This dissertation is the first detailed description and in-depth analysis of the Middle Kingdom (2055--1650 B.C.) ceramic assemblage from the archaeological site of North Abydos, Egypt. It focuses on the pottery from an area just outside the main temple of the god Osiris, which was called the "Terrace of the Great God" during this period, where many private individuals built mud-brick chapels for their commemoration. Chapter 1 provides the background information, such as the history of previous investigations of the site and the design of the present research project. Chapter 2 describes the archaeological contexts of the pottery assemblage, including the types, distribution, and chronological sequence of the memorial chapels, as well as the stratigraphic information gleaned from new archaeological excavations. Chapter 3 lays out the pottery fabric types that are attested at the site and presents the results of the quantitative analyses of various fabrics. Chapter 4 discusses the form classification system. Each morphological type is defined, illustrated, and provided with comparanda from other sites and notes on their chronological significance. This chapter also presents the results of the quantitative analyses of various forms. In Chapter 5, more specific dates are assigned to the stratigraphic phases discussed in Chapter 2 based on the ceramic evidence. Chapter 6 examines the ceramic industry at North Abydos during the Middle Kingdom and compares and contrasts it with the modes of pottery production and distribution that were practiced in the rest of Egypt during the same period. The assemblage analyzed in this study is catalogued in an appendix and illustrated in the figures. General index is provided.
The Middle Kingdom (ca. 2030–1650 B.C.) was a transformational period in ancient Egypt, during which older artistic conventions, cultural principles, religious beliefs, and political systems were revived and reimagined. Ancient Egypt Transformed presents a comprehensive picture of the art of the Middle Kingdom, arguably the least known of Egypt’s three kingdoms and yet one that saw the creation of powerful, compelling works rendered with great subtlety and sensitivity. The book brings together nearly 300 diverse works— including sculpture, relief decoration, stelae, jewelry, coffins, funerary objects, and personal possessions from the world’s leading collections of Egyptian art. Essays on architecture, statuary, tomb and temple relief decoration, and stele explore how Middle Kingdom artists adapted forms and iconography of the Old Kingdom, using existing conventions to create strikingly original works. Twelve lavishly illustrated chapters, each with a scholarly essay and entries on related objects, begin with discussions of the distinctive art that arose in the south during the early Middle Kingdom, the artistic developments that followed the return to Egypt’s traditional capital in the north, and the renewed construction of pyramid complexes. Thematic chapters devoted to the pharaoh, royal women, the court, and the vital role of family explore art created for different strata of Egyptian society, while others provide insight into Egypt’s expanding relations with foreign lands and the themes of Middle Kingdom literature. The era’s religious beliefs and practices, such as the pilgrimage to Abydos, are revealed through magnificent objects created for tombs, chapels, and temples. Finally, the book discusses Middle Kingdom archaeological sites, including excavations undertaken by the Metropolitan Museum over a number of decades. Written by an international team of respected Egyptologists and Middle Kingdom specialists, the text provides recent scholarship and fresh insights, making the book an authoritative resource.
Durability and service life design of concrete constructions have considerable socio-economic and environmental consequences, in which the permeability of concrete to aggressive intruders plays a vital role. Concrete Permeability and Durability Performance provides deep insight into the permeability of concrete, moving from theory to practice, and presents over 20 real cases, such as Tokyo’s Museum of Western Art, Port of Miami Tunnel and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao sea-link, including field tests in the Antarctic and Atacama Desert. It stresses the importance of site testing for a realistic durability assessment and details the "Torrent Method" for non-destructive measurement of air-permeability. It also delivers answers for some vexing questions: Should the coefficient of permeability be expressed in m2 or m/s? How to get a "mean" pore radius of concrete from gas-permeability tests? Why should permeability preferably be measured on site? How can service life of reinforced concrete structures be predicted by site testing of gas-permeability and cover thickness? Practitioners will find stimulating examples on how to predict the coming service life of new structures and the remaining life of existing structures, based on site testing of air-permeability and cover thickness. Researchers will value theoretical principles, testing methods, as well as how test results reflect the influence of concrete mix composition and processing.
Interaction design is acknowledged as an important area of study, and more especially of design practice. Hugely popular and profitable consumer devices, such as mobile phones and tablets, are seen as owing much of their success to the way they have been designed, not least their interface characteristics and the styles of interaction that they support. Interaction design studies point to the importance of a user-centred approach, whereby products are in principle designed around their future users’ needs and capacities. However, it is the market, and marketing, that determine which products are available for people to interact with and to a great extent what their designed characteristics are. Primitive Interaction Design is based on the realisation that designers need to be freed from the marketplace and industry pressure, and that the usual user-centred arguments are not enough to make a practical difference. Interaction designers are invited to cast themselves as “savages”, as if wielding primitive tools in concrete physical environments. A theoretical perspective is presented that opens up new possibilities for designers to explore fresh ideas and practices, including the importance of conscious and unconscious being, emptiness and trickery. Building on this, a set of design tools for primitive design work is presented and illustrated with practical examples. This book will be of particular interest to undergraduate and graduate students and researchers in interaction design and HCI, as well as practicing interaction designers and computer professions. It will also appeal to those with an interest in psychology, anthropology, cultural studies, design and the future of technology in society.
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