Christian Langer has been fascinated with ancient Egypt since he was 3 years old. His parents read to him all manner of books cultural and scientific, and as time went on, he became captivated by stories of millennia-old pharaohs and mummies.

So when he decided to study Egyptology in college, it was a shock for him to learn there was much more to the Land of Pyramids than, well, pyramids.

“I think people don’t have an understanding that all these topics like Tutankhamun, gold, tombs, temples, pyramids, etc.—that is only a tiny fraction of what Egyptologists are doing,” said Langer, an assistant professor in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Department of Classics. “It’s less about the consumption or discussion of these grand discoveries and grand monuments and, really, largely painstakingly learning how to translate Egyptian sources.”

Langer’s research focuses on the effects of forced migration and deportation in ancient Egypt during the late Bronze Age, expanding beyond monuments and the elite to focus instead on the lives of people history often leaves out.

A stereotypical introduction

Langer grew up in Germany, where much of the history taught in schools focused on some of the darker parts of the country’s history: World War II, the Cold War, and the like.

He had a great interest in global history, however, particularly stories of ancient people who built societies and structures that still stand today.

“My voyage starts pretty much in the stereotypical way. As a kid, I had an early exposure to ancient Egyptian themes or ancient Egyptian contents in pop culture and animated series, like ‘DuckTales,’ for instance, which frequently visited ancient Egyptian aesthetics in one way or another,” he said.

When Langer went to college, he set out to be a lawyer, but that didn’t satisfy him intellectually. So, he began to look back at what drew his interest when he was in school.

“The University of Marburg in central Germany just so happened to still have an Egyptological institute, and that’s how it all started,” Langer said. “I started studying Egyptology, and I stuck with it.”

One of the first things Langer learned was that the field is less about exploring ancient ruins and more about learning a new language and writing system. The Egyptians kept very detailed records, so knowledge of ancient language and writing systems is vital to study. The complexity of the language, Langer reasoned, is why many students are intimidated by the field.

As his studies continued, Langer was surprised to learn how much of ancient Egypt was still unknown.

“There is very little we know for certain,” he said. “And so much left to explore.”

Read more about him from the University of Georgia Office of Research.