This thesis explores perceptions of the landscape of the Fayum in Egypt. The Fayum has been the focus of Egyptological interest regarding specific aspects of its landscape since the 18th century. The aim of this study is to gain an understanding of why some aspects of this particular landscape have become the focus of attention for Egyptologists and travellers to Egypt. In order to investigate this issue a very broad historical perspective is taken, examining written materials dating from the Pharaonic periods through to the 19th century AD:- Western Accounts 1543 - 1876, Medieval Islamic Accounts 860 - 1422, Greek and Roman writers 450 BC - 2nd century AD and Ancient Egyptian materials (2686 BC - AD394). Theories from geography and landscape history as well as landscape archaeology, not regularly applied in Egyptology, will be adopted. Based on this material and approach, it is possible to map the changing perceptions of this region, identifying a history of ideas and elucidating the background that created specific perceptions of this region at different time periods. This thesis will evaluate the ways in which people view a particular area of land which, in their mind, is a clearly defined unit. It is not simply their perception of the region, but more specifically their perception of the physical landscape forming the region, that is of interest here. What qualities do they perceive the land to be imbued with? A distinction will be drawn between the 'experienced' and the 'imagined' landscape. The experienced landscape is based on the here and now, generally unaffected by any pre-conceived ideas about the meaning of the landscape but formed based on a direct interaction with the land. The imagined landscape is a construction based on a subjective notion of the landscape derived from external influences. The experienced landscape is the objectified, 'viewed' landscape, the perception of the physical nature of the landscape; the imagined landscape is the subjectified, idealised, temporalised landscape, the perception of the idea of landscape.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:569280 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Malleson, Claire Joanna |
| Publisher | University of Liverpool |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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