Congratulations on the approval of the ERC Advanced Grant project »BETWEEN – Liminality in Ancient Egyptian Towns«! How would you briefly explain what your project is about?

Irene Forstner-Müller: The ERC Advanced Grant project 'BETWEEN – Liminality in Ancient Egyptian Towns' investigates a fundamental question in urban studies: how do transitions, boundaries and ‘interstitial spaces’ function within ancient Egyptian towns, and what role did they play in social life in Ancient Egypt?
The focus is on the concept of liminality (‘Betwixt and Between’), which originally stems from anthropology. This refers to situations, places or periods that belong neither entirely to one realm nor the other – such as city gates, harbour areas, boundary zones between residential and religious quarters, transitions between life and death, or phases of social change.
The project posits that such liminal spaces were not merely marginal phenomena, but played a central role in the functioning of ancient Egyptian cities.

The project investigates how people moved through, utilised, controlled and redefined spaces that lay ‘between’ established spatial and social categories.

What makes this project particularly innovative?

Irene Forstner-Müller: BETWEEN shifts the focus of research into ancient Egyptian cities away from a traditional, static analysis of urban characteristics towards a dynamic examination of liminal spaces, practices and social negotiations. The project investigates how people moved through, utilised, controlled and redefined spaces that lay ‘between’ established spatial and social categories (inside and outside, public and private, sacred-funerary and domestic spheres), as well as between the use and abandonment of spaces).
This is particularly exciting for Egyptological research because the concept of liminality has hitherto scarcely been applied systematically to ancient Egyptian cities and therefore opens up entirely new possibilities for interpretation.

Could you give an example of a liminal space and explain why it is so important?

Irene Forstner-Müller: One example of a liminal space is the harbour. Harbours are classic transitional zones: they lie at the interface between land and water, between arrival and departure. People, goods, ideas and technologies enter the city here or leave it again.
A particularly interesting example is the harbour of Tell el-Dab’a, the ancient Avaris. As a major hub in the eastern Nile Delta, it linked Egypt with the eastern Mediterranean and the Near East. Archaeological finds show that people, goods and cultural influences from different regions converged there. The harbour was thus not only an economic centre, but also a place where social and cultural boundaries were constantly being redefined.

The project also seems to be relevant today. Could you explain that in more detail?

Irene Forstner-Müller: Although the project is rooted in the past, it addresses issues that remain of great social significance today. A central aspect is the theme of ‘belonging’ – that is, the question of how people develop a sense of belonging and how communities deal with individuals or groups who find themselves ‘in between’.
We recognise these processes from the present day as well. Modern cities are characterised by mobility, migration and cultural diversity. The question of who belongs, how a sense of belonging arises and how societies deal with diversity is the subject of intense debate today. The project shows that such questions are by no means new. Even thousands of years ago, cities had to find ways to integrate people from different backgrounds and foster social cohesion.

The idea is to develop a new, theoretically grounded approach to the study of settlements, in which these are viewed not merely as architectural layouts but as lived spaces

What are your long-term goals for ‘BETWEEN’?

Irene Forstner-Müller: The long-term aim of the project is to fundamentally change our understanding of ancient Egyptian cities. The idea is to develop a new, theoretically grounded approach to the study of settlements, in which these are viewed not merely as architectural layouts but as lived spaces – in order to demonstrate that interstitial spaces were not a marginal phenomenon, but played a central role in how ancient Egyptian communities organised their social life.

About

Irene Forstner-Müller Irene studied Egyptology at the University of Vienna and began her academic career as a researcher on the SCIEM-2000 project from 1999 to 2002. As part of this project, she worked on the ‘Stratigraphie comparée’ sub-project. At the same time, from 2001 to 2002, she took on a temporary role as an assistant at the Institute of Egyptology at the University of Vienna. Since 2002, Irene Forstner-Müller has been working as a research fellow at the Austrian Archaeological Institute (OeAI) in its Cairo branch. In 2009, she took over as head of the branch and has since been directing the archaeological excavations at Tell el-Dab’a, a significant archaeological site in ancient Egypt.