Earthly Realm: 'Offering-Trays' as Material Traces of the Encounter Between the Living and the Dead

This volume examines the traces of ritual acts performed during less affluent burials, focusing on the use of 'offering-trays' as a case study. These pottery artefacts are dated to the First Intermediate Period and Middle Kingdom and typically feature pottery models on their surface. Those with attached architectural elements have traditionally been classified as 'soul-houses'. This volume prefers to categorise them as 'offering-trays', considering the architectural element to be just one of the models represented on them.

This research aims to explore the function of these artefacts through the analysis of their physical features, the models depicted on them, and their archaeological context. It aims to shed light on their significance as part of the material interplay between the living and the dead.