Thursday, November 19, 2009

Just published: OIP 136. Medinet Habu IX. The Eighteenth Dynasty Temple, Part I

Just published on paper and online!

book coverOIP 136.


Medinet Habu IX. The Eighteenth Dynasty Temple, Part I: The Inner Sanctuaries With Translations of Texts, Commentary, and Glossary

by The Epigraphic Survey

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With the present volume the Epigraphic Survey returns to its series of publications dedicated to the reliefs and inscriptions of the Medinet Habu complex, a series inaugurated in 1930 with the publication of the war scenes and earlier historical records from the mortuary temple of Ramesses III (Medinet Habu I. Earlier Historical Records of Ramses III, The Epigraphic Survey, Oriental Institute Publications 8, 1930). The Ramesside temple and the High Gate were to occupy the efforts of the Survey for the next four decades, ending in 1970 with the appearance of Medinet Habu VIII. In resuming the Medinet Habu series, the Survey initiates what is envisioned to be a sequence of five volumes documenting the Eighteenth Dynasty temple of Amun and subsequent additions thereto, beginning with this publication of the reliefs in the six innermost rooms of the temple. These chambers were begun during the coregency of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III and completed by the latter king during his sole reign.

  • Oriental Institute Publications 136
  • Chicago: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, 2009
  • ISBN-10: 1-885923-64-3
  • ISBN-13: 978-1-885923-64-6
  • Pp. xl + 92; 4 figures, 2 ground plans, 142 plates
  • $450

Earlier OI publications on Medinet Habu include:

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Oriental Institute Travel Blog: OI Splendors of the Nile

OI Splendors of the Nile
OI Splendors of the Nile is a photographic and textual complement to the Oriental Institute's Splendors of the Nile program escorted by Dr. Nadine Moeller.

This trip is a great introduction to Egypt and a treat for anyone who wants to see Egypt through the eyes of a Nile traveler. We will experience many of the famous landmarks of Egyptian history as well as exclusive site visits and on-site learning.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Research Archives Adopt-a-Journal Campaign

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The Research Archives needs your help to maintain its position as the premier library for ancient Near Eastern studies in the Western Hemisphere. The Adopt-a-Journal Campaign is an opportunity to provide the library with its most valuable asset and demonstrate your commitment to the preservation of knowledge and learning for future generations of Oriental Institute members, scholars, students, and visitors.

Donors to the program can choose to adopt a journal annually, create a fund to ensure long-term support, or donate a personal copy of a specific journal needed in the collection. Every dollar donated goes toward purchasing new volumes, above and beyond our current subscriptions. We are pleased to recognize our donors with a permanent, personalized bookplate in the books and journals that they sponsor, as well as a mention in the pages of the Oriental Institute Annual Report. If you would like information about how to sponsor a journal, please contact Foy Scalf via phone at (773) 702-9537 or via email. We can provide you with a list of adoptable journals in your field of interest as well as the costs for sponsoring those journals. We are very grateful for your sponsorship.

Examples of personalized bookplates:


You can adopt-a-journal through our online pledge form. Under “Purpose of Gift,” simply check the box for “Research Archives Library” and type “100%” in the box (unless you are giving multiple gifts to multiple departments). Then in the “Special Instructions” field, you can simply tell us which journal(s) you would like to adopt and for how long.

You could also simply write a check made out to the “Oriental Institute” and send it to the following address:

Research Archives
Oriental Institute
1155 East 58th Street
Chicago, IL 60637

Please be sure to include your instructions concerning which journal(s) you would like to sponsor. After receipt, a unique bookplate will be designed to honor your generosity and a copy will be sent to you via email.

Futher information on the Research Archives at the OIHistory blog:

Futher information on the Research Archives at the OI website:


Tuesday, November 3, 2009

News: OI Conservation Laboratory

The University of Chicago Features
By William Harms

A 300-pound fragment of a human-headed winged bull from the Neo-Assyrian city of Khorsabad sits on a table in the Oriental Institute’s conservation laboratory. The fragment, made of gypsum, is about to get the most attention it’s had since a team of archaeologists excavated it more than 70 years ago in northern Iraq.

Alison Whyte, Assistant Conservator, guides a small vacuum nozzle over the fragment’s surface—past its carved rosette decorations and over tiny bits of dirt, some of which are more than 2,000 years old. She uses a small artist’s brush with especially fine bristles to sweep up the dust...

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Alison Whyte, Assistant Conservator, and Monica Hudak, Contract Conservator, clean the 300-pound gypsum fragment of a human-headed, winged bull, an artifact in the Oriental Institute's collection. (Photo by Lloyd DeGrane)

See the chronicle of news about the Oriental Institute.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Oriental Institute 2008-2009 Annual Report

The Oriental Institute 2008-2009 Annual Report has just appeared and is in the hands of members (or at least is on its way to members). I got mine in yesterday's mail. Paper copies of OI Annual Reports are only available to members of the Oriental Institute. What? You're not a member? Go directly to the Membership Office and enroll yourself!

Seventeen back issues of Oriental Institute Annual Reports are available digitally, and the new one will appear there presently.


Thursday, October 22, 2009

The Oriental Institute and Its Projects on Youtube

[Originally posted on 1 May 2009, updated 15 October 2009, updated 22 October]

Matthew Stolper, Head of the Persepolis Fortification Archive Project, kicked off the event by discussing the languages of the Persian Achaemenid Empire, as a symbol of inclusiveness of the empire of many people and many languages


Cracking the Code: using language to unlock ancient history




[This first video is not on YouTube, but is still worth watching]
























Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Books by (former) OI folk

Nina Bruhns, former student at the OI and member of the staff of the Research Archives in the early 80s found her way to oihistory. She said nice things about her time at the OI, "To this day it gets a special mention as my alltime favorite job".

She also passes along news of her new book : Shoot to Thrill, which draws heavily on her days doing fieldwork in the Sudan.

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Tuesday, October 20, 2009

News: Gold of Kush

Archaeology,
Volume 62 Number 6, November/December 2009
by Geoff Emberling
When frequent ARCHAEOLOGY contributor Andrew Lawler reported on the construction of Sudan's massive Merowe Dam on the Nile River at Hamdab, some 220 miles north of the capital Khartoum ("Damming Sudan," November/December 2006), innumerable ancient sites were about to be flooded. The disastrous situation also posed a humanitarian crisis, as those in the water's path were systematically forced from their homes. The following year, University of Chicago archaeologist Geoff Emberling joined an international salvage effort to document sites before they disappeared..


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See the chronicle of news about the Oriental Institute.


Thursday, October 8, 2009

Lectures at the OI in Celebration of the 500th Convocation

Lectures in Celebration of the 500th Convocation

Friday, Oct. 9, 2009

1:30-2:30 p.m.

“Transgressing Disciplines,” Robert McCormick Adams Jr., PhB’47, AM’52, PhD’56,
Department of Anthropology, University of California, San Diego. Hosted by the Department of Anthropology.
Location: Oriental Institute, Breasted Hall

Upcoming Exhibit at the OI: “Pioneers to the Past: American Archaeologists in the Middle East, 1919–20”

Pioneers to the Past: American Archaeologists in the Middle East, 1919–20
The Oriental Institute Museum will present an exhibit entitled “Pioneers to the Past: American Archaeologists in the Middle East, 1919–20” from January 12 to August 30, 2010.
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James Henry Breasted had received a large donation from John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to establish the Oriental Institute in 1919 and quickly organized an expedition to travel across the Middle East to acquire objects for the Institute and identify sites for excavation. World War I had just ended, the political map of the Middle East had not yet been redrawn, and it was a dangerous time to be travelling through the region. The exhibit will present the incredible adventure story of the Breasted expedition through photographs, excerpts from letters, original documents from the archives, and objects purchased on the trip.

The trip also raises a number of issues about American involvement in the Middle East that still resonate today. How do archaeologists relate with people living in the areas they study? Whose history do archaeologists study and write? What is the relationship between archaeology and international politics?

Read more about the exhibit here.