Center for Ancient Studies

"Harvard-Boston 1913: The Predynastic Cemetery at Naga el-Hai "

Rita Freed, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

For a month in 1913, the Harvard University-Boston Museum of Fine Arts expedition excavated a predynastic cemetery at Naga el-Hai, near Qena, Egypt.  While a few objects from the site have been published, the cemetery as a whole, which contained nearly 1500 graves spanning the entirety of the Nagada Culture, remains unknown.  This lecture is an attempt to call attention to the site.  I will present an overview of the cemetery, discuss its spatial and temporal development and discuss noteworthy objects.