José Pérez Negre is a doctor in Archaeology, specializing in Egyptology. Currently, he directs the Spanish Institute of Egyptology and Coptology (IEEC). Since his graduation in 1999 from the Department of Archaeology, Prehistory, and Ancient History at the University of Valencia, he has developed various projects, with the most recent being PGIS/2023-1E: Analysis of adobe as a datable and constructive element and PICON/2023-3E: Iconography of power and war in New Kingdom Egyptian.
His research has focused on topics such as Landscape Archaeology in Egypt, the study of Egyptian documentary sources, among others, complemented by his training in Akkadian, Coptic, and Hieroglyphic Egyptian. Among his numerous excavations, surveys, impact studies, museum work, and modeling SIG projects, he stands out for his participation and direction in national and international conferences such as PMONARQ/2023-2C: Archaeology and Architecture of the Egyptian Monastery. From concept to practice. This fruitful contribution to knowledge about past Egypt is reflected in his extensive bibliography. After this brief synthesis of his professional trajectory, we begin.
- Searching for his name on the internet leads to more than a hundred heritage interventions, conferences, seminars, etc., and the vast majority are centered around Egypt. In light of this, we wonder: Why Egypt? What does its history and legacy have that has attracted him more than other territories, peoples, historical periods, etc.?
The truth is that my interest in Egypt comes from practically my childhood. At the beginning of the 1980s of the last century, my father worked as a transporter, making weekly trips with his truck to Central Europe, including Germany. Back then, there was no current globalization: Internet, WhatsApp, X, Facebook, etc., were not present in our lives. However, certain countries, open to new mass approaches, had written media such as daily or weekly newspapers that reported on information coming from the other side of the "pond." In this sense, Germany at the end of the 1970s and beginning of the 1980s had a prominent group of written press that, as mentioned, referred to what was happening in other countries such as the USA. Whenever my father traveled to Germany, he brought gifts for me and my sister. He wrapped them in newspaper so they wouldn't break due to the jolts of our old Leyland truck, which was very safe but felt like a constant earthquake moving our passenger seats when inside the driver's cabin. In May 1978, towards the end of the month - I remember it as if it were today and see my father handing me the gift - he approached and said: "Pepe, look what I've brought you." I unwrapped the package and saw that he had brought something I had longed for, a Hohner harmonica. However, despite the excitement of the good news, I noticed the paper wrapping "the desired item." It was an German newspaper, Spiegel, dated May 28, 1978, which I still keep today, in which these lines read: "Alt-Ägypten ist in vogue: In der Essener Villa Hügel beginnt diese Woche eine Ausstellung; und auch Tutanchamuns Gold, in Amerika schon bestaunt, kommt in die Bundesrepublik", with the corresponding graphic publicity. It referred to an event in the USA of an exhibition about a certain Tutanjamun, titled "Treasures of Tutankhamun, November 17, 1976 – March 15, 1977', at the National Gallery of Arts Archives. At that time I was nine years old and had just received communion, and from that day on, as an anxious child, every time my father went to Germany, I would ask him if he had news about when Tutanjamun and his treasures were coming to Europe. Almost two years later, in early 1980, I don't remember the exact month, my father brought me wrapped up a book that was none other than the catalog of the exhibition then in Berlin. I was amazed, absorbed by the figures of gold, by all the details of a book that became the most prized possession in my room. At the end of 1980, my birthday (November 23) approached, and my father asked permission from the Escolapios for me to be absent, or at least that's what he told me. The good thing is that we set off together towards Germany, hand in hand, and arrived in München. After parking the truck, we went downtown, and I saw a line that seemed kilometric to me. I had just turned eleven years old, and my father was going to give me the greatest gift of my life: attending, in person, with numbered tickets, the Tutankhamun exhibition. I circled around and around, soaking up the brilliance, the details. It was a before and after in my personal formation.
The rest is history. My passion turned, over the years, after completing my university studies, into an objective. Dedicate myself to what dazzled me on November 23, 1980, at the "Haus der Kunst" in München. After my doctoral studies, I knew what I wanted and, above all, desired to relive day by day the excitement of everything Egyptian that came to bookstores, which were not many, or to the Book Fair, or even through the then-known as "Circle of Readers." After my doctoral studies, focused on classical archaeology in Roman Egypt, the "live motif" of that eleven-year-old boy was getting closer and closer.
- The history of Ancient Egypt has always fascinated the general public. The controversies over historical inaccuracies in fiction series and documentaries are well known. What does he think about the image of Ancient Egypt that is disseminated through mass media? Does he consider there would be something to correct or expand upon this information that many people take for granted?
I sincerely believe that sometimes we can be a bit strict with what's around us, especially if analyzed from the perspective of an expert. I truly believe that everything in moderation is good. Without the "Tutmania" of the 1980s, I would never have been interested in Egypt and, without cultural or heritage associations dedicating hours upon hours, unpaid, many university students today wouldn't be able to approach Egyptology during their initial formative phase. Egypt fascinates, dazzles, and always will. When you visit Karnak, the Hypostyle Hall, the Ajmenu of Thutmose III, the Valley of the Kings, Medinet Habu, the Ramesseum, and even the Luxor market, and what to say about the Pyramids, it impresses and your mind is enveloped in a captivating aura that makes you want to see more and more, to feel at harmony with an ancestral culture that "pulls" you even into obsession. The Nile and its lands become something fantastic, something you want to narrate and tell everyone when you return to Spain. I have worked in Rome and Greece, and nothing compares. Città Eterna will always be in my heart, and reaching the Parthenon after crossing the Propylaea is an indescribable moment, a superior emotion that transforms my senses. A slice of pizza transports me to the Colosseum and the Pantheon of Agrippa; and the smell of fried cheese or fish filet takes me back to Plaka's neighborhood, at the foot of the Acropolis. But nothing compares, nothing ever will, to the feeling of entering through the access pylons of Medinet Habu or when you descend with an airplane and in the immediate distance, you glimpse the essence of Egypt.
This fascination can sometimes lead to "excess," to the cinematic, to a merchandising that at times blurs reality. It's true, but it is the price one must pay for loving Egypt. Going to a cinema hall to watch "The Mummy," for example, doesn't have to turn into an exam of what isn't scientific. It's a moment of relaxation, free time, enjoyed alone or with friends and family. Therefore, I believe we should know how to value what this current consumerism pours upon us. In our hands lies the capacity for choice, to evaluate and discern what interests us or not. But honestly, I think many people approach "the Egyptian" through generalist events, and in principle, I don't think it's bad in its proper measure. The excessive visitation of KV 62 of Tut almost turns it into history, but without the commercial, dissemination, or generalist aspect of the tomb, Howard Carter would never have been able to complete his intervention on the West Bank of Thebes.
- As director of the Spanish Institute of Egyptology and Coptology (IEEC), what are the main challenges he faces? How did the idea of creating the IEEC come about? What objectives does he hope to achieve with this institute?
These are questions that some colleagues in my profession ask me constantly. If there already exist entities focused on Egypt, why and for what purpose create the IEEC? For me, it's certainly simple and easily explainable.
Throughout my professional career, after twenty years working in cultural heritage, you see something that, while obvious, remains in obscurity due to its own obviousness and by the speed with which today's world develops and overwhelms us: the impossibility of carrying out your dream, your passion, leads progressively to thinking that trying is pointless; your financial or family situation makes you doubt; at some point, even, you might have tried getting someone to support you, but doors keep closing. And in the end, negativity, the harsh reality of daily life, leads you to think that you'll never achieve it. Or similarly, there's the circumstance where you're passionate about Egypt and want to research, but in your hometown or even at your university, no one has a project in Egyptian lands. Then what can I do?
In most cases, university students don't even think of dedicating themselves to the world of Egyptology due to the inherent difficulties. The IEEC was born, among other reasons, to help develop the scientific research of novice researchers, to make possible in a certain way the first professional approach to rigorous research on Ancient Egypt. And all this in an environment of collaboration, away from egos, where professionals in the sector, already established, even university professors, coexist side by side in a relaxed research environment based on respect and the need to help for the sake of helping. The center offers tutoring, bibliographic material, and formative elements that make possible the integration of the novice into the research process. Having various research journals and monographic series in each seminar (Egyptology, Coptology, and Primitive Christianity, Greek-Hellenistic-Period Ptolemaic, and finally Roman-Egyptian-Bizantine) allows both the beginner researcher and the established one to share a space for debate on research.
The institute aims to be a reference at the national level in terms of formative and research activities since it enables, through its digital means, virtual platforms, and human resources, full integration into the world of research for anyone who approaches the center with the desire to work and become part of a solidarity project. This is undoubtedly an important challenge. But always from respect towards existing entities previously. Each organization, association or collective space centered on Ancient Egypt has its own goals. Ours are not disseminative but rather investigative.
However, from an institutional perspective, the main challenge of the center is to achieve the fundamental goal we set ourselves when our entity came into being a couple of years ago: developing excavation and heritage intervention projects in Egypt. And it's a challenge that lies within our hands. We have worked and are working seriously, rigorously, and professionally to have our own intervention projects in Egyptian lands. The center, thanks to its "patrons," will soon have three archaeological and heritage projects in the land bathed by the Nile: one in Lower Egypt, another in Middle Egypt, and a third in Upper Egypt. And it's something to be happy about. This implies that our partners and researchers will have formative platforms in Egyptian territory for their development in the fields of Egyptology and Coptology. All this without additional costs to their "pockets," since our "livemotif" is none other than offering without expecting anything in return.
We are not a NGO, but we have no profit motive and do help those who need it. And even during specific periods traditionally distant from strictly "pharaonic," such as the Ptolemaic era, the Roman conquest, and subsequent development of Aegyptus, including the final phase fully Byzantine, understanding this as the integration of Egyptian lands into Byzantium, the Eastern Empire, and the decades following the Arab Conquest until the Sultanate of Saladin and affiliates, including periods of caliphates.
When referring to archaeological and heritage projects, it's not done lightly. Excavating is important, but disseminating what has been documented also matters. Our projects are based on three fundamental pillars: excavation, valorization, and full integration of our researchers in Egypt and young Egyptian talents into our platforms. Our "Project Management" area, under the guidance of our colleague María José Fano Navarro, has dedicated itself wholeheartedly to establishing the necessary mechanisms to help form both our own young researchers and young Egyptian researchers.
- Following on from the previous questions about the work carried out at IEEC, what types of international collaborations has the Institution established? How have these contributed to advances in Egyptological research? In what ways could IEEC differentiate itself from various university research groups in Spain?
The center was clear from the outset that it needed to establish a framework of national and international integration. For this, direct ties with various museum entities were obviously necessary. Especially to establish links so our researchers could access materials deposited in various museums such as Staatliches Museum zu Berlin, British Museum, Museo Egizio di Torino, etc. The institutional relationship with the Arab Republic of Egypt is essential, both with the Egyptian Embassy in Madrid and with the Ministry of Antiquities of Egypt. This is why we have among our team our dear Hassan OukikLaoued, Official Interpreter and Translator for IEEC, without whom everything would certainly be a bit more complex, although I speak fusha. This dynamism has allowed us to develop THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS "GENDER STUDIES IN ANCIENT EGYPT" for the year 2025, a project we have been determined to carry forward despite existing difficulties and which will undoubtedly mark an 'before' and 'after' in gender research. Various researchers, both national and international, will be able to engage in research debate in Valencia from March 3rd to 7th of next year, the week prior to International Women's Day. A milestone without precedent in our country's research landscape. Uroš Matić (Österreichische Archäologisches Institut), Carmen Pérez Die (Museo Arqueológico Nacional), María Jesús Albarrán (CSIC, Instituto de Lenguas y Culturas del Mediterráneo y Oriente Próximo), Katelijn Vandorpe (Leuven University), Andrea Paula Zingarelli (Universidad Nacional de La Plata), Jean Li (Toronto Metropolitan University), Mariam Ayad (The American University in Cairo), Kim McCorquodale (Macquarie University, Australia), etc., are some of the invited speakers.
The center undoubtedly works both at an international and national level. Hence agreements or collaboration agreements with entities such as the Faculty of Philology, Translation, and Communication of the University of Valencia, or the Higher Technical School of Topography and Geodesy of the Polytechnic University of Valencia are established.
Although our ties to academia are evident, we do not cease to be a private institution. This, while it may initially appear as a problem or manifestation of academic inferiority, is truly not so. Spanish universities develop based on a series of academic parameters that govern, among others, the establishment of study plans and, in a certain way, they are constrained by the public system itself. Management processes are considerably slower, and establishing study plans much more rigid. It would be impossible to find at a Spanish university center four research seminars like ours where all historical periods of Ancient Egypt are studied and researched, from pre-dynastic times until the High Middle Ages. At a public level, it would be very complex. In this sense, our initiative offers something innovative, different, fresh nationally and, consequently, internationally.
- Making an academic and professional balance of all these years dedicated to the archaeological discipline, especially Egyptology and Coptology, not forgetting his gender studies, landscape studies, among others. What reflection does he make on all this?
When you look back after so many years, you think and say: "It was worth it!" Without effort there is no reward. Things are not easy, problems are multiple. But if you dedicate yourself with passion, with commitment, everything comes and life acquires its most intimate meaning, its full development. That's why I encourage both young people and veterans who decide to change their destiny: everything is possible if you want it and work hard for it. Obviously, you remember those who helped you and leave aside those who didn't treat you well, without resentment, always moving forward. Thinking negatively doesn't lead anywhere. You will always find someone who doesn't believe in you, but the most important thing is to believe in yourself.
- We can't not talk about his knowledge of Akkadian, Coptic, and Hieroglyphic Egyptian scripts. What would he say to our readers about these ancient writings? Which one does he think is the most complex to study and understand?
The truth is that all are wonderful. And I don't say it just to say it. Akkadian is devastating, extremely complex. Especially because of its syllabary, the script itself, and the verbal-conjugation system. You must have a full understanding of everything surrounding the tablet, and perhaps it's the one most subject to textual interpretation in translation processes. Priorly you choose which signs you believe are written, and sometimes it is indeed complex. It should be noted that it is a cuneiform script and its written production depends, at times, on the quality of the conserved product.
Hieroglyphic is fascinating. You get hooked as soon as you touch it. From "cursive" to "tradition," it's wonderful. For a novice, attractive for its iconicity, style, strokes, representation. It involves a transliteration process that can be less complex when compared with Akkadian, Sumerian, or Hittite. Its graphic richness is greater since the Egyptian script is rendered through other graphical systems which have their linguistic correspondence with it. In this sense, hieratic or late hieratic are systems that require both grammatical and graphical processes. It involves a hieroglyphic transcription followed by transliteration prior to translation.
Coptic is a marvel. It's the language of the first Christians and traditionally the Sahidic dialect is the best known. Reading Shenute is a "treat," as well as the apocryphal gospels and the rest of the repository from Nag Hammadi. The alphabet is mostly Greek with some Demotic loanwords, a language and script preceding Coptic. Coptic grammar roots in Neo-Egyptian, basically, with small Demotic tints.
Without a doubt, it's recommended to study each one of them. It's an arduous process but immensely enriching. Perhaps the most complex is Akkadian. In my case, I studied all at once. It was costly, but I understood better the linguistic process in the Near East.
- At this moment, new technologies are gaining a great prominence in the field of humanities. What role do tools such as SIG modeling and similar resources play in your work applied to Egyptian heritage?
Currently, research requires on one hand interdisciplinary groups but also a certain degree of knowledge about what you have "in your hands." It's recommended to have basic notions regarding this.
New technologies are necessary to better understand the historical development of a society. Work tools such as SIGs, which were born within geographical studies, have become indispensable for analyzing population in a territory and the case of Egypt is no exception. European studies in Landscape Archaeology, with the application of Geographic Information Systems (SIG), had certainly gone through a more noticeable evolutionary process. In other words, Classical Archaeology, in territorial analysis, had a great advantage over Egyptian research because territorial analyses were "de rigueur." In Egypt, in the last ten years, the situation has taken a favorable turn. Numerous doctoral theses or landscape studies recur to SIGs, which allow explaining aspects of population that without their execution would be difficult solutions: why one site and not another was chosen. Visibility, distance traveled in a day, territorial equidistance are aspects that a SIG allows implementing and managing better the global information on a territory.
Other technologies such as photogrammetric analysis have allowed advancing significantly in the study of Egyptian monuments. Photogrammetry sensu stricto, coupled with 3D scanning, ground radar, LIDAR application, and satellite infrared prospection, allow research groups in Egypt to obtain much clearer territorial modeling.
- And finally, what advice would you give to a future Egyptologist looking to make their way into the field of this world and culture?
That they get in touch with us through our social media (Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn) and our website: https://www.instituto-espanol-de-egiptologia-y-coptologia-ieec.com/, and by email at info: info-ieec@instituto-espanol-de-egiptologia-y-coptologia-ieec.com.
We will inform them about the various academic possibilities in Spain and abroad, and obviously what our own institute can offer. Without bias.
Interviewed by:
Mª Dolores Rodas Romero
Communication Area
Mª José Minuesa Grau
ArqueoTimes Directive
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