EXPOPAPIROS

DEATH IN GRAECO-ROMAN EGYPT

 

The phenomenon of death is central to the thought and daily life of the Egyptians. With the arrival of other peoples, their customs were adapted, but always with a signature that did not vanish for centuries.

This exhibition deals with the Greco-Roman period and Christianity in Egypt, periods of transition where the burial customs of the newly arrived Greeks merge with those of the Egyptians, in a mutual influence and transference of ancestral traditions and population increasingly mixed. The ancient practice of mummification does not disappear with the new beliefs, but keeping its essence, evolves even in the Christian era, where we found references to this practice in the seventh century AD. The material culture associated with the burial customs is often our only source of information. We lack detailed descriptions of hymns or prayers recited, or other details of the ritual. However, the treasure of the material culture allows for many interpretations. Within the study of materials, tombstones, mummy labels, linen bandages and sarcophagi, the philological study of texts offers a huge amount of information applicable to studies of both history of religions and sociology. The Greco-Roman Egypt is a melting pot of cultures, religions and languages, as reflected in a multilingual production of all kinds of texts. Among this materials we have the mummy labels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MUMMIFICATION

 

Among the key aspects of the Death in Ancient Egypt were the religious beliefs related to the preservation of the dead body as in life for life after death. Over the course of about seventy days, the transformation of a dead body into a mummy brought together several workers trained in every stage of the mummification process, from the preparation of the dead body to the ritual care after burial. Despite the fact that techniques of mummification varied over time, they typically involved anointing, evisceration, dehydrating by spreading natron over the dead body and wrapping in bandages. Once the mummies were placed in their sarcophagus or coffin and located in their tombs, they were supplied with food and drink in the form of religious offerings made by the relatives of the deceased or by funerary priests.

 

The handling of dead bodies was also related to the performance of certain rites which appear partially described in textual sources. These rites were considered to have a ritual character effected through oral recitation and performance during the process of mummification. The Ritual of Embalming, which has been only preserved in material sources from Roman times, included magical invocations as well as practical instructions on how to carry out the mummification of the head, hands and feet. Post-embalming rituals typically included the recitation and performance of certain rites known as “lamentations” on the one hand and “glorifications” on the other. While “lamentations” involved the mourning of the deceased, “lamentation” texts are focused on his or her transfiguration into the newly acquired state of being. Once these rituals were properly performed, the deceased was eventually ready for life after death.

 

 

MUMMY LABELS

 

One of the most characteristic artifacts of the funerary material culture in the Greco-Roman Egypt is the mummy label. The more representative format consists of a small piece of pierced wood where basic information about the deceased and details regarding transport, burying and, in some cases, sentences or drawings, are included. Mummy labels are preserved in other materials, but never enjoyed the same popularity as the wood. Mummy labels were written in limestone, ostracon, papyrus.. but undoubtedly the most beautiful are in faience.

Using mummy labels, with datable examples in Ptolemaic era, became popular in Roman times, with the advent of Christianity, and after a period of transformation disappeared along with the funeral art. Texts of mummy labels are a rich source of information on many levels, including anthroponymy studies, due to the number of names that appear in them; studies on mortality and life expectancy, because labels usually record the age of the deceased; and topographic studies, thanks to the information about the transport of the mummies to their burial place, usually their hometown. The level of language in these short texts and, sometimes, their bilingual character, also allows studies about interaction of languages in bilingual regions and different scientific approaches into a sociological level. Moreover, if the study of language data obtained by the study of the object and its material is added to the information provided by the papyri and archeology, it is possible to conclude that this information helps us to a better understand of the funerary complex network along the Nile.

 

1. Stela Shaped: rounded (fig.1, 2) or cut at an angle (fig. 3, 4, 5).

 

                                             

                          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 1. Oriental Institute of Chicago

 

 

 

                                                                     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 2. Oriental Institute of Chicago

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 3. Museu de Montserrat (Barcelona)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 4 British Museum

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 5 British Museum

 

 

2. Tabula Ansata: One (fig. 6, 9, 10) or two ears  (fig. 7, 8 ), rounded or pointed.

 

 

                                  

                       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                        

 

 

 

 

 Fig. 6. Collection égyptienne Musée d'Archéologie méditerranéenne, Marseille         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 7. British Museum, Londres

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 8. Oriental Museum, Durham

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 9. Collection égyptienne Musée d'Archéologie

méditerranéenne, Marseille

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 10 Colección Roca Puig, Abadía de Montserrat

 

3. Rectangular/Arbitrary shapes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 11. Oriental Institute of Chicago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 12. British Museum, Londres.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 13. British Museum, Londres.