During
the 2019–20 academic year, I (Beth) have been a part of the WoW (Week of Work)
placement at the Egypt Centre whereby I participated in scanning a donation of
25,000 slides and negatives of sites in the ancient Mediterranean, including
Egypt, Asia Minor, North Africa, Morocco, Syria, Israel, Greece, Italy, and
Cyprus. These photos had not been previously digitised and contained a wide
range of places that have been destroyed or severely damaged in recent times
(particularly Syria). Therefore, it is important to preserve the rare photos we
have, so we can preserve their history even if the structures no longer stand
today (fig. 1). This allowed me to develop my archival and documentation
skills, whilst also observing moments in time from different perspectives that
had not been seen before; this made it possible to not only view the sites from
an academic point of view, but also to witness the enjoyment of the donor and
those around, to show what impact ancient cultures have on modern understanding
and their historical appreciation. As a third year Egyptology student, I was
particularly fascinated with the photos of the pyramids (fig. 2), Cairo Museum,
and Tutankhamun’s death mask, but other photos of Palmyra at sunset and the
coastal regions of Greece and Italy were particularly stunning.
Fig. 2: Pyramid of Khafre (c. 1980s) |
Through the efforts of all the volunteers, we scanned the slides and negatives much faster than anticipated, so we began scanning photos of the Egypt Centre objects and public related activities that were in need of better-quality digitisation. This allowed me to view objects that I have never seen before, but also observe older photos of ones that I have studied, including beautifully decorated cartonnage cases and fragments from the Book of the Dead. Though there were many great aspects of this placement, a personal highlight for me was discovering that I actually had an object in the photos living in my current student house (fig. 3). Bearing in mind that these photos of the Egypt Centre are many years old, I recently scanned a photo which made me question, why does this object look so similar to something I have sitting in my living room? I have been living in my current accommodation in Swansea for two academic years now and for as long as I can remember, this object had been in my house. I remember it even being in my current room when I did the house viewing! I made the comparison and showed Syd Howells from the Egypt Centre where we were both in agreement that it is in fact the same object, which was likely used as an educational tool! I can only wonder how it ended up in my house, but since the previous residents left it behind, I gave it to the Egypt Centre. The object, of course, is not ancient, but a modern tourist piece probably brought back from Egypt (fig. 4)!
Fig. 3: Egypt Centre workshop (c. 2002) |
I
am very grateful to Ken Griffin for this amazing opportunity to gain more
experience in museum work, to view and preserve photos of ancient sites, to
uncover mysterious disappearances of objects, and to look at the way the Egypt
Centre has evolved in its public sector.
Fig. 4: Object from the previous photo |
I
(Elle) started volunteering for the Egypt Centre at the beginning of February
2020 for my module Heritage Work Placement, which was one of six modules that I would complete for my
History Masters 2019–2020. I chose this module because it would give me a
chance to do something completely different outside of the usual essays and
seminar readings that I did throughout my undergraduate. As a side note, I knew
nothing about Egyptology before coming to volunteer here! I was meant to
complete 100 hours of volunteering before the end of term in June. I completed
around half of that before the current COVID-19 pandemic caused everything to
crash down around students and faculty alike and my cultivation of
Egyptological knowledge was cut short. The idea behind this blog post was
thought up by Syd Howells, the volunteer manager at the Egypt Centre, and
myself to show the experiences of a student volunteer.
Fig. 5: Mummification at the Egypt Centre |
The
first few sessions of volunteering consisted of my induction, which included
being gifted my gallery assistant notebook that would guide me along the
different courses I would need to take part in and the details I would need to
learn about each gallery. The courses included a Customer Care workshop, a Gallery
Tour, and, my favourite, the Preventative Conservation Training. This was my
favourite as it included a trip to the recently refurbished archives and store
and I had the chance to see some of the artefacts that had not made it to
display, including the human and animal remains! Before the untimely temporary closure of
the Egypt Centre, I was about to start my assessment of the public activities
consisting of Mummification (fig. 5), Materials (fig. 6) and Senet (an Egyptian
board game). This would allow me to independently educate the public on these
activities and help out with the educational aspects if necessary.
Throughout
the entire length of my volunteering experience, I was welcomed by everyone; full-time
staff and other volunteers of all ages. As a result of my studying and working
alongside my volunteering, I came into the Egypt Centre different days and a
variety of times so as to meet an array of volunteers who all helped me in different
ways and were always there to talk to, whether it be Egypt related or not! Every
volunteering session was different and whilst it was a challenge being in a
gallery where I was unfamiliar with the content, it pushed me to really
concentrate on the displays and ask questions that I might not have thought of
prior to this experience. Overall, the past couple of months at the Egypt
Centre have been challenging but mostly fun and educational. This opportunity
to meet new people and expand my historical knowledge has enhanced my
university experience and I would definitely recommend it to anyone, student or
not, given the chance.
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