STARS OF EGYPTOLOGY

Academic, writer, broadcaster and teacher, Joyce Tyldesley is one of the most prolific writers on ancient Egypt. After obtaining a first class honours degree from Liverpool University she went on to obtain her doctorate from Oxford University. In 2007 she joined the University of Manchester where she teaches a variety of courses including the world’s first online Masters programme in Egyptology.

When did you first develop an interest in archaeology?

Very young! I was born in the north-west of England: a region that has a large number of museums with excellent Egyptology collections. So one of my earliest childhood memories is of looking at the Nefertiti bust and the Rosetta stone that were displayed in my local museum. Of course, both artefacts were replicas, but by the time I realised this I had already decided that it would be really interesting either to excavate in Egypt, or to work in a museum.  A few years later, in 1972, the travelling Tutankhamen exhibition arrived in London. This sparked a wave of Egyptology-themed books and broadcasts, strengthening my resolve to be an archaeologist.

What qualifications do you have?

I have a first class degree in the Archaeology of the Eastern Mediterranean from Liverpool University and a D.Phil in prehistoric Archaeology from Oxford University. I have also passed several accountancy exams (a legacy of the time when I supported my Egyptology writing by working as a small business manager for a firm of Chartered Accountants) and I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Finally – and I am not sure that it counts as a qualification – I have an honorary doctorate from Bolton University.

What is your area of expertise?

I started my academic career as a prehistorian, specialising in flint tools. I still find these fascinating. But increasingly I have been focussing on the women of ancient Egypt, paying particular attention to the royal women of the 18^th Dynasty.

Could you explain a bit about your journey as an Egyptologist?

My journey as an Egyptologist has not been a straightforward one. As a student at Liverpool University I wished to study both prehistory and Egyptology but that was not considered a suitable combination of subjects (I should point out that this was many years ago: it would certainly be considered suitable today). So I specialised in prehistory and, after completing my doctorate, returned to Liverpool University to teach prehistory for a year, covering for a staff member on sabbatical. At that time, in the late 1980s, many UK universities were experiencing financial problems and there were few new jobs being created. I decided that rather than move from temporary job to temporary job each year, I would train for a career that would allow me to spend my leisure time researching Egyptology. So I worked as an accountant by day and researched and wrote about ancient Egypt at night. I started to teach night- and summer-schools, and to work as a freelance television consultant. I did some ghost writing (my lips are sealed) and even worked as “Dr Dig” on a children’s magazine. Eventually a job was advertised at Manchester University which met my skill-set, and I was lucky enough to be appointed to develop the online Certificate programme in Egyptology.

What is your latest project? Book? 

My most recent book is Nefertiti’s Face: the Creation of an Icon (Profile Books and Harvard University Press). This book explores the cultural impact of the “Berlin Bust” of Nefertiti. I have also written, with my colleague Nicky Nielsen, From Mummies to Microchips, a case-study in online teaching which will be published by Routledge in May 2020.

Most of my time, however, is currently absorbed by the writing and development of the Manchester University online MA in Egyptology programme, which is now almost at the end of its first year.

What advice would you give young archaeologists/Egyptologists who want to turn their hobby into a career?

This is a very difficult question. I want to say “go for it: get a suitable qualification from a reputable university, get field experience, and work hard, and all will be well”. But I know that there are very few paid jobs in archaeology as a whole, and even fewer in Egyptology. Not many of the Egyptologists interviewed on this website have had a conventional career path, and I myself spent over 20 years working as an accountant. So, my advice would be to study archaeology/Egyptology at a reputable university and to work hard. This will give you a whole set of transferable skills which you can use in a wide range of employments. If an archaeology/Egyptology job comes along, then great; you can apply. If it does not, you can consider other ways of making use of your archaeology/Egyptology expertise: you could write, for example, or teach night-school, or even set up a blog!

Must keep that in mind! Thanks Joyce. Now comes a special surprise. When she was nine years old the Tutankhamen Exhibition was in London. Joyce put together a project. I wonder if her parents knew what was going to happen. Perhaps you have a child who does the same thing. If so, take note!

Sarcophagus

Outer Coffin

The boy king within

KING TUT!

As an adult Dr Joyce Tyldesley won an award for her book on the king. It is the best non-fiction book ever written on Tutankhamen. You can purchase it on Amazon: https://conta.cc/3fagCB0

Joyce’s latest book Nefertiti’s Face: The Creation of an Icon is highly recommended and available in a variety of formats: https://conta.cc/2SrxQ3band and https://conta.cc/3d6KJY3

You can find this in a variety of formats and from a variety of outlets. Here’s one link: https://www.amazon.com/Ramesses-Greatest-Pharaoh-Joyce-Tyldesley-ebook/dp/B002ZJSV5U

Believe it or not the list is incomplete, but they’re fantastic reads!

• The Wolvercote Channel Handaxe Assemblage: A Comparative Study (Oxford: British Archaeological Reports, 1986)
• The Bout Coupe Biface: a Typological Problem (Oxford: British Archaeological Reports, 1987)
• Nazlet Tuna: An Archaeological Survey in Middle Egypt (with Steven Snape) (Oxford: British Archaeological Reports, 1988)
• Daughters of Isis: Women of Ancient Egypt (London: Viking/Penguin, 1994)
• Hatchepsut: The Female Pharaoh (London: Viking/Penguin, 1996)
• Nefertiti: Egypt’s Sun Queen (London: Viking/Penguin, 1999)
• The Mummy: Unwrap the Ancient Secrets of the Mummy’s Tombs (London: Carlton Books Ltd., 1999)
• Ramesses: Egypt’s Greatest Pharaoh (London: Viking/Penguin, 2000)
• Judgement of the Pharaoh: Crime and Punishment in Ancient Egypt (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2000)
• The Private Lives of the Pharaohs (London: Channel 4 Books, 2000)
• Egypt’s Golden Empire: The Age of the New Kingdom (London: Headline, 2001)
• Tales from Ancient Egypt (Rutherford Press Ltd., 2001)
• Pyramids: The Real Story behind Egypt’s most Ancient Monuments (London: Viking/Penguin, 2003)
• Unearthing the Past (with Paul Bahn and Douglas Palmer) (London: Mitchell Beazley, 2005)
• Egypt: How a Lost Civilization was Rediscovered Companion book, (London: BBC Books, 2005)
• Chronicle of the Queens of Egypt (London: Thames & Hudson Ltd., 2006)
• Egyptian Games and Sports (Princes Risborough: Shire Books, 2007)
• INSIDERS: Egypt (Ancient Egypt Revealed) (Templar, 2007)
• Mummy Mysteries: The Secret World of Tutankhamun and the Pharaohs (London: Carlton Books Ltd., 2007)
• Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt (London: Profile Books Ltd., 2008)
• The Pharaohs (London: Quercus, 2009)
• Myths and Legends of Ancient Egypt (London: Viking/Penguin, 2010)
• Stories from Ancient Greece and Rome (Oxbow Books, 2017)
• Tutankhamen’s Curse: The Developing History of an Egyptian King (London: Profile Books Ltd., 2012) (published in the USA as Tutankhamen)
• Stories from Ancient Egypt: Egyptian Myths and Legends for Children (Oxbow Books, 2012)
• Nefertiti’s Face: The Creation of an Icon (London: Profile Books Ltd., 2018)