[Auto-generated transcript. Edits may have been applied for clarity.] In this paper, I am going to discuss the pottery oil lamps that were recovered from the purchase of Alexandria,
with a special emphasis on those coming from the decrease of the ICM.
I will only briefly consider questions of chronology and typology,
and mainly focus on the lamps function and significance in the specific context of the temple to ISIS.
Only as a reminder,
we will note that the assume in red on the map was erected during the Ptolemaic dynasty on the second branch of the island of until her death,
which, according to Strabo, was part of a private royal domain.
Evidence suggests that Augustus maintained the temple after the fall of the dynasty in 31 BC,
but made it accessible to the general population of the city.
As indicated by both pottery and coins. The whole complex was destroyed by natural catastrophe probably around the middle of the first century A.D.,
leaving a thick destruction layer of accumulated limestone blocks and architectural remains,
mainly on the western side of the island branch, as seen on the bathymetric map above.
This is where most excavation efforts concentrated over the years.
However, in 2024, the eastern side of the island revealed a series of clear stratigraphic levels that could be followed over a surface of about 36m².
The deepest occupation layer for the little shimmer dates from the early third to the mid second century BC,
presumably corresponding to the earliest phase of the temple.
In most squares, this stratum is separated from the destruction level by a sterile some layer of running thickness,
which is like layer three in the diagram.
Now. One of the characteristics of the item is a high quantity of flops that were found there.
According to the excavations database, a total of 151 ceramic oil lamps were recovered in the Port of Smugness.
Of those, 25 were distributed in various part of the Royal Harbour.
As indicated by the little crosses on the map.
The. These fines range in date from the early third century BC to the fourth or possibly early fifth century A.D.
The remaining 126 lamps were directly associated with ICM, and the majority of them came from the western side of the island, 84%.
They were particularly concentrated over the surface of about 12m²,
suggesting that they were stored together at the time of the building's collapse, probably in the pronouns or the front part of the cellar.
From this same area came the remains of the only bronze lump that was found in the harbour.
We may assume that other valuable metal lamps were also kept in the temple, as well as candles and torches,
while the former might have been salvaged after the building's destruction.
The latter would have not left any trace in our record.
Whether all these lumps, ceramic or otherwise, had been purchased by the temple or with gifts from visitors remains unknown,
but a number of Ptolemaic and Roman papyri logical sources make it clear that
the lighting of the temples was managed from allocated supplies by priests.
For example, a priest in charge of the lord, the god Ptah, is mentioned in a plot to register from the late second century BC in Memphis,
and not the most pertinent example in the context of the Alexandrian Lyceum is Enoxaparin,
because papyrus data to the first year of Octavian's rule over Egypt,
of which you have the translation on the screen, it records an oath given by the priests Sonis and Heraclitus,
both lamplighters to the temple of Serapis and shrine of Isis in Auxerre,
in case they swear by Caesar, God and son of a god, that they will superintend the land of the above mentioned temples.
Beside those reserved to the daily running of the temple.
Lamps together with torches and candles, were essential to the lamp lighting,
festivals and processions that were characteristic of ancient Egyptian cults and later influenced Greek, Gyptian and Roman religious practices.
Most prominent among those linked to ISIS was a festival of the Navy aesthetics,
which marked the opening of the navigation season in early March and serves as a background to the final chapter of The Adventures of Lucas.
In a previous Metamorphoses written in the second century A.D., taking place in Kankara, the eastern harbour of Corinth.
The celebration described in this book included a procession by a large group of both sexes with lamps,
torches, candles, and every kind of man made light to honour the source of the heavenly stars.
The high number of floors discovered in the ruins of the ISIS sanctuary ultimately
confirms the importance of flight in the cult of the goddess for the great majority.
So 93%. These belong to more meat types of the early Roman period, with matrix authors representing only 7% of the total lump font.
That is, only nine individuals. Of those wheeled made lamps.
Five were found in 2024, in the Ptolemaic level of the eastern side of the island.
One. The first one here is of local manufacture and bears a preferring and deciphered inscription under its base.
The other fall log will meet lots of Greek origin and correspond to early Hellenistic attic types as early as the second half of the fourth,
but continuing into the first half of the third century BC.
The other well-made lamps are later in date. They all come from the temple's destruction level on the western side of the island Secondary Branch,
and belong to the later Ptolemaic or even early Roman period.
Two are Canadian, of a type that is commonly found in the eastern Mediterranean between the late second and first century.
The first two one on top. And which is also known from land excavation at Alexandria.
The last one is a parallel from the Temple of Demeter on Needles.
The third and the first from the bottom row is a Palestinian Herodian lot,
so-called because of the because the type appearance coincides with the reign of Herod,
and the last one is a small lock with a central tube of uncertain but pretty local origin.
The remaining 117 lots are old, more made and come from the building's destruction levels on both sides of the island.
Without going into intricate typological considerations.
This diagram summarises the types, occurrence, and their frequency in a broadly chronological order.
We can see that the great majority of the Lobs belong to types one four and Verona 21.
Some of them have long chronological ranges, but most of the examples here date to between the Augustan period and the mid first century AD,
hinting at the intense activity of the temple at that time.
Five lobs are earlier at the beginning of the graph, potentially like the Wilmott types just considered dating back to the late Ptolemaic period,
and only eight belonging to five and eight at the end of the graph are probably later than 50 A.D. this confirming the
proposed dating of the destruction of the temple three are unique in the present context and will be discussed separately.
Like for the Willmott examples. Only few of Egyptian manufacture, and even fewer, namely two.
The first ones above correspond to the typical locally made late Ptolemaic models that are otherwise well known in Alexandria,
or from sites such as Memphis.
Hierarchical hierarchy of police magna and areas of the Fayoum chronologically consistent with these types of three efficient mode moulded lob,
though they appear as early as the second century BC.
In some places it is significant that they only occurred Cancri in context post dating 44 BC.
In this respect, the chronology fits well with the post Ptolemaic phase of use of the antipodal caesium.
The first of the unique columns with a side handle handle.
An angular nozzle belongs to a very distinctive type dated to the Augustan period.
It is usually ascribed an Egyptian origin because, with one exception from Delos,
all examples with known provenance come from Egypt, where the purchased on the antiquity market or found in excavations.
However, I have great doubts that our example is of local manufacture, because neither its fabric nor its surface treatment.
Look at Egypt. And the second is a known early August in full Gold Cup slump, a type that is very rare,
if not unheard of in Egypt, but more prevalent in central Italy and the western Mediterranean.
Finally, the third is about cheap at last.
The first one on the on the slide, possibly a fluke and manufacture,
and most likely dating to the second half of the first century AD, only the top part of the lamp is preserved.
It represents the boat deck with a figure sitting at its bow holding a pair of rowing blades.
The image of a boat in the context of a temple to ISIS inevitably evokes the feast of the Navy.
It is mentioned earlier and its description in Apollonius Metamorphoses.
In particular, it draws attention to a passage where Lucas, stealing his donkey form,
witnesses the arrival of the priest of ISIS, who, following the steps of the initiates.
He describes how the first priest held a glittering lamp shaped like a golden boat,
about a cup depending on translations, with a tall flame flaring from its central vent.
It is not clear which material this sacred lamp was made of, perhaps gold, but certainly not ceramic.
In spite of its relatively coarse workmanship and small size,
a boat shepherd lamp may have been a token left by a delicate, alluding to the boat lamp of the ISIS mysteries.
As it is. In the same spirit, other boutique clubs clearly bear a connection to the cult of ISIS Aphrodite.
The one illustrated here, kept in the British Museum and dated to 70 to 120 AD, is 63cm long.
Its iconography associates Dionysia imagery with a couple ISIS,
Serapis and the Tabula and Satyr placed on the centre of its deck, mentions the epithet for the Canadian Aphrodite.
The remaining of the moulded lot that is 109 objects refer to the Italian lock types of the first century A.D.,
also called Medallion Lops because of the decoration they bear on their middle and on their top.
Most of them have dimensions varying between 6 and 8cm in diameter, so fitting very nicely into the palm of her hand.
This suggests that they were not intended as fixed objects,
but were often carried around when lighted in or around the temple, perhaps a bit like a modern torchlight.
The only ones that tend to be larger, sometimes considerably larger,
are the lush 321 types, whose diameters often exceed 12cm according to its reconstruction.
Based on the size of its reflector, the largest of all probably had a diameter of about 21cm and could hold close to a litre of oil.
Its reflector is elaborately decorated with a bucolic scene representing Dionysus and Naxos.
He has set aside other lamps, um, at the same scale, to see the difference in size when filled up with oil.
This object was probably quite heavy and bulky,
and it is more likely that it was used either the fixed light or like the boat shaped lamps of Apuleius in the framework of special ceremonies.
This large loan offers a good example of the sometimes complex iconography that may be found on the medallions of these objects.
If we divide them by theme of representation, we see that 27 have no decoration, oh no extent decoration.
This relatively high number can be explained by the presence of fragmentary lobes whose decoration was not preserved.
As well as by the fact that early Brauner 21 laps of the late first century BCE and early first century A.D. generally had plain,
undecorated medallion. 36 lobes of, uh, assemblage have none figurative of floral motifs like phrase OVS.
A contest. Leaves. Petals. 16 lamps bear animal representations.
Either real or mythological animals. Here we have lions, eagles, the dog, a cockerel, and a frieze of mythological, terrestrial and marine animals.
Only two lobes are erotica and one is a fragment of daily Scene.
14 have religious themes often like the lounge reflect reflector mentioned earlier, linked with a Dionysus circle like panthers with cancer.
Really? Um, meant, um, satires.
A Novartis figure of possibly ISIS.
And 15 have gladiatorial subjects.
Generally single gladiator. All combat scenes.
Some of these categories have obvious connection with a cult of ISIS, but for others the link is more tenuous to say the least.
This is particularly the case for the last of My categories,
which is a small group of five objects that can that seem to convey a political or ideological message,
emphasising the power through in spite of their presence in a temple to ISIS.
These Lobs have no regard whatsoever for either Egyptian or Greek education sensibilities or religious notions.
Quite on the contrary. The first three are all related to Victoria.
Who, like the gladiators, is a very common subject on lamps throughout the Mediterranean.
One representation shows the goddesses attributes and the other two her personification on the first and Augustan luck.
One Lord, the goddess standing on the globe and on the other, which is a large brunette 21 reflector to meet first century A.D. or later.
She's holding a shield that bears the remains of an inscription reading up Key West servants for having saved the citizens.
This phrase goes back to Augustus. It is found in his coinage and was recycled on coins of the use in this position.
Parallels to the image of Victoria. We see inscribed shield unknown elsewhere on lots of the adjustment period.
It was suggested that such images of Victoria, in particular the one standing on the globe, are allusions,
if not reproductions, of the statue that was erected by Augustus in the Roman Curia after his victory at Actium.
The next image is on a small site sized lush CA1 log.
It illustrates the patriotic tale of Marcus Cook, Your Sacrifice, known to us from Leavitt's Book seven.
As the story goes in 362 BC, in the early Republican period, a large sinkhole opened in the Roman Forum,
and the gods demanded that Rome sacrificed her most precious possession to save the city.
A young lawyer named Marcus Curtius declared that nothing was most precious to Rome.
Then arms and valour mounted on his horse and dressed for battle.
He plunged into the chest, thus saving the city.
The image of the warrior raising his spear with his cape flapping in the wind and his horse bending his right front leg and his foal,
was a popular iconographic iconographic motif in early Imperial Rome.
He owned a relief from the Roman Forum.
Finally, the last lob which I placed in this category is a large prawn, a 21 type that bears a very enigmatic scene.
We see a naked and unkept bearded man, armed with a sword and carrying a weight behind his round shield.
Facing him is a godlike figure of a clean shaven young man with short hair, also naked, but for the fool, the drapery over his shoulder.
He repels or moves the shield, but without showing any aggression.
So far I have not found a good parallel for this image, whether on Lance or elsewhere.
In the absence of a more suitable interpretation, we may understand the scene as an allegory of the Emperor pacifying the barbarians,
and it may just be considered together with a pro Roman ideology.
Subjects. Now to conclude the lump.
Lump finds from the untutored assume spanned from the still mysterious earliest phase of the temple in the mid third and second century BC to its
destruction around the mid first century A.D. the dense concentration of lumps within a single context is exceptional in an Egyptian setting,
even from an Alexandrian perspective, and further supports the religious character of the site.
The dominance of Italian type lumps in the early MP appeared, most of which were imports from Italy or East.
Greece is also significant, while some, often East Greek in origin, allude to the Greek or Egyptian nation of ISIS and also in his own music form.
Others bear typical Roman motifs such as animals, gladiators, or themes glorifying the new ruling power.
Our picture is partial because we only have clay lumps remaining, which is a cheapest kind of lighting implements,
and we miss the more expensive metal models, which may have been more directly related to the cult of ISIS.
Nevertheless, the small clay lumps, probably dedicated by individuals, also translate to political realities of the time.
They are not an important chronological marker for the temple and its history,
but through their origin and iconography are also the reflection of diverse traditions and ideologies that
allow us to evoke the long gone individuals who used them and the world they belong to in their own ways.
They illustrate some aspects of the assimilation of traditional Ptolemaic cults into the Roman world,
and echo the excellent papyrus mentioned earlier,
where the two lamplighters of Isis and Serapis do not only swear their oaths of service to the overseer of the temple,
but first and foremost to Caesar himself,
thus acknowledging him from the very start as a new supreme ruler of the country for both secular and religious matters.
Thank you for your attention.