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Nauerth, Claudia: Traditionelle Elemente in der christlichen Grabkultur Ägyptens, in Ardeleanu, Stefan and Cubas Díaz, Jon C. (Eds.): Funerary Landscapes of the Late Antique “oecumene”: Contextualizing Epigraphic and Archeological Evidence of Mortuary Practices. Proceedings of an International Conference in Heidelberg, May 30–June 1, 2019, Heidelberg: Heidelberg University Publishing, 2023 (Cultural Heritage: Materiality—Text—Edition (KEMTE), Volume 3), p. 159–176. https://doi.org/10.17885/heiup.1176.c16233

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https://doi.org/10.17885/heiup.1176
ISBN 978-3-96822-211-0 (PDF)
ISBN 978-3-96822-210-3 (Hardcover)

Published

06/07/2023

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Authors

Claudia Nauerth

Traditionelle Elemente in der christlichen Grabkultur Ägyptens

Abstract This paper presents an interpretation of some Late Antique grave stelae from Egypt, in particular from the Fayyum. There are signs of remarkable changes in the funerary culture of Late Antique Egypt. This contribution focusses on tradi­tional elements of funerary iconography and their transferal to a Christian context. Prime examples include the Egyptian ‘Anch’, the hieroglyph for ‘life’ consisting of a T surmounted by a loop, reused as a form of the cross; the ‘Orans’ figure; and the mother-and-child-group, serving as a model for both the goddess Isis lactans with Harpokrates and for Maria as mother of Jesus.

Keywords Late Antique burial habits, Fayyum, funerary stelae, iconography and epitaphs, anch, orans, mother-and-child-group