Late period stelae from Saqqara. A socio-cultural and religious investigation

"The purpose of this investigation is to analyse a coherent corpus of stelae from the site of Saqqara from the Late Period in order to extract socio-cultural and religious information about the people who dedicated them. This includes information on onomastics, titles and human iconography and content, plus religious iconography and content.The first chapter concentrates on the overview and aims and on detailing the relevant historical and site details.The second chapter focuses on votive stelae from the Serapeum which are split into four main categories based on their provenance and date.The third chapter investigates funerary stelae with Carian inscriptions alongside other native and nonnative funerary stelae.The final chapter looks at the findings and implications of the study and it emerges that during the Late Period at Saqqara there was: a multi-cultural community in and around the city of Memphis, an impact on both individuals and communities as a result of different political circumstances, a clear popularity of the Saite rulers, a strong sense of piety from individuals in various social roles/from different backgrounds, a communal feel of belief in certain deities, and a clear emphasis on the strength of family allegiance and tradition. Nevertheless, this emphasis towards tradition did not adversely affect social acceptance of otherness, or the adaptation of theological ideas. "