Joann Fletcher

I obtained my first degree in Ancient History and Egyptology from University College London in 1987, followed by a PhD entitled ‘Ancient Egyptian Hair: a study in style, form and function’ which I received from the University of Manchester in 1996.  

As Honorary Research Fellow at the University of York I teach ancient Egyptian funerary archaeology as part of the archaeology degree course, and designed the first nationally available GCSE-equivalent (Level 2) qualification in Egyptology on behalf of the educational body Centra.

research Interests

With my main interests centred around body adornment throughout the ancient world, long-term research into the use of wigs, perfumes, cosmetics, tattoos and amulets by the living and the dead led to a fascination with mummification and burial practices.  

Over the last 15 years I have studied human remains across the world, from the UK and Ireland to Egypt and the Yemen, Peru and Chile, Italy and the Canary Islands. As a founding member of the York University’s Mummy Research Group set up in 1999, I work closely with Prof. Don Brothwell and Dr. Stephen Buckley; our projects include a joint collaboration between York and Sana'a University to study the mummies of ancient Yemen, and ongoing research as part of an international team set up to study recently discovered Iron Age bog bodies at the National Museum of Ireland. We are also conducting ongoing research into royal mummies from tomb KV.35 in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, which also combines research I am undertaking with Prof. Earl Ertman of Akron University on the ceremonial jewellery of 18th dynasty pharaohs.  

In addition to my work in the field, I also undertake work at a number of museums. As Consultant Egyptologist for Harrogate Museums and Arts, I have been undertaking the long term study of their Egyptology collection since 2001 and following several successful temporary exhibitions, am currently preparing the permanent display of objects as part of a long-term project between the museum and the university funded by NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts). I have also worked on exhibitions for Wakefield Museum, North Lincolnshire Museum, Glasgow’s Burrell Collection, Leiden’s Rijksmuseum and a BBC exhibition at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery. I am currently researching the Egyptology collections of Hull and East Riding Museums, Wakefield Museum, the Hancock Museum, Scarborough’s Rotunda Museum and York Museums’ Trust. 

Current Research Projects:

• The Egyptian collection of Harrogate Museums and Arts
• The Egyptian collection of Wakefield MDC Cultural Services
• The Egyptian collection of Hull & East Riding Museums
• The Egyptian collection of the Hancock Museum, Newcastle
• The Yemeni Mummy Project with Sana’a University
• The Irish Bog Bodies Project with National Museum of Ireland, Dublin
• The Peruvian Mummies of Bolton Museum
• Ceremonial jewellery of 18th dynasty pharaohs with Earl Ertman, Akron University

 

Academic and professional distinctions

Awarded a funding partnership with Harrogate Museum by NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) in 2006, Designed the first Egyptian archaeology module for the University of York's undergraduate archaeology degree course in 2006, Awarded a NMA award in 2006 for the multimedia project 'Death in Sakkara' with the BBC History website and Preloaded 4) Designed the first GCSE-equivalent (Level 2) qualification in Egyptology on behalf of the government educational body Centra in 2003.

Selected Lectures 22.1.01: Ancient Egyptian Adornment, Scarborough Archaeology Society 23.3.01: Ancient Egyptian Wigs and Hairstyles, Toledo Museum of Art 25.3.01: Ancient Egyptian Perfumes and Cosmetics, Toledo Museum of Art 29.11.01: Amenhotep III, Horus Society, Wigan 5.12.01: Montuhotep II, Nemes Society Manchester 17.1.02: The Decorated Body in Ancient Egypt, The Clothed Body in the Ancient World Conference, Open University & University of Birmingham 13-14.4.02: Ancient Egypt at the Louvre, Horus Society tour 14-15.5.02: Mummification Techniques of Ancient Egypt & Yemen, Sana'a University 1.10.02: The Assassination of Tutankhamen, Smithsonian, Washington 27.11.02: Land of the Pharaohs gallery talk, Harrogate 30.11.02: KV.39 Revisited, Bloomsbury Day School, London University 17.2.03: Land of the Pharaohs: treasures of the Collection, Harrogate Museum 26.3.03: Land of the Gods in God's Own County, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough 29.6.03: Recent Work at KV.35, Highclere Castle 7.03: The Search for Nefertiti, Discovery Channel, Los Angeles 8.03: The Search for Nefertiti, Smithsonian, Washington 7.10.04: In Search of Nefertiti: the annual In Pursuit of Excellence Lecture, Beaumont Hospitals & Detroit Institute of Arts 27.1.05: Mummies from Ancient Egypt and Beyond, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough 10.4.05: The Search for Nefertiti: Leading Lights Lecture, Edinburgh Science Festival 22.4.05: Pectorals for King and Courtiers in the Reign of the 'Dazzling Sun Disk', 56th Annual Meeting Of The American Research Center In Egypt, Cambridge, Massachusetts 24.5.05: The Search for Nefertiti, Sheffield University Archaeology Society 29.5.05: The Search for Nefertiti, the Guardian's Hay-on-Wye Literary Festival 2.7.05: Edward Heron-Allen and Ancient Egypt, Heron-Allen Society, London 22.9.05: Discovering Ancient Egypt, Wakefield Museum 29.11.05: Ancient Egypt & Yorkshire, Wakefield Town Hall 17.6.06: The hair & hairstyle of Clonycavan Man, Royal Museum of Ireland, Dublin 27.7.06: The Materials Employed in Ancient Yemeni Burial Practices, The Seminar for Arabian Studies, British Museum 10.11.06: Ancient Egypt & Yorkshire, Wakefield Girls' High School 17.11.06: Ancient Egypt & Yorkshire, Highclare School 25.11.06: The Mummies of the Amarna Period, North-East Lincolnshire Egyptian Association 5.2.07: The Pioneering Mrs. Lieder and British Egyptology, Scarborough Archaeological and Historical Society 20.2.07: The Pathology Of A Royal Child Mummy From Tomb KV.35, Valley Of The Kings, Egypt (with D. Brothwell & S. el-Merghani), International Mummy Congress, Lanzarote 12.4.07: A Resume of Recent Work, Nemes Egyptology Society, Manchester 15.5.07: Into the Light: the Ancient Egyptian Treasures of Harrogate Museum and Arts, Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate

Current Research projects

• The Egyptian collection of Harrogate Museums and Arts
• The Egyptian collection of Wakefield MDC Cultural Services/li>
• The Egyptian collection of Hull Museums and Art Gallery
• The Egyptian collection of the Hancock Museum, Newcastle
• Ancient Egyptian cosmetics and perfumes in the Burrell Collection, Glasgow
• The Yemeni Mummy Project with Khaled el-Thour & Mohammed Basalaama, Sana'a University
• The Irish Bog Bodies Project with National Museum of Ireland, Dublin
• Ceremonial jewellery of 18th dynasty pharaohs with Earl Ertman, Akron University