Scattered Finds: Archaeology, Egyptology and Museums

by Alice Stevenson

Between the 1880s and 1980s, British excavations
at locations across Egypt resulted in the discovery of hundreds of thousands of
ancient objects that were subsequently sent to some 350 institutions worldwide.
These finds included unique discoveries at iconic sites such as the tombs of
ancient Egypt's first rulers at Abydos, Akhenaten and Nefertiti’s city of Tell
el-Amarna and rich Roman Era burials in the Fayum.

Scattered
Finds explores the politics, personalities and social
histories that linked fieldwork in Egypt with the varied organizations around
the world that received finds. Case studies range from Victorian municipal
museums and women’s suffrage campaigns in the UK, to the development of some of
the USA’s largest institutions, and from university museums in Japan to new
institutions in post-independence Ghana. By juxtaposing a diversity of sites
for the reception of Egyptian cultural heritage over the period of a century,
Alice Stevenson presents new ideas about the development of archaeology,
museums and the construction of Egyptian heritage. She also addresses the
legacy of these practices, raises questions about the nature of the authority
over such heritage today, and argues for a stronger ethical commitment to its
stewardship. Praise for Scattered Finds

'Stevenson has created a valuable treatise that informs the reader and demonstrates how the past is firmly anchored in the present.'
The Society for Archaeological Sciences (SAS) Bulletin Online
'Scattered
Finds is a remarkable achievement. In charting how British excavations in Egypt
dispersed artefacts around the globe, at an unprecedented scale, Alice
Stevenson shows us how ancient objects created knowledge about the past while
firmly anchored in the present. No one who reads this timely book will be able
to look at an Egyptian antiquity in the same way again.'
Professor
Christina Riggs, UEA 'Beautifully illustrated with colour and greyscale images...This volume successfully proves that there is still so much to be learned from an in-depth study of 'scattered finds' from Egypt, for readers of scholarly and popular literature alike.'
 Ancient Egypt  

Genres: Archaeology

270 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2019

About the author

Alice Stevenson is Associate Professor of Museum Studies at UCL’s Institute of Archaeology. She has previously held posts as the Curator of the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology and as Researcher in World Archaeology at the Pitt Rivers Museum. Her academic specialization is Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egyptian archaeology, but she has a written on a broad range of topics including the history of archaeology, anthropology and museums

Reviews

[M.H. Thaung]

As with most other books from UCL Press, the intended readership for this book is academic rather than general interest. I read this book (the PDF version) with only limited knowledge of archaeology, and no prior knowledge of Egyptology. Quite possibly, most of the content went over my head. However, I'm now better informed about how items found during British excavations in Egypt were dealt with, and the history and politics surrounding their distribution. The time period covered is around the last century and a half. A few points that I took away:

In some senses, archaeology is a destructive process - excavations cause physical damage to the site, and the context is disturbed. How much disturbance is "acceptable" has, I suspect, changed considerably over the century and a half that Stevenson's book covers. Related to that, it wasn't until relatively late that meticulous record-keeping became more valued. Stevenson states:

Documentation practices in museums are often perceived as somewhat dull and routine aspects of daily business, but they are the very soul of institutional potential.

We might also say "we now know better than they did a hundred years ago", but who knows what future archaeologists will say about the present, or whether they'll throw their hands up in horror at current practices?

The author makes very valid points about specific individuals (Flinders Petrie and others) becoming the major names associated with work and projects, with the majority of the team (especially local workers) being barely acknowledged. It's a depressing, although unsurprising, phenomenon. That said, without such strong minded people pushing the work (and loudly), one wonders how much would have been achieved.

I found Stevenson's depiction of the "Egyptomania" phenomenon amusing, with almost celebrity status given to artifacts, and local museums clamouring for more. Of course, many artifacts are rather mundane, and there were possibly many disappointed visitors to such museums. Post WWII, priorities changed, and museums no longer had the resources (or desire) to maintain such collections. In some areas, items were disposed of by being sold to the general public via museum souvenir shops. The sad end to the story somewhat puts me in mind of bargain bin sales to make way for new stock.

Probably not a book I'd have reason to revisit, but it certainly got me thinking. And that's always a good thing for a book.

[João Gabriel Caia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alice Stevenson, professora e investigadora na University College of London, apresenta uma nova abordagem à história da incorporação e dispersão das antiguidades que, na segunda metade do século XIX, foram sendo escavadas e retiradas do Egipto por iniciativa da elite intelectual britânica, onde pontificava Flinder Petrie ou Amelia Edwards e o Egypt Exploration Fund que fundou.

Tendo como opção metodológica tratar os "object habits", que conceptualiza, apresenta-nos uma visão mais abrangente das diferentes histórias e perceções que o objeto foi tendo, assim como a diversidade de atores que protagonizaram essa história, influenciada pela ideia de "Invisible technician" de Shapin. Não só das principais figuras se fez a história destes objetos, mas sobretudo da miríade de agentes no terreno, britânicos, egípcios e outras origens, entre arqueólogos, trabalhadores de campo ou industriais. Aliado a isso, a progressiva evolução da perceção e interesse dados a estes objetos também se notará na forma como estes serão expostos e trabalhos nos mais diversos museus do mundo, para onde foram vendidos ou oferecidos pelos britânicos. Não se descura, também, a importância do papel que a lógica de poder teve no que diz respeito à relação semi-colonial e de subalternidade existente entre as grandes potências europeias e as realidades árabes e africanas.

"Scattered Finds" merece destaque nas minhas escolhas precisamente pela importância desta renovada abordagem a uma história sobre colecionismo de antiguidades egípcias, cujas dinâmicas podem encontrar algum paralelismo - mas também diferenças relevantes - com as que tenho investigado para o caso da elite real portuguesa.