Egyptian Archaeologists on Studying Ancient Egypt

It all started when I was a child, watching my father, a military officer and a skillful artist, drawing on sheets of papyri as a result of his fascination with ancient Egypt. You can find all the different kinds of books about ancient Egypt populating our home library. 

I’ve always enjoyed history growing up. But as a child watching Jurassic Park, seeing the paleontologists bent over their excavation, gently cleaning away millenia of soil, I knew that this was exactly what I wanted to do. 

“Why are you excavating in that way?” A question I curiously asked the director of an Italian archaeological mission in the Tomb of Harwa.   

It seemed strange to see non-vertical and cubic shaped excavations. He replied explaining how we must follow the layers and features to understand the archaeological situation.

Dealing with the objects first-hand has taught me so much about the culture, its art, handling of artifacts, and proper registration and documentation methods. 

I have also been lucky to be a part of a number of archaeological field projects in various areas of Egypt. Through these projects, I have been able to get first hand experience on archaeological methods and documentation practices. 

Daily life of ancient Egypt is fascinating, and discoveries related to that are very important to me. We have heard plenty from royalty and the underworld (i.e. tombs and mummies). I want to hear the voices of the people themselves.  

One of my favourite excavations that I was a part of is Tombos in north Sudan. The site is focused on a cemetery connected to the New Kingdom occupation of Nubia in about 1400 BC. 

That challenge is more stressful when an archaeologist works under pressures like lack of time, lack of money, and lack of security.  

There are quite a few challenges in the field. Each case is different depending on the person and location. Personally, it may come as a surprise, but more than being female, my biggest challenge was ageism. 

Starting out in my early 20s, straight out of university, it was difficult to find my voice and receive respect for my research in my own country. Over time, I’ve learned to not let anyone take credibility away from me. 

Once people care about something, they’ll protect it. My main motto has always been to protect the things you care about. 

One of the most difficult challenges in our modern world would be finding a good research environment that would house your research, and fund your project until it comes to light. 

Two facets have been bubbling under the surface for the last decade or so, and are becoming more mainstream at the moment. First, my generation is very aware of the issues facing archaeological sciences in Egypt. 

Second, traditional colonial-style archaeology is being replaced by more sensitivity to local communities. Archaeological missions, Egyptian and foreign, are more proactive in ensuring that locals are not as marginalised as they have been in the past.