Determining the distribution and level of literacy in any community is a difficult task, and Kellis is no different. Over the course of the Roman period in Dakhleh Oasis, even something as simple as the languages and writing systems in use changed drastically. At the death of Kleopatra VII in 30 BCE, we find Greek being spoken and written alongside Demotic Egyptian as by far the two most common languages. By the fourth century CE, the most richly documented period of Kellis’ existence, we find Greek in use alongside Coptic Egyptian and, to a far lesser degree, Latin and Syriac. Taken together, we can say something about literacy in a multilingual community over a span of centuries. In the sections below, we survey the evidence for the use of the written word in Greek, Coptic, Demotic, Hieroglyphic Egyptian and Latin in Kellis, along with the archaeological evidence for writing materials. The use of Syriac is discussed elsewhere in this volume (Chapter 12). First, however, it is necessary to say a few words about literacy as a functional concept.

During excavations at the Hellenistic-Roman port of Berenike (on the Red Sea coast of Egypt) in the winter of 2019, work in the so-called Northern Complex documented a religious space from the Late Roman period. The excavation of a portion of this space recorded material that, together with the architecture, suggests a ritual function associated with a falcon cult. This study examines the features of this edifice and the interpretation of the religious materials found in it and proposes a possible relationship with the Blemmyan population who lived in Berenike between the fourth and sixth centuries CE.1

This chapter discusses the texts decorating Egyptian temples created during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, such as those at Edfu, Philae and Kom Ombo. Such inscriptions were, until relatively recently, largely disregarded, on the erroneous basis that they were simply corruptions of earlier religious texts. Some problems have arisen in translating and interpreting some of the most difficult surviving hieroglyphic inscriptions in Greek and Roman temples, but it is argued here that this complexity has been exaggerated to some extent. The chapter discusses the current state of publication of the texts decorating the walls and ceilings of these temples, as well as analysing the nature of the writing system, lexicography and grammar. It goes on to consider the bibliographies, translations and teaching tools relating to such texts, as well as studies dealing with their typical content and potential methods of interpretation, including use of the so-called ‘grammaire du temple’ initiated by Derchain.

The history of temple buildings in the Great Oasis shows periods of intense activity alternating with periods of relative quiet. When seen in combination with the varying amounts of archaeological remains over time, this data allows us to chart the development of contacts between the oases and the Nile Valley. In particular, this has consequences for the times of the Libyan conflicts of the 19th Dynasty. This chapter argues that the oases were in Libyan hands during this time, after which the Egyptian army re-established control. Two dated finds from the temple at Amheida, Dakhla, are of particular interest for this discussion. A stela of Seti II marks building works at Amheida shortly after the wars of Merenptah, and a fragment of relief dated to Ramesses IX sheds light on the incursions of Libyans into the Nile Valley at that time.

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Until the 1990s, no information existed on the history of the Dakhleh Oasis during the Late Period (Dynasties 26– 30, 664–332 BCE). There were, in fact, some archaeological remains from this period that had come to light in the cemetery of ‘Ain Tirghi (Mills 1983, 128; Frey 1986; Hope 1999, 229), together with dated skeletal remains (Molto 2001, 85). Yet outside of Dakhleh, the involvement of the kings from this period in the Western Desert was obvious, because of the well-known Saite chapels at ‘Ain el-Muftella, Bahriyya, and the Persian period and 30th Dynasty temple decoration at Hibis, Kharga. It was clear that also Dakhleh, being the largest oasis, must have benefited from similar royal attention. But it was only in 1990 that the first dated inscriptional evidence from the Late Period was discovered at Tell Marqula. This took the form of a block of temple relief with the name of Psamtik II, described further below, found together with other Late Period finds and ceramics (Yamani 2002; Hope 2000, 192, 200–1, figures 4j and 6a). Another Late Period cemetery was found at Balat (Ginsburg 1995; Castel et alii 2005). In recent years, excavations at the sites of Mut al-Kharab and Amheida (Amhida) have substantially expanded our knowledge of the involvement of the Saite and Persian kings in the Dakhleh Oasis. In this paper, all royal inscriptions of the Late Period are described that have been found in Dakhleh. The focus on securely dated material is aimed to provide a historical framework for the oasis through which other archaeological evidence may be seen in a new light. The inscriptions from the two principal sites

This book contains twenty-two papers collected in honour of Robert J. Demaree by his friends and colleagues. Because of his expertise in the area of Western Thebes and ostraca of the village of Deir el-Medina in particular, the contributors have sought to address these topics in particular. Central theme of the Festschrift is the community of workmen of Deir el-Medina, which is investigated from many different angles. The papers discuss the documentary texts from the village, either written in graffiti, on papyri or on ostraca, but also aspects of the work in the Valley of the Kings, the workmen's use of oil, birthing beds, coffins, stelae as well as their religious beliefs and behaviour. The volume thus sheds new light on the workmen's community, as well as on the area of Western Thebes in more general terms. This volume is a token of gratitude from the Leiden University department of Egyptology for Rob's much appreciated contribution to its teaching programme, as well as a tribute by colleagues worldwide who have worked with him, also in fieldwork projects in Egypt.