Shereen, our Antiquities Inspector for 2016

Diana Craig Patch

Every year the local inspectorate here on the West Bank of Luxor assigns us a member of their staff to assist our expedition. We have always had wonderful inspectors and once again we are lucky in the selection of Ms. Shereen Mohamed Hosni by Mr. Talat, the Director of West Bank Antiquities. She joins us for the month of January from the Carter Magazine where she is the inspector responsible for a storeroom of finds excavated at Deir el-Bahri.

Diana and Shereen discuss molds for making faience decorations.

Shereen is from Luxor having grown up in the village of Qurnah, although now she lives in another area on the West Bank near the house of the famous religious scholar, Al-Azhar Grand Imam Ahmed el-Tayyeb. She took her degree from the Department of Archaeology in 2007 in the Faculty of Art at the University of Qena. In 2011, Shereen joined the Ministry of State of Antiquities as an inspector and was assigned to the newly opened Carter House, the wonderful tribute to the life of Howard Carter. The following year she was transferred to the Ramesseum where she had the opportunity to work with our colleague Christian Leblanc who lives in the French House near Malqata. She has also had assignments at Medinet Habu, where she worked with our colleagues from Chicago House, Deir el-Medina, and Kom el Hettan before beginning her current assignment at the Carter Magazine.

Catharine and Shereen sort pottery from the West Settlement.

Our inspector is dedicated to learning as much as possible about archaeology and is interested in everything that we do. Her favorite subject in Egyptology, however, is the study of the art and archology of New Kingdom tombs, especially how they are decorated and how their styles change over time. We can’t help her with that interest, but Peter has been finding beautiful mud painting fragments so she definitely gets New Kingdom art at Malqata.

Janice and Shereen discuss the plans of the West Settlement.

Shereen has received many certificates for her abilities, including one from Dr. Leblanc for excavation and another from Dr. Johnson of Chicago House for drawing; she also has completed courses in computer skills (IC3) and English.   Shereen has a talent for language and has made our life at the dig easy because of her expertise in English.

Shereen looks through the total station.

2016 is a lucky year for Shereen because she has found a soulmate in Mohamed El-Kelany. Shortly she will be married and move to Hurghada to join him. We wish her all luck and success in her future.

January 21, 2016