Manfred Bietak
Encyclopedia
Manfred Bietak is an Austria
n archaeologist
. He is Professor emeritus of Egyptology
at the University of Vienna
and Director of the Austrian Archaeological Institute in Cairo 1973-2009. He is currently Chairman of the Vienna Institute of Archaeological Science at the University of Vienna and Chairman of the Commission for Egypt and the Levant at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. In 1997 and 2006, he was Visiting Professor at the Collège de France
; in 2004, he was Martha Whitcomb Visiting Professor at Harvard
.
Bietak is best known as the director of the Austrian excavations at two sites in the Nile delta
: Tell El-Dab'a
, which was the location of Avaris
, the capital of the Hyksos
period; and Piramesse, which was the capital of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt
. The site was also most probably the naval base Peru-nefer of Thutmosis III and Amenhotep II. A palace precinct of those kings, furnished with Minoan frescoes was one of the most important discoveries. Bietak has also conducted excavations in western Thebes
(Luqsor), where he discovered the huge tomb of Ankh-Hor, Chief steward of the Divine Wife of Amun Nitokris (26th Dynasty).
Bietak studied archeology at University of Vienna, obtaining his Dr. phil. in 1964 and an honorary PhD. in 2009. In 1961-1964, he took part in the archaeological rescue expedition of UNESCO
at Sayala in Nubia
, and he also supervised excavations there; in 1965 he was the director of the expedition. During 1966-1972, he was the Scientific Secretary and later the Scientific Counsellor at the Austrian Embassy in Cairo. In 1973, he founded the Austrian Archaeological Institute in Cairo
; he has been the director of the institute till 2009. 1986-2009 he was Chairman of the Institute of Egyptology at the University of Vienna. Since 1999 he is also the First Speaker of the "Synchronisation of Civilisations in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Second Millennium B.C. — SCIEM 2000" at the Austrian Academy of Sciences
. In 2003, he was appointed Chairman at the Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science at the University of Vienna.
Bietak has been elected to several scholarly institutions: Foreign Honorary Member of the Archaeological Institute of America
; Full Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
; Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy
; Full Member of German Archaeological Institute
; Membre titulaire de l'Institut d'Égypte; Foreign Fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters; Membre associé de l'Institut de France : Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
; Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries
; Foreign Member of the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences in Göteborg; Foreign Member of the Polish Academy of Sciences
. He is also a member of the following: Council of the International Union of Egyptologists; Scientific Committee of the International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East; Visiting Committee of the Egyptian Department of the Metropolitan Museum of New York. Additionally, he has supervised or reviewed at least 40 Ph.D. theses and at least 18 Masters theses, at the universities of Amsterdam
, Berlin
, Cambridge
, Copenhagen
, Göttingen
, Hamburg
, Helwan, London
, Vienna
.
In 2006, there was a three-volume festschrift
published in his honour. The festschrift includes a list of works that Bietak authored or co-authored up to 2006: 21 monographs, 164 research articles, and 17 review articles. Bietak has also edited or co-edited 8 periodicals, including the Egyptological journal Egypt and the Levant.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n archaeologist
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
. He is Professor emeritus of Egyptology
Egyptology
Egyptology is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious practices in the AD 4th century. A practitioner of the discipline is an “Egyptologist”...
at the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
and Director of the Austrian Archaeological Institute in Cairo 1973-2009. He is currently Chairman of the Vienna Institute of Archaeological Science at the University of Vienna and Chairman of the Commission for Egypt and the Levant at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. In 1997 and 2006, he was Visiting Professor at the Collège de France
Collège de France
The Collège de France is a higher education and research establishment located in Paris, France, in the 5th arrondissement, or Latin Quarter, across the street from the historical campus of La Sorbonne at the intersection of Rue Saint-Jacques and Rue des Écoles...
; in 2004, he was Martha Whitcomb Visiting Professor at Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
Bietak is best known as the director of the Austrian excavations at two sites in the Nile delta
Nile Delta
The Nile Delta is the delta formed in Northern Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's largest river deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Port Said in the east, it covers some 240 km of Mediterranean coastline—and is a rich...
: Tell El-Dab'a
Tell El-Dab'a
Tell el Dab'a is the modern name of the capital city for the Hyksos in the Nile delta region of Egypt, 30° 47’ N, 31° 50’ E, called Avaris. Avaris was occupied by the Asiatics from the end of the 12th through the 13th dynasty . The site is known primarily for its Minoan frescoes.Excavations in the...
, which was the location of Avaris
Avaris
Avaris , capital of Egypt under the Hyksos , was located near modern Tell el-Dab'a in the northeastern region of the Nile Delta, at the juncture of the 8th, 14th, 19th and 20th Nomes...
, the capital of the Hyksos
Hyksos
The Hyksos were an Asiatic people who took over the eastern Nile Delta during the twelfth dynasty, initiating the Second Intermediate Period of ancient Egypt....
period; and Piramesse, which was the capital of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt
Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt
The Nineteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt was one of the periods of the Egyptian New Kingdom. Founded by Vizier Ramesses I, whom Pharaoh Horemheb chose as his successor to the throne, this dynasty is best known for its military conquests in Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria.The warrior kings of the...
. The site was also most probably the naval base Peru-nefer of Thutmosis III and Amenhotep II. A palace precinct of those kings, furnished with Minoan frescoes was one of the most important discoveries. Bietak has also conducted excavations in western Thebes
Thebes, Egypt
Thebes is the Greek name for a city in Ancient Egypt located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean, on the east bank of the river Nile within the modern city of Luxor. The Theban Necropolis is situated nearby on the west bank of the Nile.-History:...
(Luqsor), where he discovered the huge tomb of Ankh-Hor, Chief steward of the Divine Wife of Amun Nitokris (26th Dynasty).
Bietak studied archeology at University of Vienna, obtaining his Dr. phil. in 1964 and an honorary PhD. in 2009. In 1961-1964, he took part in the archaeological rescue expedition of UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
at Sayala in Nubia
Nubia
Nubia is a region along the Nile river, which is located in northern Sudan and southern Egypt.There were a number of small Nubian kingdoms throughout the Middle Ages, the last of which collapsed in 1504, when Nubia became divided between Egypt and the Sennar sultanate resulting in the Arabization...
, and he also supervised excavations there; in 1965 he was the director of the expedition. During 1966-1972, he was the Scientific Secretary and later the Scientific Counsellor at the Austrian Embassy in Cairo. In 1973, he founded the Austrian Archaeological Institute in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
; he has been the director of the institute till 2009. 1986-2009 he was Chairman of the Institute of Egyptology at the University of Vienna. Since 1999 he is also the First Speaker of the "Synchronisation of Civilisations in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Second Millennium B.C. — SCIEM 2000" at the Austrian Academy of Sciences
Austrian Academy of Sciences
The Austrian Academy of Sciences is a legal entity under the special protection of the Federal Republic of Austria. According to the statutes of the Academy its mission is to promote the sciences and humanities in every respect and in every field, particularly in fundamental research...
. In 2003, he was appointed Chairman at the Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science at the University of Vienna.
Bietak has been elected to several scholarly institutions: Foreign Honorary Member of the Archaeological Institute of America
Archaeological Institute of America
The Archaeological Institute of America is a North American nonprofit organization devoted to the promotion of public interest in archaeology, and the preservation of archaeological sites. It has offices on the campus of Boston University and in New York City.The institute was founded in 1879,...
; Full Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
Austrian Academy of Sciences
The Austrian Academy of Sciences is a legal entity under the special protection of the Federal Republic of Austria. According to the statutes of the Academy its mission is to promote the sciences and humanities in every respect and in every field, particularly in fundamental research...
; Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
; Full Member of German Archaeological Institute
German Archaeological Institute
The German Archaeological Institute is an institution of research within the field of archaeology , and a "scientific corporation", with parentage of the federal Foreign Office of Germany-Origin:...
; Membre titulaire de l'Institut d'Égypte; Foreign Fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters; Membre associé de l'Institut de France : Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres is a French learned society devoted to the humanities, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the Institut de France.-History:...
; Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries
Society of Antiquaries of London
The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is...
; Foreign Member of the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences in Göteborg; Foreign Member of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Polish Academy of Sciences
The Polish Academy of Sciences, headquartered in Warsaw, is one of two Polish institutions having the nature of an academy of sciences.-History:...
. He is also a member of the following: Council of the International Union of Egyptologists; Scientific Committee of the International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East; Visiting Committee of the Egyptian Department of the Metropolitan Museum of New York. Additionally, he has supervised or reviewed at least 40 Ph.D. theses and at least 18 Masters theses, at the universities of Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Göttingen
Göttingen
Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Helwan, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
.
In 2006, there was a three-volume festschrift
Festschrift
In academia, a Festschrift , is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during his or her lifetime. The term, borrowed from German, could be translated as celebration publication or celebratory writing...
published in his honour. The festschrift includes a list of works that Bietak authored or co-authored up to 2006: 21 monographs, 164 research articles, and 17 review articles. Bietak has also edited or co-edited 8 periodicals, including the Egyptological journal Egypt and the Levant.
External links
- Austrian Archaeological Institute: Cairo Branch
- Manfred Bietak at the Austrian Academy of Sciences
- SCIEM 2000 Synchronisation of Civilisations in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Second Millennium B.C.
- Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science