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Papers by Thierry De Putter

After a re-examination of the problem of the interpretation of Semna and Koumma rock inscriptions... more After a re-examination of the problem of the interpretation of Semna and Koumma rock inscriptions (Nubia), the conclusion arises that a short climate event resulted in a series of exceptionnally high Nile floods in the reign of Amennemes III, among others. The hypothesis of a man-made dam, proposed and supported by J. Vercoutter, is therefore regarded as erroneous.

Etude geologique des blocs en calcaire datant des regnes d'Hatshepsout et Thoutmosis III deco... more Etude geologique des blocs en calcaire datant des regnes d'Hatshepsout et Thoutmosis III decouverts dans le temple funeraire de Ramses II et mise en contexte pour la rive ouest de Thebes

Communication et Abstract, p 192-193info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublishe

L'art egyptien, pour une part essentielle, peut se caracteriser comme un monde de pierre. Chr... more L'art egyptien, pour une part essentielle, peut se caracteriser comme un monde de pierre. Christina Karlshausen et Thierry De Putter ont rassemble, pour l'archeologue et l'historien d'art, toutes les informations utiles sur les pierres qu'ont employees les Egyptiens pour bâtir et sculpter pendant plus de 3000 ans. L'utilisateur du livre y trouvera 64 planches en couleur l'aidant a identifier d'un coup d'œil la plupart de ces materiaux. Etude destinee a toute personne confrontee a l'identification de la pierre d'une œuvre egyptienne, tant chercheur qu'homme de terrain ou conservateur de collection publique, ainsi qu'a tout amateur d'art egyptien.

The global demand for cobalt — an essential component of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehic... more The global demand for cobalt — an essential component of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles — has experienced a considerable boom for the past fifteen years. Cobalt mining in the Katanga Copperbelt was mostly industrial in the 20th century. By contrast, artisanal exploitation has increased from 2000 onwards and it is now estimated that informal diggers provide about 20 % of DRC's total production, which in turn accounts for 60 % of world production. Environmental concerns of industrial exploitation, which represents about 80 % of DRC's global contribution, have been neglected. Artisanal mining also negatively impacts the environment. After a century of mining, the cobalt load in the environment has become extremely high in Katanga. People are heavily exposed to it and other toxic metals — among others uranium — creating serious public health challenges. This paper further addresses the possibility of a shift towards more sustainable exploitation of cobalt in the DRC...

Proceedings of the XI International Congress of Egyptologists, Florence, Italy 23-30 August 2015

Tura limestone, exploited 15km south of present-day Cairo, has been extensively used in the archi... more Tura limestone, exploited 15km south of present-day Cairo, has been extensively used in the architecture of the Old Kingdom, notably for the casing of pyramids and visible parts of temples. By contrast, other parts of contemporary monuments were built in local limestone, exploited in quarries close to the construction sites. Tura limestone is regarded as a ‘prestige’ material, most probably because its fine-grained texture allowed the execution of finely detailed reliefs, and gave the building a plain white, shining appearance. A similar stone procurement/use pattern prevailed at Thebes in the 11th Dynasty, with building stone (sandstone) and fine-grained limestone coming from a nearby upstream quarry (Dababiya), used in visible parts of the monuments. Northern Tura limestone makes its first appearance in Thebes in the reign of Amenemhat I. The chronology of the monuments of this king in the Theban area is unfortunately poorly constrained, but the use of Tura limestone blocks is evidenced at all sites where the king built (or rebuilt) temples: Tod, Armant, Dendera and Coptos, together with Dababiya limestone. Later on, Senwosret I predominantly used Tura limestone at Karnak. The specificity of Amenemhat I is that the king used both stones, from Dababiya and Tura. The reason why he did so is questioned in this paper. Constraints arising from procurement or contrasted geotechnical behaviour are ruled out, as the Dababiya quarry was to provide massive quantities of stone until the mid 18th Dynasty, and Tura and Dababiya limestones are both used for Amenemhat’s monuments, in a wholly similar way, with strongly oversized blocks. It rather seems that the introduction of Tura limestone in Theban architecture results from a mix of political and religious reasons. Politically, the use of Tura limestone helped anchor the new dynasty, just founded by Amenemhat I, in the continuity of the great rulers and builders of the Old Kingdom, and helped create, through the achievement of an ambitious architectural programme, a strong architectural link between the north and south, representing the union of the two lands. In the religious sphere, too, there was an obvious ‘mirror effect’ between northern and southern Heliopolis. This parallelism was, in a typically Egyptian way, materialized by the use of a same ‘prestige’ stone at both locations. As this was unlikely to be noticed at first glance, the kings took care to state that they used Tura limestone in explicit texts carved on Theban monuments. If in the Middle Kingdom there is an agreement between texts and the material used then this is no longer true in the New Kingdom. However, it remains important to state that the temple is built in the ‘beautiful white stone of Anu’, even though the stone comes from a nearby quarry.

The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology

This paper reviews the monuments built in the Theban area during the reigns of Hatshepsut and Thu... more This paper reviews the monuments built in the Theban area during the reigns of Hatshepsut and Thutmosis III, and their stone materials. This period witnessed a shift from limestone to sandstone in the second part of the Hatshepsut coregency with Thutmosis III, when the queen commissioned an ambitious architectural program. In his autonomous reign, Thutmosis III reused limestone in various monuments, possibly to distance himself from the queen’s choices, and to connect his reign with those of their glorious predecessors in the Middle Kingdom (Mentuhotep II at Deir el-Bahari; Senusret III at Medamud) and in the early Eighteenth Dynasty (Thutmosis I and II).

The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 2015

Identifying the material used to carve a statue is particularly significant. A sculpture might ap... more Identifying the material used to carve a statue is particularly significant. A sculpture might appear to be of a hard, prestigious stone, requiring a laborious process of manufacture, while actually be of a soft, more affordable stone. A large part of the corpus of sculptures of the Late Middle Kingdom and the Second Intermediate Period is made from a peculiar stone: steatite, also called soapstone or talc. Its specific characteristics allowed sculptors to produce pieces for the lower ranks of the elite. Soft and easily carved, steatite is transformed into a much harder material, enstatite (a mineral belonging to the pyroxene group) by firing. It also changes the soft and greyish appearance of steatite into a hard, dark or reddish stone. Steatite could thus be used to produce statues similar to those of higher officials (showing the same postures, gestures, clothes, headdresses, colour and apparent hardness), but using a much more affordable material. This process of transformation ...

Low temperature neoformed REE phosphates (monazites) have been discovered in the Neogene cryptoka... more Low temperature neoformed REE phosphates (monazites) have been discovered in the Neogene cryptokarsts from Southern Belgium. These minerals are intimately associated with kaolinite, at the karst wall. They range from a few nanometers to a few tens of micrometers in size. The mobilization of the trace elements as well as the processes that resulted in their trapping in monazites, together with the neoformed clays (halloysite, kaolinite) were discussed through a detailed geochemical investigation. Keywords: Monazite, Weathering, Kaolinite, Rare earth elements, Cryptokarst. © Academie des Sciences.

Le calcaire fin des carrieres de Toura, au sud du Caire, a fait l’objet d’une exploitation intens... more Le calcaire fin des carrieres de Toura, au sud du Caire, a fait l’objet d’une exploitation intensive tout au long de l’epoque pharaonique. Essentiellement destine a la construction des temples et des pyramides du nord de l’Egypte, ce calcaire se retrouve aussi dans l’architecture thebaine, a partir du Moyen Empire. Plusieurs questions se posent : pourquoi avoir fait venir un materiau de si loin, a contre-courant, alors que des carrieres plus proches et connues de longue date etaient a disposition des constructeurs ? A partir de quand retrouve-t-on la pierre de Toura a Thebes ? Dans quels types de bâtiments et/ou de tombes ? Nous proposerons quelques pistes de reflexion autour de cette pierre et de ses rivales locales, en gardant a l’esprit que la « belle pierre blanche d’Anou » a longtemps beneficie, dans les textes tout au moins, d’une aura particuliere qui a sans doute influe sur le choix de ce materiau. Replacee dans un contexte plus large, l’etude montre que le temple offre au b...

Göttinger Miszellen, 1994

L'auteur demontre dans cet article que le calcaire utilise pour l'architecture de Thebes,... more L'auteur demontre dans cet article que le calcaire utilise pour l'architecture de Thebes, depuis le regne d'Amenophis I jusqu'a celui de Thoutmosis III, provient des carrieres de la region d'el-Gebelein. Il emet egalement l'hypothese selon laquelle le changement de materiau constate a l'epoque d'Hatchepsout et de Thoutmosis III serait tout simplement du a des considerations materielles, telles la disponibilite de la matiere premiere ainsi que la commodite de son acheminement vers les chantiers de construction

Communication et Abstract, p 192-193info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublishe

Proceedings of the XI International Congress of Egyptologists, Florence, Italy 23-30 August 2015

The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology

The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 2015

Göttinger Miszellen, 1994

Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 2019

The title of the book raised considerable expectations on my part, and I must admit that most of ... more The title of the book raised considerable expectations on my part, and I must admit that most of them were not fully met. However, as it is, the PhD dissertation of Sander Müskens is a considerable and useful toolbox for researchers willing to go further. The author states that his book has taken a first step towards a contextual analysis of Aegyptiaca romana. He did more than a first step. He collected a wealth of scientific data and often asks relevant questions, which is part of the scientific method. The book is therefore recommended for all researchers having an interest in cross-cultural contacts between Egyptians and Romans, and in their material expression as Aegyptiaca romana.

Bibliotheca Orientalis , 2017

Forthcoming in Chronique d'Egypte 179

In: Vie archéologique, Vol. 52, p. 61-63, 1999

Éditions Safran Publishers, 2022

par Thierry De Putter et Christina Karlshausen. — "Pierres de l’Égypte ancienne" est un livre ind... more par Thierry De Putter et Christina Karlshausen. — "Pierres de l’Égypte ancienne" est un livre indispensable aux égyptologues, aux historiens de l’art et à tous ceux qui souhaitent identifier les matériaux de l’architecture, de la sculpture et de la joaillerie pharaoniques.

Guide pratique, il fournit des descriptions et des critères d’identification des roches et minéraux et présente une très riche sélection d’œuvres illustrées, issues des grandes collections internationales, permettant de visualiser l’aspect des matériaux mis en œuvre sur près de 3500 ans.

L’ouvrage offre aussi un point de nos connaissances sur la lexicographie des minéraux et sur leur utilisation dans l’art, mettant en lumière leur diversité, mais aussi les règles qui président à leur usage dans l’Égypte ancienne.
———
Table des matières et détails sur http://www.safran.be/proddetail.php?prod=CEA20

The Egyptian and African Copper metallurgy Project (EACoM) is an interdisciplinary project funde... more The Egyptian and African Copper metallurgy Project (EACoM) is an interdisciplinary project
funded by the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO). Research focuses on the copper metallurgy
collections of both the Royal Museums of Art and History of Brussels and the Royal Museum of Central
Africa (MRAC), Tervuren, in collaboration with the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and the Centre for
Archaeological Science of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Although the collections are diverse in nature
and context, the project team adopted a consistent approach focusing on the chaînes opératoires and
thorough study of the techniques involved. The aim is to increase understanding of the processes by which
the metal was produced and then transformed into semi-finished and finished objects at different times and
in different regions of sub-Saharan Africa and Egypt. Ultimately the ambition is to refine our perception
of the social and historical context of the two collections and thereby enhance their visibility. Fieldwork
carried out by part of the team (ULB-MRAC) in the copper production area of the Niari basin (Republic of
Congo) revealed new data on extractive (primary) metallurgy for a region where the primary sources of
copper have become increasingly better defined, whereas the MRAC collections, because of their richness
and diversity, provide a wide array of data and the opportunity to use different approaches to reconstruct the
various chaînes opératoires of secondary metallurgy. An integrated approach to the fabrication processes is
even possible in some cases, as in the Konga greaves of the Congo Basin (DRC). Indeed, the documentary and
photographic material in the archives of the ethnographic collections of the Museum, together with the
tools and finished objects in the collections, permit the reconstruction of the chaînes opératoires involved
in the fabrication of the Konga greaves, comprehension of the use of certain tools and interpretation of the
tool marks visible on the finished objects. The results not only document a specific set of techniques but go
further in providing a technical reference framework that helps interpret the forming of objects bearing
the same fabrication marks or of remains from less well-documented contexts.

Recent research in the Niari Basin, located along the southern border of the Republic of Congo, h... more Recent research in the Niari Basin, located along the southern border of the Republic of Congo, has revealed several copper production sites ranging from the 13th to 19th century CE. The evidence in this area, specifically at Mindouli, Mfouati, Boko-Songho, includes various production remains such as furnaces, tuyères, smelting slags and crucibles, as well as different types of copper ingots or artefacts (See Nikis, On Copper production in western central Africa in 2nd millennium AD, this conference).
This region further has several copper-lead-zinc deposits that are not thoroughly characterised. In the context of a broader technological study of the copper metallurgy in the region, several of these ores have been analysed for their chemical and lead isotope composition. The results of these analyses are discussed in this presentation, with specific emphasis on the distinct features of each deposits - Mindouli, Mfouati and Boko-Songho - pertinent to copper provenance issues.
Against this geological background, results of the chemical and lead isotope analysis of copper objects – primarily ingots – as well as other production remains from the archaeological sites are further presented. Combining this line of evidence with archaeological and historical evidence, complemented by a first reconstruction of manufacturing process, new and significant insights are given on the production of copper in the Niari Basin. Thereby, the potential of this research as a pilot study for forthcoming work on the copper trade in a wider regional context are outlined.

Africa has a wealth of mineral resources which were used in various cultural settings and played ... more Africa has a wealth of mineral resources which were used in various cultural settings and played a major role in the emergence and development of major cultural groups from at least the 6th millennium onward. Minerals from Ethiopia (obsidian, amazonite) are closely associated to the emergence of social complexity in the Neolithic of the Sudanese Nile Valley and further north, in Predynastic Egypt. In Dynastic Egypt, raw materials have been massively used for large architectural structures while luxury goods made use of rare minerals and precious metals, either mined locally or imported from remote sources. Copper has been used since the 2nd half of the 1st millennium AD in the Katanga, D.R. Congo, where it played a major economic and social role in the whole Central Africa, comparable to that of gold in other regions in the world. Even if the upstream part of the supply chain is specific to each context, it is the purpose to check how the downstream aspects (use, value) compare in the various case studies (a.o. the Saharan Neolithic, pharaonic Egypt, pre-colonial Africa).
The conference aims at exploring the procurement, trade, use and value of minerals in Africa. The proposed approach is intrinsically multidisciplinary as the study of procurement, sourcing and use of minerals gathers specialists from different research fields – geology, archaeology, history, art history, philology, etc. The concept of value is more complex and refers to fluctuating and ambivalent meanings. On the one hand, value is probably specific to a given context, as emphasized by the variety of “top” luxury commodities throughout the world (copper in Central Africa, gold in Egypt, jade in China, etc.). On the other hand, value is also a function of the intensity of the workforce invested in the procurement (mining, long-distance trade) and use (carving, smelting) of a given mineral – which might offer a common touchstone applying to various cultural contexts. Further, value is also conferred through “resource greed” emanating from social or religious elite groups, linking precious minerals procurement and trade to increasing social complexity, in various contexts. This transversal theme will be fuelled by thematic approaches in the various study areas.
The Royal Academy for Overseas Sciences Conference welcomes to-the-point, novel talks on the procurement, trade, use and value of minerals in and around pre-colonial Africa. Different viewpoints from various disciplines are most welcome. We therefore invite original (oral or posters) contributions on themes such as sourcing (geochemical/isotopic) analyses, archaeological contexts and finds, trade routes, uses of specific materials in art history, written sources, religious/ideological beliefs connected to minerals, etc. Submit your abstract of max. 300 words to mininafrica@kaowarsom.be
Visit: http://www.kaowarsom.be/mininafrica
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