Pennsylvania: “The View from “Harvard Camp:” George Reisner and the Giza Pyramids then and now”

Abstract

Leading the Harvard University–Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition, George Reisner (1867–1942) put American Egyptology on the world stage with forty-three years of breathtakingly successful excavations at twenty-three different archaeological sites in Egypt and Sudan. His uniquely American success story unfolded despite British control of Egyptian politics, French control of Egyptian antiquities, and an Egyptian yearning for independence, all while his Egyptian teams achieved the fieldwork results and mastered the arts of recording and documentation. Reisner’s lifespan covers the birth of modern archaeology, aspects of colonialism, racism, and nationalism, the history of Harvard and of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), and the issues of repatriation and cultural patrimony long before they became the “hot topics” they are today. In an illustrated lecture, Harvard University’s Peter Der Manuelian will recount the life of this uniquely successful, but also controversial, archaeologist and Egyptologist, as he lived and dug at the famous Giza Pyramids (and at many other sites) for more than four decades. This talk will summarize some of the great discoveries, their archaeological significance, and some of the fascinating personalities behind the Expedition working at the tombs and temples at Giza. Manuelian will also present virtual and immersive technological experiments for bringing old digs back to life for collaborative research and teaching.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Peter Der Manuelian is Barbara Bell Professor of Egyptology in both the Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and the Anthropology Departments at Harvard University, and director of the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East. He was previously on the curatorial staff of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. His Giza Project at Harvard (http://giza.fas.harvard.edu) aims to collect and present online all past, present, and future archaeological activity at the Giza Pyramids. His research and teaching interests include visualization and digital humanities approaches to the ancient world. Among his publications are Walking Among Pharaohs. George Reisner and The Dawn of Modern Egyptology; Digital Giza. Visualizing the Pyramids; 30 Second Ancient Egypt; Mastabas of Nucleus Cemetery G 2100; Slab Stelae of the Giza Necropolis; Living in the Past: Studies in Archaism of the Egyptian Twenty-sixth Dynasty; and Studies in the Reign of Amenophis II. He has also written a number of childrens’ books.

Lectures are FREE for ARCE members. If you are an ARCE member not on the ARCE-PA Mailing list, please email vp@arce-pa.org. For more information, visit arce-pa.org or email us at info@arce-pa.org