The Cave of John of Lykopolis, in: Gawdat Gabra, Hany N. Takla (ed.), Christianity and Monasticism in Middle Egypt. Al-Minya and Asyut, Cairo; New York 2015, S. 255-263., 2015
Gebel Asyut al-Gharbi, a limestone mountain located to the west of Asyut at the edge of the Libya... more Gebel Asyut al-Gharbi, a limestone mountain located to the west of Asyut at the edge of the Libyan Desert, provides much information on ancient Asyut (Kahl 2007a: 59-106). The mountain rises to a height of up to two hundred meters above sea level. During the pharaonic period, Gebel Asyut al-Gharbi served as a necropolis for the inhabitants of Asyut, high officials among them, as well as for sacred animals. In addition to this, several areas of the mountain were exploited as a quarry. In the Christian era, Christian anchorites used the numerous tombs as cells or dwellings (Kahl 2007a: 71-72) (fig. 23.1).The walls of the tombs, decorated with ancient Egyptian pictures and hieroglyphs, were either merely covered with a rough mud plaster by the anchorites, or whitewashed and decorated with inscriptions and paintings. Monasteries were also erected on Gebel Asyut al-Gharbi, with Dayr al-Meitin and Dayr al-Tzam being especially noteworthy exam ples, both of which were abandoned during the fifteenth century ad at the latest. Today, most of the Christian wall decorations have perished. The destruction took place especially during the nineteenth and twentieth cen turies, when substantial losses occurred. Thanks to research carried out by geologists Klemm and Klemm (Kahl 2007a: 59-61; Klemm and Klemm 2008: 112-15), it is possible to divide the mountain into eleven geological steps, which also correspond to eleven 255
Certain features of ancient Egyptian culture display a conscious return to bygone times. Texts, a... more Certain features of ancient Egyptian culture display a conscious return to bygone times. Texts, architecture, and works of art often referred to elements of the remote past. This revival of the past is known as “archaism,” provided that there was a substantial gap in time between the model and the copy, and that the elements referred to had fallen out of use. Archaism appears to have been an elite phenomenon and is found in the royal as well as the (elite) non-royal sphere. It occurred during the Pharaonic Period, from at least the Old Kingdom onward, and was most obvious during the Third Intermediate and Late Periods
Reconfigured and recontextualized several times, the ten contracts inscribed on the walls of the ... more Reconfigured and recontextualized several times, the ten contracts inscribed on the walls of the monumental tomb of the regional governor Djefai-Hapi I at Asyut (c. 1920 BC) are a particularly striking example of how different material and different contexts generate new meaning. Originally written on papyrus or leather, the ten contracts between Djefai-Hapi and the priests of the main deities of his city and the necropolis staff ensured that Djefai-Hapi would be able to participate in the local cult(s) on a regular basis after his death. Put in a new context, the 'tomb edition' of the ten contracts went beyond Djefai-Hapi's insistence on later successors honouring his agreements. It exercised a powerful effect on Djefai-Hapi's deification in a dynamic interplay of monumental tomb-architecture, high-quality statues, elegant language used in the tomb-inscriptions, and Asyut's local cults. After more than two millennia, the contracts were stored in a temple more th...
The Cave of John of Lykopolis, in: Gawdat Gabra, Hany N. Takla (ed.), Christianity and Monasticism in Middle Egypt. Al-Minya and Asyut, Cairo; New York 2015, S. 255-263., 2015
Gebel Asyut al-Gharbi, a limestone mountain located to the west of Asyut at the edge of the Libya... more Gebel Asyut al-Gharbi, a limestone mountain located to the west of Asyut at the edge of the Libyan Desert, provides much information on ancient Asyut (Kahl 2007a: 59-106). The mountain rises to a height of up to two hundred meters above sea level. During the pharaonic period, Gebel Asyut al-Gharbi served as a necropolis for the inhabitants of Asyut, high officials among them, as well as for sacred animals. In addition to this, several areas of the mountain were exploited as a quarry. In the Christian era, Christian anchorites used the numerous tombs as cells or dwellings (Kahl 2007a: 71-72) (fig. 23.1).The walls of the tombs, decorated with ancient Egyptian pictures and hieroglyphs, were either merely covered with a rough mud plaster by the anchorites, or whitewashed and decorated with inscriptions and paintings. Monasteries were also erected on Gebel Asyut al-Gharbi, with Dayr al-Meitin and Dayr al-Tzam being especially noteworthy exam ples, both of which were abandoned during the fifteenth century ad at the latest. Today, most of the Christian wall decorations have perished. The destruction took place especially during the nineteenth and twentieth cen turies, when substantial losses occurred. Thanks to research carried out by geologists Klemm and Klemm (Kahl 2007a: 59-61; Klemm and Klemm 2008: 112-15), it is possible to divide the mountain into eleven geological steps, which also correspond to eleven 255
Certain features of ancient Egyptian culture display a conscious return to bygone times. Texts, a... more Certain features of ancient Egyptian culture display a conscious return to bygone times. Texts, architecture, and works of art often referred to elements of the remote past. This revival of the past is known as “archaism,” provided that there was a substantial gap in time between the model and the copy, and that the elements referred to had fallen out of use. Archaism appears to have been an elite phenomenon and is found in the royal as well as the (elite) non-royal sphere. It occurred during the Pharaonic Period, from at least the Old Kingdom onward, and was most obvious during the Third Intermediate and Late Periods
Reconfigured and recontextualized several times, the ten contracts inscribed on the walls of the ... more Reconfigured and recontextualized several times, the ten contracts inscribed on the walls of the monumental tomb of the regional governor Djefai-Hapi I at Asyut (c. 1920 BC) are a particularly striking example of how different material and different contexts generate new meaning. Originally written on papyrus or leather, the ten contracts between Djefai-Hapi and the priests of the main deities of his city and the necropolis staff ensured that Djefai-Hapi would be able to participate in the local cult(s) on a regular basis after his death. Put in a new context, the 'tomb edition' of the ten contracts went beyond Djefai-Hapi's insistence on later successors honouring his agreements. It exercised a powerful effect on Djefai-Hapi's deification in a dynamic interplay of monumental tomb-architecture, high-quality statues, elegant language used in the tomb-inscriptions, and Asyut's local cults. After more than two millennia, the contracts were stored in a temple more th...
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