Julia Hamilton

Dr. Julia Hamilton is a Lecturer in Egyptology at Macquarie University's School of Humanities, Department of History and Archaeology, where she joined in September 2022. She is also affiliated with the Global Indigenous Futures Research Centre. Dr. Hamilton's academic journey includes a DPhil in Oriental Studies from the University of Oxford (awarded 2020), an MA (First Class) in Ancient History from the University of Auckland (2014), and a BA (Hons) (First Class) in Ancient History from the University of Auckland (2013).

Her educational background includes:

• DPhil in Oriental Studies, University of Oxford (Awarded April 5, 2020)
• MA (First Class) in Ancient History, University of Auckland (Awarded November 1, 2014)
• BA (Hons) (First Class) in Ancient History, University of Auckland (Awarded May 1, 2013)

Dr. Hamilton's research sits at the intersection of multiple sub-fields within Egyptology, including philology, art history, and archaeological and anthropological theory. Her work focuses on Old Kingdom Saqqara, where she works with the Oxford Expedition to Egypt. She has a particular interest in the materiality and multi-modality of ancient Egyptian language, with ongoing work on a monograph titled "Lives and afterlives of ancient Egyptian names." Her research also encompasses graffiti on Old Kingdom monuments of the late 3rd Millennium BCE and the multisensoriality and haptics of the graffiti-making process.

Her extensive publication record demonstrates consistent scholarly output across multiple disciplines within Egyptology. Her most recent works (2023-2025) focus on ancient Egyptian personal names, graffiti studies, and social history, particularly examining the lives of women and girls in ancient Egypt. Earlier works (2021-2022) explore Saqqara necropolis, tomb inscriptions, and religious practices during the Old Kingdom period. Her research shows a clear trajectory from technical epigraphic studies toward broader anthropological and social interpretations of ancient Egyptian culture.

Dr. Hamilton has received several prestigious awards:

• Faculty of Arts Teaching Excellence Award (December 2024)
• Faculty of Arts Early-Career Research Fellowship ($5,000) (June 2023)
• SEDA (Staff and Educational Development Association) UK Supporting Learning Award (October 2020)
• University of Oxford Clarendon Scholarship (£108,049) (2015)
• Institut français d'archéologie orientale (IFAO) Cairo doctoral bursary (€1,000) (2019)

Dr. Hamilton actively supervises MRes and PhD candidates whose research interests align with her expertise, particularly in the art, language, and material culture of Egypt in the 3rd Millennium BCE. Her supervision spans archaeological semiotics, multimodality in art and language, and social anthropological theory in Egyptology. She is also open to co-supervising topics on museology, archival studies, and histories of archaeology. Dr. Hamilton has been involved in multiple research projects, including "Lives and afterlives of ancient Egyptian names" (2021-present), "Writing the self into history: Graffiti in Old Kingdom Saqqara" (2020-2022), and "Ancient Egyptian personal names of the Old Kingdom" (2015-2020).

Dr. Hamilton is actively involved with the Oxford Expedition to Egypt at Saqqara, working under Dr. Yvonne Harpur and Paolo Scremin. From 2025, she will also work on the Old Kingdom site of Tehnā al-Gabal in Egypt, north of Minya. She has organized international conferences on graffiti in ancient Egypt and serves in various academic community roles, including as a Faculty of Arts ECR Representative at Macquarie University (2024-present) and mentor for Australasian ancient history graduate students.