A 4,000-year-old handprint was discovered on the base of a clay model during preparations for an exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, The Independent reported. The handprint was found on the bottom of the miniature clay building, which was designed for burial and would be placed inside a tomb.
The clay model dates from approximately 2055–1650 BCE and represents a two-story building supported by columns. Analysis indicates that the potter first created a structure of wooden sticks and then covered it with clay to form the building. During firing, the wooden framework burnt away, leaving empty spaces in its place. Staircases on the model were formed by pinching the wet clay.
"Rare and exciting" is how Helen Strudwick, Senior Egyptologist at the Fitzwilliam Museum, described the complete handprint. "I have never seen such a complete handprint on an Egyptian object before," Strudwick told The Independent. She added, "You can imagine the person who made this, picking it up to carry it out of the workshop to dry before firing."
Researchers believe the handprint was likely left by the potter who touched the clay before it was dry, possibly when moving the house from the workshop to dry before firing in a kiln.
The artifact had an open front area where food items were placed; in this example, there were loaves of bread, lettuce, and an ox's head. Historians assume that food was left as an offering in soul houses, possibly acting as offering trays or providing a place for the soul within the tomb. The models were built so that the soul of the deceased could continue to live in them.
The soul house will be on display in the Fitzwilliam Museum's exhibition Made in Ancient Egypt, which opens to the public on October 3, 2023. The exhibition intends to shed light on the artisans and their achievements in ancient Egypt.
"Things like this take you directly to the moment when the object was made and to the person who made it, which is the focus of our exhibition," Strudwick remarked. She noted the importance of the discovery within the study of ancient Egypt.
The handprint was discovered when Fitzwilliam Museum conservators examined the structure under different lighting conditions. "People often don't look at the undersides of objects, so the handprint was not something we had ever noticed until it was pointed out by our most senior conservator Julie Dawson," Strudwick said.
Pottery was widely used in ancient Egypt, mostly for functional items but sometimes as decorative pieces. Artisans were members of ancient Egyptian society, decorating the tombs and creating the objects that have engendered fascination with this period of history across the world.
Excavations at sites such as Deir el-Medina—a workers’ town in Luxor, near the Valley of the Kings—have offered insight into the way in which craftspeople worked, lived, and conversed. The exhibition will bring together objects ranging from ostraca—small pieces of ceramic or stone used to document sometimes humorous, everyday exchanges—to intricately decorated mummy cases and glassware.
Strudwick expressed interest in examining other soul houses for similar marks. "It would be interesting to see whether other soul houses have handprints under them too. We have another soul house from the same site in our collection—we will be taking a look soon," she told The Art Newspaper.
The Fitzwilliam Museum's example of a soul house was discovered at a site called Deir Rifa, about 280 km north of Luxor. Soul houses were placed directly over the burial shaft, which suggests that they were a replacement for tomb chapels for people who couldn't afford anything like that, although there may also be a connection to the idea of the dead being able to return to their homes.
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