Elena L Hertel
since October 2024: Petra Kappert Fellowship holder at the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, Hamburg University
2020-2024: PhD Candidate at Basel University within the SNF Project ‘Crossing Boundaries – Understanding Complex Scribal Practices in Ancient Egypt'
PhD topic: material traces of use and reuse visible on papyrus manuscripts dating to the end of the New Kingdom, with comparison to the Third Intermediate Period; preliminary title: ‘Writing, Erasing, Rewriting - A Material Perspective on Manuscript Culture at the End of the Egyptian Bronze Age’
2019: MA Egyptology (research) at Leiden University
2017: BA Classical Archaeology and Egyptology at Heidelberg University
Research interests
• Egyptian cursive scripts (Hieratic, Abnormal Hieratic, Demotic)
• Materiality of text and writing
• Fragmentation studies / intentional damage of objects
• Cultural change, collapse, and crisis in ancient civilisations
• Digital research and science communication methods
2020-2024: PhD Candidate at Basel University within the SNF Project ‘Crossing Boundaries – Understanding Complex Scribal Practices in Ancient Egypt'
PhD topic: material traces of use and reuse visible on papyrus manuscripts dating to the end of the New Kingdom, with comparison to the Third Intermediate Period; preliminary title: ‘Writing, Erasing, Rewriting - A Material Perspective on Manuscript Culture at the End of the Egyptian Bronze Age’
2019: MA Egyptology (research) at Leiden University
2017: BA Classical Archaeology and Egyptology at Heidelberg University
Research interests
• Egyptian cursive scripts (Hieratic, Abnormal Hieratic, Demotic)
• Materiality of text and writing
• Fragmentation studies / intentional damage of objects
• Cultural change, collapse, and crisis in ancient civilisations
• Digital research and science communication methods
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Papers by Elena L Hertel
to Egyptological scholarship. Because of its early prominence, a wide variety of archaeological and iconographic sources have been referred to as sḏ dšr.wt, thus expanding the body of evidence but running the risk of confl ating several diff erent ritual and non-ritual fragmentation acts. This paper
starts from the premise that Egyptian culture probably knew several diff erent unrelated acts of pottery fragmentation, the most prominent of which are briefl y presented for illustration. It goes on to examine the one designated as sḏ dšr.wt in the ancient textual sources by isolating it and discussing the fragmented vessels, the fragmentation, and the context in which the rite appears. In particular, the ritual purpose and symbolic association of the vessels in functions other than the sḏ dšr.wt are considered. The following implications for their fragmentation as well as the overall context of the ritual show that the fragmentation cannot be seen as a form of destruction, but rather as an activation or transformation. It is suggested that this transformation may be related to the transgression of the boundaries of the natural world, such as the spheres of the dead or of the gods.
Online available: https://rivista.museoegizio.it/article/crossing-boundaries-understanding-complex-scribal-practices-in-ancient-egypt-with-a-2019-progress-report/
Conference Presentations by Elena L Hertel
This paper argues that a re-evaluation of all the evidence attributed to the ‘Breaking the Red Vessels’ is necessary, since the plethora of sources attributed to the ritual is too heterogenous to allow a consistent interpretation of the act. It is aimed to give an overview of the original, textual evidence of the ‘Breaking of the Red Vessels’ and to challenge whether it should be associated with any of the currently known contexts of deliberately damaged ceramics in Egypt. Instead, it will be proposed that Egypt is home to different fragmentation rites that need to be carefully examined and interpreted through the lens of fragmentation theory. This paper aims to contribute to the conference by providing an example of ritual fragmentation from the periphery of the Aegean and opening for discussions on methodology of fragmentation studies in an interdisciplinary context.
and aims to present the results of newly undertaken research in which the manuscript is studied from a holistic perspective.
The first part of the presentation offers an introduction to the previous editions, the history of the papyrus’ conservation, and a detailed outline of the documents’ textual content. The second part is focused on the use and reuse of the papyrus in ancient times. The manuscript has been through a vivid history of being inscribed, cleaned, and re-inscribed with different
types of texts over an extended period of time. Thanks to the administrative texts featuring a specific date it is possible to establish the order of inscription which offers insight into the question of how long a papyrus roll could be in use. The placement of these different entries bears witness to a regular, yet apparently unsystematic way of record-keeping. The presence of
a literary composition (one of the so-called Late Egyptian Miscellanies) and its placement in context of the surrounding administrative inscriptions testifies not only to a closely connected Sitz in Leben of the different text types, but also gives insight to the way the ancient scribe(s) interacted with previous inscriptions on the manuscript.
to Egyptological scholarship. Because of its early prominence, a wide variety of archaeological and iconographic sources have been referred to as sḏ dšr.wt, thus expanding the body of evidence but running the risk of confl ating several diff erent ritual and non-ritual fragmentation acts. This paper
starts from the premise that Egyptian culture probably knew several diff erent unrelated acts of pottery fragmentation, the most prominent of which are briefl y presented for illustration. It goes on to examine the one designated as sḏ dšr.wt in the ancient textual sources by isolating it and discussing the fragmented vessels, the fragmentation, and the context in which the rite appears. In particular, the ritual purpose and symbolic association of the vessels in functions other than the sḏ dšr.wt are considered. The following implications for their fragmentation as well as the overall context of the ritual show that the fragmentation cannot be seen as a form of destruction, but rather as an activation or transformation. It is suggested that this transformation may be related to the transgression of the boundaries of the natural world, such as the spheres of the dead or of the gods.
Online available: https://rivista.museoegizio.it/article/crossing-boundaries-understanding-complex-scribal-practices-in-ancient-egypt-with-a-2019-progress-report/
This paper argues that a re-evaluation of all the evidence attributed to the ‘Breaking the Red Vessels’ is necessary, since the plethora of sources attributed to the ritual is too heterogenous to allow a consistent interpretation of the act. It is aimed to give an overview of the original, textual evidence of the ‘Breaking of the Red Vessels’ and to challenge whether it should be associated with any of the currently known contexts of deliberately damaged ceramics in Egypt. Instead, it will be proposed that Egypt is home to different fragmentation rites that need to be carefully examined and interpreted through the lens of fragmentation theory. This paper aims to contribute to the conference by providing an example of ritual fragmentation from the periphery of the Aegean and opening for discussions on methodology of fragmentation studies in an interdisciplinary context.
and aims to present the results of newly undertaken research in which the manuscript is studied from a holistic perspective.
The first part of the presentation offers an introduction to the previous editions, the history of the papyrus’ conservation, and a detailed outline of the documents’ textual content. The second part is focused on the use and reuse of the papyrus in ancient times. The manuscript has been through a vivid history of being inscribed, cleaned, and re-inscribed with different
types of texts over an extended period of time. Thanks to the administrative texts featuring a specific date it is possible to establish the order of inscription which offers insight into the question of how long a papyrus roll could be in use. The placement of these different entries bears witness to a regular, yet apparently unsystematic way of record-keeping. The presence of
a literary composition (one of the so-called Late Egyptian Miscellanies) and its placement in context of the surrounding administrative inscriptions testifies not only to a closely connected Sitz in Leben of the different text types, but also gives insight to the way the ancient scribe(s) interacted with previous inscriptions on the manuscript.
Organising Committee: Alexis Den Doncker, Lauren Dogaer, Cyprian H.W. Fong, Elena Hertel, Charlotte Hunkeler, Jacqueline M. Huwyler, Marwan Kilani, Geirr Lunden, Tarek Mohamed, Sayed Soliman
Current Research in Egyptology (CRE) is a postgraduate conference set up to facilitate research and promote bonds between British and international universities worldwide who are conducting research in Egyptology, Egyptian Archaeology, or any other related field of study.