Conferences and Workshops
CENTRAL Joint Workshop 2024 Mosaics of Details: From Little Pieces to the Big Picture within an Interdisciplinary Framework
Interdisciplinary Approaches to Ancient Egypt, Roman Gundacker
CENTRAL Joint Workshop 2024 Mosaics of Details: From Little Pieces to the Big Picture within an Interdisciplinary Framework
Date: 2–5 December 2024
Place: University of Vienna and Austrian Academy of Sciences
Ancient Egypt is commonly known for spectacular monuments, magnificent artefacts, and captivating texts. Yet, beyond the fascinating beauty of “wonderful things” (H. Carter), all this enshrines plentiful information which bear witness to a great culture, its evolution, and its history. Egyptology is dedicated to unearthing, analysing, and interpreting all different kinds of sources of information; but today, research requires much more than “simply” excavating, cataloguing, or translating. The challenge is therefore to develop, fine-tune, and apply well-established and innovative, but also interdisciplinary methodologies in order to get one step closer to what was at the core of ancient Egyptian culture.
Up-to-date research has to consider old and new material alike; and it is both formerly neglected minutiae and the new big data which may bring about decisive new insights on the small scale or even paradigmatic change on the large scale. Research of this kind always requires attention to detail, the ability to organise huge amounts of information, and the capacity to proceed with a fine-grained methodology which combines various approaches and disciplines from archaeology to archaeometry, from history of arts to pictorial sciences, from (text) philology to linguistics, from mythology to religious studies, from cultural studies to social sciences, from anthropology to the natural sciences, and far beyond. Only a plethora of details will allow successfully to address research questions, to develop hypotheses, and to piece together the big picture. In this changing and challenging research landscape, the MA and PhD students of today will shape tomorrow’s Egyptology with new ways of searching, new ways of analysing, and new ways of thinking.
This workshop to be held at the University of Vienna and at the Austrian Academy of Sciences on 2–5 December 2024 aims to bring together MA and PhD students with experienced scholars and researchers in order to initiate a methodological discourse. All workshop participants are invited to reflect on their methodologies with the aid of which they conduct their research, and how they develop and adapt their tool kit. At the same time, participants are strongly encouraged to present the data or material which they investigate, how they apply their methodologies, and what new (preliminary) results they have gained so far or expect soon. We are therefore looking forward to a workshop which will allow to get a sense of what kind(s) of well-established and highly innovative methodologies are currently used and to discuss what potential there is for ongoing and future research to the benefit of all workshop participants and their work on little pieces and the big picture.
This workshop takes place within the CENTRAL-Netzwerkes.
Organisers: Roman Gundacke, Frank Kammerzell, Tamás Bács, Hana Vymazalová, Kamil O. Kuraszkiewicz
Organising Institutions: University of Vienna, Humboldt University Berlin, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University Budapest, Charles University Prague, University of Warsaw, Austrian Archaeological Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
Further information will follow soon.
Individual pictures starting in upper left corner (clockwise): (1) Rock Island near Assuan (Kora27, CCBY-SA 4.0); (2) Hydrological Map of Tell el-Dab’a (© Manfred Bietak, ÖAI); (3) Relief of Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II (Metropolitan Museum of Art 07.230.2, CC0 1.0); (4) Quartzite Head of Amenophis III (British Museum EA 7, © The Trustees of the British Museum, CCBY-NC-SA 4.0); (5) Outer Coffin of Henuttawi (Detail) (Metropolitan Museum of Arts 25.3.182a–b, CC0 1.0); (6) Kiosk of Trajan, Philae (Rémih, CCBY-SA 3.0); (7) Wine Jars in the Tomb of Meretneith (© E. Christiana Köhler, University of Vienna); (8) Model Granary of Meketre (Metropolitan Museum of Art 20.3.11, CC0 1.0); (9) Pyramid Texts of Pepi I (UC London) (Osama Shukir Muhammad Amin, CCBY-SA 4.0); (10) Papyrus of Ani, Book of the Dead, Chapter 125 (British Museum EA 10470.3, © The Trustees of the British Museum, CCBY-NC-SA 4.0); (11) Writing Board with School Exercises (Metropolitan Museum of Art 28.9.4, CC0 1.0); (12) Radiocarbon Model, Early New Kingdom (Sturt Manning et alii, CCBY 4.0); Centre: Great Sphinx and Pyramid of Khephren, Gizah (Mídia Ninja, CCBY-SA 2.0). All pictures have been processed, adjusted, adapted, or altered.
Lectures
Ausgrabungen im Archiv und auf dem Dachboden – Quellen zu dem Ägyptologen Heinrich Balcz
Dr. Elisabeth Kruck (Universität Wien)
ABSTRACT:
"Heinrich Balcz (*17. Juni 1898) war über lange Jahre eine feste Größe und Konstante am Institut für Ägyptologie und Afrikanistik der Universität Wien. Seit dem Beginn seines Studiums in den frühen 20er Jahren und über seine Zeit als Bibliothekar und wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter von Hermann Junker und Wilhelm Czermak war er nach seiner Habilitation auch außerordentlicher Professor und arbeitete, lehrte und forschte bis zu seiner Einberufung am 13. April 1942 an der Universität Wien, wovon zahlreiche Quellen im Archiv des Instituts für Ägyptologie zeugen. Darüber hinaus belegen viele Bilder, Zeichnungen und Dokumente, die sich im Besitz seines Sohnes Heinrich Balcz befinden, das Leben und Wirken dieses eher wenig bekannten Wiener Ägyptologen. Der Vortrag präsentiert einige dieser Quellen und nimmt die Bedeutung des Ägyptologen Heinrich Balcz in den Fokus."
WANN: Montag, 25. November 2024, 18:30 Uhr
WO: Hybridveranstaltung! Institut für Ägyptologie, Franz-Klein-Gasse 1, 1190 Wien (Hörsaal 6)
oder online über Zoom.
Die Teilnahme ist kostenlos, erfordert aber für den Onlinezugang eine Registrierung über folgenden Link:
https://univienna.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5Iuf-uuqTMjHNUvyjBb3NHfb9KxJRliAV-k
E-Lectures
Ass.- Prof. Dr. Irmgard Hein & Dr. Sandra Müller
Institut für Ägyptologie der Universität Wien, VIAS
Die Visualisierung der Delta-Residenz der 18. Dynastie bei ‘Ezbet Helmi
Abstract: Die österr. Ausgrabungen im östlichen Nildelta, durchgeführt von 1989-1995, im Bereich Tell el-Dab'a (= antikes Avaris) durch das ÖAI/Kairo in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Institut für Ägyptologie der Universität Wien (damals Grabungsleitung M. Bietak), haben wegen der aufsehenerregenden Funde von minoischen Freskenfragmenten weltweite Aufmerksamkeit erregt. Bisherige Forschungen zum Grabungsplatz waren dementsprechend vor allem den Fresken gewidmet, nur wenige andere Fundkomplexe aus dem Gelände sind bisher untersucht. Dank Finanzierung durch den Jubiläumsfonds der ÖNB, erfolgt seit 2019 im Rahmen eines Projektes bei VIAS (Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science) die Aufarbeitung der Befunde der sog. kleinen Palastplattform und deren Umgebung. Vor allem die Stratigraphie, die baulichen Hinterlassenschaften und die flächendeckende Inkludierung des Fundmaterials aus den Jahren 1989 -1995 werden dabei digital erarbeitet. Gleichzeitig entstehen so die Grundlagen für die 3D Visualisierung des Palastareales „F“ aus der frühen 18. Dynastie von ‘Ezbet Helmi, welche einen Teil der antiken Stadt sichtbar macht.
Im Vortrag wird die Vorgangsweise der nachträglichen Digitalisierung des Geländes erklärt, sowie Beispiele von bisherigen Ergebnissen zu Stratigraphie und Geländerekonstruktion.
ÖNB Jubiläumsfonds Projekt: 17916
VIAS (Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science)
Institut für Ägyptologie
Historisch Kulturwissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Universität Wien
in Kollaboration mit ÖAI und OREA (beide ÖAW)
Ludwig Boltzmann Institute für Archäologische Prospektion und Virtuelle Archäologie (LBI ArchPro)
7 reasons
LINK: https://vias.univie.ac.at/projekte/
WO: online auf dem YouTube-Kanal des Instituts für Ägyptologie: https://youtu.be/mVZwD8VwyVg
Dr. Annik Wüthrich
Postdoctoral Researcher ERC Starting Grant "Challenging Time(s)",
Institut für Orientalische und Europäische Archäologie, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften
Family business in der Dritten Zwischenzeit: Eine Untersuchung der Filiationsausdrücke
Abstract: Die Dritte Zwischenzeit (1069-664 BCE) ist in vielerlei Hinsicht eine besondere Periode der altägyptischen Geschichte. Außer Fragen zur exakten Abfolge und Anordnung der königlichen Chronologie gibt es einige Aspekte der Gesellschaft, die bislang unbeachtet gelassen worden sind. Eine großartige und umfangreiche Quelle bilden hierbei die sog. Cachettes, die am Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts entdeckt wurden. Dieses Material ist vor allem für die 21. Dynastie von großer Bedeutung. Es erlaubt uns u.a. die Beziehungen der herrschenden Familien in Theben zu verstehen. Wir haben zudem ein beträchtliches Ausmaß an funerären Quellen (Totenbücher, Totenstelen, Särge und Sarkophage, Uschebti…) zur Verfügung, die eine Fülle von Daten über die nicht-herrschende Elite der altägyptischen Gesellschaft liefern.
Dieser Vortrag diskutiert die verschiedenen Ausdrücke der Filiation und des Ehestatus der Protagonisten der 21. und 22. Dynastie. Der Schwerpunkt wird hierbei auf den Frauen liegen, die für diese Periode in Theben sehr gut belegt sind. Ich möchte die Frage des Ausdrucks der persönlichen Identität und der Funktion der Selbst-Präsentation stellen, in einer Periode, in der die Amun-Theologie mit der Einführung der Theokratie so wie die persönliche Frömmigkeit eine bedeutende Entwicklung kennen.
Link zum Vortrag: https://youtu.be/791YweR2aWw
Prof. Dr. Danijela Stefanović
Egyptian Root Lexicon project (Universität Wien, Institut für Ägyptologie, FWF - P 30340-G25) University of Belgrade / Faculty of Philosophy
From ego-network to the global network – the world of the Middle Kingdom treasurer Senebi
Abstract: Studies of the ancient Egyptian administrative system(s) are usually based on analysis of the institutions and officials attached to them. The present paper focuses on the social settings of one of the most prominent Middle Kingdom / Second Intermediate Period highest ranking officials – the treasurer Senebi. Starting with the traditional methodological approach, focusing on collecting the prosopogaphic data, the paper further addresses the implementation of the Social Network Analysis (SNA) tools for analysing the obtained material. SNA is used to study people, or groups of people (nodes) linked together through social interaction, and relations or links between them (edges). SNA exemplifies various types of interaction through networks and analyses them. By applying SNA methodology for studying the networks of the treasurer Senebi, it is possible to reconstruct more precisely his social setting (both private and institutional) and interrelations, which complement the traditional approach, but also provide new possibilities for research into ancient Egyptian administration.
Den Vortrag finden Sie auf dem YouTube Kanal des Instituts für Ägyptologie (Ägyptologie Univ. Wien)
Direkter Link zum Vortrag: https:// youtu.be/JVWiegO76y
Univ.-Prof. Dr. E. Christiana Köhler
Institut für Ägyptologie, Universität Wien
On the origins of Ancient Egyptian civilization
Abstract: Egypt has always been considered one of the great civilizations in the ancient world; it has drawn admiration from early on because of its long history and fascinating monuments. Even before Egyptology was conceived as an academic discipline in the early 19th century, European scholars have been intensively studying Ancient Egypt, be it in relation to biblical references or in the context of global history. An important aspect has long been the question when and how this ancient civilization began, and interestingly, where it supposedly originated. It is especially that last question that has been investigated in numerous studies, which have dominated the literature until the advanced 20th century. This lecture will discuss different related aspects, including the significance of biblical narratives in early modern scholarship as well as colonial politics and racialist ideologies, which both influenced research during the 19th and 20th century. The application of such concepts in early scholarship often gave rise to the idea that Ancient Egyptian civilization apparently did not originate in Africa, but was the result of external influence and migrations from other parts of the ancient world. Furthermore, such migrations were often framed in a culture-historical narrative leading to the emergence of Pharaonic Egypt. Although scholarly writings of today are largely devoid of the ideologies underpinning these ideas, a critical assessment of the current literature reveals how vestiges of these narratives have persisted and how they have been adapted to suit the modern academic context.
The e-lecture will also be available on the YouTube channel of the Institute for Egyptology, (Ägyptologie Univ. Wien)
Direct link to the e-lecture: youtu.be/NVeYE9_tm5g
Krisztián Vértes
Documenting and Reconstructing the Late-Roman Murals in the Imperial Cult Chamber at Luxor Temple
Abstract: After 6 years in the making, the epigraphic documentation of the late roman murals at Luxor temple was finished last year. In my lecture I would like to present a little preview of the results and make the case for why it was necessary for the Epigraphic Survey to develop a rather unusual technique for documenting these unique non-pharaonic remains.
Unfortunately, whatever little remains have been preserved of these wall paintings are in a very fragmentary condition, due to many years of abuse accompanied by the lack of interest in non-Pharaonic remains typical of the last century. Today, most of the Late Roman murals in the chamber are lost, and their remains are exposed to pollution and to the harmful effects of thousands of birds living in the monument. Most of the top layer of the original painting, containing the bulk of the details, is gone; only paint scars are preserved, with very little pigment remaining on the surface. In some instances, these traces do not even form any recognizable features.
Therefore, when the Epigraphic Survey decided to undertake the documentation of these delicate remains, their main goal of epigraphic recording could only be to isolate the visible pigment and to somehow synthetize whatever data could still be detectable on the surface. A unique documentation method had to be developed to carry through this task that combined traditional facsimile with cutting edge digital techniques. The results, that were presented recently at the 12th International Congress of Egyptologists, are the culmination and synthesis of all the remaining visual data, both historical and contemporary, that was still possible to be assembled about this unique fragmentary artwork.
Copyright des Fotos: Epigraphic Survey photographer Yarko Kobylecky
WO: online auf dem YouTube-Kanal des Instituts für Ägyptologie: https://youtu.be/mVZwD8VwyVg