SES Meeting December 2010
Steven Gregory - The point of obelisks

December saw the return of Steven Gregory to talk to the society and on one of those awful wintery nights it was a credit to all those who managed to attend. Over 20 braved the conditions and enjoyed a talk which put a different spin on the point of obelisks.

From his opening slide, which was more atmospheric of a Dr Who story, Steven explained that the talk was  not about how they were made over 4,000 years ago but what was their purpose?

The Oxford English dictionary was a starting point as “A monument especially characteristic of Egypt” yet there are more authentic obelisks in Italy than in Egypt! Steven showed that they appear in the
main centres of power around the world and understandably we saw examples in Birmingham!

Obelisks are still being built today and local examples tended to confirm they are memorial and a monument to commemorate a person or their deeds. We saw the many examples in England, France and the USA where the role of the obelisk is more of a grave marker and there were
other examples of the influence of Ancient Egypt such as the “Wings of Horus” in funeral monuments. Certainly Steven showed us that an obelisk reflects wealth and status but not always with religious or ideological context.

Obelisks were certainly collected as souvenirs, such as the one of Ptolemy VIII brought to Kingston Lacy near the end of the 18th Century. Steven told us the story of the journey behind the obelisk of Tutmoses
III found today on the Thames embankment. A trip around the world to New York, Paris, Istanbul and Rome emphasised how obelisks represent a 3-D visual metaphor for pharonic culture which reminds us of the Egyptian civilisation yet very little of their culture or the function of it is found within the actual object.

Steven then went on to look at why Egyptians made them in the first place and many have representations of battles or offering to the gods so it would be reasonable to think of them as having a religious purpose. Words meaning obelisk have interesting meanings and we looked at Greek, Arabic and the Ancient Egyptian’s name- tekhenu and ben-ben.

Egyptians believed their universe was created from chaos and the ben-ben bird is a grey heron or phoenix type of bird. There were examples of connections to the rising and setting of the sun and links to
kingships or the role of the pharaoh. Beautiful slides took us around a variety of temples to show us examples. We saw lovely views of temples being associated with gods and back to the famous one on the Place de la Concorde in Paris with its golden apex reminding us of solar connections. The tall obelisk reflects the early sun light long before light hits the temple itself and the reverse at night.

Referring to Heroditus Steven explained that the Greeks didn’t have a word for religion and probably the ancient Egyptians didn’t either. Heroditus used a word better interpreted as “Ones who respect and
serve the gods”.

So how religious were the Ancient Egyptians?

Steven showed us how the temples on the east and west banks served specific functions. The king’s main role was to maintain the state of the universe and stop it come crashing down because if the king fails all systems fail. On the west bank each temple and obelisk built or added to by different pharaohs referred to the king defeating mortal foes and also deeper inside the temples how the ploughing, harvesting and economic functions had been successful.

All major gods of the cosmology were represented but it became clear that it was the king’s temple not the god’s. Kingship related to Maat and the obelisk symbolised the link between the king and the heavenly partners. We saw details in obelisks especially those of Hatshepsut all of which relate to life and stability. We heard how the king was the principle agent and must be respected because although not a god himself his relationship to the living and the necheru was vital. The obelisk was a symbol of power and through the Greeks and Romans these symbols of power were brought, en mass, to Europe. Of the many examples given by Steven the obelisk in St Peter’s square Rome was fascinating especially with the sign of the cross that now sits on the top.

The point of the obelisk is seen even today to establish legitimacy of someone’s rule and ideology for everyone to see and thanks again to Steven for braving the weather and giving us a detailed talk giving a
new and thought provoking perspective to a common- enough symbol of Ancient Egypt.

Keith Alldritt

Scribe


SES meeting November 2010
Professor Alan Lloyd - Death in Ancient Egypt

A packed venue witnessed Professor Lloyd discuss a very important subject in ancient Egypt – death.  In fact the meeting was so busy that extra chairs had to be brought in to accommodate everyone.  It was particularly fabulous to see so many new faces in the audience.  Hopefully, as the talk was so entertaining and humorous, these new people will visit us again along with our valued regular guests!

SES October Meeting - Dr Karen Exell
"The Magicians Tomb"

October’s meeting welcomed back Dr Karen Exell for her eagerly anticipated  second visit to the society when the curator of Egypt and the Sudan at The Manchester Museum of the University of Manchester told
us about “The Magician’s Tomb”.

At the museum are a number of objects that have been spread through the galleries and never been displayed together as a group. The ongoing work of the museum and why the objects earned the nickname “The
Magician’s Tomb” was the sheer delight of the evening.  Karen wanted to outline how they had come to Manchester and about the individual they had belonged to.

Karen set the scene with an aerial photo because in 1895-6 Flinders Petrie and James Quibell were excavating at the Ramesseum and found a 13ft long shaft under the brick storage magazines which had been
disturbed through robbers who had taken all the valuable items. There was however a group of objects previously removed from one of the burial chambers.

Anyone wishing to read more about the excavations should read the Ramesseum by JE Quibell which is available online at http://openlibrary.org/b/OL6573545M/Rammesseum. The detailed descriptions read like an adventure as Karen said “Like archaeology should be”! Some of the objects were split up to different
museums.

Petrie was part funded by Jesse Howorth, a Manchester textile merchant and so the majority of objects came to Manchester. Initially they declined but he was determined and built an extension to the museum which opened in 1912.

Karen used beautiful pictures to describe the items in detail. From the reports we learnt about a white plastered box with a jackal drawn on the lid but are now missing. The box was about one third full of papyri
along with a large bundle of reads, unused but intended for pens. Around the box were female fertility figurines in limestone, faience and one in wood. There were gemstone beads from a necklace or funerary flail, model food and vessels with faience animals. Also we heard about a variety of ivory objects including a pair of clappers and fragments of four magical wands carved with protective demons. A number of the objects are typical of late Middle Kingdom burials but not exclusively for funerals.

Some objects were distinctive such as a bronze serpent, entangled in a mass of hair and a small painted wooden figure associated with protecting women and childbirth. Some clappers discovered were suggestive of performing rituals and the items showed signs of wear so they had been used a lot.

There were at least 24 manuscripts and the majority of the texts on the papyri were in hieratic and healing or protective in nature. There were magico-medical texts relating to pregnancy and birth, medical prescriptions, rituals to protect a house from magic, ghost and serpents. Also for good measure there was a roll of love spells.

Interestingly although the quality of the papyri is uniformly fine they seem to come from different dates and sources so suggesting they are a collection gathered over the years. The papyri imply that the owner was
highly learned and links to the elite at temples. Overall, the range of material suggests they may have belonged to a lector priest.

Lector priests in the Middle Kingdom were attached to particular cults of gods or dead kings. Karen took us on a journey through examples of texts and spells with known tales of conspiracies, love spells, letters
to the dead and magical practice in society. As ever the delight of our meetings is the chance to listen to an enthusiastic expert explain so much in such a short time that stimulates and reminds us why we keep coming back for more. Interestingly the jackal that had been described on the original box could have meant “Keeper of secrets” and certainly its owner understood secrets, especially those within a temple.

The owner of the objects so enthusiastically described by Dr Exell suggests he had knowledge of general medicine, female fertility, protection from serpents and demons, childhood ills and agricultural
magic and although had affiliation to a temple he appeared to have travelled around dispensing his expertise for I would think high status people who could afford his services. 

The work to get together the objects that are currently in different museums around the world and explain the work of the lector priest is an exciting project that will be even more enjoyable for those present
at Karen’s talk to see the result of her hard work when the new galleries open in October 2010.  We wish her well and look forward to seeing the objects having been given such an insight into them and their use, although one item – cucumber-shaped- still needs some explanation?

We also wish her well with the work to produce the information on line and include an internet game for teenagers to attract those reluctant to go to museums. Once again a superb talk from Karen and we hope we
will see her again.



SES Meeting September  – Carol  Andrews
“Pets or Powers – Animals in Ancient Egypt”.

September’s well attended meeting saw the return of one of our most prolific and popular speakers. Carol once again brought her wealth of experience, especially through her work at the British Museum, and her delightful sense of humour.

As with any true expert the detail and titles trip lightly off the tongue but thankfully tonight’s talk was all about what things looked like rather than their names! The use of animals as being sacred is instantly recognisable to Ancient Egypt and we saw creatures in all sorts of forms and guises.

Scarabs were an important symbol of regeneration and any modern day tourist will find it hard not to return without some form of memento involving this type of beetle. Interestingly Carol highlighted how scarabs were show with their ball of dung representing the sun in their front legs whereas in nature it uses its back legs.

Ancient Egyptians believed unseen forces meant that living creatures could be representative of a bewildering array of deities. On the Namer palette, which shows the earliest unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, we saw the king as a bull gorging the enemies of Egypt. Unnoticed for many, until Carol pointed it out, was how the king wore a bull’s tail on the back of his belt. We then saw images of pharaohs with Carol pointing out the tail!

Beginning with the 18th Dynasty every king began the Horus name with “mighty bull” even if the pharaoh was female! Carol took us through a variety of gods shown in living form on human bodies.

The Apis bull was another physical manifestation of immense importance. When the Apis bull died all Egyptians mourned and it was given the full embalming treatment and as Carol showed us that meant a really large embalming table. Following a magnificent funeral the bull was placed in a separate chapel. The cow that bore the Apes bull was also treated as special and Carol looked at two other bull cults.

Ancient Egypt was famous for a thousand and one different cults
involving creatures that swam, walked or flew. We saw how the shape or animal used wasn’t enough to be certain which representation was actually being used. There is always a problem if identification unless there is text attached. Often a massive clue is if the imaged is coloured but if not there can be problems. We learnt about Anubis although instantly recognisable as the black jackal but other jackals were used in quite different ways.

Pictorially the artists weren’t sexist and lion-headed goddesses such as Sekhmet appear and Carol took us through clues to look for to identify a particular deity. There was the goddess Mut shown with a lion’s head and sun disc compared to Bastet, the cat-goddess.

There were examples of falcon-headed gods and the four sons of Horus protecting the innards of the deceased as seen on canopic jars provided us with even more interesting examples.

Amun who was amalgamated with Ra is often found with a ram’s head and Carol explained about a ram’s headed sphinx. It was fascinating to learn that Amun was really important from the Middle Kingdom so not as ancient as maybe thought. This is known because the type of ram with its fat tail was a breed on introduced in this period and the species is still bred in the Sudan today.

Yet as Carol pointed out the trouble is that the god can also take the form of a goose! Another deity appearing in two forms was Thoth who could be seen as an Ibis which was revered as it could kill snakes or a baboon, the most intelligent of the monkeys. The bad tempered baboon may be screeching around before dawn and was considered to have fore knowledge of the coming of the sun yet still under the influence of the moon.

Carol told us about so many animals and their part in Ancient Egypt and a few examples are:

The hippo was seen as a creature of moods – all bad. Apparently hippo ivory was important as it was well before elephants provided the material and we saw two examples of female hippo goddesses.

We saw examples of the household goddess, Taweret, shown standing upright and apparent pregnant and associated with the protection of women in childbirth. While the bull may be fearsome, the cow was the archetypical mother figure as protective, fertile and provided meat.

The wild boar was seen as a symbol of evil which needed to be driven away yet the sky goddess Mut nut was pictured as a sow with piglets equating to the stars.

Bastet, the female cat goddess, representing fertility yet in early forms was a more fierce lion type creature and there was the comparison with the aggressive Sekhmet.

The delight of listening to someone who is so experienced but has the youthful enthusiasm to show such obvious enjoyment at visiting our friendly society is very special and one to be treasured.


SES meeting 4th August 2010 
Claire Malleson – Life within walls, workers’ village in Ancient Egypt

There was an excellent turn out for the August’s meeting and those not on their holidays welcomed a new speaker to the society. Claire Malleson joined us to talk about two different workers’ villages from two different periods of ancient Egypt and how archaeology has revealed what life would have been like. Claire took us on a trip to Giza and Tell El-Amarna.

Firstly we looked at the western settlement at Giza. Building the pyramids required a lot of labour never mind the enormous bureaucracy and there was obviously lots of activity where the workers lived and worked. On the west side Petrie discovered ‘the barracks’ but these are now thought to be more for storage and only temporary accommodation. In the 1950’s workshops were found near the pyramid of Menkaura but
again there wasn’t enough accommodation. Relatively recently, north of the great pyramid, debris being cleared for the ‘coach park’ found evidence of the workforce but it is to the east of Menkaura’s  pyramid
that two major settlements have been discovered through the work done by Mark Lehnar. He and his team have revealed the ground plan of a town and there are signs of earlier settlements below the current work yet
to be excavated.

A modern day football pitch and the route that was used by camel boys going out to ply their trade at the plateau haven’t ruined the archaeology as it was thankfully buried deep enough. Starting with two small areas in 2000 the archaeology has revealed a major bakery and we learnt about a ‘pedestal building’. Once the alluvial deposits had been cleared the dig has opened up to an enormous area.

The delight of listening to someone knowledgeable about the site is that Claire could show a slide with a plan showing the footprint of the site together with a picture of a particular location and with her enthusiasm makes it so much more interesting.

The wall of the crow was the interesting and fairly large feature. Compared with the nearby, structures, for which Giza is famous, it isn’t noticed by tourists yet the wall, ten metres thick, was staggeringly huge – blocks which are the same size as those used in the pyramids were used. There was one gateway, two and a quarter metres or five cubits wide and seven metres high, which was more like a corridor and not just an entrance. The road through the western settlement was paved and had a camber. The large wall may have been necessary due to problems with flooding but the main settlement was walled with this one way in. There were three main routes through the walled area with only the main street so far excavated.

An interesting aspect was that Claire explained how access off the main street was controlled. The galleries provided accommodation for the skilled workforce. Three out of four galleries, thirty-four metres long,  that have been discovered are relatively well preserved and are orientated north- south with twenty metres of living space. There was a gatehouse type entry to the building but this did seem more like a storehouse than the apparent control feature off the main route. There was also a small bakery and a have been more than one storey that we saw, through the use of modern day human stooges, could comfortably sleep forty.  

Some mud-bricks have been stolen from the western town in a very systematic way but the archaeology reveals dense housing yet the individual units are enormous, incorporating sleeping benches, large storage areas and bakeries. Claire’s told us about the ‘Pedestal Building’ even more interesting as no one knows quite what it was used for! Also we heard about a gigantic pottery mound which ncludes animal bones could be the funerary rubbish after offerings had been made! In the eastern town one house has been excavated in some detail and then filled in. A reconstruction has been built on top. Again it is so interesting to listen to someone explain about this house and why it’s known as a ‘snail house’ (because the inside plan goes round in a
spiral!). 

The supply of food to the thousands of people at the Giza was a major issue and we learnt how one area had low quality fish but in the western town there was evidence of large/ better quality fish. Claire then moved onto the worker’s town at Amarna which was separated from the royal city and slightly out into the desert. The area, which was only used for 20-30 years, had been first excavated in 1920’s with Barry Kemp leading the way today. Kemp’s excavation of four of the buildings has revealed an enormous amount of detail. The plan showed 73 houses in an area of 69sqm and was aligned north-south with one main entrance. Intriguingly almost every house was identical in design. A major source of information has been the large refuse dump as well as
the remains of chapels, a quarry, the road network and surprisingly pigpens! There was one large dwelling in the SE corner of the overseer. It’s a delight not only to hear such detail beautifully portrayed but seeing lovely pictures to explain it all.

Ideally, for the archeo-botonists like Claire, is the fact that there is excellent evidence of the inhabitant’s diet. This is because the location in the desert means that the remains are so desiccated and therefore ideally preserved. Contrast this to effect of the higher water table on objects found at Giza.

Claire gave us a delightful insight into the workers way of life. She explained about bread making with the ovens possibly located on the roof of their house. Amazing, considering modern Egypt, were the pig pens discovered. Apparently pork was a main source of mammal protein for the workers. It may have provided meat for the main city and not just local consumption. Claire explained that although pigs were considered “dirty “and there is no reference to the use of the pigs in tomb illustrations but then this may be because “dirty animals “wouldn’t have been part of any religious rituals. The find of the pig pens are not only a fascinating archaeological discovery but through international co-operation research is being made on the DNA evidence
of the actual pigs of the time and how modern day species may have their origins.

Although small scale there were signs of small brick-edged garden plots found and yet another insight into a less known aspect of the worker’s life. We also learnt how chapels were used as communal meeting places, like village halls today, and not just for religious rituals.

Huge amounts of textile fragments have been found which also due to the dryness have provided excellent information about spinning and weaving. The dryness has enabled wooden spindles, whorls, shafts and
warp spacers( not normally found) as some of the items that Claire was able to bring in to her lovely description of how the spinning and weaving processes worked. Claire has already indicated her willingness to talk to us again and we wish her well with her work and look forward to her return.

Keith Alldritt
Society scribe

SES talk July 2010
Aiden Dodson – Amarna Twilight: The Mysteries of Akenaten’s Co-regent(s)

Once again it was so satisfying to welcome back Dr Aiden Dodson to our friendly society. Since his last visit the established author and expert Egyptologist has been regularly seen on TV.

Talking of his TV work there was a real bonus for the audience when he gave us an update on the DNA dilemma concerning the definitive (or not so definitive) “evidence” on “King Tut uncovered” and the claims that
had sensationally been made recently. Those of us who followed the revelations will have seen Aiden as one of the “talking heads” in the documentary and his explanation why there are justifiable concerns over the DNA techniques and interpretations that just don’t fit with the archaeology was all so very interesting.

Then we got on to the main business for the evening and his views on the mysterious decade of Amarna from its high point to the resumption of traditional religion in Ancient Egypt. Aiden’s enthusiastic presentation of information from his book published last year started with views of Tell el-Armana to set the scene and put things in perspective as we would return to various locations during the talk. His focus was from year 12 onwards because it is possible to identify an actual event with certainty and, with superb slides, to take us on a
journey, starting with a well known image from Berlin Museum to tombs such of Hiya and Meryre II, all showing a great event in Amarna’s existence when most of the known world brought gifts there. It is unclear what the event actually commemorated. It may have been Akanaten’s sole role, co-regency or possibly the ceremonial completion of the new city. 

After this momentous event everything went downhill! Could this event have sowed the seeds for its demise? Is it possible that the plague came with the visitors and their gifts?

There may not be any definite proof but the delight of the evening was hearing Aiden’s ideas and how they  fits in with the known problems experienced by the royal family. We were led through a series of tragedies using evidence found in the royal tombs. With the help of our speaker we looked in particular at the demise of the royal daughters and what caused their sudden deaths and the haste the burial chambers were prepared.  

As one example of many given by Dr Dodson we saw how only some of the walls in Meryre II’s chamber are decorated. None of the private royal tombs were complete. We saw more examples of one phase of decoration yet the workmen never came back to finish them. So skilled craftsmen had started sketching the wall decoration but importantly we saw how it could be tied in to the same time period.

The true delight in listening to Aiden explain theories about such an important period in Ancient Egypt was the detail he could give, picking snippets of evidence from tombs here and there, to interpretation of blocks often reused elsewhere all about such intriguing figures like Akhenaten, Nefertiti, Smenkhare and of course leading to Tutankhamen. Some evidence has since been lost but thankfully we saw copies from early travellers to help us get our heads around the characters and their relationships during this period.

With help of Google earth and a superimposed photo we looked at the great hall at Amarna – a later addition to the other buildings but it’s unclear exactly what structure was. Was it ceremonial or even the Coronation hall of Smenkhare?  Egyptologists seem happy to have Smenkhare as a co-regent with, or someone who followed, Akhenaten but we were shown another fragment found by the famous Peachy and well you really had to be there to enjoy the beautifully described explanations involving nomens,  epithets and why things unravel when you take a closer look that something in the ring/ cartouche that shouldn’t be there – unnoticed was an hieroglyph 't' making it a female undermining the “Berlin gay lovers stelea”- so no man boob but husband and wife!- a final clincher for doubters which had included the speaker!!  

Smenkhare where did he come from? Too old to be Akenaten’s son so possibly brother because why co-ruler if he was his son? His proposed chronology to the  end of Amarna Period and who King Tut was married to
and where so many fit in to such an important time when Ancient Egypt was a delight to listen to.

Again I stress that the delight of an evening with such a distinguished guest is the ease he outlines theories that an enthusiasts, such as your humble scribe who enjoys learning about Ancient Egypt but in reality forgets as much as he remembers, are enthralled with those in the audience with far superior knowledge of the subject equally entertained.  

Without hesitation I would recommend reading any of Aiden Dodson’s books and whenever the chance presents itself to listen to him then grab the chance. Aiden’s enthusiasm is in equal measure to his
knowledge and thankfully he is still keen to promote Egyptology and seems to enjoy his visits to our friendly society so we already look forward to his next visit.

Keith Alldritt
Society scribe

SES June Meeting 2010

Victor Blunden “The House of Ka – Mastaba Tomb Decoration of the Old
Kingdom”.

On a lovely warm spring evening we welcomed a regular visitor and friend back to the society with Victor Blunden and his talk on “The House of Ka- Mastaba Tomb Decoration of the Old Kingdom”. As background we looked at pre-dynastic burials such as “Ginger” (or whatever he’s correctly called now!) on display at the British Museum as an example of simply backfilling the grave. As society progressed so Victor took us through the better provisions that were given to the dead. His delightful knowledgeable yet humorous style took us from
reasons why Anubis and jackals could have been connected with protecting the dead to ideas why Egyptians believed the spirit Ka had to have frequent supply of sustenance. 

We looked at the basic mound type structures to more detailed layouts when the mound became enclosed by walls. To try and stop a roof caving in, due to minor earthquakes, Victor showed us the progression to bigger and buttressed constructions so the building started taking place before the person died! 

Victor’s take on the battle between the ancient architects and those involved in the second oldest profession – tomb robbers- was intriguing. Tombs started to be placed below ground and the view from the top of the pyramids at Giza to the layout of the nearby mastabas of those important enough to have a tomb near the king was a great picture. 

We explored the changing design of mastabas including the introduction of a shaft to make the occupant fairly secure – at least for a while. In the 5th and 6th Dynasties we saw how again design changed and caves were used with reliefs on walls. There were pictures of the corridors which were decorated with everything need for the afterlife as well as servicing a religious function. 

Victor first visited Egypt in 1986 and was lucky enough to visit the tomb of Mereruka before getting “tombed out” by visiting too many tombs in too short a time. So good advice is to mix visiting temples with tombs when in Egypt. One part of the tomb was the serdat room which was to cover the possibility that even if the body was ransacked the spirit KA could have a substitute to enter. So a statue in a bricked up room was created even if it had to look out through a letterbox opening! 

A lot of these statues survive and it’s interesting to see the work that had gone into the detail of the face so Ka could recognise the person. We saw examples, some familiar if you’ve been to Cairo museum, but many more, and we saw how limestone statues and even wooden ones were accurate enough to include the owner’s double chin. Some serdat statues show the person with skills of a scribe (really interesting part of the talk). Scribes were not only literal but literally the top few percent of society. Again we saw the lovely detail and especially the image of the tomb owner looking out to distance thoughtfully composing a letter. 

In the tomb of Mereruka the most famous room (no. 13) was where offerings could be made in front of the statue carved in the wall. We then saw another tomb where the owner had 3 statues to another with 4 and even up to 12 so going for safety in numbers!! 

Victor showed us pictures of walls which included the tomb owner sitting at a table with food and while he hoped for his son to continue offerings there was always the possible contractual arrangement with Ka
priests who would carry out the task. If sons, grandsons or Ka priests failed then a backup was needed! 

A more permanent solution was not only to have food shown in the wall decorations but also have the food processes carved into the walls. We learnt the symbols for thousands – which seemed to mainly apply to beer
and loaves. Again there was the development in thinking so that not only food but clothing, crockery etc appeared on the wall space. We saw geese, sacred oils, offerings, agricultural scenes of seeds being sown plus harvesting crops. There were animals – enjoyable examples of Egyptian sense of humour with the donkeys- cattle treading through the corn to separate the husks and see the workers then throwing the crops up in the air. Thankfully Victor explained why the crops would be sieved – well with cattle walking over them it would give it a flavour... 

Long horned cattle were shown to illustrate the high status of the tomb owner as only the rich could afford them and the lovely detail of how they looked after them especially getting them across rivers by relying on their herd instinct and using a calf to entice its mother to follow. Even the detail of the humane killing of the cattle and Victor’s comparison with the first appearance of Clint Eastwood in Rawhide seemed appropriate. 

A trail of grain helped to catching cranes in a net and among some of the delicacies shown was how they cooked hedgehogs! As well as the food tomb owners wanted entertainment such as high kicking “Tiller girls”, hunting, shooting and fishing. The hunting on the edge of the desert showed a lion biting into a buffalo – even today two of the most powerful creatures on the African continent- so the illustrators were good observers of wildlife. The hippo hunt was no doubt exciting as more people are killed by them in Africa every year even in modern times. Definitely macho image time! 

Victor showed us how not only important events were included in the decorations but prestigious positions such as being a judge in a court scene confirmed the owner’s status and power. The tomb owner may also
not want to be alone and there were examples of him being seen playing with his children and grandchildren. 

The mastaba was to be part of a proper funeral and fitting culmination of a successful career and also his widow shown collapsed sobbing – well how he envisaged it - even if she may have been glad to see the
back of him!! 

The technology may have been new to Victor but his delightful old- style delivery and detailed witty insights into what the decoration of a mastaba tomb from the old kingdom was enthralling to all interested in ancient Egypt and made for another thoroughly entertaining evening.

Keith Alldritt
Society scribe

SES Meeting May 2010 - Purity and Order in an Egyptian Household 

On the eve of some sort of big political event, necessitating our usual room being used for ballot papers and postal votes, we welcomed a new speaker to our friendly society in a pleasant meeting room at the Gatehouse Theatre. Lucia Gahlin joined us to explain about family life
together with the mysteries of the human life cycle in ancient Egypt.Central to the way every Egyptian lived their life was the concept of maat. This concept of order, truth and stability was crucial to the sense of balance and harmony to social cohesion in the local community and throughout Egypt.

More familiar may be the ancient Egyptians of higher standing and their living in accordance with maat but Lucia wanted to look at the personal level of an ancient Egyptian. Evidence of settlement compared with temples and the pharaohs is harder to find yet key information has been found at Deir el Madina and the tomb builders of the Valley of Kings which actually gives us more specific detail.

Home life needed to be relatively pure and ordered so once the threshold was crossed important rituals ensured they were separated from the chaos outside. One story of two troubled brothers included the important phrase that “Did not pour water over his hands” and another source referred to guests at a banqueting scene being washed and perfumed. Several examples highlight how the “washing” ritual was extremely significant to purify them.

As well as such daily rituals Lucia also explained how stages of the human life cycle were deemed impure and so needed purification. Such an impure stage was child birth. In fact, not just having a child but, to be socially acceptable a woman had to produce!

The state of chaos was associated with demons as we saw from sources from third and fourth century BC with rare representations of a pregnant woman, to a 12th Dynasty papyrus detailing an unborn with sympathetic magic to prevent miscarriage and an example from the British Museum collection of a newly born and mother and child breast feeding.

Their worry over death stealing the infant was justified with infant mortality so high for one to five year olds. An exhibit from the Louvre shows the goddess Tawaret, who was a mixture of hippo, lion and crocodile, as one who “Commands demons” and involved in life and death. 

Ancient Egyptian females didn’t know much about adolescent but did know that fertility was important. One inscription quoted said “Do not abandon a woman from your household if she doesn’t bear children” compared with a 20th Dynasty letter found in Berlin’s collection extolling that “You’re not a man if you can’t make your wives pregnant”. When happiness is defined by the ability to have a family no wonder the ancient Egyptians sought support from so many sources.
Lucia took us around collections from all over the world to show the rituals and their importance and we saw how the women even carried little scrolls in tubes worn around the neck to help save them from miscarriage or twins! Rather similar to the type of help given to Egyptians meeting problems after death.

Other mysterious aspects of life were the menstrual cycle and ‘danger of demons by open orifices’ and the rites of passages for young virgin boys. Lucia related examples of enthusiastic circumcision rituals. The word for circumcision is also used for purity (but excuse me while I
type this sitting crossed legged) and there were tales of the act being carried out during late puberty.  Evidence from a Chicago museum relates to an example from the 1st Intermediate period of circumcision with 120 men at the same time.