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Review Author(s): T. Musacchio Review by: T. Musacchio Source: Near Eastern Archaeology, Vol. 70, No. 2 (Jun., 2007), pp. 118-119Published by: The American Schools of Oriental ResearchStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25067706Accessed: 27-06-2015 19:27 UTC

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Idols of the People is a book that is well researched, well

reasoned, and thoughtful. It takes a popular topic, the study of

ceramic figurines, and discusses it in new and interesting ways.

Moorey's insistence that preconceived notions be put aside,

that interpretation be based on all relevant archaeological

data, and that assemblages be considered in their entirety,

may not be unique. What makes his analysis so effective is

that he does precisely what he proposes to do. Looking across

western Asia, Cyprus, and Egypt, he examines the longue dur?e

and underscores recurrent iconographie motifs within specific

archaeological and socio-historical contexts. Idols of the People is a thought-provoking study of a most fascinating topic.

Reference Potts, T., Roaf, M. and Stein, D., eds.

2003 Culture through Objects: Ancient Near Eastern Studies in Honour of P R. S. Moorey. Oxford: Griffith Institute,

Oxford University.

Note 1. For the full list, see Potts, Roaf and Stein, eds., pp. 11-16.

Beth Alpert Nakhai University of Arizona

Architecture and Mathematics in Ancient Egypt By Corinna Rossi. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Pp. xxii + 280, appendix. Cloth, $100. ISBN 0-521^82954-2.

Works

examining architecture and

mathematics in ancient

Egypt too often fall into the nebulous category

that Egyptologists refer to as "pyramidiocy," treating

un-provable conspiracy

theories or anachronistic

suppositions with no

scientific support. For that

reason, it is refreshing that

Corinna Rossi's Architecture

and Mathematics in Ancient

Egypt is written by a soundly trained Egyptologist with an architectural background and no preconceived biases.

In her preface, Rossi addresses three main themes that

have impeded the study of ancient mathematics. The first

is researchers going into the study with an expectation; the

second is the reliance on simplified plans that blur essential

details; and the third is the large pitfall that lies between the mathematical system used by the ancients and the modern

system used by current scholars. Her intent with this book is

to rationalize the differing approaches that have traditionally been taken by architects (ignoring archaeological or textual

evidence in favor of the search for a mathematical rule) with

those of Egyptologists (well-familiar with the ancient evidence but not seeking a mathematical rule).

Rossi's book is divided into three main parts. Part I,

"Proportions in Ancient Egyptian Architecture," surveys past

attempts to study the mathematics of the pyramids from an

architectural point of view, while the second part, "Ancient

Egyptian Sources: Construction and Representation of Space,"

is an overview of the architectural remains with the focus on

the ancient archaeological and textual evidence. Part III, "The

Geometry of Pyramids," is an integration of the two sections

using the pyramids as a test case. Appropriate tables are

included throughout the text, and an appendix, bibliography, and index follow at the end of the volume.

In Part I, her review of prior scholarship, Rossi returns

repeatedly to the question of whether or not the Egyptians

were familiar with the Golden Section. The so-called Golden

Section, roughly 1.62 (or the ratio 1:1.62) was represented

by the Greek letter X and has influenced everything from architecture to psychology. The Golden Section appears

frequently in nature and was often used by the Greeks

(in particular) to influence their building design. After

reviewing past attempts to project the Golden Section onto

ancient Egyptian architecture, Rossi concludes that the

Golden Section does appear but that its appearance may be

unintentional. The only provable instance of the Golden

Section in ancient Egypt dates from the Ptolemaic period.

Rossi illustrates the lengths to which scholars have gone

(using modern techniques and knowledge) to find the Golden

Section, and she stresses that complex, modern methodologies

often fail where simpler methodologies, more in line with the ancients' way of thinking, would suffice. To wit, one of the

reasons for the endurance of the Golden Section is because

people naturally prefer it, and the tendency is great to read

too much into this idea.

Part II is an examination o? the ancient evidence

demonstrating architectural techniques, including both the

archaeological and textual evidence. Evidence is scanty,

118 NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 70:2 (2007)

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especially prior to the New Kingdom, but Rossi concludes that

Egyptian architects preferred small-scale drawings as reminders

or notes rather than detailed plans or drawings. While, as

the author admits, this could simply demonstrate a lack of

preservation, there is fairly extensive evidence for small-scale

drawings throughout Egyptian history and no evidence for

large-scale plans. Despite the search for elaborate plans and

universal guiding principles that haunted past scholarship, she fails to find evidence for a defining, pre-meditated, and

deliberate architectural code. Her conclusion, demonstrated

by using rock-cut tombs as a primary example of religious

beliefs coming up against limitations on the use of space, is that

Egyptian architectural math could be flexible and was based on

the intersection between religion and practicality.

Rossi combines the data from Part I and Part II into a detailed

study of the pyramids in Part III. After reviewing the symbolism and the building techniques that went into the creation of a

pyramid, she dispels several common fallacies (using modern

mathematics or numerological theories) and calculates the

sekeds, or the ancient measurement, of the pyramid used to

assess the slope. Some patterns emerge: for instance, Sixth

Dynasty pyramids seem to be modeled after the slope of the

pyramid of Khafre, whereas Fifth Dynasty pyramids seem to take after the pyramid of Khufu.

Overall, Rossi's book is an excellent contribution to the study

of ancient mathematics and its relationship to architecture.

All of the major theories are reviewed and her analysis is

fair, accurate, and well researched. Naturally any study of

this nature suffers from a lack of primary evidence and is

subject to the (im) precision of the measurements of previous

secondary studies, but she takes that into consideration in

reviewing the relevant data.

Although her subject matter may be daunting to those readers

who have long since put math class behind them, readers should be more daunted by the high price of the volume then by the mathematical details. Rossi does an excellent job of presenting

the material in a manner that is both technical but also easy to

understand. She reviews the evidence thoroughly and presents

clear and concise conclusions. The figures and tables that

accompany the text are incredibly useful, illustrating her points

and providing an interesting visual accompaniment.

X Musacchio

University of Pennsylvania

Towns in Ancient Israel and the Southern Levant

By C. H. J. De Geus. Palestina Antiqua 10. Leuven: Peeters,

2003. Pp. vi+186. Paper, $39.00. ISBN 90-429-1269-3.

"g, ,

1.

The author's goal is to illustrate

towns in the Hebrew Bible

using archaeological data. The

book is an overview of the various

features and components of towns

based on the archaeology of

ancient Israel. The underlying aim

is to teach the modern reader that

biblical cities, as represented in the

Hebrew Bible, were smaller than

the modern cities or contemporary

cities of Egypt, Mesopotamia,

and Syria. The intended audience is "students and interested

visitors to the region."

The author's purpose is worthy and the volume is invaluable

as a tool to demonstrate how archaeology can inform and

enhance the field of biblical studies and history. The book is

designed to be used as a supplementary textbook, particularly

for biblical-studies courses, to introduce students to the

archaeological data, as it informs a history of ancient Israel.

The book is written in a style for nonspecialists. Throughout

the book, when appropriate, the author introduces the reader

to issues of archaeological method and theory (e.g., how to

date a wall and issues on assigning cultic interpretations to the

archaeological record).

The book consists of fourteen chapters. After an

introductory chapter, there are ten chapters that focus on

a specific component of the ancient city. These chapter

titles are: Fortifications, The Town Gate or Gates, Acropolis

and Citadel (in this chapter the author discusses palaces), Tripartite Pillared Buildings, Houses, Sanctuaries and Temples, Various Presumed or Specialized Buildings, Watersystems [sic], Tombs, and Fields and Gardens. The last three chapters

discuss Patterns of Settlement, An Israelite Town?, and Town

Planning and Population. The chapters dealing with individual

components are adequate and the most useful for introducing

students to the archaeological data. The last three chapters are superficial.

This book does not provide as much data as a standard

textbook (e.g., Mazar's The Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, Ben-Tor's edited The Archaeology of Ancient Israel, or T Levy's (ed.) The Archaeology of Society in the Holy Land), or as much

NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 70:2 (2007) 119

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Article Contentsp. 118p. 119

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