Lead and bronze nds dominate the statuette assemblage at Thonis-Heracleion, an Egyptian port of ... more Lead and bronze nds dominate the statuette assemblage at Thonis-Heracleion, an Egyptian port of the Late and Ptolemaic Periods. In this article, I extrapolate the types of casting methods used for statuette production at Thonis-Heracleion based on detailed examinations of the gures in the eld. The bronze statuettes and amulets provide new insights on the topic of Egyptian bronze casting, as the methods are still debated. I evaluate the possible use of the indirect lost wax method and issues of quality and mass production for bronze gures. The lead statuettes and amulets, alternatively, open a new discussion about lead casting in Egypt, as the lead statuettes have few parallels outside of Thonis- Heracleion and lead casting has never been discussed in detail with respect to Egyptian statuettes. The lead statuettes include replicated gures across several different iconographic types, and these gures were cast using open and bivalve refractory moulds. The hollow lead gures were probably created with the lead slush technique. This discussion of casting techniques as a whole targets not only the methods used for lead and bronze casting in Egypt, but also the social implications behind these techniques, such as how and with whom specic technologies were exchanged. Replication of bronze and lead gures was common among other cultures in the Late Period and earlier, in Greece and in the Eastern Mediterranean, and contact with these cultures may have contributed to the development of replication methods in Egypt for bronze and lead casting.
This study catalogues and analyses 329 statuettes and amulets from Thonis- Heracleion, a sunken c... more This study catalogues and analyses 329 statuettes and amulets from Thonis- Heracleion, a sunken city off the coast of Egypt that flourished between the 7th and 2nd centuries BC. This is the first study of votive statuettes and amulets from the Late and Ptolemaic Periods that presents a comprehensive corpus from a single site, complete with detailed catalogue entries and photographs. Although some of the most exceptional pieces were previously published in an exhibition catalogue, the majority are unpublished and it is the first time they have been studied and viewed as a whole.
The material includes not only Egyptian-style bronzes, which are typical dedications of this period, but also a range of other materials including lead, terracotta, faience, and limestone. Some figures are represented in foreign style and attest to a small hellenized community at the site. By viewing multiple categories of votive material laterally and in context, important conclusions about cultural interactions and cult practice at Thonis-Heracleion come to light.
Chapter One details the find context of the statuettes and amulets, followed by a discussion of their types and the cults to which they attest in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 outlines the objects’ primary functions and demonstrates the ways that lead and bronze were utilised differently. Chapter 4 focuses on bronze and lead production methods, particularly methods of replicable production that are indicative of technological exchange with other Mediterranean cultures. Finally, in Chapter 5, I look at how the votives reflect the cultural community at Thonis-Heracleion, and how they compare to others at sites throughout Egypt. Each chapter highlights how the archaeological context informs us about cultural interactions between Egyptians and Greeks and about the dynamics of cult practice at a Delta site in the Late and Ptolemaic Periods.
Lead and bronze nds dominate the statuette assemblage at Thonis-Heracleion, an Egyptian port of ... more Lead and bronze nds dominate the statuette assemblage at Thonis-Heracleion, an Egyptian port of the Late and Ptolemaic Periods. In this article, I extrapolate the types of casting methods used for statuette production at Thonis-Heracleion based on detailed examinations of the gures in the eld. The bronze statuettes and amulets provide new insights on the topic of Egyptian bronze casting, as the methods are still debated. I evaluate the possible use of the indirect lost wax method and issues of quality and mass production for bronze gures. The lead statuettes and amulets, alternatively, open a new discussion about lead casting in Egypt, as the lead statuettes have few parallels outside of Thonis- Heracleion and lead casting has never been discussed in detail with respect to Egyptian statuettes. The lead statuettes include replicated gures across several different iconographic types, and these gures were cast using open and bivalve refractory moulds. The hollow lead gures were probably created with the lead slush technique. This discussion of casting techniques as a whole targets not only the methods used for lead and bronze casting in Egypt, but also the social implications behind these techniques, such as how and with whom specic technologies were exchanged. Replication of bronze and lead gures was common among other cultures in the Late Period and earlier, in Greece and in the Eastern Mediterranean, and contact with these cultures may have contributed to the development of replication methods in Egypt for bronze and lead casting.
This study catalogues and analyses 329 statuettes and amulets from Thonis- Heracleion, a sunken c... more This study catalogues and analyses 329 statuettes and amulets from Thonis- Heracleion, a sunken city off the coast of Egypt that flourished between the 7th and 2nd centuries BC. This is the first study of votive statuettes and amulets from the Late and Ptolemaic Periods that presents a comprehensive corpus from a single site, complete with detailed catalogue entries and photographs. Although some of the most exceptional pieces were previously published in an exhibition catalogue, the majority are unpublished and it is the first time they have been studied and viewed as a whole.
The material includes not only Egyptian-style bronzes, which are typical dedications of this period, but also a range of other materials including lead, terracotta, faience, and limestone. Some figures are represented in foreign style and attest to a small hellenized community at the site. By viewing multiple categories of votive material laterally and in context, important conclusions about cultural interactions and cult practice at Thonis-Heracleion come to light.
Chapter One details the find context of the statuettes and amulets, followed by a discussion of their types and the cults to which they attest in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 outlines the objects’ primary functions and demonstrates the ways that lead and bronze were utilised differently. Chapter 4 focuses on bronze and lead production methods, particularly methods of replicable production that are indicative of technological exchange with other Mediterranean cultures. Finally, in Chapter 5, I look at how the votives reflect the cultural community at Thonis-Heracleion, and how they compare to others at sites throughout Egypt. Each chapter highlights how the archaeological context informs us about cultural interactions between Egyptians and Greeks and about the dynamics of cult practice at a Delta site in the Late and Ptolemaic Periods.
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This discussion of casting techniques as a whole targets not only the methods used for lead and bronze casting in Egypt, but also the social implications behind these techniques, such as how and with whom specic technologies were exchanged. Replication of bronze and lead gures was common among other cultures in the Late Period and earlier, in Greece and in the Eastern Mediterranean, and contact with these cultures may have contributed to the development of replication methods in Egypt for bronze and lead casting.
The material includes not only Egyptian-style bronzes, which are typical dedications of this period, but also a range of other materials including lead, terracotta, faience, and limestone. Some figures are represented in foreign style and attest to a small hellenized community at the site. By viewing multiple categories of votive material laterally and in context, important conclusions about cultural interactions and cult practice at Thonis-Heracleion come to light.
Chapter One details the find context of the statuettes and amulets, followed by a discussion of their types and the cults to which they attest in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 outlines the objects’ primary functions and demonstrates the ways that lead and bronze were utilised differently. Chapter 4 focuses on bronze and lead production methods, particularly methods of replicable production that are indicative of technological exchange with other Mediterranean cultures. Finally, in Chapter 5, I look at how the votives reflect the cultural community at Thonis-Heracleion, and how they compare to others at sites throughout Egypt. Each chapter highlights how the archaeological context informs us about cultural interactions between Egyptians and Greeks and about the dynamics of cult practice at a Delta site in the Late and Ptolemaic Periods.
This discussion of casting techniques as a whole targets not only the methods used for lead and bronze casting in Egypt, but also the social implications behind these techniques, such as how and with whom specic technologies were exchanged. Replication of bronze and lead gures was common among other cultures in the Late Period and earlier, in Greece and in the Eastern Mediterranean, and contact with these cultures may have contributed to the development of replication methods in Egypt for bronze and lead casting.
The material includes not only Egyptian-style bronzes, which are typical dedications of this period, but also a range of other materials including lead, terracotta, faience, and limestone. Some figures are represented in foreign style and attest to a small hellenized community at the site. By viewing multiple categories of votive material laterally and in context, important conclusions about cultural interactions and cult practice at Thonis-Heracleion come to light.
Chapter One details the find context of the statuettes and amulets, followed by a discussion of their types and the cults to which they attest in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 outlines the objects’ primary functions and demonstrates the ways that lead and bronze were utilised differently. Chapter 4 focuses on bronze and lead production methods, particularly methods of replicable production that are indicative of technological exchange with other Mediterranean cultures. Finally, in Chapter 5, I look at how the votives reflect the cultural community at Thonis-Heracleion, and how they compare to others at sites throughout Egypt. Each chapter highlights how the archaeological context informs us about cultural interactions between Egyptians and Greeks and about the dynamics of cult practice at a Delta site in the Late and Ptolemaic Periods.