Griffith Institute
Encyclopedia
The Griffith Institute is an institution based in the Ashmolean Museum
of the University of Oxford
for the advancement of Egyptology
as a discipline. The Griffith Institute is named after the eminent Egyptologist Francis Llewellyn Griffith
, who bequeathed funds within his will for the foundation of the Institute. The Institute opened on 21 January 1939, with its own independent committee of management.
The Institute houses an important and unique Egyptological archive, preserving early copies of inscriptions, drawings and watercolours, old negatives and photographs, squeezes and rubbings. Among some seventy major groups of material the Institute holds the papers of Sir Alan H. Gardiner
, Battiscombe Gunn
and Jaroslav Černý
, records made by Howard Carter
during his discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun
in 1922, as well as the documentation from the Nubia
n expeditions of Griffith and Sir Henry Wellcome.
The Institute edits and publishes the much respected Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs and Paintings, and is responsible for a number of important publications within the field of Egyptology, the best known being Gardiner's Egyptian Grammar
and Faulkner's
A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian.
Finally, the Griffith Institute administers the A.H. Gardiner Travel Scholarship in Egyptology, the aim of which is to promote friendship and cooperation between Egyptologists from the United Kingdom
and the Arab Republic of Egypt
.
Ashmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is the world's first university museum...
of the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
for the advancement of Egyptology
Egyptology
Egyptology is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious practices in the AD 4th century. A practitioner of the discipline is an “Egyptologist”...
as a discipline. The Griffith Institute is named after the eminent Egyptologist Francis Llewellyn Griffith
Francis Llewellyn Griffith
Francis Llewellyn Griffith was an eminent British Egyptologist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.F. Ll. Griffith was born in Brighton on 27 May 1862 where his father, Rev. Dr. John Griffith, was Principal of Brighton College. After schooling at Brighton College , then privately by his...
, who bequeathed funds within his will for the foundation of the Institute. The Institute opened on 21 January 1939, with its own independent committee of management.
The Institute houses an important and unique Egyptological archive, preserving early copies of inscriptions, drawings and watercolours, old negatives and photographs, squeezes and rubbings. Among some seventy major groups of material the Institute holds the papers of Sir Alan H. Gardiner
Alan Gardiner
Sir Alan Henderson Gardiner was one of the premier British Egyptologists of the early and mid-20th century...
, Battiscombe Gunn
Battiscombe Gunn
Battiscombe "Jack" George Gunn was an English Egyptologist and philologist. He published his first translation from Egyptian in 1906. He translated inscriptions for many important excavations and sites, including Fayum, Saqqara, Amarna, Giza and Luxor...
and Jaroslav Černý
Jaroslav Cerný (Egyptologist)
-Biography:Jaroslav Černý was born on 22 August 1898 in Pilsen in Austro-Hungary. He studied from 1917 till 1922 at the Charles University in Prague, where he received his doctorate in 1929. He took part in Bernard Bruyère's excavations at Deir el-Medina in 1925 and the village became the focus of...
, records made by Howard Carter
Howard Carter (archaeologist)
Howard Carter was an English archaeologist and Egyptologist, noted as a primary discoverer of the tomb of Tutankhamun.-Beginning of career:...
during his discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun , Egyptian , ; approx. 1341 BC – 1323 BC) was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty , during the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom...
in 1922, as well as the documentation from the Nubia
Nubia
Nubia is a region along the Nile river, which is located in northern Sudan and southern Egypt.There were a number of small Nubian kingdoms throughout the Middle Ages, the last of which collapsed in 1504, when Nubia became divided between Egypt and the Sennar sultanate resulting in the Arabization...
n expeditions of Griffith and Sir Henry Wellcome.
The Institute edits and publishes the much respected Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs and Paintings, and is responsible for a number of important publications within the field of Egyptology, the best known being Gardiner's Egyptian Grammar
Egyptian Grammar: Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs
Egyptian Grammar: Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs was written by Alan Gardiner and first published in 1927 in London by the Clarendon Press. It has been reprinted several times since. The third edition published in 1957 is the most widely-used version for the subject...
and Faulkner's
Raymond O. Faulkner
Dr Raymond Oliver Faulkner, FSA, was an English Egyptologist and philologist of the ancient Egyptian language....
A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian.
Finally, the Griffith Institute administers the A.H. Gardiner Travel Scholarship in Egyptology, the aim of which is to promote friendship and cooperation between Egyptologists from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the Arab Republic of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
.
External links
- The Griffith Institute - official web site, part of the Ashmolean Museum's web presence