Life, death and beyond in Akhenaten's Egypt

15 Pages·2013·2.16 MB·English

Life, death and beyond in Akhenaten’s
Egypt: excavating the South Tombs
Cemetery at Amarna
Barry Kemp1, Anna Stevens1,∗, Gretchen R. Dabbs2, Melissa Zabecki3
& Jerome C. Rose4
The authors report a summary of the results
of six seasons of excavation at one of the
cemeteries of Tell el-Amarna, the celebrated
city of the ‘monotheistic’ revolutionary,
Akhenaten. The osteology shows a workforce
enduring stress and injuries to bone and
muscle. The burial rites indicate low
investment and personal interpretations as to
spiritualmeaning.Inthisexplorationofaslice
ofawholeEgyptianurbansociety,thecontrast
between the working lives of the elite and its
workforcebecomesstriking.
Keywords:Egypt,Amarna,secondmillenniumBC,Akhenaten,palaeo-osteology,burialrites,
religion
Introduction
Since the middle of the nineteenth century, the study of ancient Egypt has included the
dramaoftheAmarnaperiod,the17-yearreignofPharaohAkhenaten(c.1349–1332BC)
andabriefaftermaththatendedduringthereignofTutankhamun.Theprimearchaeological
manifestationofthisepisodeisthecityofAmarna,builtbyAkhenatenontheeastbankof
the Nile, some 350km south of modern Cairo. The site reveals something of Akhenaten’s
1 AmarnaProject,1Midanel-Tahrir,Floor5,Apartment17,Cairo,Egypt;McDonaldInstitutefor
ArchaeologicalResearch,UniversityofCambridge,DowningStreet,Cambridge,CB23ER,UK
(Email:[email protected];[email protected])
2 DepartmentofAnthropology,SouthernIllinoisUniversity,1000FanerDrive,MailCode4502,Carbondale,IL
62901-4502,USA(Email:[email protected])
3 ParkinArcheologicalStatePark,60Highway184North,Parkin,AR72373,USA(Email:[email protected])
4 DepartmentofAnthropology,UniversityofArkansas,OldMain330,Fayetteville,AR72701,USA
(Email:[email protected])
∗ Authorforcorrespondence
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Figure1. Ageneralviewnorth-eastacrosstheSouthTombsCemeterytakenin2011,showingexcavationsattheLowerSite,
withtheWadiMouthSitetotheleft.
intentions,foritwashiswishtopurifythecultofthesun(theAten)bycreatingaplacefor
worshipthatwasuncontaminatedbypreviousassociations,humanordivine.Amarnaalso
becamehome,almostincidentally,toapopulationofperhaps20–30000people—officials,
soldiers, people involved in manufacture and even more whose place in life was to serve
others—who followed the royal court to this new city and set about re-establishing their
livesandlivelihoods.
Amarna has long been ancient Egypt’s largest accessible urban site, a rich source for
the study of domestic architecture and the material remnants of life (Kemp 1977, 1989:
261–317; Kemp & Stevens 2010a, 2010b). Research that began in 2005 is now adding
further layers of information, derived from the survey and excavation of a major cemetery
of Amarna’s people: the South Tombs Cemetery. Some of that information is cultural,
and some derives from the anthropological study of the human remains. Together, it
offersnewperspectivesonlifeinAkhenaten’scity;ononecommunity’sresponses,physical
and spiritual, to a period of social upheaval and religious re-ordering; and on the rituals
and broader behaviour patterns that accompanied death for the non-elite (surprisingly
poorlydocumenteduptonow;Baines&Lacovara2002).Beyondthehistoricalinterestof
Akhenaten’s reign, the value of the Amarna cemetery lies in our ability to pinpoint when
and where this population lived, relatively rare in the Egyptian setting, where cemeteries
often survive in isolation from the cities and towns they served. In this paper, we offer a
preliminaryoverviewoftheexcavationsandresultsobtainedsofar.
The South Tombs Cemetery
The South Tombs Cemetery occupies a sand-filled wadi that cuts through a limestone
escarpment that forms part of the eastern boundary to the Amarna plain (Figures 1 & 2).
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Life,deathandbeyondinAkhenaten’sEgypt
Figure2. MapoftheSouthTombsCemeteryshowingthethreeexcavationareas:theUpperSite,LowerSiteandWadi
MouthSite.TheinsetisamapofAmarnashowingthelocationofthecemetery.
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Theadjacentrockfaceisdottedwithunfinished,butoftenelaboratelydecorated,rock-cut
tombs intended for officials of Akhenaten’s city (the ‘South Tombs’ proper). Following a
surface survey in 2005, around 1550m2 of ground has been investigated in three separate
areaswithinthewadi:theUpperSite(700m2),LowerSite(575m2)andWadiMouthSite
h
(275m2) (Figure 2). The cemetery is likely to contain several thousand burials. So far, we c
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haveexcavated222gravesandrecovered274skeletons;someincomplete,withsomegrave e
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pitsaccommodatingmorethanonebody. R
Burial rites
Two aspects best characterise the approach to burial and provisioning the dead: an overall
simplicityandconsistencyofapproach.Thegroundtendstobequitedenselyoccupiedby
graves,whichtaketheformofsimpleoblongpitsdugintothesand.The2006excavationsat
theUpperSiterevealedagravewithamud-brickburialchamber(Ambridge&Shepperson
2006:35),butthisissofarunique.Intermsofgraveorientation,thelocaltopographyseems
tobetheoverridinginfluence,withpitscutintoflatgroundtendingtorunapproximately
parallel to the line of the wadi, and those on sloping ground to run across the slope.
Neighbouring pits usually conform to similar orientations, and there is a reasonably clear
process of secondary infilling of the ground with graves that tend to follow more varied
orientations.
At surface level, most graves appear to have been marked by low cairns of limestone
boulders,sometimeswithamemorialstelashowinganimageofthedeceased(Figures3&
4). A few graves were topped by miniature limestone pyramids (Figure 4). Due to erosion
and previous looting of the cemetery very little survives in situ of surface markers. Most
of the interments excavated thus far have been disturbed by grave robbers, who tended to
rummagethroughtheupperpartofthebody,probablylookingforjewellery,butleftmuch
of the bone within the grave (Figure 5). It is usually still possible, nonetheless, to gain a
goodoverallunderstandingofthenatureofeachburial,andtoreconstructtheskeletonsto
asubstantialdegree.
Thebodiesarealmostalwayslaidoutinanextended,supineposition,wrappedintextile
and placed within a burial container (Figure 5). So far, there are no signs of deliberate
mummification, although the textile may have helped maintain the form of the body.
The majority of the human remains are entirely skeletonised, although hair, sometimes
in elaborate braids, quite often survives. Burial containers are usually plain mats made of
lengthsofthick,rigidplantmaterial,inwhichthebodywasrolledtoformakindofcylinder
bound with rope, sometimes preserving carrying-loops to facilitate transport from the city
tothecemetery(Figures3&5).Occasionally,amatoffinerplantmaterialwasusedasan
intermediate layer, or as the sole layer around the bodies of small children. On occasion,
the body was placed in a wooden coffin (Figure 6). Twenty coffins have been encountered
todate,rangingfromundecoratedboxestoanthropoid-stylecoffinsdecoratedwithscenes
ofoffering-bearersandfunerarytexts(Kemp&Stevens2008:35–41;Kemp2010:18–21).
Pottery coffins seem also to have been in use, although so far found only as fragments on
thesurface(Rose2005:24).
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Figure3. Theundisturbedgraveofachild(Ind.133)preservingaroughburialcairn,hereplaceddirectlyovertheinterment
andperhapsnevervisibleatsurfacelevel.
Grave goods, or items that might have been left beside the grave as offerings during or
afterburial,arerare.Themostcommonlyencounteredarepotteryvessels,usuallyreduced
to sherds, which were presumably used mainly as containers for foodstuffs and liquids
(a few intact vessels containing botanical remains have been found; Dolling 2008: 31).
Occasionally, amulets and jewellery items remain on the body or amongst its wrappings;
sometimes a single amulet is clutched in the left hand. Other goods so far encountered
includecosmeticitemssuchasmirrorsandkohltubes,andtravertinevessels.Thelootingof
thesitehascertainlydisruptedtheartefactrecord,especiallyintermsofthelossofcontextual
information,buttheremayhavebeenrelativelylittleoveralllossofmaterialitself.Asfaras
we can tell, the robbers seem to have had little interest in most of the objects represented
at the site; a number of disturbed graves still contain items that they seem simply to have
ignored, probably in the search for metal goods that could be melted down. Conversely,
enoughundisturbedburialshavebeenexcavatedthatcontainnotasingleobject,suggesting
thatgravegoodswere,inanycase,theexceptionratherthantherule.
Health and workloads
The skeletal analysis summarised below focuses only on individuals for whom at least 50
percentoftheskeletonwasrecovered(n=159;95adults;64subadults)(Table1).
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Figure 4. Limestone grave markers with typical pointed tops: a roughly faced slab with engraved triangular motif (obj.
39425,topleft);awell-carvedstelatoppedbytwopeaksthatmayrepresentthehorizon,animageofthedeceasedprobably
onceshowninthefrontrecess(obj.39446,topright);around-toppedstelasetintoapointedframe,showingaseatedman
andwomancarvedintypicalAmarnaperiodstyle(obj.39938,bottomleft);andathree-dimensionalpyramidionwitha
smallrecessforanimageofthedeceased(obj.39433,bottomright).PhotographsbyGwilOwen.
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Figure5. Theskullanduppertorsoofanadultfemalelyingonawell-preservedrollofplant-stemmatting(Ind.176,top);
anundisturbedskeletonofanadultmaleintypicalextended,supineposture(Ind.121,bottomleft);andtheburialofan
adultmaleshowingthecommonpatternofdisturbancewherebytheuppertorsohasbeenjumbledbyrobbersandtheskull
removed(Ind.125,bottomright).
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Table1. SummaryofskeletalevidencefornutritionaldeficiencyandworkloadintheSouthTombs
Cemeterysample.
Condition n= Affected Severe
h
Nutritionaldeficiency c
r
Cribraorbitalia 103 44(42.7%) – a
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Porotichyperostosis 105 3(2.9%) – s
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Scurvy 158 8(5.2%) – R
Workload
DJD-upperlimb 91 60(65.9%) 12(13.2%)
DJD-lowerlimb 88 42(47.7%) 19(21.6%)
DJD-spine 90 51(56.7%) 32(34.6%)
Trauma-upperlimb 92 20(21.7%) –
Trauma-lowerlimb 89 10(11.2%) –
Trauma-trunk 95 53(55.8%) –
Figure6. AnanthropoidwoodencoffinexcavatedattheLowerSite(unit(13262)),eachsideofwhichwasdecoratedwith
fourmaleofferingfiguresseparatedbycolumnsofhieroglyphs.Onthiscoffinthehieroglyphsdonotformmeaningfulphrases
andlookasthoughtheywerecopiedbyacraftsperson,andprobablyforanowner,whowasilliterate.
Nutritionalstress
Stature reflects the balance between the contribution to a body’s overall health of calories
and nutrients when set against depletions occasioned by growth, maintenance, immune
responseandotherdemands(Steckel1995).AdultsatAmarnaareshorterthanthosefrom
most other sites from which comparable data are available (comparative samples found in
Zakrzewski 2003). Adult females, at 154.02cm (5ft 0.5in) are shorter than those from all
other sites, and periods. The males at Amarna, at 163.75cm (5ft 4.5in), are slightly taller
than a sample from the Badarian period but shorter than males from all other periods.
Significantly, delayed growth during childhood at Amarna suggests that hardships began
earlyinlife.Comparisonofageestimatesbasedonthedevelopmentoftheteeth(AlQahtani
et al. 2010) and the length of the long bones (using Maresh 1970 standards for long bone
growth)showthatthemajorityofAmarnachildrenwereexperiencingsignificantlydelayed
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growth, beginning at about 7.5 months and continuing throughout childhood (Figure 7).
At its most extreme, the delay in long bone growth was 23.7 months (Dabbs & Zabecki,
forthcoming).Theoverallshortstatureofadultsindicatesthatthedifficultconditionswere
not alleviated at any point during growth and therefore that biological stresses may have
beenpresentthroughoutlife.
Other, more direct evidence of nutri-
tional stress is also present. High levels of
cribra orbitalia (porosity in the bone of
the superior eye orbits) in both children
and adults suggest a diet deficient in
iron (Stuart-Macadam 1989) and other
important nutrients (Walker et al. 2009).
A total of 44 of the 103 (42.7 per
cent) individuals retaining superior orbits
exhibitedcribraorbitalia.Anadditional2.9
percentofthesample(3individualsof105
withparietalbonesavailableforassessment)
demonstrated lesions characteristic of
porotichyperostosis(porosityofthecranial
bones), another condition linked with
nutritionaldeficiency.Furthermore,atleast
eight subadults (5.2 per cent) exhibit the
porotic lesions of the sphenoid, temporal
Figure7. Rightfemurofatypical8.5-year-old(left)and and occipital bone characteristic of scurvy,
right femur of an 8.5-year-old child with delayed growth vitamin C deficiency (Ortner & Ericksen
(right).Theagedeterminationisassessedwithmandibular
1997).Priortotheskeletalmanifestationof
toothdevelopment.
theseconditions,theclinicalsymptomscan
bequitesevere.Irondeficiencyanemiacancauselethargy,pallor,disorientationandreduced
problem-solvingabilities,whilescurvycancauseevulsionofthedentition,openingofhealed
scarsandfailureofgrowingbonetoproperlymineralise(Aufderheide&Rodriguez-Martin
1998).
Intenseworkloads
Workload can be examined using a number of features manifested on the skeleton. The
following discussion focuses exclusively on the development of degenerative joint disease
(DJD), trauma, and the development of musculo-skeletal stress markers (MSM), and is
restricted to the skeletally mature adults of the Amarna sample (n = 95). The physical
manifestations of DJD and MSM are not observed on children, as they often do not
participate in the activities thought to cause the skeletal changes observed, and even
when they are known to participate they will have not done so for a sufficient length
of time to provoke bony response. The subadult sample at Amarna shows little trauma,
with only two individuals exhibiting fractures. Both individuals were teenagers, and both
injuries—spondololysis (separation of the vertebra arch or posterior side from the main
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Figure8. Left)degenerativejointdiseaseasevidencedbyporosityorporoticlesionsandassociatedextrabonegrowthonthe
inferioraspectofacervicalvertebra.Right)carvedsceneofamancarryingatalatatblockonhisshoulder,anactivitythat
mayhavecontributedtotheDJDseenontheAmarnaskeletons.Thesceneiscarvedonanactualtalatatblockfoundat
El-AshmuneinbutprobablyoriginallypartofabuildingatAmarna.(BrooklynMuseum61.195.1.AfterD.Laboury2010:
fig.4–3.)
body of the vertebra) of the fifth lumbar vertebra and a fractured foot bone—could have
beenworkrelated,possiblyindicatingtheyoungwereworkingearlyinadolescence.
Overall rates of DJD at Amarna, however, are very high. A total of 71 adults (77.2 per
cent) exhibited some evidence of DJD in at least one joint. The joints considered include
the shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee, ankle and all three regions of the spine. More than
half of the individuals exhibiting DJD had severe manifestation (42/71; 59.2 per cent) in
at least one joint. At the population level, a lower frequency of individuals exhibited DJD
ofthelowerlimb(47.7percent),butincontrasttotheupperlimb,theDJDofthelower
limbwasmoreoftensevere(21.6percent).UpperlimbDJDwasnearlyubiquitousamong
the South Tombs Cemetery population (65.9 per cent), but it was less often severe (13.7
per cent). The spine also exhibited high frequencies of DJD development (56.7 per cent
presence;35.6percentsevere),withthemostcommonseveremanifestationbeingobserved
inthelumbarregion.
The city at Amarna was constructed quickly, progress on the stone buildings facilitated
bytheintroductionofastandardisedlimestonebuildingblock(talatatinmodernEgyptian
Arabic), measuring a nominal 52.5 × 25cm (one cubit by a half, and often slightly larger
thanthis),itsweightapproaching70kg.Onepersoncouldnowcarryeachbuildingstone,
creating a more production-line style of working. It is tempting to view the carrying of
talatat blocks as contributing to the widespread DJD seen at the cemetery; the hauling of
such heavy loads, which puts stress especially on the lower body, fits the kinds of DJD
attestedhere(Figure8).
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