French Mission for the Excavations of Tanis (MFFT)
Director: Frédéric Payraudeau (MCF HdR, Sorbonne University)
Deputy Directors: Laurent Coulon (Director of Studies, EPHE - PSL); Raphaële Meffre (Research Fellow, CNRS UMR 8546 - AOROC)
The French Mission for the Excavations of Tanis (MFFT) was founded in 1964 by Prof. Jean Yoyotte within the Religious Sciences section of the École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), under the patronage of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres and with the main support of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It was created as a follow-up to the work of Prof. Pierre Montet on the site of Tell San el-Hagar, in the north-eastern Nile Delta, from 1929 to 1956. Directed from 2014 to 2024 by François Leclère (research engineer at the EPHE), and since 2024 by Frédéric Payraudeau, it is attached to UMR 8546 (CNRS / EPHE, PSL / ENS) Archaeology and Philology of East and West (AOrOc). Its premises in France are now, since 2019, at the Campus Condorcet in Aubervilliers.
Founded at the very end of the second millennium BC, Tanis was the home of the21st and23rd dynasties, the burial place of the rulers of the 21st-22nd dynasties, and an important capital of Egypt during the Third Intermediate Period (XI-VII centuries BC). The settlement lasted until the end of the Byzantine period (8th century AD). A presentation leaflet for visitors (to be downloaded opposite in French, English and Arabic) provides more information on the archaeological site, its main remains and the history of its exploration (see also the presentation page of the current project on the IFAO website).
Present in the field for several weeks or months a year, the MFFT devotes its activities to the methodical re-examination of the areas already explored, to the excavation of new sectors, but also to the overall study of the ancient city through large-scale prospecting (geophysics, ceramology, geomorphology), as well as to the scientific enhancement and heritage protection of the major remains discovered (epigraphy, architecture, topography, conservation, development).
Current work
A new research program has been implemented in the field since the spring of 2014.
Focusing mainly on the ancient agglomeration as a whole, it aims to gain a better understanding of the spatial organization and evolution of the urban fabric as a whole, as well as its paleo-environmental context (Tanitic branch of the Nile, coastal lagoons, canals).
Part of the activities is also devoted to the study of royal and private inscriptions of the Third Intermediate Period (blocks from private tombs of the21st dynasty reused in the tomb of Shechonq III, blocks from two buildings of Shechonq V reused in the walls of the Sacred Lake of Amun and the wells of the temple of Mut, various royal inscriptions from the21st to the25th dynasty, Tanite monuments of Psusennes I, palaeography of the inscriptions of the22nd dynasty in the royal tombs (Osorkon II, Chechonq III). The archaeological and architectural study of the royal tombs and the monumental gate of Chechonq III has resumed, as has the cartography of the tell and the main remains unearthed since the19th century.
The mission also develops developments for the enhancement and protection of archaeological remains. It is currently extending this aspect of its activities by collaborating closely since 2019 on a program conducted under the responsibility of the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology, with specific funding from the Embassy of France in Egypt (Solidarity Fund for Innovative Projects). She also recently contributed to the European cooperation project with the Cairo Museum, in collaboration with the Department of Egyptian Antiquities of the Louvre Museum and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Egypt, for a new presentation of the treasures unearthed by the Montet Mission in the royal tombs of Tanis. In this context, the Mission provided numerous old and recent documents relating to the excavations at Tanis (photographs, drawings, plans-diagrams) and supervised the design and production, in collaboration with the Ipsofacto Design Office, of a model of the royal tombs, which is now on display on the first floor of the Cairo Museum.
The ANTa Project (Tanis Digital Archive)
The MFFT has set up a vast programme for the complete digitisation of the voluminous archives, which the EPHE preserves, relating to the excavations carried out by the Montet Mission at Tanis, with a view to eventually developing an online database. The acronym for this project is a nod to the designation that Pierre Montet had given to the new temple he had discovered in Tanis at the beginning of his work — in reality a sanctuary dedicated to the goddess Mut. The photographs of the Mission Montet (glass plates, gelatines, prints) were thus repackaged and digitized in their entirety. Drawings and plans of the Mission Montet have been re-inventoried, classified and largely digitized. The metadata entry of all this valuable documentation is underway. The research and study of other archival collections, public and possibly private, relating to the excavations carried out at Tanis since the 19th century are also part of our activities.
Recent Publications
Fr. Leclère et P. Le Guilloux, « Auguste Mariette et les fouilles du Service des antiquités à Tanis », Égypte, Afrique & Orient 103, Montségur, septembre-novembre 2021, p. 57-70.
Fr. Leclère, avec la collaboration de P. Le Guilloux, N. Warner, R. Nosshi, Th. Navarro, S. Pistre, Ph. Bromblet, S. Duberson, L. Antoine, É. Hubert Joly, J.-M. Vallet et I. Mohamed Ezzat, « Tanis (2020) », Bulletin archéologique des Écoles françaises à l’étranger 2, 2021 [en ligne], mis en ligne le 30 mai 2021.
L. Gabolde, D. Laisney, Fr. Leclère, Fr. Payraudeau, « L’orientation du grand temple d’Amon-Rê à Tanis : données topographiques et archéologiques, hypothèses astronomiques et conséquences historiques », dans Ph. Collombert, L. Coulon, I. Guermeur, Chr. Thiers (éd.), Questionner le Sphinx. Mélanges offerts à Christiane Zivie-Coche, Bibliothèque d’étude 178/1, Le Caire, 2021, p. 309-349.
Fr. Leclère, avec la collaboration de S. Nannucci, Simon Connor, S. Poudroux, P. Le Guilloux, A. Banaszak, Fr. Payraudeau, R. Meffre, P. Poiron, S. Pistre, Ph. Bromblet, S. Duberson et L. Thibout, « Tanis [Rapport 2019] », Bulletin archéologique des Écoles françaises à l’étranger 1, 2020 [en ligne], mis en ligne le 5 octobre 2020.
Fr. Leclère, « Tanis. Tell Sân el-Hagar », in L. Coulon, M. Cressent (éd.), Archéologie française en Égypte. Recherche, coopération, innovation, Bibliothèque générale 59, Le Caire, Ifao, 2020, p. 98-103 ; version arabe condensée :الحفائر الفرنسية في مصر. إعداد لوران كولون، ميلاني كريسان , Bibliothèque générale 61, Le Caire, Ifao, p. 66-69 ; version anglaise condensée : French Archaeology in Egypt: Research, Cooperation, Innovation, Bibliothèque générale 62, Le Caire, Ifao, 2020, p. 66-69.
Fr. Payraudeau, S. Poudroux, « Varia tanitica II. Une nouvelle épouse de Ramsès II », Bulletin de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale 120, 2020, p. 253-264.
R. Meffre, Fr. Payraudeau, « Un nouveau roi à la fin de l’époque libyenne : Pamy II », Revue d’égyptologie 69, 2019, p. 147-157.
Fr. Leclère, « Sân el-Hagar (Tanis) [2018] », dans Rapport d'activité 2018, Supplément au Bulletin de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale 118, 2019, p. 110-127.
P. Le Guilloux, Souvenirs de Tanis (I). Jean-Louis Fougerousse. Croquis et aquarelles (1931-1939), Paris, 2019.
P. Le Guilloux, « Jean-Louis Fougerousse (1879-1953), architecte et portraitiste de la Mission Montet à Tanis. À propos d'archives récemment retrouvées », Bulletin de la Société Française d'Égyptologie 200, novembre 2018-janvier 2019, p. 10-22.
F. Leclère, « Sân el-Hagar (Tanis) [2017] », dans Rapport d'activité 2017, Supplément au Bulletin de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale 117, 2018, p. 92-113.
Fr. Payraudeau, R. Meffre, « Enquête épigraphique, stylistique et historique sur les blocs du lac sacré de Mout : commentaires à propos d'un ouvrage récemment paru », Bulletin de la Société Française d'Égyptologie 199, mars-juin 2018, p. 128-143.
Fr. Leclère, « Note d'information. Mission française des fouilles de Tanis. Nouvelles recherches », Comptes-rendus des séances de l’Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres, novembre-décembre 2016/4, 2016, p. 1467-1480.
Fr. Leclère, Fr. Payraudeau, T. Herbich, « Nouvelles recherches sur le Tell Sân el-Hagar (Tanis) », La Troisième Période intermédiaire – Art et archéologie, Égypte, Afrique & Orient 81, 2016, p. 39-52.
Fr. Leclère, « Tanis », dans Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe (éd.), Ramses - Göttlicher Herrscher am Nil, Petersberg, 2016, p. 273-277.
R. Meffre, « Les serviteurs funéraires de Tanis. Une aide à l'interprétation de la nécropole royale », Égypte 82, juin-août 2016, 43-56.
Fr. Payraudeau, R. Meffre, « Varia tanitica I. Monuments royaux », Bulletin de l'Institut français d'archéologie orientale 116, 2016, p. 273-302.
C. Defernez, « Premiers résultats d'un programme de prospections céramologiques dans la zone centrale du tell de Tanis : campagne 2014 (Mission française des fouilles de Tanis) », Bulletin de la céramique égyptienne 25, 2015, Le Caire, p. 77-100.
Fr. Leclère, « La LXIe campagne de la Mission française des fouilles de Tanis », Annuaire de l'École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), section des Sciences religieuses, 122 (2013-2014), 2015, p. 137-142.
Communications, dissemination
The members of the MFFT regularly present the results of their work, studies and research, in the context of papers at scientific congresses and symposia and conferences in institutional and associative settings. They occasionally participate in interviews, reports and television documentaries.
Like the publication of publications or any event or information that we deem useful to relay about our activities, these communications and interviews are announced on our Facebook page.
Distinctions
In 2015, the leaders of the French Mission for the Excavations of Tanis were the very first winners of the Jean and Marie-Françoise Leclant Prize, awarded by the Jean Leclant Foundation, of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. In 2016 and then in 2017, the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres, on the proposal of the Consultative Commission for Archaeological Research Abroad of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, awarded its Archaeology Label to the MFFT, "Tanis" Program (Egypt).
Supports and partnerships
To carry out these programs, the MFFT collaborates with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Egypt and benefits from various partnerships and support, in France and internationally: several joint CNRS-University research units collaborate on the project to varying degrees, including Orient & Méditerranée (Sorbonne University) and Hydrosciences Montpellier, as well as the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology, the Egyptian Department of the Louvre Museum, the Institute of Ethnology and Archaeology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (Warsaw), the Interdisciplinary Centre for Heritage Conservation and Restoration (Marseille), etc.
Mainly funded by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Mission also benefits from external support, for example the New Society of Friends of Tanis (see below), or the Khufu Fund for Archaeology.
WARNING: The only official and institutional mission on the Tanis site, the FRENCH MISSION OF TANIS EXCAVATIONS (MFFT) has been supported since the end of 2015 by a new association, the NEW SOCIETY OF FRIENDS OF TANIS (NSAT; pres. Fr. Leclère). It has no connection with the association called the French Society of the Excavations of Tanis, which, despite the name it continues to bear, has ceased to support the activities of the French Mission of the Excavations of Tanis.