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Personal History

PhD: The Spread of Christianity into Egypt in light of Recent Discoveries from Ancient Kellis, Monash University.
Co-founder of the Egyptology Society of Victoria and Honorary Secretary.
Convenor of the Faculty of Arts Transition and Student Progress Committee.

Gillian lectures in archaeology and ancient history specialising in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt, and early Christianity. Each year she undertakes archaeological field work at the site of Ismant el-Kharab, ancient Kellis, in the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt, where she focuses upon the early Christian monuments. She is also the numismatist for the Dakhleh Oasis Project.

Current Research

Director of excavations at Deir Abu Metta; The archaeology of early Christianity in Egypt; early Christian Burial Practices; the appropriation of the ankh as a Christian symbol; the use of coins for dating archaeological contexts.

Major Publications

Chapters in Books
2004 Small East Church at Ismant el-Kharab, in G.E. Bowen and C.A. Hope, eds, The Oasis Papers III Proceedings of the Third Conference of the Dakhleh Oasis Project, Oxbow Books, Oxford, 153-66
2004 Some Observations on Christian Burial Practices at Kellis, in G.E. Bowen and C.A. Hope, eds, The Oasis Papers III Proceedings of the Third Conference of the Dakhleh Oasis Project, Oxbow Books, Oxford, 167-82.
2002 The Fourth-Century Churches at Ismant el-Kharab, in Dakhleh Oasis Project: Preliminary Reports on the 1995-1996 to 1998-1999 Field Seasons, C.A. Hope and G.E. Bowen, eds, Oxbow Books, Oxford, 65-85.
2002 Textiles, Basketry and Leathergoods, in Dakhleh Oasis Project: Preliminary Reports on the 1995-1996 to 1998-1999 Field Seasons, C.A. Hope and G. E. Bowen, eds, Oxbow Books, Oxford, 87-104.

Refereed Journal articles
2009 The Church of Deir Abu Metta, Dakhleh Oasis: a report on the 2009 excavation, Bulletin of the Australian Centre for Egyptology, 20, 2009, 7-36.
2008 The exavation at Mut el-Kharab, Dakhleh Oasis in 2008, Australian Centre for Egyptology Bulletin, 2008.
2008 The church of Deir Abu Metta and a Christian cemetery in Dakhleh Oasis: a brief report, Australian Centre for Egyptology Bulletin, 2008.
2007 Brief report on the 2007 excavations at Ismant El-Kharab, The Bulletin of the Australian Centre for Egyptology, Australian Centre for Egyptology, 2007, pp. 21-52
2007 Ismant El-Kharab, Ancient Kellis in the Dakhleh Oasis, The Numismatic Chronicle, Royal Numismatic Society, London, 2007, pp. 260-263
2006 Reconstructing ancient Kellis, Buried History, 2006, pp. 51-64
2004 Aspects of Christian Burial Practice, Buried History, 40, 15-28.
2003 Early Christian Burial Practices at Kellis, Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt,Artefact, 26, 77-88.
2002 Texts and Textiles: a study of the textile industry at ancient Kellis,Artefact 24, 18-28.

Co-edited volumes
2004 G.E. Bowen and C.A. Hope, eds, The Oasis Papers III Proceedings of the Third Conference of the Dakhleh Oasis Project, Oxbow Books, Oxford.
2002 Dakhleh Oasis Project: Preliminary Reports on the 1995-1996 to 1998-1999 Field Seasons, C.A. Hope and G.E. Bowen, eds, Oxbow Books, Oxford.

Areas of Research & Supervision

Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt; the archaeology and history of early Christianity; Roman numismatics; ancient Egyptian textiles; aspects of ancient Greek and Roman history and culture; Coptic textiles.

Teaching

AAH1010 - Ancient Civilizations 1
AAH1020 - Ancient Civilizations 2
AAH2/3220 - Alexander the Great and his World
AAH2/3260- Imperial Rome: a study in power and perversion
AAH2/3570 - Minoans & Mycenaeans
AAH2/3800 - The Golden Age of Athens
AAH2/3950 - Kleopatra's Egypt
AAH4100/AAM4100 - Research methods in classical antiquity
AAH4740/AAM4740- Reading the Ancient Past