Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the use of ancient texts to see beyond the GIS model in the investigation and interpretation of the three dimensional symbolic landscape of Middle Kingdom Egyptian quarries.

Paper long abstract:

Traditional Egyptology has typically focussed on textual criticism and archaeological investigation, with the results of the former approach used to interpret the results of the latter, and vice versa. These methods have led to a self-reinforcing conservatism in the identification and interpretation of Egyptian religious sites that has resulted in certain types being ignored because traditional Egyptology lacks the tools to analyse and interpret them.

This paper explores the possibilities for GIS terrain modelling in investigating and interpreting sites such as carins, shrines and stone alignments as components of a three dimensional symbolic landscape in Middle Kingdom Egyptian quarries.

While GIS investigations have been criticised as being overly deterministic and impersonal, more empathetic phenomenological approaches have been seen as subjective. This paper demonstrates how ancient textual evidence can provide an appropriate background for the interpretation of the results of GIS-based landscape investigation. This permits investigators to penetrate beyond the GIS model and consider how the anthropogenic sites interact with and reflect the mythological and spiritual dimensions of the landscape. It is suggested that by combining new technology and theoretical approaches with traditional Egyptology, it is possible to investigate those sites which could not previously be interpreted by traditional methods and enhance our understanding of the great range of Egyptian religious expression.