On 13th-15th December 2013 the conference "Decoding signs of
identity. Egyptian workmen's marks in archaeological, historical,
comparative and theoretical perspective" will take place at Leiden
University.

The conference is part of the research project 'Symbolizing Identity.
Identity marks and their relation to writing in New Kingdom Egypt',
which is financed by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific
Research (NWO), and carried out at the Leiden Institute for Area
Studies (LIAS), Faculty of Humanities, Leiden University.

The conference will be hosted by LIAS from 13 to 15 December 2013.

Topics include non-textual identity marks in Ancient Egypt, in particular
the system employed by the workmen of the royal necropolis of the
New Kingdom at Thebes, as well as comparable marking systems in
other cultures and periods, historical and archaeological backgrounds,
and theoretical and comparative aspects. The conference is organised
in four different sessions and will be closed with a panel discussion.

Venue: Gravensteen and Lipsius buildings, Leiden University.

Attendance is free, but seating is limited. Please register by sending an
email before December 1st to k.v.j.van.der.moezel@hum.leidenuniv.nl
or d.m.soliman@hum.leidenuniv.nl.


PRELIMINARY PROGRAMME:

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13TH

Session 1. Comparative studies

Jean-Louis van Belle (Centre International de Recherches
Glyptographiques)
Marques emblématiques, marques monogrammatiques: un choix,
deux logiques (Belgique, Espagne, France, XIIe- XVIIIe)

Kamil Kuraszkiewicz (Uniwersytet Warszawski)
Marks on the faience tiles from the "Blue Chambers" of the
Netjerykhet's funerary complex

Maria Nilsson (Lunds Universitet)
Quarry Marks in Gebel el Silsila - signifiers of men and gods alike?

Nico Staring (Macquarie University, Sydney)
New Kingdom non-textual tomb-graffiti at Saqqara

Athena van der Perre (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven)
Marking the ceilings: the quarries of the Amarna Period

Anna Wodzinska (Uniwersytet Warszawski)
Pot marks from the workmen's village at Giza. Social and economic
implications

Joám Evans Pim (Galiza, Academia Galega da Língua Portuguesa)
Title to be announced

Dirk de Vries (Universiteit Leiden)
Title to be announced


SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14TH

Session 2. The Theban necropolis and its administration

Dimitri Laboury (Université Liège)
Title to be announced

Kathrin Gabler (Universität München)
The service personnel of Deir el-Medina: Methods of identification

Rob Demarée (Universiteit Leiden)
Title to be announced

Jaana Toivari-Viitala (Helsingin Yliopisto)
Title to be announced


Session 3. Theoretical aspects

Wolfgang Behr (Universität Zürich)
Title to be announced

Ludwig Morenz (Universität Bonn)
Title to be announced

Kyra van der Moezel (Universiteit Leiden)
Identity marks from Deir el-Medina: a theoretical approach

Alex de Voogt (American Museum of Natural History)
Numbers that don't count: historical and experimental evidence of
"numbered signs"

Oliver Perrin (United States, Independent Researcher)
Title to be announced


SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15TH

Session 4. Identity marks in the Theban royal necropolis

Mark Collier (University of Liverpool)
Integrating hieratic and marks data for the prosopography of 20th
dynasty workmen: Of Neferhoteps, Meryres and beyond

Slawomir Rzepka (Uniwersytet Warszawski)
Dating of 'funny signs' in Theban rock graffiti

Ben Haring (Universiteit Leiden)
Title to be announced

Daniel Soliman (Universiteit Leiden)
The functional context of Ramesside marks ostraca from Deir el-Medina

Discussion panel