Bifao 121

The Bulletin of the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology (BIFAO) has covered the entire field of Egyptology since its first appearance in 1901. Studies published in the BIFAO have a chronological spread from prehistory to the Old Kingdom to the Byzantine period, and they illustrate the present state of research in the areas of archaeology, epigraphy, lexicography, iconography and philology. Among the 15 contributions that make up BIFAO 120 are the preliminary report of the archaeological excavations carried out by the University of Tubingen at Athribis, which unearthed thousands of ostraca and tituli (in demotic, Greek, hieroglyphs, hieratic, Coptic and Arabic) in a dump zone, a comprehensive analysis of the New Kingdom black coffins with yellow decoration found in the magazines of Deir el-Medina, the translation, together with a detailed commentary of P.Tor.Botti 34 A, 34 B+C, 35, 36 and 40, a study of the Book of the Twelve Caverns in the tomb of Petosiris and another one on the meaning of the terms qb?w and qb?w n?rw in the Book of Nut. A synthesis of the evolution of the senet game during the first millennium publications is also proposed, based on the publication of an exceptional senet board. An unpublished naos belonging to Prince Khaemouaset brings further information on his career. Two studies deal specifically with the stone: the first one concerns the supply of limestone used in the masonry of Medamud's temple, the second, based on ongoing research in calcite quarries (Hatnub) aims to clarify the use of lithic tools for stone working during the Old and Middle Kingdoms.