Tomb Robberies at the End of the New Kingdom: The Fayum Case - The Gurob Burnt Groups Reinterpreted (Oxford Studies In Egyptian Archaeology)

At the end of the 19th century W.M.F. Petrie excavated a series of assemblages at the New Kingdom Fayum site of Gurob. These deposits, known in the Egyptological literature as 'Burnt Groups', were composed by several and varied materials (mainly Egyptian and imported pottery, faience, stone and wood vessels, jewellery), all deliberately burnt and buried in the harem palace area of the settlement. Since their discovery these deposits have been considered peculiar and unparalleled. Many scholars were challenged by them and different theories were formulated to explain these enigmatic 'Burnt Groups'. The materials excavated from these assemblages are now curated at several Museum collections across England: Ashmolean Museum, British Museum, Manchester Museum, and Petrie Museum. For the first time since their discovery, this book presents these materials all together. Gasperini has studied and visually analysed all the items. This research sheds new light on the chronology of deposition of these assemblages, additionally a new interpretation of their nature, primary deposition, and function is presented in the conclusive chapter. The current study also gives new information on the abandonment of the Gurob settlement and adds new social perspective on a crucial phase of the ancient Egyptian history: the transition between the late New Kingdom and the early Third Intermediate Period. Beside the traditional archaeological sources, literary evidence ('The Great Tomb Robberies Papyri') is taken into account to formulate a new theory on the deposition of these assemblages. Cover 1 Tomb Robberies at the End of the New Kingdom: The Gurob Burnt Groups Reinterpreted 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Acknowledgements 8 Table of Contents 10 Introduction 14 THE SITE OF GUROB 14 THE BURNT GROUPS: DISCOVERY AND PREVIOUS STUDIES 16 The Discovery of the Burnt Groups 18 The Burnt Groups and the ‘Foreign Funerary Rituals’ Theories 20 The Presence of Foreigners at Gurob 24 Non-Ritual Interpretations of the Burnt Groups 28 INTRODUCTION TO THE CATALOGUE 29 1: The Burnt Group of Amenhotep III 33 EGYPTIAN POTTERY 33 Nile Silt 33 Marl Clay 34 Mugs 34 Marl Clay 36 Pilgrim flasks 36 IMPORTED POTTERY 38 Mycenaean Ware 38 Stirrup jars 38 Levantine Ware 41 Stirrup jars 41 EGYPTIAN STONE VESSELS 43 Tazza 43 Alabastra 43 Jar 45 Lids 45 EGYPTIAN FAIENCE VESSELS 47 Bowls 47 Footed cup 49 Jars 50 Pilgrim flask 53 Cucumber vessel 54 Kohl tubes 55 Rhyton (?) 58 METAL TOOLS 58 Scalpel 58 Razor or knife 59 STONE TOOLS 60 Whetstone 60 HAIR ACCESSORIES 60 Hairpin 60 JEWELLERY 61 Necklaces 61 FURNITURE 63 Chair leg 63 DISCUSSION OF THE MATERIALS FROMTHE ‘AMENHOTEP III BURNT GROUP’ 65 Egyptian Pottery 65 Imported Pottery 67 Egyptian Stone Vessels 68 Egyptian Faience Vessels 69 Miscellaneous Items 73 2: The Burnt Group of Tutankhamon 76 EGYPTIAN POTTERY 76 Marl Clay 76 Mug 76 IMPORTED POTTERY 77 Mycenaean Ware 77 Stirrup jars 77 Levantine Ware 84 Flask 84 EGYPTIAN STONE VESSELS 85 Saucers 85 Bowl 85 Zoomorphic bowl 86 Alabastron 87 Pilgrim flasks 87 EGYPTIAN FAIENCE VESSELS 89 Bowls 89 Jar 91 Cucumber vessel 92 Kohl Tubes 92 EGYPTIAN GLASS VESSELS 93 Amphoriskoi 93 Pilgrim flasks 94 JEWELLERY 96 Necklaces 96 Bracelet 97 Earrings 98 Finger-rings 99 FURNITURE 101 Box knobs 101 DISCUSSION OF THE MATERIALS FROM THE ‘TUTANKHAMON BURNT GROUP’ 103 Egyptian Pottery 103 The Imported Pottery 104 Egyptian Stone Vessels 105 Egyptian Faience Vessels 106 Egyptian Glass Vessels 107 Miscellaneous Items 108 3: The First Burnt Group of Ramesses II 110 EGYPTIAN POTTERY 110 Nile Silt 110 Funnel-necked jars 110 Marl Clay 112 Jars 112 Marl Clay 113 Mugs 113 Marl Clay 115 Pilgrim flasks 115 Marl Clay 118 Lids 118 IMPORTED POTTERY 121 Aegean Ware 121 Transport stirrup jar 121 Levantine Ware 122 Small piriform jars 122 Pilgrim flasks 124 EGYPTIAN STONE VESSELS 128 Mug 128 Lid 129 COSMETIC EQUIPMENT 130 Cosmetic spoon 130 Cosmetic box 131 EGYPTIAN FAIENCE VESSELS 132 Pilgrim flask 132 EGYPTIAN WOODEN VESSELS 133 Bowls 133 EGYPTIAN METAL VESSELS 134 Bowl 134 Situla 135 METAL TOOLS 136 Scalpel 136 Razor 137 Tweezers 137 Needles 139 Retractor 140 HAIR ACCESSORIES 141 Hairpins 141 Combs 142 BODY CARE EQUIPMENT 144 Mirror 144 JEWELLERY 145 Bracelets 145 DISCUSSION ON THE MATERIALS FROM THE FIRST ‘RAMESSES II BURNT GROUP’ 147 Egyptian Pottery 148 Imported Pottery 150 Egyptian Stone Vessels 153 Egyptian Faience Vessels 154 Egyptian Wooden Vessels 154 Egyptian Metal Vessels 155 Miscellaneous Items 156 4: The Second Burnt Group of Ramesses II 159 EGYPTIAN POTTERY 159 Nile Silt 159 Bowl 159 Dishes 160 EGYPTIAN STONE VESSELS 162 Tazza 162 Cup 162 Alabastron 163 Mug 164 Pilgrim flasks 164 EGYPTIAN FAIENCE VESSELS 166 Bowls 166 Sea-shell bowl 169 Jars 170 Kohl tube 172 EGYPTIAN GLASS VESSELS 173 Bowl 173 Pilgrim flask 173 JEWELLERY 174 Necklace 174 Amulet 175 DISCUSSION OF THE MATERIALS FROM THE SECOND ‘RAMESSES II BURNT GROUP’ 176 Egyptian Pottery 176 Egyptian Stone Vessels 178 Egyptian Faience Vessels 179 Egyptian Glass Vessels 181 Miscellaneous Items 181 5: The Burnt Group of Sety II 182 EGYPTIAN POTTERY 182 Nile Silt 182 Bowls 182 Nile Silt 183 Dishes 183 Nile Silt 187 Jars 187 Marl Clay 190 Bowls 190 Marl Clay 191 Jars 191 Marl Clay 195 Amphorae 195 Marl Clay 199 Bottle 199 Marl Clay 200 Mugs 200 Marl Clay 205 Pilgrim flasks 205 IMPORTED POTTERY 211 Levantine Ware 211 Stirrup jar 211 Small piriform jars 212 Pilgrim flasks 214 EGYPTIAN STONE VESSELS 216 Bowl 216 Small palette 217 Mugs 218 Pilgrim flasks 220 Lids 222 Stirrup jar 224 EGYPTIAN FAIENCE VESSELS 225 Bowl 225 Pilgrim flask 226 METAL TOOLS 227 Scalpel 227 BONE TOOLS 228 Bodkins (?) 228 WOODEN FURNITURE ELEMENTS 229 Furniture knobs 229 HAIR ACCESSORIES 230 Comb 230 BODY CARE EQUIPMENT 231 Mirror 231 JEWELLERY 232 Necklace 232 Bracelet 232 VARIA 233 Senet game pieces 233 Fragments of inlays 234 Sea-shells 235 DISCUSSION OF THE MATERIALS FROM THE ‘SETY II BURNT GROUP’ 237 Egyptian Pottery 238 Imported Pottery 243 Egyptian Stone Vessels 245 Egyptian Faience Vessels 247 Miscellaneous Items 247 6: Burnt Group 3 250 EGYPTIAN POTTERY 250 Nile Silt 250 Funnel-necked jar 250 Marl Clay 251 Pilgrim flasks 251 IMPORTED POTTERY 255 Levantine Ware 255 Stirrup jars 255 EGYPTIAN STONE VESSELS 257 Lid 257 EGYPTIAN WOODEN VESSELS 258 Cosmetic box 258 Double kohl tube 259 METAL TOOLS 260 Scalpels 260 Razor 261 Needles 262 Horse-bits 263 BODY CARE EQUIPMENT 264 Mirror 264 MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS 265 Inscribed wooden strip 265 Metal inlays 266 Dried fruit 266 DISCUSSION ON THE MATERIALS FROM ‘BURNT GROUP 3’ 267 Egyptian Pottery 267 Imported Pottery 269 Stone Vessels 270 Wooden Vessels 270 Miscellaneous Items 270 7: Burnt Group 7 273 EGYPTIAN POTTERY 273 Marl Clay 273 Mugs 273 Small amphora 278 IMPORTED POTTERY 279 Mycenaean Ware 279 Askos 279 Stirrup jar 280 EGYPTIAN STONE VESSELS 281 Tazza 281 Mug 282 Pilgrim flask 283 Lid 284 EGYPTIAN GLASS VESSELS 284 Pilgrim flask 284 MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS 285 Hinge 285 DISCUSSION ON THE MATERIALS FROM ‘BURNT GROUP 7’ 286 Egyptian Pottery 286 Imported Pottery 287 Egyptian Stone Vessels 287 Glass Vessels 288 Miscellaneous Items 288 8: Burnt Group X 290 EGYPTIAN POTTERY 290 Marl Clay 290 Jars 290 Mug 292 Composite vessel 293 Small-sized jar: inspired by an original Aegean model (?) 294 IMPORTED POTTERY 295 Mycenaean Ware 295 Stirrup jars 295 Cypriot Ware 297 Oenochoe 297 DISCUSSION OF THE MATERIALS FROM ‘BURNT GROUP X’ 298 Egyptian Pottery 298 Imported Pottery 301 Conclusions 303 THE CHRONOLOGY OF THE BURNT GROUPS AND THEIR DATE OF DEPOSITION 303 THE FUNERARY NATURE OF THE BURNT GROUPS 306 THE BURNT GROUPS AND THEIR ELITE AND SUB-ELITE CONNECTIONS 308 THE BURNT GROUPS AND THE ‘GREAT TOMB-ROBBERY PAPYRI’ 310 GUROB AND THE ‘GREAT TOMB-ROBBERY PAPYRI’ 313 CONCLUSIONS 314 Bibliography 320 Index 332 00 Overview0 Description0 Table Of Contents0 Author Information00cover0tomb Robberies At The End Of The New Kingdom0the Gurob Burnt Groups Reinterpreted0valentina Gasperini0oxford Studies In Egyptian Archaeology0description00at The End Of The 19th Century W.m.f. Petrie Excavated A Series Of Assemblages At The New Kingdom Fayum Site Of Gurob. These Deposits, Known In The Egyptological Literature As 'burnt Groups', Were Composed By Several And Varied Materials (mainly Egyptian And Imported Pottery, Faience, Stone And Wood Vessels, Jewellery), All Deliberately Burnt And Buried In The Harem Palace Area Of The Settlement. Since Their Discovery These Deposits Have Been Considered Peculiar And Unparalleled. Many Scholars Were Challenged By Them And Different Theories Were Formulated To Explain These Enigmatic 'burnt Groups'.00the Materials Excavated From These Assemblages Are Now Curated At Several Museum Collections Across England: Ashmolean Museum, British Museum, Manchester Museum, And Petrie Museum. For The First Time Since Their Discovery, This Book Presents These Materials All Together. Gasperini Has Studied And Visually Analysed All The Items. This Research Sheds New Light On The Chronology Of Deposition Of These Assemblages, Additionally A New Interpretation Of Their Nature, Primary Deposition, And Function Is Presented In The Conclusive Chapter. This book focuses on a series of archaeological assemblages excavated at the end of the 19th century at the archaeological site of Gurob (Fayum/Egypt). More than 100 years after their discovery, all the materials are presented together for the first time and are fully studied and analysed according to a modern archaeological approach.