Karanis Revealed, Part II: Discovering the Past and Present of a Michigan Excavation in Egypt at Kelsey Museum of Archaeology

Part II of the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology’s special exhibition – Karanis Revealed: Discovering the Past and Present of a Michigan Excavation in Egypt – will open Friday, Jan. 27 and continue through Sunday, May 6, 2012.

This special exhibition explores the story of the site’s excavation, which was initiated by the University of Michigan in the 1920s and 1930s. It will illuminate the historical records of a single village community, located 80 kilometers southwest of Cairo in the Egyptian countryside, during Egypt’s Graeco-Roman period.

Part II will follow the changes that took place in Karanis with the beginning of the Roman occupation of Egypt and then later with the advent of Christianity. The displays – all but a few will be new -- include collections of Roman glass, tax rolls on papyrus, and the leather breastplate of a Roman soldier.

Everyday life in ancient communities is often obscured from modern eyes due to the erosion of evidence over the centuries. The archaeological process, however, allows scholars to reconstruct an understanding of past societies from the surviving artifacts. Through Karanis Revealed, museum visitors will have the opportunity to unearth the daily life of a rural village more than 2,000 years old and retrace the steps of the scholars who discovered it.

Part I of the exhibition looked at aspects of village life during the community’s early centuries, including the site’s agricultural cultivation, the role of pagan religions, and evidence of more esoteric magical practices.

The Kelsey Museum of Archaeology houses a world-famous collection of nearly 100,000 artifacts from the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean and Near East. Located in the heart of the University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus at 434 South State St. right across from Angell Hall. Public parking is available in nearby garages as well as metered parking on adjacent side streets.