John Coleman Darnell is an American
Egyptologist
Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious ...
.
Biography
Darnell attributes his interest in archaeology to his mother, who was also had a lifelong interested in archaeology. She grew up in south
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
and had a particular interest in the Mississippian
Mound Builders
A number of pre-Columbian cultures are collectively termed "Mound Builders". The term does not refer to a specific people or archaeological culture, but refers to the characteristic mound earthworks erected for an extended period of more than 5 ...
. Darnell tells a story of her reading him archaeology books as a child, hoping he would take a nap, but he was fascinated and did not nap.
Darnell got his BA (1984) and MA (1985) at
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...
and his PhD (1995) at the
Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago
The Oriental Institute (OI), established in 1919, is the University of Chicago's interdisciplinary research center for ancient Near Eastern (" Orient") studies and archaeology museum. It was founded for the university by professor James Henry B ...
. He joined the
Yale
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
Department of Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations as Assistant Professor in 1998; he became Associate Professor in 2004, and Professor of Egyptology in 2005.
He was the director of the
Theban Desert Road Survey
The Theban Desert Road Survey is an archaeological research project operated in conjunction with the Egyptian Ministry of Culture's Supreme Council for Antiquities that is being conducted in the Western Desert in Egypt that focuses on the ancien ...
, which has used
remote sensing
Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring information about Earth ...
to detect transportation networks between settlements in the
Western Desert of
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
that has focused on the connections between
Thebes and such settlements as the
Kharga Oasis
The Kharga Oasis (Arabic: , ) ; Coptic: ( "Oasis of Hib", "Oasis of Psoi") is the southernmost of Egypt's five western oases. It is located in the Western Desert, about 200 km (125 miles) to the west of the Nile valley. "Kharga" or ...
.
In December 2006 a student of his created a
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
group titled, "John C. Darnell...Man, Myth or Legend?" due to eccentricates such as wearing a
monocle
A monocle is a type of corrective lens used to correct or enhance the visual perception in only one eye. It consists of a circular lens, generally with a wire ring around the circumference that can be attached to a string or wire. The other ...
, and one time when "Darnell accidentally took a chunk out of a classroom chair with an ancient sword".
In January 2013, scandal broke out when it was discovered that John Darnell had engaged in a long-running affair with his student-turned-coworker
Colleen Manassa. Within the small Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (NELC) department, they were the only two faculty members in the even-smaller Egyptology program.
"Four individuals with close ties to the department" claimed the relationship was common knowledge within the department, and Assyriology professor Benjamin Foster reported "the basic situation has been known for a very long time."
In divorce documents filed by Darnell's wife Deborah Darnell on November 5, 2012, she asserted that the affair began in 2000 when Manassa was an undergraduate student under Darnell's supervision.
On January 8, 2013, John Darnell admitted to the affair and accepted a one-year suspension without pay. Darnell also admitted to “participating in the review" of Manassa's hiring and attempting to cover up his multiple policy violations.
In August the university prohibited Darnell from holding an administrative position until 2023, and Manassa until 2018.
Eventually John was invited back to teach, but Colleen left Yale in 2015.
Now married, the pair are residents of
Durham, Connecticut
Durham is a New England town, town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. Durham is a former farming village on the Coginchaug River in central Connecticut. The population was 7,152 at the 2020 United Stat ...
, dress in 1920s-era vintage clothing, both in their professional life and on an every-day basis. Their book ''Egypt’s Golden Couple: When Akhenaten and Nefertiti Were Gods on Earth'' was released in November 2022.
In 2007 he had a dog Antef, named after
King Antef II.
In 2020 he and Colleen have two
Basenji
The Basenji ( /bəˈsɛndʒi/) is a breed of hunting dog. It was bred from stock that originated in central Africa. The Fédération Cynologique Internationale places the breed in the Spitz and primitive types. The Basenji produces an unusual y ...
dogs, Narmer (after
Narmer
Narmer ( egy, Wiktionary:nꜥr-mr, nꜥr-mr, meaning "painful catfish," "stinging catfish," "harsh catfish," or "fierce catfish;" ) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Early Dynastic Period (Egypt), Early Dynastic Period. He was the successor ...
) and Kemi (from the root meaning "black").
Books
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darnell, John Coleman
Living people
American Egyptologists
American archaeologists
Johns Hopkins University alumni
People from Durham, Connecticut
University of Chicago alumni
Yale University faculty
1962 births