IANES, Abteilung für Ägyptologie

This paper focuses on the digital documentation techniques employed in the recording of a number of Saite-Persian sarcophagus-tombs in the necropolis of Saqqara (Egypt). In this paper, we discus pros and cons of different three-dimensional technologies for the documentation of a vast site as well as the process of ongoing excavation. We then delve into a discussion of the results and benefits of the employed techniques, particularly understanding the complex spatial relationships of archaeological features both aboveground and underground. Furthermore, we explain how we derive accurate scaled and ortho-rectified images of all inscribed walls and objects from the recorded 3D-information in order to produce digital facsimiles. The 3D-approach gives us the opportunity to create an exact digital copy of the morphology of the site, and to record all stages of the excavation. The produced 3D-models can be used in various virtual environments in order to give researchers and the general public the possibility to visit and to examine the site from a distance. Also, it is important to note that this paper presents a sustainable long-term data-archiving strategy, since saving the digitally born data for future generations is an integral part of our Saqqara Saite Tombs Project.

Coptic, the latest phase of the Ancient ­Egyptian language, existed from beginning to end in a multi­lingual space. The indigenous Egyptian language had been in contact with Greek – and other languages – from the first millennium BCE, as well as Arabic, since the Arab conquest of Egypt in 641 CE. In effect, this is the earliest and best-attested situation of stable language contact in the ancient world. It is also a rich source for studies on lexical borrowing, since about 5000 loanwords from Greek and some 500 from Arabic form part of the lexicon of Coptic at various stages. These loanwords are documented in a wide ­variety of genres and registers, from the language of ­theology to that of science and everyday life. The ­focus of the volume is mainly lexical borrowing from Greek into Coptic, but other aspects will be treated as well, e.g., the sociolinguistic situation of Greek and Coptic, Coptic loanwords in Greek, Arabic loanwords in Coptic, and pre-Coptic ­evidence for lexical borrowing. A special focus will be on the sociolinguistic and functional aspects of lexical borrowing in Coptic.