THE SED-FESTIVAL AND ANCIENT EGYPTIAN CHRONOLOGY

The problem of the periodic character of the sod-festival, as with other aspects of this mysterious ceremony, has long been discussed and is still the subject of debate. This ritual was intended to be celebrated by the king, normally after a reign of thirty years had elapsed -- the so-called ＂thirty-year principle,＂ --which is taken by general consent to be a significant feature of the sed-festival. Yet, there is disagreement as to how to use records relating to the sed-festival in chronological studies on account of the fact that a number of records of the sed-festival are dated prior to the thirtieth regnal year of the king. Due to our hunger and need for datable sources, none the less, historians cannot always resist the temptation to assess the length of a king＇s reign on the basis of the sed-festival records, sometimes even though only scant evidence is available.     

THE EGYPTIAN GREEN PIGMENT: ITS MANUFACTURING PROCESS AND LINKS TO EGYPTIAN BLUE*

The chemical and structural analysis of raw Egyptian blue and green pigment cakes and of 50 pigment samples taken from paintings kept in the Louvre Museum was performed using a set of analytical techniques (X‐ray powder diffraction, transmission and scanning electron microscopy, Raman microscopy and UV spectrophotometry). The structural and morphological study of modern samples prepared on the basis of these results has provided technological data that help to explain ancient procedures. The role of the firing temperature, the atmospheric conditions in the furnace and the cooling rate are considered. The difference between Egyptian blue and Egyptian green pigment is proved. Manufacturing processes for their deliberate synthesis are proposed.     

PARTISANSHIP, IDEOLOGY, AND CONSTITUENCY DIFFERENCES ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: 1973–78

Three cross-sectional data sets for the U.S. House of Representatives are analyzed for 1973 to 1978. The conclusions are: (1) Political support for environmental legislation has remained stable and has not diminished in the face of economic problems and energy shortages. (2) The East is the region most supportive of environmental issues while the South is by far the least supportive. (3) Clear partisan differences exist with the Democrats consistently more pro-environmental than Republicans. (4) The most important factor associated with environmental support is ideology. Although interrelated with party, it is more salient than either party or constituency factors. (5) Support for pro-environmental voting is strongest in urban and suburban constituencies and weakest in rural and mixed districts.