Foundation deposits

Votive offerings placed in or beneath the foundation of a building or in its immediate vicinity. They are attested under royal temples and tombs as well as under private tombs. The earliest examples date to the Early Dynastic Period (Buto; von der Way 1997: 154-155), the latest to the Christian period.

Foundation deposits are most often placed at the corners of buildings; other common locations are under hypostyle halls, courts, pylons, along walls and at the main axis of temples. Before placing them a foundation ceremony comprising ten steps was performed.

Period	Type of object	examples of deposits
Old Kingdom	food offerings, pottery or stone vessels, sometimes grindstones; placed in small round pits	valley temple at Meydum
Middle Kingdom	food offerings, pottery or stone vessels, model tools,sometimes grindstones; mud bricks with inscribed objects inside; pits are now larger	valley temple at Lahun
New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty	pottery vessels, tools, calcite ointment jars, beads, food offerings; model tools, miniature pottery, faience and steatite plaques (no longer laid in a mud brick)	mortuary temple of Amenhotep II; Hierakonpolis
New Kingdom, Ramesside Period	increase in uniform mass-production: many small faience objects, longer inscriptions on stone or faience objects	mortuary temple of Tausret, Nebunnef, Merenptah
Third Intermediate Period	small plaques of copper/bronze, faience and model pottery vessels	The are not many examples of the period in the Petrie museum. Examples are well-known from Tanis (Montet 1952: 133-148). (click on the image for a larger picture)
Late Period	miniature inscribed stone and metal plaques, model mud bricks, pottery, rectangular green faience plaques, resin and ore sample	unprovenanced pieces
Ptolemaic	purely Egyptian examples are similar to those of the Late Period Greek influence seen in series of rectangular plaques with bilingual dedication	unprovenanced pieces