Art History Professor Researches Gender and Memory in Egypt

During spring break 2019 Jacquelyn Williamson returned to Egypt. Here she is seen at the opening of the tomb of Meresankh on the Giza plateau.
During spring break 2019 Jacquelyn Williamson returned to Egypt. Here she is seen at the opening of the tomb of Meresankh on the Giza plateau.

By Vanessa Meikle Schulman

Professor Jacquelyn Williamson continued her research into the Temple of Nefertiti at Tell el-Amarna with a one-semester study leave in spring 2018. Professor Williamson left for Egypt in March to start a two-month dig. She and her team were the first researchers on site and officially “opened” the dig for the spring excavation season. Working with a range of archaeological professionals who specialize in the analysis of ancient materials – from textiles and ceramics to hair and gut microbes – Professor Williamson stayed on site until mid-May.

In Professor Williamson's first book, Nefertiti's Sun Temple: A New Cult Complex at Tell el-Amarna, she analyzed the first of two stone buildings that were uncovered at the site. Her research this year adds to the findings of that book and will culminate in a second book project that will include reconstructions and contextualization of relief sculptures from the temple complex, with translations of newly discovered hieroglyphic texts. Some of her exciting finds during the spring dig season include fragments of relief showing the pharaoh Akhenaten, as well as the first evidence at this site that shows later generations attempting to wipe out his memory by chiseling away his name and image.

A controversial figure during and after his reign, Akhenaten replaced traditional elements of ancient Egyptian religion with a form of monotheism. After his death, many images and inscriptions relating to the deceased pharaoh were intentionally destroyed by his successors. However, Professor Williamson has discovered that the Temple of Nefertiti in Akhenaten's complex at Amarna largely escaped this destruction. She is working to uncover why this temple site is relatively free from deliberate defacement. The role of the sun god in rituals of revival or the continued prestige of Nefertiti after the pharaoh's death are two possible avenues Professor Williamson is researching. Sponsored by a Mathy Junior Faculty Award, she returned to Tell el-Amarna in spring 2019.