Rainer Stadelmann

Dr. Rainer Stadelmann (born 24 October 1933 in Oettingen in Bayern) is a German Egyptologist. He is considered an expert on the archaeology of the Giza Plateau.

Biography

After studying in Neuburg an der Donau in 1953, he studied Egyptology, orientalism and archaeology at the University of Munich. He participated in 1955 and 1956 in the excavations of the sun temple of the 5th Dynasty pharaoh Userkaf at Abusir. He continued his studies at the University of Heidelberg, where in 1960 he wrote his doctoral thesis on the Syrian-Palestinian deities in Egypt. He was a technical assistant in Heidelberg until 1967, after which he became Scientific Director at the German Archaeological Institute in Cairo, where he was director from 1989 to 1998.

Since 1975, he has been honorary professor at the University of Heidelberg. He has participated in numerous excavations at Elephantine, Thebes and Dahshur, the latter of which he explored and wrote about the Bent Pyramid and the valley temple of King Sneferu. He has also opened a new exhibition at the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, to celebrate forty years of archaeological work by the Japanese.

Selected publications

• Die ägyptischen Pyramiden, vom Ziegelbau zum Weltwunder, Mayence, 1985–1997, éditions von Zabern (Kulturgeschichte der Antiken Welt, Bd. 30), ISBN 3-8053-1142-7