Celebrating the Retirement of Dr Carolyn Graves-Brown

Last Friday (29 April), the Egypt Centre celebrated the retirement of Dr Carolyn Graves-Brown, who had been Curator of the Egypt Centre, Swansea University, since 1997 (fig. 1). Over the past twenty-five years, Carolyn has brilliantly led the museum, transforming it into an internationally recognised institution. Carolyn had prior experience moving museum collections to new premises (Littlehampton Museum and Neath Museum), which put her in good stead as she arrived in Swansea to find the museum still didn’t have cases and the objects were laid out in the old Wellcome Museum in Keir Hardie Building. Yet by September 1998, cases were full, labels were written, and the Egypt Centre was ready to receive its first visitors.

Fig. 1

During the event, guests heard speeches from Lori Havard (Interim Associate Director: Head of Libraries) and Dr Ersin Hussein (Lecturer in Ancient History). It was great to have so many people in attendance to celebrate with Carolyn and to give her the send-off she deserved (fig. 2). 

Fig. 2: Lori delivering her speech

Carolyn has many research interests, including Egyptian dynastic lithics, material culture, archaeological theory, museology, gender studies, and the religious significance of technology in ancient Egypt. Whilst working full-time, she undertook a part-time PhD in Egyptology at University College London on the topic of The Ideological Significance of Flint in Dynastic Egypt. During her time at the Egypt Centre, Carolyn published monographs (fig. 3), edited books, and contributed many chapters in other publications (see bibliography below). Carolyn wanted a wide audience to know about the museum and she gave talks and lectures to local, national, and international audiences. Carolyn wrote and delivered undergraduate and postgraduate modules for Classics and Ancient History, and collaborated with colleagues across the university, nationally, and internationally to share research.

Fig. 3

Carolyn ensured the Egypt Centre was an accredited museum setting high standards in all areas. She oversaw the redevelopment of the galleries, adding new cases, open storage, and enhancing displays with loans of objects to fill gaps such as the Woking College loan and the British Museum loan of the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus. Carolyn ensured the museum objects were given a platform and so the Egypt Centre catalogue was the first complete collection to appear on Culture Grid.

Access for all is Carolyn’s biggest legacy. Carolyn created popular and accessible travelling exhibitions such as the Women’s Exhibition, she organised very successful international conferences with popular topics and diverse speakers attracting a wide audience. Employing staff, with no museum experience, from non-traditional museum visitor backgrounds as well as encouraging volunteers of all ages and abilities. Carolyn encouraged staff to develop new and existing skills and have free rein to be creative: on occasions, this involved taking Carolyn out of her comfort zone with a mummy trial, Fun Days, tombolas and raffles, children’s birthday parties, judging art competitions (fig. 4), and allowing the creation of a noisy under 5s creative play area!

Fig. 4

Carolyn set up the Friends of the Egypt Centre group, Textile study group, volunteer accredited course: Egypt Centre Ambassadors, and she even did the Nile Cycle Challenge (fig. 5) between the 13th and 20th October 2003 cycling over 200 miles in 5 days (one of the days cycling 77 miles through the desert!) raising £4000. One accolade achieved to recognise this work was to be shortlisted for the Times Higher Award for widening participation!

Fig. 5

This quote from Carolyn’s speech during the Egypt Centre’s tenth-anniversary celebration in 2008 is very apt:

“And so, when developing Egypt Centre, we decided where possible to allow a direct contact with the past and to at least try to remember the humanity behind our objects. These are objects which belonged to real people, people with hopes and dreams, people often bogged down in petty squabbles or delighted by small successes, in fact people like us. This was at least part of the reason behind our unfashionable move not to display human remains. It was also why we introduced boards encouraging visitors to recite the offering formula in the museum; and it was at least partly why we introduced the handling trays.

The Egypt Centre has always striven to involve the community in our work, to act as a bridge between academia and the general public. The Egypt Centre is a team. We have had many successes; we are a leader in our field and are frequently asked for advice from larger and better-funded museums. Our ideas, from dummy mummies and torches in galleries to Children’s University and math’s displays, have all been emulated elsewhere. You all should feel very proud of your achievements.”

Fig. 6: Carolyn's final Egypt Centre staff photo

Thank you, Carolyn, for all you have done, and we are so very proud of YOUR achievements! We wish you every happiness in your retirement from all your colleagues and friends at the Egypt Centre, Taliesin, and Academic Services (fig. 7).

Fig. 7

Bibliography

 

Monographs 

2018. Daemons and Spirits in Ancient Egypt. University of Wales Press: Cardiff.

2010. Dancing for Hathor: Women in Ancient Egypt. Hambledon Continuum: London and New York.

 

Edited Books

2015. Egyptology in the Present: Experiential and Experimental Methods in Archaeology. Classical Press of Wales: Swansea.

2008. Sex and Gender in Ancient Egypt. Don Your Wig for A Joyful Hour. Classical Press of Wales: Swansea.

 

Book Chapters and Journal Articles

2015. Dagger-like Flint Implements in Bronze Age Egypt. In Friedman, C.J. and Eriksen, B.V. (eds.) Flint Daggers in Prehistoric Europe. Oxbow Books: Oxford. 19–31.

2015. Sexuality: Ancient Egypt. In Whelehan, P and Bolin, A. (eds.), The International Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality. John Wiley and Sons: Oxford. 1115–1354.

2015. Flint and Forts: The Role of Flint in Middle Kingdom–New Kingdom Weaponry. In Harrison, T.B. and Banning, E.B. (eds), Walls of the Prince. Egyptian Interactions with Southwest Asia in Antiquity: Essays in Honour of John S. Holladay, Jr., Brill: Leiden. 37–59.

2014. A Gazelle, a Lute Player and Bes: Three Ring Bezels from Amarna. In Dodson, A., Johnston, J.J. and Monkhouse, W. (eds.), A Good Scribe and an Exceedingly Wise Man: Studies in Honour of W.J. Tait. Golden House Publications: London, 113–126.

2013. Luster, Flint and Arsenical Copper in Dynastic Egypt. Journal of Lithic Technology, 38/3, 150–160.

2012 Review of Frandsen, J.P. 2009. Incestuous and Close-kin Marriage in Ancient Egypt and Persia. An Examination of the Evidence, Chronique d’Égypte, 87, 292–296.

2008. Licking Knives and Stone Snakes: The Ideology of Flint in Ancient Egypt. In Martinón-Torres, M. and Rehren, T. (eds.), Archaeology History and Science. Integrating Approaches to Ancient Materials, Left Coast Press: Walnut Creek, 37–60.

2008. Museums and Widening Participation: A View from the Egypt Centre. In Kop, R., Jones, R., McCallum, J., Payne, R., Trotman, C. (eds.), Changing Landscapes. Conference Proceedings University of Wales Swansea 11th and 12th April 2005, Community of the Valleys Partnership, The Department of Continuing Adult Education: Swansea, 168–179.

2006. Flint and Life Crises in Pharaonic Egypt. In Dann, R.J. (ed.), Current Research in Egyptology 2004. Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Symposium which Took Place at the University of Durham January 2004, Oxbow Books: Oxford, 68–83.

2006. Emergent Flints. In Szpakowska, K. (ed.), Through a Glass Darkly. Magic, Dreams and Prophecy in Ancient Egypt. Classical Press of Wales: Swansea, 47–62.

2008. Flint and the Northern Sky. In Schneider, T. and Szpakowska, K. (eds.), Egyptian Stories. A British Egyptological Tribute to Alan B. Lloyd on the Occasion of His Retirement. Alter Orient und Altes Testament Veröffentlichungen zur Kultur und Geschichte des Alten Orients und des Alten Testaments: Münster, 111–137.

2005. The Spitting Goddess and the Stony Eye: Divinity and Flint in Pharaonic Egypt. In Piquette, K. and Love, S. (eds.), Current Research in Egyptology 2003: Proceedings of the Fourth Annual Symposium which Took Place at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 18–19 January 2003. Oxbow Books: Oxford, 57–70.

2004. Fire-stone, Magic Serpents and Butchery Knives: The Role of Flint in Dynastic Egypt. Ancient Egypt 4/1, 34–37.

2004. The Birth of the Egypt Centre. Discussions in Egyptology 59, 23–30.

2003. Toot and Come In! Access in a University Museum. Y Mag, Jan 2003, 6.