Excavations in museums stores

Hermann Junker i Turah 1910

Hermann Junker i Turah 1910

Mødedato: Torsdag d. 25/4 2019 kl 19
Lokale: KUA1 23.0.49

Excavations in museums stores – Updating the cemetery of Turah, v. Dr. Vera Müller, OREA – Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna

At the time when Hermann Junker excavated the cemetery of Turah in 1910 it was very easy to receive permission to export excavated objects from Egypt, especially if they were not considered as unique or precious. The latter was especially true for the items from Turah, as they consist in their majority of pottery vessels and some stone vessels, whereas personal articles such as jewellery, cosmetic object or tools were rare.

Junker was nevertheless very happy about this disinterest, as the period from the late Predynastic and Early Dynastic Periods (end of 4th – beginning of 3rd mill. BC) were not yet represented in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Ever since its publication in 1912, the cemetery of Turah has been considered as one of the key sites of this period.

After more than a hundred years, the publication needs, however, an update based on modern methods. What Junker did not anticipate, was a similar disinterest of his colleagues in Austrian and some other museums, which means that nowadays a lot of effort has to be undertaken to even identify the material in the museum’s stores.

Hjemmeside (tysk): https://www.khm.at/en/learn/research/projects-and-results/aegyptisch-orientalische-sammlung/der-friedhof-von-turah/