The present volume reflects the work of the joint expedition of Cairo University and Brown University to record and publish the tombs uncovered on behalf of Cairo University by Prof. Abdel-Moneim Abu Bakr from 1949 through 1953, but never published. The loss of field records and lack of a map of the site meant that new, salvage excavation had to be undertaken. A total of six seasons, from 2000-2006 resulted in the clearing, remapping, and recording of the monuments in the cemetery. Abu Bakr Cemetery is of particular interest because the majority of mastaba tombs belong to relatively low-ranking individuals. Thus they have the potential to she light on the social status of Egypt's working classes.

In The Decoration on the Cult Chapel Walls of the Old Kingdom Tombs at Giza Leo Roeten presents a method that evaluates the degree of interaction between the various decoration themes that are placed on the western wall of the cult chapels at the tombs of Giza. Diagrams resulting from that method show that during the 5th dynasty the focus of the mode of food supply for the ka of the deceased changed from primarily active to primarily magical. On the other walls of the chapel this change not only led to the loss of some secondary cultic functions like the inviting and guiding functions, but also to an increasing focus on scenes from the daily life of the tomb owner.

A Handbook of Modern Arabic Historical Scholarship on the Ancient and Medieval Periods presents 16 studies about modern Arab academic scholarship on the Ancient and Medieval Worlds covering disciplines as diverse as Assyriology and Mamluk studies as well as historiographical schools in the Arab World. This unique work is the first of its kind in any language. It is an important resource for scholars and students of the Ancient Near East and North Africa, Classical and Byzantine studies, and medieval Islamic history who would like to learn more about the work done by their colleagues in the Arab World in these fields over the last 7 decades and to benefit from Arabic secondary sources in their research. دليل الدراسات العربية الحديثة حول العصور القديمة والوسيطة يحتوي هذا الكتاب على 61 بحثا حول الدراسات الأكاديمية المتعلّقة بتاريخ العصور القديمة والوسيطة في العالم العربي، وتغطي هذه الأبحاث تخصصات علمية متنوعة منها الدراسات المسمارية والدراسات المملوكية، إضافةً إلى بعض المدارس التاريخية العربية المعاصرة. الكتاب فريد من نوعه والأول في كافة اللغات، ويُشكّل مصدرا هاما للباحثين والطلبة في دراسات الشرق الأدنى القديم وشمال إفريقيا في العصور القديمة والدراسات الكلاسيكية والبيزنطية والتاريخ الإسلامي الوسيط، وكذلك للمهتمين بعلمي التاريخ والآثار في الدول العربية. Contributors Emad Abou-Ghazi, Al-Amin Abouseada, Youcef Aibeche, Sidi Mohammed Alaioud, Abdulhadi Alajmi, Allaoua Amara, Lotfi Ben Miled, Brahim El Kadiri Boutchich, Usama Gad, Azeddine Guessous, Fayza Haikal, Hani Hamza, Laith Hussein, Nasir al-Kaabi, Khaled Kchir, Mohammed Maraqten, Amr Omar, Abdelaziz Ramadan.

The Pyramid Age represents the first of several highpoints in ancient Egypt’s long history. But critical questions remain about the period, its social structure and economic organization, and the long-term implications of its artistic achievements. On the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the Journal of Egyptian History, The University of British Columbia, Harvard University, and Brill Academic Publishers, Boston, held a conference at Harvard University on April 26, 2012. A distinguished group of Egyptological scholars from around the world gathered to consider new perspectives on the Pyramid Age; the results are presented here.

Doors are more than a physical means to close off an entrance or an exit; they can also indicate a boundary between two worlds. This volume considers the Memphite Necropoleis during the Old Kingdom, and proposes that porticos, false doors, niches and mastaba chapel entrances are interconnected in their function as a barrier between two worlds.

In Pottery and Economy in Old Kingdom Egypt, Leslie Anne Warden investigates the economic importance of utilitarian ceramics, particularly beer jars and bread moulds, in third millennium BC Egypt. The Egyptian economy at this period is frequently presented as state-centric or state-defined. This study forwards new methodology for a bottom-up approach to Egyptian economy, analyzing economic relationships through careful analysis of variation within the utilitarian wares which formed the basis of much economic exchange in the period. Beer jars and bread moulds, together with their archaeological, textual, and iconographic contexts, thus yield a framework for the economy which is fluid, agent-based, and defined by small scale, face-to-face relationships rather than the state.

This study suggests, through investigations of the tombs in the necropolis of Giza, that economic decline attributed to the collapse of the Old Kingdom had already started in the early dynastic period.