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Volume 8 No. 1 Summer1 997
TIIE OSTR/ICO]Y
EGYPTIAN
STUDY
SOCIETY
O DMNHt9 r9
PUBLICATIONCS OMMITTEE IN THIS ISSUE
GraemeD avis Judy Greenfield Page
DavidL overing Frank Pettee
2 ARCE 1997 Annual Meeting
Mary Pratchett
by Dick Harwood
ESS STAFF LIAISON
3 Egypt and Mesopotamia: Ancient Friends,
Dr. Robert Pickering
Ancient Rivals.
Part l: Geography and Architecture
THE OSTRACOIVi s published four times per year by
members of the EgyptianS tudy Society. The ESS, a by Robert Chadwick
support group of the DENVERM USEUM OF NATURAL
10 Nefertiti and Akhenaten: Evidence for a
HISTORY,i s a non-profit organizationw hose purpose is
to study ancient Egypt. Articles are contributed by Co-Regency?
members and scholarso n a voluntary basis. Member
by Laura Engels
participationis encouragedN. othingm ay be reprintedi n
whole or part without written permission. 13 Lecture Reports
@1997 EgyptianS tudy Society 15 House of Scrolls: Book Reviews
Publication of the Ostracon is supported by a grant 16 The Electric Papyrus: New Media Reviews
from THE PETW FOUNDATION
ARCE
A Reporto n the 1997A nnual Meeting
by Dick Harwood
About the Author: Dick Haruood is a long time member additionsto MedinetH abu;A idenD odsono f the University
and cunent Vice Chairmano f the Egyptian Study Society. of Bristolw, hos pokeo n "TheE ighteentCh enturyD iscovery
An attomeya nd banker,h e retircdi n 1995t o devotem orc of the Serapeum"a t Saqqara; James Allen of the
time to a numbero f inferesfs,i ncludingE gyptology.D ick is a MetropolitanM useum of Art, who gave an excellent
member of the Univercity of Aizona Egyptian Expedition overviewo f MiddleK ingdomc offins;J ames Hoffmeieor f
and a trusteeo f TheA mama ResearchF oundation. WheatonC ollegew, ho spokeo n the probableid entification
of Egypt'sl ong-lostf rontiert own in the WesternS inai;
The 1997A nnualM eetingo f the AmericanR esearchC enter Salimal kramo f the AmericanU niversityin Cairoa nd also
in Egyptw as helda t the Universitoyf Michiganin AnnA rbor, editoro f the "NileC urrentsc" olumni n KMT magazinew, ho
onA pri1l 1-13. presenteda fascinatinglo oka t the "AnimaMl ummiesin the
CairoM useum"E; milyT eetero f the Universityo f Chicago,
For those who haven'th ad the opportunityto aftenda n
who hads pokento the ESSi n Denvere arliert hatw eeka nd
ARCEc onferencel,e t me set the scene.E achs pring,t his
who presenteda n excellenct ritiqueo n the celibary( or lack
distinguished and widely attended international
thereof)o f ancientE gyptiante mplep riestessesa;n d Frank
Egyptologicaelv ent is held in a differentN orthA merican
Yurcoo f the FieldM useumin Chicagow, ho spokeo n "The
city.T he annualm eetinga ttractss omeo f the world'sm ost
Riseo f lsraefl romE gyptianD ocumentatioann" dw how ill be
renownedE gyptologis-ts b otht o speaka ndt o listen.
speakingto the ESSt hisf all.
The conferenctea kesp lacei n severadl ifferenvt enues.I n a
Perhapst he best talk of the conference- at least that I
main auditoriuma nd two smallerc onferencer ooms,2 0-
heard - was by the keynote speaker, Ann Radwan,
minutep aperso n a wide rangeo f subjectsa re presented
ExecutiveD irectoor f the BinationaFl ulbrighCt ommissioinn
concurrentlyfo r two-and-a-hadlfa ys. There is a central
Cairo,w ho casta sidep reparedn otesa nd chattedw ith her
conferencer oom where participantsr egister,m eet and
audiencea bout the currente ducationalp, olitical,c ultural
greet,a nd browset hrougha hugea rrayo l publicationfsro m
ande conomicco nditionisn Egypt.
severalb ooka nd printv endorsT. he conferences pillso ver
into the hotela nd local restaurantsw, heree veryonef eels Afters ittingi n lecturesa ll day,y ou'rer eadyf or someg ood
welcometo join otherc onferencep articipantfso r food,d rink food,d rinka nd minglingw ith otherp articipantsa,n d ARCE
and conversationT.h e atmosphereis friendlya nd informal; conferencesa re not short on any of those. On Friday
the titleso f "Doctor'a' nd "Professo/a' re heardo nly from eveningst here is a cocktail/bufferte ceptiong iven by the
graduates tudentsw ho are at their first ARCE General host institutionT. his yea/s receptionw as held in the
Meeting. wonderfulE xhibit Museum of Natural History on the
Universitoy f Michiganc ampusw, heree veryones ocialized
I hadn ot beeni n the Detroiat reaf or almostt hirtyy ears,s o I
amid the fossilizedr emainso f dinosaursa nd early man.
flew in a day earlyt o look aroundt he area.T he following
Saturdaye veningsa re set asidef or anotherr eceptiona nd
evening,J ames Harris- the dentistw ho has x-rayedt he
the ConferencBe anquett;h is yea/s was mercifullsyh orto n
mummieso f many Egyptianp haraohst o trace family
prepareds peechesa nd honoredM adameA miraK hataba,
relationship-s hosteda cocktailp artya t his home in Ann
charminga nd dynamicla dyw ho has literallyr un the ARCE
Arborf or the severald ozenc onferencep articipantsw ho had
headquarterins Cairof or the pastt hirtyy ears.
arrivede arly. He is one of severala ttendeesw ho has
spokento the ESSi n the past. Finali mpressionosf the conference?F ive stick out in my
mind, in no particularo rder. First was the quality and
TheG eneraMl eetingfo rmallyb eginso n Fridaym orninga nd
informatioonf the variousp apersI heard.S econdw as the
endsS undayn oon.P apers- usuallya ccompaniebdy slide
opportunittyo meet,t alkw ith,a nd sharei deasw iths omeo f
presentations- are read from early morning until late
the most respectede xpertsi n Egyptologyfr om aroundt he
afternoon. Despite having reviewed the preliminary
world.T hirdw ast he chancet o visitw ithm anyo f the people
programsi n depth, most peoples pend the morninga nd
who haves pokent o the ESS( or whow ill speakt o the ESS
afternoonb reakst ryingt o makef inald ecisionsa boutw hich
in the comingm onths)i,n cludingB enH arer,J im HarrisD, on
of the three talks to take in duringa ny given period.A s
Ryan,E milyT eeter,T erryW alz, RichardW ilkinsonF, rank
frustratinga s that is, the consolationis that it's hardt o go
Yurco,a nd severalo thers.F ourthw as to overheara ll the
wrongw itha nyd ecision.
positive commentst hese individualsm ade about the
Amongt he mostm emorableta lksa t this yea/s conference EgyptianS tudyS ociety.A nd fifth was to learn that an ESS
weret hose by PeterD ormant,h e recentlyr etiredD irectoro f memberB, ob Lowdermilkh,a s beene lecteda s the newest
the OrientalI nstitute'sE pigraphicS urvey in Luxor, who membeor f the NationaBl oardo f Governoros f the American
reviewedth e work beingd oneo n the 25th DynastyK ushite ResearchC enterin Egypt!
2
EGYPTAA{DM ESOPOTAMIA
Ancient Friends,
Ancient Rivols
by Dr. Robert Chadwick
Part I:
Geography and
Achitecture'
About the Author: Dr. RobeftC hadwickt eachesa t John Terminology
Abbott College in Quebec, and is a dual U.S. and The word Egypt relerst o a geographicaal rea situatedi n
Canadian citizen. He is an Assyno/ogrsfa nd archaeo- north Africa adjacentt o the Nile River. However,i t also
astrcnomerw ith a Ph.D. ftom the Universityo f Montrcal, referst o the Egyptiansth, e peoplew ho livedi n this area,
and is the authoro f a book in the Firct Civilizations eies and to Egyptianc ulture,l anguage,a nd religion.T he
titled" AncienEt gypta ndA ncientM esopotamiaA". Denver modernn ameE gypti s derivedfr om a Greekv ariationo f
native, Dr. Chadwickt nces his interesti n the ancient the ancientw ordh ikuptah.T
world to a childhood visit to the Denver Museum of
The word Mesopotamia( "the land betweent he rivers")
NaturalH istory.H e is an ESS mernber,a nd has beena
wasc oinedb y Greekh istoriandsu ringt he firstm illennium
guests peakertw ice.
8.C.8 lt refers to a geographicaal rea locatedi n the
It is an establishefda ctt hatt he civilizationosf Greecea nd regionso f the Tigrisa nd EuphratesR ivers.T heren ever
Rome form the basis of modern western societies. existeda countryo r nationc alled" Mesopotamian,"o r did
However,a numbero f importante lementso f western any ancientg roupo f peoplee ver refert o themselvesa s
civilizationp redatet he Greeksa nd Romans,a nd come "Mesopotamians."
directly from Mesopotamiaa nd Egypt. Our 365-day
Mesopotamiaw as the home of numerousg roups of
calendara nd 24-hourd ay originatedin Egypt.S cientific
people who moved into the region elsewhere,e ither
astronomyo riginatedin Mesopotamiaan d spreadw estt o
migratingo r invadingT. he principapl eoplesw ho livedi n
the Greeks and Romans, who made their own
Mesopotamiaw ere the Sumerianst,h e Akkadianst,h e
contributionsto this science2.A strology,o ne of the
Babyloniansa,n dt heA ssyrians.
humankind's most enduring beliefs, originated in
Mesopotamiaa,n d had a profoundi nfluenceo n art and Throughoumt ucho f Egypt'se arlyh istory,t he Egyptians
religionin the Greco-Roma-n a nd ultimatelCy hristiana nd were a more homogenousg roup of people,m ost of
lslamic- worlds3K. ey elementso f architectures uch as whoms poket he samel anguagea nd sharedm anyo f the
the archa ndv aultw erei n use in Egypta nd Mesopotamia samec ulturatl raditionsT. his was due in part to Egypt's
nearlyt wo millenniab eforet he RomansM. onotheisms,o locationi n the northeastc ornero f Africaw hich gave it a
cherishedb y westernr eligioustr aditionsf,i rsta ppearedin greatera mounto f geographicaisl olationfr om neighbors,
Egyptol.t reappearesde veracl enturiesla teri n lsrael,a nd invadersa nd migrantssl.n contrast,t he vast regionso f
eventuallfyo rmedt he basiso f threeo f the modernw orld's Mesopotamiwae re moree asilya ccessibleto outsiderslo,
greatr eligionsJ: udaism,C hristianitya,n d lslam.M odern resultingin greatecr ulturaal ndl inguistidc iversity.
western religionsh ave also been influencedb y the
religions of Mesopotamias.lf we add to these
accomplishmentthse inventiono f the alphabetw, hicha lso Climatea nd Agriculture
originatedin the ancientN earE ast( anda t leasti n parti n Just aboute veryoneis familiarw itht he statemenbt y the
Egypf), it is cleart hat some of the most importanat nd Greekh istorianH erodotusth at "Egypti s the gift of the
valuablee lementso f our ownw esterntr aditionc amef rom Nile."1Wl ithoutt he Nile,t he civilizationo f ancientE gypt
the world'sf irst civilizationsa: ncientM esopotamiaa nd would never have developeda nd flourished.M ost of
ancientE gypt. Egyptr eceivesl ittleo r no rainfall,a nd withoutt he Nile,
agriculturew as impossiblel2T.h e Nile starts belowt he The Tigris and Euphratesw ere also used for river
equatori n LakeV ictoriaa nd flows6 400 kilometersn orth transportation,a nd were excellent river highways.
to the MediterraneaSne a.T he annualf loodingo f the Nile Howeverb, ecauset he prevailingw indso f Mesopotamia
was causedb y springa nd summerr ainsw hicho ccurred blewi n the samed irectiona s the flowo f the rivers,s ailing
thousandso f kilometerss outho f Egypti n the EastA frican craftw ere less practicala nd boatso ften had to be rowed
highlands.T he Nile brought life-givingw aters to the or towed from one place to another.T o facilitatew ater
farmerso f Egypt,a nd carriedm illionso f tons of silt and transportatiotnh e peopleo f Mesopotamibau ilte xtensive
nutrientsw hich fertilizedt he landl3.B ecauset he Nile canals ystems,2p3a rticularloy n the Euphratesw, hich in
flooded with some degree of regularityi t provided an somei nstancesra n paralletlo the riverf or distanceso ver
importanmt easureo f securityf or Egyptianfa rmers.la a hundred kilometers- somethingt hat was usually
unnecessaryin Egypt.2Tah e Mesopotamiarniv ersa lso
The Nilef loodedi n the summerm onths,b eforep lanting'
tendedt o silt up, ands ometimems ader adicacl hangesin
and was not a menacet o cropsi n the fieldsd uringt heir
their courses.T he Euphratesh as movede astwardn early
periodso f growtha nd harvestls.B ecauset he Nile flood
20 kilometersi n historicalt imes, while the Nile has
precededt he plantingo f crops,i t broughtr enewedl ife for
scarcelym ovedf rom its originalb ed in the past 5,000
the land and its inhabitants.A s the process of
years.25
revivificationfa ithfullyr epeatedi tself year afler year, the
Riverg avet he Egyptianp eopleh opet hat liket he crops'
they too would be reborni n the afterlifew heret hey would Geographya nd WorldV iew
livef or eternityi n peacea nd comfort.
Althoughm orer ecentlys cholarsh avet endedt o downplay
The situation was reversed for the early farmers of its significanceo, ver the years there has been some
MesopotamiaL. ike the Nile, the Tigris and Euphrates debatec oncernintgh e importancoef certaing eographical
Riverso fferedt he promiseo f renewedl ife16b, ut therew as factors which tended to isolate Egypt from outside
an elemento f dangerw hich accompaniedth eir annual influencesa nd attacks. EgyptologisJt ohn A. \Mlson
inundationss,i nceb othr iversf loodedi n the springju st as conceivedt he narrowc ,onfineso f the Nile Valley as "a
the harvestw as aboutt o begin.S uch untimelyf looding tube,"t hatw as "looselys ealeda gainsot utsidec ontact."27
wouldo ccasionalldye stroyc ropsi n the fields.T he rivers Othersh aves eent he NileV alleya s a "blissfual bode"a
of Mesopotamicao uldb ringe itherr enewedl ife or great kind of oasis, or garden in the desert,t hat enabled
destructiona, factort hat almostc ertainlyh ad an effecto n Egyptians ocietyt o grow up in isolation.2Ms ore recently,
the people'so utlooko n life and the afierlife.lf ' as some John Romerh as spokeno f Egypta s a world of order,
have argued,1t7h e Egyptianso' ptimistico utlooko n life while outsidet he Nile Valleyl ay a world of disorder.2e
andd eathw asi nfluencedb y the positivee lementsin their ManchesteEr gyptologisAt. R. Davida rguest hat ancient
physical environment,t hen the capricious riverine Egyptd eveloped" largelyu naffectedb y outsidei nfluences
environmenotf Mesopotamiwa as most likelya faclor in due to the geographicasli tuationo f the Two Lands."s
the developmenot f the pessimisticw orld view of the Accordingly, once early predynastic contacls with
SumeriansB, abyloniansa,n dA ssyrians.lE Palestinea nd Mesopotamiaw ere made and Egyptian
In additionto the ill-timedfl oodingp, oord rainagec aused civitizationh ad beenf ormed,n aturalb arriersc ut off the
the build-upo f excessives alt depositso n agricultural Nile Valley from much outside influence,p articularly
lands (salinization)w, hich renderedt hem uselessf or enemyi nvasionT. he MediterraneaSne at o the north,T he
farming,laen d,i n somec ases,f orcedf armerst o abandon RedS eat o the east,t he greatS aharaD esertto the west,
large areaso f southernM esopotamiaF.l oodsa nd poor and the vast Africanh interlandto the south,a ll helped
drainagec, ombinedw itht erribles tormsw hichs ometimes insureE gyptsi solationfr omo utsidem ilitaryin vasion.
struckt he land,m adef armingd ifficulitn MesopotamiaIn. Even though Egypt was shaken by internal strife on
order to fully exploit the agricultural potential of several occasions,f ull-scalea ttacks by outsidersw ere
Mesopotamiafa, rmersw ere requiredt o build large and rareu ntilt he arrivaol f the Libyansa ndt he Sea Peoples3r
sophisticateds ystemso f irrigationc anals2ow, hile the in the latter part of the secondm illenniumB .C.u This
farmerso f Egyptc oulde xploitt he richeso f the Nib Valley relative security undoubtedlyg ave the Egyptianss ome
witho nlya minimumo f artificiacl ontroal ndi ntervention.2r additionalp eace of mind and served to reinforcet heir
optimistic world view. Egypt's optimistic view of the
afierlife,a nd the funeraryp reparationsth at went with it,
Transportation were in part a reflectiono f the geographicaal nd political
The Nile provideda better water transportations ystem securityo fferedb y the NileV alley.33
than either the Tigris or the EuphratesR ivers.z The
Natural barriers did exist between Egypt and its
prevailingw indsw ere favorablefo r sailingb oats up the
neighbors,a nd they do seem to have restrictedm ilitary
Nilea gainstth e currenat ndt he currentin turnw ouldc arry
invasion.b ut not trades, since commerciael xchanges
them from the First Cataracta t Aswan,a ll the way to the
betweenE gypt and its neighborsc ontinuedd uring all
MediterraneaSne a,n early1 000k ilometertso the north.l t historicapl eriods3sA. s early as the Gezian period,t here
was possibleto travelt his distancew ithoute ncountering
is ample evidenceo f contactw ith outsiderst hat had a
any rapidsa, ndw ithoutt he needt o makea singlep ortage
profounde ffect on the formationo f predynasticE gypt.s
or detoura roundo bstacles.
Trade and outsidec ontactsc ontinuedt o be an important
element of Egyptiang rowth, particularlyth rough the
4
important trading post of Byblos, from early in the 3rd fortificationso r fortifiedv illagesi n Egypt,a s yet there is no
millenniumB C to the end of the Pharaonicp eriod. archaeologicael videncef or their existence.s
Beginningi n the fourth millenniumB C Mesopotamiaw as In Mesopotamiae arly in the third millenniumB C there is
an urban civilizationa nd the home of a city-statef orm of much evidence of the developmento f walled cities and
government. At the same time Egypt remained an the large-scalea bandonmento f smaller, less defensible
essentially rural nation with numerous small farming villages and towns3eT. hough the developmento f large,
settlementss cattered along the length of the Nile River, fortified cities may be a sign of increased trade and
but with few real cities with large populations3TB.e ginning improvedl iving standards,i t is also a responset o military
around 2900 BC the great fortificationw alls of the city of threats from neighboringc ity-states and the menace of
Uruki n southernM esopotamiaw ere built.T hese massive outside invaders. Although there were some fortified
walls were 9.5 kilometersi n length, contained9 00 guard towns or villages in Egypt, there is no archaeological
towers.a nd encloseda n area of 550 hectares.N o fortified evidenceo f large,f ortifiedc ities duringt he early centuries
city of this size has been found in Egypt until much later. of its history,a nd this may be accountedf or in part by the
In fact, although there are artistic representations of lack of any outsidem ilitaryt hreat in this period.
UrbanA rchitecture
Architecturei,n cludingt he spectaculabr uildingp rojects built massivef ortificationw alls. Around 2100 BC the
undertakednu ringt he latef ourtha nd earlyt hirdm illennia Sumerianws ereb uilta greats tructurec alledt he "Amorite
BC, is particularliyn formativaeb outt he uniquen atureo f Wall"t o stemt he flowo f the migranAt morites.aOov ert he
theset wo civilizationsT.h e Egyptiansa, pparentlyu nified centuriest,h e numbero f migratingo r invadingp eoples
under a single governmenlte d by a god-kinga nd disturbingth e politicaal nd socialo rderi n Mesopotamiias
protected from invasion by geographicalb arriers, evidentf romo ne end of the landt o the other.T he list is
undertookla rge-scalen ationalc onstructionp rojectsl ike long,a nd their raidsa nd conquestsfr equent.aWl rether
the buildingo f pyramidsa nd vast mortuaryc omplexes. they were Gutianso r Amorites,K assiteso r Arameans,
Duringt he same period,t he peopleso f Mesopotamia, textuala nd archaeologicaelv idencer epeatedlyp ointst o
fragmentedi nto numerous city-states,a nd with no periodso f upheavala nd destructionin Mesopotamia
geographicabla rriersfo r protectiofnr omt heire nemies, broughot n by outsidefo rces.
intriguinga, t this time therei s no solide videnceth at the
monumentb uilderso f these two lands were ever in
contact with each other, or exchangedi deas about
architecture.
Pyramidsw ere tombs,b ut no-onew as ever buriedi n a
ziggurat.A numbero f pyramidsc ontainc hambersa nd
passageways,b ut ziggurats were completelys olid.
Zigguratsh adw ide exteriorr ampsa nd stainrvaylse ading
up to a smallt emplea t their summit.P yramidsh ad no
exterior stairwayso r ramps, were never meant to be
climbeda, nd had no templeso r otherk indso f structures
at theirs ummitsF. inally,a nd perhapsm osti mportanot f
all, pyramidsw ereb uilto ut of stone,w hilez igguratsw ere
madeo uto f mudb ricks.
ln its earliestf orm,a zigguratc onsistedo f a lerraceo f
trodden clay and mud brick that served as a raised
platformfo r a temple.aEsa rlyz igguratsh ad three levels,
and latert his was increasedto seven.E levatedte mple
platformsw ere built one on top of the other over many
centuries.W ith each new addition they grew in size,
leavinge arliers tagesb uried under later enlargements.
Thoughi ndividuapl yramidsa lwaysw ent throughs ome
modificationdsu ringt heirc onstructionth, eyw erei n most
casesb uiltf or a singlek ing,a nd new pyramidsw eren ot
builto vert he remainso f oldero nes.
The largeszt igguratss, ucha s thosef oundi n the citieso f
Babylono r Ur, measureda bout1 00m eterso n a sidea nd
when completedw ould have been from 50 to 90 meters
high.€ Zigguratsw eren ot as durablea s pyramidsa, nda ll
of them are so badlyd eterioratedth at archaeologistcsa n
only estimatet heir original size' Leonard Woolley's
reconstructioonf the Ur ziggurats howsi t to have beena
In response to this situation the inhabitants of three-stages tructurem easuring6 2.5 x 43 metersa t the
Mesopotamia developed a sacred literature and base and about 16.7 metersh igh.T he plan of a sixth-
mythology in which humans were created to be the centuryz igguratf rom the city of Babylonc laims that it
servants of the gods and were not allowed to share measureda bout 90 meterso n each side' had seven
eternalli few itht hem.aI2n Egyptt he kingw as a god,a nd stages,e ach one painteda differentc olor, and was 90
everyE gyptianr,e gardlesosf socialc lass,c ouldl ook metersh igh,m akingi t the highesta nd mosti mpressive
ziggurate ver built.aTV ery little of this structurer emains
today.O n the otherh and,t he largestp yramidsa re much
fonnardt o some kind of pleasanta fterlife.E ven though
better preserved,p rimarily because they were built of
Mesopotamiap roduced some of the most important
stoneb locksa ndn otm udb ricks.
technologicaal nd cultural elementst o cpme out of the
ancientw orld- includinga griculturew, riting,a nd the first The Khufup yramida t Giza measures2 83 meterso n a
cities - it seems that Egypt, because of its unique side and originallyro se to a heighto f 146 meters.T he
geographicasl ituation,w as offen better able to exploit base of the Khufup yramidc overs5 3,000s quarem eters,
manyo f these newfounde lementso f civilizatione, nabling while the largestz igguratsc overedo nly about 10'000
it to offeri ts citizensa n elilra margino f security. squarem etersT. hesed imensionisn dicatem oret hanj ust
the physical size of these structures.l ndirectly' they
reveala greatd eal aboutt he societiest hat builtt hema nd
SacredA rchitecture the raw materialsth at were availablet o their builders'
The most significanta rchitecturals truc{uresc reated by Since there was no stone for building projecls in
the peopleso f ancientM esopotamiwa eret he mud brick Mesopotamiam, ud brickw as the only avaibbb building
towers known as ziggurats.a3In at least one sense, materialM. ud bricksw ere literally" dirt cheap."O ne had
zigguratsw eret o Mesopotamiaw hat the pyramidsw eret o only to scoopu p a few handfulso f earth,a dd somew ater
Egypt:m onumentasl ymbolso f a greatc ivilizationB. ut the and straw and pour the mixture into a brick mold to
similaritiese nd there. Zigguratsa nd pyramidsw ere built produce an endless supply of bricks' Despite the
for entirely different reasons and were in no way availabilitoyf thisb uildingm aterialz, igguratsw erea lways
connectedw ith each other.G eorgeR ouxah as suggested considerablsym allerth an pyramidsT. his may haveb een
that Sumeriana rchitectsm ay have been inspiredb y the becauset he Sumerianc ity-statesw ere smallera nd could
Egyptian pyramid-buildersa,n d though the idea is not assemblee ithert he manpowero r the wealthr equired
6
to build pyramid-sizes tructures.asL ater, when the heavens.T he Greek historianH erodotusc laimedt hat
Assyrians had a vast empire that included Egypt, zigguratsw ere used in the sacredm arriager itual where
zigguratsw ere still small in comparisont o Egyptian the king, who representedth e god Marduk,s pent the
pyramidsT. hisi s duet o severafla ctors. nighti n the shrinea t the summito f the ziggurawt itht he
high priestesso f the Moong od. lf she descendedth e
The centracl oreo f a ziggurawt as madeo f unbakeds, un-
zigguratp regnanta, ccordingto Herodotus,sth3e crops
dried bricksa nd coveredw ith an outer shell of baked
wouldb e fertilein the comingy ear.
bricks,u p to 15 meterst hick.I n the core of the ziggurat
reedm atsw erel aida nd layerso f tar werea ddedt o keep In the earlyd ayso f Assyriologicarle searchi t was claimed
waterf romp enetratintgo the interiorB. ute venw itht hese that zigguratsw ere builta s celestiaol bservatoriewsh ere
precautionsr,a in water from the rare yet devastating astronomersc ould have studied the stars without city
cloudburststh at sometimeso ccurredi n the regiond id buildingso bstructingth eir view.s Thoughi t is possible
occasionalllye aki ntot he interioro f the structurec, ausing that celestialo bserversc limbedt o the top of zigguratst o
its unbakedc ore to expand,b ulge and crumble.K ings observet he night-times ky or to make offeringst o the
facedt he constantta sk of rebuildingc rumblingm ud-brick celestial gods, today few scholars accept this
structuress uch as palaces,t emples,f ortificationas nd interpretationC. limbinga few meters to the top of a
ziggurats.M ud-bricks tructuresr arely lasted a century zigguratw ould not give an astronomera significantly
without major refurbishmenta, nd often afler only a few better view of celestialo bjects, and it is doubtfult hat
decadesw, orkc rewsw erer equiredto repairo r rebuildth e zigguratsw ould have been of much use to astronomers
variety of mud brick structures in use throughout and calendarm akers.W rether or not they were usedf or
Mesopotamia. making celestial observationso, ne thing is certain:
zigguratsw ere not originallyb uiltt o be observatorieosr
The Egyptiansd id not have this problem.T hey built in
celestialo bservationp latformsN. ot once in the hundreds
stonew hich requiredli ttleo r no maintenancea,n d their
of Assyriana nd Babyloniaans tronomicaaln d astrological
strucluresh ave lasted into modernt imes. Like stone,
texts do astronomerse ver mentiont hat they climbedt o
baked mud bricksa re practicallyin destructiblaen d will
the top of a zigguratto observeth e heavens.ss
last for millennia.W hy then, were zigguratsn ot built
entirelyo ut of bakedb ricks?E nvironmentafal ctorsm ay
have dictatedt he quantityo f burnt mud bricksu sed in
large structures. There were very few trees in
Mesopotamiaa, nd the Sumerians,B abyloniansa, nd
Assyriansm ayh avel ackedt he necessarfyu elt o baket he
millionso f bricksr equiredfo r larges tructuresM. osto f the
wooda nd strawf uel availablew as usedf or cookingfi res
in private homes and could not be spared for brick
making.A secondf actorw as size of the brick building
materiaul sedt o maket hem.M ud bricksa re smallera nd
lightert hant he greats tonesu sedi n pyramidc onstruction
- usuallya bout2 5 centimeterssq uareb y 12 centimeters
thick- and in the millennias incet hey were abandoned,
localp easantsfo undt he outerp artso f the zigguratsto be
a convenients ource of baked brick for constructing
housesf,e ncesa, ndf armb uildings.
The purposeo f Egyptianp yramidsi s clear: they were
tombsf or theird eceasedk ings.B ut if zigguratsw eren ot
tombs, then what was their purpose?E arly explorers
naivelyt houghtt hat they were used by Babyloniana nd
Assyrian priests to escape the mosquitoes.aSeo me
maintainth at the first smallz igguratsw ere simpler aised
platformsw here the villageg rain supplyw as kept dry
during the annual flood.s As early as the fourth
millenniumB C templesw ere built on raisede arth and
mud-brickm ounds,a nd zigguratsw ere an outgrowtho f
this type of construction.sTl he most widely-accepted
explanationis that zigguratsw ere meantt o be climbed.
Zigguratsa lwaysh ad severals tainrvaylse adingt o their
summitsa nd it is cleart hat theirp rimaryp urposew as to
elevatet he priestsc losert o the realmo f the godsi n the
heavens.l t is evidentt hat offeringsw ere made to the
godsf roma smallt emplea t the summito f the ziggurat.s2
In this way, zigguratsf ormed a spirituall ink between
humanso n eartha ndt he sacredr ealmo f the godsi n the
7
The mostw idelyk nownr eferenceto a zigguraot utsideo f templef oundationo f heavena nde arth."T he god Marduk
Mesopotamioac cursi n the OldT estamenti,n the storyo f commandeidts buildersto maket he baseo f the toweri n
the Towero f Babel.$T he storyw as probablyb orrowedb y
the undenrorlda nd buildi ts summits o hight hat it would
the Hebrews from the Babyloniansd uring the first
reach the heavens. Even though today there are
millenniumB .C.s7T he Old Testamentw riters were
practicallny o physicarl emainso f the Towero f Babel,i n
impressedb y the greatt emples tructured edicatedto the
ancientt imes it must have been a spectaculasr ight to
chief Babyloniang od, Marduk,a nd its toweringz iggurat
beholds, incei ts buildersc alledi t "ther ivalo f heaven."
they calledt he "Towero f Babel".T he word Eabeli s the
Hebrewf orm of the Akkadianb ab-ilimm eaning" gate of
god.'ssT he morem odernw ordB abyloni s the Greekf orm Next installmentD: eath and the afterlife in Egypt and
of the samen ame,k nowna s earlya s the seventhc entury Mesopotamia.
BC The ziggurata t Babylonw as calledE -temen-an-ki"lhe
References 15. CharfesC . Redman,T he Riseo f CivilizationW, H.
FreemanS, anF rancisco1,9 78,p p. 46-47.
1. For further comparisons between Egypt and
Mesopotamias ee Civilizationso f the Ancient Near 16. Saggs, CivilizationB eforc Grcecea nd Rome,Y ale
East,C harlesS cribne/sS ons,N ewY ork,1 995,J ack UniversitPyr ess1, 989p, .270.
Sassone ditorV, ol.I , pp.3-107.
17. Wifson, The Culturc of Ancient Egypt, Universityo f
2. Otto Neugebauer,T he Exacf Sciencesi n Antiquity, Chicago Press, 1951, pp. 11-13, and op.cit.,
DoverP ublishingN, ew York, 1958,a nd Bartelv an Frankfortp,. 4-5.
der Waerden, ScienceA wakeningl l: The Bifth of 18. ibid.,F rankfortp,p .4-5.
Astron o m y , No rdhoff| n ternationalL, eyd en,1 9 72 .
19. ChristopheJr. Eyre," TheA griculturaCl ycle,F arming,
3. FrancescaR ochberg-Halto"nN, ew Evidencefo r the andW aterM anagemenint the AncientN earE ast,"i n
History of Astrology," Joumal of Near Eastem
Civilizationso f the Ancient Near East, Charles
Sfudies,v ol. 43, April 1984, pp. 11S140, A.L. Scribne/sS ons,N ewY ork,1 995,v ol.I , pp. 142-144.
Oppenheim," Man and Nature in Mesopotamian
20. For a discussiono f canalss ee RobertM cC.A dams
Civifization,"D ictionaryo f ScientificB ibliographies,
and Hans J. Nissen, The Uruk Countryside,
Tome XV, Charles Gillespie, editor, Charles
Scribne/sS ons,N ewYork1, 978,p p.634-666. Universitoyf ChicagoP ress,1 972,p . 38ff
21. op.c if.,E yre,p . '144.
4. Redford, Akhenaten, The Heretic Krng, Princeton
UniversityP ress,1 984,p p.225f f, and CyrilA ldred, 22. op.c it , Chadwickp, . 133.
AkhenatenK: ng of Egypt,T hames& Hudson,1 988,
23. op.c if.,A dams,a ndN issenp, p.4 8-49.
pp.113,24O.
24. Seef or exampleJ, .C.M argeuron",M ari,l 'Euphrate, t
5. For the Mesopotamianin fluenceso n these three
fe Khabura u milieud u llle millenaire,T"h e Bulletino f
refigionsse eS .N.K ramerT, he Sumeiansp, . 1'12.
the CanadianS ociefyf or MesopotamianS tudies,21,
6. Alan Gardiner, Egypt of the Pharaohs, Oxford May1 991p, p.79-100.
UniversitPy ress,1 961,p p.25-26.
25. op. cit., Eyre,p . 144
7. Robert Chadwick, Frrsf Civilizations: Ancient
26. JohnB aines& JaromirM alek,A tlaso f AncientE gypt,
Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, Les Editions
FactsonF rleN, ewYork,198p0.,1 6.
ChampF leuryA, yersC liff,Q uebec,1 996,p . 133.
27. Wifson, The Culturc of AncientE gypt, Uniuersityo f
8. GeorgeR oux, La MesopotamieE, ditionsd e Seuil,
ChicagPo ress,195p1., 11.
Paris1, 980p, . 17.
28. Jon M. \Mite, EverydayL ife in AncientE gypt,D orset,
9. John Bainesa nd JaromirM alek,A CulturclA tlaso f
NewYork1, 963p, . 15f.
AncientEgypt,Factosn File,N ewYork,1 980,p . 12.
29. John Romer,P eople of the Nile, Crown Publishing,
10. See Henri Frankfort, Kngship and the Gods, NewY ork,' 1973p, .13.
Universitoyf ChicagoP ress,1 948,p .4.
30. David, The Pynmid Builderc of Ancient Egypt,
11. Histoies,B ookl l.
Routledg&e KeganP aul,L ondon1, 986,p . 20.
12. Therea re alwayse xceptionso, f course.I n the past
31. Kemp in, Ancient Egypt: a Socra/H isfory, Bruce
year southern Egypt was devastated by freak
Triggere t al. CambridgeU niversitPy ress,1 983,p p.
rainstormtsh at causedf lashf loods,w hilel astw inter
153-158.
northernE gyptr eceiveda dustingo f snow.
32. op.c if.,W ilson,p . 12.
13. Charfes Redman, The Rise of Civilization,W .H.
Freeman,S an Francisco,1 978, p. 46, gives the 33. op.c ff, \Mlson,p . 13.
figureo f 110m illionto nso f sedimenat nnually. 34. op.c if.,R edfordp, p. 17-19,a ndop.c d.,C hadwickp, .
14. BernardK napp, The History and Culturc of Ancient 136.
WestemA siaa nd Egypt,The DorsetP ress,C hicago,
1988p, .32.
8
35. John Baines,J aromirM alek, Atlaso f AncientE gypt, rose to a heighto f 52.6 meters.P iene Amiet,A rf of
Factso n File, NewY ork,198Op, . 12. the ancient Near East,H arry N. Abrams,N ew York,
1980,p p.i l7-*9.
36. MichaelA stour." OverlandT rade Routesi n Ancient
WesternA sia,"C ivilizationosf the Ancient Near East, 47. op.c ll, \Msemanp, p.68-73.
Jack Sassone ditor,C harlesS cribne/sS ons, New 48. op. cif.,S aggsp, .57.
York,1 995V, ol.l ll,p . 1405.
49. op. cft.,R oux,p . 156.
37. For a definitiono f cities and their role in the
50. op. cif.,B ushinkp, .93, andP anot,p p.20o217.
development of early civilizations see op. cit.,
Ghadwickp,p .31-33a nd3 7-40,a ndb ibliography. 51. Buts eeo p crf.,B usinkp, .120.
38. Amihai Mazar, "The Fortificationo f Cities in the 52. op.c ff, Businkp, p.98-99.
AncientN ear East,"C ivilizationso f the AncientN ear
53. HerodotusH, nfonesB, ookl , 181.
Easf,C harlesS cribne/sS ons,N ewY ork,1 995,V ol.
111,p.1524. ?4. op.cif., Parrot,p .216.H oweveri,t mighth aveh elped
them make more accurateo bservationso f the rising
39. Chades Redman, Ihe Rrse of Civilization,W .H.
and settingo f the Moon when it appearedn ear the
FreemanS, anF rancisco1, 978,p p.265- 266. horizon.T he Moon was of particulari nterestt o the
40. op.c rt, Roux,p . 16$166. peopleo f Mesopotamiasi ncet hroughoutth eir history
they maintaineda lunar calendar. Perhaps by
41. Seen ote8 .
climbingto the summito f a zigguract alendamr akers
42. Seeo p. cit.,C hadwickp, . 113,a ndb ibliography.
may have had a betterc hanceo f seeingt he slim
43. A good overviewo f the subject can be found in lunar crescentw hich was essentialf or determining
H.W.F.S aggs,C ivilizationB eforc Grcecea nd Rome, the first day of the month.
Yale UniversityP ress,N ew Haven,1 989,p p. 47-6'1.
55. Robert Chadwick," CalendarsZ, igguratsa nd the
fn depth studies are by Andre Parrot, Zigguratse t
Stars," Bulletin of The Canadian Society for
Tour de Babel, EdilionsA lbin Michel, Paris, 1949, MesopotamianS tudies,2 4, pp. 7- 24.
andT h. Busink", L'Originee t Evolutiond e la Ziggurat
56. GenesisC, hapte1r 1.
BabyfonienneJ,"a aherichtE x Oiente Lux,2 1, 1970,
pp.91-14'1. 57. op.c if.,S aggsp, .56,a ndH alloa, ndS impsonp,. 78.
44. op.c if.,R ouxp, .157. 58. JoanO ates,B abylonT, hamesa nd HudsonL, ondon,
45. op. cif.,S aggs,p .56. 1979,p . 60, and D.J.W isemanN, ebuchadnezzaarn d
Babylon,O xfordU niversityP ress,1 983,p p.4445.
46. Donald \Mseman, Nebuchadnezzara nd Babylon,
OxfordU niversityP ress,1 983,p .72.The Zigguraat t
Dur Untashm easured1 05.2m eterso n a side and
I
IYefertitia nd Akhenuten:
Evidencef or a Co-Regency?
by Laura Engel
About the Author: Laura Engel is facilitatoro f the Book father of Nefertiti,a nd thus Akhenaten'sf ather-inlaw
StudyG roup,a nd a formerE SS boardm ember.S he has a (Schaden9 2). lt has also beena rguedt hatA y was Queen
degrce in Anthrcpology ftom the University of Colorado, Tiye'sb rotherw, hichw ouldh avem adeA khenatenN efertiti's
Denver,a nd has beent o Egypt eight times.L aun runsa n firstc ousina s well as her husbandA. y'sw ife,T y, boret he
Egyptian impoft business with her sister Linda, and is title of "GreatN urseW ho Rearedt he Goddess"r eferringt o
pafticuladyi ntercstedin the time of Hatshepsut. Nefertiti'dsi vines tatus.
QueenN efertitiw, hosen amem eans" theb eautifuol ne has Ty also bore the titles "Nurseo f the King'sG reatW ife,
come,"h asl ongb eenp ortrayeda s oneo f the mostb eautiful NeferneferuateNne fertitii"n additionto "RoyaOl rnament,a"
women in the world. Her portraita dornsc osmeticsa nd commont itle of womeno f the court," Ladyo f the House"
beautyt reatmentsi n many countries,a nd of all of the and "GreatlyP raisedo f Waenre"- that is, Akhenaten
womeni n Egypt'slo ng history,h er namei s secondo nly to (Sahaden9 4). lt is not known if Ty was Nefertiti'sb irth
thato f CleopatraB. utw as Nefertitoi nlya beautifuwl oman, mother,h er wet-nurseo r just her nurse.T y was eventually
or did sher ulea s a kinga longsideh er husbandA menhotep elevatedt o GreatR oyalW ife when her husbandA y became
lV, betterk nowna s Akhenaten? king.
Thep eriodo f the late1 7tha ndt he 18thD ynastieps roduced Nefertitgi ave birth to six daughtersd uringt he first nine
manys trongf emaler olem odels.B eforeN efertitit,h erew as years of Amenhotepl Vs 17- year reign: Meryetaten,
QueenA h-hotepo f the 17thD ynastyw, hoses on dedicated Maketaten, Ankhesenpaaten,N eferneferuaten-Tesherit,
a royals tela to her for the part she playedi n defending Neferneferurea nd Sotepenre.M eryetaten,t he eldest
Egypta gainsti ts enemies.S he was honoredb y receiving daughterw, as marriedt o her fathera boutt he 14thy earo f
the royaln ecklaceo f goldenf lies- usuallyb estowedu pon his reign.T hisf olloweda precedenst et by her grandfather
generalsin recognitioonf theirc ouragein battle.A h-hotep's Amenhotepl ll, who married both his eldest daughter
granddaughteQr,u eenH atshepsutr,u ledf or 22 years,a nd Sitamena nd his daughterl set. Both these womenw ere
wast he onlyf emalek nownt o rulea s king.S hei s knownf or elevatedt o the positiono f Great Royal \Mfe - as was
her great buildingp rojectsa nd the restorationo f many Meryetateunp onh er marriageto Akhenaten(F orbes2 9). lf
templest hroughouEt gypt,a s well for her advancemenotf QueenN efertithi ad becomec o-regent,t hen the positiono f
foreigntr ade. GreatR oyalW ife wouldb e vacant,a nd Meryetatewn ould
be the firstc hoicet o fill it. AnkhesenpaareNn,e fertiti'tsh ird
Even Nefertiti'sm other-in-lawQ, ueenT iye, was a strong,
daughterw, as wed to Tutankhamewn hen he becamek ing
influentiawl oman.T iye,a womano f non-royabl irth,h elped
at the ageo f niney ears.
to rule the country with her husband,A menhotepl ll;
"ultimatelsyh e functionedn ot only as omnipresencto nsort, By the fifth year of his reign,A menhoteplV proclaimed
but unprecedentedalys de factoc o-rulera s well" (Forbes Atenismt he nationalr eligiona nd changedh is name to
26). Her son Amenhotepl V would have witnessedh is Akhenaten",O ne\ A/ttols Serviceablteo Aten."A t this time,
mother'ss trengtha nd abilities,e ven if they were not his royalw ife addedt he nameN eferneferuateton her own
recognizeidn titles. name.T his namea dditionis interestingin the hieroglyphic
charactersu sed.B oth the long and short versionso f the
QueenT iye bore sevenc hildrenf:i ve daughtersS, itamen,
new name use a female determinative( a seated female
lset,H enuttaunebuN,e betana nd Baketatena,n d two sons,
figure)r, epresentintgh e queen.F acingt his determinativise
Tuthmosist,h e royalh eir,a nd AmenhotepT. uthmosisd ied
the name of the god Aten. This name-formis evidenti n
before he could assume the throne, and his younger
other royal names,b ut only in the name of a king. lt is
brotherA, menhoteplV , becameh eira nde ventuallkyi ng.
possibleth att hisn amea dditionw as oneo f Nefertiti'tsh rone
It appearsl ikelyt hat AmenhoteplV was made co-regent names,a nd that it is at this time she becamec o-regenot f
with his fathera t aboutt he age of 16. On a reliefa t the Egypt.
Karnakte mple,h e is portrayedm uchs malletrh anh isf ather'
The nameo f "kingA nkhkheperurea"l so appearso n reliefs
butt he youngr egentm irrorsth e king'sp osturea nd actions.
during the reign of Akhenaten.T here has been much
Soona fter he becamec o-regentA, menhoteplV was wed to
speculatioans to this individual'isd entityO. n a co-regency
Nefertitia, womann ot unlikeQ ueenT iye.B othw omenw ere
stela is written "AnkhkheperureB eloved of Waenre,
oldert hant heirh usbandsa, ndo f non-royabl lood.
NeferneferuateBne lovedo f Akhenaten.l"t seemsc leart o
Nefertiti'sli neagei s not knownf or sure. The most likely me thatt he two namesA nkhkheperuraen d Neferneferuaten
choicef or her father is Ay, a high officiali n the courts of refer to the same person. This seems especiallyt rue
both Amenhotepl ll and Amenhotepl V, who became considerintgh e factt hats omeo f the namesb eara feminine
pharaoha ftert he deatho f TutankhamenH. e heldt he titles genderr eference.
of "Overseer of Horses" (chariotry officer), "Chief of
Furthere videnceis foundo n a stelad edicatedb y Pasi,a
Bowmen,"" True Royal Scribe,"" Fanbeare/'a nd "God's
soldier in Akhenaten'sa rmy. The stela depicts two
Fathe/'- the last, it is believedr, eferringto Ay's beingt he
10