The Role of Graffiti Game Boards in the Understanding of an Archaeological Site : The Gebel el-Silsila Quarries
(2020) In Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 106(1-2). p.123-132- Abstract
Graffiti game boards attest to the presence of historical populations at an archaeological site and, in some cases, assist in dating an archaeological context. While games suggest the presence of a social activity, their contextual significance compared to the graffiti of texts and images, pottery finds, and other diagnostic tools of archaeology is open to further enquiry. The presence of multiple board game traditions at Gebel el-Silsila in Egypt creates an ideal environment to study the differences between graffiti texts and images, excavated materials and game boards when they are found in the same location. It is shown that game boards may confirm human presence in different historical time periods for which only limited additional... (More)
Graffiti game boards attest to the presence of historical populations at an archaeological site and, in some cases, assist in dating an archaeological context. While games suggest the presence of a social activity, their contextual significance compared to the graffiti of texts and images, pottery finds, and other diagnostic tools of archaeology is open to further enquiry. The presence of multiple board game traditions at Gebel el-Silsila in Egypt creates an ideal environment to study the differences between graffiti texts and images, excavated materials and game boards when they are found in the same location. It is shown that game boards may confirm human presence in different historical time periods for which only limited additional evidence exists, or they may signal the presence of a different historical population. Their symbolic significance remains unclear, but game boards otherwise provide an independent source of information and an asset to a general archaeological inquiry.
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- author
- de Voogt, Alex ; Nilsson, Maria LU and Ward, John LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2020-06
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- game board, graffiti, play, quarry
- in
- Journal of Egyptian Archaeology
- volume
- 106
- issue
- 1-2
- pages
- 10 pages
- publisher
- Egypt Exploration Society
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85096220962
- ISSN
- 0307-5133
- DOI
- 10.1177/0307513320971302
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 60b130b9-69da-403b-b8e5-1316cfd0c7cc
- date added to LUP
- 2021-01-08 12:46:43
- date last changed
- 2024-02-23 02:30:02
@article{60b130b9-69da-403b-b8e5-1316cfd0c7cc, abstract = {{<p>Graffiti game boards attest to the presence of historical populations at an archaeological site and, in some cases, assist in dating an archaeological context. While games suggest the presence of a social activity, their contextual significance compared to the graffiti of texts and images, pottery finds, and other diagnostic tools of archaeology is open to further enquiry. The presence of multiple board game traditions at Gebel el-Silsila in Egypt creates an ideal environment to study the differences between graffiti texts and images, excavated materials and game boards when they are found in the same location. It is shown that game boards may confirm human presence in different historical time periods for which only limited additional evidence exists, or they may signal the presence of a different historical population. Their symbolic significance remains unclear, but game boards otherwise provide an independent source of information and an asset to a general archaeological inquiry.</p>}}, author = {{de Voogt, Alex and Nilsson, Maria and Ward, John}}, issn = {{0307-5133}}, keywords = {{game board; graffiti; play; quarry}}, language = {{eng}}, number = {{1-2}}, pages = {{123--132}}, publisher = {{Egypt Exploration Society}}, series = {{Journal of Egyptian Archaeology}}, title = {{The Role of Graffiti Game Boards in the Understanding of an Archaeological Site : The Gebel el-Silsila Quarries}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0307513320971302}}, doi = {{10.1177/0307513320971302}}, volume = {{106}}, year = {{2020}}, }