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Article Dans Une Revue Journal of Intercultural and Interdisciplinary Archaeology Année : 2015

The Role of Renenutet in New Kingdom Temples : A Reassessment of the Archaeological Evidence for a cult of this divinity in Economic Compounds

Résumé

There is abundant evidence to show that the divinity Renenutet played a significant role in production and storage compounds of New Kingdom Temples. This article focuses on some archaeological artefacts that were not understood before as evidence for a cult of this ophidian divinity. For instance, it will show that the different arrangement of hieroglyphic signs in the writing of the name Ren(en)ut(et) can be used to express the various aspects of her character based on the nature and location in which the artefact was found. In temple service compounds, if the veneration of this goddess, represented zoomorphically with a female face or anthropomorphically with a snake’s face, is known by the sources, it will be shown that this veneration was combined with the cult of the local god in the sanctuary, often Amun or a local form of Horus. Furthermore, a comparison of statues of this goddess and architectural artifacts bearing her name, found in production and storage areas, with her depiction in a variety of contexts, shows the connection between this ophidian divinity and the temple personnel, whose functions are related to economic structures. It is well-known that this female divinity plays an important part in supplying food (divine offerings), but until now, it was not explicitly through the image of African Maternity, that the ophidian effigy is the guarantor for fecundity and fertility, and thus, for harvesting, but that it was also a factor in perpetuating social links, whilst contributing to the accumulation of wealth.
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halshs-01337377 , version 1 (25-06-2016)

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  • HAL Id : halshs-01337377 , version 1

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Julie Masquelier-Loorius. The Role of Renenutet in New Kingdom Temples : A Reassessment of the Archaeological Evidence for a cult of this divinity in Economic Compounds. Journal of Intercultural and Interdisciplinary Archaeology, 2015, Renenutet/Isis Thermouthis: diffusion of this anguiform deity from east to west, 02/2015. ⟨halshs-01337377⟩
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