Dr. Nigel Strudwick

Biography

Nigel Strudwick read Egyptology at the University of Oxford, graduating in 1978, and then went to the University of Liverpool to study for a PhD under A.F. (Peter) Shore, obtaining the degree with a thesis on the Administration of Egypt in the Old Kingdom in 1983. At Christ’s, his research followed three paths: he prepared his thesis for publication in 1985, he began fieldwork on New Kingdom tombs at Luxor (Thebes) in Egypt in 1984, and pursued his interest in the use of computers and technology within Egyptology, three interests he still maintains today. After Christ’s he spent a short period in the computer support industry in London and Cambridge, and then, with the support of Jan Assmann, a year in Heidelberg as an Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Research Fellow. In 1998 he moved to the British Museum as an Assistant Keeper in the Egyptian department. He also has spent a number years teaching as a visiting professor in the University of Memphis at various times between 2006 and 2015, a place where he felt very much at home. He still researches actively in Egyptology and believes passionately in communicating his knowledge in an approachable and enthusiastic manner.

Nigel has lived in the Cambridge area since coming to Christ’s in 1983, and has many interests outside Egyptology, in particular Morris dancing (since 1992) and railways, both real and model. He currently volunteers weekly at Ely cathedral, and that has engendered a real interest in mediaeval religious buildings. Other interests are local affairs (he is a Parish Councillor) and also blues music (one reason why he enjoyed Memphis!).

Scientific Monographs:

The Administration of Egypt in the Old Kingdom, London, KPI, 1985.

Contributing committee member to D. van der Plas, Multilingual Egyptological Thesaurus (Utrecht–Paris 1996).

The Tombs of Amenhotep, Khnummose, and Amenmose (TT294, 253, and 254), Oxford, Griffith Institute, 1996.

The Legacy of Lord Carnarvon: Miniatures from Ancient Egypt and the Valley of the Kings. Catalogue of an Exhibition April–September 2001 at the University of Wyoming Art Museum, Laramie, Wyoming, 2001.

The tomb of Amenemopet called Tjanefer, ADAIK 19, German Archaeological Institute, Cairo, 2003.

(with J.H. Taylor) Mummies: Death and the Afterlife. Catalogue of an Exhibition at the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, Santa Ana, California, 2005.

Texts of the Pyramid Age, Writings of the Ancient World, Society of Biblical Literature, Atlanta, 2005.

(with E.R. Russmann and T.G.H. James) Temples and Tombs: Treasures of Egyptian Art from The British Museum. Catalogue of a Travelling Exhibition 2006-08. New York and Seattle 2006.

Masterpieces of the Egyptian Collection of the British Museum. London 2006.

The Tomb of Pharaoh’s Chancellor Senneferi at Thebes (TT99), volume I (of two projected volumes). Oxbow Books UK, 2016

Monographs for the general reader:

(with H.M. Strudwick) Thebes in Egypt. London British Museum Press, 1999.

Pocket Dictionary of Ancient Egyptian Mummies, British Museum Press, 2004.

The Hieroglyph Detective, Duncan Baird Publishers. London and San Francisco 2010.

Monographs edited

Informatique et Egyptologie 8, Proceedings of the 1992 Meeting of the IAE Computer Working Group (Utrecht–Paris 1993).

G.T. Martin et al, The tombs of three Memphite officials. Egypt Exploration Society Excavation Memoir 66, 2001.

M.J. Raven et al., The tomb of Maya and Merit II. National Museum of Antiquities/Egypt Exploration Society Excavation Memoir 65, 2001.

(with H.M. Strudwick) D. Arnold, The Encyclopaedia of Ancient Egyptian Architecture. I.B. Tauris 2003 (translation of German manuscript).

(with J.H. Taylor) The Theban Necropolis. Past, Present and Future. British Museum Press, 2003.

A.B. Lloyd, A.J. Spencer, and A. el-Khouli, Saqqara Tombs III. The Mastaba of Neferseshemptah. Egypt Exploration Society, Archaeological Survey of Egypt Memoir 41, 2008.

D. and R. Klemm, Stones and quarries in Ancient Egypt. British Museum Company, 2008 (Translation of German manuscript).

Information Technology and Egyptology in 2008, Proceedings of the meeting of the Computer Working Group of the  International Association of Egyptologists, Vienna, 8–11 July 2008. Gorgias Press, 2009.

(with H. Strudwick) Old Kingdom: New Perspectives. Egyptian Art and Archaeology 2750–2150 BC, Proceedings of a Conference in Cambridge in May 2009. Oxbow Books, 2011.

Journal articles

“The Overseer of Upper Egypt ny-kAw-izzi ”, Göttinger Miszellen 43 (1981), 69–71.

“Notes on the Mastaba of Axt-Htp; Hmi and nb-kAw-Hr; idw at Saqqara”, Göttinger Miszellen 56 (1982), 89–94.

“An Application of Information Retrieval and Analysis in Egyptology”, Proceedings of the 1982 Computer Applications in Archaeology Conference (Birmingham 1982), 79–86.

“Some remarks on the Disposition of Texts in Old Kingdom Tombs with particular reference to the False Door”, Göttinger Miszellen 77 (1984), 35–49.

“Three Monuments of Old Kingdom Treasury Officials”, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 71 (1985), 43–51.

“The Overseer of the Treasury ny-kAw-ptH”, Revue d’Egyptologie 38 (1987), 139–146.

“A Slab of int-kAs in the Fitzwilliam Museum”, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 73 (1987), 200–202.

“An Old Kingdom Vintage Scene”, Bulletin de la Societé d’Egyptologie de Genève 11 (1987), 111–117.

“A Database for the Study of Egyptian Stelae”, Informatique et Egyptologie 4 (1988), 17–31.

“The sharing of data in Egyptology”, Akten des vierten internationalen Ägyptologen-Kongresses München 1985 I (Hamburg 1990), 197–204.

“The Microcomputer and the Egyptian Stela”, in Studia in honorem Fritz Hintze  (Meroitica 12, 1990), 301–312.

(with E.W. Adams) “Relational Database Methods: A Tutorial and Case Study”, Informatique et Egyptologie 7 (1990), 9–24.

“A well-known piece on Merseyside: Liverpool SAOS E 91”, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 27 (1990), 89–96.

“Data-management in research and teaching”, Informatique et Egyptologie 7 (1990), 137–146.

“An objective colour‑measuring system for the recording of Egyptian tomb paintings”, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 77 (1991), 43–56.

“The next generation of the Wörterbuch”, Mitteilungen aus der Arbeit am Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache 1 (Berlin 1993), 25–30.

“Change and continuity at Thebes. The private tomb after Akhenaten”, in C. Eyre, A. Leahy, L.M. Leahy (eds), The Unbroken Reed. Studies in the culture and heritage of Ancient Egypt in honour of A.F. Shore (London 1994), 321–336.

“Electronic communication—possibilities for Egyptology”, Informatique et Egyptologie 9 (1994), 125–133.

“The population of Thebes in the New Kingdom: Some preliminary thoughts”, in J. Assmann, E. Dziobek, H. Guksch, F. Kampp (eds), Thebanische Beamtennekropolen. Neue Perspectiven archäologischer Forschung (SAGA 12, Heidelberg 1995), 97–105.

“Exploring the Internet”, Informatique et Egyptologie 10 (1995), 121–126.

“The fourth priest of Amun Wedjahor”, Göttinger Miszellen 148 (1995), 91–94.

(with H.M. Strudwick) “The house of Amenmose in Theban Tomb 254”, in R. Tefnin (ed), La peinture égyptienne ancienne. Un monde de signes à préserver (Monumenta Aegyptiaca 7, 1997), 37–47.

“Problems of recording and publication of paintings in the Private Tombs of Thebes”, in W.V. Davies (ed), Colour and painting in Ancient Egypt (London 2001), 126–140.

Documenting and Publishing via the Internet”, in Proceedings of the 1998 Informatique et Egyptologie meeting, Utrecht: http://www.ccer.nl/apps/tr98/papers/nigel/strudwick.html

“The Theban Tomb of Senneferi [TT.99]. An overview of work undertaken from 1992 to 1999”, Memnonia 11 (2000), 241–266.

“Report on the work of the University of Cambridge Theban Mission 1998”, Annales du Service des Antiquités de l’Égypte 75 (1999–2000), 133–152.

“A fragment of a scene of foreigners from the Theban necropolis”, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 38 (2001), 133–140.

“Some aspects of the archaeology of the Theban necropolis in the Ptolemaic and Roman periods”, in N. Strudwick and J.H. Taylor (eds), The Theban Necropolis. Past, Present and Future (London 2003), 167–188.

“The Egyptological Bibliography. A review”. Göttinger Miszellen 192 (2003), 107–112.

“Electronic publishing: the example of BMSAES”. Proceedings of the 2002 Informatique et Egyptologie meeting, Pisa. CD ROM, Pisa 2003. Republished in British Museum Studies in Ancient Egypt and the Sudan 4 (2004): http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/online_journals/bmsaes/issue_4.aspx

“Nina M. Davies—a biographical sketch”. Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 90 (2004), 193–210. A shortened version of this is published as part of the online project “Women in Old World Archaeology”: http://www.brown.edu/Research/Breaking_Ground/

“Theban Tomb 99 (Senneferi): University of Cambridge Theban Mission 2002”, Annales du Service des Antiquités de l’Egypte 79 (2005), 157–164.

“The translation of texts of the Old Kingdom”, in M. Bárta (ed.), The Old Kingdom Art and Archaeology (Prague 2006), 335–341.

“Use and re-use of tombs in the Theban necropolis: patterns and explanations”, in J.C. Moreno Garcia (ed.), Elites et pouvoir en Egypte ancienne (CRIPEL 28 (2009–2010), 239–261.

“True ‘ritual objects’ in Egyptian private tombs?”, in B. Backes, M. Müller-Roth, S. Stöhr (eds), Ausgestattet mit den Schriften des Thot (Studien zum Altägyptischen Totenbuch 14, Wiesbaden 2009), 213–38.

“The early display of Egyptian sculpture in the British Museum”, Egyptian and Egyptological Documents, Archives, Libraries 1 (2009), 113–123.

(with E.W. Adams) “Relational Database Methods: A Tutorial and Case Study”, in N. Strudwick (ed.), Information Technology and Egyptology in 2008 (Gorgias Press, 2009), 183–207 (republication of article in Informatique et Egyptologie 7 (1990) above).

“Information Technology in Egypt: the past and the future”, J. Popielska-Grzybowska and J. Iwaszczuk (eds), Proceedings of the Fifth Central European Conference of Egyptologists. Egypt 2009: Perspectives of Research (Pułtusk 2009), 179–193.

“Preserving the Old with the New: priorities for Theban Tombs”, in G.A. Belova and S.V. Ivanov (eds), Achievements and Problems of Modern Egyptology. Proceedings of the International Conference held in Moscow on September 29–October 2, 2009 (Moscow 2012), 370–385.

“Facsimiles of Egyptian Paintings: the work of Nina de Garis Davies, Amice Calverley and Myrtle Broome”, in J. Green, E. Teeter and J.A. Larson (eds), Picturing the Past. Imaging and Imagining the Ancient Middle East (Chicago 2012), 61–70.

“Ancient Robbery in Theban Tombs” in P.P. Creasman (ed.), Archaeological Research in the Valley of the Kings and Ancient Thebes. Papers presented in Honor of Richard H. Wilkinson (University of Arizona Egyptian Expedition, Wilkinson Egyptology Series I, Tucson 2013), 333–352.

“Modern Robbery in Theban Tombs”, Etudes et Travaux 26 (2013), 637–651 (Festschrift for Karol Myśliwiec).

“Interpretation”, in M.K. Hartwig (ed.), A Companion to Ancient Egyptian Art (Wiley-Blackwell 2015), 485–503.

“The false door of Senneferi, Theban Tomb 99”, in A. Jiménez-Serrano and C. von Pilgrim (eds), From the Delta to the Cataract. Studies Dedicated to Mohamed el-Bialy (Leiden 2015), 272–287.

(with B. Bohleke) “A label for Opening of the Mouth implements from the burial of Senneferi (TT99), and remarks on the ritual”, Etudes et Travaux 30 (2017), 105–123.

“Two wooden columns with Hathor masks”, in A.I. Blöbaum, M. Eaton-Krauss and A. Wüthrich, Pérégrinations avec Erhart Graefe. Festschrift zu seinem 75. Geburtstag. Ägypten und Altes Testament. Studien zu Geschichte, Kultur und Religion Ägyptens und des Alten Testaments 87 (2018), 507–518.

“The statue of Amenhotep, son-in-law of the chancellor Senneferi”, in B. Németh (ed.), Now Behold My Spacious Kingdom. Studies Presented to Zoltán Imre Fábián On the Occasion of His 63rd Birthday (Budapest 2017), 104–116.

“The payment list for the lector priest on the relief of Merymery in Leiden”, a sub-part of the Heidelberg Opening of the Mouth Project (see below), in A. Weber, M. Grünhagen, L. Rees, and J. Moje (eds), Akhet Neheh: Studies in Honour of Willem Hovestreydt on Occasion of His 75th Birthday. GHP Egyptology 33 (London 2020), 27–36.

“The Old Kingdom and First Intermediate Period”, in I. Shaw and E. Bloxham (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Egyptology (Oxford 2020), 619–637.

“Observations on the sources of the coffins reused in the 21st dynasty”, in R. Sousa, A. Amenta and K. M. Cooney, Bab el-Gasus in Context. Rediscovering the tomb of the priests of Amun (Lisbon 2020), 91–107.

‘“And many men of the land rob them as well, and are (our) companions”: the Deir el-Medina gang and the involvement of wider society in late New Kingdom tomb robbery’, in C. Geisen, J. Li, S. B. Shubert and K. Yamamoto (eds), His Good Name. Essays on Identity and Self-Presentation in Ancient Egypt in Honor of Ronald J. Leprohon. Material and Visual Culture of Ancient Egypt 5 (Atlanta 2021), 103–122.

Dictionary and catalogue articles:

Dictionary of Art (London, Macmillan); now Grove Art Online (https://www.oxfordartonline.com/groveart/): entries “Stelae”, “Theban Tombs”, “Naga-ed-Der”, “Koptos”, “Sais”, “el-Kab”.

Mummies and Magic (Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, 1988): entries on false doors, offering lists, tables and tablets, and on a small chapel.

In E.R. Russmann, Eternal Egypt. Masterworks of Ancient Art from the British Museum (London/New York 2001), entries on two objects from the British Museum.

Articles for the general reader:

“A mortifying case of Rising Damp”, The Geographical Magazine, November 1988.

“Ten years digging in Thebes”, Egyptian Archaeology 5 (1994), 34–35.

“Flood Damage in Thebes”, Biblical Archaeologist 58 no. 2 (1995), 116–117.

“Pharaoh’s Chancellor”, British Museum Friends Magazine 37 (Summer 2000), 22–26.

“The tomb of Senneferi at Thebes”, Egyptian Archaeology 18 (2001), 6–9.

“The Making of Eternal Egypt”, KMT 13.2 (2002), 30–39.

“Templi, tombe e tesori”, Pharaon Magazine 11/12 (2006), 70–79 (translation of English article).

“Un hogar para los muertos”, Desperta Ferro, Arquelogía & Historia 4 (2015), 12–19 (translation of English article).

Editing responsibility:

Egyptological Computing, a newsletter for the dissemination of computer information among Egyptologists. Two issues were published as Informatique et Egyptologie 3 and 6 (Paris, 1987–1988).

Manager of Egyptology Resources, an Internet World Wide Web site for the electronic dissemination of material of interest to the Egyptological community since 1994: http://egyptologyresources.x10host.com/er/

Editor of British Museum Studies in Ancient Egypt and the Sudan, online journal, 2002–2007.

Translations:

(with H.M. Strudwick) Sylvia Schoske, Egyptian Art in Munich (Munich 1993). From German manuscript.

(with H.M. Strudwick) F. Seyfried,  In the Light of Amarna. 100 Years of the Discovery of Nefertiti (Berlin 2012). From German manuscript.

(with H.M. Strudwick) Neues Museum Berlin,  China und Ägypten. Wiegen der Welt. (Exhibition Berlin, 2017). Translation of German labels and panel text, and advising on English for other parts.

(with H.M. Strudwick) James Simon Galerie, Berlin,  Akhmim: Egypt’s forgotten city. Catalogue of the exhibition Verborgen, vergessen, verkannt. Achmim–Panopolis–Ägyptens älteste Stadt. (Berlin, 2021). Translation of German essays and catalogue text.

Book reviews:

S. Wiebach, *Die ägyptische Scheintür* (Hamburg 1981), *Bibliotheca Orientalis* 41 (1984), 630–633.

P. Kaplony, *Die Rollsiegel des Alten Reiches* (Bruxelles 1977), *Journal of Egyptian Archaeology* 71 (1985) Reviews Supplement, 27–29.

N. Kanawati, *Governmental Reforms in Old Kingdom Egypt* (Warminster 1980), *Journal of Egyptian Archaeology* 71 (1985) Reviews Supplement, 29–30.

M.F.A. Mostafa, *Die Opfertafeln des Alten Reiches* (Hildesheim 1982), *Chronique d’Egypte* 61 (1986), 264–266.

N. Kanawati, *el-Hawawish* III–IV (Sydney 1982–4), *Journal of Egyptian Archaeology* 72 (1986), 223–225.

N. Kanawati, *Excavations at Saqqara* I (Sydney 1984), *Journal of Egyptian Archaeology* 73 (1987), 276–278.

Dubl-Click Software, *ProGlyph Hieroglyphic Fonts*, *Egyptological Computing* 2 (1988), 7–10.

S. Hegazy and M. Tosi, *A Theban Private Tomb: Tomb no. 295* (Mainz 1983), *Journal of Egyptian Archaeology*  74 (1988), 273–274.

P. Posener-Kriéger (ed.), *Mélanges Gamal Eddin Mokhtar* I–II, *Chronique d’Egypte* 65 (1990), 243–246.

A. Shedid, *Stil der Grabmalerien in der Zeit Amenophis’ II* (Mainz 1988), *Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt* 27 (1990), 220–223.

C. Beinlich-Seeber and A. Shedid, *Das Grab des Userhat (TT56)* (Mainz 1987), *Journal of Egyptian Archaeology* 77 (1991), 215–218.

R. Müller-Wollermann, *Krisenfaktoren im ägyptischen Staat des ausgehenden alten Reiches* (Tübingen 1986), *Bibliotheca Orientalis* 48 (1991), 93–97.

R. Wulleman, M. Kunnen, A. Mekhitarian, *Passage to Eternity* (Knokke 1989), *Journal of Egyptian Archaeology* 78 (1992), 340.

J. Baines, T.G.H. James, A. Leahy, A.F. Shore (ed.), *Pyramid Studies and Other Essays Presented to I.E.S. Edwards* (London 1988), *Chronique d’Egypte* 69 (1994), 89–93.

B.G. Ockinga and Yahya al-Masri, *Two Ramesside Tombs at El Mashayikh* I (Sydney 1988), *Journal of Egyptian Archaeology* 79 (1993), 306–308.

E. Dziobek and Mahmud Abdel Raziq, *Das Grab des Sobekhotep. Theben Nr. 63* (Mainz 1990), *Journal of Egyptian Archaeology* 91 (1995), 263–265.

E. Hornung, *Zwei ramessidische Königsgräber: Ramses IV. und Ramses VII.* (Mainz 1990), *Journal of Egyptian Archaeology* 91 (1995), 267–269.

N. Kanawati, *The tombs of el-Hagarsa* I (Sydney 1993), *Journal of Egyptian Archaeology* 82 (1996), 216–218.

A. Minault-Gout, *Le mastaba d’Ima-Pépi  (Balat II)* (FIFAO 23, 1992), *Journal of Egyptian Archaeology* 92 (1996), 218–219.

T. Säve-Söderbergh, *The Old Kingdom Cemetery at Hamra Dom (El-Qasr wa Es-Saiyad)* (Stockholm 1994), *Journal of Egyptian Archaeology* 92 (1996), 219–221.

Hassan el-Saady, *The tomb of Amenemhab, No. 44 at Qurnah*  (Warminster 1996), *Chronique d’Egypte* 74 (1999), 84–85.

D. Polz, *Das Grab des Hui und des Kel*  (Mainz 1997), *Chronique d’Egypte* 74 (1999), 80–82.

H. Guksch, *Die Gräber des Nacht-Min und des Men-cheper-Ra-seneb* (Mainz 1995), *Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt*  36 (1999), 166–169.

A.J. Spalinger, *The Private Feast Lists of Ancient Egypt* (Wiesbaden 1996), *Discussions in Egyptology* 41 (1998), 107–108.

Maged Negm, *The Tomb of Simut called Kyky, Theban Tomb 409 at Qurnah* (Warminster 1997), *Journal of Egyptian Archaeology* 85 (1999), 255­–256.

Maha M.F. Mostafa, *Das Grab des Neferhotep und des Meh (TT257)* (Mainz 1995), *Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt* 37 (2000), 215–218.

S. Hodel-Hoenes, *Life and Death in Ancient Egypt* (Ithaca 2000), *Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt* 38 (2001), 142–4;  abbreviated version in *Egyptian Archaeology* 18 (2001), 43.

D. Jones, *An Index of Ancient Egyptian Titles, Epithets and Phrases of the Old Kingdom*. 2 vols.  (Oxford 2000), *Journal of Egyptian Archaeology* 86 (2000), 189–190.

N. Cherpion, *Deux tombes de la XVIIIe dynastie à Deir el-Medina* (Cairo 1999). *Journal of the American Oriental Society* 125.2 (2005), 269–271.

N. Kanawati, *Tombs at Giza* I*.* (Warminster 2001). *Bibliotheca Orientalis* 61 (2004), 84–88.

H. Altenmüller, Die Wanddarstellungen im Grab des Mehu in Saqqara (Mainz 1998). Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 88 (2002), 259–261.

M. Valloggia, Balat IV. Le monument funéraire d’Ima-Pepy/Ima-Meryrê (Cairo 1998). Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 91 (2005), 204–205.

E. Hofmann, Bilder im Wandel. Die Kunst der ramessidischen Privatgräber (Mainz 2004). Chronique d’Egypte 83 (2008), 166–169.

C. Ziegler (ed.), Le mastaba d’Akhethetep (Louvain 2007). Journal of Near Eastern Studies 71 (2012), 147–148.

D.A. Aston, Burial Assemblages of Dynasty 21–25 (Vienna 2009). Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 97 (2011), 291–293.

B. Calcoen, The Tomb Chapel of Userhat (London 2012). Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 99 (2013), 325–326.

M. Hartwig (ed.), The Tomb Chapel of Menna (TT 69), The Art, Culture and Science of Painting in a Theban Tomb (Cairo 2013). Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 50 (2014), 240–242.

D. O’Connor, The Old Kingdom Town at Buhen (London 2014). Antiquity 89 (2015), 1517–1518.

Other publications:

Obituary of William J. Murnane, Jr. The Guardian 23 January 2001.

Preface to M. Chioffi and G. Rigamonti, Saqqara I. Hesi, Hetepherakhet, Metjen (Imola 2015), 9–10

Preface to Gian Luca Franchino, Predatori di tombe. Studio sulla documentazione dei saccheggi nella necropoli Tebana (Turin 2020).

Websites:

‘Egyptology Resources’: http://egyptologyresources.x10host.com/er/ (1994–)

‘Theban Tomb 99’: https://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/tt99/ (1997–)

'PDF Bibliography’, a project ongoing since 2012 to collect and disseminate publicly-accessible PDF copies of Egyptology books and articles, at http://egyptologyresources.x10host.com/er/bibliography.html