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Miss Sarah K. Doherty 


  • Overview
Sarah K. Doherty
Position:PhD Archaeology Research Student

Academic History

Currently undertaking a PhD in Archaeology at the University of Cardiff, begun in October 2009

MA Egyptian Archaeology at University College London (graduating Sept 2010)

  •  MA dissertation-The impact of the potter’s wheel in Egypt as an impetus for social and economical change

BA Egyptian (2.1 hons) Archaeology at University College London 2008

  •  BA dissertation- An analysis of the methodology of Environmental sampling, processing, and presentation of selected sites in Egypt and Syria

PHD Research

This PhD is an expansion of my MA research which focused on the social and economic impact of the potter’s wheel on Egyptian Society. I hope to examine further the relationships between craft specialisation and social identity during the Predynastic into the early dynastic periods (c3500-3100BC); and the impact this had on mass production and mass standardisation of pottery.

How technologies come to be invented and introduced into Egypt and other societies will be investigated, and the role of technological replacements given that the elite controlled the “must have items” for themselves. Elite central administration within palaces and temple walls controlling craftspeople and the goods that they are producing are significant, and with large state projects such as the building of the pyramids, temples and the introduction of large tombs for the elites resulted in the production of more luxury funerary goods on a large scale. This situation would doubtless have brought about the need for easier, faster methods of production.

Working title: The Origins of the Potter’s Wheel in Egypt
Start date: 2009
First Supervisor: Dr Paul Nicholson
 Second supervisor: Dr Ian Freestone

Publications

Conference Papers
 Pending (accepted): Ethnicity in the Late Bronze Age (Re)Constructing Multiculturalism conference at Cardiff University, 24-25th June 2010

Egyptian Letters to the dead-combining texts and archaeology Paper given at the Institute of Archaeology Student Conference, UCL June 2009

Ethnicity in Egypt and the Levant in the Late Bronze Age Paper given at the Institute of Archaeology Student Conference June, UCL 2008

Where is theory in Egyptian Archaeology? Paper given at the Institute of Archaeology Student Conference June, UCL 2007

Additional Information

 I regularly help organise and cater for various conferences, events, study days and workshops organised by the Petrie Museum.

 I am a monitor for the Friend’s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/London-United-Kingdom/Petrie-Museum-Unofficial-Page/52119490405?ref=ts

  • I have helped to organise and cater for conferences for the Institute of Archaeology, the London Medieval Society and various student conferences.
  • I was one a course co-ordinators for the Bloomsbury Summer School in July 2009 at the Institute of Archaeology with Dr. Lucia Gahlin, and plan to be in July 2010. http://www.egyptology-uk.com/bloomsbury/
  • I am a student committee member of British Association of Near Eastern Archaeology (BANEA) and hope to set up a postgraduate forum promoting Near Eastern Archaeology on the website http://www.banea.org/
  • I  volunteer to help at the London branch of the Young Archaeologist Club http://www.britarch.ac.uk/yac/

Each summer, the volunteers teach schoolchildren the skills of excavation, survey and finds processing, in the grounds of their schools and in and around the locality of the museum of Hendon, north London. I am available to give talks to schoolchildren (or adults) in schools about Ancient Egyptian history or archaeology, which complements the KS2 and KS3 curricula.  

Fieldwork Experience

  • July 2009- Worked with other members of Young Archaeologist’s Club in various schools in Hendon, North London on excavations and outreach work. 
  • May-August 2008- Archaeology South East, University College London Field Archaeology Unit, Assistant Archaeologist.
  • May- June 2007- Iron Age Field Systems, Little Combes Hill, West Dean Estate Sussex. Responsible for environmental sampling and Finds and Supervisor. Dr Bill Sillar, UCL. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/west-dean-project/index.htm
  • July-August 2006- Vale of Pickering Excavation, Star Carr, Yorkshire. Dr Nicky Milner, York and Dr. Tim Schadla-Hall, UCL. http://www.york.ac.uk/archaeology/Projects/StarCarrWebsite/index.htm
  • June 2006- West Dean Estate, Sussex. Excavation and survey course. Dr Bill Sillar, UCL.
  • September 2005- West Dean Estate, Sussex. Experimental Archaeology Course.
  • May 2006- Archive Archaeology Course, Museum of London.
  • March-April 2006- Noviodunum Archaeological Project Survey, Romania. Dr Kris Lockyear, UCL

Memberships

Friends of the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology (Student Committee member 2007-2009)

Egypt Exploration Society

British Association for Near Eastern Archaeology (elected as Student Committee member 2010)

Friends of the British Museum

Institute of Field Archaeology

Young Archaeologist Club (London)

Society of Archaeology Students, UCL (Specialist degree rep 2006- 2007, MA rep 2009)