(1) Overview
Context
In 1902, Ernesto Schiaparelli, then director of the Museo Egizio (Egyptian Museum) in Turin, established the Missione Archeologica Italiana (M.A.I., Italian Archaeological Mission) with the aim of conducting systematic excavations in Egypt and enriching the Museo Egizio collection. Under his direction, the M.A.I. carried out thirteen fieldwork seasons between 1903 and 1920, investigating eleven archaeological sites along the Nile [1].
Among them was Gebelein—a micro-region located approximately 28 km south-west of Luxor, on the western bank of the Nile, encompassing a series of archaeological sites of diverse chronology and function, situated between, in vicinity, and upon two hills, now known as the West and East Mountains of Gebelein (Figure 1). Ernesto Schiaparelli conducted four excavation seasons in the area (1909–1910, 1911, 1914, and 1920), yet published only a brief synthesis of the results, offering limited detail on the archaeological contexts [2]. As a result, the Gebelein excavations have remained insufficiently studied and, in many cases, poorly integrated into modern scholarship.
Figure 1
Map of the Gebelein micro-region showing the archaeological sites documented in the 1909–1910 Manuscript inventory. Base map by Juli M. Chyla; site locations by Aneta Skalec.
The 1911 season is generally considered the most successful, while the earlier and later campaigns have received comparatively little attention. The 1909–1910 season has long been assumed to be poorly documented [3]. However, a substantial body of archival material survives in the Archivio di Stato di Torino (State Archives of Turin).
While much of this documentation concerns administrative and financial aspects of the expedition, it also includes sources of significant scholarly value that have remained largely underused. A central document is the Inventario manoscritto (Manuscript inventory), a handwritten register listing artefacts recovered during the 1909–1910 excavations and subsequently transferred to the Museo Egizio in Turin (Figure 2). The inventory records objects under inventory numbers S. 11110–13016 [4], organised according to provenance (Northern Necropolis: S. 11110–11285, developing on the northern part of the West Mountain of Gebelein and at its foot; Southern Necropolis: S. 11286–12008, developing on the southern part of the West Mountain of Gebelein and at its foot; Fortress and Temple: S. 12009–13016, situated on the northern part of the East Mountain of Gebelein [5]) (Figure 1). In total, it documents 1906 artefacts, including duplicated and intentionally omitted numbers (Figure 3).
Figure 2
First page of the original Inventario manoscritto of the 1909–1910 excavations at Gebelein, showing the heading. © Archivio di Stato di Torino, Soprintendenza speciale al Museo delle Antichità Egizie di Torino, Secondo versamento, mazzo 2, fascicolo 17, p. 1.
Figure 3
Bar chart showing the distribution of inventory numbers among the three archaeological sites documented in the 1909–1910 Manuscript inventory. Graph by Aneta Skalec.
The manuscript was transferred from the Museo Egizio to the Archivio di Stato di Torino in 2009 (ASTo, MAE, 2o vers., M2 n17) [6]. Its digital scans are available as open access data through the archive’s online platform [7]. However, the source has remained difficult to use due to linguistic barriers and Ernesto Schiaparelli’s challenging handwriting.
To address these limitations, this dataset provides a structured digital edition of the Inventario manoscritto, including a diplomatic transcription, standardized transcription, English translation, Collective Entry identifiers, a systematic comparison with the current state of the collection as recorded in the Museo Egizio’s SiME (Sistema Informatico del Museo Egizio) database, editorial commentary, and a codebook of abbreviations. A key objective is the identification of missing objects and the reconstruction of collection histories through cross-referencing archival and museum records.
By making this material accessible and interoperable, the dataset significantly advances research on the Gebelein assemblage, which remains unevenly documented and only partially integrated into modern Egyptological studies. It provides unique insight into the archaeological context of the finds and enables their recontextualisation within both the original excavation framework and contemporary museum documentation practices.
The present dataset was produced as part of the Ptolemaic Pathyris Project (2024–2026) [8], which operates within the wider Gebelein Archaeological Project, which since 2013 aims to reconstruct the historical topography and material culture of the Gebelein region, through field and archival surveys [9]. The Ptolemaic Pathyris Project was initially established to reconstruct the urban layout and topography of the Ptolemaic town of Pathyris through the systematic analysis of archival sources, but subsequent research has shown that the documentation extends beyond the town and its temple to include two necropoleis.
Spatial coverage
Description: Egypt, Esna, Gebelein micro-region
Latitude: 25° 49′ 12″ N
Longitude: 32° 48′ 53″ E
Temporal coverage
The chronological span covered by the artefacts documented in the 1909–1910 Manuscript inventory ranges from the Predynastic Period (c. 4000–3100 BCE) to the Late Antiquity (c. 4th–7th century CE).
(2) Methods
The primary source for this dataset is the Inventario manoscritto (Manuscript inventory), a handwritten register compiled by Ernesto Schiaparelli documenting artefacts from the 1909–1910 Gebelein excavation season conducted by the Missione Archeologica Italiana. Although the excavation concluded in April 1910 and the finds were shipped to Italy in the same year, the inventory was likely compiled in 1911, as indicated by an annotation in the 1914 Manuscript inventory.
For most of the twentieth century, the document was preserved in the Museo Egizio (Turin) together with other archival materials from the Italian Archaeological Mission. It was transferred to the Archivio di Stato di Torino (ASTo) only in 2009 [6], and is currently preserved as ASTo, MAE, 2° vers., M2 n17 (second transfer, box 2, file 17).
The archival unit comprises 76 unnumbered pages, digitised between 2016 and 2019 at 400 dpi and made available as open-access JPEG files via the State Archives portal [7]. The first two pages contain only the header information (Figure 2), while pages 3–4 relate to the 1914 excavation season and were excluded from the present edition. The final two pages are structurally formatted but contain no entries.
The dataset was created through systematic transcription and analysis of these digital scans. The editorial work involved the following steps:
Diplomatic transcription of the Italian manuscript.
English translation of all entries.
Standardisation of selected fields (e.g. inventory numbers and object descriptions).
Expansion of abbreviations and repetition markers (e.g. “c.s.”, ditto marks, “v. infra”) to improve searchability.
Identification and tagging of collective entries indicated through grouped descriptions.
Cross-referencing with the Museo Egizio’s SiME (Sistema Informatico del Museo Egizio) database to assess the current status of artefacts and identify discrepancies.
Creation of structured metadata, including collective entry identifiers and commentary fields.
The edition focuses exclusively on textual content. Non-textual marks such as underlining, ticks, crosses, and later annotations are not systematically encoded.
Structure of the Dataset
The original Inventario manoscritto is organised into five columns (Figure 4):
Numero d’inventario
Descrizione dell’oggetto
Natura
Prezzo
Annotazioni
Figure 4
Thirty-seventh page of the original Inventario manoscritto of the 1909–1910 excavations at Gebelein, showing the tabular layout. © Archivio di Stato di Torino, Soprintendenza speciale al Museo delle Antichità Egizie di Torino, Secondo versamento, mazzo 2, fascicolo 17, p. 37.
The dataset preserves this structure in spreadsheet format while introducing additional fields to enhance usability and interoperability. These include English translations, standardised object descriptions for computational searchability, and comparative fields linked to SiME data. Columns containing primarily numerical values (inventory numbers and prices) are retained as bilingual headings without duplication.
The extended structure serves three main functions:
facilitating access through translation,
enabling computational analysis and filtering,
supporting comparison between the original inventory state and the current museum database. This allows identification of missing objects, changes in attribution, and discrepancies between historical and modern records.
The dataset is published in Excel and CSV formats to ensure accessibility, machine readability, and compatibility with digital humanities workflows, including automated querying and AI-assisted analysis.
The dataset is distributed as a single spreadsheet workbook comprising three worksheets.
1. Manuscript Inventory
This is the principal worksheet, containing the edited version of the 1909–1910 Inventario manoscritto. It includes standardized inventory numbers, archaeological context, diplomatic transcriptions of the original Italian entries, English translations, standardized object descriptions, object materials, prices, annotations, collective entry identifiers, a systematic comparison with the Museo Egizio collection database (SiME, reflecting the state of the database as of 6 June 2026), and editorial commentary (Table 1).
Table 1
Short description of the data collected in the sheet Manuscript Inventory.
| COLUMN | DESCRIPTION | DATA TYPE |
|---|---|---|
| Inventory Heading | Archaeological context | Controlled vocabulary |
| Numero d’inventario/Inventory number | Standardized inventory number | Integer |
| Standardized object description | Editorial object category | Text |
| Descrizione dell’oggetto | Diplomatic transcription | Text |
| Description of the object | English translation | Text |
| Natura | Material (Italian) | Text |
| Nature | Material (English) | Text |
| Prezzo/Price | Object value | Numeric/Text |
| Annotazioni | Annotation (Italian) | Text |
| Annotations | Annotation (English) | Text |
| Collective Entry ID | Relational identifier | Text |
| Present in SiME | Collection status | Yes/No |
| More than one object under the same inventory number in the SiME | Multiple records flag | Yes/No |
| Commentary | Editorial note | Text |
2. Collective Entries
This supplementary worksheet documents information recorded in the manuscript for groups of objects described collectively. Collective entries include descriptions, materials, prices, and annotations associated with multiple inventory numbers through a dedicated Collective Entry ID system (Table 2).
Table 2
Short description of the data collected in the sheet Collective Entries.
| COLUMN | DESCRIPTION | DATA TYPE |
|---|---|---|
| Collective Entry ID | Unique identifier linking the collective entry to records in the Manuscript Inventory worksheet. | Text (identifier) |
| Collective object description | Original (Italian) collective description. | Text |
| Collective nature | Original (Italian) collective material designation. | Text |
| Collective price | Collective value assigned to the group. | Numeric/Text |
| Collective annotation | Original (Italian) collective annotation. | Text |
| Inventory range | Inventory numbers covered by the collective entry. | Text |
3. Codebook
This reference worksheet documents abbreviations, symbols, and editorial conventions used in the manuscript and throughout the dataset. It provides guidance for interpreting scribal shorthand and ensures consistent usage of the dataset by both human researchers and computational systems (Table 3).
Table 3
Short description of the data collected in the sheet Codebook.
| COLUMN | DESCRIPTION | DATA TYPE |
|---|---|---|
| Original form of abbreviation | Abbreviation or symbol occurring in the Manuscript inventory. | Text |
| Meaning (Italian) | Expanded form of the abbreviation in Italian. | Text |
| Meaning (English) | English translation or explanation of the abbreviation. | Text |
(3) Dataset description
Object name
The 1909–1910 Gebelein Manuscript Inventory (Inventario Manoscritto): Diplomatic Transcription, English Translation, and Comparison with the Museo Egizio Collection Database (SiME).
Data type
Processed and documentary research data derived from a historical archival source.
Format names and versions
The dataset is distributed as a single spreadsheet workbook containing three worksheets. Since CSV is a plain-text format that does not support multiple worksheets within a single file, each worksheet has been exported as a separate CSV file. The dataset therefore includes the following files:
Gebelein_1909_1910_Manuscript_Inventory.xlsx
Gebelein_1909_1910_Manuscript_Inventory_Manuscript_Inventory_sheet.csv
Gebelein_1909_1910_Manuscript_Inventory_Collective_Entries_sheet.csv
Gebelein_1909_1910_Manuscript_Inventory_Codebook_sheet.csv
Creation dates
Ernesto Schiaparelli prepared the Inventario manoscritto of the 1909–1910 excavations at Gebelein in 1911. The document preserves evidence of later interventions in the form of paragraphematic signs, including underlinings in pink pencil (e.g., S. 12061–12063) and dot-and-stroke marks executed with the same tool (e.g., S. 11364–11365), although their authorship remains unknown. The archival material related to the activities of the Missione Archeologica Italiana, including the 1909–1910 Manuscript inventory, was digitised between 2016 and 2019. Between 2025 and 2026, Aneta Skalec analysed, transcribed, and translated this material within the framework of the Ptolemaic Pathyris Project.
Dataset Creators
Within the framework of the Ptolemaic Pathyris Project, Aneta Skalec was responsible for the transcription and translation of the document, as well as for a systematic comparison of the inventory data with records in SiME, the Museo Egizio’s internal database.
Language
Italian (transcription of the original Inventario manoscritto) and English (translation and supplementary analytical columns).
License
CC-BY 4.0
Repository location
RADOGOST; DOI: https://doi.org/10.82343/GGUZH5
Publication date
15/06/2026
(4) Reuse potential
The open publication of the Inventario manoscritto provides a research resource that was previously largely inaccessible and has the potential to significantly advance studies of the Gebelein micro-region and its archaeological material. The dataset is relevant not only for archaeologists and Egyptologists, but also for museologists and scholars interested in the formation, history, and documentation practices of museum collections.
The data can be integrated and aggregated with information from other excavation seasons at Gebelein, enabling diachronic and comparative analyses of the material. In particular, it supports targeted studies of specific object categories—such as stelae, funerary equipment, and other artefact typologies—across different archaeological contexts and periods.
By combining diplomatic transcription, translation, and cross-referencing with the SiME database, the dataset allows for validation and refinement of existing museum records. It also highlights discrepancies between historical documentation and current catalogue data, offering a foundation for systematic reassessment of object provenance and collection integrity.
Beyond specialist research, the dataset has significant potential for educational and teaching purposes. It can be used in classroom settings and student-led projects to demonstrate the importance of working directly with archival sources rather than relying solely on published material. In this way, it provides a practical training resource for developing skills in archival research, transcription, translation, and digital humanities methodologies.
More broadly, the dataset contributes to the study of early twentieth-century archaeological practice and museum collecting history. It offers a critical reference point for understanding how excavated material was recorded, classified, and integrated into museum collections, thereby supporting interdisciplinary research across archaeology, Egyptology, museum studies, and cultural heritage preservation.
The Inventario manoscritto has already demonstrated its value within the ongoing work of the Ptolemaic Pathyris Project, informing several studies currently in preparation for publication.
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to the Archivio di Stato di Torino (State Archives of Turin) for granting permission to publish the archival material, for providing high-quality scans of the Inventario manoscritto, and for authorising the reproduction of selected images from this document in the present publication.
Special thanks are due to Julia M. Chyla, whose encouragement, invaluable advice, and continuous support were essential to the development of this dataset and to its transformation from a simple Word file into its present form.
Funding Statement
This research is part of the project No. 2022/45/P/HS3/01807 co-funded by the National Science Centre and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 945339.