Personal Religion in Domestic Contexts During the New Kingdom : The Impact of the Amarna Period

This study has three main themes: the definition of personal religion and religious domestic practices from a theoretical perspective; the description and analysis of the main archaeological and anthropological evidence; and, on that basis, the study of the impact of the Amarna period in the development of personal religion during the New Kingdom.

Personal religion in Domestic Contexts during the New Kingdom compiles artefacts and fixed emplacements in domestic settings during the New Kingdom in ancient Egypt that, from a comparative approach, are interpreted as examples of religious practices, contributing to the study of the so-called ‘Archaeology of Religion’. By including the two main and best preserved sites for this research, namely Tell el-Amarna and Deir el-Medina, parallel cases for other sites with similar features are provided. At the same time, particular topics are explored throughout the book, including early evidence of personal religion as well as questions referring to the socioeconomic roles of the inhabitants of such main sites. Overall, there are three main themes: the definition of personal religion and religious domestic practices from a theoretical perspective; the description and analysis of the main archaeological and anthropological evidence; and, on that basis, the study of the impact of the Amarna period in the development of personal religion during the New Kingdom.