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- Egyptian Literature, Archaeology, Middle Egyptian, Egyptology, Old Egyptian, Book of Mormon, and 38 moreEarly Christianity, New Testement, Ptolemaic Egyptian History, World History, Pearl of Great Price, Religious Violence, Ancient Egyptian language, Linugistics, Ancient Egyptian Literature, Literary Theory and Poetics, Ancient Egyptian Culture, Historiography, Cultural Theory, Ancient Egyptian Religion, Egyptian Art and Archaeology, Egyptian History, Ancient Egyptian History, Egyptian Ritual Texts, Mormonism, Religion and Violence/Nonviolence, Mormon History, Egypt and Canaan, Foreign relations during Ancient Egypt`s New Kingdom, History and Archaeology of Canaan, Joseph Smith, Human Sacrifice, Curses, Book of Abraham, Joseph Smith Papyri, Egyptian Archaeology, Pottery (Archaeology), Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, Theology, Biblical Studies, Ritual Theory, Ritual Practices, Ritual Studies, and Archaeology of Ritualedit
- Kerry is the director of an excavation in Egypt. This excavation, in the Fayoum, is active and yearly yields excelle... moreKerry is the director of an excavation in Egypt. This excavation, in the Fayoum, is active and yearly yields excellent and exciting results. He is a Professor of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University (BYU) and is the Religious Studies Center Director of Research for Ancient Scripture.
Kerry received his B.S. from BYU in Psychology with a Hebrew minor. As an undergraduate he spent time at the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies in the intensive Hebrew program. He received an M.A. in Ancient Near Eastern Studies from BYU and his Ph.D. from UCLA in Egyptology, where in his final year he was named the UCLA Affiliates Graduate Student of the Year. He taught courses in Hebrew and Religion part time at BYU and the UVSC extension center, as well as in history at Cal Poly Pomona and UCLA. He also taught early morning seminary and at the Westwood (UCLA) Institute of Religion. His first full time appointment was a joint position in Religion and History at BYU-Hawaii. He is the director of the BYU Egypt Excavation Project. He was selected by the Princeton Review in 2012 as one of the best 300 professors in the nation (the top .02% of those considered). He was also a Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford for the 2016-17 academic year. He has published 4 books, over 55 peer reviewed articles, and has done over 65 academic presentations. He and his wife, Julianne, are the parents of six children, and together they have lived in Jerusalem while Kerry has taught there on multiple occasions. He has served as the chairman of a national committee for the American Research Center in Egypt and serves on their Research Supporting Member Council. He has also served on a committee for the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities, and currently serves on their Board of Trustees and as a Vice President of the organization. He is also a Senior Fellow of the William F. Albright Institute for Archaeological Research. He is involved with the International Association of Egyptologists, and has worked with Educational Testing Services on their AP World History exam.edit
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Abraham 3 is one of the most enigmatic sections of the Pearl of Great Price. Teacher and student together sense there is something more to the text than the meaning they are drawing out of it. Each thorough exploration gently nudges... more
Abraham 3 is one of the most enigmatic sections of the Pearl of Great Price. Teacher and student together sense there is something more to the text than the meaning they are drawing out of it. Each thorough exploration gently nudges another layer of understanding from the text, ...
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The Fag el-Gamous cemetery is a 125 hectare Graeco-Roman necropolis on the eastern edge of the Fayoum Depression. The 1000 + burials excavated to date at the cemetery are found largely in rectangular shafts at 0.3–3.0 m deep and oriented... more
The Fag el-Gamous cemetery is a 125 hectare Graeco-Roman necropolis on the eastern edge of the Fayoum Depression. The 1000 + burials excavated to date at the cemetery are found largely in rectangular shafts at 0.3–3.0 m deep and oriented on an east–west axis. The high burial density, varying between 1.3 and 3.0 burials per square meter, is due in part to multiple burials in the same shaft. The stratigraphically deepest burials in a shaft are buried head east and later burials in the same shaft are buried head west. It has been argued that this directional shift occurred as early as the late first to the early second century AD. AMS radiocarbon dating of the available samples shows that the deepest and presumably oldest head-east burial dates to AD 79–230, and the oldest head-west burial dates to AD 128–284. One of the deepest signs of Christianity, a cross symbol, is present in the outer wrapping of a burial dated AD 545–645. The head-east and head-west burial practices in the Fag el-Gamous cemetery coexisted for at least 200 years.
... 88 ----- _----- Timothy W Durkin 6 I ELIEVINC IN THE ATONlNC POWER OF CHRIST KerryMuhlestein , (;fi'rE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY BEGINS with a striking verse: J "(There; are eleven days' journey from Horeh by the... more
... 88 ----- _----- Timothy W Durkin 6 I ELIEVINC IN THE ATONlNC POWER OF CHRIST KerryMuhlestein , (;fi'rE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY BEGINS with a striking verse: J "(There; are eleven days' journey from Horeh by the way of mount Seir unto Kadesh:-bamea ...
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For over 30 years Brigham Young University has been excavating in the Fayoum of Egypt. The bulk of that time has been spent excavating a 125-hectare cemetery known by the modern name Fag el-Gamous (Way of the Water Buffalo). While... more
For over 30 years Brigham Young University has been excavating in the Fayoum of Egypt. The bulk of that time has been spent excavating a 125-hectare cemetery known by the modern name Fag el-Gamous (Way of the Water Buffalo). While portions of the cemetery date earlier, especially in the mudstone escarpments, most of the burials are from the Roman/Byzantine period (Griggs et al. 1993; Evans, Whitchurch, and Muhlestein 2015). Much of the research surrounding this excavation has centered on the burial textiles (Clark et al. 2003; South and Muhlestein 2013) and possible markers of Christianity (Griggs 1990; Griggs et al. 1998). In the earliest seasons the excavation team was not capable of ascertaining a great deal from the osteological remains. Even in regards to the material they did analyze carefully, progress in recording data since then means that much of what we would like to know from those earliest seasons is not available to us now: this is not uncommon in the history of excavations as the standards of archaeology have steadily risen. Over time, however, participants with osteological training joined the team and a substantial amount of data has now been collected. Concurrently, the abilities of the discipline to analyze juvenile skeletal remains has been greatly refined (Lewis 2007). Moreover, unlike the poor preservation (Walker, Johnson, and Lambert 1988) and small sample sizes that have plagued many attempts to examine the children of antiquity, Fag el-Gamous has hundreds of well-preserved juveniles (Lewis 2007: 3). All of this allows a significant contribution to be made to demographic studies of the ancient world, in particular with regards to children.
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Research Interests: Paleopathology, Death and Burial (Archaeology), Greek Papyrology, Burial Practices (Archaeology), Ancient Textiles, and 7 moreAncient Egyptian History, Ancient Egyptian Art and Archaeology, Textile Technology, Paleopathology in mummified remains, Ancient Dyes Analysis and Textiles Conservation, Burial Customs, and Ancient Botany
According to the evidence at hand, it appears that during the period spanning from the Old Kingdom through the Libyan Era, institutionally sanctioned ritual violence centered around two main ideas: interference with cultic practices... more
According to the evidence at hand, it appears that during the period spanning from the Old Kingdom through the Libyan Era, institutionally sanctioned ritual violence centered around two main ideas: interference with cultic practices (temple and funerary), and rebellion (both the uprising of conquered enemies rebelling against Egypt's hegemony and the rebellion of actual Egyptians). It seems that while there were many crimes that the ancient Egyptians felt merited capital punishment, and many ways such punishment could be inflicted, most did not include a ritual element. However, it is clear that there were many executions that did include a ritual element, and in many cases it is likely that information conveying a ritual context is unavailable. For now, it can only be concluded that some executions were ritualized and others probably were not. Evidence regarding the forms of punishment that received ritual trappings remains inconclusive.
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Acknowledgments; Foreword; Preface (A. Amenta; M. M. Luiselli; M. N. Sordi); Preface (J. Baines); Conference Programme; Section I - Water in ancient egyptian literature; A. Loprieno, Water and Literature in Ancient Egypt; G. Cavillier, Il... more
Acknowledgments; Foreword; Preface (A. Amenta; M. M. Luiselli; M. N. Sordi); Preface (J. Baines); Conference Programme; Section I - Water in ancient egyptian literature; A. Loprieno, Water and Literature in Ancient Egypt; G. Cavillier, Il pXr-wr e il suo significato nella letteratura egiziana a sfondo bellico; A. Gallasch-Hall, The Water in the Corpus Ermeticum - One European View; C. Knigge, "He keeps the river Nile flowing, the field is full of his richness". Some Remarks on the Hymn to the Nile and Inundation and Fertilty Motifs in Post-New Kingdom Hymns and Related Texts; R. Landgráfová, Water in Ancient Egypt Love Songs; H. Navrátilová, The "Unwetterstele" of Ahmose as a Historical Text; Section II - Water in ancient egyptian history and culture; Y.Koenig, L'eau et la magie; J. Budka, The Third Cataract: Its Historical and Political Importance According to Royal and Private Rock Inscriptions at Tombos; M. Campagno, Fighting in the Water. On "Ordeals", Kinship and State in the Contendings of Horus and Seth (Papyrus Chester Beatty I); R. Cepko, Amenemhat III et le divinités aquatiques: la politique royale dans l'oasis du Fayoum; A. Fassone, Canopo e le sue acque: il fiume, il lago, il mare. Vita e religiosità in età tardo-faraonica e greco-romana; R. B. Gozzoli, Inondazione e pioggia come segno di predilezione divina durante la XXV e XXVI dinastia; b. Heagren, Water Related Diseas in Ancient Egypt; E. Kanitz, La gestione delle risorse idriche nell' Egitto antico e nell'Egitto moderno: un confronto; K. Muhlestein, Death by Water: The Role of Water in Ancient Egypt's Treatment of Enemies and Juridical Process; R. G. Tatomir, Coincidentia oppositorum et conjunctio oppositorum: The Mental Category of Water in the Ancient Egyptian Universe; Section III - Water in Ancient Egyptian Religion; S. Bickel, Creative and Destructive Waters; B. Claus, Osiris et Hapi: crue et régéneration en Egypt ancienne; A. Corthals, The Procession of the New Year in the Staircases at Edfu and Dendara; E. M. Laborinho, Nun, the Primeval Water According of the Coffin Texts; H. Rotsch, The Primeval Ocean Nun and the Terminology of Water in Ancient Egypt; M. Tomorad, Egyptian Cults of Isis and serapis in Roman Fleets; Section IV . Water in ancient egyptian ritual and cult; M. Bommas, Situlae and the offering of Water in the Divine Funerary Cult: A New Approach to the Ritual of Djeme; E. Buzov, The Role of the Heart in the Purification; M .E. Colin, Presenting Water to the Deities within the Barque Sanctuaries of Graeco-Roman Times; A. Cosentino, Il battesimo nei testi di Nag Hammadi; K. Dohrmann, Das Sedfest-Ritual Sesotris' I. -Kontext und Semantik des Dekorationsprogramms der Lischter Sitzatatuen; R. Hlzl, Libation Basins from the Old to the New Kingdom: Practical Use and Religions Significance; R. Lucarelli, A Libation Text in the Book of the Dead of Gatseshen; A. Smith, Kingship, Water and Ritual: The Ablution Rite in the Coronation Ritual of the Pharaoh; S. Sportellini, L'acqua, essenza purificatrice e rigenerante: il vaso-heset in alcune delle iconografie più ricorrenti; Section V - poster; C. Booth, The Uses and Abuses of water in Papyrus Westcar; M. C. Centrone, "This is the form of [] Osiris of the mysteries, who springs from the returning waters" (South Wall of the Osiris Room at the Great Temple of Philae); M. Franci, Quelques consideration sur le champ sématique du déterminatif mw; S. Ruzanova, Neith of Sais as Water Goddess; R. Ferreira de Sousa, Heart and Water in the Religious Anthropology of Ancient Egypt; A. P. Zingarelli, Some Considerations about the Water Offered (Poured) by the Tree Goddess at TT 49; Abbreviations; Bibliography, List of Contributors.
Research Interests: Ancient Egyptian Religion, Archaeology, Egyptology, Egyptian Art and Archaeology, Water, and 11 moreEgyptian Archaeology, Egyptian History, Egypt, Ancient Egyptian History, Ancient Egyptian Art and Archaeology, Ancient Egypt, Ancient water systems, Ancient Water Technology, Ancient hydraulic technology, Ancient Water Management, and Water and wastewater in ancient civilizations
Snefru, first king of the Fourth Dynasty, developed the true pyramid and set a new design for pyramid complexes that would be followed closely thenceforth. The architectural elements of his pyramids represent a transition period. One of... more
Snefru, first king of the Fourth Dynasty, developed the true pyramid and set a new design for pyramid
complexes that would be followed closely thenceforth. The architectural elements of his pyramids represent a
transition period. One of those transitions is a change from a primarily north-south orientation to that of
primarily east-west. While much of the evidence for this transition has long been known, excavations from his
small pyramid at Seila add more information about this transition. Much of the information about the Seila
Pyramid has not been previously published. Herein we outline some of that evidence, demonstrating that the
Seila Pyramid has elements of ritual activity on both the northern and eastern side of the pyramid, including a
northern altar, statue and offering table, and an eastern ritual porch, stelae and causeway.
complexes that would be followed closely thenceforth. The architectural elements of his pyramids represent a
transition period. One of those transitions is a change from a primarily north-south orientation to that of
primarily east-west. While much of the evidence for this transition has long been known, excavations from his
small pyramid at Seila add more information about this transition. Much of the information about the Seila
Pyramid has not been previously published. Herein we outline some of that evidence, demonstrating that the
Seila Pyramid has elements of ritual activity on both the northern and eastern side of the pyramid, including a
northern altar, statue and offering table, and an eastern ritual porch, stelae and causeway.
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Open Access of this article available at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X15000188: The Fag el-Gamous cemetery is a 125 hectare Graeco-Roman necropolis on the eastern edge of the Fayoum Depression. The 1000 +... more
Open Access of this article available at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X15000188:
The Fag el-Gamous cemetery is a 125 hectare Graeco-Roman necropolis on the eastern edge of the Fayoum Depression. The 1000 + burials excavated to date at the cemetery are found largely in rectangular shafts at 0.3–3.0 m deep and oriented on an east–west axis. The high burial density, varying between 1.3 and 3.0 burials per square meter, is due in part to multiple burials in the same shaft. The stratigraphically deepest burials in a shaft are buried head east and later burials in the same shaft are buried head west. It has been argued that this directional shift occurred as early as the late first to the early second century AD. AMS radiocarbon dating of the available samples shows that the deepest and presumably oldest head-east burial dates to AD 79–230, and the oldest head-west burial dates to AD 128–284. One of the deepest signs of Christianity, a cross symbol, is present in the outer wrapping of a burial dated AD 545–645. The head-east and head-west burial practices in the Fag el-Gamous cemetery coexisted for at least 200 years.
The Fag el-Gamous cemetery is a 125 hectare Graeco-Roman necropolis on the eastern edge of the Fayoum Depression. The 1000 + burials excavated to date at the cemetery are found largely in rectangular shafts at 0.3–3.0 m deep and oriented on an east–west axis. The high burial density, varying between 1.3 and 3.0 burials per square meter, is due in part to multiple burials in the same shaft. The stratigraphically deepest burials in a shaft are buried head east and later burials in the same shaft are buried head west. It has been argued that this directional shift occurred as early as the late first to the early second century AD. AMS radiocarbon dating of the available samples shows that the deepest and presumably oldest head-east burial dates to AD 79–230, and the oldest head-west burial dates to AD 128–284. One of the deepest signs of Christianity, a cross symbol, is present in the outer wrapping of a burial dated AD 545–645. The head-east and head-west burial practices in the Fag el-Gamous cemetery coexisted for at least 200 years.
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Muhlestein, Kerry and Megan Hansen, “‘The Work of Translating’: the Book of Abraham’s Translation Chronology,” in Spencer Fluhman, Brent L. Top, eds., Let Us Reason Together: Reflections on the Life of Study and Faith, Essays in Honor of Robert L. Millet, (Provo: Religious Studies Center, 2015).more
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Co authored with Kristin South
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Understanding the precise lexical value of various Egyptian words can be bedeviling, yet determining meaning is crucial, if we are to more fully understand the preserved texts from that culture. Recognising different nuances between... more
Understanding the precise lexical value of various Egyptian words can be bedeviling,
yet determining meaning is crucial, if we are to more fully understand the preserved
texts from that culture. Recognising different nuances between synonyms can be particularly abstruse, making their varying uses in texts appear as lexical legerdemain. Academic exchanges have made it clear that the Egyptian words we translate in English as “rebel” or “rebellion” can be almost recondite in their differences2. The genre of texts one works with may very well determine the way one defines divergent Egyptian words. Yet these terms are not altogether inscrutable. In order to more fully understand the nuances behind the words, we need to examine the terms for rebellion on a larger scale, searching through every genre, medium, and time period. This paper is the result of such an investigation, and hopefully serves as a step towards refining our understanding of both the words used for rebellion and the concept of rebellion in ancient Egypt, in general.
yet determining meaning is crucial, if we are to more fully understand the preserved
texts from that culture. Recognising different nuances between synonyms can be particularly abstruse, making their varying uses in texts appear as lexical legerdemain. Academic exchanges have made it clear that the Egyptian words we translate in English as “rebel” or “rebellion” can be almost recondite in their differences2. The genre of texts one works with may very well determine the way one defines divergent Egyptian words. Yet these terms are not altogether inscrutable. In order to more fully understand the nuances behind the words, we need to examine the terms for rebellion on a larger scale, searching through every genre, medium, and time period. This paper is the result of such an investigation, and hopefully serves as a step towards refining our understanding of both the words used for rebellion and the concept of rebellion in ancient Egypt, in general.
omposer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and librettist Emanuel Schikaneder lived and created during the height of eighteenth-century interest in and fascination with Egypt. The Magic Flute's Egyptian setting would therefore evoke in their... more
omposer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and librettist Emanuel Schikaneder lived and created during the height of eighteenth-century interest in and fascination with Egypt. The Magic Flute's Egyptian setting would therefore evoke in their contemporaneous audience notions of a distant land with an exotic and magical culture. The numerous Egyptian elements of the work are representative of its era and are situated near the end of a continuum of European thought about ancient Egypt before the solid foundation of modern day Egyptology had been laid. To Europeans, Egypt was a murky and mysterious landscape, one that easily lent itself to imaginative speculations about the purpose of its awesome architecture, the nature of its arcane ritual ceremonies, and the knowledge contained in its intriguing, then-undeciphered language. Such European perception of ancient Egypt informed the cultural productions of the late eighteenth century, including The Magic Flute.