Late Antique Abydos (Workshop 8 July 2015)

Late Antique Abydos Workshop Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan Study Room, The British Museum 1-5pm, Wednesday 8 July By the 4th century AD most temples were no longer in used for their original purpose, but many traditional religious practices continued. Abydos was the great necropolis of Egypt’s first pharaohs, which, by the Middle Kingdom, was imagined to be the location of the tomb of Osiris. By the Roman period, the popularity of a Ptolemaic-period oracle of Osiris-Serapis had largely given way to an internationally renowned Bes oracle. It was officially closed under Constantius II in AD 359, apparently as a penalty for divining imperial succession, i.e., subverting state authority, and not for the practice of traditional religion per se (Amm. Marc. 19.12.2–6, 12). Centuries later, the Life of Apa Moses of Abydos, composed after c. AD 550, credited the charismatic monk with driving out a harmful demon named Bes from the temple. It is unlikely that this episode can be read as an historical encounter between Christians and an active pagan cult at Late Antique Abydos, but it does attest the value of the earlier cult for the self-definition of 6th-century Christians (Frankfurter 1998, 263, 170171; 2005). Recent work on old collections, such as Coptic funerary stelae (in the BM: Schaten 1993), reassessments of Greek (Rutherford 2001) and Coptic graffiti in the Temple of Sety I (Westerfeld 2010, 130–51) and, above all, new fieldwork at sites throughout Abydos where Christian occupation has been identified by earlier excavation, promise to contribute to a rich and nuanced understanding of the transition from ‘pagan’ to Christian Abydos at, inter alia, Umm al-Qaab (Effland 2014), in the North Cemetery (Bestock 2012, 74–79; cf. Peet 1914, 2: 49–53, fig. 14), the Shunet el-Zebib (Adams and O’Connor 2010, 4–5; cf. Ayrton et al. 1904, 4) and on the desert escarpment (Westerfeld 2010, 132, note 55; cf. H. Petrie 1925). The purpose of this workshop is to bring together archaeologists and other researchers conducting fieldwork at Abydos to meet, present and discuss evidence for the region in Late Antiquity. The intended outcome is a well-illustrated, site-specific monograph on the Late Antique site. Contributions on Roman and Medieval Abydos are also welcome. 1pm Welcome and introduction Elisabeth R. O’Connell, The British Museum 1:30pm History of scholarship on Late Antique Abydos Jennifer Westerfeld, University of Louisville 2pm Abba Moses and his fellow brethren: Coptic finds from Umm el-Qaab Andreas Effland, Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Göttingen 2.30 El Souq Excavation Ayman Damarany, MSA Inspectorate 3pm Break 3:15 IFA work Shunet el-Zebib Matthew Adams, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University 3:45 Living with the Dead: Three Examples of Coptic Reuse in the Abydos North Cemetery Laurel Bestock and Linda Gosner, Brown University 4:15 Hermitage HF3 and Anchoritic Settlement West of Abydos Jennifer Westerfeld, University of Louisville 4:45pm Discussion As a behind-the-scenes space, only invited guests will be admitted. Please come to the front door of the Ancient Egypt and Sudan Department (AES) at 1pm with Powerpoint in hand. The entrance to the AES department is located on the East Stair via G1 or G26/27.