Ernesto Schiaparelli and the Italian Archaeological Mission (MAI): Predynastic Egypt at Museo delle Antichità Egizie (Turin, Italy)

The focus of this paper is the Predynastic collection gathered by the Italian Egyptologist Ernesto Schiaparelli (1856-1928) through his purchases on the antiquarian market and archeological excavations in Egypt as the leader of the MAI (Italian Archaeological Mission). The collection is now stored and on display in the Turin Museum – Museo delle Antichità Egizie, Torino, Italy. Schiaparelli never published extensively the results of his excavations in Predynastic sites such as Gebelein and Hemamieh, and most of his fieldwork records are still unedited. After briefly summarising the nature of the Predynastic collection and the work of the MAI in Egypt, the author presents the case study of the so-called “prehistoric village” of Heliopolis.