Ancient Egypt – Archaeology News and Announcements

On April 3, 2024

In CFP

The University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada is currently open for paper submissions for their October 2024 conference entitled The Connected Past: Religious Networks in Antiquity. The organizing committee, comprised of The Connected Past, The Society for Ancient Mediterranean Religions, and researchers at The University of British Columbia, invites scholars to submit abstracts for 20-minute papers that explore the intersections of network science, social network analysis, network theory, archaeology, and ancient religions.

Network approaches are used by archaeologists and historians as tools to model relational ties between individuals and groups in the past as key predictors of historical outcomes. The growing uptake of these approaches comes in an era recently dubbed the “Third Science Revolution” (Kristiansen 2014), where the advancement of Big Data and computational techniques have revolutionized the types and amounts of information at our fingertips and our means of analyzing and visualizing its patterns. This workshop and conference aim to build bridges between often divergent disciplinary skillsets: the quantitative and computational side of network analysis and the qualitative questions and explanations that undergird network theory alongside historical and archaeological work.

A special area of focus for the conference will be the application of network perspectives to the emergence and spread of religious beliefs and practices, positioning these phenomena as deeply intertwined with the human and material connections that comprised the ancient world. Religion has often been regarded as both an intensely local and intensely transcultural force for ancient communities. Now, at the digital frontiers of the twenty-first century, the resurgent interests in large-scale questions on human development have opened up new opportunities to study religion from relational and quantitative perspectives combined with deep qualitative and historical approaches developed in the humanities. Possible themes to investigate include:

Modeling religious diffusions
Networks and religious identities
Networks and collective memory
Networking myth
Religion, networks, and social complexity
Networks and materiality
Communities of (religious) practice
Knowledge networks and religious practice
Networks, rituals, and power
Network science techniques and humanities pedagogy

Specifics: Please submit abstracts of 300-400 words to connectedpast2024@gmail.com by March 24th April 5th 2024. Notification of acceptance will be in mid-April 2024. Please direct any questions to the above email address or email megan.daniels@ubc.ca. Please see this link for more information.

Conference registration will open in May, with more detailed information on the workshop that will precede the conference. We endeavour to provide fair and accessible registration fees. Registration costs will range from $50-100 CAD (concessionary, regular).

Optional workshop on network science to take place prior to the conference on UBC Vancouver Campus, Oct. 2nd-3rd 2024. Schedule and registration TBA. Workshop seats will be limited.

This workshop and conference is sponsored by The Connected Past, The Society for Ancient Mediterranean Religions, UBC Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies, The UBC Centre for Computational Social Sciences, Green College UBC, The UBC Centre for Migration Studies, The UBC Public Humanities Hub, UBC History, UBC Anthropology, the Vancouver Chapter of the Archaeological Institute of America, and UBC Advanced Research Computing

ARCE Annual Meeting | Registration Open

On February 23, 2024

The 2024 American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) Annual Meeting is now open for registration. Every year, the ARCE gathers to explore and celebrate the latest research discoveries in Egyptology. This year, the meeting will be in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from April 19-21, 2024. It will be hold at the Omni William Penn Hotel.

One of the sessions to keep on your calendar is the Fellowship Information Session on Saturday April 20th at 12:45 PM in the Allegheny room of the Omni William Penn Hotel. View the meeting schedule.

Please visit arce.org/annual-meeting to register and learn more.

For assistance, please email AMHelp@arce.org

ARCE Monthly Update

On February 1, 2024

2024 Annual Meeting: Registration Opens this February

The American Research Center in Egypt has released their monthly update! See more below:

Each year, ARCE hosts the preeminent Egyptological conference in the world. During this annual three-day meeting, scholars and expedition leaders present their research and discuss their latest project developments. Additionally, the meeting brings together hundreds of scholars who present on Egyptian history and heritage, recent fieldwork, technological advances, and much more.

The 2024 Annual Meeting will welcome Egyptologists, members of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, archeologists, and researchers from across the globe to Pittsburgh Pennsylvania from April 19th to the 21st.

Topic Article: “Nefertiti: Egyptian Wife, Mother, Queen and Icon”

“Neferneferuaten Nefertiti was the great royal wife of King Akhenaten and, in contemporary Western culture, is perhaps ancient Egypt’s most famous queen – as the iconic bust in the Berlin Museum evinces. She and Akhenaten produced six daughters, a female royal contingent that enjoyed unusual prominence during Akhenaten’s reign. In fact, Nefertiti holds the position as the Egyptian queen with the most surviving appearances on monuments and other artistic mediums…” (Laura Taronas)

Discover the captivating story of Nefertiti, the enigmatic queen of ancient Egypt! From her undeniable beauty to her influential role alongside King Akhenaten, this historical figure is truly spellbinding.

ARCE Conservation Project Updates

The conservation program at Khonsu Temple commenced its Spring Campaign this January with the target of completing work on the raised portico on the north side of the First Court as well as the roof and staircase.

A project to connect fragments of the granite barque shrine was also initiated after Dr. David Anderson’s work of last year revealed at least 15 joins that could be made from fragmented architectural and decorative elements. In parallel, the construction of the new USAID-funded Talatat magazine has started.

This two-storey structure, occupying approximately 700 m2 in plan, is concealed by a six-metre-high reconstructed section of the mudbrick enclosure wall of Nectanebo I to the west of Khonsu. The building envelope is expected to be completed by Ramadan, with fit-out following at the end of April.

The Osireion project, substantially funded in 2023 by the World Monuments Fund, will continue through 2024 with additional funds from the same source. The focus of the project is physical conservation, site management, and the completion of excavations that revealed in 2023 the remarkable transport ramp north of the main hall that was used for moving monumental blocks down into the construction pit of the structure.

For more information on the ARCE and how to become a member, view their website here.

Cambridge University Research Highlights

On February 1, 2024

Cambridge University’s department for popular research in Classics and Archaeology has released their research highlights from 2023. The public will have open access to articles and chapters usually exclusive to subscribers until the end of February 2024. Access their work here!

For more updates from Cambridge University Press, view their website here.

ARCE Antiquities Endowment Fund Grants | Deadline February 15, 2024

In Funding & Fellowships

Created with resources from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as allocated by the U.S. Congress, ARCE’s Antiquities Endowment Fund (AEF) sustains an ongoing grants program to support the conservation, preservation and documentation of Egypt’s cultural heritage and the dissemination of knowledge about that heritage.

The Antiquities Endowment Fund awards one-year and three-year grants for discrete and highly focused professional projects that serve the conservation, preservation and documentation needs of Egyptian antiquities that are more than 100 years old. Projects may involve the actual conservation or protection of sites, buildings or objects; the participation of conservators or other appropriate specialists in antiquities projects; the training of conservators and students; or the production of publications and presentations that disseminate knowledge about Egypt’s cultural heritage.

Read more about the Antiquities Endowment Fund (AEF) projects, here. To find 2024 funding opportunities and apply, follow this link.

Last Call – ARCE AM 2024 Grant for Underrepresented Students

In Funding & Fellowships

To increase opportunities and access to the ARCE Annual Meeting for students from typically underrepresented groups, ARCE will offer the 2024 ARCE Annual Meeting Grant for Underrepresented Students (ARCE Grant) to a maximum of five (5) eligible undergraduate or graduate students whose studies are related to (or who have an interest in studying) Nile Valley cultures through the disciplines of Egyptology, Nubiology, Africology, Art History, Archaeology, Anthropology, Classical, Coptic, Islamic, Middle East, and African Studies, or other related fields. Awardees will be paired with Ph.D. students or early career scholars who will act as mentors during the Annual Meeting.

Up to five grants will be awarded annually. The ARCE Grant will pay all fees related to (i) Annual Meeting registration; (ii) lodging costs and breakfast at the host hotel for each night of the Annual Meeting; and (iii) transportation costs (up to a maximum of $500) incurred in attending the Annual Meeting. Prior to the Annual Meeting, Awardees must consult with the US ARCE Office to arrange registration, lodging, and transportation. ARCE will purchase air or train tickets on behalf of, and in consultation with, awardees. Awardees will be responsible for costs in excess of $500.

Application Deadline: December 15, 2023 11:59 PM EST.

To learn more and apply, click this link.

ARCE’s New Archaeology Field Research Grant

In Funding & Fellowships

Funded through the Antiquities Endowment Fund (AEF), ARCE is accepting applications for a new grant scheme opportunity: “The Archaeological Field Research Grant” which is only open to current Research Supporting Members (RSM) of ARCE. This program aims to provide funding to conduct empirical, archaeological research and/or support student archaeological field training in Egypt at sites that date from prehistory to 100 years old. While the dissemination of results through publications and other materials is the ultimate expectation of these awards, this program supports (for up to one year) field costs such as travel, accomodation, field staff, equipment, and salary for project directors and collaborating scholars. However, indirect costs such as general operating costs incurred within the project but not directly linked to the project tasks, are not allowable.

The ARCE particularly encourages applications from junior faculty, with preference given to individuals with a graduate degree and/or demonstrated experience. Preference will also be given to proposals with the commitment to involve students of marginalized communities within the funded field work.

ARCE encourages you to submit a draft proposal to aef@arce.org before December 20, 2023. Final applications are to be submitted before 12 midnight EST on February 15th, 2024, via a submittable platform located on the Archaeological Field Research Grant’s webpage on ARCE.ORG.

After submission of either the draft proposal or the final application, ARCE reserves the right to request supplementary information or pose clarifying questions. Requesting supplementary information or posing clarifying questions to one applicant does not obligate ARCE to do so with all applicants nor does it guarantee a grant award.

For more information on the grant guidelines and how to apply, click this link.

CFP: ARCE 2024 Annual Meeting – Deadline December 15, 2023

In CFP

The American Research Center for Egypt is accepting papers for their 2024 Annual Meeting. Submissions must be received through ARCE’s All Academic site by December 15, 2023. This earlier submission period allows both organizers and participants to better plan for the continued dual aspect of the Annual Meeting.

Paper presenters must choose between presenting in-person or virtually at the time of submission. Due to the dual nature of the conference, schedule changes cannot be accommodated. In emergency situations, presenters may submit a written request to change their selection by emailing AMHelp@arce.org

Posters, Panels, Best Student Paper, and Poster Competition proposals are only accepted for the in-person component.

Please review our updated submission guidelines and complete your entry via this link.

Submissions can only be accepted from ARCE members in good standing. Please join or renew your membership online or contact us by email.

More information on the 2024 Annual Meeting will be posted on the ARCE website as it become available.

Theban Mapping Project Digital Guides: Valley of the Queens and Western Wadis

On November 17, 2023