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Antiquity


Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Imperial Roman Period, Ancient Middle East.



6 subcategories
Ancient Egypt

ANCIENT EGYPT

Ancient Greece

ANCIENT GREECE

Ancient Israel

ANCIENT ISRAEL

Ancient Jordan

ANCIENT JORDAN

Ancient Middle East

ANCIENT MIDDLE EAST

Imperial Roman Period

IMPERIAL ROMAN PERIOD

7,469 photos
Coffin of Hor,22nd dynasty,around 850 BCE. The falcon-headed god Horus is shown on the inside.The mummified body of a man called Hor was x-rayed in the 1960s.No fractures or medical conditions were found;he had been circumsized; artificial eyes had been placed in the eye sockets. Detail of 03-03-01/63-67 EA,6659
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Coffin of Hor,22nd dynasty,around 850 BCE. The falcon-headed god Horus is shown...

Coffin of Hor,22nd dynasty,around 850 BCE. The falcon-headed god Horus is shown on the inside.The mummified body of a man called Hor was x-rayed in the 1960s.No fractures or medical conditions were found;he had been circumsized; artificial eyes had been placed in the eye sockets. Detail of 03-03-01/63-67 EA,6659
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Coffin of Hor,22nd dynasty,around 850 BCE. The falcon-headed god Horus is shown...

Faience amulet in the shape of an ankh, 25th dynasty to Late Period, about 700-500 BCE.The ankh (meaning "life") is combined with the was-sceptre, the djed pillar,the heh and the hieroglyph for "millions". It represents a wish, probably for the king, of "life,power and stability for millions of years". The amulet was acquired by Lord Kitchener in the Sudan,probablt at Gebel Barkal and originated in a temple. EA, 54412
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Faience amulet in the shape of an ankh, 25th dynasty to Late Period, about 700-...

Head of a pharaoh,26th - 30th dynasty,around 600-340 BCE. The green siltstone bust may represent Amasis of the 26th dynasty, or Nectanebo I of the 30th dynasty.The highly polished stone is typical of later sculptures.Repairs have been made,perhaps during the Roman period (after 30 BCE). An extra slot for a peg to hold the nose in place can be seen. EA,97.
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Head of a pharaoh,26th - 30th dynasty,around 600-340 BCE. The green siltstone b...

Ivory figure of a woman with incised features, from Badari, Egypt, Predynastic Period, c4000 BC. The figure appears to be crudely made, but the carving is precise and the limbs are well formed and smoothly finished. The emphasis on the eyes, breasts, hips and pubic area are stylistic rather than due to poor execution. Similar figures, all of which focused on these areas, were made of clay, wood and stone. This suggests that the figures might have been linked with sexuality, rather than being dolls, as was once supposed. It now seems likely that these figures were linked with the rebirth and regeneration that the deceased hoped would transfer them to the afterlife. It is made from one of the lower canines of a hippopotamus, an animal that could still be found in Egypt at the time. This type of figure is found in burials of both men and women of the Badarian culture (c4000 BC), the earliest identifiable culture of the Predynastic period. EA, 59648
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Ivory figure of a woman with incised features, from Badari, Egypt, Predynastic P...

Red granite block of Khufu (Cheops), Egyptian, 4th Dynasty, c2500 BC. Block bearing the so-called 'Horus name' of Khufu, builder of the Great Pyramids at Gizeh. Kings conventionally bore five different names, each of which defines a different part of their personality as king. The Horus name is probably the oldest of these names, as it is the standard form used in royal inscriptions of the First Dynasty (about 3100-2890 BC). It stresses the association of the living king with the god Horus, the son and successor of Osiris. This block was found in the first court of the temple of Bubastis. It had obviously been reused, leaving us no idea of the earlier structure. It is rare to find stone structures of Fourth Dynasty kings away from their pyramids, and these blocks are very important evidence for the use of stone in early temples. EA, 1097
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Red granite block of Khufu (Cheops), Egyptian, 4th Dynasty, c2500 BC. Block bear...

Calcite headrest, Egyptian, Old Kingdom, c2350 BC. This headrest is quite simple and austere, as was often the case with objects of Old Kingdom date. It has decorative fluting on the sides of the shaft and the surface of the stone is smoothed, but not highly polished. Egyptian headrests were the same basic shape throughout their long history. They were often made of wood, but could also be made of stone, like this example. However, it is likely that most stone headrests were made solely for use in the Afterlife and were not intended for everyday use. These were placed close to the head of the mummy within the tomb, either on top of the coffin, or within it. In this context they were supposed to protect the head from being severed from the body after death - quite a real threat, as tomb-robbers often destroyed the mummy in their search for amulets and jewellery. EA, 29913
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Calcite headrest, Egyptian, Old Kingdom, c2350 BC. This headrest is quite simple...

Figure of a man with a hoe, from Assiut, Egypt, 6th Dynasty, c2250 BC. By the New Kingdom (c1550-1070 BC) the deceased was expected to perform manual labour, especially in the fields, in the afterlife. In order to avoid this, small shabti figures were included in the tomb. These shabti figures were supposed to work on behalf of the deceased, and were represented carrying agricultural tools. They often held hoes crossed over their chests, ready to start work as soon as they were called. The tomb owners of the Middle Kingdom (c2040-1750 BC) were determined that their provisions for the afterlife should last for all eternity. Their tombs were equipped with models of various stages of the process of producing grain for bread, one of the main offerings to maintain the deceased in the Afterlife. EA, 45195
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Figure of a man with a hoe, from Assiut, Egypt, 6th Dynasty, c2250 BC. By the Ne...

Strip of decorated linen, from Egypt, New Kingdom or later, after 1550 BC. The torn edge of this strip is quite regular, and the linen is of quite good quality. This suggests that it was originally part of a garment which was torn up carefully for use in wrapping a mummy. Unfortunately the fragment of fabric is too small to determine the type of garment to which it originally belonged. Evidence from mummy wrappings shows that garments of the New Kingdom (1550-1070 BC) and later were sometimes decorated with coloured borders. In many cases these were blue, as in this example, and consisted of stripes of different widths, usually located at the selvage edges of the fabric. The blue stripes on this example alternate with red ones, now extremely faded. Pieces of fabric were not woven specifically for wrapping mummies. Textiles used for mummy bandages were often household linen or clothing, torn into strips. EA, 6517
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Strip of decorated linen, from Egypt, New Kingdom or later, after 1550 BC. The t...

Linen bag of salt for mummification, Egyptian, New Kingdom, c1550-c1070 BC. In its most developed form, the mummification process took seventy-two days. To prevent the body from decaying, the internal organs were removed. The brain was not regarded as important, and was thrown away. The heart, considered to be the seat of wisdom and personality, was left in its place. The lungs, liver, stomach and intestines were removed for separate mummification. The body was then rinsed with sweet oils, and packed with rags and sawdust to retain its shape. Bags of salt or natron aided the drying process. More natron was piled on and around the body. After the desiccation (drying) of the body, which took forty days, the drying agents and stuffing were removed, and replaced with linen wads and sawdust to recreate the recognizable shape of the body for bandaging. The soiled materials were bundled up and included in the burial, as they still contained elements of the deceased. The salt is from Deir el-Bahari. EA, 43218
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Linen bag of salt for mummification, Egyptian, New Kingdom, c1550-c1070 BC. In i...

Shrine stela of Ineny, Egyptian, late 18th Dynasty, c1350 BC. Shrine, presumably from Ineny's tomb, combining elements of the pyramidion, (capstone for a pyramid), with those of a shrine. Pyramidions often contained niches in which were placed statues of the tomb owner holding a stela. This feature has been enlarged and placed in the shrine, where a figure of a god might be expected. Here the figure of the tomb owner has been reduced to just his head and hands, protruding above the stela on each face of the shrine. The hieroglyphic inscriptions record the traditional offering formula, naming a different god on each side. The hieroglyphs become closer together towards the end of each line, as if the carver had misjudged the space available. The text on each stela gives a summary of Ineny's hymn to Re. The name of Amun has been deliberately erased in the offering inscription on one side. The shrine is from Thebes. EA, 467
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Shrine stela of Ineny, Egyptian, late 18th Dynasty, c1350 BC. Shrine, presumably...

Gold cobra wearing the crown of Lower Egypt, Egyptian, Late Period, after 600 BC. The fact that the cobra from this decorative ornament wears the red crown of Lower Egypt suggests that it represents the goddess Wadjet, patron of the town of Buto. It could also be interpreted as either Hathor who, in the guise of the eye of Re, was sent to destroy mankind for being disrespectful, or as Sekhmet who was the fiery weapon of the god Re and who could be sent out to destroy the enemies of the gods. Re bequeathed this gift of potential destruction, represented by the rearing cobra, to his descendants, the kings of Egypt. The fine workmanship and the material used indicates that it belonged to a piece of royal furniture, such as a chair. The rearing cobra was used as a decorative element on furniture, vessels and jewellery. It had strong links with kingship and with protection and was worn on the brow of the king as a sign of his divinity. Images of Egyptian gods also bear the rearing cobra. EA, 16518
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Gold cobra wearing the crown of Lower Egypt, Egyptian, Late Period, after 600 BC...