Béatrix Midant-Reynes

This article examines the role of rural communities in shaping early Egyptian statehood through the evolution of funerary beliefs. Drawing on the analysis of 504 tombs from the cemetery of Adaïma (Upper Egypt, 3300–2700 BCE), we trace a growing variability in mortuary practices from the First to the Third Dynasty. By the Third Dynasty, a remarkable alignment between the heliacal rising of Sirius, the summer solstice, and the Nile inundation began to reconfigure both ritual time and space. The celestial events became instrumental in transforming materially grounded beliefs—such as the symbolic dismemberment and reassembly of the body—into immaterial religious concepts underpinning royal ideology. Through comparison with earlier necropolises and later Pyramid Texts, we demonstrate how cosmogonic myths originate from long-standing ritual patterns and how the nascent state co-opts local traditions, reframing them through the appropriation of high-status individuals and celestial legitimation to consolidate central authority.

This study presents an integrated analysis of two nineteenth-century gunflint workshops located in the Wadi Sannur (Eastern Desert, Egypt) and dated from Mehemed Ali’s reign. Our research focuses on the technological analysis of the lithic production from excavated assemblages and a broader survey of the mining area. The workshops are organized in both extraction and manufacturing zones, indicating segmentation of the knapping activities and craft specialization. The lithic assemblages – comprising 4,006 artifacts from four workstations – demonstrate a gunflint manufacturing process similar to those observed in Western Europe. The technological framework of these workstations suggests a flexible organization of knapping stages between the two sites. This raises questions about the identity of the craftspeople and the labor organization within the quarry’s lifespan. The dominant technique involves an integrated blade–debitage system producing standardized, rectangular gunflints of French-English style. Lithic evidence suggests the adoption of a Western European-inspired knapping tradition, aligning with the introduction of imported muskets and locally manufactured French-style firearms in the Egyptian army. Additionally, a secondary technique indicates the presence of Mediterranean-style gunflint production in select workstations. The coexistence of these technical traditions highlights the transfer of chert knapping expertise toward military-industrial strategies under Mehemed Ali’s modernization efforts. It also underscores the complexity of technological transmission in lithic production, shaped by both cultural traditions and functional military requirements.

Données scientifiques produites :https://www.ifao.egnet.net/recherche/archeologie/ouadi-sannour/ Introduction Les travaux menés au Ouadi Sannour depuis 2014 ont pour objectif l’étude d’un vaste complexe minier localisé dans la partie sud-ouest du massif du Gâlâlâ nord. Les calcaires éocènes de ce plateau contiennent de riches ressources d’un silex de belle qualité, qui a fait l’objet d’une exploitation intensive depuis les premières dynasties jusqu’à l’Ancien Empire. Des carrières et des atel...

Donnée scientifiques produites :https://www.ifao.egnet.net/recherche/archeologie/ouadi-sannour/ Introduction Les recherches entreprises au Ouadi Sannour ont pour objectif l’étude d’un très vaste complexe minier localisé sur la partie sud-ouest du massif du Galâlâ nord, dans le désert oriental. Les calcaires éocènes localisés sur le sommet de ce grand plateau désertique contiennent de riches ressources de silex de grande qualité ayant fait l’objet d’une exploitation intensive depuis les premiè...

Données scientifiques produites :https://iswidegypt.wixsite.com/iswid Introduction Les travaux engagés en 2022 dans le cadre du projet quinquennal de l’Ifao (2022-2026), et avec des financements du MEAE (quadriennal 2022-2025), visent à analyser l’organisation de l’habitat en périphérie des unités domestiques naqadiennes fouillées jusqu’en 2014. Pour un rappel des travaux antérieurs et des principales problématiques de la mission, on consultera les articles du BAEFE depuis 2020. 1. Les opérat...

The large-scale excavation at the prehistoric site of Tell el-Iswid made it possible to undertake a systematic archaeobotanical study of different structures covering the Predynastic and Early Dynastic period (Lower Egyptian Cultures, i.e. Buto II (3500−3300 bc) to Naqada III Culture (3300−2900 bc)). Here we present the results of the analysis of carpological remains preserved mostly in a charred state and coming from 62 samples processed by manual flotation, with total volume of 615 L and containing a total of 9,672 identifiable and quantifiable items. A further ca. 650 wood fragments (or woody vegetative remains) were subject to anthracological analysis. Besides the aim of overall characterisation and exploration of the plant economy of the site, the macrobotanical assemblages were also considered in relation to the structures from which they were uncovered. The study revealed that the agricultural economy of both studied periods relied on emmer, barley, lentils, and pea, but from Early Dynastic times onwards barley and pulses gained more importance, along with flax (Linum usitatissimum) and condiments (like Anethum graveolens and cf. Origanum sp.), which occur first during this period at the site. Together with the cultivated fields, the surrounding wetlands were also an important part of the plant resources utilized at the site. The stems of Phragmites are the most common among the anthracological remains, together with a small proportion of Tamarix and Acacia charcoal fragments. The overall composition of the plant assemblages (charred and mineralised chaff, small weed or wild growing seeds capable of passing herbivore digestion, dung fragments, awns) suggest that the major source of the retrieved plant remains was dung fuel.