After something of hiatus, we return to blogging with reports from our Archaeology Summer Placement student. First up, Sonia Prakash, on some highlights of the time spent in the museum in July! Hi everyone! My name’s Sonia and I’ve just begun my third year studying Classics and Egyptology at the University of Manchester. I have had such a fantastic time doing this placement with Campbell as it really gave me a flavour of the wide range of work that goes on at museums. A key highlight of mine would have to be sorting through correspondence from the early 1900’s. Although I have some previous e ..read more

Manchester Museum’s Egyptology collection holds material not only from Egypt, but contains almost 700 objects from ancient Sudan. These come from a range of sites and entered the museum by a variety of means. In the case of a small number royal shabtis, these were donated to Manchester from the Sudan Museum in 1926. Senkamenisken was the grandson of rather better known King Taharqa (690-664 BCE) of the 25th Dynasty, who ruled both Egypt and Nubia. After the Assyrian incursions into Egypt, the Napatan dynasty was based solely in Nubia and was contemporary with the Egyptian 26th Dynasty. Statue ..read more

As Queen Elizabeth II marks an historical 70 years on the British throne, it seems timely to reflect on what is known about Pharaonic attitudes to such regnal milestones. Although the term ‘heb-sed’ (or ‘sed-festival’) is often translated as ‘jubilee’ in English, it seems to have had a particular set of ritual and religious associations that do not imply simply the numerical commemoration of the accession of a ruler. The rituals were often – although not exclusively – tied to a king’s 30th regnal year. While after that point a heb-sed seems to have been celebrated intermittently every few year ..read more

An update on our latest project, ‘To Have and To Heal’! hello future To mark Mental Health Awareness Week this guest post from Campbell Price, Curator of Egypt and Sudan, offers some personal reflections of getting the collections ready for the ‘To Have and To Heal’ project. To Have and To Heal is a unique arts and wellbeing programme, supporting Covid recovery and resilience using Manchester Museum’s world class Egyptology collection, and the popular fascination with ancient Egypt. Among my highlights of 2021 were the spring days spent in the Museum photographing and filming content fo ..read more

Despite the loss of the head of this figure, its identity is easily discernible as Osiris, the god of rebirth and regeneration. Unlike the other commonly shrouded gods like Ptah and Khonsu, the arm positions indicate the figure was intended – perhaps only conceptually – to hold the crook and flail: elements of rulership that are commonly associated with Osiris. His tall atef-crown (of which only the streamers running down the neck and back remain) would also have made the head susceptible to breakage, thus even without an identifying inscription, it is clear that this gilded figurine represent ..read more

A guest post from palettologist and independent researcher Matt Szafran on an intriguing item that may not be all it at first appears… Figure 1 – Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) specular enhancement of lizard-shaped Predynastic palette, Manchester 5474. Predynastic Egyptian palettes were rediscovered in late 19th and early 20th century excavations. Archaeologists in the 19th century initially attributed their use as being for the processing of green malachite pigment for use in eye makeup (hence why palettes are sometimes referred to as ‘cosmetic palettes’), however more recent resear ..read more

One of Manchester Museum’s most intriguing sets of objects derives from an unusual context – or contexts – known as the ‘Ramesseum Tomb’. Commonly known by the name of the much later ‘Temple of Millions of Years’ of Ramesses II that was built on top of it, ‘tomb 5’ – as it is sometimes referred to – appears to date to the late Middle Kingdom. Quibell’s publication of the ‘Ramesseum Tomb’ object finds Excavations directed by James Quibell in 1897-8 encountered a mixed group of objects, including a significant collection of papyrus documents, which have been studied from many different perspecti ..read more

As part of a continuing series of explorations of the colonial history of Egypt and Sudan, Phoebe Aldridge writes a guest post on a little-known aspect of the modern history of Sudan, the complexities of British rule, and the collecting of objects as loot. The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium rule of Sudan in the 19th and 20th centuries is a story of government, misgovernment and the nature of rule. Throughout its existence, Sudan has been shaped by its perpetually differing controlling forces. After the ‘scramble for Africa’ in the 1880s, Sudan was less a nation to govern than an opportunity for ex ..read more

A guest post by University of Manchester museology student Molly Osbourne, describing a virtual placement working on a little-known aspect of the Egyptology collection. The first thing I want to point out about this placement is that due to the pandemic, it was self-organised, virtual placement through the University of Manchester’s MA programme, Art Gallery and Museum Studies. With this being virtual, I was not to visit the museum, and all my research was done at home. After the placement ended, I was invited in to go on an object “hunt”, and finally was able to see some of the collection. Th ..read more

Another post from guest blogger and Predynastic specialist Matt Szafran – on one of Manchester Museum’s most iconic objects. The so-called ‘hippo bowl’ (accessioned as no. 5069) is undoubtedly a beautiful and unique object, as can be seen from its inclusion in numerous books, postcards, documentaries, scholarly articles, and exhibitions – most recently the Garstang Museum’s ‘Before Egypt : Art, Culture and Power’ exhibition at the Victoria Gallery and Museum at the University of Liverpool, and to Bolton Museum and Art Gallery while Manchester’s Ancient Worlds galleries are closed. Unfortunatel ..read more