The Oxford Handbook of Egyptian Epigraphy and Palaeography

Description

The unique relationship between word and image in ancient Egypt is a defining feature of that ancient culture's records. All hieroglyphic texts are composed of images, and large-scale figural imagery in temples and tombs is often accompanied by texts. Epigraphy and palaeography are two distinct, but closely related, ways of recording, analyzing, and interpreting texts and images. This Handbook stresses technical issues about recording text and art and interpretive questions about what we do with those records and why we do it. It offers readers three key things: a diachronic perspective, covering all ancient Egyptian scripts from prehistoric Egypt through the Coptic era (fourth millennium BCE-first half of first millennium CE), a look at recording techniques that considers the past, present, and future, and a focus on the experiences of colleagues. The diachronic perspective illustrates the range of techniques used to record different phases of writing in different media. The consideration of past, present, and future techniques allows readers to understand and assess why epigraphy and palaeography is or was done in a particular manner by linking the aims of a particular effort with the technique chosen to reach those aims. The choice of techniques is a matter of goals and the records' work circumstances, an inevitable consequence of epigraphy being a double projection: geometrical, transcribing in two dimensions an object that exists physically in three; and mental, an interpretation, with an inevitable selection among the object's defining characteristics. The experiences of colleagues provide a range of perspectives and opinions about issues such as techniques of recording, challenges faced in the field, and ways of reading and interpreting text and image. These accounts are interesting and instructive stories of innovation in the face of scientific conundrum. Halftitle page Copyright page Contents Acknowledgments List of Contributors Introduction Ancient Decoration The Link between Image and Text Importance of Epigraphy and Palaeography in Egyptology Approach of This Volume Past, Present, and Future of Epigraphic and Palaeographic Efforts I. Cultural and Material Setting 1. Form, Layout, and Specific Potentialities of the Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Script The Basic Figurativity of the Egyptian Hieroglyphic Script Inventory of Signs Specific Constraints on Hieroglyphs Examples of Arrangements Exploiting the Specific Potentialities of Hieroglyphic Script A Script Adapted to Object and Monuments 2. The Content of Egyptian Wall Decoration Context Multimodality: Text and Image Repertoire and Variation Concluding Remarks 3. The Egyptian Theory of Monumental Writing as Related to Permanence or Endurance The Monument as a Means to Overcome Transience Measures Taken to Ensure the Preservation of Monuments and Inscriptions The Restoration of Damaged Monuments 4. The Historical Record Introduction Epigraphy and Historical Methodology Problems of Terminology Monumental Appropriation of Cartouches and Erasure of Royal Inscriptions in the Ramesside Period The Question of Late Eighteenth- and Early Nineteenth-Dynasty Coregencies Conclusions: Epigraphy as a Tool for History 5. Egyptian Epigraphic Genres and Their Relation with Nonepigraphic Ones General Features of Egyptian Inscriptions The Early Development of Primary Epigraphic Genres The Diversification of Genres Relations between Lapidary Genres and with Nonlapidary Ones 6. Designers and Makers of Ancient Egyptian Monumental Epigraphy Social Identities, Education, and Training Practicalities Conclusion 7. Audiences Introduction Addressing Royal and Divine Spectators Addressing Posterity: Memory on Earth Participating Audience: Second and Third Hands on the Monument Graffiti Temple Visitors and Staff Visitors’ Graffiti and Copyists Concluding Remarks 8. The Materials, Tools, and Work of Carving and Painting Introduction Stone Carving Tools Experimental Toolmaking and Use Experimental Carving and Incising of Sedimentary Rock, Wood, Plaster, and Metal Experimental Carving of Igneous Stones Flat Surface and Relief Painting Physical Conditions Affecting Stone Carvers and Painters 9. Recording Epigraphic Sources as Part of Artworks Art and Text: Point of Departure A Line Is a Line: Different Techniques of Recording Line Drawing The Devil Is in the Details: Dealing with Different Art Genres Let’s Do It! An Appeal Instead of a Summary II. Historical Efforts at Epigraphy 1. When Ancient Egyptians Copied Egyptian Work Introduction Copying as Training Copying as Practice Dynamics of Copying 2. When Classical Authors Encountered Egyptian Epigraphy The Corpus The Sources The Terminology Describing a Hieroglyphic Text? Understanding the Mechanisms, Principles, and Uses of Ancient Egyptian Writing Conclusion 3. Interpretations and Reuse of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs in the Arabic Period (Tenth–Sixteenth Centuries CE) Overview Tenth Century ce: The Book of the Long Desired Fulfilled Knowledge of Occult Alphabets Later Alphabet Books (Thirteenth to Fifteenth Centuries) The Book of the Seven Climes on the Science Called the Art Conclusion 4. The Reception of Ancient Egypt and Its Script in Renaissance Europe Early Travelers to Egypt and Egyptian Monuments in Europe Early Approaches to Hieroglyphic Script Rise of Hermetism 5. The Epigraphy of Egyptian Monuments in the Description de l’Égypte Who Were the Scientists Who Copied Egyptian Monuments? What Was the Scientists’ Mission? How Did They Work? What Was the Result of Their Work? 6. The Rosetta Stone, Copying an Ancient Copy Introduction The Rosetta Stone, A Contemporary Copy The Rosetta Stone as a Printing Block: The First Copies Made in Egypt Sic Vos Non Vobis (“For You But Not Yours”) Epigraphy as a Source of Nationalistic Competition 7. The Epigraphic Work of Early Egyptologists and Travelers to Egypt George Zoëga (1755–1809) The Napoleonic Expedition Frédéric Cailliaud (1787–1869) Louis Maurice Adolphe Linant de Bellefonds (1789–1883) William Bankes (1786–1855) Giovanni Battista Belzoni (1778–1823) John Gardner Wilkinson (1797–1875) Robert Hay (1799–1863) Joseph Bonomi (1796–1878) James Burton (1788–1862) Jean François Champollion (1790–1832), Ippolito Rosellini (1800–1843), and the Franco-Tuscan Expedition 1828–1829 Nestor l’Hôte (1804–1841) Conclusion 8. Karl Richard Lepsius and the Royal Prussian Expedition to Egypt (1842–1845/6) Images from Egypt before Lepsius Lepsius’s Formative Years The Establishment of the Prussian Expedition The Prussian Expedition in Egypt Results of the Expedition The Description becomes Lepsius, Denkmäler Lepsius’s Achievements for Current Research 9. Nineteenth-Century Foundations of Modern Epigraphy Hand-Drawn Images of Sir J. G. Wilkinson Technology in Early Modern Epigraphy Auguste Mariette Georges Legrain Conclusion 10. Late Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century Scientific Developments in Epigraphy Work History Techniques and Standards of Recording Conservation III. Traditional and New Techniques of Epigraphy 1. How to Publish an Egyptian Temple? Precursors and Major Options for Publishing Temples Notes, Tips, and Some Rules As a Conclusion 2. Epigraphic Techniques Used by the Edfu Project 3. The So-Called Karnak Method The So-Called Karnak Method General Principles Vectorization of Epigraphic Copies Some Remarks Technological Developments 4. The Chicago House Method Introduction Description Variations Evaluation 5. Typical, Atypical, and Downright Strange Epigraphic Techniques A Journeyman Illustrator Recording Reused Blocks Tomb of Suemniwet More Reused Blocks Tomb of Hormose Saqqara, Mut Temple, and a Return to Suemniwet Teaching Epigraphic Recording 6. Online Publication of Monuments 7. Tradition and Innovation in Digital Epigraphy Reconstructing the Outer West Doorway of the Thutmoside Bark Sanctuary in the Small Amun Temple at Medinet Habu Enhanced Color Comparison Drawings of the Eighteenth Dynasty Façade in the Small Amun Temple at Medinet Habu Representing Painted Walls in Grayscale in Theban Tomb 179, the Eighteenth Dynasty Tomb of Nebamun Documenting and Reconstructing the Late Roman Murals in the Emperor’s Chamber at Luxor Temple Conclusion 8. 3D Scanning, Photogrammetry, and Photo Rectification of Columns in the Karnak Hypostyle Hall Introduction The Relevance of the Hypostyle Hall at Karnak as a Case Study for Testing Newly Emergent Techniques Using Photogrammetry and Photo Rectification to Record Planar Surfaces: The Case of the Abaci Inside the Hypostyle Hall Nonemerging and Emerging Techniques Used in Past Projects to Record the Nonplanar Surfaces of Columns Inside the Hypostyle Hall at Karnak: A Brief Survey The Functionality of Orthorectified Déroulés of Columns The Functionality of 3D Scanning Conclusion 9. An Assessment of Digital Epigraphy and Related Technologies Evolution of Scientific Illustration: The Path to “Trained Judgment” Methodology The Third Dimension Challenges 10. Practical Issues Concerning Epigraphic Work in Tombs and Temples The Tombs The Temples Conclusion 11. Graffiti History of Graffiti Recording Documenting Graffiti Conclusions 12. Practical Issues with the Epigraphic Restoration of a Biographical Inscription in the Tomb of Djehuty (TT 11), Dra Abu el-Naga Introduction TT 11: General Features Restoring the “Red Stela” Putting Fragments in Place 13. Palaeographic Interpretation in the Wake of a Logic of Writing-Imagery as Applied to the Formative Phase of Writing in the Pre- and Early Dynastic Periods Palaeography between Normalization, Standardization, and Stylization versus Formal Plasticity and Openness Palaeographically Relevant Dichotomies: An Open Catalog Regional Case Study: A Pre- and Early Dynastic Tableau of Inscriptions from the Sinai Palaeographic Interpretation of Two Royal Hieroglyphs Prospectus 14. Reading, Editing, and Appreciating the Texts of Greco-Roman Temples Pictures and Iconic Texts “Grammaire du temple” and Other Decorative Patterns Following Real or Virtual Orientations Tracing the Logic and the Dynamics of the Decoration 15. History of Recording Demotic Epigraphy A Short Overview of the Development of Demotic Epigraphy since the Late Period The Nineteenth Century The Twentieth Century The Twenty-First Century Summary Requirements Concerning the Publication of Demotic Epigraphic Objects Addendum_ Short Overview of Recording Demotic Graffiti (DG) 16. Aspects of the Relationships between the Community of Sheikh Abd al-Qurna and Ancient Egyptian Monuments The Qurnawi and the West Western Interest in Qurna A Deeper Understanding of Qurna and Its People The Qurnawi and Egyptology Moving Forward IV. Issues in Palaeography 1. The Significance of Medium in Palaeographic Study 2. Hieroglyphic Palaeography From Drawn Hieroglyph to Written Hieroglyph From Cursive Sign to Hieroglyphic Image of a World in Miniature 3. Methods, Tools, and Perspectives of Hieratic Palaeography Hieratic Palaeographies: Studying Written Variation Applying Hieratic Palaeography 4. Carved Hybrid Script Clarification of the Phenomenon “Hybrid Script” Middle Kingdom New Kingdom Statistical Study The Relationship of the Hybrid Characters to the Other Egyptian Scripts 5. Cursive Hieroglyphs in the Book of the Dead Origins and Usage Cursive Hieroglyphs in the Book of the Dead versus Cursive Hieroglyphs Everywhere Else Cursive Hieroglyphs versus Hieratic Sources Scribal Training and Copying Practices Conclusions 6. Some Issues in and Perhaps a New Methodology for Abnormal Hieratic Abnormal Hieratic versus Early Demotic The Interaction of Abnormal Hieratic and Early Demotic in Thebes Ambition for the Future 7. Demotic Palaeography Research History and Tools Methodology Classifying Demotic Hands Palaeographic “Registers” and Demotic in Different Text Types Demotic Sign Inventory Demotic Orthography 8. Issues and Methodologies in Coptic Palaeography To Date or Not to Date (?) To Describe and to Date: Between Types and Periods Resorting to Codicology Paleography and Dialects: The Relevance of the Diacritical Signs Provenance and Date: The Case of the Biblical Majuscule Documentary Scripts 9. Digital Palaeography of Hieratic History and Present State of Research and Methodology Needs and Goals of a Digital Palaeography Perspectives Conclusion 10. Hieratic Palaeography in Literary and Documentary Texts from Deir el-Medina Deir el-Medina as a Hot Spot of Hieratic Documentation in the Late New Kingdom Nature of the Evidence Regional and Individual Styles Conclusion Index Color Plats