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CSUSB students, alumni and faculty dig into Ancient Egypt’s past
Stories from the Pack by CSUSB.
For about a decade, students and faculty from Cal State San Bernardino have visited a remote site in the Egyptian desert, sifting through sand, soil and rock to learn what life was like when pharaohs sent workers there to mine for amethyst some 4,000 years ago.
Directed by Kate Liszka, professor of history and the Benson and Pamela Harer Fellow in Egyptology at Cal State San Bernardino, the Wadi el-Hudi Expedition has had dozens of students visit the archaeological site in Egypt’s Eastern Desert.
CSUSB’s Wadi el-Hudi Expedition is more than an academic program; it’s a model for how institutions can empower students to take the lead in transformative research. By blending hands-on fieldwork with state-of-the-art technology and global collaboration, the expedition is setting a new standard for archaeological studies.
For the students, the expedition provides hands-on experience in excavating an important archaeological site where more than 1,000 people worked in the desert mines to extract amethyst, used to make jewelry worn by the royal women and members of the royal Egyptian court. Their work, which also includes mapping and photographing the excavation sites, helps offer insights into how life was lived during Egypt’s Middle Kingdom period.
Student working at Wadi el-Hudi expedition site.
Kate Liszka smiling with colleague in Egypt.
Student photographing excavated artifacts.
Nathaniel Saavedra is a newly minted alumnus (BA history, Class of 2024) who traveled to Egypt in January as part of the expedition, his first time to travel outside of the United States.
“I am a first-generation student who was born and raised in San Bernardino, experienced my life there, and I never thought I probably would have left the state of California until this moment,” he says. “And traveling internationally has been an amazing thing. It's my first time, and I'm excited to eventually do more of this in the future.”
By analyzing inscriptions and artifacts, the Wadi el-Hudi Expedition is delving into topics such as the organization of state-sponsored mining operations, interactions between Nubians and Egyptians, and literacy among administrative and military classes.
Saavedra says the learning opportunity offered through the expedition was invaluable and “allows me an opportunity to learn how history and technology intersects with one another.”
It’s a culmination of what he’s learned at CSUSB, as well as a foundation for his future academic pursuits.
“During my time at CSUSB, I have learned invaluable skills in the field of history. I have learned how to analyze, research and interpret primary sources in order to reconstruct ancient societies,” Saavedra says. “I hope to continue my studies by going into the master's program to continue my in-depth research of history. Currently, I wish to study the social economical influences of trade, travel and migration, and how it leads to cultures arising between different societies.”
And work doesn’t end when the team returns to San Bernardino.
Back on campus, students continue to be involved individually and in the classroom, creating maps for publications, researching individual objects or archeological contexts, or compiling a database for standard publications.
Other students pioneer technical projects for the team, such as creating videos and graphic art to educate others about the site. And more help to create and build the 3D virtual world of Wadi el-Hudi, one point cloud at a time. With the support of CSUSB's Extended Reality for Learning (xREAL) Lab, students receive career-building experience using programs like ArcGIS, Metashape, Blender and Unreal Engine to bring the archeology to life.
“I get to use it in the classroom where students play with primary data and get to learn how to write history on their own,” Liszka says.
The significance of the work at Wadi el-Hudi lies in its ability to illuminate the lives of those often overlooked in history books. This includes the miners, who toiled under the scorching sun to extract precious stones and metals for the pharaohs.
“It is such a privilege having CSUSB students help to define the future with these career-building skills,” Liszka says.
Visit the Wadi el-Hudi website to learn more about its work, and also follow the expedition on Instagram and Facebook.
If you want to learn more about Ancient Egypt, CSUSB’s Department of History offers a certificate in Egyptology for undergraduate students and the community. The program is unique because of its access to the university’s sizeable collection of Egyptian artifacts housed at the Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art, along with archeological data gathered from the Wadi el-Hudi Expedition.
Cal State San Bernardino, set at the foothills of the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains, is a vibrant hub of education and culture in Inland Southern California. The university offers more than 70 traditional baccalaureate and master’s degree programs, education credential and certificate programs, and a doctoral program, all housed within five academic colleges and the Palm Desert Campus.
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