Abstract:

In 2020 and 2021 the Research Group on Storage in Ancient Egypt and Sudan organised two online workshops focusing on earthen storage buildings in ancient Egypt and Nubia. Following these two meetings, the nine contributions of this volume present often unpublished case studies (from the IVth millennium BCE to the Greco-Roman Period), as well as issues and perspectives of current research. They are authored by archaeologists working in Egypt, Sudan and Western Africa as well as architects specialised in earthen architecture.

The interdisciplinary approach adopted to investigate storage strategies along the ancient Nile Valley effectively address the subject’s complexity and the socioeconomic issues involved, which not only pertain to the ancient world but are also relevant to modern-day societies. Throughout the volume, functional and technical analysis of the architectural and archaeological remains helps understand how specific layouts, building materials and techniques were employed in the past to create suitable conditions for short-, medium- and long-term storage.

Ethnographic and ethnoarchaeological comparisons with West African vernacular traditions are used as a fruitful line of research for better understand of building practices, storage strategies and possible volumes of archaeological remains. Furthermore, extending the scope of the research to other geographical areas shows how different human groups may have used similar responses to overcome similar technical problems. Ancient and traditional practices and know-how, on the other hand, proved effective in a contemporary onion storehouse project in Senegal to find sustainable, low-cost solutions to protection and development of local products.

The volume also include the preliminary results of an experimental archaeology project which led to the construction of a mud-brick silo – according to ancient Egyptian techniques – and further ensiling. The issue is highly topical since these ancient earthen facilities offer valuable information for the current debates on sustainable strategies for foodstuff storage.

Contents

Storage buildings in ancient Egypt and Nubia. Issues and perspectives
Adeline Bats, Nadia Licitra

Pits, pots and silos: Storage facilities at the Predynastic and early pharaonic settlement of Elkab
Wouter Claes, Stan Hendrickx, Elizabeth Hart

Les structures circulaires de stockage à Karnak aux XIIe et XIIIe dynasties
Marie Millet

Le bâtiment BAT 603 de Kôm el-Nogous/Plinthine : un édifice de stockage polyvalent de l’époque saïto-perse ?
Bérangère Redon

Le thêsauros ptolémaïque de Tebtynis (Fayoum)
Gisèle Hadji-Minaglou

Un thêsauros à Bouto. Architecture et organisation d’un bâtiment de stockage dans le Delta nord-occidental à l’époque impériale
Loïc Mazou

Variabilité des dispositifs de stockage en Afrique de l’Ouest : approches ethnoarchéologiques
Anne Mayor, Thomas Pelmoine

Intérêts croisés des échanges transdisciplinaires entre architecture, archéologie et développement durable
David Gandreau, Thierry Joffroy, Philippe Garnier, Nuria Sanchez Muñoz, Majid Hajmirbaba, Mauricio Corba Barreto

The Egyptian mud-brick silo. Technical and functional analysis of a grain storage device
Adeline Bats, Nadia Licitra, Thierry Joffroy, Bastien Lamouroux, Aurélie Feuillas, Julie Depaux