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The Franco-Lebanese mission in Tyre identified a stone dump comprising more than a thousand fragments of architectural members and liturgical furnishings, located in an ancient cistern. These fragments, mainly of marble, but also of limestone, basalt and marine sandstone, had been collected during excavation works carried out on the site in the 1960s and 1970s. After their discovery, all the blocks were removed from the cistern, inventoried, documented and studied in order to identify their various functions and origins. A large part of these fragments seem to have belonged to various Byzantine religious monuments. The article presents the main types to which these fragments have been assigned, following a comparative approach.

The paper discusses the origins of royal representations and their transformation into the divine presence in private tomb decorations. The point of departure is a small fragment of the divine beard of Mentuhotep II recently rediscovered in TT 311. Although the scene with the king in TT 311 is, thus far, the earliest attested representation of a pharaoh in a private tomb, the motif fits well into the evolving pattern of gods’ and kings’ presence in private tombs, initiated in the Old Kingdom with Anubis and Osiris occasionally depicted on tomb walls and the king addressed in offering formulae. The introduction of the image of Mentuhotep II with Osirianizing features in TT 311 also sets up a paradigm of a closed cycle of Osirian presence in private tombs: from prayers to Osiris in htp-dj-nswt formulae, through the king-as-deity to the image of Osiris himself.

The paper discusses the origins of royal representations and their transformation into the divine presence in private tomb decorations. The point of departure is a small fragment of the divine beard of Mentuhotep II recently rediscovered in TT 311. Although the scene with the king in TT 311 is, thus far, the earliest attested representation of a pharaoh in a private tomb, the motif fits well into the evolving pattern of gods' and kings' presence in private tombs, initiated in the Old Kingdom with Anubis and Osiris occasionally depicted on tomb walls and the king addressed in offering formulae. The introduction of the image of Mentuhotep II with Osirianizing features in TT 311 also sets up a paradigm of a closed cycle of Osirian presence in private tombs: from prayers to Osiris in Htp-di-nswt formulae, through the king-as-deity to the image of Osiris himself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Franco-Lebanese mission in Tyre identified a stone dump comprising more than a thousand fragments of architectural members and liturgical furnishings, located in an ancient cistern. These fragments, mainly of marble, but also of limestone, basalt and marine sandstone, had been collected during excavation works carried out on the site in the 1960s and 1970s. After their discovery, all the blocks were removed from the cistern, inventoried, documented and studied in order to identify their various functions and origins. A large part of these fragments seem to have belonged to various Byzantine religious monuments. The article presents the main types to which these fragments have been assigned, following a comparative approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examination of the set of preserved gate lintels from the Temple of Hatshepsut in Deir el-Bahari has revealed two models of the iconographic decoration: one that emphasizes pictorial content in the form of scenes of a cultic or symbolic nature, with inscriptions playing merely a complementary role, and the other based on the textual message alone. The use of a given model of lintel decoration appears to be a measure either of the function of the room or, more broadly, of the space, accessed through the gate, or of the context of the wall decoration around the entrance.

House H10 was one of the buildings located in a Hellenistic-Roman city at the Marina el-Alamein site in Egypt, whose relics were the first to be discovered. Successive research, conducted since 1997 along with initial conservation work, has provided a comprehensive overview. The house is one of the largest and most extensive of this site. Its spatial design is a showcase for the technology typical of houses from Marina. The house is embedded in both Greco-Hellenic and Roman traditions. It is an oikos house with a courtyard with two columned porticoes situated symmetrically on either side parallel to the main axis. A third, perpendicular portico, complementing the layout of the incomplete peristyle, is imitated by the architectural decoration of the courtyard elevation, organised by semi-columns. The layout includes two main rooms located opposite each other on two sides of the peristyle. The house was rebuilt several times, which made for a complicated layout. The studies conducted have cast light on domestic religious practice and the distinctive character of the architectural and artistic interior design, including exceptional examples of figural painting. The architecture and décor of the house document the changes occurring at the intersection of Hellenistic and Roman traditions.

An unusual iconographic motif—a fringed piece of linen—depicted in the Chapel of Hatshepsut, part of the queen's temple at Deir el-Bahari, is examined in this paper as an illustration of the interest, well attested in Hatshepsut's reign, in past artistic models/sources. The Chapel of Hatshepsut was intended for the mortuary cult of the female pharaoh, while the motif under discussion appears to have been inspired by decoration earlier by 500 years, found inside a burial chamber cut into the rock cliff of North Asasif, which is a natural continuation of the Deir el-Bahari amphitheater. The tomb (TT 311) belonged to Khety, a courtier of the Eleventh-Dynasty pharaoh Mentuhotep II Nebhepetra. Assuming the validity of this iconographic link, the question arises concerning the accessibility of decorated burial chambers from the Eleventh Dynasty in this area and their possible role as “pattern books” in the design of the early Eighteenth Dynasty private and royal mortuary monuments. In addition, the paper addresses the issue of the Chapel of Hatshepsut serving as a monumental “pattern book” for the Late Period Theban tombs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examination of the set of preserved gate lintels from the Temple of Hatshepsut in Deir el-Bahari has revealed two models of the iconographic decoration: one that emphasizes pictorial content in the form of scenes of a cultic or symbolic nature, with inscriptions playing merely a complementary role, and the other based on the textual message alone. The use of a given model of lintel decoration appears to be a measure either of the function of the room or, more broadly, of the space, accessed through the gate, or of the context of the wall decoration around the entrance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

House H10 is a Hellenistic-Roman building that was among the first to be discovered at the site of Marina el-Alamein in Egypt. It is one of the largest and most extensive houses uncovered at the site. The following comprehensive overview is based on the results of regular research since 1997, including initial conservation work. The spatial design is a showcase of building technology typical of houses from Marina. Embedded in both Greco-Hellenic and Roman tradition, it is an oikos house with a courtyard and incomplete peristyle consisting of two columned porticoes on opposite sides aligned with the main axis and a third, perpendicular portico imitated by the architectural decoration of the courtyard elevation articulated with engaged columns. The two main rooms were located on opposite sides of the peristyle. The house was rebuilt several times, resulting in a complicated layout. The house has been re-studied, casting new light on domestic religious practices and the distinctiveness of the architectural and artistic interior design, including exceptional examples of figural wall painting. The architecture and interior décor of the house document the changes at the interface of Hellenistic and Roman traditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]