Burial and Mortuary Practices

in Late Period and Graeco-Roman Egypt

International Conference
July 17th–19th
Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest

Abstracts

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Mummy linen inscribed by Demotic texts from TT400
Adrienn Almásy (Montpellier)

In the tomb TT400 nine fragments of mummy bands inscribed by Demotic text have been found in a
heap, next to the entrance of the tomb, where the grave robbers accidentally dropped them. One of
those is complete and enabling us to presume its possible position on the body. They are all dated
back to the Roman period and six persons have been mentioned by the texts written in the same
formula. Most of the Demotic mummy bands of the museums have been sold by antiquity dealers
and its origin are unknown. They are usually supposed to come from Akhmim or the Theban area and
only few fragments found in Deir el-Medinah. These findings of TT400 suggest that the Theban area
would provide us more bands than we suspected.
The lecture will give an overview on the use, the types and on the provenance of these
inscribed bands while looking for the orthographical, paleographical and wording characteristics of
the text of different provenance.

Pseudo-Mummies or Fake-Mummies? A new interpretation in the light of the most recent scientific
analyses
Alessia Amenta (Vatican)

In the Egyptian Collection of the Vatican Museums there are two small mummies which are usually
referred to as ‘Pseudo-Mummies’ or ‘Kinder-Mumien’, which represent an intriguing subject.
We are talking about a cylindrical bundle wrapped in linen bandages, covered by a mask in
gypsum plaster over the upper part of the body and the head. The face has been painted and the
whole of the mummy has been covered with a uniform brownish substance over the bandages.
There is evidence that elements of painted cartonnage were attached to the bandages.
This type of ‘miniature-mummy’ (between 30 and 60 cm long, only one single example of
around 70 cm) all display the same characteristic human facial features, and can be found in various
collections from Florence to Turin, from Venice to Vilnius, from London to Berlin, from Budapest to
Uppsala, from Stockholm to Bristol. In many cases these mummies are inside a rectangular coffin
made of re-used pieces of ancient coffins.
The Vatican Museums’ Diagnostic Laboratory for Conservation and Restoration has carried out a
series of scientific analyses: non-destructive image analyses (induced ultraviolet fluorescent light, FT-
IR, IR false-colour imaging, XRF, digital radiography) and destructive analyses (micrographic analysis
of cross-section, thin section petrography, SEM-EDS and µXRF) of several samples of pigment and
gesso so as to better understand the origin of these similar mummies. Some microsamples of the
brown substance covering the whole mummy have also been investigated (FT-IR, CG-MS). Some
samples of bandages and of bone (taken from a break at the level of the feet) were examined with
C14 radiocarbon dating. The two mummies were sent for CT scanning at the University of Messina.
In the light of the results and of comparison with recent analyses of other small mummies a new
interpretation has been put forward.
The study of these ‘Pseudo-Mummies’ has been carried out as part of the Vatican Mummy
Project, set up in 2006 and directed by Alessia Amenta, with the aim of cataloguing, studying and
restoring the collection of human mummies held in the Egyptian Department of the Vatican
Museums.

Offering lists in the large Late Period shaft tombs at Abusir

Ladislav Bareš (Prague)

Although the large Late Period tombs known so far from the Abusir cemetery had been built during a
short span of time at the very end of Dynasty 26, they show a remarkably considerable number of

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divergences, be it the orientation of the deceased, the arrangement and decoration of their
superstructures and burial chambers, the shape and decoration of the sarcophagi, etc. The use and
position of the offering lists, an almost inevitable feature of any ancient Egyptian tomb except for the
poorest ones, differs in the large LP tombs at Abusir as well. While in the tombs of Udjahorresnet and
Padihor tiny lists with only a few items are preserved, two large and extensive lists appear in the
burial chamber of Iufaa, in addition to a number of smaller such lists that are inserted among the
texts on his sarcophagi. On the other hand, no offering list appears in the burial chamber of
Menekhibnekau, whereas numerous fragments of an offering list/offering lists(?) attest to its/their
existence in the now completely demolished superstructure. In the paper, various questions
connected with the existence of the offering lists in the large Late Period shaft tombs at Abusir are
discussed and some possible explanations concerning their different appearance and use are
suggested.

TT 414 Revisited: New insights into Theban mortuary practices during the 4th century BCE
Julia Budka (Vienna)

The 30th Dynasty and the early Ptolemaic Period mark an important turning point within the Late
Egyptian funerary culture, traceable in funerary texts, objects, tombs and temples. The rich material
from the Asasif datable to the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE is of special importance, since it attests to a
Theban revival that recalls many aspects of the culture of the 26th Dynasty. Similar as it was already
noted for private and royal sculpture, Saite funerary architecture and burial equipment were also
reused and imitated during this era.
TT 414, the Saite tomb of Ankh-Hor, excavated by the Austrian mission under the direction of
Manfred Bietak in the 1970ties, provides ready case studies to illustrate Theban mortuary practices
during the 4th century BCE. The material found in this tomb, attesting to its long use-life from Saite
times until the Roman era and Coptic age, is currently being restudied. Because of their unusually
secure context, the objects from TT 414 may serve as important terms of reference in order to
analyse the numerous objects without provenience in museum collections throughout the world.
This paper aims to illustrate by selected finds from TT 414 (coffins, cartonnage, wooden
boxes and papyri) some of the most important aspects of Theban funerary culture in the 30th Dynasty
and the early Ptolemaic Period. The specific reuse of Saite monumental tombs in the Asasif will be
discussed, focusing on connections, interrelationships and developments between the 26th, the 30th
Dynasties and Ptolemaic times. The gradual merging of cultic activities in Theban temples, rituals
during local festivals, especially Osirian processions, and funerary cult executed at private tombs will
be stressed and highlighted by objects from TT 414.

Mummies’ sexual identity and sexuality in the hereafter. Body restoration, ritual and religious
belief
Alessandra Colazilli (Rome)

During Late and Graeco-Roman Egypt mummy restoration was a common practice finalized to the
well preservation of the body, in order to guarantee a new life in the hereafter. Artificial prosthesis
and body shaping were realized when deceased’s corpse was not considered to be in good condition
to attempt the afterlife. Being a prerequisite to the reanimation expected in the next world, dead’s
corpse had to be intact also in its sexual organs.
Since Old Kingdom genitals were carefully wrapped or modeled but embalmers of the
Twenty-first dynasty were particularly gifted in this respect, which gradually deteriorated in quality
over the course of the Third Intermediate period. During Graeco-Roman period mummies were
equipped with gold nipples or phalli as appropriate. Mummies with clear sign of restoration and re-
wrapping could show also sexual reconstruction or gender reassignment. To prevent damages and to

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repair were the main purposes of Egyptian embalmers. The dead body could be given back all the
faculties it had had use of during life, especially sexual vigour.
During embalming process priests were also present to play magical spells before the
deceased was wrapped, evoking Osiris’ myth, whose body parts were reunited and reanimated and
whose missing phallus was reconstructed by the goddess Isis and magically reanimated. The concept
of sexuality in funerary beliefs was also underlined by the presence of spells evoking sex and placed
in the coffin of the deceased, erotic activities in the hereafter were stimulated by reciting a
description of ideal situations and a deceased man was given a concubine figure to accompany him,
to stimulate his virility and ensure rebirth.
So the real embalmers’ aim was not only to preserve the corpse but also to give a chance of
immortality by restoring every part which needed to be reintegrate to a have a complete life and
mobility in the next world. And that life included also sex.

The Hypocephal of the Doorkeeper of the House of Gold of Amun (Inv. No. 238102). An attempt to
reconstruct the missing registers
Piotr Czerkwiński (Warsaw)

In the National Museum in Warsaw one can find a hypocephal, a very unique object and the only one
of its kind in the Polish collection. The hypocephal arrived in Poland in the XIXth century and was
later handed over to the National Museum along with a mummy and sarcophagus, probably from the
area of the Theban necropolis. The hypocephal belongs to a group of amulets, which appeared in the
Late Period burial customs and was a part of funerary equipment of priests related primarily to the
worship of the god Amun. The Warsaw example was discovered in 1988 during the "excavations"
inside the coffin belonging to the priest Amenhotep. Due to a small number of hypocephalus amulets
they are studied relatively rarely. Scholars dealing with them analyzed both function of deities
depicted, as well as the scenes appearing on the registers which refer to mythology and the Book of
the Dead.
Sometimes, however, we do not have fully preserved objects. This is also the case of the
hypocephal from Warsaw. Originally the iconography of this hypocephal was rich; black and red
decorations on a yellow background. Approximately forty percent is currently preserved, which can
cause problem for the future studies.
When you go into a detailed analysis of the iconography of these amulets you can see that a
large group of them may be categorized according to number of registers and scenes appearing on
them. The fully preserved analogies allow for restoration of the missing scenes, which can be very
helpful in further studies on these rare objects. A better understanding of the hypocephali will
contribute importantly to our knowledge of the Late Period burial customs and tomb equipment.

Creativity and Tradition in the coffin of Padiamun (Liverpool 53.72): a case-study of 25th Dynasty
mortuary practice
Alain Dautant (Bordeaux)
Rita Lucarelli (Bonn)
Luca Miatello (Como)
Cynthia May Sheikholeslami (Cairo)

The early 25th Dynasty coffin of Padiamun (Liverpool 53.72) was acquired in Egypt by James Burton.
Padiamun and his brother Nehemsumontu (whose coffins are in Boulogne-sur-Mer and Grenoble)
and their father were chiefs of the navigation of the great river barque of Amun in Thebes, and his
mother was descended from a scribe of the estate of a Divine Adoratress of Amun (also attested on a
stela in New York). The design of the coffin is characterized by a high degree of creativity in the
combination of iconographic elements and texts from the mortuary traditions of the Litany of the

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Sun and the Book of the Dead. The theme of solar-Osirian unity that characterizes coffins, stelae, and
funerary papyri dating to the Third Intermediate Period from the Theban region is evident in the
interior decoration. Figures from the Litany of the Sun, flanking an anthropomorphic djed pillar at
the base, associate the deceased with the sun and Osiris. The mummiform deities from the Litany of
the Sun reveal a demonic character as well, since most of them hold knives, recalling the function of
the sA.w, the “protectors” of the body of Osiris, represented on papyri and coffins already in the
Middle Kingdom. Elaborate solar images and symbols and the figure of Nut at the head end
emphasize the solar rebirth of the deceased. Demonic guardians are also the main motif of the
external decoration of the coffin box, which consists of an abridged version of vignettes and texts
from the Book of the Dead Spell 145. Book of the Dead motifs related to the final judgment occur on
the lid exterior along with the text of Spell 125. This paper will present the preliminary results of the
ongoing study of this coffin, including discussion of the family relationships of Padiamun and the
acquisition history of his coffin, and the peculiarities of the iconography and texts, contextualizing
them within the funerary religion of Third Intermediate Period Thebes.

A Late/Ptolemaic Coffin Miscellany

Aidan Dodson (Bristol)

The chronology of post-Saite coffins remains distinctly problematic, with only a handful of pieces that
have any means of precise dating. In contrast with those from the Third Intermediate Period, there
are very few chronological ‘hooks’ to allow any kind of granular chronological typology to be
constructed. One of the few coffin-ensembles that have been credibly linked into a reign is that of
Hornedjyotef in the British Museum (EA6677–79) to the reign of Ptolemy III. Given their close
similarity to this group, the ensemble of Neswaiu in Stockholm (NME 005–7), must be of the same
date. Also in Stockholm is a very usual piece, a mid-Eighteenth Dynasty ‘black’ coffin, which was
externally partly remodelled and externally repainted in Ptolemaic times.
Another issue with Late/Ptolemaic coffins is that many are without meaningful provenance,
having come from private collections. One which is from a private source, but whose place of
discovery is known, is that of Hapymen (Stockholm MME 1980-002), from Memphis and thus a good
means of identifying ‘northern coffins’. Another piece from a private source is Bristol H4308, the lid
of coffin of Steward of the Temple of Hathor, Lady of Qusiya, Peditehuty. In this case it is possible to
assume that piece came from Meir, the cemetery of Qusiya=Cusae. On the basis of iconographic
similarities to H4308, it is possible that Edinburgh A.1910.97, belonging to one Irthorru, might also be
attributed to the site of Meir as well.

Aspects solaires et osiriens dans les croyances et les pratiques funéraires thébaines de l’époque
tardive
Silvia Einaudi (Montpellier)

Le programme décoratif et textuel de plusieurs tombes monumentales tardives de la nécropole

thébaine (Assasif) montre l’existence de croyances et pratiques funéraires, qui sont caractérisés par
une forte complémentarité d’éléments solaires et osiriens. Ce « dualisme » se manifeste souvent
dans la division des plans des tombes en deux « parties », selon un axe longitudinal qui sépare la
section plus osirienne/nocturne de celle plus solaire/diurne du monument.
L’union des éléments solaires et osiriens, qui remonte au Nouvel Empire, s’affirme en
particulier dans la théologie thébaine de la Troisième Période Intermédiaire et de l’époque tardive
quand, selon la définition d’Assmann, Rê et Osiris sont « komplementäre Aspekte einer einzigen
Gottheit ».

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Re-use and modification of a saff-tomb on the south slope of el-Khokha, Thebes
Zoltán Imre Fábián (Budapest)

On the el-Khokha hillock, in the central part of the Theban necropoleis, where the most ancient
decorated tombs of the area are known, recent excavations have also pointed out saff-tombs with
pillared façades. In one of these that can be dated to the First Intermediate Period or the early
Middle Kingdom, not only a rich material of the original burial was found but later architectural
modifications could also be identified. More than a millennium later than the saff-tomb was
constructed, new burial places were formed, among others a shaft tomb, and a part of the saff seems
to have served as its superstructure. The intercolumnia of some of the pillars were blocked with mud
brick walls and a new chamber was shaped, probably a cult chamber. After an earthquake, however
this was also used as a burial chamber. These architectural modifications can be regarded as a special
type of secondary burial places. The analysis of the mostly fragmentary and rather mixed material of
the shaft tomb, which contained gilded faience amulets, Grecian amphorae and in situ finds as well,
shows that the shaft tomb was used in several phases both during the Third Intermediate Period and
the Late Period. This can also contribute to a more precise dating of the finds and the better
understanding of the secondary architectural structures.

Multiheaded protector of alive or dead?

Grzegorz First (Krakow)

One of the most significant feature of Late Egyptian religious iconography is presence of images with
plurimorfity of attributes, divine and animal symbols, which constitute complicated hybrid
representations. The so-called pantheistic or polymorphic deities, which in visual form are attested
from beginnings of Late Period to the Roman times in statuettes, amulets, vignettes of papyri and on
healing statues, are group strongly connected with magical message, readable especially in everyday
life.
The term „pantheistic deity” traditionally refers to a representation which includes a
conglomeration of human and animal elements such as heads of various animal species and other
animal body parts such as wings, tails, genital and legs. Representations of Pantheos also consist of
numerous embedded magical symbols, such as a snake eating its own tail (ouroboros) or knives and
royal insignia, which are held by the deity. Some symbols like eyes, wings and arms are often
multiplied. This kind of representation is shown en face, which is rare for Egyptian iconography and
hence emphasises its unique character. The combination and common overload of various attributes
is another characteristic feature.
The debate concerning this polymorphism argues, on the one hand, a possible seeking of a
personal, universal god with a solar, hidden aspect; on the other hand, a magical, practical
dimension, providing protection against evil powers and dangers.
Traditionally, researches on this phenomenon concentrate on magical, “live” aspects but
some questions can point out that idea visualized in the image was also present in practices with
horizon beyond the “real” world. This plot can indicate new perspective of research and can enlarge
our knowledge of mortuary thought in Late Period and Graeco – Roman Egypt.

Late Period and Greco-Roman burials of the religious association at the animal necropolis of Tuna
el-Gebel
Mélanie Flossmann-Schütze (München)

Beside the underground galleries with animal burials and sanctuaries for local gods, the animal
necropolis at Tuna el-Gebel comprises the archaeological remains of a religious association, namely a
huge settlement at Kom el-Loli and a small cemetery. The oldest known burial of this association

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belongs to the first prophet of Thot, Ankh-Hor, who probably lived in the Saite or Persian periods and
has been buried amidst the animal mummies in the subterranean parts of the Ibiotapheion. In the
Greco-Roman period, members of this association were buried in stone and mud brick tombs located
along the processional way leading from the settlement to the animal necropolis. These tombs are
situated among the living quarters of this settlement and obviously do not belong to the well known
Petosiris necropolis in the south of the archaeological site.
In this paper, I will present current research of the project ‘Tuna el-Gebel’ of the Institute for
Egyptology at Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, on the funerary traditions of this religious
association: the tomb equipment of Ankh-Hor comprises a sarcophagus, a wooden coffin, a funerary
mask and further mummy applications as well as canopies, shabtis, and faience vessels. Of so called
temple tombs, dating to the Ptolemaic period, like the tomb TG2004.G2 or the tomb of Djed-thot-ef-
ankh only the lower stone layers remained. On the other hand, the pyramid shaped tomb TG2006.G7
and the mud brick tomb TG2006.G6, both dating to the Roman period, were well preserved and
contained almost complete funerary equipments consisting of wooden funerary beds, gilded stucco
mummies with glass inlays, mummy masks, stucco statues and amulets, glass, metal and pottery
vessels, as well as animal mummies.
The finds of the Roman period tombs, especially the decoration of the gilded stucco
mummies and the wooden beds, provide insights into the funerary beliefs of this period. Finally,
some burial rituals will be reconstructed by means of the archaeological material and by comparing
this decoration with scenes of other funerary beds and tombs from Greco-Roman Egypt as well with
contemporary funerary literature.

Jeder nach seinem Geschmack- römerzeitliche Bestattungen in Abusir el Meleq

Renate Germer (Hamburg)

In den Jahren 1902 - 1905 grub Otto Rubensohn in Abusir el Meleq. Wie mit der ägyptischen
Altertümerverwaltung abgesprochen, war sein einziges Ziel die Gewinnung von Papyrus-Kartonage,
eine systematische Freilegung der Nekropolen war nicht beabsichtigt.
Dennoch geben seine Grabungstagebücher umfangreiche Informationen zu den von ihm
aufgedeckten römerzeitliche Gräbern und den darin gefundenen Särgen, Kartonagen und
Mumienporträts, von denen ein großer Teil nach der Fundteilung an das Ägyptische Museum Berlin
gelangte. Nur wenige Stücke davon sind allerdings bisher publiziert.
Die Särge zeigen eine große Vielfalt in der Form, der Dekoration und Beschriftung, ebenso die
Kartonagen, von denen leider viele ohne vorherige Dokumentation zur Papyrusgewinnung aufgelöst
wurden. Die Fundsituation und Ausgestaltung der erhaltenen Objekte wird jetzt zusammengestellt
und dokumentiert.

Zur Einordnung einer Gruppe später Holzsärge aus el-Hibeh. Aktualisierter Forschungsstand und
Perspektiven
Beatrix Gessler-Löhr (Heidelberg)

Trotz aller Fortschritte bei der Bearbeitung von Särgen aus dem ersten vorchristlichen Jahrtausend
bestehen für einige Fundkomplexe vor allem ausserhalb Thebens nach wie vor erheblich voneinander
abweichende Datierungsansätze. Dies trifft insbesondere auf die Holzsärge aus dem
mittelägyptischen el-Hibeh zu, einem am östlichen Nilufer gelegenen, in diesem Zeitraum strategisch
wichtigen Knotenpunkt im Grenzgebiet zwischen Unter- und Oberägypten. Anders als bei dem
Friedhof von Gamhud auf der Westseite gegenüber mit seinem charakteristischen Sargtypus (sogen.
Bauchsärge) und zeitlich begrenzter Belegungsdauer, kamen in den diversen Nekropolen von Hibeh
im Gebiet der griechisch-römischen und spätantiken Stadtruinen, inner- und außerhalb der
Stadtmauer und in den angrenzenden Felsabhängen die unterschiedlichsten Grablegen von der 22.

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Dynastie bis weit in koptische Zeit zutage. Vom Altertum bis heute – zuletzt infolge der arabischen
Revolution – fanden massive Raubgrabungen statt, und für das weiträumige, im Bereich der
Stadtruinen viele Meter hoch anstehende, jeweils nur punktuell ausgegrabene und danach immer
wieder durchwühlte Gelände liegen nur wenige, summarische Grabungsberichte vor. So sind auch
neue Untersuchungen zu Särgen aus Hibeh weitgehend auf das umfangreiche, nach Florenz gelangte
Museumsmaterial aus den italienischen Grabungen der 1930er Jahre angewiesen (G. Botti, Le Casse
di Mummie e i Sarcofagi da el Hibeh, Firenze 1958). Der seit langem stagnierende Forschungsstand
wurde erst mit John H. Taylors Vergleichsstudie zur Datierung eines speziellen Sargtyps in die 22. –
25. Dyn. und der Zuweisung etlicher Florentiner Särge an dessen unterägyptische Variante wesentlich
vorangebracht (in: Broekman – Demarée – Kaper (Hgg.), The Libyan Period in Egypt, Leuven 2009,
375-415).
Für eine weitere, noch nicht genauer definierte Gruppe anthropomorpher, bemalter
Holzsärge mit jeweils mehreren Exemplaren in Hildesheim und Wien (aus einer 2tägigen
Versuchsgrabung Hermann Junkers 1912) und Einzelstücken in anderen Museen reicht die diskutierte
Zeitspanne immer noch von der 3. Zwischenzeit bis in die mittlere Ptolemäerzeit, umfasst also einen
Zeitraum von ca. 1000 Jahren. Die qualitativ durchschnittlich gut gezimmerten Särge mit teilweise
aussergewöhnlichen Bildmotiven und farbenfroher, zuweilen etwas ungeschickter handwerklicher
Ausführung lassen sich höchst wahrscheinlich lokalen, provinziellen Werkstätten in und um Hibeh
zuschreiben. Aufgrund von einzigartigen Mumifizierungsszenen wie der Leichenwäsche über einem
Wasserbecken und der Balsamierung des aufgebahrten Leichnams erweckten zwei der Hildesheimer
Särge seit langem besondere Aufmerksamkeit, denen jetzt ein drittes Exemplar in Wien
anzuschließen ist.
Die kontroversen Datierungsvorschläge (inzwischen überwiegend saitischperserzeitlich
versus ptolemäisch) dürften in erster Linie auf den eklatanten Mangel an Vergleichsstücken aus
anderen Nekropolen zurückzuführen sein. Zudem gelangten die durchweg aus Massengräbern
geborgenen Särge entweder ganz ohne Beigaben, die als Datierungshilfe dienen könnten, in die
Museen, oder wurden getrennt transportiert und lassen sich nicht mehr zuordnen.
Von daher kommt dem 1914 während der Heidelberger und Freiburger Grabungen unter
Leitung von Hermann Ranke gefundenen Ensemble aus Innen- und Außensarg, der damals komplett
erhaltenen Mumie mit figürlich dekoriertem Perlennetz, einer Ptah-Sokar-Osiris-Figur und einem
(von zwei) Uschebtikästchen mit obeliskenförmigem Aufsatz (bis auf den Kastensarg alles in Freiburg)
eine Schlüsselrolle zu (H. Ranke, Koptische Friedhöfe bei Karara und der Amontempel Scheschonks I
bei El-Hibe, Berlin/Leipzig 1926). Grabungsfotos und Angaben aus dem Grabungstagebuch im Archiv
des Heidelberger Instituts liefern im Vergleich mit anderweitigen Fundberichten zu Hibeh wichtige
Hinweise auf den einstigen archäologischen Kontext.
Die noch unpublizierten Särge dieser Gruppe sowie mehrere, als zugehörig erkennbare
Stücke aus dem Kunsthandel und in diversen Museen und Privatsammlungen erweitern die
Materialbasis nach meiner Kenntnis auf derzeit mehr als 20 Exemplare (ohne die durch Fundteilung
nach Kairo gelangten Särge, einige vermutlich unter den Coffins with scenes and texts, Late period, JE
66783-66790, in: PM IV.125A, Griffith Institute Oxford, pdf version 3 June 2011). Anhand von Form
und Machart, Farbgebung und – soweit verfügbar – einiger ikonographischer, textlicher und
genealogischer Kriterien soll für die mir zugänglichen Exemplare ansatzweise eine typologische
Abfolge versucht und eine chronologische Eingrenzung vorgeschlagen werden. Ein institutionell wie
national übergreifendes Projekt zur Dokumentation des auf zahlreiche Standorte in verschiedenen
Ländern verstreuten Bestands unter Zuhilfenahme neuer naturwissenschaftlicher und
archäometrischer Untersuchungsmethoden erscheint für eine grundlegende Bearbeitung als
dringendes Desiderat.

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Museum of Fine Arts Budapest Inv.-No. 51.2523 and 51.2534: Integrated Sets of Model Vessels in
Burials of the 26th Dynasty in Lower Egypt
Silke Grallert (Berlin)

The burials of high ranking officials of the 26th dynasty in Lower Egypt usually contain a very limited
range of objects as burial equipment. Besides an extensive mummy adornment, canopic jars and
ushabtis undisturbed tombs of this period always include model vessels, made mainly of faience and
fixed as groups of 4 or more seldom of 10 vessels on a common base. Many museums and
collections, the Museum of Fine Arts Budapest included, own this class of objects, often being part of
their oldest stock and, thus, unfortunately lacking information on their provenance.
Taking the two examples from the Museum of Fine Arts Budapest as a starting point, the
author will present systematized objects of this type as compared with other model vessels and
discuss their archaeological and functional context in rituals, such as the Opening of the Mouth. The
author will also reconstruct a possible process of their origin from mural representations and their
emergence as material objects in the 26th dynasty burial chambers in addition to other burial goods.

Le rôle de Nout dans la renaissance du défunt d’après le sarcophage de Ny-Her (Caire 8390)
Nadine Guilhou (Montpellier)

Le sarcophage de Pa-en-Horemheb, dit Ny-Her, conservé au Musée du Caire, fait partie des
sarcophages anthropoïdes de pierre noire d’époque tardive. Il comporte une riche décoration, en
particulier sur le couvercle. Interface entre l’intérieur et l’extérieur, celui-ci développe à l’extérieur
l’accueil et la protection du défunt par toute une série de génies gardiens. L’arrivée du défunt parmi
eux a été rendue possible par le rituel funéraire et par l’intervention de Nout, dont la figure occupe
l’intérieur du couvercle. Un hymne, inscrit sur la robe de la déesse, lui est adressé par le défunt.
Tandis que sur les parois latérales, le ritualiste, s’adressant au défunt, explicite le rôle de la déesse. La
communication s’attachera, à partir de la traduction de ces textes originaux, à mettre en évidence ce
rôle de Nout, rendant son intégrité au cadavre et replaçant le défunt dans le monde des astres.

Iufaa’s Serpentine Bestiary: Some Notions of the Underworld in the Tomb of a Late Period Priest
Jiří Janák (Prague)
Renata Landgráfová (Prague)

The shaft tomb of Iufaa at Abusir dates to the turn of the 26th and 27th dynasties and the extent of its
interior decoration is unique among Late Period shaft tombs. Only the tomb of Menekhibnekau at
Abusir and the Theban tomb of Padiamenipe (TT33) contain a similar range and extent of texts and
representations.
Almost all available spaces are fully decorated with hieroglyphic texts and images in the tomb
of Iufaa – the northern, southern and eastern walls (but not the ceiling) of the burial chamber, the
complete outer and inner surface of the outer sarcophagus (but not its lid), and the complete outer
and inner surface of the inner sarcophagues (including its lid). The western wall of the burial chamber
was also planned to be fully decorated, but due to Iufaa’s premature death, it remained unfinished –
the upper part is carved, the southern half of the lower part is painted in red, and the northern half
of the lower part seems never to have borne any decoration.
The unfinished western wall of Iufaa’s burial chamber, as well as the western part of the
nothern wall, contain a number of representations of snakes and snake-like creatures as well as texts
pertaining to them. Snakes similar to some of these creatures can be found in the 6th hour of the
Amduat, that is, the deepest regions of the Underworld, whereas others have been identified on the
astronomical ceiling at Esna, as well as in Papyrus Jumilhac.

9
 The paper presents an overview of the snakes hat can be found on the walls of the shaft
tomb of Iufaa and deals with their importance and interpretations. Special attention will be paid to
the transmission of these snakes to Iufaa’s tomb, the changes they underwent in the process of
transmission (which are especially apparent in the Amduat examples), and their further transmission
into the Ptolemaic tradition.

The Gamhud Funerary Material in Regional Context

Katalin Kóthay (Budapest)

In 1907 seventy anthropoid wooden coffins, as well as numerous additional funerary artefacts, were
found in the Ptolemaic cemetery of Gamhud, Middle Egypt, by an Austro-Hungarian expedition. A
considerable part of the finds (including twenty-five anthropoid coffins) were shipped to Budapest
and donated to the Hungarian National Museum by Fülöp Back, sponsor of the excavation. This
material was transferred to the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest in 1934. A number of funerary
objects from Gamhud found their way to museum collections outside Hungary (e.g. Cairo, Vienna,
and Krakow). Today approximately two-third of the coffins are known, whose stylistic study offers a
rare insight into Ptolemaic funerary arts production.
The coffins and mummy trappings (cartonnages and painted linen shrouds) represent a
number of iconographic types that can be attributed to different workshops or groups of artisans
learning/working together. Funerary objects of the same types (and sometimes apparently attesting
to the same artisans’ hands) also appear at other contemporary sites in the region, suggesting an
intricate local network of artisans and consumers of funerary objects in the region. In this paper I
make an attempt at reconstructing some aspects of this network.

The coffin from Gamhud and its mummy in the Museum of Ethnology Burgdorf (Switzerland)
Alexandra Küffer (St. Gallen)

The Museum of Ethnology Burgdorf owns a coffin with its mummy that was purchased from the
Egyptian Museum Cairo in 1926. According to the inventory book, it originally came from Upper
Egypt and belonged to a high official of the 26th Dynasty. The wooden coffin measures over two
metres and is the largest ancient Egyptian coffin in a Swiss museum. Unfortunately, the mummy is in
very poor condition and has fallen into single parts.
In the context of the Swiss Coffin Project (Schweizer Sargprojekt), the coffin and its mummy
were studied and examined for the first time by an interdisciplinary team of scientists, consisting of
Egyptologists, physical anthropologists and specialists in forensic medicine. Additionally, the coffin
wood and the mummy wrappings were radiocarbon - dated at the Institute of Particle Physics of the
ETH Zurich.
The detailed study of the iconographic repertoire on the coffin shows that it originally comes
from Gamhud, a lesser known Ptolemaic necropolis in Middle Egypt, where it was excavated by
Smolenski/Kamal in 1907 and brought to the Cairo Museum. The mummy was covered by a painted
linen shroud of which only a small fragment survives. The examination of the deceased’s body,
especially its skull, points towards a female person. This would be consistent with the presumed
name “Neith has come” written on the coffin.
The paper will give a brief summary of the history and acquisition of the coffin and will
present its main iconographic elements. A special focus will also be placed on the study of the
mummy remains as well as its wrappings and coverings. The last two will be investigated in detail for
the first time in May 2014.

10
“From Chaos to coherence”: Anthropological analysis of commingled human remains from Tomb
Saff-1 at El-Khoha Hill in Qurna
Orsolya László (Budapest)

Anthropological investigations of the human bone material from the excavation of the Hungarian
Archaeological Mission at the southern slope of el-Khoha Hill was started in 2011 and continued in
2014. The analysis was completed on the comingled anthropological material of presumably
secondary burials found without clear archaeological context but accompanied by scattered TIP and
LP finds in the FIP/early MK Tomb Saff-1. The human remains were sorted using morphological
techniques, including the assessment of the minimum number of individuals (MNI), as well as
standard techniques to estimate age, sex and stature. For the whole material, the estimated MNI was
82. During the excavation, the finds of certain parts in Tomb Saff-1 were separated according to the
characteristically different architectural units. My examination was started following these smaller
areas. The results show whether the separation is relevant in the case of the human remains, or the
material is more mingled than expected, and if it is, in which areas. The overall high ratio of children
(MNI=29) in the material is striking and our results also show that the inner parts of the tomb
contained more sub-adults. As for general pathological observations, there was a high occurrence of
certain pathological alterations, while others were lacking – possibly a characteristic of the
population in this area. One of the most frequent phenomena was endocranial lesions, which could
be found especially among children. It was extremely frequently detected at the axis of the inner part
of Saff-1 (MNI=4) and all the affected individuals were under the age of six. At the same time,
inflammation of the periosteum (periostitis) on long bones was not detected, which might be the
result of diffuse or local infections. Regarding dental problems, dental attrition was the most
common, which appeared to be severe even in young ages. Symptoms of periodental disease can
also be found. With regard to dental problems, the presence of cysta/abscess and the high frequency
of antemortem tooth loss were common.

Re-visiting A.H. Rhind’s pioneering excavation of an intact Roman Egyptian tomb at Thebes
Margaret Maitland (Edinburgh)

Although Sir Flinders Petrie is generally hailed as the Father of Egyptian Archaeology, Alexander
Henry Rhind was probably the first person to pioneer archaeological techniques in Egypt almost
thirty years earlier. This paper will present new archival research examining his progressive
approaches in excavating the first intact tomb to be properly recorded—a Roman Egyptian burial in
Sheikh Abd el-Qurna. This stunning, provenanced burial group includes a funerary canopy, vaulted
coffin, gilded mask and chaplet, and bilingual papyri, amongst other objects, now in the collection at
National Museums Scotland. The assemblage provides a remarkable record of the changing funerary
beliefs of the era, combining decorative motifs, symbols, and practices from both the Classical and
ancient Egyptian worlds. This paper will reassess Rhind’s excavation and original analysis of the tomb,
as well as re-examining the burial group as whole with the addition of recently rediscovered,
previously unpublished textiles, including a painted Osirian shroud and inscribed mummy bandage.

Reconstructing Ritual: Functional Analysis and Contextualisation of Ceramics from a Graeco-Roman

Cemetery in Middle Egypt
Mandy Mamedow (Berlin)

For Graeco-Roman necropoleis in Egypt, it is rather exceptional that pottery finds can be clearly
associated with a particular burial. Many conclusions about mortuary practices during this period are
often based on rather isolated studies of architecture, art or texts. The Graeco-Roman material

11
culture studies of certain object groups from funerary contexts are still under-represented and
particularly lack an important element with great potential: pottery.
In contrast to many other Egyptian sites of this period, the site of Tuna el-Gebel in Middle
Egypt is a very rare and promising case for advanced studies of mortuary practices in the Graeco-
Roman Period. Recent excavations in a cemetery located to the north of the famous Petosiris
necropolis and east of the subterranean animal galleries uncovered a series of interments providing
pottery finds that are clearly related to the funerary context. One of the tombs (TG2006.G6)
contained in situ finds of intact vessels and several fragmented vessels that can be classified as grave
goods, offerings and ritual devices.
Functional analysis and contextualisation of the ceramics found in this cemetery allow
conclusions to be drawn on what happened when people died, were buried and commemorated.
Ceramic objects played an important role for a number of different ritual activities such as libations,
burning incense, lightening candles/lamps, offering food or dining with the dead. These ritual
activities basically mirror common practices of ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman tradition. By the
use of different elements, however, they bear evidence for acculturation processes and cultural
exchange.
The aim of this paper is to reconstruct rituals based on the analysis of ceramic objects and to
show how ceramics can be indicative for local traditions of and interregional influences on mortuary
practices in Graeco-Roman Egypt.

Burial of the sacred bull Apis in the cultic landscape of Memphis during the Late Period (664-332
B.C.)
Nenad Marković (Belgrade)

The cult of the sacred bull Apis is probably one of the oldest and the most prominent in ancient
Egypt: evidence for Apis bulls goes back to the first king of the 1st Dynasty, Horus-Aha (c. 3000 B.C.);
the last sacred bull was mentioned in the Panegyric to the Western Roman Emperor Honorius,
written by Egypt-born poet Claudian in 398 A.D. The four principal events in life of the Apis bull were
birth, installation, death and burial. Entombment of the sacred bull of Memphis, during lifetime
associated with Ptah, the city's primary god, as “Living Apis, the herald of Ptah” and after death
transformed into god Osiris as Osiris-Apis and Apis-Osiris respectively, required long preparation,
usually for 70 days, which is described in the late Ptolemaic papyrus Wien KHM ÄS 3873 (dated
between 125-75 B.C., but with archetype probably from the 26th Dynasty [664-526 B.C.]): (1) taking
the corpse of animal from the stall to the so-called “House of Purification” (from 1st to 4th day), (2)
the embalming itself in the so-called “House of Embalming” (from 5th to 68th day), (3) procession to
and journey on the so-called “Lake of the Pharaoh”, sojourn in the so-called “Tent of Purification” on
the lakes shore and return to temple (69th day), (4) taking the mummy of bull in a elaborate
procession from temple through the Anoubieion to the tomb, along the avenue of sphinx which
formed the Serapeum way probably during the 30th Dynasty (380-343 B.C.), and (5) interment into
the underground galleries of Serapeum at the edge of desert in Saqqara (70th day). Exact dates of
death and interment are known for eight sacred bulls during the Late Period (664-323 B.C.): from the
reigns of Psamtik I (644 B.C.), Nekau (595 B.C.), Apries (578 B.C.), Amasis (548 B.C.), Darius I (518, 488
B.C.), Nephertes (398 B.C.) and Nectanebo II (359 B.C.). The aims of this paper are determination of
the ceremonial route from temple of Ptah in Memphis, where the embalming took place, to the
Serapeum, and place of mentioned ceremony in the elite culture of the city.

Keywords: Apis; Memphis; Late Period (664-332 BC); animal burial; Saqqara; Serapeum.

12
The Osirian obelisk-shaped “reliquaries”. New evidence from European collections
Simone Musso (Milan and Florence)
Simone Petacchi (Milan and Florence)

The so-called “Osirian obelisk-shaped reliquaries” are a religious or cult objects dating from the Late
Period/Ptolemaic and Roman Epoch. Some specimens are preserved in Italian and European
collections and are the subject of this paper.
This type of small shrine, a combination of an enthroned/standing Osiris figure and an
obelisk, deserves particular attention not only for their rarity of the composition, but also for of their
cultural function, which is still not clear. They have been made both in wood and stone, and they are
generally small and rough artistic artifacts.
Almost all have an inner cavity to hold items such as "relics", most probably associated with
the cult of Osiris: fragments of inscribed papyrus, statuettes of deities (often Isis nursing Horus) and,
in some cases, fetuses or organic material of human origin.
We do not have accurate data concerning their origin so that this lack does complicate the
interpretation of their real function. Are they objects associated to the domestic cult? Are they "ex
votos" placed in the temples? Are they part of the funerary equipments?
Anyway, it is clear that these objects, albeit modest objects, have a theological meaning: they
show the close link between the sun god Re, symbolized by the obelisk and Osiris the god of the
Underworld.

New research in Roman mummy masks: The case example of the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts
collection
Asja Müller (Kiel)

Roman mummy masks belong to a group of objects that have been neglected by the scientific
research for quite a long time. One of the reasons for this lacking interest is to be seen in the fact
that the importance of the masks was overshadowed by similar kinds of funerary goods like the
Roman mummy portraits. This results in the fact that the only monograph that analyzes the Roman
mummy masks in their entirety has been written in 1974 by the Classical Archaeologist Günter
Grimm. The focus of this book is directed to one feature of the masks’ appearance, only: the
hairstyles. However, there are a lot of additional elements on the masks and little is known about
their circumstances of finding since most of them stem from the art trade.
Therefore, this paper aims to take the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts collection of Roman
mummy masks (26 pieces, all but one unpublished, studied by the author of this abstract in
December 2013) as a starting point to take a fresh look onto some of the major issues that are
closely linked to this kind of objects. The presentation aims to discuss problems like the deceased’s
identity as displayed by the mask’s garb in contrast to what is known of legal and ethnic identity from
written sources. In order to avoid that the masks are regarded as isolated art objects only, like it has
happened in the past, I will present possible methods of reconstructing the provenance and the
catchment area of the workshops. Additionally, thanks to recent research in some of the main
necropolises of Graeco-Roman Egypt (Tuna el-Gebel and Antinoopolis), new Roman mummy masks
came to light whose archaeological contexts can be used to get a better insight into the masks’
function in the funerary ritual.

13
An Unprecedented Female Burial: Nesikhons, Thebes, Royal Cache TT 320 (ca 980 BCE)
Maya Müller (Basel)

The burial of Nesikhons, wife of the High Priest of Amun Pinedjem II in the Royal Cache (TT 320) is a
complex case. It has not been properly interpreted, in my opinion, and I try to give a rough draft of a
more plausible reconstruction.
Pinedjem II, High Priest of Amun in the mid 21st Dynasty, living in a time of political and
economical trouble (civil war, tomb robbery), moreover of personal distress (death of his young wife
Nesikhons), thinks of a new and secure form of burial: a tomb outside of the necropolis, hidden in
the mountain on the bottom of a deep shaft, without any visible overground construction, made for
his beloved wife Nesikhons and himself exclusively. He plans a singular personal document according
to a new concept of divine life in the hereafter, valid for Nesikhons and himself only: a decree of
Amun granting immediate deification at death. (Great hymn with theological definition of Amun;
guaranted state of a goddess for Nesikhons; guaranted first class sustainment; a personalised variant
of BD 30 eliminating any self-destructive action of Nesikhons’s heart; guaranted eternal affection of
the spouses‘ Ba-souls for each other!).
Further innovative ideas for optimizing female afterlife can be deduced from two sets of
richly painted coffins, both made for Pinedjem II‘s chief wife and sister Isetemkheb D. The second set
was created after the first one had been used for Nesikhons at her premature death (Cairo CG 61030
and 61031). For this reason we have the unique chance of comparing two sets of coffins of
extraordinary quality which were ordered by the same sponsor for the same person at an interval of
a few years. Both sets are distinguished by a coherent, ambitious, and partly innovative
iconographical programme, the second, even more elaborate, emphatically advancing specific
innovative motifs occurring on the first one. The main theme is the deification of Isetemkheb D,
frequently wearing the horned crown of Isis/Hathor. In many scenes she acts as a king performing
the daily offering ritual in the temple, thus aiming at a new definition of a powerful female state in
the hereafter.
This paper concentrates on the motives of innovative ideas: can they be understood, in our
context, as the product of an eminent personality (Pinedjem II, Isetemkheb D?) meeting with
exceptional political and personal conditions?

[For TT320 see: Graefe et al. (eds), The Royal Cache TT 320: A Re-examination, Cairo 2010; for texts:
Ritner, The Libyan Anarchy, Atlanta 2009; for iconography: Niwinski, The Book of the Dead on the
Coffins of the 21st Dynasty, in: B. Backes (ed.), SAT 11, 2006, 245-264].

The looting of a mummy: an opportunity to explore the wrappings.

Cinzia Oliva (Turin)

Mummy, Inv. 25004

Period: 973-847 B.C.
Dimensions : cm 163 x 33 x 25

The Mummy (unpublished) belongs to the Egyptian Section of the Vatican Museum and is a part of
the “Vatican Mummy Project”, which focuses on the study and conservation of the mummies
collection, under the direction of Dr. Alessia Amenta, Curator of the Egyptian Dept. of the Vatican
Museums.
In the past, most of the treatments given to materials coming from Egyptian tombs and sites,
especially to mummies, paid more attention to what was inside the mummy than to the external
textile wrappings.
The poor condition of the mummy was partly due to the natural ageing of the linen and
partly to vandalism that it had been victim to in the past. Material had been lost from the head and

14
upper chest and on the feet as a result of deep circular cuts, that left part of the skull and chest
uncovered.
However, this accidental and partial unwrapping allowed a deeper insight into the material
used and the wrappings techniques. The mummy was wrapped in four different shrouds of linen,
folded and positioned over the body and kept in place by a series of bandages of different width and
weaving techniques.
Bandages, textiles and shrouds were studied and analysed during the course of the restoration work,
with special attention given to technical data such as fibers torsion, weaving, fringe, stitches and
seams, darning patches.
Also the wrapping techniques were studied and compared with other mummies of the same period.
Analyses were conducted on the whole mummy: a radio-carbon dating and x-ray of the body,
while the fibers have been observed under optical microscope.
The main purpose of the conservation work has been the consolidation of textile and wrappings in
order to maintain access to the material for further study and analyses.

Tradition et innovation dans la littérature funéraire de Basse Époque. Le lever du soleil dans la
tombe de Ouahibrê-nebâh
Isabelle Régen (Montpellier)

Récemment mis en vente aux enchères, des fragments d’une paroi de calcaire proviennent de la
tombe d’un dignitaire de Basse Époque, Ouahibrê-nebâh, un nom basilophore inconnu jusqu’alors.
Ses titres le présentent à la fois comme un prospecteur de minéraux (smnty) et un dignitaire
d’Héracléopolis (aA n(y) Nn-n(y)-sw.t).
Ces blocs conservent une composition originale évoquant le lever du soleil. En effet, le
programme décoratif mêle la douzième heure du Livre de l’Amdouat, la douzième heure du Livre de
la Nuit et plusieurs représentations de génies-gardiens armés de couteaux.
Cette synthèse textuelle résultant d’une mise en séquence nouvelle de compositions
évoquant le cycle solaire illustre le travail de critique littéraire de savants de Basse Époque, entre
tradition et innovation.

The Aesthetics (and Ethics) of the Egyptian Mummy

Christina Riggs (Norwich)

The gulf between modern and ancient ideas of what a mummy is — and is for — has shaped
Egyptological scholarship, research priorities, and museum displays for 200 years. Using examples
from Late Period, Ptolemaic, and Roman Egypt, this paper frames the Egyptian mummy in terms of
its aesthetics, contrasting what we can deduce about ancient aesthetic values (e.g. colour,
materiality) with a modern aesthetic based on anatomical and forensic representation. This approach
not only suggests new avenues of research into mummification and other funerary practices, but also
raises questions of ethics in relation to the analysis, interpretation, and presentation of mummified
remains. The paper builds on work presented in the speaker’s most recent book, Unwrapping Ancient
Egypt (Bloomsbury 2014).

Ptah-Sokar-Osiris figures: evolving tradition thro ugh space and time

Carlo Rindi Nuzzolo (Florence)

Wooden funerary figures representing the deceased with the features of the triune god Ptah-Sokar-
Osiris became a distinctive element in the funerary furniture of elite burials dating from the Third
Intermediate Period onwards. Such artifacts, usually placed next to the coffin and inscribed with

15
specific invocations, were considered an element of deep connection with the deceased, granting
him resurrection and life everlasting beyond death.
The custom of placing Ptah-Sokar-Osiris figures inside the tombs reaches a climax during the
Late and Ptolemaic periods during which they were often mass-produced, falling eventually into
disuse with the approaching of the Roman era. During this time frame, Ptah-Sokar-Osiris figures are
subject to changes in typology, style and religious significance. This paper, taking into account
geographical and chronological factors, intends to present a brief analysis of these changes, focusing
on the morphological, structural, and typological aspects involved in this evolution.

Bemerkungen zu den „weißen Särgen“ der 25. – 26. Dynastie aus den Grabungen der Königlichen
Museen zu Berlin in Abusir el-Meleq (1902-1905)
Sabine Schmidt (Berlin)

Zwischen 1901 und 1907 führte Otto Rubensohn im Auftrag der Berliner Papyruskommission und der
Königlichen Museen zu Berlin Grabungen in Ägypten durch. Das Ziel war die Beschaffung von Papyri
und Papyruskartonagen für die Berliner Museen. Die Ausgrabungen fanden in einigen römischen
Siedlungen im Fayum, der Nekropole von Abusir el-Meleq, in Eschmunein sowie auf der Insel
Elephantine statt. Neben Papyri traten ebenso zahlreiche andere Funde aus
siedlungsarchäologischen Kontexten und Friedhöfen zutage, die bisher wie die Unternehmungen
selbst weitestgehend unpubliziert blieben. Ein am Ägyptischen Museum Berlin angesiedeltes Projekt
hat sich die Aufgabe gestellt, die nun vor über 100 Jahren beendeten Papyrusgrabungen unter der
Leitung Otto Rubensohns aufzuarbeiten. Im Zentrum des Vortrages stehen – neben einem kurzen
Überblick über die Papyrusgrabungen Rubensohns – die Funde des spätzeitlichen Friedhofs von
Abusir el-Meleq. Hier soll besonders für die Gruppe der "weißen Särge", die in die 25. bis 26.
Dynastie datiert werden, erste Ergebnisse der Bearbeitung dieses Sargtyps unter Einbeziehung der in
den Grabungstagebüchern beschriebenen Fundkontexte präsentiert werden. Vor allem die
Halskragengestaltung dieser Särge erlaubt die Einteilung in drei in Abusir el-Meleq vertretene Typen.
Alle Stücke sind sich in ihren gestalterischen Elementen und der Konstruktion so ähnlich, dass von
einer einzigen Werkstatt, die vielleicht nahe der Nekropole angesiedelt war, ausgegangen werden
kann. Auf einigen in den letzten 40 Jahren im Kunsthandel angebotenen Särgen finden sich
vergleichbare Dekorationselemente, die eine Zuordnung dieser Stücke zur Nekropole von Abusir el-
Meleq möglich erscheinen lassen. In die Betrachtung dieser Sarggruppe sollen ebenso bisher kaum
bekannte Ptah-Sokar-Osiris-Figuren einbezogen werden, die das Dekorationsschema der „weißen
Särge“ aufnehmen.

Once more on the Soter Tomb and the Soter Group

Gábor Schreiber (Budapest)

The famous burial equipment of the so-called Soter family, now dispersed among many European
museums, was discovered in the 1820’s at an unknown location in the Theban cemetery. Based on
circumstantial evidence and the fragment of a painted funerary shroud, comparable in style to those
associated with the Soter burials, László Kákosy argued in 1995 for the original find place of the
whole lot to be identified with Theban Tomb 32, originally a Ramesside temple tomb constructed for
one Djehutymes in the reign of Ramesses II. Kákosy’s theory gained an immediate positive reception
from other researchers and is also widely accepted today. Besides pointing out some weak points in
this theory, it will be shown that TT 32 still remains a likely candidate for the Soter Tomb, especially
since during the course of the study of the archaeological material from TT 32 remnants of at least
two further contemporaneous burials have been identified.
The presentation will also give a brief overview of the Roman burial equipment excavated in
nearby TT -400-, which not only indicates that the el-Khokha cemetery was one of the nuclei of the

16
contemporary Theban necropolis but also suggests that the local dialect of funerary art exemplified
by the Soter finds continued into the reign of Antoninus Pius.

Pre-texts of Funerary Rituals: Royal Liturgy, Temple Liturgy, Funerary Liturgy

Martin Stadler (Würzburg)

The subject of the paper may also be summarized under the heading 'classification of funerary texts'
because it addresses the issue of how funerary ritual texts can be distinguished from other ritual
texts. This starts with the question whether 'First' and 'Second Document for Breathing' are always
linked to identical texts or whether 'Document for Breathing' should be considered as a
denomination of a genre rather than a title for a specific text. The text which Egyptologists commonly
call the 'Second Document for Breathing', and its often neglected roots lead over to the next topic to
be treated here: the royal ritual. There is little doubt about the fact that temple and funerary rituals
are akin, but apart from sporadic references to an origin in royal contexts the article pleads to
appreciate more systematically the possible roots of funerary texts in ultimately ceremonies to be
conducted around the king. Rather than providing such a systematic study here, I have selected the
so-called Second Document for Breathing, the Great Decree Issued to the Nome of the Silent Land
and the Book of Traversing Eternity as three examples to explore – more or less speculatively and
with the intention to be thought provoking – the potential of such an approach.

The image of scroll on the vignettes of the Book of the Dead

Mykola Tarasenko (Kyiv)

Illustrations from the Book of the Dead (BD) showing papyrus scroll (hieroglyph / Y1 / mDA.t) are
examined in the report.
Depicted in the documents of the “Theban edition” is a rolled scroll in the hand of the
deceased on the vignettes of Ch. 21, 41, 42, 96, 103 and 104. The vignettes of Ch. 1, showing a
funeral procession, represent an unrolled scroll in the priest’s hands, who is reading funeral spells (4
documents).
In the manuscripts, belonging to Late tradition, the image of the rolled scroll in the deceased
hand is characteristic for iconography of Ch. 1 (shroud Louvre N. 3138), 25 (about 80 documents) and
52 (pWn-nfr Paris Louvre N. 5450; рIi-m-Htp New York MMA 35.9.20). In several cases, the scroll is
depicted in the hand of the god Thoth, the patron of scribes (рImn-m-sA=f Paris Louvre N. 3292, Ch.
90 in рIw=f-anx Turin 1791).
The semantics of the papyrus scroll can be associated with multiple references to “books”
(mDA.t), “scrolls” (Sfdw), “writings” (sS) and “manuscripts/documents” (a) in the text of the BD. On the
basis of data from the Ch. 25, the scroll was important to guarantee remembrance (cxAw) of the
name (rn) in the afterlife. In addition, the scroll itself was considered to be magical and powerful
protective symbol. Its faience models-imitations in the period of the New Kingdom were even
included to the royal burials (Cairo CG 24473, CG 46422), and starting from the Third Intermediate
Period special scrolls-amulets with single spell of the BD were appeared (Pleyte Ch. 166). Within the
Late Period, magical papyri prescribed to place scroll on the deceased chest, to protect him from evil
forces (pBrooklyn 47.218.138, XIII, 15–16). Particular case is represented by mummy Ns-Sw (Musée
du Château d’Yverdon) belonging to the Ptolemaic period, and which was completely wrapped in BD
papyrus. The motive of the papyrus scroll is also resembled in the funerary art of Egypt in the Roman
period (tomb of Petosiris in Dakhla Oasis, shroud Moscow PSMFA I.1a.5749).

17
Shabtis from Graeco-Roman periods – Proposal for the classification (typology) of the shabtis
discovered outside Egypt
Mladen Tomorad (Zagreb)

Shabtis usually dates from the First Intermediate period until the end of the Hellenistic period. They
changed their shapes, forms, texts and position of the agricultural implements a lot throughout
history. These changes were classified in various typologies during 20th century (L. Speleers (1923),
W. M. F. Petrie (1935), J. Monnet Saleh (1970), J. F. Aubert (1974), and H. Schneider (1977)) but
chronologically usually only until the end of the Late period (30th Dynasty).
By the time of the Ptolemaic Dynasty their main role almost disappeared and since then they
became one of the main cultic symbols of the Isaic cults (Isis, Osiris, Serapis, Harpocrates, Anubis, Bes
etc.). Shabtis were discovered in various Greek settlements and later in various provinces of the
Roman Empire. They were traded as cult symbols; they were manufactured in Egypt but probably in
various workshops in main cultic centres of the Roman provinces. Until now such shabtis have not
been classified or systematically studied. In many cases they were classified as “fakes” which are, in
my opinion, definitely not. Such shabtis deserve to be re-interpreted as one of the main sources for
the diffusion of the Ancient Egyptian cult deities. In this paper author will present the proposal for
the classification (typology) of shabtis according to: form, decorations, headdress, implements, text
and position of text, and material from which they were crafted (stone, pottery, glass, faience, wood
etc.). He will also discuss various problems related with their provenance and previous dating.

Key words: shabtis, Graeco-Roman period, classifications (typologies), role in Isiac cults, diffusion,
production, “ancient fakes”.

Text and Mummies – The instructions of the “Embalming Ritual” in the light of archaeological
evidence
Susanne Töpfer (Heidelberg)

The “Embalming Ritual” has been preserved in hieratic in three funerary papyri dating to the Roman
period (pBoulaq 3, pLouvre E 5158 und pDurham 1983.11+pSt. Petersburg ДB 18128). The text can
be divided into twelve sections in which the anointing and wrapping of a corpse from head to toe (a
capite ad calcem) is prescribed. Some of the technical prescriptions are much detailed: they list the
number of bandages, the measurement units of various unguents and plants, as well as the body
parts on which these items were to be applied. In addition, the technical sections include information
about the gilding of fingers and toes, and how to handle bodily organs. There is no mention of the
removal of the organs nor the dehydration of the body. Therefore, the text pertains to embalming
rites as part of mummification practices, but not the process as a whole.
The aim of this paper is to reconstruct the embalming process described in the text, and how
the embalmed body might have looked like in the end according to the instructions. This
reconstruction will be compared with evidence from mummies dating to the Roman period, since the
papyri and their owner(s) date to that time. There is remarkable congruence between the
instructions of the text and a group of nine mummies dating to the Roman period, which
demonstrates that the operations described in the text correspond to the (upper class) standard
practices of the Roman period. Nonetheless, there are precursors to this embalming practice from
the Ptolemaic period which have to be considered as well.

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Les cinq caveaux et les trente six gardiens de la tombe de Padiamenopé (TT 33)
Claude Traunecker (Strasbourg)

La tombe TT 33 de Padiamenopé dans l’Asasif est un monument unique à plus d’un titre.
Padiamenopé, probablement un contemporain de Moutouemhat, était un intellectuel versé dans les
sciences religieuses, un conseiller pontifical auprès des souverains de la fin de la dynastie kouchite.
Nous étudions sa tombe (Université de Strasbourg, Montpellier et Ifao), la plus complexe de l’Asasif,
depuis sa réouverture en 2005. Je propose dans cet exposé de présenter les résultats récents de
l’étude de ce monument en deux volets :
1. Les cinq caveaux de la tombe de Padiamenopé.
Sur une structure classique (les salles axiales I – III avec la chapelle de culte ) Padiamenopé a
greffé un complexe reproduisant des modèles d’architecture funéraires anciennes : salle VII-VII-IX sur
le modèle des tombes royales du nouvel empire (premier caveau) ; salles X-XI sur le modèle des
pyramides de la V-VIème dynasties (deuxième caveau) ; la partie discrète après le puits du couloir
XII ; salles XVII à XX, sur le modèle abydénien (troisième caveau salle XIX) ; la salle XXI sarcophage de
l’ancien empire comme leurre, (quatrième caveau). Enfin la salle secrète XXII, le caveau réel de
Padiamenopé. Dans cette lecture la TT 33 est une sorte de tombe-musée au bénéfice de
Padiamenopé. Nous savons qu’une partie de la tombe était ouverte aux visiteurs lettrés afin de
consulter les compilations de la littérature funéraire de Patiamenopé (salles IV-V, XII et XIII). Un
partie de la tombe fonctionne comme un sanctuaire osirien accessible à un public choisi (salles XIII,
XIV, XV, XVI)
2. Une étude de la structure du décor du caveau XXII, le caveau caché et effectif. L’accent
sera mis sur la compagnie des 36 divinités gardiennes représentées au niveau des 14 niches
apotropaïque du caveau. Cette étude inclura une comparaison avec le dispositif analogue de la
tombe de Montouemhat.

Cats and human burials at the Bubasteion of Saqqara

Alain Zivie (Paris)

While most of the animal cemeteries - the complex known as the Sacred Animals Necropolis - are
located in the north of the site of Saqqara (Anubeion), the area of the Bubasteion is further to the
south, in the escarpment below the modern Antiquities rest-house. Bubasteion is the Greek word for
the temenos dedicated to Bastet and her sanctuary and catacombs, connected with a cult dedicated
to Bastet, Lady of ‘Ankhtawy, at least from the New Kingdom and perhaps before. But it was not until
the first millennium B.C. that cats began to be buried in this place. Before that, the site was
dedicated to prominent New Kingdom officials. But while the animal cemeteries of Saqqara North
were composed of catacombs dug for the express purpose of sheltering the animal mummies, it was
not the case for the cat cemetery. It appears indeed that the animals have been buried by reusing of
New Kingdom rock-cut tombs present on the site.
For centuries, thousands of individual animals more or less mummified have been buried in
some parts of the site. Like for the city of Bubastis, the site has furnished a large number of the
specimens of cat mummies and of objects associated with them (sarcophagi, statuettes, etc.) that are
now in museums and collections throughout the world. But we must bear in mind that these
catacombs often contained “mixed” populations. Not only because some other animals could be
buried along with the cats (even a lion), but also because human beings have been also discovered in
this area. Dating after the New Kingdom, they can be sometimes without connection with the cats,
but in some cases they are associated to them and to the cult of Bastet.
The New Kingdom necropolis of the Bubasteion, with its impotant officials hypogea, has been
the main focus of the excavation and the study led for years by the French Archaeological Mission of
the Bubasteion. But in the same time, the later cats and human burials discovered inside the New
Kingdom tombs have been explored and in part excavated in the framework of our study. Naturally,

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these burials are an integral part of our excavation program. To excavate the cats of the Bubasteion
is in fact to venture into archaeozoology, but also into the study of the religious practices and
mentality of the later stages of ancient Egyptian history, in particular, those touching on what we
conventionally call “sacred animals.” While some important results have been already obtained, the
work connected to this aspect of the site is still in progress.
Some data obtained by the mission will be presented to the colleagues attending the
conference, as well as some results obtained during the excavation of the now famous tomb Bub.
I.20, of Lady Maïa/Mayati (Meritaton) of Post-Amarna Period, which was reused as a cat and human
catacombs and remained closed before we entered it.

Burials at the Red Sea harbor of Berenike

Iwona Zych (Warsaw)
Marta Osypińska (Warsaw)
Steven E. Sidebotham (Delaware)

Recent excavations at the Red Sea harbor of Berenike (between 2010 and 2014) have uncovered a
substantial number of animal burials in two complexes, a small area to the west of the southwestern
harbor bay and a much larger and stratified area on the spot of the early Roman rubbish dump to the
northeast of the bay and west of the city proper. There were altogether almost 100 animal burials,
dated largely from the 1st and 2nd century AD. Most of these burials were of cats, usually of juvenis
and sub-adult age with very few mature animals; dogs were present also, although in much smaller
number, and there were also two guenons (Chlorocebus aethiops) and a baboon (Papio anubis).
Evidence of mortuary practices was observed in most cases. The bodies were frequently wrapped or
covered with textiles and some preserved elements of metal collars, but there were no mummies,
such as are frequent in Roman Egypt proper. Large potsherds were used to cover the bodies and on
occasion the bodies were inserted into more or less complete amphoras laid on their side. The
arrangement of the bodies and their position in relation to other burials also does not seem to be
accidental.
The same mortuary practice of wrapping bodies in shrouds and covering the burials with
pottery sherds was observed in a formal cemetery lying on the main road leaving the city to the
northwest. Beside shallow cist graves cut in bedrock, this cemetery included sepulchers built of
fossilized coral heads and furnished with wooden coffins holding multiple burials. This particular
cemetery can be dated from the early Roman at the very least through the 4th–5th century AD.
Excavations over thirteen seasons since 1994 have also documented human remains scattered
throughout the western part of the town, which had been occupied in Ptolemaic times, but which
appears to have been a wasteland of ruins on the fringes of the settlement in the Roman period. Not
in all of these cases was there evidence of formal burial. Interestingly, some of these bodies seem to
have been decapitated. Also, one should mention a cemetery of Roman-era small circular mound
graves, virtually all of them looted, lying on higher ground between wadis to the west and southwest
of Berenike.
Notably, a few of these human burials were found interjected among the animal burials in
the complex described above, located to the north of the harbor bay and west of the city proper.
The paper aims to explore the nature of the animal burials, which clearly do not resemble
chronologically analogous burials from the Nile Valley, and their relation to human burials found in
their immediate neighborhood. The way in which these animals were buried and their morphological
state suggests an emotional bond with the owners or else practices connected with the animals that
could be potentially of a magic nature.

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