South Area

Fishing in Akoris

Cobra Figurines

New Minya Quarry

名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

Published for
PRELIMINARY REPORTAKORIS
2011
Edited by
Kawanishi, Hiroyuki
Tsujimura, Sumiyo
Hanasaka, Tetsu
Doctoral Program in History and Anthropology, University of Tsukuba
1–1–1 Tenno-dai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305–8571, Japan
Printed by NAKANISHI PRINTING CO., LTD. Japan
Copyright ©2012 by KAWANISHI, Hiroyuki

CONTENTS
1PREFACE ......................................................................................................................... Kawanishi, H.

2

CLAY COBRA FIGURINES UNEARTHED FROM AKORIS (Tihna el-Gabal) ............. Hanasaka, T.

3

FISHING IN AKORIS ...................................................................................................... Tsujimura, S.

4

EXPLORING THE RURAL CONDITIONS OF MIDDLE EGYPT	 IN THE HELLENISTIC PERIOD ............................................................................................ Suto, Y.

名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

1 Preface
Kawanishi, Hiroyuki
The archaeological fieldwork in 2011 was forced into restricted activities by the Egyptian civil affairs
concomitant with the revolution. In our case, the annual excavation was discontinued under the
instruction of the SCA, and instead a detailed examination of archaeological, epigraphic andarchitectural data since 1997 was carried out in our local house.
The archaeological investigations in 1997–2001 exposed the Ptolemaic masonry workshop andthe Late Period northernmost outer wall at the north end of the existent city zone which extends
650m north-south × 300m east-west. Thereafter the southwestern end which is on the south andthe west sides of a crag and its southern valley floor, together with nearby quarries where the local
people were engaged in quarrying, have been the main objects of our fieldwork since 2002.
According to our archaeological investigations the south side and the valley floor were settled mainlyin the Third Intermediate Period. The west side has rock-cut tombs which were made in the late
Old Kingdom and reused in the Third Intermediate Period. By our epigraphic and architectural
work executed in the nearby quarries, they proved to be dated from the Greco-Roman age. And
one of them, the New Minya quarry of the early Ptolemaic Period, has been undergoing a very close

Fig. 1 Map of Egypt.

Fig. 2 Map of Akoris.
3

名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴexamination since 2005 so as to analyze the exact length of the operations and the working pattern.
Our assignment is to establish the extent of human activities, rather than to study thesociopolitical entity in the local city Akoris from the end of the New Kingdom when dynastic poweris said to have deteriorated, to the Ptolemaic Period when Egypt fell into permanent foreign rule forthe first time in its history. For that purpose we have continued our fieldwork and made the results
public in the annual preliminary reports from 1997, and in a research paper issued in 2005. Yet,various inquiries concerning the daily life as well as the spiritual space of the people await ourcontinued research, even if restricted to the existing data. This paper is a short step in realizing
our plan.

2 Clay Cobra Figurines Unearthed From Akoris(Tihna el-Gabal)
Hanasaka, Tetsu
Introduction The purpose of this paper is to introduce the clay cobra figurines unearthed from
Akoris during the 2002–2012 seasons. These small hand modeled figurines are represented in the
shape of a rearing cobra with a wide hood. We discovered 292 clay cobra figurines in total; 265
fragments from the South Area and 27 fragments from the West Area of Akoris1).
More than 400 similar clay cobra figurines have been confirmed at many sites both in Egypt
and the Levant, such as Tell el-Amarna2), Kom Rabica (Memphis)3), Kom Firin4), Kom Rebwa(Sais)5), Beth Shean6) and the like7). We suggest that those examples share the same basic standards
as the figurines from Akoris described below. It was reported that those examples were found in thecontext of the New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period, especially from the Ramessideperiod to the early Third Intermediate Period. Within the past few decades, the number of the
excavation reports and studies focused on clay cobra figurines has increased.

Furthermore, adatabase making project entitled Clay Cobra Figurines of Ancient Egypt and the Levant is in progressunder Dr. K. Szpakowska8).
This paper will specifically focus on the features, the manufacturing methods and the functionsof the clay cobra figurines from Akoris; the number of which accounts for the great majority of all of
the examples found in Egypt and the Levant. I propose that this study contributes to both thechronological and regional studies of clay cobra figurines in the near future.
Location of our finds The South Area of Akoris is the valley floor at the southwest end of thecity zone and it is adjacent to the crag (Cover, Ch. 1 Fig. 2).

We found many mud brickconstructions; houses, granaries and workshops in the South Area, which have been dated from theend of the New Kingdom to the Late Period, mainly in the Third Intermediate Period, judging
from our chronological studies of pottery and other archaeological remains.

There were 265

fragments unearthed in the total region of the South Area without a concentration of find spots orlayers. We found many fragments from the thick earthen fill which also contained many otherarchaeological remains. Unfortunately, there were no figurines found in situ or from the floor levelbut in this area figurines were found in the earthen fill derived from the collapsed rubble of mud
4

名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴbrick walls and roofs which covered with the mud brick constructions. If we consider the findcondition as a reflection of the original positions, the figurines might have been set in some sort of aniche higher than the level of the floor. There were no figurines unearthed from small funeral
structures such as pit graves, pottery tombs and wooden coffins. These tombs were excavated fromupper layers and can be dated from the Third Intermediate Period to the Late Period.
On the other hand, there are more than sixty rock-cut shaft tombs and tomb chapels built in orafter the Old Kingdom in the West Area (Ch. 1 Fig. 2). The clay cobra figurines, counting 27
fragments, were unearthed from earthen fill that plugged up several tomb shafts. There were manyother finds which were unconnected to grave goods such as pottery and wooden farm implementsfrom the upper layer. It is likely that these tombs and the whole region of the West Area werereused during the Third Intermediate Period to the Late Period as a religious/ritual zone.
Judging from the above information, it seems reasonable to infer that the clay cobra figurines
unearthed both from the South Area and the West Area belong to the first half of the Third
Intermediate Period. It is suitable to the indication of other reports that the clay cobra figurines aredate back to the Ramesside Period and the early Third Intermediate Period. Below we document
the location of our finds and we also discuss the function of the clay cobra figurines.
General information of the clay cobra figurines The clay cobra figurines from Akoris wereroughly hand modeled using Nile silt and fired to an orange or a reddish-brown color in the same
way as the examples from other sites. It might be inferred from an unfired figurine found in theSouth Area that these figurines had been manufactured somewhere around the South Area (Cover).
The manufacturing area has been pointed out in the archaeological report of Sais that there was a
production center in the excavated area because researchers found some figurines in ash-chaff near
the bottom of a large oven9).
It is possible to divide a figurine into two parts; a standing vertical torso and a supporting horizontal base (Fig. 1). These sections are modeled separately and then joined together. This manufacturing technique was confirmed by using X-ray analysisof the example unearthed from Beth Shean in Israel10).
In this paper, the vertical torso section is discussed byseparating it into three further divisions which have thefollowing tentative names moving respectively from top tobottom; ‘head’, ‘chest’, and ‘legs’. In addition to theseclassifications, the rounded corners of the head partwhich represents a wide hood of a cobra will be named‘shoulders’ and the projection sticking out on the front of
the head part is referred to as the ‘face’. There is anotherpart at the top of head we have opted to call ‘crown’. Thisis one of the notable features of the clay cobra figurines
from Akoris, described as below.
Unfortunately, almost all the figurines unearthedfrom Akoris are in a fragmentary state similar to theFig. 1 Names of divisions.

5

名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

e xamples from other sites (Fig. 8).
­

In many cases, the f­igurines were broken into two parts,­head-chest parts and leg-base parts, and there are many base parts which are no longer attached to
the leg parts. Now, an experimental investigation is underway by Dr. K. Szpakowska that replica­cobra figurines are dropped onto the mud floor. She records the resulting breaks and analyzes thefractures compared with original broken figurines11).
There is an indication that clay cobra figurines were broken deliberately in order to keep
­dangers or nightmares away12). However, there were no intentionally damaged figurines from
Akoris. It is doubtless that the fragmentary condition of the figurines occurred by accident since
their broken points are fragile by nature such as projecting faces, contact points between leg andbase parts or between crown and head parts. Indeed, there is just one example which could bejointed together among 292 fragments unearthed from Akoris.
The number and the average size of each part are given below; head (4), h .2.67 × w. 3.36
× d. 3.27cm: head and chest (111), h. 6.88 × w. 5.37 × d. 3.26cm: chest (6), h. 5.32 × w. 4.98 ×
d. 2.12cm: chest and legs (16), h. 8.31 × w. 4.96 × d. 2.34cm: legs (7), h. 6.18 × w. 4.24 × d. 2.10cm:
legs and base (68), h. 5.78 × w. 4.34 × d. 4.61cm: base (33), h. 3.03 × w. 4.28 × d. 4.80cm: head tolegs (34), h. 9.62 × w. 5.12 × d. 3.21cm: head to base (9), h. 11.94 × w. 5.30 × d. 4.60cm. Among
292 examples there are only 9 fragments which have retained an almost complete shape from theirhead to their base parts (Cover, Fig. 8 nos. 22 and 23). The largest example within these almost
complete figurines measures h. 14.80 × w. 6.60 × d. 6.40cm, and the smallest one measuresh. 8.31 × w. 4.74 × d. 3.06cm. It is likely that the size of the figurines from Akoris would be 10–15cm in height, 4–7cm in width, and 4–6cm in depth, which would indicate that their size is almost
the same as those of examples found at other sites.
It is hard to know how many figurines were manufactured in those days. However, it could be
estimated that the number of figurines in Akoris would be more than 100, because there are 158
remaining head part fragments and 110 base part fragments.
Comparison with examples from other sites We examined the details and features of eachpart of the figurines from Akoris comparing them with examples from other sites.
In the case of the base part, there are several kinds of shapes visible from the top; roundedsquare, rounded-triangle, rounded-trapezoid, circle, oval and so on (Figs. 2, 3 and 8 nos. 19–21).
These differences do not reflect the size or the date of production, but it is possible to say that theyreflect the personal making habits of individual craftsmen. The bottoms of the bases were usuallyshaped nearly horizontality flat, however they were not finished so as to be a stable setting.
The average size of the 33 base part fragments we uncovered is h. 3.03 × w. 4.28 × d. 4.80cm.
In terms of their shape they are thick and short. The shape is totally different from examples foundat Kom Rabica which have a flat and long base measuring 6–10cm in depth; in sum, the base being
much lower and longer. It seems that the figurines from Akoris resemble those from Kom Firin andSais based on their having a thick and short base.
There are two kinds of base part production; a hollow type and a flat face type, and thesedifferences owe to the way of supporting the vertical torso section. The former has an oval hollow
on the top and in the middle of the upper face plate of the base where the leg part has been inserted
6名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

(Fig. 3 no. 1, Fig. 8 nos. 16 and 19).

As for the latterexample, the leg part was designed to lean against aslanting flat face at front of the base (Fig. 3 no. 2, Fig. 8
nos. 17, 18, 20 and 21).
I propose that a general way of making the hollow
type base would be as follows: First the clay material would
be roughly formed in the outer shape as mentioned above.
That is to say, about 3–4cm in thickness, with a flat surface
both on the upper and bottom faces at first. Then, an oval
hollow was made, about 2–3cm in depth, on the upper face.
After putting the legs into the hollow, it was pinched inwith clay around the hollow to fix the leg part in place.
Moreover, a lump of clay was added around the lower leg
part, indeed a great deal of clay was used at the back sothat the overall structure would become steady.
The method of making the flat face type was to forma rectangular flat sheet about 1cm in thickness. Then thissheet was manipulated into an uplifted triangular shapeby folding two corners upward and putting them together
at the top (Fig. 4). In sum, this folded section became theback side of the base which also had a ridgeline made byfolding the clay sheet. Another way of making this typeFig. 2 Shape of base part.

1: h. 6.95 × w. 4.47 × d. 6.34; 2: h. 5.40 × w. 4.18 × d.
5.03; 3: h. 4.55 × h. 5.11 × d. 4.95; 4: h. 4.37 × w. 3.51
× d. 4.56

was that a slanting flat surface was simply made on thefront face of a lump of clay. The leg part was set at thefront of the base leaning against this structure and a lumpof clay was added in order to attach it together. However,a small amount of clay was used when compared with thatthe hollow type base, and clay was usually added at thesides and back of the base not at the front.
Thus, one is able to roughly recognize the two typesof base through seeing how the leg and the base parts havebeen jointed together. The leg part which was jointed tothe hollow type base shows a tendency for the figure to be

Fig. 3 Type of base part.

1: h. 2.63 × w. 4.92 × d. 6.02; 2: h. 3.24 × w. 4.07 × d.
4.80

in an upright stance, on the other hand, the figure withthe flat face type base lean backward. Moreover, the waysof adding lumps of clay for stability also differ. In regard
to the hollow type, clay was added around the lower legs
but in the case of the flat face type clay was only utilized
at the sides and back. This could be induced from seeing
the leg part fragments. The surface clay attached to theFig. 4 Way of making flat type base.
h. 6.39 × w. 4.66 × d. 3.04

7名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

hollow type base was exfoliated at both the front and the back (Fig. 8 no. 13), however the flat facetype was exfoliated at only the back (Fig. 8 no. 14).
There are 68 fragments of the hollow type, 27 of the flat face type and 6 of unidentified out of
111 fragments which is the total number of base and leg-base parts we found. The average size isrespectively w. 4.44 × d. 4.96cm, w. 4.09 × d. 4.16cm and w. 4.05 × d. 3.71cm, in general the flatface type base is a little bit smaller than the hollow type. It is possible that the total size of the
figurines with the flat face type base would be smaller than those with the hollow type base, since it
was hard for the flat face type base to stay balanced because of support only from the back. Judging
from the plates and the pictures that have appeared in excavation reports from other sites, it seems
that in most cases the base type of these other examples would be the hollow type. This hypothesis
could be supported by X-ray analysis on the find from Beth Shean.
Furthermore, another difference between the figurines from Akoris and other examples is thedecoration on the surface of the bases. Such a feature has never been observed on the figurines
from Akoris, but some other examples have a wavy clay ridge expressing a snake-tail or an altar-likedecoration attached on the surface of the base13). It is likely that these differences are related to theshape and size of the base part, either a thick short base or a flat long base.
The shape of the torso part generally has a flat surface both in the front and the back withrounded corners on the sides. These examples measure about 2cm in thickness (depth) at the chest
part which corresponds to the condition of other examples. There are some fragments that have arounded surface rising up at the center of the torso section. That is to say, one has a roundedrectangular shape and another has an oval or a lens-like shape in a cross section (Fig. 5). A front
view of the torso part shows an inverted triangle, an oval or a tear-drop shape, tapering gradually
towards the base part.
We have 19 figurines with one to four red horizontal lines painted on the front from the chest
to the base parts, 12 of them have two red lines (Cover, Fig. 8 nos. 6, 17 and 23). There are not
many, but similar painted examples were found in other sites, and some of them not only havehorizontal lines but also vertical or grid lines.

Red pigment is usually used for this kind of

decoration but other colors, such as white, black, yellow and blue were sometimes used in othersites14).
We also note that small clay lumps attached on the front of torso sections are one of the popularfeatures of the clay cobra figurines found in other sites. This kind of decoration is referred to invarious ways such as ‘offering cup’, ‘miniature cobra’, ‘breasts’ and so on15). However, this feature
has not been seen in the figurines from Akoris. It is possible that the presence of the decoration
indicates a different date of production and locality of the clay cobra figurines.
There are two ways of making the head part of the figurines found in Akoris. One is to gently
bend the upper torso section forward, which is a popular way of making as found in the examples
from other sites (Fig. 6 no. 1). However, another way, popular in Akoris, is a small lump of clay was
attached on the surface of the upper torso, which we name the ‘face’ in this article (Fig. 6 no. 2).
The face part is projected forward measuring about 2cm in length, and then tapered off to the tip of theface. There are many faces which are slightly turned up to create a polyhedral angle, with a depression
8

名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

on the top surface where it was pressed by finger.
Only 2 fragments among the more than 150 figurines that remain with the face part have eyes expressedby the use of clay pellets as ‘eyeballs’ on the both sidesof the face16). It is possible that the clay pellets may
have fallen out over time, but there is no trace of themat the site. However intriguingly, there are no figurines
from Akoris with hollow eyes which is popular way of
expressing eyes in other sites.
The unique feature of the figurines from Akoris isthe ‘crown’ part attached to the top of the head (Fig. 7

Fig. 5 Cross section of torso part.

1: h. 9.55 × w. 5.19 × d. 2.21; 2: h. 9.75 × w. 6.68 × d. 2.79

no. 1, Fig. 8 nos. 1–6). There has been no example ofa crown feature verified from other sites so far, except
for one case uncovered from Kom Firin17).

It wasmodeled separately and joined via a hollow opening at
the top of the head (Fig. 7 no. 2, Fig. 8 nos. 7–9). We
could identify the stem of the crown in 98 fragments
and a hollow joining section in 43 fragments amongthe 157 fragments of the head parts we unearthed. It
seems reasonable to assert that all of original figurines
manufactured in Akoris would have the crown. However, the original shape of these potential figures is­unclear because all of them were broken at the point
between the end of the stem and a missing upper part.
Judging from the condition of what remains of the­lower edges, which have right-angled corners stretching upward, the shape of the missing part is likely nota round shape like a sun disk or cow horns but a squareshape like a plumed ornament. The crown is addedwith some clay around the bottom of the stem in orderto reinforce it and many fragments were finished like a

Fig. 6 Ways of making face part.

1: h. 8.26 × w. 5.41 × d. 4.21; 2: h. 9.07 × w. 5.78 × d. 3.37

human occipital bone with rounded edges.
Summary There is considerable validity in the proposition that the clay cobra figurines belong in a period
from the Ramesside Period to the Third Intermediate
Period, based on investigation reports. In sum, we cansafely say that the site, or the structural remains where
the clay cobra figurines are expected to be uncovered,will belong to those periods. Clay cobra figurines havebeen excavated from many sites not only inside Egypt

Fig. 7 Head part with ‘crown’.

1: h. 5.50 × w. 5.05 × d. 3.47; 2: h. 4.76 × w. 5.22 × d. 2.94

9名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

Fig. 8 Cobra figurines unearthed from Akoris.
1: w. 4.51 × h. 5.22 × d. --- (07-153);	  2: w. 6.20 × h. 5.50 × d. --- (07-077);	  3: w. 7.28 × h. 4.96 × d. 3.56 (03-224);
4: w. 6.39 × h. 5.09 × d. 3.30 (02-WA021);	  5: w. 6.77 × h. 5.45 × d. --- (07-114);	  6: w. 7.32 × h. 4.98 × d. --- (07-180);
7: w. 6.64 × h. 5.15 × d. 3.19 (09-120);	  8: w. 8.02 × h. 6.99 × d. --- (07-177);	  9: w. 7.14 × h. 4.37 × d. 1.87 (03-380);
10: w. 7.71 × h. 4.96 × d. 2.58 (06-068);
11: w. 9.76 × h. 5.04 × d. --- (07-068);
12: w. 10.70 × h. 4.93 × d. --- (07-191);
13: w. 6.51 × h. 3.82 × d. --- (07-063);
14: w. 8.51 × h. 5.17 × d. 2.36 (04-195);
15: w. 8.71 × h. 5.50 × d. --- (07-186);
16: w. 6.25 × h. 4.49 × d. --- (07-224);
17: w. 6.90 × h. 5.20 × d. 5.60 (03-121);
18: w. 5.79 × h. 4.68 × d. 5.15 (06-116);
19: w. 2.02 × h. 4.11 × d. 4.66 (07-089);
20: w. 3.38 × h. 3.58 × d. 4.00 (07-106);
21: w. 3.24 × h. 4.07 × d. 4.80 (04-196);
22: w. 11.60 × h. 5.24 × d. --- (07-104);
23: w. 13.00 × h. 5.55 × d. 3.95 (03-214)10

名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

such as Tell el-Amarna, Kom Rabica (Memphis), Kom Firin, Kom Rebwa (Sais), Zawiyet Umm elRakham­, Tell el-Borg and so on, but also from the Levant such as Beth Shean in Israel and Kamid
el-Loz in Lebanon18). While they were products made within a wide range of time and space, there
are many common features among them; for example they are about 12–15cm on average in height,
their shape consisted of the standing vertical torso and the supporting horizontal base, and theyshared the manufacturing methods of hand modeling or making each part separately. On the other
hand, there are some differences in the decoration techniques, such as a wavy clay ridge on the base,small clay lumps on the torso, colored lines, and a head decoration for example. It is hard to­conclude if these differences result from discrepancies in the time of production and/or the locality.
It can be said at the moment, that the city sites where the cobra figurines have been unearthed
were especially converged in Lower Egypt.

Those cities had the role of being military or

administrative centers. This situation may show one of the features of how the clay cobra figurines
were used, but at the same time we should consider that there are few archaeological investigationsof local settlements in Egypt. This might indicate the possibility that the clay cobra figurines became
popular in other small local settlements throughout the country, because there were many examples
unearthed from Akoris which was a local settlement that was situated in middle Egypt. On the other
hand, when we pay attention to the find areas in each site, reports indicate that almost all of the
cobra figurines were found in domestic areas and not unearthed from public administrativebuildings, temples and tombs. Therefore we can say, with a fair degree of certainty, that the clay
cobra figurines were not used as grave goods buried with the deceased.
Discussion Let us focus on the functions and the representations of the clay cobra figurines
from Akoris. There are many studies that have considered the clay cobra figurines to be depictionsof some ancient Egyptian deities. One possibility is the goddess Wadjet who was depicted in an
upright form as a cobra in hieroglyph signs. She was the patron and the protector of Lower Egypt
and her cult center was Buto, in the Delta. Her image as Uraeus was worn by the pharaohs as theirhead ornaments and this symbolized the ruler of Lower Egypt. There is also the ritual spell whichreferred to four clay Uraeus figurines being placed in each corner of a bedroom in order to protect
sleepers19).
The next one is Meretseger who was the local goddess especially worshiped by residents at Deirel-Medina during the New Kingdom. Many votive stelae dedicated to Meretseger were found, butwhat needs to be emphasized is that there have been no clay cobra figurines unearthed from Deirel-Medina.
The goddess Renenutet is one of the cogent deities represented by the clay cobra figurines.
There were many cities where the goddess was worshipped, such as Medinet Madi in the Fayum
and Kom Abu Billo in the western Delta. She was the goddess of the harvest and fertility, andpopular among agricultural workers with a festival dedicated to her. In her epithets her role isdenoted as the ‘lady of the fertile land’ and ‘lady of the granaries’. Moreover, she also had anotherrole as the protector of the household and the nurse of infants. In ancient Egyptian mythology, she
was interrelated with other deities and represented as the goddess of motherhood.
On the other hand, there are also several studies that have not related any specific deity to the11名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

clay cobra figurines20).

These studies suggest that these figurines were interpreted as a local

Egyptian household deity and used as a talisman to protect against dangers or nightmares. There isalso a ritual spell which refers to the clay cobra figurines placed in each corner of a bedroom, as
mentioned above. However, it is difficult to confirm the validity of these claims since we do not haveany examples placed in situ in corners. Though they have similarities in their shapes, sizes andmanufacturing techniques, there are many differences in the decorations and the representations
and these were one of the most important things utilized to recognize a specific deity. With thesepoints in mind, it is hard to accept that the figurines were manufactured to represent a specific deity
in a standardized form. Moreover, they are roughly hand modeled with Nile silt which is easy toobtain in the vicinity of the domestic areas. I suggest that those figurines were manufactured forand by ordinary people and not for the upper classes. Moreover, there are find spots in eacharchaeological site that indicate that they had been used in domestic, not higher class, living areas.
It is possible that the figurines from Akoris represent the goddess Renenutet, but it would be much
more reasonable to conclude that they were not linked to a specific deity. In sum, it seems that they
were manufactured by ordinary people and used as ritual items in local popular religion.
As outlined above, the figurines from Akoris were unearthed in a fragmentary state and these
conditions occurred by accident and not through human intent. However, another type of clay
figurine was excavated in the South Area, counting about 70 fragments, which were destroyed
intentionally21). These were small hand modeled human figurines which indicate no particularphysical features such as breasts and genitals even though they are naked, nor facial expression,
hair, or ornaments (Fig. 9). A circular projection placed around a torso is the only decoration
prominently highlighted on the figurines. It seems likely that this represents a navel and that thefigurines symbolize children, especially infants, who have protruding navels in many cases andnormally don’t show any gender difference. Furthermore, it is very intriguing that all the figurines
were damaged around a head. As for the present figurines, it is reasonable to assume on the basisof our examination that the head sections were broken intentionally. It could be that this behaviour
is a form of cult-magical/apotropaic conduct, which would indicate that the figurine was symbolicallybroken acting as a substitute for children. Until now this type of human figurine has never beenunearthed at other sites. One interpretation, and the one that we hold, is that the figurines wereritual items in secular beliefs practiced only at Akoris. Moreover, we have unearthed many faience
amulets such as Bes and Pataikos from the South Area which were very popular as a household protector.
There were some structural remains such as houses, granaries,
workshops, streets and so on, and clay cobra figurines were foundeverywhere. This may account for the diversity of the usage of the
figurines. That is to say, perhaps the figurines were sometimes
placed in a niche of a wall and prayed to for welfare of household.
While in another case, they were dedicated at granaries to insure agood harvest.
Fig. 9 Human figurines.

left: h. 6.80 × w. 4.58; right: h. 6.77 ×
w. 4.19

One assumes that through the diversity of theirusage the clay cobra figurines did not represent a specific deity but
had many functions derived from various powers of various

12

名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

goddesses. I propose that the common people hoped that their pragmatic and everyday life wishes
would be granted through the worship of the cobra and the human figurines; for example welfareof the household, easy delivery during childbirth, raising children in good health, producing anabundant harvest of crops, protection against dangers and so on. In conclusion it seems reasonable
to assume that the clay cobra figurines from Akoris were manufactured and used for ritual andpopular religion.
Notes1) See, e.g., Kawanishi, H. et al. (eds.), Preliminary Report Akoris 2002–2010. (PR Akoris), Ibaraki (Japan), 2003–
2011; Hanasaka, T., Archaeological Interpretation of Clay Cobra Figurine: Based on the Study of the Objects
from Akoris, Journal of West Asian Archaeology 12. 2011, pp. 57–78. (Japanese)2) e.g., Peet, T. E. and C. L. Woolley (eds.), The City of Akhenaten, Part I: Excavations of 1921 and 1922 at El-’Amarneh.
London, 1923; Stevens, A., Private Religion at Amarna: The Material Evidence (BAR International Series 1587).
Oxford, 2006; Kemp, B. J. and A. Stevens, Busy Lives at Amarna: Excavations in the Main City (Grid 12 and the Houseof Ranefer, N49.18) vol. II: The Objects. London, 2010.
3) Giddy, L., The Survey of Memphis II, Kom Rabica: The New Kingdom and Post-New Kingdom Objects. London, 1999.
4) e.g., Spencer, N., Kom Firin I: The Ramesside Temple and the Site Survey. London, 2008. (http://www.britishmuseum.
org/research/publications/research_publications_series/research_publications_online/kom_firin_i.aspx);

BritishMuseum, British Museum Expedition to Kom Firin: Report on the 2008 season. London, 2008. (http://www.
britishmuseum.org/pdf/Kom%20Firin%202008a.pdf).
5) Wilson, P., Sais I: The Ramesside-Third Intermediate Period at Kom Rebwa. London, 2011.
6) James, F. W. and P. E. McGovern, The Late Bronze Egyptian Garrison at Beth Shan: A Study of Levels VII and VIII
Pennsylvania, 1993; David, A., Ch. 9B: Clay Cobras: Ramesside Household Cult or Apotropaic Device?, In
Panitz-Cohen, N. and A. Mazar (eds.), Excavations at Tel Beth-Shean 1989–1996, vol. III: The 13th–11th century BCE
Strata in Areas N and S: 556–560. Jerusalem, 2009.
7) Szpakowska, K., Playing with Fire: Initial Observations on the Religious Uses of Clay Cobras from Amarna,
Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 40. 2003, pp. 113-122.
8) Ancient Egyptian Cobra Project HP (http://ancientegyptiancobras.blogspot.jp/)
9) Wilson, P., 2011, op. cit., p. 119.
10) James, F. W. and P. E. McGovern, 1993, op. cit., vol.  II, pl. 15.
11) See the post on 27th March, 2012 of Ancient Egyptian Cobra Project HP (http://ancientegyptiancobras.blogspot.jp/).
12) Spencer, N., 2008, op. cit., p. 66.
13) e.g., Amarna: Peet, T. E. and C. L. Woolley (eds.), 1923, op. cit., pl.  XXIII; Stevens, A., 2006, op. cit., fig.  II 3.20.
top right. Kom Rabia: Giddy, L., 1999, op. cit., pls. 4–462/465, pl. 5–786. Sais: Wilson, P., 2011, op. cit., pl. 19–9.
Beth Shean: David, A., 2009, op. cit., fig. 9. 20–5; James, F. W. and P. E. McGovern, 1993, op. cit., fig. 83–7.
Perhaps there are a few examples with the decoration on the surface of the base unearthed from Akoris.
14) e.g., Amarna: Szpakowska, K., 2003, op. cit., figs. 6 and 7; Kemp, B. J. and A. Stevens, 2010, op. cit., fig. 15.4–
37674. Kom Rabia: Giddy, L., 1999, op. cit., pl. 3–521. Kom Firin: British Museum, 2008, op. cit., fig. 48, pl. 164(F007). Sais: Wilson, P., 2011, op. cit., pls. 17, 3.1000, L2–3, S.011 and S.013. Beth Shean: James, F. W. and P. E.
McGovern, 1993, op. cit., figs. 83.7 and 85.2.
15) Amarna: Szpakowska, K., 2003, op. cit., p.118, ‘elongated bowl’ ‘miniature offering stand’ ‘miniature snakes’;
Stevens, A., 2006, op. cit., p. 100, ‘tall potstand or altar’. Kom Rabica: Giddy, L., 1999, op. cit., p. 14, ‘skin flaps’‘miniature cobra’ ‘offering cup’. Kom Firin: Spencer, N., 2008, op. cit., p. 65, ‘small offering cup’. Sais: Wilson, P.,
2011, op. cit., p. 120, ‘smaller baby cobras’ ‘offering cup’. Beth Shean: James, F. W. and P. E. McGovern, 1993, op.
cit., p. 171, ‘breasts’.
16) e.g. Hanasaka, T., 2011, p. 70, fig. 4 nos. 6 and 7.
17) British Museum, 2008, op. cit., pl. 41 (F755).
18) Szpakowska, K., 2003, op. cit., p. 113.
19) e.g., Ritner, R. K., O. Gardiner 363: A Spell Against Night Terrors, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt

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27. 1990, pp. 25–41; Ritner, R. K., Household Religion in Ancient Egypt, In Bodel, J. and S. M. Olyan (eds.),
Household and Family Religion in Antiquity. Oxford, 2008, pp. 176–191.
20) e.g., Szpakowska, K., 2003, op. cit., p. 119; Stevens, A., 2006, op. cit., p. 102.
21) Hanasaka, T., Fertility Magical Practice in Akoris, Tsukuba Archaeological Studies 20. Ibaraki (Japan), 2009, pp. 51–
74. (Japanese). See also, PR Akoris 2007, fig. 7 nos. 24 and 25; PR Akoris 2008, fig. 8 nos. 27 and 28; PR Akoris
2009, fig. 7 no. 12.

3 Fishing in Akoris
Tsujimura, Sumiyo
Modern fishing Tihna el-Gabal (Tihna) village near to Akoris site we have excavated is locatedon the east bank of the Nile River in Minya prefecture. Almost all villagers living in Tihna arefarmers except young men working in quarry. While the Nile flows near the village and fish arefeatured largely in diet, the villagers are not active on fishing. Although a few farmers who haveofficial permissions for fishing do simple fishing by using a pole, a trap and a net for their families
only, many villagers buy fishes from fishermen coming from nearby villages, el-Hawarta
approximately 3.5km to the south of Tihna and Gabal el-Teir which is at the same distance away to
the north. These professional fishermen extend the fishery from their own villages to Tihna to do
cast net fishing in the morning, or set a longline in the twilight and retrieve it in the early morning
around each village (Cover).
Fishing methods in Mari Girgis village near Sohag 200km to the south of Minya are morevarious than around Tihna. According to the study of N. H. Henein cast net, longline, purse seine,
set net, scoop net, fish trap, harpoon and pole fishing are in practice there1). Especially, longline ispracticed not only by a line hanging stone weights and fishhooks led by two boats but also by setting
a line hanging fishhooks at a canal and by hanging a line with fishhooks down from a post on the
shore to bed of the river. Meanwhile, in purse seine method a fisherman on a boat stretches a net
fitted on plastic floats and lead weights from a calabash float at the end of net opposite a boat.
Ancient fishing Almost all of modern fishing methods mentioned above are shown in fishing
scenes of tombs collected by that D. J. Brewer and R. F. Friedman2). The seine, scoop net and handfishing are shown in the Old Kingdom scenes, cast net in the Second Intermediate Period and polefishing in the Middle Kingdom respectively.
In the fishing scenes, triangles turning upside down as a float and lying ovals tied with a string
as a weight fitted on a net common to the depictions of seine are perhaps wooden floats and stone
weights.

Harpoons and fishhooks are earlier than them, attested from the Predynastic Period

onward. Though purse seine has not been attested from Mari Girgis, a model depicting purse seine,in which two boats manipulate a net, was found in the tomb of Meket-Re dated to the late Eleventhor the early Twelfth Dynasty3). In this model, oval stone weights are longitudinally fitted on unlike
other seine fishing methods. Another model of boat on which some men are spearing fish with
harpoon was found in the same tomb. Comparing these ancient fishing methods to the modern
ones, fishing methods with no definite evidences in the Dynastic Period are set net and longline only.
Furthermore, Brewer and Friedman classified fishes depicted in fishing scenes into 11 families
14

名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

and 19 genera in the same book. Lates niloticus (Nile perch), Oreochromis niloticus (Tilapia), Clarias sp.
(Catfish) among those fishes were found in Akoris site.
Fishing in Akoris We have excavated the South Area of Akoris since 2002, details of a local city
mainly dated from the Third Intermediate Period (1069–664 B.C.) are becoming revealed (Ch. 1
Fig. 2). A leather workshop, furnaces for copper/bronze, ovens for bread and molds for beads oramulets found in the area indicate that many people engaged themselves in manual industries. On
the other hand, farming implements and fish tackles found in the same area suggest that not a few
farmers and fishermen also lived in the city. In addition, many animal bones of cattle, sheep, goat,pig, ass and fish bones were scattered in and around houses. The farmers must have raised theseanimals, but it is unclear whether fishermen caught fishes because there is a possibility that farmers
worked fishing in spare time. To clarify the existence of fishermen, it is necessary to examine
unearthed fishing tackles and structures related to fishes.
In 2006, we found an interesting building in the northwest part of the area4). This rectangularbuilding is measured 3.6m long × 1.8m wide and more than 0.7m in height, in which a lot ofbones of catfish (mainly Clarias sp.) were kept. The catfish were probably preserved for sale, not tobe consumed in a family. Even if they were prepared for a dedication connected with Osiris myth5),
the people who caught fish and managed the building are supposed to have been fishermen.
There are a harpoon, fishhooks, weights, a fragment of net and a mending tool for net as
fishing tackles unearthed in the area. A bronze harpoon with a small barb at the point is 10.2cm
long (Fig. 1 no. 1). Similar harpoons dated from the Third Intermediate Period were unearthed in
Ashmunein (Greek Hermopolis) located on the other side of the Nile6). While a large-sized harpoon
suggests to have been used for pursuit of a hippo or a crocodile, these small-sized harpoons are
suitable for large fishes like Nile perch or Bagradae bagrus7).
Bronze fishhooks are divided into two types (Tab. 1). A largesized type including two f­ ishhooks measuring 13.7cm and 12.7cm inlength has neither a barb nor an eye, which is for large fishes in thesame way as the small-sized harpoon (Fig. 1 nos. 2 and 3). Anothertype is a small-sized type measuring 2.57–4.60cm long, which has
a barb and an eye made by turning over the end of the shank(Fig. 2). Barbed small fishhooks became popular in Egypt aroundthe Dynasty XII onward8). In the New Kingdom, small barbed
fishhooks often lacked eyes, and fishhooks whose end of the shankslightly expanded instead of the eye were not rare. The new typeFig. 1 Harpoon and fishhooks.

fishhooks fastened to a line securely, the modern fishermen around
Tihna use for longline and pole fishing, are not attested among
finds from Akoris site.
Three materials of fishing weights to fit a net, consisting ofstone, pottery and lead were found in the site, however almost allweights with a net in fishing scenes and models are stone weights(Cover). Actually many natural stones ­unearthed might be used forFig. 2 Fishhooks.

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名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

Table 1 Bronze Fishhooks.
Season
2002
2003
2004
2007
2008

2009

2010

Table 3 Pottery and Lead Weights.

Length (cm)

Barb

3.90
4.60
0.50
2.60
2.57
3.06
2.50
12.70
13.70
3.01
1.45
2.40
3.08
2.70

with a barbwith a barb

intactintactbrokenintactbrokenintactbrokenintactintactintactbrokenbrokenintactbrokenwith a barbwith a barb
lacked a barb
lacked a barbwith a barbwith a barb

Table 2 Stone Weights.
Season
2002
2008
2009

Stone

Size (cm)Weight (g)Groove129.5
67.4

longitudial
longitudial
crosslongitudial

limestone 11.8 × 10.3 × 8.3
limestone 4.8 × 4.5 × 4.2
limestone 4.0 × 3.8 × 3.3
sandstone? 7.87 × 6.80 × 4.27

No. Material

Size (cm)Weight (g)Diameter ofa hole (mm)

Type

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23

4.9 × 3.2
4.6 × 2.4
4.4 × 2.4
5.0 × 2.5
4.0 × 2.4
3.6 × 2.6
3.7 × 2.1
3.4 × 1.9
3.9 × 1.7
3.0 × 1.7
3.1 × 2.1
2.8 × 1.7
2.5 × 2.2
1.9 × 1.5
2.2 × 2.2
3.0 × 2.7
3.4 × 3.5
3.3 × 3.2
3.2 × 3.5
1.1 × 2.0
1.7 × 2.0
2.1 × 1.8
3.6 × 1.3

25.0
16.0
18.0
20.5
15.0
13.5
12.5
9.5
8.5
7.5
9.5
5.5
10.0
3.0
5.5
10.0
17.5
13.5
15.5

6.0
6.0
6.0
6.0
6.0
6.0
5.5
5.0
5.0
6.0
4.0
3.5
3.0
4.0
3.0
6.0
6.0
6.0
6.0

A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
B
B
B
B
B
C
C
C
C

pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
lead
lead
lead
lead

fishing weights, but those recognized as a fishing weight are limited to four stones with a groove towind a string (Tab. 2, Fig. 3).

Two oval-shaped limestone and a sandstone weights have alongitudinal groove. No. 1 measuring 129.5g in weight is limestone. No. 2 is a round-shaped
limestone measuring 67.4g in weight and has a cross groove. They were probably hanged from thenet border as depicted in the model of purse seine fishing found in Meket-Ra tomb.
The most of unearthed weights are pottery (Tab. 3, Fig. 4 nos. 1–19). Pipe-shaped weights
were made one by one, and their weight varies widely 25.0–3.0g. The pipe-shaped pottery weights,
which a lower rope of seine passes through, are seen in various parts of the world. According to
the study of Japanese ancient ­fishing methods, pipe-shaped weights with a large eye for seine andthose with a small eye for set net are inferred to have been used respectively9). Unearthed pipeshaped weights could be divided into two types by a diameter of eye, that is, a weight with a diameterof eye above 5mm is referred as A type (nos. 1–10), and a weight with a diameter of eye below 4mm
is referred as B type (nos. 11–15). Besides pipe-shaped weights, square-shaped weights referred as
C type (nos. 16–19) were found. An eye is made in the upper part,and its diameter is above 5mm the same as A type. Therefore, theC type weights are also suitable for seine or cast net.
A lead weight is generally said to have not been used until the
Roman Period. However, lead weights are attested in the Dynastic
Period in Egypt, and J. G. Wilkinson introduced an example fitted
on the outer rope of net kept in the Berlin Museum10). Lead
Fig. 3 Stone weights.

weights found in Akoris also belong to the Third Intermediate16

名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

Fig. 5 Net.

Fig. 4 Pottery and lead weights.

Period.

They are divided into two types, one of which is anelongated, folded lead plate lengthways to hold a rope of net(nos. 20–22), another is an elongated lead plate bent into a cylinder
to cover a rope (no. 23). Lead weights dated back to the Iron Age
were found in Tel Aphek, Israel, too11).

They are cylindricalFig. 6 Tool for mending net.

weights dated from the 11th century B.C.. In addition, a large
unbarbed fishhook and small barbed fishhooks were unearthed in the site. Either of them does nothave an eye, and the shank ends of the latter are slightly expanded like some fishhooks in the New
Kingdom. Several metal objects dated from the Third Intermediate Period to the Late Period
similar to the folded type fishhooks were found in Tell el-Rub’a (Greek Mendes), the capital of the
16th Lower Egyptian nome12). However, they are not lead- but bronze-made and are supposed tohave been parts of body armor in the excavation’s report. Since pipe-shaped pottery weights have beenreported as loom weights, undoubted fishing tackles seem to be limited to a fishhook. Unearthedfishbone are identified as Clarias sp., Synodontis sp. and Tetraodon fahaka.
A fragment of a cone-shaped net made of flax is measured 18 × 14cm and its mesh 2.2–2.4cm
square (Fig. 5). If this fragment was a part of fishing net, it seems to have been a pointed bottom of
scoop net. A reed with both ends cut into two to wind a thread, measuring 13.8cm long, is certainly
a tool for mending a net (Fig. 6). There remain a few flax threads winding it. Modern fishermenaround Tihna village use a tool made of wood similar to this shape.
As mentioned above, the various fishing tackles unearthed in the South Area of Akoris indicatethat many fishing methods were adopted in the Third Intermediate Period. Especially, various
weights suggest that net fishing achieved a remarkable development at that time. Furthermore,fishing tackles for large fishes, harpoons and large unbarbed fishhooks, suggest the existence ofprofessional fishermen rather than farmers’ side job. Many bones of Nile perch, one of large Nile17

名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

fishes, were found at over 40 sites in Levant (mainly Cyprus, Israel and Turkey) dated from the Late
Bronze to the Early Iron Ages13). Such an international popularity of Nile perch must have been
one of factors in the development of fishing in the Nile.
Notes1) Henein, N. H., Mari Girgis-village de Haute-Egypte. Cairo, 2001.
2) Brewer, D. J. and R. F. Friedman, Fish and Fishing in Ancient Egypt. Warminster, 1989.
3) ibid., fig. 2.42; Tooley, A. M. J., Egyptian Models and Scenes. Buckinghamshire, 1995, pp. 34–35.
4) Kawanishi, H. and S. Tsujimura (eds.), Preliminary Report AKORIS 2006. Ibaraki (Japan), 2007.
5) Committee of the Archaeological Survey in Egypt, Malkata-South I. Tokyo, 1983. Dozens of mummified catfish
collected in two places each were found around Kom el-Samak. According to the report, they belong to the
Roman Period, and are supposed to be related to the Osiris Myth.
6) Spencer, A. J., Excavations at El-Ashmunein III. London, 1993. Harpoons: pl. 31 nos. 59 and 60.
7) Brewer and Friedman, 1989, op. cit., p. 22.
8) ibid., p. 28.
9) Tanaka, S., History of Fishing : in Kiso River and Ise Bay. Aichi (Japan), 1994, p. 23. (Japanese)10) Wilkinson, J. G., The Ancient Egyptians. New York, 1988, p. 188.
11) Gadot, Y. and E. Yadin (eds.), Aphek–Antipatris. Tel Aviv, 2009, p. 433. Lead weights: fig. 13 nos. 1-6; Fishhooks:
fig. 13 nos. 7–9.
12) Redford, D. B., Excavations at Mendes Volume 1 The Royal Necropolis. Leiden, 2004, fig. 13 no. 670.
13) Gadot and Yadin (eds.), op. cit., pp. 569–574. O. Lernau surmises the Nile perch trade between the Nile valley
and the Eastern Mediterranean in this excavation’s report.

4 Exploring the Rural Conditions of Middle
Egypt in the Hellenistic Period:
An Interim Report of the Archaeological
Investigations at AKORIS and Nearby Quarries
Suto, Yoshiyuki
Introduction The archaeological site of Akoris was found in the early 19th century and wasinvestigated by French scholars in the beginning of the 20th century1). After a long interval, aJapanese mission sent by the Paleological Association of Japan in Kyoto conducted the first series ofsystematic excavations from 1981 to 1992 in order to elucidate the history of this settlement. The
excavations, however, were centered mainly on the area in front of the large Middle Kingdom
rock-cut tombs reused as Roman temples at the southwestern edge of the settlement area, and theso-called Sarapeion located at the center of the site. The material evidences recovered from these
excavations were limited mostly to that of the Roman and Coptic times.

Actually Hellenistic

artifacts, including a typical stamped handle of a Rhodian amphora, had been found from thebottom of the deep trench to the east of the Sarapeion dug in 1982, but the historical significance ofthem did not attract attention at that time.
It was thus our great excitement to find a substantial Hellenistic deposit during the excavationof large unfinished limestone blocks at the north edge of the city area of Akoris in 1997, when the
Akoris Archaeological Project resumed the investigation of the site in present organization. A large
amount of Hellenistic pottery, both domestic and imported, was recovered in the burned soil layer,
18

名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴwhich filled the area adjacent to the lower part of the stone blocks2). There were also lamps andterracotta figurines in Greek style to be published soon, which suggest that daily life of the
inhabitants of Ptolemaic Akoris shared the contemporary cultural milieu of the Eastern
Mediterranean world.
Soon it became also clear that the limestone blocks had nothing to do with bridge or city gate,
as we had supposed at the outset of excavation, but were unfinished stones being worked on thisspot for shipment. The Ptolemaic date of these stones seems unambiguous. First, they were directly
filled with the burnt soil containing purely Hellenistic materials. Secondly, a Late Period circuit wall
was discovered under the layer supporting the base of the stones.

But it was not until thecompletion of the analysis of the stamps on the handles of imported Rhodian amphorae that we
could date this Hellenistic deposit more precisely.
Amphora Stamps from Akoris Actually the most unexpected and exciting finds from thisHellenistic fill were vast number of stamped amphora handles of Mediterranean origins. As has
been reported elsewhere, the total of 351 stamped amphora handles, including the two large
fragments with both handles, were found during the five successive field seasons from 1997 to
20013). The sheer number of handles is worth special attention. Although the number of the
excavated stamped amphora handles from the construction fill for the Middle Stoa in Athens or the
famous Pergamon Complex far exceeds that of Akoris (1498 and 882, respectively), many other sites
in the East Mediterranean do not yield so many handles derived from a single context.

The

stamped handles of Rhodian amphorae, which constitute almost eighty percent of the total, are mostvaluable to gain the overview of the chronological position of the whole material (Fig. 1).
During the second century B.C., when Rhodian and other Mediterranean amphorae weretransported into Akoris, the Ptolemaic regime was gradually destabilized through recurrent civil
wars and external threats. The first serious event was the great uprising of Upper Egypt from 206
to 186. The chronological distribution of Rhodian amphorae in the Hellenistic deposit at Akoris
eloquently indicates that the close economic as well as cultural relationship between Akoris andAlexandria had been strengthened just after the termination of the Great Uprising in the South.
The presence of extremely large unfinished limestone blocks at the site suggests that the export ofsuch stones from Akoris was decisive in generating such close contact of the local inhabitants with
the Greek cultural milieu imported via Alexandria.
The size of the limestone blocks, one of which measures more than fourteen meters, indicatesthat they were intended not to be used locally but to be shipped out to the most prosperous city of
the contemporary world, Alexandria. The Mediterranean amphorae must have been carried into
the site by the ships returning from Alexandria, which were primarily
used for the shipping of the stones procured from the quarries inthe vicinity of Akoris. Although we don’t have any documentary­evidence for the shipment of stones from Akoris in the Hellenistic
times, an ex-voto inscription for Zeus at the time of Roman Emperor
Domitianus, found in Akoris North Quarry, explicitly notes that thestones from the quarry were used for the pavement of Alexandria4).

Fig. 1 Amphora stamp.

19

名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

The results of our investigations thus suggest that the mining and dressing of limestone blocks fromnearby quarries was important in the life of Hellenistic Akoris. It was on this observation that welaunched on the next major project, the investigation of the nearby quarries.
Quarry and Graffiti Traces of ancient quarrying activities are ubiquitous in Egypt, where largestone buildings were continuously built from the Old Kingdom.

But major ancient limestone

quarries were located in the relatively narrow area of the Nile Valley between modern Minya andSohag in Middle Egypt5).
It is usually not easy to detect the major industry of local communities when there are no
written documents referring to it. But the discovery of the work area for the processing of large
limestone blocks threw new light on the hitherto neglected significance of the quarry fields aroundthe site as the possible source for the economic prosperity of Hellenistic Akoris. The documentsfrom the Arsinoite nome regarding the mission of Kleon the architect in the middle of the third
century B.C. are most illuminative in this respect. Clearly one of his duties was the administrationof quarries and the transportation of quarried stones (P. Petr. 2.4). It is, therefore, tempting tosuggest that the consumers of precious wine imported from abroad were primarily the resident
Greeks of eminence who had particular duties at Akoris.
There are extensive traces of ancient quarries on the high barren plateau along the easternedge of the Nile valley­in the vicinity of Akoris (Cover, Fig. 2). The long valley­at New Minya near
Zawiyat al-Sultan is one of the most impressive ancient quarries ever discovered in this ­area6). The
most spectacular monument here is undoubtedly a huge unfinished limestone block for a colossus ofa standing king located at the top of the valley. Contrary to the original identification of R. and D.
Klemm that the block was intended to be used for a statue of Amenhotep III , our recent investigations have made it clear that it was ­ordered by a Ptolemaic
ruler, since many Greek and ­demotic graffiti were found on
the ceiling of the hewn g­ allery under the huge block. Furthermore, a number of Greek and Demotic graffiti were also
found in the quarry to the south of the colossus.
Today a deep straight valley of about 700m extends
from below the site of colossus toward the southeast until itreaches the fringe of the flat plain of the Nile.

This

conspicuous terrain however is not a natural one but is theend product of successive quarrying activities from antiquity
to the present. In spite of the effect of heavy weathering,almost entire quarry faces still retain astonishingly clear
marks of the chisels used by ancient quarrymen.
More or less continuous vertical steep quarry faces
dominate the southwestern side of the valley, while theformation of the faces of northeastern side is more
Fig. 2 Geographical map of Zawieyat alSultan.

complicated especially in the middle part of the valley. On
both sides the ancient miners seem to have carefully avoided

20

名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

extracting deteriorated rocks containing natural fissures. As a result, such prominent rocks are left
at several points and now interrupt the course of the successive quarried faces. It is largely on theseinterruptions that we divided the quarry into a number of sections to register the graffiti.
The Greek and demotic graffiti found in the valley are not evenly distributed but areconcentrated in several sections. This situation of preservation may have largely been caused bypost-depositional process, since even on the southwestern side, where very few legible graffiti areleft on the vertical walls, abundant graffiti are still preserved in excellent condition on the ceilings ofthe horizontal galleries deeply hewn into the vertical walls. This may be the reason why so manygraffiti are observable in the lowest sections of the quarry. They are always painted in characteristic
red color with a small brush for the Greek ones and a comparatively wide brush for the demotic
ones. Both demotic and Greek versions provide three sets of information: 1) date, 2) personalname, and 3) tripartite numerals. The regnal years in demotic texts are always counted in Egyptian
year, while that of Greek texts are always denoted in financial or fiscal year. It seems to have beencustomary in the upper part of the valley to put demotic counterparts always for the Greek texts.
The date usually refers to a certain day in Greek, but often to successive months in demotic; thenamed person seems to be in charge of the quarrying activity; the tripartite numerals are most likely
to show the volume of stone extracted in three dimensions. As our colleague of architectural history
has made it clear, the three figures always represent width, depth, and height of the removed rockrespectively. The last figure is almost usually 1, and it has been also made clear that it represents
the basic unit of measurement, about 53.7cm, which roughly corresponds to the royal cubit indynastic Egypt.
Style and Language of Graffiti The sequence of the regnal years observed in the bilingual
graffiti from the upper part of the valley, from 35th through 39th to 3rd, shows that this part of thequarry seems to have been operated from the last years of Ptolemy II to the early years of Ptolemy III.
The situation is quite different in the lowest level of the valley. It also provides number of graffiti,
but they are now written only in Greek. Here too the sequence of regnal years affords­a valuableclue to conjecture the date of them. At section Q, which is located on the lowest corner of the valley,
there are series of regnal years from 23 to 25 and 2. It seems certain that quarrying activities
progressed­here in the last years of Ptolemy III, who died in the course of his 26th
regnal year (Fig. 3).
The two above-mentioned sets ofsequence of regnal years found at the­­upper and bottom of the valley doubtlessly
suggest that the exploitation at New Minyaquarry was under operation in the second
half of the third century B.C. It is highly
remarkable that the manner of writing
graffiti shows distinct change even during
this short period of time.

The once so

Fig. 3 Details of graffiti (Q29 & 30).

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名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

ubiquitous demotic graffiti completely disappeared and substituted with Greek ones. The oldest
graffito ­attested in the valley is a long three-line demotic text left on the fallen block bearing theregnal year 32. Since it is difficult to assume that a text of this length accompanied any Greek
counterpart, I am of opinion that graffiti were generally written only in demotic until this year. The
custom of ­attaching Greek translation seems to have been introduced sometime between the year 32
and 34 to amend the demotic graffiti. That the graffiti on the ceiling of Section J still don’t havetheir Greek counterparts are certainly not fortuitous. Then the habit of putting Greek translation
to demotic ones was established ­leaving vast number of bilingual graffiti. But by 220s demotic seems
to have lost its importance in recording quarrying process, and written language of administration
at the quarry had changed from Greek and Egyptian bilingual to Greek monolingual.
Our survey shows that the practice of recording quarrying process in both demotic and Greek
was not confined to New Minya. Akoris South Quarry is located on the plateau just to the south of
the settlement site of Akoris. Although this quarry seems to have been exploited mainly in Romantimes, there are a few remnants of Ptolemaic quarry faces left untouched until today. Three small
horizontal galleries are cut below the conspicuous projection in the midst of the quarry field. Even
though the outer face of the rock is heavily eroded and damaged by later activities, Greek anddemotic graffiti on the ceilings are preserved in extremely good condition. At least sixteen graffiti
including five pairs of bilingual ones are left on the surface of one of the galleries (AS-1). They are
represented in exactly the same tripartite system as are the case with those graffiti of New Minya.
The regnal years explicitly show that these graffiti were recorded in the fourth and fifth year of acertain king. Although there is no sequential evidence, it seems highly probable that they arecontemporary with the standard bilingual graffiti at New Minya; hence the king in question isPtolemy III.
In spite of the accumulation of relevant data, there are many questions to be answered about
the function of the graffiti. Theoretically the graffiti on the ceiling close to the opening should beearlier than those of the interior of the gallery, though it is not always the case. For example, thebilingual graffiti AS1-1 (Greek) and AS1-2 (demotic), located near the opening, bear the date of the
7th Hatyr in the 5th year, while the bilingual graffiti on the inner ceiling AS1-4 (Greek) and AS1-4(demotic) bear the date of previous month Phaophi of the same year.

Moreover, two pairs ofbilingual graffiti, AS1-7 (Greek) and AS1-8 (demotic), AS1-6 (Greek) and AS1-16 (demotic) areoverlapping diagonally on the same surface, but the former show the date about half a year later
than the latter. Surely there are many aspects to be elucidated about the function of these graffiti,
but it seems now certain that they recorded not the detailed progress of the work but theirinspection by official hands.
Conclusions One of our prime concerns now is the identity of the people who worked at thesequarries. An important clue is obviously the personal names contained in the graffiti. It has been
observed that there seems to be a marked ethnic concentration of personal names in several sections.
For example, all the 12 names attested in Section F are of Egyptian such as Petesis or Stotoes. To
the contrary, the graffiti of Section U contain such names as Philippos or Attalos. R. Takahashi has
noted the presence of Jewish names in the graffiti found only under the unfinished colossus, which
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名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

are totally absent in the nearby quarry valley. It is tempting to see some kind of units of workers
organized on the ethnic groups.
Another evidence, which may be relevant to the identity of the workers, is the seasonal
fluctuation of the number of month referred to in the Greek graffiti. Although the quarry was inoperation throughout the year, it seems to have been busier in the first half of the financial year.
Certainly the latter half of the financial year was a slack season at least in this quarry. Similar
pattern has been observed for the payment of Salt Tax7). Here it is noted that about 70% of
surviving receipts derive from the first six months of the financial year. The first day of Mecheir inthe 38th year of Ptolemy II corresponds to the 23rd of March, and the first day of Mesore, thebeginning of the slack season, corresponds to the 19th of September. The most logical explanationis that the quarry was busy toward the inundation of the Nile, which was convenient for the
shipment of the stone extracted. My inclination is to say that some workers were not professional
miners but farmers who lived in the nearby villages and were employed at the quarry only in thebusy season. But this interpretation is open to challenge and critical comments are always welcome.
Notes
1) For the earlier explorations, see Bernand, É., Inscriptions grecques et latines d’Akoris. Caire, 1988, pp. ix–xx.
2) Kawanishi, H. and Y. Suto, Akoris I: Amphora Stamps. Kyoto, 2005, pp. 11–22.
3) Ibid. pp. 23–208.
4) Suto, Y., Text and Quarry in Greco-Roman Egypt: Reading a Dedicatory Inscription Rediscovered at Akoris(IGRR I, 1138), SITES: Journal of Studies for the Integrated Text Science, 3–1. Nagoya Univ., 2005, pp. 1-14.
5) Aston, B. G. et al., Stones, in Nicholson, P. T. and I. Shaw (eds.), Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology.
Cambridge, 2000, pp. 5–77.
6) Klemm, R. & D. Klemm, Steine und Steinbrüche im alten Ägypten. Berlin, 1992, pp. 92–100; Suto, Y., Text andContext of the Greek Graffiti at the Ptolemaic Quarry of Zawiet Sultan in Middle Egypt, SITES: Journal for the
Integrated Text Science, 4–1. Nagoya Univ., 2006, pp. 1–18.
7) Thompson, D. and W. Clarysse, Counting the People in Hellenistic Egypt. vol. 2, Cambridge, 2006, pp. 74–89.

Members in 2011
Director: Kawanishi, H. University of Tsukuba;
Members: Tsujimura, S. Kokushikan University; Uchida, S. Meirin College; Suto, Y. Nagoya
University; Hori, Y. and Ohkawa, M. Kyushu University; Takahashi, T.; Miho, Y.; Mitobe, H.
Yamagata Prefectural Office; Takahashi, R. JSPS; Endo, H. Research Institute for Humanity
and Nature; Morikawa, M. and Hanasaka, T. University of Tsukuba.
Site Inspector: Ahmed el-Laithy
Supporting Persons and Organizations
Supreme Council for Antiquities; Dr. Zahi Hawas; Dr. Mohamed Ismail Khaled; Yahya Zakaria;
Faiyuk Abdel Rabo; Hafiz Fathy; Kajima Corporation; Hasegawa, S. JSPS Research Station
Cairo; Iwaki, N. C.E.O. and President, E&M; Murata, Y. medical Dr.; Yakata, T.; Shindo, Y.;
Spencer, V.; Ozawa, A.
This project is sponsored by the Grant-in Aid for Scientific Research, the Ministry of Education,
Science and Culture, Japan.
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名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ