Egyptologist Betsy Bryan and her crew are once again
sharing their work with the world through an online diary,
a digital window into day-to-day life on an archaeological
dig.
Starting in mid-January, visitors to Hopkins in Egypt
Today at
www.jhu.edu/neareast/egypttoday.html.
will find photos of Bryan and her colleagues working on
Johns Hopkins' 12th annual expedition in Luxor. Bryan will
continue to explore the Egyptian New Kingdom (1567 to 1085
B.C.E.), known as the "golden age" of Egyptian temple
building.
According to Bryan, the Alexander Badawy Professor in
Egyptian Art and Archaeology, modern-day Luxor is rich in
finds from the New Kingdom, like last year's major
discovery: a 3,400-year-old nearly intact statue of Queen
Tiy, one of the queens of the powerful king Amenhotep III.
In an audio slide show at
www.jhu.edu/news_info/realmedia/egypt
_2007.wmv.
Bryan recalls the discovery of the statue, which she calls
"one of the true masterpieces of Egyptian art."
This is the seventh year that Bryan and her team will
be excavating the area behind the sacred lake at the temple
of goddess Mut, where their finds have included industrial
and food processing installations like granaries and
bakeries.
The goal of the Web site is to educate visitors by
showing them the elements of archaeological work in
progress. Photographer Jay VanRensselaer will capture
images of the team as they carefully sift through trenches
uncovering mud brick walls, pottery shards, animal bones
and other remains. The daily photos and detailed captions
emphasize not only discoveries but the teamwork among
Bryan, her colleagues, students and their "gufti," the
local crew members who are trained in archaeology. That
teamwork is essential to a successful dig, Bryan said.
The Web site typically garners more than 50,000 hits
during the winter dig. The site will be active again in
June, when Bryan will be working with a larger team,
including students from Johns Hopkins and several stone
conservators.
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