Proceedings of an International Conference at the University of Sohag, 10th–11th of October, 2009: The Asyut Project presents the contributions of an international conference held at Sohag University after the first seven seasons of Egyptian-German cooperation in archaeological fieldwork in the necropolis of Asyut, Middle Egypt. The volume is edited by scholars of the three Egyptological institutions involved in the project, the Universities of Berlin (Freie Universität), Sohag and Mainz.
The first article gives an overview of the present state of knowledge (2011) of the historical background of Asyut, the different functions of the western mountain (Gebel Asyut al-gharbi), and its architectural structures from Egyptian Old Kingdom to Late Antiquity and partially Islamic Period. It is followed by a study on the succession of the First Intermediate Period/Middle Kingdom local ruling elite (the so-called nomarchs) which reconstructs the eventful history of these eras. Special contributions are devoted to wooden models and offering plates as grave goods, hieratic visitors’ graffiti, methods of epigraphy, reconstruction of tomb architecture, and Islamic pottery. In addition, analyses of the anthropological and botanical finds are presented. All articles are written in English and provided with an Arabic abstract. The plates include, among others, a systematic documentation of the investigated tombs.