"Tradition and Transformation in Ancient Egypt" presents papers from different fields, linked through the discussion of (dis)continuity of traditions and consequent cultural transformation. The main aim of the conference was to stimulate research and exchange ideas as well as to build bridges for a variety of sub-disciplines within Egyptology. The first impression given by the ancient Egyptian culture is that of continuity and long-lasting stability. In fact, we can observe very different kinds of transformation processes alongside enduring tradition. These changes are visible in all areas of society: politics, art, language, economy, religion, etc. This volume gives an insight into current research on this topic and the results of various discussions following the 5th International Congress of Young Egyptologists. In the study of ancient cultures and civilizations, the questions about what remains and what is changing are always of great importance. A primary goal is to get a deeper understanding of the life and thinking of our ancestors. Cultural changes are dynamic processes and can be caused by developments in technology, political and religious ideas or substantial experiences with diverse societies or environmental factors. Because of this sheer panoply of possible causes, one seeks to understand transformation in ancient Egypt by asking a series of essential questions: what is the nature of a particular change, when and where did it come about, through what agency, for what purpose, which parts of Egyptian society did it affect, and how lasting were its consequences. In order to be able to answer these questions, as many cultural aspects as possible must be included and considered in detail.

This paper aims to present the preliminary results of an on-going research project hosted by the University of Cologne (Germany) entitled “An archaeology of the subordinate élite in Old Kingdom Egypt: museum objects and social analysis at Hebenu (Zawyet Sultan)”. The research project aims to explore the social life of the lower-ranking élite at Zawyet Sultan (Middle Egypt) and to reconstruct the local settlement through the re-contextualisation of artefacts, coming from the cemeteries excavations carried out by Raymond Weill in the 19th century, and today preserved in different museum collections. The site of Zawyet Sultan corresponds to the ancient Hebenu, the capital of the 16th province of Upper Egypt. Hebenu has been chosen as the research-program case-study because it offers an excellent opportunity to explore an ancient Egyptian settlement together with the cemeteries of its inhabitants and has the potential to shed light on the life of a provincial community over a long period of time. The project adopts an interdisciplinary approach, with the aim to create a relation between the artefacts, their archaeological context, and their social relationships within the landscape (local/regional context). This line of research will enable a more realistic sociological reconstruction of the subordinate élite of the site and also a comparison with neighbouring sites (e.g. Beni Hassan, Assiut, Deir el-Bersha, Asyut).

The first millennium BCE represents for Egypt a period of tremendous changes and developments on the political, social, economic and religious level. The millennium was shaped and characterised by a continuous interaction between Egypt as an independent political entity, with its indigenously developed social and religious system, and various political, military and cultural forces and influences introduced into the country, both through occupation and trade. The first millennium BCE offers an unusually varied and rich source of textual and iconographical material. Throughout the millennium one observes a conscious retrieval and interpretation of the past based on the traditions of the third and second millennium BCE in an attempt to preserve the country’s cultural identity in the face of foreign influences and occupation. As a result, new religious and social concepts developed which were incorporated in the ideological and administrative spheres of the centralised state and manifested themselves in art, architecture, language, and religion. In early September 2009, the Czech Institute of Egyptology of the Charles University in Prague hosted an international workshop dedicated specifically to social and religious developments in Egypt in the course of the first millennium BCE. The volume at hand contains twenty of the papers presented at the workshop.