Articles and book chapters - main list by Claire Newton
Agronomy, 2021
The first exploited and domesticated olive forms are still unknown. The exceptionally wellpreserv... more The first exploited and domesticated olive forms are still unknown. The exceptionally wellpreserved stones from the submerged Hishuley Carmel site (Israel), dating from the middle of the 7th millennium BP, offer us the opportunity to study the oldest table olives discovered so far. We apply a geometrical morphometric analysis in reference to a collection of modern stones from supposed wild populations and traditional varieties of various origins, genetic lineages and uses. Analyses carried out on modern material allow to characterize the extent of stone morphological variation in the olive tree and differentiate distinct morphotypes. They also allow to discuss the status of supposed wild populations and interpret the divergence between groups of varieties and their wild progenitors in an evolutionary and biogeographical perspective. Shape of archaeological stones compared to the differentiation model, unveils morphological traits of olives most likely belonging to both wild olive trees and domesticated forms, some of them showing a notable domestication syndrome. This forms at the early stages of domestications, some of which surprisingly morphologically close to modern varieties, were probably used for dual use (production of olive oil and table olives), and possibly contributed to the dispersion of the olive tree throughout the Mediterranean Basin and to its subsequent diversification.
Thetis, 2021
The 2019 excavation season was the largest in terms of numbers of sta and workmen, and the longe... more The 2019 excavation season was the largest in terms of numbers of sta and workmen, and the longest since the initiation of the project in 1994. The project excavated all or portions of 19 trenches in ve areas of the site ranging in date from the Ptolemaic era to the 4th-5th centuries AD. Investigated areas included Ptolemaic-era water channels, Roman period necropoleis for humans and animals, and a large monument at the intersection of a major north- south/east-west street. Excavations especially focused on the Isis temple and on a quarter to the north that seems to have had, at least in part, a religious purpose. Also brie y surveyed were areas north of the city that had previously been unrecorded. Noteworthy nds from the excavation included impressive architectural remains, numerous and varied inscriptions on stone, among them one recording the name of a Blemmye king, and donations made to the Isis temple, and numerous sculptural nds in metal, stone and wood. Some of the stone sculpture, both relief and in the round, included images of Buddha and other South Asian deities. Examination on site of malacological and botanical (including wood) remains provided additional insights regarding life at this ancient Red Sea emporium.
Ce livre est issu des réunions d'un groupe de travail informel mais stable depuis 2012. Cette for... more Ce livre est issu des réunions d'un groupe de travail informel mais stable depuis 2012. Cette formule originale a été rendue possible par le soutien du Labex Transfers. Michel Espagne, directeur du Labex, sait combien le financement de la recherche fondamentale en sciences humaines et sociales doit passer, pour être fructueux, par un soutien modeste mais certain, offrant la sécurité du travail à moyen terme sans forcément apporter de suite des résultats entièrement neufs. Nous devons tout à cette vision radicalement opposée aux déclarations courantes et méprisantes sur le "saupoudrage". Annabelle Milleville a porté et appliqué cette vision, avec son efficacité et sa gentillesse coutumières, assurant à ce Labex un succès sans égal, dont ce livre ne montre qu'une infime partie. Le soutien du laboratoire AOrOc (UMR 8546) et de son directeur Stéphane Verger fut sans faille, tout comme celui du Collège de France, pour lequel Jean-Pierre Brun a toute notre reconnaissance.
Weeks et al 2019 Dating persistent short-term human activity at Saruq al-Hadid, 2019
The archaeological site of Saruq al-Hadid, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, presents a long sequence ... more The archaeological site of Saruq al-Hadid, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, presents a long sequence of persistent temporary human occupation on the northern edge of the Rub' al-Khali desert. The site is located in active dune fields, and evidence for human activity is stratified within a deep sequence of natural dune deposits that reflect complex taphonomic processes of deposition, erosion and reworking. This study presents the results of a program of radiocarbon (14 C) and thermoluminescence dating on deposits from Saruq al-Hadid, allied with studies of material remains, which are amalgamated with the results of earlier absolute dating studies provide a robust chronology for the use of the site from the Bronze Age to the Islamic period. The results of the dating program allow the various expressions of human activity at the site-ranging from subsistence activities such as hunting and herding, to multi-community ritual activities and large scale metallurgical extraction-to be better situated chronologically, and thus in relation to current debates regarding the development of late prehistoric and early historic societies in southeastern Arabia.
Freely available at: Available at: http://books.openedition.org/cdf/5252
Here the pdf of only th... more Freely available at: Available at: http://books.openedition.org/cdf/5252
Here the pdf of only the first 7 pages are uploaded.
The Eastern Desert of Egypt, located between the Nile and the Red Sea, has a mean annual rainfall of just 5mm and is today classified as hyper-arid, and these arid conditions were already in place well before the start of the Roman period (Zahran and Willis 1992). Consequently, vegetation is sparse, except in some well-watered wadis, and the region has seen neither agriculture nor permanent occupation during the last 10,000 years. The Eastern Desert is, however, rich in precious resources, ranging from gold and emeralds used in jewellery and other valuable objects, to high quality stone used for building, for statuary, for baths, basins and sarcophagi, employed largely in imperial prestige projects. Additionally, one of the main wadis, the Wadi Hammamat, offers an accessible way through the mountains from the Nile to the Red Sea coast, and this route has been used at least since pharaonic times; in the Roman period it formed the main route to the port of Myos Hormos (Sidebotham et al. 2008). The scarcity of water, the extreme heat and the lack of locally available foodstuffs make for a harsh environment and travel in or through the region was and is difficult and unforgiving. Nevertheless, the region was a hive of activity during the early Roman period, with the development of two major ports for the trade with India (already established during the Ptolemaic period), several quarries and mines, as well as roads and service stations to supply these. The inhabitants of these sites came from both Egypt and other parts of the Roman Empire, and included soldiers and their superiors, specialist and unskilled workmen, crafts people, passing merchants, wives, prostitutes, and possibly some slaves (e.g. Cuvigny 2003a and b, 2005). So what was life like for the people working at the ports and quarries, and at the service stations? Were they living a life of bitter hardship, away from family and friends and without the trappings of standard aspects of Roman life? Were they far removed from Roman culture, living as they did in a remote region of the Empire? Or was their work so essential to the core of the Empire that they were well-integrated and provided for?
During the last 30 years many archaeological projects have addressed this and other questions, and many of the results are presented in this volume. This paper focuses on one key aspect: food. What did the people working at these various sites eat and how did they obtain their food? How varied was their diet, do we see differences between the various sites, and how did their diet compare with that of people living in the Nile Valley and other parts of the Egypt? Here the botanical remains of foodstuffs, recovered in abundance from the rubbish heaps associated with the archaeological sites, are synthesized and discussed. Such remains are available from 10 sites, all dating to the 1st - early/mid-3rd century AD, though some were occupied before or after this. The supply of meat and other animal protein is discussed by Martine Leguilloux (this volume).
N.B. Only first 7 pages are uploaded. Full text can be accessed at:
World Archaeology, 2018
In this paper, the authors use the site of Saruq al-Hadid – a 'persistent temporary place' locate... more In this paper, the authors use the site of Saruq al-Hadid – a 'persistent temporary place' located in the mobile dune fields of the north eastern edge of the Rub' al-Khali desert – as a lens to focus discussion on the variable nature of temporary sites and mobile adaptations within the archaeology of southeastern Arabia, the relationships between temporary sites and permanent settlements, and the evidence for collective events and gatherings from later prehistory into the Islamic period. They discuss evolving arguments regarding sedentary and mobile sites and groups in Arabia from the Neolithic period to the Iron Age, and summarize the material record of human activity at Saruq al-Hadid. This research emphasizes the site's changing significance as a temporary place and its emergence, in the early Iron Age, as a locus for periodic interaction between multiple community groups.
Bouchaud C., Clapham A., Newton C., Tallet G., Thanheiser U. 2018. Cottoning on to Cotton (Gossyp... more Bouchaud C., Clapham A., Newton C., Tallet G., Thanheiser U. 2018. Cottoning on to Cotton (Gossypium spp.) in Arabia and Africa During Antiquity, in Mercuri A., D'Andrea C., Fornaciari R., Höhn A. (eds.) Plants and Humans in the African Past. Springer. p. 380-426.
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-89839-1_18
Human Ecology, 2018
Vincent Battesti, Muriel Gros-Balthazard, Clémence Ogéron, Sarah Ivorra, Jean-Frédéric Terral, C... more Vincent Battesti, Muriel Gros-Balthazard, Clémence Ogéron, Sarah Ivorra, Jean-Frédéric Terral, Claire Newton 2018. Date Palm Agrobiodiversity (Phoenix dactylifera L.) in Siwa Oasis, Egypt: Combining Ethnography, Morphometry, and Genetics. Human Ecology.
We evaluate date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) agrobiodiversity of Siwa oasis, Egypt, located at the crossroads of
ancient Trans-Saharan routes, focusing on diversity both as expressed and maintained by the folk categorization
system of Siwa inhabitants (through an ethnographic analysis) and as described by genetic sciences and a morphometric
tool based on size and geometry of seeds. We verified that some named types are true cultivars, sharing not
only a formal identity, important for Isiwan people, but also a genetic identity. However, we also confirm the
existence of Bethnovarieties,^ i.e., voluntary collections of multiple clones sharing phenotypic characteristics with
the same local name, suggesting the genetic richness is higher than the apparent agrobiodiversity estimated by a
superficial ethnobotanical approach. Finally, our research offers new insights on the relative importance of feral and
cultivated date palms.
In Jean-Pierre Brun, Thomas Faucher, Bérangère Redon, Steven Sidebotham (eds.) Le désert oriental... more In Jean-Pierre Brun, Thomas Faucher, Bérangère Redon, Steven Sidebotham (eds.) Le désert oriental d'Égypte durant la période gréco-romaine : bilans archéologiques. Publisher: Collège de France.
Available for free online at this link:
https://books.openedition.org/cdf/5170
Le désert oriental d’Égypte durant la période gréco-romaine : bilans archéologiques, 2018
Asa Koma, Site Néolithique dans le bassin du Gobaad (République de Djibouti), 2017
In Gutherz X. (dir.), Asa Koma, Site Néolithique dans le bassin du Gobaad (République de Djibouti... more In Gutherz X. (dir.), Asa Koma, Site Néolithique dans le bassin du Gobaad (République de Djibouti). Presses Universitaires de la Méditerranée, Montpellier, p. 205-214.
Gros-Balthazard M., Galimberti M., Kousathanas A., Newton C., Ivorra S., Paradis L., Vigouroux Y.... more Gros-Balthazard M., Galimberti M., Kousathanas A., Newton C., Ivorra S., Paradis L., Vigouroux Y., Carter R., Tengberg M., Battesti V., Santoni S., Falquet L., Pintaud J.-C., Terral J.-F., Wegmann D. 2017 (in press) The Discovery of Wild Date Palms in Oman Reveals a Complex Domestication History Involving Centers in the Middle East and Africa. Current Biology 27: 1-8. (in press)
Gros-Balthazard et al. report the discovery of wild date palms, the
ancestral species of one of the oldest cultivated fruit trees and the cornerstone of the oasis agricultural system for thousands of years. Comparing the genomes of wild and modern date palms reveals a secondary domestication event in Africa, but only weak artificial selection.
Weeks L., Cable C., Franke K., Newton C., Karacic S., Stepanov I., Roberts J., Price D., David-Cu... more Weeks L., Cable C., Franke K., Newton C., Karacic S., Stepanov I., Roberts J., Price D., David-Cuny H., Bukhash R.M., Boraik M.R.K., Zein H., 2017. Recent archaeological research at Saruq al-Hadid, Dubai, U.A.E. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 28: 31-60.
Investigating crop origins is a priority to understand the evolution of plants under domestica-ti... more Investigating crop origins is a priority to understand the evolution of plants under domestica-tion, develop strategies for conservation and valorization of agrobiodiversity and acquire fundamental knowledge for cultivar improvement. The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) belongs to the genus Phoenix, which comprises 14 species morphologically very close, sometimes hardly distinguishable. It has been cultivated for millennia in the Middle East and in North Africa and constitutes the keystone of oasis agriculture. Yet, its origins remain poorly understood as no wild populations are identified. Uncultivated populations have been described but they might represent feral, i.e. formerly cultivated, abandoned forms rather than truly wild populations. In this context, this study based on morphometrics applied to 1625 Phoenix seeds aims to (1) differentiate Phoenix species and (2) depict the domestication syndrome observed in cultivated date palm seeds using other Phoenix species as a " wild " reference. This will help discriminate truly wild from feral forms, thus providing new insights into the evolutionary history of this species. Seed size was evaluated using four parameters: length, width, thickness and dorsal view surface. Seed shape was quantified using outline analyses based on the Elliptic Fourier Transform method. The size and shape of seeds allowed an accurate differentiation of Phoenix species. The cultivated date palm shows distinctive size and shape features, compared to other Phoenix species: seeds are longer and elongated. This morphological shift may be interpreted as a domestication syndrome, resulting from the long-term history of cultivation, selection and human-mediated dispersion. Based on seed attributes, some uncultivated date palms from Oman may be identified as wild. This opens new prospects regarding the possible existence and characterization of relict wild populations and consequently for the understanding of the date palm origins. Finally, we here describe a pipeline for the identification of the domestication syndrome in seeds that could be used in other crops.
The cultivation of the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) has a long history in the arid regions ... more The cultivation of the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) has a long history in the arid regions of the Old World where the species constitutes the main element in oasis agrosystems. The earliest examples of the use of date palm date to the end of the 6th and the beginning of the 5th millennia B.C. and come from the Persian Gulf region. However, the precise status – cultivated or wild – of the date palms represented by the carbonised seeds found in these sites is difficult to establish. On the contrary, date palm cultivation seems to have been generalised in the arid regions of the Middle East (Mesopotamia, eastern Arabia, South-east Iran) during the 4th millennium B.C. when textual mentions and archaeobotanical finds of date palm increase. In association with other cultivated plants, the date palm then constitutes the centrepiece of irrigated and diversified agrosystems of oasis type. In Egypt, besides a few and rather uncertain Prehistoric occurrences, the date palm seems to have been cultivated or exploited occasionally since the Old Kingdom (c. 2700-220 B.C.). However, it is during the New Kingdom (c. 1500-1000 B.C.) that date palm cultivation increases in importance and becomes, in the 1st millennium B.C. one the main activities in the oases in the Libyan Desert. Despite its historic and economic importance the origin and various aspects of the domestication of the date palm are still not well known. In the present article we raise the question of the relationship between cultivated and wild palm trees by describing the human practices that define date palm cultivation and their effect on the species. Practices of artificial pollination and multiplication of chosen phenotypes by vegetative reproduction are discussed in particular. Finally, the text briefly discusses the relationship between the date palm and the twelve other species of the genus Phoenix. The fact that the natural distribution range of several of these species (P. sylvestris (L.)Roxb., P. reclinata Jacq., P. caespitosa Chiov. and P. theophrasti Greuter) overlap with that of the cultivated date palm makes it necessary to take into account, during archaeobotanical analysis, that past populations may have used other palm species besides Phoenix dactylifera.
Vegetation History and Archaeobotany
Charred archaeological stones of Olea europaea L. (olive) from Late Bronze Age Ugarit, Syria, wer... more Charred archaeological stones of Olea europaea L. (olive) from Late Bronze Age Ugarit, Syria, were analyzed with geometric morphometry and compared with a morphological differentiation model established on the basis of analyses of modern spontaneous (uncultivated) olive populations and cultivated varieties of various origins within the Mediterranean Basin. The results allow a reinterpretation of the east–west morphological diversity previously observed in wild olives. The archaeobotanical data were compared in detail to the partly geographically structured modern morphological diversity of the cultivated olive. Ancient morphotypes could be distinguished, among which one is dominant in the assemblage. Their diffusion from east to west is shown, and their time of arrival in the northwestern Mediterranean can be evaluated by comparison to archaeological material from that area. Combining morphometric and genetic data, modern reference and archaeological material also guides us in understanding the mechanisms that prevailed in the long-term agrobiodiversity of the olive.
Revue d'Ethnoécologie, Dec 2013
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Articles and book chapters - main list by Claire Newton
Here the pdf of only the first 7 pages are uploaded.
The Eastern Desert of Egypt, located between the Nile and the Red Sea, has a mean annual rainfall of just 5mm and is today classified as hyper-arid, and these arid conditions were already in place well before the start of the Roman period (Zahran and Willis 1992). Consequently, vegetation is sparse, except in some well-watered wadis, and the region has seen neither agriculture nor permanent occupation during the last 10,000 years. The Eastern Desert is, however, rich in precious resources, ranging from gold and emeralds used in jewellery and other valuable objects, to high quality stone used for building, for statuary, for baths, basins and sarcophagi, employed largely in imperial prestige projects. Additionally, one of the main wadis, the Wadi Hammamat, offers an accessible way through the mountains from the Nile to the Red Sea coast, and this route has been used at least since pharaonic times; in the Roman period it formed the main route to the port of Myos Hormos (Sidebotham et al. 2008). The scarcity of water, the extreme heat and the lack of locally available foodstuffs make for a harsh environment and travel in or through the region was and is difficult and unforgiving. Nevertheless, the region was a hive of activity during the early Roman period, with the development of two major ports for the trade with India (already established during the Ptolemaic period), several quarries and mines, as well as roads and service stations to supply these. The inhabitants of these sites came from both Egypt and other parts of the Roman Empire, and included soldiers and their superiors, specialist and unskilled workmen, crafts people, passing merchants, wives, prostitutes, and possibly some slaves (e.g. Cuvigny 2003a and b, 2005). So what was life like for the people working at the ports and quarries, and at the service stations? Were they living a life of bitter hardship, away from family and friends and without the trappings of standard aspects of Roman life? Were they far removed from Roman culture, living as they did in a remote region of the Empire? Or was their work so essential to the core of the Empire that they were well-integrated and provided for?
During the last 30 years many archaeological projects have addressed this and other questions, and many of the results are presented in this volume. This paper focuses on one key aspect: food. What did the people working at these various sites eat and how did they obtain their food? How varied was their diet, do we see differences between the various sites, and how did their diet compare with that of people living in the Nile Valley and other parts of the Egypt? Here the botanical remains of foodstuffs, recovered in abundance from the rubbish heaps associated with the archaeological sites, are synthesized and discussed. Such remains are available from 10 sites, all dating to the 1st - early/mid-3rd century AD, though some were occupied before or after this. The supply of meat and other animal protein is discussed by Martine Leguilloux (this volume).
N.B. Only first 7 pages are uploaded. Full text can be accessed at:
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-89839-1_18
We evaluate date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) agrobiodiversity of Siwa oasis, Egypt, located at the crossroads of
ancient Trans-Saharan routes, focusing on diversity both as expressed and maintained by the folk categorization
system of Siwa inhabitants (through an ethnographic analysis) and as described by genetic sciences and a morphometric
tool based on size and geometry of seeds. We verified that some named types are true cultivars, sharing not
only a formal identity, important for Isiwan people, but also a genetic identity. However, we also confirm the
existence of Bethnovarieties,^ i.e., voluntary collections of multiple clones sharing phenotypic characteristics with
the same local name, suggesting the genetic richness is higher than the apparent agrobiodiversity estimated by a
superficial ethnobotanical approach. Finally, our research offers new insights on the relative importance of feral and
cultivated date palms.
Available for free online at this link:
https://books.openedition.org/cdf/5170
Gros-Balthazard et al. report the discovery of wild date palms, the
ancestral species of one of the oldest cultivated fruit trees and the cornerstone of the oasis agricultural system for thousands of years. Comparing the genomes of wild and modern date palms reveals a secondary domestication event in Africa, but only weak artificial selection.
Here the pdf of only the first 7 pages are uploaded.
The Eastern Desert of Egypt, located between the Nile and the Red Sea, has a mean annual rainfall of just 5mm and is today classified as hyper-arid, and these arid conditions were already in place well before the start of the Roman period (Zahran and Willis 1992). Consequently, vegetation is sparse, except in some well-watered wadis, and the region has seen neither agriculture nor permanent occupation during the last 10,000 years. The Eastern Desert is, however, rich in precious resources, ranging from gold and emeralds used in jewellery and other valuable objects, to high quality stone used for building, for statuary, for baths, basins and sarcophagi, employed largely in imperial prestige projects. Additionally, one of the main wadis, the Wadi Hammamat, offers an accessible way through the mountains from the Nile to the Red Sea coast, and this route has been used at least since pharaonic times; in the Roman period it formed the main route to the port of Myos Hormos (Sidebotham et al. 2008). The scarcity of water, the extreme heat and the lack of locally available foodstuffs make for a harsh environment and travel in or through the region was and is difficult and unforgiving. Nevertheless, the region was a hive of activity during the early Roman period, with the development of two major ports for the trade with India (already established during the Ptolemaic period), several quarries and mines, as well as roads and service stations to supply these. The inhabitants of these sites came from both Egypt and other parts of the Roman Empire, and included soldiers and their superiors, specialist and unskilled workmen, crafts people, passing merchants, wives, prostitutes, and possibly some slaves (e.g. Cuvigny 2003a and b, 2005). So what was life like for the people working at the ports and quarries, and at the service stations? Were they living a life of bitter hardship, away from family and friends and without the trappings of standard aspects of Roman life? Were they far removed from Roman culture, living as they did in a remote region of the Empire? Or was their work so essential to the core of the Empire that they were well-integrated and provided for?
During the last 30 years many archaeological projects have addressed this and other questions, and many of the results are presented in this volume. This paper focuses on one key aspect: food. What did the people working at these various sites eat and how did they obtain their food? How varied was their diet, do we see differences between the various sites, and how did their diet compare with that of people living in the Nile Valley and other parts of the Egypt? Here the botanical remains of foodstuffs, recovered in abundance from the rubbish heaps associated with the archaeological sites, are synthesized and discussed. Such remains are available from 10 sites, all dating to the 1st - early/mid-3rd century AD, though some were occupied before or after this. The supply of meat and other animal protein is discussed by Martine Leguilloux (this volume).
N.B. Only first 7 pages are uploaded. Full text can be accessed at:
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-89839-1_18
We evaluate date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) agrobiodiversity of Siwa oasis, Egypt, located at the crossroads of
ancient Trans-Saharan routes, focusing on diversity both as expressed and maintained by the folk categorization
system of Siwa inhabitants (through an ethnographic analysis) and as described by genetic sciences and a morphometric
tool based on size and geometry of seeds. We verified that some named types are true cultivars, sharing not
only a formal identity, important for Isiwan people, but also a genetic identity. However, we also confirm the
existence of Bethnovarieties,^ i.e., voluntary collections of multiple clones sharing phenotypic characteristics with
the same local name, suggesting the genetic richness is higher than the apparent agrobiodiversity estimated by a
superficial ethnobotanical approach. Finally, our research offers new insights on the relative importance of feral and
cultivated date palms.
Available for free online at this link:
https://books.openedition.org/cdf/5170
Gros-Balthazard et al. report the discovery of wild date palms, the
ancestral species of one of the oldest cultivated fruit trees and the cornerstone of the oasis agricultural system for thousands of years. Comparing the genomes of wild and modern date palms reveals a secondary domestication event in Africa, but only weak artificial selection.
http://ethnoecologie.revues.org/1216
Le palmier dattier (Phoenix dactylifera L.) constitue une espèce emblématique des régions chaudes et arides de l’Ancien Monde où il est cultivé depuis la Préhistoire. Malgré son rôle économique primordial, en tant qu’espèce nourricière et élément structurant dans les cultures en palmeraie, son origine et l’histoire ancienne de son exploitation avaient jusqu’alors fait l’objet de très peu de recherches. Dans le numéro spécial proposé pour publication, nous avons rassemblé dix textes qui abordent ces thématiques de perspectives très diverses, reflétant les travaux des auteurs venant d’horizons disciplinaires variés. Les questions centrales sont celles de la domestication et de la culture ancienne du palmier dattier, approchées par l’archéologie, l’archéobotanique, la morphométrie géométrique, la génétique et l’iconographie. À ces perspectives historiques sur le palmier dattier s’ajoutent des réflexion sur les modes contemporain de gestion de cette agrobiodiversité et des ressource en eau en palmeraie oasienne, toujours dans cette même région, entre l’Égypte et la péninsule arabique.
http://ethnoecologie.revues.org/1575
This article is a presentation of the issue "The Date palm: Origin and cultivation in the Middle East and in Egypt", Revue d'ethnoécologie, vol. 4, 2013
Le présent ouvrage vient conclure un ambitieux programme d’inventaire de la documentation de ces fouilles conservée dans plusieurs institutions françaises et égyptiennes. L’ensemble des résultats obtenus à l’issue des campagnes de recherche de 1975-1976 et 1977 est ici réexaminé à la lumière d’un sondage d’évaluation stratigraphique effectué en 2015, dont le mobilier archéologique est analysé par une dizaine de spécialistes.
Bien que la séquence des constructions et des occupations de la cour du Xe pylône reste très proche de celle restituée initialement par le fouilleur, les analyses récentes permettent de réviser en profondeur la chronologie du site, et se révèlent essentielles pour la connaissance de l’histoire urbaine de Thèbes.