Noreen
Doyle
Egyptology
Nautical Archaeology
Fiction
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Noreen
Doyle
Egyptology
Nautical Archaeology
Fiction
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| PAPERS & ARTICLES IN PRINT & FORTHCOMING | Abstract/Rationale | ||||
| Ground-penetrating
radar survey at the pyramid complex of Senwosret III at Dahshur, Egypt,
2008: search for the lost boat of a Pharaoh by Pearce Paul Creasman, Douglas Sassen, Samuel Koepnick, and Noreen Doyle Journal of Archaeological Science 37.3 (March 2010): 516-524 ; online | A survey at Dahshur, Egypt, employed 3-D ground-penetrating radar (GPR) in an attempt to locate pharaonic boat burials at the pyramid complex of King Senwosret III. In AD 1894, the original excavator reported finding five or six boats; however, only four "Dahshur boats" are known in museum collections today. The suspected site of the lost boat burial(s) lay beneath the large 1894 excavation backfill pile. The steep topography of the backfill required nonstandard GPR processing methods to accurately image the subsurface of the site. Although revealing no definitive traces of any remaining boats, imaging results did indicate discernible strata associated with the original naturally deposited surface, an excavated boat pit, debris and fill associated with either its original creation or its excavation, and deeper, presently unidentified archaeological remains. | ||||
| An
Exploratory Geophysical Survey at the Pyramid Complex of Senwosret III
at Dahshur, Egypt, in Search of Boats by Pearce Paul Creasman, Benjamin Vining, Samuel Koepnick, and Noreen Doyle International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 38.2 (September 2009): 386-399; online |
A geophysical survey at the pyramid complex of Senwosret III at Dahshur sought to determine the suitability of magnetometry and electromagnetic induction (EMI, or conductivity) for mapping the area where several ancient boat burials were found in the 1890s. At least one boat reported at the time of excavation remains unaccounted for. Tests demonstrated that magnetometry does detect subsurface structures of stone, fired brick, and unfired brick under current site conditions. Data indicated areas of geological activity as well as unexcavated archaeological remains, though no definitive traces of boat burials. No excavation was undertaken but another survey season is planned. | ||||
| Egypt The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: themes, works, and wonders (3 volumes) edited by Gary Westfahl Greenwood Press Volume 1, pp. 235-237 2005 |
Topics
briefly reviewed include Egypt as: source of power, fraudulent and
authentic; symbolic past; historical lynchpin; threat; beginning; end. |
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| Sitting
on Tholes, Offering Anchors: Some Challenges of Interpretation in Ancient Egyptian Nautical Iconography Tropis VII: Proceedings of the 7th International Symposium on Ship Construction in Antiquity (27 August - 31 August, 1999, Pylos) edited by Harry E. Tzalas Athens 2002 |
Nautical
iconography must
be examined in detail with reference to Egyptian representational
conventions, including specific non-nautical elements. Two examples
illustrate that past researchers have not always done this: 1. The objects long thought to represent outrigger tholes in certain paintings of Middle Kingdom boats are here demonstrated to be rowers' benches. 2. The round-topped triangular objects seen at the bows of boats in some Old Kingdom paintings and reliefs are demonstrated to be anchors only when shown with an apical hole; otherwise these objects represent votive loaves of bread, often with baked-brown tops. |
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| THESES | |||||
| Old Kingdom Sailing Rigs and
Later Bipod Masts: A Reevaluation from the Iconographic Evidence dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Egyptology) School of Archaeology, Classics, and Oriental Studies, University of Liverpool Liverpool, England 2003 Dissertation Supervisor: Dr. Ian Shaw |
Several other authors have approached the the subject of the ancient Egyptian rig in detail. The seminal studies were those of J. Assmann[1] and Ch. Boreux[2]. Up until the 1960s Egyptian sails were a popular topic among Egyptologists [3] and naval architects[4] alike, but the subject seemed to crystalize with the nearly simultaneous publications of Egyptologist J. Vandier[5] and artist and marine historian B. Landström[6], the latter of whom has had particular influence. Since then only the introduction of the brailed sail in the New Kingdom has been given detailed reconsideration[7]. The publication, or republication, of key pieces of evidence, most notably the Old Kingdom blocks re-used in the pyramid of Amenemhat I at Lisht[8], a number of Old Kingdom tombs[9] and museum collections[10], and discrepancies among past interpretations signal a need for a complete reexamination of the evidence. This dissertation reviews what exists, and what can be inferred from the existing evidence, regarding the construction and plan of the rig on ancient Egyptian watercraft during the Old Kingdom. References: [1] In: L. Borchardt, Das Grabdenkmal des Königs Sahu-re II, Leipzig, 1913. [2] Ch. Boreux, Études de Nautique Égyptienne: L'art de la Navigation en Égypte jusqu'à la Fin de l'Ancien Empire. Cairo, 1925. [3] E.g.: S. Clarke, Nile boats and other matters, Ancient Egypt 1920; P. E. Newberry, Notes on seagoing ships, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 28, 1943; W. F. Petrie, Egyptian Ships, Ancient Egypt and the East, 1933; R. O. Faulkner Egyptian seagoing ships, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 26, 1941. [4] E.g.: C. V. Sølver, Egyptian shipping of about 1500 B.C., Mariner's Mirror 22, 1936; J. Hornell, Water Transport: origins and early evolution, Devon, 1970 (1946); E. Marx, Egyptian shipping, Mariner's Mirror 33, 1947; J. Poujade, Trois flotilles de la VIième dynastie des pharaons, Paris, 1948; R. L. Bowen, Experimental nautical research: third millennium B.C. Egyptian sails, Mariner's Mirror 45, 1959; R. L. Bowen, Egypt's earliest sailing ships, Antiquity 34, 1960. [5] J. Vandier, Manuel d’Archéologie Égyptienne V. Paris, 1969. [6] B. Landström, Ships of the Pharaohs. Garden City, 1970. [7] S. Vinson, The earliest representations of brailed sails, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 30, 1993. [8] H. Goedicke, Re-used Blocks from the Pyramid of Amenemhet I at Lisht, New York, 1971. [9] E.g.: A. Badawy, The Tomb of Nyhetep-Ptah at Giza and the Tomb of `Ankhm`ahor at Saqqara, Berkeley, 1978; B. Jaros-Deckert, Das Grab des Jnj-jtj.f. Die Wandmalereien der XI. Dynastie. Grabung im Asasif 1963-1970 5, Mainz am Rhein, 1984; K. Sowada, K., T. Callaghan & P. Bentley, The Teti Cemetery at Saqqara 5, The Tomb of Hesi, Sydney, 1999. [10] E.g.: S. R. K. Glanville, Wooden Model Boats, London, 1972 (British Museum); R. Krauspe, Ägyptisches Museum der Karl-Marx-Universität Leipzig, Leipzig, 1987; M. Jørgensen, Catalogue: Egypt I (3000-1550 B.C.), Copenhagen, 1996 (Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek). |
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| Iconography and the
Interpretation of Ancient Egyptian Watercraft thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Anthropology/Nautical Archaeology), Nautical Archaeology Program, Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University College Station, Texas May, 1998 Committee Chair: George F. Bass download PDF |
Pharaonic
Egyptian civilization
was Nilocentric
and dependent upon watercraft. As a result, a nautically rich
iconographic legacy is available to enhance the evidence provided by
the archaeological remains of actual boats. Egyptian literature abounds
in nautical metaphors and presents a vast reservoir of imperfectly
understood Egyptian nautical terms. Artists, generally highly skilled
professionals, were familiar with watercraft in their daily lives.
However, the dictates of their artistic conventions make modern
interpretation of both two- and three-dimensional representations of
boats and crews difficult, as have artistic errors caused by
constraints of the media, techniques or carelessness. Past interpretive
errors have included mistaking rower's seats for tholes, stepped
gangplanks for "ladders," and loaves of bread for anchors. The Egyptian artist depicted ideals and attempted to portray objects and figures in such a way as to reflect the conceptual, rather than perceptual, reality of his world. Key details such as lanyards and crosspieces are often omitted from representations. A single piece of evidence may remain our only evidence for a type of ship or activity; subjects and features known from contemporary literature or the archaeological record, including passenger ferries, harbor works, and the participation of women, do not appear or are scanty in the iconography. Artists picked and chose from the reality around them to suit their own needs, not ours, and, thus, present an incomplete picture of the ancient reality. Even the extant, published iconography is incomplete; reliefs have lost their original painted surfaces and many scenes are in fragments. The publications themselves, although invaluable, present their own difficulties to researchers, who must be prepared to alter their reconstructions and hypotheses as new sources and the opportunity for better examination of the record become available. |
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| LECTURES & PAPERS
DELIVERED The Persistence of the Bipod Mast and the Transience of the Tripod 57th Annual Meeting of the American Research Center in Egypt 28-30 April 2006 Jersey City, New Jersey Sitting on Tholes, Dining on Anchors: Perils of Interpretation in Ancient Egyptian Nautical Iconography 7th International Symposium on Ship Construction in Antiquity 25-30 August 1999 Pylos, Greece Published as "Sitting on Tholes, Offering Anchors" War, Work, and Worship: Watercraft in Ancient Egypt Chautauqua Lecture Readercon 10 10-12 July 1998 Westborough, Massachusetts |
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