Personal Religion in Domestic Contexts During the New Kingdom : The Impact of the Amarna Period

Personal religion in Domestic Contexts during the New Kingdom compiles artefacts and fixed emplacements in domestic settings during the New Kingdom in ancient Egypt that, from a comparative approach, are interpreted as examples of religious practices, contributing to the study of the so-called ‘Archaeology of Religion’. By including the two main and best preserved sites for this research, namely Tell el-Amarna and Deir el-Medina, parallel cases for other sites with similar features are provided. At the same time, particular topics are explored throughout the book, including early evidence of personal religion as well as questions referring to the socioeconomic roles of the inhabitants of such main sites. Overall, there are three main themes: the definition of personal religion and religious domestic practices from a theoretical perspective; the description and analysis of the main archaeological and anthropological evidence; and, on that basis, the study of the impact of the Amarna period in the development of personal religion during the New Kingdom. Iria Souto Castro obtained her PhD in Heritage Cultural Protection in 2020 at the University of Vigo (Spain). From 2016 onwards, she has been a visiting researcher at the departments of Egyptology and Ancient History of the universities of Birmingham, Oxford and Alcalá de Henares. She has taken part in archaeological work in Spain, Portugal and more recently Egypt (Sais Project, University of Durham; Middle Kingdom Theban Project, University of Alcalá), as well as different national and international congresses. She is currently a Margarita Salas postdoctoral researcher at the University of Vigo, developing her project on personal religion in El-Fayum at the University of Trier. Cover 1 Title Page 3 Copyright Page 4 Contents Page 5 Contents 5 Acknowledgements 10 Note to the Reader 12 References 12 List of Abbreviations 13 Preface 16 References 18 Introduction 19 References 29 The Domestic Practice of Personal Religion 33 Introduction 33 Religion and Magic in Ancient Egypt 34 The Domestic Setting around the Time of the New Kingdom 37 Origins and Early Evidence of Personal Religion in Ancient Egypt 39 The Domestic Expressions of Personal Religion 43 The Cult to the Deceased 44 The Cult to the Gods 46 Religion in the Amarna Period 47 References 48 Domestic Space in the New Kingdom: A Case Study 54 Introduction 54 The Lahun Case: A Middle Kingdom Template 57 Tell el-Amarna 60 Domestic Architecture 63 Finds 64 Deir el-Medina 64 Domestic Architecture 69 Finds 71 Inside the Houses 71 The Entrance 73 The Loggias 73 The First Room 74 The Second Room 74 Back Rooms and Others 74 The Garden 75 The Domestic Distribution of Religious Actions 75 Pre-Amarna Houses 75 Pre-Amarna Rooms 76 Amarna and Post-Amarna Houses 76 Amarna and Post-Amarna Rooms 77 References 78 The Archaeological Pieces of Evidence: Artefacts et alii 83 Introduction 83 Artefacts of General Cultic Application 83 Tell el-Amarna 85 Deir el-Medina 87 Other Sites 89 Artefacts to Interact with the Deceased 89 The Letters to the Dead 90 Anthropoid Busts 92 Ȝḫ-ỉkr-n-R‛ Stelae 93 The Royal Ancestors Worship 95 Artefacts to Communicate with the Divinities 95 Amulets 97 Female (Fertility) Figurines 97 Jeux de la Nature 99 Intermediary Statues, Statuettes, and Busts 103 Figured Ostraca 103 Votive Stelae 105 Comparative Study 105 Artefacts to Interact with the Deceased 106 Artefacts to Communicate with the Divinities 107 References 117 The Archaeological Pieces of Evidence: Structures 121 Introduction 121 Domestic Cultic Structures 121 Altars 122 Niches 130 Decorations 131 Singular Structures 135 Comparative Study 141 Altars 142 Niches 144 Singular Structures 144 References 146 Personal Religion in the Amarna Period: New Forms for Old Ways 150 Introduction 150 Religious Radicalization 151 The Archaeological 153 The Anthropological 155 The Signification of the Continuity of the Practice of Personal Religion throughout the Amarna Period 156 References 157 Bibliography 160 Ancient Egypt,Personal Religion,New Kingdom,Tell el-Amarna,Deir el-Medina,Amarna Period