Tell el-Dabʿa XVIII

An elite cemetery of the late Middle Kingdom (approximately 1830-1750 B.C.) was found south of a palatial building at Tell el-Dabʿa, the ancient city of hutwaret (Avaris) in the north-eastern Nile Delta,. This so-called palace-necropolis of the area F/I was preceded by an older cemetery, both of which are jointly presented in this volume. In these cemeteries, the oldest uncovered to date in Tell el-Dabʿa, an Egyptianized Near Eastern population was buried. All aspects of funerary culture - from the tomb architecture to the tomb furnishings and offerings - are discussed and contextualized both in regard to Egyptian and to Syro-Palestinian culture. The partial remains of superstructures and the deposited goods contained therein permit a reconstruction of the whole tomb complex and the offering rituals associated with them. Some of the tombs had been very richly furnished and remarkable finds were made. Among the most outstanding are the monumental statue of an Asiatic man and a presumably Aegean golden pendant showing two dogs. The book is divided into two main parts: Part 1, the analysis, discusses the layout of the cemetery, the tombs, their architecture and the finds from the tombs. A historical interpretation of this community rounds off the discussion. Part 2, the catalogue, presents the individual tomb complexes of the two cemeteries, chronologically separated. With 437 illustrations spread out through the volume and 30 plates the book is richly illustrated.