We are happy to announce the beginning of the ERC Advanced Grant “The Hyksos Enigma” at the Austrian Academy of Sciences – Vienna, under the direction of Prof. Manfred Bietak as Principal Investigator. The second host institution will be Bournemouth University – UK with Prof. Holger Schutkowski as partner.
The Research program will start January 1st, 2016 and last for five years. Several Doc and post-Doc positions will be advertised in the course of 2016.
The Hyksos (Greek rendering of the Egyptian title “rulers of the foreign countries”) were a dynasty of foreign rulers of Egypt between c. 1640 and 1530 BC. Some modern researchers, following the ancient historian Flavius Josephus (1st cent. AD), thought they were ancestors of the early Israelites, others suggested that their appearance should be tied to the Hurrian expansion to the Levant. Most scholars today think, according to the onomastic data, that they were Western Semites. Their geographical origin in the Levant, their seizure of power and their role in history, remain however an enigma, as the period is poorly represented in texts. Nevertheless has the Hyksos phenomenon therefore been mainly studied by text-based Egyptology.
In the last decades, however, excavations at T. el-Dab‘a, T. el-Rotaba, T. el Maskhuta and other places in the Eastern Delta have produced an enormous wealth of new data such as urban settlements, palaces, tombs, temples, offering remains, besides enormous quantities of material culture and physical remains which can be attributed to the carriers of the Hyksos rule and their predecessors. These materials, although largely left out in historical discussion, can be utilised as first class historical sources. The envisaged investigations will be conducted in 8 interrelated research tracks, incorporating an array of archaeological, historical, theoretical and analytical sciences. The aim is to reveal in a holistic approach the origin, the dialogue with and the impact of Western Asiatic people on the host country’s culture and finally their heritage. They played a much greater role in the history of the Old World than envisaged and pushed Egypt into the focus of what happened in the Near East in the 2nd Millennium BC. This innovative exploration of the Hyksos phenomenon has the potential to write a new chapter in the history of this salient region and offer a model.
PhD/Post-doc position (f/m)
– ERC Advanced Grant Project – “The Hyksos Enigma”
We are offering a PhD/Post-doc position (50{518531fadeb811ae8faec8ba5977a8511c844f925d504d488b0d90b6c297e400} project coordination, 50{518531fadeb811ae8faec8ba5977a8511c844f925d504d488b0d90b6c297e400} research) within the ERC Advanced Grant Project “The Hyksos Enigma”, at the Host Institution “Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology (OREA)” of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW). This position is funded by the European Research Council (ERC) for one year with the possibility of prolongation for another four years.
Salary: standard FWF personnel rates
Key areas of responsibility:
– The successful candidate will be responsible for coordinating and monitoring the project and its different research tracks as a core member and assistant to the Project’s Director concerning research, logistics, organisation and administration (50{518531fadeb811ae8faec8ba5977a8511c844f925d504d488b0d90b6c297e400}).
– S/he will do a comprehensive in-depth study of the available source material about the cultural matrix of the MB in the Eastern Delta (50{518531fadeb811ae8faec8ba5977a8511c844f925d504d488b0d90b6c297e400}) and provide a catalogue of ‘Leittypen’ / ‘guide types’ concerning artefacts, architecture and funerary customs.
– S/he will oversee the project’s documentation and digitisation.
– S/he will contribute to publications and reports as well as document, research and author reports (including for publication).
– S/he will represent the Project Director in his absence on project matters.
Requirements:
– The ideal candidate should have a PhD in Egyptology or a closely related field.
– S/he will have intimate knowledge of the archaeology and material culture of Ancient Egypt, in particular from the time of the Middle Kingdom, the Second Intermediate Period and the New Kingdom. Besides that a broad knowledge of Egyptology in general is welcome.
– S/he should have a substantial archaeological experience in Egypt including knowledge of modern archaeological methods.
– S/he should have previous experience with processing, recording and studying artefacts.
– S/he should have experience in coordinating research projects as well as experience in interdisciplinary research.
– S/he should have experience in fund raising to attract external funding from a variety of sources to expand the activities of the project, including funding for project staff based in Vienna or specialists working abroad.
– Good language skills in German, English and French are required as well as proficiency in Microsoft Office and Adobe CS software.
Contact Person and Grant Holder:
Prof. Dr. Manfred Bietak
Institute of Oriental and European Archaeology, Austrian Academy of Sciences
E-mail: manfred.bietak@univie.ac.at
Official starting date:
If possible, from January 2016 onwards.
Application should include a detailed CV, a publication list and a brief statement of past achievements and research interests.