Female figurines and folk culture at Amara West

This paper presents an assemblage of hand-modelled female figurines excavated recently at Amara West by the British Museum, alongside examples recovered during the earlier Egypt Exploration Society excavations at the site. Most are in the form of flat plaque-shaped figures, hand-modelled in mud, with a small number that have been shaped in the round. The figures are generally naked, often with the pubic triangle, breasts or navel marked; those modelled in the round have very prominent buttocks. There are examples of both shapes with tattoos or scarification. This paper contents that the figures were primarily by-products of personal magic, while a shift towards examples modelled in the round in later occupation levels may reflect growing Nubian influence on figurine production at the site.