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Ancient Egypt Magazine

Volume Three  Issue Six -- May/June 2003

Netfishing by Hapy  

The number of web sites relating to Egyptology is phenomenal and so it can take quite some time to get round to some of the less prominent, but significant ones, many of which belong to academic institutions. The plus side of this is that it is still possible to come across unusual projects which are virtually unknown beyond the world of that institution. One such gem can be viewed on the web site of Pisa University, www.egittologia.unipi.it. (translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=it&u=www.egittologia.unipi.it is a version translated into something similar to English).

Specifically, the pages devoted to Egyptology in the ‘Dipartimento di Scienze Storiche del Mondo Antico’. Egyptology and Near Eastern studies are both long-standing and thriving in Pisa (and other Italian universities).

The review published by the department, Egitto e vicino oriente, dates back to 1978 and is now online on this web site. Speakers of Italian are at an obvious advantage when it comes to reading the review, but non-speakers will be pleased to hear that there’s plenty of information on the web site to interest them too.

The ‘gem’ is a current project under the direction of Professor Edda Bresciani, in collaboration with Profs Gianpaolo Calchi Novati and Simonette Casci of Pavia University and Professor Ugo Fantasia of Parma University. Since this section is in Italian, this is the summary: the aim of the project is to research and catalogue Egyptology items in collections in the Indian subcontinent, particularly in the museums of Baroda, Jaipur, Bombay, Lucknow, Hyderabad and Calcutta. It looks as though this will lead to a publication by the University of Pisa, although it wasn’t clear whether this is imminent or not. I would imagine that little is known about these collections (although it would be gratifying to think that AE readers who have visited the museums will write in to tell us more!).

For non-Italian speakers, there’s information in English on an important ‘risk assessment’ and environmental project, carried out in collaboration with Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities and other organisations, at Saqqara. And also on the ‘Anubis Project’; a catalogue, with photographs, of mummies in Italian museums (and some in Egypt) researched using non-destructive techniques.

These pages are excellently designed and very easy to use (with the proviso that it looks as though the photographs are still in the process of being added and some of the images did take some time to load).

Pisa was also the venue, in July 2002, for the XIV Round Table in Computer Aided Egyptology (reported in AE September/October 2002, Vol.3 Issue 2) and so it isn’t surprising that the web site should be both well-constructed and easy to use.

In concentrating on one particular web site, which struck me as having a range of interesting items on view, some general points occurred which can probably never be stated enough. It’s said often that archaeological excavation is destruction; in laying bare its bones, be it a settlement, religious or other type of site, the archaeologist must remove soil and or other material. (One is reminded of Mark Lehner’s famous ‘HSS layer’, a combination of sand and – other organic material dumped from riding stables at Giza!)

In the 21st century, all archaeologists or investigators try to learn about ancient cultures with the minimum amount of damage to artefacts or sites. Many sites are threatened with destruction due to development anyway, hence the term ‘rescue archaeology’, which covers attempts to record sites and to extract as much information as possible before they disappear forever. Modern surveying techniques assist greatly in discovering sites and providing the preliminaries of research.

Digital recordings and databases are simply the latest tools for storing and displaying this information. If excavation is the skeleton of archaeology, then recording is its lifeblood. The ancient Egyptians inscribed in stone – we inscribe on CDs, for example. This seems an obvious way forward for archaeology and Egyptology, with the potential for sharing information and uniting dispersed group objects (such as items from tombs which may be scattered between museums). The looting of the museum in Baghdad has left everyone with an interest in ancient cultures in a state of stunned disbelief. A complete database of the objects, with images and catalogue numbers, might be the only record that remains should a similar incident (God forbid) happen elsewhere.

There has never been a greater need for making the most of the technology available and for co-operation between curators throughout the world. Nor could a greater case be stated for more recording projects and increased accessibility of information.

HAPY

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