Paule Violette Posener-Kriéger (18 April 1925 - 11 May 1996) was a French

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 religiou ...

who was director of the

Institut français d'archéologie orientale The Institut français d'archéologie orientale (or IFAO), also known as the French Institute for Oriental Archaeology in Cairo, is a French research institute based in Cairo, Egypt, dedicated to the study of the archaeology, history and language ...

from 1981 to 1989. While in Abusir, she excavated the pyramid complex of

Neferefre Neferefre Isi (; also known as Raneferef, Ranefer and in Greek as , ) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Fifth Dynasty during the Old Kingdom period. He was most likely the eldest son of pharaoh Neferirkare Kakai and queen Khentkaus II. ...

where she discovered the Abusir Papyri, a significant ensemble of documents dating to the later

Fifth Dynasty of Egypt The Fifth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty V) is often combined with Dynasties III, IV and VI under the group title the Old Kingdom. The Fifth Dynasty pharaohs reigned for approximately 150 years, from the early 25th century BC until ...

which she translated, a pioneering work for which she is best known. While in Abusir, she also unearthed several statues of the pharaoh

, among the best examples of royal statuary of the Fifth Dynasty. In 1960 she married another French Egyptologist, Georges Posener, who died in 1988. She survived him eight years, dying in 1996. Her obituary was written by

Jean Yoyotte Jean Yoyotte (4 August 1927 – 1 July 2009) was a French Egyptologist, Professor of Egyptology at the Collège de France and director of research at the École pratique des hautes études (EPHE). Biography Born in 1927 at Lyon, he attended th ...

References

French archaeologists French women archaeologists French Egyptologists 1925 births 1996 deaths 20th-century archaeologists 20th-century French translators 20th-century French women {{France-academic-bio-stub