Tenth International Congress of Egyptologists Abstracts of Papers

XICE – Abstract of Papers
(a) The value of prosopography in understanding Twenty-fifth Dynasty Thebes
Cristopher H. Naunton
This paper presents the preliminary results of a study of Theban individuals, their
titles and family relationships. Thebes was brought under the control of Kushite
pharaohs —the Twenty-fifth Dynasty— sometime in the middle of the eighth century
BC, having been ruled by Upper Egyptian kings for most of the preceding century.
Despite the influence of Libyans, Kushites and, later, Assyrians, the Theban elite
remained Egyptian. The influence of the Kushites is nonetheless manifest in the
prosopographical record: prominent individuals came from families that rose to power
at the time of the Kushite conquest, some such individuals were allied to the Kushites
themselves by marriage, new titles and roles were created, and certain measures were
put in place to prevent any one individual or family from gaining enough power to
threaten Kushite authority.
Criteria for assessing wealth, status and political influence are examined, along
with the relationship between these concepts and both individual titles, and the
combinations in which they were held by single individuals. The study of certain
individuals who were prominent in the monumental record, and their families shows
that titles were passed from one individual to the next in ‘bundles’. Such bundles
could be passed from one family member to the next, and there are several examples
groups of titles having been retained by a single family over several generations.
Bundles could also pass between unrelated individuals however, suggesting that in
these cases the titles collectively reflected the component responsibilities of a single
office, such as that of the chief steward of the god’s wife. In other cases, titles not
apparently part of such a bundle, might reflect additional responsibilities held
concurrently, or alternatively they might reflect posts held at an earlier stage in the
individual’s career.
Case studies will be used to show how prosopographical study sheds light on the
dynamics of the relationship between the Kushites and established Egyptian families,
and can reveal evidence of Kushite influence, but also that their influence was limited.
Particular attention will be paid to the Montuemhat, Padiamunnebnesuttawy and
Nespakashuty families, and the institution of the god’s wife of Amun, in particular
Harwa and Akhamunru, successive holders of the post of her chief of staff.
Consideration will be given to the various institutions in which the individuals
concerned were employed, and observations made about the relative influence of each
of these institutions. It is also noted that there is relatively little consistency in the
titles held by prominent individuals of the times, and the value of individual titles as
indicators of status or influence is scrutinised.
(b) The Egypt Exploration Society photographic archive
The Egypt Exploration Society’s London base in Doughty Mews houses its archives –
the photographs and other records of the Society’s fieldwork in Egypt (occasionally in
Sudan) from its beginnings in 1882 to the present day. The range and quality of
material varies considerably: some excavations and sites are well represented by
numerous photographs of high quality (negatives and prints) and detailed notebooks
and plans. Other expeditions have very few surviving records however, while a few
have none at all. The Society has recently discovered that the funding it has, for many
years, received from the British government through the British Academy, is to be
withdrawn, with serious implications, for its fieldwork in particular. Thanks to other
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