Ägypten und Levante XXIX / Egypt and the Levant XXIX (2019)

This contribution focuses on the settlement history of Tell el-Retaba, starting from the settlements and cemeteries of the Second Intermediate Period and the early New Kingdom up to the construction of large fortresses in the Ramesside Period. The rich pit tomb {2458} of the early New Kingdom date seems to especially indicate the continuation of the Second Intermediate Period burial customs in the New Kingdom and, thus, a kind of settlement continuity. The discovery of a geminated moat of the Nineteenth Dynasty expands our knowledge of defensive constructions in the eastern Delta, confirms the location of the gate to the Nineteenth Dynasty fortress and contributes to our knowledge of the concept of transformation between the Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasty. The 2017 season also extended the view of construction details of the Twentieth Dynasty defence “wall 2”.

Schlagworte: Tell el-Retaba, Second Intermediate Period, New Kingdom, settlement, cemetery, fortress

One of the current projects of the Polish- Slovak Archaeological Mission in Tell el-Retaba is the exploration of a large area of the Third Intermediate Period settlement. During the 2017 season several houses belonging to this settlement were partly excavated. House {2147}, in which several phases of occupation could be distinguished, was particularly interesting. This house yielded an unusually rich set of small finds, including a bronze forked butt of a spear, and a set of lead fishing-net sinkers

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Tell el-Retaba, an archaeological site situated in Wadi Tumilat in the eastern Nile Delta, some 35 km west of the modern city of Ismailia, has been excavated by the Polish- Slovak Archaeological Mission, directed by Dr. hab. Sławomir Rzepka, since 2007. Long-lasting archaeological excavations of the Third Intermediate Period settlement have yielded hundreds of ground stone artefacts, among them implements used for grinding activities. The diversity of these tools’ forms and the material they are made of may imply their having been employed for various purposes and to treat a wide range of substances. This article presents a preliminary analysis of the grinding stone implements and their possible uses.

Schlagworte:

The pottery from the 2017 excavation season at Tell el-Retaba was analyzed in its specific context of finding. Three periods have been selected for analyses: The Second Intermediate Period, the early 18th Dynasty and the Third Intermediate Period. The ceramic material selected for study was particularly associated with units located within well-defined layers – tombs and domestic structures. Although the majority of the vessels are well known at Tell el-Retaba, new forms also appeared, for instance, a fish vase. It seems that the early New Kingdom settlement was mostly provisioned. Material from the Third Intermediate Period testifies to all stages of food preparation. Some of the pots may reflect ritual usage of houses during the Third Intermediate Period.

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In 2016 the Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology (OREA) and the Department for History and Archaeology at the American University of Beirut (AUB) launched a new archaeological project in the Chekka region in Lebanon. The Chekka region borders the shore of the Mediterranean and is situated between Batroun in the south and Tripoli in the north. At the northern end of the modern town of Chekka directly at the seashore one finds the remains of Tell Mirhan on the premises of a modern cement factory (Fig. 1). This tell and its hinterland have never been the subject of a thorough and systematic archaeological investigation. A survey conducted at Tell Mirhan in 2016 and an excavation in 2018 revealed an early Iron Age occupation (1200– 700BC) superimposing a massive rampart fortification of the Middle Bronze Age. Egyptian pottery from the Middle and New Kingdom as well as imports from Cyprus and Greece testify to the importance of this site as a harbour town during these periods. In order to investigate the site’s relation with its hinterland, a survey of the region from the coast into the foothills of Mount Lebanon was launched. To cope with a rather difficult terrain and intensive modern construction activities and changes of the ancient landscape, we conducted a LiDAR scan of the survey area in November of 2018.

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This article is an overview of evidence on the toponym xntj-S “Lebanon” and the term xntj-S “Lebanese wood” in the Old Kingdom texts: 1–2. The inscriptions of jnj; 3. The inscription in the tomb of Daw at Deir el-Gebrawi; 4. The inscription on the stela of pAj from Naga ed-Deir; 5. A list of cultic items from the archive of the mortuary temple of King Neferefra (mid-5th to 6th Dynasties); 6. The Palermo fragment of the annals from the reign of Shepseskaf. The proposed translation of the toponym xntj-S: “(terrain) in front of the lake,” where “lake” should be understood as “terrace” or “pool” in a geological sense. The toponym xntj-S is considered as a reinterpretation of the term xtjw with the meaning “terrace” designating Lebanon from the most ancient times of Egyptian history.

Schlagworte: Egypt, Old Kingdom, the Levant, international relations, Lebanese wood, lexicography.

The publication of a Middle Bronze Age scarab found in an Early Roman period rock-cut burial cave at Naḥal Aviv in the Upper Galilee serves as a platform for the following additional issues: The precise definition of the scarab’s side type; the possible time span of its production; the preferable chronological division for the Middle Bronze Age Canaanite scarabs; the relevance of the Heirloom Paradigm for the presence of earlier glyptic objects in later contexts.

Schlagworte: Naḥal Aviv, Reuse of earlier glyptic objects, Heirloom Paradigm, Middle Bronze Age IIB-C, Canaanite Scarabs

This paper presents a rare scarab made of diorite and set in a golden bezel that was excavated in a topsoil locus at Tel Lachish. Although it lacks a clear stratigraphic context, the scarab still presents important data on the Late Bronze Age at Lachish

Schlagworte: Lachish, Egyptian Scarab, Egyptian 18th Dynasty, Theban Triad, Diorite, Color Symbolism

Neglected finds, first of all, wooden coffins from the 26th Dynasty to Roman times, discovered during the Austrian excavations of the tomb of Ankh-Hor in Asasif (TT 414), are currently being studied by the new Ankh-Hor Project hosted at the LMU Munich. The project aims at reconstructing the complete history of the usage of the tomb and its multiple tomb groups, focusing on coffins as the prime evidence. The most important results from the 2018 and 2019 seasons regarding the large corpus of coffins from TT 414 are summarized and future work is outlined.

Schlagworte: Asasif, TT414, Ankh-Hor Project, wooden coffins, 26th Dynasty to Roman times

The present paper is a synthesis of nine seasons of excavations supported by geophysical surveys at the Late Bronze Age harbour city of Hala Sultan Tekke near Larnaca on the southern littoral of Cyprus. Conclusions and hypotheses dealing with the origin, the heydays and the decline of this eastern Mediterranean trade metropolis are presented in addition to a summary of the previous field reports. A summary of the results from excavations in the recently discovered extramural cemetery with numerous rich tombs, offering pits and wells is included. The city’s vast intercultural relationships, which are based on trade, and chronological and terminological issues are particularly considered. Special attention is devoted to the final decades of the life cycle of this city which fall into the period of years of a widespread crisis at the waning Bronze Age, characterised by the ‘Sea Peoples Phenomenon.

Schlagworte: Hala Sultan Tekke, Cyprus, Bronze Age, Harbour, Trade, Intercultural connections, Chronology, Sea Peoples

The present paper describes, for the first time, Cypriot evidence of Nuragic tableware from Sardinia discovered at Hala Sultan Tekke. This Late Bronze Age harbour and trade metropolis is situated near modern Larnaca on the southern littoral of Cyprus. The city’s exceptional wealth during the Late Bronze Age (1650–1050 BCE) was based on trade and cross-cultural connections with a vast area, including the entire Aegean, Anatolia, the Levant and Egypt. This is exemplified by the enormous amount of imported goods, most of which originated in the Mycenaean sphere of culture. Five handmade and burnished bowls of dark grey fabric with highly lustrous surfaces found at Hala Sultan Tekke were recently identified as imports from Sardinia. The main purpose of this article is to provide primary information about these exceptional finds and to place them in the context of trade between Sardinia and the eastern Mediterranean.

Schlagworte: Nuragic Pottery, Hala Sultan Tekke, Sardinian Pottery, Cyprus

Palaces, in many respects, represent the main outcome of the great socio-economic transformation that characterised the outgrowth of urban societies during the first half of the second millennium BC. In the Levant, the type of building that appeared was characterised by traits that make it quite different from similar and contemporaneous buildings located in Mesopotamia. This fact suggests the existence of an independent local tradition in the Levant which has thus usually been analysed in distinct chronological segments, with separate discussions of the relevant Middle Bronze Age (MBA) and Late Bronze Age (LBA) evidence to hand. This work uses two case studies of palace architecture dating to the MBA and LBA from Qatna to propose an analysis that highlights the existence of several shared traits. Via comparisons with contemporary examples, in particular Alalakh, a common genesis that developed along a unique and continuous path is suggested for both MBA and LBA palaces. The social role of northern Levantine palaces is thus seen as an expression of new local leaderships and as the vehicle of a common language whose origin might be traced back to the emergence of the so-called Amorite Koiné.

Schlagworte: Levant, Palaces, architecture, Bronze Age, Amorite, Qatna, Alalakh, Ebla

Neutron Activation Analysis was carried out in Bonn on 12th century BC Aegean-style pottery from Maa: Palaeokastro. The results gave rise to a survey of maritime trade at Maa and of winds and currents in the east Mediterranean, leading to a discussion of the date and reason for the foundation of the site.

Schlagworte: Cyprus, Neutron Activation Analysis, Maa: Palaeokastro

Among the many finds recovered from Tell el-Dabʿa are five decorated metal sheets, or belts, that were most probably originally sewn onto a piece of leather or textile. Such metal belts are a very special feature attested for the first time in Early Bronze Age Mesopotamia. Their occurrence in the archaeological record is limited to tombs that featured several significant finds, including weapons, in their inventory. The grave goods highlight the importance, status and wealth of the interred deceased. The design of metal belts within the distribution area in the Middle Bronze Age is very similar; the decoration, if any, is composed of differing arrangements of concentric circles of varying sizes. According to some Northern Levantine and Anatolian metal figurines, the belts were worn around the waist and buckled at the front. Metal belts were still worn in the Late Bronze and Iron Ages, as attested by statues and actual finds.1 The following article adds to a number of publications on metal belts,2 collecting all known attestations dating up to the end of the Middle Bronze Age. The aim of this paper is to determine their distribution range and elucidate their contexts to mirror networks of people sharing a similar cultural background and ancient trade connections. In addition to the elongated metal belts known from Tell el-Dabʿa, possible parts of belts, such as discs and belt fasteners, are also presented in the scope of this article.

Schlagworte: ell el-Dabʿa, metal belts, Middle Bronze Age

For quite some time it has been assumed that during the Middle Kingdom there was a strong immigration from the Near East to Egypt. The explanatory models are based on many different concepts without being explicitly explained in most cases. This paper examines the question of migration in the early second millennium BCE by addressing existing cultural concepts and associating them with various aspects of mobility. For this consideration it is indispensable to work out and question the meaning of ethnicity and group identity, especially with regard to the period following the Middle Kingdom and the rule of the Hyksos in Egypt.

Schlagworte: demarcation, the ‘other’, identity, mobility and migration, Middle Bronze Age Levant, Middle Kingdom

Sr isotopes were applied to identify possible allochthony of skeletal remains retrieved from Tomb 26 of the pharaonic cemetery SAC5 on Sai Island (Nubia). Tooth enamel of nine individuals, including the Overseer of Goldsmiths Khummose and his presumed ‘wife’, dating from the New Kingdom, were investigated to gain information whether these individuals were first generation immigrants from Egypt (= allochthonous) or members of the local population inhabiting the area of Sai Island (= autochthonous). The interpretation of supposed allochthony and autochthony was based on the comparison of the Sr of human enamel to an assumed autochthonous Sr isotopic composition. The autochthonous Sr signal on Sai Island during the New Kingdom was derived from archaeological animal samples (rodent, sheep/goat, dog and local mollusc shells dating from the New Kingdom) in combination with local environmental samples (paleo sediments dating from the New Kingdom and literature Sr isotope value of Nile River water for the New Kingdom era). As the Sr values in enamel of all individuals investigated lay within the determined autochthonous Sr range on Sai Island during the New Kingdom, all individuals were classified as supposed members of the local population on Sai Island. Elevated Sr, V, Mn and U mass fractions indicated a high degree of post-mortem alterations of human primary dentine. Hence, a mathematical approach was tested in order to correct the Sr isotope ratios in human primary dentine for diagenetic alteration considering a diagenetic Sr proportion and the Sr isotopic composition of the repository material. The rich funerary equipment associated with the burials in Tomb 26 allowed a dating of the family members of Khnummose and illustrated that they belonged to the Egyptian elite on Sai Island as far as their cultural identity is concerned. In combination with the Sr isotopic analysis, Tomb 26 provided fresh information on the complex coexistence and biological and cultural entanglement of Egyptians and Nubians on Sai Island during the New Kingdom.

Schlagworte: Sudan, Nubia, Egypt, New Kingdom, Sr isotope ratio analysis, cultural entanglement

The paper focuses on the funerary customs attested in Middle Bronze Age (MBA) Mesopotamia, addressing the issue of common or distinctive characteristics and searching for potential evidence of assimilation of a new tribal-rooted identity. Specific burial practices, such as residential burials, use of vaulted chamber tombs and post-entombment rituals, were widely disseminated throughout the whole area during this period. Occurrence of donkey burials appears to be another distinctive trait in Upper Mesopotamia. Moreover, certain characteristic elements of these practices have been noted beyond Mesopotamia, in the Levant and as far as the eastern Nile Delta (Tell Daba’a), where they are associated with the Hyksos period. A puzzling resemblance between MBA funerary assemblages from Tell Arbid in northern Syria (Upper Mesopotamia) and the material from the distant region of Tell Daba’a (Avaris) was noted. This prompted a deeper study and presentation of the Mesopotamian MBA burials in a broader sociopolitical context, addressing issues of the character of similarities and discrepancies through comparison of relevant ritual variables throughout the area discussed. It confirmed a broad emergence of parallel mortuary behaviors focusing on kinship and ancestor commemoration. However, several areas do not fit this seemingly coherent picture of funerary customs, revealing distinctive regional identities. The changes in burial customs coincide with a sociopolitical transformation in Mesopotamia, resulting in the establishment of Amorite kingdoms and a profusion of pastoral tribes. It would seem, therefore, that the adoption of a new mortuary ideology and new constructed group identity was an answer to these sociopolitical developments.

Schlagworte: Middle Bronze Age burial customs, tribal organization, pastorals, Amorites, ancestor cult, chamber tombs, equid burials.