A Social Archaeology of Roman and Late Antique Egypt : Artefacts of Everyday Life

Artefact evidence has the unique power to illuminate many aspects of life that are rarely explored in written sources, yet this potential has been underexploited in research on Roman and Late Antique Egypt. This book presents the first in-depth study that uses everyday artefacts as its principal source of evidence to transform our understanding of the society and culture of Egypt during these periods. It represents a fundamental reference work for scholars, with much new and essential information on a wide range of artefacts, many of which are found not only in Egypt but also in the wider Roman and late antique world. By taking a social archaeology approach, it sets out a new interpretation of daily life and aspects of social relations in Roman and Late Antique Egypt, contributing substantial insights into everyday practices and their social meanings in the past. Artefacts from University College London's Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology are the principal source of evidence; most of these objects have not been the subject of any previous research. The book integrates the close study of artefact features with other sources of evidence, including papyri and visual material. Part one explores the social functions of dress objects, while part two explores the domestic realm and everyday experience. An important theme is the life course, and how both dress-related artefacts and ordinary functional objects construct age and gender-related status and facilitate appropriate social relations and activities. There is also a particular focus on wider social experience in the domestic context, as well as broader consideration of economic and social changes across the period. Cover A Social Archaeology of Roman and Late Antique Egypt: Artefacts of Everyday Life Copyright Acknowledgements Contents List of Figures List of Tables 1: Introduction A Social Archaeology: Interpretative Approaches Life Course Design Object Biography Methodological Issues Choice of Object Categories for Study Data Quality Issues in Studying Older Collections Reconstructing Grave Assemblages at Qau Egypt in the Roman and Late Antique Periods Village Life in the Fayyum Urban Communities Religious Life Religious Practice in the Earlier Roman Period Christianity I: Exploring The Socialfunctions Of Dress Objects 2: Introduction to Part I Themes in Dress Objects from Egypt as Exemplified by the Petrie Collection 3: Original String and Bead Assemblages Bead Assemblages Qau Bead Assemblages Dating Chronological and Regional Overview Changes in Bead Assemblages through Time Regional Diversity Evidence from Individual Jewellery Items Coloured Ancient String Curation, Reuse, and Heirloom Status Graduated Necklaces of Angular Amber Beads Curation of Other Beads Interpreting Heirloom Beads Conclusion 4: Bracelets and Torcs Identifying Bracelets and Torcs and How They Were Worn Bracelets Types of Bracelets and Dating How Bracelets Were Worn Diameter Sizes Amuletic Disc Bracelets Torcs Torcs in Egypt: Types and Dating Torcs with Multiple Projecting Medallions Torcs with Expanding Fastening Thin Wire Torcs with Hook and Eye, or Two-Hook,Fastening How Were Torcs Worn, and by Whom? Social Function and Value of Torcs Conclusion 5: Shoes and Sandals Introduction Data Set Footwear Size and Decoration Deposition Regionality Conclusion 6: Concluding Discussion to Part I Dress Objects and the Life Course Infants (and Unborn Children) Aged Less Than 7, and Older Children, Aged 7 Up to Puberty Puberty and Post-PubertyUp to Menopause Post-MenopauseUp to the End of Life Dress Objects and Wider Community and Family Relationships II: The Domestic Realm And Everyday Experience 7: Introduction to Part II Material Culture of Durable Materials Organic Materials Other Than Bone and Ivory 8: Production and Experience: Objects Related to Textile Production Introduction Whorls Whorl Data Ceramic Whorls Glass Whorls Wooden Whorls Bone and Ivory Whorls Stone Whorls Whorl Discussion Comb Pendants Finger Distaffs Discussion Conclusion 9: Children’s Material Culture Toys: Children’s Playthings and Agency Dolls and Doll-LikeFigurines Wooden Horses as Toys Small Models for Small Hands Material Culture of Harpokrates, Child-Protector Rituals Involving Children Dress of Figurines Conclusions 10: Sound-MakingObjects Archaeological Context and Dating Evidence of Likely Uses from Textual and Visual Sources Bells Wooden Clappers and Small Metal Cymbals Rattles Panpipes Making Replica Instruments to Investigate Artefact Properties Analysis of Experimental Sound Measurement Data and Other Evidence Relating to Use Bells UC8976 Bes Bell UC33261 Bell UC58526, UC58538, and UC58540, Bells on Bracelets Rattles Cymbals Panpipes Clappers Sounds in Spaces Conclusion 11: Concluding Discussion to Part II Practice and the Life Course Infants and Children Adolescents and Adults Everyday Experience 12: Egypt in the Roman and Late Antique World: An Artefacts Perspective Egypt and the Wider Empire The Roman to Late Antique Transition and Beyond Appendix 1: Phased Bead Assemblages from Qau Appendix 2: Assemblages of Beads with Evidence of Original Association Appendix 3: Data Set of Artefacts Including AncientS tring, with Dating Evidence Appendix 4: Data Sets for Bracelets and Torcs Bracelets Torcs Appendix 5: Shoes Data Set Appendix 6: Spindle Whorls Data Set Appendix 7: Sound Measurement and Studio Recording Sound Recording References Ancient Texts Modern Sources Web Sites and Date Accessed Index Artefact evidence has the unique power to illuminate many aspects of life that are rarely explored in written sources, yet this potential has been underexploited in research on Roman and Late Antique Egypt. This book presents the first in-depth study that uses everyday artefacts as its principal source of evidence to transform our understanding of the society and culture of Egypt during these periods. It represents a fundamental reference work for scholars, with much new and essential information on a wide range of artefacts, many of which are found not only in Egypt but also in the wider Roman and late antique world. By taking a social archaeology approach, it sets out a new interpretation of daily life and aspects of social relations in Roman and Late Antique0Egypt, contributing substantial insights into everyday practices and their social meanings in the past. 0Artefacts from University College London's Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology are the principal source of evidence; most of these objects have not been the subject of any previous research. The book integrates the close study of artefact features with other sources of evidence, including papyri and visual material. Part one explores the social functions of dress objects, while part two explores the domestic realm and everyday experience. An important theme is the life course, and how both dress-related artefacts and ordinary functional objects construct age and gender-related status and facilitate appropriate social relations and activities. There is also a particular focus on wider social experience in the domestic context, as well as broader consideration of economic and social changes across the period