Preprints: IoA Annual Conference: Forming Material Egypt

The Institute of Archaeology Annual Conference will take place this year on 20-21 May on the topic of 'Forming Material Egypt' with a gathering of Egyptian and international experts.

Archaeological finds from Egypt have been dispersed worldwide on a massive scale both through documented excavation and through gifts and purchases, by museums, archaeologists and others. The distribution of material has played a major role in forming contemporary attitudes to the Egyptian past.

In this conference, organised by the Material Cultures of Prehistoric and Dynastic Egypt Research Network, in association with the Egypt Exploration Society and the Centre for Cultural, Literary and Postcolonial Studies, SOAS, Egyptian colleagues are invited to open and steer the discussions, by aiming for practical policy outcomes, and by prioritising the use and survival of material.

Day 1

Morning panels: (Archaeology Lecture Theatre G6) 9.30am

Panel Session 1: Re-connecting with archaeological context: sites and databases

(Chairs: Tarek Tawfik, Stephen Quirke)

• Richard BussmannRe-materialising state formation: Hierakonpolis 2.0 [ Read paper» ]
• Alexandra Villing Naukratis–ancient and modern networks: a case study [ Read paper» ]
• Gianluca MiniaciCollecting Groups: the dispersion of finds from Harageh cemetery across museums [ Read paper»]
• Geoffrey Tassie, Joris van Wetering The History and Research of the Naqada Settlements Collection [ Read paper» ]
• Chris Naunton The financial imperative and the EES excavations at Amarna in the 1920s and 30s [ Read paper» ]

Coffee break, 11am

Panel Session 2: Finds Distribution and Public Archaeology

(Chairs: Maher Eissa, Chris Naunton)

• Alice Stevenson Between the Field and the Museum: the idea of archaeological context and the distribution of finds from the Egypt Exploration Fund 1883–1915 [ Read paper» ]
• Patrizia Piacentini The Antiquities Path: from the Sale Room of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (ca 1890-1970), through Dealers, to Private and Public Collections [ Read paper» ]
• Amara ThorntonPublic Egypt: London Society, Exhibitions and Lectures in the late 19th and early 20th centuries [ Read paper» ]
• Anna Garnett John Rankin and John Garstang: Funding Egyptology in a Pioneering Age [ Read paper» ]
• Campbell Price Max Robinow and the Manchester Museum [ Read paper» ]

Lunch Break, 1pm

Afternoon panels: (Archaeology Lecture Theatre G6) 2pm

Panel Session 3: Archaeological Site Management and Conservation

(Chair: Abdelrazek Elnaggar)

• Lilli Zabrana Abandoned Nubian Villages in Upper Egypt – Material Culture Reviewed by Social Anthropological Field Studies [ Read paper» ]
• David Jeffreys, Ana Tavares Memphis as a case for material culture study
• Tine Bagh A tomb chapel out of context - a case study
• Daniela Picchi The project Horemheb & Saqqara [ Read paper» ]
• Francis Lankester Egyptian Rock-Art [ Read paper» ]

Coffee break, 3.30pm

Panel Session 4: Theory and history

(Chairs: Ayman El-Desouky, Richard Bussmann)

• William Carruthers The Planned Past: Policy and (Ancient) Egypt [ Read paper» ]
• Gabriel MoshenskaMummy wheat: toward a history of the myth [ Read paper» ]
• Stephen QuirkeFind as Theme: re-uniting 'expert' and 'public' agendas in Egyptian collections [ Read paper» ]
• Wendy Doyon Egyptology in the Shadow of Class, Legacies and Lessons of Museum-Sponsored Collecting and Scientific Expansionism in Pre-War Egypt for a Post-Revolution Museology [ Read paper» ]
• Heba Abd el Gawad Dividing what was once inseparable: Multi-cultural Egypt between disciplinary boundaries and western typologies [ Read paper» ]
• Paolo Del VescoForming and Performing Material Egypt. Archaeological knowledge production and presentation

Evening reception, 6pm Petrie Museum sponsored by the Friends of the Petrie Museum

Day 2

Visit to the Petrie Museum Object and Archive case-studies

• Visits are timed for 10-11 and 11.30-12.30

Optional visit to the Institute of Archaeology conservation laboratories

• Visits of up to 10 people per group, at 10 and 11.30

Afternoon panel (SOAS, Khalili Lecture Theatre) 2pm

Panel Session 5: Accessibility: databases, archiving and digital future

(Chair: Stephen Quirke)

• Tarek Tawfik Challenges & Dangers of Networking Museums Databases
• Maher Eissa, Louay Mahmoud Museum collecting and Moving Objects: Concept and approach [ Read paper» ]
• Vincent Razanajao The new developments of the Topographical Bibliography: Digital Humanities to serve Forming Material Egypt
• Abdelrazek Elnaggar Storage of Egyptian Heritage: risk assessment, conservation needs and policy planning [ Read paper» ]
• Ibrahim Ibrahim Fayum distribution quest

Coffee break, 3.30pm

Back to the future: policy and practice

• Final discussion: Okasha El Daly (Chair)