Researcher

Currently a second-year PhD student in Egyptology, I received my BA in Classical Archaeology from the University of Padua, Italy. I then graduated from the University of Bologna, Italy with a MA in Civilizations and Cultures of the Ancient World focusing on Egyptology. Since 2019, I am also a member of the IFAO archaeological mission to Coptos. As for my current research interests, I specialize in ancient Egyptian magical texts and their materiality.

Rachel is a PhD student in Egyptology at UC Berkeley. She received her M.A. in Near in Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations from the University of Toronto and her B.A. in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from Yale University, and is a past Terrace Research Associate at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Her current research is focused on magical texts in the Middle and New Kingdoms, investigating Egyptian social and philosophical paradigms through analysis of their composition and use.

Jason Silvestri is a PhD Student in Egyptian Archaeology and Art History at UC Berkeley. He received his BA hon. in Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations, German, and Arabic from University College at the University of Toronto in 2019. His research interests focus on multiculturalism, ethnic and linguistic diversity, forced migration, and resettlement during the Ramesside Period and into the early Third Intermediate Period, with a focus on the role of Libyan populations in Egypt.

Jess received her B.A in Art History from New York University in 2013 and her M.A in Egyptian Art History and Archaeology and a Graduate Certification in Museum Studies from the University of Memphis in 2015-16. Her M.A thesis focused on the synecdochical relationship between Gate Guardians and the demon Ammit in New Kingdom Books of the Dead. Jess's interests include Demonology and narrative constructions within religious texts, tombs, and temple wall decorations. Jess is also interested in the museological well being of Egyptian collections and their public outreach ability.

Matthew Whealton is a student at Berkeley with interest in ritual texts, digital text corpora, and vocalic reconstruction. He holds an MS in Computer Science from the Johns Hopkins University and spent many years in industry working in a number of technology startups.

Kea obtained BAs in both Computer Science and Biology from Brown University in 2005, though she maintained an interest in Egyptology throughout her undergraduate studies. While at Brown, she was invited to go to Egypt as an epigrapher with the Brown/AUC expedition to the Abu Bakr Cemetery at Giza in 2005. Having been a software engineer for a decade, she is currently working towards a PhD in Egyptology. Her interests include the development of funerary art and iconography during the New Kingdom and Third Intermediate Period.