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1 OINEWSLETIER-FIRSTMONDAY - FEBRUARY 1998 FROM THE DIRECTOR / Gene Gragg UNITS COMPUTER LAB / Jhn Sanders MEMBERSIllP & DEVELOPMENT / Cynthia Echls - Tim Cashin MUSEUM / Karen Wilsn PUBLICATIONS / Tm Urban RESEARCH ARCHIVES/ Chuck Jnes TABLET COLLECTION / Jhn A. Brinkman PROJECTS DEMOTIC DICTIONARY / Jan Jhnsn YEMEN DHAMAR SURVEY / Tny Wilkinsn INDIVIDUALS FRED DONNER JAN JOHNSON ALEX O'BRIEN CLEMENS REICHEL EMILY TEETER DAVID TESTEN KAREN WILSON FROM THE DIRECTOR / Gene Gragg We have sent ut ur call, cmpiled the respnses, and here yu have the result. This first attempt already prvides an invaluable snapsht f January, 1998, at the Oriental Institute -- with sme helpful indicatins f events cming up. Many thanks t all wh cntributed! We knw that many f yu are still trying t decide what activities shuld generate a Newsletter cntributin. We expect that a healthy range f individual differences will remain the nrm, as a stable frm and apprach fr the Newsletter gradually evlves. Needless t say, especially at this early stage, any reactins t the cntent and datagathering prcedure will be particularly helpful. UNITS COMPUTER LAB / Jhn Sanders The Lab nw has an ffim-cmpatible, Pentium-based cmputer, with 128 MB RAM and 6 GB f hard disk strage, a ZIP( 1 <H3>Material added April 30e strage drives, and a Nikn 35mm slide r print scanner set up and running in the Lab. The machine is available fr use fr scanning r image prcessing (with PhtShp 4.0) by appintment, best n Tuesday - Thursday, 11 :OOam - 5 :OOpm. Sme Oriental Institute Website statistics t illustrate that peple want the kinds f infrmatin we make available via the internet.

2 1. A year ag, the last week f January 1997, we had a ttal f 60,151 "hits" (file requests) during the previus seven days, whereas fr the same time in 1998 we had 108,000+ "hits". 2. Except fr the Christmas hliday perid, the website has nw had 17 straight weeks f ver 100,000 "hits" per week, cming frm an average f ver On average, we nw dwnlad between 1.5 gigabytes t 2.0 gigabytes f dcuments and images per week t schlars, students, and the general public wrldwide. 4. Between the Museum, Institute research prjects, and individual schlarship prjects the 01 website nw cntains ver 1000 images and maps. MEMBERSHIP & DEVELOPMENT MEMBERSlllP I Tim Cashin Members Lectures: Feb. 18, 1998: LECTURE CORRECTION. Our lecturer this evening will be David Reese f the Field Museum. The lecture, beginning at 8:00 PM in Breasted Hall, is entitled "Man and Animal in the Ancient Mediterranean and Near East." The lecture by Gil Stein riginally advertised fr this date will take place n April 22. Aplgies fr the errr. Membership Figures: In January 1998, the Oriental Institute had 1296 paying membership husehlds. In early December 1997, 180 lapsed members were sent prmtinal packets inviting them t rejin the Oriental Institute. Respndents ttaled 40 (22.2%) with 36 renewals (20%). DEVELOPMENT I Cynthia Echls The year end appeal fr 1997, mailed with the Annual Reprt t all Oriental Institute members, set a new recrd fr the Institute: $334,642. Included in this ttal are: sme $80,000 in crprate gifts and sme $87,000 in supprt fr varius prjects and field expeditins excluding the building prject. The Legacy Campaign, ur fundraising drive t supprt climate cntrl, renvatin, and expansin has reached $9,243,530 fthe $10,115,000 gal. The Develpment Office and the Legacy Campaign Executive Cmmittee, a vlunteer leadership grup, are making every effrt t secure the final $871,470 needed by the clse f June Our thanks t all f yu wh have supprted this fundraising drive. The naming pprtunities assciated with the Legacy Campaign in recgnitin f majr gifts nw "spken fr" include the Reading Rm (The Elizabeth Mrse and Elizabeth Mrse Genius Trusts), the basement multipurpse rm (The LaSalle Banks), the temprary exhibits area (individual dnr wh has asked that public annuncement be reserved fr later date), and als a number f cases within individual galleries. The Visiting Cmmittee (University Trustee Rbert Schlerb, Chairman; University Trustee Jhn D. Ong, Vice Chairman) met n 29 January at the University Club. Our faculty speaker was Aslihan Yener, whse research in prgress reprt elicited much interest-and many questins-frm the cmmittee members attending. MUSEUM I Karen Wilsn As f January 23, all cnstructin wrk (including fmal cleaning and flr painting) has been cmpleted in the new additin and in the renvated prtins f the galleries and

3 basement. Ray Tindel has mved int his new ffice, and Cnservatin and Preparatin are in the prcess f arranging furniture and equipment in their new spaces. Jean Grant has had t clear everything ut f her ffice, dark rms, and pht studi and place it in the new pht studi - s we will be unable t prvide any in-huse pht services fr the next several mnths. Ray is setting up heavy bject shelving in the east basement and is mving items like fragments f Khrsabad reliefs nt that shelving, and we are assembling regular shelving in the rest f the basement in preparatin fr mving the cllectins dwn frm the frmer Egyptian Gallery int their new hmes. That mve will begin n February 2 and is anticipated t take abut 6 weeks. Once the mve is cmpleted, asbests abatement f phase 2 areas (frmer Egyptian Gallery, Iranian Gallery, nrth basement, and metals and rganic strage rms) will take place. Then Turner will cme in and cmplete phase 2 renvatin wrk in thse spaces, which is estimated t take 2-3 mnths. If everything ges accrding t plan, which we have learned it never des, that wuld mean the end f the renvatin/cnstructin prject sme time late in June. Meanwhile, museum staff are wrking n the design fr the new Egyptian Gallery, which will have its first pening event n December 5, the 67th anniversary f the dedicatin f the Oriental Institute building. The exhibit design/architectural finn f Vinci/Hamp, Assciates, are ding the design wrk, and Emily Teeter is the Curatr fr that new gallery. We are anticipating a reinstallatin schedule that ges as fllws: -Egyptian Gallery (frmer Mesptamian Gallery) - Dec. 5, Mesptamian and Assyrian Gallery (frmer Egyptian Gallery) - fall Persian Gallery and Megidd Gallery - spring Special traveling exhibitin - Treasures frm the Ryal Tmbs at Ur, rganized by the University f Pennsylvania Museum - t pen in the frmer Assyrian gallery in Octber 2000 and run thrugh January Nubian Gallery plus Amuq and Anatlia (frmer Assyrian Gallery) - spring Educatin The Museum has been cllabrating with several Chicag Public Schl 6th and 7th grade teachers fr the past 4 years t develp curriculum materials and schl prgrams abut ancient civilizatins. We nw have a rich array f resurces, materials, and services that are available t these teachers. One cmpnent f the prgram is the Visits by Schlars t the Classrm. These visits are made by Oriental Institute graduate students, wh ffer slide presentatins and lead questin-and-answer sessins with students. This January, Nicle Hansen did slide shw presentatins fr 6th grade students at Fuller Schl, 4214 S. St. Lawrence, and at Ray Schl, 5631 S. Kimbark. Alex O'Brien gave slide talks t 7th graders at Sawyer Schl, 5248 S. Sawyer, and at Field Schl, 7019 N. Ashland. Justine Way, wh is nw in Egypt, is excited t be hsting an dialgue called "Ask an Archaelgist" with 6th grade students at Ray Schl. They are asking her questins regarding the dig at Giza and she is sending back answers frm the site. When she returns in a few mnths, she, t, will visit Ray Schl and shw students slides frm the trip. January saw the beginning f new adult educatin curses fr the winter quarter, and a new cllabrative venture between the Museum Educatin Department and the Graham Schl fr General Studies. Fr the very first time, the Graham Schl and Museum Educatin are c-spnsring a curse that is being presented ff -campus- at the Gleacher Center, the University's dwntwn lcatin. This eight-sessin curse-the Art f Ancient Egypt: Style, Technique, and Functin-is being taught by Emily Teeter. Due t

4 the cnvenience f the dwntwn lcatin, Emily will hld a special curse sessin in the Galleries f Ancient Art at the Art Institute f Chicag. The Educatin Department has "gne west" with anther ff-site curse-judaism in the Time f Jesus is being ffered in DeKalb, lllinis, by Tny Tmasin, an adult educatin instructr f lng-standing wh nw lives and wrks in DeKalb. Off-site classes such as this are allwing us t prvide prgramming fr Oriental Institute members thrughut the metrplitan area. Students frm acrss the natin and arund the wrld are als able t take Museum Educatin curses. Frank Yurc is teaching "Pyramids-By-Mail," a crrespndence curse that is sld ut and has a waiting list. And peple frm arund the wrld have enrlled in "An On-Line Intrductin t Ancient Egypt." As far as we knw, this is the wrld's nly curse n ancient Egypt ffered entirely ver the Internet, and it never wuld have happened withut the advice f Chuck Jnes, the expertise f Jhn Sanders, and the cuntless hurs f wrk put in by Peter Piccine, the curse develper and instructr, wh has prduced all f the n-line lectures, text translatins, graphics, and interactives. He als mderates the n-line discussin grup, which is n mean feat with participants that range frm cllege freshmen t senir citizens and frm truck drivers t judges t university prfessrs. Registrants fr this class cme frm mre than twenty states and nine different natins-argentina, Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, Indnesia, Italy, Japan, Spain, and Suth Africa. Vlunteers Faculty, staff, and vlunteers gathered at the President's Hme n Tuesday, January 20th, t enjy a Tea Receptin hsted by Elizabeth Snnenschein. Emily Teeter presented an update n the design and installatin f the new Egyptian Gallery. Emily shwed the new cnfiguratin f the Egyptian Hall, pinted ut many f its user-friendly features, and discussed sme f the bjects that will be n display. The Vlunteer Crdinatrs wuld like t express their appreciatin t the many individuals wh helped t make January Dcent Day a memrable event: Masak Matsumt, fr her beautiful centerpiece, and the many vlunteers wh shared their culinary specialties t help make this year's tea a feast fr the palette. A special nte f thanks t Harry Hamiltn f Mrs. Snnenschein's husehld staff fr his assistance thrughut the day. PUBLICATIONS I Tm Urban We are preparing t send Markus Hilgert's _Drehem Administrative Dcuments frm the Reign f ShulgL (OIP 115) t press, in which 499 cuneifrm tablets frm the Oriental Institute Tablet Cllectin are published. We are als preparing t have three vlumes f the Chicag Assyrian Dictinary reprinted (All, B, and Z). Tw ther vlumes in preparatin are the Epigraphic Survey's _Reliefs and Inscriptins frm Luxr Temple, Vlume 2_ (OIP 116) and Mark Garrisn and Margaret Cl Rt's _Seal Impressins n the Perseplis Frtificatin Tablets, Vlume 1: Images f Heric Encunter_ (OIP 117). A list f ther frthcming titles is printed n the back cver f ur new catalg (which is nw als available n the Web at <bttp:/iwwwluchicag.eduloildeptipub/cat ALOG/Catalg.html». RESEARCH ARCHIVESI Chuck Jnes

5 The bk-stack rm in the new wing was delivered t the Research Archives in January. Once finishing details are cmplete and the shelving installed we will begin t mve cmpnents f the cllectin. We d nt anticipate that the library will be clsed while classes are in sessin, nr d we expect that parts f the cllectin will be inaccessible. This Winter Jhn Sanders installed ne f the X-Windw terminals with a cnnectin t ne f the Lab's UNIX machines as a dedicated internet access terminal in the Research Archives. This gives us fur public terminals in the Archives: The X-Windws, the tw Macs and the DOS machine acting as a dedicated server fr Miguel Civil's Sumerian database. The n-line catalgue cntinues t grw. It currently hlds just ver eighty thusand recrds. We have abut twenty thusand additinal recrds nearly ready t be laded int the database. We cntinue t seek ways t make this catalgue glbally accessible. The sftware vendr which prduces the database we currently use seems nearly ready t prvide a Web interface. In the meantime, if anyne needs a tutrial n hw t access the catalgue frm an ffice they shuld cme talk t me. We have had number f visitrs during the past mnth. Cynthia Miller frm UW Madisn spent a week with us; Gene Cruz visited fr intensive reference checking; Mark Garrisn wrked in the Archives as well as n drawings fr the next vlume f the Perseplis FrtifIcatin Sealings vlume. In additin we had the usual stream f shrt-term visitrs during the Winter break. Sme f yu have spken t me abut reviving the ld Acquisitins Lists which ceased publicatin in the middle f It seems that it might be wrthwhile reviving the ld infrmal mnthly r bi-mnthly list f bks received. If yu have cmments abut this, please let me knw. 177 items have been prcessed int the cllectins since the beginning f December. The Research Archives currently prduces nly electrnic publicatins. Links t all f them are available at the Research Archives Web page. Several dzen entries were added t Abzu in recent weeks, and ur mst recent publicatin is a selectin f basic Intrductry Readings n the Ancient Near Eastern Wrld, prduced cllabratively with Emily Teeter and Carle Krucff. The ANE list currently has 1293 subscribers t its fur ptins, and averages abut twenty messages per day. TABLET COLLECTION I Jhn A. Brinkman Steve Tinney (Univ. f Pennsylvania) was here frm Jan. 8 t Jan. 11 t d research in the tablet cllectin. PROJECTS DEMOTIC DICTIONARY I Jan Jhnsn The DDP will have tw visitrs in early April. Prfessrs Jhn Tait (University Cllege, Lndn) and Heinz-Jsef Thissen (Clgne) will be in Chicag t participate in the 4th Chicag-Stanfrd Sympsium n Hellenistic Egypt. Each will spend several days wrking with Dictinary staff, discussing wrds whse reading r meaning remains especially prblematic.

6 YEMEN DHAMAR SURVEY I Tny Wilkinsn The furth field seasn f the Yemen Dhamar Survey will cmmence in early February. T.J. Wilkinsn and Mac Gibsn will arrive February 5th and will return t Chicag in late March (Wilkinsn n 31 March). We hpe t get mre survey, excavatin and envirnmental studies cmplete, but in additin ur seasn will include a special cnference n the archaelgy f Yemen, t be held in San'a 9-12 March INDNIDUALS Fred Dnner In early Nvember, I went t Beirut fr the first time in 14 years t participate in a cnference n "The Writing f Islamic Histry: Ambiguities and Methds," spnsred by the Islamic University in Lebann. Shrtly thereafter, I attended the 31st annual Middle East Studies Asscatin meeting in San Francisc (Nv ), where I read a paper entitled "Sayf ibn Umar n Early Islamic Syria" as part f a panel n "Bigraphy and Histry in Early Islamic Syria." (FYI, Sayfwas the great chrnicler al-tabari's preferred infrmant fr the events f the Islamic cnquests in Syria, despite the fact that Sayf was an Iraqi, that his accunts have sme suspect qualities, and that many Syrian authrities fr these events were nt used by al-tabari.) I am glad t say that I have recently made the last crrectins t the index f my bk _Narratives flslamic Origins. The Beginnings flslamic Histrical Writin~, which will be published by the Darwin Press, Princetn, in March r April; it is part f Darwin's series "Late Antiquity and Early Islam. " In late February I will present a talk at Ntre Dame's Medieval Institute, with the title "Was Early Islam an Apcalyptic Mvement?" I will present cndensed versin f the same talk at the Humanities Institute's regular Wednesday lunch series n March 4. J an Jhnsn relays the fllwing (paraphrased frm a ntice in the upcming News and Ntes): A grup f distinguished language-teachers and schlars f freign languages at fur universities--the University f Michigan, the University f Chicag, Nrthwestern University, and the University f Wiscnsin--have been awarded a fur year, $950,000 grant frm The Andrew W. Melln Fundatin t adapt the mst recent develpments in cmputer technlgy t new mdes f instructin fr the teaching f three less cmmnly taught languages (Swahili, Hindi and Egyptian). The Egyptlgical cmpnent f this prject, (Jan Jhnsn, wrking in cllabratin with Terry Wilfng and Janet Richards f the University f Michigan) will develp an entirely new type f reader in Middle Egyptian which will be ffered t students at the University f Chicag and the University f Michigan, and later t students at all fur participating institutins. Wrking in cnjunctin with the Oriental Institute Cmputer Labratry, the prject will create an interactive, platfrm-independent Web-based unified grammar and reader built n a database f apprximately 30 representative Middle Egyptian texts (literary, religius, autbigraphical, legal) invlving thusands f lines f hierglyphs. Each text will be identified by date, type f text, place f rigin f the text, current prvenience f the riginal text, and basic bibligraphy abut the text; cultural and backgrund material (textual and visual) will be prvided wherever pssible. There will

7 als be links t archaelgical and histrical infrmatin. This reader culd frm the basis fr an intrductry sequence in Middle Egyptian r culd be used as a supplement at all levels f instructin. The authrs will als develp a crss-grammatical cncrdance based n the reader. Jan als ntes the fllwing items frm her upcming schedule: 1) participatin in Carle Krucffs "dictinaries wrkshp" in March (alng with Miguel Civil, Martha Rth, Harry Hffner and Tm Urban) 2) attending the 50th annual meeting f ARCE in Ls Angeles, April ) serving as ne f the respndents as well as ne f the rganizers f the 4th in the series f Chicag-Stanfrd Seminars n Hellenistic Egypt. This ne, t be held April 4, is entitled "Narrative Strategies in Greek and Egyptian Prse f the Hellenistic Perid." It is a day-lng wrkshp/seminar which will be held at the cm. In late December 1997 Alexandra O'Brien returned frm wrking in the Eastern Desert f Egypt as epigrapher t the Oriental Institute's Bir Umm Fawakhir Expeditin. The team, directed by Carl Meyer, spent a mnth wrking at the site, the lngest seasn s far. In additin t the main site, the team studied New Kingdm remains near the mdem mining plant in the Wadi es-sid. New Kingdm material had been fund the previus seasn ( ) and this seasn evidence f mining dating t this perid was fund near the mdem wrkings. Shrtly after returning t the US, O'Brien gave a paper at the AINAPA meeting in Chicag. The paper dealt with Egyptian wmen in Demtic dcumentary texts. Clemens Reichel: academic activities 1997/98 1. Diyala Database Prject: - Own research: Abut a year ag I started wrking n the seal impressins frm the Diyala Regin, f which there are abut 500, mst frm Tell Asmar and f Ur-ill - Old Babylnian date; virtually all f them are unpublished. I have catalgued and described them and transliterated the seal legends; I am currently phtgraphing these bjects; the images then get scanned and linked t the databases. This wrk shuld be finished by summer Other duties: I am largely respnsible fr the maintenance and develpment f the cmputer prgrams used in this prject (the sftware we are using is FxPr 2.6). Sme f the scanning - ntably the scanning f ld large-scale negatives in the Digital Media Lab and f my wn 35mm negatives in the 0.1. Cmputer Lab - is dne by me r under my supervisin by vlunteers. 2. PhD: I am rewrking the histry and archaelgy f the 'Shusin Temple and the Palace the Rulers' at Tell Asmar. My main fcus is t identify the nature f its institutins, the peple invlved in its administratin, and the changes ccurring thrughut time. I have finished the stratigraphic re-analysis and am nw synthesizing the infrmatin gained frm the seal impressins (ntably the family lines restred frm the seal legends). A first chapter will be finished by February Cnferences: I attended last years AOS cnference in Miami and the R.A.I. in Venice; at bth cnferences I presented papers (n Tell Asmar seal impressins in Miami, n sedimentatin in alluvial Mesptamia in Venice). I will attend this year's AOS in New Orleans, presenting anther paper n Diyala-related material. 4. Fieldwrk: in 1997 I participated in 2 archaelgical field prjects: the excavatins at Hacinebi Tepe in SE Anatlia, directed by Gil Stein (Nrthwestern University), and the surveying and mapping f Bir Umm Fawakhir (Eastern Desert, Egypt)

8 Emily Teeter is teaching a nn-credit class; "The Art f Ancient Egypt: Style, Technique and Functin" c-spnsred by the Museum Educatin Department and the Graham Schl f General Studies at the Gleacher Center. This curse is the first time such a cllabratin has been undertaken, and it is hped that the success f the prgram will lead t increased use f the dwntwn facility fr Oriental Institute educatin prgrams. Having returned frm a Melln research fellwship in the Linguistics Department at the University f Pennsylvania, David Testen is nw wrking as a Research Assciate with the CAD. He is currently invlved in cmpleting a manuscript (based n his 1995 LinguisticslNELC dissertatin) which is due t be published by E. J. Brill, and cntinuing his research int the linguistic prehistry f Semitic and f the Iranian languages. He is scheduled t deliver a paper n the develpment f Arabic subrdinating cnjunctins at the upcming Arabic Linguistic Sympsium (March, ChampaignlUrbana) and anther n Achaemenid-perid phillgy at the AOS in New Orleans. Karen Wilsn presented a paper t the Classical Arts Sciety f The Art Institute f Chicag n January 13. Titled "Palaces Withut Rival: Assyrian Kingship Immrtalized in Stne," the talk fcused n hw Assyrian palace decratin prvided a pictrial representatin f the institutin f kingship and the ideal f the Ne-Assyrian state and hw details f that decratin and representatin changed between the reign f Ashurnasirpal IT and that f Ashurbanipal. At the request f Jim Sprans, Cynthia Echls arranged fr Karen t make a lunch-time presentatin n the histry f the Oriental Institute and Museum t the president and ther staff members at the dwntwn crprate headquarters f Amsted Industries, where Jim is Vice President.