Why should we study Egyptology

An introduction to  Egyptology

 Ancient Egypt has always been a land of Mystery. People still do not have a clear idea of the mysteries that happened there and the growth of Egypt as a great civilisation. We study Egyptology to understand to decipher these mysteries about the ancient Egypt.

The term Egyptology refers to the study of ancient Egypt Civilization. It refers to the topic-wise classification of the several streams of the study of the history of Egypt. It deals with historical and archaeological studies. A person who does this is known as Egyptologist. The study ranges till the time of the Roman conquest.

Egypt was earlier a less known place in the globe. People were less aware of the history and culture of Egypt for a long time. Egypt remained just an alternative route for the campaigners to go to Jerusalem. Still, we know about Egypt's richness in the past from the Roman and Greek classics written. The scribbling of small travellers who pass by has also given us an idea of life then and there.

 In the year 1672, Colbert sent Vansel to collect the old writings and old coins and related things. He had visited San Antonio. He is one of the first to describe the remains of the Roman City of Hadrian.

18th & 19th Century

The first planned and resourceful visit to Egypt happened in the late 18th Century after the visit of a few European travellers like Richard Pococke. This was a group of knowledgeable scholars and artists from France. A group of Egyptian military accompanied them. The knowledge was revealed to the world in 24 volumes between 1809 and 1822. The work was known as Description de L'egypt. It is now in the Louvre Museum in France.

The well-known travellers from Italy and France and many from the group who visited Egypt collected many precious and unique antique pieces from the land. This had somehow filled the museums in their respective countries. They compiled their intensive study of ancient Egypt for 12 years as "The life and customs of the Ancient Egyptians". This includes the lifestyle and Culture of Egyptians during the period.

Early excavations and egyptology study

It was after the 19th Century that they found the exact facts behind the unique features of Egyptian culture. The symbolic and virtual representations to communicate were not understandable then. People had tried and failed to discover the mysteries behind this. But things took a different path by the end of the 19th Century and the first part of the 20th Century. French scholars succeeded in decoding the writings and symbols used in the past years. They worked on many descriptions in various parts of Egypt.

William Flinders Petrie, better known as Flinders Petrie, was an Egyptologist based in the UK. He came up with very innovative and effective ways to excavate the stories of the land of Egypt. In addition,  he opined that it was good and best to collect facts and stories about the life of the people of Egypt rather than to collect pieces of monetary value. He believed in taking a systematic approach to history and coming out with facts.

20th Century

Later in the 20th Century, archaeologists found the presence of a group with a leader. This entry has bought so many changes in the lifestyle and culture of Egypt. This greatly contributed to the discipline of Egyptology. This intrusion brought many advancements in the political and social set-up in the land of Egypt.

The archaeological department gave no or very fewer contributions during the 20 years from 1950 to 1970. But soon after this, things took a different path. The archaeologists and anthropologists came up with more factual and relevant contributions. This swayed light to the Egypt Dynasty and the time before that. Thus, these facts contributed to the findings on humankind's rich, mysterious and very first civilisation.

 The Culture of Egyptian Civilisation does not show signs of acceptance of anything from outside. Everything we found from there has a history of its own. Also, there are no signs of massive destruction, conquering, or sudden implementation. An archaeologist can draw out the line of the history of Egypt without moving out of the land.

The Actual Concept of Egyptology

The first thing to be aware of about the science of anything is what it is exactly. Here Egyptology means the study of Egypt as a whole. It begins with the root causes of what resulted in the formation of Egypt and its essential culture. It continues till the end of the Pharaonic era, Alexander the Great's invasion of Egypt, till the popularisation of Christianity in the religion. The study mainly focuses on this initial Christian group as they are on the verge of change and is the more evident group with the essence of Egyptian culture. The group's language is the last and the most refined form of Pharaonic language. The historical documents and other shreds of evidence they possess do not show any influence from any other land.

Over time, by 1798, the study of the story of the land of Egypt became more important and sharp. There were also so many additions to what had already been there. Napolean organised the systematic study of Egypt. He had given special emphasis to the story of pyramids. However, the search organised by Napoleon did reach the exact goal. In the story of Pyramids, the stones, pyramids and three different types of writing, everything had an appearance and an explanation of Napoleon's attempt at unveiling the mysteries. The three types of writing in Egypt, namely the Greek, the Hieroglyphic and the Demotic. The scholars and archaeologists of Napoleon's team could somehow reach conclusions about the writings, which were correct.

The study of egyptology

Normally Egyptology shall be learned from two aspects. One is about the archaeological remains, the study of such things. The other one is the study of the historical descriptions and inscriptions in various places. Both of these are essential for the study of the history of the land of Egypt. The study of Egyptology mainly uses old modes of science to implement the learning of the history of Egypt. They have got unique areas of study in Egyptian history.

The essence of the ancient Egyptians, their life and culture are uniquely focused on in the study of Egyptology. Since the land of Egypt has a very clear history and civilisation, they have got their areas of study on various science and social subjects. They have made their contribution made to each of these disciplines of study. The fact is that there is a lot we need to learn from the ancient Egyptians. In addition, their learning about other subjects is also a source of information in that area.

Studying Egyptology

Many countries offer the opportunity to study the topic, usually as programmes of a duration of more than two years but less than five years. A Chair is absent for the study of Egyptology. Rather than studying Egypt, people usually work for a thesis, and the professors teach. They do not contribute any effort to come out with facts about Egypt's history. But apart from this, many Spanish universities provide students with a strong background in Egyptian history.

In the academic field, the usual trend is not so positive regarding the history of Egypt. The academicians do not even realise they need Egyptology as a stream of study in their History Department. They are also not aware of the fact that they have to be licensed historians to become Egyptol ogists. At this outset, we should be grateful to people who have specialised in this stream and come up with findings in this area. They have contributed pricelessly by putting so much effort into the subject, which less or no people of today do. Thus, currently, the problem faced is that we do not have a proper committed group to do research and studies on this topic.

Egyptology and Egyptologists

It is high time that we need to realise the difference between Egyptology and Egyptologists. Anyone who does graduation in Egyptology is an Egyptologist. But Every Egyptologist cannot work in Egyptology because it requires a license. Anyway, a professional Egyptologist is not simply a graduate of Egyptology.

They are the professionals who have got special skills in the subject. In addition, they possess the right to work in Egyptology by taking remuneration for the same. They will have an approved license for this as well. It would help if you held a degree to become an Egyptologist. The law demands it. However, one can become an Egyptologist out of passion without doing a degree. Only a few of these Egyptology degree holders have become passionate Egyptologists. What matters is your true passion for the subject as one becomes a singer without learning it or becoming a dancer without getting trained in dancing.

Becoming an Egyptologist

 It is essential that you keep things systematic and ordered with certain laws. We cannot imagine a situation wherein people can become teachers, doctors, pilots or engineers without learning the subject professionally. In such cases, the risk of the negative impact of these fake people's services is huge, and thus we should make sure that does not happen in any case. There are certain careers in which the subject degree and the professional qualification are exclusively essential. No compromise on the knowledge of a doctor, lawmaker, or law keeper shall be allowed at any cost. 

In those professions wherein there is a possible direct breach of a law, it is usually mandatory for the people to get it licensed or approved by an authority or get themselves certified. But in the case of Egyptology, there is no issue of such risk. Also, people are now well aware of the major facts related to history; now, they need new facts from history. They have reached the level wherein it is not easy to pretend to be Egyptologists in front of them.

Egyptology- in a nutshell

Egyptology is the scientific and exclusive study and research on the Ancient Civilisation of Egypt. It involves studying Egyptian civilisation, one of the histories of the richest and oldest civilisations in humankind. Egyptian civilisation developed on the banks of the River Nile. It took many thousands of years for the civilisation t fully develop. Later the place was conquered by the Roman Power. Egyptology deals with this period, wherein the development and flourishing of the civilisation happened till the time it was conquered by an outside power.

The existence of the Pharaoh had made the Egyptian Civilization Unique like anything. They also possessed divine powers and characteristics. The geographical structure of the land has also been a great boon for the development of civilisation. The presence of the river Nile has not only given them all the resources needed but also made it difficult for the enemies to reach out to them easily.

The subject of Egyptology is too vast. The history of Egypt and its civilisation is vast, and the history and Archaeological part have a major role to play rather than the findings. Only after the 18th Century did we learn about the history of Egypt and its civilisation. Once travellers from many parts of the world visited the land, especially the French Scholars of Napoleon, people worldwide came to know about the existence of the wonderful Egyptian civilisation. Their findings then were made into books and were released in many volumes. Most of them are still there in museums all over the world.

Conclusion

In the late 19th and the beginning of the 20th Century, we found many important pieces of evidence and artefacts. This includes the coffin of Tutankhamun and the Rosetta stone. In addition, we managed to decipher ancient hieroglyphics. These were single hieroglyphs, each of which had a unique meaning. Jean-François Champollion was known as the father of hieroglyphs though he did not even exist during its usage. However, he was able to deal with it, and he is the one who gave an idea about the Hieroglyphic language to the whole world.

We study Egyptology to fulfil our thirst to know about our past, it is never to excavate more treasures and artefacts. As a fact, these treasures and artefacts are sources to understand the mysteries of ancient Egypt, one of the greatest civilisations in the human history.