Meet our new Fellow

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, you raised more than £10,000 in 2020 to support Heritage at Risk in Egypt. Thanks to a further generous donation from the Scottish Egyptian Archaeology Trust, we’ve been able to appoint a Fellowship (in memory of the late Ian Mathieson) to oversee the implementation of those grants in 2021-22.

For the first time ever, these grants can be applied for in either Arabic or English and the Grant Administrator will be responsible for identifying projects and supporting them through their application as well as the implementation of their work. They will also help to let you, our generous donors, know where your funds are making a difference.

We’re delighted to welcome Fatma Keshk onto the team in 2021 as our Ian Mathieson Fellow. She will receive mentoring throughout her Fellowship from representatives of the Society’s Research Committee and will work closely with the staff team to deliver a pioneering programme of collaborative support.

Fatma is an Egyptologist, heritage outreach expert, and a storyteller. Through her work at archaeological sites in Egypt, Sudan, and Europe, she developed her expertise in archaeology and heritage outreach. Her encounters with local communities have allowed her to explore the overwhelming richness of Egyptian heritage, how it is perceived, and how it can be regenerated through and for its people.

Fatma has worked with several local and international institutions and was the director of the archaeology and architecture section at the Center of Documentation of Cultural and Natural Heritage at the Library of Alexandria. She acts as consultant for projects and institutions in the fields of archaeological site management, heritage outreach, and community engagement.

In January 2020, Fatma received the cheer-leading award of the "Golden Cubes" competition from the Egyptian House of Architecture for her first published story “A Tale of Shutb”. The story documents the heritage of Shutb village and was produced as part of the Asyut Region Project of the British Museum (see below).

Fatma recently finished her PhD dissertation at the Free University of Berlin on an ethno-archaeological study of streets and open courtyards from modern Nubia and ancient Egyptian settlements from the Predynastic Period to the end of the Middle Kingdom.

Her current research concentrates on reconstructing the little-known history of Egyptian Egyptology and on exploring the perceptions of history by contemporary Egyptians. In 2019, she founded her own initiative "The Place and the People" for heritage outreach and education.

We’re sure that you will join us in welcoming Fatma to the EES team and look forward to seeing the results of the Heritage at Risk Grants over the coming months.