[2] Gourlay met her lifelong partner Margaret Benson in 1896 during the second excavation of the Mut Complex[2] by their mutual friend Lady Jane Lindsay.

[3] In conjunction with their social relationship, they formed a scientific partnership that benefited the pair and allowed them to continue their work in Egypt.

[4] Upon completion of their excavations, Benson’s health began deteriorating, so the two women returned to their respective homes.

[2] She studied at University College, London in 1893, supervised by William Matthew Flinders Petrie and Margaret Murray[7] gaining excavation experience to add to her theoretical knowledge.

Gourlay joined Benson in 1896 in the second season of excavation at the Mut Complex in Karnak, Thebes, in Egypt.