Teaching Egyptian Archaeology with the Harrogate Loan

The blog post for this week has been written by Dr. Christian Knoblauch. Christian is an Egyptology lecturer in the Department of History, Heritage, and Classics at Swansea University. He is a specialist in the archaeology of ancient Egypt and Nubia and is particularly interested in using material culture to explore broader cultural aspects. His research draws on fieldwork projects in Egypt and the Sudan. He is an assistant director of the University of Michigan Abydos Middle Cemetery Project and co-directs with Laurel Bestock (Brown University) the Uronarti Regional Archaeological Project.

Object biographies, life cycles, or itineraries provide new perspectives on the histories and cultural significances of museum artefacts, revealing the journeys and contexts that shape their meanings over time. By emphasising the relationships between objects, people, and places, these approaches encourage viewers, in this case our students, to engage with artefacts not merely as static objects but as active participants in a broader narrative of human experience.

Dr Kasia Szpakowska, formerly of Swansea University, pioneered this approach in our teaching offer through her Second-Year module Introduction to Egyptian Archaeology. This module, which I was lucky enough to inherit and run since 2018, provides students with the unique opportunity to investigate anepigraphic objects (those without writing) in the Egypt Centre using an object life-cycle approach. The teaching approach is object-based and includes lectures and weekly hands-on sessions where students engage directly with the objects they are researching from different perspectives (fig. 1). We are extremely grateful to the Egypt Centre for facilitating extensive access to the collection and collaborating with the department so fruitfully.

Fig. 1: Students researching HARGM9872

 

During the past semester, students in the module wrote their projects on pottery objects from the Harrogate loan currently in the Egypt Centre. As most of these objects have never been studied before, this was an amazing chance to conduct original primary research that contributes to global research. The objects were from the prehistoric and proto-dynastic periods and included C-Ware, B-Ware, W-Ware, and D-Ware. One of the highlights was a black-topped vessel (HARGM9872) with a unique, incised fauna scene (fig. 2).

Fig. 2: HARGM9872

The students are drawn mostly from the Egyptology and Ancient History BA but it is worth remembering that these students are in just their third semester of university and only have two Egyptology module behind them. None of our students have previously worked directly with objects or with ancient pottery, so the learning curve is incredibly steep. Students have to acquire a wide range of skills during the semester.

 

They must learn how to handle objects, record and describe them, analyse their condition, materials, form, production traces and decoration (fig. 3). They must learn to decipher excavation marks, catalogue numbers, and auction catalogues. They learn how to conduct research in excavation reports, exhibition catalogues, ancient technologies, museology, archaeological theory, and local history. In short, they are acquiring first-hand the practical skills and academic knowledge necessary to deal with the types of objects that are found in hundreds of museums and public collections across the UK.

Fig. 3: Measuring HARGM10221

 

Their final assessment for the module is a 3000–4000 word project addressing all aspects of an object’s life-cycle, from the gathering of raw materials along the Nile Valley in prehistory to the object’s current role here in Swansea.

Below is a selection of some of the best life-cycle projects from this last semester on the Harrogate material. The papers shed light not only the production, date, and function of ancient artefacts and their place in society, but they also enhance our understanding of how UK regional collections were formed, and how such objects might fit into contemporary museum spaces and contribute to visitor experience and narratives linking the ancient past with the modern world. Each of these papers is accompanied by a short bio of the author. Note that prior to the module taking place, all the information on the online catalogue for each object was removed until the module had concluded. This way the students had to research the objects themselves rather than relying on information in the catalogue. As a result, some of the information on the objects, such as previous analysis of the contents, may not have been known to the students.

Fig. 4: HARGM10221

Fig. 5: HARGM9833

Life-cycle of HARGM10221 (fig. 4), Jess Bailey, 2024

Bio: I am in my second year of studying Egyptology and Ancient History at Swansea University, having chosen to study the ancient world due to my longstanding fascination with the past. I am specifically interested in the operation of ancient societies, and how they varied across different regions and periods under different powers. In working with an object firsthand, this project allowed me to discover a passion for working with archaeological material and helped me realise how much can be learned about the structures of ancient societies from a single, often mundane, object.

 

Life-cycle of HARGM10221 (fig. 4), Douglas Burke, 2024

Bio: Hello, I am Douglas Burke, a second-year Egyptology and Ancient History student from Massachusetts, USA. My passion for Egyptology began in childhood, fuelled by online college courses and countless visits to museums and exhibits with my parents. While researching universities with strong Egyptology programs, Swansea University stood out with its comprehensive and well-regarded curriculum. The added attraction of the Egypt Centre, where I can handle artefacts, solidified my decision to join Swansea and pursue my academic dreams.

 

Life-cycle of HARGM9833 (fig. 5), Hannah Wilkins, 2024

Bio: I am studying a Bachelor of Arts in Ancient History and Egyptology, a passion I have had since primary school. The ancient world is such an important field of study to me, considering its parallels with our modern world, these are the people who have influenced who we are today, it is fascinating to be able to study and understand them. Taking this module furthered this idea, providing insight into the Egyptian Predynastic culture, their customs, practices, and values. I was also introduced to the archaeological world, learning and applying the steps taken to understand the objects discovered, now being able to share this with those interested.

The Seven Hathors on the Philae Mammisi

This blog post has been written by Sandra Ottens, who has been working as a secretary at the municipality of Amsterdam for thirty years. Sandra studied Egyptology at Leiden University (BA and MA) from 2006 to 2012. She started blogging about her Egyptological adventures when her class attended a two-month study semester in Cairo, visiting a large number of excavation sites (https://egyptoblogie.wordpress.com). Sandra joined the excavations in Amheida (Dakhla Oasis) as an assistant epigrapher to Professor Olaf Kaper for one season in 2012. She wrote her MA thesis on the Seven Hathors, a group of seven goddesses who predicted the fate of newborn children. This blog post is about the Seven Hathors at Philae, which is written here to coincide with the Egypt Centre’s course on Gods and Goddesses currently taking place.

The seven Hathors were known in Egyptian fairy tales as a group of goddesses who come to visit a newborn child and foretell its fate. This can be found in the tales of the Doomed Prince and the Two Brothers. Consequently, they were mentioned in a number of medico-magical spells, in order to try to control their powers. In the Graeco-Roman Period, we find the seven Hathors depicted in temples where they bring good wishes to the temple’s child deity and sing praises to the mother goddess. They are often shown in the mammisi (birth house) of the temple, but also near doorways and along processional routes. 

If you have been to the island of Philae near Aswan (fig. 1), you will have seen the mammisi with its lovely columns with Hathor faces. This birth house stands in the forecourt of the Isis temple. It was built for the celebration of the divine birth of Horus, the son of Isis and Osiris.

Fig. 1: Philae Mammisi

On the same wall (the outside of the mammisi), a little further to the left, is this scene depicting the seven Hathors (fig. 2). Behind the seven Hathors a small king Ptolemy XII is shown, kneeling on an offering stand, and presenting two vessels. Here the Hathors are shown playing tambourines (hand drums) and singing praises before Isis, lady of the Abaton, and before Hathor, lady of Biggeh. The island of Biggeh was next to the original location of Philae. It had an Abaton (Greek for ‘untrodden place’), associated with a burial place of (a part of the body of) Osiris. The island of Philae had a Hathor temple as well as an Isis temple.

Fig. 2: The seven Hathors

In the fairy tales the seven Hathors are represented as a uniform group, speaking as with one mouth (fig. 3). However, in the temples they are individually named as goddesses from specific locations where Hathor temples stood. Egypt had a large number of Hathor sanctuaries throughout the country, as well as in mining areas abroad, so there were many locations to choose from. Almost every scene depicting the seven Hathors has a unique combination of Hathor sanctuary names.

Fig. 3: The procession

Here is a translation of the texts: 

·  Isis: Words spoken by Isis, giver of life, lady of the Abaton, mother of the god of the golden falcon. You are celebrated in every country, since your Majesty was born in Dendera.

·  Hathor: Words spoken by Hathor, great one, lady of Biggeh, noble one, mighty one, mistress of the goddesses, lady of drunkenness, lady of jubilation, lady of singing, lady of myrrh, mistress of wreath binding

·  Text column behind Isis and Hathor: It is the great goddesses, the ladies of Egypt, who associate themselves with Biggeh in peace. Their father Ra is pleased at their sight and jubilates each day upon seeing them.

·  Text above the seven Hathors: We play the tambourine for you, you lady of the Abaton, Isis, giver of life, lady in Biggeh. We celebrate your Majesty, who rejoices in life, Hathor, great one, lady of Biggeh. We play the harp for you, you sovereign of Bugem, you lady of the whole of Egypt. We praise to the height of heaven and jubilate to the breadth of the earth, so that your hearts are pleased, great powers, for life, duration and prosperity for the Pharaoh.

·  First Hathor: Words spoken by Hathor, lady of Thebes, Amunet, foremost in Karnak: "Jubilation for you, jubilation for your ka, Isis, giver of life, lady of the Abaton".

·  Second Hathor: Words spoken by Hathor, [lady of ...]: "Jubilation for you, noble one, lady of jubilation, eye of Ra, foremost of Biggeh".

·  Third Hathor: Words spoken by Hathor, lady of Qusae, queen of the people, who protects her brother: "The tambourine is beaten for you, noble one, lady of the two lands, gold, daughter of Ra, mistress of the goddesses".

·  Fourth Hathor: Words spoken by Hathor, lady of Heracleopolis, mother of Ra: "(I) praise you, who radiate as gold, falconess of Edfu, mistress of Biggeh".

·  Fifth Hathor: Words spoken by Hathor, lady of Atfih, mother of the great glorified god: "The tambourine is played for you, noble one, mistress of the goddesses, Hathor, great one, lady of Biggeh".

·  Sixth Hathor: Words spoken by Hathor, lady of the Southern Sycamore: "For you the tambourine is beaten, for your ka, great mistress, lady of the Abaton".

·  Seventh Hathor: Words spoken by Hathor, lady of the Red Lake, who protects her father from her enemies: "Praise for your Majesty, who is pleased with life inside Edfu and foremost in Philae".

·  King: Cartouches of Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos.

 

Sources

Champollion, [J. F.] 1844. Monuments de l’Égypte et de la Nubie: notices descriptives conformes aux manuscrits autographes, vol. 1. Paris: Firmin Didot Frères. [178 (lower)-179 (middle), 619 to 178 and 179 ('colonne A')]

Guglielmi, W. 1991. Die Göttin Mr.t: Entstehung und Verehrung einer Personifikation. Probleme der Ägyptologie 7. Leiden: Brill. [95 note 217; 98 note 239]

Gutbub, Adolphe 1973. Textes fondamentaux de la théologie de Kom Ombo, 2 vols. Bibliothèque d’étude 47. Le Caire: Institut français d’Archéologie orientale. [325 (d)]

Junker, Hermann and Erich Winter 1965. Philä-Publikation II: Das Geburtshaus des Tempels der Isis in Philä. Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Denkschriften der Philosophisch-Historischen Klasse Sonderband. Wien: Hermann Böhlaus Nachf. [220–223]

Porter, Bertha and Rosalind L. B. Moss 1939. Topographical bibliography of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic texts, reliefs, and paintings VI: Upper Egypt: chief temples (excluding Thebes), Abydos, Dendera, Esna, Edfu, Kôm Ombo, and Philae. Oxford: Clarendon. [228 (225)–(226)]

Rochholz, Matthias 2002. Schöpfung, Feindvernichtung, Regeneration: Untersuchung zum Symbolgehalt der machtgeladenen Zahl 7 im alten Ägypten. Ägypten und Altes Testament 56. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. [76] 

The Changing Image of Bes

The blog post for this week has been written by Vanessa Foott, who obtained a distinction in her Masters in Egyptology from the University of Manchester in 2022. The subject of her research and dissertation was the assimilation of Bes in cultures beyond Egypt. For the last five seasons, she has worked as a small finds registrar for the South Asasif Conservation Project (SACP) for whom she is also a trustee. She has visited many of the local Egyptology societies in the UK in her role as Local Ambassador for The Egypt Exploration Society.

The name Bes is commonly used today to describe a variety of composite dwarf deities but was not actually attested in Egypt until the Twenty-first Dynasty. Figures found in an Old Kingdom context at Abusir and Giza show lion-headed men or men wearing lion masks (although the dating may be the Middle Kingdom) and the Middle Kingdom birth tusks have similar figures which are named as Aha. Within the Ancient Egyptian pantheon, the dwarf-type images are used to portray at least eight different entities which, in addition to Aha and Bes, can include Hayet, Soped, and Tettenu. The Bes images do not display the augustness of the majority of Egyptian gods. Instead they can be depicted as both fearsome and playful whilst their misshapenness was considered a sign of divinity (fig. 1). Like Hathor, they are commonly shown frontally, which is a sign of liminality and the power of the eye of Ra and can be shown with wadjet eyes on their heads or back.

Fig. 1: Bes amulet (Egypt Centre W2037C/b2)

 

These figures were popular from Nubia and possibly even further south on the African continent, throughout Egypt and the Middle East into Anatolia, and across the Mediterranean into the Iberian Peninsula. Evidence has been found as far afield as the subcontinent of India, Siberia, and Romania.

The original ‘birth’ place of Bes-type deities has been much debated. In the Late and Graeco-Roman Period, Bes is sometimes referred to as the ‘Lord of Southern Lands’ or the ‘Lord of Punt’, and his facial features appear similar to masks used by African tribes. In Cameroon, black pygmy deities are invoked to bring fertility and masks worn, sometimes covered in animal skins by the invokers. Wherever he originated from the general theme has spread and his forms and functions have intermingled with many different cultures.

Fig. 2: Birth Tusk BM EA18175 (Photo author’s own).

Aha (fig. 2) is naked, has rounded ears and a lion-like mane, a tail, and visible genitalia, snakes are held in each hand, dwarfism is not apparent at this stage and he is sometimes described as a giant. The name Aha, which is inscribed next to the figure on two of the tusks, can be translated as ‘fighter’, which may have originated at Hermopolis where he is thought to have been a protector of Thoth and prevented evil forces from jeopardising the birth of the sun, hence his protection for childbirth, women, and children. Figure 3 is a mask made of painted linen and gesso, which displays signs of wear. The painted motifs make the face look lion-like. It was found in a house at the Middle Kingdom settlement site of Kahun, which also contained a wooden figure and ivory clappers or wands. It may have been worn by a doctor or midwife attending a birth to aid in warding off evil.

Fig. 3: Bes Mask Manchester Museum 123 (Photo: Manchester Museum)

The New Kingdom saw a surge in the popularity of composite dwarf deities and many developments with both iconography and ideology began, with the image beginning to feature on a wide variety of objects. Bes is now shown with a typical body of a being with achondroplasia and hypothyroidism, which causes a large bulging forehead, thick lips, myxedema, making the tongue swell and protrude, pot belly, and skin wrinkles from excess flesh, whilst the limbs appear short in proportion to the body. Infant mortality was especially high in this period, which may have prompted this change with stronger magic needed for protection. Dwarves rarely survived beyond infancy and therefore an image of an adult with this condition may have provided the extra power required. There are figures of these deities in the divine birth scenes of both Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari and Amenhotep III at Luxor temple. Although Bes is thought of as the non-elite household deity, he also played a role in the highest echelons of society, featuring on Tutankhamun’s bed, headrest (fig. 4), his chariot, and many other items found in his tomb.

Fig. 4: Tutankhamun's headrest (Cairo Museum)

Other changes during the New Kingdom include the addition of wings, which may be an incoming influence from the Near East, the ostrich plume headdress that is always shown frontally even when the face is in profile, sometimes with the addition of a disc or discs. The figures sometimes wear kilts, with or without aprons. Jewellery also begins to feature in the form of anklets, wristlets, and broad collars. The figures occasionally hold sceptres, a sword, or knives, which become more common later. Rarely, he is depicted shooting a bow.

 

His association with death becomes more pronounced from the Eighteenth Dynasty onwards when he starts to feature in the Books of the Dead. Spell 164:

 “A dwarf stands before her, another behind her, each facing her and wearing plumes. Each has the head of a falcon, the other a human head”.

In a Twentieth Dynasty tomb, a Bes image is named as Sopdu in an accompanying text. Sopdu is usually represented as a falcon, associated with Horus in the form of Horus-Sopdu. He was also a god of the Asiatic regions and as such was associated with Baal.

During the Twenty-sixth Dynasty, the form of the beard can sometimes feature spiral ringlets. At the same time, the figures begin to appear on cippi and to show attributes of other gods such as Shed, who has powers over snakes and demons. Bes can now be depicted with a sword raised in one hand and either an uraeus or falcon in the other. He can sport the side-lock of youth associated with Horus the Child (Greek Harpokrates), can be animal-headed with a dwarf body or Bes headed with a full-size body and, as time goes on, the hybridity becomes more varied. Some figures from this period can have a distinct negroid appearance with round cheeks, broad nose and thick lips (fig. 5).

Fig. 5: Kohl pot. Louvre Museum N 4469 (Photo author’s own)

 

Figure 6 is a Late Period bronze figurine found at the Serapeum at Saqqara, which shows an ithyphallic Bes-pantheos with bird wings and tail, four human arms, and uraei on each foot. The figure is standing on a base decorated with a snake, lion, hippopotamus, scorpion, jackal, and crocodile. The lower left hand may have once held a was or papyrus sceptre and possibly a snake.

 

Fig. 6: Composite Bes-type deity. Louvre Museum N 5141 (Photo Louvre Museum)

Bes figures can also be shown holding lions or gazelles across their shoulders or standing on them. Crocodiles and snakes are all common features and Bes becomes known as a master of animals showing that he has control over and can provide protection from, dangerous creatures. This attribute may have originated further east and has been assimilated into the Bes typology. 

The Metternich Stela (fig. 7) now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is a cippus showing Bes providing protection for Horus. It contains the inscription “The protection of Horus is that great dwarf (nmw) who goes through the underworld (or: the Two Lands) in the twilight”. This image demonstrates the round cheeks, thick lips, and broad nose mentioned previously. Cippi often show baboons with Bes, a connection which really began in the New Kingdom when Bes could even be said to have simian-like features. This demonstrates the solar aspects of Bes and his links to Re and his fiery eyes.

Fig. 7: The Metternich Stela. MMA 50.85 (Photo Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Many Late Period Bes images have been excavated from sites other than Egypt. Tunisia, Cyprus, across the Levant, and places within the Achaemenid Empire, particularly Susa and Persepolis, together with sites across the Western Mediterranean have all yielded Bes objects. This indicates that by the First Millennium BC, Bes had already become known beyond territory that had been under Egyptian control. 

The Graeco-Roman Bes continues to be the protector of Horus and on some cippi he merges with Horus appearing as a Bes-headed deity with a child’s body. This could imply that the Horus figure is wearing a Bes mask and during the Roman Period he can actually take the place of Horus. His role of protector of death and rebirth can be seen in the Osiris chamber in the Hathor temple at Dendera where he is pictured under the figure of Osiris on his bier impregnating Isis in the form of a falcon (fig. 8). An almost identical depiction is on the walls of the Roman Period mammisi on the site. This building also features Bes column capitals and depictions of him dancing in front of Ihy-Harsomtus (Harpokrates).

 

Fig. 8: Bes in the Osiris chamber at Dendera (Photo author’s own)

 

Previously, there had been no official cult. However, evidence has been found at Saqqara of a Bes sanctuary where incubation was practised in chambers decorated with Bes figures and erotic pictures of women. This would have needed attendants, possibly in the form of a priesthood. Information from classical writers such as Demetrius of Alexandria and Ammianus Marcellus provide evidence for an oracular cult of Bes centred in the Osiris Temple at Abydos where incubation was also undertaken to provide answers to questions. Graffiti has been found on the walls invoking Bes and offerings may have been made to him using Bes jugs and Bes lamps, which could have been used both in temple rituals and at domestic shrines. Further evidence of his cultic status comes from the temple of Soknopaiou Nesos, in the desert north of the Fayoum, where a Roman Period temple inventory lists Bes figures made of bronze and silver.

Small plaques featuring male and female Bes figures were used in household shrines to promote fertility. Some feature inscriptions on the reverse asking Bes for help to conceive (fig. 9). Prior to this, female Bes figures, although not unknown, were rare. Another stela dated to the third or fourth century AD has a spell on the back stating that he is “the great lord of women’s wombs, healer, feeder, and awakener”. The figure on the front shows Bes holding a snake and a sword but with the features of Ptah-Pataikos. The stela is part of the Michailidis Collection and it has not been possible to obtain an image.

Fig. 9: Terracotta plaque. E 26921 (Photo The Louvre Museum)

Bes remained popular well into the Christian era and is still attested as late as the sixth century AD. Additionally, in Luxor today there are still beliefs that Bes-type entities haunt the precincts of Karnak!