Egypt

Czech Institute of Archaeology publications available on Oxbow

Oxbow Books

The Czech Institute of Egyptology was founded in 1958, as a successor to the Egyptological Seminar at the Faculty of Arts of the Charles University in Prague. Its founding father was Frantisek Lexa, an expert in Late Egyptian writing. The first fieldwork undertaken by the new Institute in the 1960s was in Nubia, where Prague Egyptologists took an active part in the rescue of Nubian sites and artefacts from dam construction. The Nubian series of Institute publications, published mainly in the 1970s and 1980s, are particularly important as they are the sole record of sites that are no longer accessible to researchers.

The Institute started work at its most famous excavation site, Abusir, just after beginning its Nubian campaign. Abusir, the northernmost part of the Saqqara necropolis, has produced an unexpected richness of material, including a royal cemetery of 5th Dynasty pyramids, a Necropolis of officials dating from the 4th to 6th Dynasties, and Saite-Persian shaft tombs. The excavations are still continuing, with only a few months break every year during the intense heat of the summer months. Studies at the Abusir necropolis are making huge contributions to our knowledge of the society and culture of the Memphite region. Recently, a new area has been added to the Czech archaeological permit area – a zone in Western desert, in the area of Hayez, Bahariya oasis and work is starting there.

A range of archaeological work at the site are published in the Abusir series, which now extends to number VII. The archaeological reports on Abusir are not the only part of publishing activities – these include also broader syntheses and future plans include a special series devoted to the heritage of Ancient and Islamic Egypt. A short series will also report on the Hayez expedition. Future plans also include a dissertation series.

The future looks bright for Czech Egyptology, now celebrating over 50 years of scholarship. The recent merging of the Institute with the National Centre for Egyptology has brought the financial and scholarly resources of the discipline together and, in the next few years, it is hoped that the program of publications will become ever larger and more prestigious.

Further details about the Institute's work can be found by clicking on this link.

The books available from Oxbow are available from the link at the top of this post.

- Bahariya Workshop
Here's another one of those conferences which I've picked out from the usual collection because it is slightly unusual. Baharaiya is the northernmost of the Western Desert oases. Czech Institute of Egyptologyof the Faculty of Arts, Charles University...

- Fifty Years Of Czech Egytpology
The Prague Post (Ondřej Bouda) The history of the country’s accomplishments in the field of Egyptology hits an important milestone this year as the Czech Institute of Egyptology turns 50. The birthday of the institute, located in Prague, will be celebrated...

- Czech Egyptologists In Egypt
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/78324"The Czech team is one of only a dozen which have been granted permanent status in Egypt. The Abusir excavation site has proved unexpectedly rewarding and Czech archaeologists there have big plans for the future. The...

- Abusir And Saqqara In The Year 2005
http://egyptologie.ff.cuni.cz/AbuSakk/AbuSakk2005.html "In June 2005 the Czech Institute of Egyptology of the Charles University, Prague organizes the second international symposium on the region of Abusir, Saqqara and Dahshur. The widespread acclaim...

- Czech Egyptology - Parts Ii And Iii
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/49372 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/49629 The last two parts of Czech Radio's look at the role of Czech Egyptologists in Egypt, at sites like Abusir. Part II stresses the role of building up good relationships with...

Egypt