Kathrin Gabler
My current major project deals with a re-investigation and publication of TT 217, the tomb of the sculptor Ipuy, at Deir el-Medina and the set up of the new ResearchSpace Deir el-Medina, in cooperation with the Ifao Cairo and the Mission d’étude et de conservation Deir el-Médina. Since July 2024, I am the chair in Egyptology at the JGU Mainz. From October 2023 to June 2024, I was a senior research fellow at the German Archaeological Institute in Cairo (DAI Kairo) where I am responsible for the photo archives and the representative in the region Thebes/Luxor, which is now co-directed between the DAIK and the JGU Mainz. Before, I replaced Fredrik Hagen (and Kim Ryholt) as Associate Professor in Copenhagen. I have taught archaeological, museum and philological courses for undergraduate and graduate students in different modules and at all levels, incl. non-academic audiences at the Universities of Basel, HU Berlin, Copenhagen, Liège, LMU Munich, Uppsala, the State Museum of Egyptian Art in Munich (SMÄK) and the Antikenmuseum Basel. Trained at the universities of Munich and Leiden, my education culminated in a PhD (2016) entitled ‘Who´s who around Deir el-Medina’ (published as Egyptologische Uitgaven 31, Peeters, 2018). The thesis deals with the supply personnel of this extraordinary settlement (600 men of the smd.t / n pA xr / n bnr) from a prosopographic, organisational, archaeological and diachronic point of view. Furthermore, I was a regular member (fieldwork, documentation, work with small finds, data/base management, photographing) of the excavation projects Deir el-Bachit/Dra’ Abu el-Naga, a Coptic monastery in Western Thebes and of the British Museum Epigraphic and Conservation Survey at Elkab and Hagr Edfu. My post-doctoral project ‘Means of Communication in the New Kingdom’ formed part of the ‘Crossing Boundaries Project: Understanding Complex Scribal Practices in Ancient Egypt’ between the Universities of Basel and Liège and the Museo Egizio Turin. My main research interest is the material culture from Ancient Egypt focusing on social and economic history, prosopography as well as the (re-)contextualisation of objects and their ‘life/object biography’. Studies related to Deir el-Medina, hieratic texts and the New Kingdom are my specialist areas. In addition, I am a founding member of the Verband der Ägyptologie and served on the founding board as secretary.
Address: Institut für Altertumswissenschaften, Ägyptologie
FB 07, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
Hegelstraße 59 (Aareongebäude), 2. Stock
D - 55122 Mainz
https://www.aegyptologie.uni-mainz.de/gabler/
Address: Institut für Altertumswissenschaften, Ägyptologie
FB 07, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
Hegelstraße 59 (Aareongebäude), 2. Stock
D - 55122 Mainz
https://www.aegyptologie.uni-mainz.de/gabler/
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Books by Kathrin Gabler
The endeavour is directly connected to the interdisciplinary project Crossing Boundaries: Understanding Complex Scribal Practices in Ancient Egypt, a joint venture of the University of Basel, the University of Liège, and the Museo Egizio (Turin). Since 2019, the Crossing Boundaries project has targeted the rich papyrological materials from the village of Deir el-Medina (c. 1350–1050 BCE) held in the Museo Egizio, seeking to enhance our understanding of the scribal practices that lie behind the production of the texts from this community.
The driving methodological motto of Crossing Boundaries has been to adopt a contextualized approach to these written documents. As progress was made on the Deir el-Medina materials, the need to develop a clearer picture of all the hieratic texts available from the same period quickly became evident, which is met by the present publication. https://pressesuniversitairesdeliege.be/produit/new-kingdom-hieratic-collections-from-around-the-world/
Der Berliner Arbeitskreis Junge Aegyptologie ist ein Forum für deutschsprachige Nachwuchs¬wissenschaftler*innen, das dem Austausch und der Präsentation neuer Forschungsansätze und -ergebnisse in der Ägyptologie dient. Die BAJA-Workshops finden jährlich in Form einer offenen Diskussionsrunde mit Vorträgen zu einem ausgewählten Themenbereich statt.
The diachronic presentation of the material, which includes also information from other periods and sources, shows that the smd.t n pA xr developed in the reign of Ramesses II. Previous simple tasks of group 1, which were originally performed by youngsters of the workmen’s families, were combined with the traditionally external duties of specialists from group 2. The model for the smd.t of Deir el-Medina was copied from other institutions that followed similar organisational principles. Around three generations after the introduction of this working system, we can observe a grown social structure among the different job groups at the beginning of the 20th dynasty. This structure can be reconstructed in a detailed way due to the well preserved texts from the reigns of Ramesses III and IV. The formation and composition of the service personnel was highly influenced by geographical, administrative, social, political and economic developments of Deir el-Medina in the 19th and 20th dynasty. Therefore the smd.t n pA xr was a flexible group whose composition and work load was changed and adjusted several times.
The results mainly gained from textual evidence could be combined with the available information from the occupation phases of the settlement, the tombs and structures in the Valley of the Kings and in the Valley of the Queens as well as with the mortuary temples and correlated with the state of preservation of different sources.
The study presents a complex picture of Deir el-Medina. The diachronic approach gives insights into changes and developments during the Ramesside period which reveal a constant transition among the jobs groups and titles in and around the community of workmen over a period of about 250 years.
Reviews
A. Austin, in: OLZ 115-1 (2020), pp. 27–29;
H. Gaber, in: BiOr 77: 3–4 (2020), pp. 271–276.
Der Münchner Arbeitskreises Junge Aegyptologie ist ein Forum für Nachwuchswissenschaftlerinnen und Nachwuchswissenschaftler, das dem Austausch und vor allem der Präsentation neuer Forschungsansätze und -ergebnisse in der Ägyptologie dient. Die MAJA-Workshops finden regelmäßig in Form einer offenen Diskussionsrunde mit Vorträgen zu einem speziellen Themenbereich statt.
Der Münchner Arbeitskreis Junge Aegyptologie ist ein Forum für Nachwuchswissenschaftlerinnen und Nachwuchswissenschaftler, das dem Austausch und vor allem der Präsentation neuer Forschungsansätze und -ergebnisse in der Ägyptologie dient. Die MAJA-Workshops finden regelmäßig in Form einer offenen Diskussionsrunde mit Vorträgen zu einem speziellen Themenbereich statt.
Der Beitragsband Nekropolen: Grab – Bild – Ritual ist aus der zweiten Tagung des Münchner Arbeitskreises Junge Aegyptologie hervorgegangen und umfasst 16 Beiträge internationaler Referenten, die im Dezember 2011 vorgestellt und diskutiert wurden. Die überwiegend jungen Autoren widmen sich neuen Perspektiven aus der Archäologie, der Bildwissenschaft und der Ritualforschung, die methodisch ganzheitliche Ansätze für die Untersuchung des kulturellen Phänomens „Grab“ eröffnen. Dabei steht der übergeordnete Begriff „Nekropole“ für einen Ort, der viele unterschiedliche kulturelle Phänomene und Praktiken umfasst, die in engem Zusammenhang stehen, den Ort definieren und sich in den unterschiedlichen Feldern „Grab“, „Bild“ und „Ritual“ spiegeln. Die eingehende Analyse und Betrachtung dieser Phänomene und Praktiken in ihrer gegenseitigen Abhängigkeit führt zu neuen Ergebnissen und eröffnet einen umfassenden Blick auf das Untersuchungsgebiet „Nekropole“.
Der „Münchner Arbeitskreis Junge Aegyptologie“ ist ein Forum für Nachwuchswissenschaftlerinnen und Nachwuchswissenschaftler, das dem Austausch und vor allem der Präsentation neuer Forschungsansätze und -ergebnisse in der Ägyptologie dient. Die MAJA-Workshops finden in regelmäßigen Abständen in Form einer offenen Diskussionsrunde mit Vorträgen zu einem speziellen Themenbereich statt.
Papers by Kathrin Gabler
Fundkontext auf, welche die Holzobjekte mit der Arbeitersiedlung Deir el-Medina in Verbindung
bringen. Das neue Fundstück stammt aus TT 217 und gehört der Untergruppe
mit Darstellungen „Kartuschen Amenophis I.“ an. Da dieser vergöttlichte König bei den Bewohnern der Siedlung sehr beliebt war und große Verehrung genoss, spiegeln verschiedene Artefakte seinen Kult wider. Die Amulette sind ein weiteres Beispiel für diese Praxis, jedoch im Zusammenhang mit den Bestattungsbräuchen der Arbeitersiedlung.https://doi.org/10.11588/propylaeum.1085.c16596
Ipuy in Deir el-Medina (Theban Tomb 217) – a site where various historical and contemporary actors and objects stand in diverse relationships with one another. The contribution uses two early twentieth century boxes (containing wall fragments) stored in the tomb to explore several key concepts under the headline “Diskurs”, as elaborated at the 11th meeting of the Berliner Arbeitskreis Junge Aegyptologie: Akteure – Gegenstand – Beziehungen.
The assignment of houses from Deir el-Medina to their former inhabitants began with Bernard Bruyère in the 1930s. This paper discusses some of the houses identified thus far according to a structured methodology. The authors (a) set up different criteria in order to establish how secure such identifications may be; (b) adopt a diachronic perspective in order to determine whether some families remained in the same houses over decades; and (c) show, through a specific case study, that spatial
In this paper, we publish two letters found by E. Schiaparelli in Deir el-Medina (1908). These can be dated to the mid-19th Dynasty (c. year 45–50 of Ramesses II) based on palaeographical and prosopographical clues. They add to the body of evidence for epistolary communications between women in the community of workers. In complex interactions (involving numerous quotes based on hearsay), the daughters and other female relatives of Tꜣ-ḫꜥ.t (ii) complain about the evil behavior of their mother and each other. The scribal hand is the same for both letters, though the letters were sent by different individuals, and it reveals the writing habits of a scribe who was active during the first part of the reign of Ramesses II. As such, autographs can be excluded.
The endeavour is directly connected to the interdisciplinary project Crossing Boundaries: Understanding Complex Scribal Practices in Ancient Egypt, a joint venture of the University of Basel, the University of Liège, and the Museo Egizio (Turin). Since 2019, the Crossing Boundaries project has targeted the rich papyrological materials from the village of Deir el-Medina (c. 1350–1050 BCE) held in the Museo Egizio, seeking to enhance our understanding of the scribal practices that lie behind the production of the texts from this community.
The driving methodological motto of Crossing Boundaries has been to adopt a contextualized approach to these written documents. As progress was made on the Deir el-Medina materials, the need to develop a clearer picture of all the hieratic texts available from the same period quickly became evident, which is met by the present publication. https://pressesuniversitairesdeliege.be/produit/new-kingdom-hieratic-collections-from-around-the-world/
Der Berliner Arbeitskreis Junge Aegyptologie ist ein Forum für deutschsprachige Nachwuchs¬wissenschaftler*innen, das dem Austausch und der Präsentation neuer Forschungsansätze und -ergebnisse in der Ägyptologie dient. Die BAJA-Workshops finden jährlich in Form einer offenen Diskussionsrunde mit Vorträgen zu einem ausgewählten Themenbereich statt.
The diachronic presentation of the material, which includes also information from other periods and sources, shows that the smd.t n pA xr developed in the reign of Ramesses II. Previous simple tasks of group 1, which were originally performed by youngsters of the workmen’s families, were combined with the traditionally external duties of specialists from group 2. The model for the smd.t of Deir el-Medina was copied from other institutions that followed similar organisational principles. Around three generations after the introduction of this working system, we can observe a grown social structure among the different job groups at the beginning of the 20th dynasty. This structure can be reconstructed in a detailed way due to the well preserved texts from the reigns of Ramesses III and IV. The formation and composition of the service personnel was highly influenced by geographical, administrative, social, political and economic developments of Deir el-Medina in the 19th and 20th dynasty. Therefore the smd.t n pA xr was a flexible group whose composition and work load was changed and adjusted several times.
The results mainly gained from textual evidence could be combined with the available information from the occupation phases of the settlement, the tombs and structures in the Valley of the Kings and in the Valley of the Queens as well as with the mortuary temples and correlated with the state of preservation of different sources.
The study presents a complex picture of Deir el-Medina. The diachronic approach gives insights into changes and developments during the Ramesside period which reveal a constant transition among the jobs groups and titles in and around the community of workmen over a period of about 250 years.
Reviews
A. Austin, in: OLZ 115-1 (2020), pp. 27–29;
H. Gaber, in: BiOr 77: 3–4 (2020), pp. 271–276.
Der Münchner Arbeitskreises Junge Aegyptologie ist ein Forum für Nachwuchswissenschaftlerinnen und Nachwuchswissenschaftler, das dem Austausch und vor allem der Präsentation neuer Forschungsansätze und -ergebnisse in der Ägyptologie dient. Die MAJA-Workshops finden regelmäßig in Form einer offenen Diskussionsrunde mit Vorträgen zu einem speziellen Themenbereich statt.
Der Münchner Arbeitskreis Junge Aegyptologie ist ein Forum für Nachwuchswissenschaftlerinnen und Nachwuchswissenschaftler, das dem Austausch und vor allem der Präsentation neuer Forschungsansätze und -ergebnisse in der Ägyptologie dient. Die MAJA-Workshops finden regelmäßig in Form einer offenen Diskussionsrunde mit Vorträgen zu einem speziellen Themenbereich statt.
Der Beitragsband Nekropolen: Grab – Bild – Ritual ist aus der zweiten Tagung des Münchner Arbeitskreises Junge Aegyptologie hervorgegangen und umfasst 16 Beiträge internationaler Referenten, die im Dezember 2011 vorgestellt und diskutiert wurden. Die überwiegend jungen Autoren widmen sich neuen Perspektiven aus der Archäologie, der Bildwissenschaft und der Ritualforschung, die methodisch ganzheitliche Ansätze für die Untersuchung des kulturellen Phänomens „Grab“ eröffnen. Dabei steht der übergeordnete Begriff „Nekropole“ für einen Ort, der viele unterschiedliche kulturelle Phänomene und Praktiken umfasst, die in engem Zusammenhang stehen, den Ort definieren und sich in den unterschiedlichen Feldern „Grab“, „Bild“ und „Ritual“ spiegeln. Die eingehende Analyse und Betrachtung dieser Phänomene und Praktiken in ihrer gegenseitigen Abhängigkeit führt zu neuen Ergebnissen und eröffnet einen umfassenden Blick auf das Untersuchungsgebiet „Nekropole“.
Der „Münchner Arbeitskreis Junge Aegyptologie“ ist ein Forum für Nachwuchswissenschaftlerinnen und Nachwuchswissenschaftler, das dem Austausch und vor allem der Präsentation neuer Forschungsansätze und -ergebnisse in der Ägyptologie dient. Die MAJA-Workshops finden in regelmäßigen Abständen in Form einer offenen Diskussionsrunde mit Vorträgen zu einem speziellen Themenbereich statt.
Fundkontext auf, welche die Holzobjekte mit der Arbeitersiedlung Deir el-Medina in Verbindung
bringen. Das neue Fundstück stammt aus TT 217 und gehört der Untergruppe
mit Darstellungen „Kartuschen Amenophis I.“ an. Da dieser vergöttlichte König bei den Bewohnern der Siedlung sehr beliebt war und große Verehrung genoss, spiegeln verschiedene Artefakte seinen Kult wider. Die Amulette sind ein weiteres Beispiel für diese Praxis, jedoch im Zusammenhang mit den Bestattungsbräuchen der Arbeitersiedlung.https://doi.org/10.11588/propylaeum.1085.c16596
Ipuy in Deir el-Medina (Theban Tomb 217) – a site where various historical and contemporary actors and objects stand in diverse relationships with one another. The contribution uses two early twentieth century boxes (containing wall fragments) stored in the tomb to explore several key concepts under the headline “Diskurs”, as elaborated at the 11th meeting of the Berliner Arbeitskreis Junge Aegyptologie: Akteure – Gegenstand – Beziehungen.
The assignment of houses from Deir el-Medina to their former inhabitants began with Bernard Bruyère in the 1930s. This paper discusses some of the houses identified thus far according to a structured methodology. The authors (a) set up different criteria in order to establish how secure such identifications may be; (b) adopt a diachronic perspective in order to determine whether some families remained in the same houses over decades; and (c) show, through a specific case study, that spatial
In this paper, we publish two letters found by E. Schiaparelli in Deir el-Medina (1908). These can be dated to the mid-19th Dynasty (c. year 45–50 of Ramesses II) based on palaeographical and prosopographical clues. They add to the body of evidence for epistolary communications between women in the community of workers. In complex interactions (involving numerous quotes based on hearsay), the daughters and other female relatives of Tꜣ-ḫꜥ.t (ii) complain about the evil behavior of their mother and each other. The scribal hand is the same for both letters, though the letters were sent by different individuals, and it reveals the writing habits of a scribe who was active during the first part of the reign of Ramesses II. As such, autographs can be excluded.
Online available: https://rivista.museoegizio.it/article/crossing-boundaries-understanding-complex-scribal-practices-in-ancient-egypt-with-a-2019-progress-report/
P. Turin Provv. 3581, and discusses its social context on the basis of the named individuals in the message.
In addition, the delivery route of the letter and its find-spot are analysed. The document can be dated to the
Eighteenth Dynasty and may have been found in or near one of the tombs from this period in the Valley of
the Queens. Seemingly sent from Thebes by the overseer of the treasury Djehutynefer, the letter provides
new insights into the administration of Eighteenth Dynasty burials, and indicates that Ineni, the mayor of
Thebes, was still involved with the construction of tombs at this time.
as case studies: they demonstrate two possibilities as to the derivation of service members. Against the background of more general information about the service staff, the paper reveals a pattern of ‘promotion’ between some of the different supply jobs; it also shows the possibility that some deliverers may have originated from the families of workmen. The article gives new insights into the origins and daily life of the smd.t, as well as the social structure and age groupings of the service personnel in the mid-20th Dynasty. On the basis of its
discoveries, the paper also presents some additions to the family of Pn-njw.t (i/iii). Furthermore, an additional appendix summarises the available hieratic attestations of the term ms-xr, which generally refers to the origins of a person.
The paper will …
a) …present an overview of the current state of research: what do we know about the female inhabitants of Deir el-Medina? In Davies 1999, about 150 women are named as well as 200 daughters - for a comparison the same publication includes 300 workmen and 250 sons who are attested in many ostraca, papyri, stelae, tombs etc.
b) …discuss how we can make use of the preserved documentation to gain as much information as possible about the women. It is important to emphasize that most of the available objects were produced by men (especially the written sources). Therefore, these women were often presented to us through a male perspective.
c) …provide a contextualized approach for future perspectives: By combing various sources of information from an archaeological, prosopographical, diachronic and a textual point of view, the social background of women, daughters, and granddaughters staying in Deir el-Medina in the 19th and 20th Dyn. will be investigated. The houses and their former inhabitants serve as a case study: the combined approach leads to ‘biographies’ of houses and quarters throughout the 250 years of the Ramesside period showing certain patterns, e.g. houses and property passed on via the female line of a family.
Even if information about the Deir el-Medina ladies is more complex to generate and to interpret - because of a certain performance, decorum and tradition in Ancient Egyptian texts, images, and depictions - traces of these women can be discovered by a closer look at the available data revealing much insight into their lives about 3000 years ago.
The paper examines examples of smd.t staff from the mid-20th Dynasty who, in a variety of ways, maintained close relations with the workmen’s village. It shows how the interactions between both groups may be gleaned from the surviving hieratic documents. We observe a flexible system with various possible situations: men leaving the settlement, joining the external personnel and holding a job in the smd.t-group, people being active as service staff, and others who probably leave the smd.t. The examples reveal different aspects, from personal backgrounds and family affairs, including reasons to become a smd.t-member, to a promotion system that took account of someone’s age and local influence. There are even cases of delivery staff coming (back) in the workmen’s community.
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