Excavation with UBC’s Dr. Thomas Hikade

The Ubyssey (Anthea Tsoukalas)

A student shares her experiences of working at Hierakonpolis with Dr Hikade:

On Christmas day of 2007, I began my journey to Egypt to participate in a world class archaeological excavation at Hierakonpolis led by UBC’s Dr Thomas Hikade, which consisted of an international team of undergraduates, graduates, and archaeologists. The area of interest was the ruins of Hierakonpolis, 80km south of Luxor, near the village of Kom el-Ahmar. The former city was an early Egyptian settlement headed by Narmer, the first Pharoh of unified Egypt. The archaeologists hoped that the ruins could yield clues to how states form, since Hierakonpolis was the original capital of one of the earliest large civilizations.

“When I was an officer in the German army in the early 1980s I had the opportunity to travel as a tourist twice to Egypt,” said Dr Hikade. “I have been working in Egypt since 1988 and have joined many international excavations. In addition to its role in state formation, Hierakonpolis is important in that it raises intriguing questions about trade links and contacts with Nubia in the south, the Red Sea Coast area in the east, and societies in the Near East.

“In general studying the past is important. As history shows, people are confronted with similar challenges and circumstances that occur in one way or another again and again around the world. And ancient Egypt, is no exception. So when we learn about the economy, religion, international affairs, the material culture of ancient Egypt we try to understand their mind and their way of solving problems and creating things.

“When it comes to ancient Egypt, as one of the cradles of civilization, it has held a fascination for both ancient and modern man in terms of history, technology, literature and art, among other things.”

Through participating in Egyptology courses with UBC’s Classical, Near Eastern and Religious Studies Department I was able to participate in this excavation. I had to pay my way to Egypt, but the rest of the costs were handled by the team.

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