Mark Lehner
Encyclopedia
Mark Lehner PhD
is an American
archaeologist
with more than 30 years of experience excavating in Egypt
. His approach, as director of Ancient Egypt Research Associates (AERA), is to conduct interdisciplinary archaeological investigation. Every excavated object is examined by specialists to create an overall picture of an archaeological site—from the buildings down to the pollen spores. His international team currently runs the Giza Plateau
Mapping Project, excavating and mapping the ancient city of the builders of the Giza pyramid complex
, which dates to the fourth dynasty of Egypt. He discovered that Pyramid G1-a
, one of the subsidiary pyramids of the Great Pyramid, belonged to Hetepheres I
; it was originally thought to belong to Queen Meritites I
.
Lehner first went to Egypt as a student in the 1970s. Intrigued by the mysteries of the 'Sleeping Prophet', Edgar Cayce
, Lehner "found that [my] initial notions about the ancient civilization along the Nile could not stand up to the bedrock reality of the Giza Plateau". He turned to the scientific method
of discovery in order to understand the culture better, returning some years later to complete a doctorate degree at Yale University
. Lehner's 1991 dissertation was titled Archaeology of an image: The Great Sphinx of Giza
.
Lehner's team has more recently included parts of Menkaure's valley temple and the town attached to the monument of Queen Khentkawes in their excavations. AERA's 2009 field season was recorded in a blog. AERA has conducted a number of archaeological field schools for Egyptian antiquities inspectors under the auspices of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities
. The AERA team has run basic and advanced courses at Giza, as well as courses in salvage archaeology along the Avenue of Sphinxes north of Luxor Temple
in the city of Luxor
.
Among his other work in Egypt, Lehner has produced the only known scale maps
of the Giza Sphinx.
Lehner's book, The Complete Pyramids (1997), is an exhaustive catalogue of Egypt's many pyramid sites. He has appeared in many television programs about Ancient Egypt. He is a visiting assistant professor of Egyptian archaeology at the Oriental Institute
of the University of Chicago
.
Dr. Lehner has also starred and aided in the production of several documentaries
about the pyramids which are regularly aired on the National Geographic Channel
.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
archaeologist
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
with more than 30 years of experience excavating in 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...
. His approach, as director of Ancient Egypt Research Associates (AERA), is to conduct interdisciplinary archaeological investigation. Every excavated object is examined by specialists to create an overall picture of an archaeological site—from the buildings down to the pollen spores. His international team currently runs the Giza Plateau
Giza Plateau
The Giza Plateau is a plateau that is located in Giza, Egypt. The famous Giza Necropolis is located in this geographical area, which is characterized by a sandy, desert climate and terrain with little vegetation....
Mapping Project, excavating and mapping the ancient city of the builders of the Giza pyramid complex
Giza pyramid complex
The Giza Necropolis is an archaeological site on the Giza Plateau, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt. This complex of ancient monuments includes the three pyramid complexes known as the Great Pyramids, the massive sculpture known as the Great Sphinx, several cemeteries, a workers' village and an...
, which dates to the fourth dynasty of Egypt. He discovered that Pyramid G1-a
Pyramid G1-a
G1-a is one of the subsidiary pyramids of the Giza East Field of the Giza Necropolis immediately to the eastern side of the Great Pyramid of Giza, built during the Fourth dynasty of Egypt. It is the northernmost of the three pyramids of the queens and has a base of 49.5 meters wide and originally...
, one of the subsidiary pyramids of the Great Pyramid, belonged to Hetepheres I
Hetepheres I
Queen Hetepheres I was a Queen of Egypt during the 4th dynasty.- Biography :Hetepheres I may have been a daughter of pharaoh Huni. Her title God's Daughter suggests she was the daughter of a king and the most likely candidate is Huni, the predecessor of Sneferu...
; it was originally thought to belong to Queen Meritites I
Meritites I
Meritites I was an ancient Egyptian Queen of the 4th dynasty.She was a daughter of King Sneferu and the wife of King Khufu. Her name means "Beloved of her Father". Several of her titles are known from a stela found at Giza. She was the mother of Crown Prince Kawab and may have had several more...
.
Education and career
Edgar Cayce
Edgar Cayce was an American psychic who allegedly had the ability to give answers to questions on subjects such as healing or Atlantis while in a hypnotic trance...
, Lehner "found that [my] initial notions about the ancient civilization along the Nile could not stand up to the bedrock reality of the Giza Plateau". He turned to the scientific method
Scientific method
Scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of...
of discovery in order to understand the culture better, returning some years later to complete a doctorate degree at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. Lehner's 1991 dissertation was titled Archaeology of an image: The Great Sphinx of Giza
Great Sphinx of Giza
The Great Sphinx of Giza , commonly referred to as the Sphinx, is a limestone statue of a reclining or couchant sphinx that stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, Egypt....
.
Lehner's team has more recently included parts of Menkaure's valley temple and the town attached to the monument of Queen Khentkawes in their excavations. AERA's 2009 field season was recorded in a blog. AERA has conducted a number of archaeological field schools for Egyptian antiquities inspectors under the auspices of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities
Supreme Council of Antiquities
The Supreme Council of Antiquities is the branch of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture responsible for the conservation, protection and regulation of all antiquities and archaeological excavations in Egypt...
. The AERA team has run basic and advanced courses at Giza, as well as courses in salvage archaeology along the Avenue of Sphinxes north of Luxor Temple
Luxor Temple
Luxor Temple is a large Ancient Egyptian temple complex located on the east bank of the River Nile in the city today known as Luxor and was founded in 1400 BCE.,...
in the city of Luxor
Luxor
Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt and the capital of Luxor Governorate. The population numbers 487,896 , with an area of approximately . As the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of Thebes, Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open air museum", as the ruins of the temple...
.
Among his other work in Egypt, Lehner has produced the only known scale maps
Scale (map)
The scale of a map is defined as the ratio of a distance on the map to the corresponding distance on the ground.If the region of the map is small enough for the curvature of the Earth to be neglected, then the scale may be taken as a constant ratio over the whole map....
of the Giza Sphinx.
Lehner's book, The Complete Pyramids (1997), is an exhaustive catalogue of Egypt's many pyramid sites. He has appeared in many television programs about Ancient Egypt. He is a visiting assistant professor of Egyptian archaeology at the Oriental Institute
Oriental Institute
Oriental Institute may refer to a number of institutes of Oriental studies:United States* Oriental Institute, Chicago, part of the University of ChicagoEngland* Oriental Institute, Oxford, part of the University of Oxford...
of the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
.
Dr. Lehner has also starred and aided in the production of several documentaries
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
about the pyramids which are regularly aired on the National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...
.
Personal life
Lehner has two sons, Ramsis and Luke Lehner. Their mother is Egyptian. Both sons graduated from the American University of Cairo and are theatrical actors and directors as well as musical producers.Mark remarried and has had two more children Eliza and Alexander Lehner.Crew
- Into the Great Pyramid (2002) (TV) (consultant: archeology)
- Mysteries of Egypt (1998) (scientific consultant)
- Saving the Sphinx (1998) (TV) (historical consultant)
Appearances
- Riddles of the Sphinx http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sphinx/ (2010) (TV)
- Heritage Key: Pyramid Builders (2009) (TV)
- Into the Great Pyramid (2002) (TV)
- Secrets of the Pharaohs: Lost City of the Pyramids (2001) (TV)
- Saving the Sphinx (1998) (TV)
- Egypt: Secrets of the Pharaohs (1997) (TV)
- Mummies: Tales from the Egyptian Crypts (1996) (TV)
- This Old Pyramid (1992) (TV)
- Mysteries of the Pyramids, LIVE (1988) (TV)
External links
- AERA - includes links to Lehner videos at YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
- The Giza Plateau Mapping Project at the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute