Honoring Legacy. Inspiring Discovery.

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The Amelia B. Edwards Award is inspired by the pioneering Egyptologist and author Amelia Ann Blanford Edwards (1831–1892) — a visionary whose passion for ancient Egypt reshaped the course of archaeological preservation and education.

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A gifted writer and scholar, Edwards traveled to Egypt in the early 1870s, where she became captivated by the grandeur and mystery of its ancient monuments. Her journey up the Nile led to the publication of her groundbreaking book, A Thousand Miles Up the Nile (1877), which brought public attention to the importance—and vulnerability—of Egypt’s sacred sites.

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Recognizing the growing threats posed by tourism and modern development, Edwards became a tireless advocate for the research, documentation, and preservation of Egypt’s antiquities. In 1882, she co-founded the Egypt Exploration Fund (now the Egypt Exploration Society), and her efforts helped establish Egyptology as a formal academic discipline.

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Her legacy lives on through her writings, public lectures, and generous endowment to University College London, where she founded the Edwards Chair of Egyptology. Her final resting place is marked by an obelisk and a stone ankh—fitting symbols for a woman who devoted her life to unveiling the wisdom of the ancients.