Sur les pistes du désert : Mélanges offerts à Michel Valloggia, 2019
Avec les vases rouges polis à bord noir, les palettes à fard font partie des objets les plus embl... more Avec les vases rouges polis à bord noir, les palettes à fard font partie des objets les plus emblématiques de la culture matérielle du prédynastique égyptien. Les palettes thériomorphes ne sont pas rares, et, lorsque l’identification de l’animal est certaine, on constate qu’il ne s’agit jamais d’animaux domestiques. Elles furent principalement sculptées en forme de tortues, d’oiseaux et de poissons. Les espèces de bovidés sauvages dont il est question dans cet article furent également utilisées comme modèles pour la réalisation de palettes. Ces dernières forment un groupe particulier par leur relative abondance. L’étude proposée ici se concentre sur l’identification des espèces de bovidés, étape nécessaire afin de situer ces représentations dans le contexte iconographique que ces espèces occupent dans la culture matérielle prédynastique. Ces palettes peuvent être réparties en deux catégories principales, en fonction du style adopté pour l’élaboration des cornes. La première catégorie regroupe des palettes aux cornes courbes et représentées de profil que l'on stipule être des mouflons à manchette, alors que la seconde catégorie regroupe des palettes dont les cornes sont façonnées en forme de lyre et représentées frontalement, que l'on stipule être des bubales.
This article presents a Predynastic C-ware beaker currently in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto ... more This article presents a Predynastic C-ware beaker currently in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto (inv. 900.2.13). The exte- rior is decorated with two mirrored scenes containing an exceptional series of bound captives under the domination of two ‘vic- torious figures’, as well as several tassel-like motifs which we propose to (re)interpret as powerfacts perhaps representing flails, an artefact common in later royal iconography that has not previously been identified prior to the time of king Narmer. On the interior, the beaker is decorated with two depictions of hunted hippopotamuses set among geome- tric designs. In modern times, a missing piece of the bea- ker was replaced with a sherd from a dif- ferent C-ware vessel with decoration that doesn’t match the rest of the vessel, a pheno- menon never encountered before in the cor- pus of C-ware vessels, which inadvertently proves the authenticity of the beaker and of its fascinating decoration.
W. Claes, M. De Meyer, M. Eyckerman, D. Huyge (eds), Remove that Pyramid! Studies on the Archaeology and History of Predynastic and Pharaonic Egypt in Honour of Stan Hendrickx, 2021
White Cross-lined beaker in the collection of the Garstang Museum of Archaeology, University of L... more White Cross-lined beaker in the collection of the Garstang Museum of Archaeology, University of Liverpool. The partly-preserved painted decoration consists of a hunting scene in which an ibex is prey to hunting dogs, a theme otherwise known from several contemporaneous painted vessels of the same class. The style and details of this fragment allow to attribute it to a specific painter who produced several pottery vessels
excavated at Naqada.
N. Buchez & Y. Tristant (éds): Égypte antérieure: mélanges de préhistoire et d’archéologie offerts à Béatrix Midant-Reynes par ses étudiants, collègues et amis, 2021
This article presents a unique vessel that belongs to the collections of the Egyptian
Museum in ... more This article presents a unique vessel that belongs to the collections of the Egyptian
Museum in Cairo (JE 85928). A hippopotamus figurine stands inside a Predynastic elliptical bowl, which is itself decorated with modelled hippopotamus features. This vessel is placed in the context of Predynastic hippopotamus imagery; it is also compared to the corpus of vessels adorned with zoomorphic figurines, among which the hippopotamus is the most frequent species. The possible meaning and use of the Cairo bowl is investigated; a few exceptional objects that also stand alone in the corpus of hippopotamus representations are discussed; together, these objects offer a glimpse into unusual values attributed to the hippopotamus and demonstrate that the Predynastic Egyptians had a multi-faceted symbolic relationship with the hippopotamus.
Summary of the archaeological fieldwork achieved in spring 2017 at the predynastic elite cemetery... more Summary of the archaeological fieldwork achieved in spring 2017 at the predynastic elite cemetery HK6 at Hierakonpolis, Egypt. Three tombs were uncovered, and discoveries include a wealth of fragile painted plaster artefacts and a sheep cranium with modified horns.
Egypt at its Origins 5. Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference “Origin of the State. Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt”, Cairo, 13th-18th April 2014. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 260, 2017
— Rock art has long been neglected as a primary source of information for Predynastic Egypt. Fort... more — Rock art has long been neglected as a primary source of information for Predynastic Egypt. Fortunately, interest has picked up strongly for the last twenty years, resulting in numerous publications. However, recent studies tend to focus on the presentation of newly-(re)discovered rock art scenes and sites. In-depth presentations are both infrequent and mostly restricted to rock art itself. Although comparisons have often been made with the iconography on decorated pottery and other objects found in Predynastic cemeteries, the aim was, in many cases, to establish the chronological position of the rock art scenes. However, rock art iconography also offers other opportunities. For instance, comparing human representations in Predynastic rock art with those known from so-called Decorated ware vessels, brings to light a num ber of striking resemblances as well as differences. It appears that although the same semantics and visual language are being used, the meanings and contexts of rock art and cemetery objects differ rather strongly. This is probably not primarily due to the funerary character of cemetery finds, because there is no obvious difference between their iconography and that attested on materials from settlements, although, admittedly, the information available for the latter is much more limited. This paper first attempts to describe the main characteristics of Predynastic human representations from these contexts, before analysing the semantic elements used. The meaning behind the observed similarities and differences is also discussed.
Overview of the remains of predynastic Egyptian white cross-lined pottery (C-ware) found at Hiera... more Overview of the remains of predynastic Egyptian white cross-lined pottery (C-ware) found at Hierakonpolis and Mamariya.
Presentation of an Egyptian Predynastic elite tomb and of its wooden superstructure, excavated at... more Presentation of an Egyptian Predynastic elite tomb and of its wooden superstructure, excavated at Hierakonpolis.
Preliminary results of the 2015 excavation season at the predynastic Elite Cemetery HK6 at Hierak... more Preliminary results of the 2015 excavation season at the predynastic Elite Cemetery HK6 at Hierakonpolis. Work concentrated on the wooden architecture around Tombs 72, 73, and 74. Two new tombs were also uncovered (Tombs 75, 76).
EGYPT AT ITS ORIGINS 3, Proceedings of the Third International Conference “Origin of the State. Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt”, London, 27th July – 1st August 2008, 2011
The subject of this paper is a series of stone figurines carved in the shape of hippopotami from ... more The subject of this paper is a series of stone figurines carved in the shape of hippopotami from the back of which protrude circular ‘rims’. The research presented here shows that these objects were created (and presumably used) as pairs, each member being identical. The pairing of objects is not unique to these particular figurines, but it appears to be a phenomenon generally restricted to objects related to or in the image of hippopotami. On the other hand, deliberate twinning has been rarely observed and suggests specific or special motives in the creation of these identical sets of figurines.
Brief summary of the excavation of a large predynastic tomb containing the articulated remains of... more Brief summary of the excavation of a large predynastic tomb containing the articulated remains of several cattle.
Brief summary of the 2010 excavation season in the Elite cemetery HK6 at Hierakonpolis: tombs 20 ... more Brief summary of the 2010 excavation season in the Elite cemetery HK6 at Hierakonpolis: tombs 20 (human), 41 (crocodile), 42 (dogs), 43 (bull), and 44 (dogs)
Brief summary of the excavation of an area of a columned superstructure (Structure E8) and of the... more Brief summary of the excavation of an area of a columned superstructure (Structure E8) and of the upper levels of a Third dynasty tomb (30) in the Elite cemetery HK6 at Hierakonpolis
Brief summary of the excavation of a large columned superstructure in the Elite cemetery HK6 at H... more Brief summary of the excavation of a large columned superstructure in the Elite cemetery HK6 at Hierakonplis
Sur les pistes du désert : Mélanges offerts à Michel Valloggia, 2019
Avec les vases rouges polis à bord noir, les palettes à fard font partie des objets les plus embl... more Avec les vases rouges polis à bord noir, les palettes à fard font partie des objets les plus emblématiques de la culture matérielle du prédynastique égyptien. Les palettes thériomorphes ne sont pas rares, et, lorsque l’identification de l’animal est certaine, on constate qu’il ne s’agit jamais d’animaux domestiques. Elles furent principalement sculptées en forme de tortues, d’oiseaux et de poissons. Les espèces de bovidés sauvages dont il est question dans cet article furent également utilisées comme modèles pour la réalisation de palettes. Ces dernières forment un groupe particulier par leur relative abondance. L’étude proposée ici se concentre sur l’identification des espèces de bovidés, étape nécessaire afin de situer ces représentations dans le contexte iconographique que ces espèces occupent dans la culture matérielle prédynastique. Ces palettes peuvent être réparties en deux catégories principales, en fonction du style adopté pour l’élaboration des cornes. La première catégorie regroupe des palettes aux cornes courbes et représentées de profil que l'on stipule être des mouflons à manchette, alors que la seconde catégorie regroupe des palettes dont les cornes sont façonnées en forme de lyre et représentées frontalement, que l'on stipule être des bubales.
This article presents a Predynastic C-ware beaker currently in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto ... more This article presents a Predynastic C-ware beaker currently in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto (inv. 900.2.13). The exte- rior is decorated with two mirrored scenes containing an exceptional series of bound captives under the domination of two ‘vic- torious figures’, as well as several tassel-like motifs which we propose to (re)interpret as powerfacts perhaps representing flails, an artefact common in later royal iconography that has not previously been identified prior to the time of king Narmer. On the interior, the beaker is decorated with two depictions of hunted hippopotamuses set among geome- tric designs. In modern times, a missing piece of the bea- ker was replaced with a sherd from a dif- ferent C-ware vessel with decoration that doesn’t match the rest of the vessel, a pheno- menon never encountered before in the cor- pus of C-ware vessels, which inadvertently proves the authenticity of the beaker and of its fascinating decoration.
W. Claes, M. De Meyer, M. Eyckerman, D. Huyge (eds), Remove that Pyramid! Studies on the Archaeology and History of Predynastic and Pharaonic Egypt in Honour of Stan Hendrickx, 2021
White Cross-lined beaker in the collection of the Garstang Museum of Archaeology, University of L... more White Cross-lined beaker in the collection of the Garstang Museum of Archaeology, University of Liverpool. The partly-preserved painted decoration consists of a hunting scene in which an ibex is prey to hunting dogs, a theme otherwise known from several contemporaneous painted vessels of the same class. The style and details of this fragment allow to attribute it to a specific painter who produced several pottery vessels
excavated at Naqada.
N. Buchez & Y. Tristant (éds): Égypte antérieure: mélanges de préhistoire et d’archéologie offerts à Béatrix Midant-Reynes par ses étudiants, collègues et amis, 2021
This article presents a unique vessel that belongs to the collections of the Egyptian
Museum in ... more This article presents a unique vessel that belongs to the collections of the Egyptian
Museum in Cairo (JE 85928). A hippopotamus figurine stands inside a Predynastic elliptical bowl, which is itself decorated with modelled hippopotamus features. This vessel is placed in the context of Predynastic hippopotamus imagery; it is also compared to the corpus of vessels adorned with zoomorphic figurines, among which the hippopotamus is the most frequent species. The possible meaning and use of the Cairo bowl is investigated; a few exceptional objects that also stand alone in the corpus of hippopotamus representations are discussed; together, these objects offer a glimpse into unusual values attributed to the hippopotamus and demonstrate that the Predynastic Egyptians had a multi-faceted symbolic relationship with the hippopotamus.
Summary of the archaeological fieldwork achieved in spring 2017 at the predynastic elite cemetery... more Summary of the archaeological fieldwork achieved in spring 2017 at the predynastic elite cemetery HK6 at Hierakonpolis, Egypt. Three tombs were uncovered, and discoveries include a wealth of fragile painted plaster artefacts and a sheep cranium with modified horns.
Egypt at its Origins 5. Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference “Origin of the State. Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt”, Cairo, 13th-18th April 2014. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 260, 2017
— Rock art has long been neglected as a primary source of information for Predynastic Egypt. Fort... more — Rock art has long been neglected as a primary source of information for Predynastic Egypt. Fortunately, interest has picked up strongly for the last twenty years, resulting in numerous publications. However, recent studies tend to focus on the presentation of newly-(re)discovered rock art scenes and sites. In-depth presentations are both infrequent and mostly restricted to rock art itself. Although comparisons have often been made with the iconography on decorated pottery and other objects found in Predynastic cemeteries, the aim was, in many cases, to establish the chronological position of the rock art scenes. However, rock art iconography also offers other opportunities. For instance, comparing human representations in Predynastic rock art with those known from so-called Decorated ware vessels, brings to light a num ber of striking resemblances as well as differences. It appears that although the same semantics and visual language are being used, the meanings and contexts of rock art and cemetery objects differ rather strongly. This is probably not primarily due to the funerary character of cemetery finds, because there is no obvious difference between their iconography and that attested on materials from settlements, although, admittedly, the information available for the latter is much more limited. This paper first attempts to describe the main characteristics of Predynastic human representations from these contexts, before analysing the semantic elements used. The meaning behind the observed similarities and differences is also discussed.
Overview of the remains of predynastic Egyptian white cross-lined pottery (C-ware) found at Hiera... more Overview of the remains of predynastic Egyptian white cross-lined pottery (C-ware) found at Hierakonpolis and Mamariya.
Presentation of an Egyptian Predynastic elite tomb and of its wooden superstructure, excavated at... more Presentation of an Egyptian Predynastic elite tomb and of its wooden superstructure, excavated at Hierakonpolis.
Preliminary results of the 2015 excavation season at the predynastic Elite Cemetery HK6 at Hierak... more Preliminary results of the 2015 excavation season at the predynastic Elite Cemetery HK6 at Hierakonpolis. Work concentrated on the wooden architecture around Tombs 72, 73, and 74. Two new tombs were also uncovered (Tombs 75, 76).
EGYPT AT ITS ORIGINS 3, Proceedings of the Third International Conference “Origin of the State. Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt”, London, 27th July – 1st August 2008, 2011
The subject of this paper is a series of stone figurines carved in the shape of hippopotami from ... more The subject of this paper is a series of stone figurines carved in the shape of hippopotami from the back of which protrude circular ‘rims’. The research presented here shows that these objects were created (and presumably used) as pairs, each member being identical. The pairing of objects is not unique to these particular figurines, but it appears to be a phenomenon generally restricted to objects related to or in the image of hippopotami. On the other hand, deliberate twinning has been rarely observed and suggests specific or special motives in the creation of these identical sets of figurines.
Brief summary of the excavation of a large predynastic tomb containing the articulated remains of... more Brief summary of the excavation of a large predynastic tomb containing the articulated remains of several cattle.
Brief summary of the 2010 excavation season in the Elite cemetery HK6 at Hierakonpolis: tombs 20 ... more Brief summary of the 2010 excavation season in the Elite cemetery HK6 at Hierakonpolis: tombs 20 (human), 41 (crocodile), 42 (dogs), 43 (bull), and 44 (dogs)
Brief summary of the excavation of an area of a columned superstructure (Structure E8) and of the... more Brief summary of the excavation of an area of a columned superstructure (Structure E8) and of the upper levels of a Third dynasty tomb (30) in the Elite cemetery HK6 at Hierakonpolis
Brief summary of the excavation of a large columned superstructure in the Elite cemetery HK6 at H... more Brief summary of the excavation of a large columned superstructure in the Elite cemetery HK6 at Hierakonplis
Excavated in 2014-2016, the nearly intact Tomb 72 and its architectural surroundings offered sign... more Excavated in 2014-2016, the nearly intact Tomb 72 and its architectural surroundings offered significant insights into the materials and practices that accompanied high elite burial in the HK6 cemetery. This paper will first review the contents of the tomb. Some elements of the funerary assemblage will highlight the possible links between Hierakonpolis and regions further south in Nubia. The symbolic association between the tomb’s owner and the hippopotamus is revealed by other artefacts and demonstrates the high status of the deceased. His social position is confirmed by the tomb’s wooden superstructure and the place it occupies within the cemetery and a nearby complex of subsidiary burials. This paper will also put together all the currently available evidence that enables us to understand the use as well as the phases of construction, destruction, and reuse of Tomb 72 in its archaeological context.
Despite the large amount of discussion engendered by the apparently Early Dynastic victory scene ... more Despite the large amount of discussion engendered by the apparently Early Dynastic victory scene of prisoners and vanquished inscribed in raised relief at Gebel Sheikh Suleiman, to date, the published record relies exclusively on the fine photographs of A.J. Arkell published in JEA 36 (1950), and the drawings made from them of a varying selection of elements on this highly inscribed rock. During the Nubian Salvage, the rock face containing the relief was removed from its original location near Buhen at the Second Cataract and is now on display in the garden of the Khartoum National Museum. Through the kindness of the Sudanese National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums, the authors were recently allowed to copy the rock as preserved in its entirety using epigraphic methods and were able to scrutinize the several layers attesting to several periods of usage that are visible on it. This close study has generated new insights into the composition of the famous scene in its original and subsequent forms and a number of modifications to the published drawings.
ponda.org is a freely accessible website dedicated to the material culture of predynastic Egypt. ... more ponda.org is a freely accessible website dedicated to the material culture of predynastic Egypt. It encompasses a database of artefacts from excavations, museum inventories, and published references. Corpora that are in the process of being made available include C-ware vessels, boat models, bulls amulets, zoomorphic palettes, and more.
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Papers by Xavier Droux
L’étude proposée ici se concentre sur l’identification des espèces de bovidés, étape nécessaire afin de situer ces représentations dans le contexte iconographique que ces espèces occupent dans la culture matérielle prédynastique. Ces palettes peuvent être réparties en deux catégories principales, en fonction du style adopté pour l’élaboration des cornes. La première catégorie regroupe des palettes aux cornes courbes et représentées de profil que l'on stipule être des mouflons à manchette, alors que la seconde catégorie regroupe des palettes dont les cornes sont façonnées en forme de lyre et représentées frontalement, que l'on stipule être des bubales.
In modern times, a missing piece of the bea- ker was replaced with a sherd from a dif- ferent C-ware vessel with decoration that doesn’t match the rest of the vessel, a pheno- menon never encountered before in the cor- pus of C-ware vessels, which inadvertently proves the authenticity of the beaker and of its fascinating decoration.
excavated at Naqada.
Museum in Cairo (JE 85928). A hippopotamus figurine stands inside a Predynastic elliptical bowl, which is itself decorated with modelled hippopotamus features. This vessel is placed in the context of Predynastic hippopotamus imagery; it is also compared to the corpus of vessels adorned with zoomorphic figurines, among which the hippopotamus is the most frequent species. The possible meaning and use of the Cairo bowl is investigated; a few exceptional objects that also stand alone in the corpus of hippopotamus representations are discussed; together, these objects offer a glimpse into unusual values attributed to the hippopotamus and demonstrate that the Predynastic Egyptians had a multi-faceted symbolic relationship with the hippopotamus.
Three tombs were uncovered, and discoveries include a wealth of fragile painted plaster artefacts and a sheep cranium with modified horns.
L’étude proposée ici se concentre sur l’identification des espèces de bovidés, étape nécessaire afin de situer ces représentations dans le contexte iconographique que ces espèces occupent dans la culture matérielle prédynastique. Ces palettes peuvent être réparties en deux catégories principales, en fonction du style adopté pour l’élaboration des cornes. La première catégorie regroupe des palettes aux cornes courbes et représentées de profil que l'on stipule être des mouflons à manchette, alors que la seconde catégorie regroupe des palettes dont les cornes sont façonnées en forme de lyre et représentées frontalement, que l'on stipule être des bubales.
In modern times, a missing piece of the bea- ker was replaced with a sherd from a dif- ferent C-ware vessel with decoration that doesn’t match the rest of the vessel, a pheno- menon never encountered before in the cor- pus of C-ware vessels, which inadvertently proves the authenticity of the beaker and of its fascinating decoration.
excavated at Naqada.
Museum in Cairo (JE 85928). A hippopotamus figurine stands inside a Predynastic elliptical bowl, which is itself decorated with modelled hippopotamus features. This vessel is placed in the context of Predynastic hippopotamus imagery; it is also compared to the corpus of vessels adorned with zoomorphic figurines, among which the hippopotamus is the most frequent species. The possible meaning and use of the Cairo bowl is investigated; a few exceptional objects that also stand alone in the corpus of hippopotamus representations are discussed; together, these objects offer a glimpse into unusual values attributed to the hippopotamus and demonstrate that the Predynastic Egyptians had a multi-faceted symbolic relationship with the hippopotamus.
Three tombs were uncovered, and discoveries include a wealth of fragile painted plaster artefacts and a sheep cranium with modified horns.
Corpora that are in the process of being made available include C-ware vessels, boat models, bulls amulets, zoomorphic palettes, and more.