Kellis: A Roman-Period Village in Egypt's Dakhleh Oasis

Kellis was a village in the Dakhleh Oasis in the Egyptian Western Desert inhabited continuously from the first to the late fourth century AD. Previously unexcavated, it has in recent decades yielded a wealth of data unsurpassed by most sites of the period due to the excellent state of preservation. We know the layout of the village with its temples, churches, residential sectors and cemeteries, and the excavators have retrieved vast quantities of artefacts, including a wealth of documents. The study of this material yields an integrated picture of life in the village, including the transition from ancient religious beliefs to various branches of Christianity. This volume provides accounts of the lived-in environment and its material culture, social structure and economy, religious beliefs and practices, and burial traditions. The topics are covered by an international team of specialists, culminating in an inter-disciplinary approach that will illuminate life in Roman Egypt.

Table of Contents:
Part I. Introduction: 1. Kellis in Context Colin A. Hope; Part II. The Domestic Environment: 2. Houses, Households, Household Activities Colin A. Hope and Gillian E. Bowen; 3. Paintings from Domestic Contexts Helen Whitehouse; 4. Crafts Colin A. Hope; 4.1. Basketry, Leatherwork and Cordage Gillian E. Bowen; 4.2. Ceramics Colin A. Hope; 4.3. Glass Marie-Dominique Nenna; 4.4. Textiles Rosanne Livingstone; Part III. Aspects of Life at Kellis: 5. Society and Social Structure Roger S. Bagnall; 6. The Economy; 6.1. Local Economy Roger S. Bagnall; 6.2. Plant Husbandry and Local Subsistence Ursula Thanheiser; 6.3. Coinage Gillian E. Bowen; 7. The Administration of Kellis and Dakhleh Oasis Andrew Connor; 8. Literacy Andrew Connor; 8.1. Greek Andrew Connor; 8.2. Coptic Iain Gardner; 8.3. Demotic Günter Vittmann; 8.4. Hieroglyphic Egyptian Olaf E. Kaper; 8.5. Latin Andrew Connor; 8.6. Writing Materials Colin A. Hope; Part IV. The Religious Context: 9. The Pharaonic and Classical Religious Complexes and the Cult of Tutu Colin A. Hope, Gillian E. Bowen and Olaf E. Kaper; 10. Painted Decoration in the Main Temple Complex Helen Whitehouse; 11. The Churches Gillian E. Bowen; 12. Types of Christianity: History and Spread, Organisation, Practices and Literature Iain Gardner; Part V. Burial Practices and Population: 13. The Traditional Cemeteries of Kellis Colin A. Hope, Judith Mckenzie and Carlo Rindi Nuzzolo; 14. Christian Burial Practices Gillian E. Bowen; 15. Revealing Life through Death: A Review of the Bioarcheological Studies of Human Remains Tosha L. Dupras, Sandra M. Wheeler, Lana J. Williams and Peter G. Sheldrick; Part VI. Concluding Remarks: 16. The Abandonment of Kellis Colin A. Hope and Gillian E. Bowen.

About the Author :
COLIN A. HOPE is Adjunct Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Ancient Cultures at Monash University. He is a founding member of the Dakhleh Oasis Project, for which he directs excavations at Kellis and Mut al-Kharab, and co-ordinates ceramic studies. He is also an authority on the archaeology of Egypt's Western Desert and Egyptian ceramics of the New Kingdom, and co-founded the archaeology programme at Monash University. GILLIAN E. BOWEN is Adjunct Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Ancient Cultures at Monash University. She is deputy director of excavations at Kellis, director of excavations at Dayr Abu Matta, Dakhleh Oasis, and numismatist for the Dakhleh Oasis Project. An authority on the archaeology of early Christian Egypt, she has published extensively and has excavated four fourth-century churches, including the earliest surviving purpose-built basilica.

Review :
'This volume … not only reports about the last four decades of scholarship, but also contributes to the further study of ancient Kellis in all its aspects.' Mattias Brand, Biblioteca Orientalis