Event: WEDS TALK: Deir el-Ballas: Past, Present, and Future Research

ABSTRACT: As the capital city and administrative center of the Theban kings during the Hyksos expulsion of the 17th Dynasty (ca. 1650-1521 BC), Deir el-Ballas is of tremendous importance in the history and archeology of Egypt. The site is located on the west bank of the Nile to the north of the town of Ballas proper by the villages of El-Deir and El-Deir el-Gharbi.

The site was first excavated by the Hearst Expedition from the United States under the direction of George Reisner in 1900-1901. In order to clarify the records of that expedition and publish the site, four seasons of archaeological work were undertaken by Peter Lacovara between 1980-1986 under the

sponsorship of the American Research Center in Egypt and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Since 2017 the Deir el-Ballas Expedition has been working together with the Qena Antiquities Inspectorate to restore and protect these archaeological remains and to preserve this important site for future generations. The goals of the new work of the Deir el-Ballas Expedition are twofold, to publish George Reisner’s original excavation records along with our new archaeological research at the site- to understand the previous excavations and to protect and preserve the ancient monuments.

BIO: Nicholas (Nick) Brown is an American Egyptologist who has worked as an archaeologist in Egypt since 2011. He received his MA degree in Egyptology from the American University in Cairo in 2016, and currently is an Egyptology PhD candidate at the UCLA.