Kelee Siat

I am currently an Egyptology PhD student at the University of Manchester researching the presence of women in diplomatic correspondence between Egypt, the Mediterranean and Near East during the Late Bronze Age. Since 2019, I have been a moderator and co-chair of the Manchester Egyptology Journal Club, a student-led community committed to critically examining and discussing current articles in (and related to) the field of Egyptology.

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PhD Research Thesis Title: Women, Agency, Politics and Power during the Late Bronze Age: An Examination of Women in Diplomatic Correspondence between Egypt and the wider Eastern Mediterranean region (c.1550 BCE – 1190 BCE)

Foreign diplomatic correspondence has been well-documented during the Late Bronze Age between Egypt and the wider Eastern Mediterranean cultures. Previous research has focused on diplomacy as a patriarchal system of power; however, gender and feminist archaeology suggests a new wave of analysis to identify the presence of women in this power hierarchy. The 14thCentury BCE Amarna Letter EA 26 testifies to the inclusion of women in diplomatic affairs by recording the Mitanni king’s address to an Egyptian queen asking for assistance when his request to the Egyptian king was not fulfilled. Diplomatic texts, including over 350 Amarna Letters and the Ugarit texts archives, record communications involving royal women and attests to the presence of women in the political sphere. Content analysis will be carried out on documents from the Late Bronze Age between 1550 BCE-1190 BCE drawing together texts from diplomatic, military, elite and royal correspondence. Social context will be considered utilising the gathered corpus to identify individual women, their roles, power and agency which will aid in defining social structures and redefining an ancient hierarchy of power inclusive of women.

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My previous research interests include the examination of the Eighteenth Dynasty ancient Egyptian Queen Tiye and the Third Intermediate Period Chronicle of Prince Osorkon. I hold minor qualifications in Psychology, Sociology, Geography, Information and Communications Technology and Law; and received training in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and counselling, all of which have added to my interdisciplinary approach in the field of Egyptology. In 2006 I obtained my BA (Hons) in Sociology at the University of Birmingham. I altered my academic focus towards ancient Egypt and obtained a MA in Antiquity-Egyptology in 2013.  My MA dissertation ‘Rebellion in a Priestly Community: A Comparative Study of the Chronicle of Prince Osorkon and Numbers 16’ addressed rebellion and sacrifice through the means of death by fire through the comparative analysis of two texts: the Old Testament Book of Numbers 16 and the Third Intermediate Period Chronicle of Prince Osorkon.

I presented my introductory paper into the field of Egyptology in 2012 titled ‘Unravelling immortality through ancient texts and iconography: The Amduat and global parallels’ at the University of Birmingham’s Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity Forum. During my time at Birmingham University I have been an active member of the Birmingham Egyptology Forum & continue to be involved in the Birmingham Egyptology Symposium (2011-2019) chairing sessions and presenting papers for postgraduate discussion.

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I have previously served on the editorial panel for the Journal of History and Cultures (JHAC); and currently serve on the editorial panel for the Birmingham Egyptology Journal.