Research Catalog

Title

The mortuary temple of Senwosret III at Abydos / Joseph Wegner.

Author

Wegner, Joseph.

Publication

New Haven, Conn. : Yale Egyptological Seminar ; Oxford : Oxbow [distributor], 2007.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Additional Authors

• Peabody Museum of Natural History.
• University of Pennsylvania. Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

Description

xli, 418 pages, 36 pages of plates : illustrations; 35 cm.

Summary

"Two kilometers south of the main town of Abydos are the ruins of the mortuary complex of pharaoh Khakaure-Senwosret III (ca. 1878-1941 B.C.) of the 12th Dynasty. This royal cult complex, named Enduring-are-the-Places -of-Khakaure-true-of-voice-in-Abydos, includes a subterranean tomb located beneath a peak called Anubis-Mountain, and a mortuary temple named Nefer-Ka (Beautiful-is-the-Ka). Although the Egypt Exploration Fund initially discovered the site between 1899 and 1902, the Senwosret III complex has, for the last century, remained largely enigmatic. In 1994, the Pennsylvania-Yale-Institute of Fine Arts/NYU Expedition initiated a renewed archaeological program at South Abydos. One part of this work has been a comprehensive investigation of the Senwosret III mortuary temple. Excavation of the temple building, along with work on its surroundings, now provides the basis for a reconstruction of this major Middle Kingdom temple and new insights into the nature of the Senwosret III complex as a whole." "Although the stone core of the temple was dismantled in ancient times, the archaeological footprint of this building is well-preserved. The deposits surrounding the temple have in five seasons - 1994, 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2004 - produced a significant body of evidence on the temple's organization. Besides the stone-built cult structure, the building housed the material and personnel involved in maintaining the cult of Senwosret III. Clay seal impressions record institutional designations as well as bureaucratic titles and permit reconstruction of the temples ritual, administrative and productive sectors, all overseen by the local mayoral office at South Abydos. The volume is organized into six parts with twenty-two chapters and three appendixes. Parts I-V focus on the mortuary temple, its history, architecture, decorative program, and mode of operation. Part VI discusses the associated tomb and the issue of the possible burial of Senwosret III at Abydos." "In its overall design the Senwosret III complex is an innovative royal mortuary establishment. Although it has discernible roots in the preceding pyramid tradition, the complex displays traits which presage the New Kingdom format of royal burial complex. With its subterranean tomb at the foot of Anubis-Mountain, and its cultivation-edge mortuary temple, this site is pivotal in the evolution of the Egyptian royal mortuary complex. The volume addresses our understanding of this site as either a cenotaph or burial complex, and the characteristics of the cult of Senwosret III as it was maintained at South Abydos for 150 years until it declined, ca. 1700 B.C., at the end of the 13th Dynasty."--BOOK JACKET.

Series Statement

• Publications of the Pennsylvania-Yale Expedition to Egypt ; 8
• Pennsylvania-Yale Expedition to Egypt. Publications of the Pennsylvania-Yale Expedition to Egypt ; no. 8.

Subjects

• Abydos (Egypt : Extinct city)
• Sepulchral chapels > Egypt > Abydos (Extinct city)
• Sesostris > III, > King of Egypt > Tomb

Note

• Published in association with the Peabody Museum of Natural History and the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

Contents

Pt. I. The mortuary complex and temple of Senwosret III at South Abydos -- Ch. 1. The mortuary complex of Senwosret III : Wih̃-swt-H'kiwr-mi'-hrw-m-ibdw -- Pt. II. The mudbrick containment building -- Ch. 2. Architectural features and design principles of the temple -- Ch. 3. Control notes, team marks, and the temple's construction sequence -- Ch. 4. The architecture of the outer temple -- Ch. 5. The east block : the Htm inw htpw-ntr n (H'kiwr') -- Ch. 6. The west block -- Ch. 7. The central water channel system -- Pt. III. The architecture and decorative program of the Senwosret III cult building and forecourt -- Ch. 8. The columned forecourt -- Ch. 9. The foundations and exterior architecture of the cult building -- Ch. 10. The interior architecture of the cult building -- Ch. 11. The interior relief decoration of the cult building -- Ch. 12. The exterior relief decoration of the cult building and forecourt -- Ch. 13. The royal statuary -- Ch. 14. Comparative lexicographic and functional analysis of the Senwosret III cult building and forecourt -- Ch. 15. An architectural model of the cult building Nfr-Ki and its forecourt -- Ch. 16. Observations on the position of the Senwosret III mortuary building in the development of the royal mortuary temple -- Pt. IV. The temple's ceramic assemblage, refuse deposits and external activity areas -- Ch. 17. The ceramic assemblage of the Senwoset III temple -- Ch. 18. The temple's external refuse deposits -- Ch. 19. Satellite activity areas : the temple production area, temple cemetery and Quartzite Debris field -- Pt. V. The temple's sealing corpus and administrative organization -- Ch. 20. The sealing assemblage, decorative scarab and royal name sealings -- Ch. 21. The stamp seal corpus and institutional structure of the Senwosret III mortuary cult -- Ch. 22. Name and title scarab sealings -- Pt. VI. The Senwosret III tomb and tomb enclosure -- App. The Senwosret III tomb enclosure -- App. 2. The subterranean tomb of Senwosret III -- App. 3. The Stela of Nebipusenwosret (BM 101 ) and its association with the cult of Senwosret III at Abydos.

ISBN

• 9780974002545 (hbk.)
• 0974002542 (hbk.)

OCLC

• ocm82672042
• 82672042
• SCSB-5365498

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries