Les fouilles françaises de Médamoud se sont déroulées entre 1924 et 1939 sous la direction de F. Bisson de la Roque (entre 1924 et 1932) et de Cl. Robichon (entre 1933 et 1939). Elles ont mis au jour de nombreux monuments s’échelonnant de la XIe dynastie jusqu’à l’époque byzantine, mais aucune synthèse n’avait encore offert une étude globale de l’histoire du site. L’ensemble de cette documentation constitue un corpus riche mais hétérogène dont il a fallu restituer le contexte de découverte. En effet, les deux étapes des fouilles sont inégalement publiées et l’étude des archives nous a permis de reconstituer le déroulement, les modalités et les résultats des actions sur le terrain. Après avoir restitué l’histoire des fouilles et proposé une nouvelle datation des vestiges mis au jour, nous avons analysé l’état du temple depuis sa fondation. L’existence du temple primitif a ainsi été prouvée, même si nous avons modifié son plan et très largement nuancé les théories d’A. Varille quant à son usage cultuel. Ensuite, Sésostris III a refondé le temple, qui a ensuite été modifié par Thoutmosis III. Une nouvelle étude des maçonneries a permis de réfuter la présentation traditionnelle qui supposait des destructions successives du bâtiment et nous avons proposé, au contraire, qu’une partie du temple du Moyen Empire et du Nouvel Empire furent inclus par les Ptolémées dans leur propre programme architectural. Le dieu de Médamoud, Montou, a également été étudié à travers la documentation du site qui le présente comme le dieu thébain par excellence. L’essentiel du programme iconographique n’était pas consacré à l’exaltation guerrière de la divinité mais plutôt à la légitimation royale et au culte des ancêtres, parmi lesquels Sésostris III occupait une place de choix. / Medamud’s French excavations took place between 1924 and 1939 under the supervision of F. Bisson de la Roque (between 1924 and 1932) and of CL. Robichon (between 1933 and 1939). They excavated numerous monuments which spread from the XIe dynasty to the Byzantine period although there is no global overview of the history of the site. It was necessary to re-establish the discovery’s context of all of this information as the corpus of documents was extensive but heterogeneous. As the two excavation stages were unequally published, studying the archives allowed us to establish how the field actions took place, its methods and results. After having summarized the excavations’ history and offered the uncovered vestiges a new dating, we analysed the temple’s condition since its founding. In this way, the existence of the « temple primitif » has been proven even though we modified its plan and widely qualified A. Varille’s theories regarding its cult uses. Senwosret III rebuilt the temple, which was modified by Thutmose III afterwards. Thanks to a new study of the masonry, we re-examined the traditional assumption, which supposed successive destruction of the building. Instead, we believe that parts of the Middle Kingdom’s temple and of the New Kingdom’s were included by the Ptolemies in their own architectural plans. Regarding Montu the god of Medamud, he is presented as the ultimate Theban god through the site’s documentation. Most of the iconography wasn’t dedicated to the war glorification of the deity but rather to royal legitimisation and ancestor worship among which Senwosret III occupies a prominent place.

Les recherches récentes sur la XIIIe dynastie ont abordé séparément les questions chronologiques et politiques d’une part, et celles traitant de l’administration et de la société d’autre part, le résultat étant une vision fragmentée de l’Histoire de cette époque. Il est donc apparu nécessaire d’élaborer une synthèse historique sur la XIIIe dynastie qui réunit ces différentes problématiques. L’originalité de notre travail consiste en une approche globale de la documentation de la période, fondée sur l’étude croisée des sources historiques et archéologiques, royales ou privées, sans les opposer ni en privilégier plutôt l’une que l’autre. Cette entreprise est d’autant plus nécessaire que la XIIIe dynastie n’a été étudiée jusqu’à présent que dans le cadre d’études globales sur le Moyen Empire ou la Deuxième Période Intermédiaire. Elle n’y occupe pas forcément une place très importante et elle y est souvent l’objet d’opinions peu flatteuses. Notre thèse est divisée en quatre chapitres. Les deux premiers sont consacrés à la datation, à l’identification et à l’étude du milieu social des principaux acteurs de la XIIIe dynastie que sont les rois et l’élite de l’administration et du clergé. Les deux derniers traitent de questions politiques, qu’elles soient architecturales, religieuses, économiques ou diplomatiques. Dans le premier chapitre, les limites de la XIIIe dynastie sont fixées, ses souverains identifiés et la famille royale étudiée. Le deuxième est dévolu à l’examen de l’administration et de la société de cette époque et s’articule autour de l’étude prosopographique des élites. L’activité constructrice et les développements religieux de la XIIIe dynastie au sein du territoire traditionnel de l’Egypte sont abordés dans le troisième. Le dernier chapitre traite en partie de thèmes abordés dans les deux précédents, mais dans un contexte géographique différent, celui des marges de l’Egypte et des territoires nouvellement annexés en Basse Nubie et au Levant. Les questions de politiques extérieures y sont également étudiées. Les résultats auxquels nous sommes parvenus contribuent à changer la vision traditionnelle de la XIIIe dynastie, la grande oubliée du Moyen Empire, tant sur les plans politiques, économiques que sociaux. / In recent times, the 13th Dynasty has been approached either from a chronological and political perspective or from an administrative and social standpoint. The result is an incomplete view of the History of that period. The need to touch on those different issues in a single historical study quickly arose. Our work is unique in the sense that it tackles the problems of this period in a global way, based upon a crossover study of the historical and archaeological sources, may they be royal or private, without opposing them or favouring one or the other. This attempt at an overview is all the more necessary that the 13th Dynasty has always been examined within general studies on the Middle Kingdom or the Second Intermediate Period but never in its own right. Thereby, it is often looked upon in a superficial manner and poorly considered. Our thesis is split in four chapters. The first two are devoted to the dating, identification and social study of the main protagonists of the 13th Dynasty, which are its kings, high officials and higher priests. The last two deal with political issues, whether architectural, religious, economical or diplomatic. In the first chapter, once the frame of the 13th Dynasty is ascertained and its kings identified, the royal family is examined. The second one is devoted to the administration and the society of that time through a prosopographical study of its elites. We look into the royal work projects and religious developments of the 13th Dynasty inside the traditional borders of Egypt in the third chapter. The last one covers in part some of the issues dealt with in the previous two chapters, but within a different geographical context, that of the edges of Egypt and its newly annexed territories in Lower Nubia and in the Levant. Foreign policies are also considered in this final chapter. The results attained in our thesis contribute to change the traditional view of the political, economical and social aspects of the often overlooked Dynasty of the Middle Kingdom, the 13th one.

This thesis investigates how the burial chamber of the 8th Dynasty pyramid of king Qakare Ibi at Saqqara in Egypt (c. 2109-2107 B.C.) was inscribed. It uses a holistic approach to focus on the textual programme and its unusual aspects in comparison to older pyramids. In doing so, it addresses issues of textual transmission and of scribal practice in the process of inscribing the walls of subterranean chambers in pyramids. The aim is to contextualise the texts of Ibi within the Memphite tradition of Pyamid Texts and the development of mortuary literature on different media from the late third millennium BCE Old Kingdom to the Middle Kingdom in the early second millennium BCE. The first chapter presents the background to this research and information on king Ibi and his pyramid. The second chapter treats research on the arrangement of the texts on the walls of subterranean chambers of royal pyramids of kings and queens and compares the layout of the texts in the pyramid of Ibi with older pyramids. It then discusses in detail one section on the east wall of Ibi, where the order of spells diverges from other transmitted sequences. The unusual combination of spells and the practice of shortening spells is investigated further in the third chapter, where two sections of texts on the south wall are analysed. The fourth chapter explores garbled texts and discusses processes of copying and inscribing the texts onto the walls of pyramids. The fifth chapter analyses the modifications of the writing system in pyramids, especially the mutilation of hieroglyphs, and how this practice relates to the tradition of altering signs in pyramids. Finally, the sixth chapter synthesises the results of the preceding chapters in two sections. The first section summarises the process of inscribing pyramids and contextualises aspects of scribal practices within it. The second section concludes the thesis with a discussion of the features of the textual programme of Ibi and of how it relates to the broader transmission of mortuary literature.

This dissertation is rooted in one general question: what can the wood from ships reveal about the people and cultures who built them? Shipwrecks are only the last chapter of a complex story, and while the last fifty years of nautical archaeology have managed to rewrite a number of these chapters, much of the information unrelated to a ship’s final voyage remains a mystery. However, portions of that mystery can be exposed by an examination of the timbers. An approach for the cultural investigation of ship timbers is presented and attempts are made to establish the most reliable information possible from the largely unheralded treasures of underwater excavations: timbers. By introducing the written record, iconographic record, and the social, economic, and political factors to the archaeological record a more complete analysis of the cultural implications of ship and boat timbers is possible. I test the effectiveness of the approach in three varied casestudies to demonstrate its limits and usefulness: ancient Egypt’s Middle Kingdom, the Mediterranean under Athenian influence, and Portugal and the Iberian Peninsula during the Discoveries. The results of these studies demonstrate how ship timbers can be studied in order to better understand the people who built the vessels.

Undersökningens syfte var att belysa vilken typ av information som utställningen ”Mittens rike” på Östasiatiska museet gav och därav visa ett exempel på hur det kinesiska kulturarvet kan tolkas av att befinna sig i en svensk kontext. Genom att belysa de delarna kunde diskussionen angående asiatisk och europeisk kulturvård och kulturarv belysas där deras olika ståndpunkter kring autenticitet och rituella praktiker kunde framhävas. Som undersökningsmetod användes en utställningsobservation som kompletterades med andra personliga kommunikationer och litteratur. Resultatet visade att utställningen delade information om kinesiska föremål från deras bronstid fram till början av 1900-talet som antingen kopplades till en viss dynasti, till olika föremålsutvecklingar med hantverksmetoder eller till olika samhällsfenomen som föremålen representerade. Utställningstexter och föremålsbeskrivningar bidrog med kontextbyggandet av föremålen, men det fanns även några montrar utan utställningstext där besökaren kunde skapa en egen uppfattning av föremålen. Den europeiska och svenska inblandningen visades främst i utställningens exportporslin som fanns över en stor del av utställningens senare halva. Handeln mellan Kina och Europa/Sverige blev därav det centrerade perspektivet i både föremålen och i utställningstexterna vilket skapade en stor kontrast till tidigare del som enbart fokuserat på de kinesiska utvecklingarna. Det resulterade i att det kinesiska kulturarvet hamnade i skuggan av främst den svenska inblandningen, och blev då en biroll i montrarna som framhävde de svenska framgångarna. / The purpose of the study was to enlighten the type of information the exhibition “The middle kingdom” at the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities gave and therefore show how the Chinese cultural heritage can be interpretated by existing in a Swedish context. By showing those parts, the discussion of Asian and European integrated conservation and cultural heritage be uplifted and show the different point of views according to authenticity and ritual usage of objects. An exhibition observation was used as the main method with complementary information from personal correspondence and literature. The result showed the exhibition shared information about Chinese objects from their bronze age to the beginning of the 20th century, all connected to a certain dynasty, to different evolutions of objects with certain craft methods, or other societal evolutions which was represented by certain objects. The exhibition text and the object descriptions contributed to the contextualization of the objects, but also showed showcases without any text, which allowed the visitor to create their own perception about the objects. The European and Swedish involvement was displayed especially in the exhibitions exported porcelain that appeared in a big part of the latter half. The trade between China and Europe/Sweden therefore became the central perspective in both the objects and texts in the exhibition which created a big contrast between the earlier part who only focused on the Chinese evolutions. It resulted in the Chinese cultural heritage placed in the shadows of mainly the Swedish involvement and became a subordinate part in the showcases and highlighted the Swedish success stories.

For centuries, people have been fascinated with how the ancient Egyptians lived, and particularly how they died. Although Egyptologists in the past had a greater interest in the treasures that accompanied the dead, there has now been a shift in focus on the actual ancient Egyptians themselves and their ways of life. Recognizing the health and disease status of ancient Egyptians has become particularly important. The aim of this research project is to document the paleopathology of the individuals from the sites of Dayr al-Barsha and Sheikh Said encompassing the Old Kingdom (2686 - 2160 BC), the First Intermediate Period (2160 - 2055 BC), and the Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 BC) periods. The site of Dayr al-Barsha was most importantly the necropolis, or burial site, used by the inhabitants of the ancient city of Hermopolis Magna, and it was also a very prominent quarry site. Today, Dayr al-Barsha is a large scale archaeological site that has been divided into eleven zones. The results of this research reveal a documented list of paleopathologies that include traumatic conditions, congenital anomalies, joint diseases, infectious diseases, hematological disorders, dental pathology, neoplastic conditions, and various other conditions that ailed the people in their daily lives. Fractures and dental diseases are the paleopathologies that occurred most frequently. These pathologies provide important knowledge about the living conditions and occupations during the span of the Old Kingdom through the Middle Kingdom.

La question de recherche à la base de cette étude soulève le point de la nature paradoxale du canon de représentation égyptien qui démontre, simultanément, une certaine rigidité dans l’application de règles stylistiques et iconographiques établies, particulièrement dans l’art non commandité par l’État, et des preuves de transformation et d’intégration de motifs nouveaux. Partant de cette problématique, l’étude vise à identifier les mécanismes par lesquels ce canon permet, à la fois, l’innovation et le maintien d’une certaine tradition. L’approche est de nature double et consiste tout d’abord à identifier de grandes tendances et discontinuités stylistiques et iconographiques sur les bols de faïence du Moyen au Nouvel Empire. De plus, elle tente de déterminer si les transformations d’ordre sociopolitique et idéologique, survenant à ces périodes, peuvent être lues dans les variations stylistiques et iconographiques trouvées sur les bols de faïence. Après une description du champ conceptuel de la « représentation » en contexte égyptien, l’auteur effectue l’analyse iconographique exhaustive de ce qui constitue l’apport majeur de son étude, un corpus de 500 bols et fragments de faïence provenant de divers sites égyptiens du Moyen au Nouvel Empire. Les données ont été traitées par le biais de la méthode d’analyse iconologique proposée par Panofsky, qui lui permet de dévoiler un grand nombre de continuités et de transformations d’ordre stylistique et iconographique pour les différentes périodes. Plusieurs facteurs semblent avoir été à l’origine de ces transformations, dont la fluctuation entre un contexte de centralisation et de décentralisation politique de l’État, ainsi que l’intégration de motifs étrangers (proche-orientaux et égéens) résultant d’un contact accru entre l’Égypte et les régions voisines. De plus, les transformations idéologiques apportées par le règne d’Akhénaton et par la « contre-réforme » idéologique à la période ramesside, semblent avoir également contribué à des innovations au sein du canon, même si ce dernier maintient une certaine continuité légitimée par le pouvoir étatique. Le canon de représentation, devient ainsi une forme de langage dont l’État se sert et qui, parfois malgré lui, se transforme et fluctue selon les réalités des différentes périodes. / This study’s research question raises the issue of the paradoxical nature of the Egyptian canon of representation which shows, simultaneously, a certain rigidity in the application of established stylistic and iconographic rules, especially in non-state commissioned art, and evidence for the transformation and integration of new iconographical motifs. The study aims to identify the mechanisms by which the canon permits, at the same time, transformative processes and the maintenance of tradition. The approach is twofold and consists primarily in identifying trends and stylistic/iconographical discontinuities in the iconography found on the faience bowls from the Middle to the New Kingdoms. Furthermore, it aims to determine if the socio-political and ideological transformations taking place in these periods can be discerned in the stylistic and iconographical variations found on the bowls of the Middle to the New Kingdoms. The author discusses the theoretical model of “representation” in Egyptian context, followed by an analysis of what constitutes the major contribution of this study: an exhaustive iconographical analysis of 500 faience bowls and fragments originating from various Egyptian sites dating to the New Kingdom. The data was evaluated by means of the method of iconological analysis proposed by Panofsky, which permits the identification of a number of stylistic and iconographic continuities and changes for all periods. These transformations seem to be the result of a variety of factors, including fluctuations in the centralization and decentralization of the state, as well as the integration of foreign motifs (Near-Eastern and Aegean), which results from increased contacts between Egypt and its neighbouring regions. Furthermore, the ideological transformations taking place under Akhenaton’s reign and the ones resulting from the ideological “counter-reformation” occurring during the Ramessid period, equally seem to contribute to the changes in the representational canon, even though the latter maintained a certain continuity that was legitimized by the state. The canon thus emerges as a form of language used by the state, and sometimes despite it, which can fluctuate and be altered depending on the realities of the different periods.

La question de recherche à la base de cette étude soulève le point de la nature paradoxale du canon de représentation égyptien qui démontre, simultanément, une certaine rigidité dans l’application de règles stylistiques et iconographiques établies, particulièrement dans l’art non commandité par l’État, et des preuves de transformation et d’intégration de motifs nouveaux. Partant de cette problématique, l’étude vise à identifier les mécanismes par lesquels ce canon permet, à la fois, l’innovation et le maintien d’une certaine tradition. L’approche est de nature double et consiste tout d’abord à identifier de grandes tendances et discontinuités stylistiques et iconographiques sur les bols de faïence du Moyen au Nouvel Empire. De plus, elle tente de déterminer si les transformations d’ordre sociopolitique et idéologique, survenant à ces périodes, peuvent être lues dans les variations stylistiques et iconographiques trouvées sur les bols de faïence. Après une description du champ conceptuel de la « représentation » en contexte égyptien, l’auteur effectue l’analyse iconographique exhaustive de ce qui constitue l’apport majeur de son étude, un corpus de 500 bols et fragments de faïence provenant de divers sites égyptiens du Moyen au Nouvel Empire. Les données ont été traitées par le biais de la méthode d’analyse iconologique proposée par Panofsky, qui lui permet de dévoiler un grand nombre de continuités et de transformations d’ordre stylistique et iconographique pour les différentes périodes. Plusieurs facteurs semblent avoir été à l’origine de ces transformations, dont la fluctuation entre un contexte de centralisation et de décentralisation politique de l’État, ainsi que l’intégration de motifs étrangers (proche-orientaux et égéens) résultant d’un contact accru entre l’Égypte et les régions voisines. De plus, les transformations idéologiques apportées par le règne d’Akhénaton et par la « contre-réforme » idéologique à la période ramesside, semblent avoir également contribué à des innovations au sein du canon, même si ce dernier maintient une certaine continuité légitimée par le pouvoir étatique. Le canon de représentation, devient ainsi une forme de langage dont l’État se sert et qui, parfois malgré lui, se transforme et fluctue selon les réalités des différentes périodes. / This study’s research question raises the issue of the paradoxical nature of the Egyptian canon of representation which shows, simultaneously, a certain rigidity in the application of established stylistic and iconographic rules, especially in non-state commissioned art, and evidence for the transformation and integration of new iconographical motifs. The study aims to identify the mechanisms by which the canon permits, at the same time, transformative processes and the maintenance of tradition. The approach is twofold and consists primarily in identifying trends and stylistic/iconographical discontinuities in the iconography found on the faience bowls from the Middle to the New Kingdoms. Furthermore, it aims to determine if the socio-political and ideological transformations taking place in these periods can be discerned in the stylistic and iconographical variations found on the bowls of the Middle to the New Kingdoms. The author discusses the theoretical model of “representation” in Egyptian context, followed by an analysis of what constitutes the major contribution of this study: an exhaustive iconographical analysis of 500 faience bowls and fragments originating from various Egyptian sites dating to the New Kingdom. The data was evaluated by means of the method of iconological analysis proposed by Panofsky, which permits the identification of a number of stylistic and iconographic continuities and changes for all periods. These transformations seem to be the result of a variety of factors, including fluctuations in the centralization and decentralization of the state, as well as the integration of foreign motifs (Near-Eastern and Aegean), which results from increased contacts between Egypt and its neighbouring regions. Furthermore, the ideological transformations taking place under Akhenaton’s reign and the ones resulting from the ideological “counter-reformation” occurring during the Ramessid period, equally seem to contribute to the changes in the representational canon, even though the latter maintained a certain continuity that was legitimized by the state. The canon thus emerges as a form of language used by the state, and sometimes despite it, which can fluctuate and be altered depending on the realities of the different periods.

No description available.

In recent years, research on the field of ancient Egyptian economy in its earliest historical forms has grown quickly. Despite previous efforts in the last decades, the nature of the ancient Egyptian economic system has not yet been satisfactorily defined. Ancient Egypt had, like the majority of preindustrial societies, a pre-eminently agrarian economy. Amongst the agricultural products acquired from the Egyptian land, cereals stood out due to their economic significance. Grain and cereal-based products, such as bread and beer, were used as a medium of exchange and a basis for wages. The aforementioned importance of cereals must have made their management and storage a matter of priority. The storage of food staples is always of utmost importance as it is a key component of food distribution, which is an important means of executing power and accomplishing the goals by specific actors in a system (Paulette 2013: 106). Despite the significance of grain storage for the understanding of socio-economic and power relations in a given society, no comprehensive macro-study on grain storage in ancient Egypt has been undertaken. Thus, the main goal of this work is to obtain a new multi-faceted picture of grain storage in ancient Egypt. More precisely, the study focuses on an extensive historical span...