The Biblical Archaeologist - Vol.54, N.1

65 Pages·1991·22.15 MB·English

by  American Schools of Oriental Research

AMERICASNC HOOLS
Biblical Arc1faeologast
OF ORIENTARLE SEMCH
P.O . BOXH .M., DUKES TATION
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Departmento f Phiiosophya nd Religion Archaeologist, with full bibliographicr eferencesa nda minimum
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BiblicaAl rchaeologist
A Publicationo f the AmericanS choolso f OrientalR esearch Volume5 4 Number1 March1 991
WomenZMso numentaMl arko n AncientE gypt 4
^
_ Page4 Barbara S. Lesko
_ Egypt'sr oyalw omen left manyr eminderso f their lives, includingg randt em-
_ ples,t ombsa ndc olossals tatues.B utc ommonw omena lso left a monumental
mark.T his insufficiently-studiedle gacyc onsists of tomb chapelsw ith
extensivew all decoration,p ortraits tatues,f unerarya nd votives telae, and
offeringt ables,a ll bearingt he names andt itles of their ownerso r dedicators.
I
OfD rumsa ndD amselsW: omen'Ps erformancine AncientI srael 16
, Carol L. Meyers
4 The mention of drummerst odayu sually conjuresu p imageso f male musi-
cians. Certainlyf emalep ercussionistse xist, but whetherf or rockc ombos
or symphonyo rchestrasw, e tend to think of men, not women,w ith drum-
sticks in hand.H as it alwaysb een this way?I s it that way in other cultures?
The Locationo f the HolyH ouseo f Herod'lsb mple: 28
__ Evidencefr omt he Post-DestructioPne riod
Lawrence D. Sporty
The precisel ocation of the holy house of Herod'sT empleh as been widely
discusseda nd disputedd uringt he past century.P revailingc urrento pinion
holds that the holy house was locatedw heret he Dome of the Rockn ow
Pa 16 stands.E videncef romt he perioda ftert he Romansd estroyedt he temple in
ge 70 C.E. suggestsa location to the north.
_e_
__ ArchaeologicaElv idenceo f MilitaryO perationisn SouthernJ udah 36
__ duringt he EarlyH ellenisticP eriod
_g1_ tohn W Betlyon
__ A greatd eal is knowno f the LateH ellenistic period1 198t o 63 B.C.E.)w hen
__ the Hasmoneansr uledJ erusalema ndw hen Pompeya ssertedR ome'sc laim
to Jewishl ands.B ut what happenedi n these lands just beforea nd aftert he
__ armieso f Alexandert he Greatl aid siege to villages and towns that daredt o
__ standi n their way?
_ Surveyo f the DeadS eaS crollsF ragmentasn dP hotographs 44
_ at the RockefelleMr useum
| Stephen A. Reed
.. |k While the Dead Sea Scrollsh avep rovidedm uch new informationi n the
_ = ? J areaso f the text and canon of the Biblea nd the historyo f earlyJ udaisma nd
_ L S Christianity,t heir publicationa ndo ngoings tudyh aveb een severelyh andi-
cappedb ecausea comprehensivein ventoryo f all texts andp hotographos f
Page3 6 the scrolls has neverb een made. Such an inventoryi s now in progress.
From the Editor's Desk 3
Arti-FACTS:N ews, Notes, and Reports from the Institutes 52
Qumran Update 54
Introducing the Authors 2
Book Reviews 55
On the cover:A sculpturedp ortraito f Amenirdis I, who shared rule for at least 13 years
during the Twenty-fifthD ynasty. Photo courtesy of the oslyn Art Museum in Omaha,
Nebraska.
Lawrence D. Sporty StephenA . Reed
tohn W Betlyon Carol L. Meyers
BarbaraS . Lesko
Introducing the Authors
BarbaraS . Leskoi s a ResearchA ssistanti n the Depart- stationed in the Saudi desert. He participatedi n the
mento f Egyptologya tB rownU niversityS. her eceivedh er excavationo f Telle l-Hesii n the summerso f 1973,1 979,
bachelor'sa nd master'sd egreesf romt he Departmento f 1981 and 1983 as a volunteer,s quares upervisora nd
OrientalL anguageasn dC ivilizationsa t the Universityo f administratorD. r. Betlyon has also dug at Idalion in
ChicagoH. erl ong-timec ommitmentt o womeSsh istory Cyprusa nd has workedo n coins from severalA SOR-
is reflectedi n her book, The Remarkable Women of relatede xcavationisn Tunisiaa ndJ ordanH. e receivedh is
Ancient Egypt (1987,P rovidenceR, I:B .C.S cribeP ublica- Ph.D.f rom HarvardU niversitya nd for eight yearsw as
tions), and in the volume she edited, Women's Earliest Chaplaina nd AssociateP rofessoro f Religiona t Smith
Records: From Ancient Egypt and Western Asia (1989, Collegei n NorthhamptonM, assachusetts.
Atlanta:S cholarsP ress).S he and her husband,E gyptol-
ogist LeonardH . Lesko,a re collaboratinge ditors of A StephenA . Reedi s presentlys ervinga s Cataloguera t the
Dictionary of Late Egyptian, now in five volumes. AncientB iblicalM anuscripCt enter( ABMC)A. s a Dorot
Fellowi n 1989 he resideda t the AlbrightI nstitute in
LawrenceD . Sportyi s AttendingP sychiatrisat ndS enior Jerusalema ndc ataloguedth e DeadS eaS crolls( DSSf)r ag-
Lectureri n the Departmento f Psychiatrya nd Human ments and photographas t the RoclrefelleMr useum.A t
Behaviora t the Universityo f Californiaa t Irvine.H e has the SBL/AARm eetingi n New Orleansh e gavea report
long been interestedi n the use of symbolsa s a meanso f on the DSSi nventoryp rojecta t ABMCD. r.R eedr eceived
culturale xpressions, temmingi n largem easuref romh is his Ph.D.a t ClaremonGt raduatSe chool.H e has serveda s
worka s a psychiatrista ndp sychotherapistD. r. Sporty's an adjunctp rofessora t AzusaP acificU niversitya nda s a
currentr esearchc oncernst he originso f contemporary lecturera t CaliforniaS tateU niversitya t LongB each.
Westernp sychotherapHy.e hash ada long-standinign ter-
est in the inter-relationshiopf spiritualityr, eligiona nd
emotionalh ealth. His interesti n the SecondT emplei n CarolL . Meyersi s Professoro f Religiona ndi s activei n
particulars tems fromt he profoundim pactt he Temple's the Women'Ss tudiesp rograma t DukeU niversityS. hei s
destructionh as had on the subsequente volutiono f the alsoa Codirectoro f the JointS epphoriPs rojecta, s well as
three great contemporaryr eligions of Judaism,C hris- First Vice Presidento f the W. F. AlbrightI nstitute of
tianity andI slam. ArchaeologicalR esearch.S he has excavatedf or more
than 20 yearsa t sites in Israela nd North America.H er
Aftera careeri n academiaJ, ohnW .B etlyoni s now serv- most recent book, Discovering Eve: Ancient Israelite
ing in the U.S. Armya s Chaplaint o the 2nd Battalion, Women in Context (1988lw as publishedb y OxfordU ni-
69th Armor, Fort Benning,G eorgia and is currently versityP ress.
2 BiblicalArchaeologist, March 1991
From the Editor Desk
's
It is impossiblet o publisht his issue of Biblical Archae- todayi n dangerb ecauseo f the Gulf Warc, an provideu s with
ologist withouts harings omeo f myt houghtso n the Gulf powerfusl ymbolso f religioust raditionst,e chnicala nda esthe-
Wara ndi ts impacto n NearE asterns cholarshipa ndt he tic achievementst hat can compel contemporaryh umanst o
archaeologoyf the region.A s presidento f the American reflecto n the importanceo f historya ndp ropelt hem to ensure
Schoolso f OrientaRl esearchIA SORI) ,a ma lsoa cutelya wareo f a betterf uture.A ll of us, thereforea, t ASORj oinw ith men and
the peril of our overseasr esearchc enters,w hich find them- womene verywherein prayingf or a peacet hat will last and a
selvess ituatedi n positionso f hostility,d angera ndu ncertainty. futuret hate nablesa ll ofu s to participatoen cea gaini n theg lory
As of this writing,t heA mericanC entero f OrientaRl esearchin of ourN earE asternh eritage.
Amman,J ordanh as temporarilys uspendedo perationsu ntil
thep oliticals ituationbecomecsl earert,h eA lbrighIt nstituteo f The forcedr esignationo f JohnS trugnella s editor-in-chief
ArchaeologicaRl esearchin Jerusalemis operatingo n a limited of theD eadS eaS crollsp ublicationte ams houldn otb e the occa-
basis,a ndt he CyprusA mericanA rchaeologicaRl esearchIn sti- sion for any joy in academeU. ndoubtedlyo ne of the threeo r
tute is movingi nto new quartersin Nicosia as discretelya s fourm ost knowledgeablsec holarsi n the field,s eriousm ental
possible.I t is not a goodt ime forA mericansa ndw esternersin illness and a chronicd rinkingp roblemf inallyg ot the best of
the regiona ndA SORA. s a societyd evotedt o researchin to the him. Wem ayn everk noww hethero rn ot his unfortunatein ter-
languagesa ndl iteratureso f the regiona ndt o the studyo f the viewi n the November9 issueo f the Israelin ewspapeHr a'aretz,
culturalh eritageo f that area,e speciallyi ts rich heritageo f in whichh e madev ariousa nti-Semiticr emarksw, asi nfluenced
archaeologicatlr easuresw, e must alreadyb egin the task of by these factors.I n any case, his remarksc, ombinedw ith his
discoveringw ayso f continuingt hatw orka ftert he ware nds. deterioratinhge alth,c ompromisedh is abilityt o leadt he inter-
We in ASORa re concernedf or the wellbeingo f archae- nationalt eams tudyingt he scrolls,w hicha rea nu nprecedented
ologicals ites, as well as the museumsa ndl ibrariest hat arei n sourceo f informationo n earlyJ udaisma ndC hristiano rigins.
dangera lso. Howevert, he loss of human life, on all sides, Rathert hand wellingo n recriminationsit, is time to turn
remainso ur overridingc oncern.L et me expressm y personal our attention to facilitatingp ublicationo f the remaining
hopet hat when this ware nds manyo f us who havew orkeds o scrolls. ASOR is presentlya rticulatinga policy on greater
harda nds o longt o uncovert he glorieso f the pastw ill havet he access to these documentst hat would be recommendedfo r
opportunityto worka gainw ith all the peopleso f the region considerationto the internationaCl ave4 editoriatl eama ndt he
who haved edicatedth emselvest o that task. IsraelA ntiquitiesA uthorityI IAA)I. am hopeful,a ndh aves o
To that end, I have appointeda n ASORT ask Forcet o recommendedt o ASOR'sA ncient ManuscriptsC ommittee,
explorew ays of fulfillingo ur historic mission of promoting thatw ithin monthss ucha policyw ill be adoptedb yA SORa nd
researcha ndc onductingfi eldw orki n view of the dramatically otheri nfluentiall earnedb odies.I n this issue, StephenA . Reed
changedc ircumstancetsh at nowp revaili n the regiona ndt hat of the AncientB iblicalM anuscripCt enteri n ClaremontC, ali-
surelyw ill be theref ors omet ime to come.I nt hinkingt hrough fornia,d escribesh is worko n a detailedc atalogueo f the scroll
ourf uturer ole,t he changedp oliticall andscapec annotd eteru s fragmentfsr omQ umranw, hichw ill greatlya ssisti n the study
froml ookingt o the diversec ulturalh eritageo f the regiona s it of the unpublishedsc rolls.
existed in formert imes, from the prehistoricp eriodst o the TheI AAa ndt he Cave4 editoriatle amh avet akenm easures
moderne ra;A SORm ust continuet o do what we haveb een of late to hasten the publicationp rocess.T he IAA named
doingf orn earlya centurya ndw e must redoubleo ure ffortst o EmanueTl ovo f the HebrewU niversityo f Jerusalemt,o replace
do it effectively. Strugnella s the editor-in-
Therei s perhapsa silverl ining in the darkc loudso f war chief of the project,w hile _
hoveringo vert he MiddleE ast;a t no time in historyh as the the Cave 4 team named _
public been as interestedi n or as hungryf or information Tov, Emile Puech of the _
pertainingto the ancientc ultureso f the NearE asta s todayA. s Ecole Bibliquei n Jerusa- . _
a resulto f this enormousin terestB, A andA SORh avea no bliga- lem and EugeneU lrich of ^ _
tion to meett hosen eedsb yu pgradintgh e levelo f its publishing Notre Dame as the three , _
andb y communicatinbg ettert o the generapl ublic,w hetheri n generale ditors of the in- X _
the printm ediao r television.I encouragee acho f ourr eadertso ternationalt eam. Fort he
referp eoplet o backi ssueso fB A ort he Bulletin of the American latest informationo n the _
Schools of Oriental Research, andI also encouragein dividuals unpublishefdr agmentasn d _
to be in touchw ithA SOR'lse adershipw, hichl iterallyc oversa ll newsf romt he committees _ -
the areaso f the modernM iddleE ast. involved,s ee the Qumran < _
Eachi ssueo f BiblicalArchaeologist is a kindo f microcosm Update section in this i
of the ancientw orlda t a givenm omento r momentsi n time.
issue.
The kinds of disputesa nd debatest hat affectedt he past can Eric M. Meyers
providea helpfulp erspectiveo n presentr ealitiesa nd current
Editor-in-Chief
events.T he materialc ulturet hat was createdi n formert imes, and President of ASOR
BiblicalA rchaeologistM, arch1 991 3
_|--P 9 uanErsevwuene aitntllhyl uy s ufeamgilnrflyaia g lceue tr oemps owbar ontrrdspakc ryeeoernmdse si -
Womeas
Monumental
Mark on
Grand templesa ndt ombs chronologicacl hart}o ffert he rare
andc olossals tatuesb ear opportunityto look at a society
manyr eminderosfE gypt's Ancient goinga bouti ts business,n ot just
aIlcienqt ueensa ndf e- religiousa ndf uneraryr ites but
malep haraohbs,u te venc ommon Egypt agriculturalh, untinga nde conomic
womenl efta monumentaml ark. pursuitsa s well as entertainment
Thisl egacyc onsistso f tombc hapels ands ports.T he svelte,a ttractively
by BarbaraSL. esko
withe xtensivew alld ecorationp,o r- groomeds nd fetchinglyg arbed
traits tatuesf,u nerary Egyptianw oman
andv otives telae,a nd _ _ cuts a strikingf igure
offeringta blesa, ll _ in almosta ll scenes.
bearintgh en amesa nd
titleso f theiro wners _==
ord edicator(se ven -
thoseo f theirn earest _ g 1\X dignity.T he wife
relativesT). hisc orpus _b i,jx of the tomb owner
notw ellp ublished _a
iS
andi s littles tudied, _ a
buth ass urvivedin =
as her husband's
unbelievabqleu anti- E ! RR _ companiona nds up-
ties,o ftenb ecause !
Ei porterI. n Old King-
theseo bjectsw ere s
|sMi dom scenes children
madeo f stone.P ubli- 1sX1 andr etainersa re
cationa nda nalysiso f al typicallyr enderedo n
thesem onumenths as ! | a much smallers cale.
unfortunatenlyo t _ I Whenv iewing
keptp acew itht heir tombw alls,i t is easy
discoveriesso,t hei nformatiognle aned Evenf emalew orkersw ereu suallyportrayed to fall into the traps et by the an-
fromt hemt husf arw ill be subjectto with dignitya ndg zace,s ucha s thesef emale cient artisticp erspectivew, here
correctiono,r e nhancemenat,s more farmworkerdse coratingth e FifthD ynasty figurest hat arem eantt o be shown
tombo f Ti at SakkaraD. rawingb y Leonard
sourcem aterialbs ecomea vailable. H. Lesko. seateds ide by side appeart o be sit-
Althoughth erei s no firma gree- ting behindo ne anotherB. ecause
menta mongE gyptologisotnst hec ivil the wife is most oftend epicteda s
rightsa nde conomicle velso f the dif- the survivora ndm ourners, he is
ferentc lassesi n ancientE gyptiasno - WhatX mb ArtR eveals oftenp ortrayeda s supportingo r
ciety-or, indeedh, owt o distinguish of the AveragWe oman otherwisec laspingh erh usband.I t
amongth em-wek nowt hatc ommon Ancientt ombsa ref oundt hroughout was importantf ort he Egyptiana rtist
womena sw ella sw omeni n the elite the Nile Valleyi,t s limestonec liffs to presentt he entireh umanf igure,
andr oyacl lassesw erec ommemo- harrinpgr ovidedco nvenienat nde asily andt his necessitatedp lacingt he
ratedb yp hysicaml onumentsI. w ill cut rockt hat couldb e used as build- wife in such a wayt hat she appears
concentratoen thesem onuments, ing blockso r hollowedi nto, depend- to be takinga positionb ehindh er
botha rtistica nda rchitecturaals, a ing on the preferenceo f the age. husbandw hen in fact,s he is meant
wayo f illustratintgh e independence, Vaste xpanseso f wall decoration to be seen as sittingo r standingb e-
responsiblpeo sitionsa nds elf-respect datingf romt he laterO ldK ingdom side him, as in sculpturedg roups
enjoyedb yv ariousc lasseso f women ands ubsequentM iddlea ndN ew that survivef romt he threem ajor
in ancientE gyptiasno ciety. Kingdomp eriods{ seea ccompanying earlyp eriods.
4 Biblical Archaeologist, March 1991
-l ze-4Flw .@
A; t
_ if_ ' X
Thiss cenef romt he tombo f Nakhta t Thebes,
ThroughouEt gyptianh istory datingt o the EighteenthD ynastys, hows (Fischer1 989:2 1).T his givesu s a
femalem usicianse ntertaininga t a banquet.
womenp rominentin tombs cenesa re Sceness ucha s this indicatet hata ncient strongi ndicationt hatw omenw ielded
most oftend epicteda s companions Egyptianw omenf ullym ingledi n society. the family'sp urchasingp owera,
of the men beingc ommemorated. Photob y LeonardH . Lesko. prestigiousa ndd efinitelyn ot uni-
Theira ttainmentss, uch as literacy, versalp osition.A lso significanti s
or theirm ost prestigiousp ublica c- evidencet hat in the earliesth istori-
Throughout Egyptian
tivities areu suallyo nly subtly cal periodsw eavingw orkshopsw ere
hinteda t in these portraits( through fillede xclusivelyb yw omen,w hereas
history women
the ornamentst hey hold)a nda re men did not movei nto this impor-
mentionedv eryb riefly,i f at all, in tant industryf ors everalc enturies.
promillent in tomb
the accompanyingin scriptionsW. e In the OldK ingdomt, itles de-
can also wonderw hy mored etailed notingp ositionso f responsibility
scenes are most
descriptionso f a man'sc areer, anda uthorityb elongedt o womeno f
whetheri n the military,t he civil the elite class,w ho generallyw ere
often depicted as
service,o r the templeh ierarchya, re closely tied by bloodo r marriageto
not shown,w hereasi n OldK ingdom the royalf amily.T ombi nscriptions
companions of the
tombsa nds ome tombsd atingt o of some womenp rovides tartling
laterp eriodst he supervisingo f work evidenceo f theirp rofessionailn -
men commemorated.
on estatesa ndw orkshopsis empha- volvements.O ne womant ells of be-
sized.I t is likely that religiousm o- ing an overseero f femalep hysicians
tivationw as behindt he choiceo f Iyt-hotepb,e aringth e titleM istresos f theH ouse (Ghalioungu1i 975).A notheru sed
tombs cenes.P erhapsth e perpetual andC hantresos fA mon,i s picturedin this wall the importantt itles of judgea nd
decorationfr omt ombn umber9 6 at Thebes.
abundanceo f fooda ndw ateri n the vizier,a lthought hey mayh aveb een
Notices he is carryinga n ankha ndo therc ult
beyond,e vent he renewalo f the life implementsP. hotob y LeonardH . Lesko. purelyh onorific( Fischer1 976:7 4-
cycle,i s beinga ssureda ndn ot the 75).T herei s, howevera, n abundance
continuationo f earthlyc oncerns of titles forw omeni n positionso f
andi dentities.T hus tombs cenes are authoritys, uch as Directoro f the
only of limitedv aluei n reconstruct- DiningH all, Overseero f Funerary
ing peoples'l ives,o fferinga partial Priestsa ndO verseero f the Weavers'
andb iasedl ook at the Egyptian House,t o namea few (Fischer1 976:
familya nds ociety. 70-71).I t woulds eem that few re-
Neverthelessi t is obviousf rom strictionsw erep lacedo n womeno f
these tombs cenes that ancient abilitya ndh igh social statusi n the
Egyptianw omenw erer especteda nd OldK ingdomI. t is interestingt o
that they fully mingledi n society, note that religiousp ositionsw ere
playingm anyr oles,w hetheri n the not limitedt o noblewomenf, orw e
household,t he templec ults, or the havef oundp riestesseso f majorg od-
economicr ealm.P easantw omena re dessesw ho bearh umblet itles such
depicteda s helpingw ith the harvest as tenantf armer.
andt rappingb irds;t ownswomena re Manya dministrativeh, onorific
showna s professionaml ourners, andp riestlyt itles forw omenh ave
musiciansa ndd ancersm, emberso f been recoveredfr omO ld Kingdom
a temples taffa ndp artyg uests.R are, monuments;f ewerh aveb eenf ound
thoughe xtant,a res ceneso f a woman fromt he MiddleK ingdomw, hich
commandinga boato r buyinga nd followedt he FirstI ntermediate
sellingg oodsi n the marketplace Perioda, time of sociala nde conomic
BiblicalA rchaeologistMs arch1 991 5
ThroughouEt gyptianh istoryprominent
womeni n tombs cenesa rem osto ftend epicted
as companionos f them en beingc ommemo-
rated.H erea reR enutetp, riestesso f EIathor,
andh erh usband,Y unyT. hisN ew Kingdom
portraidt atest o the NineteenthD ynasty.
Photoc ourtesyo f the MetropolitaMn useum
of Art,N ew York(1 5.2.1R, ogerFs und).
piece as beingu nmistakablyfr om
the OldK ingdom.
A morea ttractivefe malep ortrait
is the MiddleK ingdoms tatueo f
LadyS entluwyw, ife of the Nomarch
HapdjefiO. riginallyf romA sslut and
now in the Museumo f FineA rts in
Boston,t his statuei s a supremee x-
ampleo f lifesized Egyptianp ortrai-
turec arvedi n granite.T he graceo f
the femalef igurei s enhancedb y the
unknowns culptor'sd isperlsirlwg ith
the backp illar,w hich too oftenm ars
Egyptians culpturei n the round.A
veryf ull coiffurel endsn ecessary
supportf ort he head,r esultingi n a
instabilityM. iddleK ingdomt itles Numerousr ecordss how this was Thep airs tatuew as verypopularb,u t women
forw omens eldomr eflectp ositions true of freew omeni n generaltn ot weren ot onlyportrayeidn the companyo f
theirh usbandso rs ons.I ndividuafle male
of authority( Ward1 989:3 4-391, just those of the gentry( Allam1 985:
portraitsh aveb eenf oundf romt hroughout
which suggestsp oliticala nde co- 14-221.O n a personall evelti t is the centuriesO. nee xamplei s this Mitr.t-
nomic changes.I nstead,t hey reveal cleart hat womene njoyedf reedom priestessf romG iza,d iscoveredea rliert his
centuryb y an excavationte amf romt he
a rangeo f jobsi n the servicei ndus- of movementa nda ssociation,t hat
Universityo f Californiaa t BerkeleyT. he
tries,f roms cribet o hairdresser, they couldm arrya ndd ivorcea t will, simpled ress,s tockyb uilda nd boldp laneso f
gardenerto miller (Ward1 986:8 -171. that they engagedin commercea nd the statuec haracteriziet as belongingto the
OldK ingdomP. hotoc ourtesyo f the Lowie
Duringt he prosperoues mpireo f that they werea blet o exercise
Museumo f Anthropologyth, e Universityo f
the New Kingdomt, he civil service authorityo vero thersi n the work- Californiaa t Berkeley(6 19802).
andt empleh ierarchiesb ecamee ven placeo r temple.
morep rofessionalizedyte t therei s Statuaryo f women.I n additiont o
evidencet hat womena gains ervedi n wall scenes,t ombsa ndt emplesc on-
the cults of majora s well as minor tainedp rivates tatuaryo f bothw omen
templesa ndt hat they filled some andm en. Privatem onumentsf rom
administrativpe ositions,s uch as ancientE gyptt end to be diminutivet
controllinga ccesst o temples tores especiallyi f carvedo ut of stone.
(Lesko1 987a:2 11N. umeroust exts Form uch of its history,t he pair
haves urvivedf romt his period,i n- statues howinga husbanda ndw ife
cludingc ourtd ocumentsa ndp rivate (sometimesa son andm other)s eated
lettersr evealingt hat womenh ad side by side was popularA. woman
their own independenlte gali dentity was not only portrayedin the com-
on a parw ith men andt hat they panyo f her husbando r son, however,
couldi nherito r purchasep roperty as individualp ortraitso f womena re
andd isposeo f it without a male co- foundf romt hroughoutth e centuries.
signatoryo r legalg uardianI.n deedt One examplei s the Mitr.t-priestess
womenw ereh eadso f households, fromG izad iscoverede arliert his
testifiedi n court,w itnessedd ocu- centuryb y an excavationte amf rom
ments,a cteda s executorso f their the Universityo f CaliforniaT. he
familye statesa nda ssumedt he obli- simpled ress,s tockyb uilda ndb old
gationso f a citizenv is-a-vist he State. planeso f the statuec haracterizteh is
6 Biblical Archaeologist, March 1991
Art in New Yorkw, as founda t Adana than statues,p resumablyb ecause
in Asia Minor. they weree asiert o producea ndc ost
Egypt'se mpirec ontinuedt o less, ares telaed edicatedto preserving
expandi n the New Kingdomr, esult- the memoryo f individualsT. hese
ing in greaterc osmopolitans ophistz- stelaed epictt he deceased,a nd
cation.D uringt his periodp ortraits sometimesf amilym embers,s eated
of womerlw erec reatedi n all media at a tablel oadedw ith fooda ndd rinl<.
ands izes, with the womarSsso cial They arei nscribedw ith the names
statuso r wealthg enerallyr eflected andt itles of the ownerl andu sually
in the size of the statue.T he wife of familym embersJto getherw ith an
a high officialm ightb e commemo- invocationt hat was meante ither
ratedi n a life-sizeds culpturew, hile magicallyt o perpetuateth e offerings
womeno f moreh umbles tations of "at housande ach of breadb, eer,
hadt o be contentw ith statuettes
measuringo nly a foot or two in
height.A lthougha womanw as
Egyptians believed
that when their
depictions were put
in tombs it would
perpetuate them
into eternal life.
usuallyp airedw ith a male relative,
therea res everals tatuesi n which a
womani s pairedw ith a femaler ela-
tive (usuallya mothera ndd aughter),
andt herea rei ndividualp ortrait
sculpturesa s well. Typicallyin this
morev oluptuousa get he artistt ook
This Middle Kingdomp ortrait of Lady
Sennuwy of Assiut, wife of the Nomarch greatc aret o delineatet he curls
Hapdjefisi s a supreme example of life-sized of the wigs andt he textureo f the
Egyptianp ortraiturec arvedi n granite. Note
dresses.S omeo f the most enchant-
that the unknown sculptor used a full coiffure
instead of the usual back pillar to support ing individualp ortraitso f women
the head, resulting in a graceful,m ore lifelike ared onei n wooda ndc ome fromt he
portrayal.P hoto courtesy of the Museum of
Ramessidea ge.T he lines of their
Fine Arts) Boston (14.7 20).
slim anda lwaysy outhfulb odiesa re
morel ifelikep ortrayalS. till, one shownt hroughd iaphanousli nen
wishes form orea utobiographical robesw ith folds andp leatst hat are
informationfr omt hese monuments. especiallye asyt o portrayin this
Mysteriouslyt,h is statuew as found softerm edium.I dealisticp ortrayals As Egypt'se mpire continued to expand during
farf romh erh ome in the Dongola werev eryc ommona pparentlyb e- the New Kingdom,a greaterc osmopolitan
sophistication resulted. Typicallyi n this
regiono f the UpperN ile, parto f a causet he Egyptiansb elievedt hat
more voluptuous age sculptors took great care
barbaribc urial.D eterminingh ow, when such depictionsw erep lacedi n to delineate the curls of women's wigs and
when andw hy it got therei s prob- tombst hey wouldp erpetuateth em the texture of their dresses, as exemplified by
this wooden statuette of Lady Teyed ating to
lematic.S imilarlya, much smaller into eternall ife. Aftera ll, who would
the Eighteenth Dynasty. Photo courtesy of
statueo f an Egyptianfe malen urse, not lilnet o remainy oungf orever? the MetropolitanM useum of Art, New York
now in the MetropolitanM useumo f Privates telae.E venm orec ommon (41.2.10,R ogersP und).
BiblicalArchaeologistM, arch1 991 7
oxen,a ndf owl"o r at Iconographicch anges
least-providae text for l l in scenesd epictedo n
passersbyto recitea nd | I stelaeh aveb een studied,
thus ensures ustenance | ! andi t is interestingt o
to the deceasedl and | | note that as the Twelfth
family). l | Dynastyp rogressedth e
The majorityo f ste- l mothers eems increasing-
lae depicth usbandsa nd | ly to displacet he wife in
wives,b ut some women l
. . . ..
hads telaee xclusivelyo f l! psrommencec enes on stem lataeml. o wn.y ed
their own or shared l by men. Evenw hen the
them with femaler ela- l fatheri s depictedh, e is
tives. Stelaed onatedb y l neverp ortrayedas promi-
daughtersto commemo- nently as the mother
ratet heirm othersh ave | (Pfluger1 947:1 28-29).
been found.I n anyc ase, | The importanceo f the
the nameso f the women | motheri n the Egyptian
areo ften accompanied familyi s reflectedi n the
by their titles, whether | literatureo f all periods
secularo r religious. | as well as in the factt hat
Manyf emalem embers X Egyptianm en,e vent hose
of the OldK ingdome lite of the highests ocialc lass
boret he title of King's andi n highestr anlQosf
Acquaintancea, lso the civil serviceo r the
knownf romm onuments | military,o ftenp laced
of men. Latert, he most || only theirm others'
commont itle, regardless 1] nameso n their monu-
of social status,w as 11 ments ando therd ocu-
Mistresso f the House.A ments.F amilyg roups
womanw ho couldc laim predominateo n stelae
a clericalt itle was sure i froma ll periods.A s with
to mentioni t on her stelaed epictingo nlym en,
tomb,s tatue,o r stela. the numbero f stelae
Suchm onumentst ell of designede xclusivelyf or
the rolesw omenp layedi n ancient Evenm orec ommont hans tatuesa res telae womens eems to be small. Sceneso n
Egyptians ociety,w hich, when dedicatedt o preservingth em emoryo f indi- funerarys telaeu suallys how a male
viduals.T heses telaed epictt he deceased,
comparedw ith dateso f the source figure,p robablya son, performing
ands ometimesf amilym emberss, ittinga t a
materials,c hangedo vert ime. For tablel oadedw ith fooda ndd rink.T heya re ritesb eforeh is parentsb, ut occa-
instance,m orew omenh eld high- inscribedw ith then amesa nd titles of the sionallya femalef igureo fficiates.
rankingp riestessp ositionsi n the ownert ogetherw ith an invocationd esigned Femalev otives telae,o n which only
to ensures ustenancet o the deceaseda nd
OldK ingdomt han in the centuries family.T hem aj orityo fs telaed epicth usbands the womend edicatoris depicted
immediatelyf ollowingi t (Galvin and wives,b uts ome womenh ad stelaeo f worshipingh er favorited eities,h ave
theiro wn ors haredt hemw ith femaler ela-
1989:2 6) been foundi n numeroust own and
tives.T hisp aintedl imestones telaf romt he
Up until the TwelfthD ynasty MiddleK ingdomis dedicatedt o two women, cemeteryc ontexts,s uch as at Deir
(MiddleK ingdom)s,t elaew erem ade InyotefanAahn dM eswet-NetretteXbhy,f our el-Medineha ndA bydos.
otherw omen,p resumablyo f modestm eans.
forf uneraryp urposeso nly,b ut Nineteenth-centurya rchae-
Photoc ourtesyo f theM etropolitaMn useum
abouth alf the piecesd atingt o the of ArtJN ew York(3 6.3.270). ologistA ugusteM ariettef ound2 3
MiddleK ingdoms eem to haveb een LateP eriods telaeo f womenb earing
dedicatedd uringa persoWlsi fe as tablesd edicatedb y womenw ere the religioust itle chantresst ogether
votivesf org ods.S imilarlys, mall foundt ogethera t Lisht.T heyw ere in one parto f the greatn ational
stone offeringt ablesb earingt he apparentlyd edicatedb y womeno f shrinea ndn ecropoliso f Abydos,
namesa ndt itles of the dedicators modestm eans,w ith titles ranging which was sacredt o Osiris,a godo f
werea favoritef ormo f commemora- fromh all keepert o housemaida nd, the dead( Mariette1 880:n umbers
tion as well as an expressiono f a possibly,c leaningl ady (Ward1 989: 1173-94).O f the 23 stelae,o nly five
persontps iety.A groupo f 14 offering 33-34). includeda husband'fsi gurea ndn ame,
8 BiblicalArchaeologist, March 1991