Concepts In Middle Kingdom Funerary Culture

Concepts in Middle Kingdom Funerary Culture presents a collection of archaeological and philological papers discussing how ancient Egyptians thought, and modern scholars may think, about Egyptian funerary practices of the early 2nd millennium BCE.

Historical and Archaeological Aspects of Egyptian Funerary Culture, a thoroughly reworked translation of Les textes des sarcophages et la démocratie published in 2008, challenges the widespread idea that the “royal” Pyramid Texts of the Old Kingdom after a process of “democratisation” became, in the Middle Kingdom, accessible even to the average Egyptian in the form of the Coffin Texts. Rather they remained an element of elite funerary culture, and particularly so in the Upper Egyptian nomes. The author traces the emergence here of the so-called “nomarchs” and their survival in the Middle Kingdom. The site of Dayr al-Barshā, currently under excavation, shows how nomarch cemeteries could even develop into large-scale processional landscapes intended for the cult of the local ruler. This book also provides an updated list of the hundreds of (mostly unpublished) Middle Kingdom coffins and proposes a new reference system for these.

Although Egyptian tombs and funerary texts have been intensively studied, attention has been focused on art historical aspects, archaeological documentation and theological content. Attention for the relationship between burial practices and society has been restricted. The symposium of which this volume presents the proceedings is an attempt to show the scientific potential of the sociology of burial. The underlying philosophy is that both archaeological and textual sources are ultimately reflections of one social reality. Therefore, the volume offers contributions by archaeologists and philologists, many of which frequently bridge the gap between the two disciplines. Bourriau studies the evolution of body position in burials dating between the late Middle Kingdom and early New Kingdom. Delrue reviews a recent interpretation of the predynastic cemetery N7000 at Naga ed-Deir. Fitzenreiter studies the sociological background of ritual scenes in Old Kingdom mastabas. Frandsen's analysis touches upon funerary texts touching on substances inside the body which are considered bwt (taboo). The point of departure for Muller's study is a group of offering deposits at Tell el-dab'a which are studied in the light of textual information on ritual practice. Seidlmayer argues that burial contexts of the First Intermediate Period at Elephantine reflect the same underlying ideas as contemporary tomb scenes. Willems' commentary of Coffin Texts spells 30-41 interprets these texts as a coherent mortuary liturgy and discusses the context in which the letters to the dead were transmitted to the deceased.

The chapters of Middle Kingdom Palace Culture and Its Echoes in the Provinces discuss the degree of influence that provincial developments played in reshaping the Egyptian state and culture during the Middle Kingdom. Contributors to the volume are Egyptologists from around the world who have developed their research following a conference held at the University of Jaén in Spain.

The Middle Kingdom (ca. 2030–1650 B.C.) was a transformational period in ancient Egypt, during which older artistic conventions, cultural principles, religious beliefs, and political systems were revived and reimagined. Ancient Egypt Transformed presents a comprehensive picture of the art of the Middle Kingdom, arguably the least known of Egypt’s three kingdoms and yet one that saw the creation of powerful, compelling works rendered with great subtlety and sensitivity. The book brings together nearly 300 diverse works— including sculpture, relief decoration, stelae, jewelry, coffins, funerary objects, and personal possessions from the world’s leading collections of Egyptian art. Essays on architecture, statuary, tomb and temple relief decoration, and stele explore how Middle Kingdom artists adapted forms and iconography of the Old Kingdom, using existing conventions to create strikingly original works. Twelve lavishly illustrated chapters, each with a scholarly essay and entries on related objects, begin with discussions of the distinctive art that arose in the south during the early Middle Kingdom, the artistic developments that followed the return to Egypt’s traditional capital in the north, and the renewed construction of pyramid complexes. Thematic chapters devoted to the pharaoh, royal women, the court, and the vital role of family explore art created for different strata of Egyptian society, while others provide insight into Egypt’s expanding relations with foreign lands and the themes of Middle Kingdom literature. The era’s religious beliefs and practices, such as the pilgrimage to Abydos, are revealed through magnificent objects created for tombs, chapels, and temples. Finally, the book discusses Middle Kingdom archaeological sites, including excavations undertaken by the Metropolitan Museum over a number of decades. Written by an international team of respected Egyptologists and Middle Kingdom specialists, the text provides recent scholarship and fresh insights, making the book an authoritative resource.

In 1895–96, William Matthew Flinders Petrie and James Edward Quibell discovered a shaft-tomb below the ‘Ramesseum’, the funerary temple of Ramses II at Thebes, Egypt. This is most famous for having the largest group of Middle Kingdom papyri – also known as the Ramesseum Papyri – found in a single spot together with a number of distinctive objects, such as carved ivory tusks and miniature figurines in various materials dated around XVIII century BC. Gianluca Miniaci attempts to thoroughly reconstruct the archaeological context of the tomb: the exact find spot (forgotten afterwards its discovery), its architecture, the identity of its owner(s) and recipient(s) of the assemblage of artifacts. A detailed analysis of the single artifacts – provided for the first with full color photographic records and drawings – and their network of relations gives new life to the Ramesseum assemblage after more than a century from its discovery.

Inhalt: Hartwig Altenmüller: Neues zu den Schutzsymbolen der magischen Ziegel von Totenbuch Spruch 151 Marianne Eaton-Krauss: The Mamur Zapt Mystery Series with a postscript on Gaston Maspero's acquaintance with Ibrahim Nasif al-Wardani, the as-sassin of Boutros Ghali Mahmoud A. Emam, Ehab Abd el-Zaher: Head of Statue (JE 91392) for a Vizier from the Temple of Behbeit el-Hagar Rolf Krauss: The morning star of PT and CT on the move, up or down the arcs of the ecliptic Elisabeth Kruck: Die Überlieferung der sieben Salböle als Beispiel epistemischer Beschleunigung Kacper Laube: The Sacred Landscape of Leontopolis (Tell el-Moqdam) in an Unpublished Manuscript of Auguste Mariette Alexandra von Lieven: Eine bisher unerkannte bildliche Umsetzung des Menuliedes in Dendara Elena Mahlich, Christoffer Theis: Ein ägyptischer Siegelabdruck aus Tunesien Morales, Antonio J. et al.: The Middle Kingdom Theban Project: Preliminary report on the University of Alcalá Expedition to Deir el-Bahari (Fifth-Sixth Seasons & Study Season – 2020-2021) Hana Navratilova, Aurore Motte: A pyramid casing stone with the opening passage of Kemyt, Dahshur, pyramid precinct of Senwosret III Rune Nyord: From crypt to cult: Pyramid Texts on Middle Kingdom mortuary stelae Wahid Omran: Akhmim in Durham: Investigating the Mummy Coffin DUROM.1999.32 Julian Posch: Some interesting copies of the Kemit Mohamed El Seaidy: The Anthropoid Coffin of Wennefer. A study of a sample from the Saqqara hoard of coffins Carolina Teotino: Die Horussöhne als Gabenbringer. Zur Überlieferung und Texttradierung auf Sarkophagen der ptolemäischen Epoche Andreas Winkler: The First Zodiac Sign and the Daimon: The Advent of an Astrological Tradition and Seven Elaborate Horoscopesw

This volume offers the first comprehensive overview of the evolution over time of a foundational concept of the Egyptian afterlife beliefs, the Duat, or netherworld. The Duat is a complicated, multifaceted notion, which was never canonized into a single version of the beyond, but offered instead a variety of alternatives attempting to describe the metaphysical realms beyond the visible world, and beyond life. Theological speculations gave rise to a rich textual and visual repertoire, which underwent a process of evolution over thousands of years, during which newer ideas and images were constantly introduced. Through the analysis of royal and non-royal funerary texts from the late Old Kingdom to the end of the New Kingdom, this book traces the development of the conceptualization of the notion of Duat, outlining what it encompassed and where it was imagined to be located. In addition to the translation and discussion of the most significant passages of the texts analyzed, each chapter also provides an overview of the individual compositions and of the relevant theological, cosmological, and astronomical notions complementing the conceptual framework, of which the Duat formed but a part. Additionally, discussions of concurrent changes in Egyptian culture, society, and ideology are included in order to clarify the context in which afterlife beliefs and related texts evolved. An analysis of the correlation between funerary compositions and their material supports complements the study, emphasizing the Egyptians' belief in a magical synergy between texts, images, and their contexts in the activation of a suitable, effective afterlife for the recipients of the texts.