Dr Michael R Jenkins
Ph.D., B.A., (Hons.), Dip.Ed.,
Grad.Dip.Ed.Stud.(Comp.Ed.)
Dr Michael
R Jenkins is a graduate of the University of Tasmania.
Having completed his Honours degree in Egyptian, Minoan,
Mycenaean, Greek and Roman art and architecture he commenced
studies for his Ph.D. in ancient art history. His thesis
was examined at the University of Western Australia, the
Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and the British Museum. Since
the awarding of his doctorate in 1992, Dr Jenkins has
focused his research in the areas of Ancient Egyptian
history, architecture and art.
Dr Jenkins has travelled to Egypt
on numerous occasions, including an extensive period of
research partly sponsored by the Australian Academy of
the Humanities in order to study Ramesses II's 'Battle
of Qadesh' reliefs. His current work focuses on the history
of Elephantine Island in Upper Egypt and has involved
numerous seasons of field work in the Aswan region undertaking
investigation of the local Old and Middle Kingdom tombs,
the ruins of the ancient provincial capital of Abu (Elephantine),
and the many rock carvings of the First Cataract region.
He is also undertaking a project concerning the creation
of a computer generated reconstruction of the 'lost temple'
of Amenhotep III on Elephantine Island in collaboration
with graduate students of information technology and systems
at the University of Tasmania.
Dr Jenkins has presented occasional
lectures and seminars at the Universities of Tasmania
and Melbourne, and addressed the International Numismatic
Congress (Brussels). He has facilitated workshops and
seminars internationally. He has published numerous academic
papers in the fields of Egyptology and numismatics in
such internationally renowned journals as: Kmt (USA); The Journal
of Egyptian Archaeology (London); The Bulletin
of the Australian Centre for Egyptology (Sydney);
The Athens Annals of Archaeology (Athens); and
The Numismatic Chronicle (London). His work, 'Notes
on the Tomb of Setka at Qubbet el-Hawa, Aswan' (BACE,
Vol.11, pp.67f. (2000)), reports the findings of his archaeological
investigation of a late-Old Kingdom period tomb and was
published with the personal approval of Prof. Gaballa,
the Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities
(Cairo).
Dr Jenkins is currently the Tasmanian
Qualifications Authority's Liaison and Development Officer,
and a Post-doctoral Honorary Research Associate with the School
of History and Classics at the University of Tasmania. He
is a member of the International Association of Egyptologists
(Munich), the Rundle Foundation for Egyptian Archaeology, and
the Friends of the Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery.
Ms Patricia Kempa
M.Ed.(Couns. & Dev.), B.A. (Hons.),
Dip.Ed., M.A.C.E.L.
Ms Patricia
Kempa graduated from the University of Sydney in 1984
with a degree of Bachelor of Arts (History) with Honours
(English Literature), specialising in 19thC Romantic Literature,
and in the transition from the ancient to the medieval
world. A Diploma of Education followed and in 1998, she
was awarded the degree of Master of Education from the
University of Tasmania for Post-Graduate Studies in Counselling
and Development. She has taught a variety of Humanities
subjects to students ranging from Year 7 to 12 and, since
1995, has taught Drama, Performance and Personal Development
to Year 11 and 12 students at Guilford Young College.
Studies pertinent to her Masters
Degree related to the impact of genetics on behaviour,
allied with her earlier reading of classical and medieval
history, have led her to undertake investigations of the
relationship between psychological and genetic disorders
and peoples of our ancient past. Patricia has also made
detailed studies in the areas of body image, self-perception,
personal image, the image we project to others, and the
latter's role in propaganda. She has a long-held fascination
for the royal art of the Ancient Egyptian Amarna Period,
its modern interpretation and our psychological reactions
to such images.
Patricia began her involvement
with theatre when she wrote her first play in 1976. Winning
an original play competition, she produced and directed
her own composition and developed an insatiable desire
for directing drama.
Since coming to Hobart in 1992,
she has been heavily involved with drama in education,
directing ten musicals for Guilford Young College, including
the Tasmanian Premiere of Jon English's "Paris", and Frank
Wildhorn's "The Scarlet Pimpernel" at the Theatre Royal.
She has also directed over thirty dramatic productions
for the College, and was the College's Performing and
Visual Arts Coordinator. She is now a Manager of Teaching
and Learning. Patricia has directed "HAIR", "Brilliant
Lies", "Falling from Grace", "An Inspector Calls" and "Copacabanna",
all for the Hobart Repertory Theatre Society.
Patricia is a member of The Rundle
Foundation for Egyptian Archaeology.
In 2005 she was honoured to receive
a Tasmanian Quality Teaching Award from the Australian
College of Educators.
Mr Peter
Kempa graduated from the University of Tasmania in 2009
with the degree of Bachelor of Environmental Design. Peter has deferred enrolment in his Master of Architecture degree pending recovery from major spinal surgery. Peter's first overseas trip was with the Ma'at 2005 Tour. While this was an exciting experience for him, many participants commented on his courtesy, thoughtfulness and willingness to see to their individual needs. Peter has since visited Singapore on several occasions, as well as Malaysia. On Ma'at Tour's 2010 tour Peter led the group at several sites including the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahri and Saqqarah. Peter had undertaken studies of these sites as part of his Bachelor's degree and brought a new perspective to our investigation of these sites.
Who
is Ma'at?
Ma'at is the name
of the ancient Egyptian goddess of truth, justice, harmony,
balance, and 'the right way' of conduct. She was the 'divine
order of the cosmos', and at least from the New Kingdom
period was given the title 'Daughter of Ra'.
In naming our company
we felt that the goddess of 'the right way' was the ideal
namesake for our operations.
| Ma'at's name
written in hieroglyphs |
The ostrich
feather of Ma'at - the so-called 'Feather of Truth'
- against which one's heart was weighed at the Final
Judgement |
In 2006 our group was lucky enough
to receive special permission to enter the grounds of
the Temple of Montu, nearby the main Karnak complex. A
section of this structure was dedicated to Ma'at and is
often referred to as the 'Temple of Ma'at' (see image
below). Evidence suggests that while courts could be held
in any temple, at times in the New Kingdom period this
structure acted somewhat like a modern 'high court' where
special hearings might be held. While the buildings are
in a ruinous state, the opportunity to visit this special
place - somewhere we had hoped to visit for two decades
- was a personal highlight of our 2006 tour.
