Breaking the Dsr.T Vessels

An Ancient Egyptian Fragmentation Rite

Häftad, Engelska, 2023

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Beskrivning

In ancient Egyptian thought, the funerary procedure played a key role in the transition to the afterlife. As early as the Old Kingdom (c. 2700-2200 BCE), the Pyramid Texts and representations and inscriptions in private tombs show a highly developed funerary ritual with a large number of individual rites intended to ensure a safe transition to the realm of the dead and a pleasant afterlife for the deceased. One of these is the so-called ‘breaking the dšr.t-vessels’ (Egyptian sḏ dšr.wt), a rite that involved the intentional damaging of a certain type of ceramic vessel. The aim of this study is to gain a better understanding of the rite through a re-evaluation of the primary sources and previous research and to provide the first study devoted entirely to the rite. While the rite of ‘breaking the dšr.t-vessels’ has been associated with several different archaeological contexts and primary sources, this monograph argues that a careful distinction needs to be made between the evidence identified as such. This study aims to demonstrate that there is a significant discrepancy between textual, iconographic, and archaeological sources which calls into question the identification of a large number of sources as sḏ dšr.wt contexts. A number of different ritual and non-ritual practices in ancient Egypt involve the deliberate fragmentation of pottery, each of which should be addressed in context.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2023-12-28
Mått:276 x 203 x 9 mm
Vikt:1 007 g
Format:Häftad
Språk:Engelska
Antal sidor:102
Förlag:Archaeopress
ISBN:9781803275871

Utforska kategorier

Arkeologiska perioder och områden inom Historia och arkeologi

Mer om författaren

Elena Hertel holds a BA Classical Archaeology and Egyptology from Heidelberg University and an MA by research in Egyptology from Leiden University. Currently she is a PhD candidate at Basel University in the Swiss National Science Foundation project ‘Crossing Boundaries’. Her research specialty in Egyptology is the combination of philological and object studies. She is also involved in several publication projects of demotic and abnormal hieratic papyri.

Innehållsförteckning

IntroductionGoal and DefinitionOn the Necessity of a Re-EvaluationMethodology and Structure The BdV in Egyptological LiteratureHistory of Previous ResearchPhase 1: IdentificationPhase 2: ContextualisationPhase 3: Attribution of Archaeological EvidenceInterpretations of the BdVThe BdV as a Rite Against EvilProponent ArgumentsProblemsThe BdV as Disposing of VesselsProponent ArgumentsProblemsHow to Move Forward The Concept of Intentional Damaging of Objects: Fragmentation TheoryInterpreting the Intentional Fragmentation of ObjectsImplications of Fragmentation Theory for the BdVForms of Intentional Fragmentation of Objects in Ancient Egypt The dšr.wt – Appearance, Use, and Purposedšr.t-Vessels in the Old Kingdomdšr.t-Vessels in the Middle Kingdomdšr.t-Vessels in the New Kingdomdšr.t-Vessels After the New Kingdomdšr.t-Vessels in Archaeological ContextsConclusion on dšr.t-Vessels Contextualising the BdVThe Pyramid TextsThe Old Kingdom Private ContextsThe BdV in the Middle KingdomThe BdV Scene in the Luxor TempleThe dšr.wt in the BdVThe New Kingdom Vessel-Breaking Scenes Summary and Conclusion AppendixAppendix Table 1Appendix Table 2Appendix Table 3 CatalogueA1 – dšr.wt in the Old KingdomA2 – dšr.wt in the Middle KingdomA3 – dšr.wt in the New KingdomA4 – dšr.wt after the New KingdomB1 – BdV in the Old KingdomB2 – BdV in the Middle KingdomB3 – BdV in the New KingdomB4 – Vessel-Breaking Scenes in New Kingdom Private Tombs Bibliography and Abbreviations