Volume
57 Number 4
December 1994
Feature: Beetles in Stone: The Egyptian Scarab
186 Beetles in Stone: The Egyptian
Scarab
William A. Ward
A common beetle played an uncommon
role in ancient Egyptian culture. Extraordinarily frequent as an artistic motif,
the dung beetle's name and image portrayed the idea of birth, of life, and especially
the second birth into eternal existence. What was so captivating about the dung
beetle? As a powerful amulet, a seal, or piece of jewelry, the scarab also boasted
a tremendous popularity beyond Egypt. Such popularity presents archaeology with
intriguing, but complex possibilities for taking the measure of these "beetles
in stone."
203 The Fortresses at 'En Haseva Rudolph Cohen
Excavations are beginning to unearth a singularly impressive series of superimposed
fortress buildings near one of the most abundant springs in the Arabah Valley
of Israel. Five occupation levels stretch from the Byzantine and Early Islamic
Periods through the Roman and Nabataean Periods all the Way to the Eighth century
of the Iron Age. Located strategically at the intersection of routes, 'En Haseva
began its life as a royal outpost so significant that it may even have left a
memory of its name.
215 What's in a name: The Anonymity of Ancient
Umm el-Jimal
Bert de Vries
"Mother of Camels" is only
one reading of the modern name of this stark and intriguing basalt-built settlement.
Its ancient name? None of the tantalizing possibilities in the literary sources
checks out. The ancient site will have to remain anonymous, with only the residues
of its inhabitants' lives witnessing to their identity.
220 The Woman
Question and Female Ascetics Among Essenes
Linda Bennett Elder
Were not the Essenes at Qumran celibate males? The presumption of a celibate male
population on the shores of the Dead Sea continues to rule scholarly imaginations.
But what about the skeletons of females in the cemeteries? And what about the
textual references to liturgies involving women? Do not all the signs point to
the presence of female ascetics at Qumran?
236 News, Notes, and Reviews
The Walls of Jerusalem. With its continuous urban occupation, extending
back to the 20th century BCE, the city of Jerusalem offers a crucial case-study
in urban development and spatial symbolism. A new, detailed analysis of its successive
walls and gates by G. J. Wightman reveals Jerusalem's complex and often bloody
history written in the city's mortar and stone.
On the cover: Numerous schematic representations of Egyptian design scarabs animate the background for three examples of the modification of the scarab outside of Egypt: the highly ornamental Phoenician scarab (top) and two European examples--Etruscan and Greek scarabs with obvious motifs from the classical repertoire.