In this edition of the Khufu’s Western Cemetery series, we will introduce a chapter of mastabas with a brief biography of one of George Reisner’s valued colleagues, Tasmanian-born Egyptologist Arthur Cruttenden Mace. Mace migrated from work with Flinders Petrie at Abydos to join Reisner at Giza during the Hearst Expedition, and in this episode we will learn a little of his history and work. This is but a narrowed-down introduction, largely inspired and greatly informed by Gary Beuk‘s two-part series “Arthur Cruttenden Mace - Taking His Rightful Place,” Parts One and Two, hosted at Andie Byrnes and Kate Phizackerly‘s vast online journal, Egyptological. This is simply intended to tickle your curiosity about the prolific Egyptologist, and you are really should also read Gary Beuk’s two-part biography. The biographical portion is followed, as always, with a selection of largely interrelated mastabas from the HUMFA Expedition. As always, along with Beuk’s contribution, this series is reliant upon, inspirited by, and pleasurably dedicated to the Harvard University/Museum of Fine Arts Boston Giza Archives, currently in transition to Digital Giza.
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Tags: Albert Lythgoe, Arthur Mace, Digital Giza, Gary Beuk, George Reisner, Giza Plateau, Harvard University/Museum of Fine Arts Expedition, Mastabas, Western Cemetery
In the Khufu’s Western Cemetery series, it is time to return to George Reisner. After losing support from the Hearst family in 1904, Reisner gained the support of Harvard University and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and went on to spend many productive years on the Giza Plateau. The quantity of work Reisner produced during the Harvard/MFA years will require several installations in this series, but before resuming with biographies for our introductions, we will first examine the basic elements of mastabas. This is by no means exhaustive, but it is a good place to start.
Tags: Burial Chamber, Burial Shaft, Casing Types, Chapel Types, Core-Types, Digital Giza, George Reisner, Giza Plateau, Harvard University/Museum of Fine Arts Expedition, Mastaba Types, Mastabas, Mastabas2, Western Cemetery
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The next concession we will explore in the Western Cemetery is the German mission, the Sieglin Expedition. Founded by Georg Steindorff, much of the western strip was subsequently excavated by Hermann Junker. Along with Steindorff and Junker, we will also visit Ludwig Borchardt, whose notable presence began with the division of the concessions in 1902, when he stood in for Steindorff at the division of the concessions between the Americans, the Italians, and the Germans. The article will be followed by a representative look at mastabas from the Steindorff, Junker West, and Junker East sub-cemeteries.
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Tags: Bertha Porter, Digital Giza, Georg Steindorff, Hermann Junker, Ludwig Borchardt, Rosalind Moss, Sieglin Expedition, Western Cemetery
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In the last edition of the Western Cemeteries we visited the field itself with George Reisner and the Hearst Expedition. We will be visiting Reisner quite a bit, later in this series, but this time we are going to look in particular at the Italian Turin Mission, led by Ernesto Schiaparelli. Schiaparelli is perhaps more associated with his discovery of the tomb of Nefertari in the Valley of the Queens, but he did receive the concession to explore the Western Cemetery for Italy, and he did do some work there. Let’s take a look.
Just a couple of notes beforehand. First, this edition is dedicated to my friend and G.P., Dr. Akshaya Patel, who had blessed me with good health, counsel, and conversation. I am a man of my word - Dr. Patel, this is for you. Second, as I am bringing the site back into current service, I am slowly approving and responding to literally hundreds of pending posts. Please be patient!
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Tags: Bertha Porter, Digital Giza, Ernesto Schiaparelli, Francesco Ballerini, Great Pyramid, Hearst Expedition, Khufu, Rosalind Moss, Sieglin Expedition, Turin Museum, Western Cemetery
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We have examined how George Reisner developed his concept of the nucleus cemeteries, and how these grew into what we now call the Western Field, or, Western Necropolis. We have examined how the field was divided into three tracts so that concessions could be assigned to international missions. We will now begin looking at an assortment of the tombs themselves, beginning with George Reisner and the Hearst Expedition.
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Tags: Arthur Mace, Bertha Porter, Digital Giza, George Reisner, Giza, Hearst Expedition, Phoebe Hearst, Rosalind Moss, Western Cemetery
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We have been introduced to the Western Cemetery of Khufu, and how it began as nucleus cemeteries that expanded as additional mastabas and burials were added, creating the not-always-so-neat mosaic of a history in stone of the Fourth Dynasty, beginning with the reign of Pharaoh Khufu. Now the Egyptian authorities were going to allow three international missions to begin excavation in the Western Cemetery. But how would the concessions be divided? How was the decision made, as regards who digs where? In Part 3, we begin to demystify at least how this process began. As we go, we will see that concessions get passed on, swapped, and at least temporarily, set aside. The concessions at Giza today may look somewhat differently, but at least in the beginning of the Twentieth Century, this is how it started.
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Tags: Ernesto Schiaparelli, Georg Steindorff, George Reisner, Giza, Hearst Expedition, Hemiunu, Jean-Pierre Houdin, Khufu, Ludwig Borchardt, Sieglin Expedition, Turin Expedition, Western Cemetery
Comments Off on Khufu’s Western Cemetery Part 3: The Concessions to Excavate
We introduced the subject of Khufu’s Western Cemetery in the last article of this series. Before we can begin an organized delve into the mastabas themselves, we first need to understand a couple of key concepts. We need to know about the nucleus cemeteries and how they expanded into the necropolis we seek to study (the subject of this article), and how the Western Cemetery was carved up into concessions (the subject of the next article). So, how did the Western Cemetery evolve?
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Tags: Digital Giza, G 2100 Cemetery, George Reisner, Harvard, Hemiunu, Khufu, Nucleus Cemeteries, Peter Der Manuelian, Western Cemetery
Comments Off on Khufu’s Western Cemetery Part 2: The Nucleus Cemeteries
With the Scan Pyramids project doing work in the field, and the Harvard University/Museum of Fine Arts Boston Giza Archive Project being reinvented as Digital Giza, it seems the Old Kingdom is in the air. Many of you have been following my Western Cemetery series on Facebook in the Old Kingdom Egyptology Group, but there is a need for a more permanent home for the series, which is a great reason to jump start Em Hotep!
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Tags: Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Digital Giza, Giza Archives Project, Harvard University, Hemiunu, Khufu, Mastabas, Old Kingdom, Western Cemetery
