The practice of graffiti, rock inscriptions and secondary epigraphy in Ancient Egypt need to be examined, elucidated and evaluated in relation to their archaeological and environmental contexts. This conference seeks to render ever more discernible these voices from the past, long regarded as inconsequential and perfunctory, by shedding new light on their interrelational links with visual reception, society and culture. The papers aim to map corpora of graffiti throughout the Egyptian space and to address common issues of definitions and interpretations.

Argument

As a part of the IFAO-Sorbonne Research Program « Écritures », an international conference will be held from 15 to 17 June 2019. Organized by Khaled Hassan (Cairo University/IFAO) and Chloé Ragazzoli (Sorbonne Université), the sessions of the conference will all take place in Cairo, at the Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale (IFAO).

The practice of graffiti, rock inscriptions and secondary epigraphy in Ancient Egypt need to be examined, elucidated and evaluated in relation to their archaeological and environmental contexts. This conference seeks to render ever more discernible these voices from the past, long regarded as inconsequential and perfunctory, by shedding new light on their interrelational links with visual reception, society and culture.

The papers aim to map corpora of graffiti throughout the Egyptian space and to address common issues of definitions and interpretations. It will assess various lines of enquiry such as the relations and dialogues that graffiti create with not only their natural environments (landscape) but also with man-made spaces; the social context of graffiti creation and their reception by an audience when considered as artefacts of cultural practices and performances ; the relations and dialogues between various epigraphic layers on a single surface and with their surroundings ; the semiotic value of various graphical.

The conference will also be an opportunity for discussion on the technical tools and concepts which are available for both documentation and publication and exploitation. The edited volume of the conference aims to offer a map of graffiti practices, types of graffiti, relevant sites, communities and spaces covered by graffiti.

Registration

Attending space is limited. Application to attend now accepted here:

Preliminary program

Download the preliminary program

• Ali Abdelhalim, Ain Shams University, Non-Human Pictorial Graffiti in Kom-Ombo Temple
• John Darnell, Yale University, Graffiti and Rock Inscriptions as Geographical Transgressions
• Didier Devauchelle, University of Lille, Graffiti et dipinti au Sérapéum de Memphis
• Andreas Dorn, Uppsala University, Why go into a cul-de-sac? New Kingdom Research Foundation to the Western Wadis of the Theban Necropolis: Preliminary Report on the Graffiti in Wadi F
• Roland Enmarch, University of Liverpool, Graffiti from the « Era of Nomarchs » at Hatnub Quary P
• Yannis Gourdon, Independant, The use of Egyptian alabaster during the Old Kingdom: consistencies and discrepancies between written and archaeological material related to Hatnoub quarries
• Khaled Hassan, Cairo University, Secondary Graffiti and graphic registers in Middle Egypt necropoleis
• Hana Navratilova, University of Reading, Secondary Epigraphy on the Pyramid Fields: New Kingdom Graffiti Corpus at Memphite Necropoleis
• Maria Nilsson, Lund University, Quarryscape Epigraphy: Public and Private Attestations at Gebel el-Silsila
• Chloé Ragazzoli, Sorbonne University, To leave one’s name : Visitors’ inscriptions in the Theban Tombs
• Chiara Salvador, University of Oxford, Voices of Karnak: Repopulating the Southern Processional Way Through its Graffiti
• Stephan Seidlmayer, DAIK, The Elephantine River Front in the New Kingdom: Architecture, Landscape and Inscriptions
• Nico Staring, Leiden University, New Kingdom Tomb Graffiti at Saqqara: Forms, Spatial Distribution and Interpretation
• Alberto Urcia, Yale University, Digital Documentation and Virtual Reality: A New Storytelling for Egyptian Rock Art and Inscriptions
• John Ward, Lund University, Pedes (in) Memoriam. A study of feet graffiti, their signification and contextual relationship within the mortuary landscape of Gebel el-Silsila
• David F. Wieczorek, University of Warsaw, Pharaonic Graffiti on the Eastern Mountain of Gebelein - Results of the Current Epigraphic Works.
• Ghislaine Widmer, University of Lille, The Demotic Graffiti of Karnak: Why, Where and When
• Ursula Verhoeven , Mainz University , Clamour in an 11th Dynasty Tomb: The New Kingdom Graffiti (Dipinti) at Asyut.
• Annie Gasse , Paul Valéry University
• Pierre Tallet, Sorbonne University