Urban Landscape of Bakchias: A Town of the Fayyum from the Ptolemaic-Roman Period to Late Antiquity
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This book aims to summarise the results of field research – as well as historical, historico-religious and papyrological studies – conducted on the archaeological site of Bakchias, located in the north-eastern part of the Fayyūm region. It represents a revised and re-arranged version of the book edited by the same Authors in 2014.
Kom al-Ahmer — Kom Wasit II: Coin Finds 2012-2016: Late Roman and Early Islamic Pottery from Kom al-Ahmer
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and Kom Wasit, to investigate them intensively and reveal their importance. Kom al-Ahmer and Kom Wasit are located 6 km west of the Rosetta branch of the Nile, 35 km south of Rosetta, 40 km southeast of the port of Thonis-Heracleion, and 52 km southeast of the port of Alexandria (Figures i–ii). Given their well-connected location with respect to these Mediterranean and Nile ports, it can be assumed that a significant volume of commercial traffic moved through these sites. Historical sources and Hellenistic and Roman geographers located the capital of the Metelite nome in this region, and our research has made it possible to identify the likely location of the nome capital, Metelis, at Kom al-Ahmer, at least during the Roman, Late Roman, and Early Arab periods. This short introduction discusses the results of the study of two cultural materials finds, coins and pottery that brought to light massive
information that can be gathered from a Delta site.
Newsletter, Number 160 (WINTER 1993)
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CONTENTS:
The Writing of Egyptian History: A Contribution to Today’s Problems? by PeterGran -- Graeco-Roman Figurines From the Necropolis of Terenouthis by Marti Lu Allen -- Afaf Lutfi El-Sayyid: Student of Egypt’s Past -- The News from New York -- The News from Cairo -- SPARE REPORT: On The Earthquake in Cairo -- Development News -- In Remembrance.
bulletin of the American Research Center in Egypt, NUMBER 186 - (Fall 2004)
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Chromatic Billiance at the Red Monastery Church by Elizabeth S. Bolman -- Conservation Continues at St. Paul's Monastery by Michael Jones -- Conservation of Mosaics in the Graeco-Roman Museum in Alexandria -- ARCE Receives Private Library -- ARCE Library News -- Recent Excavations of the Shena Adjacent to the Mortuary Temple of Senwosret ||| at Abydos by Vanessa E. Smith -- Defecation in Deir el-Medina During the New Kingdom by Yasmin El Shazly -- At Home Far Away: A Student's View From Cairo by Mitch Lynch -- Conferences and Symposia.
Newsletter, Number 121 (SPRING 1983)
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CONTENT:
In Memoriam, John D. Cooney 8 Ernest T. Abdel-Massih--
The Egyptian Collections of the Kelsey MUSEUM OF ARCHAEOLOGY, Elaine K. Gazda--
Byzantine Egypt during the Arab Invasion of Palestine and Syria: Some Observations, Walter E. Kaegi--
SULAMI'S COMMENTARY ON THE Qur'an, Gerhard H. Bowering--
A Catalog of Glass in the Graeco-Roman USEUM OF Alexandria, Leila I. Wente--
Fellows' Reports in Brief--
LITERARY AND ArCHAEOLOGICAL SüRVEY OF AL-USAR/ Keith Beebe & Marvin W. Meyer--
Dissertations in Egyptology now in Progress--
Announcements--
Notes from the Executive Director--
The Berkeley Map of the Theban Necropolis, REPORT OF THE FIFTH SEASON, 1982, Kent R. Weeks.
bulletin of the American Research Center in Egypt, NUMBER 208 - SUMMER 2016
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Wall Paintings in the Late Roman City of Trimithis (Ambeida), Dakhla Oasis: A Tantalizing Preliminary Survey -- Ancient Column inscriptions and New Technologies: the 2Ol4-2015 Field Season of the Karnak Great Hypostyle Hall Project -- The Mit Rahina Field School, 2014 -- The Osiris Temple at Abydos -- Architectural Conservation of the White Monastery Church (Dary Anba Shinuda), Sohag -- Conserving the Amarna Coffins -- the Archaeology of Urbanism in Ancient Egypt -- Egyptian Coffin Conservation Project -- Enemies of the Stale: The Old Kingdom Prisoner Statues and Three-dimensional Representations of foreigners -- Documenting and Watching Shadow Ploys in Coiro: Text and Performance.
bulletin of the American Research Center in Egypt, NUMBER 201 - (Fall 2012)
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Palace for Pigeons: Restoring a Roman Dovecote in the Kharga Oasis -- Conservation and Reconstruction of the Burial Chamber in the Tomb of Karakahmun (TT 223) in the South Asasif Necropolis -- conservation Project of Sabil Hasan Agha Arzinkan (built in 1830) -- the Egyptian Museum Database and Registrar Training Projects -- The ARCE Library: Eight Years Later -- From San Antonio to St. Antony's Monastery: ARCE's Journey to Create a Museum in the Desert -- Modern Art in Egypt -- Mustafa Al-Nahas and Egypt's Military Courts -- Burial Practices in Ptolemaic Alexandria -- The Endowment Campaign and 2013 Tour -- News from Egypt -- Annual Report.
The Fayoum Survey Project : The Themistou Meris: Volume B: The Ceramological Survey
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This volume accompanies Volume A which presents the archaeological survey of the sites of the Themistou Meris (north-western Fayoum), by giving a thorough introduction to the pottery found during the survey.
The great doyen of the pottery of the Graeco-Roman period in Egypt, the late Donald M. Bailey, did not live to see his volume in print. His legacy is an exemplary study of forms and materials of the different kinds of ceramic vessels, from amphorae to cooking-pots and from coarse kitchen ware to fine table ware. The book is rounded up by two short essays, which add up-to-date information on the pottery found in the Themistou Meris as well as in other districts of the Fayoum.
Newsletter, 15 June 1955
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The Cairo season is coining to an end, at least as far as the Center is concerned. In a few days this office will be closed until September and I shall move to Alexandria to work at the Graeco-Roman Museum there for a month or so. The past eight and a half months seem to have gone by very quickly, but in retrospect they were rich and rewarding and full of pleasant interruptions which made the routine of research, office work, and field trips a rather varied experience. For one thing, we now have a group of Members, admittedly few in number, here in Cairo who are genuinely interested in the antiquity and art of the Nile Valley and there is hope that some day, in the not too distant future insha'allah, a permanent institution will serve American historians and archaeologists in this part of the Near East. There also was the never-ending stream of casual visitors who came from far away to ask advice as to the best way in which to get around in Egypt or to tell about their experiences. Among them we had a young American student from the Free University of Berlin who, without knowing any Arabic, traveled up and down the country for several weeks without encountering any difficulties or having trouble in finding a place to sleep. There were the Sunday excursions when peaceful temple ruins were swarming with children, and there were the quiet happy afternoons when this ,writer walked the length and breadth of northern Mitrahine with John Dimick in order to learn something about the topography of ancient Memphis from one who knew his levels and map coordinates. The group of Fulbright grantees is breaking up, and some of them have left already, and a few of our friends in the U.S. Information Service are being transferred or are going on home leave.
Why did ancient states collapse? : the dysfunctional state
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Ancient states were rooted in agriculture, sedentism and population growth. They were fragile and prone to collapse, but there is no consensus on the causes or meaning of collapse, and there is an ongoing debate about the importance, nature and even existence of state-wide collapse
Explanations of collapse in terms of competing mono-causal factors are found inferior to those incorporating dynamic, interactive systems. It is proposed that collapse should be explained as failure to fulfil the ancient state’s core functions: assurance of food supplies, defence against external attack, maintenance of internal peace, imposition of its will throughout its territory, enforcement of state-wide laws, and promotion of an ideology to legitimise the political and social status quo.
To fulfil these functions certain necessary conditions must be met. The legitimacy of the political and social status quo, including the distribution of political power and wealth, needs to be accepted; the state should be able to extract sufficient resources to fulfil its functions such as defence; it must be able to enforce its decisions; the ruling elite should share a common purpose and actions; the society needs to reflect a shared spirit (asibaya) and purpose across elites and commoners who believe it is worthy of defence.
Weaknesses and failure to meet any condition can interact to exacerbate the situation: maladministration, corruption and elite preoccupation with self aggrandisement can induce fiscal weakness, reduced military budgets and further invasion; it can induce neglect of key infrastructures (especially water management). Inequality, a commonly neglected factor despite ancient texts, can erode asibaya and legitimacy and alienate commoners from defence of the state.
These themes are explored in relation to the Egyptian Old Kingdom, Mycenae, the Western Roman Empire (WRE), and the Maya. They all exhibit, to varying degrees, weaknesses in meeting the above conditions necessary for stability. (Some of the explanatory political and social factors involved have modern analogies but that issue is not examined).