Archaeology

EMANUELE MARCELLO CIAMPINI

Consistent with the educational objectives of the course of study in which it is included, the course proposes to provide advanced skills regarding the forms of pharaonic culture, with particular attention to the processes of transformation that accompany the development of the founding models of civilisation. Thanks to a targeted selection of working tools and the study of direct sources, students will be able to deepen their skills and critical capacities, he/she will have acquired in the first cycle of studies, in their approach to pharaonic Egypt.

The course aims to offer an in-depth understanding of Egyptian culture, with the aim of providing the essential tools needed to develop a critical approach to the discipline. Building on the skills already acquired by students, the course will address specific case studies that will allow them to deepen their understanding of research methodology.
The training will be completed with the analysis of original sources in Egyptian, which will be addressed during the lessons with the active participation of students.

The course requires a basic knowledge of Egyptian civilisation and language. Students who have not taken courses in Egyptology may refer to the volume indicated in the bibliography for the three-year course in Egyptology and the grammar textbook listed in the course bibliography.

Course topic: ‘OBELISKS. ARCHITECTURE, IDEOLOGY AND DOCTRINE’
The course aims to analyse the significance, especially in the New Kingdom, of this type of monument representative of Pharaonic culture. The obelisk will be analysed as a document of royal propaganda, and at the same time, its relationship with religious culture and the temple context will be studied.

The course is structured as follows:

First semester – Starting from one of the most representative types of monuments of Egyptian civilisation, the course aims to offer a cultural model that accompanied Pharaonic ideology; particular attention will be paid to specific contexts in which the obelisk represents a significant element.
N.B.: The first part of the 12-credit course “Cultural Models of Ancient Egypt”, Code 10621376, corresponds to the 6-credit course “Cultural Models of Ancient Egypt”, Code 1061186.

The course may include visits to Roman obelisks.
Second semester – Reading of texts on obelisks or related to this type of monument. These texts will be part of the exam topic; students may select some of them to be discussed and translated during the final exam.

E.M. Ciampini, Gli obelischi iscritti di Roma, Roma, IPZS, 2004.
Ch. Kuentz, Obelisques (Catalogue Générale du Musée du Caire), Le Caire, Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale, 1932 (disponibile online).
St. Quirke, The cult of Re. Sun-worship in ancient Egypt, London, Thames & Hudson, 2001.
E.M. Ciampini, La lingua dell’Antico Egitto, Ulrico Hoepli, Milano, 2019.

Further bibliography will be provided during lessons (PPT presentations).
Lesson notes; PPT presentations and materials available on Classroom.

E.M. Ciampini, Gli obelischi iscritti di Roma, Roma, IPZS, 2004.
Ch. Kuentz, Obelisques (Catalogue Générale du Musée du Caire), Le Caire, Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale, 1932 (disponibile online).
St. Quirke, The cult of Re. Sun-worship in ancient Egypt, London, Thames & Hudson, 2001.
E.M. Ciampini, La lingua dell’Antico Egitto, Ulrico Hoepli, Milano, 2019.

The course is in-presence.
The programme for non-attending students (for justified reasons) must be agreed with the lecturer.

Due to the nature of the course, attendance is strongly recommended. For non-attending students, please refer to the section on ‘Teaching methods’.
The presentations used during the lessons will be made available on Classroom.

The final examination consists of an oral test covering the topics discussed in the course and the texts indicated in the bibliography. During the examination, students must demonstrate that they have acquired the necessary skills and methodology to approach the topics covered in the course.
The exam includes:
- A topic chosen by the student and presented in the form of a short thesis. The written text, max. 20 pages, must be sent to the lecturer by email at least one week before the exam date.
- The presentation and translation of one of the texts discussed during the second semester.

Discussion of the short dissertation.
The nature of obelisks / Contextualisation in antiquity and in the post-Pharaonic context / Royal ideology and obelisks.
Presentation of the text / analysis with translation and commentary.

• First semesterLectures covering the topics in the programme.Seminar-style lessons with discussion of individual research projects and final presentation of the topic chosen for the dissertation.


• Visit to Roman obelisks will be organised; the date will be decided during the course (presumably in the last week of teaching in the first semester).


• Second semesterLectures: introduction to the textual tradition of obelisks. Reading and analysis of texts provided by the lecturer and available on Classroom.