Australasian Egyptology Conference 4: Papers from the Fourth Australasian Egyptology Conference Dedicated to Gillian E. Bowen

This volume presents papers from the Fourth Australasian Egyptology Conference held at Monash University, Melbourne 16–18 September 2016. Both the conference and the papers in this volume are dedicated to Gillian E. Bowen who retired from Monash that year, and a brief tribute to her is presented at the opening of the volume. The contributions include several on Egypt’s Western Desert where Monash has been engaged in fieldwork for many years in the the Dakhleh Oasis. Relating to the Roman-period village of Kellis, Bassett discusses economic policy in the settlement of the region and Rindi the elaborately decorated funerary cartonnage from one of its cemeteries. Long explores ceramic traditions of the Third Intermediate Period in Dakhleh while Warfe discusses aspects of the proscription of Seth, who was venerated at the ancient capital of Dakhleh, based on data from Luxor Temple in the valley. Livingstone presents textiles of the late Roman Period from Christian burials and Kucera examines a Roman military campaign in the northern Western Desert. The other papers reflect the wide range of research being undertaken by other Australasian scholars. These range from studies of early ceramics from Hamamieh by Pilgrim and the breakage of Predynastic figurines by Ordynat, to a study of a Fifth-century icon of the Virgin Mary by Marsh-Letts. From periods in between come studies of women in the family of high officials at Beni Hassan and in religious practices of the New Kingdom by Paull and Lisle respectively; aspects of the iconography of the Book of the Dead and a new representation of a sailing vessel by Volk and Stephens; the interface between text and visual image by Thorpe and finally mummification practices of children by Davey.

Table of Contents:
Gillian E. Bowen: A Brief Tribute – Colin A. Hope ; Publications by Gillian E. Bowen ; A Note on the Cultural Status of Rural Settlements in Roman Egypt – Ben Bassett ; Interpretation of Mummification Practices in Child Mummies of the Graeco/Roman Period – Janet Davey ; A Roman-Egyptian Military Campaign of the Third Century CE in the Northern Region of the Western Desert – Paul Kucera ; Preliminary Discussions on a Prosopographic Study of the Involvement of Non-Royal Women in New Kingdom Religious Practices – Meg Lisle ; Three Funerary Textiles from Dayr Abu Matta, Dakhleh Oasis – Rosanne Livingstone ; Oasis Ceramics of the Third Intermediate Period: Identifying Regional Traditions – Richard J. Long ; A Fifth Century Virgin Mary: Enthroned as the Queen of Heaven? – Glennda Susan Marsh-Letts ; Intention or Accident? Discussion of Deliberate Breakage of Human Figurines in Predynastic Burials – Ryna Ordynat ; The Mothers, Wives and Daughters of the High Officials at Beni Hassan – Aymie Paull ; A Technological Study of Badarian Pottery from Hemamieh – Tracey Pilgrim ; Cartonnage Mummy Masks from Kellis (Ismant al-Kharab, Dakhleh Oasis) Featuring the Jackal Motif: New Insights on Regionalism after the 2017 Study Season – Carlo Rindi Nuzzolo ; Can a Menesh Vessel be Identified at Gebel el-Silsila? – Michael A. Stephens ; An Extra Dimension: The Important Personal Insight Ancient Egyptian Private Letters Provide to Augment Visual Evidence – Sue Thorpe ; Where are the Funerary Figurine Depictions (or The Nature of Work) in Book of the Dead Spell 110 Vignettes? – Sharyn Volk ; Iconoclasm in Degrees: On the Proscription of Seth (again) – Ashten Warfe