Scarab and seal amulet production in the early eighteenth dynasty: an analysis of the materials, technology, and surface characteristics to determine seal amulet workshops

Boonstra, Stephanie L (2019). Scarab and seal amulet production in the early eighteenth dynasty: an analysis of the materials, technology, and surface characteristics to determine seal amulet workshops. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

Seal amulets, particularly those in the form of scarab beetles but also cowroids and scaraboids, were the most popular form of amulet in ancient Egypt. They have been comprehensively studied by experts (including Ward (1978), Tufnell (1984), Keel (1995), and Ben-Tor (2007)) who have focussed on the periods of the early second millennium BCE and/or the Levant. This study builds upon their decades of prior research on seal amulets to utilise and amend previous typologies in order to fill the chronological gap in comprehensive seal amulet studies beyond the first half of the second millennium BCE.
This study analyses the materials and technology, as well as surface characteristics of 876 seal amulets from seven sites dating to the early Eighteenth Dynasty in Egypt in order to identify ‘typological’ workshops (those based on shared characteristics) and ‘material’ workshops (archaeological evidence of production) of the seal amulets of the period. The organisation, output, and influences of these workshops are discussed, alongside how the seal amulet workshops of the early Eighteenth Dynasty reflect the socio-political and cultural landscape of the period. Comparisons are also drawn to the seal amulets of the Second Intermediate Period and late Eighteenth Dynasty, as well as those from the Levant.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):