Dr el-Bokl stayed at the Trust’s house in Kensington in August 2026.

Dr el-Bokl in the study room of the Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan, British Museum

My postdoctoral research project centers on preparing four Demotic marriage contracts from the Archive of Teōs son of Horos (Tuna el-Gebel, 191–162 BCE) for publication. Having devoted my PhD thesis to the study and preliminary translation of these four contracts, the primary objective of this fellowship was to conduct direct comparative analyses with parallel collections in the UK to finalize a definitive, high-quality edition for publication.

During my visit funded by the Robert Anderson Trust, I had the invaluable opportunity to directly examine 15 key Demotic papyri across two major UK institutions: the British Museum in London and the John Rylands Library at the University of Manchester. At the British Museum, I examined six parallel papyri from Siut, the Fayum, and Thebes (including P. BM EA 10120, 10591, 10593, 10594, 10609, and 10607). In Manchester, at the John Rylands Library, I studied nine comparative contracts from the Gebelein and Theban collections (ranging from P. Rylands 10 to P. Rylands 38).

The primary objective of examining these original UK manuscripts was to resolve reading difficulties and problematic passages where earlier scholars—and previous studies—had stalled. Direct autopsy of the originals proved extremely successful in clarifying these passages and reaching definitive interpretations. Furthermore, this hands-on access enabled a detailed palaeographical analysis of individual vocabulary items and legal clauses, comparing them directly with the four contracts from the Archive of Teōs son of Horos. Importantly, the comparative corpus included five contracts from Middle Egypt and ten from Thebes and Gebelen in Upper Egypt, which enriched the comprehensive scope of the comparative analysis across various marriage contracts. Additionally, most of these documents date to the Ptolemaic period—the same era as the marriage contracts I am currently preparing for publication.

This fieldwork in the UK complements my previous research conducted in France, where I examined parallel collections at the Louvre Museum, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BnF), and the Strasbourg University Library. Together, these investigations have established a solid palaeographical and legal profile for scribes in Middle Egypt during the mid-Ptolemaic period.

Beyond my core manuscript studies, this fellowship provided an enriching academic and cultural experience. I explored major collections and archaeological holdings across London, Oxford, Manchester, and Cambridge, which sparked new research ideas for future projects. I also had the pleasure of meeting and engaging in fruitful academic discussions with colleagues in the field, strengthening professional networks for future collaborations.

This visit was an exceptional milestone both professionally and personally. I am deeply grateful to the Robert Anderson Trust for this generous support, as well as for the warm hospitality and comfortable stay at the Anderson House, which offered the ideal environment to accomplish all my research goals successfully.