Egyptian Archaeology

An Interim Report on the Naqada III – First Intermediate Period Stratification at Mendes

by Matthew J. Adams

Published in Delta Reports 1 (2009) 121-206.

Second Interim Report on the Naqada III – First Intermediate Period Stratification at Mendes: 2006-2009

by Matthew J. Adams

Delta Reports 2, ed. D.B. Redford (Oxford: Oxbow Books, in press, 2012)

The Life-Cycle of an Artefact

by Paul Roberts

Egyptian Cosmetic Palettes

by Paul Roberts

Khirbet Qeiyafa: An Unsensational Archaeological and Historical Interpretation

by Alexander Fantalkin

Co-authored with Israel Finkelstein
Finkelstein, I. and Fantalkin, A. 2012. Khirbet Qeiyafa: An Unsensational Archaeological and Historical Interpretation. Tel Aviv 39: 38-63.

The article deals with the finds at the late Iron I settlement of Khirbet Qeiyafa, a site overlooking the Valley of... more The article deals with the finds at the late Iron I settlement of Khirbet Qeiyafa, a site overlooking the Valley of Elah in the Shephelah. It points out the methodological shortcomings in both field work and interpretation of the finds. It then turns to several issues related to the finds: the identity of the inhabitants, their territorial affiliation and the possibility of identifying Khirbet Qeiyafa with sites mentioned in the Bible and in the Shoshenq I list.

Why Did Nebuchadnezzar II Destroy Ashkelon in 604 BCE?

by Alexander Fantalkin

Fantalkin, A. 2011. Why Did Nebuchadnezzar II Destroy Ashkelon in Kislev 604 B.C.E.? In: Finkelstein, I. and Na'aman, N. eds. The Fire Signals of Lachish: Studies in the Archaeology and History of Israel in the Late Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Persian Period in Honor of David Ussishkin. Winona Lake: 87–111.

A Middle Palaeolithic burial of human at Taramsa Hill, Egypt

by pierre Vermeersch

A sun-shade temple of princess Ankhesenpaaten in Memphis?

by Stephane Pasquali

Published in Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 97, London, 2011, p. 216-222.

Publication of the Amarna period block MRAH inv. 4491, part of a sloping balustrade perhaps from a sun-shade temple of... more Publication of the Amarna period block MRAH inv. 4491, part of a sloping balustrade perhaps from a sun-shade temple of Princess Ankhesenpaaten in Memphis. The inscription is noteworthy for containing a unique instance of the re-carving of the name of Aten from form IIa to either IIb or III. There follows an excursus on the Memphite ‘Horizon of Aten’.

Un nouveau relief du grand intendant de Memphis, Ipy, et le temple de Ptah du terrain-bʿḥ

by Stephane Pasquali

Published with Beatrix Gessler-Löhr in Bulletin de l'Institut français d'archéologie orientale 111, Le Caire, 2011, p. 281-299.

Abstract :
Publication of a decorated block from Ipy’s tomb (temp. Tutankhamun-Horemhab). The tomb is located in... more Abstract :
Publication of a decorated block from Ipy’s tomb (temp. Tutankhamun-Horemhab). The tomb is located in Saqqara; however, its whereabouts is currently unknown. This study includes translation and analysis of the inscriptions; discussion of the Ptah Temple of the bʿḥ-land; consideration of the location of Ipy’s two tombs; stylistic analysis and dating of the block and Ipy’s tomb stelae from Saqqara.


Publication d’un fragment de relief provenant de la tombe d’Ipy (époque Toutânkhamon-Horemheb)qui reste à redécouvrir à Saqqâra. L’étude se compose comme suit : traduction et analyse des inscriptions ; discussion à propos du temple de Ptah du terrain-bʿḥ et de la question des deux tombes d’Ipy ; étude stylistique et datation du relief ainsi que des stèles provenant de sa tombe de Saqqâra.

_______________________________________

Keywords: Amarna – Amenhotep III (time of ) – Amenhotep Huy (father of Ipy) – Ay (time of ) – carvingtechniques – dating criteria – Fan-bearer to the Right of the King – flabellum – Gold of Honour – “handkerchief ” – High Steward of Memphis – Horemhab (Saqqara tomb of ) – Ipy (location of tombs) – Maya (Overseer of the Treasury) – Memphis – Nahuher (brother of Maya) – offering bearers – Post-AmarnaPeriod – Ptah (outside of Inebu, near Memphis) – Memphite royal mortuary temples – Saqqara – TT 136 – Tutankhamun (time of, stylistic features) – wigs and garments.

La huitième heure du Book of Hours. Une invocation aux divinités et aux défunts de la nécropole de Memphis

by Stephane Pasquali

Published in A. Gasse, Fr. Servajean, Chr. Thiers (éd.), Et in Ægypto et ad Ægyptum. Recueil d’études dédiées à Jean-Claude Grenier, III, CENiM 5, Montpellier, 2012, p. 551-562.

Wrw-en-Keftw : ipotesi ed argomenti per la presenza minoica nell'Egitto della XVIII Din. Università Ca'Foscari, Venezia, 2012.

by Tiziano Fantuzzi

Materialisations of memory- remembering the pyramid kings

by Serena Love

This paper attempts to challenge ideas concerning the social motivations behind monumental architecture by asking a... more This paper attempts to challenge ideas concerning the social motivations behind monumental architecture by asking a different set of questions, focused on new theories concerning social memory. Egyptologists have traditionally studied and hypothesized about how and why the pyramids were built, the labor force required and the level of bureaucratic organization necessary. But are these the only explanations and reasons that justify pyramid building?

In attempt to address these issues, this paper will focus on recent work in the ‘archaeologies of memory’ and the relationship between monuments and memories. Monuments, as memorials, are deliberately designed to provoke memories. One difference between Early Dynastic and Old Kingdom funerary structures was the extensive use of stone, greatly enhancing the durability of the monument, evoking an intention by kings to memorialize themselves for eternity. But this concept of stone memorials is nothing new in Egypt. However, if the enduring materiality of the object is considered, then perhaps the monument can serve as a link between the past, the present and the future.

Building on ideas borrowed from material culture studies, which proposes that objects are produced through memory and, inversely, memory can be reproduced through objects. Objects possess an association with past events and people and are invested with memories associated with certain activities. Thus, objects can act as a link between the past and the present through their materiality and can create ‘topography of remembrance’.

For the purpose of this discussion, pyramids are viewed as active material culture and address larger issues of monumentality as a means of memorializing the past for the present. By comparing and contrasting the archaeological record with the textual record, I will illustrate just where and how the Old Kingdom pyramid kings were ‘remembered and forgotten’.

Stones, ancestors and pyramids- the pre-pyramid landscape of Memphis

by Serena Love

“Past peoples knowingly inhabited landscapes that were palimpsests of previous occupations. Landscapes were occupied... more “Past peoples knowingly inhabited landscapes that were palimpsests of previous occupations. Landscapes were occupied and re-occupied. Rarely was this a meaningless or innocent re-use” (van Dyke and Alcock (ed). 2003. Archaeologies of Memory).

This paper explores the implications of this quote in the context of the pre-pyramid landscape of early Memphis. It is argued that the Memphite necropolis is an inscribed landscape of social memory that contributed to a developing Egyptian identity.

Egyptological research appears to be entering a new paradigm, focusing on how the pyramids built Egypt rather than how the Egyptians built the pyramids. This paper aims to further the notion that pyramid construction contributed to the creation of social identity and ideology by examining the pre-pyramid landscape of early Memphis, from a purely symbolic approach. Building from over 50 years of research concerning the pragmatics of pyramid construction this paper will focus on the lesser-known symbolic associations of the Memphite landscape, such as the archaeology of natural places and the cultural appropriation of local topography. The accumulation of this material suggests that the deliberate placement of monuments was an act to acknowledge the ancestors and legitimize power.

The intention of this paper is to illustrate the degree of cultural activity that preceded pyramid construction. The purpose here is to examine two ideas: 1) the landscape was sacred before it was used for pyramid building and, 2) the patterns of Predynastic and Early Dynastic land use and how it may have influenced later pyramid placement. Over 1,000 years of life and death are represented in Memphis before the first pyramid was conceived, although the archaeology is very thin as not all activities leave a mark upon the land. There is substantial archaeological material to suggest long-term occupation and sedentary communities. It will be suggested here that these early communities of Egyptians had created specific symbolic associations with the landscape, where symbolic meaning and cultural significance was gained from repeated use. Memphis was thus ‘marked’ hundreds of years before a pyramid was ever built.

Questioning the OK capital of Memphis

by Serena Love

The capital city of Memphis was ancient Egypt’s oldest and largest city. However, the city’s origin is shrouded in... more The capital city of Memphis was ancient Egypt’s oldest and largest city. However, the city’s origin is shrouded in mythical origin. This study challenges five different references to Memphis, from both classical and historical accounts and concludes that Memphis’ boundary should be redefined. These accounts are reviewed to illustrate confusion amongst early travellers and historians as to the precise location of Memphis and to highlight the association between the capital and the pyramids. For the Old Kingdom, the urban limits of Memphis should not be restricted to the modern mound of Mit Rahina, but rather the boundaries should be expanded to parallel the Old Kingdom pyramids. Recent archaeological investigations, employing sub-surface sampling techniques, have revealed contemporary Old Kingdom occupational debris scattered throughout the entire Memphite region. The inclusion of archaeological material, in combination with the historical records, will create a different interpretation for Egypt’s ancient capital city.

Abusir Drill Core survey 2001

by Serena Love

Gehlen_etal_2002_Eastern Sahara

by Jörg Linstädter

The following paper examines the climatic and cultural changes that occurred in the Eastern Saharaduring the Holocene.... more The following paper examines the climatic and cultural changes that occurred in the Eastern Saharaduring the Holocene. The evidence is given from different areas of the absolute desert located on theAbu Muhariq Plateau (Djara), in the Abu Ballas scarp-land (Eastpans) in the Great Sand Sea (Regenfeld)and in the Gilf Kebir (Wadi el Bakht, Wadi el Akhdar). Each area has also yielded an independentsequence of occupation patterns during the Holocene wet phase based on numerous
14
C-dates fromarchaeological sites. Although the wider frame of climatic and environmental settings as well as thepredominant cultural innovations was similar in all studied regions, the archaeological phenomena andthereby identified cultural processes were often quite different. Pottery played an important role duringthe entire period of occupation in the Gilf Kebir and is therefore the most important cultural markerin this area. The

Regenfeld area yielded only a small amount of ceramic finds from the later occupationphase, whereas the Djara region showed 'aceramic' settlement units. Plant utilisation apparently increasedin all areas during the mid-Holocene period. Up to now, we have not observed the introduction of livestock before the 6
th
millennium BC
1
(calibrated), while at

the inner Great Sand Sea remains of domesticated animals are lacking.Keywords: Holocene, Eastern Sahara, climate, prehistory, chronology,
14
C, domestication, stone tools,pottery.

Neolithic plant remains from Egypt

by Mans Schepers

The article deals with the analysis of botanical more The article deals with the analysis of botanical macrohttp://rug.academia.edu/MansSchepers/Papers/manage#
remains found during the excavation of a Neolithic
grain storage-pit area by the RUG/UCLA Fayum
Project. The Fayum is a fertile depression in Egypt. The
paper starts with a short introduction of the K-site and
its history. Then it focuses on the fill of the pits, and the
material retrieved by means of dissolving concretions
that had been used to seal the pits. Finally, the finds
from the different pits are compared with each other.

HUYGE D. & CLAES W., 2012, El-Hosh et Qurta: sur les traces du plus ancien art égyptien, in: Bavay L., Bruwier M.-C., Claes W. & De Strooper I. (éds.), Ceci n’est pas une pyramide… Un siècle de recherche archéologique belge en Egypte, Leuven: Peeters, p. 32-45.

by Wouter Claes

HUYGE D. & CLAES W., 2012, El-Hosh en Qurta: de oudste Egyptische kunst op het spoor, in : Bavay L., Bruwier M.-C., Claes W. & De Strooper I. (eds.), Ceci n’est pas une pyramide… Een eeuw Belgisch archeologisch onderzoek in Egypte, Leuven: Peeters, p. 32-45.

by Wouter Claes

Horseback riding and Cavalry in Mycenaean Greece

by Jorrit Kelder

published in Ancient West and East 11 (2012; in print)

This paper evaluates the evidence for horseback riding in Mycenaean Greece. This paper argues that horseback riding,... more This paper evaluates the evidence for horseback riding in Mycenaean Greece. This paper argues that horseback riding, which is widely held to be an Iron Age development (of especially the 9th and 8th centuries BC), was practised by members of the aristocracies throughout the eastern Mediterranean as early as the 13th century BC, and that the first cavalry can be identified around the same time in Mycenaean Greece and other regions in the eastern Mediterranean. To that end, a range of iconographical, physical-anthropological and archaeological evidence will be reviewed.