A review by excavatingmytbr
Women in the Valley of the Kings: The Untold Story of Women Egyptologists in the Gilded Age by Kathleen Sheppard

adventurous emotional funny informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

This is a history of the great many accomplishments of a multitude of women in Egyptology. These women achieved much, with little early recognition, despite the overshadowing of their male colleagues. Fighting pay inequality, gendered field expectations, and access to education these women dazzled in their field and remade it to be what we recognize today.

I appreciated the recognition and discussion not just on the science done by these women, but also their friendships and relationships with each other. The trope of “and they were seen as two friends” in historical works can be exhausting, especially when paired with passionate love letters, so having that outright acknowledged was refreshing. We’re in a time in archaeology where our discussion of queer interpretation of evidence, or bare minimum keeping an open mind to queer expressions, in our sites and subjects is part of regular consideration, so having that done here so well was delightful. 

I especially found myself frustrated, though, reading examples where they would disappear from history after a heterosexual marriage, or where they would assume womanly duties and caregiving tasks for a husband or parent. Even worse, the reality of recognizing a woman’s indispensability to the field, only to take her for granted. One example in particular, Caroline Ransom Williams, who was the best educated, trained, and experienced Egyptologist in the US, but couldn’t get museums to hire replacements for her in the form of male colleagues. Why you may ask? They couldn’t afford to pay a man’s salary. It’s one thing to know that happened (happens still), but to literally see academic work NOT get done because of it? Damn. 

Overall the descriptions of fieldwork to the landscape were engaging. The scholarship here is clearly high marked and was wonderfully written as well. As an archaeologist myself I was also lost in the dream of Egypt’s beauty and promise early in my education, and this made me wish to go back, and maybe push 19 year old me not to listen to how dangerous it might, but and to go explore.