Martha Rhoads Bell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Martha Rhoads Bell
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | April 27, 1941 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
|
| Died | November 12, 1991 (aged 50) New Jersey
|
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Barnard College (BA) University of Pennsylvania (PhD) |
| Spouse(s) | Lanny Bell |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Archaeology |
| Thesis | "The Tutankhamun Burnt Group from Gurob, Egypt: Bases for the Absolute Chronology of LH III A and B." (1991) |
Martha Hope Rhoads Bell (born April 27, 1941 – died November 12, 1991) was an American archaeologist. She was an expert in ancient pottery from the Mycenaean civilization. She studied pottery found in Egypt and Nubia. Her work helped us understand how ancient Egypt and the Mycenaean world were connected. It also helped scientists figure out the correct timeline for these ancient times.
Contents
Early life and family
Martha Bell was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 27, 1941. She grew up in Allentown and Center Valley, Pennsylvania. Her parents were Dr. Donald Ziegler Rhoads and Elsie Teetsel Rhoads.
On September 22, 1968, Martha married Lanny Bell. He was an Egyptologist who studied ancient Egypt at the Oriental Institute.
Education and career
Martha started her college studies at Cedar Crest College in Allentown from 1959 to 1961. There, a professor named Burr C. Brundage introduced her to Egyptology. She then earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Ancient History from Barnard College. At Barnard, Morton Smith was an important mentor for her.
From 1963 to 1968, Martha went to graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1966 and 1967, she worked at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, Greece. During this time, she visited many ancient sites in Greece and Crete. She was very interested in the religion of the ancient Minoan civilization.
In late 1967, she joined the University of Pennsylvania's excavations at Gordion. This was an ancient city in what is now Turkey. Rodney Young, the leader of the excavation, was a big influence on her studies.
Work in Egypt
Martha's husband, Lanny, began working at ancient tombs in Dra Abu el-Naga in Luxor, Egypt. Martha joined his team as the chief archaeologist. She worked there for three seasons in 1970, 1972, and 1974.
In 1977, she helped manage the Epigraphic Survey for the University of Chicago. This survey was based at Chicago House in Luxor, which her husband directed. For twelve years, while living in Luxor, Martha did her own research. She visited many ancient sites and museums. She also took part in Barry Kemp's excavations in 1982. These digs were at the ancient city of Akhetaten, also known as Tell el-Amarna.
Research on pottery
A professor named David O'Connor introduced Martha to Robert Merrillees. Merrillees had written a book about ancient pottery from Cyprus found in Egypt. This book inspired Martha to study Mycenaean pottery found at ancient Egyptian sites.
She gathered information on many new and unknown Mycenaean objects. She found these in Egypt and in museums across Europe. She also put together a list of Mycenaean pottery in the Cairo Museum. Martha became an expert in how the Mycenaean civilization and Egypt's New Kingdom were connected during the Late Bronze Age.
An important goal of her research was to help date Late Helladic Pottery more accurately. She found that the change from LH IIIA to LH IIIB happened during the 19th Dynasty of Egypt. This was later than what experts had thought before.
Later achievements
On May 21, 1991, Martha earned her Ph.D. in classical archaeology from the University of Pennsylvania. Her Ph.D. paper was titled "The Tutankhamun Burnt Group from Gurob, Egypt: Bases for the Absolute Chronology of LH III A and B." It focused on re-dating finds from Gurob, an important site for Aegean archaeologists. In 1991, Martha received a grant from the American Philosophical Society to continue her important research.
Death
Sadly, just a few months after getting her Ph.D., Martha Bell died in a car crash in New Jersey. This happened on November 12, 1991.
Articles
- "The Tutankhamun Burnt Group from Gurob, Egypt: Bases for the absolute chronology of LH III A and B" http://repository.upenn.edu/dissertations/AAI9125590/
- "An Armchair Excavation of KV 55," Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 27 (1990): 97–137
- "A Hittite Pendant from Amarna," American Journal of Archaeology 90 (1986): 145–51
See also
In Spanish: Martha Rhoads Bell para niños
