DR ALOISIA DE TRAFFORD
Key Qualifications
Aloisia de Trafford has a BA (Hons.) in Mediterranean Archaeology from the University of Malta
and an MA and PhD from the Institute of Archaeology at University College London. Following
her studies Aloisia was employed for 3 years at the same university as a Managing Editor for the
quarterly academic journal African Archaeological Review published by Springer, working for Prof
Fekri Hassan who was the Editor of the journal. This work broadened her interest in Egypt to
include relations through history between Egypt and Africa. Aloisia’s teaching experience includes
three years of lecturing on ancient Egyptian art, religion and historical developments at Birkbeck
College, London University, as well as occasional lectures and seminars in Egyptian archaeology
on the undergraduate and Masters programmes at UCL’s Institute of Archaeology. Dr De Trafford
has written and edited over 10 publications on the pyramids, the Pyramid Texts and associated
religious beliefs, as well as on cultural heritage issues, sustainable development and tourism.
During numerous fieldwork expeditions to Egypt during a period of over 10 years, Aloisia
developed a sensitivity to the role of archaeology in contemporary society; and the related issues of
cultural heritage management and the sustainability of monuments for the future and within the
fabric of their local communities – a primary concern of the Egyptian Cultural Heritage
Organisation.
Educational Qualifications
1998-2005
1996-1997
1992-1996
Ph.D. in Egyptian Archaeology
University College London, Institute of Archaeology, UK.
M.A. in Archaeology,
University College London, Institute of Archaeology, UK.
B.A. (Hons.) in Archaeology
University of Malta.
Teaching
SEPTEMBER 2005
TO JUNE 2008
SEPTEMBER 2005
TO JUNE 2008
Part-time lecturer on Introduction to Egyptian Archaeology, an undergraduate
course run by the Institute of Archaeology, University College London.
Lecturer in Egyptian art, religion and historical developments at Birkbeck
College London.
Expertise
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Old Kingdom pyramids
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Religious texts and beliefs
Water and the sea in archaeology and beliefs
Development of writing; ritual and performance
Origins of state societies (especially Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt)
Art, statuary and figurines, colour use and symbolism
Body and gender theory
Ancient Egyptian food and experimenting with recipes and baking techniques
Egyptianising influences in the Mediterranean
Cultural heritage management
Sustainable development and relevance of archaeology in current human issues
Fieldwork and Research Projects
Aloisia started her excavating career as an undergraduate at the Xaghra Stone Circle, a unique
prehistoric hypogeum cemetery on the island of Gozo and later as an Area Supervisor at Tas-Silg, a
Phoenicio-Punic Temple site in Malta. Following a postgraduate degree in Egyptian Archaeology
she excavated at the Predynastic site of Kafr Hassan Dawood in the Egyptian Delta and conducted
archaeological surveys (including work on the UNESCO management plan) at the Old Kingdom
Pyramid sites of Saqqara, Dahshur, Abu Roash and Giza and has been involved in research projects
led by Prof Fekri Hassan reconstructing the palaeoenvironment and landscape of Egypt, based on
drill-coring of riverine and lake deposits in Saqqara and in the Faiyum Oasis.
Membership of Organisations and Professional Services
Egyptian Cultural Heritage Organisation (ECHO)
Egypt Exploration Society (EES)
- Director
- Ordinary Member
Publications
Currently in Preparation:
De Trafford, A.
In Prep.
Food in Ancient Egypt. London: Equinox Press.
Hassan, F. A., Tassie, G. J., De Trafford, A., Owens, L. S. & van Wetering, J. (eds.)
In Prep.
The Management of Egypt’s Cultural Heritage, Vol. 2. London: Golden House
Publications.
De Trafford, A., Tassie, G. J., van Wetering, J. & El Daly, O. (eds.)
In Prep.
A River Runs Through It: Essays in Honour of Fekri A. Hassan. Cairo: SCA
Publications, ASAE.
Tassie, G. J., van Wetering, J. & De Trafford, A.
In Prep.
The Nile Delta in peril: the need for rescue archaeology and CHM in Lower
Egypt, in F. A. Hassan, G. J. Tassie, A De Trafford, L. S. Owens & J. van
Wetering (eds.) The Management of Egypt’s Cultural Heritage, Vol. 2.
London: Golden House Publications.
Co-edited Books:
Hassan, F. A., Tassie, G. J., De Trafford, A., Owens, L. S. & van Wetering, J. (eds.)
2009.
Managing Egypt’s Cultural Heritage: Proceedings of the First Egyptian
Cultural Heritage Organisation Conference on Egyptian Cultural Heritage
Management. London: Golden House Publications.
Hassan, F. A. de Trafford, A. & Youssef, M. (eds.)
2008.
Cultural Heritage and Development in the Arab World. Alexandria:
Bibliotheca Alexandrina Publications.
Articles:
De Trafford, A.
2010.
Can clues from Egypt’s Dynastic Period shed light on its Predynastic
Figurines? in D. Gheorghiu and A. Cyphers (eds.) Anthropomorphic and
Zoomorphic Miniature Figures in Eurasia, Africa and Meso-America:
Morphology, Materiality, Technology, Function and Context. Oxford: Archaeo
Press, BAR International Series 2138, pp. 123-129.
2007.
The Palace Facade Motif and the Pyramid Texts as cosmic boundaries in Unis's
Pyramid Chambers. Cambridge Archaeological Journal 17(3): 271-283.
2006.
The Pyramid Texts: A contextual approach, in J-C. Goyon & C. Cardin (eds.)
Proceedings of the Ninth International Congress of Egyptologists.
Leuven/Paris/Dudley: Peeters, Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 150, pp. 431434.
2006.
Exploring the contextual and symbolic relationships between mummies and
texts in Late Old Kingdom pyramids. Proceedings of the Vth World Congress
on Mummy Studies, Journal of Biological Research 80, Italy: Rubbettino Press,
pp. 184–7.
Co-authored Articles:
De Trafford, A. and E. Foxell.
2010.
Repositioning
Malta
as
a
cultural
heritage
destination,
International Journal of Culture, Tourism, and Hospitality Research, Special
Issue on Managing Island Tourism: Cultural and Marketing Perspectives 4(2):
34-45.
Fushiya, T..& De Trafford, A.
2009.
Abu Roash: From garbage dumping place to local heritage site, F. A. Hassan,
G. J. Tassie, A De Trafford, L. S. Owens & J. van Wetering (eds.) Managing
Egypt’s Cultural Heritage: Proceedings of the First Egyptian Cultural
Heritage Organisation Conference on: Egyptian Cultural Heritage
Management. London: Golden House and ECHO Publications, pp. 38-58.
De Trafford, A & Tassie, G. J.
2009.
Eroticism and sexuality in Old Kingdom Egypt, in L. M. de Araüjo & J. des
Candeas Sales (eds.) Erotica, Eroticism and Sexuality in Ancient Egypt:
Proceedings of the International Congress for Young Egyptologists, Lisbon,
Oct. 2006. Lisbon: University of Lisbon, CD.
De Trafford, A., Clayton, J. and Borda, M.
2008.
A hieroglyphic inscription found at Jebel Uweinat mentioning Yam and
Tekhebet, Sahara, 19: 129-134..
Frendo, A. J., De Trafford, A. and Vella, N.
2005.
Water journeys of the dead: A glimpse into Phoenician and Punic eschatology,
Atti del V Congresso internazionale di studi fenici e punici. Marsala-Palermo,
2 – 8 ottobre 2000. Palermo: Università degli Studi di Palermo, Facoltà di
Lettere e Filosofia, pp. 427-443.
PhD Thesis:
De Trafford, A.
2006.
An Interpretive Model of the Pyramid Texts in King Unis’s Funerary
Chambers. University College London: Unpublished PhD thesis.
Review Articles:
Love, S. & De Trafford, A.
2002.
Review of Day Conference on Seti I: Preservation and conservation, 17th July,
Royal College of Surgeons, London, Papers from the Institute of Archaeology,
13: 117-120.
Tassie, G. J., Rowland, J. M. & De Trafford, A.
2000.
Review of the 8th International Congress of Egyptologists, Papers from the
Institute of Archaeology 11: 98-109.
Conference Presentations:
2008.
Across the Seas: Interpreting Egyptianising artifacts from Phoenician sites in Malta,
Intercultural Contacts in the Ancient Mediterranean, Dutch-Flemish Cultural Institute,
Cairo, October.
2007.
Colour and Cosmogony in the Old Kingdom Pyramids, Conference in Honour of Prof.
Nur el-Din, Cairo University, April.
2005.
An Interpretive Model of the Symbolic World within King Unis’s Pyramid, British
Egyptology Conference, University of Cambridge.
2004.
The Pyramids Texts and their Pyramids: How Tourists See Them, First International
Conference on Egyptian Cultural Heritage, Egyptian Embassy, London.
2004.
Text, Tomb and Mummy in Old Kingdom Egypt, British Association of Near Eastern
Archaeology ‘The Creation of Symbolic Worlds,’ Reading University.
2003.
The Protection Spells in the Pyramid Texts, Fourth Current Research in Egyptology,
Durham University.
2002.
Initiatives for Protecting Cultural Heritage in the Coastal Zone (Malta), EU Seminar on
Ecotourism in Coastal Areas, Gaia Foundation, Malta.
2001.
Body Symbolism in the Pyramid Texts, Second Current Research in Egyptology,
Liverpool University.
2000.
The Pyramid Texts: Some Thoughts on their Medium and Message, Encounters with
Ancient Egypt Conference, UCL Institute of Archaeology.
Co-authored Presentations:
2008.
with Fekri Hassan. Forging Future Collaborations in European and Egyptian
Egyptology, European Association of Archaeologists’ Conference, Malta, September.
2006.
with G. J. Tassie. Sexuality and Eroticism in Ancient Egypt. Young Egyptologists’
Conference on Sexuality in Ancient Egypt. University of Lisbon, October.