Lecture by Khadija Adams and JJ Shirley on Theban Tomb 110

Speaker: JJ Shirley, The University of Pennsylvania
Topic: Theban Tomb 110: An Epigraphy and Research Field School

Saturday, September 12, 2015
(please note this is the 2nd Saturday, not our usual 1st Saturday)
5:00 PM

LaSalle Banks Room,
Oriental Institute, Lower Level
1155 E 58th St
Chicago, IL 60637

Part I will focus on the trainees' progress during the ARCE conservation programs that started in 2007 and have trained over 300 Ministry of Antiquities conservators and technicians from Upper Egypt. The resulting impact will be illustrated by past and present projects, including the current work of ARCE Luxor archaeologists.

Part II will focus on ARCE's Conservation Field School at Theban Tomb 110 (TT110) located on Luxor's west bank at the Tombs of the Nobles in Skeik Abd el Qurna that started in February 2013. TT110 is the New Kingdom tomb of Djehuty who was the Royal Cupbearer (Butler) during the reigns of Hatshepsut and Thutmosos III. Both rulers are represented in the tomb. The badly damaged tomb gives the trainees a wonderful opportunity to learn about the treatment and conservation of the many types of decay and damage that they will encounter during their careers. To date, ARCE has trained 24 Ministry of Antiquities (MOA) supervisors, conservators and technicians in this tomb. Each season, ARCE introduces new advanced techniques in a step by step learning process with special emphasis on building the MOA's knowledge and use of conservation methods and materials.

Ms. Khadiga Adam received her Master's degree in conservation from the Faculty of Archaeology at Cairo University in 2013. She is a professional conservator and manager with 23 years experience in domestic and international conservation projects. Specialized skills include all types and phases of conservation and restoration activities: consulting, estimating, training, conservation management research, and studies in materials and testing. She has worked with ARCE since 2010 in Luxor and is currently pursuing her PhD in conservation from Cairo University.

Previous to working with ARCE, Ms. Adam worked with the Aga Khan Cultural Services in Egypt and the Aswan Establishment for Construction and Reconstruction. She has also consulted on several conservation projects in Libya, Bahrain, and in the Sultanate of Oman.

Theban Tomb 110: An Epigraphy and Research Field School

Of the more than 900 non-royal tombs located in what is today called the “Theban Necropolis” on the west side of the Nile in Luxor, few are as intriguing as “Theban Tomb 110.” Tomb 110 belonged to a man named Djehuty, who served as a royal butler and herald for two 18th Dynasty kings: the powerful queen-turned-king Hatshepsut, and her stepson and successor Thutmose III. Djehuty’s tomb was discovered and superficially published in the 1930s by one of the great early Egyptologists, Sir Norman de Garis Davies. But, the tomb was lived in during modern times, and completely blackened by fires, so Davies could not discern many of the inscriptions and scenes.

Since 2012 the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) has run field schools to excavate and conserve this tomb, making it possible to conduct a new and more thorough study of the tomb by re-recording its tomb scenes and inscriptions, a process known as “epigraphy.” This talk will present the results of the current epigraphy project in Theban Tomb 110, funded by ARCE through an AEF grant and run as field school to train Egyptian Inspectors in this specialized skill. The students’ work has already brought to light new information about the tomb’s construction, the tomb owner, and the kings whom he served.

Dr. JJ Shirley received her PhD from Johns Hopkins University, and has taught Egyptian Art, Archaeology and Language at the University of Michigan, University of Wales, Swansea, and as a Visiting Lecturer at Johns Hopkins University; she is currently a Visiting Researcher at the University of Pennsylvania. Since 2007 she has been the Managing Editor for the Journal of Egyptian History, published by Brill. In 2011 she became the VP of the ARCE-PA Chapter, and for the past three years has also served as the ARCE national Chapter Council President.

Dr. Shirley has authored several articles, most recently a contribution on the Second Intermediate Period and 18th Dynasty administration for the book Ancient Egyptian Administration (HdO 104), and an article on the officials who served under Hatshepsut and Thutmose III for the Theban Workshop publication Creativity and Innovation in the Reign of Hatshepsut (SAOC 69). She has participated on several archaeological projects in Egypt and Syria, and has just begun a new project to document and record the tomb scenes and inscriptions in Theban Tomb 110, which belonged to the royal butler and royal herald Djehuty, who served both Hatshepsut and Thutmose III.

These lectures are brought to you by the Illinois chapter of the American Research Center in Egypt.