Tenth International Congress of Egyptologists Abstracts of Papers

XICE – Abstract of Papers
Recent fieldwork has produced new evidence for two major royal pyramids of the
earliest Eighteenth Dynasty at southern Abydos. The monumental pyramid of
Ahmose was first investigated at the beginning of the 20 th century by Arthur Mace
and C. T. Currelly, who were able to document a limestone casing built at the steep
angle of 65 degrees. In 2004, the Ahmose and Tetisheri project was able to
demonstrate conclusively that the mudbrick structure built by Ahmose in honor of
Queen Tetisheri was in fact a pyramid, albeit one constructed in an unusual fashion on
a foundation of brick casemates. A portion of the inscribed Tetisheri pyramidion was
also discovered, providing an angle of ascent similar to that of Ahmose’s stone-clad
pyramid. Further, the discovery of an enclosure wall surrounding Tetisheri's pyramid
now allows the certain interpretation of the text of the monumental stela (CG 34002)
found within the structure in 1902. Work in 2006 at the site of the Ahmose pyramid
further revealed details of a previously enigmatic mudbrick feature: a massive
construction ramp some six meters in height, built at a gradual slope of about 12
degrees against the pyramid's northern face. Substantial evidence of construction
activity was encountered, including ostraca that document the delivery of materials to
the construction site, as well as enormous amounts of limestone chippings. This
presentation will present the evidence for the construction techniques of these, the
latest known Egyptian royal pyramids, together with suggestions for their phasing and
interpretation, as well as their potential significance for later traditions of non-royal
pyramidal construction at Abydos and elsewhere.
Mycenaean pottery in Egypt reconsidered: old contexts and new results
Astrid Hassler
Throughout Egypt, Mycenaean pottery is known from a vast number of different sites
ranging from the Libyan coast and the Nile Delta in the north down to Nubia, the
fortress of Sesebi being the southernmost findspot. Apart from various contributions
by Vronwy Hankey, 91 Martha Bell 92 and others, publishing the finds of singular sites
like Amarna or Deir el-Medineh, no attempt has been made so far to get an overall
view of Mycenaean pottery unearthed in Egypt, considering not only the imported
pottery itself but also the contexts and find-circumstances. This project is now
undertaken within the framework of SCIEM 2000 (Austrian Academy of
Sciences/Austrian Science Fund).
Thereby, a consequent check of old excavation reports as well as museum
collections mainly in Europe (United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Denmark etc.)
but also in Egypt (Cairo), brought forth a considerable corpus of long forgotten
though highly interesting vessels and their respective contexts, thereby enlarging the
range of scientifically valuable Mycenaean pieces. Already in 1888 W.M.F. Petrie
discovered some vessels at Gurob, 93 which were considered to be the first Mycenaean
pottery ever found in Egypt. Subsequently most of his following excavations of New
Kingdom sites yielded similar specimens of the same ware. Petrie immediately
realised the immense importance of his discovery for the chronological
91
V. HANKEY, ‘Aegean pottery at El-Amarna: shapes and decorative motifs’, in: J. PHILLIPS (ed.),
Ancient Egypt, the Aegean, and the Near East: Studies in Honour of Martha Rhoads Bell (1997), 193ff.
92
M. BELL, ‘Preliminary report on the Mycenaean pottery from Deir el-Medina, 1979-1980’, ASAE 68
(1982), 143 ff.
93
W.M.F. PETRIE, Kahun, Gurob and Hawara (1890).
113