Ross I Thomas | The British Museum (original) (raw)

Articles & book chapters by Ross I Thomas

Sculpture in context: Production, meaning re(uses), 2020

Naukratis was established in the late 7th century BC and held a privileged position as a controll... more Naukratis was established in the late 7th century BC and held a privileged position as a controlled port of trade and base for Eastern Mediterranean traders during the Late Period, from its founding around 630–610 BC until the establishment of Alexandria after 331 BC. Fieldwork undertaken by Petrie (1886), Gardner (1888), Hogarth (Hogarth, Edgar and Gutch 1898–99; Hogarth, Lorimer and Edgar 1905), Coulson (1996) and Leonard (1997; 2001), and since 2012, the British Museum (Thomas and Villing 2013; forthcoming; Thomas 2015e), have revealed tens of thousands of artefacts found within discrete areas of the settlement that can be broadly grouped into: ‘Greek’ sanctuaries (the sanctuaries of Apollo, Aphrodite, Dioskouroi, Hera and the Hellenion); Egyptian religious areas (the sanctuary of Amun-Ra Baded and the ‘cache of bronzes’); and the (primarily) Egyptian domestic and industrial areas of the ‘town’, the ‘south site’ and Kom Hadid (Fig. 1). The British Museum Naukratis Project (Villing et al. 2013–19), which has been reappraising artefacts and archive material from the old excavations, has enabled the detailed study of many of these finds, including 431 stone figures and the contexts within which they were found. The catalogue of all figures (comprising free-standing statuettes or figurines and relief carved figure plaques) and sculpture from the old excavations is published with a full typological discussion in Thomas 2015a; 2015b; 2015c; and Thomas and Higgs 2017, where a full discussion of date, type and previous misinterpretations have been explored, negating the necessity to duplicate those discussions here. These can now be complemented by recent discoveries from new fieldwork by the British Museum.
This study will focus on the Cypriot and Egyptian stone statuettes that dominate the figurine assemblage during the period that starts around c. 630–610 and finishes around 330 BC (although some forms continue to c. 200 BC). This paper will focus on about 350 of the stone statuettes that represent the main forms distributed across Naukratis, starting with 204 examples from the Egyptian assemblage, then moving to the corpus of 145 Cypriot examples. The study will consider figures made of other materials, where they inform the use of those made of stone, and the conclusion will focus on comparisons between the groups and what this may tell us about the religious practices of different communities at Naukratis.

British Museum Studies in Ancient Egypt and Sudan, 2019

Amelia Edwards was the first to publish articles on ‘the terra-cottas of Naukratis’. In 1885, she... more Amelia Edwards was the first to publish articles on ‘the terra-cottas of Naukratis’. In 1885, she stated that the pieces would ‘be distributed among various museums, and, scattered far and wide…. never again will it be possible to compare them one with another, except in photographs or engravings’ (Edwards 1885, 261). Following the Naukratis Project’s cataloguing of all of the more than 18,000 known objects excavated and collected in the late 19th–early 20th century at Naukratis, and currently in over seventy-five collections worldwide (Villing et al. 2013–19), as well as the restudy of over 4,000 finds from the later American fieldwork in the 1970s and 80s, it is possible to compare all figurines again, although the long years since have resulted in a number of casualties (destroyed, lost or provenance misattributed). The Project has now catalogued to date 1,613 terracotta and 432 stone figurines from the site that range from the Late Period to the Byzantine period. Like the inhabitants of Naukratis, they are diverse, comprising both local figures and pieces that had travelled far from across the Eastern Mediterranean. This large and varied, but poorly understood, corpus has long demanded systematic analysis, given the growing literature on figurines in general (if not specifically those from Naukratis). This article will introduce the catalogue, provide a brief overview of the figurines, their dating, techniques and technology including their production at Naukratis, and discuss some major trends and developments between the late 7th century BC and the 7th century AD within the corpus at Naukratis.

In A. Villing, M. Bergeron, G. Bourogiannis, A. Johnston, F. Leclère, A. Masson and R. Thomas, Naukratis: Greeks in Egypt. The British Museum, Online Research Catalogue., 2019

Many shell, horn, tooth and bone objects were revealed by the early excavations at Naukratis, but... more Many shell, horn, tooth and bone objects were revealed by the early excavations at Naukratis, but only 159 can be identified today.1 These probably represent only a small proportion of what was originally encountered by the early excavators at Naukratis who recorded finding numerous bones within burnt deposits across the site. Recent excavation at Naukratis by the British Museum,2 and the excavations directed by Leonard both revealed substantial numbers of faunal remains. The material below consists disproportionately of worked artefacts and ornaments, as the faunal remains from animals consumed as food are exceptionally rare. It seems that the excavators only kept faunal remains when they were worked artefacts, ornaments, or from specific contexts they found interesting, such as a small sample from burnt deposits within the Greek sanctuaries of Naukratis. For this reason most of what is discussed below concerns votives, sacrifices, ritual instruments, grave goods, and a few tools, with only a few rare instances of animal remains that represent the diet of Naukratites.
Most of the bone artefacts, with the exception of bone figurines, have been discussed in other chapters, which is why they are only briefly discussed in section 2 below. Jewellery (Fig. 1), Egyptian ritual equipment (Fig. 2) and tools (Figs 3–5) made of bone or ivory are covered in specialist chapters with objects in other materials.3 Noteworthy finds not discussed in other chapters comprise a range of carved and undecorated Tridacna shells, ostrich eggshell vessels and shell ornaments (section 3 below). The few faunal remains (along with a bone knife handle) from Naukratis come from a bone and charcoal ritual sacrifice deposit dated to c. 620–500 BC, excavated by Petrie from the Apollo sanctuary.4 These remains may be comparable with contemporary bone and charcoal deposits found near the Hellenion and Dioskouroi sanctuaries recently excavated at Naukratis.

In A. Villing, M. Bergeron, G. Bourogiannis, A. Johnston, F. Leclère, A. Masson and R. Thomas, Naukratis: Greeks in Egypt. The British Museum, Online Research Catalogue, 2018

Amphorae are common, distinctive and now a well understood field of archaeological study, constit... more Amphorae are common, distinctive and now a well understood field of archaeological study, constituting a major aspect of research into Hellenistic and Roman archaeology. Amphora sherds are commonly encountered walking through Naukratis to this day. However, they are relatively scarce within the assemblage collected by Petrie, Gardner and Hogarth, which is discussed alongside the subsequent research undertaken by Coulson and Leonard and recent fieldwork undertaken by the British Museum. The identification and provenance of amphorae can provide the source and contents of liquid commodities reaching cities such as Naukratis. This data enables us to track the changing sources of wine and oil that were consumed at Naukratis. The study of amphora stoppers allows one to check whether amphorae have been recycled locally and to associate quantifiable ceramic data with qualifiable epigraphic data concerning traders and agents involved in the transport of liquid goods; together the economy of Naukratis can be assessed in comparison with other major settlements in the region and further afield.

In A. Villing, M. Bergeron, G. Bourogiannis, A. Johnston, F. Leclère, A. Masson and R. Thomas, Naukratis: Greeks in Egypt. The British Museum, Online Research Catalogue, 2018

The jewellery and mirrors from Naukratis comprise a diverse group of objects that testify to the ... more The jewellery and mirrors from Naukratis comprise a diverse group of objects that testify to the changing fashions of adornment at Naukratis between its founding in in the late 7th century BC until the end of the 4th century BC. They display a range of influences from Egypt, Persia, Greece, Cyprus, Phoenicia and Carthage, and some of the later examples show local expressions of broader Roman fashions. Despite the relatively poor environmental conditions for the preservation of metals or organics, ancient recycling and modern looting, the diverse uses of jewellery by the inhabitants of Naukratis are reflected in material from domestic, funerary, manufacturing and sanctuary deposits. The discovery of a group of gold and silver jewellery, including objects depicting the Osirian Triad (Isis, Serapis and Horus), suggests the existence of a previously unknown Isis temple active in the late 1st century AD, built on reclaimed land next to the river, not far from the much older sanctuaries of Aphrodite and Hera.

In A. Villing, M. Bergeron, G. Bourogiannis, A. Johnston, F. Leclère, A. Masson and R. Thomas, Naukratis: Greeks in Egypt. The British Museum, Online Research Catalogue, 2018

Thomas, R. I. 2018: Ptolemaic, Roman and Byzantine pottery. in A. Villing, M. Bergeron, G.Bourogi... more Thomas, R. I. 2018: Ptolemaic, Roman and Byzantine pottery. in A. Villing, M. Bergeron, G.Bourogiannis, A. Johnston, F. Leclère, A. Masson and R. Thomas, Naukratis: Greeks in Egypt. The British Museum, Online Research Catalogue.

Pottery is by far the most common artefact group found at Naukratis, and the Ptolemaic to Byzantine pottery spans over 10 centuries of the settlement’s history, from 331 BC until around AD 650. For this reason it is of particular importance for our understanding of the changing communities living at and visiting Naukratis over this long and dynamic period. Even though the assemblage known to us today is a heterogeneous selection made by successive excavators with different sampling strategies, careful assessment of the abundant evidence enables us to investigate the three key questions often asked of such assemblages: date, origin and function. The chapter surveys the large and varied assemblage so as to provide the reader with a good understanding of these broad questions, whilst also investigating, where possible, the complex and nuanced role of pottery in the expression of identities within the cosmopolitan communities of Naukratis.

Thomas, R. I. and Masson, A. 2018: Altars, sundials, minor architectural objects and models. in A... more Thomas, R. I. and Masson, A. 2018: Altars, sundials, minor architectural objects and models. in A. Villing, M. Bergeron, G.Bourogiannis, A. Johnston, F. Leclère, A. Masson and R. Thomas, Naukratis: Greeks in Egypt. The British Museum, Online Research Catalogue.

A small group of portable cult objects, furniture and minor architectural models and fragments were found in Naukratis, most of them from Greek and possibly Egyptian sanctuaries as well as Egyptian houses. They are treated in four separate sections: altars; house models; sundials; and architectural fragments. Portable altars like incense burners were used for burning offerings to the gods; their iconography and types belong to Egyptian, Greek and Phoenician/Punic cultures. House models, used as lamp shrines or to burn offerings, reproduce typical Egyptian tower house and temple architecture. Sundials were dedicated in the Apollo sanctuary. Most architectural fragments probably came from Greek sanctuaries, although some may have belonged to private residences.

Villing, A., Bergeron, M., Bourogiannia, G., Johnston, A., Leclère, F.,Masson, A., Thomas, R.I., 2013-2019. Naukratis: Greeks in Egypt. British Museum Online Research Catalogue (www.britishmuseum.org/naukratis), 2017

Classical Greek, Hellenistic and Roman sculpture was a rare find at Naukratis, comprising mainly ... more Classical Greek, Hellenistic and Roman sculpture was a rare find at Naukratis, comprising mainly small statuettes and a few fragments of full or half-life-sized statues. There are also a small number of relief sculptures from temples and grave monuments. Some Greek and Roman-style sculpture was also created from Egyptian raw materials, using Egyptian tools and techniques and sometimes displaying Egyptian subjects. An unusual group of 22 marble and limestone cats, a rare subject in Greek art, were dedicated to a 3rd-century BC temple of Boubastis in Naukratis. Parallels from a contemporary Boubasteion in Alexandria shed light on how the Greek elite at Naukratis participated in the cult of this Egyptian goddess. Her worship was associated with the dynastic cults of the deified Ptolemaic queens Arsinoe II and Berenike II, which integrated Greek and Egyptian religious practices as an expression of Ptolemaic dynastic propaganda.

Ptolemaic and Roman faience vessels emerged from a long Egyptian tradition and their presence at ... more Ptolemaic and Roman faience vessels emerged from a long Egyptian tradition and their presence at Naukratis reflects the continued popularity of faience vessels within Egyptian society until the beginning of the 3rd century AD. However, the introduction of Greek technology as well as new forms and fashions mean that the variety of faience vessel forms is significantly different from what came before. The assemblage can be broadly separated into four productions: 3rd and 2nd century BC bi- or multi-chrome faience with mould-made relief and incised detail; 2nd to 1st century BC undecorated mono- or bi-chrome vessels; rare Ptolemaic faience plastic vases; and plain turquoise 1st and 2nd century AD table wares. There is also evidence for production during the 3rd or 2nd century BC in the form of moulds. Collectively the assemblage not only adds to our knowledge of the range of table wares used at Naukratis, but also sheds light on the ritual practices of the Greek elite and the ruler cult of Arsinoe II in the 3rd century BC. Faience vessels associated with the New Year and inundation festivals show remarkable continuity with the preceding periods at Naukratis.

Tools and weapons were of major interest to Petrie when he excavated Naukratis. This fascination ... more Tools and weapons were of major interest to Petrie when he excavated Naukratis. This fascination probably goes back to when in 1884–5 he discovered large quantities of iron tools and slag within what he believed to be an industrial metal working area of the 6th century BC, leading him to suggest that Naukratis ‘was a great centre of the iron trade, if not indeed the principal source of manufactured iron to the Greeks of the sixth century’. Tools and weapons played a role in many aspects of the daily life of the inhabitants of Naukratis. They provide us with the picture of an active and productive port city that was at times a centre of innovation, its diverse population employing a range of skills, crafts and technologies. The object groups covered in the chapter include weapons and armour, tools, kiln furniture, gaming pieces and related objects, and fishing gear. It fittingly closes with a detailed discussion of sailing equipment, considering that the primary role of Naukratis was as a port.

2016 R. I. Thomas and D. Robinson. Egypt and Rome. In Sunken cities: Egypt’s lost worlds, F. Goddio and A. Masson-Berghoff (eds), 221–41. London: Thames and Hudson., 2016

B. Pennington and R. I. Thomas. 2016. Paleoenvironmental surveys at Naukratis and the Canopic Branch of the Nile. In Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 7: 180–88., 2016

Thirty-five auger cores (covering an area of c. 1 km2) were undertaken at the ancient site of Nau... more Thirty-five auger cores (covering an area of c. 1 km2) were undertaken at the ancient site of Naukratis in the Nile Delta, an important trading port from c. 620 BCE until 650 CE, supplemented by an Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) profile. These data inform on the location and navigability of the Canopic branch of the Nile, a river that was a major communication, trade and transport artery between Egypt and the Mediterranean during this period; and on the evolving relationship between the river and the port of Naukratis, Egypt's primary Mediterranean trade hub during the Late Period (664–332 BCE). The Canopic branch of the river was located to the west of the settlement and was c. 5 m deep and c. 200 m wide, aggrading at 1.1–2.4 mm/yr. During the Late Period the river channel abutted the site, before migrating westwards, away from the edge of the town, during the closing centuries BCE. A swampy backwater was left directly beside the site, which silted up and was built over in Roman times. The river itself ceased to flow during the later first millennium CE, after which it was canalised.

Naukratis was an important hub for trade and cross-cultural exchange long before the foundation o... more Naukratis was an important hub for trade and cross-cultural
exchange long before the foundation of Alexandria.
Established in the late seventh century BC as a base for
Greek and eastern Mediterranean traders, Naukratis also
functioned as the port of the royal pharaonic city of Saïs.
Previous fieldwork by Petrie and Gardner (1884–1886),
Hogarth (1899–1903) and Coulson and Leonard (1970s–
1980s) concentrated particularly on the central areas of
the town. Recent investigations were undertaken by the
Supreme Council of Antiquities within the surrounding
villages of Rashwan, Abu Mishfa, Gebril Abbas, Hassan
Kasim and El Baradany, directed by Mohammed Aly
Hakim. The early excavations were pioneering for their
time, revealing a wealth of information, but left many
questions unanswered; their significance and their effect
on scholarship have been discussed in recent publications
by the British Museum’s Naukratis Project.
In October 2012 and April 2013 two brief seasons of
new fieldwork at the site were carried out by members of
the Naukratis Project in collaboration with the Egyptian
Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA). The key incentive
was to gain new and additional contextual information
about Naukratis as part of the on-going reassessment the
site, and to assess the potential of the site for a possible
larger-scale fieldwork project. Specifically, our primary
objectives were to undertake preliminary investigations
of the full extent of the city and its development, its
urban structures, palaeo-landscape and position in the
system of waterways in the Nile Delta—pressing research
questions that could not be answered solely through our
on-going reassessment of the nineteenth century fieldwork
at the site.

Naukratis: Greeks in Egypt. The British Museum, Online Research Catalogue. , 2015

This chapter provides a brief introduction to the material and a summary of the patterns present within this diverse assemblage. Comprising nearly 1,800 terracotta figures, figure vessels, models and coffin-fittings as well as over 400 stone figures, they cover all periods of the site’s history across the Saite, Achaemenid, Ptolemaic and Roman periods.

Figures (and moulds) were found in workshops, houses, burials and sanctuary deposits. The assemblage provides useful insights into the production, use, meaning and deposition of figures that represent a variety of human activities at Naukratis. This yields valuable information about the site’s inhabitants and their identity. Whilst the figures from the Greek sanctuaries were predominantly East Greek and Cypriot – attesting the strong trade links between these regions and Naukratis – one remarkable observation is that the assemblage in the town is predominantly Egyptian in nature, suggesting that Egyptian religious practices were widespread in Naukratis from the time of its foundation onwards.

With few exceptions, the large number – over 400 fragments – of ‘Greek’ figures found at Naukrati... more With few exceptions, the large number – over 400 fragments – of ‘Greek’ figures found at Naukratis date from the period between 620 and 300 BC when Naukratis operated as an eastern Mediterranean trade hub and port of Egypt. The majority of imported Greek figurines are of East Greek origin and were found in Archaic and Classical Greek sanctuary deposits. Six broad groups can be distinguished, with parallels known from other East Greek, Cypriot and Phoenician sites. The Greek figures include: Archaic East Greek hand-made and mould-made figure plaques; Archaic East Greek mould-made figures and figure vases; Late Archaic and Classical East Greek protomes and figures; and late Classical and early Hellenistic East Greek and Greek mould-made hollow figures. This chapter introduces the wide variety of Greek figures brought to Naukratis, their production, use and deposition.

The role of Naukratis as a significant eastern Mediterranean trade hub is confirmed by the numero... more The role of Naukratis as a significant eastern Mediterranean trade hub is confirmed by the numerous – over 250 – Cypriot alabaster, limestone and terracotta figures found in the site’s Greek sanctuaries. Indeed, it was the discovery of a Cypriot alabaster figure that led Flinders Petrie to Naukratis in the first place. The quantity of Cypriot figures found within the earliest layers of the Greek sanctuaries of Aphrodite, Apollo and to a lesser degree the sanctuary of Hera and the Hellenion is an indicator of the strength of trade relations between Egypt and Cyprus during the Late Period, particularly during the Saite period. This chapter introduces the range of Cypriot figures found as votive offerings within the Greek sanctuaries of Naukratis. Their production, use and deposition is discussed, highlighting their prominent role as dedications of visitors to Naukratis during the period when the settlement had a unique role as Egypt’s hub of Mediterranean trade.

Naukratis was a Nile Delta settlement in which many inhabitants followed the Egyptian religious a... more Naukratis was a Nile Delta settlement in which many inhabitants followed the Egyptian religious and cultural practices of Lower Egypt. The over 550 Late Period Egyptian figures found at the site are a large and important group among the finds from Naukratis because they attest a clear link with native Egyptian practices at a settlement commonly misunderstood as predominantly Greek. Manufactured from both terracotta and limestone, they are of typical Lower Egyptian types, with representations of nude female, ithyphallic male and Bes figures particularly frequent. Indeed, phallic figures and ‘erotic’ figure groups used to be commonly known as ‘Naukratite figures’ because of the ‘great quantity of indecent statuettes’ (Edgar 1905, 130) uncovered at the site. This chapter discusses the production, meaning and use of this little understood group. Their production continued into the early Ptolemaic period when the industry was transformed by the introduction of new production techniques and styles from the late 4th century BC onwards.

Naukratis: Greeks in Egypt. The British Museum, Online Research Catalogue. , 2015

From the late 4th century BC new styles and techniques of terracotta figure manufacture were intr... more From the late 4th century BC new styles and techniques of terracotta figure manufacture were introduced to Naukratis from Greece, replacing those of Late Period Egypt. The resulting Ptolemaic and Roman terracotta figures, coffin fittings and models from Naukratis comprise a large and varied group of artefacts. Spanning the period from the end of the 4th century BC through to the 7th century AD, they reflect the continued significance of the settlement to Roman times. They also highlight an increase in the production and demand for terracotta representations of Egyptian deities. With over 850 of the extant examples locally produced in Naukratis, they are evidence for a proliferation in local demand for terracottas for the home and the cemetery. This chapter introduces the large and diverse group of extant figures from Naukratis, their production, use and deposition.

Of the lighting equipment known from Naukratis, oil lamps are best represented with over 330 piec... more Of the lighting equipment known from Naukratis, oil lamps are best represented with over 330 pieces known to have come from the site. The assemblage allows us to trace the changing uses of lamps within Egyptian and Greek societies over time. In the New Kingdom, olive oil was an commodity imported by the elite, but by the Roman period castor, sesame, linseed and olive oil were widely available for use in lamps. This chapter discusses the production and use of these utilitarian objects that also held important religious and ritual meaning, which can be discovered from the deposition practices reflected in the archaeological context.

Naukratis: Greeks in Egypt. The British Museum, Online Research Catalogue. , 2015

Portable cooking stoves were elaborate products of the Hellenistic coroplast’s art, comprising bo... more Portable cooking stoves were elaborate products of the Hellenistic coroplast’s art, comprising both wheel and mould-made parts. Stoves were the main means of cooking and heating in Hellenistic houses throughout the eastern Mediterranean, consisting of a tall cylindrical pedestal with a bowl-shaped cavity for the fuel and three projections that supported the cooking pot. These projections, and occasionally the outside of the stoves, feature moulded decoration and occasionally record the maker’s names. Usually only the decorated components from the finer examples of these artefacts were collected by excavators. This chapter discusses the production and use of the small number of imported stoves and braziers as well as the more common copies made at Naukratis for an Egyptian market.

Sculpture in context: Production, meaning re(uses), 2020

British Museum Studies in Ancient Egypt and Sudan, 2019

In A. Villing, M. Bergeron, G. Bourogiannis, A. Johnston, F. Leclère, A. Masson and R. Thomas, Naukratis: Greeks in Egypt. The British Museum, Online Research Catalogue., 2019

In A. Villing, M. Bergeron, G. Bourogiannis, A. Johnston, F. Leclère, A. Masson and R. Thomas, Naukratis: Greeks in Egypt. The British Museum, Online Research Catalogue, 2018

2016 R. I. Thomas and D. Robinson. Egypt and Rome. In Sunken cities: Egypt’s lost worlds, F. Goddio and A. Masson-Berghoff (eds), 221–41. London: Thames and Hudson., 2016

B. Pennington and R. I. Thomas. 2016. Paleoenvironmental surveys at Naukratis and the Canopic Branch of the Nile. In Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 7: 180–88., 2016

Naukratis: Greeks in Egypt. The British Museum, Online Research Catalogue. , 2015

Naukratis in Context, 2019

This special issue of BMSAES publishes papers and additional reflections arising from two worksho... more This special issue of BMSAES publishes papers and additional reflections arising from two workshops organised at the British Museum in 2011 and 2013 as part of the British Museum’s Naukratis Project. Contributions by archaeologists, Classicists, Egyptologists and other specialists explore the diverse and sometimes contrasting narratives of the different disciplines and the underlying ancient realities. The first workshop – entitled ‘The Nile Delta as a landscape of connectivity’ – concentrated on the subjects of transport networks; trade and consumption; Delta industry; and Delta communities. The second workshop was dedicated to ‘Religious Naukratis in context’. Some studies put the primary emphasis on cults, sanctuaries and offerings at Naukratis itself, while others aimed to situate Naukratis in the wider perspective of religious phenomena in the Mediterranean area, especially in the context of trading ports, but also in contemporary sites in the Delta and elsewhere.

British Museum Online Rearch Catalogue, 2015

The Greek-Egyptian town of Naukratis in the Nile Delta was a major centre of cross-cultural conta... more The Greek-Egyptian town of Naukratis in the Nile Delta was a major centre of cross-cultural contact in the ancient world. This catalogue presents the wealth of archaeological finds made in late 19th and early 20th century excavations at the site that are today dispersed in museums worldwide. Comprising Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Cypriot objects dating from the 7th century BC to the 7th century AD. It includes a catalogue of over 18,300 objects and peer reviewed chapters.

In the first three centuries AD an explosion in the long distance trade between the Roman Empire ... more In the first three centuries AD an explosion in the long distance trade between the Roman Empire and various states in India, East Africa and South Arabia, known as the Erythraean Sea Trade, was sparked by Roman Imperial interests and the expensive tastes of Rome’s growing elite. In the north of the Red Sea, this created bustling, cosmopolitan port communities at Aila, Berenike and Myos Hormos. The peoples of both Egypt and Nabataea could only await the implications for their lives in being subject to empire and the economic opportunities available through providing for its elite. More specifically, these annexed kingdoms had indigenous populations who inhabited the desert coastal regions of the Red Sea, which were perceived in antiquity as being ethnically distinct and whose various relationships with the Roman Imperial authorities were varied, often chequered. Here they are discussed. The purpose of this study is to discover the role of maritime activities in the construction of group identities in the Northern Red Sea ports of the first three centuries AD. This question has five component parts: How is group identity (such as ethnicity) defined? How is identity represented archaeologically? How to identify maritime activities? How important were maritime activities in defining group identities? And: How can we recognise the various power relationships that shaped these identities?

This study provides detailed analysis of original material from Aila, Berenike and Myos Hormos, namely maritime artefacts that cover many finds groups (metal, cordage, basketry, bone, shell, horn, wood, pitch, stone) as well as reanalysis of published or forthcoming material from the finds groups of ceramics, stoppers, and faunal remains from these sites. These artefacts provide an independent source of information with which to compare historical documents on these communities. This is an original approach to the question of how ethnic identity was distinguished within port communities through assessing consumption practices (such as diet) and maritime activities.

Papers from the conference Connected Hinterlands (Proceedings of Red Sea Project IV) held at the ... more Papers from the conference Connected Hinterlands (Proceedings of Red Sea Project IV) held at the University of Southampton in September 2008. Contents: 1) Ancient polities and interrelations along the red sea and its western and eastern hinterlands (Kenneth Kitchen); 2) History and use of an ethnonym: ichthyophágoi (Oscar Nalesini); 3) The identification of the ancient pastoral nomads on the north-western Red Sea littoral (Hans Barnard); 4) Patterns of trade in the red sea during the age of the Periplus Maris Erythrae (Federico de Romanis); 5) Glass, glassworking and glass transportation in Aksum (Jacke Phillips); 6) Adulis and the Eritrean coast in museum collections and Italian and other European travelers’ accounts (Chiara Zazzaro); 7) The linguistic situation on the Dahlak Islands in Eritrea (Marie-Claude Simeone-Senelle); 8) Roman policy in the red sea between Anastasius and Justinian (Dario Nappo); 9) The roman port of Alia: economic connections with the Red Sea litoral (S. Thomas Parker); 10) A Palestinian Red Sea port on the Egyptian road to Arabia: Early Islamic Aqaba and its many hinterlands (Kristoffer Damgaard); 11) ‘Amr B. Al-‘ās’s refurbishment of Trajan’s canal: Red Sea contacts in the Aphrodito and Apollōnonas Anō papyri (Frank Trombley); 12) The expansion of Muslim commerce in the Red Sea basin, c. AD 833-969 (Tim Power); 13) Transcontinental trade and economic growth in the early Islamic Empire: the Red Sea corridor in the 8th-10th centuries (Maya Shatzmiller); 14) From the Tihamah plain to Thailand and beyond: preliminary analysis of selected ceramics from Quseir al-Qadim (Rebecca Bridgman); 15) Textiles with writing from Quseir al-Qadim – finds from the Southampton excavations 1999-2003 (Fiona Handley and Anne Regourd); 16) Thieves or sultans? Dahlak and the rulers and merchants of Indian Ocean port cities, 11th to 13th centuries AD (Roxani Margariti); 17) Jiddah: Port of Makkah, gateway of the India trade (William Facey); 18) Shipwreck, maroons and monsters: the hazards of ancient Red Sea navigation (Eivind Seland); 19. Early Christian pilgrimages, the Sinai Peninsula and the Red Sea (Walter Ward); 20) Egypt’s Nile/Red Sea canals: chronology, location, seasonality and function (John Cooper); 21) João de Castro’s Roteiro Do Mar Roxo (1541) (Paul Lunde); 22) Trans-national practices and sanitary risks in the red sea region: the case of the pilgrimage to Mecca (Sofiane Bouhdiba).

Antinoupolis II: Scavi e materiali III, ed. R. Pintaudi, Florence: Istituto Papirologico G. Vitelli., 2014

2014 Nos 1-10, 42, 46–58. In Catalogue of British Museum objects from The Egypt Exploration Fund... more 2014 Nos 1-10, 42, 46–58. In Catalogue of British Museum objects from The Egypt Exploration Fund’s 1913/14 excavation at Antinoupolis (Antinoë), ed. E. R. O’Connell with contributions by A. J. Dowler, Frances Pritchard, St John Simpson, Ross I. Thomas and André J. Veldmeijer, Antinoupolis II: Scavi e materiali III, ed. R. Pintaudi, 467–504. Florence: Istituto Papirologico G. Vitelli.

Finding the lost city of Naukratis: Revealing excavations in the north of Egypt show how Greeks a... more Finding the lost city of Naukratis:
Revealing excavations in the north of Egypt show how Greeks and Egyptians lived together thousands of years ago.

Margaret Mountford on Sappho: When the "new papyrus" was discovered in 2012, after lying unread ... more Margaret Mountford on Sappho:
When the "new papyrus" was discovered in 2012, after lying unread for over 2000 years, Margaret admits she didn't know much about Sappho. Apart from of course that she was an Ancient Greek poet, with a strong association to a small Aegean island.

However, while presenting a new BBC Four documentary 'Sappho: Love & Life on Lesbos with Margaret Mountford' Margaret meets the academics who dedicate their life work trying to piece together as much information as they can about the enigmatic poet.

The figures from Naukratis are a large and informative group that can be used to better understan... more The figures from Naukratis are a large and informative group that can be used to better understand the population of Naukratis over its long history. They comprise both locally made figurines and imports from the Eastern Mediterranean, notably East Greece and Cyprus, but also Greece and the Levant. Recent studies have concentrated on 7th to 6th century BC Cypriot limestone and alabaster sculpture, while Cypriot terracotta figures, local Egyptian and Greek figurines were largely ignored. This chapter provides a brief introduction to the material and a summary of the patterns present within this diverse assemblage. Comprising nearly 1,800 terracotta figures, figure vessels, models and coffin-fittings as well as over 400 stone figures, they cover all periods of the site’s history across the Saite, Achaemenid, Ptolemaic and Roman periods. Figures (and moulds) were found in workshops, houses, burials and sanctuary deposits. The assemblage provides useful insights into the production, use, meaning and deposition of figures that represent a variety of human activities at Naukratis. This yields valuable information about the site’s inhabitants and their identity. Whilst the figures from the Greek sanctuaries were predominantly East Greek and Cypriot – attesting the strong trade links between these regions and Naukratis – one remarkable observation is that the assemblage in the town is predominantly Egyptian in nature, suggesting that Egyptian religious practices were widespread in Naukratis from the time of its foundation onwards.

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2016

In this paper, we describe the quantum electrodynamics added by Lorentz-violating CPTeven terms i... more In this paper, we describe the quantum electrodynamics added by Lorentz-violating CPTeven terms in the context of the standard model extension. We focus our attention on the fermion sector, represented by the CPT-even symmetric Lorentz-breaking tensor c µν. We adopt a generic form that parametrizes the components of c µν in terms of one four-vector, namely, c µν = u µ u ν − ζ u 2 4 g µν. We then generate perturbatively, up to the third order in this tensor, the aether-like term for the gauge field. Finally, we discuss the renormalization scheme for the gauge propagator, by taking into account c µν traceless (ζ = 1) and, trivially, c µν = u µ u ν (ζ = 0).

Blue, Lucy, Whitewright, Julian and Thomas, RI (2011) Ships and ships' fittings. In, Peacock... more Blue, Lucy, Whitewright, Julian and Thomas, RI (2011) Ships and ships' fittings. In, Peacock, David and Blue, Lucy (eds.) Myos Hormos-Quseir al-Qadim. Roman and Islamic Ports on the Red Sea. Volume 2: The Finds from the 1999-2003 Excavations. Oxford, GB, Oxbow ...

Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 2007

КОНЦЕПТУАЛЬНІ ОСНОВИ РОЗВИТКУ КОНТРОЛЮ НА СТРАТЕГІЧНОМУ РІВНІ УПРАВЛІННЯ ПІДПРИЄМСТВОМ У даній ст... more КОНЦЕПТУАЛЬНІ ОСНОВИ РОЗВИТКУ КОНТРОЛЮ НА СТРАТЕГІЧНОМУ РІВНІ УПРАВЛІННЯ ПІДПРИЄМСТВОМ У даній статті досліджується природа контролю як економічної категорії та його роль у системі стратегічного управління підприємством. Важливим завданням, що вирішується, є також розгляд впливів на контроль сучасних управлінських теорій та визначення пріоритетів його розвитку Постановка проблеми. Господарська діяльність підприємств та організацій в умовах ринкової економіки вимагає великого напруження сил та не меншої відповідальності. Участь у конкурентній боротьбі, домінування принципу змагальності в економічних відносинах між учасниками ринку обумовлює формування нових систем управління бізнесом, орієнтованих на досягнення довгострокового успіху у складному та мінливому діловому оточенні. Трансформаційні процеси останніх двадцяти років поступово призвели до появи в Україні особливого типу економічних відносин, для яких характерне не завжди збалансоване поєднання ліберальних ринкових принципів і традиційних для пост-комуністичних держав адміністративних важелів управління. На відміну від найближчих східноєвропейських сусідів, таких як Польща, Чехія, Словаччина, Угорщина, у нашій країні переважає градуалістичний та часом непослідовний підхід до впровадження економічних реформ, що пригальмовує процес формування цілісного та прозорого ринкового механізму. Непослідовність формування нової економічної формації призвела до нерівномірного, а іноді недостатнього, розвитку основних її елементів, серед яких одним з найважливіших є контроль (фр. contrôle; походить від contrerôle-список, що ведеться у двох примірниках). Це слово традиційно має багато значень та змістовних відтінків; тому вивчення етимології контролю є необхідною передумовою розуміння його природи та специфіки. У різний час та під впливом різних суспільно-економічних формацій ставлення до контролю та його змінювалося. В античному світі та у період середньовіччя контроль, переважно, розглядався у контексті управління державною казною та фінансами рабовласницьких, а пізніше феодальних, господарств. Виникнення акціонерних товариств та найманих керуючих (кінець XVIII-перша половина XIX ст.) сформувало нову парадигму контролю: відтепер його суб'єктами виступали не тільки власники, але й наймані менеджери компаній, а об'єктом контролю стали процеси та елементи господарської діяльності підприємства. Таким чином, контроль поступово перетворився на одну з ключових складових управління підприємством. Аналіз останніх досліджень і публікацій. На початку ХХ ст. французький вчений А. Файоль вперше визначив контроль як одну з функцій менеджменту (планування, організація, мотивація, контроль) [1, с. 117]. Поняття "функція"означало "засіб виконання", "інструмент"; тобто контроль розглядався як один з головних інструментів роботи менеджера. А. Файоль вважав, що основне завдання контролю полягає у перевірці, чи відбувається діяльність підприємства згідно затвердженої програми, чи виконуються працівниками накази керівництва та відповідні принципи роботи. Метою контролю було виявлення та виправлення помилок, а також запобігання їх появі у майбутньому [2].

The National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums (NCAM) granted a concession to the Universit... more The National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums (NCAM) granted a concession to the University of Delaware, USA, to conduct a rescue survey of the two forts at El-Kab. This was begun in January 2006. This area was due to be flooded by a lake created by the construction of a large hydroelectric dam at the Fourth Cataract. Unfortunately, after one day of work local inhabitants from the nearby village of El-Kab el- Bahri prevented any further survey of the forts by the Delaware team. Following this, NCAM authorities very generously offered another area in which to work along the Nile between Nuri and Hamdab near the west end of the Fourth Cataract and the new dam.