Egyptian Museum Turin, facsimile of the Book of the Dead of Iuefankh

Research Bio

Rita Lucarelli is an Egyptologist whose research investigates ancient Egyptian religion, magic, funerary literature and its reception in the modern and contemporary world. She is best known for her studies of the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, analyzing its texts, iconography, and cultural significance. Lucarelli’s work integrates philology, digital humanities, and archaeology to create digital editions and 3D models of ancient Egyptian coffins and VR visualizations of their archaeological settings. Her scholarship advances understanding of ancient Egyptian beliefs about death, the afterlife, and the transmission of religious knowledge. She researches the impact of ancient Egypt in Black Visual Arts and music and in particular in Afrofuturism.

She is a Professor of Egyptology in the Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures at UC Berkeley and Faculty Curator of Egyptology at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology. Her work has been published in a number of academic journals and edited volumes about Egyptology and Studies of the Ancient World and its reception. Lucarelli has received fellowships from the Mellon Foundation and recognition from Egyptological associations for her contributions. At Berkeley, she teaches ancient Egyptian language and religion and mentors students in digital humanities and Egyptology.

Lucarelli is also involved in a teaching Higher Education in prison and currently teaches a course on ancient Egyptian history and art at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (formerly San Quentin State Prison), in California.

Research Expertise and Interest

Egyptology, Egyptian, afrofuturism, magic, demonology, digital humanities, 3D modeling, virtual reality, prison higher education, ritual and religion

In the News

A tomb with a view: Egyptologist recreates after-death experience

If playing the video game Assassin’s Creed Origins is as close as you’re likely to get to a pharaoh’s tomb — especially in this time of pandemic-thwarted travel — look no further than UC Berkeley for an expedition into an Egyptian burial chamber that won’t expose you to a mummy’s curse.

What crocodile mummies can tell us about everyday life in ancient Egypt

More than 100 years after their discovery, 19 mummified crocodiles are part of the Egyptian collection at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology at UC Berkeley. These mummies, along with a collection of papyri held by the Center for the Tebtunis Papyri at the Bancroft Library, give us clues about how everyday ancient Egyptians lived and how far they went to appease crocodiles, hoping their devotion would win them some good will toward humankind.

Featured in the Media

Please note: The views and opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or positions of UC Berkeley.
March 11, 2021

Enter The Mysterious Ancient Egyptian Tomb of 'The Doctor' in This New VR Experience

LiveScience
Mindy Weisberger
The tomb of an ancient Egyptian called "the Doctor," found in the necropolis of Saqqara, Egypt, inscribed with mystical spells invoking gods and demonic guardians, comes to life in a new immersive virtual reality experience. "You can have the experience of entering a tomb, walking around a coffin and interacting with these beautiful funerary texts and images," said project lead Rita Lucarelli, an associate professor of Near Eastern Studies and faculty curator of Egyptology at the Hearst Museum at UC Berkeley. For more on this, see our press release at Berkeley News.
FullStory


Loading Class list ...