Zulema Barahona Mendieta
Zulema Barahona Mendieta holds a PhD in Egyptology from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (IEPOA - UAB), a Master's degree in Egyptology from the same university and a degree in Archaeology and Ancient History from the University of Alicante. She currently holds a María Zambrano international talent attraction contract at the UAB and is an associate researcher at the Sorbonne University (Paris IV, Labex-RESMED, UMR 8167, Mondes Pharaoniques, Orient & Méditerranée). She has also been a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Basel (Switzerland) with a research contract associated with the project "Histories of life of the Theban tombs" and funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. Since 2019, she co-directs the research project at the IFAO "Les céramiques thébaines: échanges et réseaux économiques" and since 2021, she co-directs the research programme at the IFAO "Arts du feu : six millénaires d'artisanat du feu en Égypte (IIIe millénaire av. J.-C. - époque contemporaine)".
Her professional archaeological experience has been developed in many sites in Spain and Italy and several stays in Cairo at the Institut Français d'Archaeologie Oriental (IFAO) have led her to specialise in Ancient Egyptian ceramics. This specialisation has materialised with his professional participation in various archaeological missions and research projects on Egyptian soil since 2010, such as the archaeological missions to the temple of Coptos, the temple of Ptah at Karnak and the necropolis of Qurna (Upper Egypt), Taposiris Magna - Plintine (Alexandria), Bahariya (Western Desert) and Wadi Araba (Eastern Desert). She is currently the field director of the archaeological mission of the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona in Saqqara and is a member and collaborator of different archaeological and research projects such as "Proyecto Djehuty" (CSIC); "Proyecto TT209" (Universidad de La Laguna); the "Projet Medamud" (Universidad de La Sorbonne - IFAO) and the European project DEchriM (MF vitenskapelig høyskole de Oslo).
Her doctoral thesis, for which she was awarded the "Extraordinary Doctoral Prize", dealt with the study of the pottery preserved from the ancient excavations at the temple of Medamud, as well as the interpretation of its archaeological context and the historical re-examination based on these elements. This same theme, the study of pottery in its archaeological context as a historical document (from the Old Kingdom to the Byzantine period) has been reflected in his publications in some of the most important scientific journals in Egyptology such as JARCE or BIFAO, but also in other specialised journals such as the BCE, CCE, AUC Press Archaeological Reports, as well as in scientific congresses and meetings.
She has also given many lectures on ancient Egypt as well as several seminars and courses on Egyptian ceramics in both national and international institutions.
Her professional archaeological experience has been developed in many sites in Spain and Italy and several stays in Cairo at the Institut Français d'Archaeologie Oriental (IFAO) have led her to specialise in Ancient Egyptian ceramics. This specialisation has materialised with his professional participation in various archaeological missions and research projects on Egyptian soil since 2010, such as the archaeological missions to the temple of Coptos, the temple of Ptah at Karnak and the necropolis of Qurna (Upper Egypt), Taposiris Magna - Plintine (Alexandria), Bahariya (Western Desert) and Wadi Araba (Eastern Desert). She is currently the field director of the archaeological mission of the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona in Saqqara and is a member and collaborator of different archaeological and research projects such as "Proyecto Djehuty" (CSIC); "Proyecto TT209" (Universidad de La Laguna); the "Projet Medamud" (Universidad de La Sorbonne - IFAO) and the European project DEchriM (MF vitenskapelig høyskole de Oslo).
Her doctoral thesis, for which she was awarded the "Extraordinary Doctoral Prize", dealt with the study of the pottery preserved from the ancient excavations at the temple of Medamud, as well as the interpretation of its archaeological context and the historical re-examination based on these elements. This same theme, the study of pottery in its archaeological context as a historical document (from the Old Kingdom to the Byzantine period) has been reflected in his publications in some of the most important scientific journals in Egyptology such as JARCE or BIFAO, but also in other specialised journals such as the BCE, CCE, AUC Press Archaeological Reports, as well as in scientific congresses and meetings.
She has also given many lectures on ancient Egypt as well as several seminars and courses on Egyptian ceramics in both national and international institutions.
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Books by Zulema Barahona Mendieta
Against this backdrop, this book, based on a study of the ceramics unearthed during archaeological excavations at Medamud itself between 1925 and 1939, has been developed around three complementary lines of study:
1. Contextualising the pottery.
2. Dating the architectural structures.
3. Systematisation of ceramic production in the context of local industry.
The first of these aims to restore the ceramic pieces that have been preserved and studied to their initial contexts, taking into account, as far as possible, the nature and detail of the contexts unearthed during successive excavation campaigns, whether in specific areas within the enclosure of the temple of Medamud itself, or in other areas of the kôm. Logically, given the archaeological nature of our research, we would have expected to be able to assign well-defined stratigraphic horizons to the ceramic material. However, due to the methodological shortcomings inherent in the excavation period, stratigraphic references are still non-existent. Despite this, this methodological gap did not discourage us from making inferences about the dating of the original contexts that could be identified.
In fact, studies focusing on data and objects from ancient excavations are nothing new in this scientific field. We refer to examples inspired by the purely historical orbit, such as D. Arnold's re-evaluation of the beginning of the XIIth dynasty at Thebes on the basis of the furniture discovered by Winlock at the beginning of the 20th century. Or, on the other hand, from a purely ceramological approach, though no less historical, the studies carried out by J. Bourriau based on funerary furnishings from various necropolises hastily excavated between the 19th and 20th centuries, with the aim of examining in greater depth the historical development of the Second Intermediate Period.
Consequently, the first main line of our research work is to gather precise and detailed descriptions of all the archaeological work carried out in order to expose all the data from which it is possible to obtain information. At the same time, we are reconstructing, as far as possible, the original groups of ceramic materials found in each of the contexts identified. As a first result, we have been able to visualise and understand the environment in which the pieces were found, so that we can propose a new interpretation and, if necessary, a better dating. One of the contributions of our study was to be able to identify and associate the finds of numerous terracotta figurines from different periods, as distinct products of the ceramic workshops that developed in Medamud, or to understand them as examples of the magico-religious beliefs that the population attributed to certain ceramic representations, from the Pharaonic period to the Byzantine period, depositing them near places of worship.
At the same time, the second line of study, parallel but complementary to the first, proposes a new reading of the architectural or archaeological context in which the various ceramic pieces were found. This was achieved by means of new identifications and classifications of the analysis and study of the objects unearthed, in accordance with the most recent publications on the subject. Despite the difficulties inherent in research that is based almost exclusively on material from ancient excavations, and therefore lacking in many cases most of the initial data, this study has enabled us to verify how a detailed and meticulous analysis, in this case of ceramics, can lead to the re-evaluation of important historical events or monuments. In this case, we are referring to one of the most remarkable historical phases in Medamud, reflected in the discovery of one of the oldest (and numerically under-represented) sanctuaries in the province, known as the "Primitive Temple".
Discovered during the last two excavation campaigns, in 1938 and 1939, with very unusual architectural features and without any epigraphic remains or written testimonies that could have helped with its interpretation, the location of this temple in the lowest level encountered so far on the site, as well as the strangeness attributed to the numerous ceramics that were unearthed right next to it, had the effect of dating it to the Old Kingdom period. Taking into account both the historical and chronological importance, as well as the technical knowledge of the ceramics, revisiting the study of the material from these excavations is one of the most interesting contributions of this book. We were confronted by the absence of the original ceramic pieces from the so-called "primitive temple", with the exception of some that are still preserved at the IFAO. However, thanks to the study of these pieces and the analysis of the original drawings of the main batch of ceramics uncovered, which are held at the University of Milan, it has been possible to provide a new dating and a better understanding of this complex. We are now in a position to assert that all the ceramics discovered in the context of the "primitive temple" of Medamud belong to a chronological range that encompasses the second half of the 11th Dynasty and the beginnings of the 12th Dynasty, a date that is relatively close to that of the temple that was erected in its place at the time of Sesostris III. In addition, most of the pieces unearthed correspond to ritual or funerary types, which are consistent with the context of a sanctuary. On the other hand, these new considerations contradict the earlier interpretation that most of the ceramic material consisted of bread moulds.
Still through this second line of research, we were able to verify and conclude how, on occasion, the historical prejudices of the time, as well as the preconceived ideas of the researchers who worked at Médamoud (mainly Fernand Bisson de la Roque, Clément Robichon and Alexandre Varille) were reflected in their historical conclusions, and ultimately had a lasting effect on the history of the site, since their considerations are still passed on today in Egyptology works. One example is the association that Bisson de la Roque made between certain building materials and periods in the site's history. On numerous occasions, throughout the chapters devoted to the archaeological work at Medamud, we come across statements attributing all the buildings made of terracotta bricks to the Byzantine period. Both the current scientific works on architecture that have dealt with this issue, and our study and analysis of the ceramic objects that were found in relation to these structures, have shown that in most cases the interpretation and dating were not correct, and that the chronology of these buildings could be dated back to previous centuries, and that, particularly in the case of Medamud, the Byzantine settlement reused earlier structures built in this type of material. In some cases, these new dates may have contributed to a reinterpretation that is both cultural and religious, implying, for example, that the temple of Medamud in the Greco-Roman period may have had important administrative, artisanal or productive installations around the sanctuary; however, these installations were not perceived by Bisson de la Roque because they were identified as "simple Coptic houses".
The ceramic materials recovered have been compared with the archaeological and architectural descriptions in the light of the most recent academic publications. Thanks to this overall study, a number of sectors have proved particularly useful in understanding life (in and around) a temple such as that of Medamud. One of the most fruitful was the south-western sector of the temple enclosure, excavated in 1930 and which, according to Bisson de la Roque's description, could be divided into three chronologically and culturally superimposed 'layers'. Indeed, after the present analysis, we can see that this zone of the sacred enclosure is extremely interesting for understanding the transformation of space in the sacred area of a temple over several millennia, and this has far exceeded the interpretations proposed by its inventor.
Papers by Zulema Barahona Mendieta
remains of a Ptolemaic temple. Nevertheless, the history of Medamud goes back up
to the XI dynasty. Medamud’s temple, consecrate to the god Montu has been rebuild
from the middle kingdom to the roman emperors, proving the attachment of the
pharaohs to this sanctuary. A collaboration between the university of Paris-Sorbonne
and the IFAO has reopened the archaeological activities on the site. We will give in
this article a new synthesis of the situation of Medamud during the Third Intermediate
Period and the Late Period. This study combines a historical and a ceramological
presentation. The Third Intermediate Period and the Late Period are in Medamud and
in all the Theban region a turning point in the development of new cults in Djeme.
Keywords: Medamud, Third Intermediate Period, Late Period, Ceramic, Djemê
El patio de la TT 209 (áreas C1 y C2). Campañas 2012 a 2014 En 2012 la Misión Arqueológica de la Universidad de La Laguna comenzó sus trabajos en la TT 209 (Luxor, Egipto) en el marco del denominado Proyecto dos cero nueve. El objetivo del presente artículo es presentar una síntesis del proceso de excavación y documentación de la zona de la tumba donde se iniciaron las actividades, el patio (áreas C1 y C2), durante las tres primeras campañas (2012, 2013-2014 y 2014). Se expone el método de trabajo, se explican los dos principales procesos de formación del depósito sedimentario, tanto geogénicos como antrópicos, reconocidos a través de la intervención arqueológica y se exponen las diferentes clases de materiales hallados, que corresponden a un amplio marco cronológico y cultural. El análisis de este conjunto de informaciones ha permitido obtener una interpretación desde la perspectiva histórica de las actividades desarrolladas en esta parte exterior del complejo funerario desde el momento de su construcción hasta la actualidad.
Against this backdrop, this book, based on a study of the ceramics unearthed during archaeological excavations at Medamud itself between 1925 and 1939, has been developed around three complementary lines of study:
1. Contextualising the pottery.
2. Dating the architectural structures.
3. Systematisation of ceramic production in the context of local industry.
The first of these aims to restore the ceramic pieces that have been preserved and studied to their initial contexts, taking into account, as far as possible, the nature and detail of the contexts unearthed during successive excavation campaigns, whether in specific areas within the enclosure of the temple of Medamud itself, or in other areas of the kôm. Logically, given the archaeological nature of our research, we would have expected to be able to assign well-defined stratigraphic horizons to the ceramic material. However, due to the methodological shortcomings inherent in the excavation period, stratigraphic references are still non-existent. Despite this, this methodological gap did not discourage us from making inferences about the dating of the original contexts that could be identified.
In fact, studies focusing on data and objects from ancient excavations are nothing new in this scientific field. We refer to examples inspired by the purely historical orbit, such as D. Arnold's re-evaluation of the beginning of the XIIth dynasty at Thebes on the basis of the furniture discovered by Winlock at the beginning of the 20th century. Or, on the other hand, from a purely ceramological approach, though no less historical, the studies carried out by J. Bourriau based on funerary furnishings from various necropolises hastily excavated between the 19th and 20th centuries, with the aim of examining in greater depth the historical development of the Second Intermediate Period.
Consequently, the first main line of our research work is to gather precise and detailed descriptions of all the archaeological work carried out in order to expose all the data from which it is possible to obtain information. At the same time, we are reconstructing, as far as possible, the original groups of ceramic materials found in each of the contexts identified. As a first result, we have been able to visualise and understand the environment in which the pieces were found, so that we can propose a new interpretation and, if necessary, a better dating. One of the contributions of our study was to be able to identify and associate the finds of numerous terracotta figurines from different periods, as distinct products of the ceramic workshops that developed in Medamud, or to understand them as examples of the magico-religious beliefs that the population attributed to certain ceramic representations, from the Pharaonic period to the Byzantine period, depositing them near places of worship.
At the same time, the second line of study, parallel but complementary to the first, proposes a new reading of the architectural or archaeological context in which the various ceramic pieces were found. This was achieved by means of new identifications and classifications of the analysis and study of the objects unearthed, in accordance with the most recent publications on the subject. Despite the difficulties inherent in research that is based almost exclusively on material from ancient excavations, and therefore lacking in many cases most of the initial data, this study has enabled us to verify how a detailed and meticulous analysis, in this case of ceramics, can lead to the re-evaluation of important historical events or monuments. In this case, we are referring to one of the most remarkable historical phases in Medamud, reflected in the discovery of one of the oldest (and numerically under-represented) sanctuaries in the province, known as the "Primitive Temple".
Discovered during the last two excavation campaigns, in 1938 and 1939, with very unusual architectural features and without any epigraphic remains or written testimonies that could have helped with its interpretation, the location of this temple in the lowest level encountered so far on the site, as well as the strangeness attributed to the numerous ceramics that were unearthed right next to it, had the effect of dating it to the Old Kingdom period. Taking into account both the historical and chronological importance, as well as the technical knowledge of the ceramics, revisiting the study of the material from these excavations is one of the most interesting contributions of this book. We were confronted by the absence of the original ceramic pieces from the so-called "primitive temple", with the exception of some that are still preserved at the IFAO. However, thanks to the study of these pieces and the analysis of the original drawings of the main batch of ceramics uncovered, which are held at the University of Milan, it has been possible to provide a new dating and a better understanding of this complex. We are now in a position to assert that all the ceramics discovered in the context of the "primitive temple" of Medamud belong to a chronological range that encompasses the second half of the 11th Dynasty and the beginnings of the 12th Dynasty, a date that is relatively close to that of the temple that was erected in its place at the time of Sesostris III. In addition, most of the pieces unearthed correspond to ritual or funerary types, which are consistent with the context of a sanctuary. On the other hand, these new considerations contradict the earlier interpretation that most of the ceramic material consisted of bread moulds.
Still through this second line of research, we were able to verify and conclude how, on occasion, the historical prejudices of the time, as well as the preconceived ideas of the researchers who worked at Médamoud (mainly Fernand Bisson de la Roque, Clément Robichon and Alexandre Varille) were reflected in their historical conclusions, and ultimately had a lasting effect on the history of the site, since their considerations are still passed on today in Egyptology works. One example is the association that Bisson de la Roque made between certain building materials and periods in the site's history. On numerous occasions, throughout the chapters devoted to the archaeological work at Medamud, we come across statements attributing all the buildings made of terracotta bricks to the Byzantine period. Both the current scientific works on architecture that have dealt with this issue, and our study and analysis of the ceramic objects that were found in relation to these structures, have shown that in most cases the interpretation and dating were not correct, and that the chronology of these buildings could be dated back to previous centuries, and that, particularly in the case of Medamud, the Byzantine settlement reused earlier structures built in this type of material. In some cases, these new dates may have contributed to a reinterpretation that is both cultural and religious, implying, for example, that the temple of Medamud in the Greco-Roman period may have had important administrative, artisanal or productive installations around the sanctuary; however, these installations were not perceived by Bisson de la Roque because they were identified as "simple Coptic houses".
The ceramic materials recovered have been compared with the archaeological and architectural descriptions in the light of the most recent academic publications. Thanks to this overall study, a number of sectors have proved particularly useful in understanding life (in and around) a temple such as that of Medamud. One of the most fruitful was the south-western sector of the temple enclosure, excavated in 1930 and which, according to Bisson de la Roque's description, could be divided into three chronologically and culturally superimposed 'layers'. Indeed, after the present analysis, we can see that this zone of the sacred enclosure is extremely interesting for understanding the transformation of space in the sacred area of a temple over several millennia, and this has far exceeded the interpretations proposed by its inventor.
remains of a Ptolemaic temple. Nevertheless, the history of Medamud goes back up
to the XI dynasty. Medamud’s temple, consecrate to the god Montu has been rebuild
from the middle kingdom to the roman emperors, proving the attachment of the
pharaohs to this sanctuary. A collaboration between the university of Paris-Sorbonne
and the IFAO has reopened the archaeological activities on the site. We will give in
this article a new synthesis of the situation of Medamud during the Third Intermediate
Period and the Late Period. This study combines a historical and a ceramological
presentation. The Third Intermediate Period and the Late Period are in Medamud and
in all the Theban region a turning point in the development of new cults in Djeme.
Keywords: Medamud, Third Intermediate Period, Late Period, Ceramic, Djemê
El patio de la TT 209 (áreas C1 y C2). Campañas 2012 a 2014 En 2012 la Misión Arqueológica de la Universidad de La Laguna comenzó sus trabajos en la TT 209 (Luxor, Egipto) en el marco del denominado Proyecto dos cero nueve. El objetivo del presente artículo es presentar una síntesis del proceso de excavación y documentación de la zona de la tumba donde se iniciaron las actividades, el patio (áreas C1 y C2), durante las tres primeras campañas (2012, 2013-2014 y 2014). Se expone el método de trabajo, se explican los dos principales procesos de formación del depósito sedimentario, tanto geogénicos como antrópicos, reconocidos a través de la intervención arqueológica y se exponen las diferentes clases de materiales hallados, que corresponden a un amplio marco cronológico y cultural. El análisis de este conjunto de informaciones ha permitido obtener una interpretación desde la perspectiva histórica de las actividades desarrolladas en esta parte exterior del complejo funerario desde el momento de su construcción hasta la actualidad.
The discoveries made in the kom and the Ptolemaic town, which extends below south, as well as in modern fields to the west, indicate that the site has been occupied since at least the 18th dynasty with a peak during the Saite period. They allow for the first time to link Pharaonic and Hellenistic periods in Mareotis and emphasize the importance of the coastal western fringe of Egypt since Pharaonic times. In this article are published a fragmentary stele of Seti II and a wine amphora handle in the name of Meritaten; besides, is presented a study of place names in the area during the Pharaonic era and some hypotheses about the function of the site during Amarnian and Ramessid times.
Keywords: Plinthine – Mareotis – borders – New Kingdom – 18th dynasty – Ramessid period – Saite period – toponymy – Merytaten – Seti II.
Mis en ligne le 01 novembre 2020, consulté le 25 novembre 2020.
The aim of this paper is to present new data that allow us to propose Medamud as one of the first sites where the production of such a sophisticated type of pottery can be documented, and to offer some reflections on its production and distribution throughout Egypt.
Aprovechando la reapertura de las actividades arqueológicas a cargo la misión de Paris-Sorbonne/IFAO, nos proponemos de presentar una nueva síntesis de la situación de Médamoud durante el Tercer Periodo Intermedio y la Baja Época. El análisis comprenderá tanto la parte histórica como ceramologica de los vestigios de este templo. Por ello, las conclusiones de Bisson de la Roque, premier arqueólogo que trabajo en Médamoud, tendrán que ser reactualizadas teniendo en cuenta los avances de nuestros conocimientos del contexto tebano como de la ceramologia.
El tercer periodo intermedio y la baja época son tanto para Médamoud como para el resto de la región tebana, un momento de cambio con el desarrollo de nuevos cultos en Djemé que dinamizan el antiguo culto a Montou en sus cuatro centros cultuales
Dans le cadre de la thèse de doctorat qui a pour objet l’étude de toute la céramique découverte à Medamoud, nous avons eu accès à quelques céramiques originaires de l’ancien sanctuaire, ainsi que des photos anciennes de la fouille. Ces céramiques montrent des caractéristiques que permettent de placer sa chronologie à la XIe dynastie ou début XIIe dynastie. La majorité des formes représentées s’inscrivent dans un répertoire à caractère cultuel, attendu en contexte religieux et doit par conséquent être associée à l’activité rituelle du sanctuaire ou en relation avec les cérémonies de fondation du temple du Moyen Empire. Le matériel céramique, assez abondant dans un secteur précis, est homogène. Il est constitué en grande partie d’un type de vase conique connu depuis le Première Période Intermédiaire, de supports cylindriques et d’autres récipients de caractère rituel.