We’re delighted that the centenary volume of the Journal of Egyptian Archaeology will be printed in Spring 2015, and we are celebrating this achievement in a number of ways – not least by ensuring that JEA100 will be a bumper volume, almost twice the size as usual!
Anyone following us on Facebook and Twitter will no doubt have seen our ‘Twelve JEAs of Christmas’ posts over the last few weeks to coincide with these celebrations. For those finding it difficult to keep up with the posts, or would prefer to see exactly where the articles are published, then here is a run through of all the twelve JEAs and links to them via JSTOR. Don’t forget, you can always add JSTOR access to the JEA (not including the most recent five volumes) to your membership package for just £10 per year!
JEA100 will be available to purchase in our online shop from April 2015 for £90, if you’re a member and still haven’t opted to receive JEA for the super discounted rate of just £25 then please call the London office (02074141880) and arrange for an upgrade – these can only be processed until the end of February 2015.
The contents for the forthcoming centenary volume can be found here.
Here are our Twelve JEA’s of Xmas:
On the 1st day of Xmas:
Peet and Naville (JEA1 1914) reveal a split at the Society excavations at Abydos
Naville, E. 1914. ‘Excavations at Abydos: The Great Pool and the Tomb of Osiris’, JEA 1, 159-167.
Peet, T. E. 1914. ‘The Year's Work at Abydos’, JEA 1, 37-39.
The enormous archaeological site of Abydos was the location of many Society excavations from very early in our exploration of Egypt’s heritage. William Matthew Flinders Petrie had already located a number of royal early dynastic monuments in the area and Thomas Eric Peet and Edouard Naville were sent back to the site to excavate the vast necropolises around the area. The records of the burials they found, throughout a number of seasons, are preserved today in the EES Lucy Gura Archive. During the 1909-10 dig season Peet and Naville chose to go separate ways at the site, Peet focusing on the cemeteries, while Naville returned to the royal tombs previously investigated by Petrie. Naville subsequently turned his attention to the Osireion, a feature also previously discovered by Petrie, behind the temple of Seti I. It would take a number of years before the monument was fully uncovered, but Abydos would remain an important area for Society excavation and surveying throughout the twentieth century.
On the 2nd day of Xmas:
Wainwright (JEA2 1915) reports on the Pan Grave cemetery of Balabish
Wainwright, G. A. 1915. ‘The Excavations at Balabish: Preliminary Notice’, JEA 2, 202-203.
The term ‘Pan Grave’ was given by Petrie to a people represented in the archaeology by shallow burials covered in a low mound – conveniently shaped like a pan! Petrie first found these burial types at Abadiyeh and Hu, but a large cemetery was later investigated by Gerald Avery Wainwright, on behalf of the Society, at Balabish. Tomb cards an negative of these early investigations of Pan Grave populations are now kept in the EES Lucy Gura Archive, and were recently discussed by Stephanie Boonstra in our 'Introduction to Ancient Egypt'.
On the 3rd day of Xmas:
Dawson (JEA33 1947) transcribes correspondence between Maspero and Amelia Edwards
Dawson, W. R. 1947. ‘Letters from Maspero to Amelia Edwards’, JEA 33, 66-89.
Amelia Edwards founded the Egypt Exploration Fund in 1882, together with Reginald Stuart Poole of the British Museum. Her correspondence is a valuable resource in reconstructing these very early years of the Society and those involved in its inception. While the EES Lucy Gura Archive preserves some of her letter, a great many are also kept at Somerville College, Oxford, along with many of her original watercolours.
On the 4th day of Xmas:
Pendlebury (JEA17 1931) gives his first report on work at Amarna
John Devitt Stringfellow Pendlebury is perhaps most famous for his work in Cretan archaeology, and his untimely death during the Second World War – however, his work for the Society at Amarna from 1930-1936 is often regarded as a colourful and exciting time, and is reflected so in our archives. His diaries, negatives, watercolours, and object cards provide some of the most complete excavation records for visiting researchers, all used alongside the plentiful publications of his work. The 1931 season is reconstructed in particularly personal details by Mary Chubb, the Society’s assistant secretary, in her book, Nefertiti Lived Here.
On the 5th day of Xmas:
Blackman (JEA23 1937) tells of his discoveries at Sesebi
Sesebi was an important temple town in Upper Nubia constructed during the 18th Dynasty, possibly by the Pharaoh Akhenaten. The site was investigated by the Society around the same time as the Nineteenth Dynasty settlement of Amara West to the north, however, both sites were never fully published at their time of investigation. Amara West was subsequently published by former Society Director, Dr Patricia Spencer in ‘Amara West I: The Architectural Report’ (1997), and ‘Amara West II: The Cemetery and Pottery Corpus’ (2002). Dr Neal Spencer of the British Museum has now reopened excavations at the site of Amara West, while Dr Kate Spence of the University of Cambridge is now reinvestigating Sesebi. Both teams have utilised the preliminary publications of Aylward Manley Blackman, Herbert Walter Fairman, and Peter Shinnie, as well as the archives still preserved in Doughty Mews.
On the 6th day of Xmas:
James (JEA49 1963) studies ‘The Northampton statue of Sekhemka’, sold earlier this year!
James, T. G. H. 1963. ‘The Northampton Statue of Sekhemka’, JEA 49, 5-12.
Many of you will remember the sale of the Statue of Sekhemka at Christies London earlier this year, and the outcry from the general public for the loss of such a valuable artefact from public access. Well, if you want to know more about the statue, then you might consider seeing what Thomas Garnet Henry (Harry) James had to say about the piece back in 1963 and published in JEA 49.
On the 7th day of Xmas:
Smither (JEA31 1945) translates the Semna Dispatches, published by Gunn
Smither, P. C. 1945. ‘The Semnah Despatches’, JEA 31, 3-10.
Learning Egyptian language from the renowned Battiscombe Gunn, Paul Cecil Smither became a specialist in Middle Egyptian language. He worked as a code breaker at Bletchley Park during the Second World War, but unfortunately died in 1943 after a long illness. This paper was published posthumously by Gunn, in reflection of Smither’s contribution to the field and achievement in translating these important hieratic documents relating to Middle Kingdom Pharaonic policy in Lower Nubia. The Society’s future work at sites such as Buhen, Semna, and Kumma all contributed further to our understanding of Egyptian foreign policy in lands to the south of the traditional border at Elephantine.
On the 8th day of Xmas:
Mathieson and Dittmer (JEA93, 2007) report on the geophysical survey at Saqqara revealing tombs and temples!
The Society’s work at Saqqara has resulted in a number of new discoveries - or rediscoveries in the case of the recent centenary funded project led by Dr Hany el-Tayeb! Despite extensive exploration the desert sands of Saqqara still have much to yield, and Ian James Mathieson’s pioneering work in geophysical analysis revealed the secrets kept hidden for millennia through his Saqqara Geophysical Survey Project, funded by the National Museum Scotland, and now by Glasgow Museums. Who knows what Dr Campbell Price and Dr Angela McDonald might discover by using these techniques?!
On the 9th day of Xmas:
Emery (JEA55 1969) presents the discovery of the Sacred Animal Necropolis of Saqqara
Emery, W. B. 1969. ‘Preliminary Report on the Excavations at North Saqqâra, 1968’, JEA 55, 31-35.
Walter Bryan Emery first arrived at Saqqara with the aim of discovering the tomb of Imhotep, renowned architect of the Step Pyramid of Djoser. Unfortunately, the tomb was never discovered – but instead Emery located the Sacred Animal Necropolis. This monumental complex including catacombs for the burials of the mothers of the Apis Bulls, falcons, baboons, and temples for their worship is one of the most remarkable finds in twentieth century Egyptology. Although never fully published until after Emery’s death, his regular reports in the JEA are valuable for understanding the development of work at Saqqara. Subsequent publications by Prof. Harry Smith, Prof. Geoffrey Martin, Prof. John Ray, and many others all build on this impressive bibliography. The Sacred Animal Necropolis archive was recently returned to the EES office, and is now rehoused in our newly refurbished Archive Research Facility, awaiting further investigation.
On the 10th day of Xmas:
Weatherhead (JEA81 1995) reanalyses the wall paintings at the King’s House, Amarna
Weatherhead, F. 1995. ‘Wall-Paintings from the King's House at Amarna’, JEA 81, 95-113.
The wall and pavement paintings of Amarna are well known and were first excavated and conserved by Petrie. However, early attempts at preserving them often resulted in further damage, and in some cases they are now lost altogether. By researching the current whereabouts of the paintings in museums around the globe, using archival negatives and watercolours, Dr Fran Weatherhead reconstructed some of the paintings from the King’s House at Amarna and subsequently published the book on the topic, Amarna Palace Paintings (2007).
On the 11th day of Xmas:
Raymond Johnson (JEA82 1996) presents new evidence for Amenhotep III at Amarna
Raymond Johnson, W. 1996. ‘Amenhotep III and Amarna: Some New Considerations’, JEA 82, 65-82.
The argument of Amenhotep III’s residence at Amarna has raged since the discovery of a small limestone stela in the garden shrine of Panehesy at Amarna, now preserved in the British Museum (EA57399). This stela depicts Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye beneath the rays of the Aten. The question of Amenhotep III’s role in the Amarna Period continues, and new considerations are offered by Prof. Raymond Johnson were published in JEA 82 (1996).
On the 12th day of Xmas:
Gasiorowski (JEA17 1931) presents a papyri from Antinoopolis depicting a group of charioteers
Gasiorowski, S. J. 1931. ‘A Fragment of a Greek Illustrated Papyrus from Antinoë’, JEA 17, 1-9.
We don’t often bring you material from our papyri collection kept in Oxford, but in this case one of the most spectacular pieces preserved is this depiction of a group of charioteers from a papyrus discovered at Antinoopolis. It is one of the most famous from our collection, and was published in JEA 17(1931), rather than our usual Graeco-Roman Memoirs series.
We hope that you enjoyed the brief look at the significance of research published in the JEA over the last 100 years. If you want further information about contributors to the journal throughout the last century then you might be interested in our Who Was Who in Egyptology publication, now currently on its fourth edition!
The contents for the forthcoming centenary volume can be found here.
We’ll be bringing you loads more on Facebook and Twitter about our JEA100 celebrations. But don’t worry, further announcements will include ‘#JEA100’ so that you can keep track of them easier!