Claire Isabella Gilmour is based in south-west Scotland and is a PhD candidate in Anthropology & Archaeology at the University of Bristol, researching the cultural and academic impact of the study of Ancient Egypt in Scotland. She teaches Egyptology, Archaeology and the Ancient Near East at the University of Glasgow, is Chair of Egyptology Scotland, and has worked in museum collections care for over twenty years. She is particularly interested in the histories of Egyptology, museums and collecting; the life and career of Scottish archaeologist and antiquarian Alexander Henry Rhind (1833-63); funerary archaeology (especially Ancient Egyptian tomb equipment); the reception of Ancient Egypt and the wider Ancient World; and Scottish cultural studies. She is currently on the committees of the International Society for the Study of Egyptomania (ISSE) and the Association for the Study of Travel in Egypt and the Near East (ASTENE), and is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.
Education
DipHE Egyptology — University of Glasgow, 2017
MLitt Museum & Gallery Studies — University of St Andrews, 2010
MA(Hons) Archaeology & Celtic Civilisation — University of Glasgow, 2005
Areas of Expertise
Egyptian Temples: How the Egyptians Depicted the Universe in Microcosm
No two ancient Egyptian temples are the same, but they are all founded on religious and cultural beliefs, which are reflected in their architecture, locations, and decoration.
Mummification: The Ancient Egyptian Art of Embalming the Dead
Mummified human remains are synonymous with Ancient Egypt, but when were the first mummies made, and how and why did the Ancient Egyptians embalm their dead so elaborately?
5 Popular Misconceptions about Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt is so familiar to us — hieroglyphs, pyramids, strange gods, and we all know about the mummy’s curse. Yet, many popular ‘facts’ are not actually true.