Ägypten und Levante XXVII / Egypt and the Levant. XXVII (2017)

The preliminary report discusses Areas 4, 7 and 9, situated in the western and southern parts of the tell, where 21 occupancy phases (A – G3) have been identified so far. Three structures of an open settlement were unearthed which date to the SIP phase G3. The excavations corroborate the continuity of the SIP settlement to the early 18th Dynasty. Some 19th Dynasty structures were still in use during the 20th Dynasty; the architects of the 20th Dynasty fortress had to take them into consideration. In Area 9 houses of the Third Intermediate Period were uncovered, as well as buildings (including a “tower house”) of the Late Period settlement.

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

Tell el-Retaba is an archaeological site located in the Wadi Tumilat, 35 km west of Ismailiya in Egypt. The joint Polish-Slovak Archaeological Mission has been conducting research there since 2007. This paper reports the results of the analysis of the flint assemblages found at the site from 2010 to 2016. The excavations revealed 180 flint artefacts in stratigraphic units dated from the Second Intermediate Period to the Late Period. The flint assemblages include sickle blades, retouched flakes and blades, pounders, grinders, polishers and some other examples of implements. The flint tool forms and the contexts of their find are described and the preliminary analysis of the raw materials is conducted. The study indicates that there are some differences in the tool forms and the raw materials used for their production in particular historical periods at the site.

Schlagworte: flint, lithic tools, sickle blades, Tell el-Retaba, Second Intermediate Period, New Kingdom, Third Intermediate Period

Skeletons of 29 individuals were examined from the SIP tombs excavated from 2010 to 2015. The majority (58.6%) of individuals were adults and 41.4% were juveniles. Seven men (24.1%) and five women (17.2%) were included in the group of adults. There is a slight predominance of younger individuals in the group of male skeletons, while the proportion of older women is higher among female skeletons. About 75% of children died at the age of up to four years. Anthropometric data have been obtained only from five adults; two individuals had their skull dimensions measured. The skeletons were of taller stature and had Europoid, narrow, high and long heads with high foreheads, narrower faces with high orbits and small noses. Deviation and pathological skeletal changes skeletal changes allowed to draw conclusions on the population’s way of life.

Schlagworte: Second Intermediate Period cemetery, skeletons, morphometrics, paleopathology, northern Egypt

The paper gives a first assessment of the newly discovered Tomb 26 in pyramid cemetery SAC5 on Sai Island (Upper Nubia). In 2017, undisturbed burials of the mid – late 18th Dynasty were exposed and yielded high-quality burial items of Egyptian style (wooden coffins, funerary masks, faience and stone vessels, heart scarabs, a stone shabti, steatite scarabs and a number of intact ceramic vessels). The importance of these finds for reconstructing both daily life and death on New Kingdom Sai, an Egyptian temple town and administrative centre, is highlighted.

Schlagworte: Sai Island, New Kingdom, pyramid tomb, pyramidion, Nubia, shabti

This paper examines the material from a number of pits and wells from suburban areas of Hala Sultan Tekke, Cyprus. The aim is to identify pits and wells which contain intentionally deposited material other than rubbish. The Late Bronze Age metropolis of Hala Sultan Tekke offers an excellent opportunity for this study, as a considerable number of pits and wells spanning the complete Late Cypriot Bronze Age were excavated and well-documented over the course of almost five decades of archaeological research. As we have very little evidence of ritual practice – distinct cultic structures are as yet unknown at Hala Sultan Tekke – the re-evaluation of selected pottery deposits will offer a key towards a better understanding of possible ritual activities. In addition, Hala Sultan Tekke is – so far – the only Late Cypriot site, where we can see a clear connection between offering pits containing mainly pottery deposits and tombs, as these structures are found in close proximity to each other. This situation supports the view that the material from the offering pits reflects specific rituals for the deceased. Finally, the evidence of ritual feasting at other Late Cypriot sites, such as Kouklia Evreti, Kalavasos Ayios Dhimitrios and Enkomi, will briefly be discussed in order to present a more comprehensive picture.

Schlagworte: Burial Practice, Feasting, Ritual, Intentional Deposits, Refuse, Wells, Pits, Late Bronze Age, Cyprus

This short article presents a case of intentional use of a layer consisting of a large number of pottery sherds along with the more usual clean yellow sand in a shallow foundation trench under a fragmentary New Kingdom mudbrick wall encountered in Tell el-Retaba in the Wadi Tumilat. Various possible explanations for the use of these sherds as a part of an architectural feature are explored with the aim of drawing attention to a hitherto under-studied cultural practice in Egyptian New Kingdom settlement architecture.

Schlagworte: Tell el-Retaba, foundation trenching, sandbox foundation, New Kingdom, settlement architecture

The article discusses different kinds of depositions in their specific contexts, such as in temples, cemeteries and settlements. In the focus of this paper are depositions consisting mainly of pottery vessels which are much more common than precious objects but which are often more difficult to differentiate from mere waste. Depositions in connection to tombs are especially diverse and reflect rituals in addition to thosse otherwise known from texts and wall paintings. A case study is dedicated to depositions encountered to the south of the tomb of Djer at Abydos that most probably was arranged during the funeral and which was respected as a sacred place during the whole pharaonic history.

Schlagworte: Abydos/Umm el-Qaab, cemetery deposition, cultic cache, deposition, embalming deposit, Pottery, storage pit, temple deposit, waste

The Egyptian Tale of the Two Brothers describes how Bata spends time in the Lebanese Valley of the s-tree. This episode differs in certain aspects from the remainder of the text, also employing foreign motifs – such as the creation of a woman to ease Bata’s loneliness, the removal of his beating heart from his body and its resuscitation while still separate from it, and the Egyptian gods wandering through the Lebanese valley. While several attempts have been made to identify the origin(s) of this episode, none have been convincing. This paper examines the non-Egyptian motifs in the light of Babylonian and biblical texts, suggesting that an ancient Levantine tradition which left its traces on these (but to date has not been found in the Ugaritic corpus) lies behind this section of the Tale.

Schlagworte: Bata, the Cedar Forest, the Lebanese Beqaa, the Gilgamesh epic, the Garden of Eden, Ezekiel’s prophecies

Scarabs found in Ramesside contexts in the Levant are generally considered as Egyptian imports. Yet, the possibility of local scarab production in the southern Levant during the early Ramesside period was considered in the case of scarabs displaying an archaization of Canaanite Middle Bronze Age designs. Considering the large number of locally-made scarabs in Palestine during the Middle Bronze Age, the Ramesside imitations could have been inspired by early prototypes discovered in this region. However, these scarabs could just as well have originated in the region of Tell el-Dabca-Qantir, the location of Avaris and Piramesses – the respective capitals of the Hyksos and the 19th and 20th Dynasties, where Middle Bronze Age Canaanite scarabs were imported on a large scale during the Second Intermediate Period. The aim of this paper is to try to establish the origin of production of archaizing Ramesside scarabs, whether they were produced in the Ramesside capital or in the southern Levant.

Schlagworte: Ramesside archaizing scarabs, from Avaris to Piramesses, Ramesside scarab workshops

This article provides some new information on the descendants of Wah-ib-Re I who was buried in the tomb of Ankh-Hor, TT 414, during the 30th Dynasty/early Ptolemaic era. As a result of a joint puzzle of data deriving from material excavated by the Austrian Mission in TT 414 and from objects currently kept in European museums originating from non-scientific work in the tomb, previously unknown family members are reconstructed. This extended family tree is also of relevance for fine-dating funerary objects and assessing burial customs in Ptolemaic Thebes.

Schlagworte: Asasif, TT 414, Wah-ib-Re, tomb groups, Ptolemaic, mummy label

Er-Rizeiqat is an Upper Egyptian cemetery located ca. 10 km west form Armant, which was in use from predynastic times to the Greco- Roman period. The aim of the paper is to present this poorly known archaeological site, which was for many years neglected by scholars, despite its informative potentials. Previous publications and some of the unpublished artefacts were analysed in light of the reconnaissance undertaken in 2013 and 2016. From the results, it was possible to gather information on the topography and state of preservation of the necropolis as well as specific dating of its use. An evaluation of its significance and an attempt to relate it with the local settlements have contributed to the better understanding of the settlement pattern in the southern part of the Theban nome. It is suggested in this paper that the site served as a cemetery to settlements of: Iumiteru, Iusut, and Mniry/Mnity, as well as Sumenu from the First Intermediate Period onward.

Schlagworte: er-Rizeiqat, Iumiteru, Sumenu, Theban nome, cemetery

In this article we discuss four datasets that provide evidence for the expansion of grain growing in Canaan in the second half of the 13th century and the 12th century BCE: the faunal and flint records from Megiddo, the pollen diagram for the Sea of Galilee and the ancient DNA study of Bronze and Iron Age cattle in the Levant. Efforts to expand dry farming in Canaan were probably related to the dry climate event in the later phases of the Late Bronze Age, which has recently been detected in several pollen records from the Eastern Mediterranean. We discuss textual evidence related to drought and famine that struck the Near East at that time. We then suggest that the Egyptian administration in Canaan initiated the extension of dry farming in order to stabilise the situation in the southern and eastern fringe areas of the Levant and supply grain to areas in the northern Near East which, according to textual data, were badly afflicted by the climate crisis.

Schlagworte: Late Bronze, Canaan, Egypt, grain, climate crisis, Megiddo, faunal assemblages, ancient DNA, cattle, zebu, flint tools, pollen

In this article, we present new evidence pertaining to the transition from the Late Bronze to the Iron I at Megiddo and analyse data from past excavations. Meticulous excavations of stratigraphic sequences in different parts of the site, accompanied by good control over ceramic typology and a rigorous programme of radiocarbon dating, enable observing minute developments in the history of the site. We shed light on the history of Megiddo in the later phases of the Late Bronze Age and early days of the Iron I, the end of the Egyptian rule and the appearance of Philistine pottery. All three issues have implications beyond Megiddo.

Schlagworte: Late Bronze, Iron I, Megiddo, 20th Dynasty, Philistine pottery, Egypt in Canaan

Papyrus British Museum 10056 is well known as a source for information on the history of New Kingdom economy and on shipbuilding. The present article, however, aims at evaluating this important papyrus in the context of chronology, of the education of princes in the Tuthmosid era and as a source for the localisation of Perunefer. In January 2014, the papyrus was collated in the British Museum, which allowed for the improvement of S.R.K. Glanville’s readings in a few instances. Perhaps the most important one concerns a much debated date on the verso, which, based on the suggestions made by S. Pasquali, now can be reconstructed as ‘regnal year 51, third month of winter, day 4’ (rnp.t-sp djjjwwj.t3bdhmt.nw prj.tswfdw). Accordingly, the papyrus must be assigned to Tuthmosis III, and there is no obstacle to the identification of the ‘king’s son and sem-priest Amenophis’ (s3-njswtsmJmnw-htp.w) as Amenophis II shortly before his inauguration as his father’s coregent. Further evaluation in the broader context of the princes’ education during the Tuthmosid era contributes to the knowledge of Amenophis II’s military training, which he received together with his ‘ foster brother Qenamun’ (sn nj mn') all throughout Egypt and which covered all branches of military service. The last stage of their education focussed on the navy and took place at the naval base and dockyard Perunefer, which most likely was located near Tell el-Dab‘a.

Schlagworte: Perunefer, Prinzenerziehung/education of princes, Qenamun, Amenophis II., Thutmosis III./Tuthmosis III, Papyrus British Museum 10056

The cemeteries of the southern Egyptian Nile Valley have for a long time taken up a major role in the reconstruction of the emergence of social complexity during the 5th and 4th millennia and of the early territorial state of Pharaonic Egypt. Whilst this data is very substantial and highly important, it has overshadowed other archaeological information that is equally significant and that actually challenges certain interpretations deriving only from mortuary data. This paper aims at considering archaeological evidence primarily derived from a number of settlements and from material culture of the Neolithic, Chalcolithic and until the Early Dynastic Periods to better balance and contextualise the mortuary evidence of these periods. It will discuss and interpret these on the background of current scholarship on material culture, interregional exchange and social complexity and will especially seek to answer questions concerning the socio-economic context of institutionalised leadership and its potential links to early kingship. The paper will also address the high degree of variability in archaeological data and thereby contribute to a growing scholarly consensus that Egypt’s path to civilisation and statehood followed a number of different, often unrelated, trajectories within a regionally variable cultural system in the Egyptian Nile Valley.

Schlagworte: Predynastic Egypt, social complexity, settlements, material culture, institutionalised leadership, kingship, state formation

The article reassesses and re-discusses the available archaeological and textual evidence of the city of Heliopolis, in the attempt to clarify its role in the historical evolution of the solar cult and religion in third millennium BC Old Kingdom Egypt. By connecting archaeological evidence with landscape phenomenology as well as private sources with royal texts and decorative material, the paper emphasises how certain Egyptological assumptions, usually taken for granted, are far from being proven. It eventually shows that the key of the discussion has to be searched for in the study of the relationship between Atum and Re.

Schlagworte: Heliopolos, solar cult, third millennium BC, Old Kingdom, Egyptian religion, Atum, Ra.

The Second Intermediate Period is exemplified by the division of Egypt into several dynasties. As current research proposes, those who held administrative control in the north were of Near Eastern origin, their power likely stemming from commercial ventures initiated in the preceding Middle Kingdom when dynamic trade networks spanned the region. The resulting cultural encounters were complex and multifaceted, with various groups and ideas crossing borders. Yet, shifts in power from the Twelfth Dynasty to the Second Intermediate Period would have feasibly affected such encounters. The evidence examined here focusses on Levantine elements in Nubia: the presence of people of Near Eastern ancestry and products of Levantine influence that crossed the southern borders of Egypt. It concludes with observations on shifts in the nature of these encounters, and how such shifts could be connected to other political and cultural developments associated with the fall of the Middle Kingdom and the beginning of the Second Intermediate Period.

Schlagworte: intercultural contacts, Asiatics, Nubia, Second Intermediate Period, Middle Kingdom, Hyksos Period

In the mid-6th millennium calBC, ceramics appeared for the first time in the Fayum and Delta of Lower Egypt. A southern Levantine origin for these ceramic types was proposed over fifty years ago by Jacob Kaplan (KAPLAN 1959) and several different cultural entities have since been considered as the possible origin, including the Yarmukian culture (EIWANGER 1984), the Qatifian culture (SMITH 1989), the Lodian (SHIRAI 2010), the Nizzanim and the Wadi Rabah culture (TASSIE 2014). This paper examines these five possible source cultures and reviews the archaeological data based on an absolute radiocarbon chronology. Preliminary results suggest that the Wadi Rabah culture played the most crucial role in the formation of the Neolithic of Lower Egypt, and that there were extensive cultural interactions between the Levant and Egypt. The interactions emerging in this period were embedded in an internationalism that connected most of the Near East. It can be envisaged that favourable climatic conditions in this period might also have enabled and facilitated interactions between the southern Levant and Egypt. The transregional interactions of the 6th millennium calBC can also be seen as a prelude to the better understood contacts of the Early Bronze Age, which also coincided with a climatic amelioration.

Schlagworte: Neolithic, Egypt, Wadi Rabah, trans regional interaction, climate

As archaeological remains have proven, the Upper Nubian site Sai Island played an important role during the Egyptian conquest in the early New Kingdom. The Pharaonic town, a fortified settlement on the eastern bank of the island, allows an analysis of the domestic life and the religious beliefs of the Egyptian and Nubian inhabitants. Among the large quantity of New Kingdom finds are so-called Nun bowls, a unique group of faience vessels associated with regeneration and fertility. This paper examines the excavated fragments and their distribution in the different sectors of the settlement as well as their diverse decorative motifs and functions.

Schlagworte: Sai Island, Nubia, faience, Nun bowls, New Kingdom, settlement