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The excavations at Ismant al-Kharab. the churches and cemeteries /
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The adoption of Christianity by the Egyptian populace was well underway by the late third century, but evidence for its presence in the archaeological record from the Nile valley is sparse. This is due, in part, to the loss of ancient settlement sites beneath modern cultivation. By comparison, Ismant al-Kharab, ancient Kellis, in Dakhleh Oasis, was abandoned at the end of the fourth century and many of its structures survive intact. The villagers, moreover, left behind a wealth of artefacts and documentation. By the late third century some had converted to Christianity and by the early fourth century three churches were built to accommodate their growing numbers. The churches afford an unparalleled window into three ecclesiastical complexes that served a single village. The Large East Church, moreover, is the earliest surviving example of a purpose-built basilica in Egypt known thus far. It provides a better understanding of the development of Egyptian church architecture and has forced a reappraisal of the dates of certain features that were previously attributed to the fifth century.0The community established three burial grounds: Kellis 2, with an estimated 3,500?4,000 graves, a funerary church and associated graveyard, and in a reused monumental mausoleum. Christian cemeteries are known throughout North Africa, Europe, and Britain, but in Egypt few are published in anything but a cursory manner. At Kellis, 800+ graves have been excavated; the earliest burials date to the late third century confirming the evidence of an early conversion by some villagers and its rapid expansion thereafter.0This volume provides the first detailed publication of the churches and Christian burial grounds. It incorporates a discussion of the spread of Christianity in Egypt?s Southern Oasis, drawing upon data from the rich textual documentation from the site. The material culture is presented in detail, especially the extensive collection of ceramics, glass, and coins.
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468 pages : illustrations (black and white, and colour), maps, plans ; 30 cm. :
9781789259636
1789259630
The Dead Sea Psalms scrolls and the Book of Psalms /
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Among the Dead Sea Scrolls, Psalms are found in no less than thirty-nine manuscripts. This groundbreaking volume presents the first comprehensive study of these scrolls, by making available a wealth of primary data and investigating the main issues that arise. The first part provides information which many scholars will find enormously helpful, such as descriptions of the manuscripts, listings of variant readings, a synopsis of superscriptions, and indices of contents of all the Psalms scrolls. The second part investigates the issues, some of which are relevant to the Book of Psalms itself (e.g. stabilization in two distinct stages), while others focus upon 11QPsa, the largest Psalms scroll (e.g. part of an edition of the Book of Psalms), and one involves the relation of these manuscripts to the Septuagint Psalter.
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Revision of the author's thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Notre Dame, 1993. :
1 online resource (xiv, 322 pages, 10 pages of plates) : illustrations, facsimiles, maps. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004350199 :
0169-9962 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Processional and Chapel Oracular Practice in The Place of Truth /
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Standing in stark contrast to the relative wealth of evidence about royal and temple based oracles, there is little to give us some notion of the analogous oracular practices of private religion during the New Kingdom of Egypt. The surviving documentation suggests that private individuals could approach their gods for oracular advice during festival processions. However, based on the Deir el-Medina materials, I argue that in addition to processional oracles, chapel oracles were employed by the villagers as well, if not more largely by common people in ancient Egypt. At Deir el-Medina, the former was given by the patron of the village, the deified king Amenhotep I, and was employed in an official setting in order to solve legal disputes. In contrast, the less documented chapel oracles, which could be perhaps delivered by deities other than Amenhotep I, concerned mostly mundane affairs. In both cases, however, oracles were mediated by the priests servicing the gods. This paper seeks to bring together and examine two sorts of evidence that are usually dealt with separately. Firstly, it provides an analysis of the available written testimonies on oracular ostraca found at Deir el-Medina, and discusses their textual significance by showing who the petitioners were, what kind of questions they asked and what the structure of the questions was. Secondly, it examines the archaeological remains of the chapels connected with oracles at Deir el-Medina and the role of the “brotherhood” of priests associated with them. I conclude with some remarks about the mechanics of the chapel oracles in connection with the modalities of their reception and the status of belief and faith. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5913/jarce.53.2017.a013