new position: University Professorship in Egyptology at Freie Universität Berlin #Egyptology

This is a facsimile of the black obelisk of Shalmaneser III

This is a facsimile of the law code of Hammurabi

In Saskatoon, the Museum of Antiquities at the University of Saskatchewan recently got these incredible facsimiles. Fantastic to bring my Archaeology of Mesopotamia students to visit and discuss these pieces. #Archaeology #USask #SteleOfHammurabi

A student beats a bag of barley stalks to separate the kernels from the stalk.

Students toss winnowing baskets outside - separating the kernels from the chaff. It was -35 degrees Celsius! Just my luck we have a cold spike on the only day I’ve asked my students to go outside…

Grinding barley on a quern - well, technically a metate, but this was the closest I could get

This week in class, my students and I experimented with barley processing - threshing, winnowing, and grinding. Lots of fun, and made it so much easier to interpret evidence from Abu Hureyra. Also - no complaints about winnowing in -35 Celsius!!! lol. #Mesoptamia2Saskatoon #Archaeology

These are beautiful! I hope you get to see them in person. They’re marvellous.

A picture of a brown shopping bag with a hoopoe bird sitting on a coffee cup, thinking, I see books, I see coffee, I see a good day ahead.

I love this bag - from a great bookstore in Cairo - Diwan. Featuring the hoopoe, one of my favourite birds, often shown in ancient Egyptian garden scenes. #Egyptology

Relief scene showing an individual wailing before a collection of smashed red pots. Another prepares a pile of offerings.

A wailing figure beside a collection of smashed red pots

This is one of my favourite scenes from the tomb of Horemhab - the ritual of breaking the red pots. This ritual was actually carried out, and remnants of the pots have been found associated with funeral ceremonies, to protect the dead. #Archaeology #Egyptology

A seated couple statue, unfinished with chisel marks.

Check out this unfinished statue from the tomb of Tia. Chisel marks cover the surface. I absolutely love pieces like this that show the creation process. This would have become a a seated couple. #Archaeology #Egyptology

A wall relief showing kneeling scribes working on tablets. Before them a prisoner is being dragged in front of Horemhab

Scribes in the tomb of Horemheb, taking note of the captured enemy. #Archaeology #Egyptology

I had always assumed a kind of bread, but I would definitely have to look that up to be sure…

Poster sits in front of a microscope with a columned courtyard behind her

Last day in the coolest office! The tomb of Horemhab. #Egyptology #Archaeology

Offering bearers carry offerings towards a heap for the tomb owner. Res paint remains on their bodies.

A stylized pike of offerings with bread loaves, a cow’s head and leg? And bouquets of flowers.

Offering bearers adding to the pile in the tomb of Horemhab. Just remnants of the colourful paint that once decorated these scenes remains. #Egyptology #Archaeology

Breakfast in Cairo - beans, falafel, pita, and lemon and mint juice.

Mmmmm breakfast in Cairo!! #Egypt

We start our day pretty early - and the. Drive to site. One benefit is getting to see the city start moving, and the sky slowly brighten as we start our day. Join me as the sunrises in this Timelapse!

A hazy day in Egypt with pyramids on the horizon.

It would have been incredible to see the pyramids encased in white, blazing in the sun, and dotting the horizon. #Egyptology #Archaeology

A donkey in front of the sunrise in Egypt.

A donkey at Sunrise. It’s good luck, I’m sure.

*Meryt… didn’t catch the autocorrect…

A carved relief of a monkey underneath a throne

Here’s a beautiful little monkey from the tomb of Maya and Merry from Saqqara. #Egyptology #Archaeology

I’m just out for a little over a week this season to try and catch up on wood analysis. Usually I like to be there longer, but schedules wouldn’t allow it this year. Still, I’ll take what I can get!

I’m on the Italian mission (from Turin) working on the New Kingdom tombs

Image of the author with the stepped pyramid of Djoser in the background.

Good morning from Saqqara! In the background is Djoser’s stepped pyramid. The first pyramid of Egypt! #Egyptology #Archaeology

A sunset shining through two pyramids with Egyptian buildings in the foreground

Sunset from our balcony in Abusir - having a fantastic season in Saqqara! #Egyptology #Archaeology

I somehow managed to miss sharing my own interview. Haha. If you’re interested in listening to how I got into studying ancient Egypt, coffins, wood, and carpentry, check it out on an episode of Ancient Office Hours with the Ozymandias Project. #Egyptology #Archaeology

I love this.

Pharaohs: Rise & Fall - Season 1 Trailer YouTube video by Go Button Media

Delighted to see that the trailer is now online for PHARAOHS: RISE AND FALL, the six part television series for Go Button Media, which I filmed in July 2024. Very happy that a few familiar faces are joining me for the ride! #Egyptology

m.youtube.com/watch?v=0Zq7...

Fake hieroglyphs from the 18th/19th century.

Fake hieroglyphs from the 18th/19th century.

Check out these fantastic 18th/19th century attempts to draw hieroglyphs. They are incredible. Particularly this… anteater Amit? Just wonderful. This copy of the original from Bologna is in the Prague National Museum. #Archaeology #Egyptology

This is the first room about the history of beer from the Pilsner Urquell “experience” in Prague. I love it. The music playing is an interpretation of the hymn to Nikasa. Other goods to agriculture and beer included too! It was awesome. #Mesopotamia #Egyptology #Archaeology #Beer

I keep having to attend these too - three presentations so far that are basically, look at this fun tool for making syllabi - but also you have to pretty much only have in person assignments now, but remember that those are also bad for critical thinking and accessibility. Teachers - make it work!

Oh no! I bought mine from a nursery, so they already had a bit of a start…

That’s awesome! I think chopsticks are a great substitute!

No, papyrus plants don’t grow in the wild in Sumer, as far as I know. They used the giant reed - the Arundo donax. (Check the CDLI wiki for more: cdli.ox.ac.uk/wiki/doku.ph... ).