As the colourful autumn season begins, I'm back with an update on the Swiss Coffin Project (SCP). In addition to the actual scientific research work, the first half of the year was all about concretising the publication concept in terms of content, presentation and implementation. As is often the case with new projects, after an initial period of "learning by doing" (and some "try and errors"), a few adjustments proved necessary and useful as the SCP progressed.

Special challenges

One challenge that was underestimated at the beginning was (and still is) the cooperation with the different museums that are part of the SCP. Regular dialogue on the status of work, open and clear communication, and immediate consultation with those responsible in the event of questions or problems have more than proved their worth. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the museums involved for their constructive and appreciative cooperation!

Another challenge is the number of artefacts to be published by the SCP. While 16 museums were involved at the start of the project, this number has almost doubled in the last years and the number of objects has more than tripled. Needless to say, we are delighted by the interest in our work! However, the question soon arose as to how the objects could be made accessible in a meaningful, appealing and simple way – and with limited financial resources. Over the past few months, we have therefore developed a publication strategy and discussed its feasibility with experts. Here are the main points:

SCP Publications: New series of publications on Egyptian coffins in Switzerland

Since - as mentioned above - around 30 museums are now involved in the project and the number of objects would go beyond the scope of a single publication, the burial equipment will be published in several volumes in the newly founded “SCP Publications” series between 2025 and 2028. The volumes are not organised by museum or collection; rather, coffin ensembles (or single coffins and fragments thereof) that date from the same period and/or come from the same site or region, or objects that belong to a particular type (e.g. stucco masks, mummy portraits), are grouped together and presented in thematic volumes. Burial equipment studied by the SCP in collaboration with other institutions as part of interdisciplinary projects will each receive their own volume containing the research data of all the participating institutions.

Volume I of the "SCP Publications" series is dedicated to the coffins from the Cache-Tomb of Bab el-Gasus (Western Thebes), donated to the Swiss Federal Council by the Egyptian Khedive Abbas Hilmy II in 1893. It will be published at the end of 2025.

Focus on easy accessibility of research results

In numerous discussions with colleagues on the planned publication series, the term "accessibility" repeatedly emerged as a key word. The priority is therefore to make the SCP's research results easily accessible, free of charge and available to all interested parties. We have therefore chosen English as the main language of publication, with abstracts of all papers also available in German, French, Italian and Arabic. The volumes will be published on the SCP website as digital publications that can be downloaded free of charge as PDF documents. It will also be possible to purchase each volume as a printed book.

With the Open Access publications, the SCP team aims to contribute to a broad exchange of information about the objects and their biographies. Access to as many objects as possible, scattered around the globe, is the best way to fully research the pieces and make their hidden stories visible. Perhaps fragments now in museums in different countries can be brought together virtually? Or it might be possible, by comparing the provenances and acquisition histories of objects from different museums, to document the networks of collectors and dealers and to trace the routes taken by Egyptian antiquities around the world, especially in the 19th century? We look forward to a transnational exchange on ancient Egyptian burial equipment!