Margaret Murray 1863 – 1963
Archaeologist, author, feminist.
13 July 1863– 13 November 1963
Education
Private education, also taught by mother.
1894 Began studies at University College London (UCL), one of William Flinders Petrie’s first Egyptology students; her academic studies focusing on the role of women in Egyptian society.
Some Key Achievements and Interests
1895 Published first paper The Descent of Property in the Early Periods of Egyptian History.
1899 Appointed to junior lectureship becoming the first female lecturer in archaeology in the UK (despite her lack of formal qualifications). She continued to be promoted until in 1924 became Assistant Professor. She was responsible for training many successful Egyptologists and archaeologists.
Campaigned to improve the status of women at UCL; successfully campaigned for a female faculty common room.
1902-3 Directed the clearing of the Osireion temple at Abydos.
Member of Women’s Social and Political Union (founded 1903). Joined suffragette marches.
Catalogued collections in museums in England, Scotland, Ireland and Malta.
1905 Elementary Coptic Grammar published.
1907 Organised systematic training in Archaeology at UCL.
1921 and 1933 Published books on medieval European witchcraft. Her views, though controversial, were hugely popular.
1920s & 1930s Conducted excavations on Malta and Menorca.
1920s Contributed to the series Wonders of the Past edited by J A Hammerton.
1922 Elected a Fellow of UCL.
1924 Appointed Assistant Professor of Egyptology at UCL holding this post until retiring in 1935.
1926 Became a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute.
1927 Became a member of the Folk-Lore Society, and its President 1953-5.
1931 Awarded honorary doctorate by UCL.
1935 Retired from UCL but worked again with Petrie at Petra and Gaza.
Issues
When aged 20 she wanted to work due to ‘the sheer boredom at home, and an overwhelming desire for some occupation.’ However, in Calcutta at that time [early 1880s] ‘there were no jobs for girls, unless one was a missionary. But there was one exception, and that was hospital-nursing which, which was coming rapidly into favour in England. I announced that I would like to go to into the Calcutta General Hospital and be trained as a nurse. Mama was all for the idea, but to my great surprise there was strong opposition from Papa and Mary [her sister]. To Mamma a dedicated personal service to those at hand was the only thing that made life worth while. Papa, as a true Victorian gentleman, felt it was rather a slur on him that a lady of the family should go out to work; ladies should live on an adequate income supplied by father, husband or son. A lady might increase her income by work done at home but not by going out into the world to do it.
Mary, her sister’s objections were ‘those of most of our contemporaries. Hospital nursing was always done by servants, the patients were always the scum of the earth, and one was exposed to every kind of horrible contagious disease. These objections were almost universal, as I found when I began to visit working-class homes in England; the prejudice against hospitals was often very strong. “Don’t ‘ee go into one of them nasty ‘orspitals, my dear. First thing they gives you a bath and then the doctors cut you up and take bits out of your inside!‘*
When she first started to write articles on unrecognised conditions in Ancient Egypt they were not accepted by The Journal though articles on similar themes written by a man were printed. ‘To me it showed that a man might write on such subjects and be praised for his knowledge and insight, but not a woman.‘*
When she started as a student at UCL ‘University College was at its lowest ebb…not as regards its teaching staff but in the management. ..Everyone knew that women were anathema in a university, not only because of their inferior intellect but also because on account of their innate wickedness they would be a terrible danger to the young men. I am not sure if the old universities believed that the Almighty had created them for the sole use of the male sex but they certainly acted as if they did.’* (Harte and North 2004 take issue with the accuracy of Murray’s early memories of UCL in her autobiography.)
Did not earn much from UCL so had to teach evening classes and give lectures.
When Flinders Petrie retired from the Edwards Chair of Egyptology Murray was the obivous successor but was overlooked. (UCL did not appoint its first female professor until 1949.)
Murray’s interest in, and views on, witchcraft have, for many, cast a shadow over her academic reputation.
Connection to Bloomsbury
UCL
Female networks
Amelia Edwards and fellow archaeologists and suffragists.
Artists Winifred ‘Freda’ Hansard, who recorded the inscriptions and scenes on the walls of the Osirieon, and Jessie Mothersole who also accompanied Murray on trips to Egypt and photographed scenes.
Publications:
Published over a hundred books and articles.
Published grammars in Middle Egyptian and Coptic.
including:
1913 Ancint Egyptian Legends.
1921 The Witch-cult in Western Europe.
1923, 1925, 1929 3 Volumes: Excavations in Malta.
1930 Egyptian Sculpture.
1931 Egyptian Temples.
1932-38 Cambridge Excavations in Minorca.
1933 The God of the Witches.
1939 Petra, the rock city of Edom.
1940 A Street in Petra.
1949 The Splendour that was Egypt.
1954 The Divine King in England.
1963 The Genesis of Religion.
1963: Autobiography: My First Hundred Years
References:
*Murray, Margaret; My First Hundred Years; London 1963
Further reading:
Disrupters and Innovators: Journeys in gender equality at UCL.
Whitehouse, R 2013 Margaret Murray (1863–1963): Pioneer Egyptologist,
Feminist and First Female Archaeology Lecturer. Archaeology
International, No. 16 (2012-2013): 120-127, DOI: http://dx.doi.
org/10.5334/ai.1608