Local perspectives on change and transition from an Egyptian house at the dawn of the Middle Ages
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 13/03/2023

Giorgia Marchiori (Durham University)

In light of this session’s theme addressing the perspective of materiality against that of textual 
evidence, this presentation will illustrate the case study of a non-elite house at the site of Kom 
al-Ahmer (Western Nile Delta) inhabited between the late 4th and mid-5
th century CE. It will be argued how the excavation and study of this specific case study house is an example of how it can be attempted to bridge the gap between the written evidence and the lived experience, especially in Egypt, where the over-reliance on the rich papyrological evidence, though a 
precious resource in deepening our understanding of everyday life, has led to an 
underestimation of other archaeological data. Moreover, the presentation will discuss the 
possibilities offered by the investigation of a case study house to approach and explore ―with 
a more private and individual lens― the concepts of change and transition, concepts that are 
often linked with the study of Late Antiquity, necessary to understand the transition from 
Antiquity to the Middle Ages.