María del Carmen Pérez Díe (born 1953) is a Spanish Egyptologist, curator and researcher. She has worked for the

National Archaeological Museum of Spain The National Archaeological Museum ( es, Museo Arqueológico Nacional; MAN) is a museum in Madrid, Spain. It is located on Calle de Serrano beside the Plaza de Colón, sharing its building with the National Library of Spain. History The museu ...

as Curator Head of the Department of Egyptian Antiquities and the Middle East since 1980. Pérez Díe served as the museum's director between 1991 and 1997. She is currently a member of various committees and associations such as the International pour L'Egyptologie Committee, the Spanish Association of Egyptology and the Spanish Committee for the rescue of Tiro.

Career

Pérez Díe was born in 1953 in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. Her mother was a history professor at the Autonomous University of Madrid. Pérez Díe's interest in Egypt came from a young age when her parents took her on a visit to the

. After specialising in

Egyptology 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 ...

and Museum Studies in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, Perez Díe continued her studies at the

Complutense University of Madrid The Complutense University of Madrid ( es, Universidad Complutense de Madrid; UCM, links=no, ''Universidad de Madrid'', ''Universidad Central de Madrid''; la, Universitas Complutensis Matritensis, links=no) is a public research university loca ...

where she earned her doctorate with honours in Ancient History in 1990 and whose thesis "Heracleópolis Magna durante el Tercer Período Intermedio" was based on the site Heracleópolis which she has directed since 1984.

Acknowledgements

She has received numerous awards including the National Prize of the

Spanish Geographical Society Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

, the Medal of Commendation of Number of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Order of Isabella the Catholic ( es, Orden de Isabel la Católica) is a Spanish civil order and honor granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations a ...

granted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation in 2009 and the Gold Medal of the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt the following year. Pérez Díe served on the jury for the

Princess of Asturias Awards The Princess of Asturias Awards ( es, Premios Princesa de Asturias, links=no, ast, Premios Princesa d'Asturies, links=no), formerly the Prince of Asturias Awards from 1981 to 2014 ( es, Premios Príncipe de Asturias, links=no), are a series of a ...

in the Social Sciences category from 2011 until 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pérez Díe, María del Carmen 1950 births People from Madrid Complutense University of Madrid alumni Directors of museums in Spain Spanish Egyptologists Recipients of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Living people Women museum directors Spanish women archaeologists