‘Petrified’ societies? An Egyptological survey
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 2017-01-08

Ancient Egypt is renowned for its monumental pyramids, temples, and tombs as well as the stability of its kingship concepts, and the continuity of artistic display. Though perishable materials and transient traits are studied as well, stone features and longterm standards remain the major attraction in antiquity as well as today. Ancient Egypt therefore provides an exemplary case to study the potential of the concept of petrification: It not only stresses the need to differentiate between ‘active’ and ‘passive’ petrification, but also of a direct – i.e. building for eternity in stone – vs. a
more figurative meaning of the concept: the ‘petrification’ of ancient concepts and techniques to promote their perdurability. In addition, the approach encourages the question to which extent this undeniably inherent characteristic is only one side of ancient Egyptian society and its cultural output. It strongly highlights the discrepancy between contexts aiming at imperishability and others in which the concept is irrelevant or perhaps even revoked: even for the royal sphere, every-day life in ancient Egypt has to be reconstructed to a large extent from sacral and funeral sources. Is this due to lack of preservation or the deliberate usage of
unenduring materials for finite aspects of life?
The approach has a further dimension when applied to past research: To which extent do the preserved ‘petrified’ monuments and social concepts trigger a stereotype academic approach to ancient Egyptian societies and their remains? The contribution will present a selection of sources exemplifying these issues.