معرفی
Dr. Anna Stevens is a Senior Lecturer in Archaeology and Ancient History at Monash University and an Honorary Research Associate at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge. She serves as Assistant Director of the Amarna Project, leading fieldwork at Akhetaten (modern Amarna), the Bronze Age city built by Pharaoh Akhenaten. Her work is conducted with permission from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
Stevens specializes in ancient Egyptian archaeology with a focus on urbanism, lived religion, and cultural interaction in the ancient world. Her research particularly examines how material culture and urban space illuminate the lives of non-elite populations in ancient Egypt. She has conducted fieldwork in Egypt, Sudan, the UK, and Australia, with Amarna serving as her primary research site.
Her recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on cemetery studies at Amarna, examining burial practices, health patterns, and urban context. The research reveals significant insights about non-elite populations during Akhenaten's reign, including dietary deficiencies, heavy labor burdens, and pathogen loads that indicate challenging living conditions. Her work bridges Egyptology with broader social sciences through her editorial role for the book series 'Ancient Egypt in Context' published by Cambridge University Press.
Stevens co-directs the Amarna Cemetery Project with Dr. Gretchen Dabbs, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, British Academy, and Egypt Exploration Society. She also leads 'Akhenaten's City: Protecting Amarna's Urban Heritage' (2023-2026), supported by the American Research Center in Egypt's Antiquities Endowment Fund. She serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Egyptian Archaeology and accepts PhD students at Monash University.
Her fieldwork program at Amarna integrates archaeology and bioarchaeology to investigate health in ancient urban centers, non-elite funerary practices, and life under Akhenaten. This multidisciplinary approach has produced significant findings, including the discovery of a mature ovarian teratoma from New Kingdom Amarna, published in the International Journal of Paleopathology.
