Gender Differences Between Sexes of Ancient Egyptian Old Kingdom through

Examination of Tombs in Dhshur, Egypt

(June 1, 2014 August 1, 2014)
Jade Cuevas: Team Leader
Maghally Davila: Team Editor
Fabiola Ruth: Team Accountant
Total Money Requested: ($18,020)

Map of Study Area

Location reference for Dahshur, Egypt:

Close up view of archaeology site in outskirts of Dahshur:

Archaeological Methods and Needed Information

In order to answer the questions of gender roles of ancient Egyptian Old
Kingdom, we will excavate the tombs of Egyptian elite. Through the tombs of this time
period we will uncover the artifacts, hieroglyphics, and features to reveal new
information. We will travel to travel to Dahshur, Egypt, a royal necropolis to elite
Egyptians of the Old Kingdom where we will focus on the tomb of King Snofru of the 4th
Dynasty (2613-2494 BCE). Once there we will set up camp and excavate the tomb over
the course of two months. With help of our three assistants we will survey the area and
grid out the best place to enter to tomb. Once inside we will grid out the area we wish to
dig further into as well and uncover the new information we are looking for to answer our
questions.
The new information we wish to find will be artifacts that have been buried with
King Snofru that we will study to find out how much of a role sex played a role to the
burial of kings in the Old Kingdom. As well, the discovery of other family members such
as wives and children that may possibly be buried along side or in a separate room are a
high possibility we wish to uncover to reveal how sex in the elite determined where and
how one was buried. In addition, hieroglyphics among the walls of the tomb will tell the
story of how this king was viewed and help us determine what how others in society
viewed King Snofru in terms of gender.
Overall, all artifact cataloguing, hieroglyphic translations, and data collection and
comparisons to prior findings will take the entire month of June until mid July. From
there, the rest of the month of July will be used for intensive study, analysis, and lab
interpretations. These actions will all be on and off-site. We may send samplings for lab

work while we stay in Egypt. We will try to take as many molds, pictures, and detailed
drawings of all our findings so we do not become involved in any custody battles with
local government. We plan to leave by August 1st where we will fly back to San Antonio
with our new information and analyze everything more in depth to write and publish
about our new findings and observations.

Schedule
If award the UTSA Research Foundation Grant in Anthropology, for $40,000, this
schedule would serve as both as a timeline for the collection of data throughout the two
month time period of fieldwork and a guide for budget adjustment and distribution,
throughout the endeavor.
Dates
June 1-7, 2014

June 8, 2014- July 12, 2014

July 13-18, 2014

July 19, 2014- August 1, 2014

Activities
Initiate field work:
-June 1, 2014: Fly out to Cairo, Egypt. Drive to
Dahshur and set up camp.
-June 2-7, 2014: Trained field assistants. Learnt
identifications of hieroglyphic writings and
distinguishing markings concerning
males/females. Begin to survey the land and
begin gridding off land.
5 weeks of systematic data collection.
Per week:
-3 days of excavation
-3 days cataloguing and paperwork:
Artifact cataloguing
Hieroglyphic translation
Data comparison with outside previously
collected data
-1 day of rest and other personal activities
End of data collection
-July 13, 2014: Finish data collection, make
sure all the information needed is documented.
-July 14-17, 2014: Pack up camp. Return
artifacts, restore surveyed area, pick up, and tear
down camp.
-July 18, 2014: Drive to airport and return to the
United States
2 weeks of systematic data interpretation:
Per week:
-4 days of in lab data analysis interpretation
using outside resources
-2 days of writing down finding, work on
writing journal entries
-1 day of rest

Budget Justification
The funds being sought from the UTSA Research Foundation Grant in
Anthropology will provide for two months (60 days) field work. We are doing this
research work to discovery how different the stories were the hieroglyphics provided in
the tombs of different Kings and Queens, and how gender had an influence on what
family members buried alongside their loved ones. We decided to do our research in
Cairo, Egypt because of it well know excavation sites, and because we believe that this
area will help us collect data to answer the questions we have. Because this is our first
time going to research tombs we will need brand new tools and equipment, this includes
our excavating tools, our camping and lab equipment.
Traveling: Our research team will take one trip to Cairo this trip will include a
round trip for five people (two being assistants) and a vehicle to be able to travel into the
city to purchase meals and gas. The total for the trip and the vehicle per person will be
$1,809. $760 will be provided to us for meals and gas. Another expense included would
be a digging permit to be able to dig in Cairo grounds and a visa to be able to visit, which
will total to $620.
The subtotal for Travel is $13,854
Tools/Equipment and Assistance: There will be three additional bags containing
the equipment we will need costing us $100 each. Like mentioned before we will be
purchasing brand new equipment and tools. This includes items from marking flags to
archeology master workstation to an eight-person camping tent. A workstation is needed
for findings and a notebook is needed for data collecting.

Our research group consists of three archaeologists (ourselves) and three

assistances, as archaeologists we each have five years of experience. Our first two
assistants are archeology graduate students from UTSA and our second assistance is an
archeology graduate student from Cairo University. $75 will be given to our assistants
every week for their help with our project. The two months that our assistants are helping
us they will make a combined total of $1,800.
Subtotal for Tools/ Equipment and Assistance is $3,201
The grand total needed for this project is $18,020

Spreadsheet of Budget

Travel

International (Expedia)
Airfare SAT to Cairo roudtrip (x5)
Carry on and 1st bag:
Full-size Van
Rental
2nd checked bag x3
Transportation
Gas Price $40/ 2 week

Meal

Meals ( per person per month)

Store food
Miscellaneous food
Total for Travel and Meals

$9,045.00
no fee
$4,289

$300

$160

$40
$20
$13,854

Tools and Equipment

Digging tools
Archaeology master workstation x2
Sifting screen
Keson reel tape
4x5 marking flags
Chartwell notebook x2
Optical Line Meter survey kit
Lab Equipment
Test Kit
Total for Tools and Equipment

$317
$57
$75
$11
$23
$293
$625
$1,401

Assistance
Pay: $75/week
1 Egypt assistant
2 UTSA graduate assistants
Total for assistance

$600
$1,200
$1,800

Miscellaneous
Permit and Visa
Camping necessities
Coleman 14x10 ft 8 person tent
Total for Permit and Visa

Grand Total

$620
$145
$200
$965

$18,020