大象传媒

鈥淚 became fascinated by ancient Egypt, largely as a result of my parents鈥� book collection. They鈥檇 got several Egyptian books and the visuals drew me in as a small child and I was totally smitten by these beautiful looking people. Of course in 1972 the big Tutankhamen exhibition came to London and again everyone went Tutankhamen crazy including me, I was totally hooked.鈥�

At school, careers advice was a bit thin on the ground, but Joann persevered and went to University College London to study ancient history and Egyptology. She specialised in the Ptolemies (one of the ancient Egyptian dynasties) and Cleopatra and also in ancient Egyptian hair, wigs and forms of adornment:

Joann working on an iron age bog body

This was a subject that had been overlooked in the study of the ancient Egyptians and Joann did her PHD on hair and wigs. Studying, as she says, 鈥渙n the wrong side of the Pennines in Manchester because the museum there had some superb mummies鈥�. Her interest in mummification developed alongside the study of hair and the scientific tests that can be done to learn more about the way the ancient Egyptians lived.

The ancient Egyptians don鈥檛 have a monopoly on mummification! The technique was first developed in Northern Chile around 6000 BC, several millennia before the Egyptians ever thought of it. Joann has, over the years, worked on mummies from all over the world including other parts of South America, North America, Libya, the Yemen and the Canary Islands.

When she finished her PHD, Joann flew in the face of convention yet again and decided to become a freelance Egyptologist. Critics gave her three months, but within a month she鈥檇 had a fantastic offer to work in Cairo. A film crew were doing some filming and having the gift of the gab she gave it a go and one job led to another.

The Pyramids at Giza

Joann has filmed all over the world, Egypt, the Canary Islands, South America and has just finished a series called 鈥楳ummy Forensics鈥� for the History Channel.

All this has brought her plenty of criticism from what she calls 鈥榯he establishment鈥�:

鈥淚 don鈥檛 do it the proper way, I don鈥檛 wear the tweeds, I don鈥檛 speak correctly. I鈥檝e got a northern accent heaven forbid! The spite that鈥檚 come from that area is really quite amusing and on the other hand it鈥檚 balanced by people coming up to me in the street and saying 鈥榳ow brilliant stuff鈥�. I鈥檓 not going to talk down to anybody and why on earth would I? It鈥檚 not rocket science it鈥檚 Egyptology!鈥�

Joann manages to get quite a lot into her life 鈥� as well as the television work, writing books on female pharaoh鈥檚 Nefertiti and Cleopatra she lectures at the University of York (and is a Mum). However, one of most rewarding parts of her work is with local museums.

Mummy mask in Harrogate Museum

Joann, along with Harrogate Museums, The University of York and funding from NESTA (National Endowment for Science Technology and Art) has studied and analysed the collection and it is now on permanent display in Harrogate. Joann says the collection is 鈥渟pectacular鈥�.

Joann is passionate about her subject, especially when it comes to the female pharaohs:

鈥淚 am so hacked off with constantly reading about these women as queens. They weren鈥檛 queens they were pharaohs, the texts tell us they were pharaohs and if the modern world doesn鈥檛 like to accept the fact that women could rule on an equal basis with men in ancient Egypt that鈥檚 tough!鈥�

Anubis mask: Harrogate Museums & Arts

Life is good for Joann Fletcher at the moment, she鈥檚 fulfilled all her dreams and she鈥檚 been filming in the Valley of the Kings again:

鈥淎gain there will be a little bit of controversy over that, but it鈥檚 what life鈥檚 about, you have to rock the boat to progress.鈥�