In the Shadow of Osiris: Non-Royal Mortuary Landscapes at South
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University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 1-1-2014 In the Shadow of Osiris: Non-Royal Mortuary Landscapes at South Abydos During the Late Middle and New Kingdoms Kevin Michael Cahail University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons, and the Islamic World and Near East History Commons Recommended Citation Cahail, Kevin Michael, "In the Shadow of Osiris: Non-Royal Mortuary Landscapes at South Abydos During the Late Middle and New Kingdoms" (2014). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 1222. http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1222 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1222 For more information, please contact [email protected]. In the Shadow of Osiris: Non-Royal Mortuary Landscapes at South Abydos During the Late Middle and New Kingdoms Abstract Kevin M. Cahail Dr. Josef W. Wegner The site of South Abydos was home to royal mortuary complexes of both the late Middle, and New Kingdoms, belonging to Senwosret III and Ahmose. Thanks to both recent and past excavations, both of these royal establishments are fairly well understood. Yet, we lack a clear picture of the mortuary practices of the non- royal individuals living and working in the shadow of these institutions. For both periods, the main question is where the tombs of the non-royal citizens might exist. Additionally for the Middle Kingdom is the related issue of how these people commemorated their dead ancestors. Divided into two parts, this dissertation looks at the ways in which non-royal individuals living at South Abydos during these two periods dealt with burial and funerary commemoration. Three seasons of field work in and around the Senwosret III mortuary complex, and the associated town of Wah-sut, uncovered a previously unexplored New Kingdom cemetery. We excavated and analyzed the contents of six tombs belonging to this burial ground, which we dubbed the Temple Cemetery due to its proximity to the earlier mortuary temple of Senwosret III. Further exploration of the site revealed numerous Middle Kingdom objects related to both tomb assemblages and funerary commemoration. The discovery of the tomb of Useribre Senebkay in January 2014 revealed numerous inscribed late Middle Kingdom chapel blocks, which had been reused to construct the Abydene Dynast's burial chamber. While we did not discover any tombs of the late Middle Kingdom, the results of these excavations demonstrate that tombs of this period almost certainly exist in the area. Commemorative objects from within Wah-sut evince a complex system of domestic funerary rituals meant to commemorate the recently-deceased, which link this site with contemporary settlements at Lahun and Kom el-Fakhry. New Kingdom vaulted tombs such as that belonging to the scribe Horemheb and the Stable master Rameses testify that South Abydos was still a highly significant burial ground during the late Eighteenth Dynasty, including the burials of individuals with significant wealth. In short, this dissertation presents the previously unpublished results of ongoing archaeological excavation at the site of South Abydos. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations First Advisor Josef W. Wegner This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1222 Keywords Abydos, Ancient Egypt, Funerary religion, Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom, Osiris Subject Categories History | History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology | Islamic World and Near East History This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1222 IN THE SHADOW OF OSIRIS: NON-ROYAL MORTUARY LANDSCAPES AT SOUTH ABYDOS DURING THE LATE MIDDLE AND NEW KINGDOMS Kevin M. Cahail A DISSERTATION in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2014 Supervisor of Dissertation: ________________________ Dr. Josef W. Wegner Associate Professor, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations Graduate Group Chairperson: ________________________ Dr. Paul M. Cobb, Associate Professor, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations Dissertation Committee: Dr. David P. Silverman, Eckly Brinton Coxe, Jr. Professor of Egyptology, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, University of Pennsylvania Dr. Betsy M. Bryan, Alexander Badawy Professor of Egyptian Art and Archaeology, Johns Hopkins University IN THE SHADOW OF OSIRIS: NON-ROYAL MORTUARY LANDSCAPES AT SOUTH ABYDOS DURING THE LATE MIDDLE, AND NEW KINGDOMS COPYRIGHT 2014 KEVIN MICHAEL CAHAIL iii TO MY WIFE JESSICA: IN RECOGNITION OF THE PATH WE’VE WALKED TOGETHER, AND THE OPTIMISM OF WHAT IS YET TO COME. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Any work of this nature cannot be created in a vacuum. I am, therefore, indebted to a number of individuals, without whose support I would never have been able to create the following pages. First and foremost I must attempt to convey my gratitude to my dissertation advisor, Josef Wegner. From the beginning of my doctoral studies at the University of Pennsylvania, to the culmination of this dissertation, he has been a source of unwavering aid and encouragement. In suggesting the topic of this work, he allowed me access to large portions of his archaeological concession at South Abydos. A statement as simple as “thank you” is not enough to express my gratitude for such an opportunity, in which we made amazing discoveries in the field side by side. This project would never have come to fruition without the help of my dissertation committee: Dr. David P. Silverman, and Dr. Betsy Bryan. I am grateful for Dr. Silverman’s many useful comments on the manuscript, and the various discussions we have had over the years about Egyptian grammar, art, and religion. To Dr. Bryan I must express my gratitude for reading and commenting on this dissertation, and incorporating the defense into her schedule. Thank you both. The excavations at South Abydos which makeup the core of this work were carried out under the auspices of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology expedition to Abydos, led by Dr. Josef Wegner. A travel grant from the Museum greatly facilitated my summer 2013field season, for which I am grateful. v Thanks are also due to the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Egypt for their assistance and cooperation with our three excavations seasons between 2012-2014. Among others, the SCA director during our 2012-2013 season, Mohamed Abdel Fattah, the director and staff of the local Sohag Inspectorate, and our site inspectors, Hazam, Akrum Hanby, Ahmed Ibrahim Abu Ganeb, and Ayman Mohamed Damarany. Our work on site progressed smoothly, thanks to our excavation teams and Gufti overseers, led by Rais Ibrahim Mohamed Ali. Great appreciation is also due to the Egyptian staff of the joint Penn-Yale-IFA excavation house: Ahmed Ragab, Hassan Mutawalli Abdullah, Singab Abd el-Rahman, Lashin Ahmed Lashin, and many others. Friends and colleagues, both past and present, were often a source of inspiration and assistance. Joshua Jeffers has been a constant friend, and was always available to discuss the finer points of both grammar and archaeology. Jennifer Houser Wegner’s assistance in analyzing and drawing a number of Temple Cemetery objects conveys both her academic and artistic prowess better than any mere words I can conjure. Shelby Justl assisted with pottery analysis and drawing during the Summer 2013 field season, reminding me that one person can never carry out every aspect of a project. Paul Verhelst and Matt Olson did an amazing job organizing and analyzing a sizeable portion of the New Kingdom human osteological material from the Temple Cemetery during the Summer 2013, and Winter 2013-2014. I must thank Joshua Roberson for his useful comments on the TC.20 heart amulet, Nick Picardo for access and information on objects from Building E in Wah-sut, and Kyoko Yamahana of Tokai University for her very useful comments. For all of their academic assistance, both in the field and at home, I am eternally grateful. vi Last, but in no way least, I must thank my family and friends. My friends Danny Woo, John Magee, Dave Romeyn, Axel Atkinson, and Dave Arnold-Fernandez always have the ability to put a smile on my face. To my parents: thank you for kindling the dreams of a young boy who wanted to grow up to be King Tut, but quickly realized becoming an Egyptologist might be slightly easier, and frankly more fun. You both, more so than anyone else, have witnessed all the permutations of my struggle toward the goal of Ph.D. Thank you for your unwavering faith in my abilities and resolve. And finally to my wife, Jessica, who has acted as my registrar and photographer in the field, my proofreader in the library, and a constant sounding board at home for any and all theories and notions I needed to discuss ad nauseam. She has, and continues to stand by me through all my work at Penn, and therefore, it is to her that I dedicate this culmination of my doctoral dreams. vii ABSTRACT IN THE SHADOW OF OSIRIS: NON-ROYAL MORTUARY LANDSCAPES AT SOUTH ABYDOS DURING THE LATE MIDDLE AND NEW KINGDOMS Kevin M. Cahail Dr. Josef W. Wegner The site of South Abydos was home to royal mortuary complexes of both the late Middle, and New Kingdoms, belonging to Senwosret III and Ahmose. Thanks to both recent and past excavations, both of these royal establishments are fairly well understood. Yet, we lack a clear picture of the mortuary practices of the non-royal individuals living and working in the shadow of these institutions. For both periods, the main question is where the tombs of the non-royal citizens might exist. Additionally for the Middle Kingdom is the related issue of how these people commemorated their dead ancestors.