An elementary school book fair provided Daniel Warne with his career inspiration. "I remember it so vividly. I was in the 4th grade and a friend of mine got a book on King Tut. I looked at it and have been obsessed ever since."
His obsession continued into high school when he began mailing letters to Bob Brier, a Senior Research Fellow at Long Island University who is an Egyptologist. That title goes to a person who is an expert on ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture, and art. Brier would write back, offering educational and career advice.
Warne's passion would literally take him around the world, from his rural hometown of Niles in Cayuga County to Egypt where we would spend six years working at major archaeological sites and the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
Today Warne is a professor at Onondaga Community College where he's teaches history and anthropology. Earlier this semester he was invited to the University of Pennsylvania for a celebration of the life and work of the late Dr. Helene Kantor. She was born in 1919, earned her Ph.D. at the age of 19, and became the first female archaeologist in America. All of the presentations at the symposium were related to her research. Warne's focus was frog vessels which were made around 4000 B.C. "It was quite an honor to present. Many of the other presenters came from lofty positions like the Oriental Institute and Penn. It was a little daunting to present alongside them but I felt I did well."
In the spring Warne's first full volume book will be coming out. It's titled, "The Eternal Legacy and History of Ancient Egypt." Like Bob Brier whom he corresponded with during high school, Warne is also an Egyptologist. The two have crossed paths at conferences throughout the years. In 2016 Warne was invited to lunch at Brier's house. "I still had the letters he sent me and I brought them with me. He was excited to see them and learn I had become an Egyptologist." Following lunch Warne was given a tour of Brier's large collection of artifacts from Egypt. "It was like a mini museum. He bought the two adjoining apartments in his building just so he would have room to store everything."
