This week the ‘Achievements and Problems of Modern Egyptology’ conference takes place in Moscow, Russia. The colloquium – organized by the Centre for Egyptological Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences – is the first international Egyptological conference ever held in Russia, organized by the Centre for Egyptological Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. It is organized to celebrate the centenary of acquiring the Egyptian collection of the famous Russian Egyptologist Vladimir Golenischev by the State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts and spans all ranges of Egyptology but also has a clear focus on new methods and technologies in archaeological research. And… we’re very proud to say, Darya ‘Dasha‘ Kazanskaya will be reporting on the conference for Heritage Key, so in the next few days definitely keep an eye on her Heritage Key blog as well as her Flickr stream.
Conference Highlights (according to Heritage Key*)
There’s a long list of presentations and activities going on at the ‘Achievements and Problems of Modern Egyptology’ conference, that many it’s almost impossible to attend all. Here at Heritage Key we’re definitely looking forward to (and focussing on) hearing more from Marlina Betro – through Dasha – on the 3D laser scanning of the Ramesside Theban Tomb 14 and it’s interactive environment build by the University of Pisa, as well as learn about data management for archaeology through Kirill Kolosov’s practical example of their new CESRAS relational database. Caroline Wilkinson, Chris Rynn and Fabian Kanz are going to talk about how they created the facial reconstruction of Cleopatra’s younger sister Arsinoe, murdered in 41 BC on the order of Marc Antony and there is Eleonora Kormysheva who’s going to present the latest discoveries – some new tombs and some ‘rediscoveries’ – from the Russian Archaeological Mission in Giza.
When asked to introduce herself, Darya describes Dasha as “a weird person who studied programming and mathematics and is interested in foreign languages, ancient worlds, music and literature.” She really enjoys learning new things and travelling to new places and once in a while she enjoys writing short stories, mostly sci-fi or fantasy.
Personally, I definitely want to read on Heritage Key about – besides the virtual reconstructions and database management, of course – ‘the power of image’ and the use of ‘Visual Images’ in the ancient royal ideological program, which will be presented by the University of Heidelberg’s Diana Liesegang. I must also admit that Maryum Jordan’s ‘Conceptualising Incest: The Social Effects of Interbred Marriages during Graeco-Roman Egypt’ sounds fascinating, especially as – opposed to incestuous behaviour at the European Courts during the Middle Ages that limited itself to the royal families – this practice became popularized in common Egyptian Households; a third of non-royal Egyptian marriage were incestuous during the Graeco-Roman period!
And of course, there’s the opening lecture by Dr. Zahi Hawass. But that’s far from all lectures on the conference’s schedule. Here’s a quick overview, to which we will add information as the conference progresses:
“Achievements and Problems of Modern Egyptology” – Program of Lectures
Tuesday September 29th (day 1)
- Opening Ceremony with Welcoming speeches of Academician Yury S. Osipov, President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and H.E. Ezzat Saad El Sayed, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt in the
Russian Federation - Opening Lecture by Dr. Zahi Hawass – Recent Discoveries in Egypt
Chairmen Dr. Ian Shaw, Dr. Erhart Graefe
- Gueter Dreyer – Dynasty 0 and the Origin of Horusname
- Diana Liesegang – The Power of Image
- Ann Macy Roth – Old Kingdom Cemeteries and Settlements: Parallels and Contrasts
- Olga Pyanichuck – Magical World View of Ancient Egyptians of the Period of Middle Kingdom
- Mu-chou Poo – Wisdom Literature in Comparison: Ancient Egypt and China
- Amanda-Alice Maravelia – lments astronomiques et cosmographiques dans le Conte du Nafrag
- Yekaterina Barbash – Books of the Dead on Linen: Inscribed and Decorated Mummybandages
- Gloria Rosati – Joining Papyri: The Book of the Dead Fragments in Cortona
- Victor Solkin – Papyrus Denon and Other Ancient Egyptian Papyri from the Collection of the Russian National Library (St. Petersburg)
- Elena Tolmacheva – Images of the Benu-Bird on the Coffins of the 21st Dynasty
- Kerry Muhlestein – The Use of Biblical Figures in Egyptian Religion, a Survey
- Alla Davydova – Main Pecularities of Sarapis Temples in Egypt and Their Social and Cultural Aspects
Wednesday September 30th (day 2)
Chairmen Dr. Guenter Dreyer, Dr. Nigel Strudwick
- Irene Forstner-Mueler – The City of Avaris Excavating an Urban Site
- Dieter Eigner – Report on the Work of the Joint NetherlandsRussian Mission at Tell Ibrahim Awad
- Eleonora Kormysheva – Russian Archaeological Mission in Giza: New Discoveries
- Galina Belova – Kom Tuman-2009
- Rosario Pintaudi – News from Antinoupolis
- Esther Pons Mellado – Archaeological Site of Oxyrhynchus (el Bahnasa), Egypt: Ptolemaic Tomb No 19
- Sameh Iskander – The Epigraphic Documentation of the Temple of Ramesses II at Abydos
- Laure Pantalacci – Streets and Doors: Recent Archaeological Work in Qift-Coptos, Upper Egypt
- Cornelius von Pilgrim – Urban Archaeology at the First Cataract: Elephantine – Aswan – Senmet
- Wolfgang Mueler Aswan/Syene: The Development of the Town from the Late Period to Modern Times
- David Fabre, Alexander Belov – The Shipwreck of Heracleion-Thonis (Egypt): An Introduction
Thursday October 1th (day 3)
Chairmen Dr. Laure Pantalacci, Dr. Cornelius von Pilgrim
- Nigel Strudwick – Thebes: Balancing Research Perspectives with Modern Egypt
- Erhart Graefe – Report on the Work of the German-Russian Mission to TT 320, the Royal Cache, 1998-2006
- Laurent Bavay – Rediscovery of Theban Lost Tomb C.3
- Marilina Betro -Virtual Environments and Web Community in Archaeology: Theban Tomb 14 as Case Study
- Sergej Ivanov – Tomb of Thay (TT 23): Seasons 2006-2008
- Kerstin Leterme – Pictorial Practices in Ancient Theban Tomb Paintings: Methodological Approach and Comparative Study of Five Eighteenth Dynasty Private Tombs
- Edwin Brock – Reversing Chaos. The Restoration of the Sarcophagus of Ramesses VI
- Edward Loring – They Were Not Yellow. 21st Dynasty Coffins in the Egyptian National Museum in Cairo
- David Lorand – Membra disjecta. About Two Colossi of Senwosret I Found in Tanis
- Alexander Gormatyuk – Preserving Egyptian Heritage: Conservators View
- Paul Nicholson – The Trade and Control of Glass between New Kingdom Egypt and Her Neighbours
- Svetlana Malykh – The Ceramic Material of Giza Necropolis: the Commercial Relations of Ancient Egyptians
- Sara Caramello – Physicians as Luxury Goods – The Role of Medicine in LBA International Relations
- Emanuele Ciampini – Persian Culture and Pharaonic Egypt: the Inscriptions on the Statue of Darius Ist from Susa
- Simone Petacchi – Steatopygia in Ancient Egyptian and Nubian Art. An Ethnical Countermark or a Primitive Revival? The Case of Kushite Iconography and Style
- Sergey Yartsev – Egyptian Cult of Isis among the barbarians in the Northern Azov region and Crimea in Classical
Antiquity - Vladimir Tolstikov – The Latest Archaeological Finds of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Panticapaeum – the Capital of Bosporus
Friday October 2 (day 4)
Chairmen Dr. Wlodzimierz Godlewski, Dr. Irene Forstner-Mueler
- Ian Shaw – New Fieldwork at the Medinet el-Gurob Harim Palace Town
- Wlodzimierz Godlewski – The Christian Cemeteries at Naqlun
- Alexei Krol – Joint Russian-American Mission at Deir el-Banat (Fayoum): Results of Seven Seasons of Archaeological and Anthropological Works at the Site
- Anthon Voytenko – Preliminary Report on Coptic Burial Custom at the Necropolis of Deir el-Banat
- Natalia Sinitsyna – Archaeological Textile Conservation: Methods and Results of the Textile Treatment at the Site Deir el-Banat (Fayoum, Egypt)
- Joanne Rowland, Kristian Strutt – Geophysical Survey and Sub-Surface Investigations at Quesna and Kom el Ahmar (Minuf), Governate of Minufiyeh: An Integrated Strategy for Mapping and Understanding Sub-Surface Remains of Mortuary, Sacred and Domestic Contexts
- Agnese Kukela, Valdis Seglins – Artefacts and Geo-Environmental Data Inventory in the Step Pyramid and Its
Management through Geographical Information System (GIS) - Caroline Wilkinson, Christopher Rynn, Fabian Kanz – Facial Reconstruction of Cleopatras Sister, Arsinoe
- Kirill Kolosov – To the Way to Provide the Uniform Search of Archeological Data. Some Basic Aspects in the Creation of the Archeological Database in CESRAS
Chairmen Dr. Marvin Meyer, Dr. Anthon Voytenko
- Maryum Jordan – Conceptualizing Incest: The Social Effects of Interbred Marriages during Graeco-Roman Egypt
- Lorenzo Fati – Patrons Papers: Which Route to the Fayum?
- Marvin Meyer – Judas: Where We Stand with the Text and Interpretation of the Coptic Gospel of Judas
- Boris Koptelov – Alexandrine Church and the Roman Emperors in the 4th Century
- Dmitriy Romashov – Alexandrian Medicine in Jewish Palestinian Law
- Michail Wogman – Alexandrian Jewry between Fiction and Exegesis: Moses Ethiopian Campaign Reconsidered
- Christine Chaillot – Monastic Life of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt in Contemporary Times
- Sherin Sadek El-Gendi – The Ancient and Contemporary Arts Influences in Coptic Art
The ‘Achievements and Problems of Modern Egyptology’ International Conference takes place in Moscow, September 29th to October 2th 2009. The official website is www.conference.cesras.ru.