Egypt beyond representation develops and applies a new approach to study Aegyptiaca Romana from a bottom-up, Roman perspective. Current approaches to these objects are often still plagued by top-down projections of modern definitions and understandings of Egypt and Egyptian material culture onto the Roman world. This book instead argues that these artefacts should be studied in their own right, without reducing them from the onset to fixed (Egyptian) meanings. Starting from a novel focus on the materials and materiality of a selection of stone Aegyptiaca from Rome, and by combining archaeological and archaeometric perspectives, this study shows that, while Egyptianness may have been among Roman associations, these objects were able to do much more than merely representing notions of Egypt.
Acknowledgements
List of Figures
List of Tables
List of Abbreviations
Note on nomenclature
I Introduction
1. The study of ancient Egypt: historiography and present status quaestionis
2. The category and classification of Aegyptiaca
3. Set-up and aims
II Understanding stone in the Roman world
1. Understanding stone in the Roman world I: provenance, style, and workmanship
2. Understanding stone in the Roman world II: Roman perceptions of stone
III Corpus of Aegyptiaca Romana
1. Rock classification and source determination
2. Object parameters: selection and definitions
3. Corpus of Aegyptiaca Romana
IV Aegyptiaca beyond representation
1. Analysis
2. Discussion
Outlook
Appendices
Bibliography
Index
