Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
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This thesis investigates the presence of Egyptian and Egyptianizing objects at the Villa Hadriana – a large Imperial Villa built 19 Roman miles from Rome by the Emperor Hadrian in the early 2nd...Show moreThis thesis investigates the presence of Egyptian and Egyptianizing objects at the Villa Hadriana – a large Imperial Villa built 19 Roman miles from Rome by the Emperor Hadrian in the early 2nd century A.D.. The Villa was rediscovered in the 15th century and from very early on, ‘Egypt’ at the Villa played a prominent role in the understanding and interpretation of the site. In traditional approaches, Hadrian’s mourning for his young lover Antinous who drowned in the Nile and a subsequent fascination with Egypt are commonly brought forward as explanations for the presence of ‘Egypt’ at the Villa. The Egyptian and Egyptianzing objects are seen in isolation, believed to have originated in specifically ‘Egyptian’ localities within the Villa. Subsequently, an exotic and/or religious meaning was awarded to them, because that was how Egypt was perceived to have been. This approach to Egypt was not unique to the Villa but deeply embedded in the discourse that investigated ‘Egypt’ in the Roman world. However, recently scholars in the field have started to move away from a priori interpretations of Aegyptiaca in the Roman world and towards a more contextual approach in which both the wider cultural-historical framework and the direct spatial context are considered. In this thesis, three localities from within the Villa have been selected: The Canopus, The Antinoeion and the Palestra. Although they have very different research trajectories, all three have been interpreted as Egyptian religious monuments built out of a special relation between Hadrian and Egypt, based on the presence of Aegyptiaca. This thesis has challenged these interpretations and has taken an object-centered approach to Aegyptiaca at the Villa to understand why Hadrian used and appropriated Egypt at the Villa, and how he did it. Aegyptiaca were studied not as an isolated and conceptually different category, but in dialogue with the architecture and (Hellenistic-Roman) material culture around them. In this thesis, objects were first studied at the level of the individual object, second at the level of the spatial context and lastly at the level of the wider Imperial Roman context. The resulting conclusion of this alternative approach is that Egypt was used and appropriated differently in the so-called Canopus, Antinoeion and Palestra and that it cannot be assumed that they were isolated localities with religious or exotic meaning. On a more general level, this thesis argues that Egypt could mean and do different things in different contexts. At the Palestra, for example, Egyptian and Hellenistic-Roman styles can be seen fully integrated within indicidual objects. An important answer to the question why Hadrian used and appropriated Egypt is the legitimization of his Imperial power. At the Canopus, Hadrian stressed Egypt’s deep past as a cultural constituent for the Roman world, in opposition to Greece. As such, he created a long term Mediterranean-wide continuity that stretched far back. At the Antinoeion, amongst other things through associations with the Flavian Iseum Campense, Egypt is stressed as a more historical continuity. Egypt had been symbolically very important to both the Julio-Claudian and Flavian dynasties and as such had become a powerful symbol Hadrian could use for his own new Dynastic rule.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
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Central to this thesis is an object from Rome dating to the fourth century CE, the so-called Hylas panel from the ‘Basilica of Iunius Bassus'. This object is usually categorized under the heading...Show moreCentral to this thesis is an object from Rome dating to the fourth century CE, the so-called Hylas panel from the ‘Basilica of Iunius Bassus'. This object is usually categorized under the heading of ‘Aegyptiaca’; Egyptian or Egyptianizing objects that, due to their style, provenance or iconography, are assumed to be connected with Egypt or ‘Egypt as an idea’. This thesis, in the first place, intends to add to existing debates concerning this Late Roman ‘Aegyptiacum’, asking questions about the way it functioned in its fourth century CE context, with a specific interest in its ‘Egyptian’ dimensions. Furthermore, it attempts to provide a better understanding of 'Egypt' as a cultural concept in fourth century CE Rome by applying recent theoretical insights on 'cultural biography' and material agency.Show less
This thesis tries to answer questions about aegyptiaca at certain Greek sanctuaries in the Archaic period. We hope to shed light on aspects of Greek-Egyptian contact and exchange, as well as the...Show moreThis thesis tries to answer questions about aegyptiaca at certain Greek sanctuaries in the Archaic period. We hope to shed light on aspects of Greek-Egyptian contact and exchange, as well as the Greek perception of ‘Egyptian’, and Greek religious practice. As background are discussed the theories behind material culture studies, the general history of Greek-Egyptian contact, the Greek view on Egypt as discussed by Herodotus, and the nature of Greek sanctuaries and votive dedications. Then, a closer look is taken at certain sanctuaries: Samos, Ephesus, Perachora, Artemis Orthia, Delphi and Olympia. The aegyptiaca at these sites are discussed. Based on these data alone a conclusive answer to our question cannot be found. However, it becomes clear that these items were part of a complex and wide exchange system, rather than the result of direct contact between Archaic Greece and Egypt.Show less
This thesis was written with the objective to re-examine the Aegyptiaca on Malta and Gozo during the Phoenician and Punic phases, in order to achieve a better understanding of the cultural exchange...Show moreThis thesis was written with the objective to re-examine the Aegyptiaca on Malta and Gozo during the Phoenician and Punic phases, in order to achieve a better understanding of the cultural exchange processes, which would have occurred during the first millennium BCE. Because of the geographic location of the islands in the middle of the Mediterranean, Malta holds a unique position, where several different cultures meet and merge. Based on previously published material (Hölbl 1989 and Sagona 2005), every object has been critically discussed and analyzed within its archaeological and cultural context. While some of the objects were created in Egypt, others were good copies of Egyptian originals, produced elsewhere. While a number of the objects might have been associated with purely aesthetic values, some of our objects allow for a deeper religious association. On Malta we see a convergence of Egyptian and Levantine influences, merged together in Phoenician art. This is not a strange phenomenon, as the Phoenicians themselves already adopted and changed many aspects of different cultures, which they again distributed across the Mediterranean. Where cultures meet they can merge together to form a new culture, but that is not always the case. People can also resist a new dominating culture by falling back on an older culture. This feat is shown in the numismatics of Malta and Gozo, as even under the new Roman domination coins were minted with Punic and Phoenician deities and motifs displayed on them.Show less
