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C. Wilfred Griggs records on Ramses II exhibit

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: UA 689

Scope and Contents

Contains the working files of C. Wilfred Griggs on the Ramses II exhibit at Brigham Young University. This includes budget records, publicity, legal records, files on Ramses II lecture and lecturers, awards, complaints, and meeting minutes. Dated 1985-1987.

Dates

  • 1985-1987

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Open for public research.

Conditions Governing Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to publish material from C. Wilfred Griggs records on Ramses II exhibit must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Board of Curators.

Biographical History

C. Wilfred Griggs (1942- ) is an Egyptologist and college teacher in Utah.

Griggs was educated at BYU and Stanford University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. Griggs currently holds the University Professorship of Ancient Studies at BYU. In addition to being a scholar of early Christian and Latter-day Saint history he is also an archeologist. In 1975-1976 he was part of a team doing excavations at the Nag Hammadi site in Egypt for UC Berkeley. In January–March 1981 he was the field director of the joint BYU and UC Berkeley excavation at Seila, Fayum, Egypt and he has been the head of BYU's Fayum excavation since 1982. Also in 1994 he was invited by the government of the Autonomous Republic of the Crimea to do excavations at Ancient Greek sites on the Crimea. Griggs is a charter member of the Association of Ancient Historians and the International Association for Coptic Studies. Among the books Griggs has written is Early Egyptian Christianity: From Its Origins to 451 C.E. (Brill, 2000). He has appeared in Operation Sethos: High Tech in the Tomb of the Pharaoh a TV mini-series and also in another TV episode about King Tut.

At BYU, Griggs has served as the director of ancient studies for the Religious Studies Center. He has also written several works on the Early Christian Church, mainly published in LDS-owned or -related periodicals. He has even argued that Paul was married. This position has been attacked by Deirdre Good as being built around "adding to Paul's words"; however, Good obscures the issue by ignoring that Griggs is not adding to Paul's words, but accepting Joseph Smith's alterations in the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible. In 1982 Griggs' article, The Book of Mormon as an Ancient Book, was published in BYU Studies. He has also published in Coptic Studies and the Archaeological Textiles Newsletter. Some of his work has related to DNA issues in studying mummies and has been done in cooperation with Scott Woodward. Griggs is the father of seven children. He is a Latter-day Saint. Among other callings he has served as the member of a stake high council and a bishop.

Administrative History

The Ramses II exhibit (1985-1986) was an attraction held at Brigham Young University.

In July of 1985, Wilfred Griggs was approached by the Government of Egypt concerning the privilege of hosting the Ramses II exhibit. A contract was signed on 5 August, and by October 1985, Ramses II was opened to the public, and BYU officially hosted the first exhibition of Ramses II. The three months of preparation included designing and constructing a temporary exhibit building adjacent to the Bean Museum, negotiating with Egyptian delegates concerning the transportation, insurance and security of the exhibit, and organizing a media package which would attract a million people to the exhibit.

BYU hired Gardiner Advertising to spearhead the media blitz. At the same time, the BYU Public Relations office began to design and write such materials as catalogs, advertisements, posters, postcards, invitations and educational materials. The University also had to hire and train hosts and hostesses for the exhibit. A major inaugural dinner and tour was organized for Egyptian, University, State, Municipal, and Church officials.

There was a major thrust regarding the education of young students in Utah and parts of Idaho. The BYU Department of Education put together education packets for teachers and students, and a traveling educational program prepared young students for their visits to the Ramses exhibit.

Extent

8 boxes (4 linear ft.)

Language of Materials

English

Other Finding Aids

File-level inventory available online. http://files.lib.byu.edu/ead/XML/UA689.xml

Custodial History

Transferred from the BYU Public Affairs Office.

Found in the University Archives stacks in April 2014.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Transferred; BYU Public Affairs Office.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Found; University Archives stacks; April 2014.

Appraisal

Office files (University Archives collecting policy, July 2003).

Processing Information

Processed; 2002.

Processed; Sarah Markle; May 2014.

Title
Register of C. Wilfred Griggs records on Ramses II exhibit
Status
Completed
Author
Sarah Markle
Date
2002
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English in Latin script.
Sponsor
Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant, 2007-2008

Revision Statements

  • 2014 May 22: An addendum (one folder) was added by Sarah Markle.

Repository Details

Part of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections. University Archives Repository

Contact:
1130 HBLL
Brigham Young University
Provo UT 84602 US