Jean Clédat


Jean Clédat was a French Egyptologist, archaeologist and philologist. He became a resident at the Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale. At various times, Clédat's expeditions was sponsored by Compagnie universelle du canal maritime de Suez, the Supreme Council of Antiquities, the Comité, and the Institut itself.

Biography

Clédat was born in Périgueux in 1871. Thanks to the archaeological program instilled by Gaston Maspero, head of Egyptian Antiquities, Clédat was sent in search of Christian monuments of Egypt. In 1901, he began excavating Bawit and in the winter of 1903–4, he uncovered the Bawit monastery of Apa Apollo, founded in the fourth century. He made further excavations at Bawit until 1905; the ostraca and papyri that he unearthed are now housed in the Musee du Perigord and the Ismalia Museum of Cairo. He was responsible for excavating many prestigious archaeological sites in Egypt, including Deir Abu Hennis, St. Simeon Monastery, Aswan, Asyut, Akhmim, Sohag, Luxor, Elephantine, Tell el-Herr, Tell el-Maskhouta, Mahemdiah and El Qantara. At Qasr-Gheit, Clédat concluded that it had been a Nabataean station on a secondary caravan route from Arabia to Egypt.
In the second half of 1904, Prince Augustus of Arenberg, on behalf of the Board of Directors of the Compagnie universelle du canal maritime de Suez, committed Clédat as director of the company's archaeological excavations. In 1910, Clédat excavated at Pelusium in Tell el-Farama, and made a sketch map of the site and also discovered an inscription mentioning Emperor Hadrian. At various times, Clédat's expeditions were sponsored by others, including the Supreme Council of Antiquities, the Comite, and the Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale.
Clédat was a prolific author. In his essay, "Pour la Conquête de l'Egypte", he described Egyptian methods of defense and offense upon the present Suez Canal route in ancient times. In Notes sur l'isthme de Suez, the remains of a Byzantine fortress at the same locality are illustrated by a plan, and the Israelite passage of the Red Sea includes an excellent map. Clédat was quite well known for his drawings and outlines. He was a talented artist, and regularly published his work, leaving valuable books still being studied today. After his death in 1943, his archives were donated to the Louvre by his daughter. A street is named after him in his hometown.

Partial works