University of Pennsylvania Finding Aids

The Akhenaten Temple Project was the first computer project assumed by the University of Pennsylvania Museum. It was proposed in 1965 by Ray Winfeild Smith, and in 1966 he began the project with the aid of IBM’s nascent computer technology. The IBM computer was abandoned in 1976. This collection spans Ray Winfield Smith’s entire involvement as director of the project 1968-1971, and begins the career of Dr. Donald B. Redford who acted as a consultant in 1971 and has been director since 1972. The records contain papers and photographs relating to the foundation of the Akhenaten Temple Project, and are divided into five series: Financial; Correspondence and Reports; Project Negatives; Photographs; Misc.

From 1921 to 1933, the Palestine Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania Museum conducted excavations at Bet Sh'ean, a site located 12 miles south of the Sea of Galilee in Israel. The expedition was intended to be an extensive research effort in Syria-Palestine, but this goal was never fully achieved due to financial stringencies imposed during the Depression of the 1930s. Clarence S. Fisher, Curator of the Egyptian Section of the University Museum, directed the first three seasons of work at Bet Sh'ean. Alan Rowe and Gerald M. FitzGerald directed the subsequent seven field seasons. Nine major occupation levels were described, the earliest dating to the Late Neolithic, and the latest from the Arab/Crusader periods. Records describing the excavations at Bet Sh'ean consist of forty linear feet of records, including diaries, a card catalog, plans, photographic material, field notes, correspondence, financial records, notes, and publication drafts, as well as dozens of maps, drawings, and paintings.

Located approximately 12 miles west of Jerusalem, this site was originally excavated in 1911 and 1912 by Duncan Mackenzie for the Palestine Exploration Fund. Under the sponsorship of Haverford College, Haverford professor Elihu Grant undertook excavation at this mound from 1928 to 1931 and again in 1933. When the Bet Shemesh (Ain Shems) artifacts, known as the Haverford Collection, were purchased by the University Museum in 1962, the field notes, notes on pottery, drawings, photographs, and correspondence relating to these finds were also acquired.

Linton Satterthwaite, a professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania and Curator of the American Section of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, conducted three trips to Caracol, Belize in the 1950s to investigate a previously unknown site of Maya culture. While his primary interest was in Maya inscriptions and chronology, his journeys to Caracol yielded artifacts for the Museum, including twenty-six vessels of the early classic period, nine vessels of the late period, Stela 11, a new "giant glyph" altar, and the bottom portion of Stela 3. The Caracol expedition collection consists of 16 boxes of correspondence, field notes and notes on individual stela, altars, and stones, glyph decipherment and chronology data, information for publication, and photographs and drawings including contact sheets and photographs from Caracol, Benque Viejo, and Cayo X. Satterthwaite organized and catalogued the photographs according to the type of film used, field numbers, and monument number. The collection also contains three file boxes of card notes to the photographs and a few pieces of oversized material. Satterthwaite's "The Monuments and Inscriptions of Caracol, Belize" with co-author Carl Beetz, was published after his death. The publication materials relate to his instructions and notes for publication and Beetz' collection of Satterthwaite's monument notes for the book.

The records of the excavations at Chalchuapa, El Salvador include correspondence, administrative records, field notes, photographs, manuscripts and reports. The bulk of these materials originate from the 1954 excavation by William R. Coe and the 1966 analysis by Robert J. Sharer, as well as the 1969-1970 re-excavations.

Dr. Robert H. Dyson, Jr., Director of the University of Pennsylvania Museum 1982-1994, directed excavations in 1966 and 1968 at Dinkha Tepe in the Ushnu Valley, west Azerbaijan, northwestern Iran. This expedition formed part of the Hasanlu Project. The papers documenting these excavations are for the most part primary reference materials and were deposited as a closed collection in The University of Pennsylvania Museum Archives for safekeeping until publication research begins within the next several years. Records were kept in their original order. The textual records of Dinkha Tepe consist of 2.66 linear feet of excavation notebooks, indexes and catalogues, photographic material, manuscripts, and drawings, maps and plans.

Excavation at Fara, initiated by German excavators between 1902 and 1903, was resumed in 1931 by Erich Schmidt, an archaeologist working under the aegis of the University Museum. Since the Museum’s participation was limited to one season which took place between February 15 and May 19, the records pertaining to this excavation are not numerous. The textual records at Fara include general correspondence, field notes, indexes and catalogues, and publications. Where possible, a chronological order was imposed on the records.

George Byron Gordon led expeditions to Copan at the end of the nineteenth century and, with his brother MacLaren Gordon, to Alaska in 1905 and 1907. As Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and as Director of the Museum, Gordon was first to conduct regular lectures to undergraduate and graduate students in Anthropology and oversaw one of the the largest periods of Museum growth. The G.B. Gordon Central America collection includes diaries, surveying notes, reports and stories from the Copan Expeditions and the Yucatan Expedition in 1910, original stories, articles, and book reviews written by Dr. Gordon, communication with The British Museum about Maya site excavation, Gordon's introductions composed for speakers for the Saturday Afternoon Lecture Series, speeches to professional organizations, and class lectures.

James Pritchard, first Curator of Biblical Archaeology, Professor of Religious Thought, Associate Director (1967-1976), and Director (1976-1977) at the University of Pennsylvania Museum, conducted his primary fieldwork in three sites in the Near East Of these, locating the site of Ancient Gibeon (El-Jib) in Jordan was perhaps Pritchard’s most notable accomplishment. He and his team conducted five seasons of fieldwork here, discovering three prominent architectural features: a tunnel, pool, and the city wall. The archival records for these excavations consist six linear feet of field notes, reports, a field diary, correspondence, object catalogues, drawings, photographs and a photographic catalogue, an annotated map, publication notes, and financial records.

The Henry L. Smith collection of Augustus Le Plongeon correspondence documents the letters received by Henry L. Smith from the photographer, antiquarian, and amateur archaeologist, Augustus Le Plongeon in 1906 and 1907. Le Plongeon is most noted for his photographs in the Northern Yucatan during travels with his wife, Alice Dixon Le Plongeon, during a thirteen year period from 1873 to 1885. These photographs depict ancient ruins and inscriptions some of which were later damaged or destroyed. The collection consists of one folder of thirteen letters from Le Plongeon, and two additional pieces of information sent to Henry L. Smith, an article from Appleton's Booklovers Magazine and a brochure from the Lowell Institute. H. L. Smith's signature is found on a label for the letters.

In 1887, the University of Pennsylvania agreed to sponsor an expedition to the Near East. The idea was conceived by Reverend John Punnett Peters, University of Pennsylvania Professor of Hebrew. Nippur was a pre-Biblical city-state located in the region between the Tigris and Euphrates, the area believed to be the "cradle of civilization." The museum conducted four expeditions between 1889 and 1898. The textual records for Nippur consist of 20 linear feet of files are arranged by Expedition (I, II, III, IV), as well as publications, maps and drawings. The documents for each expedition are separated according to type: Field Notes, Reports and Narratives, Correspondence, Financial Records.

Piedras Negras is a Maya site in Guatemala particularly noted for the beautifully sculpted stelae and hieroglyphic inscriptions it has yielded. Between 1931 and 1939 the University of Pennsylvania Museum conducted extensive excavations at this site. John Allen Mason led the first two seasons of work at the site (1931–1932), and Linton Satterthwaite directed the remaining six seasons (1933–1939, excluding 1938). Most of the monuments at the Museum borrowed from Guatemala were returned in 1947; only Stela 14 and one leg from Altar 4 remain on display in the Museum today. The textual records from the excavations of Piedras Negras consist of 11 linear feet of correspondence, financial records, field notes and diaries, catalogs, and reports and publication materials. The arrangement of the records reflects the original order insofar as could be detected, and portions that had been separated over time were re-integrated into this scheme.

Robert Burkitt lived and worked in Guatemala for most of his life. A graduate of Harvard University, he first traveled to Central America in 1894 with George Gordon as Gordon's assistant on the Fourth Coban Expedition. Burkitt became enamored with the culture and language of the Maya and never returned to North America. He traveled the countryside, corresponding with Gordon, and collecting items for the Museum under a loosely binding agreement with Gordon and later Horace Jayne. Burkitt's letters and catalogues are rich documents depicting the cultural, linguistic, topological, and historical features of the Guatemala Highlands. Burkitt wrote and worked from the areas of Chama, Chipal, Coban, Senahu, Chiantla, Chocola, and other areas of the Alta Verapaz region. He produced a detailed catalogue of his discoveries accompanied by photgraphs and drawings. Among Burkitt's discoveries is the Ratinixul Vase unearthed in 1923. His work was published in the Museum Journal in 1924 and 1930. Burkitt also wrote about the languages of the Maya, leaving an unfinished grammar and dictionary of the Kekchi language at his death in 1945.

At the turn of the century, the Río Grande de Coclé changed course, revealing the site of a pre-Columbian cemetery when pottery and gold ornaments were washed out of the river banks. In 1940 the University of Pennsylvania Museum began to excavate Sitio Conte, which belonged to a private landowner, located in the province of Coclé. A very small portion of the pre-Columbian cemetery, estimated to cover four or five acres in its entirety, was selected for excavation. The expedition yielded 6,600 pounds of pottery and stone. The textual records consist of 1.5 linear feet of field notes, diaries, and object cards; correspondence; administrative records concerning contracts, expenses, transportation, and equipment; and unpublished and published reports and articles concerning findings. The arrangement of the records became apparent after some research, for the original order had been lost. Most of the original folder titles, however, have been maintained.

Tepe Gawra is an ancient Mesopotamian settlement in northern Iraq, near the ancient site of Nineveh and fifteen miles northeast of the modern city of Mosul. It was excavated by archaeologists from the University of Pennsylvania, led by E.A. Speiser, who first discovered the site in 1927, and later, C. Bache. The excavations showed that the Tepe Gawra site was occupied from approximately 5000 B.C. to 1500 B.C. The textual records from Tepe Gawra consist of 11.85 linear feet of General Correspondence, Field Notes, Indexes and Catalogues, Field Registers, and Publications, plus Maps and Drawings. Where possible, a chronological order was imposed on the Near East records.

Tureng Tepe, a site dating from approximately 3100-2900 B.C. through 1900 B.C. in northeast Iran was excavated by Frederick R. Wulsin during two short field seasons in 1931. Although the expedition was directed by Wulsin, a University of Pennsylvania Museum staff member who was a curator of Anthropology during 1930-1932, the expedition was sponsored by the Atkins Museum of Fine Arts in Kansas City, Missouri. Records relating to the excavation at Tureng Tepe are limited, and consist of 2.3 linear feet of correspondence, field notes, and indexes and catalogues.

The curatorial files encompass the period from the Section's inauguration by Museum President William Pepper in 1894 to the 1970s. While the material in the Mediterranean curatorial files dates from 1895 to 1979, the bulk of the collection dates to the earlier years (1895-1949) and within that period, the majority relate to Edith Hall Dohan.

Sir Leonard Woolley directed the excavations at Ur in southern Iraq from 1922 to 1934 for the Joint Expedition of the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania Museum. As part of this involvement, the University of Pennsylvania Museum sent Leon Legrain, Curator of the Babylonian Section, during the 1924–1925 and 1925–1926 seasons. Most of the records of the Ur expedition are located at the British Museum. The Museum Archives hold only a few records. The records consist of general correspondence, indexes and catalogs, publications, and Legrain research. Where possible, a chronological order was imposed on the Near East records.