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Elizabeth Bloxam
Dr Elizabeth Bloxam is currently Visiting Professor of Egyptology at North East Normal University, Changchun, China and has held an honorary senior research associate post at University College London for the last ten years.
She has held university lecturing posts in Egyptology in the UK, Australia and China, and is an internationally recognised scholar in the research of ancient society and technology in Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean. Elizabeth has led multi-disciplinary excavations in some of the most important quarry and mining sites connected with monuments such as the Pyramids at Giza and Karnak Temple in Luxor, and is currently directing fieldwork in the Wadi Hammamat region of Egypt’s Eastern Desert where some of the world’s earliest stone objects associated with kingship were created. She has published widely in international journals and is co-editor of the recently published (2020) Oxford Handbook of Egyptology.
What first sparked your interest for archaeology?
Hearing stories about my great, great, grandmother's journeys to Egypt in the 1920s with some of the early pioneers of Egyptian archaeology, who were in search of this ancient civilisation’s tombs and monuments – these tales were inspirational.
Which is your favourite archaeological site?
Always a difficult question, but as my passion for archaeology has been focused on finding out about the lives of ordinary people, and exploring the role of technology in shaping the great monumental civilisations, I particularly love the tomb-makers village of Deir el Medina in Luxor. This site gives us a rare glimpse into the lives of those master craftspeople who created the tombs of the pharaohs in the Valley of the Kings. This site is a ‘must see’ for all visitors to Egypt.
What does archaeology mean to you?
Everything - it is my life and I’ve been fortunate enough to make it my professional career for the last 20 years as both a university lecturer, researcher and Guide Lecturer/Expert Scholar for Andante. Exploring past civilisations and cultures, I believe, gives us great insights not only into ancient lives but also conveys messages to us about the future.
