 |
Al-Ahram Weekly 13 - 19 July 2000 Issue No. 490 
|
||
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
|
Al-Ahram Weekly 13 - 19 July 2000 Issue No. 490
|
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
Egypt Focus International Economy Opinion Interview Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters My last trip
By Rehab Saad
To have studied under the celebrated Egyptologist Flinders Petrie is no mean thing, but at 88, Margaret Hackforth-Jones has raised her own generation of venerable archaeologists. As Petrie's last student, Hackforth-Jones -- formerly Margaret Drower, but now just "Peggy" to her students -- stands as a testament to the golden age of Egyptology, a time in which many of the methods and practices now standard to excavation work were born.
Petrie, regarded as the first scientific excavator of historic sites, is a major figure in the history of Egyptian archaeology. He died in 1942, leaving an indelible mark on sites from the Delta to Upper Egypt, including pre-dynastic cemeteries in Naqada, Luxor and Fayoum. He was the first archaeologist to dig at Tel Al-Amarna, the new capital founded by the 18th-dynasty Pharaoh Akhenaten and a site that would later become stomping grounds for many a distinguished excavator, including Hackforth-Jones herself.
Recently a guest lecturer for a group of American students touring Egypt, Hackforth-Jones was delighted to return to a country she remembers fondly from her regular visits, first as an excavator and later as a teacher. As the daughter of a British official living in Iraq, Hackforth-Jones caught the history bug early on.
"During the time we lived in Iraq, my mother would go to archaeological digs, and I would accompany her," she says. Back in England, she recalls, "There were no archaeological studies in Cambridge or Oxford, just in London, where Egypt was the only country taught. Now students can study Egyptology in countries around the world."
When she decided to study Egyptology, Petrie was her teacher. "Although this lasted for only a few years, it gave me a big drive," she remembers. But she's quick to acknowledge the man who really made her remarkable career possible -- an understanding husband. "Whenever I was away from home, he would run the house and look after our two daughters."
When Petrie's daughter approached Hackforth-Jones about writing Petrie's biography, the book Petrie: A Life in Archaeology was the result. "She asked me to write it because, as his student, I knew him well," she says. But as it was more than 40 years since Petrie's death, Hackforth-Jones found herself hurrying to conduct interviews with Petrie's contemporaries, who by that time were mostly very old.
Margaret Hackforth-Jones
"Before him, archaeologists dug for monuments, statues and other objects suitable for museums. They threw away all the pottery and the small objects. Petrie believed that everything, no matter how small and apparently insignificant, was important, and he set this up as a principle," she said.
When Hackforth-Jones finished her studies in 1930, Petrie told her to travel abroad for a year, suggesting that she see the world and gain experience. He also stressed learning German, as at the time, some of the most in-depth studies were being carried out by German archaeologists.
"I came back to him in 1932 and was his student for several years before obtaining my degree in Egyptology from the University College of London (UCL) in 1935. I was his last student before he left to excavate Palestine and then retired," she said.
After obtaining her degree, Hackforth-Jones came to Egypt to dig at Armant with the Egypt Exploration Society. She has been witness to many a milestone in the excavation and preservation of Egypt's monuments, most notably the relocation of the Abu Simbel temples in Nubia during the building of the High Dam. "I cannot forget that scene of the temples of Ramses II and his beloved wife Nefertari dismantled and lying on the Nile bank. Do you know we were probably the last group to visit the temples before they were reconstructed in their present location?"
After the outbreak of World War II, excavations stopped and Hackforth-Jones returned to England, where she became a teacher of ancient Egyptian history at UCL. Only in the '60s did she come back and excavate at Tel Al-Amarna, with archaeologist John Canterbury.
It was her last dig. Juggling excavation trips and a family proved too taxing, and Hackforth-Jones settled on teaching. She managed to satisfy her thirst for ancient monuments, however, by returning to Egypt as a guest lecturer on Nile cruises organised by Swan tours. "I have come here 30 times," she boasts.
"These trips were unforgettable," Hackforth-Jones enthuses. "I had good groups who were interested in antiquities and also in listening to my lectures." The Nile cruises that now draw so many tourists to Egypt have changed little from those days, she says. "Travellers in those times were ordinary people, as they are today -- but somewhat more elegant," she adds wryly.
"Egypt has changed a lot since I first came in the '30s. There is a lot of industrial development and a lot more people, I think. Even historical sites have changed. Most of them are much better developed, much better guarded and much better protected."
Reflecting on the path she chose in an unconventional profession, Hackforth-Jones has no regrets. "I was lucky to have the opportunity to travel all over the world. I visited most of the countries of the Middle East; I have also travelled in Iran, Sudan, Russia and Europe." The journeys have done her good, and Hackforth-Jones is clearly satisfied that she has seen her fair share.
"When I decided to accompany this group to Egypt and give lectures, I realised that this is my last trip," she said, adding decisively, "I think I am too old to travel."
