Paraphrasing the famous question of visual representation
theoretician W. J .T. Mitchell—“What Do... more Paraphrasing the famous question of visual representation theoretician W. J .T. Mitchell—“What Do Pictures Want?”—my aim is to discuss the rationale and place of images in ancient Egyptian culture by assessing key features such as ancient Egyptian creativity, how the images relate to reality, their animation and their life, and their intended viewers.
Recent assemblages of blocks extracted from the Ninth Pylon of Karnak confirm the ritual signific... more Recent assemblages of blocks extracted from the Ninth Pylon of Karnak confirm the ritual significance of the Rwd mnw, a monument associated with the renewal of kingship and the affirmation of Akhenaten and Nefertiti's divine essence. The various phases of the ritual toilette of the couple and their sequence follow closely the daily ritual performed on the statue of Amun in Karnak as described in papyrus Berlin 3055; they do not depict intimate scenes of the couple's daily life in the palace and call in question the palatial nature of this monument. The function of the Rwd mnw in the complex built by Akhenaten in East Karnak is reevaluated based on available data deriving from its name, its murals and the origin of its décor, its relations with the other monuments of the House of Aten in Karnak and with the structures built by Amenhotep III in the Theban region.
Early mentions of the lexeme itn, long before its New Kingdom evolution and its specific usage du... more Early mentions of the lexeme itn, long before its New Kingdom evolution and its specific usage during Akhenaten’s reign, have been surveyed in the past. They are extensively discussed in this paper, listing the known entries of itn from the Old Kingdom to the Second Intermediate Period and reevaluating their connection with Akhenaten’s Atenism, the politicoreligious doctrine elaborated by the King and centered on his unique god Aten and on the royal persona.
Mortals, Deities and Divine Symbols. Rethinking Ancient Imagery from the Levant to Mesopotamia. Studies Offered to Tallay Ornan, 2022
Egyptian King Amenhotep IV-Akhenaten (ca. 1350 BCE) had reliefs carved
on his monuments depicting... more Egyptian King Amenhotep IV-Akhenaten (ca. 1350 BCE) had reliefs carved on his monuments depicting him (and his Queen) performing a ritual involving sheaves of grain. This is the first case of a Harvesting King motif being represented on murals in a ceremonial context. It has been suggested that the ritual was related to the Festival of Min, during which Pharaoh cut a sheaf of grain, a view that is discussed together with an alternative proposal.
Picturing Royal Charisma: Kings and Rulers in the Near East from 3000 BCE to 1700 CE, 2023
At the heart of the image reflected by the politico-religious reform brought about by Pharaoh Akh... more At the heart of the image reflected by the politico-religious reform brought about by Pharaoh Akhenaten (Amarna period, 18th Dynasty, c. 1350 BCE) was his belief in Aten and his repudiation of the traditional pantheon. The evolution of the visual therianthropic (animal-man) hybridism of the king, a feature of the divine, can be traced through the course of Akhenaten’s reign, with compelling implications for our comprehension of his views on the nature of divinity and kingship.
Journal of Near Eastern Studies 80/2: 245-74, 2021
This paper presents new and revised assemblages of Akhenaten's Karnak reliefs from the Rudjmenu d... more This paper presents new and revised assemblages of Akhenaten's Karnak reliefs from the Rudjmenu depicting the purification, offering, and theogamy rituals of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, and explores their relation to the Daily Temple Ritual of Amun in Karnak
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-9461/1/1/4/htm This article is an open access article distributed unde... more https://www.mdpi.com/2673-9461/1/1/4/htm This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY The paper presents a study of the context, functions, and rationale behind architectural replicas sealed off in ancient Egyptian tombs, the finest exemplars of which having been excavated in the Theban tomb of Meketre (ca. 2000 B.C.). The analysis is preceded by clarifications regarding the terminology used, the point of view from which they have to be considered, and the developments that led to their presence in the funerary assemblage. It is suggested that in the sealed ‘replicas chamber’ or burial chamber in which they were deposited, it was mainly the winged ba, a connective agent between the worlds of life, death, and eternity, that was meant to enter the imaginary realm of the replicas and feed the deceased in order to revivify him.
Full article open access at https://www.ajaonline.org/field-report/4326
Ancient Lachish (Tell ed-... more Full article open access at https://www.ajaonline.org/field-report/4326 Ancient Lachish (Tell ed-Duweir) in southern Israel is a key site for understanding the Canaanite cultures of the Middle and Late Bronze Ages and the Kingdom of Judah in the Iron Age of the Levant. It has been intensively excavated since 1932 by a number of entities. This article presents the excavation results by the Fourth Expedition to Lachish in 2013–2017. Fieldwork focused on the site’s northeastern corner, a neglected area believed to have been uninhabited in some periods. Excavation in the area, however, uncovered remains of successive fortifications and evidence of cultic activities. The new discoveries highlight the strong connection of the Bronze and Iron Age cities to the nearby valley, which supplied Lachish with water, mud, fertilized land, and a major road.
Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections 30, 2021
The “Window of Appearance” of the Egyptian New Kingdom royal palace is usually considered an indi... more The “Window of Appearance” of the Egyptian New Kingdom royal palace is usually considered an indigenous architectural element. After a review of this assumption, it is suggested that it had been observed by emissaries of Amenhotep III in the Cretan palace of Knossos before the concept was imported to the Egyptian court. The Cretan context and communicative rationale of the window are similar to its Egyptian version, the Aegean tradition predating its Egyptian avatar by at least 150 years.
Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research , 2019
Tel Reḥov, identified with Reḥob, was one of the largest Canaanite cities in the southern Levant ... more Tel Reḥov, identified with Reḥob, was one of the largest Canaanite cities in the southern Levant during the Late Bronze Age (15–13th centuries B.C.E.). Unlike many other Canaanite settlements, the city was founded in the 15th century after a hiatus beginning in Early Bronze Age III. In this article, four major Late Bronze Age occupation strata are described. Notable is a monumental structure dated to the 14th century B.C.E. with unusual architectural features which could be either the residence of a high-ranking family or an administrative building. During the 13th century B.C.E., this building was replaced by a new structure containing a metalsmith’s workshop, inspired by Egyptian 19th Dynasty techniques, while later building phases belong to the final stages of the Late Bronze Age. No destruction layers were found, and the Late Bronze Age city was rebuilt and continued to thrive throughout the Iron Age I. Five Late Bronze Age plaque figurines, some of particular interest, are also described. An appendix discusses a rare funeral scarab of an Egyptian high official found in the 14th-century B.C.E. edifice.
Tel Reḥov, identified with Reḥob, was one of the largest Canaanite cities in the southern Levant ... more Tel Reḥov, identified with Reḥob, was one of the largest Canaanite cities in the southern Levant during the Late Bronze Age (15th–13th centuries b.c.e.). Unlike many other Canaanite settlements, the city was founded in the 15th century after a hiatus beginning in Early Bronze Age III. In this article, four major Late Bronze Age occupation strata are described. Notable is a monumental structure dated to the 14th century b.c.e. with unusual architectural features that could be either the residence of a high-ranking family or an administrative building. During the 13th century b.c.e., this building was replaced by a new structure containing a metalsmith’s workshop, inspired by Egyptian 19th Dynasty techniques, while later building phases belong to the final stages of the Late Bronze Age. No destruction layers were found, and the Late Bronze Age city was rebuilt and continued to thrive throughout the Iron Age I. Five Late Bronze Age plaque figurines, some of particular interest, are also described. An appendix discusses a rare funerary scarab of an Egyptian high official found in the 14th-century b.c.e. edifice.
Prompted by the discovery of a schematic uninscribed amethyst scarab at Tel Abel Beth Maacah in t... more Prompted by the discovery of a schematic uninscribed amethyst scarab at Tel Abel Beth Maacah in the Upper Galilee, an overview of such scarabs found in the southern Levant is provided, with a typological analysis and a tentative dating and origin of these pieces.
This study of royal gestures and postures in the Amarna private tombs' iconography aims at charac... more This study of royal gestures and postures in the Amarna private tombs' iconography aims at characterizing and interpreting royal nonverbal communication during Akhenaten's reign. Akhenaten's imagery is a selective repertoire of movements, each of special significance in its iconographic context, as opposed to the vast range of movements in real life. Nonverbal communication theory together with the lexicosemantic information encoded in the ancient Egyptian iconic scripts may be used to analyze how the royal body communicates visually, what is communicated, and the specificity of royal communication in Amarna iconography, in order to provide insights into Atenist kingship and evaluate the tension between semiotic and representational aspects of the king's image.
During excavations at Tell Abil el-Qameḥ, identified as the biblical Abel Beth Maacah and located... more During excavations at Tell Abil el-Qameḥ, identified as the biblical Abel Beth Maacah and located in the Upper Galilee on the modern border between Israel, Lebanon and Syria, a high-quality Mnxprra scarab was found in an Iron Age I context, just above substantial Late Bronze IIB remains. Its typology suggests it to be a product from the reign of Ram-ses II's. Prompted by this discovery, we examine aspects of Egyptian involvement in this region during the time of Dynasty 19. It is suggested that following the outcome of the battle of Qadesh and the destruction of Hazor sometime in the 13th century BCE, the geo-political balance shifted and the area of the Upper Galilee and the northern Jordan Valley became a buffer zone, with more of an economic, rather than a military role. Egyptian interests in this northern reach of their empire were governed by mediators, rather than by the direct rule characteristic of Beth-Shean and the area to its south.
A few representations of a divine couple enthroned, the female figure sitting in the lap of the m... more A few representations of a divine couple enthroned, the female figure sitting in the lap of the male, have survived in Mesopotamian iconography, on terracotta and stone plaques, on the Ur-Namma stela from Ur, and on a Syrian cylinder seal of the 19th–18th centuries BCE. In Egypt, the motif is mostly restricted to the reign of Akhenaten, with a few objects probably figuring Akhenaten and Nefertiti in this fashion. The ancient oriental motif may have traveled to Egypt at a time when Mesopotamian mythological texts were used in Amarna schools, and other motifs of eastern origin seem to have been favored. The representation of a divine/royal couple sharing the same throne in a position usually reserved in Mesopotamian and Egyptian art for an adult figure with a child hints at a shared thematic surrounding the throne as a royal emblem, a locus of divine apparition and erotic symbolism.
Paraphrasing the famous question of visual representation
theoretician W. J .T. Mitchell—“What Do... more Paraphrasing the famous question of visual representation theoretician W. J .T. Mitchell—“What Do Pictures Want?”—my aim is to discuss the rationale and place of images in ancient Egyptian culture by assessing key features such as ancient Egyptian creativity, how the images relate to reality, their animation and their life, and their intended viewers.
Recent assemblages of blocks extracted from the Ninth Pylon of Karnak confirm the ritual signific... more Recent assemblages of blocks extracted from the Ninth Pylon of Karnak confirm the ritual significance of the Rwd mnw, a monument associated with the renewal of kingship and the affirmation of Akhenaten and Nefertiti's divine essence. The various phases of the ritual toilette of the couple and their sequence follow closely the daily ritual performed on the statue of Amun in Karnak as described in papyrus Berlin 3055; they do not depict intimate scenes of the couple's daily life in the palace and call in question the palatial nature of this monument. The function of the Rwd mnw in the complex built by Akhenaten in East Karnak is reevaluated based on available data deriving from its name, its murals and the origin of its décor, its relations with the other monuments of the House of Aten in Karnak and with the structures built by Amenhotep III in the Theban region.
Early mentions of the lexeme itn, long before its New Kingdom evolution and its specific usage du... more Early mentions of the lexeme itn, long before its New Kingdom evolution and its specific usage during Akhenaten’s reign, have been surveyed in the past. They are extensively discussed in this paper, listing the known entries of itn from the Old Kingdom to the Second Intermediate Period and reevaluating their connection with Akhenaten’s Atenism, the politicoreligious doctrine elaborated by the King and centered on his unique god Aten and on the royal persona.
Mortals, Deities and Divine Symbols. Rethinking Ancient Imagery from the Levant to Mesopotamia. Studies Offered to Tallay Ornan, 2022
Egyptian King Amenhotep IV-Akhenaten (ca. 1350 BCE) had reliefs carved
on his monuments depicting... more Egyptian King Amenhotep IV-Akhenaten (ca. 1350 BCE) had reliefs carved on his monuments depicting him (and his Queen) performing a ritual involving sheaves of grain. This is the first case of a Harvesting King motif being represented on murals in a ceremonial context. It has been suggested that the ritual was related to the Festival of Min, during which Pharaoh cut a sheaf of grain, a view that is discussed together with an alternative proposal.
Picturing Royal Charisma: Kings and Rulers in the Near East from 3000 BCE to 1700 CE, 2023
At the heart of the image reflected by the politico-religious reform brought about by Pharaoh Akh... more At the heart of the image reflected by the politico-religious reform brought about by Pharaoh Akhenaten (Amarna period, 18th Dynasty, c. 1350 BCE) was his belief in Aten and his repudiation of the traditional pantheon. The evolution of the visual therianthropic (animal-man) hybridism of the king, a feature of the divine, can be traced through the course of Akhenaten’s reign, with compelling implications for our comprehension of his views on the nature of divinity and kingship.
Journal of Near Eastern Studies 80/2: 245-74, 2021
This paper presents new and revised assemblages of Akhenaten's Karnak reliefs from the Rudjmenu d... more This paper presents new and revised assemblages of Akhenaten's Karnak reliefs from the Rudjmenu depicting the purification, offering, and theogamy rituals of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, and explores their relation to the Daily Temple Ritual of Amun in Karnak
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-9461/1/1/4/htm This article is an open access article distributed unde... more https://www.mdpi.com/2673-9461/1/1/4/htm This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY The paper presents a study of the context, functions, and rationale behind architectural replicas sealed off in ancient Egyptian tombs, the finest exemplars of which having been excavated in the Theban tomb of Meketre (ca. 2000 B.C.). The analysis is preceded by clarifications regarding the terminology used, the point of view from which they have to be considered, and the developments that led to their presence in the funerary assemblage. It is suggested that in the sealed ‘replicas chamber’ or burial chamber in which they were deposited, it was mainly the winged ba, a connective agent between the worlds of life, death, and eternity, that was meant to enter the imaginary realm of the replicas and feed the deceased in order to revivify him.
Full article open access at https://www.ajaonline.org/field-report/4326
Ancient Lachish (Tell ed-... more Full article open access at https://www.ajaonline.org/field-report/4326 Ancient Lachish (Tell ed-Duweir) in southern Israel is a key site for understanding the Canaanite cultures of the Middle and Late Bronze Ages and the Kingdom of Judah in the Iron Age of the Levant. It has been intensively excavated since 1932 by a number of entities. This article presents the excavation results by the Fourth Expedition to Lachish in 2013–2017. Fieldwork focused on the site’s northeastern corner, a neglected area believed to have been uninhabited in some periods. Excavation in the area, however, uncovered remains of successive fortifications and evidence of cultic activities. The new discoveries highlight the strong connection of the Bronze and Iron Age cities to the nearby valley, which supplied Lachish with water, mud, fertilized land, and a major road.
Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections 30, 2021
The “Window of Appearance” of the Egyptian New Kingdom royal palace is usually considered an indi... more The “Window of Appearance” of the Egyptian New Kingdom royal palace is usually considered an indigenous architectural element. After a review of this assumption, it is suggested that it had been observed by emissaries of Amenhotep III in the Cretan palace of Knossos before the concept was imported to the Egyptian court. The Cretan context and communicative rationale of the window are similar to its Egyptian version, the Aegean tradition predating its Egyptian avatar by at least 150 years.
Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research , 2019
Tel Reḥov, identified with Reḥob, was one of the largest Canaanite cities in the southern Levant ... more Tel Reḥov, identified with Reḥob, was one of the largest Canaanite cities in the southern Levant during the Late Bronze Age (15–13th centuries B.C.E.). Unlike many other Canaanite settlements, the city was founded in the 15th century after a hiatus beginning in Early Bronze Age III. In this article, four major Late Bronze Age occupation strata are described. Notable is a monumental structure dated to the 14th century B.C.E. with unusual architectural features which could be either the residence of a high-ranking family or an administrative building. During the 13th century B.C.E., this building was replaced by a new structure containing a metalsmith’s workshop, inspired by Egyptian 19th Dynasty techniques, while later building phases belong to the final stages of the Late Bronze Age. No destruction layers were found, and the Late Bronze Age city was rebuilt and continued to thrive throughout the Iron Age I. Five Late Bronze Age plaque figurines, some of particular interest, are also described. An appendix discusses a rare funeral scarab of an Egyptian high official found in the 14th-century B.C.E. edifice.
Tel Reḥov, identified with Reḥob, was one of the largest Canaanite cities in the southern Levant ... more Tel Reḥov, identified with Reḥob, was one of the largest Canaanite cities in the southern Levant during the Late Bronze Age (15th–13th centuries b.c.e.). Unlike many other Canaanite settlements, the city was founded in the 15th century after a hiatus beginning in Early Bronze Age III. In this article, four major Late Bronze Age occupation strata are described. Notable is a monumental structure dated to the 14th century b.c.e. with unusual architectural features that could be either the residence of a high-ranking family or an administrative building. During the 13th century b.c.e., this building was replaced by a new structure containing a metalsmith’s workshop, inspired by Egyptian 19th Dynasty techniques, while later building phases belong to the final stages of the Late Bronze Age. No destruction layers were found, and the Late Bronze Age city was rebuilt and continued to thrive throughout the Iron Age I. Five Late Bronze Age plaque figurines, some of particular interest, are also described. An appendix discusses a rare funerary scarab of an Egyptian high official found in the 14th-century b.c.e. edifice.
Prompted by the discovery of a schematic uninscribed amethyst scarab at Tel Abel Beth Maacah in t... more Prompted by the discovery of a schematic uninscribed amethyst scarab at Tel Abel Beth Maacah in the Upper Galilee, an overview of such scarabs found in the southern Levant is provided, with a typological analysis and a tentative dating and origin of these pieces.
This study of royal gestures and postures in the Amarna private tombs' iconography aims at charac... more This study of royal gestures and postures in the Amarna private tombs' iconography aims at characterizing and interpreting royal nonverbal communication during Akhenaten's reign. Akhenaten's imagery is a selective repertoire of movements, each of special significance in its iconographic context, as opposed to the vast range of movements in real life. Nonverbal communication theory together with the lexicosemantic information encoded in the ancient Egyptian iconic scripts may be used to analyze how the royal body communicates visually, what is communicated, and the specificity of royal communication in Amarna iconography, in order to provide insights into Atenist kingship and evaluate the tension between semiotic and representational aspects of the king's image.
During excavations at Tell Abil el-Qameḥ, identified as the biblical Abel Beth Maacah and located... more During excavations at Tell Abil el-Qameḥ, identified as the biblical Abel Beth Maacah and located in the Upper Galilee on the modern border between Israel, Lebanon and Syria, a high-quality Mnxprra scarab was found in an Iron Age I context, just above substantial Late Bronze IIB remains. Its typology suggests it to be a product from the reign of Ram-ses II's. Prompted by this discovery, we examine aspects of Egyptian involvement in this region during the time of Dynasty 19. It is suggested that following the outcome of the battle of Qadesh and the destruction of Hazor sometime in the 13th century BCE, the geo-political balance shifted and the area of the Upper Galilee and the northern Jordan Valley became a buffer zone, with more of an economic, rather than a military role. Egyptian interests in this northern reach of their empire were governed by mediators, rather than by the direct rule characteristic of Beth-Shean and the area to its south.
A few representations of a divine couple enthroned, the female figure sitting in the lap of the m... more A few representations of a divine couple enthroned, the female figure sitting in the lap of the male, have survived in Mesopotamian iconography, on terracotta and stone plaques, on the Ur-Namma stela from Ur, and on a Syrian cylinder seal of the 19th–18th centuries BCE. In Egypt, the motif is mostly restricted to the reign of Akhenaten, with a few objects probably figuring Akhenaten and Nefertiti in this fashion. The ancient oriental motif may have traveled to Egypt at a time when Mesopotamian mythological texts were used in Amarna schools, and other motifs of eastern origin seem to have been favored. The representation of a divine/royal couple sharing the same throne in a position usually reserved in Mesopotamian and Egyptian art for an adult figure with a child hints at a shared thematic surrounding the throne as a royal emblem, a locus of divine apparition and erotic symbolism.
Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections, 2016
During excavations at Tell Abil el-Qameḥ, identified as the biblical Abel Beth Maacah and located... more During excavations at Tell Abil el-Qameḥ, identified as the biblical Abel Beth Maacah and located in the Upper Galilee on the modern border between Israel, Lebanon and Syria, a high-quality Mnxprra scarab was found in an Iron Age I context, just above substantial Late Bronze IIB remains. Its typology suggests it to be a product from the reign of Ram-ses II's. Prompted by this discovery, we examine aspects of Egyptian involvement in this region during the time of Dynasty 19. It is suggested that following the outcome of the battle of Qadesh and the destruction of Hazor sometime in the 13th century BCE, the geo-political balance shifted and the area of the Upper Galilee and the northern Jordan Valley became a buffer zone, with more of an economic, rather than a military role. Egyptian interests in this northern reach of their empire were governed by mediators, rather than by the direct rule characteristic of Beth-Shean and the area to its south.
Highlights of the Egyptian Collection of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Archaeology Institute... more Highlights of the Egyptian Collection of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Archaeology Institute - pre-print version, ed. Arlette David
The Image of Kings in the Eastern Mediterranean from the Late
Fourth Millennium to the Islamic Pe... more The Image of Kings in the Eastern Mediterranean from the Late Fourth Millennium to the Islamic Period (c. 3250 BCE to 1600 CE)
Renewing Royal Imagery: Akhenaten and Family in the Amarna Tombs offers a systematic, in-depth an... more Renewing Royal Imagery: Akhenaten and Family in the Amarna Tombs offers a systematic, in-depth analysis of the visual presentation of ancient Egyptian kingship during Akhenaten's reign (circa 1350 B.C.) in the elite tombs of his new capital, domain of his god Aten, and attempts to answer two basic questions: how can Amarna imagery look so blatantly Egyptian and yet be intrinsically different? And why did it need to be so?
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Papers by Arlette David
theoretician W. J .T. Mitchell—“What Do Pictures
Want?”—my aim is to discuss the rationale and place
of images in ancient Egyptian culture by assessing key
features such as ancient Egyptian creativity, how the
images relate to reality, their animation and their life,
and their intended viewers.
on his monuments depicting him (and his Queen) performing a ritual involving sheaves of grain. This is the first case of a Harvesting King motif being represented on murals in a ceremonial context. It has been suggested that the ritual was related to the Festival of Min, during which Pharaoh cut a sheaf of grain, a view that is discussed together
with an alternative proposal.
reign, with compelling implications for our comprehension of his views on the nature of divinity and kingship.
The paper presents a study of the context, functions, and rationale behind architectural replicas sealed off in ancient Egyptian tombs, the finest exemplars of which having been excavated in the Theban tomb of Meketre (ca. 2000 B.C.). The analysis is preceded by clarifications regarding the terminology used, the point of view from which they have to be considered, and the developments that led to their presence in the funerary assemblage. It is suggested that in the sealed ‘replicas chamber’ or burial chamber in which they were deposited, it was mainly the winged ba, a connective agent between the worlds of life, death, and eternity, that was meant to enter the imaginary realm of the replicas and feed the deceased in order to revivify him.
Ancient Lachish (Tell ed-Duweir) in southern Israel is a key site for understanding the Canaanite cultures of the Middle and Late Bronze Ages and the Kingdom of Judah in the Iron Age of the Levant. It has been intensively excavated since 1932 by a number of entities. This article presents the excavation results by the Fourth Expedition to Lachish in 2013–2017. Fieldwork focused on the site’s northeastern corner, a neglected area believed to have been uninhabited in some periods. Excavation in the area, however, uncovered remains of successive fortifications and evidence of cultic activities. The new discoveries highlight the strong connection of the Bronze and Iron Age cities to the nearby valley, which supplied Lachish with water, mud, fertilized land, and a major road.
rebuilt and continued to thrive throughout the Iron Age I. Five Late Bronze Age plaque figurines, some of particular interest, are also described. An appendix discusses a rare funerary scarab of an
Egyptian high official found in the 14th-century b.c.e. edifice.
movements in real life. Nonverbal communication theory together with the lexicosemantic information encoded in the ancient Egyptian iconic scripts may be used to
analyze how the royal body communicates visually, what is communicated, and the specificity of royal communication in Amarna iconography, in order to provide insights into Atenist kingship and evaluate the tension between semiotic and representational aspects of the king's image.
objects probably figuring Akhenaten and Nefertiti in this fashion. The ancient oriental motif may have traveled to Egypt at a time when Mesopotamian mythological texts were used in Amarna schools, and other motifs of eastern origin seem to have been favored. The representation of a divine/royal couple sharing the same throne in a position usually reserved in Mesopotamian and Egyptian art for an adult figure with a child hints at a shared thematic surrounding the throne as a royal emblem, a locus of divine apparition and erotic symbolism.
theoretician W. J .T. Mitchell—“What Do Pictures
Want?”—my aim is to discuss the rationale and place
of images in ancient Egyptian culture by assessing key
features such as ancient Egyptian creativity, how the
images relate to reality, their animation and their life,
and their intended viewers.
on his monuments depicting him (and his Queen) performing a ritual involving sheaves of grain. This is the first case of a Harvesting King motif being represented on murals in a ceremonial context. It has been suggested that the ritual was related to the Festival of Min, during which Pharaoh cut a sheaf of grain, a view that is discussed together
with an alternative proposal.
reign, with compelling implications for our comprehension of his views on the nature of divinity and kingship.
The paper presents a study of the context, functions, and rationale behind architectural replicas sealed off in ancient Egyptian tombs, the finest exemplars of which having been excavated in the Theban tomb of Meketre (ca. 2000 B.C.). The analysis is preceded by clarifications regarding the terminology used, the point of view from which they have to be considered, and the developments that led to their presence in the funerary assemblage. It is suggested that in the sealed ‘replicas chamber’ or burial chamber in which they were deposited, it was mainly the winged ba, a connective agent between the worlds of life, death, and eternity, that was meant to enter the imaginary realm of the replicas and feed the deceased in order to revivify him.
Ancient Lachish (Tell ed-Duweir) in southern Israel is a key site for understanding the Canaanite cultures of the Middle and Late Bronze Ages and the Kingdom of Judah in the Iron Age of the Levant. It has been intensively excavated since 1932 by a number of entities. This article presents the excavation results by the Fourth Expedition to Lachish in 2013–2017. Fieldwork focused on the site’s northeastern corner, a neglected area believed to have been uninhabited in some periods. Excavation in the area, however, uncovered remains of successive fortifications and evidence of cultic activities. The new discoveries highlight the strong connection of the Bronze and Iron Age cities to the nearby valley, which supplied Lachish with water, mud, fertilized land, and a major road.
rebuilt and continued to thrive throughout the Iron Age I. Five Late Bronze Age plaque figurines, some of particular interest, are also described. An appendix discusses a rare funerary scarab of an
Egyptian high official found in the 14th-century b.c.e. edifice.
movements in real life. Nonverbal communication theory together with the lexicosemantic information encoded in the ancient Egyptian iconic scripts may be used to
analyze how the royal body communicates visually, what is communicated, and the specificity of royal communication in Amarna iconography, in order to provide insights into Atenist kingship and evaluate the tension between semiotic and representational aspects of the king's image.
objects probably figuring Akhenaten and Nefertiti in this fashion. The ancient oriental motif may have traveled to Egypt at a time when Mesopotamian mythological texts were used in Amarna schools, and other motifs of eastern origin seem to have been favored. The representation of a divine/royal couple sharing the same throne in a position usually reserved in Mesopotamian and Egyptian art for an adult figure with a child hints at a shared thematic surrounding the throne as a royal emblem, a locus of divine apparition and erotic symbolism.
Fourth Millennium to the Islamic Period (c. 3250 BCE to 1600 CE)