Saturday, April 12
3:30 pm EST
Penn Museum, Classroom L2
In-person; no registration required

Speaker: Rolland Long, PhD Candidate, UPenn

Title: “A DEM-onstration of Quantitative 3D Analysis: Lower Nubia in the Recent and Distant Past”

Abstract:
Soon after the declassification of satellite imagery from the CORONA satellite spy-mission in the mid-1990’s, archaeologists working around the world recognized quickly recognized their value. The spy mission, which had originally been designed to provide intelligence on Soviet bomber and missile capabilities during the Cold War, also recorded the appearance of archaeological sites and landscapes heavily altered or destroyed by recent urban development. This talk focuses on a burgeoning new application of CORONA imagery: the generation of historical Digital Elevation Models (DEM) from such images, which can yield important quantitative insights about terrain no longer in existence.
Specifically, this talk will produce several DEM’s produced over Lower Nubia, which has been subject to flooding and rising water levels since the establishment of the Aswan High Dam about half-a-century ago. Though a heroic international effort had sought to salvage as much archaeological information as possible prior to its construction, much about the ancient history of the area has been swept away forever. These DEM’s will situate the Egyptian forts of several areas, including Semna and Askut, within their larger geographical context. Certain physical features of these fortresses, such as intervisibility between forts and their proximity to overland routes, can now be verified quantitatively with these DEM’s in conjunction with GIS toolkits.

Speaker Bio:
Rolland Long is a PhD Candidate in Egyptian archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to attending Penn, he earned his BA from the University of Chicago, where he graduated with honors in Egyptology. His research focuses on the post-Middle Kingdom occupation of Wah-Sut, on which he currently dissertates, as well as the general character of ancient urbanism in Egypt. He works primarily as a field archaeologist, and has worked 7 field seasons in South Abydos with Penn.

In addition, Rolland is interested in the larger, quantitative problems that concern ancient Egypt, such as demography, as well as remote sensing and the analytical utilization of 3D modeling. He also possesses a strong curiosity regarding philology and grammar; he worked several years as a research assistant at the Chicago Demotic Dictionary (CDD) during his graduate career.

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Lectures are FREE to ARCE-PA chapter members, $7 for University of Pennsylvania Museum Members and UPenn Staff and Faculty, $5 for Students with ID, and $10 for the general public.
Coffee, tea, and cookies served starting at 3pm.
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The American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) is a private, nonprofit organization founded in 1948 by a consortium of educational and cultural institutions to support research on all aspects of Egyptian history and culture, foster broader knowledge among the general public, and strengthen American-Egyptian cultural ties. The ARCE Pennsylvania Chapter (ARCE-PA) is the local branch of the national institution. We host monthly events including scholarly lectures, Egyptian-themed workshops, social events, and guided tours of the Penn Museum’s Egyptian galleries. For more information or to learn about the perks of membership, please send an e-mail to info@arce-pa.org, or visit our website at www.arce-pa.org.