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Volume Two Issue Six -- May/June 2002

Editor's Column

Egyptology stands as a distinct subject within the archaeological and historical disciplines. Its uniqueness stems from the vast quantity of material available to the student, in the form of artefacts, for both ritual and every day purposes, texts and even the remains of the people themselves, the investigation of which is now an established field of research in its own right.

 Record-keeping is at the heart of Egyptology and the ancient Egyptians set a standard that is difficult to maintain, due to the size of the inheritance they have left the world, even with the most modem and technologically advanced methods available to us. The records of early investigators and travellers, such as Marianne Brocklehurst, whose diary, with its accounts of a 19th century visit, accompanied by lively drawings, is featured in this issue of Ancient Egypt, are now a part of the history of the subject.

 Textual records may not always be accurate accounts however; and Egyptologists need to read both the archaeological and textual records to build as complete an image of the reality of ancient Egypt as possible, as is shown in our feature on Hatshepsut by Dr Joyce Tyldesley.

 This point was also made succinctly by Dr Stephen Quirke of the Petrie Museum at a day school last year. Stephen is Project Manager of one of the most ambitious recording activities in Egyptology and as this issue went to press, he was preparing for its official launch. By the time you read this, the Petrie Museum database and digital image library will be online.

 'The Petrie Museum is still one of England's best kept secrets – amazingly few people outside a narrow circle of Egyptologists and enthusiasts know of its existence and until we build a more accessible building (another story), the Internet offers us the best channel for sharing it with the world,' he explained.

  ' The combined resource of the Petrie Museum database and at least one image for every single one of the eighty thousand object numbers in the collection, is to be launched on 26 April 2002; after that, we have a mighty editorial task on our hands (Miriam knows all about those) to make the information up to date, and in taking out all the little slips that come from routine data entry.'

 If the task is an immense one, so are the potential benefits; and with an inclusive approach to the project, the Petrie staff will not need to struggle alone. 'If any reader sees an error, or does not understand anything on the site, please do contact us,'

 Stephen continued. 'We aim for regular updates of our web site, with the first planned for the summer, and we can put in any corrections as they are noted – this is the great advantage of a web database over a printed book. I very much hope that the records and the tens of thousands of digital images, all taken specially for this project, will prove instantly useful for all who wish to learn from Egypt, of whichever period – this collection spans all periods, from the Stone Age to the Egypt of today, and the database offers free access and repeated voyages of discovery.'

 Miriam  A Bibby

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