ARCE Lecture: Meet Madame Silsila

Gebel el Silsila, meaning 'Mountain of the Chain' in Arabic, is located in Upper Egypt between Kom Ombo and Edfu. Most visitors to Egypt have only experienced Gebel el Silsila from the deck of a ship while cruising the Nile between Aswan and Luxor. However Madam Silsila, as she is affectionately known to the Gebel el Silsila team, is so much more. The massive site encompasses approximately 30 square kilometers and is known for its many New Kingdom stelae, Nile cenotaphs, shrines, and rock cut temple, the so-called Speos of Horemheb. Arguably Silsila's predominant features are her cavernous, cathedral-like quarries. Numbering 104, these quarries produced much of the quality sandstone used to construct some of the most famed temples in Egypt. This talk will introduce you to wondrous Madam Silsila with an overview of her most renowned aspects, present those which are lesser known, and reveal some of the latest news from the field.

Tricia Coletto holds an MA in Archaeology and Heritage Management from the University of Exeter, which she earned in 2013. Her studies focused on assessing the integration of religious practice and ritual with domestic space in Ancient Egyptian private religion. She is currently an archaeologist with the Gebel el Silsila Project, a mission dedicated to the comprehensive survey of the sandstone quarries and landscape of Gebel el Silsila in Upper Egypt. Included in the mission are epigraphic inscription and rock art documentation and archaeological excavation of the New Kingdom necropolis, Nile cenotaphs, and the lost Temple of Kheny. Ms. Coletto has also spent many seasons excavating and surveying at several sites in Israel with the Jezreel Valley Regional Project including the early Bronze Age site, Tel Megiddo East, and the Roman Legion Camp of Legio.

Registration is required at isaw.nyu.edu/rsvp

Admission to lecture closes 10 minutes after scheduled start time.

Reception to follow.

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