A Review of 2020 at the Egypt Centre

2020 has been life changing for almost everyone, including all of us at the Egypt Centre. With the museum closing in mid-March due the COVID-19 Pandemic, our main sources of income (shop sales, school visits, and events) have been massively affected. We could certainly never have imagined at the time that nine months later we would still be closed! Yet to some extent, the Pandemic has been a blessing in disguise as it has forced us to be more creative and adapt to the new norm, something we have been able to do very successfully. Therefore, this blog post will present some of the many highlights that the Egypt Centre has had over the past year.

Back in January, thirteen boxes of objects were transferred from the Egypt Centre to the Conservation Department at Cardiff University. This followed a successful Association of Independent Museums (AIM) and Pilgrim Trust conservation grant to work on a group of objects under the title of Offerings for the Dead in Ancient Egypt. The objects were entrusted into the care of Phil Parkes (Reader in Conservation at Cardiff University) and Dr Ashley Lingle (lead conservator on the project), with the project planned for completion in May. Unfortunately, due to the lockdown, Ashley was unable to return to the labs until late Summer, with the project finally being completed in November. We are delighted with the results of the work (fig. 1) and are grateful to all those involved, including the AIM and the Pilgrim Trust for awarding us this grant. The objects will go on display (some already have) where visitors will be able to see them once we eventually open again!

Fig. 1: W1477 before and after conservation

When the lockdown hit in March, I was part way through an Egypt Centre handling course on the Amarna Period. Therefore, the final few weeks of the course had to be cancelled (initially postponed). This was the third course I had taught at the Egypt Centre, with the sessions in part focusing on the collection at the museum. The museum is fortunate to have approximately 300 objects from Amarna, most of which originate from the work of the Egypt Exploration Society in the 1920–30s. Throughout the seven weeks (the course was scheduled for ten), participants had the opportunity to handle objects (or at least see them up close) from the Egypt Centre collection. This included, for example, four beautiful broad collars of faience and semi-precious stones (fig. 2). 

 

Fig. 2: Objects for the handling session of the Amarna course

The Egypt Centre had planned to host our second annual Wonderful Things conference at the end of May. However, like many things, these plans were changed because of the lockdown. Rather than cancelling the event, it was decided to move it to a virtual format. While I was quite apprehensive at first, it proved to be tremendously successful and has certainly raised the profile of the museum. In total, we hosted seventeen lectures, all of which revolved around the Egypt Centre collection. The lectures highlighted the diversity of the collection, with many unique objects showcased (fig. 3). The Egypt Centre is very proud of providing a platform for both established professionals and students, from Egyptologists to conservators. In total, 2,691 people attended the live sessions making this a truly international event (attendees from six continents). Sixteen of the lectures were recorded and have been added to our YouTube channel, drawing an additional audience of 5,812 people. We are grateful to all the speakers who offered their time and expertise on the collection!

Fig. 3: Sam Powell preparing to give her Zoom talk

Seeing that the Pandemic was going to continue for some time, I decided in May to move my Egypt Centre courses to a Zoom format (fig. 4). These short courses (five weeks each) have been very successful, helping to generate much needed income for the museum. Three courses have taken place so far: Funerary Artefacts of the Ancient Egyptians, Deir el-Medina, and Karnak. During these courses, blog posts were written by participants, thus offering quite different perspectives on the topics. Thanks to everyone who has volunteered (or been coerced!) into writing these posts! The Zoom format has allowed us to reach a greater audience, with almost 500 people attending the courses thus far. The fourth short course starts this coming Sunday and will focus on the Valley of the Kings. Tickets for this are still available, so if you would like to join us, see the details here.

Fig. 4: Teaching via Zoom

In April, we launched an online support fund in the effort to raise £5,000. Thanks to everyone’s amazing support, we were able to smash this target with a figure of £9,200 (fig. 5), which reached almost £10,000 once gift aid was factored in. We are most grateful to everyone who contributed to this appeal! In August, we organised our first fundraising lecture, which was delivered by Dr Ramadan Hussein (Eberhard Karls Universität, Tübingen). Subsequent lectures followed by Prof. Donald P. Ryan (Pacific Lutheran University, Washington), Prof. Aidan Dodson (University of Bristol), and John J. Johnston. Thanks to all these speakers for offering their time in order to support the Egypt Centre.

Fig. 5: Egypt Centre support fund

In August, we were informed that a collaborative project with our colleague Dr Ersin Hussein was successful in obtaining funding from the Institute on Classical Studies for a project at the Egypt Centre. Egypt and Its Neighbours will be a new display in the House of Life gallery, which will focus on the non-Egyptian items in the collection (fig. 6). The project will serve as a catalyst for both student and public engagement with a number of topics that lie at the heart of many current debates regarding the world in which we live today, such as racism, cultural diversity, self-presentation, and identity formation. The ancient world is rich with material to encourage meaningful discussion around these relevant topics. Swansea University is one of the few places in the UK offering specialist modules on Egypt, Greece, Rome, Cyprus, Nubia, and the ancient Near East and we really want the display to bring together the research that we do in the museum setting not just for our students, but for visitors from school children to the general public. Stay tuned for more on this project in 2021!

Fig. 6: “Classical” objects in the Egypt Centre

One of the most exciting developments during the past year has been the launch of our new online collection catalogue (Abaset), which was designed and developed by Egypt Centre volunteer and Swansea University student Sam Powell (fig. 7). This was made possible thanks to funding from the Greatest Need Fund set up by Swansea University alumni, to who we are most grateful. The new catalogue has many advanced features, some unique. For example, since many of the objects originate from early twentieth century auctions, users can narrow down their searches to specific auctions and even lot numbers. The catalogue also has a number of thematic trails, which allow visitors to take a “virtual tour” of the collection. New features will be added in due course, including the ability of users to create their own trails. This feature offers the possibility of students to create their own trails/curate their own virtual collection. Lecturers could also do the same based on a specific module. This might be particularly appealing to some given the push for more online/blended learning due to the current pandemic. 

Fig. 7: Homepage of the new Egypt Centre online catalogue

On the 18 December, I delivered a virtual Christmas tour of the Egypt Centre, including the storeroom. The event attracted over 300 registered guests who were treated to a three-hour tour of the collection. Before we started, Dr Carolyn Graves-Brown (Egypt Centre Curator) and Andrew Rhodes (Registrar and Chief Operating Officer of Swansea University) thanked attendees for their support over the past nine months. A poll at the beginning of the tour revealed that 44% of attendees were unaware of the Egypt Centre pre-COVID (fig. 8), a clear indication that we have been able to reach a new, diverse, and global audience over the past nine months!

Fig. 8: Results of poll

There have been many other Egypt Centre successes of 2020 that haven’t been discussed above. The launch of our Virtual Classroom programme, Come and Create activities, Egyptian Tales of Mythology and Folklore, and the Egypt Centre Bitesize videos. There have also been discoveries within the collection, such as a figure roasting a goose, joining separated fragments from Meroe (fig. 9), and identifying inlay eyes from Sanam. Several other projects continue, including the transcribing of the day books of Kate Bosse-Griffiths, which Dr Dulcie Engel blogged about back in September.

 

Fig. 9: Digitally reuniting fragments from Meroe

We have received a lot of positive feedback over the past nine months, which has been really encouraging. One supporter wrote on Twitter that “one of the best things to come out of lockdown was learning more about the Egypt Centre”. Another wrote that our online events have been “a silver lining of the dreadful pandemic year”! 2021 marks fifty years since approximately 4,000 objects arrived from the Wellcome Institute to Swansea, which now form the core of the Egypt Centre collection. We will be marking this anniversary with a series of events and posts throughout the year, so stay tuned!

Finally, I would like to finish by thanking everyone for their support and to wish you all a happy and healthy New Year!