The archaeological exploration of wells and cisterns of pharaonic Egypt has not been a key issue in Egyptology so far. Only very few examples have been thoroughly examined even less were published adequately. No attempt has been made yet, to give an overview of pharaonic well construction, its typological and technological development and the wider implications of a water supply through a system using wells. In European archaeology research in the last twenty years has revealed a wide spectrum of topics that can be addressed by the investigation of such features. Out of this reason the examination of Ancient Egyptian wells seems promising. This work bases on a case study of a well from Sama’na at the Ramesside capital Qantir-Piramesse, dating to the reign of Ramesses’ II. After an introduction on the classification of wells, cisterns and an overview of important hydrogeological issues, the feature from Qantir-Piramesse is presented in detail. In the next chapter further wells and cisterns of pharaonic Egypt are shown. This is followed by an overview of the textual evidence about wells and cisterns from pharaonic Egypt. It includes a close examination of the ancient Egyptian emic termini used to designate wells and cisterns. Finally the results are discussed and a threefold model of the development of wells and cisterns in Egypt is proposed.
Ein Brunnen in der Ramses-Stadt. zur Typologie und Funktion von Brunnen und Zisternen im pharaonischen Ägypten
Henning Franzmeier
2010
Abstract
The archaeological exploration of wells and cisterns of pharaonic Egypt has not been a key issue in Egyptology so far. Only very few examples have been thoroughly examined even less were published adequately. No attempt has been made yet, to give an overview of pharaonic well construction, its typological and technological development and the wider implications of a water supply through a system using wells. In European archaeology research in the last twenty years has revealed a wide spectrum of topics that can be addressed by the investigation of such features. Out of this reason the examination of Ancient Egyptian wells seems promising. This work bases on a case study of a well from Sama’na at the Ramesside capital Qantir-Piramesse, dating to the reign of Ramesses’ II. After an introduction on the classification of wells, cisterns and an overview of important hydrogeological issues, the feature from Qantir-Piramesse is presented in detail. In the next chapter further wells and cisterns of pharaonic Egypt are shown. This is followed by an overview of the textual evidence about wells and cisterns from pharaonic Egypt. It includes a close examination of the ancient Egyptian emic termini used to designate wells and cisterns. Finally the results are discussed and a threefold model of the development of wells and cisterns in Egypt is proposed.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
