Nora Griffith (7 December 1870 – 21 October 1937) was a Scottish

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 ...

, archaeologist, illustrator and conservator. On the death of her husband, the eminent Egyptologist

Francis Llewellyn Griffith Francis Llewellyn Griffith (27 May 1862 – 14 March 1934) was an eminent British Egyptologist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Early life and education F. Ll. Griffith was born in Brighton on 27 May 1862 where his father, Rev. Dr. ...

, she founded and endowed the

Griffith Institute The Griffith Institute is an Egyptological institution based in the Griffith Wing of the Sackler Library and is part of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford, England. It was founded for the advancement of Egyptology and Ancient Nea ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

with their joint fortunes and collections. Born as Nora Christina Cobban Macdonald in

Newmachar Newmachar is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland about 10 miles (16 km) to the north-west of Aberdeen. The settlement has a long history previously being known as Summerhill within the parish of New Machar, later being renamed Newmachar. S ...

near

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

in 1870, she was the daughter of Surgeon-Major James Macdonald (1828–1906) of Aberdeen and Margaret Helen Leslie ''née'' Collie (1841–1876) and the sister of Sir James Ronald Leslie Macdonald (1862–1927), a Scottish engineer, explorer, cartographer and

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

engineer. She visited Egypt in 1906 following which she acted as a conservator in the Archaeology Museum at King's College in Aberdeen.Nora Christina Cobban Griffith (nee Macdonald) (1870 – 1937) - Aberdeenshire Council website
/ref> Becoming interested in Egyptology she studied it under the eminent British Egyptologist

. In 1909 she became Griffith's second wifeBritish Academy
''A Century of British Orientalists, 1902-2001''
Oxford University Press - Google Books pg. 194 and assisted him in his studies and excavations in Egypt and Nubia in 1910–13, 1923, 1929 and 1930. A skilled photographer and illustrator, she was highly intelligent and had a gift for ancient and modern languages. While she published several articles in scholarly journals she is frequently overlooked in the records of Egyptology. In 1923 she published her article 'Akhenaten and the Hittites' in ''

The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology The ''Journal of Egyptian Archaeology (JEA)'' is a bi-annual peer-reviewed international academic journal published by the Egypt Exploration Society. Covering Egyptological research, the JEA publishes scholarly articles, fieldwork reports, and re ...

''. After her husband's death in 1934 she prepared his unfinished work for publication including his two volume ''Demotic Graffiti in the Dodecaschoenus'', complete with 70 illustrations in addition to photographs taken by herself. She organised and funded further excavations at Firka and Kawa in the Sudan and financially supported the

Egypt Exploration Society The Egypt Exploration Society (EES) is a British non-profit organization. The society was founded in 1882 by Amelia Edwards and Reginald Stuart Poole in order to examine and excavate in the areas of Egypt and Sudan. The intent was to study and ana ...

in its work. She added to and expanded the already large Egyptological library collected by her husband and herself and which was later donated to the University of Oxford and added her own personal fortune to that of her late husband for the building and endowment of the

at Oxford which is dedicated to the advancement of

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 Ancient Near Eastern Studies.R. S. Simpson
Francis Llewellyn Griffith (1862-1934)
-

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

(ODNB) - Oxford University Press - Published in print: 23 September 2004 Published online: 23 September 2004 Nora Griffith died at the Acland Home in Oxford of

peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and cover of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One part or ...

after an

appendectomy An appendectomy, also termed appendicectomy, is a Surgery, surgical operation in which the vermiform appendix (a portion of the intestine) is removed. Appendectomy is normally performed as an urgent or emergency procedure to treat complicated acu ...

in 1937 at the age of 66.Obituary for Nora Griffith - ''The Journal for Egyptian Archaeology'', Volume XXIII - The Egypt Exploration Society (1937)
/ref> She was buried with her husband in

Holywell Cemetery Holywell Cemetery is next to St Cross Church in Oxford, England. The cemetery is behind the church in St Cross Road, south of Holywell Manor on Manor Road and north of Longwall Street, in the parish of Holywell. History In the mid 19th centu ...

in Oxford.

Legacy

In addition to her endowment of the

at Oxford, in 2017

Aberdeen City Council gd, Comhairle Cathair Obar Dheathain , native_name_lang = , other_name = , image_skyline = Town House, Municipal Offices and Court Houses in Aberdeen.jpg , image_caption ...

approved the erection of a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

to honour her as a "noted Egyptologist". This was unveiled in November 2018 and is located at Kings College Quad in

Nora Griffith plaque unveiling - Women's History Scotland - 24 November 2018
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffith, Nora 1870 births 1937 deaths People from Garioch Scottish Egyptologists British women archaeologists British archaeologists British women historians Conservator-restorers Deaths from peritonitis Burials at Holywell Cemetery