Macramallah's Rectangle: Re-Examining a First Dynasty Egyptian Cemetery

• Author / Creator

  Semple, Dyan L

• Macramallah’s Rectangle, a single-period First Dynasty cemetery located on the Saqqara Plateau, presents a rare opportunity to re-examine previously published material and construct a deeper understanding of the cemetery and its context. Through a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, this thesis thoroughly explores the aspects of ordinary life in the capital region of Early Dynastic Egypt accessible through mortuary contexts. This analysis focuses in particular on the detailed discussion of sex, age, and status on an individual and group level. Previously, Macramallah’s Rectangle was often thought to be the site of human sacrifice during royal funerary rites. With a more detailed examination of aspects of the cemetery and its context, more prosaic explanations emerge. These prosaicisms build archaeological understanding of a time and people in transition, and explore how that transition translated to the public at large.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Macramallah's Rectangle
  • First Dynasty
  • Cemetery
  • Egypt

• Graduation date

  Fall 2012

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Arts

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R39T5T

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.