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Amheida II A Late Romano Egyptian

House in the Dakhla Oasis Amheida


House B2 1st Edition Anna Lucille
Boozer
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AMHEIDA II

A LATE ROMANO-EGYPTIAN HOUSE IN THE


DAKHLA OASIS

AMHEIDA HOUSE B2
AMHEIDA II

A LATE ROMANO-EGYPTIAN HOUSE IN THE


DAKHLA OASIS

AMHEIDA HOUSE B2

by
Anna Lucille Boozer

with contributions from


Douglas V. Campana, Angela Cervi, Pam J. Crabtree,
Paola Davoli, Delphine Dixneuf, David M. Ratzan,
Giovanni R. Ruffini, Ursula Thanheiser, and Johannes Walter
© 2015 Anna Lucille Boozer
All rights reserved

Gentium Plus font provided by SIL International under the terms of the Open Font
License.

At the time of publication, the full-text of this work was available at:
http://dlib.nyu.edu/awdl/isaw/amheida-ii-house-b2/.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Boozer, Anna Lucille, 1977-


A late Romano-Egyptian house in the Dakhla Oasis : Amheida house B2 / by Anna
Lucille Boozer ; with contributions from Douglas V. Campana, Angela Cervi, Pam J.
Crabtree, Paola Davoli, Delphine Dixneuf, David Ratzan, Giovanni Ruffini, Ursula
Thanheiser, and Johannes Walter.
pages cm -- (Amheida ; II)
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
ISBN 978-1-4798-8034-8 (cloth : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-1-4798-4223-0 (ebook) -
- ISBN 978-1-4798-8187-1 (ebook)
1. Dakhla Oasis (Egypt)--Antiquities. 2. Excavations (Archaeology)--Egypt--Dakhla
Oasis. I. Title. DT73.D33B66 2014
932'.2--dc23
2014036022

ISBN 978-1479880348 (cloth)


ISBN 978-1479842230 (ebook)
ISBN 978-1479881871 (ebook)
For Dr. Allen Hayne Boozer and Dr. Carol Sue Neely
Boozer
Published under the direction of

Amheida
Editorial Committee

Roger S. Bagnall
Paola Davoli
Olaf E. Kaper
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Figures
List of Tables
Contributors
Preface

Part I: Introduction, Settings, and


Methodologies
Chapter 1. Domestic Archaeology and the Romano-Egyptian House
(Anna Lucille Boozer)
Chapter 2. Situating the Case Study: The Dakhla Oasis and Amheida
(Anna Lucille Boozer)
Chapter 3. Approaching the Romano-Egyptian House: Research
Methodologies (Anna Lucille Boozer)

Part II: The Excavations


Chapter 4. Layers of Building, Living, and Abandonment:
Stratigraphies of House B2 and its Surroundings (Anna Lucille
Boozer)

Part III: Building Techniques and Architectural


Interpretations
Chapter 5. Building Domestic Space: The Construction Techniques
for House B2 (Anna Lucille Boozer)
Chapter 6. Situating Domestic Space: An Architectural Analysis and
Reconstruction of House B2 (Anna Lucille Boozer)
Part IV: The Material Culture of Everyday Life
Chapter 7. Artifact and Activity: The Material Culture of Domestic
Living (Anna Lucille Boozer)
Chapter 8. La Céramique de la Maison B2 (Delphine Dixneuf)
Chapter 9. Unfired Clay Objects (Paola Davoli)
Chapter 10. Figurines (Anna Lucille Boozer)
Chapter 11. Adornment (Angela Cervi)
Chapter 12. Glass Vessels (Angela Cervi)
Chapter 13. Faience Vessels (Angela Cervi)
Chapter 14. Coins (David M. Ratzan)
Chapter 15. Transport and Trade in Trimithis: The Texts from Area 1
(Giovanni R. Ruffini)
Chapter 16. Faunal Remains from Amheida, Area 1 (Pam J. Crabtree
and Douglas V. Campana)
Chapter 17. Plant Use in a Romano-Egyptian Household in the Third
Century CE (Ursula Thanheiser and Johannes Walter)
Chapter 18. Wood Objects (Angela Cervi)
Chapter 19. Woven Material (Anna Lucille Boozer)

Part V: Concluding Thoughts and Discussion


Chapter 20. Towards an Integrative Interpretation of Life in a
Romano-Egyptian House (Anna Lucille Boozer)
References
Index
LIST OF FIGURES AND PLATES
Figure 1.1: Map of Egypt (M. Matthews)
Figure 1.2: Map of the Great Oasis (M. Matthews)
Figure 1.3: Amheida site map
Figure 1.4: Karanis, plan IV, section G 11 in Boak, A. E. R. and E. E.
Peterson, (1931). Karanis: Topographical and Architectural
Report of the Excavations during the Seasons 1924-28. Kelsey
Museum of Archaeology, University of Michigan
Figure 1.5: Karanis, Plan 25, Floor plan of House C42 in Husselman,
E. M. (1979). Karanis Excavations of the University of Michigan
in Egypt, 1928-1935: Topography and Architecture: A Summary
of the Reports of the Director, Enoch E. Peterson. Kelsey
Museum of Archaeology, University of Michigan
Figure 1.6: Soknopaiou Nesos, plan III, ground plan, late first level,
east side in Boak A. E. R. et al (1935). Soknopaiou Nesos: The
University of Michigan Excavations at Dimê in 1931-32. Kelsey
Museum of Archaeology, University of Michigan
Figure 1.7: Plan of Amheida Area 1 showing B2 and surrounding
structures
Figure 1.8: Plan of House B2 (N. Warner)
Figure 2.1: Map of the Dakhla Oasis (B. Bazzani, based on ASTER
GDEM data, a product of METI and NASA)
Figure 2.2: View of Amheida (to north)
Figure 2.3: Plan of House B1
Figure 2.4: Aerial photo of House B2, facing west
Figure 2.5: Area 4, the temple mound
Figure 4.1: Plan of House B2, Courtyard C2, and Street S2 with
excavated areas shaded
Figure 4.2: Section drawing along east-west axis of B2
Figure 4.3: Section drawing along north-south axis of B2
Figure 4.4: Harris Matrix, room 1
Figure 4.5: Wall and ceiling collapse (DSU 4) within room 1. The
wind has had a strong impact on the taphonomy of this area of
the site, evinced by the even wear of collapse and standing
walls in House B2
Figure 4.6: Multi-context plan of room 1 showing DSUs (encircled),
FSUs (within rectangles), elevations (with triangles), and small
finds (without symbols)
Figure 4.7: Photo of F11, room 1
Figure 4.8: Alternate channels construction method, with a channel
of poured plaster located on one side or the other of the mud
bricks
Figure 4.9: Harris Matrix, room 2
Figure 4.10: Photo of DSU 7, room 2
Figure 4.11: Multi-context plan of room 2 showing DSUs (encircled),
FSUs (within rectangles), elevations (with triangles), and small
finds (without symbols)
Figure 4.12: Harris Matrix, room 3
Figure 4.13: Photo of DSU 19, room 3
Figure 4.14: Multi-context Plan of room 2 showing DSUs (encircled),
FSUs (within rectangles), elevations (with triangles), and small
finds (without symbols)
Figure 4.15: Photo, view into room 4 from room 5
Figure 4.16: Harris Matrix, room 4
Figure 4.17: Plan of room 4 floor (F15) showing FSUs (within
rectangles) and elevations (with triangles)
Figure 4.18: Harris Matrix, room 5
Figure 4.19: Photo of hearth (F46), room 5
Figure 4.20: Multi-context plan of room 5 showing DSUs (encircled),
FSUs (within rectangles), elevations (with triangles), and small
finds (without symbols)
Figure 4.21: Harris Matrix, room 6
Figure 4.22: Photo, Inv. 10383 and Inv. 10216 in situ in DSU 76,
room 6
Figure 4.23: Multi-context plan of room 6 showing DSUs (encircled),
FSUs (within rectangles), elevations (with triangles), and small
finds (without symbols)
Figure 4.24: Harris Matrix, room 7
Figure 4.25: Photo, multiple floor levels exposed and visible in room
7
Figure 4.26: Multi-context plan of room 7 showing DSUs (encircled),
FSUs (within rectangles), elevations (with triangles), and small
finds (without symbols)
Figure 4.27: Multi-context plan of room 8 showing DSUs (encircled),
FSUs (within rectangles), and elevations (with triangles)
Figure 4.28: Harris Matrix, room 8
Figure 4.29: Photo of rooms 7 and 8
Figure 4.30: Harris Matrix, room 9
Figure 4.31: Multi-context plan of room 9 showing DSUs (encircled),
FSUs (within rectangles), and elevations (with triangles)
Figure 4.32: Photo of stairway and door F50 in room 9
Figure 4.33: Harris Matrix, room 10
Figure 4.34: Multi-context plan of room 10 showing DSUs
(encircled), FSUs (within rectangles), and elevations (with
triangles)
Figure 4.35: Harris Matrix, room 11
Figure 4.36: Multi-context plan of room 11 showing FSUs (within
rectangles), and elevations (with triangles)
Figure 4.37: Photo of room 11
Figure 4.38: Harris Matrix, S1
Figure 4.39: Multi-context plan of Street S1 showing DSUs
(encircled), FSUs (within rectangles), and elevations (with
triangles)
Figure 4.40: Street S1 section, showing trench cut, as well as the
door (F50) into House B2
Figure 4.41: Photo of Street S1
Figure 4.42: Harris Matrix, C2A
Figure 4.43: C2, F3 (platform), and F4 (bread oven)
Figure 4.44: Multi-context plan of Courtyard C2 showing DSUs
(encircled), FSUs (within rectangles), elevations (with triangles),
and small finds (without symbols)
Figure 5.1: Illustration of bonds corpus (A. Cervi), after the Museum
of London Archaeology Service (now MoLA) Archaeological Site
Manual (1994) figure 26
Figure 5.2: Photo of timber tie beam holes in wall F3. The
foundation bricks are visible as the bottom course of bricks
Figure 5.3: Photo of a frogged brick from House B2
Figure 5.4: Photo of room 7 floor section (F17)
Figure 6.1: Cluster plan and linear plan diagrams (A. Cervi)
Figure 6.2: Photo of burn spot detail on bread oven (F19), room 7
Figure 6.3: Photo of room 11 and bread oven (F19), room 7
Figure 6.4: Reconstruction of House B2 (N. Warner)
Figure 6.5: Reconstruction of House B2 (N. Warner)
Figure 8.1: Répartition des céramiques suivant les groupes de pâtes
Figure 8.3: Répartition des céramiques suivant les principaux
groupes fonctionnels
Planche 8.1: La céramique de la maison B2 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.2: La céramique de la maison B2 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.3: La céramique de la maison B2 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.4: La céramique de la maison B2 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.5: La céramique de la maison B2 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.6: La céramique de la maison B2 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.7: La céramique de la maison B2 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.8: La céramique de la maison B2 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.9: La céramique de la maison B2 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.10: La céramique de la maison B2 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.11: La céramique de la maison B2, Lampes (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.12: La céramique de la maison B2, Pièce 1 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.13: La céramique de la maison B2, Pièce 1 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.14: La céramique de la maison B2, Pièce 1 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.15: La céramique de la maison B2, Pièces 1 et 2 (D.
Dixneuf)
Planche 8.16: La céramique de la maison B2, Pièce 2 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.17: La céramique de la maison B2, Pièce 2 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.18: La céramique de la maison B2, Pièces 2 et 3 (D.
Dixneuf)
Planche 8.19: La céramique de la maison B2, Pièce 3 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.20: La céramique de la maison B2, Pièce 3 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.21: La céramique de la maison B2, Pièces 3, 4, et 5 (D.
Dixneuf)
Planche 8.22: La céramique de la maison B2, Pièce 5 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.23: La céramique de la maison B2, Pièce 5 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.24: La céramique de la maison B2, Pièce 5 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.25: La céramique de la maison B2, Pièces 5 et 6 (D.
Dixneuf)
Planche 8.26: La céramique de la maison B2, Pièce 6 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.27: La céramique de la maison B2, Pièce 6 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.28: La céramique de la maison B2, Pièce 6 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.29: La céramique de la maison B2, Pièce 7 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.30: La céramique de la maison B2, Pièce 7 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.31: La céramique de la maison B2, Pièces 7, 8, 9, 10, et
11 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.32: La céramique du Secteur 1.4 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.33: La céramique du Secteur 1.4 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.34: La céramique du Secteur 1.4 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.35: La céramique du Secteur 1.2 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.36: La céramique de la Secteur 1.2 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.37: La céramique du Secteur 1.2 (D. Dixneuf)
Planche 8.38: La céramique du Secteur 1.2 (D. Dixneuf)
Figure 9.1: Stopper 3180
Figure 9.2: Stopper 3517
Figure 9.3: Stopper 9518
Figure 9.4: Stopper 3518 (M. Hense)
Figure 9.5: Stopper 3520
Figure 9.6: Stopper 3521
Figure 9.7: Stopper 3532
Figure 9.8: Loom weight 11880
Figure 9.9: Loom weight 11881
Figure 9.10: Loom weight 11882
Figure 9.11: Miniature clay lamp 11917
Figure 9.12: Miniature clay lamp 11917 (M. Hense)
Figure 9.13: Unfired clay disk 11918
Figure 10.1: Head of a female figure (11627)
Figure 10.2: Complete head of a statuette roughly modeled (11920)
Figure 10.3: Body of a naked male statuette (11509)
Figure 10.4: Fragment of a hybrid animal sandstone figurine (3516)
Plate 10.1: Figurines 11628, 11920, 3519, 11627, and 11509 (M.
Hense)
Plate 10.2: Figurines 11915, SCA 2730, 3516, 11479, and 11914 (M.
Hense)
Figure 11.1: Sandwich gold-glass beads 3496, 3497, 3066 and 3498
Figure 11.2: Glass beads 11272 and 11453. Faience bead 3493
Figure 11.3: Bone hair pin 11320
Figure 11.4: Fragment of a glass bracelet 11606
Figure 11.5: Faience Bes amulet 3233
Figure 11.6: Bronze finger ring 3484 (M. Hense)
Figure 11.7: Bronze finger ring 3452
Figure 11.8: Bronze finger ring 3452 (A. Cervi)
Plate 12.1: Glass beakers and goblets
Plate 12.2: Glass deep bowls, shallow bowls, and plates
Plate 12.3: Glass jars and flasks
Plate 13.1: Faience
Figure 14.1: Coin 3730
Figure 14.2: Coin 3485
Figure 14.3: Coin 11084
Figure 15.1: O.Trim. 1.1
Figure 15.2: O.Trim. 1.22
Figure 15.3: O.Trim. 1.24
Figure 15.4: O.Trim. 1.26
Figure 15.5: O.Trim. 1.51
Figure 15.6: O.Trim. 1.200
Figure 17.1: Preservation of date stones: charred (top) and partly
decomposed due to the damp conditions at the site (bar 1 cm)
(photo J. Walter)
Figure 17.2: Date stones gnawed by small rodents (photo J. Walter)
Figure 17.3: Relative proportions of useful and wild plants
Figure 17.4: Remains of cereal chaff
Figure 17.5: Remains of cereal grain
Figure 17.6: Calculated numbers of fruits and nuts based on seed
remains
Figure 18.1: Door lock-bolt (Inv. 3523) (M. Hense)
Figure 18.2: Basket handle (Inv. 11519)
Figure 18.3: Stick (Inv. 11521) (M. Hense)
Figure 18.4: Stopper (Inv.11520) (M. Hense)
Figure 19.1: Light blue cotton cloth fragment
Figure 19.2: Three fragments of sewn plaits basket 11554 (M.
Hense)
Figure 19.3: Weave pattern of sewn plaits basket 11554 (M. Hense)
Figure 20.1: Plan of B2 rooms with key to objects and quantities at
occupational level (A. Cervi)

LIST OF TABLES
Table 5.1: Summary of colored plaster recovered from House B2
Table 5.2: Brick dimensions in oven platform Courtyard C2 F3 (in cm)
Table 5.3: Brick dimensions in oven platform Courtyard C2 F3 (in cm)
Table 5.4: Brick dimensions in bread oven Courtyard C2 F4 (in cm)
Table 5.5: Brick dimensions in floor F15 (in cm)
Table 5.6: Brick dimensions in floor F42 (in cm)
Table 7.1: Summary of personal appearance evidence from House B2
Table 7.2: Summary of weaving equipment from House B2
Table 7.3: Summary of transportation and management evidence
from House B2
Table 7.4: Summary of interior appearance evidence from House B2
Table 7.5: Summary of worship and religion evidence from House B2
Table 7.6: Summary of ethnic affinity evidence from House B2
Table 7.7: Summary of gender and age evidence from House B2
Tableau 8.1: Comptages des céramiques suivant les principaux
groupes fonctionnels
Table 16.1: Faunal remains identified from Area 1 at Amheida
Table 16.2: Summary of the faunal remains recovered from Area 2 at
Amheida
Table 16.3: Species ratios (based on NISP) for Areas 1 and 2 at
Amheida
Table 17.1: Summary table of plant remains from rooms and
courtyard
Table 20.1: Proposed B2 chronology
CONTRIBUTORS
Anna Lucille Boozer: Assistant Professor of Roman Mediterranean
Archaeology, History Department, Baruch College, One Bernard
Baruch Way, New York, NY 10010 USA.
Douglas V. Campana: US Park Service (retired).
Angela Cervi: Scuola di Specializzazione in Beni Archeologici,
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano.
Pam J. Crabtree: Associate Professor, Center for the Study of
Human Origins, Anthropology Department, New York University USA.
Paola Davoli: Associate Professor, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici,
Università del Salento, via M. Stampacchia, 45 73100 Lecce, Italy.
Delphine Dixneuf: Ceramologist (Ingénieur de Recherche) CNRS,
USR 3134 (Centre d’études alexandrines) Soliman Yousri Str. no. 50
– 21131 Alexandria, Arab Republic of Egypt.
David M. Ratzan: Head Librarian, Institute for the Study of the
Ancient World, New York, University, 15 East 84th St., New York, NY
10028 USA.
Giovanni R. Ruffini: Associate Professor of Classical Studies,
Fairfield University History Department, 1073 North Benson Road,
Fairfield CT 06824 USA.
Ursula Thanheiser: VIAS-Archaeobotany, Vienna University,
Althanstrasse 14 - UZA II, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
Johannes Walter: Staff scientist “Global Plants Initiative” project,
Natural History Museum Vienna, Botany Department, Herbarium,
Burgring 7, A-1010 Vienna, Austria and Lecturer at the University of
Vienna, Austria.
PREFACE
The ideas for the present book date back to my graduate years at
Columbia University. I am profoundly indebted to Roger Bagnall,
director of the Amheida Project and my PhD supervisor. His expert
guidance helped me move through each stage of research and has
resulted in the present book. Columbia University and the Andrew W.
Mellon Foundation provided financial support for the excavation of
House B2 through a Distinguished Achievement Award to Roger
Bagnall.
From the start of my doctoral research, I have had the pleasure
to work with members of the Dakhleh Oasis Project. Colin Hope’s
expertise in local Romano-Egyptian housing traditions and ceramics
significantly impacted interpretations in this volume. His critiques of
a draft of this book were insightful and supportive. Gillian Bowen
likewise contributed her expertise in woven goods to help me
understand this category of material.
Each and every member of the Amheida Project missions,
including both past and present members, contributed enormously
to this volume. Olaf Kaper, Associate Director for Egyptology at
Amheida, was an inspirational guide to all things Dakhleh. The
individuals who helped with the day-to-day excavations, recording,
photographing, and data management for House B2 include Andrea
Myers Achi, Eugene Ball, Bruno Bazzani, Roberta Casagrande-Kim,
Angela Cervi, Karen Green, Francesco Meo, Susanna McFadden,
Gillian Pyke, and Elizabeth Warkentin. Our Egyptian colleagues were
an invaluable component of this project. Reis Sauleh helped me to
organize the work in and around House B2. Ashraf Barakat, Assistant
to the Director, kept the project running smoothly at all times. The
house staff at the Ain el Gindi excavation house, under the
management of Gaber Murad, made the difficulties of fieldwork feel
like a luxurious experience.
A portion of this volume was written while I was a Junior
Research Fellow at the Topoi Excellence Cluster (Freie Universität
Berlin and the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany). Marianne
Bergmann provided inspiration and insightful discussions both in
Berlin and during the course of writing this volume.
It would be difficult to list all of the people in the Department of
Archaeology at the University of Reading who provided assistance to
me during the period in which I completed this volume. Michael
Fulford, Roger Matthews, and Hella Eckardt read and commented
upon section drafts, significantly improving my interpretations. Other
staff members provided motivation and good humor during trying
times.
The final writing stage took place while I was an associate
research fellow at the Institute for Social and Economic Research
and Policy (ISERP) at Columbia University in New York City. William
V. Harris served as a faculty advisor for my research while I was at
ISERP. He was an irreplaceable resource for helping me to view
Romano-Egyptian archeology from the broader perspective of
Roman History.
Conversations with Ari Bryen, Sabina Huebner, Gabor Thomas,
and particularly Giovanni Ruffini, helped me to consider Roman
Egypt from an exciting range of perspectives. Angela Cervi
contributed numerous illustrations used throughout this work and
carefully edited all of the existing photographs and plans used in this
volume. Her friendship, support, and attention to detail are always
appreciated. Sebastian Heath prepared the volume for publication.
And, finally, I had the constant support of friends, family, librarians,
and technologically gifted colleagues who helped me through various
stages. My parents, to whom this volume is dedicated, helped me to
navigate through the turbulence of publication and I am enormously
grateful.
1
DOMESTIC ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE ROMANO-EGYPTIAN HOUSE
An Integrated Research Agenda
Anna Lucille Boozer

Introduction
This archaeological report provides a comprehensive study of the
excavations carried out at Amheida House B2 in Egypt’s Dakhla
Oasis, between 2005 and 2007, followed by three study seasons
between 2008 and 2010 (Figure 1.1, Figure 1.2).1 This report
presents and discusses the architecture, artifacts, and ecofacts
recovered from B2 in a holistic manner, which has never before been
attempted in a full report on the excavation of a Romano-Egyptian
house. The primary aim of this volume is to combine an architectural
and material-based study with an explicitly contextual and
theoretical analysis. In so doing, I hope to develop a methodology
and present a case study of how the rich material remains of
Romano-Egyptian houses may be used to investigate the relationship
between domestic remains and social identity.
Amheida is located in the northwestern part of the Dakhla Oasis,
deep within Egypt’s Western Desert. Amheida has a long
occupational history, and it reached its greatest size under Roman
rule (approximately first through fourth centuries CE) (Figure 1.3).
The occupants left behind a wealth of documentary, pictorial,
architectural, and material data, and the favorable desert conditions
have preserved these remains to a high degree.
Amheida, known as Trimithis during the Roman Period, contains
a diverse range of structure types within different sectors of the
Roman city. The site is dominated by a large hill surmounted by a
temple that was built and rebuilt over many centuries. From the
surface, as well as limited excavations, it appears that elite houses
lie to the south and east of the temple mound. A necropolis, with at
least two pyramid tombs, extends to the southeast and south of the
city. House B2 is located in the northeast sector of the city, which is
composed of domestic and industrial structures. Extensive
agricultural fields, predynastic lithic scatters, and Old Kingdom
ceramics surround the built areas of the city. These remains of
earlier periods attest to long-standing activity at Amheida before the
Roman occupation of Egypt. Currently, it is neither clear what this
pre-Roman settlement looked like nor how it developed over time.

Research Framework

The present study contributes to the growing corpus of data on


Romano-Egyptian daily life. In particular, this volume contributes a
holistic analysis of a single house (B2) in order to reveal the material
components of Romano-Egyptian daily life for a single household.
Romano-Egyptian domestic archaeology is still in the early stages of
development, despite a long history of domestic excavation in Egypt.
Figure 1.1: Map of Egypt (M. Matthews).

Most prior research on Romano-Egyptian domestic contexts has


taken place in Egypt’s Fayum (Figure 1.1). This region became a
nexus for domestic studies due to the papyrological rescue missions
led by Grenfell and Hunt in the early 1900s. These missions exposed
numerous, well-preserved houses in the area.2 Because the primary
objective of these missions was to salvage papyri, the resultant
publications lack contextual and architectural data. In addition to
Grenfell and Hunt’s rescue missions, other excavations took place in
the Fayum, although the robustness of the data concerning them
varies considerably.

Figure 1.2: Map of the Great Oasis (M. Matthews).

The University of Michigan excavated two of the most famous


Fayum sites in the early twentieth century: Karanis (Kom Aushim)
(1924–1934) and Soknopaiou Nesos (Dime) (1931–1932). The
material recovered from these sites is invaluable for the present
study since both sites produced a wealth of material data on
domestic architecture and artifacts. Karanis has become the type-site
of Romano-Egyptian domestic architecture, due to its good state of
preservation and the care with which it was excavated compared to
previous work on Romano-Egyptian houses. Since the 1930s, Karanis
has appeared in numerous publications as a representative Romano-
Egyptian settlement.
There are two major caveats that must be kept in mind when
employing Karanis houses for comparanda.3 First, the Karanis houses
have not been fully published. General reports on the stratigraphy,
topography, and architecture were published in the 1930s, but these
lacked full analyses of each structure and did not attempt to
interpret the findings.4 A subsequent report attempted to fill in the
gaps left by these prior publications, but it did not provide contextual
explorations of the material, and the accompanying maps and
illustrations are difficult to connect to particular structures and
moments in time.5 Over the years, specialist publications on
particular categories of material and of exhibitions have appeared.6
Unfortunately, we still do not have a full publication that provides the
architectural layout of most of the Karanis houses. Moreover, only
the largest and best-preserved houses were singled out for
publication, making it difficult to discern the range of house types
available at Karanis.7 This selectivity obscures the most common
houses occupied by typical households at Karanis.
Figure 1.3: Amheida site map.

Second, the publications that do exist for Karanis houses


analyzed material categories rather than contexts (e.g. individual
houses). Nearly twenty years ago, Peter van Minnen, a papyrologist,
urged archaeologists to explore Karanis domestic material by context
rather than by material category.8 Unfortunately, this type of analysis
has not been accomplished for more than a tiny portion of this site
yet. To date, it is impossible to connect artifacts to the houses from
which they came, except by consultation of the excavation records
held in the Kelsey Museum. It is not possible to determine which
types of objects, texts, and architectural features co-occurred with
one another and what the distribution of house types, objects, and
texts looked like across the site.

Figure 1.4: Karanis, plan IV, section G 11 in Boak, A. E. R. and E. E.


Peterson, (1931). Karanis: Topographical and Architectural Report of
the Excavations during the Seasons 1924-28. Kelsey Museum of
Archaeology, University of Michigan.
With these caveats in mind, it is possible to make some general
statements about the houses excavated at Karanis. Generally,
buildings at Karanis aligned into blocks of habitation (Figure 1.4).9
Although hundreds of buildings were excavated, only a few were
described and drawn. The following description is reliant upon this
published data, which may be revised with additional exploration of
the site. These published houses were predominantly made of mud
brick with only small amounts of wood used.10 Flat roofs were
common, except in cellars, which were vaulted. Most houses were
elongated and had multiple stories, with cooking taking place in
courtyards that were either private or shared (Figure 1.5). The walls
were often plastered and covered with a thin lime wash. A black
wash was most common with white accents painted horizontally
across the mud brick courses. Decorations were minimal and were
usually found in niches, often representing religious scenes, and
typically painted in maroon and black.11
Figure 1.5: Karanis, Plan 25, Floor plan of House C42 in Husselman,
E. M. (1979). Karanis Excavations of the University of Michigan in
Egypt, 1928-1935: Topography and Architecture: A Summary of the
Reports of the Director, Enoch E. Peterson. Kelsey Museum of
Archaeology, University of Michigan.

The University of Michigan also excavated houses at Soknopaiou


Nesos, but the results of this mission were not fully published.12
Only the coins, papyri, and specific architectural elements received
attention in the single published excavation report.13 The houses
appear to have been built contiguously, and each had a courtyard to
support domestic cooking needs (Figure 1.6). These structures were
built directly onto bedrock. The largest house excavated had an
internal courtyard (aithrion). All of the structures had a central-
pillared stairway leading to upper floor(s) and often also to cellars.
Poor quality wall paintings were found in some of the structures.14

Figure 1.6: Soknopaiou Nesos, plan III, ground plan, late first level,
east side in Boak A. E. R. et al (1935). Soknopaiou Nesos: The
University of Michigan Excavations at Dimê in 1931-32. Kelsey
Museum of Archaeology, University of Michigan.

Other sites from Egypt’s Fayum region are even less well
documented. Hawara, located at the entrance to the Fayum, is a
particularly important site for Roman Egypt, although it perhaps is
best-known for the pyramid of Amenemhat III (12th Dynasty).
Uytterhoeven’s recent volume provides an excellent compendium of
Hawara data.15 Sadly, little can be made of the ruinous Romano-
Egyptian domestic remains, except that they seem to have a square
or rectangular footprint averaging less than 100 m2 in area and with
an adjoining exterior courtyard. These houses seem to have been
multistoried, with only two or three rooms on the ground floor.16
Another Fayum site, Tebtynis (modern Tell Umm el-Baragat), also
had Greco-Roman occupation. Tebtynis provides domestic
comparanda for the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods, although there
are significantly fewer published houses from Tebtynis than Karanis
and Soknopaiou Nesos. Most Tebtynis houses date to late Ptolemaic
and early Roman Periods, and the published plans show houses with
a square plan. One house has a peristyle contained within the
house.17 These other Fayum houses also were analyzed
typologically, so it is not possible to connect finds, architectural
features, and the plans of houses in order to reconstruct what each
individual house looked like.18
Moving to other regions in Egypt, we find a different range of
fragmentary data on Romano-Egyptian houses. Oxyrhynchus
(modern el-Bahnasa) is located approximately 160 km south of
modern Cairo. Oxyrhynchus provides us with a wealth of papyri
dating to the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods, revealing remarkable
detail about the community that once resided there. The urban
layout, domestic structures, and material remains also are described,
although the amount of archaeological publication is paltry.19 Other
areas of Upper Egypt, such as Elephantine, have produced houses.
Elephantine is an island in the middle of the Nile as part of modern-
day Aswan in southern Egypt. Unfortunately the results of the urban
excavations are difficult to interpret because only portions of the
domestic structures have been exposed.20
Moving to the north coast of Egypt, we find several examples of
Roman Mediterranean housing. Alexandria, the premier city in
Roman Egypt—and one of the chief cities of the Roman Empire—is
poorly visible to the archaeologist today. Even so, archaeologists
have begun to recover the remains of villas and other elaborate
housing structures that potentially contained workshops and
apartments in a single structure.21 These structures have not been
holistically explored, such that we could understand the architecture,
artifacts, ecofacts, and textual data as a unit. This analytical problem
entails that the way in which these individual structures were used in
antiquity is ambiguous.
Marina el-Alamein (ancient Leukaspis or Antiphrae), a smaller
coastal Graeco-Roman port town west of Alexandria, produced
several sumptuous dwellings. These houses contained a central
court surrounded by two or three portico wings, while the smaller
dwellings had just one wing of a single column. Typologically, these
houses recall portico and peristyle houses.22 To date, these houses
have not been fully published, and the preliminary reports do not
include a holistic analysis of the material.
Egypt’s Western Desert contains a wealth of well-preserved
domestic remains. The Kharga Oasis, east of Dakhla, has produced
partial data on houses. Ancient Kysis (Douch), located at the
extreme southern edge of the oasis, contains a large number of
domestic structures. Architecturally, these houses reflect Roman
Mediterranean influences, as can be seen particularly in the use of
inner peristyles and interior courts.23 Unfortunately, the recovered
domestic data is not always clear, and we do not have a full range of
portable and architectural material to reconstruct life in the
contextual manner that we seek.
Kellis (Ismant el-Kharab) provides an abundance of data on local
Dakhla domestic life.24 The site drew attention from early travelers
in the nineteenth century and archaeologists in the twentieth
century. Kellis has undergone modern excavation since 1986, under
the direction of Colin Hope as part of the Dakhleh Oasis Project
(DOP). The site appears to have been occupied from the first to
fourth centuries CE and occupies an area of 1050 x 650 m. The
project has produced numerous preliminary reports on the excavated
houses, although a final excavation report has not been published
yet; it is intended that this final report will be fully contextual. At this
stage, it is possible to summarize the Kellis houses on the basis of
the preliminary reports.
Roman Kellis domestic architecture usually consisted of a single-
story structure with barrel vaulted roofs. A staircase provided access
to the roof, which was often used as additional work and storage
space. Within the house, there was typically a central courtyard area
surrounded by living and workspaces, although some houses had
rear courtyards in addition to or instead of the central courtyard.
Walls were mud-plastered and often contained strips of whitewash
along rear walls and around doorways and wall niches.25 Presumably
this whitewash illuminated these dark spaces, particularly when
lamps were placed in the niches.
A closer examination of the Kellis houses yields diachronic
information on Dakhla house development.26 Area B, in northern-
central Kellis, primarily consists of extensive complexes. Area B dates
from the first through third centuries CE and shows a continuous
development of buildings, some of which were more formal than
others. A sub-area contained within this zone, Kellis Area B3,
contained lavishly decorated houses with bright geometric motifs.
The B3 sub-area contains a series of large residences that may be
contemporaneous since they all share a north wall.27 Hope suggests
that these Kellis residences contain architectural parallels to Roman
atrium houses at Italian sites such as Pompeii, rather than drawing
upon Egyptian architectural norms.28
House B/3/1, located in the eastern portion of Area B, has finds
largely dating to the late first to early third centuries CE. House
B/3/1 has a more Classical style layout than is commonly associated
with Egypt. House B/3/1 has a clustered plan of access and a central
open area (room 1b).29 The organizing principle for this house was
bifurcated around two rooms rather than around one room, which
may have been an attribute of wealthier Dakhlan houses.30
Area C is located in the far eastern extremity of Kellis and
contains blocks of structures as well as a visible furnace and kiln
debris. The Area C structures date to the second and third centuries
CE. These Area C buildings drew upon Classical models in their
arrangement, as indicated by the placement of living and
workspaces around a central open courtyard. Kellis House C/2/8 has
a square plan, and the rooms were arranged around a central open
courtyard. From the surface, Kellis House C/2/10 shares a similar
square plan and central open courtyard, but it has not been fully
excavated, and reconstructions must be tentative at this time.31
Moving to the western portion of Kellis, known as Area A, we find
churches, a bath house, and domestic structures. This area of the
site is located just east of a cluster of temples, a church, and the
western tombs. Hope’s team excavated a cluster of houses in Area
A. The Kellis Area A houses are single-story elongated structures
dating to the late third to fourth century.32 Houses from this area
contain well-preserved barrel vaulted roofs over the rooms that
surround a central open courtyard. House 3 has a central, open
court (room 6) around which the unroofed stairs (room 7) and main
barrel-vaulted living quarters (rooms 2–5, 8–10) clustered.33
Likewise, House 5 in Area A/9 dates to the fourth century, is
somewhat elongated, has a central room through which other rooms
were accessed, and all of the rooms were barrel vaulted.34 The final
publication of the SE Kellis houses promises to be a groundbreaking
publication. Interested readers should consult Hope’s forthcoming
volume for the definitive results on these structures when it
becomes available.
In sum, we have a considerable amount of information about
houses from the first to fourth centuries from various parts of Egypt.
This information is largely architectural, however, and most previous
publications of Romano-Egyptian house excavations segregated
artifacts and architectural elements from their original contexts, with
the result that only general statements can be made about domestic
assemblages. In other words, the specificity of daily lives within
individual households was lost in the drive to categorize the finds.35
As a result of these methodological and analytical practices, we can
say very little about how individual households functioned over time,
in different socio-economic groups, ethnic groups, regions, and so
on. Moreover, we do not have a sufficient range of plans for
excavated houses, which makes it difficult to determine the
geographic spread, diachronic development, and prevalence of
various house types.
Moving from this fragmented picture to a detailed, nuanced, and
contextual analysis will require the fuller publication of older
excavations as well as fully published new excavations. The final
publications of the Kellis domestic structures and of House B1 at
Amheida will be of great value in this effort. The present work
contributes to this agenda by engaging more deeply with the
intersection of domestic architecture and material culture. This
engagement will enable me to reconstruct in part the life of one
Romano-Egyptian household, which will catalyze new research
questions for domestic archaeology. Prior research on Romano-
Egyptian houses facilitated the present study and offers background
for increasingly refined perspectives in future work. Since
archaeological research entails the creation and study of archives, a
variety of perspectives on Romano-Egyptian domestic life is possible
and even desirable.36 Rather than attempting to supplant previous
work on Romano-Egyptian houses, the current project represents
another layer of engagement with the data and makes use of
previous archaeological scholarship in order to answer new
questions about domestic life.
Archaeological Approaches to Houses
Households are the result of interactions between larger social forms
and individuals.37 In order to capture this relationship, it is necessary
to retain the household as a distinct unit of analysis. Recent cross-
cultural advances in domestic archaeology provide useful avenues
for exploring Romano-Egyptian houses. Most of these developments
rely on contextual approaches to domestic material.38 By gathering
together images, objects, beings, settings, and activities, it is
possible to gain a holistic understanding of daily life. Recent theorists
argue that analyzing artifacts and architecture as isolated entities
places too much emphasis on form and phasing to the detriment of
social questions.39 By contrast, if we recover detailed artifact
assemblages from a small number of houses, we can determine
activity patterns and test our interpretations of artifacts found in
other contexts.40 In Roman Egypt, we do not have a detailed
understanding of domestic artifact assemblages within their physical
environments. This deficiency hinders our ability to reconstruct social
life within houses.
Hendon highlights four facets of social archaeology that should
be explored within houses: (1) the materiality of the domestic
structures; (2) the nature of day-to-day experiences and practices
rather than function alone; (3) the variability of houses; and (4) the
importance of understanding social processes at different social
scales.41 These four proposals give us a useful roadmap for domestic
archaeology and are worth exploring in more detail.
First, the materiality of domestic space requires special attention
in order to understand object meanings. Penelope Allison argued
that contextualized analyses bring architecture, material culture, and
texts to bear upon questions of social life, object meanings, and our
understanding of antiquity.42 Allison’s contextual analyses of material
culture from Pompeii showed that scholars have often mislabeled
objects and misunderstood how they were used in their original
spatio-temporal locus.43 These erroneous attributions were
replicated over more than a century of research upon these houses,
creating multiple levels of misunderstanding. Allison’s work
unmistakably illustrates that contextual analyses are essential for
understanding domestic material culture.
There are additional advantages to contextual archaeology. A
contextual approach enables us to formulate logical conclusions
about the types of objects or objects and architecture that tend to
co-occur.44 A focus on materiality informs archaeologists about the
life histories of objects—their creation, use, reuse, and eventual
discard. Despite some excellent studies from other areas of the
Roman Empire, there exists very little published work on the
contextual usage of Romano-Egyptian domestic material. The
present study addresses this lacuna through contextually exploring
the material data as well as examining the material culture
thematically and typologically.
Second, a room-by-room analysis of houses, exploring the
architecture and artifact assemblages in tandem, approximates how
individuals experienced space within the house. This analytical
approach avoids descriptive shorthand for rooms and recognizes that
houses and the people who live in them are in a “mutually
constituting” relationship.45 In other words, individuals shaped the
space around them to represent their needs and social outlook. In
turn, the architectural space influenced individual life perspectives by
providing the arena for daily activities.
It is well understood that most ancient houses had multi-use
rooms. For example, numerous ancient sources indicate that Romans
moved furniture around their houses with a high frequency. Pliny
refers to rooms serving multiple functions depending on the
arrangement of portable objects and furniture.46 In palatial houses
one may have been able to codify space to a higher degree than
small properties, because large spaces did not require the high
degree of flexibility and malleability that small houses necessitated.
It is more challenging to interpret spatial usage in modest houses,
such as Amheida House B2, than in more sprawling estates.47 One
can imagine that the use of space in small structures would change
throughout the course of the day or the season, depending on who
used the space and other conditions such as light, heat, wind, and
so on.48 In order to interpret household functions appropriately, we
must remain flexible when assigning labels to different spaces.
Rapoport suggests that we view spatial organization in terms of
systems of activities that take place in systems of settings.49 A
setting includes permanent frameworks (architecture), semi-
permanent features (ovens, furniture), and also transient features
(people, objects) and their associated activities.50 Activities may take
place at different times, follow different sequences, and involve
different people. The “label” of a room may change depending upon
who is involved, what they are doing, and when it occurs. Some of
these activities may have been actively considered and performed,
while others may have been routine and unanalyzed by those
involved.51 An avoidance of descriptive shorthand terms, such as
“kitchen,” refocuses our attention on activities, individuals, and
patterns.
Some scholars have argued that it is impossible to fully
understand societies through artifact distributions, because the
modern observer is unable to determine if an object was used or
stored in a given area.52 Although rooms are often multi-use, artifact
distributions are not meaningless. We may not be able to determine
the full range of household activities that took place over time, but
we can capture specific slices of time within this range. Moreover, at
this time, we do not have enough contextual studies to validate the
claim that object locations are not informative. As we accumulate
more contextual studies from reliable contexts, we may be able to
evaluate the security of a context for meaningful contextual analyses
beyond the binary of sealed contexts and open/disturbed contexts.
It is also worth considering the possibility that even disturbed
contexts, though individually difficult to rely on, may collectively
yield more reliable information. At this time, scholars of the Roman
Empire suggest that contextual analyses are relevant for determining
object meanings and spatial significance in a variety of structures,
and it is worthwhile exploring this approach in Roman Egypt.53
Third, household variability can be recognized only when we
analyze houses as distinct units. In order to understand social and
functional domestic differences between houses we must gather
information on which domestic elements co-occur. Contextual
approaches to houses enable us to account for social variations
rather than impose normative perspectives upon past lifestyles. It is
likely that individuals made use of houses and material objects in
diverse ways rather than following a codified practice.54 A contextual
approach to archaeological material will help us to discern patterns
within domestic diversity without smoothing over the disparities.
Fourth, social processes look different depending upon the
analytical scale. By examining a single house in detail, it is possible
to explore the connection between the microscale of the house and
the macroscale of Roman Empire. The household is the social
institution most often invoked when considering social change and
social difference at the microscale. Microscale analyses help to
explain how change occurs, what form it takes, and what its
consequences are in minute detail.55 The way in which individuals
understood imported imperial objects and ideas can change the
meaning and use of these objects and concepts. Through examining
the ways that individuals understood the Roman Empire, we can
understand the extent to which a locality experienced change under
broader social trends.
In sum, this project employs a contextual approach to House B2
in order to retain the household unit. This approach will enable a
better understanding of the material culture, architecture,
occupants, and social niche than studies that isolate specific
categories of material for analysis. The rigorous methodological
processes involved in contextual archaeology ensure that the data
can be re-analyzed and re-interpreted, allowing for malleability in
interpretation after excavation is complete.56 The method of
excavation and documentation is essential to this kind of study. The
lack of rigorous methodologies in many other excavations—old and
recent—is the foundation of incomplete domestic publications. The
accuracy of excavation and of its documentation enables us to study
contexts and objects together and within different perspectives. The
excavation proper contains a method and a theory, not only the
interpretation of what has been found.
The holistic concept is recent, and most Romano-Egyptian
domestic excavations are outdated and were not excavated
stratigraphically. By emphasizing careful practice, I recognize that
archaeological research changes. Future researchers will ask
different questions of our data.57 Naturally, a contextual approach
does not mean setting aside the systematic publication of material
finds; rather, it requires looking at those finds both as members of a
class and as parts of a context.
Choice of Amheida House B2
House B2 is situated in an area of the site (Area 1) that contains
vernacular mud brick architecture alongside industrial structures and
utilitarian ceramics on the surface (Figure 1.7). It is located across
the street from a structure that the DOP had investigated previously.
This other structure appears to have had a similar plan to B2 and
may have been converted from a house into a ceramics workshop at
some stage of its occupational history. The DOP team found large
quantities of clinker as well as unbaked fragments of ceramics, high
densities of sherds, and large numbers of unfired vessels around Kiln
1 within the house.58
Figure 1.7: Plan of Amheida Area 1 showing B2 and surrounding
structures.

During the Roman period and in prior phases of Egyptian history,


people considered the ceramics profession to be low on the social
scale. Workshops and kilns were usually situated on the outskirts of
settlements. This placement both gave potters privileged access to
clay and also kept the production fumes away from domestic
quarters.59 Based upon these considerations, I surmised that the
dwellings in the vicinity of the ceramics workshop were not
particularly desirable or high status and that houses would reflect a
mid-low economic stratum of society. Since we wanted to
understand this economic stratum as well as the richer social level
responsible for House B1, a house excavated from 2004–2008, all
signs suggested that House B2 would be suitable for our goals. Prior
knowledge from Hope’s study of the ceramic production areas in the
immediate vicinity of B2 also provided an important incentive for
working on this structure.
Moreover, I chose House B2 for this study because, from the
surface, it appeared to be a medium-sized house in a square plan
(11 x 11 m or 121 m2) (Figure 1.8). All of the walls were clearly
visible and the structure appeared to be in a reasonable state of
preservation. These preservation and size attributes were important,
as we wanted to recover sufficient data to reconstruct daily life for a
family of modest means.
Figure 1.8: Plan of House B2 (N. Warner).

Specific Research Objectives

This report has two primary goals for House B2. First, it will offer a
comprehensive presentation and evaluation of the architectural and
material evidence recovered from House B2 and its surroundings.
This report pursues a material ethnography of the individuals who
once occupied a single house in Roman Egypt, aiming to illuminate
the settings in which their lives took place along with the objects
that held meaning for them. The second goal of this report is to
relate evidence recovered from B2 to the spectrum of domestic
evidence previously recovered from Roman Egypt. In so doing, this
report builds on previous archaeological scholarship and contributes
a new vantage point on this material.
The specific research objectives are as follows:
1. Establish the chronology of B2
2. Fit B2 within the Romano-Egyptian domestic spectrum
3. Determine socio-spatial contexts, activities, and practices
4. Determine the people who occupied B2
5. Determine relationships to the Roman Empire
These specific objectives will help me achieve the broader research
objectives for this volume.
Volume Structure
My objective for this volume is to return the excavated materials to
the contexts that they came from rather than considering them in
isolation or only as part of specific material categories. The chapter
divisions form the foundation for the ways in which I interpret the
use of objects and the function of spaces in subsequent chapters.
Chapter 2 introduces the Dakhla Oasis and Amheida, including
the cultural history of these areas and the research history upon
them. Chapter 3 provides an overview of the research methodologies
employed in the project. Chapter 4 provides a room-by-room
analysis of the house, discussing the architecture, artifact
assemblages, and stratigraphy holistically. Chapter 5 examines the
construction techniques used to build B2, the street, and exterior
courtyard. Chapter 6 compares the architecture of B2 to that of
other Romano-Egyptian houses and suggests a potential
reconstruction. Chapter 7 provides a thematic overview of the small
finds from House B2 in order to crosscut material divisions between
objects, while chapters 8 through 19 examine individual categories
of material. Chapter 20 of this volume returns to the specific
research objectives enumerated above and considers some of the
social questions raised by in this project in order to explore the
family who once occupied this structure. A more thorough
exploration of the theoretical questions explored here, as well as a
broader comparison of domestic structures and what they can tell us
about social change under imperialism, is reserved for a later
volume.60 A comprehensive chart of the object distributions can be
found in Chapter 20 (Figure 20.1). Additional information about the
stratigraphic units (DSUs, FSUs) can be found by consulting the
open-access database.

Terminology and Abbreviations


The specific archaeological terminology used throughout this volume
is as follows:
Deposition Stratigraphic Unit (DSU) is a 3-dimensional unit that
defines the borders of a deposition from which finds are collected.
The borders of a DSU can be determined by the presence of one or
more architectural features, the borders of the deposition itself, or
an arbitrary division of space on the basis of decisions made during
excavation.
Feature Stratigraphic Unit (FSU) denotes an architectural, man-made
feature such as a wall, pit, oven, or floor. The borders are
determined by the visible extent of the feature.
Stratigraphic Unit Quantification (SUQ) refers to a form completed by
the ceramicist and the registrar in order to quantify the number and
weight of objects belonging to DSUs. Only the diagnostic objects are
kept and recorded in more detail.

1 This report is the first excavation report of the Amheida Project and the second
volume in the Amheida series.
2 Grenfell, Hunt, Hogarth and Milne 1900.
3 Davoli summarizes the work at Karanis as well as some of the issues with the
University of Michigan methodologies and publication practices (1998:73-116).
Wilfong 2012 discusses the significance of the unpublished Karanis archives, and
Boozer (2015a) argues that Karanis houses have become overly-dominant as a
typology in Romano-Egyptian archaeology.
4 Boak 1933, Boak and Peterson 1931.
5 Husselman 1979.
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end and not the end itself. The test for the pupil is to see if he can
put in his own words the vital meaning of the author. It should not be
his purpose to attempt to improve on the writer’s style. It is true that
some of the world’s greatest literary expressions would lose their
highest significance if put in any other than their original form. This
applies especially to verse form, for here the rhythmic movement is
an inseparable element in the full expression of the idea. Some one
has well said: “Style grows to the thought as the sea-shell to its
occupant.” But at this point the aim is not to teach the pupil the
mechanics of literature. He must be taught to think for himself and
use the knowledge he gains so that it will be valuable in his own life.

Three Definite Aims to Gain Knowledge


Let us keep in mind the fact that the pupil is continually seeking
information which will help him to live better. He is constantly trying
to increase his cultural and practical powers. Of course book
learning does not furnish all, but its contribution is immeasurable in
its importance. Hence the pupil must learn to master the printed
word as well as the spoken word. Here are three definite ends or
aims to serve as motive power in getting the thought of the author:
First, the student must seek ideas and not words.
Second, he must seek to classify and organize facts.
Third, he must seek to turn his knowledge to some use.

Each Aim Illustrated


To illustrate the first aim, let us take the following lines from
Hamlet:

Give me that man


That is not passion’s slave, and I will wear him
In my heart’s core, aye, in my heart of hearts,
As I do thee.
Shakespeare wished to point out the blessedness of that virtue,
Independence. It is of little consequence to the pupil in this first step
of his growth to make a comparison between Shakespeare’s method
of expressing this truth, with that of Elbert Hubbard, who, speaking of
Rowan, that man who delivered an important message to Garcia in
the jungles of Cuba when we had decided to go to war with Spain,
said:

By the Eternal! there is a man whose form should be cast in


deathless bronze and the statue placed in every college of the
land. It is not book-learning young men need, nor instructions
about this and that, but a stiffening of the vertebræ which will
cause them to be loyal to a trust, to act promptly, concentrate
their energies; do the thing—Carry a message to Garcia!

Is not the aim in both cases for the pupil to get the idea which the
authors wish to impress upon his mind? In other words, the authors
are not simply writing for art’s sake, as so many would have us
believe. The pupil must get the author’s messages, so that they will
help him in life, to be both independent or free from passion, and
reliable or dependable in whatever he undertakes.
Let us advance to the second step: The classification and
organization of facts mean more than the simple process of orderly
arrangement. This has to do with translating what the author
presents to the pupil in terms of his past experience. This is the
process of judging values. Before we pigeon-hole new information,
we pass judgment upon its relative importance. The pupil has
experienced the value of punctuality, courage, optimism, etc. Now,
when any new truth comes under his observation, it is not turned into
knowledge until it has gone through his mental gristmill. What he
hears, or sees, or feels, is not usable until it has been fitted into its
particular niche, and this fitting process is brought about by likening
the unknown to the known.
This brings us to the third step. Frederick Harrison has said:
“Man’s business here is to know for the sake of living, not to live for
the sake of knowing.” There is no better way of expressing the third
step in the development of the student in intelligent reading. After he
has learned to grasp the author’s thought readily, and then so reacts
upon it that it becomes a part of his very being, his next step is to
find an open market for the sale of his knowledge. This does not
mean to sell for money in the narrow sense, but to put his
understanding into actual daily life.
CHAPTER III
INVENTORY OF SPEECH EFFICIENCY

Before proceeding further, let us estimate our speech efficiency.


Every conscientious person can determine the strong and weak
points of his speech by asking himself a few questions. Some, more
sensitive than others, will very likely magnify their weaknesses and
minimize their commendable qualities. Be that as it may, the vast
majority will give a fair rating to both good and bad vocal habits.
This personal consultation with yourself may take a long or a short
time. Some are quick to see faults in themselves—and probably slow
to correct them; still others are slow to see their own errors and
probably never will correct them; but all careful and honest students
will discover at once where they are lacking in the proper
management of voice, and will proceed to overcome their difficulties.
In rating speech efficiency it is well to make use of the common
questionnaire plan. The questions fall under two separate heads,
namely, the Knowing and the Doing.

The Knowing
1. Do I realize that I use my voice almost constantly?
2. Do I realize that success in business or society depends largely
upon the convincing power of speech?
3. Do I realize how much of my speech is of no avail?
4. Do I realize the vital importance of inflection and the influence it
has upon those who hear me?
5. Do I realize the great delight that comes through the mastery of
correct vocal usage?
6. Do I realize that it is unnecessary to have a tired throat at the end
of the day?
7. Do I realize that in a very large degree a pleasing personality
depends upon a pleasing voice?
8. Do I realize that by attaining convincing power of speech I am
promoting my efficiency?

The Doing
1. Do I talk more than is necessary?
2. Do I pitch my voice too high?
3. Do I speak with a tense, set jaw and use a hard, metallic tone?
4. Do I talk in my throat instead of in my mouth?
5. Do I continually talk on the same key?
6. Do I talk too fast, or too slow, or too loud, or too low?
7. Do I use my voice as a medium by which I give vent to anger or
displeasure?
8. Do I speak quietly and softly, and thus indicate culture and
refinement?
9. Do I speak loudly in order to be persuasive?
10. Do I attract undue attention to my speech?
11. Do I enunciate with clearness and precision?
12. Do I harmonize tone with mood?

More items could be placed under these two headings, but the
above are sufficient to bring the student face to face with his speech
difficulties. We must know wherein we lack speech efficiency before
we can remedy the lack. The following chapters present adequate
exercises for needed improvement.
CHAPTER IV
ORAL READING

If the pupil is to enjoy logical and consistent development in


expression, he must be taught along psychological lines. Teachers
should never lose sight of the fact that what is good for one pupil is
not always good for another. It is impossible to set down a set of
rules which will govern alike all pupils. Only that teacher is worthy of
the name who recognizes that every pupil presents more or less a
separate problem.

Teacher’s First Great Task


The teacher’s first important task is to render the pupil rightly
disposed. Some pupils are at once extremely anxious to be
governed by the wisdom of their teachers, while others are skeptical
and must serve an apprenticeship in imitation. Still others are
perverse and must be coerced. It is the patient and long-suffering
teacher whose highest hopes will be realized.

What Is Expression?
What is expression? We are told that all life is expression: The
sudden summer shower, the leap of the wild cataract, the springing
forth of early flowers, and the slow motion of the glacier all represent
Nature expressing herself. The musician over the keyboard, the
painter at his easel, the writer at his desk, represent art expressing
herself. This is all true. But what about mankind as a whole, what
about the vast majority of people who are not endowed with genius?
Have they no universal and common mode of expression?

Greatest Educational Value


Here lies the great educational value of oral reading, of expressive
speech. Their appeal should be universal and not confined to a
talented few. It were better that those who have native ability were
wholly neglected and allowed to express themselves in their own
way, than that the vast majority have no training at all. It is the
ungifted who should be aided rather than those who have been
especially endowed by Nature.

The Desire to Express


The desire to express is common to all humanity from infancy to
old age. The true aim of education should be to “draw out” that which
is within us; in other words, to express ourselves—physically,
mentally and spiritually. The world’s great personalities are those
who have the greatest freedom of expression. They have mastered
the power to reveal their inmost selves. They have profited by the
truth that through exercise we grow. So we should continually aim to
free those channels through which we communicate ourselves to the
outside world, in order that our highest faculties be unshackled and
be given perfect freedom.

The Channels of Expression


Let us consider briefly what are the chief avenues or channels of
revealing what we are to others. Our first means is by movements of
a part or all of the body. This we call the Physical Channel. Later in
the development of man the location of sound in the throat was
made. Man noted that when he experienced a certain mood,
unconsciously he gave vent to a corresponding guttural noise or
sound. This is called the Sound or Tone Channel. Lastly, man
invented sound symbols—words. That is, certain vocal sounds
represented certain objects and ideas. This we call the Word
Channel.

Merging of the Channels


To sum up, we have three separate ways by which we can
express what we think and feel. It is very important that the pupil, as
well as the teacher, keep this fact in mind. If we are to be natural and
successful in giving out what we really are, these three means must
coördinate, must act harmoniously. That is, the body, or Physical
Channel, must parallel the Word Channel, and the Tone Channel
must parallel the Physical and Word Channel. Each must bear
witness to the truth uttered by the other. When the fullness of each,
freighted with human meaning, overflows, there is a merging of all
three. The result is natural and intense expression. Our supreme
purpose is to realize this triune of man’s expressive powers.
CHAPTER V
SELECTIONS FOR PART ONE

The preceding discussions should be kept in mind while studying


the following selections. The primary purpose is to seek after the
author’s thought. If we are able to relate clearly and fluently in our
own words the content of what we have read, then we can feel
assured that we have found out the meaning of the author.
First: Read the selection paragraph by paragraph. Then arrange in
your mind the several points in their respective order. Now give them
orally as simply and progressively as possible.
Second: Read the selection again by paragraphs and this time
determine what are the important and unimportant words. Then give
these important words a greater force of utterance.
Third: Do not fear to make many groups. We must first see the
author’s ideas and pictures in broken bits. When we have thought
clearly on each part of the whole, and have each part securely in
mind, we can then surely and effectively put these separate parts
into one complete picture.

THE DOUGLAS SQUIRREL


By John Muir
Go where you will throughout the noble woods of the Sierra
Nevada, among the giant pines and spruces of the lower zones, up
through the towering Silver Firs to the storm-bent thickets of the
summit peaks, you everywhere find this little squirrel the master-
existence. Though only a few inches long, so intense is his fiery
vigor and restlessness, he stirs every grove with wild life, and makes
himself more important than even the huge bears that shuffle
through the tangled underbrush beneath him. Every wind is fretted
by his voice, almost every bole and branch feel the sting of his sharp
feet. How much the growth of the trees is stimulated by his means it
is not easy to learn, but his action in manipulating their seeds is
more appreciable. Nature has made him master forester and
committed most of her coniferous crops to his paws. Probably over
fifty per cent of all the cones ripened on the Sierra are cut off and
handled by the Douglas alone, and of those of the Big Trees perhaps
ninety per cent pass through his hands: the greater portion is of
course stored away for food to last during the winter and spring, but
some of them are tucked separately into loosely covered holes,
where some of the seeds germinate and become trees....
One never tires of this bright chip of nature,—this brave little voice
crying in the wilderness,—of observing his many works and ways,
and listening to his curious language. His musical, piny gossip is as
savory to the ear as balsam to the palate; and, though he has not
exactly the gift of song, some of his notes are as sweet as those of a
linnet—almost flute-like in softness, while others prick and tingle like
thistles. He is the mocking-bird of squirrels, pouring forth mixed
chatter and song like a perennial fountain; barking like a dog,
screaming like a hawk, chirping like a blackbird or a sparrow; while in
bluff, audacious noisiness he is a very jay.
In descending the trunk of a tree with the intention of alighting on
the ground, he preserves a cautious silence, mindful, perhaps, of
foxes and wildcats; but while rocking safely at home in the pine-tops
there is no end to his capers and noise; and woe to the gray squirrel
or chipmunk that ventures to set foot on his favorite tree! No matter
how slyly they trace the furrows of the bark, they are speedily
discovered, and kicked downstairs with comic vehemence, while a
torrent of angry notes comes rushing from his whiskered lips that
sounds remarkably like swearing. He will even attempt at times to
drive away dogs and men, especially if he has had no previous
knowledge of them. Seeing a man for the first time, he approaches
nearer and nearer, until within a few feet; then, with angry outburst,
he makes a sudden rush, all teeth and eyes, as if about to eat you
up. But, finding that the big forked animal doesn’t scare, he prudently
beats a retreat, and sets himself up to reconnoiter on some
overhanging branch, scrutinizing every movement you make with
ludicrous solemnity.
Mr. Muir thus tells of an amusing experience he had with a
Douglas squirrel that he found at his breakfast:
Breakfast done, I whistled a tune for him before he went to work,
curious to see how he would be affected by it. He had not seen me
all this while; but the instant I began to whistle he darted up the tree
nearest to him, and came out on a small dead limb opposite me, and
composed himself to listen. I sang and whistled more than a dozen
airs, and as the music changed his eyes sparkled, and he turned his
head quickly from side to side, but made no other response. Other
squirrels, hearing the strange sounds, came around on all sides, also
chipmunks and birds. One of the birds, a handsome, speckle-
breasted thrush, seemed even more interested than the squirrels.
After listening for awhile on one of the lower dead sprays of a pine,
he came swooping forward within a few feet of my face, and
remained fluttering in the air for half a minute or so, sustaining
himself with whirring wing-beats, like a humming-bird in front of a
flower, while I could look into his eyes and see his innocent wonder.
By this time my performance must have lasted nearly half an hour.
I sang or whistled “Bonnie Doon,” “Lass o’ Gowrie,” “O’er the Water
to Charlie,” “Bonnie Woods o’ Cragie Lee,” etc., all of which seemed
to be listened to with bright interest, my first Douglas sitting patiently
through it all, with his telling eyes fixed upon me until I ventured to
give the “Old Hundredth,” when he screamed his Indian name,
Pillillooeet, turned tail, and darted with ludicrous haste up the tree
out of sight, his voice and actions in the case leaving a somewhat
profane impression, as if he had said, “I’ll be hanged if you get me to
hear anything so solemn and unpiney.” This acted as a signal for the
general dispersal of the whole hairy tribe, though the birds seemed
willing to wait further developments, music being naturally more in
their line.
What there can be in that grand old church tune that is so
offensive to birds and squirrels I can’t imagine. A year or two after
this High Sierra concert, I was sitting one fine day on a hill in the
Coast Range, where the common Ground Squirrels were abundant.
They were very shy on account of being hunted so much; but after I
had been silent and motionless for half an hour or so they began to
venture out of their holes and to feed on the seeds of the grasses
and thistles around me as if I were no more to be feared than a tree-
stump. Then it occurred to me that this was a good opportunity to
find out whether they also disliked “Old Hundredth.” Therefore I
began to whistle as nearly as I could remember the same familiar
airs that had pleased the mountaineers of the Sierra. They at once
stopped eating, stood erect and listened patiently until I came to “Old
Hundredth,” when with ludicrous haste every one of them rushed in
their holes and bolted in, their feet twinkling in the air for a moment
as they vanished.—From “The Mountains of California,” copyrighted
by The Century Company, New York, and used by their kind
permission.

Nothing small! no lily-muffled hum of a summer-bee, but finds


some coupling with the shining stars; no pebble at your feet but
proves a sphere; no chaffinch, but implies the cherubim. Earth’s
crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God.
—Mrs. Browning.

Every clod feels a stir of might,


An instinct within it that reaches and towers,
And, groping blindly above it for light,
Climbs to a soul in grass and flowers.

—Lowell.

Once or twice in a lifetime we are permitted to enjoy the charm of


noble manners, in the presence of a man or woman who have no bar
in their nature, but whose character emanates freely in their word
and gesture. A beautiful form is better than a beautiful face; a
beautiful behavior is better than a beautiful form: it gives a higher
pleasure than statues or pictures,—it is the finest of the fine arts. A
man is but a little thing in the midst of the objects of nature, yet, by
the moral quality radiating from his countenance, he may abolish all
considerations of magnitude, and in his manners equal the majesty
of the world. I have seen an individual, whose manners, though
wholly within the conventions of elegant society, were never learned
there, but were original and commanding, and held out protection
and prosperity; one who did not need the aid of a court-suit, but
carried the holiday in his eye; who exhilarated the fancy by flinging
wide the doors of new modes of existence; who shook off the
captivity of etiquette, with happy spirited bearing, good-natured and
free as Robin Hood; yet with the port of an emperor, if need be,
calm, serious, and fit to stand the gaze of millions.
—Emerson.

Look at ourselves. Look at man; his reason, intelligence, and


discoveries. Look at him diving into the depths of the ocean,
calculating the eclipses of the sun and moon, and making the
elements subservient to his interest and his wants. Look at his
capacities; review the ten thousand arguments that daily, nay, hourly,
arise, and then tell me if there is the shadow of a doubt that a God, a
retributive God, does rule the whirlwind and direct the storm.
—R. Ricker.

Education is a companion which no misfortune can depress—no


crime can destroy—no enemy can alienate—no despotism enslave.
At home, a friend—abroad, an introduction—in solitude, a solace—
and in society, an ornament. It chastens vice—it guides virtue—it
gives at once grace and government to genius—without it, what is
Man? A splendid slave—a reasoning savage!

Just before Napoleon set out for the court of Belgium, he sent to
the cleverest artisan of his class in Paris, and demanded of him
whether he would engage to make a coat of mail, to be worn under
the ordinary dress, which should be absolutely bullet-proof; and that
if so, he might name his own price for such a work. The man
engaged to make the desired object, if allowed proper time, and he
named eighteen thousand francs as the price of it. The bargain was
concluded, and in due time the work was produced, and its maker
honored with a second audience of the emperor. “Now,” said his
imperial majesty, “put it on.” The man did so. “As I am to stake my
life on its efficacy, you will, I suppose, have no objections to do the
same.” And he took a brace of pistols, and prepared to discharge
one of them at the breast of the astonished artisan. There was no
retreating, however, and half-dead with fear, he stood the fire, and, to
the infinite credit of his work, with perfect impunity. But the emperor
was not content with one trial; he fired the second pistol at the back
of the trembling artisan, and afterwards discharged a fowling-piece
at another part of him, with similar effect. “Well,” said the emperor,
“you have produced a capital work, undoubtedly—what is the price
of it?” “Eighteen thousand francs were named as the agreed sum.”
“There is an order for them,” said the emperor, “and here is another,
for an equal sum, for the fright that I gave you.”

WORK AND THE WORKER


By Theodore Roosevelt
There are any number of different kinds of work we have to do, all
of which have to be done. There is the work of the farmer, the work
of the business man, the work of the skilled mechanic, the work of
the men to whom I owe my safety every day and every night—the
work of the railroad men; the work of the lawyer, the work of the
sailor, the work of the soldier, the work in ten thousand ways; it is all
good work; it does not make any difference what work the man is
doing if he does it well. If the man is a slacker, a shiftless creature, I
wish we could get rid of him. He is of no use. In every occupation
you will find some men whom you will have to carry. You cannot do
much with them. Every one of us will stumble at times, and shame to
the man who does not at such times stretch out a helping hand, but if
the man lies down you cannot carry him to any permanent use. What
I would plead for is that we recognize the fact that all must work, that
we bring up our children to work, so that each respects the other. I
do not care whether a man is a banker or a bricklayer; if he is a good
banker or a good bricklayer he is a good citizen; if he is dishonest, if
he is tricky, if he shirks his job or tries to cheat his neighbor, be he
great or small, be he the poor man cheating the rich man, or the rich
man oppressing the poor man, in either case he is a bad citizen.—
Remarks at Berenda, California, May 18, 1903.

THE MUSIC OF AMERICA


By Roscoe Gilmore Stott
This is the Music of America:
Above the fret of a hundred routine duties and a thousand cares
rises the clarion Soprano. It comes from the joyful throats of millions
of women, blest beyond their sorrowing sisters who dwell on foreign
shores. It is the voice of the clear-eyed schoolgirl, romping her happy
way from a world of books into a gentler world of love; of the self-
reliant sister who is facing the forces of business with spirit
courageous and step that has never learned to falter; of the mother
of a tender brood and, blended into the melody her own heart
makes, the sweet, lisped crooning from the child at her bosom.
The Tenor notes are strong and full of golden promises. They
come from souls that have climbed above the city’s boldest heights.
They come from the souls of self-forgetful men—a proud nation’s
watchers upon her towers whose eager eyes scan the far stretches
that they may guard with loyalty against the perfidy of home or
foreign foes. The Tenor is the united voices of the poets and
philosophers, of the reformers and statesmen—yes, and of all that
growing host who have scaled to the peak of some new Sinai, that
the people may not forget the Almighty’s will concerning them.
Listen, and you will mark the rich, rounded tones of the Contralto
—from the great-hearted organizations of Charity. Mingled into one
vast, sweeping tone—quivering with sympathy, vibrant with a heart’s
best faith—is the voice of the nurse, bending above some frail or
stricken sufferer; the voice of the matron at the threshold of some
gracious Door of Hope; the voice of the orphanage, the voice of the
infirmary, the voice of the rescue mission, the voice of the Salvation
Army, the voice of the Red Cross, the voice of the Christian
Association, the voice of the Church.
And underneath the united harmony of Soprano and Contralto,
under the inspiring silver thread of Tenor, there comes the wonderful
support of all, the basis of a nation’s Song of Hope—the splendid
and terrible contribution of strong-armed, mighty-limbed Labor—the
Bass. In the low, deep resonance of the singer’s rare volume one
may catch a vision of men, stern of visage and powerful in action,
dominated by the happy unity of Will and Service, pouring down into
depths of Mother Earth, that other men may have homes that radiate
a social warmth; a vision of men at forge and flame, at plow and
pruning-hook, at threshing-machine and throttle. The mighty voice
thrills with the shriek of a million factory whistles, of sea and river
craft, of rushing locomotives competing against Time and Space....
Underneath all, the splendid and terrible tones of a giant singer.
So, let us be glad and rejoice! The All-King, as He sits on the
White Throne, marshaling His worlds, pauses. He bends a listening
ear, and surely His heart is made glad with an overpowering
happiness as His ears catch the strains of a grateful people’s
reverence—as He listens to the Music of America!—From The
Ladies Home Journal.

THE VIRTUES OF LOVE


By Saint Paul the Apostle
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have
not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all
mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I
could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I
give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me
nothing.
Charity suffereth long and is kind; charity envieth not; charity
vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly,
seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things,
believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall
fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be
knowledge, it shall vanish away.
For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which
is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I
thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish
things.
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now
I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest
of these is charity.—I Corinthians, XIII.

THE MAJESTY OF THE OCEAN


By “Proteus”
My first view of it was on a clear, but gusty afternoon of autumn.
The winds had been abroad for many hours; and as I looked
seaward from the high promontory, and beheld the long, rough
surges rushing towards me, and listened to their wild roar as they
were flung back from the caverned battlements at my feet, I felt as if
the pillars of the universe were shaken around me, and stood awed
and abashed before the majesty of excited nature. Since then, I have
been on lofty precipices while the thunder-cloud was bursting below
me—have leaned over the trembling brink of Niagara, and walked
within its awful chambers, but the thrill of that moment has never
returned. The feeling of awe, however, gradually gave place to an
intense but pleasing emotion, and I longed to spring away from the
tame and trodden earth, to that wild, mysterious world, whose
strange scenes broke so magnificently upon my vision. No wonder
that our first roving impulses are towards the ocean. No wonder that
the romance and adventurous spirit of youth deems lightly of
hardship and peril, when aroused by its stirring presentations. There
is something so winning in the multiplied superstitions of its hardy
wanderers—something so fascinating in its calm beauty, and so
animating in its stormy recklessness, that the ties of country and
kindred sit looser at our hearts, as curiosity whispers of its unseen
wonders. In after years, when the bloom of existence has lost much
of its brightness, when curiosity has become enervated, and the
powers of the imagination palsied, where do we sooner return to
renew their former pleasing excitement, than to our remembered
haunts by the ocean? We leave behind us all the splendor and
magnificence of art, all the voluptuous gratifications of society—we
break from the banquet and the dance, and fly away to the solitary
cliffs, where the sea-bird hides her nest. There the cares,
perplexities, and rude jostlings of opposing interests are for a while
forgotten. There the turmoil of human intercourse disquiets no
longer. There the sweat and dust of the crowded city are dispelled as
the cool sea-breeze comes gently athwart our feverish brow. In the
exhilaration of the scene, the blood gathers purer at the heart—its
pulse-beat is softer, and we feel once more a newness of life,
amounting almost to a transport. Delightful remembrances, that lie
buried up under the dross of the past, are reanimated, and the
charm, the peace, and the freshness of life’s morning innocence
again finds in our bosom a welcome and a home. The elastic spring
of boyhood is in our step as we chase the receding wave along the
white beach, or leap wildly into its glassy depths. In the low, billowy
murmur that steals out upon the air, our ear catches the pleasant,
but long unheard music of other years, like the remembered voice of
a departed companion; and while leaning over some beetling crag,
glorious visions pass, thronging before our eyes, as, in fancy, we
rove through the coral groves, where the mermaids have their
emerald bower, or gaze at the hidden beauties, the uncoveted gems,
and the glittering argosies that repose amid the stilly waters. The
soul goes forth, as it were, to the hallowed and undefiled temples of
nature, to be purified of its earthly contamination. She takes to
herself wings, and flies away to the “uttermost parts of the sea,” and
even there she hears the voice of the Divine, witnesses the
manifestations of His power, experiences the kind guardianship of
His presence, and returns cheered and invigorated to renew her
weary pilgrimage.

THE GRAY DAYS


By Robert J. Burdette
You don’t love the gray days now. You want the sunshiny days, the
roses and the carnations. Let me tell you, children, you will love the
gray days just as well when they come. Some day, when the heart is
wearied, when the eyes are hot and tired and dry with weeping,
when the face is burned by the noonday sun, you will know how like
a kiss of blessedness from heaven comes the soft, cool touch of the
mist, creeping up out of the sea or coming down over the mountain,
until it folds you as the wings of a dove, and shuts you in with peace
and rest and hope, and the tenderness of God. Oh, you will thank
God again and again for the gray days.

THE PRESENT CRISIS


By James Russell Lowell

When a deed is done for Freedom, through the broad earth’s aching
breast
Runs a thrill of joy prophetic, trembling on from east to west,
And the slave, where’er he cowers, feels the soul within him climb
To the awful verge of manhood, as the energy sublime
Of a century bursts full-blossomed on the thorny stem of Time.

Through the walls of hut and palace shoots the instantaneous throe,
When the travail of the Ages wrings earth’s systems to and fro;
At the birth of each new Era, with a recognizing start,
Nation wildly looks at nation, standing with mute lips apart,
And glad Truth’s yet mightier man-child leaps beneath the Future’s
heart.
So the Evil’s triumph sendeth, with a terror and a chill,
Under continent to continent, the sense of coming ill,
And the slave, where’er he cowers, feels his sympathies with God
In hot tear-drops ebbing earthward, to be drunk up by the sod,
Till a corpse crawls round unburied, delving in the nobler clod.

For mankind are one in spirit, and an instinct bears along


Round the earth’s electric circle, the swift flash of right or wrong
Whether conscious or unconscious, yet Humanity’s vast frame
Through its ocean-sundered fibers feels the gush of joy or shame:—
In the gain or loss of one race all the rest have equal claim.

Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide,


In the strife of Truth with Falsehood, for the good or evil side;
Some great cause, God’s new Messiah offering each the bloom or
blight
Parts the goats upon the left hand, and the sheep upon the right,
And the choice goes by forever ’twixt that darkness and that light.

Hast thou chosen, O my people, in whose party thou shalt stand,


Ere the Doom from its worn sandals shakes the dust against our
land?
Though the cause of Evil prosper, yet ’tis Truth alone is strong,
And, albeit she wander outcast now, I see around her throng
Troops of beautiful, tall angels, to enshield her from all wrong.

Backward look across the ages and the beacon-moments see,


That, like peaks of some sunk continent, jut through Oblivion’s sea;
Not an ear in court or market for the low foreboding cry
Of those crises, God’s stern winnowers, from whose feet earth’s
chaff must fly,
Never shows the choice momentous till the judgment hath passed
by.

Careless seems the great Avenger; history’s pages but record


One death-grapple in the darkness ’twixt old systems and the Word;
Truth forever on the scaffold, Wrong forever on the throne,—
Yet that scaffold sways the future, and, behind the dim unknown,

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