Stephanie Woolham

Biography

I obtained my undergraduate degree in Egyptian Archaeology from the University of Liverpool in 2007. My MSc Biomedical Egyptology and PhD Egyptology were undertaken at the University of Manchester in the Faculty of Life Sciences by 2012. During my PhD I helped to establish the Ancient Egyptian Animal Bio Bank with Dr. Lidija McKnight and have worked in collaboration with this project since 2010. Its aims are to collate and study data on animal mummies from ancient Egypt in international museum collections, and is the largest study of its kind.

In September 2013, I was appointed as a Research Associate working on a Leverhulme Trust Research Project Grant (RPG-2013-143) at the University of Manchester. This focused on the application of clinical imaging to votive animal mummies in museum collections. Combined with the use of experimental mummification, the aim of this project is to understand the limitations of clinical imaging in collating zooarchaeological data and the issues surrounding the preparation methods of votive animals. 

As a result of my dedication to animal mummy research, I was appointed Honorary Curator of Archaeozoology at Manchester Museum in 2014 and was Project Curator for the Gifts for the Gods: animal mummies revealed touring exhibition from 2015-2017. This public engagement initiative was awarded CityLife Best Exhibition 2015 and Outstanding Public Engagement in the University of Manchester Making a Difference for Social Responsibility 2016. 

External positions

Honorary Academic Curator of Archaeozoology, Manchester Museum

18 Sep 2014 → 18 Sep 2017