معرفی
Karin Sowada is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Humanities at Macquarie University and Director of the Australian Centre for Egyptology. As an Australian Research Council Future Fellow, she leads the project 'Pyramids, Power and the Dynamics of States in Crisis', examining Egypt's influence in the eastern Mediterranean during the Pyramid Age (c. 2660-2200 BC) through archaeological, historical, and scientific data across four continents.
Her educational background includes a PhD in Egyptian Archaeology (2002) and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Archaeology (1989), both from the University of Sydney. Her fieldwork spans Egypt (Saqqara, Memphis, Abydos, Theban Tombs), Jordan, and Australia.
Sowada specializes in Bronze Age foreign engagement, trade, and societal change, with a 'pan-Mediterranean' perspective on Early Bronze Age foreign relations. Her seminal 2009 work Egypt in the Eastern Mediterranean during the Old Kingdom transformed understanding of third-millennium BC international engagement. Recent publications focus on metallurgy, ceramic analysis, and organic residue studies in Old Kingdom contexts, revealing trade networks and technological practices.
She received the 2023 Faculty of Arts Teaching Innovation Award. Her research outputs include 69 publications, 5 datasets, and numerous invited talks including keynote addresses on Egyptian metallurgy and trade.
As Principal Chief Investigator, she leads multiple active projects including 'Rescuing Pharaoh’s Gold Mines' (2024-2028) and 'Burials from the Teti Cemetery at Saqqara'. She co-directs the long-running Macquarie Theban Tombs Project since 1991 and serves as Director of the Australian Centre for Egyptology. Her media impact includes 41 press appearances, notably expert commentary on the Thutmose II tomb discovery.
