The Colossi from the Early Shrine at Coptos in Egypt
2000; Cambridge University Press; Volume: 10; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1017/s0959774300000081
ISSN1474-0540
AutoresBarry J. Kemp, Andrew Boyce, James Harrell,
Tópico(s)Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies
ResumoFor more than a hundred years the three colossal limestone figures from Coptos have challenged anyone wishing to write on the development of culture and society in early Egypt. Beginning from a fuller documentation of the three, a reconstruction of their original context is proposed, namely, an array of standing stones, a type of sacred structure of which a growing number of examples are known in the region. A study of the signs carved on their sides answers recent speculations that they record the names of early kings. Both the colossi and the system of symbols to which the signs belong represent a culture which, in consequence of a thoroughgoing ancient process of redefinition, was subsequently overlaid by the significantly different culture of Pharaonic Egypt.
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