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Articles Alphabetical
by Author
Hawass, Z
The Development of the Royal
Mortuary Complex (Hosted
at Guardians.net)
Excerpt:
Over the next 100 years, the design of the Step Pyramid evolved into the well-known true pyramids of Dynasty IV at Dahshur and Giza. The Giza pyramids rise as the best examples, with their fabric of large local stones and casing of fine white Tura limestone. Dynasty IV builders inspire awe by using more and more stone to create larger pyramids and vast funerary complexes outside the pyramid's walls.
Reader, C Giza
Before the Fourth Dynasty
Article Abstract
The age of the Sphinx
has generated a certain amount of controversy. Geologist Colin Reader
believes that a dating earlier than the 4th dynasty but still firmly within
the dynastic period is the best solution to reconciling the geological and
archaeological evidence. In a follow up to his article "A
geomorphological study of the Giza necropolis with implications for the
development of the site" (Archaeometry 43: 1 (2001) 149-165) we
present "Giza before the Fourth Dynasty" from the Journal of the
Ancient Chronology Forum 9 (2002) with a short update by the author to
bring things up to date.
Sakovich, A
Signs
of Stars in Ancient Egypt
Excerpt
In order to make any
kind of correlation of the Old Kingdom pyramids fit any accurate stellar
mapping, one must argue that the desire for accuracy suddenly sprang up,
becoming the predominant factor in pyramid construction in Dynasty IV...
and then mysteriously de-evolved into precisely the same kind of depictions
that occurred prior to building at Giza and Abusir.
*********
Solenhofen, A
The
tomb of Sabu and the tri-lobed "schist" bowl
Synopsis Description
of the Dynasty I tomb in Saqqara; analysis and postulation of the probable
manufacturing technique of the famous metasiltstone
bowl now located in the Cairo Museum, Cairo, Egypt.
**********
Rock
Properties: Why the ancient Egyptians can carve rock with stone and copper
tools
Synopsis:
There are three terms
that have relevance to carving and lapidary working of rocks and minerals,
these are rock hardness, mineral hardness, and mineral fracture toughness.
These three terms have different meanings and are often confused and
interchanged in modern alternative literature on the subject of the carving
and lapidary working of rocks and minerals by the ancient Egyptians. **********
Date
range of cylindrical beaker's forms, bands, and rims
Synopsis:
Approximate date
range of cylindrical beakers' a) forms, b) bands, and c) rims (after Aston
1994, Petrie c1977)
********** Ancient
Egyptian Stone Vessel Making Excerpt: The
late Predynastic period of Upper Egypt was generally characterized by an
increasing shift away from pottery of fine craftsmanship to stone vessels
for use in tombs. This may reflect a shift in the direction of consumer
demands of the elite, with an emphasis on exotic luxury goods for the
afterlife, and the increasing economic difference between the ruling class
and the rest of the populous (Hoffman 1979). As a result stone vessel
manufacturing reached a high level of technical competency during the Early
Dynastic (c. 3000-2700 BC) and Old Kingdom (c. 2700-2200 BC) periods, were
they were made in very large numbers. After the Old Kingdom, stone vessels
continued to be made, but on a much lesser scale. ********** Ancient
Egyptian Copper Coring Drills Excerpt: Large
diameter copper tubes (as well as being made of other materials, including
brass, tin plate, and soft steel) called coring barrels are used today by
amateur lapidists for the coring of rocks and minerals (Sinkankas 1984).
These coring barrels are generally thin-walled to reduce as much as
possible the volume of rock that needs to be cut away. A coring bit is made
by attaching the coring barrel to a wooden dowel, and the coring barrel can
often exhibit a groove or gap along the length of the tube to allow new
abrasive to more easily reach the cutting surface during use. Today, coring
drills can be powered by an electric motor, but they can also be powered by
hand, such as with a bow. ********** Ancient
Egyptian Copper Slabbing Saws Excerpt: The
use of saws as a method of cutting rock is inferred from marks observed on
ancient Egyptian stonework, including pieces of waste rock and finished and
unfinished stone objects. Many of these marks have been found, usually
observed as grooves cut into surfaces of rock or as striations on cut
surfaces...
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