Charles H. Rosher Dendereh records

Charles H. Rosher was a trained engineer who worked with W.M. Flinders Petrie on archaeological sites in Egypt. Flinders Petrie's recommendation of Rosher as a capable engineer to the Penn and Cairo Musuems resulted in his employment to remove several monuments from a site in Tanis to the museums. As a part of his duties, ROsher was charged with obtaining a permit for the work. As the permit did not materialize, Sara Yorke Stevenson of the Egyptian section of the museum traveled to Cairo to expedite the process. The diplomacy required to obtain the necessary permits and approvals proved too difficult for even Mrs. Stevenson. She dismissed Rosher to work for three months with Flinders Petrie to gain basic archaeological skills.

As fate would have it, due to delays, Petrie was not able to meet with Rosher nor train him. Rosher did perform some work at Dendereh and surveyed at the Tanis site. A dispute over his request for more money from the museum led to Penn accepting Rosher's resignation.

Charles H. Rosher was a trained engineer who worked with W.M. Flinders Petrie on archaeological sites in Egypt. Flinders Petrie's recommendation of Rosher as a capable engineer to the Penn and Cairo Museums resulted in his employment to remove several monuments from a site in Tanis. As a part of his duties, Rosher was charged with obtaining a permit for the work. As the permit did not materialize, Sara Yorke Stevenson of the Egyptian section of the museum traveled to Cairo to expedite the process. The diplomacy required to obtain the necessary permits and approvals from the Egyptian governing authorities proved too difficult for even Mrs. Stevenson. While embroiled in the process however, she dismissed Rosher to work for three months with Flinders Petrie to gain basic archaeological skills.

As fate would have it, due to delays, Petrie was not able to meet with Rosher nor to train him. Rosher did perform some work at Dendereh and surveyed at the Tanis site. A dispute over his request for more money from the museum led to Penn accepting Rosher's resignation. The permit was never issued to Penn to excavate or remove monuments at Tanis.

The Charles S. Rosher collection consists of two drawings from his time in Egypt. These tiems are oversize and kept in the map case. The first drawing, done in 1898 for the American Exploration Society shows "Details of some of the Tombs Excavated at Dendera." It is a reproduction of an ink drawing on paper. There are two small copies of the larger work that have been encapsulated. The second drawing is "Dendera Sketch Map of the Ancient Cemetery excavated by W.M.Flinders Petrie on behalf of the Egypt Exploration Fund; "Showing also the Excavations Subsequently Carried out by Mr. Charles H. Rosher, C.E. for the American Exploration Society." The drawing was completed by Rosher from "surveys by himself and W.M. Flinders Petrie" during the years 1897-1898. This map is also a reproduction of an ink drawing on paper.

Publication Information: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives, August 2011

Finding Aid Author:

Use Restrictions:

Form(s)/Genre(s)

• Drawings (visual works)

Geographic Name(s)

• Egypt

Personal Name(s)

• Flinders Petrie, William M.
• Rosher, Charles H.
• Stevenson, Sara Yorke, 1847-1921

Subject(s)

• Archaeology--Burials