Review

Author(s): T. Musacchio
Review by: T. Musacchio
Source: Near Eastern Archaeology, Vol. 70, No. 2 (Jun., 2007), pp. 118-119
Published by: The American Schools of Oriental Research
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25067706
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Idols of thePeople is a book that iswell researched, well

and

reasoned,
ceramic

insistence

Moorey's
that

and

may

not

that

western
and

What

precisely

Asia,

be

assemblages

be unique.

that he does

on

Cyprus,

underscores

his

analysis
to do.

he examines

going

into

themes

mathematics.

that

The

first

an expectation;

the study with

the

by current

the ancients

by

Her

scholars.

and

the modern

intent with

is

this book

to rationalize the differingapproaches that have traditionally

been

within

evidence

specific

used

system

used

system

the longue dur?e

motifs

iconographie

is

across

Looking

of ancient

study

impeded

three main

addresses

the

mathematical

entirety,

so effective

Rossi

preface,

second is the reliance on simplified plans that blur essential

details; and the third is the largepitfall that lies between the

aside,

archaeological

he proposes

and Egypt,

recurrent

be put

in their

considered

makes

what

relevant

In her
have

is researchers

ways.

interesting

notions

all

the study of

topic,

and

that preconceived
be based

interpretation

data,

it in new

and discusses

figurines,

a popular

It takes

thoughtful.

taken

by architects

(ignoring

or

archaeological

for a mathematical

in favor of the search

textual

rule) with

archaeological and socio-historical contexts. Idols of thePeople

those of Egyptologists (well-familiarwith the ancient evidence

is a thought-provoking

but not

seeking

Rossi's

book

study of a most

fascinating

topic.

Reference
2003

and Stein, D.,

Culture
inHonour
Oxford

eds.

Ancient Near Eastern Studies

through Objects:
of P R. S. Moorey. Oxford: Griffith Institute,

University.

to study

attempts
architectural

is an overview

Note

the ancient

1. For the full list, see Potts, Roaf

and Stein, eds., pp. 11-16.

Beth Alpert Nakhai

In Part

and Mathematics

remains

textual

"Ancient

part,

case.

of Space,"

with

on

the focus
Part

evidence.

III, "The

two

of the

integration

a test

sections
are

tables

Appropriate

examining

to psychology.
in nature

frequently

and
in ancient

past

nebulous

category

that Egyptologists refer to

as

treating

"pyramidiocy,"

un-provable

conspiracy
or

theories

with

scientific
reason,
Corinna

support.

For

it is refreshing
Rossi's

no
that
that

Architecture

inAncient
Egypt iswritten by a soundly trained Egyptologist with an
and Mathematics

and no preconceived

biases.

Rossi

represented

Section

Golden
often

used

appears
the Greeks

by

to project

architecture,
does

in ancient
illustrates

but

appear

The

only

that

its appearance

instance
from

dates

lengths

of

that

scholars

the
be

may

the Golden

the Ptolemaic

to which

onto

Section

concludes

provable

Egypt
the

the Golden
Rossi

period.
have

gone

(usingmodern techniques and knowledge) to find theGolden

and

Section,

she stresses

that complex,

modern

methodologies

often failwhere simplermethodologies, more in linewith the

anachronistic

suppositions

Section

unintentional.
Section

The
was

and

attempts

Egyptian

Golden

was

1:1.62)

to influence their building design. After

(in particular)
ancient

Egypt too often fall into

the

the Egyptians

letter X and has influenced everything from

architecture

reviewing

mathematics

or not

of whether

returns

Rossi

scholarship,

(or the ratio

1.62

roughly

by the Greek

Works

of prior

to the question

Section,

architecture

review

I, her

repeatedly

By Corinna Rossi. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press, 2004. Pp. xxii + 280, appendix. Cloth, $100. ISBN
0-521^82954-2.

background

second

past

from an

were familiarwith theGolden Section. The so-called Golden

inAncient Egypt

architectural

the

I,

included throughout the text, and an appendix, bibliography,

and index follow at the end of the volume.

University ofArizona

Architecture

and
is an

as

the pyramids

surveys

and Representation

of the architectural

archaeological

Part

parts.

of the pyramids

of view, while

Construction

main

three

Architecture,"

Egyptian

of Pyramids,"

Geometry
using

into

the mathematics

point

Sources:

Egyptian

rule).

is divided

in Ancient

"Proportions

Potts, T., Roaf, M.

a mathematical

ancients'

way

reasons
people

naturally

too much
Part

of thinking,

for the endurance

prefer

would

suffice.

of the Golden
it, and

the

To

wit,

Section

tendency

one

of the

is because

is great

to read

into this idea.

II

demonstrating
archaeological

is an

examination
architectural
and

textual

118 NEAREASTERNARCHAEOLOGY70:2 (2007)

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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

o?

the

techniques,
evidence.

ancient
including
Evidence

evidence
both

the

is scanty,

especially prior to theNew Kingdom, but Rossi concludes that

Egyptian

architects

or notes

rather

small-scale

preferred
than

detailed

as reminders

drawings
or drawings.

plans

as

While,

the author admits, this could simply demonstrate a lack of

drawings

is fairly extensive

there

preservation,

throughout

large-scale

the search

Despite

plans.

evidence
and

history

Egyptian

for small-scale
no

evidence

for elaborate

Towns inAncient Israel and

the Southern Levant
H.

By C.
for

J. De

Geus.

Palestina

architectural
rock-cut

by using
beliefs

code.

"g, ,

of religious

example

the use of space,

on

limitations

The

is that

between

and

religion

practicality.

she dispels

pyramid,

that went

techniques

common

several

or numerological

mathematics
sekeds,

or

the ancient

assess

the

slope.

of the pyramid

the
to

used

afterthe pyramidofKhufu.
Rossi's

of ancient

book

and

fair, accurate,
this nature

secondary
reviewing

from

to architecture.

its relationship

lack

but

studies,

any

Naturally

of primary

she

into

that

takes

study

evidence

of the measurements

(im) precision

the relevant

details.

in a manner

the material

She

understand.
clear

and

concise

accompany
and

Rossi

providing

reviews

an

does

to those

be daunting

an excellent

that is both
the evidence

incredibly

interesting

X Musacchio
University of Pennsylvania

The

visual

technical

but

readers

figures

useful,

also
and

and

illustrating

accompaniment.

easy

to

presents

tables

data,

that

her points

and

interested

is invaluable

can

archaeology

inform

a wall

and

book

introductory

titles

textbook,

a history

particularly

students

to the

of ancient

Israel.

introduce

the author

issues

method

on

and

theory

cultic

assigning

Throughout
the reader

introduces

(e.g.,

to

how

to the

interpretations

record).

archaeological

are:

it informs

appropriate,

and

a specific

to

in a style for nonspecialists.

is written

book

date

job of presenting

thoroughly

The

conclusions.

the text are

archaeological

as

is

who have long since putmath class behind them, readers should
be more daunted by the high price of the volume then by the
mathematical

courses,

The
may

than

Mesopotamia,

the volume

as a supplementary

to be used

of archaeological

consideration

and

how

for biblical-studies

to issues

in

smaller

enhance the field of biblical studies and history.The book is

of

of previous

that
in the

or contemporary

is "students

is worthy

purpose

when

and

reader

were

cities

of Egypt,

audience

to demonstrate

the book,

data.

her subject matter

Although

contribution

researched.

well

suffers

to the

to the study

theories are reviewed and her analysis is

All of themajor

subject

and

mathematics

author's

a tool

designed

is an excellent

intended

underlying

to the region."

visitors

as

The

Syria.

The

Dynasty pyramids seem to be modeled after the slope of the

pyramidofKhafre,whereas FifthDynasty pyramids seem to take
Overall,

and

Sixth

for instance,

emerge:

patterns

calculates

aim

as represented

Bible,

the modern
cities

of

archaeology

the modern

cities,

Hebrew

of towns

components
the

The

of the various

Israel. The

biblical

(using modern

and

theories)

and

is to teach

of a

the creation

fallacies

measurement,

Some

into

is an overview

ancient

studyof the pyramids in Part III.After reviewing the symbolism

the building

book

on

Bible

data.

archaeological

based

Rossi combines the data fromPart I and Part II into a detailed

and

is to illustrate

goal

using

features

1.

Egyptian architecturalmath could be flexible and was based on

the intersection

author's

towns in the Hebrew

demonstrated

conclusion,

as a primary

tombs

up against

coming

Her

Peeters,

and

plans

universal guiding principles that haunted past scholarship,

she fails to find evidence for a defining, pre-meditated, and
deliberate

10. Leuven:

Antiqua

2003. Pp. vi+186. Paper, $39.00. ISBN 90-429-1269-3.

consists

of

chapter,

there

component
Fortifications,

of

fourteen
are

the

The

ancient

Town

After

chapters.

ten chapters

that

city. These
or Gates,

Gate

focus

an
on

chapter
Acropolis

(in this chapter the author discusses palaces),

Pillared
Buildings, Houses, Sanctuaries and Temples,
Tripartite
and Citadel

Various Presumed or Specialized Buildings, Watersystems

[sic],Tombs, and Fields and Gardens. The last three chapters
discuss

Patterns

of Settlement,

An

Israelite

Town?,

and Town

Planning and Population. The chapters dealing with individual

are adequate

components
students
are

and

to the archaeological

the most
data.

The

useful
last

for introducing
three

chapters

superficial.

This

book

does

not

provide

as much

data

as a standard

textbook (e.g.,Mazar's The Archaeology of theLand of theBible,

Ben-Tor's edited The Archaeology ofAncient Israel,or T Levy's
(ed.) The Archaeology of Society in theHoly Land), or as much

70:2 (2007)
NEAREASTERNARCHAEOLOGY

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119