Following a successful inaugural event at the University of Oxford and an expanded second at the University of Liverpool, the Third Symposium for Current Research in Egyptology was held in December 2001, at the University of Birmingham. The symposium was again successful in bringing together UK-based graduate students of Egyptology to provide an opportunity to disseminate the results of their research. It also served to encourage communication between an otherwise disparate group of students spread across the various Egyptological institutions throughout the country. Indeed, speakers came from nine different institutions and the papers presented illustrated well the broad range of topics currently being studied throughout the United Kingdom. T he topics of the 9 featured papers include: The Lotus Roborn: the creation and distribution of the Description de L'Egypte; The arrival of the horse in Egypt: new approaches and a hypothesis; Aspects of the Hyksos' role in Egyptian society from the artistic evidence; Some thoughts on the social organisation of dockyards during the new kingdom; Egyptian blue: where, when, how?; The specialness of science: it's all in the mind; Crossing the night: the depiction of mythological landscapes in the Am Duat of the New Kingdom Royal Necropolis; Trends in burial evidence: evaluating expectations for the regional and temporal distribution of mortuary behaviour in Predynastic Egypt; Representations of Hathor and Mut in the Hibis temple.

The Festivals of Opet, the Valley, and the New Year: Their socio-religious functions compares the religious and social functions of these three Festivals, the first two of which were often regarded by the Egyptians as a pair; the New Year Festival stands out on account of its corpus of surviving material and importance. Until now, detailed study of the New Year Festival has only been carried out with reference to the Greco-Roman period; this study turns its attention to the New Kingdom. The book analyses the broad perspectives that encompass Egyptian religion and cult practices which provided the context not only for worship and prayer, but also for the formation of social identity and responsibility. The festivals are examined in the whole together with their settings in the religious and urban landscapes. The best example is New Kingdom Thebes where large temples and burial sites survive intact today with processional routes connecting some of them. Also presented are the abundant written sources providing deep insight into those feasts celebrated for Amun-Re, the king of the gods. The volume also includes a list of dated records which provides a concordance for the Egyptian calendars.

Between the 6th and 4th centuries BC, Phoenician workshops produced green jasper scarabs which demonstrated both Greek and Persian influences. This volume presents a fully illustrated catalogue of examples drawn from across the area of Phoenician influence, including Spain, Sardinia, North Africa and theEastern Mediterranean. The scarabs, which are held in collections worldwide, are catalogued according to their cultural influences: Egyptian, Levantine, Hellenistic and miscellaneous. Within each of these four groups the scarabs are organised iconographically, with scenes including beetles, boats, birds, gods, fantastic creatures, warriors and kings, chariots, trees and animal attacks. John Boardman's introduction discusses the style, function and source material of the scarabs and the location of the workshops.

Subtitled The value and limitations of zooarchaeological analyses', this volume attempts to describe the effects of the adoption of domesticated species of cattle, sheep, goat and pig on social structure in three key areas of Egypt: the eastern and western deserts, the Delta and the Nile Valley. A descriptive (rather than explanatory) predictive model was created based on economic and social production noted in modern societies using the same species under similiar environmental conditions. This was then applied to the case study to determine why certain food production strategies were used in the formative period before the emergence of the first unified Egyptian state, what factors may have governed it, and what impact this had on Egyptian society.

This volume celebrates the contribution of Diana V. Edelman to the field and celebrates her personally as researcher, teacher, mentor, colleague, and mastermind of new research paths and groups. It salutes her unconventional, constantly thinking and rethinking outside the box and her challenging of established consensuses. It includes essays addressing biblical themes and texts, archaeological fieldwork, historical method, social memory and reception history. Contributors include Yairah Amit, James Anderson, Bob Becking, Ehud Ben Zvi, Kare Berge, Anne Fitzpatrick-McKinley, Susanne Gillmayr-Bucher, Lester L. Grabbe, Philippe Guillaume, David Hamidovic, Lowell K. Handy, Maria Hausl, Kristin Joachimsen, Christoph Levin, Aren M. Maeir, Lynette Mitchell, Reinhard Muller, Jorunn Okland, Daniel Pioske, Thomas Romer, Benedetta Rossi, Cynthia Shafer-Elliott, Jason Silverman, Steinar Skarpnes, Pauline A. Viviano, Anne-Mareike Wetter.

Oxford's Pitt Rivers Museum houses seventeen collections of Palaeolithic material from Egypt, comprising a total of 1009 objects. None of the objects were recovered during excavation but many were found by pioneers of prehistoric archaeology and notable anthropologists. The most significant and largest collection, which forms the focus of much of this study, is that of Charles Seligmann and dates from the first fourteen years of the 20th century. The first half of the book sets the background, examining the origins of Egyptian Palaeolithic archaeology, supported by extracts from diaries and contemporary publications, as well as discussing the types of stone artefacts collected, the cultures of the Egyptian Palaeolithic and more recent developments in research. The second half of the book presents catalogues of each collection with the artefacts illustrated at actual size. An appendix lists items from Seligman's collections which are now housed in other museums.

An international team of historians, archaeologists and biblical scholars discuss new perspectives on the archaeology, history and biblical traditions of ancient Jerusalem and examine their ethical, literary, historical and theological relationships. Essays range from a discussion of the Hellenization of Jerusalem in the time of Herod to an examination of its identity and myth on the Internet, while Thomas L. Thompson's informed Introduction queries whether a true history of ancient Jerusalem and Palestine can in fact ever be written. Contributors include: Thomas L. Thompson, Michael Prior, Niels Peter Lemche, Margreet Steiner, Sara Mandell, John Strange, Firas Sawwah, Lester Grabbe, Philip Davies, Thomas M. Bolin, Ingrid Hjelm, David Gunn and Keith Whitelam.

This detailed study of warfare in early Egypt is firmly based on the material evidence of weapons discovered on prehistoric and Early Dynastic sites as well as the earliest images of hunting or warfare. The weapons, which mainly comprise Paleolithic and Neolithic daggers, maces, arrowheads, spears, staffs, clubs and slings, made from stone, flint, wood, bone and ivory, are considered alongside the evidence of human remains with signs of violent injuries. Finally, Gilbert draws conclusions about early Egyptian warrior society, warfare and hunting rituals and the role of warfare in Egyptian state formation. Includes a corpus of weapons.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Kom el-Hisn is located near the western edge of the Nile delta, midway between Cairo and Alexandria, and about 13 km west of the Rosetta branch of the Nile. It is composed of primarily Old Kingdom deposits (Dynasties V and VI, ca. 2500-2290 BC) but the site was also occupied in the Middle and New Kingdom periods. (It has been suggested that some First Intermediate burials are included within the Old Kingdom architecture, and Kom el-Hisn clearly flourished during the height of Old Kingdom power.) After a detailed introduction, the author reviews the development of Egyptian settlement patterns and structures to provide the Old Kingdom context, before continuing to discuss the specific issues relating to the current research and some of the explanations offered by other researchers for the development of Egypt's particular brand of complex society. Chapter four describes the research programme that provided the data on which this study relies, and subsequent headings contain detailed descriptions of the deposits associated with each excavation unit in the analysis.Before the full summary in the ultimate chapter, there are statistical analyses that build the model of functional differentiation found within the excavated areas. The study as a whole places Kon el-Hisn within the larger context of the Egyptian state structure and allows some conclusions to be drawn as to how this important site functioned within this structure.

From ancient times, funerals have been deeply social events characterized by a complex array of social and cultural interactions. This book reveals what took place when the early Jews and Christians in Palestine gathered to bury their dead. Byron McCane, Academic Director of the Sepphoris Excavations, uses the evidence of his archaeological fieldwork to answer fascinating and important questions including: Was Jesus' burial a shameful event in Roman Palestine? What kinds of death rituals did his followers practice? How different were the death rituals of Jews from those of the earliest Christian communities? McCane writes with insight and wit about the typical characteristics of Jewish, Christian, and pagan burial practices between 63 B.C.E. and 135 C.E. He argues that Jews of the period shared cultural ethnicity that led to very similar death rituals. He contends that the Christian communities that handed down the Q traditions were made up of typical Galilean Jews. He examines early Christian stories about Jesus' burial, showing how they are founded in the social context of Palestinian Judaism. Finally, he explores how, in the second century, Jews and Christians begin to part ways in their funerary practices. These changes were driven not only by theological disputes about death and the afterlife, but also by the steady pressure of larger social and cultural forces. Byron R. McCane is Professor of Religion and department chair at Wofford College, Spartanburg, South Carolina. He is Academic Director of the Sepphoris Excavations in Northern Israel.

Flinders Petrie began his long association with ancient Egypt and the Near East when he went to Giza to survey the pyramids in 1880. He continued to dig almost until his death in Jerusalem in 1942. During his long career he revolutionized Egyptian archaeology and indeed can be said to have founded modern scientific archaeology. But this book is not concerned with his scientific work, except tangentially, as Petrie had an admirable practice of publishing his excavations soon after they were completed. These letters and journals have been selected for their vivid account of living in Egypt and Palestine over sixty years. Even more they describe Petrie's austere approach to a dig where the archaeology was everything and creature comforts near nonexistent. Many anecdotes survive of life on one of Petrie's digs and the reality as revealed in these accounts is just as eccentric.

These nine papers are taken from a session at the EAA conference held in Esslington in 2001 which dealt with themes of interest to both the Egyptological community and to European archaeologists alike. The contributors deal with a range of subjects: recent Russian and Hellenic investigations in Egypt; the history of European Egyptology; political, cultural and economic contacts between Europe and Egypt in Dynastic, Hellenic-Roman and early Christian periods; links between ancient populations of Europe and Egypt drawing on anthropological data.

After the death of the last of the ramessides, Smendes, Lord of Tanis, proclaimed himself Pharaoh, founded the XXI dynasty and initiated one of the most unknown but attractive periods in the history of Egypt, the Third Intermediate Period. This book deals with the burials in the Valley of the Kings in the 21st - 30th Dynasties of Egypt, when they were not used by the rulers anymore. Through detailed investigation of the tombs and the hieroglyphes, the author has tried to identify the individuals buried in these tombs. The royal New Kingdom tombs were taken as a reference point and a comparison with the texts and iconography was established. This enables a better understandong of the traditions that followed in the Third Intermediate Period and naturally the changes that had taken place in the choice of the religious compendiums and representations associated with this period.

Animal burials, whether buried with human remains or alone, are frequent discoveries in Egypt yet it can be difficult to reconstruct their religious and cultural significance. This study examines animals in human graves, possibly intended as food offerings, but the emphasis is on independent Predynastic animal burials because these provide greater archaeological evidence for animal cults and possible sacrifice. Flores examines the geographic distribution of the burials and the types of animal represented, including goats, dogs and, in more elite tombs, donkeys, birds, bulls and lions. Throughout, comparisons are made between cultures from Upper and Lower Egypt.

The definitive story of the recent discovery of the first-century ossuary (limestone bone box) with the legend 'James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus', & it's implications for understanding Jesus, his family, his followers, the first Christians and the Jewish Christian movement in Jerusalem that was led by James.

The University College London Lahun (Middle Kingdom) papyri constitute one of the most remarkable harvests of papyri of any age. This volume communicates the content of the surviving letters and letter fragments from the Petrie excavations at Lahun in an accessible and affordable format. The letters and fragments are from original letters: model letters, letter copies, and reports are reserved for future publications. The volume is intended not only for Egyptological researchers, but also for learners in higher and further education. This mass of writing calls for a more nuanced appreciation of the roles of writing and reading, and the social reach of the written culture across the different classes, ages, genders inhabiting this architecture and landscape. (The reader will find three means of access to the original content: Printed pages with transcriptions, transliterations, and translations: A printed index: The entire collection of papyri on an accompanying CD.)

Since their discovery in 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls have become an icon in popular culture that transcends their status as ancient Jewish manuscripts. Everyone has heard of the Scrolls, but amidst the conspiracies, the politics, and the sensational claims, it can be difficult to separate the myths from the reality. In this Very Short introductions, Timothy Lim discusses the cultural significance of the finds, and the religious, political and legal controversies during the seventy years of study since the discovery. He also looks at the contribution the Scrolls have made to our understanding of the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible, and the origins of early Christianity. Exploring the most recent scholarly discussions on the archaeology of Khirbet Qumran, and the study of the biblical texts, the canon, and the history of the Second Temple Period, he considers what the scrolls reveal about sectarianism in early Judaism. Was the archaeological site of Qumran a centre of monastic life, a fortress, a villa, or a pottery factory? Why were some of their biblical texts so different from the ones that we read today? Did they have 'a Bible'? Who were the Essenes and why did they think that humanity is to be divided between 'the sons of light' and those in darkness? And, finally, do the Scrolls reflect the teachings of the earliest followers of Jesus? ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

This volume challenges some common assumptions about the culture of the early Byzantine Near East by examining the architecture and urban design of five cities in that period. The author assesses the various kinds of religious structure found in each city, including cult centres, temples dedicated to the Olympian gods and buildings set aside for mystery religions. He also shows how the effects of these sanctuaries on civic religious life were hugely important and influential, and shaped the way that citizens conceived of their city and of themselves. This book should be of interest to: scholars and students of the New Testament and of the Hellenistic period; scholars and students of Judaic studies; scholars and students of Classical studies; and non-specialists interested in the life and times of the ancient world.

The recent discovery and exhibition of an ancient Jewish ossuary (a burial box) that bears the inscription "James the son of Joseph, brother of Jesus" has stunned scholars and public alike. Could it really be that this small stone box actually contained the bones of James, the brother of Jesus Christ? While the preliminary scientific and paleographic study suggests that this ossuary may well be authentic (in other words, datable to the 1st century) and may well refer to James, the brother of Jesus, whose leadership to early Christianity in Jerusalem has become public, what is still shrouded in mystery is that this ossuary is only one of several that shed important archaeological light on the historical Jesus and the origins of Christianity.

In Jesus and the Ossuaries, Craig A. Evans helps all readers, expert and layperson alike, understand the importance of this recent find for the quest for the historical Jesus and any historical reconstruction of early Christianity. Evans provides an overview of the most important archaeological discoveries, including those near the Dead Sea, before summarizing archaeological findings relevant to 1st-century Galilee and Judea.

Against this backdrop, Evans then provides a detailed study of nine other inscriptions (six on ossuaries, three on stone slabs) that pertain in one way or another to the historical Jesus and the arguments for and against the authenticity and identification of the recently discovered James Ossuary (the tenth major inscription). Evans concludes his volume with a measured consideration of the historical, exegetical, and apologetic value of the archaeological data afforded by the several inscriptions.

This volume reports on the results of survey work carried out in Sudan in advance of the construction of the Merowe Dam. A short introduction leads into the main body of the volume which forms a gazetteer of sites (artefact scatters, settlements, fortified enclosures and cemeteries) reflecting extensive occupation over long periods. Rich in archaeological material, the remainder of the volume includes analyses of pottery, small finds, lithics and rock art from the area. This report clearly reflects the rich archaeology of the area and, since only small areas could be examined in detail, the large amount of material that will be lost.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Evidence from ancient records with maps and illustrations. Volume 1 of the Advanced Christian Culture Courses. This book is intended for those readers and students of the Bible and ancient history who are not able to read the inscriptions on the monuments, or to make practical use of the larger technical works. The book is arranged so that it yields readily to a plan of reading and study, covering a period of six months. The table of contents gives the theme of each of the 285 sections, distributed under 25 chapters. Also contains a listing of books for further study.