Zoltán Fábián

Art in Ancient Egypt – Hungarian Excavations in the Theban Necropolis
15-27 July 2013

Language: English

Venue:

Hungarian University of Fine Arts, main building, 1062 Budapest, Andrássy út 69-71, Art History Department, mezzanine no. 5.

Description:

The Hungarian Archaeological Mission in Egypt, working in the Theban necropolis, has been researching the upper section of the southern slope of the el-Khokha hillock in Qurna, in the vicinity of the Valley of the Kings and the royal mortuary temples, since 1995. The excavation area comprises several, once lavishly decorated rock cut tombs and other secondary burial places which were constructed inside or between the ornate tombs. The purpose of the ongoing research is the investigation of this section in the Theban cemeteries where tombs and monuments of funerary cults were constructed throughout all the major eras of Egyptian history from the Old Kingdom (3rd millennium B. C.) until at least the Ptolemaic period. During the fieldwork, data are collected in an attempt to better understand the chronology and the use of the cemetery and to identify the personalities and families buried here, primarily coming from the ranks of the elite, as well as to shed light on the changes in funerary customs and otherworld concepts. However, with the documentation of the exposed art historical sources – such as the pictorial, ornamental and inscriptional material, the funerary furniture and grave goods furnishing the monuments – research also focuses on architectural and artistic concepts and techniques, so that the decoration program of entire monuments, and even their near contemporary parallels, can be investigated in the context of traditions and innovations of various periods. (For details, visit http://tt184en.blogspot.com)

Number of participants: minimum 5 persons, maximum 20 persons

Course code: 11320019

Zoltán Fábián was born in Budapest in 1954. He finished his M.A. studies in 1980 in English Language and Literature, in History (with Secondary School Teaching Qualification) and in Egyptology at the Faculty of Arts, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest. In 2001, he obtained his Ph.D. degree and in 2010 the habilitation degree from the same university in Egyptology. Between 1982 and 1988, he worked as assistant curator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest,Collection of Egyptian Antiquities. From 1993 till present, he has been teaching ancient art history at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts. From 2008 till present he has also been teaching as associate professor in the Department of Ancient History at the Károly Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary,.

Publications

Paintings of a Mud Brick Chapel from the 18th Dynasty in the Theban Necropolis. Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarium Hungaricae (Budapest) 50 (2010) p. 1–26.
Paintings of a Mud Brick Chapel from the 18th Dynasty in the Theban Necropolis. In: Czeglédy, A. – Horváth, L. et al. (eds.), Pietas non sola Romana. Studiamemoriae Stephani Borzsák dedicata. Budapest 2010, p. 473–500.
The Opening of the Mouth Ritual in the Theban Tomb of Nefermenu (TT 184) and Other Post- Amarna Monuments(The “El-Khokha Tomb-Group”). In: Szabó Á. (ed.) Cultus Deorum. Studia Religionum ad Historiam. In memoriam István Tóth. I, / Ókortudományi Dolgozatok I / Pécs2008, p. 29–96.
Another Pyramid of El-Khokha. Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarium Hungaricae 46 (2006) p. 39–58.
Nefermenu (TT 184), April 2003. Annales des Service des Antiquités de l’Égypte(Le Caire) 79 (2005) p. 41–59.
Harper’s Song Scene in the Tomb of Nefermenu (TT 184). Specimina Nova XVI (2000/2002) p. 1-13.
Harper’s Song in the Tomb of Djehutimes (TT 32)(with László Kákosy). Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur(Hamburg) 22(1995) p. 211-225.
Bringing About BD 25. Attempts of Text-Critical Analyses of CT 410 and 412. In: Vanek Zs. (ed.), Studia in Honorem L. Fóti, /Studia Aegyptiaca XII/ Budapest 1989, p. 29-50.
Heart Chapters in the Context of the Book of the Dead. In: Schoske, S.(Hrsg.), Akten des Vierten Internationalen Ägyptologen Kongresses, München 1985, Hamburg 1989, p. 249-259.
Il Librodei Morti del Museo Archeologico di Napoli. In: Gigante, M. (ed.), Atti del XVII. Congre so Internazionale di Papirologia, Napoli 1984, p. 707-718.

Conference activity/participation (selection)

2000 Eighth International Congress of Egyptologists, Cairo
1992 (The World of the Coffin Texts), Leiden;
1991 Sixth International Congress of Egyptologists, Torino
1985 Fourth International Congress of Egyptologists, München
1983 XVII. International Congress of Papyrology, Naples

Field experiencein egyptology

1995-present Field director at the excavation of the Hungarian Archaeological Mission at El-Khokha south in the area of Theban Tomb 184 (Nefermenu)
1983-94 Permanent member of the Hungarian Archaeological Mission in Egypt, Field epigraphist & archaeologist (Theban Tomb 32 – Djehutimes), 12 seasons

Fellowships

2008 Italy, 3 months (Hungarian Scholarship Committee)
2002 Italy, 3 months (Hungarian Scholarship Committee)
1985-present Egypt, each year 3 months (Hungarian Scholarship Committee)
1983-84 Egypt, 15 months (Hungarian Scholarship Committee)
1981 Italy, 11 months (Naples, Rome, Pisa); Istituto italiano per gli studi storici (Benedetto Croce Foundation)
1976-77 Russia, St Petersburg University