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Egyptian Section

Dr. David P. Silverman

Curator in Charge of the Egyptian Section

Dr. David P. Silverman is Curator of Penn Museum's Egyptian Section and Eckley Brinton Coxe, Jr. Professor of Egyptology in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Silverman is the national curator, advisor, and academic content creator for the blockbuster exhibition "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs," which opened at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia in February 2007. He was also responsible for the curatorial content in the original 1977 "Treasures of Tutankhamun" exhibit and served as Curator in Chicago at the Field Museum.

His extensive publications include books, articles, studies, and reports on Egyptian language, art, and religion, and he has directed several field expeditions at sites throughout Egypt. Among the exhibits he has curated and co-curated are "Amarna, Ancient Egypt's Place in the Sun," "Ramesses the Great," "Searching for Ancient Egypt," "Women in Ancient Egypt," "Archaeological Treasures of Ancient Egypt," "The Magic of Egyptian Art," and Penn Museum's popular exhibition "The Egyptian Mummy: Secrets and Science."

He has received many awards and honors, including grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Penn Research Foundation, and The Michela Schiff-Giorgini Foundation. The Athenaeum Society of Philadelphia presented him with a Literary Award for his books Searching for Ancient Egypt and Ancient Egypt. Dr. Silverman has been a visiting professor at both L'École Pratique at the Sorbonne in Paris and Harvard University. He received his B.A. with honors in Art History from Rutgers University and his Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago.

Dr. Jennifer R. Houser Wegner

egyptkeepers.@sas.upenn.edu
Associate Curator, Egyptian Section, and Associate Professor, Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Jennifer R. Houser Wegner is a Research Scientist in Penn Museum's Egyptian Section and Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Pennsylvania. She served as Keeper of the Museum's Egyptian Section from 1996 to 2000. Dr. Wegner has contributed to numerous publications and presented at several annual meetings of the American Research Center in Egypt and at the International Congress of Egyptologists in Cambridge, UK. She has also served as Epigrapher/Artist on expeditions to Bersheh, Saqqara, and Abydos in Egypt. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Egyptology from the University of Pennsylvania and her Doctorate from Yale University.

Dr. Josef Wegner

jwegner@sas.upenn.edu
Associate Curator, Egyptian Section, and Associate Professor, Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Josef Wegner focuses his research on Middle Kingdom Egypt (ca. 2000-1600 BCE) and is currently conducting archaeological excavations at South Abydos, Egypt. In 2002-2003 he conducted two seasons of fieldwork at Abydos. In June-July 2002 magnetic resonance (subsurface) mapping was completed in and around the current excavation site of the mortuary complex and town of Senwosret III (which Dr. Wegner has been excavating since 1994). The purpose of this work was to provide evidence for as-yet-unknown buildings and other structures in the area of the Senwosret III complex. Results of the magnetic survey were positive with the identification of two important structures near the town of Senwosret III: (1) a likely administrative building which may have been the center for the local mayoral administration of the town and cult foundation of Senwosret III, and (2) a silo complex which appears to be part of the agricultural storage facilities of the town.

During March-April 2003, Dr. Wegner and Ph.D. student Dawn McCormack conducted excavations of a mastaba-tomb which may be a royal tomb belonging to a king of the 13th Dynasty. This tomb includes a massive sarcophagus and burial chamber set within a superstructure of brick. Objects recovered included pieces of painted and gilded plaster that may derive from parts of the burial equipment and elegantly made alabaster vessels. The architecture and objects indicate the possible burial site for a pharaoh of early Dynasty 13 (ca. 1800 BCE), but future work is required to make a positive identification of the tomb owner.