E-Thesis 29 views 3 downloads
The Funerary Archaeology of Royal Women in the Early & Mid-18th Dynasty (1550-1346 BCE) A Reconstruction of Status and Identity / TOM BANBURY
Swansea University Author: TOM BANBURY
Abstract
This thesis critically explores the identity and relative status of royal women in the early and mid-18th dynasty period 1550 – 1346 BCE as reflected in funerary archaeology, burial customs and position of the burials in the Theban necropolis landscape. A detailed examination was undertaken of the r...
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Swansea University
2025
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| Institution: | Swansea University |
| Degree level: | Master of Research |
| Degree name: | MRes |
| Supervisor: | Knoblauch, C. and Sagrillo. T |
| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71335 |
| Abstract: |
This thesis critically explores the identity and relative status of royal women in the early and mid-18th dynasty period 1550 – 1346 BCE as reflected in funerary archaeology, burial customs and position of the burials in the Theban necropolis landscape. A detailed examination was undertaken of the royal women themselves and their relative rank in the Egyptian royal family, the relevance of burial position and the architecture of the burials. The research assessed the changing nature of architectural designs and their importance in understanding the fluid identity of women between ranks. Unique insights gained from the objects found within these burial sites including canopic jars, coffins, sarcophagi, masks, dockets, vessels, jewellery and furniture all served to reveal the status ofthe royal women and their changing status over time. The royal women were catalogued using in the following seven categories: Hatshepsut, Great Royal Wives, Secondary Wives, Royal Daughters, relatives and descendants of the royal family, foreign royal women and royal ornaments of the King. The research provided a unique window into wider aspects of Egyptian culture by revealing how funerary customs, landscape and material culture were influential in shaping the identity and status of both individual royal women, the royal family itself as a whole and the wider contact in which they lived. The women’s relative influence was highlighted and this how difference in status was reflected in funerary archaeology. Higher ranked royal women were perceived as strategically important in shaping the evolution of Egyptian society during the 18th dynasty. The act of cataloguing the womenidentified has helped to foreground their importance in shaping our understanding of the distinct political, social and cultural context in which the women lived during one of the most influential period of Egyptian history. |
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| Keywords: |
Identity, Status, Archaeology, Royal, Landscape, Necropolis, Location, Architecture, Funerary, Burials, Mummification, Objects, Dynasty |
| College: |
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |