Abstracts
Epigraphical work at El-Kurru
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May 10th, 16:45-17:15.
Martin M. Thygesen
Master of Arts in Egyptology
University of Copenhagen
This presentation will elaborate on the recent epigraphical and, in lesser detail, conservational work undertaken during this year’s season, from January to March, of the international collaborative excavation project at El Kurru.
When viewing the walls and earlier photographs of these 25th dynasty tombs, everything appears to be executed with an certain elegance and fixed iconography in mind; painted decorations as well as hieroglyphic inscriptions. However, this season a close examination of the walls in Tanutamani’s tomb yielded a much more elaborate view on the epigraphical work made more than 2500 years ago.
The decorations are very similar to the iconographic repertoire of the vignettes found in the Book of the Dead and Seti I’s temple at Abydos. The hieroglyphic inscriptions display a great variety of the ancient Egyptian religious literature. All in all, and taking the archaeological context into consideration, this was to be expected. However, the recent close examination provides more insight to the process of decorating ancient Egyptian and Nubian tombs.
Irregular burials from the predynastic Period to the Intermediate Period and their possible interpretations
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May 11th, 09:45-10:15.
Antje Kohse
Master of Arts
Freie Universität Berlin
In cemeteries all over Egypt irregular burials of juvenile and adult individuals can be found. Such burials are not only attested in the period under discussion here, but also in later phases of Egyptian history.
Irregular burials are interments that show a distinct divergence from the standard burials of their time. These deviations cannot be explained by disturbances or taphonomic processes.
The paper’s aim is to give an overview of the five different categories of non-normative burials and their possible combinations, as well as the quantitative, chronological and spatial distribution of these burials. Furthermore this paper will offer possible interpretations for the phenomenon of irregular burials. For example, why have certain people been interred in a deviant way or are there any correlations with specific historical events that had an impact on a social level for the lower classes?
18th Dynasty Private Tombs and their Socio-Economic Importance
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May 11th, 10:15-10:45.
Rune Olsen
Ph.D. Fellow
University of Copenhagen
This paper will present some of the preliminary results from my PhD dissertation on the socio-economic aspect of tomb construction in the New Kingdom. Part of the initial research concerns the calculation of dimensions of the private tombs from Thebes in order to investigate the overlooked economic fact that size does matter. In this instance, the larger the tomb constructed, the greater the cost in resources and time would have been. In an effort to provide factual numbers to an area otherwise devoid of evidence, I analyse tomb dimensions in a diachronic perspective to provide the basis for an average construction output. Comparing this basis to the documents relating to tomb construction (e.g. work journals, rosters, and supply lists) will give a more accurate picture of how the tomb as a concept was perceived by the ancient Egyptians in terms of economic and socio-economic expenditure. For example, the court in front of the tomb of Senenmut (TT 71) yielded a number of hieratic ostraca detailing the workmen’s progress while building the tomb and this compared to the tomb itself gives a new insight to the process of tomb construction.
“Your mouth speaks, your feet walk”: representations of physical abnormalities and perceptions of the human body in ancient Egyptian funerary art and mummification.
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May 11th, 13:30-14:00.
Joanne Marie Robinson
Doctoral Candidate in Egyptology
University of Manchester
Across the dynastic history of ancient Egypt a range of physical abnormalities are represented in formal and informal funerary iconography. Amongst the most frequent are individuals displaying characteristics of achondroplastic dwarfism. More rarely, statues and tomb scenes are suggestive of conditions such as poliomyelitis, spinal tuberculosis, kyphosis, talipes equinovarus (clubfoot), and blindness. Generally, funerary art remains within long-standing conventions that sometimes indicate childhood or ageing, or physical indicators of prosperity, amongst otherwise idealised forms.
This paper considers physical abnormalities or impairments presented, or omitted, in the context of burial and offers reasons for this selective representation. In the context of funerary iconography and ritual, this discussion leads to an exploration of perceptions of the physical body in the afterlife. To what extent is it necessary to maintain the integrity of the body as one of the essential elements of the reborn individual alongside the ba, ka, akh and name?
Using a combination of archaeological and documentary sources and mummified remains, this research proposes that physical conditions that do not prohibit movement and the use of most senses fall within normal funerary artistic parameters. In contrast, a range of diseases and illnesses believed to bring chaos or destruction are held at bay through language, symbolism and magic. Similarly, mummification focuses on the preservation of a recognisable human form with the heart intact, and in some instances the selective evisceration or symbolic restoration of body parts. Ultimately, the aim is the preservation of an eternal body that is magically capable of participation in the afterlife and symbolically, though not always practically, protected from attack and destruction.
“I anoint your forehead” the role of the SfT-oil in the funerary rituals.
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May 11th, 14:00-14:30.
Katarzyna Kapiec, Ph.D. candidate,
Doctoral Candidate in Egyptology
University of Warsaw
The sfT oil is the third one from the seven sacred unguents group. It is attested for the first time in II/III Dynasty and the use of this oil continues until the Coptic and even Arabic times. According to texts, it is a product made of the aS tree resin, identified as Abies cilicica. This main ingredient was imported from the eastern Mediterranean, where such trees grow.
The connection of the sfT oil to the funeral sphere is attested in numerous ceremonies such as the mummification process and the Opening of the Mouth ritual. It occurs in all major funerary texts - in the Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts and Book of the Dead, where its aromatic and healing properties are emphasized. Furthermore, the sfT oil is included to the offering list type A (no. 5) and is also found among the burial equipment. Why this oil is so popular in the funeral ceremonies? Which its specific features are especially important?
The aim of the paper is to examine the occurrences of the sfT oil in the different types of funeral contexts in order to define its role in the afterlife sphere.
Funerary objects and/or cult items? Ancient Egyptian Stone Vessels from Italian Museums’ Collections
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May 11th, 14:30-15:00.
Serena Nicolini
Master of Arts
University of Bologna
This paper aims to describe and discuss the Egyptian stone vessels, currently preserved in Italian museums, dating from the Naqada II period to the end of the Old Kingdom (ca. 3550-2504 BC). Many scholars have focused their attention on these particular items, as they share practical, artistic and symbolic meanings. Stone vessels, in fact, were part of the burial furnishings since the end of the 5th millennium BC, but their production reached its peak during Naqada IIIC and the early First Dynasty. Closed shapes and cylindrical vessels were mostly employed as containers for ointments, oils and cosmetics, whereas open forms such as bowls, plates and offering tables were intended to present food offerings for the deceased. However, funerary furnishings were not the one and only practical aim such stone vessels were produced for: they were also prestige items and were probably used during the cult rituals performed in the pyramid temples of the kings of the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties. Thus, the relationship between stone vessels and the new existence of the deceased in the afterlife is certain, but some aspects still need a more in-depth analysis.
Italian museums preserve many stone vessels dating to the period under focus: they have long been studied but in the end not devoted the attention they actually deserve. This research project, begun in 2014, has led me to survey the collections of seven Italian museums for a total amount of 159 vessels, catalogued in a database: though the set of available data is not complete and the cataloguing work is still on its way, some preliminary results have already been reached and it is possible to make some interesting considerations concerning the vessels’ shapes, variations and dimensions, their technical features, function and symbolic meaning. Moreover, thanks to the information deriving from archival sources, their archaeological provenience and collection history can be inferred.
The Solar-Osirian Theology as a Fundamental Concept for the Prophetic Texts of the Ptolemaic Period
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May 11th, 15:30-16:00.
Kirill Kuzmin
Postgraduate Student
University of Moscow
A famous crux of the Potter’s Oracle and the Oracle of the Lamb is what the characters of the Potter and the Lamb actually mean.
The only parallel to 900 years (990 in Manetho’s fragment) predicted by the Lamb is a real length of rule ascribed to Ra by Manetho [Kuzmin 2014]. The Oracle of the Lamb itself clearly emphasises that we read “a curse, which Ra made on Egypt”. We also find in classical tradition obscure indications that the Lamb was somehow doubled (Ael. NA. XII, 3; cf. Plut. De prov.). The closest parallel to it is a character depicted on hypocephali – a sitting mummy with 4 ram-heads. The accompanying texts base on the 162nd chapter of the Book of the Dead and designate the deity as Ra-Harakhty. So the Lamb is an emanation of the Sun-god at dawn [cf. Miatello 2008].
As for the Potter, P.F. Dorman has shown multiple attestations of creating the Sun-god at dawn on a potter’s wheel [Dorman 1999]. Also a child and a flame are acting – and one recalls a child-like deity with 4 ram-heads on the Metternich stele and the Lamb’s promise to become an uraeus. So, both debated characters have close connections to the motive of Sun- god’s rebirth at dawn.
Connecting that with the acacia-tree and the mentioning of Osiris in the Potter’s Oracle one sees glimpses of the Solar-Osirian theology here. There existed a concept of Sun-god’s life-cycles – and some motives of the Oracles seem to be influenced by it [Kuzmin 2016]. Here Phoenix comes as an important figure both for Solar-Osirian theology and cyclical concept of time. A prophetical text from Tebtunis features this deity in connection with the events similar to those of the Oracles [Quack 2002], and it also appears in the 162nd chapter of the Book of the Dead.
This altogether seems to be organized in a coherent system based on the Solar-Osirian theology and used to understand the past and the future of the world. The afterlife theology here appears so fundamental for the Egyptian worldview that it was even used as a base for political prophecies.
Fayum Portraits. Artistic vision or real depiction?
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May 11th, 16:00-16:30.
Katarzyna Szymanska
Bachelor of Arts
University of Warsaw
Fayum portraits are one of the most significant elements of the funerary art in Roman Period in Egypt. Beautiful elaborate pictures of deceased person, presented in roman style, were placed to the mummy face by bandages. The main question is, whether they were a real depiction or artistic vision of the painter? The answer is difficult, because the most of the fayum portraits were discovered apart from the mummies. In cases, when the body and the depiction of deceased were found together, it is possible to define the degree of similarity between portrait and life appearance.
To describe anatomical features, anthropologists perform basic measurements, or make radiological examinations (RTG, CT) of the mummy to get the same informations like in autopsy, but in non-invasive and non-destructive way. Few years ago, facial reconstructions became a very helpful tool to compare lifelike apearance based on the anatomical datas, and depiction presented on the portrait. The results were surprising in some cases, because this two independent visualizations of the deceased face, were totally different. There were also instances, when the depictions were very similar.
The second question is, if the portraits were prepared before death on order and according to the instructions, or after death? There is a few examples suggest that the first option was more probably, but there are also examples which confirmed second option.
The Belief in the Afterlife and the First Signs of Succession Law in Ancient Egypt
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May 11th, 16:30-17:00.
Nicolaas J van Blerk
Master of art and Ph.D Fellow
University of South Africa
From the dawn of ancient Egypt’s history, the Egyptians cherished the hope of eternal life. The ancient Egyptians explained all natural phenomena in concrete terms and avoided speculative thought.
The belief in the Afterlife was a fundamental basic aspect of ancient Egyptian religion, from the Pre- dynastic to the Roman period. Death was merely a passage from this life to the Afterlife. The ancient Egyptians were not interested in death itself, but rather in the Afterlife.
The living and dead were part of the same community. There was a moral relationship between the dead and the living. The deceased was to be sustained after death. The ancient Egyptians were obsessed with sustenance in the Afterlife.
The deceased was dependent upon the actual delivery of material goods by the family, with a strong sense of obligation by the survivors. There were however, doubts as to whether an individual would be properly provided for after death by the survivors. It gradually therefore become common to arrange during one’s own lifetime for the provision of sustenance after death.
The opportunity therefore arose in ancient Egypt, for a person to bequeath to family members or even other, certain assets, with the obligation to present the required mortuary offerings and to celebrate the required services. The religious and ethical instructions to care for the dead lost its force as legal obligations re placed it, giving us the very first signs of succession law in ancient Egypt.
The source of succession law in ancient Egypt enables us to get insight into what happens when a person dies, the important role of the eldest son in the burial process and administering of the estate and what happens with the inheritance.
The paper focuses on religion (the belief in the afterlife) as basis for succession law.
The Belief in the Afterlife and the First Signs of Succession Law in Ancient Egypt
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May 12th, 09:45-10:15.
Elisabeth Kruck
Master of Arts
FU Berlin/Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
Most of our knowledge about the life and beliefs of the Ancient Egyptians is developed on the basis of studies of burials and burial equipment. The grave goods as well as images and texts give us an idea of their conception of the afterlife. By linking these elements (grave goods, images and texts on each coffin) with representations of the funeral ritual it will be possible to reconstruct their religious beliefs and the associated rituals.
In this context it is interesting to analyze undisturbed burials. Only these burials with their complete equipment and the images and texts that are present on the coffins give us the possibility to draw conclusions about the funeral rite as a whole.
In my dissertation I focus on the connection and interaction between the burial equipment, the images and texts that are contained on the coffins on the basis of 13 undisturbed burials from Saqqara and Abusir from the period of the Middle Kingdom (ca. 2020-1630 B. C.). Among these is the sepulture of Gemenemhat whose objects are now in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen. The center of the investigation poses the examination of the individual elements (grave goods, images and texts) of these undisturbed burials, their meaning and interaction. During the conference, I would like to present some aspects of my dissertation and discuss the question of the existence of a “minimum equipment” of a burial concerning the grave goods, the selection of images and texts. This composition of the individual elements is not merely a random assortment but can be in my opinion determined as the “main concept of the burial”. This concept which is mainly influenced by the particular ritual acts that are part of the funeral rites will be highlighted in my presentation
Messages to the Afterlife: A Reinterpretation of the Egyptian Funerary Paraphernalia Assembled Inside the pr Dt .
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May 12th, 10:15-10:45.
André Patrício
Ph.D
Universidade Nova de Lisboa
THE CHAIR OF SAT-AMON AND ITS LINK TO THE AFTERLIFE: A NEW EXPLANATION FOR ITS PRESENCE
INSIDE KV 46
By the Eighteenth Dynasty, Egyptians had a “clear knowledge of the afterlife reality” regarding such aspects as how to, successfully, cross the dangers found travelling to the World of the Occidentals, what to bring for their final journey and with whom they would eventually cross their paths with. One intends to focus on this last detail and correlate it with some funerary items found inside a tomb that translated this intent – the importance of who would be encountered en route. One proposes a focus on KV 46, for its peculiar contents, specifically items that did not belong to its owners. There could be more than a reason for its presence on this site. They could have simply been tokens of love, respect or gratitude to the ones now on the pr Dt. However some items in particular raise interesting questions about the reasons why they were placed inside a tomb. The interest arises mainly from the message that they carried, beyond the one seen. One proposes, “Some of these items were less a gift to the departed and more a message of those who, one day, would follow them”. Perhaps, on this subject and in this tomb, the clearest example, used in this essay as the prime example, is the so-called Chair of Sat-Amon and it is this piece of furniture, more to the point, its writings and its bas-reliefs that could stand as proof and intent of what is proposed above. This simple idea would certainly change quite considerably the general one where the Funerary paraphernalia is viewed as items with the purpose of serving only the deceased. They could also be serving another one, still alive and very concerned with his, or hers, own passing. Worried enough to send furniture with relevant messages to appease what lied beyond.
Rest in peace together. A study on the characters of the Predynastic multiple burial in Naqada region, Upper Egypt
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May 12th, 13:30-14:00.
Taichi Kuronuma
Ph.D. Fellow
Metropolitan University of Tokyo
In the 4th millennium B.C.E. in the Nile Valley, graves of the Naqada Culture were built with unique burial customs. Wealthy equipped goods, relatively regulated rectangular or oval grave plans, or contracted posture of the buried person were the examples of such uniqueness. Hitherto, these aspects of grave have been mostly studied for the reconstruction of the social organization (e.g. social stratification) towards the emergence of the Early Dynasties. Therefore, in a context of this research tendency, the regulated aspects of the burial customs have been exaggerated and analyzed. Contrarily, some anomalies of Predynastic burial customs have still inadequately been researched, nevertheless their possible importance for the recent Predynastic mortuary studies which try to solve the ideological aspect of burial. One of such anomalies but occasionally existed is the multiple burial in the cemeteries of the Naqada Culture.
The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the characters of the multiple burial of the Naqada Culture. For this purpose, the analyses of the archaeological attributes such as location of each multiple burial in the cemetery area, sex of occupants, and assemblage and placement of the goods in burial, are conducted to examine the reason and possible ideological background on the presence of multiple burial. And for these analyses, 4 cemeteries in Naqada region, where one of the Predynastic central regions in Upper Egypt was, are chosen because of the availability of the Petrie’s unpublished records.
Through these processes, this paper would be expected to contribute the unsolved discussions such like the relationship between the burial complex of royals and retinues in the Early Dynastic period and Predynastic multiple burial, or the ideological background like the reflection of kinships towards the burial.
Death, Landscape and Literature in the Theban Necropolis: A Study of Dialogue on the Afterlife in the Tomb-Chapel of Neferhotep
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May 12th, 14:00-14:30.
Maxwell Stocker
Bachelor of Arts
University of Edinburgh
My paper focusses on the 18th-Dynasty tomb-chapel of the high priest Neferhotep (TT50), which is unique among all known Egyptian tombs in containing three separate examples of the literary genre known as harpists’ songs. I analyse the relationship of the tomb-chapel to the surrounding landscape, and I discuss the nature of the discourse on death and the afterlife present within the harpists’ songs themselves, and the ways in which death was discussed and articulated in the literature, art, and architecture of the tomb-chapel.
I firstly investigate the exterior setting of the tomb-chapel, its articulation within its natural and cultural landscape, and how the surrounding environment was used to construct a sacred landscape in which the tomb-chapel itself was positioned. I argue that the tomb-chapel was constructed and situated in its position because of orientational and locational associations between the tomb-chapel itself, the Ramesseum, and the temples on the east bank at Thebes, and also because of the fact that Neferhotep was creating and immortalising a social world in Sheikh Abd el-Qurna by articulating his own tomb with those which surrounded it. I then explain the significance of the tomb-chapel’s position within this sacred landscape to the harpists’ songs themselves.
Subsequently, I discuss the relationship of the three harpists’ songs to the interior of the tomb- chapel. I examine the content of the songs and their physical positions within the tomb-chapel, and I argue that the songs possessed a multi-faceted relationship to the rest of the tomb which operated on three primary levels, namely their employment in Neferhotep’s archiving of previous New-Kingdom traditions of tomb decoration, their role in the performance which the tomb embodied and signified, and their role in the architectural layout of the tomb-chapel, and in the wider landscape of the Theban necropolis.
Evolving Edifices: The Fifth Dynasty Contribution to Old Kingdom Royal Mortuary Complex Architecture
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May 12th, 14:30-15:00.
Simon Underwood
University of Auckland
The mortuary complexes of the Fifth Dynasty Kings have received greater attention in recent years, and this seminar contributes to the growing study of these monuments. Primarily this presentation will determine the contribution mortuary complexes of the Fifth Dynasty kings had towards the evolution of the Old Kingdom mortuary complex design. It should be noted that this will not include the complexes of Shepseskare and Menkauhor who have yet to have their complexes formally identified.
The mortuary complexes show clear evidence of design experimentation. By the completion of Djedkare’s monument there appears to be a culmination in major architectural development within the Old Kingdom. It has been stated that the mortuary complexes of the Fifth Dynasty kings followed a standardised architectural plan, or at the very least featured very little change. 1 Until now this has gone largely unchallenged. Upon closer examination of these complexes, however, it becomes apparent that this is not true, and that throughout the Fifth Dynasty we see the evolution of the complex design, featuring experimental elements. Architectural aspects such as a hypostyle hall found only within the complex of Raneferef, or the unique entrance to Djedkare’s mortuary temple which is flanked by ‘proto-pylons’ are examples of trial and error within the complexes. The shifting sizes of the open courts and pyramid dimensions early in the Fifth Dynasty further highlight the evolution of the complex design. Using architectural elements such as these, this presentation attempts to highlight the issues with the idea of the standardised complex, and argue that within the Fifth Dynasty these mortuary complexes of the kings showed continued architectural evolution leading to the optimised design of the late Old Kingdom.
Dead and the Living - Anthropological and Archaeological Evidences for the Origins of Ancient Egypt
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May 12th, 15:30-16:00.
Dagmara Socha & Wojciech Ejsmond
Master of Arts
University of Warsaw
The fourth millennium BC witnessed the emergence of the first large state along the Nile. During that time, there were several power centres in the Nile valley, with their royal cemeteries in: Qustul, Hierakonpolis, Gebelein, Naqada and Abydos. All of them yielded rich skeletal remains. Therefore, bioarchaeological studies are essential in understanding the transition from one period to another. Recent researches suggest a complex history of the migrations during the Pre- and Early Dynastic Periods. Anthropological changes could be the result of the large scale migrations, as well as regional, small scale population movements. They can also be the result of the development of the civilisation and political changes.
The aim of the paper is to present a comparison of the results from the two fields of science and present the anthropological and the archaeological evidence on the origins of the Egyptian state.
Secrecy and Transformation: The Practice of Wrapping in Tutankhamun’s Burial in a Comparative Perspective
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May 12th, 16:00-16:30.
Ziff Jonker
Master of Arts
No Affiliation
There have, and always will be, a great interest in mummies and their preservation process in the field of Egyptology. Unfortunately, this interest does not extend to the textiles of the mummies. Due to the lack of previous archaeological interest concerning ancient Egyptian textiles, the excavation reports rarely give us any information on the subject, which often resulted in the textiles found in the excavated tomb not being preserved. The ancient Egyptian textiles were not, and are still not, deemed important by modern excavators, meaning that both the textiles and the information they conveyed are still not often preserved. This results in an entire aspect of the ancient Egyptian culture not being given the attention it so desperately needs, thereby still maintaining the old conviction that textiles are not important either now or in ancient Egyptian society.
The lecture will be focused on the symbolic aspect of the ancient Egyptian textiles, and how mythology, rituals, textual sources and archaeology can be used to understand the ancient Egyptian textiles from an ancient Egyptian point of view. Furthermore, I will examine the practice of wrapping by looking at secrecy and concealment. Two bodies will be taken into consideration: the metaphorical body (statues) and the physical body (mummies). The latter will be further divided into four subdivisions to determine the use, concentration and value of each group found in three case studies: the tomb of Ramose and Hatnofer, the tomb of Kha and Merit and the tomb of Tutankhamun. All three case studies have a high concentration of textiles and textile-related objects found in the tomb, and thankfully, this has been documented in their individual excavation reports. Based on the three case studies, the concentration of objects found in the tomb has been calculated along with a brief review of all the objects. This forms a basis to estimate the concentration of textiles and textile-related objects found in the tombs in percentage terms. Finally, the value of the textiles found in the tomb has been estimated. My calculations suggest a concentration of textiles and textile- related object found in the tombs to be between 30% and 78 %.
This lecture will prove that the earlier accepted beliefs concerning the importance and meaning of ancient Egyptian textiles is inaccurate. Furthermore, I will argue that, by removing textiles from their original objects, whether from a mummy, a statue or an everyday object, this action transforms not only the objects but also their purpose, identity and usage.
Rejuvenation, Transition, and the Dynamics of Identity: Representations of Goddesses in Two Ramessid Private Tombs.
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May 12th, 16:30-17:00.
Edward Scrivens
MSt
University of Oxford
This paper, being part of a project to theorise goddesses as a category of being, examines some of the ways in which goddesses are depicted and utilised in Ramessid tomb decoration, using the tombs of Neferrenpet (TT 178) at el-Khokha and Nakhtamun (TT 335) at Deir el- Medina as case studies. These examples have been chosen because of their well-preserved decorative programmes, their frequent depiction of deities, and the presence of human figures for contrastive purposes. By applying typological, statistical, and other frameworks to the depictions of goddesses and human women in these tombs, as well as to those of gods and men with whom gendered relationships and identities are constructed, I consider ways in which the representation of goddesses might facilitate the rejuvenation of the tomb occupants, suggest some symbolic associations of goddesses which might be expressed through these representations (such as the possible role of certain goddesses in negotiating points of transition), and compare the dynamics of identity and gendered agency in the human and divine spheres. This is a worthwhile enterprise, as goddesses have received relatively little analytical attention within Egyptology beyond studies of individual figures and the material associated with them. By utilising more systematic and self-reflexive approaches, informed by perspectives that have emerged in anthropology and gender studies, we can hope not only to develop our understanding of these important figures in the Egyptian conceptual universe, but also of wider constructions of gender in the New Kingdom.