When asked about filling the void that Reisner left behind, Manuelian’s answer is a very humble one.

“I wouldn’t put myself quite at his league,” Manuelian says. “He was really quite a genius on many fronts.”

Manuelian’s colleagues are excited to hear that he has stepped into Reisner’s position at Harvard.

“It is extremely important that Harvard once more has an Egyptologist on its faculty,” says Willeke Z. Wendrich, professor of Egyptian archaeology at the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA. “Any serious university, especially one which owns a collection of Egyptian art, should enable students to study and understand the development, unique features and deeply human aspects of ancient cultures.”

Wendrich adds that Manuelian’s work is exciting because of his enormous service to the scholarly community in giving access to the Giza materials online.

“I’m certain the Harvard student population is benefitting greatly from his deep knowledge, unique insights and innovative digital approach,” Wendrich says.

Manuelian stresses that his work in Egyptology is not only beneficial to Harvard students, but benefits society in innumerable ways.

“Any culture you study enriches your own perceptions, to see how you do things in a similar fashion or in a different way, and in many ways studying the ancient Egyptians builds a bridge, a link, to our common humanity,” Manuelian says.

—Staff writer Daniel J. Kramer can be reached at dkramer@college.harvard.edu.