IFAO

The so-called "Map of the gold mines" (P. Turin Cat. 1879+) is among the most famous papyri of the Turin collection (and of ancient Egypt as a whole), but it has never been properly published, nor systematically studied up until today. Most of the egyptological attention was indeed captured by the ‘map’ side (e.g., Goyon 1949; Harrell & Brown 1992), but the verso of the document, which contains many hieratic texts belonging to different genres, has not been examined thoroughly (exceptions are Janssen 1994 and Hovestreydt 1997 for col. 1-2 of frag. A, vo).

As a prelude to a complete edition of this papyrus, the goal of this lecture is threefold. First, we provide an overview of history of this papyrus since its acquisition in 1824 (as part of the Drovetti collection), and we discuss various scholarly interpretations. In a second part, we focus on the map, discussing some unacknowledged iconic features as well as its topographical and geological significance. The third section of the talk is devoted to the texts found on the verso, to the relationship between these texts and the map, and to the identification of the hands and scribes who worked on this papyrus. We conclude with a discussion of the scribal practices — at Deir el-Medina and beyond — that led to the creation of such an exceptional document.

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Les conférences de l’Ifao

Les conférences de l'Ifao ont pour objectif la transmission des résultats des recherches en cours ou très récentes, par des chercheurs confirmés. Y sont conviés essentiellement les chercheurs impliqués dans les différentes opérations scientifiques de l'Ifao lors de leur passage par l'Institut. ِElles sont également parfois le lieu de présentation d'ouvrages récemment parus à l'Ifao par  leurs autheurs. Les conférences de l'Ifao ont lieu traditionnellement le mercredi à 18h, en français ou en anglais.

IFAO Lectures series aim to transmit the results of current or very recent research by confirmed researchers. They are mainly animated by researchers involved in IFAO's various scientific programs and projects during their stay at the Institute. They are also sometimes the occasion for presentations, by their authors, of books recently published by the IFAO.

IFAO Lectures series are traditionally held on Wednesdays at 6 p.m., in French or English.