People
The people of the ASP project includes our core team members and specialists, our Egyptian Reis, Quftis and crew, our Project Manager and American dig house staff, the local MOTA inspectors, and the communities of Arabet Abydos, el-Ghabat, and Beni Mansour.
Co-Director
Deborah earned a PhD in Egyptian Archaeology and Art History at NYU. She first came to Abydos in 1997 to work for her advisor and Abydos legend, David O’Connor. Deborah has worked in Giza, Aswan, Luxor, and El-Hawawish in Sohag, as well as many seasons in Abydos. She joined the ASP in 2021.
Deborah has also taught all over New York, at Queens College, City College, Parsons, NYU, the Pratt Institute, and Columbia University, as well as at Princeton University.
Her research interests focus on regional cultural variations and localized identities, linked to experiences of landscape. She is the author of Community and Identity: the Old Kingdom Cemetery at Qubbet el-Hawa (2015), along with several articles.
Co-Director
Ayman received his BA in Archaeology at Sohag University and his MA in Anthropology at Cairo University. He works as an Inspector for the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, based at Al-Balyana. Ayman has excavated all over Abydos, and he also works professionally as a photographer, shooting sites and objects all over Egypt.
Ayman is one of the founders of the ASP, leading the search for the Ahmose tomb in 2018. He also directs the Abydos Paper Archive Project, a project dedicated to preserving and investigating written records of Egyptian work in antiquities over the last century.
Associate Director
Emily Smith-Sangster earned a PhD in Egyptian Art and Archaeology from Princeton University and an MA in Ancient Near Eastern and Egyptian studies from NYU.
Emily joined the ASP in 2021 and excavated the newly discovered Ahmose cemetery for her dissertation. Her work on this material is the subject of her upcoming monograph, and she will be overseeing future excavations to expand our knowledge of this fascinating discovery.
Emily’s research interests include landscape, identity, local practice, and disability in the ancient world.
Ceramicist
Dr Mohamed Naguib Reda earned his BA in Egyptology from Sohag University, followed by an MA in Ceramology, and then completed his PhD in ceramology at Assiut University. He has worked as a ceramics expert on multiple projects across Abydos and Luxor.
Dr. Reda is currently the General Director of Antiquities in Sohag, after spending several years as Director of El-Baliana/Abydos Antiquities. Dr. Reda has worked tirelessly to protect the antiquities of Abydos, and his deep commitment has led to significant progress in preserving and protecting Abydos for the future.
Architectural Conservator
Anthony Crosby is a world-renowned specialist in earthen architecture conservation and preservation. He worked with the US National Park Service for 25 years at a wide range of sites from the Lincoln Memorial to Chaco Canyon, and he has consulted on heritage preservation projects all pver the world.
Tony has worked on the ground on projects across the American Southwest, South and Central America, and Egypt and the Middle East. He also writes and teaches extensively about earthen architecture preservation, an area in dire need of support all over the world. In Egypt, he has worked not only with the ASP, but at Deir el-Ballas, Malqata, and in North Abydos at the Shunet el-Zebib.
Egyptologist/Archaeologist
Dr. Mohamed Abuel-Yazid is an Egyptologist, archaeologist, and founding member of the ASP. He is currently a senior inspector in the Sohag Antiquities Office and has over 25 years of experience in various roles, including antiquities inspector, field archaeologist, site manager, and supervisor of archaeological projects. Dr. Abuel-Yazid earned his PhD from the University of Tübingen in Germany.
He has an extensive record of publications, with his most recent work being, The Tomb of the Mayor of Athribis, SSR 40, 2023. In 2015, Dr. Yazid was co-director of a joint German-Egyptian team at the site of Athribis. He currently directs the project focused on the mayor’s tomb and the zodiacs at the same site. Additionally, he has been involved with various Egyptian and foreign teams working in Abydos and serves as co-director of the Abydos Temple Paper Archive.
Egyptologist/Archaeologist/ Illustrator
Hazem is an Egyptologist and archaeologist who earned his BA in archaeology from Sohag University. He is a senior Inspector with MoTA based in Al-Balyana/Abydos, and he is a founding member of the ASP.
Hazem has worked in Giza, Luxor, Assiut, and all over Abydos. Hazem is also a member of the committee that oversees all collections in magazines in Abydos and Sohag.
Surveyor
Surveyor
Mohamed earned a BA in archaeology from South Valley University, followed by post-graduate studies in Egyptology and an additional diploma in Survey from Assiut University. He is an Inspector with MoTA and has worked all around Sohag.
Mohamed was part of the founding team in 2018 that relocated the Ahmose tomb, and he’s worked on projects all across Abydos.