TEAM

Project Director and Principal Investigator

Area of expertise: Bioarchaeology (Human Remains) and Funerary Archaeology

Iwona is an archaeologist and bioarchaeologist specialising in funerary archaeology and the study of human remains in Egypt and Sudan. She applies multidisciplinary approaches to explore the human-environment and intercultural relationships in the past, with particular focus on human responses (adaptation, conflict, transition) to environmental stressors in Northeast Africa. Her line of work is to analyse patterns of health and disease, trauma and violence, subsistence and mobility in archaeological populations in Egypt and Sudan.

Since 2003, Iwona has worked on many archaeological sites in the Nile Valley, and is currently the deputy director of the Saqqara West Expedition.

E-mail: i.kozieradzka-ogunmakin@uw.edu.pl

ORCID ID: 0000-0003-0396-7623

Specialist/Postdoctoral Researcher

Area of Expertise: Textile Production/Dress Practices/Funerary Textiles

Magda is an archaeologist specialising in the textile production and dress practices in the Nile Valley (Egypt and Sudan). In the project, she is responsible for the documentation and analysis of the funerary textile remains, including fibre identification to trace possible shifts in the textile economy related to the climatic conditions, and the mapping of their distribution on the body. Magda’s research will provide an evidence-based insight into the ancient Egyptian textile production, dress making and textile use in the funerary practices at Saqqara.

PCMA profile

Academia profile

E-mail: m.m.wozniak@uw.edu.pl

ORCID ID: 0000-0003-3551-2762

Specialist

Area of Expertise: Bioarchaeology (Human Remains) and Forensic Anthropology

Emily is a forensic anthropologist/osteologist for SNA International, working in support of the U.S. Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency in Honolulu, Hawaii, since 2016. Her doctoral research was focused on metric sex estimation of ancient Egyptian skeletal remains. In addition to her academic work, Emily has over 10 years of professional experience working in the medical/scientific communications industry, in both technical writing/editing and senior management roles. She joined the Saqqara West Expedition in 2015, and has since provided her analytical support and expertise in the study of human remains, working alongside Iwona.

Academia profile

Specialist
Area of expertise: Bioarchaeology (Human Remains) and Dental Anthropology

Nina’s research spans across the eastern Mediterranean, encompassing Egypt and the ancient Near East. She utilises osteological methods together with statistical techniques to investigate themes such as migration and mobility, palaeodemography and health. Nina’s most recent work has delved into biodistance analysis using non-destructive techniques in dental anthropology to explore local population histories and inter-site biological affinities and how these relate to larger societal shifts. In her current position at the Finnish Institute in the Middle East (FIME), Nina examines the health effects of urbanization during the Middle Bronze Age.

Email: nina.maaranen@gmail.com
ORCID ID: 0000-0001-5821-1167

Specialist

Area of Expertise: Archaeobotany

Menna is an archaeologist specialising in Egyptian culinary history. She has a PhD in Egyptology with a focus on archaeobotanical analysis. Her research revolves around food and agriculture, exploring how people sourced and prepared food and investigating plant husbandry and trade of agricultural products. She has worked extensively on multiple archaeological sites across Egypt, and has served in a number of positions at the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities. She is Lecturer of Archaeobotany at the Faculty of Archaeology at Ain Shams University, and Assistant Professor and Chair of Coptic Studies at the American University in Cairo.

In the project, Menna undertakes the study of botanical remains from the funerary context at the Saqqara cemetery.

AUC profile

Specialist

Area of Expertise: Chemistry/Chromatography

Magda is Professor of Chemistry specialising in chromatography. She has worked with archaeologists and textile specialists providing expertise in the study and identification of textiles and dyes, and co-authored many papers on the topic. In the project, she is working alongside our textile specialist, Magda Woźniak, and our Egyptian colleagues from the Research and Conservation Centre of Antiquities, Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, providing training and expertise on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of resin and textile fibres.

Research publications

Archaeologist and Archivist

Area of Expertise: Egyptian Archaeology, Funerary Archaeology

Agnieszka is an archaeologist and a core member of the Saqqara West Expedition since 1999. At Saqqara, she has been responsible for the excavation and study of funerary contexts, and documenting and cataloguing artefacts. In the project, she is responsible for collating archaeological data and data entry into the project’s burial database.

Photographer

Area of Expertise: Archaeology, Digital Photography, Photogrammetry, 3D Visualisation

Mateusz is an archaeologist, documentarian, and 3D graphic designer. His specialism lies in digital visualisation of archaeological heritage, including virtual museums, 3D artefact reconstruction, digitalization and film production.

In the project, Mateusz is responsible for photographic documentation, photogrammetry and 3D visualisation of artefacts and human remains.

Archaeological investigations at Saqqara have been carried out for over three decades, first led by Professor Karol Myśliwiec, and since 2016 by Associate Professor Kamil Kuraszkiewicz. Our current project stems from many fruitful field seasons and work of many past and present expedition members, archaeologists and specialists alike. The fieldwork would not have been possible without the dedicated local workmen, many of whom have become long-term and invaluable members of the team.