Manfred Bietak

Silvia Prell

This collection of studies on palaces in Ancient Egypt is the result of a conference organised by the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the University of Wurzburg and the Egypt Exploration Society from 12th to 14th of June 2013 in London. The result is a compilation of information - archaeological and textual - one can resort to in order to develop strategies to understand architectural and functional variations and recognise schemes of building canons for palaces in Ancient Egypt. In addition, the understanding of Ancient Egyptian palaces is amplified with specialised studies regarding architectural and administrative terminology. The combined evidence shows that there was indeed a variability in function, in architecture and in the physical situation of palaces in Ancient Egypt. Besides a common space program such as the succession of courtyard, portico, vestibule, throne room and the intimate part of the palace, one may observe a variability of the number of aisles or of columns present as well as in the thickness of walls. This fact points to hierarchical rules concerning the importance of the building. As the architecture is often preserved only in its foundations, it is important to learn what kind of walls were load-bearing, what the size of division walls is and which kind of walls once carried columns. All these first observations have to undergo an evaluation process before one can think of discovering a building canon. A general introducing section is followed by contributions covering Ancient Egyptian palaces from Predynastic times until the New Kingdom. More contributions on the subject will follow in the second volume, which will deal mainly with Ancient Near Eastern Palaces as outcome of a palace workshop at the 10th ICAANE, held in 2016 in Vienna. Together, these two volumes will contribute to a better understanding of the architectural canon and diversity of palaces in Ancient Egypt and the difference in concept to their Ancient Oriental counterparts. ce from SAV1 North underlines the important role Sai plays in understanding settlement patterns in New Kingdom Nubia.

Ancient Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Palaces

Paolo Matthiae

The study of the semiotics of palaces in the Ancient Near East and Ancient Egypt provides the historian with diverse information as size and type of architecture demonstrate the kind of representation chosen by rulers towards their world. Some features were adopted from temples in order to stage the appearance of the ruler like a divine epiphany. Some further integrate a temple within the palace, showcasing the desire of the ruler to live with a specific deity under one roof for divine support and protection. The importance of this ruler can also be reflected by the size of the throne room and the number of columns, showing as well a hierarchy in the use of space within the whole building complex and its different units. For instance, the presence of a rather intimate throne room or a second small throne room points to space for confidential exchange between the ruler and his visitors. The capacity of storerooms additionally gives us insight into the economic power standing behind the palace. The comparison of different elements between palatial and domestic architecture also proves helpful in identifying the origins of particular components. Exploration of such semiotics was initiated with the publication of the first palace volume in 2018 following a conference held in London 2013. The present volume stands in direct continuation and is the result of a second palace conference that took place at the 10th ICAANE 2016 in Vienna. Besides introducing other palaces in Egypt and Nubia, this volume is dedicated primarily to Near Eastern palaces which are presented and studied by prominent experts in this field.

Silvia Prell

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