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Review Author(s): Darren Glazier Review by: Darren Glazier Source: Near Eastern Archaeology, Vol. 70, No. 2 (Jun., 2007), pp. 115-116Published by: The American Schools of Oriental ResearchStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25067704Accessed: 27-06-2015 19:27 UTC

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(Hebrew Bible, New Testament, and Apocrypha references; the

list also comprises places that do not have an entry in the book).

In a new edition, it would be helpful to add a selected (and annotated) bibliography that could guide the reader to further

readings and other useful tools such as atlases or collections of

(translated) inscriptions.

Peter Lampe

University of Heidelberg

Hidden Treasures of Ancient

Egypt: Unearthing the Master

pieces of Egyptian History By Zahi Hawass. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Books. Pp. 11 + 239; plates, maps. Cloth, $35.00. ISBN 0-7922-6319-7.

In

his role as Secretary General of Egypt's

Supreme Council of

Antiquities, Zahi Hawass has done much to bring the past of Egypt to a

wider audience. The most

visible head of the council for some time, Hawass has

set about transforming the

country's antiquities service

while popularizing the past

on page and screen. Any

publication by Hawass is thus guaranteed to be received with interest by the world of Egyptian archaeology. His latest offering, Hidden Treasures of Ancient Egypt, is

inspired by an exhibition that marked the centenary of the

Egyptian Museum in 2002. The exhibition brought together 250 hitherto unseen items from the national collection; artefacts that, alongside some of Egypt's more recognizable

antiquities, form the basis of the hidden treasures offered to us by Hawass. Yet this is no simple exhibition catalog: the

author uses these artefacts to narrate the history of Egyptian

archaeology, skillfully weaving tales of politics, colonialism, and resurgent national pride into accounts of the discovery of

the artifacts themselves. Nor are these treasures presented to

us conventionally. Rather, Hawass leads us on a journey from

1850 to the present day, through periods of colonial obsession and nationalist struggle, international cooperation and

political wrangling, through to the "exciting new discoveries"

of the present.

There are indeed many hidden treasures in this book.

Perhaps the most intriguing, however, are those found in the

introductions to each section. Hawass eschews the temptation

to simply recount a history of great excavations, focusing instead

upon the development of indigenous Egyptian archaeology and its nascent Antiquities Service, a revisionist history that

is not only refreshing, but innovative in a book aimed at a

general audience. Endeavoring to write the history of Egyptian

archaeology in just a few pages is no small undertaking. That

Hawass is able to introduce us to the Egyptians who have

shaped Egyptian archaeology while avoiding the temptation to simplify the past is testimony to his abilities as both scholar and popularizer.

This emphasis on the development of Egyptian archaeology

is continued in the main body of the book itself; the great characters of Egyptian archaeology, both native and foreign,

permeate the discussion of Egypt's hidden treasures. These finds are brought to life through a range of biographical insights, with stories of their ancient owners, but also of their more recent

discoverers. It is, though, the author's use of oral testimony

from Egyptian archaeologists that is truly innovative, "peopling"

the past, but also, subtly, "Egyptianizing" Egyptian archaeology.

The retelling of the story of Carter and Tutankhamen through the accounts of the Egyptian archaeologists involved in the

excavation, for example, reinvigorates an oft-repeated tale

while reminding us that Egypt's past is, first and foremost, the

past of the Egyptians. That is not to suggest, however, that Hidden Treasures is

solely about excavation. Hawass and the Supreme Council of

Antiquities place great emphasis on both conservation and the

return of illegally exported antiquities, an emphasis reflected

in the choice of artifacts found within this volume. The range

is indeed impressive, from the unfinished obelisk at Aswan, to an ancient prosthetic toe manufactured some 2800 years ago.

Nor, despite the title, are these artefacts presented simply as

treasures?detailed discussions of archaeological and historical

significance lend scholarly gravitas to the individual beauty of the artifacts themselves.

Yet, paradoxically, it is this very range of artifacts that

contributes to a sense of inconsistency within the volume. It

is never completely clear, for example, what criteria have to be

met for an artifact or site to be included as a hidden treasure. Is it

archaeological significance? Aesthetics? Historical importance? It is certainly not scholarly/public neglect: just how hidden is the mask of Tutankhamen? It is perhaps symptomatic of the social obsession with all things Pharaonic that it was deemed

NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 70:2 (2007) 115

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_

necessary to include such mainstays o? Egyptian archaeology at the expense of other, less-well-known pieces. Nor is this

a book for the absolute beginner in Egyptian archaeology, presupposing as it does a certain amount o? knowledge of

ancient Egypt amongst its audience. While this is indeed a

book for the lay reader, it is not a book for every lay reader. It

is a book to flip through, to dip in and out o? and return to at

leisure. And return to it you will, thanks in no small part to

the quality of its illustrations.

As one would expect from a National Geographic

publication, Hidden Treasures is sumptuously illustrated. The

vast majority of the photographs were taken by Ken Garrett, a

photographer of consummate skill and vision. Garrett's images

of the artifacts are breath takingly exquisite, yet the real hidden

treasures, the real masterpieces of Egyptian history, may just be

the period photos themselves, images o? the great players in

Egyptian archaeology, which contribute a sense of vibrancy

and life to the historical accounts of Hawass.

Zahi Hawass clearly cares deeply about the past of Egypt.

Perhaps more importantly, he also cares about its future. He

has set about transforming the Supreme Council of Antiquities,

training a new generation of Egyptian archaeologists and

laying down new guidelines for the exploration of Egypt's past.

With this publication, and with others, he has also set about

bringing Egyptian archaeology to a wider audience. In Hidden

Treasures, Hawass demonstrates that he has the skill, energy,

and vision to truly transform both Egyptian archaeology and

wider perceptions o? the Egyptian past. This is an admirable

contribution to that process; it is unlikely to be his greatest.

Darren Glazier

University of Southampton

Idols of the People: Miniature Images of Clay in the Ancient

Near East

By R R. S. Moorey. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2003. Pp. viii + 81; plates, maps. Cloth, $45.00, ISBN 0-19-726280-5.

Scholars who study ceramic figurines may differ in their

temporal and geographic interests, but they all face similar constraints. Many more figurines come from rubbish

dumps than from the settings in which they were originally used. Virtually no figurine comes with any form of written

identification. It should come as no surprise, then, that there

is little consensus about the purpose of clay miniatures. Were

they secular objects such as toys or hermeneutic devices,

or were they used in religious pursuits, as votives or as

representations of deities? Indeed, is it reasonable to expect a

single overarching explanation to cover all known figurines?

As Roger Moorey points out in his excellent new book entitled Idols of the People: Miniature Images of Clay in the Ancient Near

East, "At the best of times few things in archaeology are more

elusive than the definition of functions determined socially rather than inherent in the objects themselves" (pp. 67-68).1

The absence o? broadly accepted guidelines makes the

study of figurines even more daunting. Scholars o? historic

period figurines utilize research on prehistoric periods and

on regions outside the Near East, to develop their own

theoretical frameworks. In addition, they increasingly

utilize methodological advances drawn from fields such as

anthropology and women's studies. Recent archaeological

discoveries have had a powerful impact on biblical scholarship, which in turn has influenced the interpretation of figurines from Iron Age Israel and Judah.

Moorey's interest in figurines spanned his lengthy career

in archaeology. The author of more than a hundred books,

articles, museum handbooks and more, he wrote about

iconography and imagery on many occasions.2 Most recently,

he catalogued the Ashmolean Museum's collection of Near

Eastern terracottas (p. x). In the three 2001 Schweich lectures

that provided the basis for Idols of the People, Moorey set out to examine ceramic figurines from Bronze Age Syria and Canaan

and from Iron Age Israel and Judah. In his words, "These miniature images are treated ... as a distinctive phenomenon

with prehistoric antecedents and recurrent characteristics

across millennia" (p. ix). This theme was developed as

figurines were examined not as isolates, but rather as elements

integral to larger archaeological assemblages. While this

might sound commonsensical, it is certainly not common.

Anthropomorphic figurines are

rarely viewed in conjunction with

zoomorphic or other counterparts;

female figurines are rarely analyzed

in conjunction with their male

counterparts; figurines are rarely

looked at in conjunction with

images on seals and sealings, and so

forth. Putting them all together, as

Moorey has so ably done, changes

the discussion.

116 NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 70:2 (2007)

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Article Contentsp. 115p. 116

Issue Table of ContentsNear Eastern Archaeology, Vol. 70, No. 2 (Jun., 2007) pp. 65-120Front MatterFrom the EditorForumReading Northwest Semitic Inscriptions [pp. 68-74]

The Harbor of Atlit in Northern Canaanite/Phoenician Context [pp. 75-84]Sussita-Hippos of the Decapolis: Town Planning and Architecture of a Roman-Byzantine City [pp. 86-107]Arti-FactsMind the Gap: Continuity and Change in Iranian Sistan Archaeology [pp. 109-110]"Crossing Jordan" in Washington, D.C.: The Tenth International Conference on the History and Archaeology of Jordan [pp. 111-113]

ReviewsReview: untitled [pp. 114-115]Review: untitled [pp. 115-116]Review: untitled [pp. 116-118]Review: untitled [pp. 118-119]Review: untitled [pp. 119-120]

Back Matter