EGYPTIAN
ARCHAEOLOGY
Letters from the Delta: Edouard Naville and the EEF The Lucy Gura Archive is a vital source of information on the Society’s early years. Hélène Virenque describes her research on the Naville correspondence, funded by a 2010 EES Centenary Award. in Europe - the letters show a close relationship, based Among the numerous mainly on their common interest in ancient Egypt and the letters held in the EES conservation of its heritage. In his letters, Naville regularly Lucy Gura Archive is an included the latest report on his excavations or the draft important and regular of an article to be published in The Times or the weekly correspondence between Academy: ‘I enclose nine pages of notes on the necropolis of Tell el the Swiss Egyptologist Yahoudieh which is the first result of my excavations [...]. I hope Edouard Naville (1844it will not give you too much trouble in reading it; it is of course 1926) and the first very bad English written currente calamo, but I hope you will two EEF Honorary find in it the necessary material for a Times article’ [20th March Secretaries, Amelia B 1887, EES Lucy Gura Archive V.e.15]. Amelia edited Edwards and Reginald Naville’s texts, especially the language, and sent them to S Poole. They contain the most suitable publication. By spreading as widely as Portrait of a young Edouard Naville. many details about his Photograph © Fondation Naville possible news of the latest discoveries, the earliest being fieldwork in Egypt, his of ‘biblical sites’ in the eastern Delta, she constantly aimed relations with his colleagues and all the steps he had to attract new subscribers to the Fund. to take to publish his illustrated Memoirs. My current However, their views about the removal of monuments research project focuses on the period 1879-92, from from sites on behalf of the Fund evolved rather differently. the first contacts between Naville and the founders of For Amelia, it was essential to bring back statues, stelae the Fund until the end of his excavation work in the and small objects to reward benefactors or institutions Delta. Thanks to an EES Centenary Award, I was able in different countries whose donations funded the last year to digitise more than 250 letters written in excavations. Petrie understood this almost perfect English and, fortunately, policy and frequently, with the mostly in beautiful handwriting. I permission of the Egyptian Service then started to transcribe them and des Antiquités, brought back to research their content to identify the England small objects found during sites, monuments, objects and scholars his fieldwork. Naville, on the other mentioned. I would like here to give hand, thought that such behaviour an insight into the first results of this was incompatible with the original work in progress, looking at the close aim of the Fund, as he tried to relation between Naville and Amelia explain to Amelia in a letter: ‘I Edwards and by contrast, the Swiss revert to your letter, and you will allow epigraphist’s strained relations with me, dear Miss Edwards to tell you that his colleague Flinders Petrie. The I do not share your point of view as to letters also shed a new light on the the great desirability of carrying away underestimated role of Naville’s wife [a] great many small things, say several Marguerite in the preparation of his thousands in order to enrich a score of publications. museums […]. I very well understand Guided by Gaston Maspero’s advice, that the system of plunder as you call Amelia Edwards played a major role it promotes the welfare of the Fund in in the recruitment of Naville as an England; but you must not forget that excavator for the newly created Egypt it greatly endangers it in Egypt; and it Exploration Fund, and he was always might easily someday wreck the entente appreciative of her support. Although cordiale which we have always had they did not see each other very often Letter from Marguerite Naville to Poole, 15th March - only at the Annual General Meeting [1886]. [EES Lucy Gura Archive V.d.6]. © Egypt with the [Egyptian] museum’ [14th February 1887, EES Lucy Gura of the Fund or during conferences Exploration Society 12