BIFAO 124

The Bulletin of the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology (BIFAO), which made its first appearance in 1901, covers all fields of Egyptology. Studies published in the BIFAO, extending chronologically from prehistory to the Byzantine period, illustrate the present state of research in the disciplines of archaeology, epigraphy, lexicography, history of art and philology. Volume 124 brings together 14 contributions. Three of them are archaeological studies on the sites of Kom Ombo (the remains of the city dating from the Old Kingdom and the First Intermediate Period, presented by the Austrian Archaeological Institute in Cairo after five seasons of excavations between 2019 and 2021), the temple of Heliopolis (two successive excavation campaigns by the Egyptian-German mission in 2022 uncovered fragments of sphinx heads, which appear to have been ritually broken and burnt before being buried in the Late Period), and the ancient necropolis of Philadelphia (where a group of exceptionally well-preserved tombs dating from the Ptolemaic period were discovered by the Egyptian mission in charge of exploring the site between 2019 and 2020). Four studies focus specifically on the Old Kingdom: the first inventories the decorated corners of the mastabas of the Teti cemetery and presents the characteristics and functions of such decoration before considering its dissemination in certain regional necropolises; the second looks at punitive practices in the private funerary iconography of the Fifth Dynasty; the third consists of a short palaeographical study of a mysterious hieroglyph in the formula (spell or utterance?) 407 of the Pyramid Texts in the tomb of Teti; and the fourth proposes an analysis of animal husbandry practices associated with stabling and yarding and draws up a typology of stables, extending the chronological spectrum of the research envisaged up to the New Kingdom. One article is devoted to TT 84: it sheds valuable light on the conditions and methods of re-use of the tomb of Amunedjeh by the high priest of Amun Mery. The publication of a basinophorous statue provides an opportunity to 'revisit' this type of statue and to present the new uses to which it was put in later periods. The diversity of the articles published in this issue is further illustrated by a study of early nineteenth-century flint factories in Wadi Sannour, which raises the question of the origin and extent of lithic industry know-how in the desert zone, where such production was centralised. The volume is dedicated to the memory of Bernadette Menu, who died on 29 May 2023.

LES ILLUSTRATEURS

Trente Fables de la Fontaine interprétées par 30 artistes contemporains : Frédéric Clément, Quentin Blake, Antonin Louchard, Joëlle Jolivet, François Place, Bruno Heitz, Mireille Vautier, Jean Claverie, Philippe Dumas…