7. Agyptologische Tempeltagung: Structuring Religion.

• Author: Nicholson, Paul T.
• Position: Book review

Edited by Rene Preys. Konigtum, Staat und Gesellschaft Fruher Hochkulturen, vol. 3.2. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2009. Pp. vii + 298, illus. [euro] 78.

This volume contains seventeen papers which resulted from the seventh Tempeltagung conference held in Leuven in 2005 and organized by Harco Willems and Rene Preys, the latter of whom edited this volume. The papers are in English (seven), French (four), and German (six). Space does not permit extensive discussion of all of these here.

Willems states in his preface that the original idea for the meeting had been to consider the "technicalities of Egyptian temple building" from the procurement of the stone to the completion of the building. It became apparent, however, that this could not be done without consideration of the "concern to translate religious ideas into stone," hence the incorporation of relevant religious studies into the volume alongside those dealing with technical aspects of construction. As a result this volume contains a very diverse range of papers relating not only to the physical construction of the edifice but also to its financing, as examined by Chrislophe Thiers, and indeed to the setting up of religious institutions over a landscape, as in the paper by Martina Ullrnann, which looks at the cultic structure of Nubia during the New Kingdom.

Petra Andrassy deals with aspects of pyramid and temple building as reflected by builders' graffiti (Baugraffiti) and notes that those 'crews' ('paw) who left their marks at pyramid construction sites are referred to as 'noblemen' (spsw), 'acquaintances' (rhw), 'companions' (smrw), or 'beloved ones' (mrw). These titles suggest to Andrassy that these are not the graffiti of ordinary workmen but of "elite troops" serving their master at a construction site. That such military teams were widely used is evidenced by the discovery of a copper adze bearing the name of such a crew in the "woodcutter's region of Lebanon." He goes on to deal with specialized craftsmen who operated as 'gangs' (gs). Amongst these were a specialized group known as the hmwwt hist--usually translated as 'craftsmen of the desert' (= necropolis). However, recent work has shown that the hill country sign (Gardiner's N25) here refers to a foreign land and that these are in fact foreign craftsmen. The work of foreigners on Egyptian monuments should not be underestimated.

Jitse Dijkstra also examines graffiti, but in this case its use in helping to understand the...