ARCE-Chicago x ISAC: “A Perfect Journey” – Olga Tufnell in Egypt and Petrie’s “Egypt over the Border”

Lecture Information

Olga Tufnell (second from left) with Flinders Petrie and Hilda Petrie (centre), G.L. Harding (far left), J.L. Starkey and D.L. Risdon (right), undated. Starkey family collection. Courtesy of Wendy Slaninka.

British archaeologist Olga Tufnell (1905-1985) is well known for her fieldwork and publications on Syro-Palestinian archaeology, especially volumes on Bronze and Iron Age Lachish (Tell ed-Duweir), Palestine, excavated between 1932 and 1938. Fewer people know of Olga Tufnell’s earlier engagement with Egyptian archaeology stemming from her work with Flinders and Hilda Petrie with the British School of Archaeology in Egypt, initially as Assistant in London, followed by her first visit to Egypt, working with Myrtle Broome on documenting Middle Kingdom tomb paintings at Qau, in 1927. This was followed by seasons with the Petries at Tell Fara and Tell el-‘Ajjul in Palestine, joined by Qufti staff, within a region that Flinders Petrie called ‘Egypt over the border.’

The recent co-edited volume of Tufnell’s letters and photographs by John Green and Ros Henry, A Perfect Journey (UCL Press 2021, open access), covers this formative period in her career, between 1927 and 1938. As this lecture shows, Egyptian archaeology and interconnections between Egypt and the Levant were always a focus of Tufnell’s research, continuing with research she conducted on scarab seals from the 1960s onwards. Tufnell’s letters home also reveal her lively personal observations and insights gained through travel, interaction with people, and her impressions of sites and museums in Egypt.

Uahka’s tomb at Qau, Egypt. Photograph published by Olga Tufnell in the Palestine Exploration Quarterly (1982). Courtesy of the Palestine Exploration Fund

Speaker Bio

Jack Green is and archaeologist and museum director. The Jeffrey Horrell ‘75 and Rodney Rose Director and Chief Curator of the Richard and Carole Cocks Art Museum (RCCAM), Miami University (since 2021).

Originally from London, United Kingdom, Dr. Green received his M.A. and Ph.D from the Institute of Archaeology, University College London (2001, 2006). For his doctoral research he worked on the archive and collections of Tell es-Sa’idiyeh, Jordan. He was curator of Ancient Near East at the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, University of Oxford (2007–11) and came to the United States as chief curator of the Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago (2011–15). He also served as deputy director of collections, research and exhibitions at the Corning Museum of Glass, NY (2016–17).

Dr. Green recently served as Associate Director at the American Center of Research (ACOR), Amman, Jordan (2017-21), where he supported cultural heritage initiatives, Photo/Digital Archive projects, and directed the Temple of the Winged Lions Cultural Resource Management Initiative, Petra.

Dr. Green’s interests include museum and cultural heritage studies, and the intersection of art and archaeology. His current focus on ancient Jordan includes the Tell es-Sa‘idiyeh Cemetery Publication Project, British Museum. He is a member of the American Alliance of Museums, American Society of Overseas Research, Archaeological Institute of America, and ICOM.