Raymond Weill (28 January 1874 – 13 July 1950), whose full name was Raymond Charles Isaac Weill, was a French archaeologist specialized in

Egyptology Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Ancient Greek, Greek , ''wiktionary:-logia, -logia''; ) is the scientific study of ancient Egypt. The topics studied include ancient Egyptian History of Egypt, history, Egyptian language, language, Ancient Egypt ...

Biography

Born on 28 January 1874 in

Elbeuf Elbeuf () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography A light industrial town situated by the banks of the Seine some south of Rouen at the junction of the D7, D321 and the D313 roads. The ...

, 28 January 1874 in

began his career in the military before starting a career with Gaston Maspero at the

École pratique des hautes études The (), abbreviated EPHE, is a French postgraduate top level educational institution, a . EPHE is a constituent college of the Université PSL (together with ENS Ulm, Paris Dauphine or Ecole des Mines). The college is closely linked to É ...

at the age of 30, where he taught from 1928 to 1945. From 1904 to 1905 he did a expedition in sinai with

Flinders Petrie Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie ( – ), commonly known as simply Sir Flinders Petrie, was an English people, English Egyptology, Egyptologist and a pioneer of systematic methodology in archaeology and the preservation of artefacts. ...

, which influenced future us president

Herbert hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

's later prospecting endeavours for turquoise in the sinai peninsula for the british mining company Bewick, Moreing & Company. He specialized in the history of

Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

, specifically the

Second Intermediate Period The Second Intermediate Period dates from 1700 to 1550 BC. It marks a period when ancient Egypt was divided into smaller dynasties for a second time, between the end of the Middle Kingdom and the start of the New Kingdom. The concept of a Secon ...

. He published several works on the end of the

12th dynasty The Twelfth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (Dynasty XII) is a series of rulers reigning from 1991–1802 BC (190 years), at what is often considered to be the apex of the Middle Kingdom (Dynasties XI–XIV). The dynasty periodically expanded its terr ...

and the

Hyksos The Hyksos (; Egyptian language, Egyptian ''wikt:ḥqꜣ, ḥqꜣ(w)-wikt:ḫꜣst, ḫꜣswt'', Egyptological pronunciation: ''heqau khasut'', "ruler(s) of foreign lands"), in modern Egyptology, are the kings of the Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt ( ...

. Towards the end of his life, he came to the conviction that Hyksos had reigned as local kings in the

Nile Delta The Nile Delta (, or simply , ) is the River delta, delta formed in Lower Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's larger deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Port Said in the eas ...

during the late 12th Dynasty. Weill was one of the first archaeologists to undertake excavations in Wadi Hilweh, Jerusalem, a site he first referred to as " City of David" after identifying it as the place where

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

is said to have set up his capital. He died on 13 July 1950 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Works

*''Recueil des inscriptions égyptiennes du Sinai: bibliographie, texte, traduction et commentaire, précédé de la géographie, de l’histoire et de la bibliographie des établissements égyptiens de la péninsule'', 1904 *''Des monuments et de l’histoire des 2e et 3e dynasties égyptiennes. .., thesis'', 1908; * ''La Presqu’île du Sinai: étude de géographie et d’histoire'', 1908; * ''Les Décrets Royaux de l'Ancien Égyptien … étude sur les décrets royaux trouvés à Koptos … 1910 et 1911.'' 1912. (Research about Coptos Decrees) * ''La fin du Moyen Empire Égyptien: étude sur les monuments et l'histoire de la période comprise entre la 12e et la 18e dynastie.'' 1918. * ''La Cité de David, 1913-1914'', Paris: P. Geuthner, 1920.(the research about wadi hilweh being cify of david) * ''Bases, méthodes et resultats de la Chronologie Égyptienne.'' 1926–1928. *''Le Champ des roseaux et le champ des offrandes dans la religion funéraire et la religion générale'', 1936;(Research about egyptian afterlife

Aaru Aaru (; , ), or the Field of Reeds (, ''sekhet-aaru''), is the name for heavenly paradise in Egyptian mythology. Ruled over by Osiris, an Egyptian god, the location has been described as the of the Nile Delta. Ancient Egyptians believed th ...

in the context of general religion and funeral religion) * ''Douzième Dynastie, royauté de Haute-Égypte et domination Hyksos dans le nord.'' 1953 (posthumous work).(12th dynasty and hyksos research) *''Dara: campagnes de 1946-1948, with Madame Tony-Revillon and M. Pillet'', 1958

Bibliography

* Morris L. Bierbrier: ''Who Was Who in Egyptology''. 4th revised edition. Egypt Exploration Society, London 2012, , p. 571.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weill, Raymond 1874 births 1950 deaths École pratique des hautes études alumni Academic staff of the École pratique des hautes études French Egyptologists People from Elbeuf