Image&Word

Visual documentation is a most important element of archaeology, used both for scientific and didactic purposes, aiming respectively at a specialised audience and the general public. Although this type of illustration is often considered as nothing more but customer-related service, recent experience shows that the collaboration and interaction between illustrators and historians can result in important added value for the accessibility of written information. For this, the illustrators have to participate actively in the research, without becoming archaeologists or historians.
It is of primary importance that graphic design and photography as means of illustration are not interchangeable but should rather be looked upon as media with their own specific possibilities and methodologies. An essential feature of graphic illustration is the possibility to select and emphasise particular elements or aspects of objects. A good example is the illustration of pottery, one of the most characteristic archaeological find classes. As can be seen in the illustration featured above, the vessels are drawn with a vertical axis, on one side of which the exterior of the object and on the other side the interior with the section of the vessel wall is drawn. This allows to render important information on the fabrication technique used to create the vessel. In this manner, the drawing becomes part of the interpretation inherent to archaeological research.
The present project is a result of the long-time involvement of Stan Hendrickx in excavations in Egypt. His contacts provide the possibility of collaborating with universities (K.U.Leuven; Universität zu Köln; Yale University) and museums (Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels; British Museum) active at different sites in Egypt. Thus research in outstanding scientific conditions and the results publication in relevant publications are made possible.
Over the last years, the project has focused on the excavations of the K.U.Leuven at Dayr al-Barsha, among others for the documentation of the objects from the intact tomb of Henu, an official living around 2050 BC, discovered in 2007. Another important project, in collaboration with Yale University, is the illustration of rock art tableaux near Aswan, representing the most extensive iconographic ensemble available for late Predynastic – Early Dynastic times and of great importance for the development of Egyptian art around 3100 BC. Besides these long term projects, a number of smaller publication projects is completed every year. Also, an exhibition at the Gallo Romeins Museum Tongeren is being prepared (scheduled for 2014), in which graphic illustration will be an important source of visual information.
Finally, it is to be mentioned that a limited number of students is enabled to participate as illustrators in the field work at different sites in Egypt. The integration of the research in teaching activities is ascertained through assignments for the specialisation “illustrative design”. In this context it is, however, to be noted that archaeological illustration is not the principal goal, but rather the means of accessing the specific aspects of non-fiction graphic design.