Scarabs, Scaraboids, Seals, and Seal Impressions from Medinet Habu

Book excerpt: Egyptologists will welcome the publication of this catalog (it's oversize, at 9.25x12") of the scarabs and related objects excavated at Medinet Habu by the U. of Chicago's Oriental Institute from 1926-1931. Based on the notes of the excavation's field director and his assistant, the volume presents a catalog of 349 scarabs, scaraboids, seals, and seal impressions. The entry for each piece includes its registration and field number, date, description, provenience if known, decoration, brief commentary, and drawings and b&w plate of the obverse, reverse, and profile views. Teeter, a curator at the Institute, has written an introduction that describes the excavation and its documentation. A chapter on stamp seals and seal impressions from the post-Pharaonic period is included by T.G. Wilfong (Egyptology, U. of Michigan). Distributed in the US by the David Brown Book Company. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).