Based at UC Berkeley, we combine cutting-edge technology with ancient history to unlock the secrets of Egyptian coffins. Our team of Egyptologists, student researchers, and volunteers uses advanced 3D scanning and photogrammetry to digitally preserve and study artifacts that are thousands of years old. Alongside the visual reconstructions, we provide expert translations of the hieroglyphic texts inscribed on the coffins, shedding new light on ancient Egyptian culture, beliefs, and funerary practices. Join us as we bridge the gap between the past and the future, bringing ancient Egypt to life through technology and scholarship.
Meet the team
Rita Lucarelli
Primary InvestigatorRita Lucarelli studied at the University of Naples “L’Orientale,” Italy, where she received her MA degree in Classical Languages and Egyptology. She holds her Ph.D. from Leiden University, the Netherlands (2005). Her Ph.D. thesis was published in 2006 as The Book of the Dead of Gatseshen: Ancient Egyptian Funerary Religion in the 10th Century BC. Until June 2014 she worked as a Research Scholar and a Lecturer at the Department of Egyptology of Bonn University, where she was part of the team of the “Book of the Dead Project”. She is currently an Associate Professor of Egyptology at UC Berkeley and Faculty Curator of Egyptology at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology of the University of California, Berkeley and Fellow of the Digital Humanities in Berkeley. She is presently working at a project aiming at realizing 3D models of ancient Egyptian coffins.
Rita Lucarelli is completing a monograph on demonology in ancient Egypt and she is one of the coordinators of the Ancient Egyptian Demonology Project: http://www.demonthings.com.
For a full CV and list of publications see: http://nes.berkeley.edu/faculty/lucarelli.html
Kea Johnston
Co-Primary InvestigatorTechnical Consultant
Kea obtained BAs in both Computer Science and Biology from Brown University in 2005, though she maintained an interest in Egyptology throughout her undergraduate studies. While at Brown, she was invited to go to Egypt as an epigrapher with the Brown/AUC expedition to the Abu Bakr Cemetery at Giza in 2005. Having been a software engineer for a decade, she is currently working towards a PhD in Egyptology. Her interests include the development of funerary art and iconography during the New Kingdom and Third Intermediate Period.
Rachel Barnas
ResearcherRachel is a PhD student in Egyptology at UC Berkeley. She received her M.A. in Near in Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations from the University of Toronto and her B.A. in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from Yale University, and is a past Terrace Research Associate at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Her current research is focused on magical texts in the Middle and New Kingdoms, investigating Egyptian social and philosophical paradigms through analysis of their composition and use.
Beatrice de Faveri
ResearcherCurrently a second-year PhD student in Egyptology, I received my BA in Classical Archaeology from the University of Padua, Italy. I then graduated from the University of Bologna, Italy with a MA in Civilizations and Cultures of the Ancient World focusing on Egyptology. Since 2019, I am also a member of the IFAO archaeological mission to Coptos. As for my current research interests, I specialize in ancient Egyptian magical texts and their materiality. While being especially interested in the philological aspects of the composition and transmission of magical spells, my research also extends to the relation between magical texts and the material culture connected to their ritual use in religious practices.
Jess Johnson
ResearcherTechnical Consultant
Jess received her B.A in Art History from New York University in 2013 and her M.A in Egyptian Art History and Archaeology and a Graduate Certification in Museum Studies from the University of Memphis in 2015-16. Her M.A thesis focused on the synecdochical relationship between Gate Guardians and the demon Ammit in New Kingdom Books of the Dead. Jess’s interests include Demonology and narrative constructions within religious texts, tombs, and temple wall decorations. Jess is also interested in the museological well being of Egyptian collections and their public outreach ability. She has experience working within the museological field for the past ten years within university settings, galleries, and auction houses. She hopes to continue both her Egyptological and Museum Studies passions interchangeably through pursuing a career as a Curator.
Undergraduate team
Liam McEvoy
Undergraduate ResearcherTechnical Consultant
Liam is a 4th year undergraduate student at UC Berkeley majoring in Anthropology and minoring in Middle Eastern Language and Culture, with a focus on ancient Egypt. In addition to his work on Book of the Dead in 3D, he is also currently researching ancient psychoactive compounds and the Egyptian Blue Lotus at UC Berkeley’s College of Chemistry. His interests include medical papyri, mass spectroscopy analysis, ancient intellectual property management, and ancient law.
