Gate of the Priests (Bab el-Gasus Project): The Tomb of the Priests of Amun

1.1.2013

Project status

ongoing

Execution period

2013-

Main research unit

Centre for History of the University of Lisbon

Principal Investigator

Rogério Sousa (ULisboa)

Research team

Alessia Amenta (Vatican Museums), Christian Greco (Museo Egizio in Turin), Hélène Guichard (Musée du Louvre), Kathlyn Cooney (UCLA-Los Angeles), Luc Delvaux (Musées royaux d´Art et d´Histoire in Brussels), René Van Walsem (University of Leiden)

 

 

This Project aims to reconstruct in its original complexion the undisturbed find of the Tomb of the Priets of Amun, dating back to the 21st Dynasty. Currently dispersed among more than 30 museums spread all around the world, this collection of artefacts stands out as a unique documental corpus to study the dynamics of production/reproduction of funerary artefacts, the social organization of the Theban elite in times of severe economic crisis, and the consequent adaptation of religious belief systems to the new social practices. One of the main goals of the project is boosting the publication of the find of Bab el-Gasus (which has remained almost completly unpublished). For this purpose the mongraphic series Gate of the Priests Series has been created in Brill Publishers. Another important goal is enhancing the interdisciplinary debate on the find, namely through scientific meetings, as well as cooperation between museological institutions in order to locate artifacts considered lost.