Excavations at Thebes

Excavation at Thebes is a digital site report on work undertaken by the Earl of Carnarvon and The Metropolitan Museum of Art at Thebes from 1911 to 1916. Below Ptolemaic, Late Period, Ramesside, and Hatshepsut-era remains was a large Middle Kingdom court tomb, Carnarvon 62. According to finds and conditions, that tomb was cut at the end of Dynasty 11 or beginning of Dynasty 12 (ca. 2000 B.C.) and used into Dynasty 13. Following a period of abandonment, it was then heavily reused from the late Second Intermediate Period into the joint reign of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III, whereupon the site was sealed (ca 1470 B.C.). Both early and late architecture and finds introduce philological and archaeological information. Much of the material from the period of reuse was intact and is especially relevant for colleagues working in the late Middle Kingdom-early Dynasty 18 period, a formative period at Thebes. Specialists contribute essays and information for catalogues. The history of early 20th century  excavation in Egypt is touched upon.

A digital format was chosen in order to present modern description and analysis with original archives. Digital format also provides searchability, zoom capability, and the opportunity to more easily tie together material from two different concessions. Major texts and charts appear as PDFs. However, the publication was built as a series of interrelated databases over many years and requires patience for navigation. Further, although technically developed in Windows’ version for Filemaker, the functions of Filemaker’s Runtime solution are limited. Studying the “Contents & Navigation Instructions” text is therefore essential.

Equally important for study are the instructions for downloading. The .zip and .dmg files are approximately 3gb in size. Downloading time may be considerable, depending upon the user’s computer and Internet connection.

This research project webpage is hosted by the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures of the University of Chicago as a scholarly service of the Data Research Center. It makes available a final excavation report that includes pottery now in the ISAC Museum. The work was prepared by Christine Lilyquist as primary author and sponsor publisher; she claims overall copyright and is responsible for content. Once downloaded, use of the app does not depend on a proprietary program or an Internet connection. The application will run on the user’s computer as long as his or her operating system is not higher than Windows 10 or Mac 10.15. The app is compatible with 32- and 64-bit systems.

Originally uploaded on November 25, 2019, the application was corrected on January 9, 2020 with minor changes in text, images, and copyrights and credits. On April 21, security settings were adjusted to prevent unintended changes to the application, to enable Egyptian signs in texts to be viewed, and to clarify the “Contents & Navigation Instructions.” A final version was uploaded on May 11, 2020 to correct laptop screen size in the display of Windows’ Division pages, also to restore Windows’ drop down menus in the master file Asasif. Content did not change after January 9, 2020.

Copyright: Digital publication copyright claimed by Christine Lilyquist as sponsor publisher, 2020. See copyright permissions and restrictions on HOME and Indexes pages of the publication.

Citations: Christine Lilyquist, Excavations at Thebes: The Earl of Carnarvon and the Metropolitan Museum of Art at Carnarvon 62 and Surrounds. With contributions by Natasha Ayers, Marcel Marée, Daphna Ben-Tor, Deborah Schorsch, Fredrik Hagen, Rachel Sparks, Malte Römer, and Salima Ikram. Digital publication, 2020; https://isac.uchicago.edu/research-projects/excavation-thebes. To cite specific parts of the publication, see Indexes, “Back Matter,” Citing this publication.

Contacts: Christine Lilyquist (christine.lilyquist@outlook.com); Natasha Ayers (ayersnd@gmail.com)