A Review of the One Day Conference and Special Exhibition at the Egyptian Museum, Cairo February 4, 2008
2007 marked the 25 th year of Egyptian-Australian co-operation in the field of Egyptian Archaeology. To celebrate this milestone the Australian Embassy, with the co-operation of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, held a one day conference which was followed by the launch of a month long Australian archaeological exhibition at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Together these were known as Corroboree. The conference and the launch of the exhibition were a huge success and brought together the members of the international Egyptological community, with Corroboree symbolising the accomplishments and productivity of Egyptian-Australian archaeological lco-operation. The following pages illustrate the highlights and success of this wonderful event.
The conference was held on February 4 at the Supreme Council of Antiquities headquarters in Zamalek. The day was dedicated to learning about the Australian-run run archaeological missions currently working in the field on projects with a wide scope of interest - from the Early Dynastic Period to Christian Egypt.
From Macquarie University, five talks were given. Dr. Christiana Köhler talked about her current field work at the Early Dynastic cemetery of Helwan; Professor Naguib Kanawati discussed his work at the Teti Cemetery in Saqqara and A/Professor Boyo Ockinga gave an overview of his work at Draa Abu el-naga. Dr. Susanne Binder talked about the New Kingdom evidence from recent excavations in Saqqara and Elizabeth Thompson discussed her work at Tehna in Upper Egypt.
Christine Marshall (Physical Anthropologist for the Helwan project) presented an analysis on the human remains at Helwan and Dr Anna Stevens (McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research UK) talked on her work at the Stone Village in Amarna.
From Monash University in Melbourne, A/Prof Colin Hope discussed his excavations at Mut el-kharab in the Dakhleh Oasis, while Dr Gillian Bowen gave an overview of current work at Ancient Kellis.
The conference was concluded by Dr Karin Sowada, who talked about the reuniting of two fragments of a statue of an Egyptian goddess. The project typified dthe joint cooperation between Australian and Egyptian archaeologists as one fragment of the statue was located in the Nicholson Museum in Sydney, y, while the adjoining gpiece was in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
The conference was well attended by the international Egyptological community inc cluding scholars such as Aidan Dodson, Nadine Cherpion, Roxie Walker, Alain Zivie, Salima Ikram, Zbgniew Szafranski, Mahmoud el-damaty, and Ahmed Fahmy. The success of the conference was heightened also by the involvement and participation of the Supreme Council of Antiquities officials including Mr. Sabry Abdel Aziz and Mr. Magdy el-gan ndour and the attendance of many of the antiquities inspectors who have worked with and assisted Australian archaeologists over the many years.
In addition to the many Egyptologists present on the day, delegates from the Australian Embassy were also in attendance, including His Excellency Dr. Robert Bowker, Australian Ambassador to Egypt.
The Corroboree celebrations continued that evening with the launch of the museum exhibition in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. The exhibition showcased some of the more significant ifi and spectacular finds made by Australian expeditions over the years, illustrating the contribution of Australian archaeologists to the field of Egyptology.
The launch was opened by Dr. Wafaa el-saddik, General Director of the Egyptian Museum and His Excellency Dr. Robert Bowker, the Australian Ambassador to Egypt.
The Sydney aboriginal band Freshwater then opened the exhibition, performing traditional aboriginal music and dance. It was a fitting opening for a celebration of joint Egyptian-Australian archaeological co-operation to experience both dreamtime Australian music and ancient Egyptian material culture t ogether.
The exhibition incorporated both an artefactdisplayaswellasa as as a photographic exhibition. The photos on display captured the spirit of the past and present Australian archaeologists working in the field and emphasised the substantial Australian presence in Egyptology over the decades.
The exhibition was set up on the ground floor of the Egyptian Museum, directly in front of the entrance and near the Narmer Palette display case. The exhibition was divided into smaller sub-sections, each dedicated to one particular project. Each project was wonderfully presented, with detailed information and posters explaining the significance of and current fieldwork activity at the site.
Statue of Saroy The objects displayed were those recovered by the recent Australian excavation teams, as well a number of significant pieces which were excavated by prev vious missions but are from the current Australian concessions. The latter included the Helwan Cylindrical Seal and ivory plaque of Niethhotep, both excavated by Zak i Saad; the statue of Saroy, tomb owner of TT233 found in the Karnak cache;and,the Sakhmet block and stelefromthe tomb of Amenemone at Saqqara. Stele: tomb of Amenemone Helwan Cylindrical Seal Ivory plaque of Niethhotep Sakhmet block: tomb of Amenemone
Current finds included: Late period stele of the Seth priest Igai Shabtis, amulets and funerary cones from Draa abu el Naga Wooden door panel from the tomb of Awi, Saqqara Double statue of Meri and Bebyt, Saqqara Stele of Hyt from Helwan Glass vessels from Dakhleh In addition to these artefacts, there were also a number of other pieces from each site displayed. A Late period mummy from Saqqara.
The exhibition captured and exemplified the Australian archaeological presenceinthefieldof Egyptian Archaeology and the night was a huge success,enjoyedbyall.theaustralianteams from Macquarie and Monash Universities were in attendance as were many archaeologists and Egyptologists from the wider Egyptological com mmunity.
The Corroboree exhibition was on display in the Egyptian Museum for one month from February 4 until March 4, 2008. It was open to the general public so that everyone could enjoy and become acquainted with the Australian archaeological work in Egypt.
Finally on behalf of the Australian Egyptolo ogical community, we would like to extend our thanks to Jane Smythe for organising Corroboree and for her incredible efforts that benefited Egyptian and Australian archaeologists alike.
Text and Presentation Amber Hood Todd Gillen Leonie Donovan Photo credits Doha Fathy Jane Smythe Sara Kirlew Amanda Kiely ThereseClarke Mary Hartley Amber Hood