Kingdom Egypt Research Articles

A Conversation with Lynn Meskell

Lynn Meskell is PIK Professor of Anthropology in the School of Arts and Sciences, Professor in the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation, and curator in the Middle East and Asia sections at the Penn Museum. She is currently A.D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University (2019–2025). She holds Honorary Professorships at Oxford University and Liverpool University in the UK and the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. Over the past twenty years she has been awarded grants and fellowships including those from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the Australian Research Council, the American Academy in Rome, the School of American Research, Oxford University and Cambridge University. She is the founding editor of the Journal of Social Archaeology. Meskell has broad theoretical interests including socio-politics, archaeological ethics, global heritage, materiality, as well as feminist and postcolonial theory. Her earlier research examined natural and cultural heritage in South Africa, the archaeology of figurines and burial in Neolithic Turkey and daily life in New Kingdom Egypt.

Signs of YHWH, God of the Hebrews, in New Kingdom Egypt?


 This paper offers some observations on the meaning the Egyptians may have assigned to the name YHWA/YHA/YH, which is attested in lists of toponyms inscribed on temple walls dated to the time of the New Kingdom (1550-1069 BCE), and in a personal name of one owner of a Book of the Dead papyrus from around the same time. The paper examines the occurrences of names of Canaanite gods in Egyptian transcription, with special attention to orthography, through which it sheds new light on the Egyptian understanding of the name YHWA/YHA/YH.

The Archaeology of the Bronze Age Levant: From Urban Origins to the Demise of City-States, 3700–1000 BCE

The Archaeology of the Bronze Age Levant: From Urban Origins to the Demise of City-States, 3700–1000 BCE

The 4.2 ka Event and the End of the Maltese “Temple Period”

The small size and relatively challenging environmental conditions of the semi-isolated Maltese archipelago mean that the area offers an important case study of societal change and human-environment interactions. Following an initial phase of Neolithic settlement, the “Temple Period” in Malta began ∼5.8 thousand years ago (ka), and came to a seemingly abrupt end ∼4.3 ka, and was followed by Bronze Age societies with radically different material culture. Various ideas concerning the reasons for the end of the Temple Period have been expressed. These range from climate change, to invasion, to social conflict resulting from the development of a powerful “priesthood.” Here, we explore the idea that the end of the Temple Period relates to the 4.2 ka event. The 4.2 ka event has been linked with several examples of significant societal change around the Mediterranean, such as the end of the Old Kingdom in Egypt, yet its character and relevance have been debated. The Maltese example offers a fascinating case study for understanding issues such as chronological uncertainty, disentangling cause and effect when several different processes are involved, and the role of abrupt environmental change in impacting human societies. Ultimately, it is suggested that the 4.2 ka event may have played a role in the end of the Temple Period, but that other factors seemingly played a large, and possibly predominant, role. As well as our chronological modelling indicating the decline of Temple Period society in the centuries before the 4.2 ka event, we highlight the possible significance of other factors such as a plague epidemic.

An Interpretation of the Hierarchy of Non-Ornamental Art in the Ancient Kingdom of Egypt

An Interpretation of the Hierarchy of Non-Ornamental Art in the Ancient Kingdom of Egypt

A non-Egyptian «Egyptian» stone vessel from Ras Al Jinz RJ-2, Sultanate of Oman: Critical review of an entrenched hypothesis

This short communication aims to re-discuss the proposed provenance of a reworked stone vessel fragment from the Early Bronze Age site Ras Al Jinz RJ-2 along the coast of central Oman. In the original publication (Cleuziou and Tosi, 2000), it was linked with Egypt thus becoming the first and sole known connection between the Umm an-Nar communities of south-eastern Arabia and late Old Kingdom's Egypt. However, a reappraisal of the mineralogical texture of the stone used to manufacture the object seems to confidently exclude an Egyptian origin. Other possible sources are therefore discussed.

Erosion of State Power, Corruption Control and Fiscal Capacity

Abstract We model how corruption erodes state power, that is, the state’s ability to keep its apparatus under control in crises. Under a general assumption about fat-tailed risk of crisis, we show that given strong fiscal capacity, the head of the state will control local corruption at such a level that its power is secured; given weaker capacity, the state will over-tolerate corruption to retain officials, risking control in crises; moreover, a state may be trapped with too weak fiscal capacity, rampant corruption, and the state losing control in any real crisis, while having little incentive to invest in fiscal capacity. By developing historical narratives, we show that these theoretical results are consistent with experience from the Roman Empire, New Kingdom of Egypt, Ming China and many other powerful states in history.

THE NEW KINGDOM OF EGYPT AND THE EARLY STATE ORGANIZATIONS OF THE ARMENIAN HIGHLAND IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE II MILLENNIUM BC (BASED ON HISTORICAL SOURCES AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE)

The Ancient Near Eastern powerful states in the mid II millennium BC were not only directing and supervising the military-political, trading-economic, and sociocultural processes, but were also trying to obtain their dominance and control in the region. This was the reason that two conflicting groups gradually polarized in the region, where each state, despite its interests concerning the redistribution of spheres of influence in the ancient Near East, had to ally a more convenient political formation, given the current political situation and its capacities. As a result, the Hittite New Kingdom, Arzawa and Wilusa appeared to be in one of the groups, and the New Kingdom of Egypt, Kassite Babylonia and Mitanni were in the other one. The inter-state relations of these powers included both military-political and diplomatic rivalry, and a controlled system of well-organized transit trading and cultural relations. At the same time, each of the groups sought to urge other small early state organizations and tribal unions of the region to get involved in the alliance, contributing to the realization of prospective political plans with their capacities of raw materials, production of specific items and human resources. This was the situation also with the part of the early state organization of the Armenian Highland. Meanwhile, both the written sources and the archaeological excavations in general, testify the anti-Hittite orientation of the early state organizations of the Armenian Highland and their tending towards Egypt-Mitanni-Kassite Babylonia alliance.

Narrative Analysis of Female Leadership in Novel Asiyah The Rose of Pharaoh Desert By Sibel Eraslan

This study aims to describe how the depiction of female leadership, namely Queen Aisyah in the era of the Egyptian kingdom in the novel with the same title by Sibel Eraslan. This research uses analisis narrative theory by Algirdas Greimas, three structural that focuse on relations theories, and gender theory by Backman and D’Amico. Data collection was used by reading every page of text in Asiyah's novels completely, and assisted by literature from book sources, previous research, scientific journals, and several articles from the internet. The method used is qualitative with a descriptive approach. The results showed that Asiyah, who is the main character in the novel, is not always in the subject position. Queen Asiyah's character, character, attitude, and reaction to something that is seen directly are more dynamic in nature. Based on the stereotypes of Gender Beckman and D'Amico, Asiyah’s leadership during her time as queen of the Egyptian empire showed traits and behaviors that were more towards a feminine who was gentle, wise and more oriented to build very noble relationships. The research explanation that shows the good and noble portrayal of Ratu Aisyah's leadership is also supported by the narrative and dialogue between Asiyah and several characters in the novel's story.

Apocalyptical Vision Dan 10-12: Analysis of Martin Luther's Interpretation

The apocalyptic book of the prophet Daniel attracted the special attention of Christian scholars, both in the early centuries and in the Reformation era. The famous reformer Martin Luther wrote an introduction-commentary to this eschatological book. This article demonstrates Martin Luther's interpretation of the prophetic passage Dan 10-12. In order to better understand why there is such diversity in the interpretations of apocalyptic symbols in Dan 10-12, it is important to pay attention to the history of the interpretation of these chapters, in particular how they were interpreted by the Reformers. Despite the fact that there are many works dedicated to Martin Luther's eschatology and his interpretation of the apocalyptic books, there are still no studies that would deeply analyze the interpretation of Dan 10-12. Therefore, the purpose of this work is a comprehensive analysis of the reformer's interpretation of the apocalyptic passage Dan 10-12. It has been found that Luther used the historicist method in his interpretation of the book of Daniel, but in relation to Dan. 10-12 his approach is more in line with the futurist school of interpretation. It is investigated that Martin Luther considered Dan 8 and Dan 11 parallel sections that talk about the same events. Commenting on Chapter 11, Luther devotes a fairly extensive part of his interpretation to Antiochus IV Epiphanes (215-164 BC), whom he considered a symbol of the papacy. The reformer wrote that the antichrist in Dan 11:36-45 is the papal system. The identification of the papacy as the antichrist was commonplace for many reformers in the context of interpreting apocalyptic symbols. It is found that the presence of Antiochus in the prophecy of Dan. 11, as presented by the theologian, does not find an exegetical basis. Arguments are shown that the prophet Daniel did not mean King Antiochus IV in Dan. 11: 21-45. It has been studied that Luther interpreted the king of the south as the kingdom of Egypt, where the Ptolemaic dynasty ruled, and the king of the north as the Syrian kingdom, where the Seleucid dynasty ruled. The Reformer used the books of the Maccabees in his interpretation. Martin Luther believed that he was living in the last days provided by the prophecies of the book of Daniel, when at the time of the Second Coming of Christ all the righteous will be saved. It was found that the theologian emphasized that the book of Daniel strengthens the faith of Christians and is important for spiritual growth.

The Palermo Stone and Its Associated Fragments: New Discoveries on the Oldest Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt

Historical royal sources concerning Old Kingdom Egypt are rather scarce. One of the most important is a group of seven inscribed stone fragments also known as royal annals, the most famous of which is certainly the so-called Palermo Stone. These annals have been the subject of countless studies over more than a century since their initial discovery. However, the reading and interpretation of the hieroglyphic inscriptions engraved on them is still partial and often obscure. In recent years, however, the annals underwent a complete re-examination by means of the most up-to date technologies of 3D photographic documentation and reproduction – first of all, the so-called ‘Reflectance Transformation Imaging’ (RTI). In this article we will provide some insights on the new reading of selected parts of the fragments, especially the two major pieces: the Palermo Stone and the so-called ‘Cairo Fragment 1’.

A non-Egyptian «Egyptian» stone vessel from Ras Al-Jinz RJ-2, Sultanate of Oman: Critical review of an entrenched hypothesis

Abstract This short communication aims to re-discuss the proposed provenance of a reworked stone vessel fragment from the Early Bronze Age site Ras Al Jinz RJ-2 along the coast of central Oman. In the original publication ( Cleuziou and Tosi, 2000 ), it was linked with Egypt thus becoming the first and sole known connection between the Umm an-Nar communities of south-eastern Arabia and late Old Kingdom's Egypt. However, a reappraisal of the mineralogical texture of the stone used to manufacture the object seems to confidently exclude an Egyptian origin. Other possible sources are therefore discussed.

Multidisciplinary discovery of ancient restoration using a rare mud carapace on a mummified individual from late New Kingdom Egypt.

CT scans of an unnamed mummified adult from Egypt, now in the Chau Chak Wing Museum, University of Sydney (NMR.27.3), reveal it to be fully sheathed in a mud shell or carapace, exposing a mortuary treatment not previously documented in the Egyptian archaeological record. The carapace was placed between layers of linen wrappings thus it was not externally visible. Radiocarbon dating of textile samples provide a range of c.1370–1113 cal BC (95.4% probability), with a median date of 1207 cal BC. When assessed against mummification techniques of the era, the individual is placed in the late 19th–20th Dynasty, at the later end of this date range. Multi-proxy analysis including μ-XRF and Raman spectroscopy of carapace fragments from the head area revealed it to consist of three layers, comprising a thin base layer of mud, coated with a white calcite-based pigment and a red-painted surface of mixed composition. Whether the whole surface of the carapace was painted red is unknown. The carapace was a form of ancient conservation applied subsequent to post-mortem damage to the body, intended to reconfigure the body and enable continued existence of the deceased in the afterlife. The carapace can also be interpreted as a form of elite emulation imitating resin shells found within the wrappings of royal bodies from this period.

The provincial policies of Teti, Pepy I and Merenre in Upper Egypt

Relations between capital and provinces were particularly important for the successful administration of Old Kingdom Egypt. The royal court and the central bureaucracy depended on the provinces for economic provision and military protection. The present paper examines this relationship by a study of evidence from Old Kingdom tombs in a range of Upper Egyptian provinces as well as those in the capital cemeteries. The data suggests that with declining resources the central government was wavering between the need to decentralise the provincial administration by appointing governors to reside permanently in each province, and the risk of these ambitious, energetic officials taking root in their respective provinces, establishing power bases and becoming impossible to remove as the generations progressed. In trying to solve this problem the central administration changed the provincial administrative system a number of times during the reigns of Teti, Pepy I and Merenre.

مشرفو المجنّدین الأجانب فی الجیش فی مصر القدیمة والألقاب المرتبطة بهم

بدأ الأجانب بالاندماج في الجيش المصري منذ النصف الأخير من عصر الدولة القديمة، وکشفت حملات وني عن مشارکة بعض المجندين الأجانب أبرزهم النوبيين والإرثت، والنوبيون استمروا لفترة طويلة في الجيش المصري کمجندين تحت مسمى المدجاى، ومع عصر الدولة الوسطى بدأت تظهر عناصر أجنبية جديدة في الجيش المصري مثل الليبيين، ومع التوسع الکبير للحملات العسکرية في عصر الدولة الحديثة؛ زادت أعداد الأسرى الأجانب والتي تم إدماج مجموعات منهم في الجيش المصري، فتنوعت عناصر الجيش بجانب المصريين وتألفت من نوبيين وکوشيين وأسيويين مثل الشردن والنعرن وغيرهم، ثم ظهرت عناصر أخرى في العصر المتأخر مثل اليونانيين والکاريين والأيونيين. وکان على رأس بعض الفرق الأجنبية في الجيش بعض المشرفين، منهم من کان مصريا ومنهم من کان من نفس فئة المجندين، ويناقش البحث هؤلاء المشرفين وألقابهم والمجموعات العسکرية التي تولوا قيادتها، وتخلص الورقة البحثية إلى أن بعض هؤلاء المشرفين کانوا من المصريين وبعضهم من الأجانب، وبعضهم کانوا من نفس فئة المجموعة التي يقودها، ومبرر ذلک لسهولة التواصل معهم، وتنوعت ألقابهم وأشارت بعضها إلى مصطلحات جغرافية، وبعض الألقاب کانت لا تشير إلى فئة معينة، ولکن أمکن معرفة الفئة من أصل الضابط المسئول عنها. The Overseers of Foreign Soldiers in Ancient Egyptian Army and their Titles Abstract:The Foreigners generally started to emerge in Egyptian army since the late Old Kingdom in Egypt, such as the Nubian and Irthet soldiers that appeared in Weni campaigns and merged into the ancient Egyptian army. After that, their role expanded in the Middle Kingdom beside other foreign soldiers, such as Libyans. The paintings and inscriptions depicted them with their weapons. In the New Kingdom, the Military campaigns increased and accordingly the number of captives rose. Thus, other foreign soldiers appeared as the Sherdn, Nacrn, Asiatic, etc. These Foreign soldiers had overseers. This paper discusses the overseers, their groups, and their titles. Some of the overseers were Egyptian officers, as shown in the archival texts of the New Kingdom, while in other groups their officers were foreigners. The officer was from the same group, to be able to communicate with the soldiers and understand their language. Some titles of these officers included geographical terms, while some of them were not referring to any group, but their affiliation could be traced from the officers themselves.

The Conception of Pilgrimage in the Ancient Egyptian Religion

The concept of pilgrimage in most religions is similar to a great extent to the ancient Egyptian festivals and celebrations. This is shown in the way of performing the rituals and reviving of the religious myths. Festivals in ancient Egypt provided a good chance for people to gather and celebrate in a distinctive and traditional way.[i] Ancient Egyptians did not consider the celebration as representing a sort of their personal piety. Scholars debated that the ancient Egyptians thought of the celebrations was as a kind of change or an opportunity to alter their daily routine.[ii] So the research is focused on the religious concept behind the festivals and celebrations of the ancient Egyptians, and their relation to the personal piety. The research is applied to the festival of Osiris at Abydos as a model of the concept of celebration. It was chosen as a good example of the interaction of the public, and because they had a starring role in the rituals. The research compared the rituals performed during the Egyptian festivals pilgrimage to the religious proving that there are many points of similarity to religious pilgrimage. [i] Assmann, Religion and Cultural Memory, p. 40. [ii] Bleeker, Egyptian Festivals: Enactments of Religious Renewal, p. 23; Meskell, Private Life in New Kingdom Egypt, p. 171; Teeter, Religion and Ritual in Ancient Egypt, p. 56. [i] Assmann, Religion and Cultural Memory, p. 40. [ii] Bleeker, Egyptian Festivals: Enactments of Religious Renewal, p. 23; Meskell, Private Life in New Kingdom Egypt, p. 171; Teeter, Religion and Ritual in Ancient Egypt, p. 56.

Never boring: Non-invasive palaeoproteomics of mummified human skin

The scientific analysis of mummified individuals can reveal important details on the way people lived and died in the past. Palaeoproteomic approaches are theoretically suitable for obtaining information on the extent of tissue preservation, on the use of protein-based substances for embalming and/or restoration, as well as for characterising the microbiota from both the individual and the environment. However, these analyses usually require the destruction of a sample of tissue, a practice which is (obviously) discouraged by most museums. Unfortunately, this means that in-depth studies, for example by taking multiple samples from each individual, are seldom feasible. Here we show that a non-invasive sampling technique, based on mixed-bed chromatographic media embedded on ethylene vinyl acetate membranes (EVA), which had previously been used exclusively on historical material, was successful in extracting ancient proteins from the surface of Egyptian mummies. We tested the method on a decontextualised fragment of skin and assessed the endogeneity of its metaproteome by comparison with a procedural blank. Furthermore, we retrieved and authenticated sequences of human collagen and keratin, as well as potential bacterial/fungal biodeteriogens, from the mummy of a young woman (Supp. 16747 of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography of the University of Turin) who lived and died during the Old Kingdom of Egypt.

The Development of Production Centers of Blue-Painted Pottery in New Kingdom Egypt

This paper aims to examine the blue-painted pottery from all sites across Egypt and Egyptianized cities outside the Nile valley, and to discuss how its production centers were developed in the New Kingdom. The examination shows that, from the reign of Amenhotep II in mid-Eighteenth Dynasty through the Amarna Period in the late Eighteenth Dynasty, the find-spots of blue-painted pottery were essentially restricted to royal residential centers, such as Memphis, Amarna and Thebes. These provenances suggest that they were manufactured particularly in a few royal workshops. While, in subsequent periods, the fi nd-spots became widespread across Egypt, and spread out to neighboring regions. From the Post-Amarna Period at the end of Eighteenth Dynasty to Nineteenth Dynasty, the blue-painted pottery was still found from the main administrative centers or royal residential cities, such as Qantir, Memphis and Thebes, but they also became known from local administrative centers, including Groub, Asyut, Abydos and Elephantine. Furthermore, the locally made blue-painted pottery appeared from the Syro-Palestinian region and the area on Egypt’s Libyan border. If we compare fabrics, forms and designs of blue-painted pottery from these sites, some marked diff erences can be recognized, and they indicate that the blue-painted pottery was manufactured in workshops at each site. Hitherto, little is known about the development of blue-painted pottery manufacturing centers during New Kingdom, since the previous studies had been conducted by using fi nds from diff erent sites and periods separately. The present study, dealing with materials from the entire country and its outer regions, reveals that the blue-painted pottery production centers came to increase just after the Amarna Period which is well known as a signifi cant epoch of history, society, religion and art in New Kingdom Egypt.

Seals and Sealings in the Ancient World: Case Studies from the Near East, Egypt, the Aegean, and South Asia

Seals and Sealings in the Ancient World: Case Studies from the Near East, Egypt, the Aegean, and South Asia

В начале пути: письмо В. В. Струве М. И. Ростовцеву от 25 мая 1914 г.

The article presents a publication of the letter from Vasily Vasilievich Struve (1889–1965), pioneer in the research of the Ancient Near East societies in the Soviet Union, to Mikhail Ivanovich Rostovtzev (1870–1952), the prominent Classicist, one of the first scholars in socio-economic history of the Antiquity in pre-revolutionary Russia. The letter was written during Struve’s post-graduate sabbatical in Berlin in 1914; it is stored in the Russian State Historical Archives in St. Petersburg. The document is significant due to its information on Struve’s stay in Berlin and on his contacts with leading German scholars (including Eduard Meyer and Adolf Erman), but it also touches upon a bigger issue. In the early 1930s Struve forwarded his concept of slave-owning mode of production in the Ancient Near East, which was immediately accepted into official historiography, making him a leading theoretician in the Soviet research of ancient history. It has been repeatedly stated in memoirs and in post-Soviet historiography that this concept and, generally speaking, Struve’s interest in socio-economic issues was opportunistic. His 1910s articles on the Ptolemaic society and state published prior to the Russian revolution weigh heavily against this point of view. The published letter contains Struve’s assessment of his future thesis (state institutions of the New Kingdom of Egypt) and puts its topic in the context of current discussions on the Ptolemaic state and society and of his studies in the Rostovtzev’s seminar at the St. Petersburg University. Struve declares the study of Egyptian social structure and connections between its pre-Hellenistic and Hellenistic phases his life-task, introduced to him by Rostovtzev. Thus, Struve’s early interest in these issues appears to be sincere; it stems from pre-revolutionary trends in the Russian scholarship.