A cheat sheet for archaeologists wanting to navigate the hell that is Egyptology - I see you and I feel you. This is for you, hope this does literally anything for you. References are included at the bottom if you want to read further on the case studies :)
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Near Southern Turkey, c.14th century BCE.
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Bronze Age shipwreck, provides insight into maritim and terrestrial trade in Mediterranean.
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Site revealed copper ingots arranged in rows.
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Computer modeling has allowed reconstructions of what the ship looked like and how its cargo was arranged - the wooden hull had deteriorated and the ship is placed on a slope off which some artifacts tumbled over the years.
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10 tons of copper ingots, 1 ton of tin ingots (note that copper and tin together make bronze, kinda important in the Bronze Age), pottery storage jars, 24 stone anchors.
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Much of the perishable cargo would have disappeared because of the aquatic environment.
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Elite/royal cargo?
- Faience beads, inlaid seashell rings, ostrich eggshell vases... - Gold and silver jewelry. |
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The copper ingots
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- Pure Cypriot copper (origin deduced from lead-isotope analysis).
- Ingots very carefully loaded into rows to minimise slippage. |
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The tin ingots
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- Most lost due to corrosion, but chemical analysis reveals very pure tin.
- Tin = quite rare in Bronze Age Mediterranean. - Lead-isotope analysis suggests origins in Taurus Mountains and a source near Afghanistan. |
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The Cypriot pottery
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- Included oil lamps, milk bowls...
- Cypriot wares found in very high concentration at Uluburun. |
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Illustrates Bronze Age trade routes which connect Egypt, Cyprus and the Aegean.
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Royal gift exchange conducted directly by palatial institutions?
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Long-distance trade = high risk endeavour which requires many preparations
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Some private merchants engaging in domestic trade, but most of long-distance = controlled by some form of elite group.
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Dispersal of the house mouse is agreed to be linked to stowaway transport in grain and foodstuff cargo.
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Before Uluburun, evidence resided in zooarchaeological evidence, without direct archaeological evidence.
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Uluburun produced small mouse mandible.
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Mouse also provides information about the route of the ship before its sinking.
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Phenotypic analysis of the mandible suggests it most likely originated from Syria.
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c. 1550-1525
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Ahmose
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Defeats the Hyksos, reaches 2nd cataract in Nubia.
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c. 1525-1504
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Amenhotep I
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Campaigns up to 3rd cataract in Nubia, establishes Deir el-Medina.
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c. 1504-1492
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Thutmose I
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Defeats Kush + destroys Kerma, campaigns in Syria.
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c. 1492-1479
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Thutmose II
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Quashes rebellions in Kush.
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c. 1479-1458
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Hatshepsut/Thutmose III
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Expedition to Punt, a lot of temple building.
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c. 1473-1458
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Thutmose III
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Campaigns in Syria + Palestine, establishes full control of Nubia. Initiates destruction of many temples.
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c. 1427-1400
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Amenhotep II
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Diplomatic contacts in the Near East after military campaigns.
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c. 1400-1390
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Thutmose IV
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is also around.
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New Kingdom (1550-1069 BCE).
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Amarna = new capital city during the reign of Amenhotep IV (also known as Akhetaten).
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Residence of royal family, but site abandoned shortly after construction.
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Attempt to replace tradition with new religion.
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Range of social status within city.
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Square village.
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Grid-like streets patrolled by police.
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Houses identical in floorplan and size -> lack of differential status? Two larger houses on edge of village - overseers.
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Pens for keeping animals.
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Police outposts and representations -> authority figures.
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Oppression? Agency?
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Amarna = contemporary with religious reforms by Akhenaten.
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Altars
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W/in houses, sometimes in form of mini chapels. Examples decorated with scenes of Akhenaten and Nefertiti worshipping the Aten, but usually simple platforms. Made of mud brick.
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Vertical niches
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Religious significance or architectural practicality?
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Domestic reliefs and inscriptions
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Amuletic images, some relating to the cult of the Aten.
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Statues + figurines + ostraca
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Anthropomorphic figurines f fertility deities and figurines of animals.
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Non-elite cemeteries
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Rock-cut tombs, mixture of adults and children. Grave goods included pottery and botanical remains. 2 small pyramid structures found - used as landscape modifiers?
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Separate burial grounds in north Amarna show variability, not turning up any wooden coffins and less artifacts.
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At least 10,000-13,000 people buried on the east bank cemeteries of Amarna.
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Commitment to Akhenaten's vision? Influence of death and burial practices on urban development? Death as a driving force for the formation of a city?
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Domestic elements reflected in elite tombs, considered as houses for the dead.
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New Kingdom, Ramesside worker village.
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18th-20th Dynasties (Amenhotep I, Ramesses XI)
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West bank of Luxor.
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Deir el-Medina = "Monastery of the Town".
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Excellent preservation becasue of dry desert context.
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Large administrative record on papyri and ostracaand ostraca, including
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Two necropolises, one with many child burials from the 20th Dynasty.
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Notable deities worshipped:
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Amun-Re, Hathor, Thoth, Ptah, Osiris, Horus...
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Good example of personal religion.
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Similar in some ways to Tell el-Amarna.
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e,g, chapels, altars, amulets...
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Role of theology in daily lives -> "Theology of will".
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"Private religion" refers to worship in domestic contexts.
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Distinction between everyday relevance and interaction with a private deity as common practice in ancient Egypt v. popularised deities involved in official cults.
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Houses structured as a front room and a sitting room.
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Domestic platforms - lit clos
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Rectangular platform in the front room. Could have been surrounded by walls (elevated beds?), but more recent research has suggested that the front rooms may not have been roofed - platforms woul dhave therefore been located in open court areas. Most likely used for ritual since in open. front and public space.
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Altars with ancestral busts in niches?
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Other evidence (e.g. false doors/vertical niches) as evidence of ancestor worship.
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Ancestor busts
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Small amulet size to 50 cm busts. Found as early the Old Kingdom. Depict loved ones in their lives.
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Letters to the dead
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Found inassociation with ancestor busts. Communication between the living and dead, written on pottery and jar stands.
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Cucchi, T. (2008) ‘Uluburun shipwreck stowaway house mouse: molar shape analysis and indirect clues about the vessel’s last journey’, Journal of Archaeological Science, 35(11), pp. 2953–2959. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2008.06.016.
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Scarre, C. (2018) 'The Human Past: World Prehistory and the Development of Human Societies', 4th edn. London: Thames and Hudson.
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Souto Castro, I. (2018) ‘The religious context at the village of Deir el-Medina’. Available at: https://www.academia.edu/36594107/4_The_religious_context_at_the_village_of_Deir_el_Medina_Iria_SOUTO_CASTRO.
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Stevens, A. (2003) ‘The Material Evidence for Domestic Religion at Amarna and Preliminary Remarks on Its Interpretation’, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 89, pp. 143–168.
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Stevens, A. (2018) ‘Death and the City: The Cemeteries of Amarna in Their Urban Context’, Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 28(1), pp. 103–126. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959774317000592.
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Pulak, C. (2012) ‘Uluburun Shipwreck’, in E.M. Cline (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean. Oxford University Press, p. 862-876. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199873609.013.0064.
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Van de Mieroop, M. (2021) A History of Ancient Egypt. 2nd edn. Hoboken and West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.
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Cheatography n. The art of mapping complex subjects into clear, instantly navigable reference guides.
