Dr AHMED SHAMS
BSc (Hons), PhD
Sessional Lecturer
MA-ICHM International Cultural Heritage Management, Department of Archaeology, Durham University
ahmed.shams@alumni.imtlucca.it
Website
http:/durham.academia.edu/ahmedshams/
RESEARCH
Interest
Mapping, mapmaking & geographical knowledge-making
Cartographic archaeology
Economic value of landscapes
Landscape, archaeology, politics
Watershed management
Middle East & European frontiers and borderlands
Desert and mountain/highlands development
Nomadism & Bedouin studies
Geo Focus
Sinai Peninsula, Levant, Alps, Himalaya
Recent Releases
KEY JOURNAL PAPERs & ARTICLEs:
Shams, A. 2016g. Mapping and mapmaking in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula: A review and the revival of the 19th century practices. Q. Palestine Exploration 148(3):188-210 (DOI: 10.1080/00310328.2016.1201738)
Shams, A. July 1, 2018a. Sinai's Unfinished 150-year Survey. American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) - The Ancient Near East Today 6(7)
TALKs:
Dec. 12, 2017. Lines or No Lines: The Reality of Maps in Sinai Peninsula and the Middle East. Khalili Theatre, School of Oriental and African Study (SOAS), London Middle East Institute (LMEI), London, United Kingdom
Jun. 7, 2018. Sinai Peninsula: Landscape, Knowledge-making, and Remote Sensing Archaeology. University of Oxford, School of Archaeology, Endangered Archaeology of the Middle East and North Africa (EAMENA) project, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Jun. 26, 2018. Heritage in Transitional Geographies: The High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula & the Himalayan Upper Mustang — Landscape, Knowledge-making, Politics & Investment. Durham University, Department of Archaeology, UNESCO Chair on Archaeological Ethics and Practice in Cultural Heritage, Durham, United kingdom.
PROJECTs:
Jan. 2018 - current. Library of the Congress – Sinai Photograph collections of Eric & Edith Matson (Photograph Department of the American Colony of Jerusalem), Francis Frith, Bernhard Moritz, and Underwood & Underwood, Washington, United States (provide the attributions, history and geography description/notes, for Sinai’s 19th and 20th centuries photographic entries on the Prints & Photographs Catalogue)
Publications
Books
Shams, A. August 2011e. Eight years wandering in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula: a tale of two maps. Cairo, Sinai Peninsula Research (SPR)
Exhibition Catalogues
Shams, A. November 2017b. A Swiss Photographic Journey: Egypt’s Landscapes from Alexander’s Desert Temple to Mount Sinai, and Beyond. In Boissonnas and Egypt, ed. O. Baddeley, London: Saint Catherine Foundation & Royal Geographical Society
Journal Papers
Shams, A. December 2012c. Towards a quantification model: the accountability of the for-profit and nonprofit organizations in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula. Int. J. Tourism Anthropology 2(3):185-212 (DOI: 10.1504/IJTA.2012.050758)
Shams, A. November 2014f. A rediscovered-new ‘Qanat’ system in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula, with Levantine reflections. J. Aid Environments 110: 69-74. (DOI: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2014.06.006)
Shams, A. and U. Tappeiner. January 2015a. Semi-arid watershed management: the experimental farm and representative catchment of the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula. Int. J. of Water 9(1):1-27 (DOI: 10.1504/IJW.2015.067443)
Shams, A. 2016g. Mapping and mapmaking in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula: A review and the revival of the 19th century practices. Q. Palestine Exploration 148(3):188-210 (DOI: 10.1080/00310328.2016.1201738)
Conference Papers
Shams, A. June 2010b. Integrated cluster of centralized heritage-based nano-economies in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula. In Heritage 2010: Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Heritage and Sustainable Development, ed. R. Amoêda, S. Lira and C. Pinheiro, 421-430, Barcelos: Green Lines Institute for Sustainable Development (Theme: Heritage & Economics)
Shams, A. April 2011b. Towards a quantification model: the impact of eco-cultural heritage-based mass tourism in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula. In Proceedings of Tourism in an Era of Uncertainty (ICOT 2011), ed. K. Andriotis and A. Theocharous, 672-683, Cyprus: International Association for Tourism Policy (Theme: Sustainability & Environment in Tourism)
Shams, A. June 2011c. Themes of traditional-modernized daily life of the Gebaliya tribe in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula. In Sharing Cultures 2011: Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Intangible Heritage, ed. R. Amoêda, S. Lira and C. Pinheiro, 585-594, Barcelos: Green Lines Institute for Sustainable Development (Theme: Social Practices)
Shams, A. July 2011d. The treasures of the Holy Monastery of St. Catherine at Mount Sinai: from the treasury of 6th century CE to the museum of 21st century CE. J. Predella 29: Online (Section: Museums)
Shams, A. B. Stoinschek and U. Tappeiner. June 2012b. Heritage-based land use patterns in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula and the Alps: a neo socio-ecological perspective. In Heritage 2012: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Heritage and Sustainable Development, ed. R. Amoêda, S. Lira and C. Pinheiro, Barcelos: Green Lines Institute for Sustainable Development (Theme: Heritage & Environment)
Shams, A. In press. July 2014d. Trans-border impacts on governance decentralisation and landscape in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula: review and alternatives. In Heritage 2014: Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Heritage and Sustainable Development, ed. R. Amoêda, S. Lira and C. Pinheiro, Barcelos: Green Lines Institute for Sustainable Development (Theme: Heritage & Governance for Sustainability)
Book Reviews
Shams, A. June 2016e. Chambon, A. eds. Gaza from Sand and Sea: Art and History in the Jawdat al-Khoudary Collection, 2012. Pp. 204. Jerusalem: Ecole Biblique et Archeologique Française de Jerusalem. Q. Palestine Exploration 148(2):148-150
Abstracts
Shams, A. August 2011f. Dynamics of rural mobility in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula. In Programme Book: Royal Geographical Society ‘with IBG’ Annual International Conference (AC2011), ed., sections: 132 and 171, London: Royal Geographical Society (Themes: Rural Mobilities - Engaging with Rurality (Whilst) On the Move & Urban, Suburban and Rural Development)
Shams, A. October 2014e. Ancient Agriculture in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula in the light of the new-rediscovered 'Qanat' system. In The Qant: Archaeology and Environment, ed., Durham: Department of Archaeology
Shams, A. July 2015c. Mapping the vicinity of Mount Sinai: the representation of a sacerd landscape (whilst) on the move. In Portable Landscapes: Environments on the Move, ed., Durham: Centre for Visual Arts and Culture
Press & Popular Science Articles
Shams, A. January 2010a. El Freish retreat. Eternal Egypt (1):48-75
Shams, A. January 2012a. Twinned peaks: the ‘SinaiAlps project’. M. Academia (57):24-25
Shams, A. February 19, 2014b. The nature of trekking in the Sinai mountains. DailyNewsEgypt
Shams, A. March 1, 2014c. Rugum: rescue plan for the Sinai mountains. DailyNewsEgypt
Shams, A. July 9, 2015b. The Sinai development syndrome. Al-Ahram Weekly (1254)
Shams, A. January 14, 2016a. The Sinai development: From 1980s to 2000s. Al-Ahram Weekly (1278)
Shams, A. February 18, 2016b. Sinai water: Towards a sustainable strategy. Al-Ahram Weekly (1283)
Shams, A. March 17, 2016c. Sinai society: The Bedouin epicenter. Al-Ahram Weekly (1287)
Shams, A. April 21, 2016d. Sinai economy: Timely questions. Al-Ahram Weekly (1292)
Shams, A. June 30, 2016f. Sinai governance: Lines and boundaries. Al-Ahram Weekly (1302)
Shams, A. May 11, 2017a. From St. Catherine's to the Nile. Al-Ahram Weekly (1344)
Shams, A. July 1, 2018a. Sinai's Unfinished 150-year Survey. American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) - The Ancient Near East Today 6(7)
Atlases & Maps
Shams. A. July 2013a. Pocket atlas of the Sinai Peninsula: discovering a historical landscape. Berlin, Holtzbrinck Publishing Group - epubli GmbH
Shams, A. January 2011a. Serabit el-Khadim regional map. Tur, South Sinai Regional Development Program, EU-Commission
Posters
Shams. A. January 2014a. Tales of the Frontier (TotF) ‘In the light of the inscription of the UNESCO transnational Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site (FREWHS)’. Liverpool, Foresight Centre, University of Liverpool - Cultural Engagement Fund Showcase
Talks
Jun. 26, 2018. Heritage in Transitional Geographies: The High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula & the Himalayan Upper Mustang — Landscape, Knowledge-making, Politics & Investment. Durham University, Department of Archaeology, UNESCO Chair on Archaeological Ethics and Practice in Cultural Heritage, Durham, United kingdom.
Jun. 7, 2018. Sinai Peninsula: Landscape, Knowledge-making, and Remote Sensing Archaeology. University of Oxford, School of Archaeology, Endangered Archaeology of the Middle East and North Africa (EAMENA) project, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Dec. 12, 2017. Lines or No Lines: The Reality of Maps in Sinai Peninsula and the Middle East. Khalili Theatre, School of Oriental and African Study (SOAS), London Middle East Institute (LMEI), London, United Kingdom
Nov. 2, 2017. (On) Geographical Knowledge and Mapmaking in Sinai Peninsula. Ondaatje Theatre, Royal Geographical Society (RGS), London, United Kingdom
Feb. 1, 2017. The 150 Years Gap in Mapping and Mapmaking in Sinai Peninsula and the Middle East. Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology (University College London - UCL) - Heritage Lottery Fund Event, London United Kingdom
Jun. 3, 2015. The Traditional Irrigation Channels and Local Water Reservoirs in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula and the Alps: A Low Cost Water Supply System? EURAC European Research Academy, AlpEnv Institute for Alpine Environment, Bolzano/Bozen, Italy.
Jun. 5, 2013. Comparative Landscape Dynamics at the Perimeter of the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula: Late Chalcolithic-Early Bronze Age New Sites Revealed. Archaeology Research Seminar 2012-2013, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom.
Nov. 29, 2011. SinaiAlps Project. EURAC European Research Academy, AlpEnv Institute for Alpine Environment, Bolzano/Bozen, Italy.
Exhibitions & Catalogues
Jan.-Dec. 2018. Library of the Congress [Prints & Photographs Catalogue] − Eric & Edith Matson (Photograph Department of the American Colony of Jerusalem), Francis Frith, Bernhard Moritz, and Underwood & Underwood photographic collections, Washington, United States (provided the attribution, history and geography description/notes, for Sinai’s 19th and 20th centuries photographic entries on the online catalogue of the Library of the Congress)
Nov. 2-30, 2017. Royal Geographical Society & Saint Catherine Foundation − Boissonnas in Egypt, London, United Kingdom (provided the attribution and description for Sinai’s 1929/33 photographic entries of Frédéric Boissonnas exhibition)
Nov. 2015 - Apr. 2016. Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) [Maps Catalogue] – Maps of the “Ordnance Survey of the Peninsula of Sinai” and “Jennings Bramly”, London, United Kingdom (catalogued and attributed the 19th and 20th centuries maps of the British Royal Engineers and the Frontier Districts Administration (FDA) )