Tessa Dickinson a Landscape and Materials-Based Approach to Royal Mortuary Architecture in Early Third Millennium BC Egypt Volum
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Tessa Dickinson A Landscape and Materials-based Approach to Royal Mortuary Architecture in Early Third Millennium BC Egypt Volume 1: Text Institute of Archaeology University College London 2014 Thesis submitted to University College London for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 1 Disclaimer I, Tessa Dickinson, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. Tessa Dickinson 2 Abstract This dissertation examines the role that the building of royal mortuary complexes (RMC hereafter) played in the consolidation of the Egyptian state between the reigns of kings Khasekhemwy and Shepseskaf, c. 2,700-2,500 BC. The theoretical basis for this research is inspired by cross-cultural studies that demonstrate (a) that monuments are not only the after-effect of a centralised state system, but may themselves be integrative strategies that contribute more directly to a state’s formation and consolidation and (b) that a monument’s location and construction materials reflect both logistical and symbolic concerns with salient socio-political scope. The main analysis offered here consists of a sequential, monument-by-monument archaeological assessment of RMC location and construction materials with a particular emphasis on the role of a specialist workforce. This research combines both quantitative and qualitative methods that help flesh out possible logistical and symbolic implications associated with the decision- making process behind each RMC. The working and symbolic properties of a whole range of construction materials is determined via careful use of the limited contemporary, and more abundant later, Egyptian documentary sources, as well as demonstrable patterns of material use in the archaeological record. A geoarchaeological analysis of mudbrick provides an important category of additional information on the sourcing of mudbrick and the labour organisation, which has received only limited attention. A locational and materials-based approach brings together a wealth of complementary information pertaining to the functional and symbolic aspects of these monuments, and their wider landscapes that is usually treated separately and selectively. It also provides the tools necessary for addressing the use of mudbrick in architecture during this early period and a well-known shift from mudbrick to stone in RMCs. Overall it provides a more dynamic and holistic framework for understanding the role that monumental building played in this early period of the Egyptian Pharaonic state. 3 Table of Contents Volume 1 List of Figures .................................................................................................................. 7 List of Tables .................................................................................................................. 14 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ 16 Part 1 Study Overview and Research Background Chapter 1 Introduction ............................................................................................. 17 1.1. Introduction to Research and Project Background ............................ 17 1.2. Research Aims and Scope .................................................................. 18 1.3. Outline of Thesis, Data Illustration and Appendices ......................... 19 Chapter 2 History of Research ................................................................................. 21 2.1. Overview of Major Trends in Early Funerary Architecture .............. 21 2.2. The Role of RMCs in the Early Egyptian Society ............................ 30 2.3. The Workforce behind RMCs ........................................................... 37 2.4. Chronology and Tomb Ascription .................................................... 43 2.5. Summary ........................................................................................... 58 Chapter 3 Material Landscapes and Social Logistics ........................................... 59 3.1. Social Scope ...................................................................................... 59 3.2. Landscape and Materials-based Approach ........................................ 63 3.3. Logistics, Society and Ideology ........................................................ 64 Chapter 4 Landscapes, Materials and Building Activities: Theoretical Approaches to Monuments ..................................................................... 66 4.1. Introduction ....................................................................................... 66 4.2. Monumental Display and Social Complexity ................................... 66 4.3. Monuments in the Landscape ............................................................ 69 4.4. Monuments as Large-Scale Orchestrations of materials ................... 72 4 4.5. Monuments as Building Projects ..................................................... 76 4.6. Summary ........................................................................................... 80 Part 2 Methodology and Data Chapter 5 Methodology ........................................................................................... 81 5.1. Main Dataset ..................................................................................... 81 5.1.1. Locational Information .............................................................. 82 5.1.2. Material Information ................................................................. 83 5.2. Field Mudbrick Analysis ................................................................... 89 5.3. Socio-Historical Contextualisation .................................................. 92 5.4. Two-Part Analysis ............................................................................ 93 5.5. Limitations ........................................................................................ 93 5.6. Summary ........................................................................................... 96 Chapter 6 Khasekhemwy ......................................................................................... 97 6.1. Khasekhemwy’s Monuments ............................................................. 97 6.2. Abydos ............................................................................................... 98 6.3. Hierakonpolis ................................................................................... 118 6.4. Saqqara ............................................................................................. 128 6.5. Summary ......................................................................................... 140 Chapter 7 Djoser to Huni ...................................................................................... 142 7.1. Djoser .............................................................................................. 142 7.2. Sekhemkhet ..................................................................................... 154 7.3. Khaba .............................................................................................. 158 7.4. Unassigned Mudbrick Structure at Abu Rawash ........................... 161 7.5. Unassigned Stage E0 at Meydum ................................................... 164 7.6. Summary ......................................................................................... 167 Chapter 8 Snefru to Shepseskaf ............................................................................. 169 8.1. Snefru ............................................................................................... 169 8.1.1. Meydum ................................................................................ 170 8.1.2. Bent Pyramid ........................................................................ 176 8.1.3. North Pyramid ........................................................................ 180 5 8.2. Khufu ............................................................................................... 183 8.3. Djedefre ............................................................................................ 190 8.4. Khafre .............................................................................................. 196 8.5. Nebka ............................................................................................... 204 8.6. Menkaure ......................................................................................... 207 8.7. Shepseskaf ........................................................................................ 214 8.8. Summary .......................................................................................... 218 Part 3 Discussion Chapter 9 Monument Building as State Building ............................................... 222 9.1. RMC Building Logistics and State Consolidation .......................... 222 9.2. RMC Building and State Consolidation: A Social Strategy ........... 246 9.3. Symbolic and Ideological Implications of RMC Material Use and Location ........................................................................................... 256 9.4. Summary ......................................................................................... 270 Chapter 10 Conclusion ........................................................................................... 272 References .................................................................................................................. 274