L'Enfant et la mort dans l'Antiquité II - Types de tombes et traitement du corps des enfants dans l'antiquité gréco-romaine - Monash University
←
→
Transcription du contenu de la page
Si votre navigateur ne rend pas la page correctement, lisez s'il vous plaît le contenu de la page ci-dessous
L’Enfant et la mort
dans l’Antiquité II
Types de tombes et traitement du corps
des enfants dans l’antiquité gréco-romaine
édité par Marie-Dominique Nenna
Centre d’études Alexandrines
L’Enfant et la mort dans l’Antiquité II
Comité de lecture Ghislaine Alleaume, Directeur de Recherche au CNRS Marianne Bergmann, Professeur honoraire à l’Université de Tübingen Christian Décobert, Directeur de Recherche au CNRS Jean-Yves Empereur, Directeur de Recherche au CNRS Paolo Gallo, Professeur à l’Université de Turin Marie-Dominique Nenna, Directeur de Recherche au CNRS Mervat Seif el-Din, Directrice Générale de la Recherche Scientifique à Alexandrie, Conseil Suprême des Antiquités Michel Tuchscherer, Professeur à l’Université de Provence © Centre d’Études Alexandrines, USR 3134 du CNRS, Alexandrie, 2012 ISBN : 978-2-11-128615-3 ISSN : 1110-6441 Maquette : Fatiha Bouzidi Imprimé en Belgique par Peeters Diffusion et distribution : De Boccard Pour les ventes en Égypte : Centre d’Études Alexandrines, 50 rue Soliman Yousri, 21131 Alexandrie, Égypte Pour les autres pays : De Boccard Édition-Diffusion, 11 rue de Médicis, 75006 Paris, France – www.deboccard.com
études Alexandrines 26 – 2012
Directeur de la collection : Jean-Yves Empereur
L’Enfant et la mort
dans l’Antiquité II
Types de tombes et traitement du corps
des enfants dans l’antiquité gréco-romaine
Actes de la table ronde internationale
organisée à Alexandrie, Centre d’Études Alexandrines,
12-14 novembre 2009
édité par Marie-Dominique Nenna
Centre d’études AlexandrinesSommaire Jean-Yves Empereur et Marie-Dominique Nenna Avant-propos 11 Monde égyptien Yann Tristant Les enterrements d’enfants dans l’Égypte prédynastique et pharaonique 15 Christiane Ziegler Sépultures d’enfants à Saqqara au premier millénaire av. J.-C. 61 Gersende Alix, Éric Boës, Patrice Georges et Marie-Dominique Nenna Les enfants dans la nécropole gréco-romaine du Pont de Gabbari à Alexandrie : problématiques et études de cas 79 Hélène Silhouette Le secteur 6 de la nécropole du Pont de Gabbari, Alexandrie : une zone réservée aux enfants ? 139 Frédérique Blaizot Le loculus A1 de la salle B28.3, nécropole du Pont de Gabbari, Alexandrie : une sépulture collective réservée aux très jeunes enfants 151 Marie-Dominique Nenna La fouille du secteur el-Manara dans la nécropole de Hadra, Alexandrie, en 1940 : l’apport des documents d’archives (carnet de fouilles des inspecteurs du Musée gréco-romain d’Alexandrie et photographies de Loukas Benakis) 209
l’enfant et la mort dans l’antiquité ii Amira Sabah Burials of the Khalil el-Khayat site, Kafr Abdou District, East Alexandria 253 Gilles Grévin, Paul Bailet et Sylvie Baibourdian Crémations d’enfants à Alexandrie aux époques hellénistique et impériale 275 Wiktor Andrzej Daszewski et Iwona Zych Child burials of the Roman period in the necropolis of Marina el-Alamein, Egypt 283 Maria Kaczmarek Anthropological studies on juvenile skeletal remains from the necropolis at Marina el-Alamein, Egypt 293 Frédéric Adam et Frédéric Colin Inhumations d’enfants et de chiens à Qasr ‘Allam, Bahariya, Égypte 315 Françoise Dunand et Roger Lichtenberg L’ inhumation des enfants dans les nécropoles de l’oasis de Kharga, désert libyque 331 Gillian E. Bowen Child, infants and fœtal burials of the Late Roman period at Ismant el-Kharab, ancient Kellis, Dakhleh Oasis 351 Michel Chauveau « Mort à huit ans, enterré à neuf... » Âge et mort prématurée en Égypte romaine 373 Claudio Gallazzi et Gisèle Hadji-Minaglou Sépultures de nouveaux-nés et d’enfants dans une nécropole de la fin du viiie et du ixe siècle à Umm-el-Breigât, Tebtynis 389 Monde grec Sherry Fox The bioarchaeology of children in Graeco-Roman Greece 409 Diego Elia et Valeria Meirano La typologie des tombes d’enfants dans les colonies grecques d’Italie du Sud : problèmes et cas d’études 429
sommaire Monde occidental Paola Catalano, Valentina Benassi, Anna Buccellato, Carla Caldarini, Roberto Egidi, Romina Mosticone, Stefano Musco, Walter Pantano, Rita Paris et Lisa Pescucci Funere mersit acerbo : Rome impériale et ses enfants à travers la recherche anthropologique 461 Manuel Moliner Typologie des tombes d’enfant et traitement du corps à l’époque gréco-romaine en Provence, France. Les exemples de Fréjus, Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux, Aix-en-Provence et Marseille 471 Solenn de Larminat Gestes et pratiques funéraires autour des inhumations en fosse d’enfants en Afrique romaine à l’époque païenne 501 Paul Bailet Tombes à incinérations d’enfants dans la nécropole romaine de Pupput : quelques cas particuliers 539 La base de données EMA Virginie Fromageot-Lanièpce La base de données du groupe de recherche sur L’ Enfant et la mort dans l’Antiquité 551 Antoine Hermary et Stéphanie Satre Les critères d’identification des tombes d’enfants : études antérieures et perspectives 561 Jean-Yves Empereur et Marie-Dominique Nenna Anthropologie, archéologie, histoire : acquis et perspectives du programme EMA 571 Résumés 575 Liste des contributeurs 601 Abréviations 605 Index des sites 609
Jean-Yves Empereur, Marie-Dominique Nenna
Avant-propos
D
ans le cadre du programme L’ Enfant et la mort dans l’Antiquité (EMA), soutenu par
l’Agence Nationale de la Recherche durant les années 2008-2012, trois tables rondes
ont été organisées par les partenaires du programme, le Centre Camille Jullian 1, l’unité
mixte de recherche ArScAn 2 et le Centre d’Études Alexandrines 3. Elles étaient destinées à dis-
cuter et approfondir les principales thématiques relatives aux sépultures d’immatures dans la
Méditerranée antique et à les confronter avec les autres sources disponibles concernant le statut
des enfants dans les civilisations classiques.
La deuxième table ronde a été organisée à Alexandrie par le Centre d’Études Alexandrines 11
du 12 au 14 novembre 2009. Elle était consacrée aux types de tombes et au traitement du corps
des enfants. L’ accent a été mis sur les découvertes récentes dans plusieurs régions d’Égypte
– Alexandrie, Marina el-Alamein sur la côte méditerranéenne, Saqqara, Tebtynis dans le Fayoum,
oasis du désert Libyque (Bahareya et Kharga) –, couvrant une période allant du viie s. av. J.-C. au
ixe s. ap. J.-C., avec, en ouverture, une synthèse sur les tombes d’enfants dans le monde pharao-
nique. Durant la préparation de l’édition des Actes, se sont ajoutées cinq nouvelles études. Trois
sont consacrées à Alexandrie. La première est une revisite, à la lumière de documents d’archives,
d’un des secteurs de la nécropole de Hadra à Alexandrie daté de la haute époque hellénistique
et de la place qu’y ont les enfants. La seconde offre l’étude d’un contexte très particulier de la
nécropole du Pont de Gabbari, le loculus d’un hypogée où ont été placés pas moins de 35 enfants.
La troisième livre les résultats préliminaires d’une fouille de sauvetage menée par le Conseil
Suprême des Antiquités de l’Égypte en 2011, qui montre les vestiges d’un cimetière de l’époque
romaine tardive, où les sépultures d’enfants en amphore tiennent une grande place, dans une
zone qui n’appartient plus strictement aux nécropoles de la cité d’Alexandrie, mais correspond
sans doute à une des agglomérations qui se situaient dans les faubourgs de la cité. La quatrième
est dédiée aux enfants de la Kellis de l’époque romaine tardive (oasis de Dakhla) et la cinquième
1. Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, CCJ UMR 7299, 13094, Aix-en-Provence, France.
2. UMR Archéologies et Sciences de l’Antiquité, UMR 7041, CNRS, Université de Paris I, Université de Paris Ouest Nanterre,
Ministère de la Culture.
3. USR 3134 du CNRS, Alexandrie.Jean-Yves Empereur, Marie-Dominique Nenna
livre une série d’étiquettes de momies, issues de la nécropole en face d’Akhmim, située près de
l’ancienne Athribis de Haute-Égypte, qui offrent un aperçu sur les conceptions de l’âge et de la
mort prématurée en Égypte romaine.
Pour les autres régions concernées par ce programme, une conférence introductive fait le
point sur l’anthropologie biologique en Grèce, particulièrement développée par le Wiener Labo-
ratory de l’American School of Classical Studies d’Athènes et des synthèses sont fournies sur les
types de tombes d’enfant dans les colonies grecques d’Italie du Sud, à Rome, dans le Midi de la
France et en Afrique du Nord.
Enfin, deux contributions portent sur la base de données qui a été créée à l’occasion de ce
programme. La première en expose les principes d’analyses et le développement de l’applica-
tion ; la seconde montre comment cette base apporte de nouveaux critères pour identifier les
tombes d’enfant. La base EMA est désormais en ligne sur le site http://www.mae.u-paris10.fr/ema et
offre à la réflexion d’un vaste public plus de 3800 sépultures d’enfants décrites et illustrées.
Ces journées, fruits d’étroites collaborations entre les archéologues et les anthropologues, se
sont déroulées au siège du Centre d’Études Alexandrines, ainsi qu’à l’Institut français d’Égypte à
Alexandrie. Nous tenons à remercier vivement le directeur de l’Institut français pour son accueil,
ainsi que le personnel du CEAlex pour l’organisation matérielle de ces journées.
Merci à Amira Sabah et Mervat Seif el-Din pour la traduction des résumés en arabe, à Colin
Clement pour la traduction des résumés en anglais et à Fatiha Bouzidi pour la mise en forme de
ce volume.
12
L’ Enfant et la mort dans l’Antiquité I. Nouvelles recherches dans les nécropoles grecques. Le signalement
des tombes d’enfants. Actes de la table ronde internationale organisée à Athènes, École française d’Athènes,
29-30 mai 2008, sous la direction d’Anne-Marie Guimier-Sorbets et d’Yvette Morizot, Travaux de
la Maison René Ginouvès 12, Paris, De Boccard, 2010.
L’ Enfant et la mort dans l’Antiquité II. Types de tombes et traitement du corps des enfants dans l’an-
tiquité gréco-romaine. Actes de la table ronde internationale organisée à Alexandrie, Centre d’Études
Alexandrines, 12-14 novembre 2009, édité par Marie-Dominique Nenna, Études Alexandrines 26,
Alexandrie, Centre d’Études Alexandrines, 2012.
L’ Enfant et la mort dans l’Antiquité III. Le matériel associé aux tombes d’enfants, Actes de la table ronde
internationale organisée à Aix-en-Provence, Maison Méditerranéenne des Sciences de l’Homme, 20-22 jan-
vier 2011, sous la direction de Antoine Hermary et de Céline Dubois, Bibliothèque d’archéologie
méditerranénne et africaine 12, Paris, Errance, 2012.Gillian E. Bowen
Child, infant and foetal burials of the Late
Roman period at Ismant el-Kharab,
ancient Kellis, Dakhleh Oasis
I
smant el-Kharab, ancient Kellis, is located in south-central Dakhleh Oasis, about 12 kilo-
metres north-east of ancient Mothis, modern Mut, the capital of the oasis in the Roman
Period. The village was occupied from late Ptolemaic times until the closing years of the
fourth century at which time it was abandoned and was not reoccupied. 1 The site is extre- 351
mely well preserved and areas within the settlement have been systematically excavated by the
Dakhleh Oasis Project (DOP) since 1986, under the direction of Colin A. Hope. Excavation wit-
hin the settlement has shown that the people of Kellis followed the traditional religion, which
was served by two temples dedicated to the god Tutu, Greek Tithoes, his mother Neith and
consort Tapsais. In the fourth century the villagers adopted Christianity, the temples went out of
service and three churches were built to accommodate the needs of the new religion.
In the first three centuries the affluent were interred in mud-brick mausolea that lined the
approach to the village on the north-east and on its southern periphery (the North and South
Tombs); others were buried in rock-cut tombs in the low sandstone ridges to the north-west
of the settlement (Kellis 1). 2 By the late third century, if not earlier, a new cemetery (Kellis 2)
was established on the northern edge of the first-second century residential area and the North
Tombs, about a kilometre east of the rock-cut tombs. Sometime later, probably in the mid- to
late fourth century, a church was erected in the west of the village, just north of the Main Temple,
and a small cemetery was established to its immediate east (the West Church and its Enclosure
Cemetery). Intrusive burials, contemporary with those in the West Church and enclosure, were
also found in North Tomb 1. Most notable about the new burials is the uniformity of the graves
and the manner of interment, which contrasts dramatically to the earlier practices. 3 A striking
1. Hope 2001, p. 57.
2. Hope forthcoming.
3. Bowen 2003, p. 167-178.Gillian E. Bowen
feature of the new Kellis 2 cemetery is the number of foetuses, infants and children interred
there. The uniformity of burial practice is consistent with Christian graves found at other sites
within the oasis such those in and around the church at Deir Abu Metta in central Dakhleh and
the cemetery associated with the small Christian village east of el-Muzawwaqa in the west of
Dakhleh. 4 The same burial pattern is observed in the pit-graves at el-Bagawat in neighbouring
Kharga Oasis, those in the monastic cemetery at North Saqqara and in the cemetery church at
Kom al-Ahmar near Oxyrhynchus, all of which are dated to the fourth century. 5
Kellis 2 cemetery (fig. 1)
Excavation within the Kellis 2 cemetery began in 1992 under the direction of the DOP
physical anthropologist J. Eldon Molto, assisted by Peter Sheldrick, 6 and is currently directed
by forensic anthropologist, Tosha Dupras assisted by Sheldrick and Lana Williams; the work is
ongoing. 7 The area is exposed to the northerly winds that sweep down from the escarpment and
as a consequence, it is badly deflated. The extent of the cemetery is uncertain. It was estimated
to contain between 3,500 and 4,000 graves but a resurvey of the area by Lana Williams in 2010
indicates that it is far more extensive than initially thought. 8 The section that was chosen by
Molto for investigation is concentrated in the west of the cemetery and covers an area of roughly
70 metres north-south by 40 metres east-west. By the end of the 2008 season, 701 graves had
352 been excavated. All graves follow a uniform plan: they are simple rectangular pits, aligned on an
east-west axis, with minor deviations that probably reflect the position of the rising sun at the
time the grave was dug. 9 The pits are cut to accommodate a single body and, although there are
some exceptions for the bodies of foetuses and very young children (see below), the cemetery is
arranged in such a manner that the graves do not overlap and therefore the bodies are not dis-
turbed by subsequent burials. The excavators have noted that 22% of the graves have variations
4. Bowen 2008, p. 7-16. Dakhleh Oasis Project site reference 33/390-I7-2.
5. Lythgoe 1908, p. 203-208; Martin 1974, p. 15–21; Jeffrey, Stroudhal 1980, p. 28-35; Huber 2006, p. 58-59.
6. Sheldrick 2008, p. 137. Dakhleh Oasis Project site reference 31/435-C5-2.
7. I have been requested by Anthony Mills, the Director of the Dakhleh Oasis Project, to undertake the publication of the
archaeology of the Kellis 2 cemetery. To this end, I was given copies of the excavation field notebooks up until 2000 and
thereafter the context sheets. I was also given access to the material recovered from the graves, including the body wrap-
pings. I am most grateful to Peter Sheldrick for providing me with copies of his photographic records and for his willingness
to answer my numerous questions relating to the archaeology. I am equally appreciative of Tosha Dupras’ support and
prompt responses to my emails requesting further information, clarification of points of concern and for forwarding me
copies of her postgraduate students’ theses that relate to the Kellis 2 cemetery, including that of Sandra Wheeler, with
Wheeler’s consent. I rely upon Wheeler’s thesis for the statistics included in this article and for the plans and sections of
graves, none of which is otherwise available to me. Lana Williams undertook a reexamination of the excavated area in
2007 and produced a revised plan, of which she kindly forwarded me a copy. Colin Hope has undertaken the study of the
ceramics, which as yet remain unpublished. I am indebted to Colin for his advice throughout and for his constructive com-
ments on this article. My involvement in the archaeology of the Kellis settlement has enabled me to examine the cemetery
regularly and as my 2010 field-season coincided with that of the physical anthropology team, I was able to accept their
invitation to spend some time observing their excavations.
8. Personal communication.
9. Noted by Birrell during his excavation within the cemetery in 1993; Bowen 2003, p. 168, fn.1; Williams 2008.Child, infant and foetal burials of the Late Roman Period at Ismant el-Kharab, ancient Kellis, Dakhleh Oasis
353
Figure 1: Plan of the excavated section of the Kellis 2 cemetery with the estimated extent of the cemetery, at 2007, in the
inset. Compiled and drawn by L. Williams ; modified by B. ParrGillian E. Bowen
to the simple pit, which range from a covering of mud bricks around the lip and over the mouth
of the graves to a vaulted substructure, designed to protect the body from contact with the fill. 10
An estimated 18% of graves had low superstructures and some retain fragments of the white
plaster with which they were originally coated; this figure, however, could be skewed because of
the deflation within the cemetery. 11
Fifteen small mud-brick tomb enclosures have been identified scattered throughout the
cemetery, four of which have been excavated, two on the west (Tombs 1 and 2) and two on the
east (Tombs 3 and 4); their internal dimensions range from 2.5 m square to 3.0 x 3.8 m. Tombs
1–3 are single chambers and Tomb 4, the largest, has a portico on its west. The tombs have suf-
fered from erosion with the walls of the best preserved examples (Tombs 1 and 4) surviving a
maximum of three courses. Tomb 1 was coated with white gypsum plaster on the interior and
exterior as well as the floor and the others were presumably also once painted white although
nothing remains to confirm this assumption. There is evidence of architectural elaboration on
the exterior of Tomb 2, where remnants of double columns are preserved on both the north-east
and north-west corners 12 and which presumably flanked the entranceway; there were no compli-
mentary columns on the south corners. The columns, which were constructed of wedge-shaped
mud bricks, are 60 cm in diameter, suggesting that their shafts must once have stood at least
2.5 metres in height. 13 The entrance to Tomb 1 has not been located, but that of Tomb 3 is set into
the east wall and is raised two steps above the tomb floor and Tomb 4 is approached from the
west through the portico, which was also accessed from the west. From this it can be determined
354 that there was no specified orientation for the doorways. A door pivot found in Tomb 1, indi-
cates that it, and probably the others, was once fitted with a wooden door. There is no evidence
to indicate whether or not the tombs were roofed. The graves in Tomb 1 and 2 are close together
and had superstructures, 14 which would have left little room for families to congregate or for
rituals to be performed. By contrast, the graves in Tombs 3 and 4 had no superstructures and
were simply covered by the plastered floor, which left the interior space useable. The tombs may
belong to family groups and/or represent wealth distinction, 15 but this is speculative.
The demography of the Kellis 2 cemetery
Eighty-six percent of the graves had been desecrated to some degree, 16 usually around the
region of the head, but the majority of these retained some skeletal remains enabling Molto,
Dupras and their teams to identify 683 individuals. The ages are presented in table 1.
10. The statistics should be treated with some reservation for in at least one field season the graves of infants were targeted to
the exclusion of those of adults.
11. Wheeler 2009, p. 59.
12. Birrell 1999, p. 40, fig. 3.
13. This is dependent upon the ratio of height to diameter, with estimates ranging from 1:3 to 1:5.
14. Birrell 1999, p. 38.
15. Sheldrick 2008, p. 137.
16. Williams 2008, p. 17.Child, infant and foetal burials of the Late Roman Period at Ismant el-Kharab, ancient Kellis, Dakhleh Oasis
Age groupings Number of individuals Percentage
Foetal (9 weeks – birth) 104 15.2 %
Infants (birth – 12 months) 164 24 %
Children (1 – 4 years) 96 14.1 %
Children (5 – 10 years) 42 6.1 %
Children (11 – 15 years) 18 2.6 %
Juveniles (ca 15 years) of indeterminable age 23 3.4 %
16 – 35 years 125 18.3 %
36 – 50 years 64 9.4 %
51 years plus 47 6.9 %
Total 683
Table 1: Age distribution of individuals excavated in the Kellis 2 cemetery. Modified from Wheeler 2009, Table 2.1, p. 52
Of these 683 individuals examined, over 400 or 65% are classified as children, that is, aged
15 years or under at death and about a quarter were foetuses, the youngest being 18-21 weeks
gestation. 17 Foetuses, including perinates, defined as 39-41 weeks gestation, and infants account
for 40% of the total. Ten percent of the burials are of young adult females, many of whom pre-
sumably died in childbirth. 18 One-hundred and forty further graves in the demarcated area were
planned but have not been excavated; at least 106 of these graves are too small for adult burials 355
and must contain the bodies of children, taking the percentage of child deaths even higher.
Distribution of the children’s graves
The graves of foetuses, infants, children and juveniles (hereafter referred to as children unless
otherwise separated 19) are distributed equally throughout the cemetery (fig. 2), including the
tombs where they represent 50% or 14 of the 28 burials. 20 Some clusters are discernible, espe-
cially around Tombs 3 and 4, but whether any significance should be attached to this is unknown.
Body treatment
The bodies were wrapped in linen cloth with the arms and feet extended; the cloth was held
in place with a 2-ply linen cord for the foetuses and the very young and purpose-woven linen
bands for older children. In all instances the ties were wrapped around or criss-crossed over the
17. Marlow 2001, p. 108, fig. 10.1a and 10.1b. The designation given to this burial by Marlow is 28 but in the new numbering
system introduced by Williams it is Grave 30. In Dupras’ list the foetus is aged 21 weeks gestation.
18. Wheeler 2009, p. 55.
19. The terms applied in the field notebooks and publications vary. Wheeler 2009, p. 43, fn. 1, has adopted the following
definitions: infant: birth to one year; children: one to 15 years; juvenile: not reached skeletal maturity. The difficulty in
determining the ages at death is acknowledged and those given here for the burials within the Kellis 2 cemetery are taken
either from Wheeler or from a list of the mean ages provided to me by Dupras. For further discussion of the methodology
see M.W. Tocheri, T.L Dupras, P. Sheldrick, J.E. Molto, “Roman Period Fetal Skeletons from the East Cemetery (Kellis 2) of Kellis,
Egypt”, IntJOsteoarchaeol 15, 2005, p. 326-341.
20. Wheeler 2009, p. 52-55.Gillian E. Bowen
356
Figure 2: Distribution of child burials in the Kellis 2 cemetery. The excavated graves of children are indicated in black.
Compiled by L. Williams, adapted by S. Wheeler with additional burials plotted by B. Parr from Williams’ updated planChild, infant and foetal burials of the Late Roman Period at Ismant el-Kharab, ancient Kellis, Dakhleh Oasis entire body. There are a few examples of the body having been treated prior to wrapping; this includes the use of pine, acacia and caster oils mixed with clay and placed on the body. Acacia and caster are native to the oasis but pine is not. 21 In a very few instances a resin was placed within the wrapping; its use was restricted to the burials of infants and young children. 22 The cranium of one infant was encrusted with a thin layer of crushed resin and larger droplets were found around the body and between the wrappings. Chemical analysis of the resin has identified it as myrrh of the genius Commiphora, which was presumably traded into Dakhleh from the Red Sea coast. 23 Myrrh is one of the ingredients included in a medical prescription recovered from House 3 in the village and seems to have been used as an eye salve. 24 The skeletonized bodies of four juveniles had been treated with black resin, which has not been analysed, but which might be bitumen. 25 Small amounts of bitumen or asphalt from the Dead Sea, together with beeswax, was mixed with pine resin and used for treating the mummified bodies buried in the Kellis 1 cemetery. 26 Standard burial practice The graves of the foetuses and younger children are, for the most, shallow pits cut to the size of the body; in many instances they are no more than 35 cm deep. The body was placed on the floor of the grave in a supine position, head to the west (pl. 1). The graves of older children are significantly deeper. The standard practice was to refill the graves with the soil 357 thrown directly on top of the wrapped body. Twenty-two percent of all graves have some type of substructure designed to protect the entire body, or at least the head, from the fill and of these 18% belong to children. 27 There is a variation in the type of substructures ranging from two mud bricks placed at either side of the head and a third resting above it (fig. 3a), to the most elaborate type, which comprised a series of mud bricks placed on edge to form a vault resulting in a cavity between the vault and the body. The vaulting bricks were laid either on a lip cut into the pit wall (fig. 3b) or on a course of bricks lining the opening of the pit (fig. 3c). The Plate 1: The standard pit burial of a 3-month old infant. vault was coated with mud plaster and the upper Photograph P. Sheldrick 21. Thanheiser, Walter, Hope 2002, p. 305; Williams, Dupras 2004; Wheeler 2009, p. 58. 22. Williams, Dupras 2004; Wheeler 2009, p. 58 23. Williams, Dupras 2004; Wheeler 2009, p. 23. 24. Worp 1995, p.kell.i gr.89.4; Thanheiser Walter, Hope 2002, p. 305. 25. Wheeler 2009, p. 59. 26. Aufderheide, Carmel, Zlonis 2003, p. 150; Wheeler 2009, p. 51. 27. Wheeler 2009, p. 59.
Gillian E. Bowen
part of the grave filled. Two methods were used to seal the grave; either the mouth was bricked
over directly above the fill or the fill was plastered over, just below surface level, to create what
the excavators term a false floor (fig. 3c).
Figure 3: Architectural variations within the graves. Adapted from Wheeler 2009, Appendix B, fig. 2.7, p. 238
Elaborate and simple substructures, as well as basic pits, could be provided with a superstruc-
ture. In such cases, the grave fill of foetuses and the very young was left unsealed or closed with a
course of mud bricks placed directly above the mouth of the grave (fig. 4a-d).
358
Figure 4: The construction method for the graves of foetuses and young children. Compiled by Wheeler 2009, Appendix B,
fig. 2.4, p. 237
For the older children a variety of construction methods was used for the superstructures.
These ranged from either laying a course of brick around the opening of the grave (fig. 5a),
sealing the pit with a single course or multiple courses of mud brick (fig. 5b-d), creating a
vault with bricks placed on an angle (fig. 5e) or laid in diminishing courses (fig. 5f). The most
frequent method used to seal the graves was to lay a single course of mud bricks around the
lip (fig. 5g) or to cover the mouth of the grave completely (fig. 5h). A coat of mud plaster was
applied to hide the bricks and some were then finished with a layer of gypsum plaster. Exam-
ples of all types of grave structure contain the burials of children and are found throughout
the cemetery.Child, infant and foetal burials of the Late Roman Period at Ismant el-Kharab, ancient Kellis, Dakhleh Oasis
Variations to the standard burials
Several variations on the standard
burials have been recorded. Examples
of these are as follows. A child, age
not recorded, buried in Grave 544
was covered with a ceramic lid. The
remains of two young children, ages
not recorded, were found placed side
by side in a gypsum-coated wooden
coffin in Grave 583. The grave had
been desecrated and the coffin had
largely decomposed, but fragments
found within the fill indicated that
it had been decorated with yellow,
grey, black and red painted bands. In
Grave 677, located within Tomb 4,
the body of an 18-month old had been
placed head first in a broken stor-
age jar with two large sherds above
the lower body for added protection
(pl. 2 and 3). The grave was then filled 359
with clean sand and the top plastered
over to form the floor of the tomb.
Figure 5: Examples of the construction methods for graves with supers-
The ceramics from this grave date to
tructures used for older children and adults. Fig. 5a is an eroded
the late third to fourth centuries. superstructure with remnants of gypsum on the surface, examples of
A 35-week foetus buried in Grave fig. 5b-f are found with and without gypsum plaster, fig. 5g and h are
510 was wrapped in a significant eroded remnants found with or without the gypsum plaster. Compiled
quantity of raw cotton before being by W heeler 2009, Appendix 3, fig. 2.3, p. 236
placed in a simple shallow pit. Cot-
ton was grown locally and there is ample evidence for the crop at the site from the latter half of
the third century onwards. 28
Another phenomenon found within this cemetery is the use of large jars and pigeon pots,
most of which were already broken, placed within the fill towards the top of the grave. The
pigeon pots derive from the second-third century columbaria located to the south of the cem-
etery. Their function is uncertain but, as the columbaria had been abandoned by the fourth
century, the vessels were probably used as a fill or to prevent the desecration of the grave by ani-
mals. Only 13 of the 701 graves excavated included these vessels in the fill. Of those, eight are the
graves of children, four of which were foetuses that had not reached full term; the other children
28. Numerous cotton bolls have been retrieved from third and fourth century contexts. Thanheiser Walter, Hope 2002, p. 303. For
textual evidence for cotton see R.S. Bagnall, The Kellis Agricultural Account Book, Oxford, 1997, p. 49-50 and receipts for cot-
ton in Worp 2004, no 68 and no 69.Gillian E. Bowen
Plate 2: Grave 677 showing the broken storage jar and Plate 3: Grave 677 showing the lower section of the body
sherds covering the body. Photograph P. Sheldrick after the removal of the sherds. Photograph P. Sheldrick
were aged 9 months, 4 years, 8 years and 12 years. The other graves in which pigeon pots and jars
were used as coverings belonged to a 70-year old, a 30-year old and two 20-year olds. In Grave
164, which contained two foetuses, a single pigeon pot covered the entire mouth of the pit. An
example of the usual manner in which the pots were used in shown in Grave 35 (pl. 4), that of a
9-month old infant, located to the east of Tomb 2.
Wheeler reports at least six instances where the foetus or newborn is buried alongside a
female adult, presumably the mother. 29 Grave 426/436 is just one example and 513 is another.
360 Three instances are recorded where foetuses and/or neonates were buried together: in Grave 685,
foetal twins aged about mid-third trimester, were individually wrapped and placed on their sides
alongside one another facing the north wall of Tomb 4 against which the grave was cut. 30 This
shallow grave, only 27 cm deep, was lined with bricks on the north and the east. In Grave 575,
a foetus and newborn (ages not given) were wrapped separately and placed side-by-side in two
conjoining graves, both of which were subsequently covered over with a single course of mud
bricks. The third recorded double burial is in Grave 632 and contains a 6-month old and a foetus.
They are laid head to toe with half of a pigeon pot dividing the bodies.
Burials of foetuses and children below the age of three years are often clustered around the
outer walls of the tombs and in some instances, foetuses were placed under the sides of the mud-
brick superstructures of adults, affording them added protection; 31 Grave 517 is an example.
Grave inclusions
Grave goods are at a premium in the Kellis 2 cemetery and it is obvious that such equipment
was not considered essential for the next life. Very few graves contain complete ceramic vessels
and the overwhelming majority is from anciently-broken pots and is connected with the process of
covering the bodies rather than grave goods. Grave 22 is a rare exception. It contains the body of a
29. Wheeler 2009, p. 58.
30. Wheeler 2009, p. 103.
31. Wheeler 2009, p. 59.Child, infant and foetal burials of the Late Roman Period at Ismant el-Kharab, ancient Kellis, Dakhleh Oasis
Plate 4: Grave 35 (formerly 29) showing broken pigeon Plate 5: Grave 544 in Tomb 3 with the covering of rosemary over 361
pots and water jars above the body of a 9-month old the wrapped body of the 18-month old. Photograph P. Sheldrick
infant. Photograph P. Sheldrick
22-year old female who was buried with a glass vessel placed alongside her shoulder. 32 The vessel is
damaged at the neck and its shape indicates a date in the second century. Its function can only be
speculated upon and it could well have held sentimental value for the occupant. In two instances,
children were buried with items of jewellery: an 18-month old child buried in Grave 490, a simple
pit in the southern cluster of graves, was found with a necklace of tubular black and circular white
beads. Another necklace, comprising 167 glass beads was found buried with a 2-month old infant
in Grave 542, located in the south-east corner of Tomb 3. The necklace lay in the fill near the body.
The 9-month old buried in Grave 551 had two faience bead bracelets on its wrists; the tubular beads
are coloured black, blue, white and red. The only other item of jewellery is a child’s copper and
faience Bes ring that was found in the fill of Grave 635; the burial of a 5-year old. Other ornaments
include two bone hairpins that were in situ in the long hair of a 2-year old girl, buried in Grave 487.
A feature of this cemetery is the inclusion of rosemary and myrtle in the graves. Rosemary is
found as a loose cover placed beneath or over the body and in some instances it is profuse; myrtle
leaves are found either mixed with the rosemary or tied in small bundles. The botanical samples
are most frequently found in the graves of adult males but juveniles between the ages of 11 and 15
32. Birrell 1999, p. 41; Marchini 1999, p. 81; Sheldrick 2008, p. 138 identifies the female as 25 years old.Gillian E. Bowen
years account for 37% of this category of grave inclusion. 33 Botanical samples are not restricted
to this older age group and two instances where this herb was used amongst the younger chil-
dren are recorded: rosemary and myrtle was found in the disturbed Grave 583, which had the
painted wooden coffin, and the body of the 18-month old child buried beneath the ceramic lid in
Grave 544 in Tomb 3 (see above) was covered with rosemary (pl. 5). Thanheiser notes that rose-
mary, Rosemarinus officinarus, is attested in Egypt from the Late Period, but none has been found
within the domestic or religious structures at Kellis. 34 Myrtle, Myrtus communis, was grown in
Egypt from Ptolemaic times from which period garlands and bouquets are attested. 35 Myrtle is
rare within the settlement and has only been detected amongst the soil samples taken from House
4. 36 Thanheiser suggests that myrtle and rosemary were grown at Kellis specifically for funerary
purposes with myrtle the most common. 37 Thirty-five rosemary and myrtle bouquets were found
in West Tomb 1, a tomb adjacent to the West Church that was reused in the third century for 11
burials. 38 Birrell refers to small bouquets of rosemary in Tombs 3, 4 and 15 in the Kellis 1 cemetery,
but there is no confirmatory evidence for this and the only reference in the field note book is to
“a flower garland with numerous leaves” atop a quantity of disturbed skeletal material in Tomb 15. 39
The West Church and its Enclosure Cemetery
The West Church (D/6) and the associated cemetery (D/7) is located on the western periphery of
362 the village some 80 metres north of the Temple of Tutu (fig. 6). It dates from around the mid-fourth
century and was abandoned when the village was vacated at the end of the fourth century. There
were nine interments in the cemetery and a further two in front of the sanctuary within the church
itself (fig. 7). 40 All of the graves were undisturbed and therefore provide an excellent opportunity
for studying Christian burials of the fourth century. Three of the graves belonged to young children;
one in the church (D/6 Grave 2), who was aged 6 ±3 months, and the other two in the cemetery: a
perinate or last trimester foetus (D/7 Grave 4) and an infant aged 18 ± 3 months (D/7 Grave 6). The
perinate was buried beside a female aged 60± 5 years (D/7 Grave 3) and the infant was alongside a
female, aged 40± 5 years (D/7 Grave 7). The infant buried in the church was placed alongside the
bema, directly in front of the apse; the other church burial was that of a male aged, 27± 3 years. 41
The burials conform to the same pattern as observed in the Kellis 2 cemetery: all were simple pits
without any architectural elements within the substructure. The graves of two adult females buried
33. Wheeler 2009, p. 60.
34. thanheiser,Walter, Hope 2002, p. 305.
35. Thanheiser 1999, p. 93.
36. Thanheiser 1999, p. 92.
37. Thanheiser, Walter, Hope 2002, p. 305.
38. Hope, Mckenzie 1999, p. 56.
39. Birrell 1999, p. 38; Wheeler 2009, p. 51. Thanheiser, the DOP archaeobotanist, has no knowledge of these bouquets and has
not examined the garland. Birrell was not present when Tombs 3 and 4 were excavated.
40. Bowen 2003, p. 176; Hope 2003, p. 244, p. 252. The burials were excavated under the direction of C.A. Hope.
41. Molto et al. 2003, p. 346-347. For the criteria adopted for ageing the burials Molto et al. 2003, p. 345 direct the readers to
Molto 2001.Child, infant and foetal burials of the Late Roman Period at Ismant el-Kharab, ancient Kellis, Dakhleh Oasis Figure 6: Plan of Ismant el-Kharab (ancient Kellis). Original drawing by J.E. Knudstad supplemented by J. Dobrowolski and 363 B. Rowney and compiled by B. Parr. Scale 1:4000 (from Hope 2003, fig. 1) against the east wall of the church in the north-west corner of the enclosure were capped with gable-shaped superstructures (D/7 Graves 1 and 2). 42 The other graves in the cemetery were closed with a single course of mud bricks laid at ground level and as the cemetery is badly deflated, it is not possible to determine whether other graves had superstructures, especially those in the south-east corner of the enclosure, which are unprotected from the elements. A course of bricks covered the grave of the adult buried in the church (D/6 Grave 1), but the infant’s grave was backfilled without any brick cover. The graves within the church were cut whilst the church was operational, as shown by the remnants of floor covering both graves. 43 None of the burials had grave goods. 42. Hope 1995, p. 57-58, pl. 6. 43. Bowen 2003, p. 176-177; Hope 2003, p. 244-252, pl. 29-34.
Gillian E. Bowen 364
Child, infant and foetal burials of the Late Roman Period at Ismant el-Kharab, ancient Kellis, Dakhleh Oasis
Intrusive burials within North Tomb 1
The other location at Kellis where graves exhibiting identical burial patterns have been
found is in North Tomb 1 (fig. 8). This is the most elaborate of a series of large mud-brick mauso-
lea, known as the North Tomb Group, situated on the north-western edge of the village (fig. 6). 44
The tombs were probably erected between the first to third centuries ce. 45 North Tomb 1 had
been robbed in antiquity and the original occupants could not be identified amongst the skel-
etal remains that were found in profusion. Following clearance of the debris, 24 intrusive pit
graves cut on an east-west alignment were found. 46 The graves in the main rooms of the tomb
had been robbed, but Dupras and Tocheri, who examined the human remains from the tomb,
report that in Room 2, three bodies could be identified, all of whom are described as juveniles,
and of the 200 plus complete bones and bone fragments recovered from that room, the majority
was juvenile with infant and foetal bones included; fewer than ten fragments were identified as
adult. 47 With the exception of the body of a perinate, in Room 4, all human remains recovered
from Rooms 3 and 4 were of adults. 48 Ten graves, 17–24, were intact. The bodies in Graves 17 and
18, described as those of infants, are buried in the north corridor, Space 6, and Room 8 respec-
tively. Graves 19–24 are in the western corridor, Space 14, at the rear of the tomb. The body in
Grave 19 is aged 8–9 months; the remaining graves were of foetuses or newborns: 20 and 21 are
about 40 weeks gestation, 22 is about 30 weeks, 23 about 36 weeks and 24 contained two bodies:
a newborn and a perinate (fig. 9). 49 With the exception of the infant buried in Room 6, there was 365
no mud-brick cover over the graves and no superstructure. No grave goods were retrieved, but a
gypsum jar sealing with an impression of the crux ansata, 50 the Christian adaptation of the Egyp-
tian ankh, was retrieved from the upper fill of Grave 3 in Room 2. 51
44. Knudstad, Frey 1999, p. 208-211; Hope 2003, p. 252.
45. Hope 2003, p. 252, p. 277. See C.A Hope, “The Excavations at Ismant el-Kharab and Mut el-Kharab in 2004”, BACE 15, 2004,
p. 19-49, for preliminary reports on excavations carried out within the North Tomb Group. These burials were excavated
under the direction of C.A. Hope.
46. Hope 2003, p. 264.
47. Dupras, Tocheri 2003, p. 185. See table 9 for the estimated ages of the comingled juveniles from the tomb.
48. Dupras, Tocheri 2003, p. 185-186.
49. Dupras, Tocheri 2003, p. 186. The criteria adopted for age at death calculations are discussed on p. 189.
50. Bowen forthcoming.
51. Hope 2003, p. 264, fig. 18o.
f Figure 7: Plan of the eastern part of Enclosure 4 showing the location of the West Tombs and Graves 1–9, Area D/7 (the
Enclosure Cemetery), and the West Church, Area D/6, with Graves 1 and 2. Drawing by J.E. Knudstad supplemented by
B. Rowney and D. Tuck, compiled by B. Parr. Scale of detail of graves 1: 50. Modified from Hope 2003, fig. 11Gillian E. Bowen
366
Figure 8: North Tomb 1. Plan of North Tomb 1 showing the location of the rooms, spaces and the Christian graves ; drawing
by B. Rowney, adapted by B. Parr. The large numbers in bold represent the room and space numbers; the small numbers
represent the intrusive Christian graves (from Hope 2003, fig. 12)Child, infant and foetal burials of the Late Roman Period at Ismant el-Kharab, ancient Kellis, Dakhleh Oasis
Figure 9: Burials of children from North Tomb 1: Graves 1 and 3 from Room 2; Grave 17 from Space 6, Grave 18 from
367
Room 8; Graves 19–24 from Space 14. Drawings by W. Dolling and D. Tuck. Scale 1:20 (from Hope 2003, fig. 17)
Discussion
Status
The children interred in all three burial grounds were not marginalised, but were afforded
equal status with adults in terms of bodily treatment, grave type and location; they were regarded
as fully-integrated members of the community. In some instances, extra care was taken to protect
the bodies, such as the child placed in the storage jar. The burial of the child within the church
also suggests no status differentiation in relation to sex or age. Foetuses, whether viable or non-
viable, were obviously regarded as worthy of burial and were treated with equal care, as shown
by the foetus buried in Grave 510 whose wrapped body was then encased in cotton, an expensive
commodity. The distribution of children throughout the Kellis 2 cemetery suggests that there
was no prescribed area designated to age groups, although the discovery of children’s bones in
Room 2 of North Tomb 1 and only adult bones in Rooms 3 and 4, could indicate that the group
buried here favoured age separation, although the bones were too disturbed to draw any positive
conclusions. There may be some significance attached to the location of the graves of foetuses
and the very young placed in the corridor of North Tomb 1 and Wheeler noted certain similari-
ties with those in Kellis 2 that cluster around Tombs 2, 3 and 4, but if so, the purpose alludes us.Gillian E. Bowen
Kin groups
It is unclear whether the burials in Kellis 2 were arranged by family groups and this cannot
be determined without extensive DNA testing. There can be little doubt in the instances where
the mother and foetus or stillborn are buried together. The perinate and the newborn, buried
together in Grave 24, North Tomb 1, are obviously not siblings, but could be kin related and it
is quite possible that all of those buried in this tomb were members of a single extended family.
A study of the bodies from the West Church and its Enclosure Cemetery, undertaken by Molto
and his team, revealed a rare genetic trait, precondylar tubercles, in three individuals: the male
buried in the church, D/6 Grave 1, and two females who were buried either side of the steps to
West Tomb 1, D/7 Graves 3 and 5, as well as evidence of spina bifida occulta in all three males;
this, Molto notes, may indicate a family group. Furthermore, “a rare, unique morphological trait,
the suprascapular neurovascular canal, in two bodies one each from D/7 [the Enclosure Cem-
etery] and one from N[orth] T[omb]1 provides possible evidence of linking these two mortuary
areas genetically and temporally.” 52
Religious affiliation
The villagers who buried their dead in Kellis 2, adopted a radically different mode of inter-
ment to those deposited in the rock-cut tombs of the Kellis 1 cemetery, which spans the first
to third centuries ce. 53 The Kellis 1 tombs contained multiple burials placed on the floor of the
tomb without any specific orientation. Amongst the forty-nine bodies examined by Aufderhe-
368 ide, nineteen were under the age of 15 years and only one was a foetus. 54 Some of the bodies had
undergone what Aufderheide terms anthropogenic mummification 55 and some were furnished
with cartonnage coverings, as well as traditional grave goods, such as ba birds, all of which con-
form to traditional funerary practices. 56
Those interred in the West Church and its associated cemetery must have been Christian; but
doubt has been cast upon those buried in Kellis 2 based upon the suggested time span for its use.
Molto published a suite of six radiocarbon dates taken from five bodies in the eastern part of the
cemetery and deduced that the earliest burials in the cemetery date from around 50 ce, which he
correctly noted is too early for them to be Christian; 57 the obvious conclusion was that they must
represent the poorer members of the village. 58 Based upon Molto’s interpretation of the radiocar-
bon dates, Williams suggested that Kellis 2 was in use from around 50–450 ce, but argued for it being
a Christian cemetery; Stewart, Molto and Reimer, in their re-publication of Molto’s results, were
more cautious and acknowledged that, because of anomalies within the data, additional radiocarbon
52. Molto et al. 2003, p. 346-347, p. 360, p. 362.
53. Hope forthcoming.
54. Aufderheide, Cartmell, Zlonis 2003, p. 139-140, tables 1 and 2. The ages at death of the remaining children are: 2 x 2 years, 1 x
4 years, 1 x 5 years, 1 x 6 years, 6 x 7 years, 2 x 8 years, 3 x 10 years, 1 x 11 years and 1 x 15 years.
55. Aufderheide et al. 2004, p. 63.
56. Hope forthcoming.
57. Molto 2002, p. 243. Separate Christian cemeteries are attested in textual evidence from the early third century. See
Hippolytus, Apostolic Tradition 40; Watts 1991, p. 64.
58. Molto 2001, p. 86, suggests that those interred in the Kellis 2 cemetery might have belonged to the artisan class.Child, infant and foetal burials of the Late Roman Period at Ismant el-Kharab, ancient Kellis, Dakhleh Oasis
dates are needed which “should provide a more rigorous statistical basis for interpreting the tempo-
ral period represented in Kellis 2”. 59 A study of the ceramic assemblage from the graves has been
undertaken by Colin Hope who notes that the large number of pigeon pots has been reused from
the nearby columbaria, while the other forms parallel exactly those found in the houses in Area A
(fig. 6) 60 and the churches, which can be dated to the late third and fourth centuries. 61 This is com-
patible with the textual and archaeological data in relation to the arrival of Christianity in the village,
which can be traced using an onomastic study to the latter half of the third century; the Small East
Church was certainly operational by the opening years of the fourth century. 62
The burials in Kellis 2, the West Church and its Enclosure Cemetery and North Tomb 1 all
conform to a pattern which is discernible in contemporary cemeteries in Egypt, North Africa,
Britain and Europe. They meet the generally-accepted criteria set out by Watts for identifying
early Christian burials in Britain: bodies laid in a supine position in individual graves, without
overlap, heads invariably placed to the west, a significant number of foetal and infant burials and
small tomb enclosures within the cemetery. 63 Those interred in all three locations at Kellis were,
without exception, buried with their heads placed to the west. 64 This practice is in line with early
Christian belief that the dead will rise to face the Son of Man who would appear in the east at
the time of the Second Coming. 65
Burial practices for children adopted by the Christian community of Kellis have parallels with
its neighbours in Kharga Oasis where the 78 bodies from the pit-grave section of the cemetery
at Bagawat, were examined. Of these one was a foetus, 25 were aged from birth to 12 months at
death, 16 were between 4–7 years; and 36 were adult. The cemetery fills the criteria for Christian 369
burials with the added information from grave stelae, which include Christian names and cru-
ces ansatae. 66 The same careful attention to children’s burials is recorded in the Main Cemetery
at Poundbury, Dorset, England, where 1028 Christian graves were excavated. 67 The cemetery is
estimated to span 75 years with the earliest burials dated primarily on numismatic evidence to
the first quarter of the fourth century. 68
59. Williams 2008, p. 17; Stewart, Molto, Reimer 2003, p. 377.
60. Hope notes that there are a few sherds of an earlier date but these are worn and probably derive from the columbaria or
nearby structures.
61. Bowen et al. 2007, p. 27-29, fig. 44.
62. Bowen 2003, p. 173-175.
63. Watts 1991, p. 18-98; 1993, p. 192-202. See also Farwell, Molleson 1993, p. 236-239 for further criteria and those which they
regard as too simplistic and omit from watts’ list. Farwell, Molleson 1993, p. 237, include a list of 19 fourth-century cemeteries
in Dorset with Christian and pagan characteristics.
64. Watts 1991, p. 53. Cemeteries identified as Christian in Britain that conform to this criterion are too numerous to include. For
an example from North Africa see N. Ben Lazreg, S. Stevens, L. Stirling, J. Moore, “Roman and Early Christian burial complex at
Leptiminus (Lamta): second notice”, JRA 19, 2006, p. 347-368.
65. Gospel of Matthew 24.27. See also 1 Corinthians 15.52; Watts 1991, p. 57.
66. I am indebted to Alice Younger, who was given permission by the Metropolitan Museum of Art to study the unpublished
excavation reports from Bagawat, for this information.
67. Farwell, Molleson 1993, p. 44.
68. Farwell, Molleson 1993, p. 77.Gillian E. Bowen
The close attention to foetal and child burials by these early Christian communities must
reflect some aspect of the liturgy common to all. The promise of resurrection was dependent
upon forgiveness of sins, which was achieved through baptism, and as infant baptism is attested
from the second century and was common from the mid-third century, 69 the very young, along
with adult believers, were equipped in the hope of future salvation.
69. Jones, Wainwright, Yarnold 1978, p. 45.
Bibliography
Dakhleh Oasis Project 1999 Aufderheide et al. 2004
The Dakhleh Oasis Project: Preliminary Reports on the A.C. Aufderheide, L. Cartmell, M. Zlonis,
1992–1993 and 1993–1994 Field Seasons, Oxford, 1999. P. Sheldrick, “Mummification practices at Kellis
site in Egypt’s Dakhleh Oasis”, JSSEA 31, 2004,
Dakhleh Oasis Project 2002 p. 63-86.
The Dakhleh Oasis Project: Preliminary Reports on the
1994–1995 to 1998–1999 Field Seasons, Oxford, 2002. Birrell 1999
M. Birrell, “Excavations in the cemeteries of
370 Oasis Papers 1 Ismant el-Kharab”, Dakhleh Oasis Project 1999,
The Oasis Papers 1. Proceedings of the First Internatio- p. 29-41.
nal Symposium of the Dakhleh Oasis Project, Oxford,
2001. Bowen 2003
G.E. Bowen, “Some Observations on Christian
Oasis Papers 2 Burial Practices at Kellis”, Oasis Papers 3, p. 167-178.
The Oasis Papers 2. Proceedings of the Second Interna-
tional Conference of the Dakhleh Oasis Project, Oxford, Bowen 2008
2008. G.E. Bowen, “The Church of Deir Abu Metta and
a Christian Cemetery in Dakhleh Oasis: a brief
Oasis Papers 3 report”, BACE 19, 2008, p. 7-16.
The Oasis Papers 3. Proceedings of the Third Internatio-
nal Conference of the Dakhleh Oasis Project, Oxford, Bowen forthcoming
2003. G.E. Bowen, “The crux ansata in early Christian
iconography: evidence from Dakhleh and Kharga
Aufderheide, Cartmell, Zlonis 2003 oases”, Mélanges Françoise Dunand, Leiden, forth-
A.C. Aufderheide, L. Cartmell, M. Zlonis, “Bio- coming.
anthropological Features of the Human Mummies
in Kellis 1 Cemetery”, Oasis Papers 3, p. 137-151.Child, infant and foetal burials of the Late Roman Period at Ismant el-Kharab, ancient Kellis, Dakhleh Oasis
Bowen et al. 2007 Jeffreys, Strouhal 1980
G.E. Bowen, W. Dolling, C.A. Hope, P. Kucera, D.G. Jeffreys, E. Strouhal, “North Saqqâra 1978–
“Brief report on the 2007 Excavations at Ismant 9: The Coptic Cemetery Site at the Sacred Animal
el-Kharab”, BACE 18, 2007, p. 21-52. Necropolis Preliminary Report”, JEA 66, 1980,
p. 28-35.
Dupras, Tocheri 2003
T.L. Dupras, M.W. Tocheri, “A Preliminary Ana- Jones, Wainwright, Yarnold 1978
lysis of the Human Skeletal Remains from North C. Jones, G. Wainwright, E. Yarnold, The Study
Tombs 1 and 2”, Oasis Papers 3, p. 183-196. of Liturgy, London, 1978.
Farwell, Molleson 1993 Knudstad, Frey 1999
D.E. Farwell, T.I. Molleson, Excavations at Poun- J.E. Knudstad, R.A. Frey, “Kellis, the architectu-
dbury in 1966-80 Volume II: The Cemeteries, Dor- ral survey of a Romano-Byzantine Town at Ismant
chester, 1993. el-Kharab”, Reports from the Survey of the Dakhleh
Oasis 1977–1987, Oxford, 1999, p. 189-214.
Hope 1995
C.A. Hope, “The Excavations at Ismant el-Kharab Lythgoe 1908
in 1995: a brief report”, BACE 6, 1995, p. 51-58. A. Lythgoe, “The Oasis of Kharga”, The Bulletin of
the Metropolitan Museum of Art 3.11, 1908, p. 203-208.
Hope 2001
C.A. Hope, “Observations on the dating of the occu- Martin 1974 371
pation at Ismant el-Kharab”, Oasis Papers 1, p. 43-59. G.T. Martin, “Excavations in the Sacred Animal
Necropolis at North Saqqâra, 1972–1973: Prelimi-
Hope 2003 nary Report”, JEA 60, 1974, p. 15-29
C.A. Hope, “The Excavation at Ismant el-Kharab
from 2000 to 2002”, Oasis Papers 3, p. 207-289. Marchini 1999
C.A. Marchini, “Glass from the 1993 Excavations
Hope forthcoming at Ismant el-Kharab”, Dakhleh Oasis Project 1999,
C.A. Hope, “The Kellis 1 Cemetery: Roman Period p. 75-82.
Burial Practices in Dakhleh Oasis”, Mélanges Fran-
çoise Dunand, Leiden, forthcoming. Marlow 2001
C.A. Marlow, “Miscarriages and infant burials in
Hope, Mckenzie 1999 the Dakhleh cemeteries: an archaeological exami-
C.A. Hope, J. Mckenzie, “Interim report on the nation of status”, Oasis Papers 1, p. 105-110.
West Tombs”, Dakhleh Oasis Project 1999, p. 53-68.
Molto 2001
Huber 2006 J.E. Molto, “Comparative skeletal biology and
B. Huber, “Al-Kom al-Ahmar/Shar na: Different paleoepidemiology of the people from Ein Tirghi
Archaeological Contexts – Different Textiles?”, and Kellis, Dakhleh, Egypt”, Oasis Papers 1, p. 82-
Textiles in situ, Riggisberger, 2006, p. 57-68. 100.Vous pouvez aussi lire
