In charge of archaeometry at the C14 laboratory at the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology in Cairo.
The chronology of Pharaohs on the throne of Egypt is well-known from historical, epigraphic and archaeological documents. But as the year count of the reign was reset to 1 with each new Pharaoh, drawing up a definitive chronology required knowledge of all Egyptian Paharaohs and the exact length of their reign. Just a few astrophysical observations and certain synchronisms contained in the texts gave us absolute anchorage points and led to proposals for chronologies.
Her PhD thesis is entitled Construction of an absolute chronology for the 18th Dynasty in Ancient Egypt by Accelerated Mass Spectrometry Carbon 14: the Bayesian model and beam transport simulations. She has also led numerous sampling campaigns in the Department of Egytian Antiquities in the Louvre on short-lived Egyptian objects, attibuted to specific reigns. Two series of objects from the 18th dynasty were dated, archaeologically attributed to the reigns of Tutmosis III and Tutankhamon-Horemheb. Using the Bayesian model, and combining these analyses with the known or supposed duration of the reigns and successions to the throne, an absolute chronology was established for this dynasty. These results confirm the archaeological data and enable us to put forward chronological hypotheses to shed light on the dark areas Egyptologists are confronted with today.
As a member of the Chauvet team she works with Hélène Valladas on the analysis of methodologies adapted to the dating of samples from the Chauvet-Pont d'Arc Cave.
