Archaeologist Barry Kemp has been painstakingly excavating the abandoned capital of a mysterious pharaoh for decades, revolutionizing our understanding of the Daily life, work and worship of ancient Egyptiansdied in Cambridge, England on May 15, just one day before his 84th birthday.
Mr. Kemp’s death was announced by the Amarna Project, a nonprofit archaeological project of which he was director. The project did not specify the cause or location of death.
Mr. Kemp became a phenomenon almost from the moment he arrived at Cambridge University fresh out of college in 1962. At the age of 26, he published an article in the Journal of Egyptology that dramatically changed the debate about a group of burial structures dating from around 3000 B.C., suggesting they were likely predecessors to the pyramids.
Most of his work had little to do with the pharaohs, though. He was one of the first to apply questions of sociohistory (scholars exploring the lives of ordinary people in the past) to ancient Egypt.
“What I want to do is apply modern, necessarily slower methods of excavation and conduct studies to learn more about urban life,” he told Humanities magazine in 1999. “I’m more interested in the power of archaeology to reveal more fundamental aspects of society.”
Those who visit Mr. Kemp in the field will find him to be a distinctive archaeologist: tall, stocky, with a thick beard and a permanently dark tan. Known for his meticulous attention to minute details, he will unearth minute evidence — fossil fleas, scraps of clothing, even remnants left behind by archaeologists. 3,000 Years of BeerMr. Kemp helped reverse-engineer and then brew the beer in 1996. (One of his colleagues said it tasted like malty Chardonnay.)
In a field as broad as Egyptology, scholars must focus their research on specific areas, but Mr. Kemp is a generalist who can bring new insights to a range of subfields.
“He’s just one of many big names, in a sense, that we’re running out of scholars in this field,” Laurel Bestock, a Brown University archaeologist who has worked with him in the field, said in a telephone interview. “He’s working on every corner of Egyptology.”
During his fieldwork he published a series of papers, journal articles, and books, including Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization, first published in 1989 and thoroughly revised in two subsequent editions; it remains essential reading for anyone interested in Egyptology.
Mr. Kemp and A place called AmarnaLocated about 200 miles south of Cairo, it’s a far cry from what most tourists see when they come to explore the ruins of ancient Egypt.
Amarna was the capital of Pharaoh Akhenaten, who ascended the throne in 1353 BC. He was a believer in an early monotheistic religion that worshipped the sun god Aten and He had 50,000 subjects. Together with him he built a new city in the desert.
Seven miles long and three miles wide, Amarna was dotted with palaces and temples, including a large temple of the Aten half a mile wide. But drinking water was scarce, and when Akhenaten died in disgrace around 1335 B.C., the Egyptians fled back north, leaving Amarna in the desert.
It is because of its rugged location that Amarna has not been pillaged and built over like the more urbanized areas to the north. It is considered Egypt’s answer to Pompeii, which was buried by volcanic ash in 79 AD and frozen in time.
Amarna was also the perfect location for Mr. Kemp to investigate the daily lives of Egyptians.
At first glance, the palaces and temples here tell a story of opulence. But over the decades, the tombs, workshops and villages he and his team have unearthed reveal a much sadder story: the hard work and sacrifices of ordinary people, including slaves, who made all this splendor possible.
Ancient Egypt was never a good place for laborers, and conditions in remote, sun-bathed Amarna were particularly harsh. Most died in their early 20s from malnutrition, spinal injuries, and plague.
“Bones reveal the dark side of life.” In 2008, Mr Kemp told the BBC“This is completely opposite to the image that Akhenaten promoted, which was to escape from the sun and nature.”
Barry John Kemp was born in Birmingham, England, on May 14, 1940. His father, Ernest, was a traveling salesman, and his mother, Nora (Lawrence) Kemp, took care of the household.
His father had served in Egypt with the British Army during World War II, and the postcards and photographs of pyramids and palaces he sent home sparked his son’s early interest in archaeology.
Mr. Kemp studied Egyptology and Coptic at Liverpool University, graduating in 1962 and beginning teaching at Cambridge University, where he remained throughout his career. He received his Masters degree in Egyptology in 1965.
Mr. Kemp’s first two marriages ended in divorce. He is survived by his third wife, Miriam Bertram, an Egyptologist with whom he worked closely; his daughters, Nicola Stowcroft, Victoria Kemp and Frances Duhig; two granddaughters; and a great-granddaughter.
He first visited Amarna in 1977 and returned every year until 2008. Even after slowing down, he still hiked there as often as he could.
Kemp summarized much of his fieldwork in his 2012 book, Akhenaten and the City of Nefertiti: Amarna and Its People. He has a lot to say, and while much of it falls within the realm of academic discussion, he does offer a warning to would-be dictators like Akhenaten.
“The danger of being an absolute ruler is that no one dares to tell you that the decree you just issued is not a good idea,” he wrote.
