The blog post for this week has been written by regular contributor Sam Powell. Sam is an Egypt Centre volunteer and the Director of Abaset Collections Ltd, which hosts the museum’s online catalogue.
As some of you may be aware, the Egypt Centre’s online
catalogue had a massive overhaul in 2020. The new online catalogue (usually
referred to as Abaset) was designed specifically with the Egypt Centre in mind.
As a volunteer at the Egypt Centre, I used my experience of working with the
collection to design a new bespoke platform that would allow it to be better
appreciated virtually. Through working closely with the Egypt Centre staff, the
catalogue has been honed to ensure that the user experience is as intuitive as
possible and meets the needs of a diverse collection.
One of the features that I felt was really important
to include was trails.
This feature can be used to group together related objects with
additional descriptions specific to the theme (fig. 1). Additionally, audio recordings can be
added to function as an audio tour.
Fig. 1: A selection of some of the fantastic trails available on Abaset!
Over the last few years, we have built up a diverse
range of trails, including highlights of each gallery, trails focusing on
specific collectors, a selection of objects researched by Swansea University
students, and thematic trails focusing on specific object types.
In addition to those aimed at the general
public, trails have been created for younger audiences in in mind (‘Junior
trails’). These have specific descriptions designed to be more
accessible and importantly have audios recorded by children to feel more
relatable. As well as the topics of animals, gods and goddesses, and others, there is a trail designed by my son Max (who was just 6 when he made the trail!),
focusing on materials that are found in the game Minecraft that can also be found
in the EC galleries! A big thank you to Matilda Barton, Noah Barton, Youssef
Amro Hassan (and his dog Cooper!), and Max Powell for providing audios for our
Junior Egyptologist trails.
Fig. 2: Max following his Minecraft trail in the galleries!
Many of the trails
have been translated into a wide range of additional languages. For example, the Harrogate trail Causing Their Names to Live, is now available in twelve languages (English, Welsh, Arabic, French, Spanish, Dutch, Mandarin Chinese, Hungarian, Polish, Czech, Italian, and Ukrainian). I would like to
thank everyone who has helped with the translations:
Nassim
Aarab (Dutch)
Bérénice
Bruckert (Mandarin Chinese)
Morgane
Delepeleere (Dutch)
Dulcie
Engel (French)
Fatima
Farkas (Hungarian)
Ihab
Samir Francis (Arabic)
Kexin
Fu (Mandarin Chinese)
Ingrid
Inkindi (Dutch)
Asmae
Maataoui (Dutch)
Carla
San Miguel (Spanish)
K.
Post (Dutch)
Julia
Rachfalik (Polish)
Noura
Seada (Arabic)
Abby
Richards-Williams (Welsh)
Daniel
Salava (Czech)
Marzia
Sartori (Italian)
Shreya
Shailesh Ranade (Mandarin Chinese)
Mengjia
Shi (Mandarin Chinese)
Sophie
Smith (Welsh)
I.
Vasse (Dutch)
Olga
Zapletniuk (Ukrainian)
Zihan
Zhang (Mandarin Chinese)
We are always
looking for more translations for our growing collection of trails, so if you’re able to help, do please get in touch.
Did you know that
the Abaset software has the capabilities to allow you to create your own
trails?
As well as the
publicly available trails, you can use the online collection to curate your own
selection of objects on any theme you like! Whether you want to make a list of
your favourite objects, group together some objects you are researching, or
just want to make a grouping of objects that are your favourite colour, the
option is there! Instructions on
creating your own trail can be found here.
Please check
out the existing trails and enjoy creating your own, we’d love to see them!
On Wednesday 31st July, the anthropoid coffin of a man
called Ankhpakhered was returned to the Egypt Centre after twenty-six years of
conservation work at Cardiff University (fig. 1). The coffin was gifted to the Egypt
Centre in 1997 from the Aberystwyth University. Details about its history are a
little sketchy, although it is known that it was present in Aberystwyth by at
least 1910. The museum acquisition record for 1900–1901 contains the following
record, which might be related to this coffin: “An Egyptian mummy. Presented by
Mr. James Wilson (Wilson Bey, Cairo), per Mr. Thomas Davies, J. P. Bootle.” The
coffin was used as a storage box at one time, with other Egyptian objects
placed in it for safekeeping.
Fig. 1: Lid of AB118
The coffin is made of planks of wood joined together with
dowels. It is covered with textile to create a smooth surface, which was then
painted with decoration. When the coffin arrived in Swansea, it was in a very
poor state of preservation. The face of the lid was hanging off, the sides of
the base had collapsed, and much of the textile decoration was already detached
(fig. 2). It was
also covered in layers of dirt and grime, including “Chambers” being written on
the lid in white chalk. The coffin had to be painstakingly cleaned,
reconstructed, and consolidated to prevent it from deteriorating further.
Fig. 2: The lid of the coffin c. 1998
The coffin is decorated on both the exterior and interior.
On the exterior of the lid, the goddess Nut kneels with her wings outstretched
across the chest of the deceased (fig. 3). Two wedjat eyes are located just
beneath her. Ten deities are depicted over four registers in the lower half of
the lid. In the upper register are the mummiform figures of the four sons of
Horus (Qebehsenuef, Duamutef, Imsety, Hapy), two on each side. They are
followed in the register below by two forms of the jackal-headed god Anubis. In
the third register, Geb and Hornedjitef are represented, while in the lower
Ptah-Sokar-Osiris and Thoth are shown. Beneath these gods are two further wedjat
eyes, each accompanied by a protective spell. The goddess Isis, flanked by
additional wedjat eyes, is depicted kneeling with her arm raised in
mourning on the foot of the lid.
Fig. 3: Decoration of the lid
On the interior of the lid (fig. 4), a large polychrome figure of Nut is
included. Four columns of hieroglyphs to the right of her identify the owner as
Ankhpakhered, son of Padiese and Tawer. Above the figure of the goddess is a
so-called “Nut Text”, emphasising the role of the goddess as a mother to the
deceased. On the foot of the interior is a large shen-rings with two
flails.
Fig. 4: Interior of the lid
The interior of the trough is decorated with a large djed
pillar with a crown consisting of a solar disk flanked by uraei atop the
horns of a ram (fig. 5).
The djed pillar represents the backbone of the god Osiris, so its
location on the base of the interior of the trough is rather fitting.
Hieroglyphic texts are located above and below. The one below is an excerpt from
Chapter 1 of the Book of the Dead, which begins “I am Djedi son of Djedi. I was
born in Djedu (Busiris)”.
Fig. 5: Interior of the trough
A further djed pillar is located on the exterior of
the trough (fig. 6).
It is flanked by texts (the sides of the trough) ensuring that the deceased
will receive nourishment in the afterlife.
Fig. 6: Exterior of the trough
The footboard of the coffin contains a depiction of the Apis
Bull carrying the mummified deceased on its back. A winged sun disk is located
above (fig. 7).
Such scenes are standard on coffins of the First Millennium BC.
Fig. 7: Footboard of the coffin
Nephthys is represented kneeling in an act of mourning on
the head end. Beneath her is a solar disk and scarab rising between the symbols
of the East and West (fig. 8).
Fig. 8: Head end of the coffin
The style of the coffin indicates that it was produced in
the late Twenty-fifth or early Twenty-sixth Dynasty (c. 700–660 BC). It can be
pinpointed further by looking at the number of divisions on Nut’s wings. On the
coffin lid she is depicted with her wings divided into three sections (fig. 9). As her wings were
generally shown with four divisions after 660 BC, this indicates a date just
before this change.
Fig. 9: Detail of Nut
The coffin has an interesting history with multiple
occupants. At an unknown date, perhaps the Ptolemaic Period (c. 305–30 BC), the
coffin was usurped for a man called Djedher, a Stolist at Akhmim, who was the
son of Harsiese (also a Stolist at Akhmim) and Ibii. The usurpations are
evident on the exterior of the lid only. The white patches indicate where the
name of Ankhpakhered was covered over in order for the new owner’s name to be
added (fig. 10).
The titles of Djedher might suggest that the coffin was transferred from Thebes
to Akhmim for reuse, although this is by no means certain.
Fig. 10: Detail showing the change of name
When the coffin arrived in Swansea in 1997, it contained
bits of cartonnage in a very poor state of preservation (fig. 11). These were also
conservated by students at Cardiff with two of the three pieces now on display
within the House of Death Gallery (fig. 12–14). Stylistically, the cartonnage dates to the
Ptolemaic Period, so perhaps they belonged to Djedher? If only things were so
straightforward! As mentioned previously, the archives in Aberystwyth mention a
mummy. This appears to have been kept in the coffin until 1963 when it was sent
to St. Thomas’ Hospital in London in order to be examined. Despite the coffin
belonging to two men, the body belonged to that of a woman! Could the
cartonnage thus have belonged to her? The mummy was later given by Dr Dick
Kittermaster, a pathologist at St. Thomas’ Hospital, to Uplands Academy (formerly Uplands Community College) in Wadhurst. While here, the body was re-examined by
Professor Rosalie David of the KNH Centre in Manchester. A video relating to the body can be viewed below. What is unclear
is whether the coffin and the mummy were donated to Aberystwyth at the same
time.
Fig. 11: Photo of the cartonnage in the coffin c. 1998
Fig. 12: Cartonnage head covering
Fig. 13: Cartonnage chest covering
Fig. 14: Cartonnage leg covering
During its time in Cardiff, over fifty students spent more
than 1,000 hours cleaning, conserving, and analysing the coffin. All of this
took place under the watchful eye of Phil Parkes (Reader in
Conservation), who guided the students every step of the way. Several
dissertations have been written on the coffin, including an analysis of the pigments (Jenny Gosling) and the varnish layer (Deborah Magnoler).
Video on the mummy
This is not the end of the story though. Since the coffin
returned to the Egypt Centre, it has been photographed and 3D scanned. While it is
now in storage, future plans are for the coffin to go on display in the House
of Death gallery at the Egypt Centre. Additionally, a full publication on the
assemblage (coffin, cartonnage, and human remains) is planned, bringing
together research on the history, construction, decoration, conservation,
scientific analysis, palaeography, and other disciplines.
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