Ann Rosalie David (born 30 May 1946) is a British Egyptologist and emeritus professor at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univ ...

. David served as director of the International Mummy Database.

Early life and education

David was born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. She was inspired to become an

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 ...

when her teacher showed her a drawing of the pyramids at

Abusir Abusir ( ar, ابو صير ; Egyptian ''pr wsjr'' cop, ⲃⲟⲩⲥⲓⲣⲓ ' "the House or Temple of Osiris"; grc, Βούσιρις) is the name given to an Egyptian archaeological locality – specifically, an extensive necropolis o ...

. She completed a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree in

ancient history Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

in 1967. She joined the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

for her graduate studies, gaining a PhD in 1971. Her thesis considered ancient Egyptian temple rituals.

Research and career

David arrived at the

in 1972. She established the Manchester Egyptian Mummy Project at the University of Manchester in 1973. In 1974 she began to give educational talks on Nile cruises. In 1975 she found mummy number 1770, which contained evidence of Guinea Worm Disease. She joined the

Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society The Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, popularly known as the Lit. & Phil., is one of the oldest learned societies in the United Kingdom and second oldest provincial learned society (after the Spalding Gentlemen's Society). Promine ...

in 1976. David was the director of the KNH Centre for Biological and Forensic Studies in Egyptology at the University of Manchester for twenty five years. She was the first woman to become a professor of Egyptology. She worked as Keeper of Egyptology at the

Manchester Museum Manchester Museum is a museum displaying works of archaeology, anthropology and natural history and is owned by the University of Manchester, in England. Sited on Oxford Road ( A34) at the heart of the university's group of neo-Gothic buildings, ...

. She pioneered biomedical research in Egyptology, studying disease, living conditions, pharmacy and medicine in ancient Egypt. In the late 1990s she established the only Egyptian Mummy Tissue Bank. She directed the Schistosomiasis Investigation Project. She worked in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Population in Egypt. They found tissues of antibodies against schistosomiasis in the mummies in Manchester. She was awarded the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

medal at the Anglo-French Medical Society in September 1999. David used Raman spectroscopy to study ancient Egyptian pigments. David was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the

2003 New Year Honours The 2003 New Year's Honours List is one of the annual New Year Honours, a part of the British monarch's honours system, where 1 January is marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of ot ...

, "for services to Egyptology". David is Vice President of 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 ...

. David appeared in several film and TV shows about Egypt, working on ''Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs'', Private Lives of the Pharaohs and The Story of Science. By studying remains from Ancient Egypt, David found evidence that cancer is a man-made disease caused by modern pollution and diet in 2010. She identified that the rich banquets offered to ancient Egyptian gods could block the arteries of high priests, who took the offerings home from temples for their families. David is an emeritus professor at the

, having retired in 2012. She spoke at TEDx King's College London in 2013.

Books

About David

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:David, Rosalie 1946 births British Egyptologists Alumni of University College London Alumni of the University of Manchester Living people 20th-century British non-fiction writers 20th-century British women writers 21st-century British non-fiction writers 21st-century British women writers Manchester Museum people