ably known from India, Syria, and Egypt, and Axumites
demonstrated a mastery of creating religious images in glass
for their churches. Th eir colored glass windows were feasts of
radiant color for the eye.
EGYPT
BY LINDA EVANS
Light had great signifi cance for the ancient Egyptian people.
Th e sun was considered to be the preeminent source of life
and was worshipped in the form of the solar god Re. One
of the many Egyptian creation myths also declares that the
world began when light in the form of a benu bird pierced a
dark abyss of primordial waters, causing the earth and the
sky to separate. Light thus created order out of chaos, a vitally
important concept in Egyptian thinking.
While we can only speculate about how the prehistoric
population of the Nile Valley used fi re to illuminate the dark-
ness, archaeological evidence indicates that by the dawn of
Egyptian civilization, people had found ways to perpetuate
fl ames and make them portable. Indeed, in ancient times
Egypt was credited with the invention of the oil lamp. Th e
most common form of lamp, which was used throughout
Egyptian history, consisted of a shallow dish, made of metal
or pottery, that contained a small amount of oil and a fl oat-
ing wick. Th e Egyptian term for both lamps and torches was
tekah. When written in hieroglyphic script, this word oft en
includes the image of such a lamp, rendered as a half-circle
from which projects a snakelike wick. Olive and sesame oils,
as well as animal fat, were used for fuel, while wicks were pro-
duced by fi rst twisting a narrow length of linen or natural
fi ber and then folding the length in two and twisting it once
again.
Although the dish lamp was the most enduring form,
other shapes were also developed in Egypt during diff erent
eras. In the Old Kingdom (ca. 2575–ca. 2134 b.c.e.), for ex-
ample, the rim of the bowl was sometimes pinched to form
a small spout, the purpose of which was to hold the lighted
wick in position. In another example recovered from the Old
Kingdom, the wick of a metal lamp was supported by a se-
ries of strips projecting from the rim. Lamps dating to both
the Middle Kingdom (ca. 2040–ca. 1640 b.c.e.) and the New
Kingdom (ca. 1550–ca. 1070 b.c.e.) occasionally feature a
broadly channeled rim. Th e purpose of this outer gutter is
unclear, but it may have held water to act as a barrier and to
prevent the oil from seeping into the fabric.
During the Middle Kingdom covered lamps began to be
produced in order to contain the oil and to prevent spillage.
Th e rim of these vessels was gradually extended to enclose
the top of the bowl, leaving only a small hole by which to add
the oil and position the wick. Some lamps of this kind in-
cluded a second aperture in the wall of the vessel into which
the wick was inserted. Many lamps of a similar design were
imported into Egypt during the Greco-Roman era. However,
in the third and fourth centuries c.e. “frog lamps” were pro-
duced in great numbers in Upper Egypt. Th ese popular and
distinctive ceramic vessels are so named because they display
the features of a frog modeled in relief on their upper surface
as well as palm branches and rosettes.
Pottery and metal lamps were common in Egypt, but
some lamps were rendered in stone. Indeed, hollowed stone
vessels probably was the earliest lamp type. For example, a
limestone lamp in the form of a papyrus bud has been recov-
ered from a tomb dating to the First Dynasty (ca. 2920–ca.
2770 b.c.e.). Two alabaster lamps were also found in the 18th
Dynasty tomb of Tutankhamen (r. ca. 1333–ca. 1323 b.c.e.).
One of these delicate objects is carved in the form of a lotus
plant featuring two buds and an open fl ower, each of which
acts as an oil reservoir. Th e other lamp, which resembles a
lotus-shaped chalice, consists of two cups nested one inside
the other. When the lamp is lit, a scene painted on the inner
vessel displaying the king and his wife becomes visible.
Lamps placed upon the fl oor, on stands, or in wall niches
were used in houses and temples, but they also illumined
commercial operations, such as mining. Craft smen probably
relied upon lamps when working inside underground tombs.
However, as very little smoke staining or soot has been found
in these structures, the precise method that was employed
has yet to be determined. Since individual handheld lamps
would have provided insuffi cient light by which to carry out
the delicate artwork, it has been suggested that many were
placed together in a larger vessel and that salt was added to
the oil to reduce the amount of smoke. It has also been sup-
posed that an elaborate system of polished metal mirrors cap-
tured sunlight and streamed it deep underground, but this
notion is not supported by archaeological evidence.
Lamps were not the only form of lighting technology
used by the ancient Egyptians. Archaeological and textual
evidence reveals that torches and tapers were also employed
for both practical and ritual purposes. Tapers, which were
made from strips of twisted linen soaked in fat, were either
held by hand or placed in holders when lit. A linen taper was
found in one of four bronze lamp holders, each rendered in
the shape of an ankh symbol, that were discovered in the an-
techamber of the tomb of Tutankhamen. Wall reliefs and in-
scriptions in temples reveal that tapers were lit, carried, and
off ered to deities during daily rituals and that spells were re-
cited to ensure that their fl ames endured. Torches, consisting
of a conical bolus of fat or resin-soaked linen surmounting a
pole, were also introduced in the 18th Dynasty and used ex-
tensively throughout the Ramesside Period (ca. 1307–ca. 1070
b.c.e.). Both tapers and torches played an important role in
religious festivals, especially those associated with the arrival
of the New Year.
Th e harsh climate in Egypt deterred the use of large win-
dows to admit daylight into buildings, in favor of high, nar-
row apertures. Sunlight was instead cast obliquely into the
rooms of houses and other structures via inner open court-
yards. Recent evidence has hinted that artists may also have
taken advantage of the strong light in Egypt to create specialillumination: Egypt 585