egyptian. Since joining the university in January 2018 I have worked closely with the curators and Collections Access Manager to develop initiatives in and beyond the classroom to raise awareness about this lesser understood aspect of the museum’s collection. Over the past two years, this has involved examining the collection behind the scenes independently or with staff and students across the university. For example, in 2019 I was awarded SURGE funding from the university to investigate the materiality of metalwares held by the Egypt Centre—research of which is ongoing in collaboration with the College of Engineering here at Swansea and the School of History, Archaeology, and Religion at Cardiff University (fig. 3). Students have had the chance to get involved behind the scenes too and contribute to the process of thinking about how we can better communicate information about our non-Egyptian artefacts by scanning digital slides of landscapes, participating in workshops on a voluntary basis (fig. 4), engaging in handling sessions tied to specific modules, and by attending public talks. Working with colleagues and students across the university is crucial as it inspires us to think even more creatively about how to showcase our artefacts to the wider public and highlights where (and how) demands and needs can be met.

Fig. 3: Two images from a day of scanning a range of metal artefacts from the collection to determine their composition – in collaboration with Dr Liz Sackett from the College of Engineering. This work was also carried out with Dr Phil Parkes from Cardiff University.

Fig. 4: Working with students from my Ancient Cyprus module to identify and catalogue artefacts.

This year, on 26^th June, I delivered a paper on the history of Cypriot artefacts held not only at the Egypt Centre but at Swansea Museum. While this was an opportunity for me to develop my ongoing research on the culture and society of ancient Cyprus and the history of Cypriot artefacts held here in Swansea, I was also able to gather feedback using a poll (and the chat functionality on Zoom) following the talk from the audience. Questions posed were very specific regarding general awareness of the history of the collection here at the Egypt Centre and the feedback gathered confirmed our suspicions. The general public (and students) were largely unaware about the Greco-Roman collection … and they wanted to know more! For example, polling showed that 70% of the attendees wanted to see the installation of a new display that showcased artefacts from across the ancient Mediterranean, not just Egypt (fig. 5).

Fig. 5: A snapshot of some of the more ‘low-level’ initiatives using social media and public talks to raise awareness about classical artefacts held in the Egypt Centre.

Around a similar time to the talk, the Institute of Classical Studies advertised a call for applicants seeking financial support for developing public engagement projects. Having received a generous donation they announced that they would be able to support two projects for the duration of a year with a one off grant. This was too good an opportunity not to apply for and we reacted quickly to the call. I am pleased to say that we secured one of the awards!

With the need and demand for a new installation made clear, funding secured will be used to install a new display of objects entitled: Egypt and its Neighbours in the House of Life gallery (fig. 6). The function and aims of this will be manifold. It will serve as a catalyst for student and public engagement with a number of topics that lie at the heart of many current debates regarding the world in which we live today, such as racism, cultural diversity, self-presentation, and identity formation. The ancient world is rich with material to encourage meaningful discussion around these relevant topics. Several lecturers across the department of Classics, Ancient History, and Egyptology already offer modules discussing these themes in the ancient world. More than this, Swansea University is one of the few places in the UK offering specialist modules on Egypt, Greece, Rome, Cyprus, Nubia, and the ancient Near East and we really wanted the display to bring together the research that we do in the museum setting not just for our students, but for visitors from school children to the general public.

Fig. 6: Funding will be used to purchase custom object stands to be displayed in a case such as this one.

The image below (fig. 7) presents a proposed outline of how the new case could be organised while some of the objects for the display are shown in figure 1 above.

Fig. 7: A proposed layout of the new case. There will be plenty of room for a bilingual interpretation panel, artefacts from across the Greco-Roman Mediterranean and beyond, and larger artefacts at the bottom of the case.

As already mentioned, public engagement in a pandemic is a challenge…but it also provides us with opportunities to rethink and improve our practice!

Bearing the issues of social distancing and remote learning in mind, we have thought of a number of initiatives to facilitate and improve engagement. These include developing:

• Schools educational activities online for KS1 (ages 5–7) and KS2 (ages 7–11), such as:
• Worksheets that focus on specific objects, highlighting connectivity between landscapes, and creative writing exercises.
• A highlights booklet (based on the successful Egypt Centre 30 highlights booklet that was launched earlier this year) of ca. 20 objects. This could include:
• Entries (ca. 170 words) by staff and students.
• Short intros on the different cultures represented in the display.
• Specific write-ups on the key themes that the display will inspire such as social identity, cultural diversity, tolerance, and inclusivity.

The launch of the Egypt Centre’s new online collections catalogue is also imminent (8^th October 2020!) and means that there are ample opportunities to develop more interactive content for people to engage with the collection remotely. For example, catalogue entries could be accompanied by podcasts, videos, and other audio recordings.

This is ongoing work. Funding secured from the Institute of Classical Studies is crucial to get this stage of my collaboration with the Egypt Centre going. The impact of this stage of the project, and plans for future development, will be measured and guided through polls taken at the end of public engagement talks, questionnaires filled out by museum visitors, and data collated regarding website usage.

Join us on Thursday 10th September at 4.30pm when the ICS will host an online awards event where we will be sharing more details about the project. This is free to attend and all are welcome! Book your place by following the link to the ICS here. You can also follow developments by checking out our various social media platforms or by getting in touch directly. Your feedback (whether you are a student, researcher, volunteer, or member of the public) is crucial to the work we do and we would love to hear from you!

Twitter:

• @SUAncientWorld
• @TheEgyptCentre
• @DrKenGriffin

Blogs:

• https://projects.swan.ac.uk/ancient-world/
• https://egyptcentrecollectionblog.blogspot.com/

Email:

• Ersin Hussein (Lecturer in Ancient History. Department of Classics, Ancient History, and Egyptology): ersin.Hussein@swansea.ac.uk
• Ken Griffin (Collections Access Manager. The Egypt Centre): K.Griffin@swansea.ac.uk

Short Course on Deir el-Medina

A few weeks ago, my short course on the Religion of the Ancient Egyptians concluded. This was the second short course since the Covid pandemic, with fees going to support the Egypt Centre. Unlike previous courses organized by the Egypt Centre, which have been very much hands on object-focused learning, sessions have been conducted through the medium of Zoom. Yet this has proven quite beneficial, particularly in attracting a larger audience from across the world. Following the success of these short courses, I will be starting a new one in a few weeks entitled Deir el-Medina: The Village of the Artisans.

Fig. 1: Painted relief from Deir el-Medina depicting Khabekhnet and his wife Sahte offering to the gods

Deir el-Medina’s contribution to the study and understanding of ancient Egyptian civilisation is immeasurable. This village, which was occupied from the Eighteenth to Twentieth Dynasty, was unlike any other Egyptian settlement site. Drawing on objects housed in the Egypt Centre collection, this course will examine the history, rediscovery, and daily lives of the inhabitants. Characters such as Paneb, Sennedjem, and Kenherkhepshef will help to transport us back in time to the “golden age” of Egyptian history.

Fig. 2: Offering stand belonging to Paneb

In order to be as accessible as possible, lectures will be run twice a week:

-        Sunday evenings 6–8pm (UK time)

-        Wednesday mornings 10–12am (UK time)

Additionally, one of the sessions will be recorded and made available to participants who may not be able to attend the sessions. As always, I’ll be drawing on relevant objects in the Egypt Centre collection, particularly those originating from the village. Participants will also receive exclusive access to the new Egypt Centre Online Catalogue ahead of its official launch on the 08 October.

Fig. 3: Bes vessel from Deir el-Medina

Course Outline

Week 1 (Sunday 06 September or Wednesday 09 September): The village and its rediscovery

Week 2 (Sunday 13 September or Wednesday 16 September): The workers and their families

Week 3 (Sunday 20 September or Wednesday 23 September): Religion at the village

Week 4 (Sunday 27 September or Wednesday 30 September): Justice at the village and the workers’ strikes

Week 5 (Sunday 04 October or Wednesday 07 October): The necropolis

The course costs £40 and can be booked via the following link

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/deir-el-medina-the-village-of-the-artisans-tickets-116993222879