Reminder: Northern Cal. Egyptology Lecture This Sunday, Feb. 9: Women’s Rights in Marriage and Divorce in Ancient Egypt

The American Research Center in Egypt, Northern California chapter, and the UC Berkeley Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures invite you to attend a lecture by Alison Wilkinson, Johns Hopkins University: Women's Rights in Marriage and Divorce in Ancient Egypt Sunday February 9, 2025, 3 PM  Pacific Standard Time Room 56 Social Sciences Building, UC Berkeley This is an in-person lecture and is not virtual. No registration is required. The lecture will be recorded. P. BM EA 10074, a Demotic divorce contract from Ptolemaic Thebes (Courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum). About the Lecture: This talk presents a deep dive into the textual evidence for marriage and marital separation with a focus on the question: What rights did women have in these processes? New Kingdom and Demotic legal records together with New Kingdom letter correspondences are examined for the answers. The talk incorporates a recently reanalyzed Ostracon Deir el-Medina 439 for insights on a woman's rights in divorce during the New Kingdom. The focus on textual sources aims to extrapolate the contemporary perspectives of marriage and divorce. The lexical and grammatical analysis presents insights into the process, social implications, and consequences of these social acts. Subtle differences arise in the role of men versus women, most especially within the context of divorce. This "marriage" of gender studies and linguistic analyses uncovers subtle nuances concerning marital unions and separations within the culture of ancient Egypt. About the Speaker: Parking is available in UC lots all day on weekends, for a fee. Ticket dispensing machines accept debit or credit cards. Parking is available in lots around the Social Sciences Building, and in lots along Bancroft. A map of the campus is available online at http://www.berkeley.edu/map/ . About Northern California ARCE: For more information, please visit https://www.youtube.com/@NorthernCaliforniaARCE, https://facebook.com/NorthernCaliforniaARCE/, and https://khentiamentiu.org. To join the chapter or renew your membership, please go to https://arce.org/membership/ and select "Berkeley, CA" as your chapter when you sign up.

Egyptologists raise ‘mismanagement’ concerns after worker seen hammering at Great Pyramid of Giza - The Art Newspaper - International art news and events

https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/02/03/egyptologists-mismanagement-concerns-great-pyramid-of-giza

Egyptologists raise 'mismanagement' concerns after worker seen hammering at Great Pyramid of Giza

Viral footage of a worker apparently using a hammer and chisel to chip at the stones of the pyramid has prompted debate across Egypt's heritage sector

Hadani Ditmars

3 February 2025

A worker seemingly hammering at the Great Pyramid of Giza has caused consternation among Egyptologists

Photo: imaam

A video apparently showing a worker using a hammer and chisel to chip at the stones of the Great Pyramid of Giza, a Unesco World Heritage site and only remaining Wonder of the Ancient World, has sparked outrage.

The controversy began in November as the video, posted on social media, went viral, with Egyptians decrying the lack of supervision from antiquities authorities as a "disaster". It escalated to the Egyptian parliament, where the MP Amira Abu Shoka called for accountability from the minister of tourism and antiquities, Sherif Fathy. Shoka said the incident tarnished Egypt's reputation and fuelled rumours about the demolition of parts of the Great Pyramid.

Fathy promised an investigation and his ministry issued a statement saying that the work, to install a new lighting system, involved removing modern construction materials added decades ago to cover the existing lighting. Despite the ministry's insistence that the work did not affect the original structure or its ancient stones, the outrage continued, with Egyptologists calling for greater adherence to Unesco regulations and the Venice Charter.

Monica Hanna, an Egyptologist, says "mismanagement" is the greatest threat to Egyptian heritage. She cites a controversial plan to reinstall ancient granite cladding on the pyramid of Menkaure, the smallest of the three great pyramids of Giza, that was only prevented last February due to international concern.

The Great Pyramid furore erupted ahead of the planned opening of a new visitor centre at Giza this month, part of a revamp of the Giza Plateau. Recent development on the plateau, including a new highway and several new cafés and restaurants alongside it, had already triggered growing concern about its future.

"Any work on the Giza plateau, whether it is the removal of concrete or the installation of lights, or indeed, any building work, must be carefully monitored as there is scope for destruction and loss of data," says Salima Ikram, a professor of archaeology at the American University in Cairo. "Buildings on the plateau should be limited and kept far away from the pyramids as these would disrupt the view and alter the landscape dramatically."

The Giza incident has become a touchstone for debates about Egypt's cultural identity amid ongoing struggles to preserve heritage sites from looting, smuggling, vandalism and urban encroachment as well as recent controversy about the destruction of historic and modern cemeteries in Cairo's City of the Dead to build new infrastructure.

As the government forges ahead with an ambitious programme of development and infrastructure building, the balance between attracting tourist dollars crucial to the economy and safeguarding historic sites is more delicate than ever. Infrastructure projects include a new high-speed rail line under construction from the north of the country to Aswan that will cut through important sites like Abydos, as well as a highway that will impact the pyramids at Dahshur, another Unesco World Heritage site.

Steve Harvey, an Egyptologist and the director of the Ahmose and Tetisheri Project at Abydos, says he is more concerned about potential damage to the vast number of underground sites and ruins, especially those along the new rail route, than about popular tourist destinations like Giza. "The uninitiated—like developers, construction workers and labourers—might not recognise the value of less visible heritage," he says.

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