Agypten und Levante XIX Egypt and the Levant XIX 3700168292, 9783700168775, 9783700168294, 3700168772 [PDF]

Zitiervorschau

Herausgeber/Editor MANFRED BIETAK

ÄGYPTEN UND LEVANTE EGYPT AND THE LEVANT

XIX/2009

XIX 2009

Redaktion: ERNST CZERNY

KOMMISSION FÜR ÄGYPTEN UND LEVANTE DER ÖSTERREICHISCHEN AKADEMIE DER WISSENSCHAFTEN INSTITUT FÜR ÄGYPTOLOGIE DER UNIVERSITÄT WIEN ÖSTERREICHISCHES ARCHÄOLOGISCHES INSTITUT KAIRO

Vorgelegt von w. M. MANFRED BIETAK in der Sitzung vom 11. Dezember 2009

Gedruckt mit der Unterstützung der Universität Wien und des Österreichischen Archäologischen Instituts

Spezialforschungsbereich (SCIEM 2000) „Die Synchronisierung der Hochkulturen im östlichen Mittelmeerraum im 2. Jahrtausend v. Chr.“ der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften beim Fonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung

Special Research Programme SCIEM 2000 “The Synchronisation of Civilizations in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Second Millennium B.C.” of the Austrian Academy of Sciences at the Austrian Science Fund

Alle Rechte vorbehalten ISBN 978-3-7001-6829-4 ISSN 1015–5104 Copyright © 2009 by Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien Grafik, Satz, Layout: Angela Schwab Druck, Bindung: Wograndl Druck GmbH, 7210 Mattersburg http://hw.oeaw.ac.at/6829-4 http://verlag.oeaw.ac.at

Die Zeitschrift Ägypten und Levante ist Ä&L abzukürzen. The Journal Egypt and the Levant should be abbreviated E&L.

Inhaltsverzeichnis/Contents

Abkürzungen/Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

9

Vorwort/Introduction von/by Manfred Bietak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11

M. Bietak, Farewell to Our Great and Dear Friend Paul Åström . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

15

D.A. Aston and B. Bader with a contribution by K.G. Kunst, Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81 . . . . . . . . . . .

19

M. Bietak und I. Forstner-Müller, mit einem Beitrag von F. van Koppen und K. Radner, Der Hyksospalast bei Tell el-Daca. Zweite und Dritte Grabungskampagne (Frühling 2008 und Frühling 2009) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

91

M. Dijkstra, A Chief of the Bowmen, Overseer of the Foreign Lands at Serabit el-Khadim (Sinai 300+297) . . .

121

P. Fuscaldo, The White Slip Wares from Tell el-Dabca, in the Palace District at cEzbet Helmi (Areas H/III and H/VI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

127

J. Gresky, I. Forstner-Müller und M. Schultz, Ergebnisse der paläopathologischen Untersuchung an einem Skelett aus Tell el-Dabca (Ägypten) -– Rekonstruktion eines individuellen Krankheitsstatus . . . . .

139

D.L. Phillips, J.C. Rose and W.M. van Haarlem, Bioarchaeology of Tell Ibrahim Awad . . . . . . . . . . . .

157

M.A.S. Martin, Egyptian-type Eighteenth Dynasty Pots at Megiddo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

211

T. Mühlenbruch, J.H. Sterba und D. Sürenhagen, Neutronenaktivierungsanalysen an Keramik aus Tell Djinderis/Gindaros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

219

M. Ownby and D. Griffiths, Issues of Scum: Technical Analyses of Egyptian Marl C to Answer Technological Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

229

S. Rzepka, A. Wodzinska, J. Hudec and T. Herbich, Tell el-Retaba 2007–2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

241

N. Sartori, Die Siegel aus Areal F/II in Tell el-Dabca. Erster Vorbericht . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

281

H. Willems, S. Vereecken, L. Kuijper, B. Vanthuyne, E. Marinova, V. Linseele, G. Verstraeten, S. Hendrickx, M. Eyckerman, A. Van den Broeck, W. Van Neer, Janine Bourriau, P. French, Chr. Peeters, V. De Laet, S. Mortier, and Z. De Kooning, An Industrial Site at al-Shaykh Sac •d/W åd • Zabayda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

293

I. Ziffer, S. Bunimovitz and Z. Lederman, Divine or Human? An Intriguing Late Bronze Age Plaque Figurine from Tel Beth-Shemesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

333

Abkürzungen/Abbreviations

Ä&L

AAS AASOR ADAJ Aegyptus AJA

Ägypten und Levante. Zeitschrift für ägyptische Archäologie und deren Nachbargebiete, Wien Annales archéologiques arabes syriennes. Revue d’Archéologie et d’Histoire, Damaskus Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research, New Haven Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, Amman Aegyptus. Rivista Italiana di Egittologia e di Papirologia, Mailand

American Journal of Archaeology, Norwood, Mass. AnSt Anatolian Studies. Journal of the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara, London Antiquity Antiquity. A quaterly review of World Archaeology, York Archaeometry Archaeometry. Bulletin of the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and History of Art, Oxford University ArchDelt Arkaiologikon Deltion, Athen AV Archäologische Veröffentlichungen. Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Abt. Kairo, Berlin/ Mainz BAH Bibliothèque archéologique et historique, Beirut BAR IS British Archaeological Reports, International Series, Oxford BASOR Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, New Haven BCEg Bulletin de Liaison du Groupe International d’étude de la céramique égyptienne, Kairo BdE Bibliothèque d’Etude, Kairo Berytus Berytus. Archaeological Studies, Beirut BIFAO Bulletin de l’Institut français d’archéologie Orientale, Kairo BSA Annual of the British School at Athens, London, Athens BSAE British School of Archaeology in Egypt, London Buried History Buried History. Journal of the Australian Institute of Archaeology, Victoria CASAE Supplément aux Annales du Service des Antiquités de l’Égypte, Cahiers, Kairo CChEM Contributions to the Chronology of the Eastern Mediterranean, edited by M. Bietak and H. Hunger, Vienna CPOA Civilisations du Proche-Orient Serie I. Archeologie et Environnment, Neuchâtel EES Excav. Mem. EES Excavation Memoirs, London ERC Éditions Recherche sur les Civilisations, Paris FoRa Forschungen in der Ramsesstadt, Mainz GM Göttinger Miszellen, Göttingen

IEJ Iraq JAOS JARCE JAS JCS JEA JMA JNES JWAG LÄ Levant MDOG MIE MMJ OBO SA OLA Op.Ath. Orientalia PZ Qedem

RDAC RdE RlA RSO

SAGA SAK SIMA Syria

Tel Aviv TMO

Israel Exploration Journal Iraq. British School of Archaeology in Iraq, London Journal of the American Oriental Society, Ann Arbor, Mich. Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, Boston Journal of Archaeological Science, Oxford Journal of Cuneiform Studies, Chicago/New Haven Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, London Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology, Glasgow Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Chicago Journal of the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore Lexikon der Ägyptologie, ed. by W. HELCK, W. WESTENDORF, 7 vols. Wiesbaden 1972 ff. Levant. Journal of the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem, London Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft zu Berlin, Berlin Mémoires de l’Institut d’Égypte, Kairo Metropolitan Museum of Art Journal, New York Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis, Series Archaeologica, Freiburg, Göttingen Orientalia Lovanensia Analecta, Leuven Opuscula atheniensia. Annual of the Swedish Institute at Athens, Jonsered Orientalia. Commentarii periodici de rebus Orientis antiqui, Rom Prähistorische Zeitschrift, Berlin Qedem. Monographs of the Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem Report of the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus, Nicosia Revue d’Égyptologie, Paris Reallexikon der Assyriologie, Berlin, New York Ras Shamra-Ougarit. Publications de la Mission Archéologique Francais de Ras ShamraOugarit, Paris Studien zur Archäologie und Geschichte Altägyptens, Heidelberg Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur, Hamburg Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology, Göteborg, Jonsered, Sävedalen Syria. Revue d’art oriental et d’archéologie publiée par l’Institut Français d’Archéologie du ProcheOrient, Beirut Tel Aviv. Journal of the Tel Aviv University, Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv Travaux de la Maison de l’Orient, Lyon

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Abkürzungen/Abbreviations

UF UGAÄ Urk. UZK

Ugarit-Forschungen. Internationales Jahrbuch für die Altertumskunde Syrien-Palästinas, Münster Untersuchungen zur Geschichte und Altertumskunde Ägyptens, Leipzig G. STEINDORFF (Hrsg.), Urkunden des ägyptischen Altertums. Leipzig 1904 ff. Untersuchungen der Zweigstelle Kairo des Österreichischen Archäologischen Instituts, Wien

WdO WVDOG WZKM ZÄS

Welt des Orients, Göttingen Wissenschaftliche Veröffentlichung der deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft, Berlin Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes, Wien Zeitschrift für ägyptischen Sprache und Altertumskunde, Leipzig, Berlin

Vorwort

Preface

Von Manfred Bietak

By Manfred Bietak

In vorliegendem Band findet man einerseits Berichte von meist noch laufenden Ausgrabungen im Delta und Oberägypten. Ferner sind als Bereich des Spezialforschungsbereichs SCIEM 2000 naturwissenschaftliche und archäologische Spezialuntersuchungen an spezifischer Keramik der Levante und Ägyptens untergebracht, um deren chronologische und technische Signifikanz als historische Quellen sicher zu stellen. Untersuchungen über den Horusweg, über Siegelabdrücke, über Kultplaketten sowie anthropologische Untersuchungen zeigen das in der heutigen Archäologie notwendige Forschungsspektrum auf. Über die jüngsten Untersuchungen eines ca. 10.500 m2 großen Palastes der Hyksoszeit bei Tell el-Dabca wird ein Bericht vorgelegt. Dieser Baukomplex weist keine Ähnlichkeiten zu ägyptischen Palästen auf und ist eher in der Tradition nordsyrischer Paläste anzusiedeln (Beitrag Manfred Bietak und Irene Forstner Müller). Die Zuweisung zum Hyksos Chian (Khayan) – einer der bedeutendsten Herrscher der 15. Dynastie – konnte durch eine Reihe von Siegelabdrücken mit dem Namen dieses Königs (Beitrag Nicolas Sartori) und durch die Keramikseriation sichergestellt werden. Die Versiegelungen als Praxis in der Administration wurde – entgegen gängiger Vorstellungen im Fach – auch in der Hyksoszeit weiter ausgeübt. In der Kampagne 2008 fand sich in einem Brunnen des Palastes ein Fragment eines Keilschrifttäfelchens. Frans van Koppen und Karen Radner konnten dieses bemerkenswerte Stück trotz seiner geringen Größe mit paläographischen Argumenten in die letzte Phase des Altbabylonischen Reiches setzen. Es handelt sich ohne Zweifel um einen Brief aus königlicher beziehungsweise diplomatischer Korrespondenz in akkadischer Sprache. Dieser Fund ist insofern sehr bemerkenswert, weil er die seit Amarna bekannte Briefdiplomatie in Akkadisch – in diesem Fall ohne kanaanäische Einflüsse – in die Zeit der Hyksosherrschaft zurück verfolgen lässt, ja sogar nahe legt, dass diese vorderasiatische Usance des diplomatischen Verkehrs möglicherweise von den Hyksos nach Ägypten eingeführt worden war. In einem später an den Palast angefügten Hof kamen große runde Gruben mit Deponierungen von Opfergeschirr und Tierknochen zum Vorschein, welche als Relikte ritueller Mahlzeiten anzusehen sind (Beitrag David Aston, Bettina Bader

This volume is primarily dedicated to archaeology and its methods including, as it does, excavation reports of current projects on the Delta, the Wadi Tumilat and Middle Egypt. In connection with the special SCIEM 2000 research program, scientific and typological analyses of ceramic remains from Egypt and the Levant are presented to highlight the chronological and technological potential of these materials as historical sources. Investigations on the Horus Road, seals, cult plaques and anthropological analyses give an insight into current archaeological research tools. A detailed preliminary report shows the results of the ongoing excavations of a palace of the Hyksos Period at Tell el-Dabca. The complex arrangement they have so far turned up shows no resemblance to Egyptian palaces but seems to be far more in line with the tradition of Syrian Bronze Age palatial architecture (contribution Manfred Bietak and Irene Forstner-Müller). According to the seal impressions found, the building is attributable to Khayan – one of the most important rulers of the 15th Dynasty (contribution Nicolas Sartori). Sealing was obviously a part of the administrative practice which had been adopted by the Hyksos from the Egyptian Middle Kingdom. This line of continuity has traditionally been denied by researchers of the Second Intermediate Period. During the last campaign, a fragment of a cuneiform tablet appeared in a well south of the palace. Frans van Koppen and Karen Radner were able to identify this fragment as an Akkadian tablet which, according to its orthography, could be dated to the last decades of the Old Babylonian Kingdom. It seems to have been a royal letter showing that long-distance letter diplomacy using Akkadian had been introduced by the Hyksos into Egypt about 150 years before the Amarna archives. The find has also chronological importance for synchronising Egyptian and Mesopotamian chronologies. In a courtyard added to the palace at a later phase, excavations have revealed a series of sizeable round pits containing deposits of pottery and animal bones which were identifiable as relics of ritual meals (contribution David Aston, Bettina Bader and Karl G. Kunst). This evidence is reminiscent of Ancient Near Eastern institu-

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Vorwort/Preface

und Karl G. Kunst). Man könnte an die im alten Orient aus Texten bekannte Einrichtung der Marzihu denken, die Kultgemeinschaften bei bestimmten Anlässen als Plätze für festliche oder funeräre Mähler dienten. Das Geschirr und die Speiserelikte wurden in großen Gruben verscharrt. Perla Fuscaldo, langjährige Mitarbeiterin in Tell el Dabca, stellt eine Kollektion von zyprischen White Slip Scherben vor, die aus dem Palastareal der 18. Dynastie von cEzbet Helmi westlich von Tell el-Dabca stammen und für die Erstellung der Chronologie des ostmediterranen Raumes zur späten Bronzezeit eine wichtige Rolle spielen. Eine Altlast der holländischen Ausgrabungen auf Tell Ibrahim Awad wird durch Willem M. van Haarlem, Jerome C. Rose und Delisa L. Phillips aufgearbeitet. Es handelt sich um 77 Gräber aus der Zeit des Alten Reiches, der Ersten Zwischenzeit und des frühen Mittleren Reiches. Die Gräber der zuletzt erwähnten Epoche lagen in deutlichem Zusammenhang mit dem Tempel dieser Zeit, wobei sich offenbar ein Delta-Brauchtum manifestiert, das später wieder in Tell el-Dabca auftaucht. Ein neues Grabungsprojekt wurde von einer polnisch-slowakischen Mission auf Tell el-Rotaba im Wadi Tumilat (2007–2008) aufgenommen (Beitrag Slawomir Rzepka et al.). Dies ist umso erfreulicher, als die kanadische Survey Tätigkeit und Ausgrabungen durch Hans Goedicke und der Antikenverwaltung in diesem Areal in den siebziger und achziger Jahren unpubliziert blieben. Inzwischen wurde von den lokalen Behörden eine große Rohrleitung quer durch den Tell angelegt, womit eine ziemliche Zerstörung des dortigen Antikengeländes einher ging. Durch neue geophysische Survey Tätigkeit unter Tomasz Herbich konnte nunmehr die Temenosmauer des Tempelareals vollständig erfaßt werden. 2008 wurden innerhalb des Temenosbezirks Bauten des Neuen Reiches und der Dritten Zwischenzeit angetroffen, was den Leerbefund von Flinders Petrie widerlegt. Diese Stratigraphie könnte für das Studium der Dritten Zwischenzeit von besonderer Bedeutung werden. Ein weiterer ausführlicher Bericht von Harco Willems und Kollegen stellt eine kombinierte Survey- und Grabungsunternehmung im Gebiet von Shaykh Sac•d im Bereich des Wåd• Zabayda in Mittelägypten vor. Technologisch und kulturhistorisch sind unter anderem Relikte einer umfangreichen Steingefäße Industrie, darunter Ansammlungen von Steinbohrern, von besonderem Interesse. Über diese hatte bereits Norman de Garis Davies berichtet, doch nicht weiter bewertet. Die Autoren datieren die Bohrer in das

tions – the marzihu – which were used by cult communities to conduct funerary events and ritual feasts at miscellaneous festivals. The relics were buried in pits. Perla Fuscaldo, who has been working a lengthy period at Tell el-Dabca, includes publication of a collection of Cypriot White Slip Ware originating from the palace precincts and compound at cEzbet Helmy of the Tuthmoside Period. This kind of pottery which used to be exported to the Levant and Egypt is of special importance for synchronising chronological phases all over the Eastern Mediterranean. Willem van Haarlem, Jerome C. Rose and Delisa L. Phillips deal with the human remains from the Dutch excavations at Tell Ibrahim Awad in the 80s and 90s. 77 graves from the late Old Kingdom, the Second Intermediate Period and early Middle Kingdom are analysed. The latest ones at any rate show a distinct link to the temple of that period. It seems that positioning tombs within sacred precincts is an old Delta tradition which also surfaces at Tell el-Dabca. Following a lengthy interval, excavations were resumed at Tell el-Rotaba in the Wadi Tumilat by a Polish-Slovakian Mission 2007–2008 (contribution Slawomir Rzepka et al.). Be that as it may, all the previous excavations and surveys in the 70s, 80s and 90s by Hans Goedicke, the Canadian Expedition and SCA have not been chronicled and published. The Tell has since been intersected right along its length by the local authorities that have dug a wide trench to accommodate a pipeline. That is why this new initiative is important. Geophysical and resistivity surveying under Tomasz Herbich has resulted in a map which shows the Temenos walls as well as culminating in pilot excavations within the enclosed area. They have revealed a stratigraphy of structures of the late New Kingdom and Third Intermediate Period which Flinders Petrie came to miss. This kind of evidence could be most important in the future when evaluating the history of the Third Intermediate Period. Harco Willems and colleagues present the recent results of a combined survey and excavation program at Shaykh Sac•d in Wåd• Zabayda which is in Middle Egypt. Of special interest from a technological and cultural history point of view are the relics of an industrial district with deposits from flint drill heads for producing stone vessels. The excavators date those relics as recently as the New Kingdom. The stratigraphy at this site goes back to the Old Kingdom.

Vorwort/Preface

Neue Reich, das Fundgut der tiefer liegenden Schichten reicht jedoch bis in das frühe Alte Reich zurück. Meindert Dijkstra führt uns in eine neue Diskussion über die Topographie des Horusweges und seiner militärischen Anlagen, indem er als Grundlage Stelenfragmente aus Serabit el-Khadim (Sinai 300+297) zusammensetzt und auf diese Art neue Quellen erschließt. Weitere Beiträge behandeln Befunde aus der benachbarten Levante und sind z.T. aus Studien im Rahmen des Spezialforschungsbereichs SCIEM 2000 erwachsen. Mario A.S. Martin untersucht im Rahmen seines groß angelegten Projektes über ägyptische Keramik in Kanaan einschlägige Funde der 18. Dynastie aus Megiddo indem er altes und neues unpubliziertes Material zusammenführt und aufzeigt wie weit Kanaan in der späten Bronzzeit von der ägyptischen Kultur durchdrungen war. Irit Ziffer und die Ausgräber von Beth Shemesh stellen in einer Analyse eine erst 2008 gefundene Tonplatte mit figuralen Darstellungen vor. Tobias Mühlenbruch, Josef Sterba und Dietrich Sürenhagen zeigen mit Hilfe von Neutronenaktivierungsanalysen, dass die Gegend von Tell Djinderis im Afrintal in Nordwestsyrien als Produktionsstätte lokaler mykenischer Keramik anzusehen ist. Ein weiterer Artikel von Mary Ownby und Dafydd Griffiths führt die Anwendung mehrerer naturwissenschaftlicher Untersuchungsmethoden vor und bringt Klärung in die lange diskutierte Frage der weißen Oberfläche und der sog. „Tonstein-Einschlüsse“ bei ägyptischer Mergel-C Keramik. Das Material stammt, wie einst Dorothea Arnold nachgewiesen hatte, aus der Umgebung von Memphis einschließlich der Region des Fayum und wurde vor allem für Vorratsgefäße und Wasserbehälter verwendet. Als solche finden sie in der Seefahrt Verwendung und kommen immer wieder an Küstenplätzen der Levante und des Roten Meeres zum Vorschein. Schließlich ist an den Beginn des Bandes eine Würdigung des bedeutenden schwedischen Gelehrten Paul Åström gestellt, der vergangenes Jahr verstarb. Er verfasste grundlegende Arbeiten zur Archäologie Zyperns und des ostmediterranen Raumes. Er war ein großer Freund und Förderer des Spezialforschungsbereiches SCIEM 2000. Unsere Forschungsgemeinschaft hat Paul Åström sehr viel zu verdanken. So sei dieser Nachruf als Tribut an einen besonderen Freund gedacht. Manfred Bietak

13

Meindert Dijkstra embarks upon a new discussion of the topography of the Horus Road and its military facilities by resort to new evidence and joining the Sinai 297 and 300 stela fragments. The special SCIEM 2000 research program has generated contributions in ceramic and other studies of the Levant. Mario A.S. Martin, who has compiled a major study on the Egyptian and Egyptianising pottery in the Levant, deals in this volume with relevant finds from Megiddo. He shows the extent to which Canaan in the Late Bronze Age had been exposed to the influence of the Egyptian culture of the New Kingdom. Irit Ziffer and the Beth Shemesh excavators analyse, from this site, figural representations on a plaque which had been found in 2008. Tobias Mühlenbruch, Josef Sterba and Dietrich Sürenhagen show – using NAA analysis of pottery – that Tell Djinderis in the Afrin Valley in the north-western part of Syria was the production center of locally produced Mycenaean pottery. Various analytical methods are used by Mary Ownby and Dafydd Griffith to clarify technological issues surrounding the production of Egyptian Marl C Ware. As Dorothea Arnold has succeeded in showing, this kind of pottery originates from the wider Memphite region including the Fayum Oasis. It was used mainly for storage and water jars and also employed as such for seaborne expeditions. Sherds and entire vessels make a recurring appearance alongside settlement contexts in Egypt and also at sites bordering the sea along the coasts of the Levant and Red Sea. That is why technological identification is so important when using this material in a wider research context. At the beginning of this volume we have included a tribute to the late Professor Paul Åström in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the archaeology and history of Cyprus, the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean. He was a great friend and ally of our research network centred around SCIEM 2000. Our scientific community is much indebted to Paul Åström. Accordingly, those pages are an expression of sincere thanks to a special friend. Manfred Bietak

FAREWELL TO OUR GREAT AND DEAR FRIEND PAUL ÅSTRÖM 1 By Manfred Bietak

The scientific community dealing with Bronze Age Cyprus, the Aegean and the Levant has lost a great scholar. The group of researchers working on the special research programme SCIEM 2000 has lost a dear friend and supporter of this project. We can no longer ask him questions nor seek his advice any more. Paul Åström passed

1

away after short illness on the 4th of October 2008. He leaves his wife: the archaeologist Elisabeth, née Mossberg, with whom he worked together at Paul Åströms förlag, and three sons. Paul, who was a gentle and affable person, was a dominant scholar of Aegean and Cypriot history for more than half a century. He was born on

The writer of this obituary is indebted to Elisabeth Åström and Peter Fischer for corrections and addenda.

Ägypten und Levante/Egypt and the Levant 19, 2009, 15–17 © 2009 by Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien

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Manfred Bietak

the 15th of January 1929 at Sundsvall in northern Sweden. He started his long association with the University of Lund with a dissertation which featured a comprehensive presentation of the Middle Cypriot Bronze Age based on the evaluation of pottery. With this first major study he won a prize for best dissertation at the university in 1958. Due to its serious merit and practical worth, it became one of the most important standard publications on Bronze Age in the Eastern Mediterranean. Because of its pivotal location, Cypriot pottery was widely prevalent in Egyptian, Near Eastern and Aegean contexts. In the Late Bronze Age, its range of influence spanned out into the Western Mediterranean. This gave Paul’s early opus an importance far beyond the Cypriot antiquities community, going into reprint 20 years after the first edition. Paul Åström had been a lecturer since 1957. This was soon followed by an Associate Chair at the Institute for Ancient Cultures and Civilisations at the University of Lund where he was also director of the Antiquities Museum. Back in the late Forties, Paul Åström took part in renowned excavations at Bornholm, Gotland and, in 1950, at Labranda in Turkey until the opportunity came round for him to direct his own fieldwork – which added to his international reputation by doubling as an excavator. The most important of his digs included Kalopsidha and Ayios Iakovos on Cyprus (1959), Dendrá and Midea in Greece (intermittently between 1960 and 1997), at San Giovenale in Italy (1967–1969) and, since 1971 until shortly before his death, he had been working on the highly significant Middle-to-Late Cypriot harbour town of Hala Sultan Tekke which turned up abundant material showing far-reaching connections with the entire Aegean, Anatolia, the Levant and Egypt. Archaeometry was also one of Paul Åström’s main interests, leaving him busy on prospecting and material studies. Between 1958 and 1963, Paul Åström was Director of the Swedish Institute of Archaeology in Athens – a position which went hand-in-hand with the diplomatic post of Cultural Attaché at the Swedish Embassy at Athens. He also accepted visiting professorships at the Columbia University and at the Universities of Missouri, Copenhagen, Bergen and Edinburgh. From 1967 till 1969 he was the Director of the Swedish Institute in Rome, ending up with the Professorship of Ancient Cultures and Civilisa-

tions at the University of Gothenburg. He held this chair with great commitment and enthusiasm until he retired with emeritus status in 1993. He had a series of excellent students who became scholars in the field in their own right. In those years he also held distinguished academic offices where his experience and expertise were in demand. He became a member of the Board (1970–1992) and Vice-President (1974–1992) of the Swedish Institute in Rome and Member (1970–1993) and Secretary (1970–1981) of the Swedish Institute in Athens. In those appointments, he did outstanding service and promoted the institutions he had once directed, helping younger colleagues on their way to distinction. Also, at his own university, Paul Åström was entrusted with highly responsible offices. Between 1974–1979, he was Chairman of the Association of Professors and of the Humanities Association. Between 1977–1980 he was part of the Board of Gothenburg University and, between 1979–1983, he served on the Board of the Association of University Teachers. Between 1975–1980 Paul Åström was Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and, 1972–1977, he was the representative of his Swedish Majesty on the National Council for Research in Humanities. Because of his eminent services to archaeological research, Paul Åström was awarded honorary doctorates from the Universities of Vienna (1994), of Athens (1995) and Joannina (2001). He became Honorary Member of the Swedish-Cypriot Society (1977) and was elected its President in 1983. He was also an honorary member of Etaireia Kypriakon Spoudon in Lefkosia, of the Archaeological Society in Athens, the Swedish-Greek Association in Gothenburg and the Ancient Fingerprint Society in Stockholm. He also was elected a Member of the German Archaeological Institute (1965), of the Austrian Archaeological Institute (1991) and the Nathan Söderblom Society in Uppsala (1992). Swedish King Gustav-Adolf VI instated Paul Åström as a Knight of the Royal Order of the Polar Star (1973) and the Republic of Cyprus made him Grand Commander of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Cyprus (2005). Paul Åström was elected to following academies: in 1973 to the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences in Gothenburg (the oldest Academy in Sweden), The Royal Society of Letters in Lund, 1975 the Royal Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities in Stockholm and 1998 into the Academie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. In 2008, a committee put him for-

Farewell to Our Great and Dear Friend Paul Åström

ward for election as Honorary Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. It is unfortunate that he did not live to see this happen. The scholarly works of Paul Åström are highly impressive. He produced no less than 687 publications,2 including 18 monographs and more than 20 monographs as co-author. With these often leading contributions he carved himself out a lasting and prominent place in the Exploration of the Pre- and Protohistory of the Mediterranean. Over and above that, he produced as an editor of the series Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology an enormous output of 135 monographs on the archaeology of Cyprus, the Aegean and the Levant. Linked to this series was a Pocketbook Series he created with the eponymous title under which 175 volumes appeared. Many young scholars should be grateful for Paul Åström’s efforts in publishing their dissertations. He also launched the series Archaeology and Natural Science and Documenta Mundi, besides 21 volumes with translations of classical writers. Paul Åström also wrote two books on the famous Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke who lived for a time in Gothenburg. He also published the Journal of Prehistoric Religion with 21 volumes. All of those publications are testimony to their editor’s wide-ranging interests. As a springboard for all of those publications, he also founded the famous Paul Åströms förlag which is now being carried on thanks to the efforts of his family. Paul Åström is closely linked by scholarly cooperation with the Austrian Academy of Sciences and University of Vienna, especially as part of the special research programme The Synchronisation of Civilisations in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Second Millennium BC (SCIEM 2000). He committed himself to this programme from its outset. We can

2

Bibliographies in Opuscula Atheniensia 20 Paul Åström dedicata (1994) and in PETER M. FISCHER (ed.), Contributions to the Archaeology and History of the Bronze Age and Iron Ages

17

even say that, with his Symposium High, Middle and Low? International Colloquium on Absolute Chronology held at the University of Gothenburg 20th-22nd August 1987, he was the initiator of our joint endeavour in finding common ground for a chronology of the Ancient World in the Middle and Late Bronze Age. A second Symposium with the same title followed at Schloss Haindorf in Lower Austria in 1990, paving the way for the Special Research Programme which started in 1999 and will be ending in 2011. Paul Åström’s enormous depths of knowledge and advice were indispensable for this project. A token of his closeness to our research is his Festschrift jubilee publication which was edited by Peter Fischer and published at the Austrian Archaeological Institute.3 The loss and bereavement which the international scientific community has suffered as a result of Paul Åström’s demise is immense. His wisdom and experience cannot guide us and show us the way any more on tangible, specific issues, although his spirit of research and intuitive talent in creating common projects will continue to be part of our lives. By his fostering of students and young scholars as well as by his committed teaching and research, he has not finished his life’s work. It still goes on. His past achievements and advice will also go on bearing academic offshoots into the future. His kind and helpful nature will continue to live in our memory.

Farewell, dear friend!

Manfred Bietak

3

in the Eastern Mediterranean. Studies in Honour of Paul Åström (2001). See note 1.

FISHES, RINGSTANDS, NUDES AND HIPPOS – A PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE HYKSOS PALACE PIT COMPLEX L81 OF 1 By David A. Aston and Bettina Bader * with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

During the Spring of 2006, excavations in area F/II led to the discovery of a large pit complex, L81, situated in square r/22, within a courtyard associated with a large palatial building, Building B, of the Hyksos period.2 When the square was first opened, the entire surface was covered with a dense layer of closely packed sherds and animal bones, in which several complete vessels could easily be observed. Despite the best efforts of the excavation team, this “pit” could not be entirely cleared during the 2006 campaign, and further work was undertaken during the Spring and Autumn campaigns of 2008.3 By 2008, however, it was clear that the original pit, subsequently termed L81/1 was cut into a depression which is either natural or a larger pit complex which (principally) bears the numbers L81/3-6-12-15. The entire pit complex was subsequently filled with a mass of pots, of which over 1800 complete profiles have since been restored, animal bones, on which a brief report by Karl Kunst is appended to this report, and a host of numerically smaller items, such as beads, shell pendants, scarabs, scaraboids, gaming pieces/pot lids, so-called meat or bread models, flints, seals, three of which bear the name of Khayan,4 stone vessel fragments, pieces of pumice, at least one net sinker and a few bronze items. A number of the pots were found intact, or could be completely restored indicating that they were either whole when placed in this pit complex, or had simply been deliberately broken at their time of deposition in a manner perhaps reminiscent of the ritual of breaking the red pots, whilst others were clearly broken in antiqui-

ty and arrived in L81 in an incomplete and worn state, some of which showed evidence of reuse as scrapers. The ceramic material is entirely homogeneous – sherds from the lowest levels joined those from the higher ones, and joins could be made across all the pits making up the complex, thus pieces from L81/1 joined L81/4; sherds from L81/1 joined L81/6; L81/6 joins L81/12 and L81/15 etc., so it would appear clear that, even if the pits were originally dug at different periods, they were all filled at roughly the same time. Overall the pots found in this locus tended to be in a good state of preservation, only the surface paint on those vessels found in the lowest levels of the complex had been removed by the rising ground water. As to the purpose and meaning of this pit a number of theories can be advanced, although since the material is not yet fully studied all such must be seen as preliminary in nature. It would appear, however, that the material found in this pit complex is composed primarily of the remains of several meals, ritual or otherwise, deposited over a short period of time,5 with some other rubbish thrown in, since only pottery, bones, flint tools and gaming pieces/pot lids have been found in the numerous offering pits already discovered at Tell el-Dabca.6 Indeed if we have here an open rubbish dump, on which was tipped the remains of several meals (and other rubbish, cf. below sections B and C) over a short period of time, this would certainly have encouraged rodents and, as Karl Kunst has shown (below section C), marks resulting from the gnawing activity of rodents were visible on some of the animal bones found in this pit complex.

*

3

INTRODUCTION

1 2

Bettina Bader’s research is sponsored by a Marie-Curie action programme of the European Union (MarieCurie Intra European Fellowship). We owe this title to Irene Forstner-Müller. Cf. BIETAK and FORSTNER-MÜLLER, 2006, 74–76; IIDEM, 2007, 22–25; BIETAK, FORSTNER-MÜLLER, HERBICH, 2007, 123.

Ägypten und Levante/Egypt and the Levant 19, 2009, 19–89 © 2009 by Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien

4 5 6

BIETAK and FORSTNER-MÜLLER, 2009 this volume. For the seals see SARTORI, 2009, this volume. FORSTNER-MÜLLER, forthcoming. Cf. MÜLLER, 2008‚ hereafter TD XVII, passim. The same holds true for offering pits found at Tell el-Maskhuta, HOLLADAY, 1997, 196, 249 pl. 7.20c–d.

20

David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

A. THE POTTERY CORPUS7 From the outset it was clear that most of the pottery forms were well known to the Tell el-Dabca repertoire and could be firmly positioned within the Hyksos Period. By applying the established Tell el-Dabca vessel index to the large number of restorable round-bottomed cups (U-Näpfe) it became obvious that the entire ceramic material can be dated to the period E/1–D/3, (cf. Tables 1–2). Although the Napf index cannot differentiate between E/1 and D/3, a dating into phase E/1, (or at latest the changeover from E/1 to D/3) might be preferred since a number of the vessel forms have antecedents in Phases E/3 and E/2 whilst the minimal amount of Marl F perhaps speaks against a full D/3 date. Similarly the dipper jugs, albeit few in number, are more likely to be E/1 than D/3 since they tend to be slim with sloping shoulders rather than the more squared examples of D/3 whilst the Cypriote imports are primarily different varieties of White Painted wares, for which see further below. A dating into this period is also confirmed by the relative amounts of the different fabrics distributed among the so-far restored vessels. The silt clays comprise mostly Nile B2, – in both a fine variant (true B2) and a coarser sandy variant which borders on a Nile E, hence the term b2/e is coined for these vessels, – with Nile C being somewhat rare, whilst the marl clays consist almost entirely of Marl C, mostly Marl C2, and, amongst the sofar studied material only six vessels – 0.033% of restored vessels - are made of Marl F. This is again typical of an early Hyksos context. No previously known vessel type is earlier than Phase E/1–D/3 and no previously known vessel type is later. In addition to these well-known types, however, a number of types, never seen in forty years of excavations at Tell el-Dabca can, naturally not be dated except by reference to the earlier excavated repertoire. However, since all the known types found in this homogeneous pitfill complex date to the period E/1–D/3, it is thus highly probable that these new types are of the same date. As such this pit is likely to provide us with the definitive corpus for Hyksos Period pottery. For the remainder of this section, the pottery will be divided into

7

All the pots were reconstructed by Hassan el Mutwali, drawn by David Aston and inked by Eva Dobretsberger, with the exception of 9018X, drawn by Piet Collet. All the photographs were taken by Manfred Eccarius,

Nile clays, Marl clays, oasis vessels, and imports, the first being divided into previously known types and those new to the Tell el-Dabca ceramic repertoire: 9004F

L81/1

U-Napf

87.00

8992J

L81/1

U-Napf

87.78

8992G

L81/1

U-Napf

87.78

x0760

L81/1

U-Napf

87.80

x0791

L81/1

U-Napf

88.23

9006Z

L81/1

U-Napf

88.42

9003P

L81/1

U-Napf

88.46

9005T

L81/1

U-Napf

88.68

9006E

L81/1

U-Napf

89.10

x0775

L81/1

U-Napf

89.52

9005X

L81/1

U-Napf

89.58

9000S

L81/1

U-Napf

89.69

9000L

L81/1

U-Napf

89.79

9004Y

L81/1

U-Napf

90.00

9000M

L81/1

U-Napf

90.09

9004U

L81/1

U-Napf

90.12

x0157

L81/1

U-Napf

90.22

9001F

L81/1

U-Napf

90.72

8990L

L81/6

U-Napf

90.72

8995Y

L81/1

U-Napf

90.82

x0345

L81/1

U-Napf

90.90

x0809

L81/1

U-Napf

91.00

x1032

L81/12

U-Napf

91.50

9004T

L81/1

U-Napf

91.58

9010Q

L81/1

U-Napf

91.75

9010Y

L81/1

U-Napf

91.84

9347

L81/1

U-Napf

92.05

8989U

L81/6

U-Napf

92.39

8995R

L81/1

U-Napf

92.39

8989J

L81/4

U-Napf

92.55

8998Y

L81/1

U-Napf

92.63

x1033

L81/1

U-Napf

92.71

8995D

L81/1

U-Napf

92.78

9002T

L81/1

U-Napf

93.00

x0765

L81/1

U-Napf

93.33

x0747

L81/1

U-Napf

93.33

9223

L81/1

U-Napf

93.41

x1014

L81/6

U-Napf

93.54

9000V

L81/1

U-Napf

93.62

Table 1 L81 Round-Bottomed Cup Vessel Indices

except for catalogue numbers 60–74, 78 from above, and inv nos. 9019B and 9019G, which were photographed by Axel Krause.

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

x0827 9347 8989U 8995R 8989J 8998Y x1033 8995D 9002T x0765 x0747 9223 x1014 9000V x0827 8999A x0984 x0051 9004Z x0795 9006Y x0732 8998Z x1034 8992O 8999O x0731 8989H x1062 9006O 8997P 9006D 9001J x1035 9000N x0907 x0772 9005G x0429 x1016 9010Z 9011W x0796 x0839 x0071 x1040 9011P x0763 8992N 9002R x1070

L81/6 L81/1 L81/6 L81/1 L81/4 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/6 L81/1 L81/6 L81/1 L81/6 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81.4 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/4 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/4 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/12 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/6 L81/1 L81/4 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/4

U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf

93.81 92.05 92.39 92.39 92.55 92.63 92.71 92.78 93.00 93.33 93.33 93.41 93.54 93.62 93.81 93.88 94.00 94.17 94.62 94.62 94.68 94.79 94.79 94.79 94.85 94.85 94.89 94.89 94.89 94.95 94.95 94.95 95.15 95.31 95.45 95.56 95.61 95.65 95.65 95.69 95.69 95.69 95.70 95.74 95.74 95.79 95.79 95.79 95.79 95.83 95.88

9018L x0052 8998R 9001X 9224 x0299 x0822 9368 9010X x0067 8999C 8998W 9010O 9215 9011E 8995H 8991O x0050 9218 x1015 x0069 x1061 8999D x0794 x1038 8989T x0233 x0073 x0066 x0745 8991Z x0427 9008K x0451 x0064 x0054 x0846 x0452 x0426 8992P x0344 x1029 x0060 9018P x0767 9019C x0070 x1065 8989K x0053 9001V

L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/6 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/6 L81/1 L81/1 L81/6 L81/1 L81/4 L81/1 L81/1 L81/4 L81/12 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/4 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/4 L81/1 L81/4 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/4 L81/12 L81/1 L81/1

Table 1 continued L81 Round-Bottomed Cup Vessel Indices

U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf

95.96 96.00 96.15 96.17 96.47 96.55 96.66 96.70 96.70 96.77 96.77 96.84 96.84 96.84 96.88 96.94 96.94 97.08 97.62 97.65 97.67 97.70 97.73 97.73 97.73 97.77 97.80 97.85 97.87 97.87 97.87 97.89 97.92 97.92 97.96 97.98 98.39 98.42 98.86 98.88 98.90 98.91 98.92 98.92 98.93 98.94 98.95 98.95 98.96 98.97 99.43

21

22

David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

x0743 x0343 8998C x0055 x1041 8991P x0268 9377 9348 8998O x0766 8992A 9009F x0773 x0921 x0059 x0065 x1030 x1026 8989F 8992M 8999R 8993N x0065 x1031 x0734 8995L x0049 x0056 8997G x0062 x0921 x0838 x0057 9019A x0063

L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/4 L81/1 L81/1 L81/4 L81/6 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/6 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/6 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/6 L81/6 L81/1 L81/4 L81/1

U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf

99.45 99.49 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.53 101.05 101.05 101.09 101.09 101.11 101.15 101.15 101.16 101.22 102.06 102.08

x1074 8989E x0713 9008D 9006F 8990Y 8998V x0068 x0837 x0384 x1017 x1038 9013S x0235 9009V 8997C 8990M x0428 9018Z x0725 8989G x0983 x1079 8989L x0877 x0269 x1028 9376 x0072 x0061 x0764 x0792 8995Z x1018 x0341 8995G

L81/4 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/6 L81/1 L81/1 L81/6 L81/1 L81/6 L81/12 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/12 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/6 L81/12 L81/12 L81/6 L81/1 L81/4 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/1 L81/6 L81/1 L81/1

U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf U-Napf

102.12 102.13 102.17 102.17 102.22 102.22 102.27 102.29 102.29 102.29 102.33 102.73 103.16 103.29 103.37 103.45 103.49 103.93 104.21 104.21 104.26 104.34 104.44 105.11 105.68 105.81 106.02 106.32 106.59 106.59 107.61 107.86 108.88 113.33 113.33 113.97

Table 1 continued L81 Round-Bottomed Cup Vessel Indices

In a preliminary report it is almost impossible to give justice to the full range of vessels found in the pit complex, and the following selection is a purely subjective one. The numeration of the previously known type groups follows that of Tell elDabca XII.8 The following vessel groups are found in L81: TD XII group 14, bowls with ridges, cf. below cat. no. 33, and as previously, several small

clay figures of birds, 2.0–5.0 cms. tall, which have a small hollow peg at their base, are found in this pit, which possibly strengthens the view that, at Tell el-Dabca, these figurines were once mounted on this type of vessel;9 TD XII group 28, wide bodied jars with rounded bases, direct rims, and applied spouts, although these are rare; one example of TD XII group 29, jars with ring bases, direct rims, short necks and applied spouts; TD XII group 35/250, dishes with ‘triangular’ rims and

8

9

A.a. Previously known Nile Clay type groups

ASTON, 2004‚ hereafter TD XII.

A. PAPE, unpublished, quoting an unnamed excavator.

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

23

Table 2 Round-Bottomed Cup Vessel Indices by Strata at Tell el-Dabca (after BIETAK, 1991, 50)

hollow pedestal bases, such as cat. no. 16; and TD XII group 36/249, dishes with direct rims and pedestal bases, eg. cat. no. 15. Beer jars, TD XII group 49, (= TD XVI Typ 7510) are present in the pit complex although only in small numbers. The one reconstructed example, cat. no. 13, does not match any of the previous ‘types’ known from Tell el-Dabca, but is rather a development of type 10, in that it closely resembles type 10a but has a taller neck and shorter body. In fact the form is already known at Tell el-Dabca, since an example, 4098E, was found in an offering pit dated to stratum a/2,

but was rejected as a beer bottle by Szafranski since it neither ‘fitted’ his seriated sequence, nor the perceived reasoning that beer bottles did not survive in Lower Egypt beyond the beginning of the Hyksos Period.11 However, the finding of 4098E and the presence of similar examples in this pit complex indicates that beer jars continued to be made into the early-mid Hyksos Period, and should perhaps be seen as type 10c, a late development of type 10a. Indeed this has already been suggested by Kopetzky who indicated that the beer jars of her Typ 5, which first appeared in Phase F

10

11

TD XVI types = FORSTNER-MÜLLER, 2008, hereafter TD XVI, 387–396.

SZAFRANSKI, 1997, 104–105. Cf. also MÜLLER, TD XVII, I, 124, who follows Szafranski’s argument.

24

David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

and continued down to Phase D/3, and, moreover ‘weisen einen schmalen Hals auf, der im Laufe der Zeit immer länger wird.’12 Whether the beer jar, TD 8792A, found in a grave dated to Phase D/3 should be seen as a type 10c is hard to ascertain since the upper part is missing.13 Comparison with contemporary beer bottles from Memphis shows that a different rim form is known in the later Second Intermediate Period14 which would suggest that the (type 10c) beer jars found in the pit were locally made, and hence beer jars must have continued to have been made in Lower Egypt well into the Hyksos Period.15 Other known groups include TD XII groups 73/262, (= TD XVI Typ 52), dishes with inner lip and raised or ring bases; TD XII group 75/263, (= TD XVI Typ 49), such as cat. no. 17, dishes with inner lip, raised or ring bases and (usually burnished) red crosses on the interior; amphorae groups TD XII 151/291, (= TD XVI Typ 85) cat. no. 90, although these are relatively rare, with perhaps about twenty examples being noticed; parts of one baking tray of TD XII group 163, and a fragmentary red burnished example of a conical vessel TD XII group 165. Ringstands of TD XII group 171b/306b, (= TD XVI Typ 74a), are extremely common, making up at least one third of all the so-far reconstructed complete profiles, though in contrast to similar vessels found in normal offering pits,16 most of the ringstands found in pit complex L81 are red slipped on the exterior and on the inner rim, as in cat. no. 22. Other ringstands of TD XII group 172/307, cat. no. 23; and large ringstands of TD XII group 173, (= TD XVI Typ 74c), cat. no. 24 are also relatively frequent. All told 611 out of the 1804 so-far restored complete profiles are ringstands. This is, however not surprising since they are generally somewhat solid and thus better preserved. Whether this one third proportion will remain once all the pottery has been studied is a question which cannot be answered at present. Other pottery groups comprise a fragmentary double ringstand, TD XII group 176; tall stands of TD XII group 177, cat. no. 25; dishes with direct rims and raised bases, TD XII group 197, (= TD XVI Typ 48b), cat. no. 1, which

are found in a variety of wares, being either left uncoated, given a red slip on both surfaces, or, most often, as in the illustrated example, being red slipped only on the interior. Dishes with direct rims and wheel-made ring bases, TD XII group 200, (= TD XVI Typ 48d), cat. no. 2, are relatively common and are generally red slipped on both the inner and outer surfaces. Also common are deep bowls with flaring rims and ring bases, TD XII group 206, (= TD XVI Typ 56), cat. no. 4, whilst less common are the small carinated bowls TD XII group 210, cat. no. 3, and the deep bowls with flaring rims, undulating walls, incised grooves and ring bases, TD XII group 212, cat. no. 5. The round bottomed cups, TD XII group 216, (= TD XVI Typ 42), cat. no. 6, most of which are red slipped on the exterior, are very common, which contrasts markedly with the flat-based cups, TD XII group 220, (= TD XVI Typ 45), cat. no. 7, of which less than ten examples have so-far been found. Carinated bowls, TD XII group 221, (= TD XVI Typ 73), cat. no. 8, are slightly more frequent, and many have a white slip in evident imitation of Marl C vessels. The slender beaker-jar forms, TD XII groups 224, (= TD XVI Typ 57), cat. no. 9, and 225, (= TD XVI Typ 58), cat no. 10, are extremely common, but owing to the fact that they tend to break into myriad fragments it has proved difficult to reconstruct them. Other (reconstructed) jar types are rare, but they include examples of TD XII groups 228, (= TD XVI Typ 60), cat. no. 11, and 236, cat. no. 12. Vessels related to TD XII group 248 with incised decoration are represented by several base and body sherds and the rim. cat. no. 14. At least four vessels of TD XII group 265, dishes with modelled rims, ring bases and ledge handles, cat no. 18, were also present in this pit complex. All were produced in a reducing atmosphere and three of them are burnished. The fourth shows no trace of a black slip or burnishing, but perhaps this was obliterated by the damp conditions in the lower levels of L81. The carinated bowls of TD XII groups 267, cat. no. 19, 268 and 272, the latter two groups represented by single incomplete examples are distinctly rare. Two or

12

13

KOPETZKY, 2005, 174. Actually this is a better and more accurate reflection of the difference between her Typ 4 and 5, rather than the rim diameter. The vessel illustrated in this report with a rim diameter of 10.6 cms. would, by definition, fall into her Typ 4, although its characteristics clearly place it in her Typ 5.

14

15

TD XVI, 332–333. BADER, 2009, 160–183, 215–224, chapters 5.2 and 7.2, hereafter TD XIX. This is also suggested by the relatively high amount of quartz inclusions in the fabric. Cf. TD XIX, 623, Abb. 339.

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

three examples of the jars of TD XII group 275, large tall jars with ring bases and rolled rims, cat no. 20, have also been recognised. Dipper jugs, TD XII group 286, are rare, the best preserved being cat. no. 26. This vessel, 9018R, is made of Nile B2 and somewhat problematic, because the body does not show the typical wheel ridging on the inside as is usually associated with Nile clay dipper jugs. Although the dimensions are slightly different17 the proportion of the neck and the body closely resemble vessels of Phase E/1.18 The reconstruction of the kernos ring, TD XII group 302, cat. no. 21, is based on a more complete example from Tell el-Maskhuta,19 since only one kernos is preserved. As such it is not clear whether each of the kernoi had a spout or only the one which is still extant. In addition to this example, fragments of several others were also present in L81. Finally to round off the previously known types made of Nile clays mention should be made of a number of miniature vessels, however, apart from the model dishes with direct rims and round bases, TD XII group 312, which were probably used as lamps and lids, and a surprising number of small black burnished jugs, none of which have yet been reconstructed, these were not common. Surprisingly absent from the pit complex, however, are the holemouth cooking pots made in Nile E, since diagnostic sherds indicate that only three fragmentary examples were thrown into L81. This contrasts remarkably with the smaller offering pits studied by Vera Müller where they were the eleventh, out of twenty-nine, most frequent type of vessel encountered.20 1. 8996S. L81/1 FN 67 ZN 196/2006, Fig. 1, Pl. 1 TGRF

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D. 20.1 cm. Bd. 5.4 cm. H. 6.7 cm. Md. 20.1 cm. Wd. 0.6 cm. AI 102.55 VI 300.00 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 5YR6/6–8 reddish yellow; slip 2.5YR6/6 light red Break: grey core, red and brown oxidation zones 2. 8996L. L81/1 FN 158 ZN 158/2006, Fig. 1, Pl. 1 RF

16 17 18

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TD XVII, I, 135. KOPETZKY, 2002, 230. KOPETZKY, 2002, 235, fig. 5.

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25

D. 24.8 cm. Bd. 7.1 cm. H. 7.3 cm. Md. 24.8 cm. Wd. 0.8 cm. AI 116.07 VI 339.73 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: slip 10R5/6 red Break: grey core, red and brown oxidation zones Clay very fine Potmark scratched post-firing 3. 9013C. L81/1 ZN 583/2006, Fig. 1 RF

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D. 10.6 cm. Bd. 4.7 cm. H. 6.9 cm. Md. 10.6 cm. Wd. 0.35 cm. AI 101.93 VI 153.62 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: slip 2.5YR6/8 light red, red rim band 10R5/8 red Break: grey core, brick red oxidation zones 4. 9001Y. L81/1 ZN 209/2006, Fig. 1 TG

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D. 12.2 cm. Bd. 4.8 cm. H. 5.8 cm. Md. 12.2 cm. Wd. 0.3 cm. AI 103.39 VI 210.34 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 7.5YR7/4 pink, red rim band 10R5/6 red Break: black core, red and brown oxidation zones 5. 8997Q. L81/1 ZN 176/2006, Fig. 1 RF

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D. 20.5 cm. Bd. 6.8 cm. H. 11.1 cm. Md. 20.5 cm. Wd. 0.65 cm. AI 102.50 VI 184.68 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: slip 10R6/8 light red Break: black core, thin red and brown oxidation zones 6. 9189. L81/1 FN 546 ZN 151/2006, Fig. 1, Pl. 1 TG

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D. 8.3 cm. H. 9.2 cm. Md. 9.0 cm. Wd. 0.3 cm. AI 138.33 VI 97.82 Intact: a few chips in rim. Surface colour: 7.5YR7/4 pink Break: red core, brown oxidation zones

19

20

REDMOUNT, 1989, 895, 897 fig. 149; HOLLADAY, 1997, 252 pl. 7.23A. TD XVII, 33, Tabelle 2.

26

David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

Fig. 1

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

7. 8999B. L81/1 FN 20A ZN 179/2006, Fig. 1 RF

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D. 8.4 cm. Bd. 4.3 cm. H. 9.6 cm. Md. 9.3 cm. Wd. 0.4 cm. AI 104.88 VI 96.88 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 5YR7/2 pinkish gray; slip 10R6/8 light red Break: grey core, red and brown oxidation zones 8. 9003L. L81/1 FN 332 Fig. 1 WF

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D. 44.2 cm. Bd. 9.8 cm. H. 15.9 cm. Md. 44.2 cm. Wd. 1.5 cm. AI 105.23 VI 277.98 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 2.5YR6/6 light red; slip 7.5YR8/3 pink Break: grey core, thin purple and brown oxidation zones 9. 8996Y. L81/1 FN 81 ZN 168/2006, Fig. 1 RF

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D. 9.9 cm. H. 21.6 cm. Md. 11.7 cm. Wd. 0.4 cm. AI 110.00 VI 54.16 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 2.5YR6/6 light red; slip 10R5/8 red Break: grey core, red and brown oxidation zones 10. 9012V. L81/1 FN 100 Fig. 1 RF

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D. 10.1 cm. H. 32.7 cm. Md. 15.8 cm. Wd. 0.6 cm. AI 112.22 VI 48.32 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 2.5YR6/4 light reddish brown; slip 10R5/6 red Break: grey core, red and brown oxidation zones 11. 9006W. L81/1 FN 219 ZN 197/2006, Fig. 1, Pl. 1 RF

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D. 6.3 cm. H. 17.5 cm. Md. 11.0 cm. Wd. 0.5 cm. AI 116.66 VI 62.86 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: slip 10R7/8 light red, red rim band 10R5/6 red Traces of horizontal burnish on the red rim and neck band Break: grey core, red and brown oxidation zones 12. 8997O. L81/1 ZN 170/2006, Fig. 2, Pl. 1 WF

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27

D. 11.35 cm. H. 27.6 cm. Md. 20.6 cm. Wd. 0.6 cm. AI 111.54 VI 74.64 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: slip 2.5Y8/1 white Break: grey core, brick red oxidation zones 13. 9004N. L81/1 FN 51 ZN 175/2006, Fig. 2, Pl. 1 TG

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D. 10.6 cm. H. 52.8 cm. Md. 24.9 cm. Wd. 0.8 cm. AI 106.00 VI 47.16 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 7.5YR7/6 reddish yellow; slip 10R6/6 light red Break: wide black core, thin red and brown oxidation zones 14. K11000/602. L81/1, Fig. 2 TG

I-b-2s

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D. 17.0 cm. pH. 19.0 cm. Wd. 0.9 cm. Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 2.5YR6/8 light red Break: wide grey core, thin reddish brown oxidation zones 15. 9000Q. L81/1 FN 295 ZN 182/2006, Fig. 2 TG

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D. 23.2 cm. Bd. 7.6 cm. H. 8.6 cm. Md. 23.2 cm. Wd. 0.85 cm. AI 105.45 VI 269.77 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 5YR6/6 reddish yellow Break: black core, red and brown oxidation zones 16. 9007C. L81/1 ZN 520/2006, Fig. 2 TG

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D. 42.8 cm. Bd. 15.5 cm. H. 15.9 cm. Md. 42.8 cm. Wd. 2.6 cm. AI 101.91 VI 269.18 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 2.5YR5/6 red Break: wide black core, thin purple and brown oxidation zones 17. 9004G. L81/1 FN 517 ZN 190/2006, Fig. 3, Pl. 1 TGRF

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D. 22.2 cm. Bd. 6.7 cm. H. 6.3 cm. Md. 22.2 cm. Wd. 0.6 cm. AI 116.73 VI 352.38 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 7.5YR6/6 reddish yellow, slip 2.5YR6/6 light red; red cross 10R4/6 red

28

David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

Fig. 2

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

Break: grey core, red and brown oxidation zones 18. K11000/601. L81/1 Fig. 3 Pl. 1 SP

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D. 25.4 cm. Bd. 7.4 cm. H. 6.3 cm. Md. 24.8 cm. Wd. 0.8 cm. AI 107.63 VI 393.65 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: slip 5YR3/1 very dark gray Break: black core, grey reduction zones 19. 9004R. L81/1 FN 522 ZN 191/2006, Fig. 3, Pl. 1 GP

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D. 14.9 cm. Bd. 5.2 cm. H. 6.5 cm. Md. 14.9 cm. Wd. 0.5 cm. AI 103.47 VI 229.23 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 5YR7/4 pink; burnish 5YR7/8 reddish yellow Horizontal burnish inside above carination and vertical burnish below carination. Exterior decorated in a striped pattern. Burnished cross on underside of base. Break: red core, brown oxidation zones 20. K11000/434. L81/1 Fig. 3 RF

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D. 23.2 cm. Bd. 12.5 cm. H. 32.7 cm. Md. 32.7 cm. Wd. 1.0 cm. AI 105.45 VI 100.00 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: slip 2.5YR7/8 light red; red polished neck 10R5/8 red Break: grey inner core, red outer zone 21. K11000/436. L81/1 Fig. 3 RF

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22. 9184. L81/1 FN 365 ZN 148/2006, Fig. 3, Pl. 1 I-b-2

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23. 9014K. L81/1 ZN 43/2007, Fig. 3 TG

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D. 9.3 cm. Bd. 12.1 cm. H. 7.1 cm. Md. 12.1 cm. Wd. 0.65 cm. AI 288.09 VI 170.42

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D. 19.4 cm. Bd. 22.0 cm. H. 5.8 cm. Md. 22.0 cm. Wd. 1.3 cm. AI 148.64 VI 379.31 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 2.5YR6/8 light red Break: wide black core, very thin red and brown oxidation zones 24. 9012W. L81/1 FN 33 ZN 575/2006, Fig. 3 RFTG

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D. 26.4 cm. Bd. 29.1 cm. H. 13.2 cm. Md. 29.1 cm. Wd. 1.3 cm. AI 148.31 VI 220.45 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: slip 10R6/6 light red Break: wide grey core, thin red and brown oxidation zones 25 9015C. L81/1 FN 183 ZN 58/2007, Fig. 4 I-c-1

f

H

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D. 17.0 cm. Bd. 21.5 cm. H. 58.7 cm. Md. 21.5 cm. Wd. 1.3 cm. AI 340.00 VI 36.63 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: slip 10R6/6 light red Break: wide grey core, thin red and brown oxidation zones 26. 9018R. L81/12 FN 68 ZN 70/2008, Fig. 4 RP

D. 16.9 cm. Bd. 16.9 cm. H. 9.1 cm. Md. 16.9 cm. Wd. 0.6 cm. AI 130.00 VI 469.44 Incomplete Surface colour: slip 10R5/6 red Break: purple core, brown oxidation zones Only one kernos is preserved so it is not clear that all kernoi are similar to one another.

RF

Intact Surface colour: 2.5YR 6/6 light red; slip 10R5/6 red Break: not visible

RF gef.

29

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1R

D. 3.7 cm. H. 18.4 cm. Md. 6.7 cm. Wd. 0.3 cm. AI 185.00 VI 36.41 Incomplete Surface colour: burnish 10R5/8 red Pebble burnished on the exterior. Break: grey core, thin brown oxidation zones Note in contrast to most examples of this type, 9018R shows no heavy wheel ridging on the interior A.b) Nile clay groups new to the corpus In addition to the vessel groups already well known in the Tell el-Dabca repertoire, a number of new forms were also found. Whilst this may be due to the fact that most of the pottery, or at least the complete profiles, previously recorded at Tell el-Dabca, come mostly from graves or offering pits, this new materi-

30

David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

Fig. 3

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

al may reflect the domestic corpus, which, until now has been lacking. On the other hand, since it has been noticed by anthropologists working in the Philippines that certain vessels were only utilised for elite ritual feasts,21 it is also possible that some of these new forms were function specific, being produced only for such an activity. One of the more remarkable aspects of the L81 complex ceramics is the relatively large number of vessels with hand made ring bases. These are made in a number of ways, the most usual being finger-pinching in which the flat base, as cut from the wheel is pinched with the fingers to form a low ring base. Less often it is clear that a separate disc of clay has been added and this has been modelled with the fingers to form a ring base. Since a large number of dishes bear such hand-made ring bases, it is probably quite legitimate to see these as new types. K11000/374, cat. no. 27, is here chosen as a representative example of such a dish with a direct rim and hand-made ring base. Other dishes with incurved modelled rims and hand-made ring bases are represented by cat. no. 28. The interesting cups with ring bases, cat. no. 29, are rare but have also already been found at Tell elMaskhuta.22 Of the three reconstructed examples, two are red slipped on the exterior and one is red slipped and vertically burnished. A few examples of the type illustrated by cat no. 30, usually with a red band out above the carination and a single example of the ‘crown beaker type,’ cat. no. 31, are also present. Several examples of round bottomed carinated bowls with finger pinched rims, as cat. no. 32, have been found. All examples show distinct signs of knife paring below the carination which has not been smoothed. Cat. no. 33 is related to TD XII group 14, but differs in having an inner ring near the base in which five holes at roughly equidistant points were drilled. These presumably served the same purpose as the ledges with holes at the rim, although of course the ones near the base are much shallower. The black ring-based burnished, ribbed bowl, 34, is one of probably two examples of this type found in the pit complex. Simple, handleless, black slipped and burnished bowls are somewhat rare in this locus, and none of the others have exter-

21 22 23

Eg, JUNKER, 2001, 285. REDMOUNT, 1989, 936 no. 46. Good examples come from the tomb of Sitweret. In contrast to the vessels from Tell el-Dabca, they have a low ring base. We are grateful to Susan Allen for showing us these vessels in Dahshur, and for permission to mention them here. In addition Robert Schiestl

31

nal ribbing, but they all show the unusual characteristic that all are unburnished on the interior – the illustrated example which is burnished on the interior at the rim, being the only one to show any hint of burnishing – which raises the possibility that they may have been intended as lids. Several examples of the vessel represented by cat. no. 35 have been reconstructed. Such vessels have not been found at Tell el-Dabca before; however, rim sherds could have been mistaken for cooking pots, TD XII groups 158/304, whilst the bases may have been mistaken for footed dishes of TD XII group 39 in Nile B2. No exact parallels are known to us; however, they seem to have developed from somewhat similar Middle Kingdom vessels, which have a wider base in proportion to their height and thus not such a pronounced bulge in the upper body, known from Dahshur.23 Similar examples, but with spouts are also known at Harageh.24 Whilst the sinuoussided type is relatively frequent, with some 12 examples having so-far been reconstructed, the straightsided type, represented by catalogue no. 36 is much rarer, with only two examples having been restored. This type too may have Middle Kingdom antecedents in the British School of Archaeology type series 54T and 54V at Harageh.25 The tall beaker, cat. no. 37, is another of the vessels found in this pit complex to have a hand pinched base. The fenestrated vessels are highly unusual. Parts of two evidently similar vessels have been found. Cat. no. 39 clearly shows that they were mounted on a flat base and were evidently attached to something, perhaps another vessel. Both clearly had a tubular ‘belt’ running around the top of the body in which liquids could be poured in and out via a spout. Four (cat. no. 39) or five (cat no. 38) windows were cut into the lower body. There are no signs of burning on either vessel and their purpose remains unexplained. The jug 9012T, cat no. 40 is reminiscent of a larger vessel, TD 5917, found in tomb k/9-35.26 The potstand, catalogue no. 41 represents one of eight such vessels known to have been deposited in this context. It is a type well known in New Kingdom contexts, but before the discovery of L81, they had not been found in Hyksos levels at Tell el-Dabca.

24 25 26

informs us that similar vessels have also been found in earlier excavations at Dahshur, but most remain unpublished. ENGELBACH, 1923, pl. xl. 70M2 ENGELBACH, 1923, pl. xxxviii. TD XVI, 348–349.

32

David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

Fig. 4

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

The same goes for the firedogs, represented by cat. no. 42, three incomplete examples of which have been found in this pit complex. Although their use is disputed it is noticeable that all three bear smoke stains on the exterior. Most of the fire dogs known to us date from the New Kingdom to the Ptolemaic Period, but examples from Buhen have been dated to the Middle Kingdom, so the finding of Second Intermediate Period examples is perhaps not unexpected. The examples from L81, which all differ one from another, have the two characteristic ‘ears’ but neither a ‘muzzle’ nor handle on the opposite side to the ‘ears’. The solid mass of the unique pot 9009O, catalogue no. 43, indicates that this ‘vessel’ was probably intended as a table. The strange pot, cat. no. 44, is presumably a ritual vessel. Three examples have been reconstructed, but several rim and base fragments are also present in this pit complex. Lids, as opposed to small dishes used as lids, – in particular the so-called miniature dishes of TD XII group 312 – are generally rare among the Tell el-Dabca ceramic repertoire.27 It is thus something of a surprise to find in L81 several examples of vessels which were probably intended as lids, or stoppers, from the moment of their manufacture. Several different types are recognisable. There can be no doubt that the stopper, cat. no. 45, which is similar to stone stoppers utilised for kohl pots, and the lids, catalogue numbers 50–53 must have been utilised as lids, since, if they were stood the other way up, they would be somewhat unstable. 9014W, cat. no. 48, is also to be seen as a lid since it has a small hole in the top, which would allow any fermenting gases to escape from the jar it presumably covered. The remainder, cat. nos. 46, 47 and 49 may have been miniature votive vessels, but some examples, not illustrated in this paper, were evidently red slipped on the exterior, whereas votive dishes were usually left uncoated, or were painted on the interior.28 The lid, cat. no. 53, not yet fully restored, is interesting since it bears two sculptured figures (crocodiles ?) on the top of the lid. 27. K11000/374. L81/1, Fig. 4 RF

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Surface colour: slip 10R6/8 light red Break: wide black core, red and brown oxidation zones 28. K11000/1008. FN 58 L81/1, Fig. 4 RF

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D. 21.4 cm. Bd. 7.2 cm. H. 6.0 cm. Md. 21.4 cm. Wd. 0.8 cm. AI 112.00 VI 305.66 Incomplete Surface colour: slip 10R6/8 light red Break: grey core, purple and brown oxidation zones 29. 8997W. L81/1 ZN 174/2006, Fig. 4 RF

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D. 9.4 cm. Bd. 4.2 cm. H. 8.6 cm. Md. 9.6 cm. Wd. 0.3 cm. AI 102.17 VI 111.62 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 2.5YR6/6 light red; slip 10R6/6 red Break: thin red core, brown oxidation zones 30. 8995M. L81/1 ZN 155/2006, Fig. 4 TG

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D. 11.0 cm. Bd. 4.7 cm. H. 8.4 cm. Md. 11.0 cm. Wd. 0.6 cm. AI 103.77 VI 130.95 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 5YR7/4 pink; slip 10R5/6 red Break: thin red core, yellowish brown oxidation zones 31. 8999Y. L81/1 FN 6 ZN 180/2006, Fig. 4, Pl. 2 TG

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D. 17.2 cm. Bd. 5.4 cm. H. 9.4 cm. Md. 17.2 cm. Wd. 0.7 cm. AI 104.88 VI 182.97 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 5YR7/4 pink Break: grey core, purple and brown oxidation zones 32. K11000/473. L81/1, Fig. 4

D. 23.6 cm. Bd. 5.6 cm. H. 7.4 cm. Md. 23.6 cm. Wd. 0.7 cm. AI 100.85 VI 318.92 Incomplete

D. 37.6 cm. H. 16.6 cm. Md. 37.6 cm. Wd. 0.7 cm. AI 104.44 VI 226.51

27

28

TD XII, 245, TD XVII, I, 142–143.

RFTG

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TD XVII, I, 153.

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34

David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

Fig. 5

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 7.5YR7/4 pink Break: wide black core, red and brown oxidation zones Base scraped with a tool 33. 9004O. L81/1 FN 513 ZN 159/2006, Fig. 4 RF

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D. 40.5 cm. Bd. 13.0 cm. H. 16.4 cm. Md. 40.5 cm. Wd. 1.0 cm. AI 106.57 VI 246.95 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 5YR6/6 reddish yellow; slip 10R5/6 red Break: thin violet core, red and brown oxidation zones Five holes in base ring. Drawn with four pockets but could be more 34. K11000/902. L81/1 + L81/6 + L81/12, Fig. 4 SPTG

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re

2–3

D. 16.2 cm. Bd. 5.4 cm. H. 7.1 cm. Md. 16.2 cm. Wd. 0.5 cm. AI 101.25 VI 228.17 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 2.5YR5/1 reddish black; burnished slip 10R5/1 reddish black Break: red core, black reduction zones 35. 9013B. L81/1, Fig. 5, Pl. 2 WF

I-b-2/e

f

W

H

ox

2–3

D. 24.5 cm. Bd. 15.2 cm. H. 33.7 cm. Md. 28.9 cm. Wd.1.0 cm. AI 122.50 VI 85.76 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 10R8/1 white Break:wide grey core, thin brown oxidation zones Base coil built 36. 9013E. L81/1, Fig. 5, Pl. 2 WF

I-b-2/e

f

W

H

ox

2–3

D. 20.0 cm. Bd. 17.0 cm. H. 31.3 cm. Md. 24.4 cm. Wd. 0.9 cm. AI 256.41 VI 77.95 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 2.5Y7/1 light gray Break:grey core, red oxidation zones Base coil built 37. 9001D. L81/1 FN 567 ZN 183/2006, Fig. 5, Pl. 2 RF

I-b-2

s.f

W1

H

ox

2–3

35

D. 14.1 cm. Bd. 7.8 cm. H. 23.2 cm. Md. 14.1 cm. Wd. 0.6 cm. AI 141.00 VI 60.78 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: slip 10R6/6 light red Break: wide grey core, red and brown oxidation zones 38. 8995A. L81/1 ZN 155/2006, Fig. 5 Pl. 2 RF

I-b-2

s.f

W1

–

ox

2–3

D. 9.9 cm. Bd. ? cm. pH. 14.1 cm. Md. 11.2 cm. Wd. 0.6 cm. AI 137.50 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 2.5YR6/4 light reddish brown; slip 10R6/6 light red Break: grey core, red and brown oxidation zones 39. 9016C. L81/1 ZN 68/2007, Fig. 5 RF

I-b-2

s.f

W1

H

ox

2–3

D. ? cm. Bd. Width 7.7. cm. pH. 14.1 cm. Md. 10.2 cm. Wd. 0.6 cm. Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 5YR7/4 pink Break: grey core, red and brown oxidation zones 40. 9012T. L81/1 ZN 572/2006, Fig. 5 TG

I-b-2

f

W1

H

ox

2–3

D. 4.7 cm. Bd. 4.0 cm. H. 12.0 cm. Md. 10.3 cm. Wd. 0.8 cm. AI 130.55 VI 85.83 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 2.5YR6/6 light red, water eroded Break: grey core, purple, red and brown oxidation zones 41. 9013D. L81/1 ZN 584/2006, Fig. 5, Pl. 2 TG

I-c-1

f

W

abg.

ox

2–3

D. 23.7 cm. Bd. 24.5 cm. H. 12.2 cm. Md. 24.5 cm. Wd. 1.1 cm. AI 146.29 VI 200.82 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 2.5YR6/8 light red, water eroded Break: wide black core, red and brown oxidation zones 42. 8997D. L81/1 FN 253 ZN 169/2006, Fig. 6, Pl. 2 TG

I-c-1

mi

W1

gef.

ox

2–3

D.13.7 cm. H. 21.6 cm. Md. 12.0 cm. Wd. 1.4 cm. AI 159.30 VI 55.55 Restored from sherds, incomplete

36

David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

Fig. 6

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

Surface colour: 7.5YR6/4 light brown Break: black core, red and brown oxidation zones 43. 9009O. L81/1 FN 554 ZN 521/2006, Fig. 6 TG

I-c-2

f

W+H

H

ox

2–3

D. 40.4 cm. Bd. 15.6 cm. H. 22.4 cm. Md. 40.4 cm. Wd. 3.0 cm. AI 107.45 VI 180.36 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 2.5YR6/4 light brown Break: black core, red and brown oxidation zones 44. K11000/723. L81/1, Fig. 6 TG

I-e-1

f

W1

gesp.

ox

2–3

D. 13.0 cm. Bd. 11.0 cm. H. 27.0 cm. Md. 14.3 cm. Wd. 0.8 cm. AI 125.00 VI 52.96 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 7.5YR7/4 pink Break: black core, red and brown oxidation zones 45. 9014D. L81/1 ZN 41/2007, Fig. 6 RP

I-b-2

f

W1

gef.

ox

2–3

D. 4.0 cm. Bd. 1.3 cm. H. 1.0 cm. Md. 4.0 cm. Wd. 0.7 cm. VI 400.00 Incomplete Surface colour: 5YR7/4 pink, polish 10R5/6 red Break: black core, red and brown oxidation zones 46. 8990H. L81/6 ZN 44/2008, Fig. 6 TG

I-b-2/e

f

W1

gesp.

ox

2–3

D. 5.9 cm. H. 1.6 cm. Md. 5.9 cm. Wd. 0.5 cm. AI 118.00 VI 368.75 Incomplete Surface colour: 7.5YR7/4 pink Break: grey core, red and brown oxidation zones 47. K11000/1021. L81/6, Fig. 6 TG

I-b-2/e

f

W1

gesp.

ox

2–3

D. 9.0 cm. H. 2.0 cm. Md. 9.0 cm. Wd. 0.6 cm. AI 107.24 VI 450.00 Incomplete Surface colour: 7.5YR7/4 pink Break: black core, brown oxidation zones

TG

I-b-2

f

W1

gesp.

Surface colour: 2.5YR7/4 pink, red bands 10R6/8 light red Break: grey core, red and brown oxidation zones 49. 8990T. L81/6 ZN 51/2008, Fig. 6 TG

ox

2–3

D. 13.6 cm. H. 5.2 cm. Md. 14.0 cm. Wd. 0.7 cm. AI 103.82 VI 269.23 Restored from sherds, incomplete

I-b-2

f

W1

abg.

ox

2–3

D. 9.5 cm. Bd. 3.8 cm. H. 2.4 cm. Md. 9.5 cm. Wd. 0.6 cm. AI 105.56 VI 395.83 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 7.5YR7/4 pink Break: grey core, red and brown oxidation zones 50. 8995N. L81/1 ZN 157/2006, Fig. 6 RF

I-b-2

f

W1

abg.

ox

2–3

D. 7.2 cm. Bd. 1.3 cm. H. 2.5 cm. Md. 7.2 cm. Wd. 0.6 cm. AI 112.50 VI 205.71 Incomplete Surface colour: 7.5YR7/6 reddish yellow; slip 10R5/4 weak red Break: uniform brown 51. 9004E. L81/1 FN 403 ZN 187/2006, Fig. 6 RFTG

I-b-2

f

W1

gef.

ox

2–3

D. 11.5 cm. Bd. 2.5 cm. H. 4.4 cm. Md. 11.5 cm. Wd. 0.8 cm. AI 115.00 VI 261.36 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 5YR7/6 reddish yellow; slip 10R5/6 red Break: grey core, red and brown oxidation zones 52. K11000/758. L81/1 Fig. 6 RFTG

I-b-2

f

W1

gef.

ox

2–3

D. 14.5 cm. Bd. 4.5 cm. H. 7.2 cm. Md. 14.5 cm. Wd. 0.6 cm. AI 103.58 VI 322.22 Incomplete Surface colour: 2.5YR6/8 light red; slip 10R6/8 light red, water eroded Break: grey core, purple and brown oxidation zones 53. K11000/988. L81/12 Fig. 6 RP

48. 9014W. L81/1 ZN 49/2007, Fig. 6

37

I-b-2

f

W1

gef.

ox

2–3

D. 18.8 cm. H. 7.3 cm. Md. 18.8 cm. Wd. 0.7 cm. AI 104.44 VI 257.53 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface thick red slip burnish: 10R4/6 red Break: red core, brown oxidation zones

38

David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

Fig. 7

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

A.c. Tell el-Yahudieh Ware Several examples of Tell el-Yahudiyeh ware have been found in L81. Most, however, are still in the process of reconstruction; nevertheless, with one exception, 9012M, cat. no. 56, all are of Egyptian manufacture. The Egyptian vessels are typical of the Hyksos Period,29 consisting primarily of Kaplan’s cylindrical 1, globular, quadrilobal, piriform 2a, and biconical 1 types.30 Most of these vessels are of the average size usually found in vessels deposited in tombs at Tell el-Dabca, although at least two vessels are somewhat larger, and many are clearly miniatures. In addition to the afore-mentioned types, the upper half of a miniature biconical grooved Tell el-Yahudieh jug was found in L81/6. Since most of these vessels are still in an incomplete state, only one of the piriform 2a vessels is illustrated here together with the Syro-Palestinian import and four others which are somewhat unusual. The piriform 2a jug, 9180, cat. no. 54, found intact is of the type with rolled rim, strap handle and a variant ring base, previously known on at least six vessels from Tell el-Dabca, (TD 231, 367, 2138, 2142, 3050 and 4902), and in one example from Ashkelon,31 where the centre of the base forms a distinct bulb. Vessel 9180 is of the type of which the decoration consists of three lozenges each infilled with vertical chevrons made with a ten-toothed comb. Whilst the undecorated areas of the neck and body were burnished, the rim and base were left unburnished, which is somewhat unusual for the piriform 2a vessels previously found in Tell el-Dabca. The imported vessel, 9012M, cat. no. 56, is also unusual. The banded decoration, as well as the fabric, is typical for an import from the Levant, but Levantine wheel made globular Tell el-Yahudiyeh jugs are unknown to us, though perhaps they are not unexpected. Early Palestinian vessels with round or pointed bases are known,32 and 9012M may well represent a later development. The drop shaped beaker, 9012H, is an interesting addition to the corpus of vessels made in Tell el-Yahudieh technique.33 The unburnished decoration clearly consists of three lotus flowers, whose similarity to the lotus flowers

29

BIETAK, 1989, 7–34.

30

KAPLAN, 1980, 4–12, 15–25, figs. 13–22, 46–62, 85–103. L. STAGER, personal communication. Cf. KAPLAN, 1980, figs. 113c–d, 114a, 115a–b. Cf. KOPETZKY, 2006, 177–186. HALL, 1901, 69, fig. 30.

31 32 33 34

39

drawn on contemporary fish dishes is uncanny, separated from each other by three or four lotus buds. Catalogue no. 57, 9018W, is the only ringstand in Tell el-Yahudieh technique known to us. It is horizontally burnished on the interior, with impressed decoration on the rim made with a sixtoothed comb. The exterior remained unburnished. Cat. no. 58, 9018Y, is evidently part of a falcon, a not unknown type, with the best preserved example being a complete hawk-shaped bird from the Fayoum area, now in the British Museum (BM EA 17046).34 In that example the neck and single strap handle rise from the top of the head, whilst the bird stands on its legs and tail, and its wings, back and chest are decorated with incised striations. Fragments of similar vessels are known from Lisht,35 Gebel Zeit,36 and from earlier excavations at Tell el-Dabca, (TD 1165, 4128G, 6034A/2, 6458A, 8475C, 8908V). The present piece, however, is the largest yet known and the most naturalistic in that clear attempts have been made to show the wing feathers, whilst the breast feathers are shown in the manner of scales. Finally cat. no. 59, 9018X, is highly unusual. It is clearly part of an animal figurine – probably a cow (?) – with circular decoration on the body and a band of decoration around the base of the neck. 54. 9180. L81/1 FN 248 ZN 154/2006, Fig. 7 SP

I-d ?

f

W1–2

gef.

re

2–3

1B

D. 2.4 cm. H. 10.1 cm. Md. 5.6 cm. Wd. 0.2 cm. VI 55.45 Intact Surface colour: 7.5YR5/1 gray; burnish 7.5YR3/1 very dark gray. Not burnished on rim or base Break: not visible. 55. 9012H. L81/1 ZN 566/2006, Fig. 7 SP

I-b-2

s.f

W1

gesp.

re

2–3

D. 7.5 cm. H. 15.4 cm. Md. 10.7 cm. Wd. 0.3 cm. AI 104.17 VI 69.48 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 10R5/1 reddish grey; burnish

35

36

MERRILLEES, 1974, 59, figs. 43, 47, Kaplan, 1980, figs. 123a. Exhibition catalogue, 25 ans de découvertes archéologiques sur les chantiers de l’IFAO, 1981–2006, (Cairo, 2007), 56 nos. 37.349.

40

David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

10R3/1 dark reddish gray Decoration consists of three large lotus flowers separated from one another by lotus buds. The decorated areas are not burnished Break: uniform dark grey 56. 9012M. L81/1, Fig. 7 SP

IV-2

f

W1–2

gef.

re

2–3

pH. 17.3 cm. Md. 14.0 cm. Wd. 0.6 cm. Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 7.5YR5/1 gray Break: inner grey core, reddish brown outer edge 57. 9018W. L81/6, Fig. 7 TGSP

I-b-2

s.f

W1

–

re

2–3

D. 8.3 cm. pH. 2.9 cm. Wd. 0.3 cm. Incomplete Surface colour: 2.5YR6/1 dark reddish grey; burnish 2.5YR3/1 dark reddish gray Decoration on rim made with a ten-toothed comb Break: grey core, brown reduction zones 58. 9018Y. L81/1 + L81/6 + L81/12, Fig. 7 SP

I-b-2

f

W1

–

re

2–3

pH. 8.7 cm. preserved length 24.0 cm. Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 5YR4/1 dark gray; burnish 10R3/1 dark reddish gray Decoration consists of rishi feather pattern on breast and incised lines representing feathers on wing Break: uniform grey 59. 9018X. L81/1 + L81/6 + L81/12, Fig. 7 SP

37

38 39

40 41 42 43 44 45

46

I-b-2

s.f

W1

gesp.

re

2–3

Cf. CYGANOWSKI, 2003; OWNBY and GRIFFITHS, 2009, this volume. STAGER, 2002, 353–362, fig. 21. GRIFFITHS and OWNBY, 2006, 63–77. BADER, 2003, 31–37. DOUMET-SERHAL, FORSTNER-MÜLLER, KOPETZKY, 2006, 52–59. Surface sherds viewed during a visit in 2002. Cf. KIRBY, OREL and SMITH, 1998, 29, table 1. BAGH, 2002, 29–61. R. Schiestl, personal communication. RZEUSKA, 2006. A. WODSZINKA, Lecture during the Old Kingdom Pottery Workshop in Warsaw, 20th to 21st of August 2007. BARD, FATTOVICH, Joint Archaeological Expedition at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis (Red Sea, Egypt) of the University of Naples “l’Orientale” (Naples, Italy), Istituto Italiano

D. 7.5 cm. H. 15.4 cm. Md. 10.7 cm. Wd. 0.3 cm. AI 104.17 VI 69.48 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 10R5/1 reddish grey; burnish 5YR4/1 dark gray Decoration consists of a band around neck and circles on body Break: uniform grey A.d. Marl C Vessels – Preliminary Report A.d.i. Introduction Since the publication of TD XIII, much work has been done on the physical structure of Marl C whilst much new material has come to light. The fabric itself with its properties, the reason for, and the nature of, the development of a whitish surface layer has been subject to more analyses and the results of these shed more light on the chemical composition of both and clarify a few questions in connection with the varied presence or absence of a “scum” on the inside or outside of vessels made from Marl C.37 As for the distribution of the fabric within and without Egypt a number of other sites can now be added: Ashkelon,38 Sidon39 and perhaps Byblos40 abroad; Kom el-Hisn,41 Abu Ghalib,42 Heliopolis,43 Saqqara44 and Giza45 in Lower Egypt; Mersa Gawasis46 on the Red Sea Coast; Deir el-Bersheh,47 Dra Abu el Naga,48 Hierakonpolis49 in Upper Egypt and Gebel es Asr50 and Toschka51 in Nubia. Even along some of the desert roads such material, mostly Marl C storage jars have been found, the numbers of which are quoted as going into the hundreds.52 Here it will be especially interesting to see variations

47

48 49 50

51 52

per l’Africa e l’Oriente (Rome, Italy), and Boston University (Boston, USA) – 2005–2006 Field Season, Archaeogate 12/2006, On-line Journal http://www. archaeogate.org/egittologia. Sally Wallace-Jones, personal communication. BOURRIAU, DE MEYER, OP DE BEECK, VEREECKEN, 2005, 101–129. SEILER, 2005. GIULIANI, 2001, 40–45. SHAW, BLOXAM, BUNBURY, LEE, GRAHAM, D. DARNELL, 2001, 33–34. BADER, 2006a, 97–102. DARNELL, 2007, 36–40. These finds were reported from Abu Ziyar which is located approximately at the same height as Qus and towards the oases of Dakhla and Kharga.

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

within shape and capacity that are currently rather elusive.53 These additions to the fabric’s distribution fill some gaps in the archaeological record, so that a clearer picture emerges, namely a very dense patch of sites in the Memphis-Fayoum region with a regular network of sites further away. Together with quantitative data from Tell el-Dabca and Kom Rabica54 this supports even more firmly the original assumption of Dorothea Arnold that this material originates in the Memphis – Fayoum region.55 Some uncertainties still remain, as no material derived from southern sites was tested and compared against the comparatively well researched Marl C ceramics from the north. The more so as no research has been undertaken by geologists to try and locate the areas from whence the raw clay, utilised for this fabric, was originally extracted. The interpretation of this distribution pattern involves the assumption that the workshops producing this kind of Marl C pottery were administered by a “central power” or were “state controlled” with a centralised distribution of such vessels, or rather, the original products with which they were filled, to the other sites, probably provisions of some kind.56 This is certainly a very likely option for the Twelfth and early Thirteenth Dynasties, but before and after that period, the material seems to be only of local importance. In the Old Kingdom difficulties arise from problems in identification of the fabric, because the Marl fabrics are neither as well known nor as well described as those of the Middle Kingdom and often finer and therefore harder to distinguish. The planned collaboration of the Old Kingdom Pottery Workshop57 in this respect is a very welcome addition that will hopefully solve some of these problems. The sites of Giza and Saqqara provide an extension of the time frame in which this material was

53 54 55 56 57

58

59

ALLEN, 2006, 29–36. TD XIX, 646–652. DO. ARNOLD, 1981, 180–181, 188–190. DO. ARNOLD, 1981, 190–191. BOURRIAU, 1997, 163. T. Rzeuska and A. Wodzinska are the organisers of these conferences. The first volume of Proceedings of the Old Kingdom Pottery Workshop in Warsaw, 20th to 21st of August 2007 is in print. Cf., NORDSTRÖM and BOURRIAU, 1993, 180; BADER, 2001 (hereafter TD XIII), 41, Anm. 239. BADER, in print.

41

used. It is thus now proven, at least as far as the Memphis–Fayoum region is concerned, that pottery was indeed manufactured out of a Marl C fabric from the Old Kingdom,58 and on through the First Intermediate Period.59 Regions further afield are less likely to have received such material. A.d.ii. The Marl C ceramics of L81 The Marl C finds in pit complex L81 are of interest because many complete profiles could be recovered so they thus add to the known vessel typology, which is still expanding. Additionally it adds much to our knowledge of Marl C material from the early Hyksos period (Phase E/1-D/3) since not much of this class of material from Tell el-Dabca was derived from secure archaeological deposits, the more so as such strata were very close to the surface in some of the excavation areas. This is particularly true of Area F/I, and it was thus often impossible to arrive at fixed dates for some vessel types.60 It should be said, at the outset, that the overall percentage of Marl C within the repertoire of L81 is not very high – a preliminary estimate of the percentage of Marl C suggests that it comprises around 5 % of the repertoire at the most.61 It is, however, the completeness and the variety of the Marl C vessels in L81 that are of great interest. Perhaps the most interesting are the fourteen fish dishes and these, along with an evident imitation in Nile E, will be examined in depth (§ A.d.iia); however, to give a more rounded view of the other Marl C types found in the pit complex a small number of other vessels will also be considered (§ A.d.iib). A.d.iia. The Fish Dishes Since the last extensive discussion of fish dishes,62 a number of new discoveries have been made.63 Not the least amongst these is the finding of fifteen new examples in complex L81, and it thus

60 61

62 63

Cf. TD XIII, passim. A current preliminary calculation using complete profiles resulted in 3.4 % of Marl C, of which 0.8 % consists of Marl C1 and 2.6 % of Marl C2. In fact as more vessels are reconstructed, the relative percentage of Marl C vessels is likely to decrease. TD XIII, 79–85. For an example at Abydos – cf. WAGNER, 2007, 247, 279 fig. 128 no. 148, and a reference there to a forthcoming publication of a well preserved example.

42

David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

9015M belongs to a relatively small class of the boat shaped oval dishes with a measurement of 37.0 cms across its longer axis and 25.5 cms across its narrower axis. The decoration is almost completely preserved with only a small portion of the rim missing. As with all other dishes, it was made by hand, the rim trimmed with a tool to form a sharp edge that falls towards the outside. The dish was made from a dense Marl C2 fabric in which only a few lime particles are visible. The same holds true for the marl particles/argillaceous inclusions. The surface is only very patchily covered with the natural white surface layer, which almost looks like paint in this instance.67 Also noteworthy is the very high amount of (golden) mica (probably biotite) visible on the surface of the dish, which is not a normal feature. There are no signs of wear in the middle of the dish which

would have occurred if it were used for grinding. The median line68 of the large fish carved into the middle of the dish is shown by means of three parallel incisions that were filled with short oblique dashes. The scales of the fish are represented by short oblique notches, probably made with a finger nail,69 whilst the head was divided from the body with a double rounded line. No eyes are depicted. The fish shows a long dorsal fin filled with short oblique lines, whilst the pectoral and anal fins were incised at some distance from each other. Between these two fins there is a large triangular feature – of which it is not entirely clear if it is supposed to be a (desert) mountain or if it actually belongs to the fish – filled with five long lines and notches. We would suppose, however, that this is meant to represent a hill/mountain, since the artists who decorated these fish dishes were, on the whole, quite accurate in their renderings of nature, and such a large ventral fin does not belong on a tilapia.70 It looks very similar to the features on top of the tail of the fish. The tail (caudal) fin develops out of the body of the fish by means of two flaring lines and is filled with an irregular pattern of perpendicular crossing lines creating the illusion of scales. On top of the fin, – but probably not intended to be part of it, since in other examples this space is filled with motifs which are clearly not meant to be part of the tail, such as, for example, the hippopotamus in the next dish to be described (see cat. no. 61), – are two more of the triangular features, again filled with several long lines and notches, which yet again are perhaps meant to represent hills or mountains. Out of the mouth of the fish, which is not particularly well drawn, a lotus flower emerges on a single stem. The flower was drawn in a rather simple way with a line through the middle and some triangular features on top of it, quite in keeping with other renderings of lotus flowers on Egyptian pottery. The remainder of the decoration consists mainly of a very simple depiction of vegetation, probably reeds or a

64

68

seems worthwhile to update our knowledge of this distinctive type of late Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period pottery, especially since the vessels found in L81 bring new evidence concerning the dating and possible use of these enigmatic objects. Since 1966 when excavations first began at Tell el Dabca, sherds of fish dishes, although infrequent, have regularly surfaced within the ceramic sherd collections.64 However, in contrast to these earlier discoveries, all newly excavated dishes show a large fish in the centre of the dish, which can be identified as a tilapia65–a motif that was previously not well represented among the fish dishes found at Tell el Dabca, but is known from other sites in Egypt.66 60. 9015M L81/1 FN 357 Pl. 3 TG

II-c-2

s.f

Ha1

H

ox

4

D. 37.0 × 25.5 cm. H. 7.0–9.0 cm. Md. 37.0 cm. Bd (long axis) 13.5 cm. Wd. 1.2 cm. Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 7.5YR8/2 pinkish white Decoration: see description Break: grey core, red + brown ox zones.

65 66

67

Cf. TD XIII, 85-98, nos. 96–134. GAMER-WALLERT, 1970, 24–27. For example, Kahun, PETRIE, 1890, pl. v.1, 3; Tell elYahudieh, PETRIE, 1906, pl. i.10; Kom Rabica – JEFFREYS and GIDDY, 1989, 5 fig. 3; Dahshur, and Lisht unpublished. Others without provenance are also to be found in various museum collections. On this see OWNBY and GRIFFITHS, this volume.

69

70

The individual parts of a fish are described following the terminology as given by BREWER and FRIEDMAN, 1989, 47. The hands and/or finger nails of the potter/artist would have had to be very wide and long. Note the shape and character of the ventral fin shown in 9000A (see below cat. no. 62).

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

43

9195 is similar in size to 9015M being 34.5 cms long and 24.0 cms wide, and, like the previous fish dish it was handmade exhibiting a sharp rim edge from trimming with a, probably, wooden tool. This oval, boat-shaped dish was found intact so that the fabric classification could only be proposed from a close scrutiny of the surface which suggests a Marl C2 fabric. The white surface layer usually developing in the process of manufacture due to the chemical composition of this fabric is, in this example, rather thin and patchy, perhaps due to a higher quartz content.77 The dish shows signs of wear in the middle as if from abrading some material inside the dish. The incised lines are notably shallower here than in other places of the centre of the dish. Like the previous dish, this example bears a large incised fish in the centre with a bunch of

lotus flowers seemingly growing out of its mouth. The fish itself has one long dorsal fin on the back and pectoral and anal fins under the belly, the first beginning almost at its head. The scales are shown by incised notches probably made with a finger nail as in the previous example. The median line is represented by three parallel lines, and these are also filled with short oblique parallel lines, but in this instance they are mirrored thus forming a classic herring-bone pattern. The head is depicted by two rounded lines filled with oblique short lines, and a dot within the second circular line might represent the eye. In contrast to 9015M, the mouth of the fish is shown as an opening, not as a straight line. The caudal fin develops out of the fish shape itself and is divided into broad bands by parallel lines, which, in turn, are filled with short more-or-less perpendicular parallel lines, creating an image of the pattern of a real fish tail. The flower is shown with many subdivisions out of which other petals emerge and they are filled with notches. The depiction of the flower is symmetrical so that one larger flower is flanked by one bud on each side and one smaller flower each. To the right of the lotus flower two small fish are shown looking to the right (from the observer’s view) swimming towards another bunch of lotus flowers which seems to grow out of the pectoral fin of the fish. The last lotus bud comes from a stem which is being pushed out of the way by the large swimming fish. Continuing to the right the next motif is a standing figure of a hippopotamus goddess, Ipet (Ipi), Reret or Taweret, characterised by a hippopotamus body, decorated with cross hatching, as are most of the mammals shown in such dishes from L81, crocodile tail and lion’s paws, holding a knife in her fore legs. These three goddesses are hard to tell apart, but since Taweret is usually shown with a female wig, perhaps she is to be excluded. All three hold various symbols which may be interchangeable, but Taweret is most often shown holding sa-symbols or ankhsigns, whilst Reret generally holds a mooring post, which is sometimes shown in the form of a

71

74

marsh landscape.71 The 22 “reeds” grouped around the fish and its fins are drawn as long stems with between six and twelve short oblique lines representing the branches. Roughly opposite the “mountain” a budding plant is featured with a bud on top and two more buds on each side. Short oblique lines seem to depict the leaves of this plant. Whilst stylised lotus flowers are often shown emerging from the mouth of the fish, the reeds are somewhat unique. Many representations of vegetation with branches on both sides of a stem are known to us, but the only possible parallels for the type of ‘reed’ shown on this vessel is to be found on a dish from Antaeopolis,72 and on a fragment found at Tell el-Yahudieh.73 The triangular ‘mountains’ shown below the fish and above the tail fin also find somewhat good parallels on vessels from Kahun,74 Lisht,75 and Memphis.76 61. 9195 L81/1 Pl. 4 TG

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D. 34.5 × 24.0 cm. H. 6.4–8.5 cm. Md. 34.5 cm. Bd 14.5 × 16.0 cm. Wd. 1.2 cm. Intact Surface colour: 5Y8/1 white Decoration: see description Break: not visible.

72 73

The depiction is too simplistic to be able to identify securely if a papyrus thicket is meant, but it seems possible that this genre is alluded to in this case. PETRIE, 1930b, pl. xxi.24. PETRIE, 1906, pl. i.9.

75 76 77

PETRIE, 1890, pl. v.5. Lisht North pyramid, village site BT 3, unpublished. JEFFREYS and GIDDY, 1989, 5 fig. 3. NORDSTRÖM and BOURRIAU, 1993, 180. Cf. also OWNBY and GRIFFITHS, this volume.

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David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

crocodile, and Ipet a knife or a torch. Since the goddess shown on this dish is holding a knife we favour the interpretation as Ipet.78 Such a depiction is unique in the repertoire of known fish dishes, and leads to additional questions concerning the function of such vessels which have not hitherto been examined, since it puts it closer to the apotropaic wands (magic knives) made from hippopotamus ivory which show similar motifs.79 Ipet is usually found on such wands in order to provide protection to newborns and their mothers, although, in at least one instance, she appears on the back of a seated statue, London BM EA 871, of Sobekemsaf I,80 where she is presumably protecting the king. Following to the right of Ipet, is a baboon or monkey, which perhaps may be identified as a hamadryas baboon,81 climbing on a very simply rendered tree. On top of the caudal, or tail, fin of the central fish another hippopotamus on all fours looking right is depicted. Its body is partly filled with stripes and notches rather than the usual crosshatching. The connection of the hippopotamus and tilapia on a fish dish is interesting since they have a symbiotic relationship in nature and this may have been observed by the Egyptians.82 Facing the hippo and looking him directly in the eyes is a smaller, simplified, fish, but similar in general lay-out to the large fish in the centre except that the median line is not shown. It clearly shows a well made long dorsal fin as well as a caudal fin, and bears two fins on the belly, with what appears to be a possible third fin represented immediately below the face, though this first ‘fin’, being close to the mouth might be intended to represent sensory filaments or barbells. Finally the “frieze” is rounded off with two more small fish swimming in the direction of the lotus flowers. The first of these is somewhat unusual in that it has the normal long dorsal fin on the back, but also one long fin on the underbelly, which is somewhat unexpected. However, such representations may well be attempts by the artist to show a different species of Tilapia.83

78

79 80 81 82

Cf. also BIETAK, and FORSTNER-MÜLLER, 2007, 24. For a brief summary of these goddesses see R.H. WILKINSON, 2003, 183–186. Cf. ALTENMÜLLER, 1965, passim. DAVIES, 1981; ROBBINS, 1997, 119–121. OSBORN and OSBORNOVÁ, 1998, 32–37. BEHRMANN, 1996, 21, quoting Grzimeks Tierleben XIII,

62. 9000A L81/1 FN 213 + 294 + 497 Pl. 5 TG

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D. 43.0 × 30.0 cm. H. 9.3–11.0 cm. Md. 37.0 cm. Bd 15.5 × 15.0 cm. Wd. 1.2–1.5 cm. Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 10YR8/2 very pale brown Decoration: see description Break: grey core, red + brown ox zones. 9000A is an almost complete Marl C2 fish dish, again belonging to the group of dishes having a large fish in the centre. With measurements of 43.0 cms. in length and 30.0 cms. in width the dish is slightly larger than the two previously described, whilst the oval boat-shaped vessel form, with sharply trimmed edges falling towards the outside, is in keeping with the other dishes. This fish dish shows the typical juxtaposition of Nilotic versus desert landscapes so familiar from others of this genre, but is somewhat better executed than most, even if the central fish looks a little foreshortened, perhaps because of a lack of space for the incised decoration around the sides of it, but this would imply that the “frieze” around the sides of the dish was incised first. Such a supposition, however, is not corroborated by close scrutiny of the dish, as some of the animals are etched into the fish and cross its lines indicating that they were drawn after the base fish had been incised. The naturally developed surface layer has fired to a deep white colour, so that the dark incisions stand out very well against the white surface. Surely this effect was intentionally desired; it just did not work out so well in the other examples, particularly in 9195. The central fish shows use marks in the centre, namely an abraded white surface, particularly obvious in this example, where the remainder of the dish is covered with a relatively thick surface layer, and less deep incisions than in the other places of the dish. Whether this comes from some grinding activity is disputable, because the shape itself does not really support such an activity in an ergonomic way.84 Whether these dishes are nothing more than grinding

83

84

Zurich, 1968, 118. The faeces of hippopotami provide good breeding grounds for the plants on which the tilapia feed. Cf. BREWER and FRIEDMAN, 1989, fig. 3.39, a pond scene with various tilapia species, which also shows some of these variants in the fins. IKRAM, 1995, 73–74.

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

45

devices is one of the unresolved questions of Marl C ceramics, but one wonders if it would not be overly elaborate for such a mundane task, when cross hatching and a normal round vessel shape would have done the job just as efficiently. The decorative frieze, which is mainly orientated towards the right, as indeed they are in tombs and temples,85 is centred on a large fish with a median line in the middle, but near the head, which is indicated by seven semicircular lines with some shorter ones, there are several oblique lines going out into the body of the fish. This feature is so far not paralleled by any other dish. The median line is shown as three parallel lines filled with short oblique lines in a herring bone pattern, well comparable to other dishes. The fish shows three fins on the belly, the pectoral fin being mirrored on the inside of the fish, a usual way of representing both the left and right pectoral fins, which in reality would be obscured from the viewer,86 whilst the ventral fin is also shown in addition to the usually shown anal fin. The dorsal fin is very long and ends in a sharp point, a typical trait of the tilapia species, whilst the caudal fin is shown with out turned lines and filled with a chequer-board pattern. The body of the fish is covered with small notches representing the scales as is usual in the depiction mode of these dishes. Out of the mouth of the fish comes a tree, which might well be identified as a date palm by the circular fruits and the leaves, flanked by three lotus flowers on each side that are filled with notches as usual. The tree trunk is covered with cross hatching representing the texture of a palm tree trunk. Sitting in the tree are four antithetic monkeys87 with rounded muzzles, two of them already tucking into the dates/fruits while two more are just on their way to join them.88 Three fish are swimming with their heads towards the right side, shown in a very similar manner to the large fish with three fins on the belly, the first of which (pectoral fin) is mirrored on the inside of the fish, the dorsal fin floating over the rear end of the fish and a caudal fin filled with a

square pattern. In contrast to other small fish these were equipped with a median line in herring bone pattern. Also marching to the right from the viewer’s point of view is a feline with round dots enabling one to identify this animal as a cheetah or a leopard. A cheetah is more likely because, as Osborn and Osbornová have pointed out, leopards are almost always shown in Egyptian art with their heads down, whilst cheetahs are shown with their heads up.89 Its tail is curled over the back of the cat and it is stepping with one leg raised on top of another animal lying on its back. The presence of horns indicates one of the different species of antelopes depicted on the dish, but they are rather straight than curled or undulating as in the others. The raised paw of the cheetah makes an enlarged impression in relation to the remainder of the animal, so that even the claws are depicted. This way of showing the cheetah is very reminiscent of a scene of two falcon headed sphinxes trampling foreigners on a pectoral with the name of Sesostris III, belonging to queen Mereret, found in the pyramid of Senwosret III at Dahshur.90 In front of the cheetah are five animals with long curving horns, probably ibexes, whose bodies are filled with cross hatching. The ibexes are represented in an Egyptian manner with high curved horns, in contrast to Syrian style ibexes which have more tightly curved hook-shaped ones.91 They are walking further towards the right above the caudal fin of the large fish. One animal amongst these shows two curved horns drawn in opposition to each other and it seems to be an attempt on the part of the artist to represent a hartebeest which is the only possible species with such horns.92 One more animal walking in the same group is only partly preserved, so no exact identification can be made. In the very small space between the dorsal and caudal fins, just underneath one of the ibexes, there is a very small hippopotamus, recognisable only by its opened muzzle and small ears. It should be noted that the size relation to the other animals is not

85

89

86 87

88

ROBBINS, 1997, 24. Cf. also FISCHER, 1977, 6–8. Cf. SCHÄFER, 1974, 80 – 159. The species represented could be Green Monkeys or Patas Monkeys. Cf. OSBORN and OSBORNOVÁ, 1998, 39–42. A similar motif appears on a New Kingdom faience dish from Kahun, although the climbers seem to be human. Cf. PETRIE 1890, pl. XVIII.35.

90 91

92

OSBORN and OSBORNOVÁ, 1998, 119. DE MORGAN, 1895, pl. xix.1 OSBORN, 1987, 243–244. OSBORN and OSBORNOVÁ, 1998, 180–184. OSBORN and OSBORNOVÁ, 1998, 171–173. This is a little hard to see because the horns are incised very close to each other making the impression of one ear rather than two horns.

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David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

correct, a typical trait which is paralleled, for example, in various tomb scenes where, to quote an example, among many others, a hedgehog is often shown overlarge in comparison to other animals.93 Then a small portion of the dish is missing. Out of the gap walks an ostrich towards the right with stylised wings and very long legs that reach down into the central fish. As the legs cut the fish fins it is clear that the ostrich was drawn after the basal fish. The next animal in front of the ostrich shows pointed horns or ears and is filled with cross hatching. Whilst it might be another kind of antelope, it could also be a wild ass,94 although the horns/ears seem perhaps a bit too pointed. One more animal of the same kind is walking on top of the other fin of the fish, again indicating that the fish was incised first. Finally there are three more antelopes with wavy horns and short tails which curl upwards, both traits making it possible to identify these creatures as dorcas gazelles,95 the first one looking back towards the ostrich and the other two looking to the right, walking towards the lotus flowers coming out of the central fish’s mouth. The motif of one animal within a group looking back while all the other ones are looking forward is typical on the fish dishes in L81, and it break ups the monotony of long rows of very similar animals. As with 9195, the decoration of 9000A includes some unique elements, not the least of which is the scene of monkeys stealing fruit from a date palm. Whilst perhaps surprising to find this motif on a fish dish, scenes of (men and) monkeys climbing palm trees are well known in Old and Middle Kingdom art,96 whilst monkeys and baboons were quite often depicted in Egyptian iconography, helping with the vintage, directing shipbuilding, plucking fruit from trees, scampering up a ship’s mast, pulling other animals, and playing musical instruments.97 Nor should it be

93

94 95 96

97 98

For convenience see OSBORN and OSBORNOVÁ, 1998, 10, 20. Note too that in tribute scenes the animals are usually shown at a much smaller scale than their human handlers. NIBBI, 1979, 148–168. OSBORN and OSBORNOVÁ, 1998, 175–177. Men in fig trees, WRESZINSKI, 1923, 62. For primates in fig trees see VANDIER D’ABBADIE, 1964, 171. IDEM, 1965, 185–186. HOULIHAN, 1992, 31–47 and references cited. HOULIHAN, 1996, passim. KEIMER, 1938, 42–45. HOULIHAN, 1992, 41.

forgotten that both the dom palm and baboon (should these creatures be identified as baboons rather than monkeys) are manifestations of the Egyptian god Thoth.98 Parallels for large felines can be found on fish dishes from Kom Rab‘ia99 and Kahun,100 whilst gazelles or antelopes of various kinds are a rather common occurrence on such dishes from Tell elYahudieh,101 Kom Rabica,102 Lisht North,103 and perhaps Antaeopolis.104 63. 8994C L81/1 Pl. 6 TG

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D. 42.0 × 31.5 cm. H. 7.3–10.7 cm. Md. 31.5 cm. Bd 13.2 × 12.0 cm. Wd. 1.2–1.5 cm. Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 10YR8/2 very pale brown Decoration: see description Break: grey core, red oxidation zones. With its preserved length of ca. 42 cms., and a width of 31.5 cms., 8994C also belongs to the smaller class of fish dishes. The central motif is again a large fish, which because of its pointed dorsal fin, is most probably a tilapia. About a sixth of the dish is missing, including, unfortunately, a part of the head of the fish. The boat shaped form with sharply trimmed edges is in accord with the other known examples of this type. In contrast to most of the other fish dishes mentioned in this article, however, the fabric of this handmade vessel is Marl C1. The white surface layer is well developed, so that the incised motifs show up very well. The middle of the fish, in the very centre of the dish, shows signs of use probably by rubbing of some kind, since the surface layer is missing there and the incisions are, through use, much shallower than in other parts of the centre. The central fish is depicted much in the usual manner: the head is divided from the body with

99

J. Bourriau, pers. comm. PETRIE, 1890, pl. V.5, now in Manchester Museum MM486. 101 PETRIE, 1906, pl. I. 8, 10. U.C. 19003 and 19004. 102 Especially the complete example in JEFFREYS, GIDDY 1989, 5, fig. 3, but there are more of this kind from that site. J. Bourriau, pers. comm. 103 Old Excavations of Mace in the shaft tombs, slipped into from the settlement. Pers. comm. of S. Allen. 104 PETRIE, 1930b, pl. xxi.4. 100

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

three parallel, more-or-less, curved lines, the body is filled with notches and the median line is shown by means of cross hatching. The rendering of the caudal fin seems less well done than on the other examples; it is filled with a chequer-board pattern with some additional oblique lines creating the impression of rays. The long dorsal fin ends in a sharp point, whilst on the belly the pectoral and anal fins are shown. The decorative frieze of the dish is orientated towards the right with the exception of one small fish, which swims in the other direction. Out of the mouth of the basal fish a bunch of lotus flowers is emerging. As this part is not totally preserved we cannot be sure of the exact number of the flowers, however, one opened flower and one bud filled with notches are preserved. It is likely that there is at least one more of each kind – in view of the missing space we might suggest that there were three flowers, the outermost two being flanked with buds. To the right of this bunch of flowers a ‘tree’ appears, consisting of a stem with three branches on each side, the leaves being rendered as short oblique lines. Following this motif, six animals of various species are shown wandering to the right, each one equipped with its own register line. This trait is completely unique amongst the dishes from L81 and, indeed all other fish dishes known to us. The topmost animal seems to be a large feline (lion/cheetah) shown as if it were almost biting into the tail of a goat standing in front of it. Below the feline there are two animals of unfamiliar shape, pictured one above the other, which might represent hedgehogs, honey badgers or pigs.105 Of the three the hedgehog is probably the least likely since, in Egyptian art, such animals usually show a line across the body which divides the bristles from the softer underbelly,106 but the choice between honey badger and pig is harder to make. Further to the right two larger horned animals, probably wavy-horned goats,107 are depicted. Their bodies are filled with elongated notches, as also are the legs which are shown with double lines. The tails are very short and pointed. Underneath the first goat a smaller animal with short, slightly bent horns is shown, which is presumably an oryx. These animals fill the space between the tree and the caudal fin of the fish almost entirely, leaving

105

106 107

Cf. OSBORN and OSBORNOVÁ, 1998, 19–23; 84–85; 142–143. Cf. OSBORN and OSBORNOVÁ, 1998, 19–23. OSBORN and OSBORNOVÁ, 1998, 187–188. Plumper bodies than ibexes, short tails, twisted horns.

47

almost no empty room, exemplifying a typical horror vacui. Over the caudal fin two smaller fish are drawn that look slightly more squashed than the average tilapia, although they show the right shape of dorsal, pectoral and anal fins. This may be caused by the fact that the artist has drawn a crocodile at the rim, leaving very little space between it and the caudal fin, in which to squash these fish. Unfortunately the crocodile is partly eroded, especially the back parts, but preserved are its four short legs in a walking position, its long tail reaching the muzzle of one of the goats, and its long snout slightly opened. The eye is shown, but in contrast to the other representations of crocodiles found on the L81 fish dishes, the teeth are missing. The snout is filled with small notches, whilst the remainder of the scaled body is rendered with cross hatching. Opposite its open snout a fish is depicted as if swimming into it. This fish might also be a tilapia, slightly squashed for space reasons, since it again shows the pointed dorsal fin as well as the pectoral and anal fins in the usual way, although the fins on the belly are depicted as three small short strokes having the “closing” line missing. Turning right there are three more larger goats walking in procession and looking towards the right. The one immediately in front of the crocodile is missing its eye, but otherwise they are rendered in the same way as those on the opposite side of the dish. The first goat is standing on an additional base line whilst the other two are using the top of the dorsal fin of the fish as base lines. The first goat in this procession, that is the one farthest from the crocodile, is seemingly browsing on the leaves of a ‘tree’ which is depicted in front of it. The decoration on this dish is highly unusual: it is the only one known to us in which the animals are all shown standing on a base line. However goats, as opposed to gazelles, are also known on the fragment London UC 19003 from Tell elYahudieh,108 whilst a fragment from the same dish (?) may also show a pig/honey badger.109 64. 9015L L81/1 FN 14 Pl. 7 TG

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PETRIE, 1906, pl. i.8. PETRIE, 1906, pl. i.14. The current location is unknown to us.

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Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 2.5YR8/1 white Decoration: see description Break: grey core, red + brown ox zones. 9015L is an incomplete Marl C2 fish dish that was probably larger than the ones previously described, because, although only about half of it is extant, the preserved part is 39.0 cms in length. This dish is another example of the type with a large central fish in the middle as seems to be the norm in L81. It was again made by hand with a sharply trimmed edge, and the oval boat shape is clear despite its fragmentary state. The natural white surface layer is quite thin and transparent when compared, for example, with 9000A (cat. no. 62). The incised lines are rather thin and not very deep. The centre of the base fish shows signs of wear: abrasion of the white surface and the incised lines are less deep in the middle of the centre than at the edges. What is preserved of the incised decoration is a “frieze” orientated, as usual, towards the right, and the rear part of a large base fish. The fish is shown with very long scales, the median line is represented by a single long line and short oblique ones forming a herring bone pattern. The ventral and anal fins are preserved as well as most of the long dorsal fin, which becomes wider towards the caudal fin and is filled with parallel short oblique lines. These traits again identify this fish as a tilapia. The caudal fin was depicted by flaring lines connected with a bent line, filled with parallel long lines and short oblique ones, creating the image of the texture of a real caudal fin. The description of the frieze starts left of the caudal fin, because of its fragmentary state: a smaller fish is swimming towards the right towards the caudal fin. It is shown with scales in the form of notches. The pectoral and ventral fins are preserved on the belly of the fish. The head is separated by seven relatively carelessly drawn vertical lines from the body; no eye is shown but a very short horizontal line represents the mouth of the fish. Over the caudal fin a large animal with a long snout and a long tail is visible facing towards the right. The body was filled with cross hatching whilst on the back and tail short oblique lines represent the scaling. The evident snout with two

110 111

Cf. SCHÄFER, 1974, 111–112. If the creature represented is really a bird, the bee eater seems to be the only bird shown in Egyptian art

rows of large teeth opposite each other gives away the species, proving that it is a crocodile. Five short bent lines divide the head from the body and the eye is separated by one line from the head. Over the crocodile there is a horizontal line with seven oblique lines hanging from it. Whether this is a space filler, reminiscent of the horror vacui often found in Egyptian art or a representation of vegetation of some kind cannot be ascertained. In front of the crocodile another smaller fish is swimming towards the right. Here a part of the dish is missing, so it cannot be determined as to what the lines protruding under the fish are really meant to represent. This fish shows a different kind of scale to the first one for here they are rather horizontal and much shallower. The dorsal fin is drawn in the same way as before, again indicative of the tilapia species. The following motif in front of this fish consists of three birds, certainly ostriches, with long legs bent in the middle and two wings each, very much in accord with the Egyptian depictive canon.110 Here again, as already seen with the antelopes on 9000A, one of these ostriches looks back at the other two. The heads of the birds are shown in a very simple but apt style, – a simple triangular head attached to the long neck, with the lower line elongated to represent the beak. The legs of the birds reach down into the fish again proving that the base fish was incised first and the surrounding frieze later. The ostrich bodies were filled with parallel oblique lines. It is interesting to note that the numbers of these lines in each bird are consistent: six lines then a gap and again six lines in the first bird; five lines then a gap and again five lines and seven lines with a gap and again seven lines in the last bird. A very minute detail is also that the tail feathers of the ostriches are alluded to, though this is perhaps not surprising since the tail feathers were prized for making fans. In front of these three birds another creature, unfortunately only partially preserved, is visible: it might be identified as another kind of bird, – since the style of decoration clearly resembles that of the ostriches – with two feathers emerging from the tail very much in the manner of a beeeater.111 However, since so little is preserved, such a suggestion can only remain a speculative one.

with two distinct feathers projecting from the tail. Cf. HOULIHAN, 1986, 117.

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

The last preserved element of this dish is a pointed structure combined from two long lines. This dish clearly shows a different style in its execution to the other dishes, perhaps more erratic and hasty, although we would be reluctant to speak of single artists in this respect. The question of whether the potter and the “artist” were one and the same person or separate beings, or even a group of people, cannot be answered with any degree of certainty, as there is, as far as we know, no extant evidence relating to such a theme. There are no hints that a sketch existed before the actual execution of the scenes was carried out, for which we find evidence in the manufacture of tomb scenes.112 65. 9015P L81/1 FN 271 + 510 Pl. 7 TG

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D. ca. 60.0–65.0 × 40.0 cm. H. 9.3–12.5 cm. Wd. 1.2–1.5 cm. Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 7.5YR8/1 white Decoration: see description Break: grey core, red + brown ox zones. 9015P also belongs to a larger size of fish dish but again with a large central fish depicted on the base. The dish is not as well preserved as the others, but the length can be estimated to be at least 60.0 to 65.0 cms as a length of 50.0 cms is preserved. The oval boat shape is clearly recognisable and the sharply trimmed edges of the vessel walls recur as in the other examples. The fabric is again Marl C2, whilst the naturally developed white surface is quite irregular, a thick layer in some places but rather thin and wishy-washy in others. There is one special trait to this dish that could not be observed in the other examples, namely that the base is thickened notably in the centre that is incidentally also the centre of the fish. There are traces of use visible on that fish, not in the centre but around the edges. Again the surface appears to be worn off and the scales (notches) make a shallower impression than the unused ones. The design of this dish also appears slightly different to the others. Preserved is the head of the central fish with scales represented by notches and a median line shown as a double line filled

112

Cf. ROBBINS, 1994, passim.

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with cross hatching. This trait recurs in the smaller fish around the frieze. Quite a large part of the dorsal fin is preserved and, as usual, it is filled with parallel oblique lines. On top of it there seem to be several triangular objects filled with cross hatching. Unfortunately this part is too badly preserved to be sure about the motif. Perhaps these triangular features are supposed to represent a mountainous region. The head of the large fish is divided by five bent lines filled with notches whilst the mouth was rendered as a gap out of which a large lotus flower emerges. It is a very large flower elaborately rendered, with many petals shown each filled with notches. The lotus flower is flanked by two smaller fish each facing the flower antithetically. They seem to be depicted in the same fashion, although only the one on the right side is completely preserved. It shows a long dorsal fin filled with short oblique lines, pectoral and anal fins and a caudal fin emerging out of the body of the fish by means of two flaring lines. Whilst the head was divided from the body by three bent parallel lines, the tail was not, being indicated as a contracted part of the body. Two more non-joining fragments that very probably belong to this dish show parts of fish, which in lay out and style are totally analogous to the small fish around the “frieze”. 66. 9015O L81/1 Pl. 7 TG

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D. preserved 24.0 × 20 cm. Non-joining sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 2.5YR7/6 light red in, 10R8/3 pink out Decoration: see description Break: grey core, red + brown ox zones. 9015O is a very fragmentary fish dish with a large central fish motif. The preserved length is ca. 24 cms, the preserved width ca. 20 cms. Like most of the other examples this dish was made from Marl C2, but the white surface layer did not develop on the inside of the dish, and only appears on the outside. The very centre shows signs of use visible by the way the notches are less deep and abraded. The fish was, as usual, depicted with three parallel lines indicating the median line filled with

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two rows of short oblique notches in order to represent three dimensions.113 The scales are rendered in the same way. Also preserved are three curved parallel lines separating the head from the body. The dorsal fin is shaped like the others described above, again indicating the species to be a tilapia. On top of it are the remains of several triangular features filled with notches, perhaps mountains. Additional fragments, which owing to both their colouring and their style of incision, probably also belong to the same vessel, show lotus buds and more triangular objects. 67. 9015Q L81/1 FN 215 + 298 Pl. 8 TG

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Non-joining sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 2.5YR8/3 pink in, 7.5YR8/2 pinkish white out Decoration: see description Break: grey core, red + brown ox zones. 9015Q also consists of several fragments that seem to belong together since the fabric, surface colour and the style of the incisions are all similar. The fabric is Marl C2, and the surface colour shows a cream-pink tinge. The edges of the rim are sharply trimmed. A part of the central fish shows abrasions of the median line and scales. Again the centre of the dish is taken up by a large fish, rendered in the usual manner: three parallel lines indicating the median line filled with oblique lines forming a herring bone pattern. The scales are shown as notches. Also preserved are six parallel curved lines dividing the head from the body, as well as the caudal fin, which is filled with parallel lines to represent the rays, in contrast to the chequer-board patterns of the other dishes. Other fragments show parts of smaller fish that belong to the frieze around the central fish; the way the fins of these fish are drawn would again indicate the tilapia species. One mouth of a fish is preserved, just as a gap, whilst the head is again separated by seven curved parallel lines from the body. One gazelle, probably a dorcas gazelle,114 is also preserved. It looks back over its shoulder, with an elegant turn of its slender neck. In this instance the wavy horns are depicted as well as an ear. The body is filled with elongated shallow notches and the tail is short and curling upwards. In contrast to other exam-

113

SCHÄFER, 1974, 144 and fig. 129.

ples the space above the caudal fin of the large base fish appears to have been left blank. 68. 9015Y L81/1 Pl. 8 TG

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Non-joining sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 2.5Y8/2 pale yellow Decoration: see description Break: grey core, red + brown ox zones. 9015Y, comprises three fragments with parallel lines one of which is a rim fragment with a sharply trimmed edge. The fabric is Marl C2, with the white surface showing very well on the inside of the dish, but not on the outside. 69. 9016A L81/1 Pl. 8 TG

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Non-joining sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 2.5Y8/2 pale yellow Decoration: see description Break: grey core, red + brown ox zones. 9016A consists of two non-joining fragments, which are surprisingly thick – 2.4 cm. – that might belong to the same vessel, but this is by no means certain. The fabric is Marl C1, which is generally quite rare in this context. The first fragment, from a rim with sharply trimmed edge shows the head of a bird (?) with one eye and four lines dividing the head from the body which is not preserved. The other fragment shows either the foot of a bird or part of a plant. 70. 9015N L81/1 Pl. 8 TG

II-c-2

s.f

Ha1

H

ox

4

Incomplete Surface colour: 10YR8/1 white in, 10R7/4 pale red out Decoration: see description Break: uniform light red. 9015N is represented only by a single rim fragment of a dish with a trimmed edge. Contrary to the other examples the edge falls towards the inside of the dish and, like 9016A, the wall thickness is exceptionally thick – 2.5 cms. The fabric is Marl C2 with a white surface on the inside that is well developed. Outside only a thin and irregular white layer is visible.

114

OSBORN and OSBORNOVÁ, 1998, 175–177.

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

On top of a dorsal fin of a large central fish a small fish is swimming towards the right. Although its head is missing the remainder of it is well preserved. The median line is shown by means of a single simple line, the scales as notches, the dorsal fin indicative of a tilapia reaches almost to the top edge of the vessel, whilst the pectoral and ventral or anal fin are shown in the usual manner. Some of the curved lines dividing the head from the body are also preserved. To the left of this fish the mouth of another is just preserved, indicating that there were at least two. 71. 8989Y L81/1 Pl. 8 TG

II-c-2

s.f

Ha1

H

ox

4

Incomplete Surface colour: 2.5YR8/1 white Decoration: see description Break: grey core, red + brown ox zones. 8989Y is also known through a single rim fragment with a trimmed edge falling outwards. The fabric is Marl C2 with a relatively thin white surface layer on both the inside and the outside of the vessel. The preserved design shows a bunch of lotus flowers coming out of the mouth of a fish indicating that the fragment should be placed at one of the long ends of the oval dish. The largest lotus flower was rendered very elaborately with many petals115 filled by many small notches. To the left of the large flower are four smaller ones growing from an extra curved stem. The head of the fish is just as much preserved to be certain that the identification is secure: the mouth, one eye and two curved lines dividing the head from the body. The break of the sherd goes right through the second of these incisions. 72. 8989Z L81/1 Pl. 9

51

face colour. There are no traces of a white surface, which may be due to erosion, because the real surface of this vessel is not very well preserved, as is indeed true for a lot of other pottery from the deeper layers of L81. The base/wall fragment, 8989Z/1, (Plate 9), reveals the existence of a large central fish, partly abraded, with a median line consisting of three parallel lines filled with short oblique lines forming a herring bone pattern. The scales are represented by notches, whilst the caudal fin is filled with a very minute chequer board pattern. The dorsal fin is partly preserved and rendered as single strokes rather than a closed shape filled with oblique strokes. The rim fragment, 8989Z/2, (Plate 9), shows a very charming depiction of a hippopotamus with very prominent belly, thick head and small ears. The eye is preserved but not the muzzle. The short tail shows a little fork at the end. The body of the hippo is filled with minute cross hatching, very similar in style to the filling of the caudal fin. 73. 9015Z L81/1 FN 42 Pl. 9 TG

II-e-2

f

Ha1

H

ox

2–3

Incomplete Surface colour: eroded Decoration: see description Break: light brown inner, pinkish grey outer. The fish dish, 9015Z, unfortunately represented only by a single rim fragment is exceptional, since it is an evident imitation made from a Nile E2 fabric. Due to this fact the preservation of the surface is also not as good as in the other examples. It does, however, appear to show the caudal fin of a fish with elaborate filling pattern, but it is unclear if the object on top of the caudal fin is actually part of it or something to be considered separately, like a crocodile for instance. 74. 9000B L81/1 FN 343 Pl. 9

TG

II-c-2

s.f

Ha1

H

ox

4

Incomplete Surface colour: 5YR6/6 reddish yellow Decoration: see description Break: grey core, red + brown ox zones. Register Number 8989Z comprises two fragments that are considered to belong together due to their fabric, Marl C2, and their very orange sur-

115

TG

II-c-2

s.f

Ha1

H

ox

4

Preserved H. 18.2 cm. Wd. 2.1 – 2.9 cm. Incomplete Surface colour: 2.5YR8/2 pale yellow Decoration: see description Break: grey core, red + brown ox zones. 9000B belongs to a special class of fish dishes

Cf. SCHÄFER, 1974, 144 and fig. 129, in order to show three dimensional representations.

52

David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

which have raised protrusions within the dish. Hitherto only examples with raised middle parts were known,116 but this example shows a raised part that comes from the higher end of the dish, where the head of the fish would be located. Presumably a second raised part would have been positioned at the other end of the vessel. The fabric of this exceptionally large, but still boatshaped, oval vessel (preserved length ca. 31 cms, preserved width ca. 36 cms.) is Marl C2. Only about a quarter of it is preserved, so that it must have been a massive and very heavy vessel. The edges of the rim are sharply trimmed, this time horizontally, rather than falling to the inside or outside. The white surface is quite thick and can be observed both inside and outside. The raised part that protrudes into the dish is hollow and was formed by hand as was the remainder of the dish. The centre of the dish seems to be taken up by a very large fish, one end of which is preserved. The three parallel curved lines that seem to divide the body from the head surround the raised part of the dish as if it took the place of the actual head. Contrary to this interpretation there are pointed triangular objects drawn where the raised “platform” starts to protrude out of the vessel wall, which are sometimes seen on top of the caudal fin. But an overly ‘ornamentalisation’ of the fish is known to have happened in other examples, notably, Manchester 7397, from Antaeopolis, where two caudal fins are shown at each end of the fish.117 The notches of the central fish are very large and crude. On top and on the sides of the raised “platform” there are more fish depictions: one larger one on top of the “platform”, one each to the left and right of it and one larger and one smaller one in antithetical fashion on the side facing inwards. All of those fish are shown almost in the same way, with one long dorsal fin, pectoral, ventral and anal fins, scales represented by notches, eyes, a short stroke for the mouth and caudal fins filled with parallel lines, which in turn are filled with short vertical lines. The difference lies in the presence of the median lines, which are only

shown with the larger fish and the division of the heads from the bodies, which is more elaborate in the larger fish, than in the smaller ones. Unequivocally all these fish can be identified as tilapia. Study of the fifteen fish dishes found in L81 leads to the following observations. They are generally of two distinct sizes, a smaller one of about 37 to 40 cms. in length, and a larger one of 55 to 60 cms. in length. Most show signs of wear in the centre, which indicates that they were used for a purpose which eludes us at this moment. They all show a sense of horror vacui, in that the interiors are covered with a wide expanse of decoration. Most are entirely Nilotic in character with representations of fish, lotus flowers, reeds, crocodiles and hippopotami, although four, 9000A, 8994C, 9015L and 9015Q show a distinct contrast between Nilotic and desert animals and between Nilotic and desert landscapes. Perhaps the boat shape of these dishes is symbolic of a boat going along the Nile passing through the desert. The reason for the relatively sudden appearance of a richly decorated pottery type during times when the bulk of the ceramic repertoire was left without any decoration represents a change in the behaviour or the beliefs of the Ancient Egyptians. What the exact nature of this change might have been cannot be fathomed as yet, but at least it is worth noting that a remote similarity or relationship between fish dishes and decorated pottery of the Naqada period exists. Comparable, simple Nilotic scenes and other motifs can be found on the inside of circular, sometimes oval, dishes painted in white or red.118 Whether this similarity is rooted in similar behaviour or beliefs or is just mere coincidence needs further study and goes beyond the scope of this paper.

116

119

117 118

Cf. TD XIII, type 25c, Cat. no. 133–134. PETRIE, 1890, pl. XIII. 107, now in Manchester Museum, MM 474. PETRIE, 1930b, pl. xxi.4: BEHRMANN, 1989, Dok. 145. To cite only a few cf. PETRIE 1921, pl. xviii.71; BEHRMANN, 1989, Dok. 27.d–h; VON BISSING, 1913, 21, 24, cat. nos. 2071, 2073, 2074, 18799.

A.d.iib. Selected other Marl C vessels Cat. no. 75, (reg.no. 9000T), a Marl C1 (TD II-c1)119 carinated cup, one of at least twelve found in the pit, has been chosen since such cups are remarkably rare at Tell el-Dabca, with only fragmentary examples of a rather early date having been found previously.120 Thus these examples

120

Note that, in this paper, the fabric abbreviations for Tell el-Dabca were adapted more closely to the Vienna System, than before, when Marl C, compact used to be II-c-1; Marl C1: II-c-2 and Marl C2: II-c-3. Here II-c-1 is Marl C1 and II-c-2 is Marl C2. TD XIII, cat.no. 32 and 37, fig. 5.h and j, ph. I and H, respectively. CZERNY, 1999, 186, Mc22–28.

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

53

with their complete profiles are a welcome addition to the Tell el-Dabca repertoire. It might be argued that, because of the lack of contemporary parallels at the site they are old pieces, but at Memphis/Kom Rabica such cups are still quite common in levels of a similar date.121 A good parallel to 9000T can be found in TD XIX type 129c1 which occurs from Level VII to VIb; this is well into the late Second Intermediate Period, thus contemporary with L81.122 Cat. no. 76 (reg. no. K11000/543) is a large carinated dish with flaring rim made from Marl C2, unfortunately the base is missing. Such vessels were hitherto not represented at Tell el-Dabca, and even in Kom Rabica such a large size is not attested in Marl C2,123 but there are similar medium sized vessels with a carination (TD XIX type 158d), which came to light in levels VIc and V, that is contemporary with Tell el-Dabca Phases E/1–D/2.124 Cat. no. 77, (reg. no. K11000/1) is a large carinated bowl with a hand made ring base, the finger modelling being clearly visible, cf. plate 2, made of Marl C1 and belongs to a type of dish in which the carination itself is expressed rather as a thickening ridge inside and outside of the vessel than as a change in direction of the vessel wall. At least one parallel for this type of bowl exists in Tell el-Dabca in Phase E/1.125 At Kom Rabica similar bowls were found from Level VII to VIb (TD XIX type 131e),126 the younger levels being well in accord with the date of the pit complex.127 Cat. no. 78, (reg. no. 9004P) a dish with carination and incised wavy lines and fish made from Marl C1, is remarkable in its design, although existing fragments hinted at the existence of such a type,

but the overall lay-out of the decoration remained unclear. The top of the rim shows a depression made with a tool. It is still possible that further variations on this theme exist. Several fragments as well as a base made of Marl C1 with wavy lines instead of fish and finger modelling on top of the rim (TD XIX type 132b) were found in Kom Rabica in Levels VId to VIb,128 whilst a finger modelled rim (TD XIX type 131c) belongs to Level VIe.129 Sherds with incised wavy lines, but manufactured from Marl C2, were found in Phase E/1 at Tell el-Dabca and in Level VIb at Kom Rabica.130 These fragments might suggest that this piece could be contemporary in its context. At least one related bowl, but made from Marl A4, was found in Elephantine in Bauschicht 12, which is currently dated from the Thirteenth to the Seventeenth Dynasty,131 whilst another was found at Abydos.132 To what extent these dishes are really related and derived from each other must remain uncertain for the moment. Many variations in design were found in the cemeteries of Qau and Badari.133 Closed shapes are selectively represented by the following vessels. Cat. no. 79 (reg. no. K11000/548) is a large ovoid jar made from Marl C2 without any known exact parallels. Its ovoid shape is vaguely reminiscent of a jar from Memphis/Kom Rabica level VIa but that vessel is manufactured from Marl C1 and is more globular.134 A similar rim fragment from Dahshur, complex 7, can perhaps be cited as a parallel, but it is earlier in date (mid Thirteenth Dynasty) and is made of Marl C1.135 Cat. no. 80, (reg. no. K11000/550) is the upper part of a large jar of Marl C1 which looks more at home in the Marl C repertoire than

121

128

122 123

124 125

126 127

For all references to finds from Kom Rabica, cf. BOURRIAU and GALLORINI, in print, and BOURRAU and GALLORINI in preparation. TD XIX, 426, fig. 240 and 648, fig. 357. But similar large Marl C1-carinated dishes are existing in Level VIc, type 128d. Cf. TD XIX, 425–426, fig. 240. TD XIX, 466, fig. 261. TD XVII, I, 365, fig. 211.3. For earlier examples see TD XIII, 72–77. KOPETZKY, 2005, 207–208, fig. 12, 37, 75, 112, some of them with spout. TD XIX, 430, fig. 242. The earlier examples from complex 7 in Dahshur, and Memphis, Kom Rabica, show mainly the same type. Cf. Do. ARNOLD, 1982, fig. 11.1. BOURRIAU and GALLORINI, in print, passim.

TD XIX, 432, fig. 243. TD XIX, 428, fig. 241. 130 Cf. TD XIII, cat.no. 79, fig. 11.a, Marl C2, a wall fragment of a large dish with incised wavy lines inside and outside, Ph. E/1. TD XIX, type 159d, 468, fig. 262, Level VIb is a rim fragment that might have belonged to such a dish. 131 RZEUSKA, Report on the 34th season of Excavation and Restoration on the Island of Elephantine, 14, fig. 7.20. Published on the internet http://www.dainst.org/en/ daik_ele34_rep_en.pdf. 132 WEGNER, 2007, 245–246, fig. 56–57. 133 BRUNTON, 1930, pls. xii–xiii. 134 TD XIII, Cat.no. 190, fig. 28.a. 135 DO. ARNOLD, 1982, 45–47, Abb. 11.6. 129

54

David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

cat. no. 79, and might inter alia be related to a rim shape that eludes proper identification.136 Somewhat similar parallels in which the lip is less pronounced have been found in Lisht.137 Cat. no. 81, (reg. no. K11000/547) is a jar made of Marl C2, with a height of ca. 30 cms. representing what seems to be a smaller version of a storage jar that might well have been modelled on the larger examples such as cat. no. 82 (see below). The preservation of the profile affords us the chance to appreciate the possibility that there must have been several size classes of storage jars, just as, indeed, it has already been shown for the early Twelfth Dynasty by Dorothea Arnold.138 The scarcity of completely preserved profiles does not help in clarifying the matter. However, this vessel helps draw attention to different size classes and helps in distinguishing them since the rim diameter of K11000/547, at 15.2 cms., is also considerably smaller than that of a “normal” sized vessel. Since this vessel lacks an articulated base – it is hardly more than a “Wackelboden” – the overall shape might be considered as a linking type to be sited between TD XIII storage jar Types 5 and 7.139 The rim of this vessel would belong to type 7 in an updated rim typology based on the random sample,140 which occurs in Phases E/3, E/2 and D/3 at Tell el-Dabca,141 and in Levels VII to V in Kom Rabica.142 Cat. no. 82 (reg. no. 9010F) is a large storage vessel of Marl C1 with a height of 63 cms. The rim of this vessel is in keeping with storage jar rim type 10143 which occurs in Tell el-Dabca in Phases D/3 and D/2 but almost exclusively manufactured from Marl C2. This type, made of Marl C1, was not selected into the random sample of Tell el-Dabca, so it must be considered as very

rare.144 The shape of the vessel is very ovoid rather than globular or slender ovoid as in the later types of the series of storage jars as they are represented by storage jar types in TD XIII with preserved complete profiles (types 7 and 9).145 It seems to be a type that would fit very well between types 5 and 7146 as it does not show a flat base, but does follow type 5 in the contour of the vessel more closely. In terms of dating it would also fit very well between type 5 occurring from Phase G/4 to E/1 and type 7 that was mainly found in Phases E/1 and D/3. Another good parallel from Tell el-Dabca itself can be quoted, namely a storage jar used as a burial container, which in itself is rather unusual, dated to Phase D/3. The contour of that vessel TD 8928K147 differs slightly in that the maximum diameter is situated in the lower third of the vessel rather than in medium height as in the current example. It should further be noted that the overall height of that vessel is also 63 cms. – the same size class as storage jar 9010F. A vessel with some closeness in shape comes from Karnak North in a Second Intermediate Period context, although it is more bag-shaped.148 Comparable rims exist in Tell el-Maskhuta but unfortunately no complete vessels seem to have been found there.149 Cat. no. 83 (reg. no. 9001C) is a Marl C1 medium ringstand with a maximum diameter of 16.8 cms. With this example the existence of ringstands in a shape that is usually found in Nile B fabrics (cf. above cat. no. 22) can be proved. Previously some fragments were assigned to this type because of their general similarity to ringstands made from Nile clay fabrics,150 but a secure statement about their existence can only be made now

136

144

137 138 139 140

141 142 143

TD XIX, 452, fig. 254, type 143g, in phases G/4 to E/3 at Tell el-Dabca and in Levels VII to VIc and VIa at Kom Rabica; however, these rims do not show such an overhanging lip as that of the current example. Therefore it must remain doubtful whether the same type is meant. ARNOLD, ARNOLD and ALLEN, 1995, 23 no. 5. DO. ARNOLD, 1988, 112, fig. 59. TD XIII, 157, fig. 43. This is probably equivalent to rim type 5a of KOPETZKY dated to E/3–E/2. Cf. KOPETZKY, 2005, 216. TD XIX, 239. TD XIX, 242, table 47. TD XIX, 225–243. This is perhaps partly equivalent with Kopetzky’s Type 5b. Cf. KOPETZKY, 2005, 216.

145

146

147 148 149 150

TD XIX, 239 fig. 156. TD XIII, 157, fig. 43 and 179–189. The example of type 9 given in this figure can now be replaced by a better example from Ezbet Helmi of the New Kingdom, (TD Reg.nr. 9076 A, Marl C2/F), which is preserved in its upper part with only the base, presumably round, missing. Cf. BADER, 2006b, 41, fig. 4.c. Note that type 6 seems to be a development that is only testified by one vessel as no more examples of this shape have been found since. TD XVI, 330–331, fig. 251.3. JACQUET-GORDON, 1991, 27–28. HOLLADAY, 1997, 235–236, plate 7.8.21, pl. 7.9.1–4. Cf. TD XIII, 217, type 70, fig. 70.d; TD XIX, 458, fig. 257, type 148b.

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

Fig. 8

55

56

David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

as a result of the complete examples found in L81. Fragments belonging to this type were found in Memphis/Kom Rabica in Levels VII, all subdivisions of VI and V attesting a sound history of occurrence throughout the later Second Intermediate Period contemporary with the Hyksos Period in the Delta.151 Cat. no. 84, (reg. no. 8994E) constitutes a more normal and better known kind of stand that is larger and more massive in its execution. Examples of this type made from Marl C2 are not as common as such pottery manufactured from Marl C1.152 Secure examples made of Marl C2 were found in Tell el-Dabca in Phase E/1, and in Memphis/Kom Rabica in Level VII and all subdivisions of Level VI, again adding weight to the assumption that the stand does not necessarily need to be old in its context. Cat. no. 85 (reg. no. K11000/546), although of Marl C2, probably belongs with a type of libation vessel hitherto only known in Marl C1 from Memphis, Level VII with similar body fragments also being found in Level VIb.153 Whilst the general idea and purpose of the vessel as a libation vessel seems to be the same, an actual spout is missing in reg. no. K11000/546, but this may be due to the incomplete state of the L81 vessel, and it is slightly smaller. The carinations are more rounded and the tapering around the ‘waist’ is more radical. The rims are missing from both vessels, but perhaps a reconstruction with a rim of “key hole” shape can be proposed as such rims often show such a sharp bend at the point where they reach the shoulder of the vessel as it is seen here.154

AI 102.35 Incomplete Surface colour: 7.5YR8/1 white Break: uniform brick red

75. 9000T. L81/1 FN 476 ZN 159/2006, Fig. 7, Pl. 2

80. K11000/550. L81/1, Fig. 8

TG

II-c-1

f

W1

abg.

ox

77. K11000/1. L81/1 FN 408, Fig. 7, Pl. 2 TG

s.f

W+H

H

ox

3–4

D. 50.2 cm. Bd. 9.2 cm. H. 18.1 cm. Md. 50.2 cm. Wd. 1.2 cm. AI 105.02 VI 277.35 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 5YR8/2 pinkish white Break: red core, greenish grey oxidation zones 78. 9004P. L81/1 + L81/4 FN 590, Fig. 8, Pl. 10 TG

II-c-1

s.f

W+H

H

ox

3–4

D. 41.8 cm. Bd. 7.5 cm. H. 16.4 cm. Md. 41.8 cm. Wd. 1.3 cm. AI 107.18 VI 254.88 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 10R8/1–2 white – pinkish white Break: wide black core, reddish brown oxidation zones Potmark on the exterior pre-fired 79. K11000/548. L81/1, Fig. 8 TG

II-c-2

f

W+H

M

ox

3–4

D. 11.8 cm. H. 37.8 cm. Md. 24.1 cm. Wd. 0.7 cm. AI 147.50 VI 63.76 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 5Y8/1 white Break: uniform brick red

3–4

D. 9.1 cm. Bd. 2.9 cm. H. 5.3 cm. Md. 9.1 cm. Wd. 0.3 cm. AI 104.59 VI 171.69 Incomplete Surface colour: 2.5Y8/2 pale yellow Break: uniform reddish brown

II-c-1

TG

II-c-1

f

W+H

–

ox

3–4

ox

3–4

D. 19.0 cm. pH. 12.5 cm. Wd. 0.7 cm. Incomplete Surface colour: 5Y8/3 pale yellow Break: grey core, red oxidation zones 81. K11000/547. L81/1, Fig. 8 TG

76. K11000/543. L81/1, Fig. 7

II-c-2

f

W+H

M

D. 30.5 cm. pH. 8.6 cm. Md. 30.5 cm. Wd. 1.0 cm.

D. 15.2 cm. H. 30.2 cm. Md. 23.4 cm. Wd. 1.2 cm. AI 138.18 VI 77.48 Restored from sherds, incomplete

151

154

TG

152

153

II-c-2

f

W1

–

ox

3–4

TD XIX, 459. Cf. TD XIII, 212–217; TD XIX, 458, fig. 257. KOPETZKY, 2005, 228. TD XIII, 155, fig. 42.e; TD XIX, 461–462, Typ 154.

Cf. TD XIX, 452, fig. 254, type 143g; 436, fig. 245, type 136f, where such a rim is part of another vessel type and 475, fig. 266, type 168f.

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

57

To summarise the nature of the Marl C ceramics within pit complex L81 it can be said that the overall impression of the pottery is of contemporaneity with the remainder of the material, i.e.

Phase E/1–D/3. Some hints could be gathered from comparison of the material with the younger levels at Memphis/Kom Rabia (Levels VIc to VIa),155 which is located near the likely source site of Marl C (at least in the northern part of Egypt) and thus affords us a glance into the repertoire closest to the origin of the material, where it can be assumed to have been in use longest. The contemporaneity of this material brings us to a consideration of the date of the fish dishes, which, we believe, as will become clear in the following discussions, are also of the same date as the remainder of the pit material. Since fish dishes are visually attractive, a large number of them have been published, and their excavators have assigned them various dates from the Twelfth Dynasty to the end of the Second Intermediate Period.156 Dates in the Twelfth Dynasty stem entirely from the old publications of Petrie and Garstang, although newer research would rather tend to reassign the assemblages in which they were found to a later, or at least a much wider, date range. For example Petrie dated the examples found at Kahun to the Twelfth Dynasty, but Kemp and Merrillees have shown that such a dating can no longer be maintained since the ceramic material from that site extends from the reign of Sesostris II to the end of the Thirteenth Dynasty.157 The same holds true for the recent fragments found at Abydos which again date from the reign of Sesostris III to the end of the Thirteenth Dynasty.158 What is more telling is that the few examples which can be dated, as a result of our current ideas concerning Middle Kingdom pottery, can all be assigned to the Thirteenth Dynasty. Thus the examples known from Dahshur, which come from both the Amenemhet III valley temple, and from complex 7 have been dated to the Thirteenth and the later part of the second third of the Thirteenth Dynasty respectively.159 Those from Lisht are dated after the end of the Twelfth Dynasty,160 whilst previous examples from Tell el-Dabca have been found throughout strata d/1 (= Phase G/4) to a/2 (Phases E/1–D/3). Since, before the discovery of the examples in L81, only one complete example had

155

158

Surface colour: 5Y8/2 pale yellow Break: uniform reddish brown Potmark on the exterior rim pre-fired 82. 9010F. L81/1 FN 461, Fig. 9 TG

II-c-1

f

W+H

MI

ox

3–4

D. 22.4 cm. H. 63.0 cm. Md. 44.3 cm. Wd. 1.1 cm. AI 124.44 VI 70.32 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 5Y8/3 pale yellow Break: wide grey core, thin red and greenish yellow oxidation zones 83. 9001C. L81/1 FN 459 ZN 183/2006, Fig. 9, Pl. 11 TG

II-c-1

f

W

gesp.

ox

3–4

D. 15.1 cm. Bd. 16.8 cm. H. 9.3 cm. Md. 16.8 cm. Wd. 0.8 cm. AI 193.59 VI 180.64 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 2.5Y8/2 pale yellow Break: grey core, reddish brown ox zones 84. 8994E. L81/1 FN 715 + L81/4 FN 750 ZN 10/2008, Fig. 9 TG

II-c-2

f

W

gesp.

ox

3–4

D. 26.6 cm. Bd. 26.3 cm. H. 12.7 cm. Md. 26.6 cm. Wd. 1.0 cm. AI 149.43 VI 209.44 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 5Y8/1 white Break: grey core, reddish brown ox zones 85. K11000/546. L81/1 FN 25, Fig. 9 TG

II-c-2

f

W

W

ox

3–4

Bd. 9.3 cm. pH. 19.0 cm. Md. 16.7 cm. Wd. 0.6 cm. Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 10YR8/2 very pale brown Break: uniform reddish brown A.d.iii. summary

156 157

Cf. the synchronisation of the two stratigraphies in TD XIX, 707, fig. 397. Cf. TD XIII, 79–82. KEMP and MERRILLEES, 1980, 79, 88, 102.

159 160

WEGNER, 2007, 232. Do. ARNOLD, 1977, 21–22; EADEM, 1982, Abb. 11. ARNOLD, ARNOLD and ALLEN, 1995, 22–24.

58

David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

Fig. 9

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

been discovered, and that from Phase G/1–3,161 it has been suggested that sherds found in later levels may have been old pieces. However, in view of the number of fish dishes found in L81 both suggestions probably need to be re-examined. If we assume that the fragments found at Tell el-Dabca are not old pieces but reflect a longer time of production, extending from the early to the late Thirteenth Dynasty (contemporary with strata b/1–a/2 = Phases E/2–E/1–D/3) this also mirrors the picture revealed at Memphis, Kom Rabica, where sherds of fish dishes are also found in every level dating from just before the middle of the Thirteenth Dynasty to the end of the Second Intermediate Period.162 One must also remember that the heartland of the Thirteenth Dynasty, the area around Itj-tawy, has never been scientifically examined since the site of Itj-tawy itself has only been located by means of textual evidence but not excavated;163 however, it is reasonable to assume that the kings of the Thirteenth Dynasty continued to rule this region until it was conquered by the northward expansion of the Theban Seventeenth Dynasty.164 Thus, since no good deposits of late Thirteenth Dynasty material are known, it is an argument ex silentio to suggest that pottery styles of the early to mid Thirteenth Dynasty did not continue to be produced in the later Thirteenth Dynasty. It should also be noted that over 1800 complete profiles have so far been reconstructed from complex L81, and, the fish dishes withstanding, not a single one of these can be exclusively dated earlier than Phase E/1–D/3. Rather than to

161

162

163 164

165

TD 2529, BIETAK, 1977, 315 Abb. 3–4. IDEM, 1986. pl. VIIIa; TD XIII, 87, Abb. 16, Taf. Ib. Levels VII, VIe, VId, VIc, VIb, VIa and V. J. Bourriau, pers. communication, and compare BCEg 13 (1988), 30. SIMPSON, 1963, 53–63. Whether, or not, the later Thirteenth Dynasty rulers owed political allegiance to the Hyksos Fifteenth Dynasty is immaterial since the pottery found in the later Second Intermediate Period levels at Kom Rabica shows no significant Hyksos cultural influence, when compared to the pottery from Tell el-Dabca – Cf. TD XIX, passim, – thus we can be fairly certain that, at least at Kom Rabica (and perhaps the entire northern Upper Egypt ?), Thirteenth Dynasty pottery styles continued throughout the entire Second intermediate Period. Cf. BOURRIAU, 1997, 159–182. PETRIE, 1906, pl. i.8-10, 14. Petrie, page 14, dated these to the Twelfth Dynasty, solely on the grounds that he

59

postulate that all pieces found at Tell el-Dabca in strata later than the mid Thirteenth Dynasty, that all pieces found at Kom Rabica in the upper levels, and that all examples found in L81 are heirlooms, and for that matter, all the pieces discovered at Tell el-Yahudieh,165 and those found at Tell Hebwa I,166 where, at both sites no (other) Middle Kingdom pottery was found, we would suggest that they constitute proof that fish dishes continued to be made well into the late Thirteenth Dynasty, that is to say contemporary with the Hyksos Fifteenth and the Theban Seventeenth Dynasties.167 In this light the L81 fish dishes would indeed be contemporary with the remaining pottery found in this context. It should also be pointed out that twelve of the fourteen Marl C dishes listed in this article are made of Marl C2. In the earlier excavations at Tell el-Dabca it is noticeable that of the sixteen fish dishes which can be both accurately dated and of which the clay can be precisely differentiated between Marl C1 and Marl C2, ten of the eleven Marl C1 vessels date no later than the transition between strata b/3 to b/2 (= Phase F–E/3), whilst the five Marl C2 vessels, were somewhat evenly distributed from stratum c (= Phase G/1–3) to b/1 (= Phase E/3–E/2). Since only two of the dishes from L81 are made of Marl C1 this might suggest that the L81 dishes are rather late than early. In this sense it is interesting to note that of the Marl C vessels published in TD XIII, which can be associated with a certain stratum and also be differentiated between Marl C1 and Marl C2, the following picture emerges (cf. Table 3).168

166

167

168

had earlier found fish dishes in Middle Kingdom contexts at Kahun. No mention of any (other) Middle Kingdom pottery at Tell el-Yahudieh is made by Petrie in his publication of the site, although he would certainly have recognised it if any were present. ABD EL-MAKSOUD, 1998, 186, fig. 12.108–107; 191, found in a level dated to the end of the Second Intermediate Period. This thus revises the statement in TD XIII, 83, where in view of the absence of fragments found at Tell elMaskhuta, it was suggested that fish dishes were no longer used in the Delta after the mid Thirteenth Dynasty, ie the beginning of the Hyksos Period. Not all vessels were counted since some were clearly from the surface, and could thus not be dated, or are stored in SCA magazines and could not be accessed to check whether they were made of Marl C1 or Marl C2.

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David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

Phases (rel. strata)

Marl C1 pots (%)

Marl C2 pots (%)

N–H (str. F/I “e”–d/2)

33 (91.66 %)

3 (8.33 %)

G/4–F (str. d/1–b/3)

99 (90.83 %)

10 (9.17 %)

E/3–E/2 (b/2–b/1)

21 (84 %)

E/1–D/2 (b/1–a/2)

3 (16.66 %)

4 (16 %) 15 (83.33 %)

Dynasties 12th Dyn. early 13th Dyn. mid 13th/early 15th Dyn. late 13th/15th Dyn.

Table 3 Distribution of Marl C vessels in Tell el-Dabca using vessels from TD XIII

For the Twelfth Dynasty, (strata e–d/2 [Phases I–H]), 33 vessels were made of Marl C1 and 3 of Marl C2, roughly 91.66% Marl C1 and 8.33% Marl C2; for the early Thirteenth Dynasty (strata d/1-b/3 [ = Phases G/4–F]), 99 vessels were made of Marl C1 and 10 of Marl C2 or 90.83% Marl C1 and 9.17% Marl C2; for the mid Thirteenth Dynasty (strata b/2–b/1 [= Phases E/3–E/2]), 21 vessels were made of Marl C1 and 4 of Marl C2 or 84% Marl C1 and 16% Marl C2, whilst finally for the Late Thirteenth/Fifteenth Dynasties, (Phases E/1–D/2), 3 vessels were made of Marl C1 and 15 of Marl C2 or 16.66% Marl C1 and 83.33% Marl C2. The L81 fish dishes with 2 Marl C1 vessels (14.28%) and 12 Marl C2 (85.72%) would thus appear to fall into the period covered by Phases E/1–D/2, the suggested date of the pit. Whilst it may be argued that the figures above are not a true reflection since it takes no account of the vessels which could not be assigned the correct grouping and nor were the preserved rim parts of the vessels used (estimated vessel equivalents), a statistical analysis of sherd material, in which all rim sherds could be assigned their proper grouping shows that Marl C2 becomes proportionally more common as time goes on thus in Phase G/4, 79.8% of Marl C1/C2 sherds were made of Marl C1, and 10.2 % of Marl C2; in Phase G/3–1, 90.61% of Marl C1/C2 sherds were made of Marl C1, and 9.39% of Marl C2; in Phase F, 82.76% of Marl C1/C2 sherds were made of Marl C1, and 17.24% of Marl C2; in Phases E/3 and E/2, 100% of Marl C1/C2 sherds were made of Marl C1, in Phase E/1, 55.5% of Marl C1/C2 sherds were made of Marl C1, and 44.5% of Marl C2; and in Phase D/2 100% of Marl C1/C2 sherds were made of Marl C2.169 If these figures are recalculated along the lines postulated above

then for the early Thirteenth Dynasty (strata d/1–b/3 [= Phases G/4–F]), 86.65% of Marl C1/C2 sherds were made of Marl C1, and 13.35% of Marl C2; for the mid Thirteenth Dynasty (strata b/2–b/1 [= Phases E/3–E/2]), 100% of Marl C1/C2 sherds were made of Marl C1; and for the Late Thirteenth/Fifteenth Dynasties, (Phases E/1–D/2), 42.05% of Marl C1/C2 sherds were made of Marl C1, and 57.95% of Marl C2. Whilst these figures are perhaps less dramatic the conclusion is that the relative proportion of Marl C2 fish dishes to those made of Marl C1 again points to the fact that they are probably rather later in time than earlier, and are thus very likely contemporary with the remainder of the material found in the pit. In this respect it is interesting to note that, where preserved, all the bases of the earliest fish dishes found in Tell el-Dabca, namely TD 2529 from Phase G/1–3, TD 4443F from stratum c–b/3 (= Phase G/1–3 – F), TD 4512 from stratum b/3 (= Phase F) and TD 3340 from stratum b/1 (= Phase E/2–E/1) show a cross hatched design in the centre, which presumably represents a pond, rather than a fish.170 The use of a fish as the central basal motif first occurs in stratum b/1 (= Phase E/2–E/1) with find numbers TD 3370 and TD 3646K.171 Whilst this is only a small sample, it would seem that those fish dishes with a fish in the base are later than those which show a stylised pond. Since the dishes from L81 also bear a fish on the interior at the base we can suppose, if the development listed above is a correct one, that they are no earlier than stratum b/1 (= Phases E/2–E/1), and thus a date contemporary with the remaining pottery from the pit, Phase E/1–D/3, is again very likely. Whether or not the use of a pond or a fish as the base motif can be unequivo-

169

170

TD XIX, 646–652. No Marl C rim sherds were selected into the random samples in Phase D/3.

171

TD XIII, 86 cat. no. 102, 88 cat. no. 104, 90 cat.no. 107, 92 cat. no. 116. TD XIII, 94 cat. no. 120, 95 cat. no. 125.

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

61

cally proved to have chronological worth, must await further discoveries, but it is certainly an avenue worth exploring. Two other sites are known to us with a large enough sample of dishes with both this presumed earlier and presumed later decoration. The first is Kahun, where, unfortunately, the vessels can no longer be stratigraphically assigned to a given phase. However, it is probably significant that the pottery from Kahun extends from the reign of Sesostris II to late in the Thirteenth Dynasty. The second is Kom Rabica. There three (or rather one complete and two fragments of) fish dishes show clear evidence of large fish in the base. These RAT 1001/20539, RAT 1319/21738 and RAT 1003/4465-4476, were found in levels VIc, VIb-c and VIb respectively.172 From a comparative analysis of the ceramic material it has been suggested that Kom Rabica level VIc is contemporary with Tell el Dabca Phases E/2–D/3; Kom Rabica level VIb–c is contemporary with Tell el Dabca Phases E/1–D/3; and Kom Rabica level VIb is contemporary with Tell el Dabca Phase D/3.173 Although the Kom Rabca sample is very small, it again hints at the fact that fish dishes with a large fish in the base are contemporary with the Hyksos Fifteenth Dynasty/late Thirteenth Dynasty. Thus, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, we would propose, as a working hypothesis, that those dishes showing the stylised ponds are earlier than those with a large fish on the interior. The interpretation of the appearance of all this Marl C material in a Hyksos period pit, at a time when contacts between the Delta and Memphis were presumed to have already lapsed,174 is not a straight forward one. A major point in this interpretation has to focus on the quantity which – in relation to the other local material from L81 – is miniscule. Other studies mainly concerned with ceramic material from settlements at Tell el-Daba, also do not show a high percentage of Marl C vessels at this point in time.175 One possible explana-

tion could be the special context that pit complex L81 certainly provides, so that for such an activity imported vessels from the Memphis/Fayoum region were still available, whilst for “lowly” settlement activities such material ceased to be onhand. Another reason might have been the better conditions for preservation in an environment like L81, where little if any secondary displacement of the material took place, and so stood a much better chance to be found by archaeologists several thousand years later.

172

175

173 174

For RAT 1003/4465–4476 see JEFFREYS and GIDDY, 1989, 5 fig. 3. The others are unpublished and we are grateful to JANINE BOURRIAU for permission to quote these examples, and for the levels in which they were found. TD XIX 707, fig. 397. TD XIII, 231–232; TD XIX, 652. KOPETZKY, 2005, 199–200.

A.e. Marl F Only six vessels in Marl F, have so-far been noticed amongst the material from pit complex L81. All six are open forms, and the example illustrated is the best preserved. 86. K11000/3 L81/1 Fig. 9 GPTG

II-f

s.f

W1

abg.

ox

3–4

D. 26.0 cm. Bd. 8.7 cm. H. 5.2 cm. Md. 26.0 cm. Wd. 0.6 cm. AI 111.11 VI 500.00 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 2.5YR6/6 light red; burnish 5Y8/2 vertically burnished out Break: greenish grey core, reddish brown ox zones A.f. Oases Vessels Contact between the Hyksos and Kerma has long been known from historical sources, which indicate that the oases played a major role in it.176 The most obvious Hyksos style pottery, the Late Egyptian Tell el-Yahudieh ware, has been found in Bahariya oasis,177 whilst jar seals of reputed Hyksos kings were found at Tundaba, approximately mid way between the northern Thebaid and Kharga Oasis.178 These latter are an enigma. Associated pottery, or at least that which has been published, is clearly Theban in character, and of late Seventeenth or early Eighteenth Dynasty date,179 and

176 177 178 179

Whether they were based on random sampling or not. TD XIX, passim. HEIN and JÁNOSI, 2004, passim. KOPETZKY, 2004, EADEM, 2005, passim. See last, COLIN, 2005, 35–47 and references cited. COLIN, LAISNEY, MARCHAND, 2000, 186 no. 16. J. DARNELL, 2002, 147. D. DARNELL, 2002, 170 fig. 9.

62

David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

Fig. 10

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

Darnell and Darnell have plausibly suggested that Tundaba was a Seventeenth Dynasty establishment, probably founded to control the routes between Thebes and Khargeh. The presence of Hyksos jar seals in such a settlement can thus only be explained as the result of direct trade between the Hyksos and the Thebans,180 or that the sealed jars were ‘sold on’ from the Hyksos to the Thebans by a third party, presumably the inhabitants of Khargeh oasis. The seals presumably covered Hyksos vessels, or perhaps Canaanite jars which had been reused. As yet, however, no Hyksos style pottery, nor any Middle Bronze Canaanite jar sherds have been published from Tundaba. Be that as it may, both the presence of Tell elYahudieh ware in Bahariyah and Hyksos seals in the vicinity of Khargeh, attest to southern trade from the Hyksos heartland to the south. Until the discovery of this pit complex, however, trade in the opposite direction could always be assumed but archaeological evidence was lacking. Two storage jars and two lids in undoubted oasis ware have been recovered from L81/1. These vessels have nothing in common with Second Intermediate Period pottery from Dakhleh,181 and as far as we know, no material of this date has been published from Khargeh.182 Thus, in the present state of our knowledge, the most likely source, is probably Bahariyah, which, significantly is also the nearest to Tell el-Dabca, although no exact parallels can be quoted. However, wheel-made bases of similarsize jars have indeed been found there, whilst a somewhat similar kettle rim is also known in the same sherd collection.183 The lid is somewhat shallower than later (New Kingdom) examples known from Amarna.184

63

Break: greyish blue core, red and yellow oxidation zones 88. K11000/332. L81/1 + L81/6, Fig. 10 TG

V

s.f

W1

gesp.

ox

2–3

D. 10.0 cm. H. 1.9 cm. Md. 10.0 cm. Wd. 0.5 cm. AI 106.38 VI 526.32 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 10R8/4 pink Break: greyish blue core, pink oxidation zones A.g. Imported Pottery

D. 8.5 cm. Bd. 5.0 cm. H. 40.4 cm. Md. 17.3 cm. Wd. 1.1 cm. AI 146.55 VI 42.82 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 5YR6/1 gray; slip 10R5/6 red

When considering the imports, which derive from Nubia, Cyprus and the Levant, it is noticeable that none of the Nubian or Cypriote vessels could be entirely reconstructed which implies that they were already broken before they found their way into L81. By contrast most of the Levantine vessels, with the exception of the amphorae, could be rebuilt, if not into complete vessels, at least into complete profiles, which suggests that they were deposited in a more-or-less complete state. Several Nubian sherds were found in L81. In addition to the unusual sherds previously illustrated in Ä&L 16,185 several pieces of Classic Kerma ware were recovered, but when compared with similar material known from Elephantine, Deir el-Ballas and Memphis, the Tell el-Dabca material is generally somewhat thinner.186 Janine Bourriau (personal communication) thus suggests that, as such, it may be related to Nubian pottery from Diospolis Parva cemetery E, but this would need to be checked at a later stage of research. Since this material is different, but clearly related, to the Nubian pottery found at Elephantine, Deir el-Ballas and Memphis, this might suggest that the pottery found at Tell el-Dabca was perhaps imported from a different part of Nubia, or was brought to Tell el-Dabca by mercenaries from a different area to those who lived and died at the other sites mentioned above. Indeed Charles Bonnet, (personal communication), who also saw the sherds, has pointed out their dissimilarity to normal Kerma ware and suggests that the L81 sherds derive from

180

184

87. 9011Z. L81/1 FN 540, Fig. 10, Pl. 11 RF

181 182 183

V

s.f

W1

gef.

ox

2–3

For remarks on this direct trade see GIVEON, 1983, 155–161. HOPE, 1999, 225–227; MARCHAND, 2003, 113–122. Cf. D. DARNELL, 2002, 173. COLIN, LAISNEY, MARCHAND, 2000, 184 no. 6, 186 nos. 20–21.

185 186

ROSE, 2002, 129; EADEM, 2007 145, type NA 1.1 BIETAK, FORSTNER-MÜLLER, 2006, 76 Abb. 14. We are grateful to Dietrich Raue and Janine Bourriau for pointing this out during visits to the site in the Spring of 2008.

64

David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

an area between the Aswan border and the Kerma heartland to the south. Three examples, cat. nos. 89–91, are illustrated here. Considering that Tell el-Dabca has produced the most Cypriote Middle Bronze Age pottery found outside of Cyprus,187 it is perhaps not surprising that sherds of several Cypriote jugs have been found in L81, of which the two most complete are illustrated as cat. nos. 92 and 93.188 9012K is a White Painted Pendant Line Style jug whilst 9015U is of White Painted Tangent Line Style. Other sherds, not illustrated, also attest to the presence of White Painted V, White Painted Cross Line Style, White Painted Tangent and Wavy Line Style and White Painted Eyelet style, within this pit complex. Together these wares are most frequent in Phase E/1, which might help to date the material found in L81, although since these wares also continue into D/3, this is not unequivocal.189 Many of the examples are similar to those exported to Ras Shamra and Megiddo.190 Levantine imports are not frequent. They consist of approximately twenty Canaanite jars, most of which seem to derive from the Levantine coast in present day Lebanon and northern Israel,191 although not one could be restored to a complete profile; at least one handleless jar; a single Tell elYahudieh vessel referred to above; a number of other jugs; and a few painted forms. Catalogue numbers 94–95, 96–98, and 99–100 are so similar to each other that they are perhaps to be seen as parts of three different sets of specialised tableware which could possibly have been sent as royal gifts. The exchange of royal gifts is certainly well attested during the Late Bronze Age,192 and there is no reason to suppose that this practice did not take place during the Middle Bronze Age. If cat. nos. 94 and 95 are part of the same service, their origin might be sought in the northern Levant since the incised burnishing technique shown most clearly on the jug is known from Ruweise and the tomb of the goats at Ebla,193 and this same technique is also found on a jar from Yabrud.194 Vessels 96–98 are decorated with dark paint on a beautifully bur-

nished white to orange surface which remains unburnished on the interior, and is certainly reminiscent of Chocolate-on-White Ware, however these particular shapes do not exist in the catalogue of such pottery as defined by Fischer.195 The bowl, 8990A, cat. no. 99, is again burnished only on the exterior surface and the decoration is this time in red. Whilst rare in relative proportion to the numbers of vessels found in the complex a small number of jugs have so far been partially, or completely reconstructed. The jug, 9018V, cat. no. 100, is the only example of the so-called painted Tell elYahudieh ware, found in the pit complex, and finds a very good parallel in TD 8875C found in a grave dated to Phase E/2,196 whilst the dipper jug, cat. no. 103, is one of only two recognisably imported examples. 9015T, cat. no. 102, is a well-known type with other examples known from Tell el-Farah197 and Tell el-Ajjul.198 Catalogue number 104 is the best preserved handleless storage jar, and 105, the, as yet, most completely restored amphora.

187

193

188

189 190 191 192

MAGUIRE, 1995, 54; EADEM, 2009, 13. I thank Louise Maguire for comments on these Cypriot vessels. MAGUIRE, 1992, 117. MAGUIRE, 1991, RSH 390, RSH428, MEG 248. Mary Ownby, personal communication. COCHAVI-RAINEY and LILYQUIST, 1999.

89. 9016B. L81/1, Fig. 10 TG

VII

f

H

–

ox

2–3

D. 10.0 cm. pH. 5.9 cm. Md. 10.9 cm. Wd. 0.4 cm. AI 104.16 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 2.5Y7/1 light gray Break:grey core, red oxidation zones 90. 9014G. L81/1, Fig. 10 RP

VII

f

H

–

ox

2–3

D. 10.0 cm. pH. 5.3 cm. Md. 10.0 cm. Wd. 0.4 cm. AI 104.16 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 10R4/6 red Break:grey in, brown out 91. 9014H. L81/1, Fig. 10 RPSP

VII

f

H

–

ox

2–3

D. 10.0 cm. pH. 3.7 cm. Md. 10.0 cm. Wd. 0.4 cm. AI 103.09 Restored from sherds, incomplete

194 195 196 197 198

Cf. NIGRO, 2002, 110, 128, pl. lvi.93–94. BRAEMER and AL-MAQDISSI, 2002, 44, pl. xiv.55 FISCHER, 1999, 1–29. TD XVI, 238 no.2. DUNCAN, 1930, Group 38 class H. PETRIE, 1932b, pl. xxx.35P5.

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

Surface burnish: exterior 10R5/6 red, interior 10R2.5/1 reddish black Break: uniform greyish brown 92. 9012K. L81/1, Fig. 10, Pl. 11 WPPL

VI

f

H1

–

ox

2–3

1B

D. 6.0 cm. pH. 21.6 cm. Md. 16.0 cm. Wd. 0.4 cm. AI 272.72 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 5YR8/3 pink, paint 10R5/8 red Break: uniform orange brown

VI

f

H1

–

ox

2–3

1B

pH. 17.0 cm. Md. 11.0 cm. Wd. 0.4 cm. Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 5YR7/6 reddish yellow, paint 5Y3/2 dark reddish brown Break: uniform yellow. 94. K11000/435. L81/1, Fig. 10 TG

IV-2

f

W1

gef.

ox

2–3

D. 26.3 cm. Bd. 8.0 cm. H. 6.7 cm. Md. 26.3 cm. Wd. 0.8 cm. AI 103.54 VI 392.54 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 5YR6/4 light reddish brown Combed on exterior surface and beneath base; pebble burnished on the interior Break: uniform grey 95. 9014S. L81/1 ZN 49/2007, Fig. 10 TG

IV-2

f

W1

gef.

ox

2–3

1B

D. 7.1 cm. Bd. 4.2 cm. H. 12.0 cm. Md. 10.1 cm. Wd. 0.3 cm. AI 131.48 VI 84.17 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 5YR7/6 reddish yellow; burnish 7.5YR6/4 light brown Pebble burnished on the exterior Break: uniform grey 96. K11000/979. L81/12, Fig. 10 PMO

IV-2

f

W2

97. K11000/1078. L81/12, Fig. 10 PMO

IV-2

f

W2

gef.

ox

2–3

D. 13.2 cm. Bd. 4.0 cm. H. 5.7 cm. Md. 13.2 cm. Wd. 0.3 cm. AI 101.54 VI 231.58 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 5Y7/4 pink to 2.5YR6/8 light red; paint 5YR5/2 reddish gray Pebble burnished vertically on the exterior Break: uniform yellowish brown 98. K11000/989. L81/12, Fig. 10

93. 9015U. L81/1, Fig. 10 WPTLS

65

gef.

ox

2–3

D. 11.0 cm. Bd. 4.4 cm. H. 4.4 cm. Md. 11.0 cm. Wd. 0.3 cm. AI 103.77 VI 250.00 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 5Y8/2 pale yellow; paint 2.5YR4/2 weak red Pebble burnished vertically on the exterior Break: uniform reddish brown

PMO

IV-2

f

W2

gef.

ox

2–3

D. 8.3 cm. Bd. 5.3 cm. H. 21.5 cm. Md. 12.5 cm. Wd. 0.4 cm. AI 218.42 VI 58.14 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 5Y8/1 white to orange 5YR7/8 reddish yellow; paint 5YR6/2 pinkish grey Pebble burnished vertically on the exterior, horizontally on rim and base Break: red outer edge, grey inner edge 99. 8990A. L81/6+L81/12 FN 55 ZN 59/2008, Fig. 10 PMO

IV-3

f

W1

gef.

ox

2–3

D. 13.1 cm. Bd. 5.4 cm. H. 6.4 cm. Md. 13.9 cm. Wd. 0.6 cm. AI 100.77 VI 217.18 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 5Y8/2 pale yellow; decoration varies from red to black 10R6/4 pale red to 10R3/3 dusky red Pebble burnished on the exterior Break: pinkish core, greenish oxidation zones 100. 9018V. L81/12 FN 98, Fig. 10 PMO

IV-2

f

W1

gef.

ox

2–3

1B

Bd. 1.6 cm. pH. 8.9 cm. Md. 6.5 cm. Wd. 0.35 cm. Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 2.5Y8/1 white; paint 2.5YR6/8 light red Pebble burnished on the exterior Break: uniform orange brown 101. K11000/527. L81/1, Fig. 11 RP

IV-2

f

W1

gef.

ox

2–3

1B

D. 7.1 cm. Bd. 4.3 cm. H. 16.7 cm. Md. 10.5 cm. Wd. 0.4 cm. Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: burnish 2.5YR5/8 red Vertically pebble burnished on the exterior

66

David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

Fig. 11

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

67

Amongst the ceramic material which is not yet restored are several faces which were evidently once

affixed to various pottery jars, and a somewhat similar fragment has been found in a Second Intermediate Period/early Eighteenth Dynasty context in Bahariya Oasis.199 Several fragments of at least two pottery capitals (the tops of pottery stands ?) have been found, the largest of which is remarkably similar to a capital found at Kahun, although unfortunately Petrie does not describe the material of which it was made.200 To date some 126 counters/pot lids – sherds reworked into crude discs – have been registered, and there are more still awaiting study. These are principally cut from vessels originally made of Marl C, or from Canaanite jars, evidently chosen for the hardness of their constituent material, although examples made from softer Nile clays are also encountered. The purpose of these objects has unfortunately never been satisfactorily explained, and their identification as gaming pieces is the one usually given,201 although their use as amphora lids is well attested on Roman sites.202 The ceramic bread/meat models, of which over 150, all made of Nile B2, have been found, the majority of them in L81/6 and L81/12, vary in weight from 28.8 grams (9016G) to 97.6 grams (9017Y). Most of them however fall into two weight clusters, one between 41 and 46 grams, and the other around 53 to 58 grams, though whether this has any particular significance must await further research.203 A number of bird figurines, some of which have small protrusions which may have been intended to sit in the small holes found on the rims, and even bases, of certain bowls (cf cat. no. 33), were also found as were pieces of larger bird figurines. Several Nile clay black burnished sherds also attest to the presence of other animal figurines, one of which, 9026W, is possibly a crocodile, whilst the presence of black burnished feet and an arm indicate the existence of an anthropomorphic figure or deity. The heads (9010F, 9019B, plate 12) and rear end (9199X, plate 12) of three different Nile clay, and the foreparts of a Marl C2 (9015S, plate 12), hippopotami were also found in L81/1.204 As the

199

202

Break: greyish core, red and brown oxidation zones 102. 9015T. L81/1 ZN 52/2007, Fig. 11 TG

IV-1

f

W1

gef.

ox

2–3

1B

D. 7.3 cm. Bd. 4.3 cm. H. 26.3 cm. Md. 16.9 cm. Wd. 0.6 cm. Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 10R6/8 light red Horizontally combed on the exterior Break: grey inner core, red outer 103. 8991X. L81/1 FN 872 ZN 35/2008, Fig. 11 TG

IV-2

f

W1–2

gef.

ox

2–3

1R

D. 4.7 cm. H. 21.3 cm. Md. 7.3 cm. Wd. 0.3 cm. AI 117.50 VI 291.78 Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 7.5YR8/2 pinkish white If this vessel were ever pebble burnished, all trace of this has worn off Break: grey core, red outer edge 104. 9015W. L81/1 Fig. 11, Pl. 11 TG

IV-2

f

W1

Bd. W

ox

2–3

pH. 38.2 cm. Md. 23.2 cm. Wd. 0.8 cm. Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 10YR8/3 very pale brown Break: uniform reddish yellow (5YR6/6) 105. 9012Z. L81/1, Fig. 11, Pl. 11 TG

IV-2

f

W1

gef.

ox

3–4

2B

Bd. 6.0 cm. pH. 50.5 cm. Md. 32.5 cm. Wd. 0.7 cm. Restored from sherds, incomplete Surface colour: 5YR7/6 reddish yellow Combed on the exterior. Break: grey core, reddish yellow oxidation zones B) OTHER MATERIAL

200 201

COLIN, LAISNEY, MARCHAND, 2000, 185 no. 11. PETRIE, 1890, 7, pl. vi.7. On these enigmatic objects see, BRISSAUD and COTELLE, 1987, 101–106. At Mendes examples (of later date) were found cached in a jar together with an egg-shaped quartzite grinder, two conical pieces of limestone and three small juglets (WILSON, 1982, 35, pl. xxiv), but the association between all these objects is unclear. For other possible uses see CARTLAND, 1918, 139.

203

204

PEÑA, 2007, 154. Similar examples may have been found at Tell Hebwa – cf. ABD EL-MAKSOUD 1998, 264–265 nos. 481–482. In this respect it is noteworthy that a lid fragment, TD 6085, with a modelled representation of a hippopotamus head was previously found in a contemporary offering pit in area F/I. cf. TD XVII, 1, 143.

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David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

fish dishes are linked to contemporary faience dishes, these clay hippopotami are probably to be linked to contemporary faience examples, which are often decorated with stylised straps, rosettes and lotus flowers, particularly as the body fragment, 9199X, would appear to have a modelled lotus flower at the back near to the tail, well known on faience examples from the Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Periods.205 As these hippopotami were not restorable, it implies that these figures were already broken when deposited in the pit. From L81/6 came the lower part of a vessel 9019G, plate 12, with added legs and a pubic triangle which evidently derives from a vessel in the shape of a feminoform figure, and perhaps the faces mentioned above originally derived from such vessels. This too would appear to have been broken before deposition. As such the juxtaposition of broken hippo heads and broken feminine figures is reminiscent of a number of other finds, usually in graves, – where the two have been found together.206 Whilst on the subject of pottery finds, one may also mention pieces of a Marl C fish vessel, 9026U, perhaps a fish-shaped jug if contemporary Tell elYahudieh fish-shaped jugs are any guide, and the net sinker, 8990E. The latter is similar to a stone example found at Tell Hebwa,207 where, incidentally others were also found made of pottery, although they are somewhat smaller than the L81 example.208 Several beads were found in this pit complex.209 Most are of (water-eroded) faience, and a selection of such are shown on fig. 12. They are of various different types namely lentoid-, cylindri-

cal-, barrel- ring- disc- spheroid- and, in carnelian, poppy seed-, but the most common are faience cylinder and nasturtium-seed- shaped.210 They are evidently similar to others found at Tell elMaskhuta,211 Tell Hebwa I,212 and Tell el-Ajjul.213 Flint objects tend to be ignored in many publications,214 but similar examples to those found in L81, fig 12215 have been found at Tell el-Ajjul,216 and at Tell el-Maskhuta, where the evidence would suggest that they were imported there as finished products.217 Whether the examples in L81 were imported or locally produced must await further study by a specialist. Others have also been found in contemporary strata at Tell Arqa,218 although this is not to imply that the examples found at these sites have a common origin. The curious ivory (?) object, 9356R, fig. 12 no. 112, finds an exact parallel in Tell el-Ajjul.219 None of the stone vessel pieces, which are few in number, have yet been studied, whilst, with one exception, the rare bronze items are very fragmentary. Nevertheless at least three bronze toggle pins (9349P, 9349Q and 9366, the latter being the only complete example, fig. 12), were found. They have a plain shaft with little or no thickening to the head, and are identical to contemporary pins found in graves at Tell el-Yahudieh,220 Tell el-Maskhuta,221 Tell Hebwa I,222 Tell el-Ajjul,223 Tell el-Farah (south),224 and Tell el-Farah (north).225 A fragmentary, corroded bronze bracelet (?), 9350H–I, was probably similar to TD 5499 found in a tomb k/9-35, dated to Phase D/2,226 and to two examples found in tomb

205

215

206

207 208 209

210

211 212 213 214

Cf. BEHRMANN, 1996, 150–161. WINLOCK, 1923, 20; KEIMER, 1948, 18–19; BEHRMANN, 1989, Dok. 142b. ABD EL-MAKSOUD, 1998, 255, 256, no. 431. ABD EL-MAKSOUD, 1998, 255, 257, nos. 439–440 The beads were drawn by Irina Huller and Elisa Priglinger. There is no general consensus on the bead terminology. The above list is adapted from RANDALL-MACIVER and WOOLLEY, 1911, 222, where similar beads, there dated to the New Kingdom, although the tombs in which they are found clearly date to the Second Intermediate Period, have been found. HOLLADAY, 1997, 197, fig. 7.9. ABD EL-MAKSOUD, 1998, 260–261 nos. 454–458. PETRIE, 1932b, pl. xxv. For a brief introduction to the flint material found in Tell el Dabca, see TILLMANN, 2004, IDEM, 2007, 124–125, 188–189.

216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223

224 225 226

The illustrated flints, bronzes and ivory (?) objects were drawn by Marian Negrete-Martinez. MACKAY and MURRAY, 1951, pl. xxi. HOLLADAY, 1997, 194, fig. 7.7. THALMAN, 2006, pls. 136–142. PETRIE, 1933 pl. xxviii.41. PETRIE, 1906 pl. vi; TUFFNEL, 1979, 86, 91. HOLLADAY. 1997, 197, fig. 7.9 19–20. ABD EL-MAKSOUD, 1998, 262, 263, no. 476. PETRIE, 1931, pls. xvi.6, xix.45; IDEM, 1933, pls. xix.12, xxiv.165, xxv.184, 187; IDEM, 1934, pl. xxi.205, pl. xxxiii; MACKAY and MURRAY, 1951, pl. xiv; TUFNELL, 1962, 18. PETRIE, 1930a, pls, vi, ix, xi. MALLET, 1989, fig. 30.7. TD XVI, 348 no. 2.

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

Fig. 12

69

70

David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

L12.12312 at Tell el-Maskhuta,227 as well as examples from Tell el-Ajjul.228 106. 9349M. L81/1. ZN 48/2007, Fig. 12, Lentoid faience bead. 107. 9348V. L81/1 ZN 85/2007, Fig. 12, Spheroid faience bead. 108. 9359A. L81/1 ZN 2/2008, Fig. 12, Nasturtium-shaped faience bead. 109. 9347N. L81/1 ZN 48/2007, Fig. 12, Barrelshaped faience bead. 110. 9366. L81/1 ZN 49/2008, Fig. 12, Bronze toggle pin. 111. 9350. H+I ZN 169/2007, Fig. 12, Bronze bracelet (?) 112. 9356R. L81/1 ZN 63/2007, Fig. 12, Ivory (?) stick. 113. 9311. L81/1 ZN 164/2007, Fig. 12, Flint. 114. 9309. L81/1 ZN 165/2007, Fig. 12, Flint. 115. 9308. L81/1 ZN 165/2007, Fig. 12, Flint.

C. ANIMAL REMAINS FROM OFFERING PIT L81 – PRELIMINARY REPORT by Karl G. Kunst The animal remains from pit L81 included in this report comprise the whole sample from the 2006 season and about one third of the material from the 2008 spring season. In 2008, the dry-sieving of the excavated sediments was started, which had an important effect on the composition of the collected faunal samples. Both the number of small elements from the smaller domestic mammals (ovicaprines, pigs) and smaller vertebrate groups (micromammals, birds, fish) retrieved was enhanced considerably by this procedure.229 From the 2008 material, both hand collected and dry-sieved samples from the sections 6, 12 and 15 were studied. For this preliminary report, the ani-

227 228 229

REDMOUNT, 1989, 907. PETRIE, 1931, pl. xvi.20–21. The influence of recovery on species composition has been repeatedly discussed in literature, see e.g. PAYNE, S., Partial recovery and sample bias, in: A.T. CLASON (ed.) Archaeozoological Studies, New York 1975, 7–17,

mal bone remains are treated as a whole, although the samples from the two seasons may not be comparable in a strict sense. Altogether, 8089 bone specimens with a total weight of 103075g have been analysed so far. Out of these, 3182 specimens with a combined weight of 61177g could be assigned to a species or species group. Therefore, the final number of determinable pieces is likely to surpass the 10,000, which appears to be an outstandingly great amount for a single context. The percentage of determinable pieces among the whole sample, both in regard to specimen counts and weight, looks comparatively low. This is due to the high degree of fragmentation observed and to the effects of sedimentary pressure. In some cases even large fragments or aggregates of bone substance, which, in all likelihood, may belong to cattle, cannot be ascribed to species or element, because the shape has been totally deformed. Some of these aggregates, weighing well above 200g and partially covered by calcareous incrustations, make it hard to decide whether they belong to a skull, a shoulder blade or a pelvic bone of a large ruminant.230 Ironically, the more fragile and tender bones of ovicaprines, birds and fish are far less affected by these deteriorations, which are probably linked to the soil having been waterlogged for certain periods. Regarding numbers of identified specimens (NISP), there is a clear dominance of the main domesticates, namely cattle (1278 remains) and sheep/goat (ovicaprines; 1200); together, they make up about 78% of all remains. Among the ovicaprine bones, of which the genus could be identified a ratio of about 6:1, favouring sheep over goat, could be found. The cattle remains account for almost 82% of the weight of the identified sample, with the ovicaprines taking second place (11.7%) again. This is also due to the fact that cattle are well represented by large and heavy bones of the skull, the trunk and the limbs. The abundance of the third group of domesticates, the pig, is comparatively poor, with about 3%

230

and T. O’CONNOR 2000, The Archaeology of Animal Bones, Stroud, for a pragmatic approach, esp. 28ff. For the results of sediment overburden weight and other post-depositional effects see LYMAN, 1994, Vertebrate Taphonomy, Cambridge, 423ff.

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

regarding numbers and 1.6% of the weight. Apparently, no bones or teeth of dogs and equids are present within the material. Therefore, all other remains (about 20% of NISP) belong to wild species, resulting from the hunting, fowling and fishing activities of the residents. This may appear as a high value for a developed community, but is mainly the result of the high number of fish and bird remains retrieved through sieving and may not be comparable to former data concerning faunal remains from Tell el Dabca.231 Among the wild mammals,232 the remains of hare (Lepus capensis) make a constant appearance in several samples and are likely to result from animals hunted for eating, whereas the bones of middle-sized rodents (probably Arvicanthis niloticus, Nile rat) may represent intrusives. Marks resulting from the gnawing activity of rodents were frequently observed, especially on the ovicaprine bones. A spectacular find from L81/12 (Sit. 5) is a complete left rib of a hippo (Hippopotamus amphibius) with a total length of about 60 cm and a weight of over 1kg.233 From L81, at least one more pachyostotic rib fragment can also be ascribed to this species. There is a total of 132 bird bones (ca.4% of NISP) resulting from species ranging in size from small ducks and waders up to that of a goose. Most bones are from the wings and the posterior extremities and can be interpreted as food remains. Five shell fragments of the African softshell turtle (Trionyx triunguis) are the only reptiles identified so far. Parts from the carapace and plastron of a particularly large individual were found at the same level of L81/12 as the hippo rib mentioned above. Fish234 (424 remains; 13.3% of NISP), take the third place in numbers behind the domestic ruminants. Because there are some outstanding

231

232 233

BOESSNECK, J., 1976, TD III, Die Tierknochenfunde 1966–1969, Vienna; BOESSNECK, J. and DRIESCH, A. von den, 1992, TD VII, Tiere und historische Umwelt im Nordost-Delta im 2. Jahrtausend v. Chr. anhand der Knochenfunde der Ausgrabungen 1975–1986, Vienna. For a good overview see OSBORN and OSBORNOVA, 1998. Ribs of wild hippos are rare in comparative collections, and specimens from zoos often exhibit a deformed shape. A picture of a specimen largely resembling the one mentioned in the text, is depicted in: MANHART, H. and VON DEN DRIESCH, A., 2003, Bronze- und eisenzeitliche Tierwelt nach den Knochenfunden vom Tell

71

large cranial and shoulder girdle elements and vertebrae of Nile perch (Lates niloticus) and catfish (Clarias/Heterobranchus), they account for even 1.7% of the total bone weight, surpassing the percentage of pigs! These specimens are also found in hand collected samples, in close association with heavy cattle bones and in a similar state of preservation (incrustation). A detailed analysis of the fish and bird remains from L81 appears as a promising research goal, both for the sake of clarifying the role of these two taxonomic groups within the offering ritual and for ecological considerations, as to which parts of the river system and the surroundings had most relevance in fishing and fowling. There is also a small amount of both freshwater and marine bivalves and marine gastropods within the sample. Some of the marine bivalves exhibit boreholes and represent artefacts. As for taphonomic features,235 cut marks were only observed on 15 cattle and 14 ovicaprine bones, respectively, and there are two more observations on pig bones. This appears as a rather low figure of slightly more than 1% for the ruminant species, which can only partially be explained by the state of surface preservation in cattle, but seems to be related to the way the carcasses were treated. Quite often, vertebrae and distal limb elements of cattle and ovicaprines were found in a still articulated state, likewise pointing at a less intensive butchering procedure than commonly observed in ordinary settlement refuse. Traces of heat influence were identified on cattle and sheep/goat bones about twice as frequently as cut marks (ca 30 observations each). They correspond mainly to a low temperature regime, resulting in greyish-blackish colourings of the bone substance, and show no regularity regarding the elements affected.

234

235

el-Oreme am See Gennesaret und ihre kulturhistorische Bedeutung, in: G. FASSBECK, S. FORTNER, A. ROTTLOFF, J. ZANGENBERG (eds.), Leben am See Gennesaret. Kulturgeschichtliche Entdeckungen in einer biblischen Region (Sonderbände der antiken Welt), Mainz 2003, 25–30. A complete list of the fish species studied from Tell elDabca so far is given in VON DEN DRIESCH, A., 1986, Fische im alten Ägypten – eine osteoarchäologische Untersuchung, Documenta naturae 34, München. See LYMAN 1994 for an extensive overview.

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David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

Cattle Sheep/Goat Pig

n 1278 1200 95 21 132 5 424 27 3182

Bos OC Sus other mammals Birds Turtle Fish Molluscs total

g 50137,2 7167,1 978,9 1374,4 111,2 289 985,9 132,8 61176,5

%n 40,16341 37,71213 2,985543 0,659962 4,148334 0,157133 13,32495 0,848522 100

%g 81,95499 11,71544 1,600124 2,246614 0,181769 0,472403 1,611566 0,217076 100

Table 4 Bone Species found in L81 - Preliminary Findings

1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 Bos

OC

Sus

other mammals

Birds

Turtle

Fish

Molluscs

Table 5 Number of identified specimens

60000 50000 40000 30000 20000 10000 0 Bos

OC

Sus

other mammals

Birds

Turtle

Table 6 Bone weight (g) of identified specimens

Fish

Molluscs

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

D. CONCLUSIONS The above short tour of a small sample of the material from Locus 81 leads to the following preliminary conclusions. The pit complex must have been open to the elements for the remains of several meals, and other rubbish, to be thrown in, and to allow rats to gnaw on the discarded bones. The main element on the menu seems to have been beef followed closely by mutton, and, to a lesser extent, wildfowl and fish, but strangely very few large liquid containers were found so it is not at all clear what the partakers of said meals drank. Beer jars, if they really held beer, wine amphorae and marl clay zirs are rare with, estimating on a visual analysis of the sherds of these types which still remain to be restored into complete pots, perhaps about twenty of each. On the other hand the tall beaker-jars were very frequent so perhaps water, probably scooped out of the Nile may have been the usual liquid refreshment. The presence of hippopotamus bones in the pit are extremely interesting since it adds to the belief that hippopotamus meat was indeed eaten;236 its apparent

73

rarity perhaps being due to the fact that hippopotamus meat is, at least according to Diodorus, tough and hard to digest !237 No analysis of any plant remains has yet been undertaken, but one would not be surprised to find traces of wheat, barley and lentils as other components of these meals. Some of the participants may also have been careless enough to lose their bead necklaces, shell pendants, bronze bracelets and toggle pins which all found their way into L81. The pottery corpus as a whole is reminiscent of both Phases E/1 and D/3, but when compared to pottery from the tombs and offering pits from areas F/I and A/II, the material, as a whole has much more in common with Phase E/1,238 and it is thus likely that this material was all deposited in the short space of circa thirty years covered by this Phase, although a possible extension into the beginning of Phase D/3 cannot entirely be ruled out. When compared to other known Hyksos sites we can say that this material is certainly earlier than that found at Tell el-Yahudieh, and would appear to be earlier than the Hyksos material from both Tell el-Maskhuta and Tell Hebwa I.

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78

David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

Plate 1

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

Plate 2

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80

David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

Plate 3

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

Plate 4

81

82

David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

Plate 5

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

Plate 6

83

David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

Plate 7

84

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

Plate 8

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David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

Plate 9

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

Plate 10

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David A. Aston and Bettina Bader with a contribution by Karl G. Kunst

Plate 10

Fishes, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on the Hyksos Palace Pit Complex L81

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DER HYKSOS-PALAST BEI TELL EL- DABcA. ZWEITE UND DRITTE GRABUNGSKAMPAGNE (FRÜHLING 2008 UND FRÜHLING 2009)1 Von Manfred Bietak und Irene Forstner-Müller mit einem Beitrag von Frans van Koppen und Karen Radner

EINLEITUNG Die Grabungen im Palastbezirk der 15. Dynastie wurden vom 1. März bis 15. Mai 2008 und vom 1. März bis 17. Mai 2009 nördlich des heutigen Dorfes Khatacna, in Areal F/II, fortgesetzt. In diesem Bereich war im Jahr 2002 durch einen Magnetometersurvey ein Palastbezirk der 15. Dynastie festgestellt worden (Abb. 1).2 Grabungen fanden erstmals im Frühjahr 2006 statt.3 Da die auszugrabende Fläche noch nicht unter dem Schutz der Antikenverwaltung liegt,4 musste der Ausgrabungsbereich von lokalen Bauern (Sami Husseini, Aimad Gawad, Mohamed Gawad) angemietet werden. Die Arbeiten der Jahre 2008 und 2009 konzentrierten sich auf den südlichen und östlichen Palastbereich (Abb. 2, ausgegrabene Fläche rot eingerahmt). Die Unternehmungen wurden vom Österreichischen Archäologischen Institut Kairo in Zusammenwirkung mit dem Institut für Ägyptologie der Universität Wien und der Kommission für Ägypten und Levante der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften durchgeführt.5 Eine Lehrgrabung des Institutes für Ägyptologie der Universität Wien war in diesen beiden Kampagnen integriert. Für die Zusammenarbeit vor Ort sei dem ägyptischen Supreme Council of Antiquities und dessen Generalsekretär Dr. Zahi Hawass sowie dem Generaldirektor für Unterägypten und Sinai Dr. Mohammed ‘Abd el-Maksoud unser besonderer Dank ausgesprochen. Ebenso sei den Inspektoren der Antikenbehörde Mahmoud Sâlem Ghânem, Risq Diyab und ‘Abd el-Salâm Mansûr ‘Abd

1

2 3 4

Für die Auswahl und Herstellung der Abbildungen danken wir Nicola Math. Die photographischen Aufnahmen am Feld stammen von Michael Weissl, die Objektphotos von Axel Krause. BIETAK/FORSTNER-MÜLLER/HERBICH 2007. BIETAK/FORSTNER MÜLLER 2006; BIETAK 2007. Ein enstprechender Antrag zur Umwidmung von Agrarland zu Antikenland wird im Moment durch die SCA gestellt. Dafür danken wir dem Generalsekretär, Dr. Zahi Hawass, sehr herzlich.

ÄGYPTEN UND LEVANTE/EGYPT AND THE LEVANT 19, 2009, 91–119 © 2009 BY ÖSTERREICHISCHE AKADEMIE DER WISSENSCHAFTEN, WIEN

es-Salâm, die mit den Ausgrabungen unmittelbar kooperierten, gedankt. Grabungsteilnehmer Manfred Bietak Irene Forstner-Müller

- Grabungsleiter - stellvertretende Grabungsleiterin David Aston - Ägyptologe Bettina Bader - Ägyptologin Ildikó Bárány - Studentin Michaela Binder - Anthropologin Anja Brodbeck - Restauratorin Yann Callot - Paläogeograph Pieter Collet - Zeichner Anne-Catherine Escher - Architektin Jean Philippe Goiran - Paläogeograph Kai Graf - Student Christoph Grill - Archäozoologe Julia Gretzky - Anthropologin Astrid Hassler - klassische Archäologin Felix Höfelmayer - klassischer Archäologe Karin Kopetzky - Ägyptologin Ruth Maria Knünz - Restauratorin Günther Kunst - Paläozoologe Christian Kurtze - Geodät Axel Krause - Fotograf Manuela Lehmann - Ägyptologin Nicola Math - Ägyptologin Maria Antonia Negrete - Zeichnerin Sandra Müller - Ägyptologin Miriam Müller - Ägyptologin Erico Peintner - Restaurator Silvia Prell - Ägyptologin Ferreol Salomon - Paläogeograph

5

Die Finanzierung erfolgte in dankenswerter Weise durch das Österreichische Archäologische Institut, die Universität Wien, den Fonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (Stadtentwicklung im Nildelta, Projektnummer P 21074-G08) und mit Unterstützungen der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften sowie dem Institute for Aegean Prehistory, Philadelphia, für die Bearbeitung der ägäischen Fresken. Dafür möchten wir uns bei Malcolm Wiener, Connecticut, und Philipp Betancourt, Philadelphia, persönlich sehr bedanken.

Manfred Bietak und Irene Forstner-Müller mit einem Beitrag von Frans van Koppen und Karen Radner

Abb. 1 Übersichtsplan Tell el-Dabca /Avaris

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93

Der Hyksospalast bei Tell el-Dabca. Zweite und Dritte Grabungskampagne (Frühling 2008 und Frühling 2009)

Nicolas Sartori Laurent Schmitt Michael Schultz Rudolfine Seeber Nora Shalaby Ursula Thanheiser Hervé Tronchère Hendrik Uleners Michael Weissl Ullrike Zeger

- Ägyptologe - Paläogeograph - Paläopathologe - Restauratorin - Ägyptologin - Archäobotanikerin - Paläogeograph - Archäologe - klassischer Archäologe - Ägyptologin

Magnetometersurvey Christian Schweitzer Tomasz Herbich Artur Buszek Dawid Swiech Szymon Zdzieblowski

STRATIGRAPHISCHE ÜBERSICHT rezente Gruben und Kanäle, Sebachgruben, ovale 1,2 × 0,6 m große Gruben, die auf die Tätigkeit von Edouard Naville 1895 zurückgehen

a/1

Gruben mit vierhenkeligen Vorratsgefäßen, 27. Dynastie

b/1

ramessidischer Friedhof mit einfachen Grubenbestattungen, 19. Dynastie

b/2

Relikte pastoraler Tätigkeit, Rinder und Schaf/Ziegenbestattungen, vermutlich spätere 18. Dynastie

b/3

Einbau (M472–475) innerhalb des Vestibüls in Trakt A, frühe 18. Dynastie

b/4

Nachnutzung des Palastes, aschige Schichten und Feuerstellen im nördlichen Bereich des Hofes C jüngere Palastphase: die Fläche wurde verkleinert (Magazintrakt G durch Mauer M150 überbaut), ein Teil des Vestibüls im Osten zugemauert, Hof B mit Opfergrubensystem L81, Brunnen L1045, Treppenhäuser I und II ältere Palastphase: der Palast war größer angelegt, der Magazintrakt G reicht bis weit nach Süden, Vestibül offen, Pferdebestattung L1428, Gebäude S Werkstatt L1421, Opfergrube L928

Palast (Abb. 2) Die palatiale Anlage wurde in unmittelbarer Nähe eines Nebenarms des Nils erbaut (Abb. 3). Die Schichten sind unterschiedlich gut erhalten, je weiter im Süden, desto mehr wurden diese durch Nachbesiedelung und moderne landwirtschaftliche Aktivitäten abgetragen. Im Norden hingegen sind noch die Originalfußböden der Räume und vereinzelt Funde in situ erhalten. Der Distrikt datiert in die mittlere 15. Dynastie (Tell el-Dabca-Phasen: spätes E/1 und D/3). Einige Siegel, die innerhalb der Anlage gefunden worden sind, tragen den Namen des Königs Chajan und erlauben es, den Palast mit diesem König, einem der großen Hyksosherrscher, in Verbindung zu bringen (Abb. 4).6

6

S. auch SARTORI 2009.

post c c/1 c/2 d

Zwei Hauptbauphasen sind feststellbar, innerhalb derer es zu mehreren lokalen Umbauten kam: In der früheren Phase (Str. c/2) hatte der Palast eine größere Ausdehnung, vor allem der große Magazintrakt G war in Nutzung. Zu dieser Phase dürfte auch das Gebäude S gehören, das sich südlich des Palastes befindet. In der späteren Phase (Stratum c/1) wurde der Hof B mit seinen massiven Umfassungsmauern sowie der südwestlich an diesen anfugende große Treppenturm errichtet. Ebenso dürfte in der damaligen Zeit der an den Gebäudetrakt A anfugende Treppenturm I in der späten Palastphase erbaut worden sein. Die Magazine G und ein großer Teil des Hofes C wurden aufgegeben und von einer neuen Umfassungsmauer (M150) abgeschnitten. Der Gebäudetrakt A, vermutlich

Q

P

20

L584

L581

L580

O

N

M

M272

M229

D

HOF

L868

L637

M244

21

L

K

J

L637

M158

M245

L754

M157

L644

L788 L787

L76

23

M67

M71

M78

L263

L99

M56

M32

L178

M23

L804

M11

L776

L811

L798

M21

L762

M13

M22

M12

L766

L765

L768

L795

L789 L799 L790 L802 L807 L808 L791 L792 L794-796 L803

M33

L757

L756

M77

L645

M241

E

M15

L646

L647

M240

L637

L694

M250

L642

M242

L698

L695

M280

M13

L753

M14

L784

L783

L785

L752

OPFERGRUBEN

22

M84

M89

M75

M74

M11

M24

M42

L59

L270

M114

L330

M131

25

L194

M51

M87

L1123

M76

L219

L195

L389

TREPPENHAUS 1

L159

L189 L193 L190 L191 L192

L188

L487

M44

M40

L55

L44

M38

L340

M41

M50

L61

L23

M12

L12

M136

F

24

M90

L1221

M391

L1123

M380

L1401 L1404 L1402

M396

L1142

L1372

L1340 L1341 L1343

L1100

L1377 L1122

L1367

L1152

L1222

M389

L1148

L1366 L1391

L1106

L1381

M407

27

L1436

C

HOF

VESTIBÜL

L1410

L1298

L1099

L1342

L1348

L1345

L1311 L1312 L1313L1317 L1314 L1315 L1316 L1322 L1323

L1108

M373

L1306 L1086 L1088 L1087 L1319 L1320 L1321 L1089

M400

M42

M370 M401

L1153

M404

L1434

L1438L1439

L1426 L1435 L1437 L1425

L1486

M405

M399

L1184

M372

L1154 L1157

L1170

M116

L275

M115

KÜCHE

M374

M371

A

L274

L1441 L1418

L1199

L1421 L1424

26

94 Manfred Bietak und Irene Forstner-Müller mit einem Beitrag von Frans van Koppen und Karen Radner

Y

X

W

V

U

T

S

R

L610

L613 L611

L584

M312A

TREPPENHAUS 2

L609

L595

L600

L586

M297

M300

M304

M345

M302

M299

M41

M94

M40

M301

M166

M165

M93

M238

L566

L81

L81.3

L81.10

L81.11

L977 L978

L974 L976

L975

L973

L964 L965 L970

BRUNNEN L1045

L971 L972

S

L988

L946 L947

L945 L957

L942 L954 L948 L943 L953 L981 L941

L916

L915

L912

L996

M341

L910

L997

L992

L995

L994

M337

L909

GEBÄUDE

L999

L989 L993

M59

M336

L911

L1009

L991

L990

M121

L81.0

M58

M60

B1

L81

L81.12

M55

B2

L1028

L1023

M143

B

M66

L81.15

M54

L81.13 L81.14

M142

L81.6A

L81.6B

OPFERGRUBEN L538 L81 L81 L446

L503

M228

M232

M92

M91

L928

L291

M62=65

M57

L287

L288

L409

L387

L1256

L1258

M423

1242

M98

L1224

M425

L1260

L1241

PALAST F/II

0

20 m

2006–2009

Siegelabdrücke mit dem Ti

Siegelabdrücke mglw. C

Siegelabdrücke des C

Stratum d

frühe Palastphase - tratum c/2

späte Palastphase - tratum c/1

Einbau in Hof “B” - Stratum c/1

M94

L1275

G

M150

L1223

Abb. 2 Palastanlage der 15. Dynastie in Areal F/II

M69

Der Hyksospalast bei Tell el-Dabca. Zweite und Dritte Grabungskampagne (Frühling 2008 und Frühling 2009)

95

96

Manfred Bietak und Irene Forstner-Müller mit einem Beitrag von Frans van Koppen und Karen Radner

Abb. 4 Siegelabdruck des Königs Chajan TED Inv. Nr. 9355

der Hauptteil des Palastes, erhielt an der Nordostflanke eine zusätzliche Verfüllung des ehemaligen Vestibül-Bereiches, sodass sich dieser Trakt als wuchtige Konstruktion darstellt, an deren Südostflanke dann sekundär Magazine angefügt wurden. Auch der grosse Brunnen L1045 im Süden, der Gebäude S zerstört, dürfte in diese Zeit fallen. Die Gesamtanlage ist NO–SW orientiert und entspricht in ihrer Ausrichtung exakt der des tuthmosidischen Palastes G in cEzbet Helmi.7 Der Palast ist in mehrere Bereiche unterteilt, Gruppen von Räumen wechseln sich mit Höfen ab. Der Bau ist addidativ gewachsen, scheint aber einem Schema zu unterliegen, dass noch nicht völlig geklärt werden konnte. Als Baumaterial wurden schlammige dunkelgraue Lehmziegel verwendet, die Bodenpflasterung besteht aus Sandziegeln. Die Ziegelformate sind nicht einheitlich, die beliebtesten Maße sind 37–38 × 18– 19 cm, 40–42 × 20–21 cm und 47–50 × 20–21 cm. Aufgrund der Nivellierung durch moderne Landwirtschaft ist nur mehr der Fundament- bzw. Kellerbereich erhalten. Manche der Höfe waren mit roten Lehmböden ausgestattet. Den Hauptteil der Anlage bildet Gebäudetrakt A (Abb. 5). Dieser besteht aus zwei Reihen von Magazinen mit Sandziegelpflaster die im Südwesten und Südosten von aufgefülltem Kastenmauerwerk eingefasst waren. Möglicherweise findet sich das Konzept der Füllmauern auch im Nordwesten des Gebäudekomplexes. Dieser Bereich muß erst ausgegraben werden. Ebenso wurde, zumindest in der Spätphase des Palastes, auch ein Teil des Vestibüls verfüllt. An das Südeck des Traktes A war überdies ein Treppenhaus angefügt, das schließlich auf bis fast 20 × 20 m vergrößert worden war.

Abb. 3 Uferrand des Palastes

7

BIETAK 2005.

Der Hyksospalast bei Tell el-Dabca. Zweite und Dritte Grabungskampagne (Frühling 2008 und Frühling 2009)

22

23

J

L787

L784

L785

L76

L789 L799 L790 L802 L807 L808 L791 L792 L794-796 L803

L804 L798 L811

F

L1421 L1438L1439 L1424

L795 L752

L754

L753

L768

L1199 L1441

L762 L776

L1418

L340

L756

K

27

26

L788

L783

OPFERGRUBEN

25

24

97

L757

L330

L1486

L274

L766

L1434

L1426 L1435 L1437 L1425

L765

L1298

L1436

L275 L12

L1184

L1410

L1170

L

L1153

L23

20 m

PLATTFORM

L55

M

L1154 L1157

L59

L1311 L1312 L1313L1317 L1314 L1315 L1316 L1322 L1323

L695 L698

L694

N

L1306 L1086 L1088 L1087 L1319 L1320 L1321 L1089

L61

späte Palastphase - Stratum c/1

frühe Palastphase - Stratum c/2

HOF

C

L1108

L1099

0

PALAST F/II - KOMPLEX „A“

Abb. 5 Gebäudetrakt A

Dabei wurde der Zwischenraum zu einer weiteren Treppenrampe, die von Hof C geradlinig aufs Obergeschoss hinauf führt, mit Ziegeln angefüllt und die Konstruktion dadurch nochmals vergrößert. Vor Errichtung des Hofes B scheint von Südwesten, vom Hof D her, eine weitere Treppenrampe geradlinig auf diesen Turm hinauf geführt haben. Später dürfte sie die Verbindung vom Gebäudekomplex A auf die Kronen der Umfassungsmauern des Hofes B hergestellt haben. Eine weitere, aber wesentlich breitere Rampe mit Kastenmauerwerk führte von Nordwesten her auf das Obergeschoss des Gebäudes A und dürfte sich im Kastenmauerwerk an der Südwestflanke des Gebäudes A fortgesetzt haben, da eine Mauerverstärkung, die an das vorhin genannten Treppenhaus grenzt, wie eine Landung aussieht.8 Das

8

Obergeschoss muss auf Grund der Treppenaufgänge und Rampen eine besondere Bedeutung gehabt haben. Es hatte architektonisch eine zentrale Verbindungsfunktion innerhalb des Palastareals und umfasste vermutlich die wichtigsten öffentlichen Räume des Palastes. Die Magazinräume des Baues A hatten wohl auf Grund ihrer massiven Absicherung mit Füllmauerwerk eine besondere Bedeutung gehabt und waren offensichtlich vor dem Verlassen geleert worden. Dabei wurde jedoch Bruchgut zurückgelassen. In zwei Räumen (L275 und L1153) fanden sich nämlich entlang der Seitenwände an den Stellen, an denen der Boden infolge der Wandsetzung stark abgesackt war, eine große Anzahl von stark fragmentierten importierten Amphoren der syrisch-palästinensischen Mitt-

Vgl. die Rampenlandung der tuthmosidischen Paläste F, G und J im Areal H/I–VI, s. BIETAK, MARINATOS & PALYVOU 2007, figs. 14–17, 21, 22, 24.

98

Manfred Bietak und Irene Forstner-Müller mit einem Beitrag von Frans van Koppen und Karen Radner

Abb. 6 Magazinraum L1153, entlang der Seitenwände Keramikfragmente und Gefäßverschlüsse

leren Bronzezeit und dislozierte Gefäßverschlüsse ohne Stempelabdrücke. In der Raummitte von L1153 lag eine kleine Schale (Abb. 6). Die südwestliche Reihe der Magazine ist aus 5 Ziegel starken Mauern errichtet worden, die nordöstliche Reihe aus schmäleren, halb so breiten (2½ Ziegel starken) Mauern. Vermutlich war die südwestliche Raumgruppe mit Tonnengewölben überdeckt, die nördliche mit einem Flachdach. Die Mauerstärke im nördlichen Teil lässt die Präsenz einer Säulenhalle im Obergeschoss vermuten. Der südwestliche Magazinteil9 besteht aus einer Gruppe von drei gleich großen Räumen (L23, 55 und 59: ca. je 11.7 × 2.5m), an die im Nordwesten ein kürzerer Raum (L12: 8.9 × 1.58m) anschließt, da die mutmaßliche Aufgangsrampe im Westeck des Gebäudes A einen Doppelknick besitzt. Der mittlere der drei längeren Räume ist von Norden her über eine Tür von der nordöstlichen Raumgruppe betretbar. Die anderen Magazinräume sind über Türen im Norden

9

S. auch BIETAK/FORSTNER-MÜLLER 2006: 68–71.

der Längswände begehbar. Manche dieser Magazinräume (L55 und L59) sind über doppelte Zwischenwände besonders abgesichert. Der nordöstliche Magazintrakt besteht aus einer Gruppe von mindestens sieben Räumen (L1153, L1184, L275, L274, L328, L340, und L341). Diese sind annähernd gleich groß, (7 Ziegel Längen breit, ca. je 13,65 × 2,6–2,74 m groß) und mit Sandziegelpflaster ausgestattet. Zugänge sind schlecht erhalten und können, wie folgt, rekonstruiert werden. Der Eingang dürfte in einen der beiden mittleren Magazinräume, (L274), geführt haben. Die anderen Räume waren – ähnlich wie die vier südwestlichen Magazinräumen – über Türen an den Nordost-Enden der Längswände zugänglich. Im Nordosten des Komplexes A befand sich ein Vestibül, das den Zugang zu den Magazinen gestattete (Abb. 7). In diesem wurde vor dem Zugang zu den Magazinen eine Pferdebestattung (L1428) gefunden (Abb. 8). Es handelte sich vermutlich

Der Hyksospalast bei Tell el-Dabca. Zweite und Dritte Grabungskampagne (Frühling 2008 und Frühling 2009)

99

Abb. 7 Vestibül im Nordosten des Gebäudetraktes A

um eine Stute im Alter zwischen 5–10 Jahren.10 Diese ist durch eine spätere Kinderbestattung (L1417), die ebenfalls in die 15. Dynastie datiert, gestört. Das Pferdegrab ist obendrein von einer

Schicht mit Keramikfragmenten überdeckt, die zur Nutzungsphase des Palastes gehört. Die besondere Position des Tieres im Vestibül des Magazintraktes kann als Hinweis aufgefasst werden, dass sie

Abb. 8 Pferdebestattung L1428 aus der Nutzungsphase des Palastes

10

Bestimmung durch Karl Kunst, Vienna Institute of Archaeological Science.

100 Manfred Bietak und Irene Forstner-Müller mit einem Beitrag von Frans van Koppen und Karen Radner 21

22

23

25

24

M22

M42

M371

L695 L698 L694

M41

N

L61 M44 M374 L263

L159

L487

M242

M244

O

L642 M250 L647

TREPPENHAUS 1

E

L178

M33

M241

M50

M380

M32

20 m L645

M51

L646

M77 L637

P

L194

M240

L188

M78

L644

L189

L193

L190

M74

L192

L191

L1123

L195 L868

L637

M75 L219

L637

M89

M157 M71

HOF

M391

M76

L1221

L1123 M84

Q

D M229

M245

M67 L99

M158

L389 M87

M56

M90 0

Einbau in Hof “B” - Stratum c/1

späte Palastphase - Stratum c/1

PALAST F/II - KOMPLEX „E“

frühe Palastphase - Stratum c/2

Abb. 9 Raumgruppe E

ihrem Besitzer – vermutlich war es der Inhaber des Palastes – besonders wertvoll war. Später wurde die nördliche Hälfte des Vestibüls durch eine massive Mauer (M405) abgemauert und der gesamte Bereich möglicherweise aufgefüllt (s. oben). Diese Maßnahme ist ein weiterer Hinweis, dass die Pferdebestattung in die frühere Belegungszeit des Palastes (c/2), auf jeden Fall in die Zeit vor der Abmauerung des Vestibüls, zu datieren ist. An den Haupttrakt A schließt im Südwesten eine weitere Gruppe von vier Räumen an (E) an (Abb. 9), die aus 2½ bis drei Ziegel starken Lehmziegelmauern erbaut sind. Die nördlicheren drei (L642, L644 und L645) sind gleich groß (ca. 8,65 × 2,58–2,61m), der südlichste Raum (L647) etwas breiter (ca. 8,65 × 3,10m). Innerhalb der Räume ließen sich sandige und lehmige Böden, aber keine Sandziegelpflaster, feststellen. Möglicherweise wurden die Räume nie genutzt, sondern dienten als mit Erde angefüllte Substruktionen. Südöstlich des Gebäudes A befindet sich der große Hof C (Abb. 10). Dieser konnte in der

Kampagne 2009 nur in seinem Westbereich ausgegraben werden; die genauen Ausmaße sind noch nicht bekannt. Er ist von mehreren großen Störungen durchzogen. Der Hof war mit mehreren, teilweise 10 cm dicken rötlichen Lehmziegelböden ausgestattet. In seiner Mitte fanden sich die Reste von Einbauten. Der Abdruck eines Korbes (L1088) (Abb. 11) wurde noch in situ vorgefunden. Unter dem Hofniveau konnten Relikte der Bautätigkeit für den Palast wie Kalkablagerungen und runde, grob verlegte Ziegelsetzungen gefunden werden. Im Nordbereich weist in höherer Lage eine Reihe von Feuerstellen auf eine Nachnutzungsphase (squatter-Tätigkeit) in den Palastruinen. Südlich davon grenzte in der früheren Palastphase c/2 eine sehr große Einheit von Magazinen an (G). Diese bestehen aus sechs langen schmalen Räumen, die wiederum in je drei Einheiten unterteilt sind (Abb. 2). Die beiden nördlicheren sind etwas kleiner (15,15 × 3,2), die vier südlicheren länger (16,6 × 3,2 m). Eingänge sind nicht

Der Hyksospalast bei Tell el-Dabca. Zweite und Dritte Grabungskampagne (Frühling 2008 und Frühling 2009) 101

Abb. 10 Großer Hof C mit rötlichen Fußböden

Abb. 11 Korbabdruck L1088

mehr erhalten. Die Wände bestehen aus vier Ziegel starken Lehmziegelmauern, die Böden – soweit erhalten – sind aus gestampftem Lehm. In der späteren Phase c/1 des Palastes wurde der Hof C verkleinert und die Magazine möglicherweise ganz aufgegeben, da die neue Umfassungsmauer M150 mitten durch ddurch die genannten Elemente schneidet bzw. auf die mittlere Trennwand der Magazine schräg aufgesetzt worden war. Zur selben Zeit entstand ein großer Hof (B) (Abb. 2). Dieser hatte ursprünglich die Maße 21,3

11

× 27 m und ist von zwei Seiten mit breiten Kasemattenmauern eingefasst. Die südöstliche Einfriedung ist aus einer Doppelmauer errichtet worden, die nach einem Vorsprung mit der neuen Umfassungsmauer des Hofes C die neue südöstliche Fassade des Palastes bildet. An die Südwestflanke des Hofes B ist ein massives, weit aus der Fassade herausragendes großes Treppenhaus (L849) angefügt, das einen bastionsartigen Charakter hat (Abb. 12). Hof B war an seiner Südost-, Nordost- und Nordwestseite und in seiner Mitte mit Bänken aus Lehmziegeln ausgestattet. Der südwestliche Teil des Hofes war ohne Bänke, hier fanden sich noch Überreste eines Sandziegelgebäudes, das vermutlich die gleiche Bedeutung innehatte wie der spätere Einbau B2 im nordöstlichen Teil des Hofes. Einbau B mit den Innenmaße 9,12 × 4, 9 m besaß drei Kammern und saß wie ein Keller tief im Boden. Er diente vermutlich zum Aufbewahren von Nahrung, Getränken und Geschirr, wie man anhand der zerbrochenen Relikte vermuten kann. Der Bau durchhackte die Bank an der ursprünglichen Nordostkante des Hofes. Ersatzweise wurde entlang seiner Südwestflanke eine neue Bank errichtet. Die älteren Bänke wurden später, als das abgelagerte Material so angewachsen war, dass es die Mauern überdeckte, durch neue Bänke ersetzt. In dem Hof wurden ohne Zweifel rituelle Mahlzeiten mit vielen Teilnehmern durchgeführt.11

BIETAK/FORSTNER-MÜLLER 2006: 74–77; BIETAK/FORSTNER-MÜLLER 2007; FORSTNER-MÜLLER 2009: 10–11.

102 Manfred Bietak und Irene Forstner-Müller mit einem Beitrag von Frans van Koppen und Karen Radner

Abb. 12 Treppenhaus L849 an der Südwestflanke des Hofes B

Die Überreste solcher Feiern wie Keramik und Tierknochen wurden in großen Gruben (Grubensystem L81) innerhalb des Hofes deponiert (Abb. 13). Mehr als 5000 Keramikgefäße waren in diesen Gruben in absichtlich zerbrochenem Zustand verscharrt worden; die meisten davon waren Ringst-

änder, Schalen und Trinkgefäße.12 Von besonderem Interesse waren Räuchergefäße, Ritualgefäße wie Libationsgefäße, Tierrhyta oder so genannte “Fischschalen” aus Mergelton C. Die vorgefundene nubische Keramik13 entstammt dem Umfeld der Kermakultur (Kerma Moyen); das Formenrepertoire besteht aus offe-

12

13

Eine genauere Beschreibung des Inhalts der Gruben L81 erfolgt im selben Band, s. ASTON 2009.

S. auch BIETAK/FORSTNER-MÜLLER 2006: 77, Abb. 14.

Der Hyksospalast bei Tell el-Dabca. Zweite und Dritte Grabungskampagne (Frühling 2008 und Frühling 2009) 103

Abb. 13 Grubensystem L81 in Hof C, spätere Palastphase

nen Gefäßen, vor allem Schalen. Becher, die bekannten „Kerma-beaker“, wurden nicht angetroffen. Die Gefäße selbst sind nicht dem Zentrum der Kerma-Kultur, sondern ihrer Peripherie zuzuordnen;14 einige scheinen lokale in Ägypten angefertigte Produkte dieser Keramik zu sein.15

Die abgehaltenen Ritualmähler waren repetitiv; in welchen zeitlichen Abständen diese durchgeführt wurden, ist unklar. Es scheint, als ob der Hof die Funktion einer Stätte dieses Rituals bildete. Er könnte daher als „marzea5“ angesehen werden – eine Einrichtung, die uns aus dem Vorderen Orient seit dem 3. Jahrtausend v. Chr. bekannt ist,16

14

15

Für diese Information danken wir Janine Bourriau und Charles Bonnet.

Mündliche Mitteilung Ch. Bonnet.

104 Manfred Bietak und Irene Forstner-Müller mit einem Beitrag von Frans van Koppen und Karen Radner

Abb. 14 Rhyton aus Mergel-C in Gestalt eines Nilpferdes, TED Inv. Nr. 9015S

Abb. 15 Mergel-IC-Fischschale, TED Inv. Nr. 9195

Der Hyksospalast bei Tell el-Dabca. Zweite und Dritte Grabungskampagne (Frühling 2008 und Frühling 2009) 105

wo solche Bankette anlässlich des Geburtstags von Göttern oder Königen oder auch aus funerären Anlässen gefeiert wurden. In vorliegendem Fall könnten diese Rituale mit Fruchtbarkeit in Zusammenhang stehen; manche Funde aus den Opfergruben wie Rhyta in Form einer nackten weiblichen Figur oder eines mit eingeritzten Lotusblumen versehenen Nilpferdes (Abb. 14) sowie die Darstellung eines weiblichen Dämonen in Nilpferdgestalt auf einer Mergel C-Fischschale könnten als solche Hinweise gelten (Abb. 15). Ein Variantenreichtum an Tierknochen zeugt vom Gegenstand des Verzehrs, neben einer großen Anzahl an Rinderknochen fanden sich auch Knochen von Schweinen, Ziegen/Schafen, Fischen, Vögeln und einem Nilpferd.17 In einigen Gefäßen

waren noch Speisereste (Knochen von Nilbarschen) in situ vorgefunden worden (Abb. 16). Der Bereich nordwestlich von Hof D ist noch unerforscht. Nördlich des Gebäudes A befindet sich ein weiterer Kultplatz (F) mit vielen kleineren Opfergruben von ca. zwei Meter Durchmesser (Abb. 17).18 Diese sind typische Opfergruben, wie sie auch aus anderen Arealen in Tell el-Dabca bestens bekannt sind, unter anderem aus Tempelvorplätzen im Areal A/II und F/I, aber auch aus Friedhöfen.19 Sie bergen die für solche Deponien typische Keramik wie Näpfe, Schalen, Bechervasen, Ringständer und Tierknochen (Rinder und Schafe/Ziegen). Wie generell in der materiellen Kultur des Fundplatzes Tell elDabca, ist auch hier wieder die Mischung aus vorderasiatischen und ägyptischen kulturellen Traditionen feststellbar. Entstammt der Brauch der Opfergruben im Palast- bzw. nicht funerärem Tempelbereich vermutlich dem Vorderen Orient, sind Elemente wie die Beisetzung zweier hinteren Rinderschenkels, L811, (Abb. 18) im ägyptischen Einflussbereich zu suchen. Die Gruben datieren alle in die 15. Dynastie (Str. D/3– D/2), scheinen allerdings etwas später als die Gruben L81 (frühes Stratum D/3) angelegt worden zu sein.20 Dies könnte auf eine längere Verwendungsdauer des Palastes oder auf eine kultische Weiternutzung weisen. Südlich des Palastes liegen die Reste eines großen Gebäudes (S) mit annähernd quadratischem Grundriss (17,7m) (Abb. 2). Seine Orientierung entspricht nicht der des Palastes, sondern ist, wohl infolge lokaler topographischer Gegebenheiten, leicht nach Süden verschoben. Der größte Teil wurde durch Gruben, vor allem durch den Brunnen L1045, und moderne landwirtschaftliche Tätigkeit zerstört. Der Grundriss ist nur in Ansätzen zu erahnen. In seinem NWEck befindet sich ein Treppenhaus (Maße 4,56 × 4,4m), im Südosten ist eine Bank (M338) angebaut. An die SO-Außenmauer fugt eine NNW– SSO verlaufende Mauer (M341) an. Es ist unklar, ob es sich um einen Raum oder Hof handelt, da die betreffenden Schichten größtenteils abgetragen sind.

16

19

Abb. 16 In einem Gefäß deponierte Speisereste (Nilbarsch) innerhalb des Grubensystems L81

17 18

S. dazu BIETAK 2003. K.G. KUNST in ASTON & BADER 2009 XXXX. FORSTNER-MÜLLER im Druck.

20

MÜLLER 2009. Für diesen Hinweis danken wir V. Müller, die diese Gruben bearbeitet.

106 Manfred Bietak und Irene Forstner-Müller mit einem Beitrag von Frans van Koppen und Karen Radner

Abb. 17 Kultplatz F nördlich des Traktes A

Das Gebäude S könnte in die frühere Phase des Palastes fallen. Seine nördliche Ecke würde mit der südöstlichen Mauer der späten Palastphase kollidieren. Brunnen L1045 Ein großer rechteckiger Brunnen (L1045) schneidet in Gebäude S ein (Abb. 19). Seine Orientierung entspricht der des Palastes; er könnte zu dessen späterer Phase gehören. Der Brun-

nen misst in seinem oberen Ansatz 12.5 × 10 m, seine Grubenwand ist geböscht. Er ist so tief angelegt, dass er in den damaligen Grundwasserspiegel hineinreichte. Heute liegt dieser bei ca. 4 m NN. Die Sohle des Brunnens reicht bis etwa 0,50 m NN hinab. Insofern könnte dieser Aufschluss über die Grundwasserverhältnisse von ca. 1600 v. Chr. geben. Die Seitenwände des Brunnens waren mit Lehm befestigt. Sein Abgang bestand aus einem

Der Hyksospalast bei Tell el-Dabca. Zweite und Dritte Grabungskampagne (Frühling 2008 und Frühling 2009) 107

Abb. 18 Bestattung zweier Hintergliedmaßen eines Rindes in Opfergrube L811

Abb. 19 Brunnen L1045

Abb. 20 Abgang des Brunnens L1045 mit Resten von Kalksteinstufen

108 Manfred Bietak und Irene Forstner-Müller mit einem Beitrag von Frans van Koppen und Karen Radner

Abb. 21 Fragment einer Keilschrifttafel, TD Inv. Nr. 9420 Abb. 22 TD Inv. Nr. 9420 (Handkopie von Frans van Koppen). Die Pfeile markieren den linken bzw. unteren Tafelrand

Dromos, der sich entlang der Ostseite des Brunnens fortsetzte. Reste von Stufen aus Kalkstein waren teilweise noch auf der Sohle des Abgangs – allerdings nicht mehr ganz in situ, sondern abgesunken – erhalten (Abb. 20). Der Brunnen wurde in der späteren 15. Dynastie (in Stratum D/2) verfüllt. Die durch Sieben aus der Verfüllung gewonnenen Funde umfassen neben einer großen Menge an Keramik und einigen Siegelabdrücken auch das Fragment einer Keilschrifttafel, die das älteste solche Dokument Ägyptens darstellt und mehr als 100 Jahre vor dem Tontafelarchiv von Amarna datiert (Abb. 21, 22) (s. unten Beitrag F. van Koppen und K. Radner). Ältere Schichten Grube L928 (Stratum d) (Abb. 23) Im Süden des Palastes (Planquadrate v/23 und w/24) wurde eine große Grube angeschnitten. Diese ist dicht mit einer großen Anzahl von Keramikgefäßen wie rundbodigen Näpfen, Ringständern, Vorratsgefäßen aus der Levante, Mergel CZîren und Bierflaschen verfüllt. Die Gefäße mit geschlossener Form waren mit dem Boden nach oben in die Erde gesteckt worden; bei zumindest einem Napf ist der Boden absichtlich perforiert.21 Es scheint sich um eine ähnliche große Opfergrube wie Grubensystem L81 zu handeln und könnte mit einem Vorgängerpalast (Str. d) in Zusammenhang stehen. Diese Entdeckung ist vielleicht ein Hinweis, dass es an dieser Stelle von

21

Abb. 23 Ältere Opfergrube L928, (Str. d)

Str. d bis c/1 ein kultisches Kontinuum gegeben hat, wofür auch der Sandziegelbau im Hof B sprechen würde.

Zum intentionellen Unbrauchbarmachen von Gefäßen s. auch MÜLLER 2009: 278, 341–343; SEILER 1995: 185–203, 2005: 178.

Der Hyksospalast bei Tell el-Dabca. Zweite und Dritte Grabungskampagne (Frühling 2008 und Frühling 2009) 109

Bad L1135 (Stratum d) (Abb. 24) Die Reste eines kleinen Bades, das teilweise durch den Brunnen L1045 gestört worden war, konnten in Planquadrat v/23 festgestellt werden. Dieses ist NNW–SSO mit der Biegung nach Süden orientiert. Es besteht aus einem Becken (Beckenmaße: 116 × 93 cm) aus gebrannten Ziegeln (Maße: 27,5 × 12,5 × 4,2 cm), die in 3 Reihen flach gesetzt sind. Der Rand ist mit senkrecht stehenden Ziegeln gesetzt und dadurch erhöht; die Ausgußseite, ist durch 2 Reihen aufgestellter Ziegel begrenzt. Ein Ausfluß führt in eine in den Boden versenkte Amphore. Rings um das Bad fand sich ein Lehmboden. Werkstatt L1421 (Stratum d) Unterhalb der Palastanlage wurde im Planquadrat j/26 ein Raum freigelegt, der einem heftigen Feuer zum Opfer gefallen war (Abb. 25). Die nördliche Hälfte konnte in dieser Kampagne noch nicht freigelegt werden, da sie derzeit von einem sich in Verwendung befindlichen Stall überdeckt ist. Der Raum ist im Westen und Süden von zwei jeweils ½ Ziegel starken Sandzie-

gelmauern, M468 und M469, (W- und S-Mauer) eingefasst. Die Mauer M468 ist entweder an M471 angefugt, oder die Läufer von M471 wurden während des Baus in der Flucht verlängert. Im Süden ist eine Bank aus Schlammziegeln angebaut (M470). Der Raum war dicht mit körnigem rot verziegeltem Lehm verfüllt, im oberen Bereich fanden sich sehr viele stark überfeuerte Keramikfragmente von importierten Amphoren der Mittleren Bronzezeitkultur, eine davon ruhte noch auf einem Ringständer, ferner fanden sich Näpfe, vereinzelt von Kochtöpfe und auch Mergel C-Gefäße. Die Dachkonstruktion bestand möglicherweise aus Lehm und Schilfmatten oder Schilfbündeln, da sich verbrannte Lehmbrocken und Platten mit Rippenstruktur fanden (Abb. 26). Hölzerne Dachbalken sind auszuschließen, da im gesamten Raum so gut wie keine substantielle Holzkohle gefunden wurde. Im unteren Bereich von L1421 wurden noch Objekte in situ vorgefunden. An die Westwand waren drei Amphoren gelehnt, zwei davon mit ägyptisch Blau, die dritte mit Sand gefüllt (Abb. 27). Sehr viele kleine, kari-

Abb. 24 Bad L1135, (Str. d)

110 Manfred Bietak und Irene Forstner-Müller mit einem Beitrag von Frans van Koppen und Karen Radner

Abb. 25 Werkstatt L1421

Abb. 26 Schilfmatten oder Schilfbündel in Werkstatt L1421, vermutlich Reste der Dachkonstruktion

Der Hyksospalast bei Tell el-Dabca. Zweite und Dritte Grabungskampagne (Frühling 2008 und Frühling 2009) 111

eine Stange, von der kleine Scheiben abgeschnitten worden waren. Des weiteren fanden sich noch ein Reibstein, Obsidianknollen, Bronzebeschläge, (wahrscheinlich die Reste von Mobiliar), Elfenbeineinlagen, Meeresmuscheln (Tridacna),23 teilweise mit Bearbeitungsspuren, Korallen24 und ein Zaubermesser aus Bein (Abb. 28). Beim Sieben kamen Fragmente von Jaspis, Kalzit und Fayence hervor. Ein stark überfeuerter Deckel aus Kalzit war mit der linksläufigen Aufschrift “Kronprinzessin, Königstochter, geliebt von Hathor, der Herrin der Myrrhe; SatHathor-Duat“ versehen (Abb. 29). Hier handelt es sich um ein älteres Stück aus dem Mittleren Reich, das in der Werkstatt vermutlich zur Weiterverarbeitung aufbewahrt worden war. Von besonderem Interesse sind Siegelabdrücke des „Green Jasper Workshops“ mit integrierten hieroglyphischen Kolumnen (Abb. 30). Eines dieser Siegel kann einem HqA-RTnw, „Fürsten von Retenu“, zugewiesen werden, dessen Name noch nicht lesbar ist. Die Werkstatt könnte mit den westlich gelegenen Metallverarbeitungsöfen in Zusammenhang stehen.25 Abb. 27 Mit blauer Farbe verfüllte Amphoren an der Westwand der Werkstatt L1421

Jüngere Schichten Bau der frühen 18. Dyn (Abb. 31)

nierte Schalen waren am S-Rand des Raumes deponiert. Diese waren teilweise noch ineinander gestapelt. An der S-Wand des Raumes lagen drei Armreifen aus Elfenbein,22 daneben fand sich

Innerhalb des Vestibüls des Traktes A wurde nach Aufgabe des Palastes der Bau (M472–M475) errichtet, der somit aus dessen Nachnutzungsphase stammt. Er ist fast völlig zerstört, sein

Abb. 28 Zaubermesser aus Bein in Werkstatt L1421

22 23

Bestimmung Karl G. Kunst. Bestimmung Karl G. Kunst.

24 25

Bestimmung Karl G. Kunst. BIETAK/FORSTNER-MÜLLER 2006, 74: Abb. 10.

112 Manfred Bietak und Irene Forstner-Müller mit einem Beitrag von Frans van Koppen und Karen Radner

Abb. 30 Siegelabdrücke des „Green Jasper Workshops“, einer trägt Titel und Namen eines Fürsten von Retenu

Abb. 29 Kalzitdeckel mit hieroglyphischer Inschrift, der den Namen einer Prinzessin des Mittleren Reiches trägt

Grundriss kann nicht rekonstruiert werden. Die darin gefundene Keramik, eine Schale mit schwarzer Dekoration, erlaubt eine Datierung in die frühe 18. Dynastie. Dieser Einbau wurde von einer Schicht mit Putzfragmenten minoischer Fresken überlagert. Diese stammt vermutlich von Einplanierungsarbeiten durch lokale Bauern in der ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts.26 Die Entfernung von den minoischen Freskenfunden im Bereich des tuthmosidischen Palastbezirkes von 400–500 m ist freilich beachtlich.27

bekannt sind, festgestellt (Abb. 32). Es handelt sich um sorgsam bestattete Tierkadaver meist von Schafen/Ziegen sowie auch von einigen Rindern.28 Möglicherweise handelt es sich um Beisetzungen verendeter Tiere einer Tempelherde während der späten 18. oder frühen 19. Dynastie. Dies würde die pietätvolle Bettung der Tiere erklären. Ramessidischer Friedhof

Auch in dieser Kampagne wurden Tierbestattungen, welche uns bereits von den Grabungen in cEzbet Helmi (400–500m Distanz vom Areal F/II)

Der bereits aus früheren Kampagnen in den Arealen F/II und ’Ezbet Helmi bekannte ramessidische Friedhof konnte vor allem im südlichen Bereich der untersuchten Fläche wiederum festgestellt werden.29 Die Toten (L607, L931, L1000 und L1265) waren ausnahmslos in ovalen, N–S oder O–W orientierten Gruben bestattet und in der Regel ohne Beigaben beigesetzt. Die Kinderbestattung L931 hatte um ihren Hals eine Kette aus einer weißen und einer blauen Fayenceperle und zwei Bes-Amuletten aus Fayence (Abb. 33).

26

27

Tierbestattungen

Bis zur ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts befand sich im Areal F/II eine Senke, die danach aufgefüllt worden war, um das Land als Ackerland bewirtschaften zu können. Die dazu nötige Erde wurde aus der Umgebung herangekarrt. Es ist nicht auszuschließen, dass die Schicht mit den Fresken in dieser Zeit aus cEzbet Helmi stammen.

28 29

Lit. in BIETAK, MARINATOS & PALYVOU 2007. BIETAK 2006. Zum ramessidischen Friedhof von cEzbet Helmi s. BIETAK/FORSTNER-MÜLLER 2007: 54, Abb. 34–37.

Der Hyksospalast bei Tell el-Dabca. Zweite und Dritte Grabungskampagne (Frühling 2008 und Frühling 2009) 113

Abb. 31 Späterer Einbau in den Palast aus der frühen 18. Dynastie

Abb. 32 Rinderbestattung L1230, späte 18. oder frühe 19. Dynastie

114 Manfred Bietak und Irene Forstner-Müller mit einem Beitrag von Frans van Koppen und Karen Radner

Abb. 33 Ramessidische Kinderbestattung L931 mit einer Kette aus einer blauen und weißen Fayenceperlen sowie zwei Bes-Amuletten aus Fayence

Abb. 34 Grubengrab L1423

Der Hyksospalast bei Tell el-Dabca. Zweite und Dritte Grabungskampagne (Frühling 2008 und Frühling 2009) 115

Abb. 35 Vorratsgrube der 27. Dynastie, L948, mit großem vierhenkeligem Gefäß

Einen Sonderfall stellt Grubengrab L423 dar (Abb. 34). Dieses ist im Norden, im Vestibül des Palastes, nahe der erwähnten Pferdebestattung der Hyksoszeit entlang einer Palastmauer angelegt worden und im Gegensatz zu den übrigen ramessidischen Gräbern NW–SO orientiert. Der Tote wurde in gestreckter Rückenlage beigesetzt, der Schädel liegt im NW; das Gesicht ist leicht nach S gewandt; die Arme liegen seitlich am Körpers. Beigaben wurden nicht mitgegeben. Da die Oberkante der Grabgrube nicht mehr erhalten ist, wäre eine stratigraphische Zuweisung in die spätere Hyksoszeit möglich, wahrscheinlich handelt es sich jedoch um ein ramessidisches Grab.

niert waren (L209, L368, L916, L948, L999, L1255, L1335).31 Solche Gruben konnten bereits 2006 festgestellt werden und bezeugen auf ein Neues die intensive Nutzung des Geländes in dieser Epoche.32 Die Besiedelung erreichte damals fast die gleichen Ausmaße wie Avaris in der 15. Dynastie. EIN TONTAFELFRAGMENT AUS DER DIPLOMATISCHEN KORRESPONDENZ DER HYKSOSHERRSCHER MIT BABYLONIEN Von Frans van Koppen und Karen Radner

Im südlichen Teil der untersuchten Fläche fand sich eine Reihe von perserzeitlichen Vorratsgruben, in denen große Gefäße mit Henkeln depo-

Das hier vorgestellte Tontafelfragment aus Tell elDabca / Avaris ist das bisher älteste bekannte Keilschriftdokument aus Ägypten; es wurde aus einem Brunnen innerhalb eines Palastbezirks der 15. Dynastie geborgen (s. oben Beitrag Bietak/ Forstner-Müller). Obwohl der gesamte Grubenin-

30

32

Vorratsgruben der 27. Dynastie30 (Abb. 35)

31

S. auch BIETAK/FORSTNER-MÜLLER 2006: 66. Die Datierung der Gefäße erfolgte durch David Aston.

Zum Wiederaufschwung dieses Gebietes während der 26. und 27. Dynastie s. FORSTNER-MÜLLER 2009: 12.

116 Manfred Bietak und Irene Forstner-Müller mit einem Beitrag von Frans van Koppen und Karen Radner halt gesiebt wurde, konnten keine weiteren Bruchstücke unserer oder weiterer Tontafeln identifiziert werden. Aufgrund des Fundkontexts und der Natur des Textes – ein Brief, der mittels eines Boten oder einer diplomatischen Mission unter beträchtlichem Kostenaufwand aus dem heutigen Südirak ins Nildelta transportiert werden musste – kann man sicher davon ausgehen, dass es sich nicht um einen Privatbrief handelt, sondern ein Schriftstück aus der diplomatischen Korrespondenz zwischen den babylonischen und ägyptischen Königshöfen. Das Brieffragment ist damit ein direkter Vorläufer der internationalen Briefwechsel der Pharaonen des Neuen Reichs.33 Wie wir sehen werden, liefert das Bruchstück aufgrund seines Duktus sehr wahrscheinlich einen Synchronismus zwischen der letzten Phase der Herrschaft der I. Dynastie von Babylon über Südmesopotamien und der Regierungszeit der ägyptischen Herrscher der 15. Dynastie. Es stellt deshalb ein wertvolles neues Indiz in den Bemühungen um die Etablierung der Chronologie des 2. vorchristlichen Jahrtausends dar. Im folgenden wird für mesopotamische Daten die sogenannte „Mittlere Chronologie“ verwendet, der zufolge die Eroberung Babylons durch hethitische Truppen im Jahr 1595 v. Chr. stattgefunden hätte. Dies ist mit Sicherheit nicht zutreffend, aber das tatsächliche Datum – irgendwann in der zweiten Hälfte des 16. Jahrhunderts v. Chr. – kann nach dem derzeitigen Quellenstand nicht sicher etabliert werden. Nur Neufunde wie das hier vorgestellte Fragment sind in der Lage, die Forschung hier weiter voranzubringen. Physische Beschaffenheit und Tafelformat Das Tontafelbruchstück mit der Inventarnummer TeD 9420 wurde kurz nach seiner Bergung von den beiden Autoren bei einem Besuch auf der Grabung am 14. April 2009 gelesen und kopiert (Abb. 21, 22). Seine erhaltenen Maximalmaße sind 2,0 cm × 1,1 cm × 1,1 cm. Das Fragment stammt von der unteren linken Ecke der Vorderseite einer in akkadischer Keilschrift und Sprache beschriebenen Tontafel, wie aufgrund des erhaltenen linken Tafelrandes und der Wölbung klar ist. Vom Text der Vorderseite sind die Reste von fünf Zeilen erhalten, davon

33

drei Zeilenanfänge. Vom Text auf der linken Tafelkante ist der Anfang der wohl einzigen darauf angebrachten Zeile erhalten, die gleichzeitig die letzte Zeile des Gesamttextes darstellt. Das Format und die Tatsache, dass der linke Tafelrand beschriftet ist, zeigen an, dass es sich um die Innentafel eines Briefes handeln muss. Dieser Befund wird, wie in der Folge zu zeigen ist, auch durch den Textinhalt bestätigt. Sprache, Textgenre und Herkunft Trotz der geringen erhaltenen Textmenge ist klar, dass die Sprache akkadisch ist. Das Wort an åku „ich“ in der Zeile 3’ zeigt zudem, dass es sich bei der Textgattung entweder um einen Brief oder um eine literarische Komposition handelt, denn nur hier ist die erste Person Singular zu erwarten. Das Tafelformat schließt einen literarischen Text aber sicher aus, und damit können wir das Fragment zweifellos als Bruchstück eines Briefes klassifizieren. Aufgrund der Zeichenformen ist klar, dass die Tafel mit einem Griffel aus Schilfrohr geschrieben wurde, was auf eine Abfassung des Briefes in Mesopotamien hinweist: Schreibgriffel aus Holz, Bein oder Metall, wie sie in Anatolien, in der Levante und auch in Ägypten zur Niederschrift von Keilschrift verwendet werden, resultieren in einem optisch ganz andersartigen, viel klobigeren Schriftbild. Es handelt sich um die in Südmesopotamien, also politisch gesehen Babylonien gebräuchliche Schriftform, die sich durch die vertikale Grundhaltung des Schreibgriffels von der nordmesopotamischen Schriftform (mit horizontaler Grundhaltung) unterscheidet. Obwohl also der geringe Textbestand für sich alleine keine Bestimmung des akkadischen Dialektes als babylonisch oder assyrisch erlauben würde, ist aufgrund der Zeichenformen klar, dass der Brief auf babylonisch abgefasst wurde. Dies passt auch zur Tonqualität des Fragments, dessen dunkle Farbe und Feinheit ohne weiteres mit dem bekannten babylonischen Material vergleichbar ist. Datierung Der Duktus der Keilschriftzeichen gestattet eine chronologische Eingrenzung unseres Fragments, denn die Schriftform und die Gestaltung der Tafel haben enge Parallelen in der Schreibpraxis der

18. Dynastie: MORAN 1992; 19. Dynastie: EDEL 1994, JAKOB 2003.

Der Hyksospalast bei Tell el-Dabca. Zweite und Dritte Grabungskampagne (Frühling 2008 und Frühling 2009) 117

spätaltbabylonischen Periode, d.h. der Zeit der Nachfolger Hammurabis von Babylon (1792–1750 v. Chr. nach der „mittleren Chronologie“). Eine zuverlässige nähere chronologische Einordnung gestaltet sich jedoch schwieriger, denn die paläographische Erforschung der Keilschrift ist noch nicht soweit fortgeschritten, dass eine Schreiberhand mit Präzision datiert werden könnte. Es existieren allerdings Vorarbeiten, die jedoch entweder veraltet34 oder noch nicht zum Abschluss gebracht worden sind.35 Innerhalb der Keilschriftforschung existiert bisher nur für die hethitischen Texte eine historische Paläographie, die eine zuverlässige Datierung des Schriftduktus erlaubt.36 Keines der in der hethitischen Paläographie als diagnostisch erkannten Keilschriftzeichen erscheint jedoch in unserem Text. In unserem kleinen Fragment gibt es nur vier Keilschriftzeichen, die für eine paläographische Analyse herangezogen werden können: [a] das Zeichen A in Zeile 3’, [b] das Zeichen I in den Zeilen 2’ und 4’, [c] das Zeichen NA in den Zeilen 2’, 3’ und 4’ and [d] schließlich das Zeichen KU in Zeile 3’. Die beiden Vokalzeichen [a] und [b] unterliegen kaum einer Veränderung und sind deshalb ohne Nutzen für unsere Zwecke. Das Zeichen NA [c] erscheint in der jüngeren Form des altbabylonischen Duktus, die sich ganz deutlich von der älteren, aus wesentlich mehr Keilen zusammengesetzten Form unterscheidet;37 die Vereinfachung dieses Zeichens im Schreibgebrauch kann grob in die Zeit Hammurabis von Babylon datiert werden. Am aussagekräftigsten ist das Zeichen KU [d],38 das in jener einfachen Form aus drei horizontalen Keilen mit nur einem vertikalen Keil am Ende geschrieben ist, wie sie für südmesopotamische Schriftstücke der altbabylonischen Zeit charakteristisch ist: Belege für ganz ähnlich geformte Beispiele des Zeichens KU sind auf Tontafeln mit Datierungen in die Regierungszeit der babylonischen Könige Hammurabi (z.B. BM 93768: Rs. 2 aus Larsa), Samsuiluna (1749–1712 v. Chr.; z. B. BM 17290: Rs. I 16’, II 4’ aus Sippar) und Ammißaduqa (1646–1626 v. Chr.;

z. B. BM 97128: 5, Rs. 4, 7 aus Sippar) belegt (s. die entsprechenden Fotos auf der CDP-Projektwebseite). Die einfache Form mit nur einem vertikalen Keil lässt sich gelegentlich auch in südmesopotamischen Texten der mittelbabylonischen Zeit nachweisen,39 während außerhalb Babyloniens zur gleichen Zeit die Zeichenform mit zwei vertikalen Keilen sehr viel gängiger war.40 Ebenfalls bedeutend für die Datierung ist das allgemeine Schriftbild. In unserem Text wird eine kursive, sehr schmal geschriebene Kurzschrift verwendet. Hier ist einmal das bereits diskutierte Zeichen KU zu nennen, und weiters das Zeichen A, das in seiner einfachsten Form geschrieben ist, nämlich mit zwei ungebrochenen, nebeneinander stehenden horizontalen Keilen anstelle der komplexeren Form mit rechts zwei übereinander gesetzten horizontalen Keilen. Vor allem aus dem reichhaltigen Textmaterials aus Sippar gewinnt man den Eindruck, dass diese Art des Schriftbildes typisch für Schriftstükke der ausklingenden spätaltbabylonischen Zeit ist, d. h. aus den späten Regierungsjahren des Ammißaduqas und der Regierungszeit seines Nachfolgers Samsuditanas, des letzten Herrschers der I. Dynastie von Babylon. Aufgrund der vorangehenden Ausführungen ist nicht nur klar, dass unser Brief bzw. sein Schreiber aus Babylonien stammt, sondern außerdem sehr wahrscheinlich, dass der Text in die Jahrzehnte unmittelbar vor dem Fall von Babylon datiert, der heute einen wichtigen Fixund Endpunkt in der Diskussion um die absolute Chronologie Mesopotamiens und des Mittelmeerraums darstellt. Ein etwas späterer Abfassungszeitpunkt unter einem der ersten Herrscher der nachfolgenden kassitischen Dynastie kann zwar nicht ausgeschlossen werden, da aus dieser Zeit bislang keine Tontafeln bekannt sind, kann eine solche Vermutung in Ermangelung von Belegen aber auch nicht weiter erhärtet werden. Der Duktus der aus der späteren Kassitenzeit erhaltenen Tontafeln aus dem 14. Jh. v. Chr. unterscheidet sich dann bereits deutlich von der

34

36

35

FOSSEY 1926; trotz des allzu unkritischen Ansatzes, der nicht zwischen den verschiedenen Schriftträgern unterscheidet, und der fehlenden Autopsie der Originaltexte noch immer wertvoll. Cuneiform Digital Palaeography [CDP] Project der Universität Birmingham unter der Leitung von A. Livingstone, seit 2004: www.cdp.bham.ac.uk.

37 38 39 40

Mit Verweisen auf weitere Literatur: WILHELM 1984; NEU & RÜSTER 1989. FOSSEY 1926: 142–149. FOSSEY 1926: 960–962. Nr. 249 in der Zeichenliste von CLAY 1906. SCHROEDER 1915: 92 Nr. 202.

118 Manfred Bietak und Irene Forstner-Müller mit einem Beitrag von Frans van Koppen und Karen Radner Schriftform der spätaltbabylonischen Zeit und unseres Fragments. Der Text in Umschrift: Vorderseite Anfang weggebrochen 1’ [x] × × [...] 2’ [k]i-i na-[…] 3’ a-na-ku × [ …]

4’ i-na […] unterer Tafelrand 5’ ªa-na¬ [...] Rest weggebrochen linker Tafelrand x [...]

Z 2’: Wohl die Konjunktion k• „weil; wenn“ Z 3’: anåku: „ich“

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Fish, Ringstands, Nudes and Hippos – A Preliminary Report on Pit Complex L81, Ä&L 19, 19–90.

BIETAK, M. 2003

Temple or „Bêt Marzea5“, 155–168, in: W.G. DEVER & S. GITIN (Hgb.), Symbiosis, Symbolism, and the Power of the Past. Canaan, Ancient Israel, and Their Neighbors from the Late Bronze Age through Roman Palaestina. Proceedings of the Centennial Symposium W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research and American Schools of Oriental Research. Jerusalem, May 29–31, 2000, Winona Lake, Indiana.

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Neue Paläste aus der 18. Dynastie, 131–168, in: P. JÁNOSI (Hg.), Structure and Significance, Bau und Bedeutung, (Festschrift für Dieter Arnold), UZK 25.

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CLAY, A.T. 1906

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Die Tontafeln von El-Amarna, zweiter Teil. Vorderasiatische Schriftdenkmäler der Königlichen Museen zu Berlin 12, Leipzig.

WILHELM, G. 1984 Zur Paläographie der in Ägypten geschriebenen Keilschriftbriefe, SAK 11, 643–653.

A CHIEF OF THE BOWMEN, OVERSEER OF THE FOREIGN LANDS AT SERABIT EL-KHADIM (SINAI 300+297) AND THE “DWELLING OF SESU” (TELL EL-BORG)* By Meindert Dijkstra STELA SINAI 300+297 Recent archaeological research of the area northeast of el-Qantara Sharq, in particular excavations at Tell el-Hebua I, Tell el-Borg and Tell el-Herr because of the threat posed to the sites by the AsSalaam irrigation and land-reclamation project, greatly increased our knowledge of the cities and fortresses along the estuary of the Pelusaic branch of the Nile and the ‘The Ways of Horus’.1 This article is a contribution to this research based on my reconstruction of the stela Sinai 300+2972 from Serabit el-Khadim. Though nowadays kept in different collections, the fragments form part of the same stela. Sinai No 297 shows clearly the missing foot of the godhead on Sinai 300 and the lower

* This article is part of my investigations of the Temple and monuments of Serabit el-Khadim in preparation for a Corpus of Proto-Sinaitic Inscriptions, which unfortunately has been interrupted and subsequently delayed for a number of years; see also M. DIJKSTRA, Semitic Worship at Serabit el-Khadim (Sinai), ZAH 10 (1997), 89–97; idem. An early Alphabetic Ostracon from the Stables in Qantir (Egypt), Biblische Notizen 135 (2007) 1–5. 1 Still fundamental is A. GARDINER, The ancient military road between Egypt and Palestine, JEA 6 (1920) 99–116; see further E.D. OREN, The “Way of Horus” in North Sinai, in A.F. RAINEY (Ed.), Egypt, Israel and Sinai. Archaeological and Historical Relationships in the Biblical Period (Tel Aviv 1987) 69–119; M. ABD EL-MAKSOUD, Tell Heboua (1981–1991). Enquête archéologique sur la Deuxième Période Intermédiaire et le Nouvel Empire à l’extrémité orientale du Delta (Paris 1998); J.K. HOFFMEIER & M. ABD EL-MAKSOUD, A New Military Site on ‘the Ways of Horus’- Tell el-Borg 1999–2001: A preliminary Report*, JEA 89 (2003) 169–197; M. ABD EL-MAKSOUD & D.VALBELLE, Tell Héboua-Tjarou. L’apport des l’épigraphie, RdE 56 (2005) 1–44; J.K. HOFFMEIER and R.D. BULL, New Inscriptions mentioning Tjaru from Tell el-Borg North Sinai, RdE 56 (2005) 79–94; J.K. HOFFMEIER, “The Walls of the Ruler” in Egyptian Literature and the Archaeological Record: Investigating Egypt’s Eastern Frontier in the Bronze Age, BASOR 343 (2006),1–20; J.K. HOFFMEIER, The North Sinai Archaeological Project’s Excavations at Tell el-Borg (Sinai): An example of the “New” Biblical Archaeology? In: J.K. HOFFMEIER & A.R. MILLARD, The Future of Biblical Archaeology. Reassessing Ägypten und Levante/Egypt and the Levant 19, 2009, 121–125 © 2009 by Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien

part of his wAs-sceptre and the ‘join’ completely restores the figure of the worshipper (Fig.1). The fragments of Nubian sandstone represent the right half of a stela of the common wD-type with rounded top. The official stands on the left before the god Amun-Re, his hands raised in prayer. Between them is the full name of the god and below them the remains of a horizontal inscription of two lines. The left half is unfortunately missing, but it is reasonable to assume that the scene was mirrored by another similar scene of worship: in front of the deity: 1) Imn nb nsw.t tAwy 2) tA! at %sw3 Amun, Lord of the thrones of the two lands (in) the ‘Dwelling of Sesu’

2

3

Methodologies and Assumptions (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Cambridge, UK) 2004, 53–66; J.K. HOFFMEIER, Recent excavations on the Ways of Horus. The 2005 and 2006 Seasons at Tell el-Borg, ASAE 80 (2006) 257–279; J.K. HOFFMEIER & K.A. KITCHEN, Reshep and Astarte in North Sinai. A Recently discovered stela from Tell el-Borg, Ä&L 17 (2007) 127–136. I thank James Hoffmeier for a copy of the last two articles and the insights in EgyptianLevantine history and archaeology we shared during the SBL conference July Vienna 2007. Fragment Sinai 300 (18 cm × 15 cm) in the McClean Museum, Greenock, no 43, was sold in the sixties with other Aegyptica, its present whereabouts are unknown (information G.A. Woods assistant curator, March 2009); fragment Sinai 297 (13 cm × 15 cm) is published in A.H. GARDINER, T.E.PEET and J. CERNY, The inscriptions of Sinai Part II Translations and Commentary (London 1955) 193 with the comment ‘present whereabouts unknown’ – is now in the Edwards Collection 14304 in the Petrie-Museum of University College London (my own observation 1994); see also: H.M. STEWART, Egyptian Stelae, Reliefs and Paintings from the Petrie Collection I, London 1976, 45, pl. 35.5. The join that I propose here (Fig. 1), could therefore not be tested and still needs physical confirmation, but size, form, colour and layout of the scene leave little doubt. Though the writing of the topographic name is somewhat irregular, comparison with tA at n %sw on the ‘map’ of Seti I and in pAn I 27:2ff confirms identification. The inscription pAn V 23:7ff also omits the preposition, see GARDINER, JEA 6 (1920) 106.

122 Meindert Dijkstra

Figure 1 Sinai 297+300

Inscription below: 1) iAw nk pA–Raw n* [ ] Praise to thee, O Re of (?) [Ramesses Meriamun ?]4 2) xAy(?) Hry pD.t* imy-r xAs.wt n nb tAwy [ Appearing to(?) the chief of the bowmen*, overseer of the foreign lands for the Lord of the two lands, [ N.N., true of voice? ] In view of the topographic name tA at (n) %sw ‘Dwelling of Sesu’ and also in view of the dress of the official on the stela, it is datable to the 19th Dynasty. ‘Sese/u’ is known to be a shortened form for Ramesses II. After Tjaru / Sile at the border of Sinai, it is most probably the second station / fortress on the

4

5

6

A similar formula of praise: iAw nk appears also on a Ramesside door jamb at Beth-Sean. Preserved also as Shihor in the Old Testament Josh. 13:3; 1 Chron. 13:5; Isa. 23:3. For a summary view of this military road and its fortresses, see Appendix. Eileen HIRSCH, Die Beziehungen der Ägyptischen Residenz im Neuen Reich zu den vorderasiatischen Vasallen. Die Vorsteher der nördliche Fremdländer und ihre Stellung bei Hofe, in: R. GUNDLACH & A. KLUG, Der ägyptischen Hof des Neuen Reiches. Seine Gesellschaft und

military road between Egypt and Canaan, also known as ‘the Way(s) of Horus’.5 Recent discoveries demonstrate almost beyond doubt that Tel el-Hebua/Hebwe I and II covered the ancient frontier city Tjaru of the New Kingdom (Late Bronze Age), so that the next military site that revealed the remains of two successive fortresses, Tell el-Borg is a plausible candidate for ‘The Dwelling of the Lion (Seti I)’, subsequently renamed ‘the Dwelling of Sesu (Ramesses II)’. Most probably, the fortress possessed also a chapel for Amun-Re and his consort Mut. Excavations of this site produced not only architectural remains from the 18th Dynasty (door jambs from the time of Amenhotep II), but also the 19th Dynasty (a door jamb of Ramesses II) and perhaps even the 20th Dynasty. This ‘Amun-Re of the Thrones of the Two Lands’, worshipped at this place, is also mentioned on stela Sinai 300+297 from Serabit el-Khadim (Fig. 1). Eileen Hirsch identified the worshipper and sponsor of Sinai 297 with the ‘overseer of the foreign lands of the Lord of the Two Lands’, Usikhau, who also appears on the fragment Sinai 294,6 dated in the 5th year of a pharaoh not named. Identification of the official on this stela with Usikhau is however far from certain. Sinai 294 most probably belongs to the assemblage of monuments and architectural restorations of the temple in Year 5, second month of the summer, ordered by Ramesses IV (1142–1135 BCE).7 If so, stele Sinai 300+297 must belong to another ‘overseer of the foreign lands of the Lord of the Two Lands’ despite the similarity in titles, since the restored stela would place this official somewhere in the reign of ‘Sesu’, i.e. Ramesses II. Perhaps, we may link him now to ‘the royal scribe and army commander’ Pa-mer-i∆u from the early years of Ramesses II, who was also a ‘overseer of foreign lands’, according to a monument made by his son Merenptah.8

7

Kultur in Spannungsfeld zwischen Innen- und Aussenpolitik. Akten des Internationalen Kolloquiums vom 27.–29. Mai 2002 an der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz (Wiesbaden 2006) 150. In particular, Sinai 275–288, 311, see HIRSCH, Die Vorsteher, 150; TH. HIKADE, Das Expeditionswesen im ägyptischen Neuen Reich – ein Beitrag zu Rohstoffversorgung und Außenhandel (Studien zur Archäologie und Geschichte des Alten Ägypten 21, Heidelberg, 2001) 185.

A Chief of the bowmen, overseer of the foreign lands at Serabit el-Khadim (Sinai 300+297) 123

Hirsch rightly stresses the importance of this official in charge for the northern provinces of the empire under the 18th and 19th Dynasty. Therefore, the connection between this frontier area and Serabit is no coincidence. The texts of Serabit el-Khadim mention several individuals who have a relation with the area around Tjaru and with the city itself. For instance a HAty-a n *Arw ‘mayor of Tjaru, Neby’ is mentioned in an inscription adjoining Mine E from the 4th year of Tuthmoses IV.9 There is also a Hry pDt n *Arw ‘a commander of the bowmen of Tjaru’ and officials from other fortresses along the ‘Ways of Horus’ left their memorials in Serabit. There is a Hry pDt n tA hnmt Ra-ms-sw-Mry-Imn, Amenemope (Sinai 247W Seti I Year 8; Sinai 252b Ramesses II Year 2, Sinai 260 Ramesses II (mentions also his 17th son Meri-Atum), Sinai 261 Ramesses II). This fortress was most probably identical to Gardiner’s fortress M, tA hnmt Sety Merenptah but was early in Ramesses’ II reign renamed after him like Tell el-Borg.10 This fortress probably housed some infantry and cavalry from a division of the Amun army.11 As Gardiner/Peet already remarked about the changes during the New Empire, in particular the 19th Dynasty in Serabit: “Doubtless for military purposes Sinai was regarded as an appanage of the north-east frontier and the great military road into Asia.”12 It is therefore not surprising to find several such high officials in charge of the northern lands including Sinai, such as Pamerikhu, Sethnakht and Usikhau in the records of Serabit.

8

9 10

HIRSCH, Die Vorsteher, 141. It is tempting to relate him to the official Muarihu in letter RS 15.11 (PRU 3, 19) written to the governor of the city of Ugarit. If so, the Egyptian ¢é-xé-a or ¢é-ya! mentioned in this letter cannot be the Egyptian Vizier and governor of Canaan, Khaya, who was probably active in the 27th–50th years of Ramesses II, K.A. KITCHEN, Pharaoh Triumphant. The Life and Times of Ramesses II (Cairo 1982), Chart 2; idem, Ramesside Inscriptions: Translated and Annotated Volume III (London 2001), 27–31; I SINGER, A Political History of Ugarit, in: W.G.E. WATSON & N. WYATT, Handbook of Ugaritic Studies (HOS 39, Leiden 1999) 716; Y. GOREN, N. NAAMAN, H MOMMSEN, I. FINKELSTEIN, Provenance Study and Re-evaluation of the Cuneiform documents from the Egyptian Residency at Tel Apheq, Ä&L 16 (2006) 169. ABD EL-MAKSOUD & VALBELLE, RdÉ 56 (2005) 21. Another ‘commander of the bowman Ta[ ]’ is mentioned in an intrusive inscription on a squatting statuette with stela from Tell el-Hebua No 22 originally

IDENTIFYING THE SITE LION / SESU”

OF

“THE DWELLING OF

THE

Gardiner et al. identified Biblical Migdol and classical Magdolo (Herodotus, Antonine Itinerary etc) with Tell el-Herr seven Roman miles south west of Pelusium.13 More recent archaeological discoveries and Biblical criticism made this identification doubtful.14 According to E. Oren, the fortress Tell el-Kedua = T 21 might be 7th Century BCE, Saitic and Biblical Migdol (Jeremiah, Ezechiel). Excavation of Tell el-Herr produced material remains only from the Persian Period onwards. Apparently, it was established after the Saitic fortress was abandoned or destroyed (perhaps in 525 after Cambysus’ battle at Pelusium). Gardiner noted another objection to this identification: the equal distance of 12 Roman mile (ca 17,6 km) that Migdol was said to be between Sile and Pelusium, according to the Antonine Itinerary. The problem is even more complicated, because of the discovery that the coastline from the Roman-Byzantine Period differed considerably from the estuary of the Pelusaic Branch of the Nile with its large Palaeolagoon in the 2nd Millennium BCE. Large deposits of Nile silt moved this line several kilometers to the north and even further after the construction of the Suez Canal. It is feasible to assume that cities, villages and fortresses migrated but also other natural aspects of this wetlands were influenced by changes in the course of this branch of the Nile and the coastline. In recent

11

12 13

14

belonging to a: snny n hm=f ‘chariot archer of his majesty Nehem-sou-Hor’ and a dyade statuette from Tell el-Hebua No 21 of Hry pDt pA-sr ‘commander of the bowmen, Paser’ and his wife Henout, see ABD ELMAKSOUD & VALBELLE, RdE 56 (2005) 16–21. See from Tell el-Borg the small door-shield (TBO X27 13.5 × 11.0 × 5.0) ir.n tAi-haw #a ‘made by the weaponsbearer, Kha’ from the regiment / division Imn xa nt n Wsr-mAat-ra %tp-n-ra di anx mi Ra Dt ‘Amun appears gloriously and victorious for User-maat-Re Setpen-Re, given life like Re for ever’. GARDINER & PEET, Inscriptions of Sinai II, 20. Gardiner followed by Eißfeldt, Cazelles and others; see the discussion with E.D. OREN, Migdol: A New Fortress on the Edge of the Eastern Nile Delta, BASOR 256 (1984) 7–44; esp. 30–35. OREN, BASOR 256 (1984) 30–35, B.E. SCOLNIC, A New Working Hypothesis for the Identification of Migdol, in: HOFFMEIER & MILLARD, The Future of Biblical Archaeology, 91–120, esp. 109–110.

124 Meindert Dijkstra years, it was established beyond doubt that original Egyptian Tjaru was hidden in Tell el-Hebua I and II, whereas Tell Abu Sefeh was the more recent site of Roman-Byzantine Sile. The distance between Tell Abu Sefeh and Tell el-Herr is indeed about 16.5 km, that is close to the 12 Roman Miles of the Antonine Itinerary. It suggests that ancient Pelusium should be sought somewhat further along the coast to the east and not only in modern Tell Beluza. Old and new surveys and excavations have shown that the Roman-Byzantine coastal town of Pelusium comprised a rather widely spread conglomerate of residential and industrial areas, among which are also Tell el-Makhzan, Tell el-Kanais and perhaps even Muhammediah at Lake Bardawil. Initially, archaeological fieldwork seemed to confirm the identification of Tell el-Hebua with ‘The dwelling of the Lion’. Gardiner had suggested to identify ‘The dwelling of the Lion’ from Seti’s battle scenes in Karnak with this tell. The place was also known from pAnastasi I and V as ‘The dwelling of Sesu / Ramesses Meri-Amun’, that is renamed after Ramesses II.15 As I have shown, this fortress is also mentioned on stela Sinai 297+300, dedicated by an unfortunately unknown ‘overseer of the (northern) foreign lands’, among which Sinai was counted. He dedicated the stela to ‘Amun(-Re), Lord of the thrones of both lands’.

15

16

17

GARDINER, JEA 6 (1920) 106; see further M. ABD ELMAKSOUD, Une nouvelle forteresse sur la Route d’Horus: Tell Heboua 1986 (Nord-Sinaï), CRIPEL 9 (1987), 13–16; idem, Excavations on “The Ways of Horus” Tell Heboua North Sinai (1986–87), Discussion in Egyptology special number 1 (1989) 175; because of the discovery of a limestone architrave and an octagonal pillar and abacus with cartouches of Seti I, see D. VALBELLE et al., Reconnaissance archéologique à la pointe orientale du Delta. Rapport préliminaire sur le saisons 1990 et 1991, CRIPEL 14 (1992) 1–12, esp. 18 fig. 4; pl.1B; K.A. KITCHEN, Egyptians and Hebrews, from Ra’amses to Jericho, in: S. AHITUV & E.D. OREN, The Origin of Early Israel – current Debate, (Beer-Sheva XII, Jerusalem 1998) 70–71. HOFFMEIER & M ABD EL-MAKSOUD, JEA 89 (2003) 169–197 esp. 171 n. 10, 195–197; ABD EL-MAKSOUD & VALBELLE, RdE 56 (2005) 1–44; SCOLNIC, Migdol, 91–120. HOFFMEIER & ABD EL-MAKSOUD. JEA 89 (2003) 196; HOFFMEIER & KITCHEN, Ä&L 17 (2007) 12 n 2 notes that excavations during the spring and summer of 2007 have shown that Heboua II too is a part of the Tjaru military complex; Tell el-Ghaba lies ca 7 km further on the dunes north-east of the Palaeolagoon. Settlement from the 19th

More recent discoveries include many more artefacts which put the identification of Tell el-Hebua I and II with the New Kingdom frontier city of Tjaru beyond doubt.16 Though Tell el-Hebua I en II were divided by a branch of the Nile, on the relief of Seti I indicated as tA dnit ‘The Dividing Water’, they were part of the same city and centre of an urban area.17 In de ‘Map’ of Seti I, Tjaru is written on the part of the city left of ‘The Dividing Water’, that is on the southern bank of the mouth of the Nile. Scolnic still pleaded for Tell el-Borg = Migdol, but could not exclude the equally plausible option for the ‘Dwelling of the Lion’. Palaeogeological investigations discovered beyond Tell elHebua the continuation of the ancient coast-line interrupted by a large lagoon, seemingly part of the estuary of this Nile branch. It indicated that the road to Tell el-Ghaba ended there and that, at the junction of Tell el-Heboua I–II, the main road to Sinai turned south-east along Tell el-Borg and the southern side of the lagoon. This suggests, however, that the next station on the military road ‘The Dwelling of the Lion / Sesu’ should be identified with the fortress of Tell elBorg, a site a few kilometres east of New Qantara and 3 km north of the Road to El-Arish, as it was also finally proposed by Hoffmeier himself.18 If so, the fortress pA mktr n Mn-mAat-ra which after Seti I was renamed by Seti II en Ramesses III, but also was

18

Dynasty until the Byzantine Period is attested (CRIPEL 14 (1992),18), for the greater part lower-class living quarters and graveyards (ca 11 hectare). The ceramic repertoire with its Mediterranean imports strongly resembles that of Tel Hebua II. It was not an independent city but a kind of suburb of Tjaru, perhaps a kind of harbour quarter or a base of the Egyptian Navy (Ramses III Medinet Habu). The letter of pAn V 23:7–25:2 also suggests the presence of harbour facilities close to this ‘Dwelling of Sesu / Rameses Meri-Amun’. See GARDINER, JEA 6 (1920) 106–107. J.K. HOFFMEIER & S.O. MOSHIER, New PalaeoEnvironmental Evidence from North Sinai to Complement Manfred Bietak’s Map of the Eastern Delta and some Historical Implications, in E. CZERNY et al. (eds), Timelines: Studies in Honour of Manfred Bietak, OLA 149.2 (Leuven, 2006), 167–176, esp. 171–173. For the identification of Tell el-Borg, Hoffmeier and Abd el-Maksoud initially suggested a choice between ‘the Dwelling of the Lion’ or ‘Migdol etc.’ (JEA 89 (2003) 196; also in 2002 and 2006), but in later studies Hoffmeier took for the first option; see references note 1, to which may be added: J.K. HOFFMEIER, The Search for Migdol of the New Kingdom and Exodus 14:2: An Update, Buried History 44 (2008) 3–12 esp. 9.

A Chief of the bowmen, overseer of the foreign lands at Serabit el-Khadim (Sinai 300+297) 125

briefly known as Migdol,19 should be looked for a bit further along the road to Canaan. Hoffmeier suggested the disappeared Tell T 78.20 The ‘map’ of Seti I seems to suggest that the fortress of Migdol is situated somewhere along the coast past the (Palaeo)lagoon. However, identification with either T-21 = Tell el-Kedua or Tell el-Herr less plausible. T 21 = Tel el-Kadua, for the last originated in de Saitic Period as part of the line of defence against the Babylonians and Persians, similar to

fortresses such as Tell el-Maskhuta in Wadi Tumilat. It could have been the Migdol of the 7th and 6th Century mentioned in the Books of Jeremiah and Ezechiel. In the Persian Period this Migdol was succeeded by Persian-Hellenistic-Roman Migdol / Magdolo = Tell el-Herr, slightly further inland from the coast, but its predecessor in the 2nd Millennium is as yet not identifiable with one of the known tells in the area, though Tell Abyad (2007) may turn out to be a plausible option.21

Appendix: Survey of the fortresses and wells along the military road ‘Way(s) of Horus’

19

20

GARDINER, JEA 6 (1920) 107–110; also in Amarna letter EA 234, see SCOLNIC, Migdol, 104–105; HOFFMEIER, Buried History 44 (2008) 7–8. But see now HOFFMEIER, Buried History 44 (2008) 9–10 where he says that T-78 is too small to be the location of a fort and now suggests the site of T-211.

21

OREN, BASOR 256 (1984) 35; see now provisionally D. VALBELLE and F. LECLÈRE, Tell Abyad: a royal Ramesside residence, Egyptian Archaeology 32 (2008), but see also HOFFMEIER, Buried History 44 (2008) 9–10.

THE WHITE SLIP WARES FROM TELL EL-DABcA FROM THE PALACE DISTRICT AT cEZBET HELMI (AREAS H/III AND H/VI) By Perla Fuscaldo

INTRODUCTION Some Cypriote White Slip sherds have been found in Tell el-Dabca/Avaris, in the palace district at cEzbet Helmi (areas H/III and H/VI), during the excavations carried out by the Austrian Archaeological Institute in Cairo under the direction of M. BIETAK, between 1998 and 2005.1 These are sherds from twelve “milk bowls”2 of the early styles, six clearly belong to the Proto White Slip ware, four to the White Slip I, and two to the White Slip indeterminate ware (Graphs I to IV). The PWS sherds (Nos. 1 to 6) have appeared in pottery contexts of the relative strata f and e/2,3 dated to the late Hyksos Period (Phase D/2),4 and e/1, from the beginning of the 18th Dynasty (Phase D/1). The WS I sherds (Nos. 7 to 10) have been found in contexts of strata d (Phase C/3) and c (Phase C/2) from the Palace G (early-middle 18th Dynasty, time of Thutmose III),5 except No. 10, which comes from a context of stratum b/3 (Phase C/1) onwards that only can be dated

1

2

3

On the preliminary reports of the excavations: BIETAK, DORNER und JÁNOSI 2001, 27–100; and BIETAK und FORSTNER-MÜLLER 2005, 65–100. These so-called “milk bowls” were serving dishes, used to serve hot, cooked meals of meat and vegetables prepared with vegetable oil and potherbs, and to drink pine-resin-flavoured wine. C.W. BECK, E.C. STOUT, K.M. WOVKULICH, V. KARAGEORGHIS and E. ALOUPI 2004. 13–44, especially 17–18. The relative strata at cEzbet Helmi are dated by BIETAK to the following periods: Phase (Tell el-Dabca)

Stratum c ( Ezbet Helmi) stratum g stratum f stratum e/2 stratum e/1.2 stratum e/1.1

Phase D/2

Late Hyksos period

Phase D/1.2 Phase D/1.1

th Early 18 Dynasty

stratum d

Phase C/3

Early–middle 18th Dynasty

stratum c

Phase C/2

(Thutmose III, 1478–1425 BC)*

Egyptian chronology

between the late 18th Dynasty and recent times. Nos. 11 and 12, found in an early 18th Dynasty context (Phase D/1) and in an early-middle 18th Dynasty context (Phase C/2) respectively, could probably be classified as PWS the first one and WS I the second, for the quality of the slip and of the decoration, although the pattern cannot be determinate because of the small part preserved. No White Slip II ware6 has appeared in these contexts. All these Cypriote sherds are described in the Catalogue, below. Other White Slip sherds from cEzbet Helmi (areas H/I–V) and from the tell (areas A/II, A/N, A/IV and A/V) were already published by M. BIETAK and I. HEIN.7 From these thirty-two sherds, ten have been classified as PWS ware, ten as WS I, four as WS indeterminate and four as WS II. Stratum COMMENTARY ( Ezbet Helmi) c

Phase c (Tell el-Dab a)

Egyptian chronology

The White Slip bowls from cEzbet Helmi were reconstructed from sherds. They are medium size

4

5

6

7

stratum b/3

Phase C/1

stratum b/2

Phase B/3

stratum b/1

Phase B/2

) Amenophis III and Amarna period th Late 18 Dynasty (Tutankhamun and Horemheb) Ramesside period

The Phase D/2 finished with the Ahmose occupation of Avaris, ca. 1530 BC according to M. Bietak. On the pottery typology of Phases D/1 to C/3, see FUSCALDO 2007, 301–316, in: BIETAK and CZERNY (eds.) 2007. The stratum c pottery contexts from H/III and H/VI are currently studied by David Aston. WS II ware from original contexts was found only in assemblages on top of the strata of the 18th Dynasty at the palace complex (BIETAK, Introduction and chronological implications, 171–174, in: BIETAK and HEIN 2001, in: KARAGEORGHIS (ed.) 2001. BIETAK and HEIN 2001, 171–194, in: KARAGEORGHIS (ed.) 2001.

* BIETAK refers only to the Tuthmosides period. On the stratigraphy of cEzbet Helmi: BIETAK and FORSTNER-MÜLLER 2005, 65–100, especially the table on p. 68.

Ägypten und Levante/Egypt and the Levant 19, 2009, 127–138 © 2009 by Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien

128 Perla Fuscaldo bowls of hemispherical body (Nos. 3 to 6, and 10) with a horizontal wishbone handle (Nos. 5 8 and 7). The exterior and interior surface has been covered with a thick white slip, burnished with a pebble, and decorated outside with a painted monochrome or bichrome pattern, except No. 6 that is plain white. The shaping technique is hand-made, the groundmass is of medium quality and the fabric quite sandy and coarse; the walls are thin, between 0.25 and 0.35 cm. The bowls have inverted direct rims (Nos. 3 to 6, 9 to 10), with a diameter between 16 and 18 cm. Only one (No. 12) has an everted rim. The height is 6.1 cm and the base round, partially preserved, in the only vessel whose complete section could be reconstructed (No. 9). Proto White Slip ware (Nos. 1 to 6)9

The bowls No. 1 to No. 4 have been found in contexts from the late Hyksos period (Phase D/2). No. 5 (Fig. 1e, Plate 1e; Inv. No. 9070Y1–2) is the rim and body sherd from another bowl, 17 cm diameter and more than 5.8 cm high. A horizontal wavy line around the rim, two horizontal rope lattice bands on the body, and a wavy line in the attachment of the handle have been painted in reddish brown and reddish yellow on a very pale brown slip. The “plain white” milk bowl (No. 6, Fig. 1f, Plate 1f; Inv. No. 9070W1–5), 16 cm of rim diameter and more than 5.5 cm high, has a white (10YR 8/1) slip burnished with a pebble outside and inside, with low lustre. It is the only example of this style recovered in the site. No. 5 and No. 6 have been found in contexts of the early 18th Dynasty (Phase D/1).

The PWS appears in two styles, “rope lattice” and “plain white”. The fabric has quartz and crushed limestone particles as inclusions, and fires brown to greyish brown or grey. The “rope lattice” motif decorates the bowls Nos. 1 to 5. A horizontal wavy line around the rim and horizontal rope lattice bands on the body have been painted on a very pale brown slip, pebble burnished with low lustre. The decoration has a bichrome effect, reddish brown and reddish yellow, or brown and yellowish brown. No. 3 (Fig. 1c, Plate 1c; Inv. No. 8966Y1–8) is one of the most complete bowls, 16 cm of rim diameter and more than 8.5 cm high. A horizontal wavy line around the rim, three horizontal rope lattice bands below, vertical rope lattice bands and the frontal “eye and nose” decoration have been painted in brown and yellowish brown, on the very pale brown slip.10 The body sherds of other bowls, No. 1 (Fig. 1a, Plate 1a; Inv. No. 8967A2) and No. 2 (Fig. 1b, Plate 1b; Inv. No. 8967A1), preserved only the horizontal “rope lattice” motif in reddish brown and reddish yellow. No. 4 (Fig. 1d, Plate 1d; Inv. No. 9070Y3) is the rim sherd from a bowl, 17 cm diameter. A horizontal wavy line around the rim and a horizontal rope lattice band on the body, reddish brown and reddish yellow, have been painted on the very pale brown slip.

It is attested in two decoration styles, “framed lozenge” and “rope lattice”, painted on a very pale brown, pinkish white or pink slip, pebble burnished with lustre generally low. Quartz and crushed limestone particles were included in the groundmass, which fired brown to reddish brown or dark grey interior and reddish brown exterior. No. 9 (Fig. 2c; Inv. No. 8945G1–8) is a milk bowl of which the complete section could be reconstructed. It has a rim of 17 cm, a maximum diameter of 17.2 cm, 9.8 cm of height, and 175 of vessel index. A horizontal wavy line around the rim, a chain of lozenges framed by two bands below, and a vertical ladder motif on the body, have been painted in red and yellowish red on very pale brown slip. The context where it has been found is dated to the early–middle 18th Dynasty (stratum c = Phase C/2). To the same style belongs No. 8 (Fig. 2b, Plate 1i; Inv. No. 8967B), a body sherd from a bowl with a vertical lozenge pattern framed by two parallel lines, painted in brown and reddish yellow on a white slip. It also has been found in an early–middle 18th Dynasty context (stratum d = Phase C/3). The bowl No. 10 (Fig. 2d, Plate 1h; Inv. No. 9071N), 16 cm of rim diameter, belongs to the

8

10

9

Only the swelling of the handle is preserved. Fig. 1 and Plate 1.

White Slip I ware (Nos. 5 to 10)11

11

Similar to the bowl from Akhera (Tomb I.85), published by POPHAM 1972, fig. LXXIX, 3. Figs. 1–2 and Plate 1.

The White Slip Wares from Tell el-Dabca from the Palace District at cEzbet Helmi (Areas H/III and H/VI) 129

“rope lattice” style, with a horizontal rope lattice band around the rim and a vertical one? on the body, painted in reddish yellow on a pink slip. This example has no wavy line below the rim. It comes from a recent artificial accumulation of sand, dated to the late 18th Dynasty onwards (Phase C/1 to recent times). The only wishbone handle that is preserved (No. 7, Fig. 2a; Inv. No. 8907Y) has been painted with four parallel lines and a wavy line alongside, in dark grey on a very pale brown slip. It has been found in an early–middle 18th Dynasty context (Phase C/3).12 Proto White Slip? and White Slip I? The decorative motif on the bowls Nos. 11 and 12 13 cannot be determinate because the small part preserved. From the first one, No. 11 (Fig. 2e; Inv. No. 9070X1–2), only two sherds have been recovered, one of them has a horizontal and a vertical band painted in reddish brown and reddish yellow on a pinkish white slip (7.5YR 8/2). They have been found in a context from the early 18th Dynasty (Phase D/1). From the second one, No. 12 (Fig. 2f, Plate 1g; Inv. No. 8967C1–2), only a small sherd has preserved the decoration: a wavy line below the rim outside and a vertical straight line inside, painted in brown-strong brown on a very pale brown slip. It is a bowl with an everted direct rim of 17 cm. It has been found in a context from the early–middle 18th Dynasty (Phase C/2). CONCLUSIONS At Tell el-Dabca, the PWS ware appears only in the absolute Phase D/2. Therefore it is associated

12

13 14

15

16

The stratum d pottery from this locus includes: Nile E4 fabric, red polished bowls with everted direct rims or inverted rims, small bowls with red-slipped and burnished interior surface, some Marl C sherds from zirs, two sherds from a “Classic” Kerma beaker “(blacktopped red polished ware”; Inv. No. 8929L1–2), and an Egyptian imitation of a Kerma pot (Inv. No. 8930C). The last two vessels were published in FUSCALDO 2002, 167–186. Fig. 2e and Plate 1e. Probably until stratum C. BIETAK and HEIN 2001, 171–194, in: KARAGEORGHIS (ed.) 2001. On the WS ware in Canaan, see OREN 2001, 127–144, in: KARAGEORGHIS (ed.) 2001. There is no WS I in Canaan before the Late Bronze I, or in Egypt before the beginning of the 18th Dynasty,

with the late Hyksos period, which finished around 1530 BC with the conquest of Avaris by Ahmose. It continues during the early 18th Dynasty.14 The attested styles are “rope lattice” and “plain white”. PWS is also documented in Canaan at the end of the Middle Bronze IIC.15 WS I appears in Cyprus in the Late Cypriote IA period, and in Egypt only at the beginning of the 18th Dynasty.16 It is associated with other diagnostic Late Cypriote wares, such as WP V and WP VI, Cypriote wheel-made BI and BR I.17 At Tell elDabca, WS I has been already found in contexts from the early 18th Dynasty, it means after 1530 BC,18 although the milk bowls published in this article that were classified as WS I come from strata d and c (= Phase C/3 and C/2; early–middle 18th Dynasty), and not before. But the WS I examples from other areas of cEzbet Helmi and from the tell are dated, for the contexts, to the beginning of the 18th Dynasty (Phase D/1). This is in concordance with the evidences from other Eastern Mediterranean sites: WS I is reported at the beginning of the Late Bronze IA, and is usually associated with diagnostic Late Cypriote wares. It became more popular by the early–middle 18th Dynasty. The PWS decorative style attested at Tell elDabca is “rope lattice”, with a wavy line at the rim and a pair of vertical rope lattices between the horizontal bands on the body. The WS I styles are “framed lozenge” and “rope lattice”; no “wavy line” or “dotted row” styles had appeared in this site. This is a situation similar to that at Tell elcAjjul, where the “framed lozenge” and the “rope lattice” styles are the most frequent, and the “wavy line”19 and the “dotted row”20 very rare. According

17

18

19

20

except at Tell el-cAjjul. It seems that an “early” WS I began to appear in Canaan in the same period as PWS, before the fully developed, normal styles of WS I, which arrived during the Late Bronze I. There is evidence from Cyprus for a gradual stylistic development from PWS to WS I (BERGOFFEN 2001, 145–155, and discussions on p.159, in: KARAGEORGHIS (ed.) 2001). BIETAK and HEIN 2001, 171–174, in: KARAGEORGHIS (ed.) 2001. BIETAK and HEIN 2001, 171–194, in: KARAGEORGHIS (ed.) 2001. On the Bichorme ware from Tell el-Dabca: BIETAK 2001, 175–202, and HEIN 2001, 231–247, in: ÅSTRÖM (ed.) 2001. POPHAM 1972, fig. LXXX, 2; BERGOFFEN 2003, fig. 3, in: BIETAK (ed.) 2003. POPHAM 1972, fig. LXXX, 4.

130 Perla Fuscaldo to Celia Bergoffen, who compared the decoration of the WS ware from Tell el-cAjjul with that from Cypriote sites, it is highly probably that a large part of the assemblages of PWS and WS I from Tell el-cAjjul derived from NW Cyprus, and this points to the existence of a regionally-based trade.21 This affirmation can also be applied to the WS ware from Tell el-Dabca.

Field reference: H/VI-x/18, Pl. 5, L5017 (from the section; 4.30 m E, 8 m N, 30 cm deep), stratum e/2. Find No. 7; from C-9276. Phase D/2 (late Hyksos period).

CATALOGUE22

Rim and body fragments; rim 7/32 preserved. Reconstructed shape; mended; hemispherical bowl; inverted direct rim. Rd: 16 cm; Md: 17.5 cm; Wd: 0.35 cm; H1: 8.5 + x cm. Surface colour: 10YR 8/2 very pale brown slip. Break: 10YR 5/2 greyish brown. Inclusions: quartz (>0.25 mm: abundant; >0.5 mm: medium) and crushed limestone particles (>0.25 mm: few). Decoration: painted pattern; horizontal and vertical rope lattice motifs. A horizontal wavy line around the rim and three horizontal rope lattice bands below; vertical rope lattice bands and a frontal “eye and nose” decoration; bichrome effect (10YR 5/3 brown and 5/6 yellowish brown). Surface treatment: pebble burnished outside and inside, low lustre. Field reference: H/VI-x/18, Pl. 5, L5017 (from the section, 4.3 m E, 8 m N, 0.3 m deep), stratum e/2. Find No. 7; from C-9276. Phase D/2 (late Hyksos period).

Proto White Slip ware Hemispherical bowls with bichrome effect No. 1 (Fig. 1a, Plate 1a), 8967A2 {2003/009} PBI

VI

mi

Ha1

—-

m

3

Body fragment; mended; hemispherical bowl. Wd: 0.35 cm; H1: 2.9 + x cm. Surface colour: 10YR 8/2 very pale brown slip. Break: 7.5YR 4/3 brown. Inclusions: quartz (>0.25 mm and >0.5 mm: abundant) and crushed limestone particles (>0.25 mm: medium). Decoration: painted pattern; horizontal rope lattice motif; bichrome effect (7.5YR 6/6 reddish brown and 5YR 6/6 reddish yellow). Surface treatment: pebble burnished outside and inside, low lustre. Field reference: H/VI-x/18, Pl. 5, L5025, stratum f. Phase D/2 (late Hyksos period).

VI

mi

Ha1

—-

m

3

Body fragment; mended; hemispherical bowl. Wd: 0.35 cm; H1: 3 + x cm. Surface colour: 10YR 8/2 very pale brown slip. Break: 7.5YR 4/3 brown. Inclusions: quartz (>0.25 mm and >0.5 mm: abundant) and crushed limestone particles (>0.25 mm: medium). Decoration: painted pattern; horizontal rope lattice motif; bichrome effect (7.5YR 6/6 reddish brown and 5YR 6/6 reddish yellow). Surface treatment: pebble burnished outside and inside, low lustre.

21 22

PBI

VI

mi

Ha1

—-

re

3

No. 4 (Fig. 1d; Plate 1d), 9070Y3 {2003/007}

No. 2 (Fig. 1b, Plate 1b), 8967A1 {2003/009} PBI

No. 3 (Fig. 1c; Plate 1c), 8966Y1–8 {2003/010 and 2003/011}

BERGOFFEN 2001, 154, in: KARAGEORGHIS (ed.) 2001. Explanations of the vessel description: above the boxes there are the inventory number of the vessel, the drawing number in the records of the Mission and the year when it was drawn; inside the boxes, there are men-

PBI

VI

mi

Ha1

—-

ox

3

Rim sherd; rim 1/8 preserved. Reconstructed shape; mended; hemispherical bowl; inverted direct rim. Rd: 17 cm; Md: 19.5 cm; Wd: 0.35 cm; H1: 2.5 + x cm. Surface colour: 10YR 8/2 very pale brown slip. Break: 7.5YR 5/3 brown. Inclusions: quartz (>0.25 mm: abundant; >0.5 mm: medium) and crushed limestone particles (>0.25 mm: few). Decoration: painted pattern; horizontal rope lattice motif. A horizontal wavy line around the rim and two horizontal rope lattice bands on the

tioned different attributes: ware, fabric in the Tell elDabca system, quality of the groundmass, method of manufacture, shaping technique of the base, firing index and hardness, according to the “Keramikinventar”.

The White Slip Wares from Tell el-Dabca from the Palace District at cEzbet Helmi (Areas H/III and H/VI) 131

body; a wavy line on the attachment of the handle; bichrome effect (2.5YR 4/4 reddish brown and 7.5YR 6/6 reddish yellow). Surface treatment: pebble burnished outside and inside, low lustre. Field reference: H/VI-x/18, Pl. 5–6, L5027, stratum e/2. Phase D/2 (late Hyksos period).

Field reference: H/VI-x/19, Pl. 3, L4973 (a sherd carpet which goes over walls M1581 and M1582, possibly a continuation of L4926. H: 4.55–4.62 m; 1 m W, 1 m N), stratum e/1.1. Find No. 34; from C-9288. Phase D/1.1 (early 18th Dynasty).

No. 5 (Fig. 1e; Plate 1e), 9070Y1–2 {2003/004}

Hemispherical bowl

PBI

VI

mi

Ha1

—-

ox

3

White Slip I

Monochrome decoration

Rim sherd and body fragments, the swelling of the handle; rim 1/8 preserved. Reconstructed shape; mended; hemispherical bowl; inverted direct rim. Rd: 17 cm; Md: 19.5 cm; Wd: 0.35 cm; H1: 5.8 + x cm. Surface colour: 10YR 8/2 very pale brown slip. Break: 7.5YR 5/3 brown. Inclusions: quartz (>0.25 mm: abundant; >0.5 mm: medium) and crushed limestone particles (>0.25 mm: few). Decoration: painted pattern; horizontal rope lattice motif. A horizontal wavy line around the rim and two horizontal rope lattice bands on the body; a wavy line on the attachment of the handle; bichrome effect (2.5YR 4/4 reddish brown and 7.5YR 6/6 reddish yellow). Surface treatment: pebble burnished outside and inside, low lustre. Field reference: H/VI-x/18, Pl. 5–6, L4987 (a mud layer which covers the stratum e/2 wall M1600, below the silos wall M1586); from C-9297, stratum e/1.2.

No. 7 (Fig. 2a), 8907Y {1999/152}

Plain White hemispherical bowl

Bichrome effect 23

No. 6 (Fig. 1f; Plate 1f), 9070W1–5 {2003/001} P

VI

mi

Ha1

—-

m

PMO

VI

f–mi

Ha1

—-

re

3

Handle; wish-bone handle from a bowl. Hd: 0.8 × 0.75 cm. Surface colour: 10YR 6/3 pale brown; 8/2 very pale brown slip. Break: 10YR 5/3 brown. Inclusions: quartz (>0.25 mm, >0.5 mm and > 2 mm: abundant), crushed limestone particles (>0.25 mm, >0.5 mm and >2 mm: abundant) and black grits. Decoration: four parallel lines and a wavy line alongside; 10YR 4/1 dark grey. Surface treatment: pebble burnished, medium lustre. Field reference: H/VI-h/18, Pl. 1–2, L3004V (silt mud-brick debris, in the upper part of the fill of the room L3004, in the Palace G. H: 4.25 m; 4.15 m W, 2.75 m N), stratum d; from C-9032. Phase C/3 (early–middle 18th Dynasty).

No. 8 (Fig. 2b; Plate 1i), 8967B {2003/001}24 PBI

3

VI

mi

Ha1

—-

m

3

Rim and body fragments; rim 1/16 preserved. Reconstructed shape; mended; hemispherical bowl; inverted direct rim. Rd: 16 cm; Md: 16.5 cm; Wd: 0.25–0.3 cm; H1 : 5.5 + x cm. Surface colour: 10YR 8/1 white slip. Break: 5YR 6/1 grey. Inclusions: quartz (>0.25 mm and >0.50 mm: abundant). Decoration: whole body white. Surface treatment: pebble burnished outside and inside, low lustre.

Body fragment; hemispherical bowl. Wd: 0.25 cm; H1: 3.5 + x cm. Surface colour: 7.5YR 8/2 pinkish white slip. Break: 7.5YR 5/3 brown. Inclusions: quartz (>0.25 mm and >0.5 mm: abundant; >2 mm: few) and crushed limestone particles (>0.25 mm: medium). Decoration: a painted vertical lozenge pattern framed by two parallel lines; 7.5YR 5/3 brown and 6/6 reddish yellow. Surface treatment: pebble burnished outside and inside, low lustre.

23

24

Published before in FUSCALDO 2007, 310, in: BIETAK and CZERNY (eds.) 2007.

Published before in FUSCALDO 2007, 314, in: BIETAK and CZERNY (eds.) 2007.

132 Perla Fuscaldo Field reference: H/VI-x/19, Pl. 1, L4840 (a sherd heap; 3.4 m W, 4.5 m S), stratum d. Phase C/3 (early–middle 18th Dynasty).

PWS?

No. 9 (Fig. 2c), 8945G1–8 {2003/032}

No. 11 (Fig. 2e), 9070X1–2{2003/004}26

PBI

VI

mi

Ha1

Ha

ox

Hemispherical bowl with bichrome effect

PBI

3

VI

mi

Ha1

—-

ox

3

Rim sherd and body fragments. Reconstructed shape; mended; hemispherical bowl; slightly inverted direct rim and round base; the central part of the base is broken. Rd: 17 cm; Md: 17.2 cm; Wd: 0.3 cm; H1: 9.8 cm. Surface colour: 10YR 8/2 very pale brown slip. Break: 5YR 5/4 reddish brown. Inclusions: quartz (>0.25 mm: abundant; >0.5 mm: few) and crushed limestone particles (>0.25 mm: few). Decoration: painted pattern; a horizontal wavy line and framed lozenges around the rim; vertical ladder motif on the body; 2.5YR 4/6 red and 5YR 5/8 yellowish red. Surface treatment: pebble burnished outside and inside, low lustre. Field reference: H/VI-v/15, Pl. 0–1, L4379 (a sherd layer; H: 5.5–5.25 m, in the south corner of the square), stratum c; from C-9060. Phase C/2 (early– middle 18th Dynasty).

Body fragments; mended. (1) Wd: 0.35 cm; H12 + x cm. (2) Wd: 0.35 cm; H1: 0.5 + x cm. Surface colour: 7.5YR 8/2 pinkish white slip. Break: 5YR 5/4 reddish brown. Inclusions: quartz (>0.25 mm and >0.5 mm: abundant; > 2 mm: few) and crushed limestone particles (>0.25 mm: few). Decoration: painted pattern; indeterminate motif; bichrome effect (2.5YR 4/4 reddish brown and 7.5YR 6/6 reddish yellow). Surface treatment: pebble burnished outside and inside, low lustre. Field reference: H/VI-x/19, Pl. 3, L4973 (a sherd carpet which goes over walls M1581 and M1582, possibly a continuation of L4926. H: 4.55–4.62 m), stratum e/1.1; Find No. 34; from C-9239. Phase D/1.1 (early 18th Dynasty).

Monochrome decoration

Hemispherical bowl with monochrome decoration

No. 10 (Fig.2d; Plate 1h), 9071N {2003/020}

No. 12 (Fig. 2f; Plate 1g), 8967C1–2 {2003/004}

PMO

VI

mi

Ha1

—-

re

WS I?

PBI

3

VI

mi

Ha1

—-

m

3

Rim sherd, 1/16 preserved; slightly inverted direct rim. Rd: 16 cm; Wd: 0.35 cm; H1: 2.3 + x cm. Surface colour: 5YR 7/3 pink slip. Break: 5YR 4/1 dark grey interior; 4/3 reddish brown exterior. Inclusions: quartz (>0.25 mm: abundant) and crushed limestone particles (>0.25 mm: medium). Decoration: painted pattern; rope lattice motif, horizontal around the rim, and vertical on the body?; 5YR 6/6 reddish yellow. Surface treatment: pebble burnished outside and inside, medium lustre. Field reference: H/III-n/14, Pl. 0–1, L2000 (a recent artificial accumulation of sand. H: 4.9–5 m), stratum b/3 (Phase C/1, late 18th Dynasty) to recent?25

Rim and body fragment; rim 1/32 preserved; hemispherical bowl, everted direct rim. (1) Rd: 17 cm; Wd: 0.45 cm; H1: 1 + x cm. (2) Wd: 0.45 cm; H1: 1.1 + x cm. Surface colour: 10YR 8/2 very pale brown slip. Break: 7.5YR 5/4 brown. Inclusions: quartz (>0.25 mm and >0.5 mm: abundant) and crushed limestone particles (>0.25 mm: few). Decoration: painted; indeterminate motif; a horizontally wavy line around the rim, outside; a vertical straight line inside; 7.5YR 4/4 brown - 5/6 strong brown. Surface treatment: pebble burnished outside and inside, low lustre. Field reference: H/VI-v/17, Pl. 1–2, L4553 (the

25

26

A sherd from a “Classic” Kerma beaker of the blacktopped red polished ware (Inv. No. 9072H) was recovered in this locus.

FUSCALDO 2007, 310, in: BIETAK and CZERNY (eds.) 2007.

The White Slip Wares from Tell el-Dabca from the Palace District at cEzbet Helmi (Areas H/III and H/VI) 133

burnt fill of the room), stratum c; from C-9079. Phase C/2 (early-middle 18th Dynasty).

Abbreviations: Ha hand made base BI Bichrome ware BR Base Ring ware C context f–mi fine to medium quality of the groundmass H1 total height of the vessel Ha1 hand-made shaping technique Md diameter at the major point m fired in a medium atmosphere

mi ox P PBI PMO PWS Rd re RLWM VI Wd WP WS WS I WS ind.

medium quality of the groundmass fired in an oxidizing atmosphere polished surface polished with bichrome decoration polished with monochrome decoration Proto White Slip ware rim diameter fired in controlled firing conditions Red Lustrous wheel made ware Cypriote fabric wall thickness White Painted ware White Slip ware White Slip I ware White Slip indeterminate ware

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2003

The Base-Ring Wares from the Palace Complex at Tell el-Dabca (cEzbet Helmi, Areas H/III and H/VI), Ä&L 13, 69–82.

WIENER M.H.

2007

Tell el-Dabca: Some Remarks on the Pottery from Helmi (Areas H/III and H/VI, strata e/1 and d), 301–316, in: M. BIETAK and E. CZERNY (eds.), 2007.

1972

White Slip Ware, 431–471. Contribution to: P. ÅSTRÖM, 1972.

2001

Problems encountered in the Preparation of the Section on White Slip Ware for SCE IV, 45–47, in: V. KARAGEORGHIS (ed.), 2001.

SOUTH, A., and STEEL, L.

2001

cEzbet

HEIN, I. 1998

cEzbet

Helmi- Tell el-Dabca: Chronological Aspects of Pottery, 547–554, in: C.J. EYRE (ed.),

The White Slip Sequence at Kalavasos, 65–74, in: V. KARAGEORGHIS (ed.), 2001. The White Slip I of Tell el-Dabca and Thera: Critical Challenge for the Aegean Long Chronology, 197–202, in: V. KARAGEORGHIS (ed.), 2001.

YON, M. 2001

White Slip Ware in the Northern Levant, 117–125, in: V. KARAGEORGHIS (ed.), 2001.

The White Slip Wares from Tell el-Dabca from the Palace District at cEzbet Helmi (Areas H/III and H/VI) 135

No. 1

a)

b)

No. 2

No. 3

c)

d)

No. 4

e)

No. 5

f)

No. 6 Fig. 1

136 Perla Fuscaldo

No. 7

a)

b) No. 8

No. 9

c)

d)

No. 10

No. 11 e)

f) No. 12

Fig. 2

The White Slip Wares from Tell el-Dabca from the Palace District at cEzbet Helmi (Areas H/III and H/VI) 137

a)

b)

c)

d)

f)

e)

g) h) i) Pl. 1

138 Perla Fuscaldo

Graph I The WS sherds from cEzbet Helmi, H/III and H/VI

Ware

Amount

PWS

6

% 50

WS I

4

33

Ind.

2

17

Total

12

100

Ind. 17% PWS 50% WS I 33%

Graph II Amount of sherds by ware

Plain white 17% Style

Amount

Rope lattice, BI

5

% 83

Plain white

1

17

Total

6

100

83%

Graph III Amount of PWS sherds by style

Indet. 25% Style

Amount

%

Rope lattice, MO

1

25

Framed lozenge, BI

2

50

Indeterminate

1

25

Total

4

100

Framed lozenge BI 50%

Graph IV Amount of WS I sherds by style

Rope lattice, MO 25%

ERGEBNISSE DER PALÄOPATHOLOGISCHEN UNTERSUCHUNG AN EINEM SKELETT AUS TELL EL-DABcA (ÄGYPTEN) – REKONSTRUKTION EINES INDIVIDUELLEN KRANKHEITSSTATUS Von Julia Gresky*, Irene Forstner-Müller** und Michael Schultz***

In der Frühjahrskampagne 2008 wurden insgesamt 136 ramessidenzeitliche Individuen aus der Grabung H/VI-2007 in Tell el Dabca1 (Abb. 1, 2) auf pathologische Veränderungen am Knochen untersucht. Der insgesamt sehr schlechte Erhaltungszustand der Skelete lässt nur eine eingeschränkte Beurteilung des Gesundheitszustandes dieser Population zu.2 Offenbar wurden die Skelete noch vor der Ausgrabung, also noch im Erdboden liegend, einem erheblichen Bodendruck ausgesetzt (z.B. durch einen darüber fahrenden Traktor, Bulldozer), der für die ungewöhnlich starke Fragmentierung der spröden Skeletfunde verantwortlich war. Eine Ausnahme bildet das Individuum mit der Nummer L6993, dessen Erhaltungszustand im Vergleich zu den übrigen Skeleten sehr gut ist. Ziel dieses Beitrages ist eine möglichst zuverlässige Rekonstruktion des Personal- und Krankheitsstatus dieses einzelnen Individuums. ARCHÄOLOGISCHER KONTEXT (Abb. 3, 4) Bei dem Grab handelt es sich um ein Grubengrab, d.h. der Tote wurde in einer Grube bestattet. Grabarchitektur wurde nicht nachgewiesen. Der Tote war ohne Beigaben beigesetzt worden. Die ovale Grabgrube war NW–SO orientiert, mindestens 110 cm lang und 85cm breit. Sie bauchte nach S hin leicht aus und ragte in das Südprofil hinein. Die originale Grubenoberkante war aufgrund rezenter Störungen nicht mehr erhalten; dennoch konnte eine Grubentiefe von mindestens 45 cm nachgewiesen werden. Bei Bergung des Skeletes fiel der vergleichsweise sehr gute Erhaltungszustand auf. Die Fundsituation stellte sich wie folgt dar: Der Bestattete,

* Deutsches Archäologisches Institut (DAI) Berlin und Zentrum Anatomie der Universitätsmedizin Göttingen ** Österreichisches Archäologisches Institut (ÖAI) Kairo *** Zentrum Anatomie der Universitätsmedizin Göttingen 1 Zum ramessidischen Friedhof s. BIETAK/FORSTNER-MÜLLER 2007: 54–57, Fig. 34–37. 2 GRESKY et al. 2009 in Vorbereitung Ägypten und Levante/Egypt and the Levant 19, 2009, 139–155 © 2009 by Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien

ein erwachsener Mann, lag in Rückenlage; die Beine waren extrem angehockt und auf die rechte Seite verlagert. Das rechte Knie ragte aus dem zum Zeitpunkt der Ausgrabung vorliegenden Grubenöffnungsniveau heraus. Der Kopf des Bestatteten lag im NW; das Gesicht blickte nach Norden. Der rechte Arm lag ausgestreckt entlang des Körpers, ebenso der linke Oberarm, während der linke Unterarm im Ellenbogengelenk extrem nach oben angewinkelt, d.h. nach ventral gebeugt war. DATIERUNG Die von den anderen Bestattungen dieses Friedhofs abweichende Orientierung und Lage – die ramessidischen Bestattungen sind durchwegs NS bzw. OW orientiert; die Toten befinden sich in gestreckter Rückenlage – macht die Zugehörigkeit dieser Bestattung zum ramessidischen Friedhof fraglich. Möglicherweise könnte der Tote einer Gruppe von Bestattungen der früheren 18. Dynastie, den „Soldatenbestattungen“, zugewiesen werden.3 Eine rezente Bestattungn ist nicht auszuschließen. Eine bereits abgeschlossene 14CDatierung dieses Skeletes erbrachte kein verlässliches Ergebnis.4 Material und Methoden Es wurde das Skelet mit der Fundnummer L6993, das im Jahre 2007 in Tell el Dabca geborgen wurde, anthropologisch und paläopathologisch untersucht. Vor der Begutachtung, die mit makroskopischen und verschiedenen lupenmikroskopischen Techniken durchgeführt wurde, erfolgte eine Feinreinigung aller Knochenober-

3

4

BIETAK/DORNER/JÁNOSI 2001: 67–74 Fig. 24–31c, BIETAK/FORSTNER-MÜLLER 2007: 41, Fig. 9. In den Knochen war nicht genügend Kollagen erhalten. Die 14C-Untersuchungen wurden von Prof. Eva Wild und Prof. Walter Kutschera im VERA-Laboratorium/Wien durchgeführt.

140 Julia Gresky, Irene Forstner-Müller und Michael Schultz

Abb. 1 Überblicksplan cEzbeth Helmi

flächen. Die Lebensalters- und Geschlechtsbestimmung, die Einschätzung der Robustizität der Langknochen und des Konstitutionstyps sowie der Körperhöhe erfolgten nach den einschlägigen anthropologischen Richtlinien.5 Die Bewertung der Krankheitsspuren wurde nach bewährten Vorgaben durchgeführt.6

Ergebnisse der anthropologischen und paläopathologischen Untersuchung

5

6

FEREMBACH et al. 1979, SJØVOLD 1988, SZILVÁSSY 1988.

Erhaltungszustand Die Knochenoberflächen haben sich größtenteils sehr gut erhalten, so dass sie gut zu beurteilen sind. Die Langknochen liegen in relativ fest-

SCHULTZ 1988.

Ergebnisse der paläopathologischen Untersuchung an einem Skelett aus Tell el-Dabca (Ägypten) 141

o

p

q

r 21

s

L6993

t

22 26 23

u

v

24

w 25

20m

0

Abb. 2 Position der Bestattung L6993 innerhalb der Grabungsfläche H/VI

er Konsistenz vor, während der Schädel sehr brüchig ist. Die Repräsentanz des Skelets ist sehr gut.7

den Konstitutionstyp zu bestimmen. Folgende Maße wurden genommen (Angaben in mm): größte Länge

Alter und Geschlecht Entsprechend den Ergebnissen der anthropologischen Lebensalters- und Geschlechtsbestimmung8 handelt es sich bei dem Individuum um einen 30 bis 40 jährigen Mann. Morphologie Von den meisten Langknochen konnten die Längen- und Umfangsmaße genommen werden, um ihren Längendickenindex, die Körperhöhe und

7

Siehe Skeletschema, Abb. 5.

Clavicula Humerus Ulna Radius Os femoris Tibia

8

rechts / 310 265 247

Längendicken-Index (Umfang Diaphysenmitte/ Länge) links rechts links / / / 66 0,23 0,21 51 0,19 0,18 43 0,19 0,17

Umfang in Diaphysenmitte

links rechts 141 / 310 71 270 52 246 46

442

441

89

87

0,20

0,20

370

ca. 370

90

86

0,24

ca. 0,23

FEREMBACH et al. 1979, SJØVOLD 1988, SZILVÁSSY 1988.

142 Julia Gresky, Irene Forstner-Müller und Michael Schultz

4.69

4.66

4.32 4.44 4.85

50cm 4.70

4.42

0 Abb. 3 Bestattung L6993

Humerus Os femoris Caput radii Humerus Os femoris

rechts links Epicondylenbreite 66 61 84 / Durchmesser Caput radii 23 22 Gesamtbreite der distalen Gelenkfläche 49 45 52 48

Durchmesser Caput humeri/femoris transversal sagittal Caput humeri rechts 47 46 links 46 45 Caput femoris rechts 46 45 links 44 43

Der Mann ist eher dem pyknischen oder normalen (athletischen) Konstitutionstyp zuzuordnen. Die größte Länge der linken Clavicula beträgt 141 mm. Dies spricht auf jeden Fall nicht für einen leptosomen Typus. Seine Körperhöhe betrug 168,4 cm9 bzw. 169,7 cm.10 Anhand der stärker ausgeprägten Muskelmarken sowie der größeren Länge und des größeren Umfangs (Längendickenindex) der Knochen der rechten

9 10

Nach BREITINGER 1973. Nach TROTTER 1970.

Seite, handelt es sich wahrscheinlich um einen Rechtshänder. Morphologisch ist der Mann weder von eindeutig nubischem noch altägyptischem Typus. Spuren pathologischer Prozesse am Skelet des Individuums L 6993 Clavicula Das Acromioclaviculargelenk (Schultereckgelenk) weist linksseitig (Grad III11) etwas stärker als rechtsseitig (Grad II) eine leichte Arthrose auf. Das linke Sternoclaviculargelenk (SchlüsselbeinBrustbeingelenk) ist kaum (Grad I) von degenerativen Veränderungen betroffen; das sternale Ende der rechten Clavicula fehlt. Sowohl am sternalen als auch am acromialen Ende des Schlüsselbeins sind über die Norm verstärkte Bandansatzmarken zu beobachten. Humerus Auf dem linken Humerus ist die Oberfläche des Tuberculum minus stärker im Sinne eines degenerativen Prozesses verändert als an dem rechten Humerus: Rechts befindet sich eine pfefferkorngroße rundliche, leicht erhabene knöcherne Neu-

11

SCHULTZ 1988.

Ergebnisse der paläopathologischen Untersuchung an einem Skelett aus Tell el-Dabca (Ägypten) 143

Abb. 4 Bestattung L6993

bildung als Zeichen einer besonders starken Belastung des M. subscapularis. Durch den ständigen Zug der in den Knochen einstrahlenden Sehnenfasern kann es wie in diesem Fall zu einer Verdikkung des Knochens kommen.12 Auf dem linken Tuberculum minus sind noch ausgeprägtere Veränderungen zu sehen (Abb. 6): In der Mitte liegt eine 12 × 8 mm breite Läsion mit fein- bis grobporösem Boden. Am distalen Rand des Tuberculum minus liegt eine 6 × 6 mm große rundliche flache Vertiefung mit feinporöser Oberfläche. Bei diesen Veränderungen handelt es sich um eine Nekrose des Knochens, d.h. ein durch eine unzureichende Blutzufuhr hervorgerufenes Absterben des Knochens in dem betroffenen Bereich. Auf der Ansatzfläche des M. infraspinatus am Tuberculum majus ist die Oberfläche auf der rechten Seite in einem 8 × 5 mm großen Areal prominent und besitzt eine feinporöse Oberfläche. Auf der linken Seite befindet sich an der gleichen Stelle ein 3 × 2 mm großer scharf begrenzter, wie ausgestanzt wirkender Lochdefekt. Die

umgebende Oberfläche ist feinporös. Die Veränderungen sind durch eine übermäßige Belastung des M. infraspinatus entstanden. Auf der rechten Seite ist als Zeichen einer Überlastung auch die Marke des M. triceps brachii an der Ulna und die Marken der Unterarmstreckmuskulatur etwas verstärkt ausgebildet, die restlichen Muskelmarken sind mäßig entwickelt. Die Gelenkfläche des rechten Humeruskopfes zeigt eine feinporöse Oberfläche und eine pfefferkorngroße rundliche leicht erhaben höckerige Neubildung, die auf eine ausgeprägte Arthrose (Grad IV) zurückzuführen ist. Radius und Ulna An allen Unterarmknochen beider Seiten sind die Muskelmarken insgesamt mäßig ausgebildet, rechtsseitig allerdings etwas kräftiger als linksseitig. Os coxae Die Fläche des linken Acetabulums zeigt Spuren einer ausgeprägten Arthrose (Grad IV). Os femoris

12

HAWKEY & MERBS 1995, 324.

Auf beiden Seiten ist die Gelenkfläche des Femurkopfes ventral bis auf den Femurhals hin im

144 Julia Gresky, Irene Forstner-Müller und Michael Schultz

Abb. 5 Erhaltungszustand des Skeletes. Die grau gekennzeichneten Bereiche lagen zum Untersuchungszeitpunkt vor

Sinne einer sogenannten Reiterfacette verbreitert. Da keine Zeichen einer Arthrose auf dieser Facette zu sehen sind, wird es sich bei dieser Vergrößerung der Gelenkfläche eher um ein epigenetisches Merkmal als um eine erworbene arthrotisch bedingte Veränderung handeln. Am rechten Femurkopf ist der Gelenkrand höckerig und wulstig verändert und zeigt einen pfefferkorngroßen Lochdefekt. Eine Zerrung der Gelenkkapsel kann solche Veränderungen

hervorrufen. Beide Femurschäfte haben eine feinporöse Längsstreifung auf allen Flächen (Abb. 7 und 8). Oberhalb der distalen Gelenkfläche des rechten Femurs ist auf der Ventralfläche eine 18 × 7 mm lange rinnenförmige Vertiefung zu sehen (Abb. 9, als Vergleich dazu die nicht veränderte linke Seite in Abb. 10). Die Gelenkfläche ist an der Vertiefung fein- bis grobporös verändert und weist mohnkorngroße stippchenartige Neubildungen auf (Arthrose Grad

Ergebnisse der paläopathologischen Untersuchung an einem Skelett aus Tell el-Dabca (Ägypten) 145

Abb. 7 Fragment der dorsalen Fläche des linken Os femoris: Das Schaftfragment zeigt eine deutliche Längsstreifung auf der Oberfläche

Abb. 6 Proximales Viertel des linken Humerus: auf dem Tuberculum minus befindet sich in der Mitte eine 12 × 8 mm breite, unscharf begrenzte flache Vertiefung mit fein- bis grobporösem Boden (siehe Pfeil 1). Am distalen Rand des Tuberculum liegt eine 6 × 6 mm große rundliche flache Vertiefung mit feinporöser Oberfläche. Bei diesen Veränderungen handelt es sich um kleine nekrotische Bereiche am Muskelansatz des M. subscapularis (siehe Pfeil 2)

Abb. 9 Distale ventrale Gelenkfläche des rechten Os femoris: Oberhalb der distalen Gelenkfläche des rechten Femurs ist auf der Ventralfläche eine 18 × 7 mm lange rinnenförmige Vertiefung zu sehen (siehe Pfeil). Die Gelenkfläche ist an der Vertiefung fein- bis grobporös verändert und weist mohnkorngroße stippchenartige Neubildungen auf. Grund dieser Veränderung kann eine Impressionsfraktur sein (Kniescheibe). Die Gelenkfläche wurde dann sekundär durch Arthrose verändert

Abb. 8 Mikroskopische Darstellung: (Schliffdicke 50 µm, einfaches Durchlicht, Vergrößerung 100fach); Fragment der dorsalen Fläche des linken Os femoris: Der Erhalt der äußeren Generallamelle weist auf ein Alter unter 35 Jahren hin. Die innere Generallamelle ist nicht mehr ausgebildet; das Mindestalter liegt somit über 25 Jahren. In diesem mikroskopischen Präparat weist die äußere Generallamelle an sieben Stellen zu Lebzeiten entstandene Abdrücke von Blutgefäßen auf (siehe Pfeil). Solche vermehrt vorkommenden Gefäßimpressionen können beispielsweise bei einer Entzündung der äußeren Venen auftreten

IV). Es könnte sich bei dieser Veränderung um eine Impressionsfraktur handeln, bei der die Kniescheibe in die distale Gelenkfläche eingedrückt wurde. Dieser Vorgang erklärt auch die an dieser Stelle arthrotisch veränderte Gelenk-

fläche. An der Kniescheibe sind jedoch keine Spuren einer Kompression zu sehen. Der mediale Condylus des rechten Femurs ist in der hinteren Hälfte feinporös und weist einen bohnengroßen Lochdefekt auf (Arthrose Grad IV). Tibia Auf beiden Tibiaschäften zeigt die Oberfläche eine Längsstreifung auf der Medialfläche. An der linken Tibia ist der Ansatz der Patellarsehne deutlich verdickt und belegt eine Überlastungsreaktion des M. quadriceps femoris. Der mediale Tibiacondylus weist als Gegenpart zum Condylus des Femurs eine ähnliche Veränderung in Form feinporöser Oberfläche und einem Lochdefekt auf (Arthrose Grad IV).

146 Julia Gresky, Irene Forstner-Müller und Michael Schultz

Abb. 10 Distale ventrale Gelenkfläche des linken Os femoris: Glatte Oberfläche der distalen Gelenkfläche des linken Femurs in Höhe der pathologischen Veränderung auf der rechten Seite (siehe Pfeil)

Pes Das Os naviculare des linken Fußes zeigt an der Unterkante eine höckerige, etwas grobporöse Oberfläche, die im Sinne einer Bänderzerrung gedeutet werden kann. An der proximalen Gelenkfläche des 3. linken Mittelfußknochens ist der untere, d.h. plantare Abschnitt der Gelenkfläche nach plantar ausgezogen und weist eine unregelmäßige, höckerige Oberfläche auf (Abb. 11 und 12). Differentialdiagnostisch besteht nur auf den ersten Blick die Möglichkeit einer Fraktur als Ursache dieser morphologischen Veränderung, die aber aufgrund der Mikromorphologie und ihrer untypischen Lage nicht in Betracht zu ziehen ist. Wahrscheinlich handelt es sich eher um einen nekrotischen Vorgang, der sich aufgrund einer Überlastung der Bänder zwischen Mittelfuß und Fußwurzel entwikkelte. Dies würde gut mit der Bandzerrung am Os naviculare als Hinweis auf eine übermäßige Belastung des linken Fußes korrelieren. Manus An der distalen Gelenkfläche des Mittelhandknochens des rechten Daumens finden sich Spuren einer Arthrose (Grad IV). Columna vertebralis Die Grundplatte des 6. und die Deckplatte des 7. Halswirbels sind großflächig eingedellt und besitzen eine sehr ausgeprägt grobporöse Oberfläche (Abb. 13). Diese Veränderungen sind am ehesten auf einen lokal begrenzten entzündlichen Prozess

Abb. 11 Linkes Os metatarsale III: Die proximale Gelenkfläche des linken 3. Os metatarsale zeigt im plantaren Viertel einen pfefferkorngroßen in etwa rundlichen Lochdefekt (siehe Pfeil 1) mit reaktiven Randneubildungen (siehe Pfeil 2)

Abb. 12 Mikroskopische Darstellung: (Schliffdicke 70 µm, polarisiertes Durchlicht unter Verwendung eines Hilfsobjekts Rot 1. Ordnung, Quarz, Vergrößerung 16fach); Linkes Os metatarsale III: Der Lochdefekt ist im Längsschnitt zu sehen. Hierbei handelt es sich offenbar um eine Knochennekrose, die durch den Ausriss von Weichgewebe (Bänder) entstanden sein könnte (siehe Pfeil 1). Die regelmäßige Lamellenstruktur an den Rändern des Defektes spricht für einen gut organisierten, länger bestehenden Prozess (siehe Pfeile 2)

der Bandscheibe (Spondylodiszitis) zurückzuführen. Die übrigen Wirbel zeigen nur eine geringgradige Arthrose.

Ergebnisse der paläopathologischen Untersuchung an einem Skelett aus Tell el-Dabca (Ägypten) 147

Abb. 13 6. und 7. Halswirbel: Links im Bild ist die Deckplatte des 7. Halswirbels, rechts im Bild die Grundplatte des 6. Halswirbels zu sehen. Beide Platten sind großflächig eingedellt und besitzen eine sehr ausgeprägt grobporöse Oberfläche. Diese Veränderungen sind am ehesten auf einen lokal begrenzten entzündlichen Prozess der Bandscheibe (Spondylodiszitis) zurückzuführen

Abb. 14 Fragment einer 4.–7. Rippe: Die Innenfläche weist eine wulstige Oberflächenstruktur mit kleineren Neubildungen und verstärkten Gefäßimpressionen auf. Solche Veränderungen können bei einer über einen längeren Zeitraum bestehenden Rippenfellentzündung (Pleuritis) auftreten

Gelenkkapselverknöcherungen an den kleinen Wirbelgelenken und Verknöcherungen der Ligamenta flava treten im Bereich zwischen dem 3. Brustwirbel und dem 2. Lendenwirbel auf. Die Spur eines Schmorlschen Knorpelknötchens findet sich an der Grundplatte des 6. Brustwirbels. Eine leichte rechts konvexe Skoliose der unteren Brustwirbelsäule ist zu beobachten, wobei die obere Brustwirbelsäule sowie die Lendenwirbelsäule noch keine Auffälligkeiten zeigen. Die beidseitige Rippengelenksarthrose zwischen der 8. und 12. Rippe ist möglicherweise auf diese Deformität zurückzuführen. Costa Die 2., 4. bis 7., 9. und 10. rechte Rippe sowie die 3. und 5. bis 10. linke Rippe weisen eine wulstige Oberfläche, kleinere Neubildungen und verstärkte Gefäßimpressionen auf (Abb. 14, 15). Solche

Abb. 15 Mikroskopische Darstellung: (Schliffdicke 50 µm, polarisiertes Durchlicht unter Verwendung eines Hilfsobjekts Rot 1. Ordnung, Quarz, Vergrößerung 100fach); Fragment einer 4.–7. Rippe: Auf der Rippeninnenfläche gelegene höckerartige Neubildung (siehe Pfeil 1). Der lamellenförmige Aufbau spricht für eine langsam gewachsene Struktur. Links im Bild ist die Oberfläche der Neubildung postmortal zerstört (siehe Pfeil 2)

Veränderungen entstehen bei einer über einen längeren Zeitraum bestehenden Rippenfellentzündung. Cranium Die Lamina externa ist oberhalb des Arcus superciliaris beidseits sehr feinporös. Eine ausgeprägt fein- bis mittelporöse Oberfläche mit schmalen grubenartigen Vertiefungen ist auf der hinteren Hälfte beider Ossa parietalia und dem Os occipitale zu sehen. Diese Veränderungen, die nach lateral durch die Lineae temporales und nach

148 Julia Gresky, Irene Forstner-Müller und Michael Schultz occipital durch den Ansatz des hinteren Bauches des M. occipitofrontalis begrenzt werden, sprechen für eine besonders im hinteren Kopfbereich ausgeprägte Kopfschwartenentzündung. Über dem rechten Arcus superciliaris liegt ein mohnkorngroßes flaches Osteom. Auf der Lamina interna des Os frontale ziehen vom Sinus sagittalis superior zwischen dem mittleren und unteren Drittel dieses venösen Hirnblutleiters viele feine geschlängelte Gefäßimpressionen in einem breiten Streifen zu beiden Seiten nach lateral. Die umgebende Oberfläche ist geringgradig wulstig, ebenso die Oberfläche im Bereich des Verlaufs der Arteria meningea media. Die Lamina interna der Ossa parietalia ist in ihrem vorderen Viertel fein- bis mittelsträhnig ausgebildet. Links liegt in diesem Bereich eine erbsgroße flache Foveola granularis mit mittelporösem Grund. Die Lamina interna des Os occipitale zeigt besonders in der Nähe des Sulcus des Sinus sagittalis superior und der Sulci der beiden Sinus transversi eine feine netzartige Oberfläche. Die Veränderungen auf der gesamten Calotteninnenfläche sind auf eine meningeale Reizung einschließlich eines perisinuösen Prozesses zurükkzuführen. Hinzu kommen Spuren eines pathologischen Prozesses, die vor allem auf der linken Seite am Übergang von der Lamina interna des Os frontale zur Fossa cranii anterior zu finden sind. Hier liegen drei Gruppen von kleinen sesamkorngroßen flachen rundlichen Grübchen, bei denen es sich um Spuren einer tuberkulösen Meningitis13 handeln könnte. Die am weitesten lateral liegende Gruppe ist von einer wulstigen Oberfläche umgeben. Auf der rechten Seite sind die Gruppen kleiner und scheinen eher postmortalen Ursprungs zu sein. Der Sulcus des Sinus sagittalis superior ist in seinem Verlauf auf dem Os frontale geringgradig wulstig ausgebildet und besitzt flache plattenartige Neubildungen. Auf den Ossa parietalia sind außer einer ganz geringgradig wulstigen Oberfläche im vorderen Viertel keine Veränderungen zu bemerken, während auf dem Os occipitale eine feine Längsstreifung, besonders am Confluens sinuum, sichtbar ist. Die Oberfläche des Sulcus des Sinus transversus ist rechts mehr als links am Confluens sinuum feinporös; links ist sie in Sinusmitte wulstig und zeigt feine Gefäßimpressionen. In der Mitte des Confluens sinuum liegt eine pfef-

13

SCHULTZ 1999, TEMPLIN 1993, TEMPLIN & SCHULTZ 1994.

Abb. 16 Fragment des rechten Orbitadaches mit eröffneten Cellulae ethmoidales: Die Oberfläche des Orbitadaches zeigt eine leicht höckerige, wulstige Struktur mit besonders im linken Teil sehr fein verzweigten bäumchenartigen Gefäßimpressionen. Diese Veränderungen sind auf einen entzündlichen Prozess zurückzuführen. Die Cellulae ethmoidales der rechten Seite (siehe Pfeile) zeigen alle eine höckerige, wulstige Oberfläche. Diese Veränderungen deuten ebenso auf einen entzündlichen Prozess (Sinusitis ethmoidalis) hin

ferkorngroße länglich-ovale Grube mit glattem Grund und abgerundeten Rändern. Der Sulcus des rechten Sinus sigmoideus hat eine wulstige Oberfläche mit feinen verzweigten Gefäßimpressionen, der linke zeigt nur feine verzweigte Gefäßimpressionen. In allen Rinnen der venösen Hirnsinus gibt es also zumindest geringgradige Spuren eines entzündlichen Prozesses. Beide Jochbeinaußenflächen haben eine feine netzartige Oberfläche mit leicht wulstigen Veränderungen im Bereich des Foramen zygomaticofaciale. Die Apertura piriformis ist auf der Außenfläche feinporös und leicht wulstig verändert. Die laterale Fläche des Oberkieferkörpers ist rechts wesentlich stärker als links unterhalb des Foramen infraorbitale durch eine stark höckerige, wulstige und strähnige Oberflächenstruktur gekennzeichnet. Bei den Veränderungen der Jochbeine, der Apertura piriformis und der beiden Corpora maxillae handelt es sich offenbar um einen entzündlichen Prozess des Gesichtsbereiches, der möglicherweise durch eine Weiterleitung der Sinusitis maxillaris (s.u.) entstehen konnte. Rechts zeigt das Orbitadach wesentlich stärker als links in der lateralen Hälfte eine ausgeprägt mittelporöse Oberfläche mit zum Teil konfluierenden Hohlräumen, aber ohne trabekulä-

Ergebnisse der paläopathologischen Untersuchung an einem Skelett aus Tell el-Dabca (Ägypten) 149

Abb. 17 Fragment der rechten Cellulae ethmoidales: Zwei Zellen sind mit einer sehr feinporösen plattenartigen Knochenneubildung ausgekleidet. Die Wand zur angrenzenden nächsten Zelle ist vollständig mit feiner Spongiosa durchsetzt. Die gesamte spongiöse Fläche ist etwas größer als sesamkorngroß mit einer mohnkorngroßen rundlichen vulkankrater-ähnlichen Erhebung in der Mitte (siehe Pfeil). Diese Veränderungen sprechen für einen entzündlichen Prozess

res Wachstum nach außen. Medial ist die Oberfläche wulstig und mit netzartigen feinen Gefäßimpressionen versehen (Abb. 16). Der rechte Orbitaboden zeigt ebenso stärker als der linke feine netzartige Gefäßimpressionen besonders in der medialen Hälfte. Die Veränderungen beider Orbitae, die im Sinne einer Cribra orbitalia verstanden werden müssen, sind makroskopisch am ehesten auf einen entzündlichen Prozess zurückzuführen. Differentialdiagnostisch käme auch eine Anämie in Frage. Dies könnte aber nur durch eine histologische Untersuchung gesichert werden. In beiden Sinus frontales ist die Oberfläche höckerig, feinporös und wulstig. Dies spricht für eine chronische Entzündung, die sicherlich zum Todeszeitpunkt dieses Mannes noch nicht ausgeheilt war. Die anteriore und laterale Wand des rechten Sinus maxillaris ist strähnig und etwas feinporös, die mediale Wand ist wulstig und höckerig, der Boden feinporös. Im linken Sinus maxillaris ist der Boden höckerig und wulstig mit vielen Gefäßimpressionen. Ein entzündlicher Prozess ist im rechten Sinus maxillaris stärker ausgeprägt als im linken; im rechten besteht die Entzündung möglicherweise schon länger, da nicht nur der Boden sondern auch die Wände von pathologischen Veränderungen betroffen sind. Das Dach und die laterale Wand beider Sinus sphenoidales sind feinporös; auch hier lag eine chronische Entzündung vor. Die Cellulae ethmoidales der rechten Seite zeigen alle eine höckerige, wulstige Oberfläche

Abb. 18 Mikroskopische Darstellung: (Schliffdicke 50µm, einfaches Durchlicht, Vergrößerung 16fach); Fragment der rechten Cellulae ethmoidales: Oben im Bild ist die kraterförmige Vertiefung in der spongiösen Neubildung zu sehen (siehe 1). Links im Bild liegt ein kleiner rundlicher Herd mit postmortal erodierter Wand (siehe 2). In den Spongiosaräumen sind Spuren osteoklastischer Prozesse zu erkennen, Zeichen eines aktiven Umbaus. Es liegt offenbar ein abgekapselter Entzündungsprozess (Ostitis) vor

(Abb. 16). Die Zellen der linken Seite sind nicht befundbar. Zwei Zellen sind mit einer sehr feinporösen plattenartigen Knochenneubildung ausgekleidet. Die Wand zur angrenzenden nächsten Zelle ist vollständig mit feiner Spongiosa durchsetzt. Die gesamte spongiöse Fläche ist etwas größer als sesamkorngroß mit einer mohnkorngroßen rundlichen vulkankrater-ähnlichen Erhebung in der Mitte (Abb. 17 und 18). Es handelt sich um einen ausgeprägten entzündlichen Prozess in den Cellulae ethmoidales der rechten Seite, der nicht nur das Periost, sondern auch die tieferen Bereiche des Knochens beeinträchtigte. In den Spongiosaräumen sind Spuren osteoklastischer Prozesse zu sehen: Zeichen für einen aktiven Umbau. Es könnte sich um einen abgekapselten Entzündungsprozess (Ostitis) handeln. Die laterale Wand der rechten Nasenhöhle ist feinsträhnig und zeigt feine Gefäßimpressionen; der Boden ist leicht wulstig. In der linken Nasenhöhle ist die laterale Wand wulstig, feinsträhnig und höckerig. Es liegt eine chronische aggressive Entzündung beider Nasenhöhlen vor. Der harte Gaumen ist in der vorderen Hälfte über die Norm fein- bis grobporös und leicht hökkerig strukturiert. Diese Veränderungen stellen einen entzündlichen Prozess des harten Gaumens, eine Stomatitis, dar.

150 Julia Gresky, Irene Forstner-Müller und Michael Schultz

Abb. 19 Linker oberer erster Incisivus: Am unteren Kronenrand fallen die Spuren multipler Schmelzabsprengungen auf (siehe Pfeile 1). Die Ausprägung der Schmelzdefekte reicht von sehr kleinen einzelnen Schmelzstückchen bis zum Fehlen der Oberfläche des unteren Kronendrittels. Eine Ursache für solche Schmelzdefekte könnten Mikrotraumata infolge harter Nahrung oder Arbeit mit den Zähnen sein. Bei dem dunklen halbmondförmigen Streifen im oberen Kronendrittel handelt es sich um Zahnsteinreste (siehe Pfeil 2). Der etwa in Kronenmitte verlaufende feine bräunliche Streifen stellt eine transversale Schmelzhypoplasie dar (siehe Pfeil 3)

Zähne

Abb. 20 Linker oberer erster Incisivus: Betrachtung in starker Vergrößerung (REM: 100fach): Dargestellt ist die zwischen zwei Schmelzdefekten liegende Zahnoberfläche. Bei der dunklen Oberfläche in der Bildmitte handelt es sich um die originale Schmelzoberfläche (siehe 1). Die helleren Bereiche zeigen eine eher abgerundete Oberflächenstruktur, die für die weitere Benutzung des Zahnes nach Absprengung der Schmelzstücke spricht (siehe 2)

Am Parodontium aller Zahnregionen liegen Spuren einer Parodontitis vor: Grad II14 (mäßig starker Schwund des Alveolarknochens). An der Wurzel des Zahns 48 liegt eine grubenförmige Einschmelzung, bei der es sich um eine Zahnfleischtasche handelt. Nur ein Zahn (46) ging intravital verloren. Das Ereignis trat längere Zeit vor dem Tod ein, da die Alveole intravital vollständig wieder verschlossen wurde. Die Krone von Zahn 12 und die der Zähne 22, 31, 32, 41 und 42 gingen postmortal verloren. Apikale Prozesse wie Granulome, Abszesse oder Zysten traten nicht auf. Zahnstein ist generell auf den Kronen bis Grad II15 (mäßig starkes Zahnsteinwachstum) auf allen Flächen zu finden. Karies kommt nicht vor. Der Grad der Zahnabrasion reicht von 2+ bis 4+.16 Eine besonders starke Abrasion (Grad 4 und 4+) ist im Bereich des linken Unterkiefers zu finden. Hier sind vor allem die Zähne 33 bis 37 betroffen. Punktförmige und besonders transversale Schmelzhypoplasien sind an allen vorhandenen

Zähnen bis zum Grad III17 (mittlerer Ausprägungsgrad) sichtbar (Abb. 19). Es handelt sich hierbei um Hinweise auf Wachstumsstillstände, die durch Mangelernährungs- oder Krankheitsphasen18 ausgelöst werden können und für spezifische Altersspannen bestimmbar sind. Mit dem Zahndurchbruchsschema nach Ubelaker19 kann das jeweilige Alter, in dem Mangel- oder Krankheitsphasen auftraten, bestimmt werden. Die Spanne des Auftretens der einzelnen Wachstumsstillstände reicht bei diesem Mann vom 2. Lebensjahr (± 8 Monate) bis zum 12. Lebensjahr (± 30 Monate) mit einem Maximum im 5. Lebensjahr (± 16 Monate). Weiterhin fallen die multiplen, abgeplatzten Schmelzstücke an den Kronenrändern auf (Abb. 19, 20 und 21). Die Ausprägung der Schmelzdefekte reicht von sehr kleinen einzelnen Schmelzstückchen bis zum Fehlen der Oberfläche des unteren Kronendrittels. Eine

14

18

15 16 17

SCHULTZ 1988. SCHULTZ 1988. BROTHWELL 1981, PERIZONIUS & POTT 1985. SCHULTZ 1988.

19

CAPASSO & GOODMAN 1992, GOODMAN et al. 1992, SCHULTZ et al. 1998, WITZEL et al. 2008. UBELAKER 1978.

Ergebnisse der paläopathologischen Untersuchung an einem Skelett aus Tell el-Dabca (Ägypten) 151

Aufgrund des relativ guten Erhaltungszustandes könnte es unter Umständen möglich sein, dass es sich bei dem Individuum L6993 um eine zeitlich spätere Bestattung handelt. Somit kann letztlich nicht ausgeschlossen werden, dass möglicherweise sogar eine (früh)neuzeitliche Bestattung vorliegt. Dennoch ist die Wahrscheinlichkeit groß, dass eine ramessidische (eventuell auch eine „Soldatenbestattung“ der frühen 18. Dynastie) vorliegt, da die Knochen des Schädels sehr brüchig sind und so das Skelett schon sehr viele Jahre, wohl viele Jahrhunderte in der Erde gelegen haben muss. Möglicherweise war dieses Individuum protektiver gelagert und keinem Druck von oben ausgesetzt. Für die Zugehörigkeit zu den übrigen ramessidenzeitlichen Individuen spricht auch die Abrasion der Zähne, die der der

ramessidenzeitlichen Skelete entspricht. Allerdings sei darauf hingewiesen, dass der Zahnstatus der heutigen Bevölkerung wahrscheinlich ähnlich schlecht ist. Der Mann ist mit 168,4 bis 169,7 cm relativ kleinwüchsig. Im Vergleich sind die männlichen Individuen der 5. und 6. Dynastie aus Sakkara deutlich größer.20 Der pyknische bis athletische Konstitutionstyp ähnelt dem der Individuen aus Sakkara. Das Individuum L6993 zeigt zahlreiche Spuren von Erkrankungen, die Rückschlüsse auf sein Leben zulassen. Die meisten Veränderungen sind im Bereich des Kopfes und der Zähne zu finden. Der Mann litt an einer ausgeprägten Kopfschwartenentzündung, wie sie zum Beispiel durch Verletzungen der Kopfhaut bei einem Trauma, häufig aber auch durch eine rezidivierende Entzündung der Kopfhaut bei beispielsweise Läusebefall21 auftreten kann. Das Auftreten einer meningealen Reizung mit perisinuösen Prozessen deutet auf ein geschwächtes Immunsystem hin, das die Entstehung einer Meningitis begünstigte. Einer Meningitis gehen häufig Erkrankungen des Respirationstraktes voraus, die eine Ansiedlung von Meningitisbakterien erleichtern. Bei dem Mann treten als Vorerkrankungen eine chronische Entzündung der Nasenhöhle und sämtlicher Nasennebenhöhlen auf. Die sehr ausgeprägte, zur Ausbreitung neigende Entzündung der Cellulae ethmoidales könnte aufgrund ihrer großen Nähe zum Schädelinneren eine Meningitis hervorgerufen haben. Zusätzlich zu den Veränderungen an der Lamina interna, die auf eine Meningitis schließen lassen, sind auch Spuren am Knochen zu erkennen, die auf eine tuberkulöse Erkrankung der Hirnhäute (z.B. Leptomeningitis tuberculosa) hinweisen. Eine tuberkulöse Meningitis entsteht, wenn bei einem an Tuberkulose erkrankten, immunabwehrschwachen Individuum die Ausbreitung der Bakterien nicht mehr in den Lymphknoten unterbrochen wird. In einem solchen Fall kommt es zu einer lymphogenen Streuung, in deren Verlauf eine Manifestation der Tuberkulose auch an den Meningen auftreten kann. Das Vorliegen einer tuberkulösen Meningitis spricht einerseits für eine Schwächung des

20

21

Abb. 21 Linker oberer erster Incisivus: Mikroskopische Darstellung: (Schliffdicke 50 µm, polarisiertes Durchlicht unter Verwendung eines Hilfsobjekts Rot 1. Ordnung, Quarz, Vergrößerung 200fach); Übersicht über die Absprengungen am unteren Zahnrand: Die abgerundeten Schmelzkanten deuten auf eine intravitale Absprengung hin (siehe Pfeil 1). In den Zwischenräumen befinden sich kleine Kristalle, die teilweise auch mit einer feinen Schicht die Oberfläche überziehen. Die zweite Schmelzkante (siehe Pfeil 2) von links hat eine nicht mehr intakte Oberfläche: Hier sind postmortale Absplitterungen zu sehen

Ursache für solche Schmelzdefekte könnten Mikrotraumata infolge harter Nahrung oder Arbeit mit den Zähnen sein. Diskussion der Einzelergebnisse

Ji-nfrt mit 171,8 bis 173,8 cm (SCHULTZ et al. 2003), Hefi mit 179,5 cm und Iries mit 172,5 cm (SCHULTZ et al. 2001).

SCHULTZ et al. 2008.

152 Julia Gresky, Irene Forstner-Müller und Michael Schultz Immunsystems, die generell eine solche Erkrankung begünstigt, zeigt aber auch anhand der Manifestation am Knochen, dass die Erkrankung einige Zeit überlebt wurde, so dass sie Spuren am Knochen hinterlassen konnte. Eine Tuberkulose kann durch eine Infektion mit dem Mycobacterium tuberculosis über die Aufnahme bakterienhaltiger Nahrungsmittel, beispielsweise Milch, entstehen, häufiger ist jedoch der aerogene Übertragungsweg mit einer Erstmanifestation in der Lunge. In diesem Fall wäre auch eine Infektion anderer Individuen derselben Population zu erwarten. Eine Entzündung der Nasenhöhle tritt bei länger andauernder Rhinitis auf. So führen beispielsweise feiner Sand und Staub zu einer ständigen Reizung der Nasenschleimhaut und nach einiger Zeit zu charakteristischen Veränderungen am Knochen. Eine chronische Entzündung der Nasenhöhle führt häufig zu einer Erkrankung der Nasennebenhöhlen. Bei der Nasenhöhle besteht aufgrund ihrer Lage mit einer guten Durchlüftung und einer großen Abflussmöglichkeit nach außen die Chance, dass die Entzündung schnell wieder abheilt, während es sich bei den Nasennebenhöhlen um relativ kleine Räume handelt, die nur über einen engen Ausführungsgang in die Nasenhöhle münden. Dies führt zu einer schlechteren Belüftung und einem Sekretstau, Faktoren, die eine chronische Entzündung, die nach einiger Zeit auch den Knochen angreift, begünstigen. Bei der Entzündung der Nasennebenhöhlen des Individuums L6993 handelt es sich um chronische Prozesse mit rezidivierenden akuten Schüben. Bei der Kieferhöhle wäre ein weiterer Infektionsweg über die Zahnwurzeln, die in direkter Nachbarschaft liegen, möglich. Da das Individuum jedoch keine Abszesse an den Zahnwurzeln aufweist, von denen sich eine Entzündung in die Kieferhöhle hätte ausbreiten können, ist diese Möglichkeit im vorliegenden Fall auszuschließen. Eine besonders ausgeprägte Form der Entzündung liegt bei den Cellulae ethmoidales der rechten Seite vor. Es handelt sich um einen aktiven entzündlichen Prozess, der nicht nur zu einer oberflächlichen Knochenreaktion, einer Periostitis, sondern auch zu einer den Knochen durchwandernden Ostitis geführt hat. Bei den Veränderungen an den Ossa zygomatica, der Apertura piriformis und den beiden Maxillae handelt es sich offenbar um einen entzündlichen Prozess des Gesichtsbereiches, der möglicherweise durch eine Weiterleitung der

Sinusitis maxillaris entstehen konnte. Aber auch eine von außen eindringende Entzündung durch beispielsweise eine Gesichtsverletzung könnte eine Ursache gewesen sein. In Zusammenhang damit können auch die eher entzündlich bedingten Veränderungen der beiden Orbitae gesehen werden. Die Veränderungen der Zähne und der Mundhöhle deuten auf eine schlechte Mund- und Zahnhygiene hin: Am harten Gaumen sind Spuren entzündlicher Prozesse im Sinne einer Stomatitis zu sehen. Die häufigste Ursache einer Stomatitis sind Entzündungen, die von den Zähnen, dem Zahnhalteapparat oder anderen Strukturen der Mundhöhle ausgehen: Bei dem Individuum kann beispielsweise die Parodontitis zu einer Affektion geführt haben. Auch eine Weiterleitung eines entzündlichen Prozesses aus der Kiefer- oder der Nasenhöhle ist aufgrund der topographischen Gegebenheiten möglich. Entzündliche Prozesse des harten Gaumens können häufig durch mangelnde Mundpflege ausgelöst und unterhalten werden. Parodontitis ist mäßig ausgeprägt. Auch sie lässt auf eine ungenügende Zahnpflege schließen, da erst das Zahnfleisch, danach der Knochen infolge einer chronischen Entzündung abgebaut wird und die Zahnhälse dann frei liegen. Der intravitale Zahnverlust ist nur geringgradig: Ein unterer Molar ging einige Zeit vor dem Tod verloren. Ein Zahntrauma ist in dem Bereich unwahrscheinlich. Es könnte sich um einen Zahnwurzelabszess gehandelt haben, der aber nach dem Ausfallen des Zahnes komplikationslos ausheilte. Beispielsweise weist das Fehlen von Abszessen oder Karies auf eine wenig zahnschädigende Ernährung hin: Der Mann aß wohl selten süße Lebensmittel. Das Auftreten von Zahnstein ist mäßig ausgeprägt. Der Grad der Zahnabrasion ist besonders im Seitenzahnbereich relativ hoch. Dies spricht für eine Ernährung mit harten, d.h. abrasionsfördernden Substanzen, zum Beispiel Getreide, das beim Mahlen häufig den Abrieb des Reibesteines oder kleinste Steinchen enthält. Durch feinen Wüstensand, der sich in der Regel wie Staub in oder auf allen Nahrungsmitteln befand, wurde der Zahnabrieb zusätzlich noch verstärkt. Anhand der Schmelzhypoplasien mittleren Ausprägungsgrades, die sich an allen Zähnen finden, sind Wachstumsstillstände vom 2. Lebensjahr (± 8 Monate) bis zum 12. Lebensjahr (± 30 Monate) mit einem Maximum im 5. Lebensjahr

Ergebnisse der paläopathologischen Untersuchung an einem Skelett aus Tell el-Dabca (Ägypten) 153

(± 16 Monate) feststellbar. In solchen Phasen kam es zu einem Wachstumsstillstand aufgrund von entweder mangelhafter Ernährung oder einer schwereren, d.h. länger andauernden Erkrankung. Viele abgeplatzte größere und kleinere Schmelzstücke an den Kronenrändern fast aller Zähne weisen auf Mikrotraumata hin, die durch harte Nahrung oder Arbeit mit den Zähnen (Zähne als Werkzeug) verursacht wurden. Die pathologischen Veränderungen des Postcraniums werden in der Reihenfolge von cranial bzw. proximal nach caudal bzw. distal beschrieben: Das Individuum L6993 litt unter einer leichten Arthrose des rechten Schulter- und Kniegelenks sowie des linken Hüftgelenks. Hinzu kommen verstärkte Bandansatzmarken an beiden Schlüsselbeinen. Beides deutet auf eine Überlastung des Schultergürtels hin. Heben und Tragen schwerer Lasten könnten zu solchen Veränderungen geführt haben (heute sehr häufig vorkommende Krankheit bei Bodybuildern). Damit korrelieren die Überlastungszeichen der Mm. subscapularis et infraspinatus, die auch links- stärker als rechtsseitig ausgeprägt sind und die Arthrose der Gelenkfläche des rechten Oberarmkopfes. Der Mann hat nicht nur den Schultergürtel über die Norm stark belastet, sondern auch beide Arme übermäßig häufig im Schultergelenk gegen einen Widerstand bewegt. Der Oberarmstrecker (M. triceps brachii) und die Unterarmstreckmuskulatur der rechten Seite waren kräftiger ausgebildet als die der linken Seite. Der Mann hat über einen längeren Zeitraum eine erhebliche Streckbewegung des Unter- und Oberarmes vor allem auf der rechten Seite durchgeführt. Im Bereich der unteren Extremität sind Spuren einer Arthrose im linken Hüftgelenk sowie einer Zerrung im rechten Hüftgelenk zu sehen. Zu einer Zerrung der Gelenkkapsel des rechten Hüftgelenkes könnte es durch eine Überdehnung bei einem Sprung oder Sturz gekommen sein. Die Impressionsfraktur der distalen Gelenkfläche des rechten Femurs könnte während desselben Ereignisses verursacht worden sein. Als Ursache käme ein Sturz aus einiger Höhe oder ein Anpralltrauma mit dem Knie in Betracht. Ebenfalls im Zusammenhang mit diesem Ereignis könnte die Bänderzerrung im Bereich der linken Fußwurzel und des Mittelfußes stehen. Die Arthrose im rechten Kniegelenk kann ebenso wie die im linken Hüftgelenk vielfältige Ursachen haben: Möglich sind eine Fehlbelastung oder

eine Vorschädigung durch ein Unfallereignis in früheren Jahren. Der Mann hatte eine rechtskonvexe Skoliose der unteren Brustwirbelsäule. Diese Fehlstellung war wohl verantwortlich für die Entstehung der beidseitig ausgebildeten Arthrose der Wirbelrippengelenke zwischen der 8. und 12. Rippe. An den kleinen Wirbelgelenken sind Gelenkkapselverknöcherungen zu beobachten, die – ebenso wie die Verknöcherungen der Ligamenta flava im Bereich zwischen dem 3. Brust- und dem 2. Lendenwirbel – als Zeichen einer übermäßigen körperlichen Belastung zu werten sind. Als eine wahrscheinliche Ursache kommt das Tragen schwerer Lasten in Betracht. Zwischen dem 6. und 7. Halswirbelkörper befand sich ein entzündlicher Prozess, bei dem es sich um eine Spondylodiszitis gehandelt haben dürfte. Eine Spondylodiszitis ist eine Entzündung, die die Bandscheibe und die angrenzenden Wirbel betrifft. Sie entsteht durch eine Infektion mit Bakterien, Viren oder Pilzen. Eine häufige Ursache ist die lymphogene Streuung von Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Eine Tuberkulose befällt in der Regel zuerst die Lunge. Eine lymphogene Streuung der Tuberkelbakterien in andere Bereiche des Körpers wie der Wirbelsäule oder auch der Hirnhäute (Verdacht auf eine tuberkulöse Meningitis siehe oben) erfolgt bei einem schwachen Immunsystem. Zum Befund einer Tuberkulose passt auch die beidseitige Rippenfellentzündung, die über einen längeren Zeitraum bestand. ZUSAMMENFASSENDE DARSTELLUNG DES INDIVIDUELKRANKHEITSZUSTANDES

LEN

Der anthropologisch-paläopathologischen Untersuchung lag das relativ gut erhaltene Skelett eines 30 bis 40jährigen, 168,4 bis 169,7 cm großen Mannes vor, der schon in seiner Kindheit gewissen Stressperioden ausgesetzt war, die sich in Form von Schmelzmangelzuständen manifestiert hatten. Diese Art der Schmelzmangelzustände (transversale lineare Schmelzhypoplasien) sind in der Regel auf Wachstumsstillstände zurückzuführen, die sich bei diesem Mann relativ geringgradig für die Altersphasen zwischen dem 16. und dem 32. Lebensmonat sowie für das Alter zwischen 10 ½ und 14 ½ Lebensjahr und in relativ starker Ausprägung für das Alter zwischen etwa 3 ½ und 6 ½ Lebensjahr nachweisen ließen. Eine bereits im Wachstumsalter auftretende Veränderung der Wirbelsäule, eine Skoliose, bewirkte im Laufe seines Lebens eine nachfol-

154 Julia Gresky, Irene Forstner-Müller und Michael Schultz genden Rippengelenkarthrose der 8. bis 12. Rippe beider Seiten und Verknöcherungen der Band- und Kapselstrukturen als Zeichen einer Fehl- und Überbelastung. Die Veränderungen der Zähne und der Mundhöhle deuten auf eine relativ schlechte Zahnhygiene hin, obwohl keine größeren Zahnsteinbildungen nachweisbar waren: Spuren einer Entzündung des harten Gaumens und einer chronischen Zahnfleischentzündung im Sinne einer Parodontitis sind sichtbar. Das fehlende Auftreten von Karies weist auf eine Ernährung mit wenig süßen, zahnschädigenden Lebensmitteln hin. Der Mann hatte zu Lebzeiten nur einen Mahlzahn verloren. Die starken Abnutzungserscheinungen der Zähne sprechen für eine Ernährung, die sich überwiegend aus harten Substanzen zusammensetzte. Dafür sprechen auch die vielen abgeplatzten Schmelzstücke an den Kronenrändern. Möglicherweise litt der Mann im Jung-Erwachsenenalter an einer durch Parasitenbefall (z.B. Kopfläuse) oder ein Trauma verursachten Kopfschwartenentzündung. Die Hirnhautentzündung kann durch die chronische Entzündung in der Nasen- und allen Nasennebenhöhlen begünstigt worden sein. Sicherlich ist auch in Verbindung mit dieser chronischen Erkrankung der oberen Atemwege die Entzündung im Gesichtsbereich zu sehen, die eventuell auf eine Streuung der chronischen Kieferhöhlenentzündung zurückzuführen ist. Wohl ebenfalls ausgehend von den Entzündungen der Nasennebenhöhlen ist es offenbar zu einer Weiterleitung des Prozesses in beide Augenhöhlen gekommen. Zu einem relativ frühen Zeitpunkt im Leben dieses Mannes erlitt er eine Zerrung im rechten

Hüftgelenk, eine Impressionsfraktur hinter der rechten Kniescheibe und eine Bänderzerrung im Bereich der linken Fußwurzel und des Mittelfußes. Diese Läsionen könnten auf ein traumatisches Ereignis, beispielsweise einen Sturz oder einen Sprung aus größerer Höhe, zurückzuführen sein. In fortgeschrittenerem Alter erkrankte er offenbar an einer Tuberkulose, welche die Rippeninnenflächen, die Hirnhäute und beginnend auch die Wirbelsäule befiel. Da mehrere Organe von der Tuberkulose betroffen waren, deutet dies auf ein geschwächtes Abwehrsystem hin. Die Ursache für diese Schwächung ist heute nicht mehr nachweisbar. Möglicherweise spielt eine unzureichende Ernährung diesbezüglich eine Rolle. Abnutzungserscheinungen in den Gelenken, die in der Regel besonders in fortgeschrittenem Alter bei einer starken Belastung auftreten, betrafen bei ihm folgende Bereiche: Die Arthrose im Schultereckgelenk beidseits sowie im rechten Schultergelenk als auch die degenerativ veränderten Muskelmarken besonders der linken Schultermuskulatur, deuten auf eine starke Beanspruchung des Schultergürtels und der Arme infolge von Heben und Tragen schwerer Lasten hin. Weiterhin litt der Mann an Arthrose im linken Hüft- und im rechten Kniegelenk. Dieser Befund rundet das Bild eines Mannes ab, der zu Lebzeiten einem relativ starken physischen Stress ausgesetzt war. Danksagung Die Autoren danken Frau Ingrid Hettwer-Steeger und Herrn Michael Brandt, Zentrum Anatomie der Universitätsmedizin Göttingen, für technische Unterstützung bei der Auswertung der Fälle.

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BIOARCHAEOLOGY OF TELL IBRAHIM AWAD By Delisa L. Phillips, Jerome C. Rose and Willem M. van Haarlem

INTRODUCTION Tell Ibrahim Awad has been excavated by the Netherlands Foundation for Archaeological Research in Egypt since 1988 (Van Haarlem 2000). Prior to 1993, all graves found were excavated, photographed, and then the skeletons were covered in plastic and reburied. Beginning in 1993, Jerry Rose of the University of Arkansas joined the expedition and his team excavated and analyzed both the reburied tombs and those newly discovered in: 1993, 1998, 2000, and 2001. Intensive agriculture in modern times requires continuous irrigation and the wet ground demineralized the skeletons making them as soft as the soil. Many of the bones had been destroyed, and those bones that were still present were very fragile. It was not only the bones that were affected, but also the coffins and associated funerary remains that had decomposed to the point where they were only recognizable as powder or stains. Many organics such as wood and reeds will disintegrate into a powder like white-tan ash that can be documented during excavation. Very little work, with some notable exceptions, has been published about the bioarchaeology of the people who lived in the Nile Delta because most bioarchaeologists prefer to work in the desert areas with its excellent preservation, rather than the poor skeletal preservation characterizing the Delta. Therefore, even though the skeletons from Tell Ibrahim Awad are relatively few in number and poor in preservation, they can still contribute significantly to bioarchaeology and to our knowledge of what life was like for the Ancient Egyptians who lived in the Nile Delta. There are three important questions to answer concerning the people who are buried at Tell Ibrahim Awad. The first question is: what was this group like and what was its structure? This question will be answered by looking at the age and sex data in order to compare the demography of the population to other Egyptian skeletal series from the Delta and Nile Valley. A lot of work has been conducted over the years regarding the demography of sites in Egypt (Abd el-Moneim 1996, Brovarski i.a. 1992, Castillos 1983, el Sawi 1979, Ägypten und Levante/Egypt and the Levant 19, 2009, 157–210 © 2009 by Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien

Mann 1989, Masali 1980, Masali / Chiarelli 1972, Nemeskeri 1972, Rösing 1990, Winkler and Wilfing 1991). The second question is: what was the overall health of these people? This question will be answered by comparing pathological conditions such as dental hypoplasias, skeletal trauma, osteoarthritis, and pathological lesions to other skeletal samples. Throughout the history of Egyptology, the overall health of the ancient Egyptians has been studied in great detail. Much work has been conducted looking at dental conditions (Buikstra 1992, Greene 1972, Harris et al. 1998, Lovejoy 1985, Rose i.a. 1993, Rösing 1990, Winkler and Wilfing 1991) and bone pathology (Fairgrieve and Molto 2000, Filer 1995, Reeves 2000, Sandison and Tapp 2000, Strouhal 1989, Rösing 1990, Winkler and Wilfing 1991). The third question to consider is: how did burial customs change over time? This question will be answered by looking at the different types of burials present in this cemetery and determining when and how the mortuary practices changed over time. Changes in mortuary practices hint at change in economic and political structure in the region (Baines and Malek 1994, Castillos 1983, Colman 1997, Fletcher 1999, Grajetzki 1993, Ikram 2003, Ikram and Dodson 1997, Strouhal 1989). The cemetery at Tell Ibrahim Awad has so far produced the skeletal remains of 77 individuals (who could be studied) buried in 74 graves. There were three graves that contained two individuals each. One of the double burials contained two adult males, while the other two burials each contained an adult female and a child. Three graves did not have skeletal material that could be studied. Numbers of graves and skeletons vary throughout the study depending upon the pertinent data category being present for the analysis. The people of Tell Ibrahim Awad lived during the Late Old Kingdom, the Early First Intermediate Period, the Late First Intermediate Period, and the Early Middle Kingdom. METHODS The cemetery of Tell Ibrahim Awad was laid out in a grid before excavation. There were five

158 Delisa L. Phillips, Jerome C. Rose and Willem M. van Haarlem squares that contained burials. During excavation, the soil was removed in 4mm increments. The individuals who were buried in the cemetery at Tell Ibrahim Awad were very poorly preserved. Throughout the history of Egypt, the Nile River has experienced yearly floods (Baines and Malek 1984, Fletcher 1999, Hayes 1996) that leave behind a deposit of soil. The poor preservation at Tell Ibrahim Awad was due to the heavy silt/clay soil and the constant irrigation for agriculture. The poor preservation of the skeletons meant that all osteological analysis had to be done in the field, as many of the bones were destroyed when attempts were made to remove them. The skeletons were uncovered and cleaned with wooden picks and dental tools. The skeletons were drawn and photographed. The exposed surfaces of the skeletons were recorded as described below, including the teeth. The surrounding soil was then removed from each bone and then the bone was turned over and all features were recorded. Any portion that could be lifted was placed in labeled bags for further study and curation. Determination of Sex The sex of each skeleton was determined in the field using non-metric and metric traits. When possible, the pelvis and skull were used for sexing the skeleton (Buikstra and Ubelaker 1994). However, for most of the skeletons, the only traits that were able to be classified were the size of the bones (e.g., femur head) and the size of the muscle markings (e.g., linea aspera). Every year of the excavation, all of the previously studied bones were taken from storage and those skeletal features used for sex determination were lined up according to size and robusticity. Because the bones were separated into series every year, it was possible to make sure there were no changes in the criteria and scales used for sexing from one year to the next. Those individuals with more robust bones were classified as male, while those with more gracile bones were classified as female. Therefore, the sex of the individuals is most often only an estimate based on bone size and robusticity, rather than the more usual morphological characteristics of the pelvis. Determination of Age The teeth were observed while in the field and the wear was scored using the Scott system (Cross et al. 1986) and the data then used to calculate the age of each of the skeletons (Miles 1963). The mean

wear scores and standard deviations for each tooth class were calculated (see Table 1). A t-test was performed to evaluate the distribution of wear scores. The wear scores appeared to separate into five groups (Figure 1) that seemed to indicate different age brackets. By looking at the groupings from the t-test as well as the standard deviations, the individuals were separated into the five age groupings: 0–20, 20–25, 25–35, 35–50, and 50+. Every tooth was placed into one of the age groups and an average of the estimated age of each tooth from a single individual was used to place that skeleton into an age bracket. For example, if one skeleton had one tooth aged at 25–35, five teeth aged at 35–50, and one tooth aged at 50+, then this individual would have been placed firmly in the 35–50 category. In this manner, the wear scores from all of the teeth could be used, although if an individual was on the border between two age groupings then preference was given to the molar wear scores. It appears that M1 worked best for individuals under the age of 35, while M2 and M3 worked best for older individuals. In order to test the age groupings, the differences between wear scores on M1 and M2, as well as the differences between wear scores on M2 and M3 were examined to determine how much wear occurred every year that the individual was alive. The correlations between the first, second, and third molars were very high (Figure 2): between M1 and M2, 0.875; between M2 and M3, 0.910; between M1 and M3, 0.768. Based on the distributions and correlations, the teeth were seriated into five different age groups: under 20, 20–25, 25–35, 35–50, and 50+. These age-groups were determined by looking at the rate of wear per tooth versus the average age of tooth eruption for that tooth. For all of the individuals, the wear score of M2 was subtracted from M1 and M3 from M2. The differences between the wear scores of each set of teeth were summed and an average computed: the average difference between tooth wear on M1 versus M2 was 5.8, while the average difference between tooth wear on M2 versus M3 was 6.0. Thus, every year, about one point of wear occurred. For example, a person who had a wear score of 20 on M1 would be approximately 26 years of age. Further, a wear score on M1 of 0–14 indicated an individual under the age of 20; a wear score of 14–19 indicated an individual 20–25 years of age; 19–29 indicated 25–35 years; 29–40 indicated 35–50 years; on M2 a wear score of 0–8 indicated an individual under the age of 20; 9–13 indicated 20–25;

Bioarchaeology of Tell Ibrahim Awad 159

Fig. 1 Distribution of mandibular left first molar wear Fig. 2 Correlations between molar wear scores Tooth ManLM3 ManLM2 ManLM1 ManLPM2 ManLPM1 ManLC ManLI2 ManLI1 ManRI1 ManRI2 ManRC ManRPM1 ManRPM2 ManRM1 ManRM2 ManRM3 MaxLM3 MaxLM2 MaxLM1 MaxLPM2 MaxLPM1 MaxLC MaxLI2 MaxLI1 MaxRI1 MaxRI2 MaxRC MaxRPM1 MaxRPM2 MaxRM1 MaxRM2 MaxRM3 M1 M2 M3

Sample Size 19 25 16 11 16 20 14 10 12 11 23 19 16 23 28 19 16 14 13 14 15 17 15 14 15 13 18 15 15 20 24 22 38 44 41

Mean 15.684 18.600 24.187 4.091 4.500 4.450 3.857 4.600 3.917 3.909 4.522 4.316 4.687 23.652 20.179 15.211 13.000 15.643 22.462 5.143 4.067 4.176 3.400 4.357 4.733 4.000 4.278 4.667 4.733 22.600 18.917 15.182 24.474 19.273 14.390

S.D. 6.872 6.090 8.368 1.578 1.862 1.572 1.460 1.647 1.240 1.973 1.534 1.529 0.704 5.033 7.498 8.270 6.261 7.782 8.412 1.512 1.580 1.237 1.682 1.906 1.668 1.528 1.320 1.988 1.944 7.890 8.495 7.582 6.616 7.644 7.619

Table 1 Sample Size, Mean, and Standard Deviation for each tooth

14–24 indicated 25–35 years; 36–40 indicated 35–50 years; on M3 a wear score of 0–2 indicated under the age of 20; 3–7 indicated 20–25 years; 8–18 indicated 25–35 years; 19–34 indicated 35–50 years; 35–40 indicated an individual over the age of 50. There was little difference between the two methods using wear scores to determine age. The three individuals who were age differently between the two methods had only been borderline using the first method. Health There are many ways in which you can determine the health of an individual from their skeletal remains. At Tell Ibrahim Awad enamel hypoplasias, infectious lesions, osteoarthritis, and trauma were observed and recorded. For the individuals in this study, the teeth were a much more reliable method of determining health than bones because teeth were better preserved. Enamel hypoplasias are areas of the teeth where there is a decrease of enamel thickness that is produced due to the slowing of ameloblast secretion during enamel formation. The term can refer to any deficiency of enamel thickness, including a pit, line, groove, or any other instance of missing enamel (Skinner and Goodman 1992). Enamel hypoplasias are caused by a combination of malnutrition and disease. When severe malnutrition or disease occurs, the human body tends to shut down all non-essential processes (in this case the development of the teeth) in order to fight off infection and heal the body (Ortner 2003). The enamel hypoplasias were observed while in the field. Rose was ultimately given the opportunity to observe the dental material from Tell el-Dabca and adjusted the Tell Ibrahim Awad hypoplasia recording system to match this nearby collection.

160 Delisa L. Phillips, Jerome C. Rose and Willem M. van Haarlem Determination of Time Periods The burials at Tell Ibrahim Awad date to four distinct time periods: the late Old Kingdom, the Early First Intermediate Period, the Late First Intermediate Period, and the Early Middle Kingdom. All of the burials were put into one of these time periods. W.M. van Haarlem assigned the burials to time periods based on finds, stratigraphy and elevation of the burials in relation to the nearby temple. The annual Nile flood caused soil to accumulate quickly making it possible to also use elevation to determine time periods. There were some burials that could not be placed into time periods by using the methods listed above and they were placed using similarity of mortuary pattern. There were twelve different burial characteristics found at Tell Ibrahim Awad. Some of the burials were mud brick burials, while others were either in pits or rarely were found in a hard cement-like substance. Other types of burials included: several combinations of either plain pits or brick tombs with white powder as reed mat remains, and/or red ochre, and/or white plaster. After looking at the correlations between these types of burials, we were able to place the remaining burials into the four time periods. Table 2 shows which type of burial we have found to belong in each of the time periods. The data collected from the 77 individuals at Tell Ibrahim Awad are presented here. The distributions of sex and age at the site as a whole and within each time period are compared to those from other contemporary sites. The overall health of the population is assessed using enamel

Tomb Characteristic PIT + MAT PIT + PLASTER PIT + MAT + PLASTER PIT + MAT + OCHRE PIT + PLASTER + OCHRE PIT+MAT+PLASTER+OCHRE TOMB TOMB + MAT TOMB + PLASTER TOMB + MAT + PLASTER TOMB + MAT + CEMENT TOMB+MAT+PLASTER+OCHRE

hypoplasias, dental caries, and pathological lesions. The overall health at Tell Ibrahim Awad, as well as health changes between time periods is compared to other Egyptian sites. Mortuary analysis of the grave goods and types of burials is used to discuss the status of the individuals buried at Tell Ibrahim Awad. Distribution of Sex The sex of the individuals was determined primarily by looking at the size of the long bones after they had been separated by size and robusticity. Even using the simple method of bone and muscle attachment size, eight individuals could not be sexed. It is not possible to determine the sex of subadults from their bones so the 12 juveniles are recorded as sex unknown. Of the remaining individuals, 25 were sexed as female and 30 were sexed as male. The breakdown by sex for the four time periods represented at this site are: Late Old Kingdom (50% male: 50% female), Early First Intermediate Period (56% male: 44% female), Late First Intermediate Period (43% male: 57% female), and Early Middle Kingdom (71% male: 29% female). Of the 55 individuals with a known sex, 25 were female and 30 were male. The expected ratio of women to men would be approximately 50:50, while this ratio is 1.2. Considering the small sample size this difference is small and a chi2 test showed that it is not statistically significant. The ratio of males to females does not differ from a normal distribution or from two other collections shown in Table 3.

Late OK 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 100% 0%

Early FIP 37% 5% 21% 0% 0% 26% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 11%

Table 2 Types of burial by time period

Late FIP 58% 6% 24% 3% 3% 3% 3% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Early MK 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 30% 15% 30% 25% 0% 0%

Bioarchaeology of Tell Ibrahim Awad 161

Site Tell Ibrahim Awad Gebelan1 Tell el-Dabca2 Elephantine3 Qubbet el Hawa3 Assuan overall3

Ratio of Males to Females 1.20 1.09 0.71 0.58 1.41 1.20

Table 3 Ratio of males to females

Distribution of Age at Death At Tell Ibrahim Awad, the children only accounted for 16% of the total population of people. It would be expected that they would account for a much larger part of the population as the very young are more susceptible to diseases, parasites and the effects of malnutrition. Tell Ibrahim Awad is not the only site in Egypt to have a small frequency of subadults present. There appears to be a paucity of subadults throughout most of the Egyptian sites prior to the invasion of the Hyksos during the Second Intermediate Period (BAINES and MALEK 1994, NEMESKERI 1972, RÖSING 1990,

WINKLER and WILFING 1991). There are two reasons why the age-at-death distribution is not as would be expected for the subadults: the bones of the infants were so fragile that they completely disintegrated or the people of Tell Ibrahim Awad may have buried their dead elsewhere or left them outside or offered to the Nile for burial. In Figure 3, you can see that the overall distribution of age at Tell Ibrahim Awad is the same as at Tell el-Dabca (WINKLER and WILFING 1991) except for the frequency of subadults. As the soil is the same in both sites, we can assume that the Tell Ibrahim Awad children were not destroyed in the ground. Further, Tell el-Dabca is a 2nd Intermediate Period site of the Hyksos located in Lower Egypt near Tell Ibrahim Awad, which may explain the difference in distributions of subadults. Simply, the people of Tell el-Dabca buried their infants, while the people of Tell Ibrahim Awad did not. Using the combined population of Tell Ibrahim Awad (all individuals who could be placed in a specific age at death category), the following was found: 6 individuals were 0–10 at the

50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 Tell Ibrahim Awad 10 Tell el-Dabca 5 0 0–10

10–20

20–25

25–35

35–50

50+

Fig. 3 Comparison of age distributions between Tell Ibrahim Awad and Tell el-Dabca

1

2

MASALI and CHIARELLI 1972. WINKLER and WILFING 1991.

3

RÖSING 1990.

162 Delisa L. Phillips, Jerome C. Rose and Willem M. van Haarlem Age At Death By Time Periods 50 45 40 35 30 25 20

Early FIP 15

Late FIP

10

Early Middle Kingdom

5 0 0–10

10–20

20–25

25–35

35–50

50+

Fig. 4 Number of individuals who died in each age group by time period

time of their death; 7 individuals were 10–20; 6 individuals were 20–25; 23 individuals were 25–35; 18 individuals were 35–50; and 9 individuals were over the age of 50 at the time of their death (see Fig. 3). When you look at each time period separately, you can see that when the sample sizes are considered they are very similar (see Fig. 4). The Old Kingdom has only two people and is not represented in the graph. The Late

First Intermediate Period has the largest proportion of subadults followed next by the Early Middle Kingdom and this difference possibly represents a change in stress levels in the transition to the Middle Kingdom. Within each of the time periods, the people who died when they were 25–50 represent the highest number of individuals, while those who were under 20 years of age or over 50 years of age

35

30

25

20

15

Tell Ibrahim Awad 10

Assuan overall 5

Elephantine

0

Fig. 5 omparison of mortality rates for Tell Ibrahim Awad, Assuan overall, and Elephantine

Bioarchaeology of Tell Ibrahim Awad 163

Average Age at Death by Time Period 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31

Old Kingdom

Early FIP

Late FIP

Middle Kingdom

Fig. 6 The average age of death within each time period

represent the fewest individuals. Tell Ibrahim Awad is very similar to the age-at-death distributions for the Assuan inclusive and the Elephantine (Upper Egypt) sites that date from the Old Kingdom through the New Kingdom) samples except in the lower proportion of subadults (Rösing 1990) (See Fig. 5). The average age at death at Tell Ibrahim Awad for subadults and adults combined was 32.1 years of age. This is quite similar to the Elephantine average life expectancy of 35.5 years. The age at death estimation for Tell Ibrahim Awad is excluding those individuals for whom it was not possible to assign to an age-at-death category (for example, those individuals who were labeled simply as “adult”). When looking at each individual time period for the average age of death only the average age of death for adults is used because of small sample sizes. The average age at death for adults during the Late Old Kingdom was 45 years of age, but there are only two individuals. The average age at death for adults during the Early First Intermediate Period was 40 years of age. The average age at death for adults during the Late First Intermediate Period was 36 years of age. Finally, the average age at death for adults during the Early Middle Kingdom was 40 years of age. Leaving aside the Late Old Kingdom with two people, there is no real difference between the average ages of death in the remaining three periods. When looking at the average ages at death for men and women, it is necessary to use only the adult population. The average age at death for

women was 33.1 years of age. This is comparable to Tell el-Dabca, which had an average life span for women of 30 years of age. The average age at death for men was 40.7 years of age. This makes sense when you consider that 58% of females at Tell Ibrahim Awad died before they reached the 35–50 age category. This is best explained by the fact that at this time many women were dying early from the stress of childbearing (Ikram 2003, Kroeber 1927, Masali 1980, Parker Pearson 1998). The average age at death for men is slightly higher than that of Tell el-Dabca, which had an average life span for men of 34.4 years, but the small sample sizes suggest this difference is insignificant. Figure 7 shows the number of males and females who died within each age category. The subadults (those individuals under 15 years of age) made up 20% of the overall population. This percentage is comparable to the First Intermediate Period skeletons from Gebelein (Masali 1980), who had a subadult mortality rate of 18%, but much smaller than the 48% of subadults at Tell el-Dabca (Winkler and Wilfing 1991). The mortality rate of subadults at Tell elDabca is much higher than is normally seen in Egypt, although it is comparable to prehistoric sites in North America (Rothschild 1979). One reason for the difference at Tell el-Dabca could be that the site was inhabited by the Hyksos (Winkler and Wilfing 1991) who buried their children in the same cemetery as adults rather than in some other location. The age distribution at Tell Ibrahim Awad is unusual in that there were no

164 Delisa L. Phillips, Jerome C. Rose and Willem M. van Haarlem 12

10

8

6

4

Females Males

2

0 0–10

10–20

20–25

25–35

35–50

50+

Fig. 7 Number of males and females who died at each age

infants present. The youngest skeleton died at 3 years of age. Variation in Health At Tell Ibrahim Awad, only fifty-four individuals had teeth that could be observed for hypoplasias.

Of those, 38% of the individuals had at least one hypoplasia present. This is comparable to the 40% rate of hypoplasias that Hillson (1978, 1979) found in skeletal samples from predynastic and dynastic Egypt and Nubia. It is also only slightly below the rate of 46.4% of adults having

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

Z ero

O ne

Two

Three

Fig. 8 Number of individuals with zero, one, two, or three hypoplasias at Tell Ibrahim Awad

Bioarchaeology of Tell Ibrahim Awad 165

120%

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0% Zero

One

Late Old Kingdom Late First Intermediate Period

Two

Three

Early First Intermediate Period Early Middle Kingdom

Fig. 9 Percentage of Individuals with 0, 1, 2, and 3 Hypoplasias by Time Period

hypoplasias at Tell el-Dabca (WINKLER and WILFING 1991). Tell el-Dabca is a good site for comparison as the criteria for measuring hypoplasias at Tell Ibrahim Awad was adjusted to that of Tell el-Dab’a. Figure 8 shows the percentage of individuals who had zero, one, two, and three hypoplasias observable on their teeth. Of the individuals who had teeth that could be observed for hypoplasias, the average age at death was 33.9 years of age, while the average age at death for those individuals with hypoplasias was 26.1 years of age. The difference between these ages at death for those with and without hypoplasias has been attributed to the fact that those individuals susceptible to childhood stress remain susceptible at all ages which eventually leads to an earlier death. Of those females who had teeth that could be observed, 11.8% had one hypoplasia, 5.9% had two hypoplasias, and 11.8% had three hypoplasias. This makes a total of 29.5% of females who had hypoplasias. Of the men, 8.7% had one hypoplasia, 30.4% had two hypoplasias, and only 4.3% had three hypoplasias. This makes a total of 43.4% of men who had hypoplasias. As you can see, more males had hypoplasias on their teeth than females, although males at Tell Ibrahim Awad had a longer life expectancy. This could be due, in part, to females dying at an earlier age due to the burdens of childbirth. As can be seen in Figure 9 distribu-

tions by time are very similar. The main conclusion is that the two First Intermediate Periods are very similar childhood stress levels, while the Early Middle Kingdom was higher. The Late Old Kingdom has only a sample of two and is discounted here. The increased childhood stress could have been the result of deprivations associated with the transition to a reunited kingdom. Only 2.4% of the skeletons exhibited carious lesions on their teeth. This is comparable to the 1.1% report of carious teeth from Tell el-Dabca (WINKLER and WILFING 1991). This might indicate that the people from Tell Ibrahim Awad had a diet that consisted of very little sugar and starch, but, as it is known that Egyptians ate bread (FLETCHER 1999; HAYES 1996; STROUHAL 1989), it is most likely that this low caries rate is probably due to high attrition which served to clean the teeth and prevent decay. Many of the bones at Tell Ibrahim Awad could not be analyzed for pathological conditions due to the poor preservation. Of the 57 individuals who had bones that could be observed for pathological lesions (even of these, not all of the bones from each individual could be observed), only 8 individuals (14%) had some type of pathology. Three of the individuals had osteoarthritis present on their joints. Two individuals had an episode of trauma (one had a broken tibia and the other had a cut mark on her middle finger).

166 Delisa L. Phillips, Jerome C. Rose and Willem M. van Haarlem The incidence of trauma was 3.5% of the known skeletons. This is comparable to the 3% rate of trauma from Del el-Dabca (WINKLER and WILFING 1991), and the 2.5% rate of trauma from Elephantine (RÖSING 1990). One individual had a nutritional disease: cribra orbitalia (1.75%), which indicates anemia (ORTNER 2003). The rate of cribra orbitalia is lower than that seen at Tell elDabca, which had 26.8% of the individuals with cribra orbitalia (7.7% when looking at just the adults) and that seen at Elephantine with 38.2% of the individuals displaying cribra orbitalia. The difference between Tell Ibrahim Awad and these other sites is most likely due to the poor preservation of the site and the low percentage of bones that could be observed. The other two skeletons had lesions indicative of inflammatory disease processes. One person had a sclerotic reaction on his distal foot phalange, while the other person had a periosteal reaction on his tibiae. These inferred rates of infection are highly unreliable, however, due to the poor preservation of the skeletons, and more weight should be granted to the health indicators of the teeth than to the health indicators of the bones at Tell Ibrahim Awad. The age and sex distributions (excluding children) at Tell Ibrahim Awad are comparable with several sites in Egypt and Nubia as well as with Del el-Dabca. The hypoplasia rates are similar to those from Egypt and Nubia as reported by HILLSON (1978, 1979), but slightly lower than Tell el-Dabca. As WINKLER and WILFING (1991) suggest the presence of high stress and disease load at Tell el-Dabca, these data suggest a slightly lower stress level at neighboring Tell Ibrahim Awad.

Fig. 10 Skeleton in a pit burial (A 130/210, Tomb 11)

Mortuary Analysis Mortuary analysis of grave goods and burial types can be useful in determining the status of the person and those who performed the burial rites (SAXE 1971; BINFORD 1971, GOLDSTEIN 1981). Of the eighty-three individuals present in the cemetery (including those without skeletons to study) at Tell Ibrahim Awad, fifty-two (64.0%) had no grave goods whatsoever. Ten individuals (12.0%) had beads. Eighteen individuals (21.0%) had some form of pot, jar, or vase present with their burial. One individual (1.7%) had a scarab associated with their burial. One individual (1.7%) had a button-seal present with their burial. Finally, one individual (1.7%) had a ceramic headrest as a grave good. Of these grave goods, 48% were personal adornments, while 52% were items

meant to be used in the afterlife. Based on the fact that there were so few grave goods, and these of small value, present, it can be assumed that Tell Ibrahim Awad represented a poor population. The percentage of individuals buried with grave goods increased from the Late Old Kingdom to the First Intermediate Period through to the Early Middle Kingdom. During the late Old Kingdom, 0% of the individuals had grave goods associated with their burials. During the Early First Intermediate Period, 32% of the burials had grave goods. During the Late First Intermediate Period, 31% of the burials had grave goods during the Early Middle Kingdom, 61% of the burials had grave goods. There is a clear increase in grave goods from the Late Old Kingdom through to the Early Middle

Bioarchaeology of Tell Ibrahim Awad 167

Fig. 11 Remains of powder found in the burials

Kingdom, which is an indication that the economy of the region improved from the First Intermediate Period to the Middle Kingdom. The First Intermediate Period saw regional

nomarchs declaring themselves to be kings. There was no longer a unified Upper and Lower Egypt, but instead Egypt consisted of many small kingdoms. There was a lot of unrest during this time,

Fig. 12 Remains of yellow plaster, most likely the edge of a coffin (detail of A 130/220, Tomb 23)

168 Delisa L. Phillips, Jerome C. Rose and Willem M. van Haarlem which was shown by a decrease in the average life span of Egyptians (BAINES and MALEK 1994) and an increase in individuals suffering from poor nutrition. After this unrest, Egypt was reunified. Therefore, the low frequency of grave goods in the Early First Intermediate Period was a reflection of the breakup of Egypt into smaller kingdoms and a decrease in economic circumstances. The subsequent increase in grave goods was indicative of Egypt once again becoming unified. Burial customs in Egypt changed from one time period to another, as well as from one region to another (IKRAM and DODSON 1998). During the Old Kingdom, it was common for individuals (particularly royalty, but also some of the commoners) to be buried in stone sarcophagi, as well as sometimes in wooden coffins (IKRAM 2003, GRAJETZKI 2003). It was generally the poor who were buried in pits. Individuals were sometimes buried in a contracted position on their left side so that they faced the Nile (STROUHAL 1989). They were often buried either laid out on or covered in mats (GRAJETZKI 2003). During the First Intermediate Period, it became more common to bury the dead in wood coffins with hieroglyphic writing on them and less common for individuals to be placed within stone sarcophagi (IKRAM and DODSON 1998). At this time, it was still common practice for the Egyptians to bury their dead on the left side facing the Nile (see Fig. 10). Burial customs began to change again during the Middle Kingdom when Egypt was reunified. Instead of individuals being buried so that they faced the east, it became common to bury individuals so that they were lying in an extended position on their backs (IKRAM and DODSON 1998). The wooden coffins were much more elaborate during the Middle Kingdom, and were often painted extensively on the inside as well as the outside. At Tell Ibrahim Awad, there were six materials that were found in the burials: white – gray powder, plaster, ochre, red paint, brick, and a cement-like substance. The cementlike substance found during the Old Kingdom was not stone, but some mixture of materials which appears to be similar to cement. The white – gray powder (Fig. 11) that was found seems to be indicative of reed mats, such as were found in burials placed into the Mississippi river clay in North America. The powder was found to be underneath the plaster (which is the remains of a coffin) and above the skeletons, as well as underneath the skeleton. There were clear distinctive

layers of plaster-powder-skeleton-powder found. These reed mats were present throughout each of the time periods. During the Late Old Kingdom and Early First Intermediate Period, individuals were either wrapped in these mats or a coffin was built of branches and reeds. Some individuals were still wrapped in mats during the Late First Intermediate Period and Early Middle Kingdom, but it is only during the Late First Intermediate Period and the Early Middle Kingdom that they were also found lying on the mats without being wrapped up or buried in them. The plaster (Fig. 12) found with the burials indicates the presence of a decayed coffin. Because of the high water table in this area, wood coffins decayed more quickly than in the desert, and only the stains and plaster fragments of the coffin could still be observed. These wood coffins were present throughout all of the time periods (IKRAM 2003, GRAJETZKI 2003). One feature not expected is how early red paint showed up with the burials. Apparently, it wasn’t until the Middle Kingdom that the Egyptians began painting the inside as well as the outside of the coffins (IKRAM and DODSON 1997; IKRAM 2003; GRAJETZKI 2003). However, at Tell Ibrahim Awad, we have examples of red paint being found underneath the yellow plaster coffins during the Early and Late First Intermediate Periods. Red ochre (Fig. 13) was found during the Late Old Kingdom, Early First Intermediate Period, and Late First Intermediate Period which suggests that the Egyptians either painted the inside or outside of the coffin. Mud brick superstructures were found primarily during the Middle Kingdom. During the First Intermediate Period the inhabitants of Tell Ibrahim Awad buried their dead in either rectangular or oval pits. Based on all of this information, we can see that during the Old Kingdom individuals were wrapped in mats and then either placed directly into a cement container or else first placed within a plain wooden coffin. During the Early First Intermediate Period, individuals were wrapped in reed mats and then either placed directly into a pit or else first placed into a plastered reed container that may or may not have been painted. During the Late First Intermediate Period, it was common for individuals at Tell Ibrahim Awad to either be wrapped in reed mats or placed on mats and buried in a pit or first placed in a plastered reed container that was painted before burial in

Bioarchaeology of Tell Ibrahim Awad 169

Fig. 13 Red ochre found on the bones and in the burial

the pit. During the Early Middle Kingdom, individuals were either wrapped in or placed on mats and then either directly placed in a mud brick burial or they were first placed in a plastered

reed/branch coffin and then placed within a mud brick burial (Fig. 14). The distribution for burial types during the Late Old Kingdom (sample size of 2) was as fol-

Fig. 14 Skeleton in a mud brick burial (A 130/220, Tomb 24)

170 Delisa L. Phillips, Jerome C. Rose and Willem M. van Haarlem 120% 100% 80% 60% LOK EFIP LFIP EMK

40% 20% 0%

T PI

+

ER ST A L

AT M T PI

+

P

T PI

+

AT M

+

T AS PL T PI

+

ER

AT M T PI

CH

+

+

RE

O

ER ST A L

P

T PI

+M

+

O

CH

RE O R+ E ST

RE CH

TO

A

L +P T A

T ER ER RE EN ST ST CH M A A O B CE PL PL M R+ + + + E O B T AT ST AT M M M LA + + TO P + B B M M AT O O M T T B+ M TO

B M

+

AT M

Fig. 15 Distribution of Burial Types at Tell Ibrahim Awad

lows: 100% of the burials had powder, 100% had plaster, 0% had red ochre, 100% were buried in a hard cement material, and 100% were buried in a mud brick tomb. The distribution for burial types during the Early First Intermediate Period (sample size of 19) was as follows: 37% of the burials had only powder, 5% had only plaster, 21 % had powder and plaster, and 37% had red ochre, plaster and powder on the skeleton, 0% were buried in cement, and 11% were buried in a mud brick tomb. The distribution for burial types during the Late First Intermediate Period (sample size of 33) was as follows: 58 % of the burials had only powder, 24% had powder and plaster, 6.0% had only plaster, 3% had powder and red ochre, 3% had plaster and ochre, 3% had powder, plaster and ochre, 0% were buried in cement, and 3% were buried in a mud brick burial. The distribution for burial types during the Early Middle Kingdom (sample size of 20) was as follows: 15.0% of the burials had only powder, 30.0% had only plaster, 25.0% had powder and plaster, 0% were buried in cement, and 100% were buried in a mud brick structure. The distributions for all time periods are shown in Figure 15. CONCLUSIONS The site of Tell Ibrahim Awad was used for the burial of people from the Late Old Kingdom until the

Early Middle Kingdom. Seventy four had sufficient human remains surviving to study. The cemetery was made up of males and females in fairly even proportions. The largest frequency of females died between the ages of 25 and 35, probably due to the stresses of childbirth and nursing. Males tended to have a slightly higher life expectancy than females. Because of the low percentage of infants and elderly present at the cemetery of Tell Ibrahim Awad, it appears that they were most likely disposed of elsewhere and possibly not buried. The demography of Tell Ibrahim Awad appears to indicate decent health when compared to other sites in Egypt. A large percentage of individuals from Tell Ibrahim Awad (38%) showed evidence of hypoplasias on their teeth. Those individuals with hypoplasias had a lower average age at death than those individuals who did not have any hypoplasias. The rate of hypoplasias and the average age at death indicate that the overall health of Tell Ibrahim Awad declined slightly from the First Intermediate Period to the Middle Kingdom. Due to the paucity of funerary objects and the lack of richly endowed tombs, it appears that the people who were buried at this site represent a poor population. Burial customs changed over time from burials in cement-like coffins and mudbrick tombs to pits and then back to mud-brick burials. There appears to have been a large number of individuals who were buried in reed/branch containers that had been plastered. There was an

Bioarchaeology of Tell Ibrahim Awad 171

Fig. 16 Map of the Burials

increase in percentage of individuals with grave goods over time. It appears that the wealth of the village increased, while the health decreased slightly. The Individual Tombs in the Cemetery The following phases can be distinguished:4 1. Early Middle Kingdom: the tombs were lined with mudbricks, and originally contained plastered and painted wooden sarcophagi; plaster was all that remained after the decaying of the wood. Almost all of them contained waterjars, and in one case a scarab. Another one produced a headrest. (see Figs. 19, 36, 44)

3. Early First Intermediate Period: deeper and rectangular grave pits, lined with reed mats; and provided with plastered coffins; red pigment points at some form of decoration. The tomb gifts do not change. 4. Late Old Kingdom: brick-lined tombs occur again, as well as wooden sarcophagi, with a hard cement-like covering. No change in the tomb gifts. A reliable chronological anchor for this group was provided by a seal impression with the Horus name of Userkaf,5 found on a division wall in the cemetery.

2. Late First Intermediate Period: graves, consisting of shallow pits with a covering of reed mats. There were hardly any tomb gifts, apart from some pottery and beads and in one case a socalled button seal. (see Fig. 47)

The tombs of Phases 3 and 4 seem to be situated in an abandoned part of the settlement, as they were located in the middle of living quarters and even cut through walls. In several cases, tombs of Phase 1 cut through those of Phase 2. Several DNA samples were taken, but not yet analyzed.

4

5

VAN DEN BRINK 1992. For a preliminary survey of the cemetery: VAN HAARLEM and HIKADE 2006.

VAN HAARLEM and HIKADE 2006, 389, fig. 3. Parallel in Abydos: PETRIE 1903, pl. XVI, 20.

172 Delisa L. Phillips, Jerome C. Rose and Willem M. van Haarlem Designations for Non-Ceramics: running number – object designation – findnumber – height – width – depth – diameter – material-provenance (when appropriate, the coordinates from the north, west and the height above sea level are given, with other details) – description Designations for Ceramics: running number– object designation– find number – condition – height – width – length – diameter – diameter rim – diameter base – wall thickness – material6 – technique7 – bottom8 – hardness – surface colour9 – surface type – description A 130/210, TOMB 1 (see Fig. 20) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 1 burial. Height: 4.77 to 4.24 m. It consists of a simple rectangular mudbrick chamber, with N–S orientation; the walls were half a brick wide, 1 brick wide at the head, and preserved in 8 courses. The bricks were sandmixed. Directly E. of the structure was a small pit with reddish burnt soil and some sherd material. The skeleton was in a bad, fractured and pulverized condition. It was in a N–S extended supine position, and facing E. The arms were stretched tightly at the sides. There was thin white ash found above the bones, indicating the remains of a reed mat. Based on seriated tooth wear, this male individual was 35–50 year at the time of his death. There were two sets of hypoplasias on the teeth, indicating childhood stress at ages 2.5–3.0 and 3.5–5.5 years. Of the 22 teeth recovered, there was no caries, and no signs of calculus. There were no signs of infection on the legs and arms, as well as no signs of arthritis. There were 2 so-called water jars10 found near the head of the individual. Descriptions (see the Introduction for the designations). A 130/210, TOMB 2 (see Fig. 21) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 1 burial, E. of Tomb 1. Height:

6

7

The clays are classified according to the Vienna System, ARNOLD and BOURRIAU 1993. H 1 = entirely handmade; H 2 = handmade except the rim, which was made on the wheel; W 1 = made on the slow wheel.

4.73 to 4.50 m. It consists of a simple rectangular mudbrick chamber, with N–S orientation; the walls were 1 brick wide, and preserved in 7 courses. The bricks were sand-mixed. The skeleton was in a very bad state, with only the skull partially preserved. It was in a N–S extended position, and facing E. on its left side. The sex was indeterminate. The epiphyses on the humeri were unfused. The third molar had just erupted, with very slight wear. Based on development and seriated tooth wear the skeleton was 16–19. There were three hypoplasias on the teeth, indicating childhood stress at 2.5–3.0, 3.0–3.5, and 3.5–4.0 years of age. Of the 23 teeth recovered, there were no signs of caries or calculus. There were no signs of infection on the arms and legs. There was 1 water jar found near the head of the individual. A 130/210, TOMB 3 (see Fig. 22) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 1 burial. Height: 4.50 m. It consists of a simple rectangular mudbrick chamber, with N–S orientation; the walls were 1 brick wide at the sides, and half a brick at the head and foot end; they were preserved in 5 courses. The bricks were sand-mixed. Here as well, the skeleton was in a bad shape. It was laid out in a N–S extended supine position, and facing E on its left side. The head was resting on the left hand. The sex was indeterminate. The proximal tibia, as well as the distal ulna were unfused. The second moalrs were in the process of forming, and there was only slight wear on the second incisors and first molars. Based on serial tooth wear, the skeleton was 10–11. There were three hypoplasias on the teeth, indicating childhood stress at 0.5–1.0, 1.0–1.5, and 2.5–3.0 years of age. Of the 5 teeth recovered, there were no signs of caries or calculus. There were no signs of pitting or porotic hyperostosis of the cranial bones, which were of the proper thickness. The vertebrae were out of alignment, and a few other bones were jumbled up.

8 9 10

H = Handmade, W = wheelmade. According to the Munsell Soil Color Charts. Many parallels for these and other vessels from the tombs can be found in SEIDLMAYER 1990, passim.

Bioarchaeology of Tell Ibrahim Awad 173

A 130/210, TOMB 4 (see Fig. 23) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 burial. Height: 4.49 to 4.34 m. It consists of a rectangular shallow pit, defined by the remnants of reed mats, consisting of a white powdery material. The body was placed on a mat in a lateral N–S. extended position, facing E. It was in a bad condition, with hardly anything of the skull preserved. The sex was indeterminate. The head of the right humerus was only partially fused. The right foot phalanges were unfused. The right pelvis was not fused at the acetabulum. The head of the right femur was not fused. Based on the epiphyseal development of the body, it was estimated to be 10–15 years old. There were no teeth recovered. There were no infections on the arms and legs. The skull was of a normal thickness with no pitting. There were several strings of beads around the neck, and one near the humerus. A 130/210, TOMB 5 (see Fig. 24) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 1 burial. Height: 4.40 to 4.20 m. It consists of a simple rectangular mudbrick chamber, with N–S orientation; all walls were half a brick wide. The bricks were sand-mixed. The badly preserved female skeleton was in a N–S extended lateral position, and facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, she was 35–50. There was no hypoplasias on the teeth. Of the four feet recovered, there were no signs of caries, and the teeth had moderate amounts of calculus. There was no infection present on the legs or arms. Two vessels were found directly outside the tomb; no. 1 to the S., and no. 2 at the W.-side, near the head. In all likelihood, they belonged to this tomb. A 130/210, TOMB 6 (see Fig. 25) Situation in the cemetery: directly to the W. of Tomb 7; see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 1 burial. Height: 4.38 to 3.73 m. It consists of a asymmetrical rectangular mudbrick chamber, with N–S orientation, preserved at least 4 courses high. The walls were 1 brick wide, except the S. wall, which was half a brick wide. The bricks were sand-mixed. The skull was relatively well preserved, but the postcranial (male) skeleton was not. It was facing E. Strangely enough, the lower part of the skeleton was missing. Based on seriated tooth wear, he was 50+ years of age at the time of his death. There were two

hypoplasias found, which indicate childhood stress at 2.5–3.0 and 3.0–3.5 years of age. Of the seven teeth observed, there were no caries, but a lot of calculus. Of the nine sockets observed, two of them were abscessed. There was no evidence of osteophytosis on two vertebrae, no cribra orbitalia, no infections, no pitting of the skull, and the skull was of normal thickness. There was one vessel included in the burial, to the east of the head beside the tomb wall. A 130/210, TOMB 7 (see Fig. 26) Situation in the cemetery: directly to the E. of Tomb 6; see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 1 burial. Height: 4.38 to 3.70 m. It consists of a rectangular mudbrick chamber, with N–S orientation, and at least in 5 courses preserved. The walls must have been originally all 1 brick wide, although some bricks were reduced to half their size now. The bricks were sand-mixed. There were some remnants of reed mats in the pit and on the bones of the male skeleton, based on seriated tooth wear 25–35 years of age. The skeleton was relatively well preserved, extended on the left side, and thus facing E. There were two hypoplasias found, indicating childhood stress at 1.0–1.5 and 2.5–3.0 years of age. Of the 20 teeth observed, there was no evidence of caries, and only a small amount of calculus. There was no infection on the legs and arms. The skull was of normal thickness with no pitting, and no porotic hyperostosis. There was one vessel included in the burial, to the east of the head, standing upright beside the tomb wall. A 130/210, TOMB 8 (see Fig. 27) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 1 burial. Height: 4.50 to 3.52 m. It consists of a rectangular mudbrick chamber, with N–S orientation. The walls were 1 brick wide, except for the N.-wall, which was half a brick wide. There were traces of yellow plaster near the head, suggesting an original plaster-coated wooden coffin. There were traces of burnt loam and charcoal, and portions of the bones showed traces of burning as well. The upper half of this male skeleton, in extended supine position and facing E., was in a very bad state. The age was 35–50, based on seriated tooth wear. There were no infections on the arms and legs. There was no arthritis on the hands or feet. There was one vessel near the head.

174 Delisa L. Phillips, Jerome C. Rose and Willem M. van Haarlem A 130/210, TOMB 9 (see Fig. 28) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 burial. Height: 4.41 to 3.95 m. It consists of an irregular, kidney-shaped pit with N.-S. orientation. There were traces of yellow plaster and red ochre, suggesting a wooden coffin, coated with coloured plaster. The female skeleton was in a bad state, especially the upper half. It was in an extended supine position, aged 25–35, based on seriated tooth wear. There were three hypoplasias on the teeth, indicating childhood stress at 2.5–3.0, 3.0–3.5, and 4.5–5.0 years of age. Of the 9 teeth observed, there were no caries or calculus. There was no infection observed on the arms and legs, nor any arthritis. There was one vessel, positioned just outside the SW corner of the pit. A 130/210, TOMB 10 (see Fig. 29) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 burial, situated partly under Tomb 5. Height: 4.10 to 4.02 m. It consists of a rectangular, very narrow and shallow N–S. pit, defined by the remnants of reed mats, consisting of a white powdery material. Additionally, fragments of yellow plaster were found, suggesting a plastered wooden coffin. There were two N–S. extended skeletons in this burial, which will be called 10 and 10A. 10 was lying on the right side oriented facing W., while 10A was on the left side, facing E. The sex was indeterminate for both 10 and 10A. Based on dental development, 10A was about 3 years of age. Based on seriated tooth wear, 10 was 35–50. There were no signs of infection on either, but 10 had signs of arthritis on one distal phalange of the foot. A 130/210, TOMB 11 (see Figs. 10, 30) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 burial. Height: 4.25–3.85 m. It consists of a rectangular, very narrow and elongated N–S. pit, defined by the remnants of reed mats, consisting of a white powdery material. Additionally, fragments of yellow plaster and red ochre pigment (near the legs and on the arms) were found, suggesting a plastered and painted wooden coffin. The male skeleton was in an extended N–S position on its right side, facing W. Based on seriated tooth wear, he was 50+ of age. There were no hypoplasias observed. Of the twelve teeth observed, there were no caries, and only slight calculus buildup. There were no signs of infection

observed on the arms and legs, as well as no signs of arthritis. Two vessels were found in an extension of the pit, N. of the skull. A 130/210, TOMB 12 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 3 burial, situated partly under Tomb 11. Height: 4.09–3.75 m. It was a rectangular N–S. pit, defined by the white remnants of reed mats, and additionally provided with many fragments of yellow plaster and some red ochre pigment. The bones were in such a poor condition, that it was difficult to distinguish them from the plaster. The male skeleton was in an extended position on its left side, facing E., and 25–35 years of age, based on seriated tooth wear. There were two hypoplasias observed, indicating childhood stress at 1.5–2.0 and 2.0–2.5 years of age. Of the sixteen teeth observed, there was no sign of caries or calculus. There were no signs of infection observed on the left humerus or right femur, as well as no signs of arthritis. A 130/210, TOMB 13 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 burial, situated partly under Tomb 5. Height: 4.13–4.02 m. It was an irregular oval pit, with some remains of yellow plaster. The female skeleton was lying in a flexed position on her left side, facing E. It was either a child or a small adult, but the age was indeterminate as there were no teeth recovered. The bones that were present were unable to provide conclusive age estimation. There were no signs of infection on the arms and legs, as well as no signs of arthritis. A 130/210, TOMB 14 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 or 3 burial. Height: 4.00 m. It was an irregular, disturbed pit; only a few small bone fragments and some teeth were recovered. Based on seriated tooth wear, this indeterminate skeleton was 25–35. Of the seven teeth observed, there were no signs of hypoplasias or caries. There were moderate amounts of calculus found on the left mandibular second incisor. There were no signs of infection or arthritis on the humerus. There were some remains of disintegrated reed mats near the bones. A 130/210, TOMB 15 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. It was situated partly under the MK temple temenos

Bioarchaeology of Tell Ibrahim Awad 175

wall. This was a Phase 3 burial. Height: 3.81–3.73 m. It was an approximately rectangular, narrow pit, lined with disintegrated reed mats. The male skeleton was in an extended position, lying on the left side facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age was 35–50. Of the eleven teeth observed, there were no signs of hypoplasias or caries. There were only slight amounts of calculus observed. There were no signs of infection on the arms and legs, as well as no signs of arthritis on the metatarsals. A 130/210, TOMB 16 / 18 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. The tomb was in a very disturbed state. It was probably a Phase 3 pit burial, lined with disintegrated reed mats, but surrounded or cut by contemporary or later brick walls, of which some were tempered with an extraordinary amount of crushed shells. Height: 3.81–3.64 m. The male skeleton might have been buried in a flexed position, 35–50 years of age. Of the five teeth observed, there were no signs of hypoplasias or caries. There was only a slight indication of calculus. There were no signs of infection on the legs, as well as no signs of arthritis on the metatarsals.

The extended male skeleton was facing E.; based on seriated tooth wear, 25–35 years of age. There was one hypoplasia present, indicating childhood stress at 2.5–3.0 years of age. Of the twenty teeth observed, there were no caries, and light to moderate amounts of calculus. There were no signs of infection on the legs and arms, as well as no signs of arthritis. There was a perimortem break on the midshaft of the right tibia. A 130/210, TOMB 20 (see Figs. 17, 31) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 4 burial. Height: 3.22–2.84 m. It was a rectangular N–S. pit, with many remains of a cement-like thick plaster on the sides, with clear rim fragments and impressions of wood grain, and on the bottom, suggesting a plastered wooden sarcophagus. The female skeleton was in a semi-flexed position on its left side. Based on the presence of osteoporosis in the legs, she was 50+ years of age at the time of her death. No teeth were recovered

A 130/210, TOMB 17 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16, due E. of a N–S wall. It was a Phase 3 burial, a rectangular N–S pit, with extensive hard and thick plaster remnants, especially at the sides, which probably once covered a wooden coffin, and disintegrated reed mat material. Traces of red ochre suggest a decoration. The male skeleton was in a N–S extended position, lying on the left side and facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age was 35–50. Of the twenty-eight teeth observed, there were no hypoplasias or caries. There was a moderate amount of calculus on the teeth. The majority of the bones were observable, and there were no signs of infection or arthritis. A 130/210, TOMB 19 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 3 burial. Height: 3.28–3.05 m. The rectangular pit was NNW-SSE oriented, with a cement-like, thick plaster remains and some red ochre, suggesting an originally plastered and decorated wooden coffin. Disintegrated reed mats were also present.

Fig. 17 130/210, Tomb 20

176 Delisa L. Phillips, Jerome C. Rose and Willem M. van Haarlem with this skeleton; there was some thinning of the bones, most likely due to osteoporosis. A 130/220, TOMB 1 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 1 burial, Height: 4.83 to 4.67 m. It consists of a simple rectangular mudbrick chamber, with NNW–SSE orientation; the walls were 1 brick wide, and the bricks were sandmixed. One piece of plaster beside the femur suggests a plastered wooden coffin. There were remains of a hearth directly S. of the tomb. The male skeleton was in an extended position on the left side, facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age was 20–25. Of the eleven teeth recovered, there was no indication of hypoplasias, caries, or calculus. There were no signs of infection on the arms, legs, or ribs. Neither were there signs of arthritis on the knee, ankle, hip, carpals, metacarpals, phalanges, elbow, or on the articular facets of the thoracic vertebrae. A 130/220, TOMB 2 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 burial, cut by Tomb 1. Height: 4.68 to 4.56 m. It was an approximately rectangular, shallow N–S. pit, defined by the white remnants of reed mats. Some plaster was found as well. The female skeleton was oriented facing up. It was in a supine position with the right arm on the pelvis and the left arm on the side. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age was 20–25. Of the twenty-nine teeth observed, there were no signs of hypoplasias, caries, or calculus. There were no signs of infection on the arms or legs, as well as no signs of arthritis on the shoulder or tarsals. A 130/220, TOMB 3 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16 This was a Phase 2 burial, cut by Tomb 12 at the feet, and itself cutting through a small part of Tomb 7. Height: 4.81 to 4.73 m. It was unclear whether this was a brick burial or whether the tomb cut into an earlier wall. It was a rectangular N–S pit; the female skeleton was in an extended position on the left side, facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age was 20–25. Of the twentysix teeth observed, there were no signs of hypoplasias, caries, or calculus. There were no signs of infection on the arms or legs, as well as no signs of arthritis on the left knee.

A 130/220, TOMB 4 (see Fig. 32a.1, b) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 1 Burial, the E. part of a double N–S oriented rectangular brick tomb, the W. counterpart being Tomb 5. Height: 4.84 to 4.54 m. It cuts through Tomb 7. The walls were 1 brick wide, including the separation wall with Tomb 5. The material was sand-brick. There were many fragments of plaster found in the shape of a rectangle surrounding the skeleton, definitely suggesting a plaster-coated wooden coffin. Decayed reed mat material was present as well. The female skeleton was in an extended position, lying on the left side and facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age was 25–35 year. There were three hypoplasias found on the teeth, indicating childhood stresses at 1.5–2.0, 2.0–2.5 and 2.5–3.0 years of age. Of the twenty-three teeth observed, there were no indications of caries or calculus. There were no signs of infection on any of the long bones, as well as no signs of arthritis on the hands or feet. There was one shell near the head, and one vessel in the NE corner, standing upright. A 130/220, TOMB 5 (see Fig. 32a.2, b) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 1 Burial, the W. part of a double N–S oriented rectangular brick tomb, the E. counterpart being Tomb 4. height: 4.84 to 4.64 m. The S. part was disturbed by an earlier sounding. The walls were 1 brick wide, including the separation wall with Tomb 4. The material was sand-brick. There are some plaster remains. The female skeleton was in an extended position, face up. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age was 25–35 year. There was one hypoplasia found, indicating a childhood stress at an age of 1.5–2.0. Of the nine teeth observed, there were no signs of caries or calculus. There were no signs of infection on the arms or legs, as well as no signs of arthritis on the hands or knees. There was one shell near the head, and one vessel in the NE corner, standing upright. A 130/220, TOMB 6 (See Fig. 33) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 Burial. Height: 4.80 to 4.67 m. It consists of a approximately oval N–S pit, defined by the remnants of reed mats. The male skeleton was lying in an extended position on the left side, facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age at the time of death was 50+.

Bioarchaeology of Tell Ibrahim Awad 177

Of the thirteen teeth observed, there were no signs of hypoplasias or caries, and moderate amounts of calculus. There were no signs of infection on the skull, arms, or legs. There were no bones able to be observed for arthritis. There was one jar in the pit, N.of the head. A 130/220, TOMB 7 (see Fig. 34) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16 This was a Phase 1 Burial, partially cut by Tomb 3 and 4/5. Height: 4.72 to 4.62 m. It was a large rectangular N–S brick tomb; all surviving walls were half a brick wide, preserved in only 1 course. The material was sand-brick. There were traces of yellow plaster in a straight line E. of the body, indicating the remains of a plastered wooden coffin. Although the tomb was cut just below the knees, the lower legs have been preserved under Tomb 4/5 completely untouched. The scapula of a goat or sheep was found on the E. wall, and some animal bones nearby. The male skeleton was in an extended position on its left side, facing E. based on seriated tooth wear, the age at death was 25–35. There was one hypoplasia found, which indicates a childhood stress at 2.0–2.5 years of age. Of the thirty teeth observed, there were no signs of caries or calculus. There were signs of infection on the distal foot phalanges. There was a destructive lesion leaving only a lattice of heavy trabeculae on the second phalange. There was also a dimple in the middle of the articular surface. There were no signs of infection on the scapula, but there were two large sesimoid bones found on the tarsals. The right femur was missing; the right tibia and ulna were present. The acetabulum was carefully excavated, and was found to be empty and intact. This means that the femur had been removed on purpose. The bones of the right hand were found 10 cm lower than the radius and ulna. This indicates that on one point the right hand was lying on something where the right femur should have been, but then it decayed. There were two vessels, one in the NW and one in the NE corner of the tomb.

what flexed position on its left side, facing E. It was in a very bad state of preservation, making analysis only partially possible. Based on tooth eruption, the age at death was 12–15 years. There was one hypoplasia on the teeth, indicating a childhood stress at 1.5–2.0 years of age. Of the ten teeth observed, there were no signs of caries or of calculus. There were no signs of infection on the right humerus or on the skull, which were the only bones to be observed adequately. The skull was of a normal thickness. Some beads were found in the vicinity of the neck. A 130/220, TOMB 9 (see Figs. 18 & 35) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 1 Burial, largely cut by Tomb 15. height: 4.71 to 4.53 m. It was probably a N–W brick burial, half a brick wide at the sides and 1 brick wide at the head end. The material was sand-brick. Some traces of decayed reed mats were preserved along with some plaster fragments. Only the male skull was still in place. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age at death was 20–25. Of the three teeth observed, there were no indications of hypoplasias, caries, or calculus. However, there was an additional circular cusp in the middle of the maxillary right third molar. There were no signs of infection on the skull. There was a headrest found under the skull.

A 130/220, TOMB 8 (see Fig. 33) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 Burial, partially cut by Tomb 14. Height: 4.67 to 4.64 m. It was an approximately oval, NNW–SSE pit, lined in the E. by some reed mat remains. The skeleton, of which the sex was indeterminate, was lying in a some-

Fig. 18 Headrest

178 Delisa L. Phillips, Jerome C. Rose and Willem M. van Haarlem A 130/220, TOMB 10

A 130/220, TOMB 14

Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 1 Burial. Height: 4.69 to 4.59 m. It was a brick tomb, NNW–SSE oriented. The walls were half a brick wide; they were sand-bricks. The female body was lying in an extended position on the left side, facing E. The bones were disturbed, but it was an adult, based on a fused proximal tibia, but as there were no observable teeth, it was impossible to be more specific. There were no signs of infection on the humerus or femur.

Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 Burial, partly cutting into Tomb 14. Height: 4.67 to 4.64 m. This irregular pit burial was roughly N–S oriented, but there was no way of knowing which way the head faced, nor which way it was positioned because of the poor preservation of the bones. That was why the sex was unknown. Based on one epiphyseal fragment, one tooth fragment, and thin cranial bones, it was estimated that the age at death was 7–9 years. There were no bones able to be used for analysis of infection. Some white traces point to the presence of reed mats.

A 130/220, TOMB 11 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. Possibly originally a Phase 1 Burial, twinned with Tomb 12. Only preserved in a single N–S wall, 1 brick wide, height 4.67 to 4.56 m. Material: sandbricks. Contents otherwise have completely disappeared; maybe not a tomb at all? A 130/220, TOMB 12 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 1 Burial, possibly originally twinned with Tomb 11, and cutting through the feet of Tomb 3. Height: 4.65 to 4.53 m. The tomb was N–S oriented, with the W & E.-walls 1 brick wide, and the S.-wall half a brick. The N.-wall was missing. There were traces of reed mat remains and yellow plaster. The skeleton, of which the sex was indeterminate due to the poor preservation of the bones, was in an extended position on the left side, facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, it was 35–50 years old. Of the twelve teeth observed, there were no signs of hypoplasias, caries, or calculus. There were no signs of infection on the femur or tibia; however, only fragments of these bones could be observed due to the poor preservation. A 130/220, TOMB 13 (see Fig. 36) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 Burial. Height: 4.67 to 4.43 m. This was a roughly oval, N–S pit burial, defined by the white remnants of decayed reed mats. The female skeleton was lying in a supine position on the left side, facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age at death was 20–25 years of age. There were three hypoplasias found, indicating childhood stress at 1.0–1.5, 2.0–2.5, and 2.5–3.0 years of age. Of the twenty-five teeth observed, there were no signs of caries or calculus. There were no signs of infection present either. There was one bead found in the chest area.

A 130/220, TOMB 15 (see Fig. 35) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 Burial, cutting through Tomb 9. Height: 4.46 to 4.27 m. This was an approximately rectangular N–S pit burial, defined by remnants of decayed reed mats. Some plaster remains were left as well, pointing to a possible plastered wooden sarcophagus. The male skeleton was lying in a extended position on the left side, facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age at death was 25–35. Of the fifteen teeth observed, there were no signs of hypoplasias, caries, or calculus. One interesting thing to note was that the third molars were congenitally absent. There were no signs of infection on the humeri, radii, ulnae, femora, or tibiae. Some faience beads were found in the neck area. A 130/220, TOMB 16 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 Burial, cutting through an E-W. wall. Height: 4.40 to 4.02 m. This was an approximately rectangular N–S. pit burial, defined by thick layers of white reed mat remains and plaster. The skeleton, of indeterminate sex, was lying in a extended position on its left side, facing E. The second molar of this individual was completely erupted; however, the long bones epiphyses were unfused as well as all phalanges, metacarpals, metatarsals, and the pelvis. Based on this, the age at death was approximately 16 years of age. There was one hypoplasia present, indicating childhood stress at 2.0–2.5 years. Of the twentyseven teeth observed, there were no signs of caries or calculus. There were no signs of infection on the long bones.

Bioarchaeology of Tell Ibrahim Awad 179

A 130/220, TOMB 17 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a probably a Phase 2 Burial, of which the whole upper part of the body has disappeared. The outline of this probably oval N–S pit was defined by white reed mat traces. It was probably lying in an extended position on the left side, facing E. The sex of this fragmentary skeleton could not be determined. There were no teeth found with this burial, but based on the bones, the skeleton most likely belonged to an adult. There were no signs of infection on the tibiae. A 130/220, TOMB 18 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 Burial. Height: 4.53 to 4.43 m. This was a rectangular N–S. pit burial, defined by white reed mat remains. The female skeleton was lying in an extended position on its left side, facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age at death was 25–35 years. Of the four teeth recovered, there were no signs of hypoplasias, caries, or calculus. There were no signs of infection on the tibiae. A 130/220, TOMB 19 (see Fig. 19) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 Burial. Height: 4.46 to 4.29 m. The approximately rectangular N–S pit was lined with reed mat remains and bordered in the SW by a fire pit. The female skeleton was lying in a flexed position on the left side, facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age at death was 20–25 years. Of the twenty-seven teeth found, there were no signs of hypoplasias, caries, or calculus.

There were no signs of infection on the tibiae or femora. A 130/220, TOMB 20 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 3 Burial. Height: 4.07 to 3.83 m. The N–S pit was quite rectangular, with extensive plaster remains indicating a plaster covered coffin, and traces of reed matting. The female skeleton was lying on the left side, with the legs slightly bent, facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age at death was 35–50 years. Of the eleven teeth found, there were no signs of hypoplasias, caries, or calculus; however, three teeth were lost ante mortem. There were no signs of infection on the tibiae, femora, vertebrae or radius. A 130/220, TOMB 21 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This appeared to be not a tomb at all. A 130/220, TOMB 22 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 3 Burial. Height: 4.31 to 4.08 m., cutting through an EW-wall. It was a rectangular N–S pit, displaying thick layers of reed mat remains. The female skeleton was lying in a flexed position on the left side, facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age at death was 35–50 years. Of the three teeth recovered, there were no signs of hypoplasias, caries, or calculus. With the exception of the patella, the bones were too fractured and mineralized to check for infection. There were no signs of infection on the patella. A 130/220, TOMB 23 (see Fig. 37)

Fig. 19 30/220, Tomb 19

Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 3 Burial. Height: 4.07 to 3.85 m. It was an oval, N–S. pit with some edge fragments of the plaster, originally covering a now decayed wooden coffin. The female skeleton was in a supine position on its back, face up. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age was 50+ at the time of death. Of the three teeth observed, there were no signs of hypoplasias or calculus. The mandibular third left molar had caries, as well as the mandibular third right molar. There was a large abscess on the mandibular left first premolar. There was arthritis on the distal phalanges of the hand, but none on the vertebrae. There were no signs of infection on the long

180 Delisa L. Phillips, Jerome C. Rose and Willem M. van Haarlem bones. There was, however, an old cut mark on one of the middle hand phalanges. The feet were missing. There was one vessel W. of the head. A 130/220, TOMB 24 (see Figs. 14 & 38) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 4 Burial. Height: 3.81 to 3.10 m. The tomb walls were one brick wide, except the S.-wall, which was half a brick, and preserved in four courses. Inside was a smaller, rectangular N–S pit, coated with thick, cement-like plaster, which was also encasing some of the bones.11 This suggests a plastered wooden coffin with a lid. There were also reed mat remains. The male skeleton was found in an extended position on the left side, facing E. based on seriated tooth wear, the age at death was 25–35 years. Of the thirty teeth observed, there were no signs of hypoplasias, caries, or calculus. There were no signs of infection on the long bones, but signs of arthritis in the distal phalanges of the feet. A 130/230, TOMB 1 (see Fig. 39) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 burial. Height: 4.71 to 4.45 m. It was an approximately rectangular NNW–SSE pit with some traces of decayed reed mats. The male skeleton was found in an extended position on the left side, facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age at death was 50+ years. There were two hypoplasias found, indicating childhood stress at 1.0–1.5 and 2.0–2.5 years of age. Of the nineteen teeth recovered, there were no signs of caries or calculus. There were no signs of infection on the long bones. There was a ring found on the right hand. A 130/230, TOMB 2 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 Burial. Height: 4.86 to 4.80 m. It was an approximately rectangular N–S pit, lined with decayed reed mats. The female skeleton was lying in an extended position on the left side, facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age at death was 25–35 years. Of the twelve teeth found, there were no signs of hypoplasias, caries, or calculus. There were no signs of infection on the long bones.

11

VAN HAARLEM and HIKADE 2006, 392, pl. I.

A 130/230, TOMB 3 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 Burial. Height: 4.91 to 4.74 m. It was an approximately rectangular N–S pit, lined with decayed reed mats, and disturbed in the N. The skeleton of indeterminate sex was lying on its back. There were no teeth recovered with this skeleton, but based on the long bones, this body probably belonged to an adult. There were no signs of infection on the tibiae or femora. A 130/230, TOMB 4 (see Fig. 40) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 Burial. Height: 4.72 to 4.58 m. It was a large, approximately rectangular NNE–SSW pit, lined with reed mat remains. The female skeleton was lying in an extended position on the left side, facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age at death was 25–35 years. Of the three teeth observed, there were no signs of hypoplasias, caries, or calculus. There were no signs of infection on the tibiae or femora. The bones and the area around them were stained with red ochre pigment, possibly the remains of paint on the reed mats. A number of beads were found in the pelvis area. A 130/230, TOMB 5 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase ? Burial. Height: 4.72 m. Of the skeleton, only a partial humerus and some skull fragments, including teeth, were preserved, so nothing can be said about orientation and sex. Decayed reed mats were present, however. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age at death was 25–35 years. There was one hypoplasia found, indicating childhood stress at 1.5–2.0 years of age. Of the eight teeth preserved, there were no signs of caries or calculus. The poor preservation of the bones makes it impossible to determine any infection, arthritis, or trauma. A 130/230, TOMB 6 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 Burial. Height: 4.40 to 4.02 m. This was a rectangular NNE–SSW pit, defined by reed mat remains. The female skeleton was lying in an extended position on the right side, facing

Bioarchaeology of Tell Ibrahim Awad 181

W. Based on the development of the long bones, as there were no teeth present, it was an adult. There were no signs of infection on the left femur, right radius, right ulna, the tibiae, or on the fibulae.

cated on the teeth at 1.0–1.5 and 2.0–2.5 years of age. Of the ten teeth observed, there were no signs of caries or calculus. There were no signs of infection on the arms and legs, nor any signs of arthritis on the head of the right humerus.

A 130/230, TOMB 7

A 130/230, TOMB 10

Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 Burial. Height: 4.67 to 4.58 m. It was an oval pit, defined by reed mat remains. The female skeleton was placed in a flexed position on the left side, facing E., with the hands in front of the face. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age at death was 35–50 years. There were no signs of hypoplasias, caries, or calculus on the two molars that were found. The right mandibular canine, first and second premolar, and first molar were all lost ante mortem; the remainder were lost post mortem. The bones of this burial were very much flattened, so there was not enough material to observe for signs of pathological conditions.

Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 Burial. Height: 4.43 to 4.30 m. This was a rectangular NNE-SSW pit, defined by reed mat remains. The skeleton, of undetermined sex, was lying in an extended position on its left side, facing E. based on seriated tooth wear, the age at death was 35–50 years. Of the four teeth observed, there were no signs of hypoplasias, caries, or calculus. There were no signs of infection observed on the long bones (femur) or the cranium.

A 130/230, TOMB 8 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 Burial. Height: 4.52 to 4.15 m. It was a rectangular N–S pit, lined with reed mats, and with an extension to the S. which contained animal bones, possibly from a food offering. The pit contained two superimposed male skeletons, A on top of B. Both were lying in an extended position on their left sides, facing E. The age of A at death was 25–35, based on seriated tooth wear. Of B no teeth were preserved, but due to the fusion of the long bones, it was definitely an adult. A had one indicator of childhood stress at 1.5–2.0 years of age; of the thirteen teeth observed, there were no signs of caries or calculus. There were no signs of infection on any of the long bones present. A 130/230, TOMB 9 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 Burial, cutting through an EWwall. Height: 4.52 to 4.02 m. This was a rectangular NNE–SSW pit, defined by reed mat remains and with some yellow plaster and red pigment, indicating a plaster covered and painted wooden coffin, now disintegrated. The male skeleton was in an extended position, lying on its left side, facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age at death was 25–35 years. There were two major episodes of childhood stress indi-

A 130/230, TOMB 11 (see Fig. 41) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 Burial. Height: 4.48 to 4.09 m. It was an irregular N–S pit, partly defined by reed mat remains. The male skeleton was lying in an extended position with the right hand on the chest area, on the left side, facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age at death was 25–35 years. Of the eleven teeth observed, there were no signs of hypoplasias or calculus. The mandibular right second molar was destroyed by dental decay. There were no signs of infection or arthritis on the long bones. Two vessels were found at the N. side of the pit. A 130/230, TOMB 12 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 3 Burial. Height: 4.12 to 3.64 m. This was a deep, rectangular NNE–SSW pit, lined with decayed reed mats. Traces of plaster and red ochre suggest an original wooden coffin, plastered and painted. The male, extended skeleton was originally on the right side, but had slumped back; the face was to the E. The age at death was 35–50 years. Of the twenty-one teeth observed, there were no signs of hypoplasias, caries, or calculus. There were no signs of infection on the long bones. The finger bones had rugged muscle attachments, but there were no signs of arthritis. A 130/230, TOMB 13 (see Fig. 42) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 3 Burial. Height: 4.06 to 3.67 m.

182 Delisa L. Phillips, Jerome C. Rose and Willem M. van Haarlem This was a deep, rectangular N–S pit, lined with decayed reed mats. The skeleton was lying in a supine position, facing up, though it probably rolled there from the left side. The sex of the skeleton was indeterminate. Based on the development of the epiphyses and the eruption of the teeth, this individual was about 4 years of age. There was one episode of childhood stress indicated by the teeth, at 2.5–3.0 years. Of the thirteen deciduous teeth observed, there were no signs of caries or calculus. There were no signs of infection or arthritis on the long bones. Two beads were found in the neck area. A 130/230, TOMB 14 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 3 Burial. Height: 3.38 to 3.36 m. This was an oval N–S pit, defined by reed mat remains. The male skeleton was lying in a very tightly flexed position, with the knees under the chin, lying on the left side, facing E. It might have been a long time after death before it was buried to achieve this position. Based on seriated tooth wear and the fusion of the distal femur, the age at death was 25–35 years. Of the three teeth observed, there were no signs of hypoplasias, caries, or calculus. There were no signs of infection or arthritis on the distal femora, as far as could be observed on the poorly preserved bones. A 140/210, TOMB 1 (see Fig. 43) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 1 Burial. Height: 4.82 to 4.70 m. This was a rectangular N–S mudbrick tomb, 1 + ½ brick wide at the W. side (except at the NW corner, where it was 1 brick; the additional ½ brick wall was at a lower level), 1 brick wide at the other sides. Two courses of bricks were preserved. The material was sand-brick. There were traces of reed mats; a plastered wooden coffin seems to be possible. The male skeleton was lying in an extended position on the left side, facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age at death was 35–50 years. There were two indications of childhood stress at 2.0–2.5 and 3.0–3.5 years of age. Of the seven teeth observed, there were no signs of caries or calculus. There were no signs of infection on the humerus, radius, or ulna. There was one scarab found at the left hand and one vessel in the NW corner.12

12

A 140/210, TOMB 2 (see Fig. 44) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 1 Burial. Height: 4.84 to 4.45 m. Narrow, rectangular N–S mudbrick tomb; walls 1 brick wide, material sand-brick. Traces of plaster indicate a lime plastered coffin, now decayed. The male skeleton was in an extended position on the left side, facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age at death was 35–50 years. Of the ten teeth observed, there were no signs of hypoplasias, caries, or calculus. Only the skull of this skeleton could be observed for infection. There were signs of cribra orbitalia in the orbits in the form of large pits. There was one vessel found just outside the tomb, leaning against the NE corner. It was possible that there was no room inside the coffin and thus the tomb for this object. A 140/210, TOMB 3 (see Fig. 45) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 Burial, cut by Tomb 2. Height: 4.80 m. It was a more or less rectangular N–S pit, with decayed reed mat traces present. This burial contained two skeletons. Both were lying in an extended position on their left sides, facing E. 3A was female; based on seriated tooth wear, the age was 25–35 years. The EU indeterminate d skeleton 3B was 3.0–3.5 years of age at the time of death, based on tooth eruption. There were no signs of hypoplasias, caries, or calculus on the teeth of either skeleton, nor were any signs of infection or arthritis present in any of the two. There was one vessel in the NE corner. A 140/210, TOMB 4 (see Fig. 46) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 Burial. Height: 4.80 to 4.72 m. It was a rectangular N–S pit, with plaster remains at the sides, indicating a decayed wooden coffin. The female skeleton was lying in an extended position on the left side, facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, the beginning of the eruption of the third molars, and the fusion of the long bones, the age at death was approximately 15–17 years. There were two hypoplasias found on the teeth indicating childhood stress at 4.5–5.0 and 5.5–6.0 years of age. Of the five teeth observed, there were no signs of caries, but all of the teeth had calculus on them.

VAN DEN BRINK 1992, 47. Closest parallel: PETRIE, i.a., 1923, pl. LXV, no. 323. Date: late Dyn. 12.

Bioarchaeology of Tell Ibrahim Awad 183

Some beads and a button seal with a stylized human figure13 were found on the body, as well as a vessel just N. of the pit; probably because there was no room inside the coffin. A 140/210, TOMB 5 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 1 Burial. Height: 4.79 to 4.37 m. It was a rectangular, N–S mudbrick tomb; the sides were 1 brick wide, except the E.-side, which was half a brick. Preserved in 5 courses. The material was pure Nile clay. The skeleton, of undetermined sex, was lying in an extended position on the left side, facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age at death was 50+ years. Only the maxillary right first premolar was observable. It was worn down to only a few mm of enamel. There were no signs of caries or calculus on this tooth. On the observable bones, there were no signs of infection. A 140/210, TOMB 6 (Fig. 47) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase ? Burial. Height: 4.60 m. Due to heavy disturbance of the tomb, it was not clear whether a line of bricks found beside it belong to it; only the legs were preserved. There were red ochre stains on them and traces of plaster, so the body was probably placed in a plastered and painted coffin. It was probably lying in an extended position on the left side, facing E. Sex and age could not be determined, but the legs did not have any signs of infection. There was one vessel in the N.-part of the burial, probably belonging to it. A 140/210, TOMB 7 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 Burial. Height: 4.53 to 4.35 m. This was a small, oval N–S pit, lined with traces of decayed reed mats. The body was lying in an extended position on the left side, facing E. Based on the eruption of the teeth, the age at death was 6 years and the age of children is not possible to determine. There were three indicators of childhood stress at 2.0–2.5, 3.0–3.5, and 4.5–5.0 years of age.

13

A 140/210, TOMB 8 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 Burial. Height: 4.44 to 4.34 m. This was an irregular N–S pit, lined with traces of decayed reed mats. The body, of undetermined sex, was lying in an extended position on the left side, facing E. based on tooth eruption and fusion of the bones, the age at death was probably 5 years. There was one indication of childhood stress at 1.5–2.0 years of age, but no signs of caries or calculus. There were no signs of infection on the tibiae, fibulae, or skull. A 140/210, TOMB 9 (see Fig. 47) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 3 Burial. Height: 4.29 to 3.88 m. This was an oval NNW–SSE pit; the somewhat deviating orientation is probably due to the situation of the pit between older walls. It was lined with decayed reed mat remains, and some red ochre was present as well. The female skeleton was lying in an extended position on its left side, facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age at death was 25–35 years. Of the nine teeth observed, there were no signs of hypoplasias, caries, or calculus. There were no signs of infection on the long bones. There was one bead in the neck area. A 140/210, TOMB 10 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 3 Burial, situated partly under Tomb 5, but not disturbed by it. Height: 4.19 to 3.99 m. It was an approximately rectangular N–S pit tomb, lined by reed mat remains. There were significant traces of red ochre present, as well as some plaster. The female skeleton was lying in an extended position on the left side, facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age at death was 25–35. There were two hypoplasias found on the teeth, indicating stress at 3.0–3.5 and 4.0–4.5 years of age. Of the twenty-six teeth observed, there were no signs of caries, yet there was calculus found on most of the teeth. There were no signs of infection or arthritis on the long bones.

BRUNTON 1928, pl. XXXIV, no. 228. Also WIESE 1996, pl. 48 (nos. 991, 997–999). For the shape: WIESE 1996, 59 (pl. 13), no. 14a.

184 Delisa L. Phillips, Jerome C. Rose and Willem M. van Haarlem A 140/220, TOMB 1 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 1 Burial. Height: 4.95 to 4.86 m. It was a rectangular N–S brick tomb. The E. and W. walls were 1 brick wide, the N. and S. walls half a brick. The material was mudbrick. Traces of decayed reed mats were present, as well as plaster remains, pointing to a decayed plastered coffin. The male skeleton was lying in an extended position on the left side, facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age at death was 50+ years. Of the eight teeth observed, there were no signs of hypoplasias, caries, or calculus. There were no signs of infection on the long bones, nor signs of arthritis on the shoulder, hands, or feet. A 140/220, TOMB 2 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 Burial, situated partly under Tomb 1, but not disturbed by it. Height: 4.87 to 4.78 m. It was an approximately oval N–S pit, lined by reed mat remains. Traces of plaster suggest a decayed wooden coffin, covered with plaster. The male skeleton was lying in an extended position on the left side, facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age at death was 35–50 years. Of the ten teeth observed, there were no indications of hypoplasias, caries, or calculus. There were no signs of infection on the long bones, nor signs of arthritis on the hands. A 140/220, TOMB 3 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 2 Burial. Height: 4.55 to 4.30 m. It was an approximately oval N–S. pit, lined with reed mat remains. The male skeleton was lying in a slightly flexed position on the left side, facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age at death was 50+ years. The only tooth recovered was a maxillary premolar that was worn down to the rim. There were no signs of hypoplasias, caries, or calculus on the tooth recovered, nor were there signs of infection or arthritis on the long bones. A 140/220, TOMB 4 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 3 Burial. Height: 4.22 to 4.07 m. This was a rectangular N–S pit, with extensive reed mat and plaster remains, indicating a plastered wooden coffin. The female skeleton was lying in an extended position on the right side, with the face down; probably originally facing the

E. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age at death was 25–35 years. Of the thirty-two teeth observed, there were no signs of hypoplasias or caries. There was some calculus found on the buccal side of the molars. There were no signs of infection on most of the long bones; however, the tibiae did have some rounded striations, indicating some sort of periosteal reaction. A 150/210, TOMB 1 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 3 Burial. Height: 4.68 to 4.64 m. This was a disturbed, probably originally oval N–S pit, with reed mat and plaster remains, and some ochre fragments. The skeleton of indeterminate sex was lying on the left side with the femora crossed. Most of the upper part of the body was gone. Based on the fact that the metatarsals were still unfused, this individual was most likely 10–16 years of age at the time of death. There were no teeth preserved; no signs of infection on the tibiae, or arthritis on the toes. A 150/210, TOMB 2 Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 3 Burial. Height: 4.08 to 3.93 m. This is a rectangular N–S pit, lined with reed mat remains and with large quantities of plaster inside and just N. of the pit, indicative of a plaster covered coffin. The female skeleton was lying extended on the left side, facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age at death was 35–50 years. The size of this individual was rather small for the age. Of the eighteen teeth observed, there were no signs of hypoplasias, caries, or calculus. There were no signs of infection on the long bones, nor were there signs of arthritis on the cervical vertebrates, shoulder, or hands. A 150/210, TOMB 3 (see Fig. 48) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 3 Burial. Height: 4.06 to 3.83 m. This was an approximately rectangular N–S pit, lined with decayed reed mats and with large patches of plaster and red ochre in it, indicating a plastered and painted wooden sarcophagus. The male skeleton was lying in an extended position, facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age at death was 35–50 years. Of the twenty-three teeth observed, there were no signs of hypoplasias, caries, or calculus. There were no signs of infection on the tibiae, femora, or the

Bioarchaeology of Tell Ibrahim Awad 185

right humerus, nor were there signs of arthritis on the hands and feet. There were a number of beads found in the burial. A150/210, TOMB 4 (see Fig. 49) Situation in the cemetery: see the plan, Fig. 16. This was a Phase 3 Burial. Height: 3.88 to 3.40 m. It was a rectangular N–S pit with reed mat remains, plaster and red ochre fragments, indicative of a plastered and painted coffin. The male skeleton was lying in an extended position on the

left side, facing E. Based on seriated tooth wear, the age at death was 25–35 years. There were two large episodes of childhood stress at 2.5–3.0 and 4.0–4.5 years of age. Or the thirteen teeth observed, there were no signs of caries or calculus. There were no signs of infection on the long bones, or signs of arthritis on the feet, wrists, elbows, or shoulders. There were two vessels in a separate small pit near the NE corner; both contained fish bones. Beads comprising 2 necklaces were found around the neck.

Photographs by J. Kelder, R. Leenheer and J.C. Rose. Inking by J. Kelder and E.A.M. van Tol-Sinnige. The scale indications beside the pottery vessels are all 10 cm., unless stated otherwise.

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Bioarchaeology of Tell Ibrahim Awad 187

2

1 No. 1: A 130/210 IC

H2

No. 2: A 130/210 IC

H2

jar

12/1

>½

25.5

scraped

soft

10 R 4/8

slip

jar

12/2

>½

33.7

scraped

soft

10 R 4/6

slip

–

13.0

–

–

2.0

Neck missing; roundbottom; scrape marks on lower part –

–

15

–

–

2.0

Rim damaged; round bottom; scrape marks on lower part

Fig. 20* A 130/210, Tomb 1

* For designations see p. 172

–

188 Delisa L. Phillips, Jerome C. Rose and Willem M. van Haarlem

1

No. 1: A 130/210 IB1

H1

jar

41

scraped

hard

>½

29.5

–

–

12.5

–

10 R 5/4 self-slip Round bottom; scrape marks on lower part Fig. 21 A 130/210, Tomb 2

–

2.0

Bioarchaeology of Tell Ibrahim Awad 189

Fig. 22 A 130/210, Tomb 3

1

No. 1: A 130/210

beads

40

0.11

–

– 0.4–0.7 – – 0.4–0.77 a. 1 round bead; b. 1 tubular bead; c. 437 complete and 72 faience and carnelian around the neck of the individual broken disk-shaped beads Fig. 23 A 130/210, Tomb 4

190 Delisa L. Phillips, Jerome C. Rose and Willem M. van Haarlem

1

No. 1: A 130/210 IB1

2

jar

14

complete

28.5

H2

H

No. 2: A 130/210

jar

42

>½

36

H

medium

10 R 6/6

wash

IC

H1

–

–

12.3

7.3

–

0.7

17

10

–

1.0

medium 2.5 YR 5/6 self-slip Round bottom –

–

Pointed jar; finger impressions on the surface

Fig. 24 A 130/210, Tomb 5

Bioarchaeology of Tell Ibrahim Awad 191

1

No. 1: A 130/210

jar

27

>½

28.5

IB2

H

soft

10 R 4/6

slip

H2

–

–

12.3

9.6

Round bottom, surface very worn

Fig. 25 A 130/210, Tomb 6

–

–

192 Delisa L. Phillips, Jerome C. Rose and Willem M. van Haarlem

1

No. 1: A 130/210

jar

28

IB1

H

hard

H2

complete

28

10 R 5/6 self-slip

–

–

13.0

8.0

–

Round bottom; vertical scrape marks. black stains

Fig. 26 A 130/210, Tomb 7

1.0

Bioarchaeology of Tell Ibrahim Awad 193

1

No. 1: A 130/210 IB1

H2

jar

43

scraped

hard

>½

28

10 R 5/6 self-slip

– – 14.0 5.0 – 1.0 Scrape marks vsible; white crusts and black stains on one side

Fig. 27 A 130/210, Tomb 8

194 Delisa L. Phillips, Jerome C. Rose and Willem M. van Haarlem

1

No. 1: A 130/210 IB1

H2

jar

37

>½

28.1

scraped

soft

7.5 YR 7/6

slip

–

–

12.1

7.0

–

Pointed jar; scrape marks and worn surface

Fig. 28 A 130/210, Tomb 9

1.0

Bioarchaeology of Tell Ibrahim Awad 195

Fig. 29 A 130/210, Tomb 10

1 2

No. 1: A 130/210 IB1

H2

No. 2: A 130/210 IB1

H2

cup

60

complete

10.8

H

soft

10 R 4/6

slip

bottle

61

complete

25.7

scraped

soft

2.5 YR 5/4

slip

–

–

8.8

–

–

0.7

Conical shape with pointed bottom; somewhat irregular –

–

14.5

–

–

Water bottle type, with vertical scrape marks

Fig. 30 A 130/210, Tomb 11

7.6

196 Delisa L. Phillips, Jerome C. Rose and Willem M. van Haarlem

Fig. 31 A 130/210, Tomb 20

2

1 No. 1: A 130/220 IB2

H2

No. 2: A 130/220 IB2

H2

bottle

3

complete

31.6

H

soft

10 R 5/6

slip

bottle

8

>½

29.7

H

soft

10 R 4/6

slip

– – 12.5 8.0 – 0.8 Elongated ovoid body, wide flaring rim with narrow neck; crusted –

–

16

Flaring rim with narrow neck

Fig. 32a A 130/220, Tombs 4 & 5

–

–

0.8

Bioarchaeology of Tell Ibrahim Awad 197

Fig. 32b A 130/220, Tombs 4 & 5

198 Delisa L. Phillips, Jerome C. Rose and Willem M. van Haarlem

1

2

No. 1: A 130/220 IB2

H2

bottle H

5

>½

23.5

medium 10 R 5/6

slip

–

–

Flaking surface; traces of use

A 130/220, Tomb 6 No. 1: A 130/220 faience

beads

24

0.1

–

11.5

–

0.2

around the neck of the individual worn disk beads A 130/220, Tomb 8

Fig. 33 A 130/220, Tombs 6 & 8

–

–

0.7

Bioarchaeology of Tell Ibrahim Awad 199

1

2

No. 1: A 130/220 IB1

H2

No. 2: A 130/220 IB1

H2

bottle

17

complete

28.9

H

soft

10 R 5/6

slip

bottle

18

complete

29

H

hard

10 R 5/6

slip

–

–

13.5

8.5

–

0.8

–

0.6

Vertical scrape marks on the lower –

Fig. 34 A 130/220, Tomb 7

–

12.5

8.0

200 Delisa L. Phillips, Jerome C. Rose and Willem M. van Haarlem

1

2

No. 1: A 130/220 IC

headrest

7.5 YR 6/4

28 15.0 14.7 7.1 – under the head of the individual rough, hand-modelled head rest, with remains of the reed mat on the bottom of the tomb sticking to one side A 130/220, Tomb 9

No. 1: A 130/220 bone

beads

27

1.7–2.5

–

near the neck of the individual

–

1.1–1.2

4 tubular beads in black and brown

A 130/220, Tomb 15 Fig. 35 A 130/220, Tombs 9 & 15

Bioarchaeology of Tell Ibrahim Awad 201

1

No. 1: A 130/220 bone

bead

25

2.3

–

near the neck of the individual

–

0.6

tubular bead in black and red

Fig. 36 A 130/220, Tomb 13

1

No. 1: A 130/210 IB2

W1

jar

87

complete

31.1

H

medium

2.5 YR 5/6

slip

–

–

13

8.8

–

‘Water bottle’ with flaring rim and round bottom

Fig. 37 A 130/220, Tomb 23

0.7

202 Delisa L. Phillips, Jerome C. Rose and Willem M. van Haarlem

Fig. 38 A 130/220, Tomb 24

1

No. 1: A 130/230 ring bezel bronze

4

1.1

1.6

0.2

–

on the ring finger of the right hand lozenge-shaped, unadorned bezel, one tip broken off; corroded Fig. 39 A 130/230, Tomb 1

Bioarchaeology of Tell Ibrahim Awad 203

1

No. 1: A 130/230

beads

10

7 globular faience beads (0.9– 1.0)

1 convex bone bead (0.9–0.7) 2 small biconical faience beads (1.4–0.8) 1 big biconical bone bead (2.1–0.7)

near the pelvis of the individual Fig. 40 A 130/230, Tomb 4

1 ovoid faience bead (1.3–0.9) 3 big biconical faience beads (1.9–0.7)

204 Delisa L. Phillips, Jerome C. Rose and Willem M. van Haarlem

1

2

No. 1: A 130/230

jug

36

complete

13.4

scraped

soft

5 YR 6/6

slip

No. 2: A 130/230

jug

37

complete

12.9

IB1

H

soft

5 YR 5/6

slip

IB1

H2

H2

– – 7.4 5 2.5 0.8 Round bottom (but can stand upright), flaring rim. Curious coating inside, probably due to contents – – 7.3 4.9 – 0.7 Round bottom with flaring rim; fish and rodent bones found within

Fig. 41 A 130/230, Tomb 11

Bioarchaeology of Tell Ibrahim Awad 205

1

No. 1: A 130/230

bead

carnelian

51/1

0.9

–

–

1 biconical squat bead, slightly

No. 2: A 130/230

bead

bone

51/2

3.2

–

1.3 chipped

0.7

near the neck of the individual

spiral decoration in brown

Fig. 42 A 130/230, Tomb 13

1

2 No. 1: A 140/210 scarab steatite

7/2

1.5

1.1

No. 2: A 140/210

jar

7/1

–

IB2

H

soft

2.5 YR 56/6

H1

0.7

–

scarab with (probably) htm-decoration12

on the left hand of the individual

complete 21.0

–

–

12.0

–

–

self-slip Round base with scrape marks and finger impressions

Fig. 43 A 140/210, Tomb 1

1.3

206 Delisa L. Phillips, Jerome C. Rose and Willem M. van Haarlem

1

No. 1: A 140/210 IB1

jar

10

W 1 scraped off hard

complete

22.6

5 YR 5/4

slip

–

–

Round bottom

Fig. 44 A 140/210, Tomb 2

13.3

9.1

–

–

0.6

Bioarchaeology of Tell Ibrahim Awad 207

1

No. 1: A 140/210 calcite

vessel

9

4.2

–

in NE corner of tomb

–

4.3

3.5

2.5

0.9

small squat vessel with outcurving rim Fig. 45 A 140/210, Tomb 3

1

2

3 No. 1: A 140/210

beads

60

a. 25 faience and carnelian disk-shaped beads (0.1/0.3)

b. 8 faience tubular beads (0.7/0.3) c. 5 barrel-shaped bone beads (0.8/0.3) d. 3 fragments of gold and bronze beads e. 1 incised bead, fragment (0.5/0.3)

around the neck of the individual

No. 2: A 140/210

41

glazed steatite No. 3: A 140/210 IB2

H2

button seal

0.5

near the humerus

–

–

0.9

hemispherical pierced seal with stylized human figure

jar

11

complete

21.3

H

soft

10 R 5/6

slip

–

–

10.5

6.0

pointed bottom; vertical scrape marks

Fig. 46 A 140/210, Tomb 4

–

1.0

208 Delisa L. Phillips, Jerome C. Rose and Willem M. van Haarlem

1

1

No. 1: A 130/210 IB1

H2

jar

24

complete

26.9

–

–

scraped off medium 5 YR 5/6 natural round bottom A 140/210, Tomb 6

No. 1: A 140/210 faience

bead

63

0.9

under the chin of the individual

–

–

0.6

globular bead

A 140/210, Tomb 9

Fig. 47 A 140/210, Tombs 6 & 9

12.5

7.7

–

0.6

Bioarchaeology of Tell Ibrahim Awad 209

1

No. 1: A 150/210 bone

beads

18

3 barrel-shaped beads (1.2/0.6)

under the chin of the individual in 1 necklace Fig. 48 A 150/210, Tomb 3

10 tubular beads (1.0–3.0/0.5–0.8)

210 Delisa L. Phillips, Jerome C. Rose and Willem M. van Haarlem

1

2

3

No. 1: A 150/210

jar

38

complete

26.5

– – 13.3 12.4 – 0.7 Round bottom with intentional hole; slightly concave in the IB2 H2 H medium 2.5 YR 5/6 slip middle No. 2: A 150/210 jar 39 complete 24.3 – – 12.5 11.7 – 0.8 Round bottom with intentional hole; slightly concave at IB2 H2 H medium 2.5 YR 5/4 slip about 1/3 from the bottom No. 3: A 150/210 beads 40 1 biconical bead (2.4/0.9) 1 disk-shaped bead (0.5/1.2) near the neck of the individual in 2 necklaces, partly embedded in bone 35 tubular beads (4.7–0.7/1.0–0.5) the bones Fig. 49 A 150/210, Tomb 4

EGYPTIAN-TYPE EIGHTEENTH DYNASTY POTS AT MEGIDDO By Mario A.S. Martin

INTRODUCTION Throughout many periods of ancient history the city-state Megiddo was in the direct sphere of influence of the Pharaonic kingdom in the Nile Valley. The site’s importance and Egypt’s interest to control it in one way or another was due to its favourable strategic location at one of the main international highways in antiquity, the Via Maris, which connected Egypt with the Empires in the north. The climax of interaction came about in the time of the Egyptian New Kingdom, when Megiddo repeatedly appears in Egyptian historical sources primarily originating from the time of the Eighteenth Dynasty. As recorded in the annals of Pharaoh Tuthmosis III (1457 BCE), it was at Megiddo that this king defeated a confederation of rebel Canaanite cities and secured the Egyptian hegemony over the entire region. Later on Megiddo is referred to in one of the Taanach letters, in which a certain Amenophis – probably Pharaoh Amenophis II – instructs the local ruler of Taanach to send men and provisions to Megiddo. The city is also mentioned in a description of the second Asiatic campaign of this king. An emissary from Megiddo is cited in the Ermitage papyrus. In the Amarna period Megiddo appears repeatedly in the Amarna letters. Several letters were sent to the Egyptian pharaoh by king Biridiya, the ruler of the city. They give a vivid picture of the local rivalries in the region.1 In the following, Egypt maintained its hegemony over the southern Levant until the second half of the twelfth century BCE. While this suzerainty was sustained mainly by diplomatic connections and the mere threat – and occasion-

1

2

3

For a summary of the textual evidence see KEMPINSKI 1989: 11–13. For a translation of the text passages of Tuthmosis’ III campaign see WILSON 1969: 234–238. For the Amarna letters see MORAN 1992: EA 242–248, 365. ‘Local’ stands for a production at Megiddo or any other south Levantine site. Simple (locally produced) bowl types, such as round(LOUD 1948: pl. 61:1,10) and straight-sided (GUY and ENGBERG 1938: pl. 59:5) bowls with plain rim and flat

Ägypten und Levante/Egypt and the Levant 19, 2009, 211–218 © 2009 by Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien

al intervention – of the Egyptian army in the course of the Eighteenth Dynasty, Egypt fastened its grip over the country in the Nineteenth and early-mid Twentieth Dynasties, when it established a network of garrisons with physical Egyptian presence at strategic locations in the country (WEINSTEIN 1981). Not surprisingly, also Egypt-related material culture evidence is abundant at the site itself. The present article discusses a small collection of ceramic vessels that can be related to the Egyptian pottery tradition of the Eighteenth Dynasty. This Egyptian-type pottery appears as actual imports from Egypt and as ‘local’ imitations of Egyptian forms,2 the latter most commonly referred to as Egyptian-style vessels (MARTIN 2004; 2005).3 The vessels under review originate from LB I–IIA contexts of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago excavations (hereafter: OIE) on the tell (LOUD 1948) and in the cemetery on the eastern slope (GUY and ENGBERG 1938), as well as of the ongoing Tel Aviv University excavations (Megiddo Expedition) in Area F (Megiddo III–IV). EGYPTIAN CERAMIC TYPES Carinated jar This type belongs to a group of rather small handle-less, necked jars with a more or less angular carination at the maximum body diameter and often a squat, broad body profile (see mainly HOLTHOER 1977: 133–145, pls. 30–32 and BOURRIAU 1981: 25–41). Holthoer (op.cit.) classified this group into several families. Only his sub-family CV1, ‘broad-necked carinated vessels’, are of relevance in this article. Carinated jars in general

base, were not treated in this article. While reminiscent of forms of the Egyptian pottery tradition, they are so basic in shape that they probably evolved independently in both, the local Canaanite and the Egyptian pottery traditions without a necessary relationship, especially in the period under review (MARTIN 2005: 76–80; MARTIN and BEN-DOV 2007: 196). It is probably best to regard these vessels as expression of a general Egypto-Levantine cultural koinée.

212 Mario A.S. Martin appear with round, slightly convex, flat, disc or ring bases. In Egypt, they are typically produced in marl fabrics, mainly ‘Marl A’ of the Vienna system, a fabric presumably originating in Upper Egypt (NORDSTRÖM and BOURRIAU 1993: 176). Frequently, they bear a thick creamy slip in varying tones (from white to yellowish and pink) and a decoration in red, brown or black. Moreover, they are often burnished. The decoration most commonly consists of vertical line bundles, at times paired with a criss-cross or wavy line decoration, and generally combined with one or more horizontal lines at the base of the neck. In other cases, the decoration includes horizontal bands only, which may appear on the upper body and neck (e.g. HOLTHOER 1977: pl. 32:IIIR/3D/a–d). The rim top, finally, may be painted with hatches. In Egypt, carinated jars are common in the Second Intermediate Period and Eighteenth Dynasty. Broad-necked carinated vessels (Holthoer’s CV1) appear only from the late Second Intermediate Period and are most common in the early-mid Eighteenth Dynasty (HOLTHOER 1977: 133–134; BOURRIAU 1981: 29–30; HOLTHOER, SÄVESÖDERBERGH and TROY 1991: 25, 30, 39; WILLIAMS 1992: 41–42). Peaking in the reigns of Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis III, they decrease in popularity in the following and have disappeared by the late Eighteenth Dynasty. A good example for their distribution is the cemetery of Fadrus in Nubia, where they are most common in local Phases IIa (Hatshepsut-Tuthmosis III) and IIb (Tuthmosis III, sole reign), still appear in considerable numbers in Phase IIc (Amenophis II-Tuthmosis IV), are almost absent in Phase IIIa (Amenophis III) and have completely disappeared in Phase IIIb (late Eighteenth Dynasty) (HOLTHOER, SÄVESÖDERBERGH and TROY 1991: 30; SÄVE-SÖDERBERGH and TROY 1991: 225–244). In the southern Levant carinated jars occur mainly in LB I contexts, at sites such as Tell el-cAjjul, Yoqnecam, Beth-Shean, and Tel Dan (for references see MARTIN and BEN-DOV 2007: 198–199). Those examples analysed by the author appear as Egyptian imports. Two broad-necked examples come from Megiddo, one from the cemetery on the eastern slope and one from Area F.

with squat body and well-accentuated carination slightly below mid-point; the vessel has an everted shelf rim and stands on a ring base. It bears a yellowish slip and is painted in brown. Horizontal burnishing was observed. The decoration consists of a set of vertical line bundles on the body, hanging down from a single horizontal line at the base of the neck. At least one of the bundles shows a ladder motif between two lines. The rim top is decorated with hatches. The laconic fabric description does not allow for any conclusions as to the origin of the vessel. This jar best fits into the early-mid Eighteenth Dynasty, when the vertical line decoration is most common (HOLTHOER 1977: 134, pls. 30–32; MARTIN and B EN -D OV 2007: 198). The ring base, although occurring earlier, becomes common only from the reign of Hatshepsut (BOURRIAU 1981: 29–30 and note 49). The not too tall neck and not too wide mouth are more typical to the first half of the Eighteenth Dynasty than later. Hence, all in all a date no later – and probably no earlier – than the reigns of Hatshepsut or Tuthmosis III is proposed. Context: The vessel under review comes from Chamber B of Tomb 38, a natural cave with one large and one side chamber (B) (GUY and ENGBERG 1938: 82). Pitting activities and remains of two kilns attest to some non-funerary activity at some point. The pottery, though mostly disturbed, belongs mainly into an earlier part of the Late Bronze Age. While KEMPINSKI associated this group with the reign of Tuthmosis III (1989: 70 note 73), GONEN assumed a date in the fourteenth century (1992: 41). Three lines of evidence support Kempinski’s dating (or at least an earliest occupation in this time): a cooking pot (GUY and ENGBERG 1938: pl. 40:19) that best fits in the LB I (cf. PANITZ-COHEN 2006: 67–68, type CP2); the carinated jar discussed above; and the arguably ‘local’ (i.e. non-Cypriote) imitation (AMIRAN 1969: 182) of a White Painted VI teapot (GUY and ENGBERG 1938: pl. 41:16), if one regards the chronological distribution of its imported counterpart as general guideline (mainly MB IICLB IA with a continuation in the LB IB; courtesy of C. Bergoffen).

Vessel x3467; Eastern cemetery, Tomb 38B (Fig. 1:1; GUY and ENGBERG 1938: pl. 41:17 = pl. 140:11)

Vessel 98/F/67/VS2; Area F, Stratum F-10a (Fig. 1:2; GADOT, YASUR-LANDAU and ILAN 2006: fig. 12.4:5)

Vessel description: rim diameter: 8 cm, height: 10 cm, maximum body width: 12 cm; an example

Vessel description: rim diameter: 9 cm, maximum body width: 12.5 cm; this fragmentary jar is char-

Egyptian-type Eighteenth Dynasty Pots at Megiddo 213

Fig. 1 Egyptian-type vessels of the Eighteenth Dynasty at Megiddo (Scale 1:5) 1) After GUY and ENGBERG 1938: pl. 41:17=pl. 140:11; Eastern cemetery, Tomb 38B; 2) After GADOT, YASUR-LANDAU and ILAN 2006: fig. 12.4:5); Area F, Stratum F-10a; 3–4) After GUY and ENGBERG 1938: pl. 57:9–10; Eastern Cemetery, Tomb 26;a 5) After LOUD 1948: pl. 60:7); Area BB, Stratum VIII; 6) After GUY and ENGBERG 1938: pl. 59:7); Eastern cemetery, Tomb 26B, 7) After ILAN, HALLOTE and CLINE 2000: fig. 9.10:26); Area F, Stratum F-9

acterized by a soft carination at mid-body, a rather tall, straight neck with an everted shelf rim and a rather wide mouth in relation to the maximum body width. It is white-slipped and decorated with black-to-brown horizontal bands, five on the neck and four just above mid-body. Additionally, the rim is painted with black hatches (not indicated in the drawing). The fabric is light red with abundant small white grits and mica, and can readily be identified with Egyptian Marl A (see above). The decoration with horizontal bands on neck and body belongs to late in the

lifetime of this type of jars, not being common before the sole reign of Tuthmosis III and continuing into the reigns of Amenophis II and Tuthmosis IV (HOLTHOER 1977: 134, pls. 30–32). It is still attested in the waning stage of this type in the reign of Amenophis III. Furthermore, the relatively wide mouth and tall, straight neck are also features that belong to later in the lifespan of this jar type (BOURRIAU 1981: 29–30). In summary, morphological features and decoration style suggest a somewhat later time frame than for the previously discussed specimen. A time slot

214 Mario A.S. Martin between the (sole) reigns of Tuthmosis III and Tuthmosis IV, i.e. the LB IB, is most likely. Context: The jar under review originates from a well-stratified domestic context of Level F-10a in Area F (98/F/67). While GADOT, YASUR-LANDAU and ILAN proposed an LB IA date for this level (2006: 188), based on the carinated jar, a date in the LB IB is suggested instead. In this regard, the author argues that none of the Chocolate-onWhite and Cypriote Bichrome Wheelmade Wares presented by Gadot, Yasur-Landau and Ilan can be securely associated with this stratum. A Chocolate-on-White carinated bowl (ibidem: 174, fig. 12.4:12) of FISCHER’s “CW I” style (1999: 11, table 2) was presented in Level F-10a but, according to the locus index (BLOCKMAN and FINKELSTEIN 2006: 439), actually belongs to (the earlier) Level F10b.4 Also, Fischer’s “CW I” arguably predates even the LB IA. Two additional Chocolate-onWhite sherds come from safe Level F-10a contexts (GADOT, YASUR-LANDAU and ILAN 2006: fig. 12.4:13–14); however, both are small and may easily be residual. The same holds true for the rim of a Bichrome krater (ibidem: fig. 12.3:3). Two additional Bichrome body sherds could only be attributed to a general Level F-10 horizon (ibidem: fig. 12.4:15–16). Moreover, sherds of a White slip I bowl from Level F-10b (ibidem: fig. 12.1:5) provide a terminus post quem (LB IA) for the next level, F10a. In short, a LB IA date does not seem to stand its ground. Apart from the Egyptian carinated jar, a date in the LB IB or even later is also supported by a radiocarbon study, which places the boundary between Levels F-10b and F-10a to as late as around 1400 BCE (BOARETTO 2006: 551–552). Slender ovoid jar These handle-less jars are characterized by a slender ovoid body, rounded base and everted, generally externally thickened rim (for a discussion and comparanda see MARTIN 2005: type JR11). In Egypt, they are typically made of Nile silt and belong to the Second Intermediate Period and Eighteenth Dynasty, after which they have disappeared. In the southern Levant they occur in the first half of the Late Bronze Age (LB I–IIA), and,

4

5

The vessel originates from Locus 98/F/95, which was sealed by Pavement 98/F/85 of F-10a and attributed to F-10b in the locus index. While the number of slender ovoid jars in Tomb 26 amounts to five, only three vessels are shown in the

in analogy to Egypt, cease with the end of the fourteenth century. Apart from six examples from Megiddo, vessels of this type can be cited from Tell el-cAjjul (e.g. PETRIE 1931: pl. XLII:31H2, 31H7, 31H8), Tel Serac XII-XI (MARTIN 2005: 124; pls. 37:14, 38:8), Lachish Fosse Temple I (TUFNELL, INGE and HARDING 1940: pl. LIVB:335), Tel Aphek X-14 (MARTIN 2005: 123, pl. 23:2), Tel Mor XI (MARTIN and BARAKO 2007: fig. 4.10:1), and Beth-Shean (MULLINS 2007: type JR5). All examples analysed by the author were not of Egyptian origin but local, south Levantine imitations. This is probably also valid for the examples from Megiddo. Vessels x25, x60, x65, x3178, x3180; Eastern Cemetery, Tomb 26 (Fig. 1:3–4; GUY and ENGBERG 1938: pl. 57:9–10; GUY and ENGBERG 1938: pl. 154:6) Vessel description: Vessel x25 (Figure 1:3) – rim diameter: 10 cm, height: ca. 38 cm (reconstructed), maximum body width: 16 cm; Vessel x3178 (Figure 1:4) – rim diameter: 11.5 cm, height: 54.5 cm, maximum body width: 28 cm;5 the most interesting trait of the vessel in Figure 1:3 are (two) incised horizontal grooves on the neck. This decorative element does not seem to appear prior to the reign of Amenophis II (ASTON 2006: 72). Figure 1:4 shows a large variant of the type under review. Its body is less slender and the base flattened, the latter an unusual feature on this type of jars. Egyptian examples of this larger variant come from sites, such as Malqata (HOPE 1989: 22, fig. 2i) and Fadrus in Nubia (HOLTHOER 1977: pls. 16:IR/0/l–m[185/478:1], type ST1; 36:IR/0/I–k [185/253:4], type JO1). A vessel with very similar body contour but slightly smaller proportions comes from Tell el-Amarna (PEET and WOOLLEY 1923: pl. L:xxv/247). A long time ago GUY and ENGBERG noted that comparanda of this type from Tell el-Amarna were frequently decorated in blue, red and black (1938: 155). Hence, their reaction to the fact that none of the Megiddo specimens showed traces of decoration is understandable (op.cit.): “… but this is hardly conclusive evidence as to their original state,

plates; two as drawings, Vessel x60 (GUY and ENGBERG 1938: pl. 57:9) and Vessel x3178 (GUY and ENGBERG 1938: pl. 57:10) and one as photo only, Vessel x3180 (GUY and ENGBERG 1938: pl. 154:6).

Egyptian-type Eighteenth Dynasty Pots at Megiddo 215

‘Flower pots’ describe coarsely executed, deep vshaped bowls with steep and straight or flaring, ribbed sidewalls and a heavy, flat base. General

shape of these vessels and the fact that their bases were commonly perforated in the centre coined their designation in German (‘Blumentopf’; STEINDORFF 1937: pl. 77: 25), French (‘pot de fleurs’; NAGEL 1938: 192) and English (HOLTHOER 1977: 83–84, pl. 18). While used as actual flower pots in a garden complex at Tell el-Dabca (HEIN 1994: 39–40, fig. 11a; JÁNOSI 1994: 30–31, fig. 8), elsewhere their function is less clear.6 Evidently, a hole in the base eliminates the possibility to contain liquids. HOLTHOER noted that, used as containers, their contents must have been restricted to dry, semi-dry or viscous materials (1977: 83). He further assumed that these vessels were occasionally used as incense burners, as on many examples he observed a layer of soot adhering to the interior surface. Above that, based on their similarity to Old Kingdom bread moulds (cf. for instance STEINDORFF 1913: pl. 84, Tomb of Ti), he also proposed a function as bread moulds. For the baking process he suggested an ensemble of two vessels, with a perforated example functioning as cover (placed upside-down) to an un-perforated one (cf. HOLTHOER 1977: fig. 61). During baking, the hole would have permitted the escape of air.7 Petrie offered another solution for the function of these vessels. He mentioned a perforated specimen that contained a pressed cake of barley mash and grains (PETRIE 1977: 23). He then suggested that vessels of this type “were used to squeeze out the fermented beer from the grain, the cake being sufficiently tenacious not to break through at the hole” (op.cit.). In New Kingdom Egypt, ‘flower pots’ belong to the Eighteenth Dynasty (ASTON 2002: 57) and are a typical Nile silt vessels (for comparanda see MULLINS 2007: 459, note 87). As pointed out by WILLIAMS (1992: 34–35), in Nubia, these vessels become common in the reign of Hatshepsut, have already become rare in the days of Amenophis III and disappeared in the following. Occurrences from the southern Levant come from LB I–IIA contexts at Tell el-cAjjul (PETRIE

6

7

since the vessels found in Egypt were colored with paint of a consistency which would quickly disappear under the climatic conditions of Palestine.” This reasoning was adopted by GONEN (1992: 50): “The four [actually five] Egyptian date-shaped jars, all from cave 26, are perhaps of the el-Amarna type, although the painted decoration was erased.” Evidently, such as view cannot be maintained. Almost none of the south Levantine examples of this type bear any traces of decoration (for an exception from Tell el-cAjjul see PETRIE 1934: pl. XLVIII:31K19) and also in Egypt itself undecorated examples are frequent. On the other hand, enough decorated Egyptian vessels are known in the southern Levant to falsify this statement (e.g. see the carinated jars treated above). Context: Tomb 26 describes a deep cave in the rock with many chambers and alcoves (GUY and ENGBERG 1938: 103). Unfortunately, it was disturbed and the roof had collapsed. The finds belong to the Late Bronze Age but, according to the excavators, not to a single phase. GONEN, however, ascribed this tomb to the LB IIA (1992: 41). The slender ovoid jars may belong to any time in the LB I–IIA, except for the example in Figure 1:3, which postdates the reign of Tuthmosis III. Vessel b42; Area BB, Stratum VIII (Fig. 1:5; LOUD 1948: pl. 60:7) Vessel description: height: ca. 38 cm (reconstructed), maximum body width: 18 cm; the rim is missing; the fabric description – numerous large black and white grits – argues for a non-Egyptian origin. Context: The jar derives from Locus S=T3000, located in a courtyard house east of the temple in Area BB, and is the only vessel retrieved from this context (LOUD 1948: 166), which cannot be regarded as safe. ‘Flower pot’

A function as actual flower pots was already taken into consideration by HOLTHOER, when he observed instances of remains of roots found inside theses vessels (1977: 84). However, originally enough, he regarded it as more probable “that they originate from the accidentally germinating grain seeds or fruits which these vessels once contained, rather than from any plants intentionally planted in them” (op.cit.).

Holthoer also suggested that vessels that showed no evidence of secondary exposure to heat and, hence could not have served as bread moulds, might have functioned as mere votive symbols for bread. The same votive function he assigned to his ‘beer bottles’, assuming that together these vessels were representatives for the Egyptian bread (flower pot) and beer offering (beer bottle) (HOLTHOER 1977: 86).

216 Mario A.S. Martin 1931: pl. XXXVII:6E13; PETRIE 1932: pl. XXVII:9Q), Jaffa (Kaplan excavations, courtesy of A. Bourke) and Beth-Shean Strata R-1b–a (MULLINS 2007: type JR2). The Beth-Shean specimens are locally made, which probably also holds true for the other examples. Two specimens come from the eastern cemetery at Megiddo. Vessel x3336; Eastern cemetery, Tomb 26B (Fig. 1:6; GUY and ENGBERG 1938: pl. 59:7) Rim diameter: 21 cm, height: 17.5 cm, base diameter: 10 cm; the vessel was found in Chamber B of Tomb 26. It has the characteristic ribbed body, heavy flat base and perforated bottom, while it is not indicated whether the perforation was executed before or after firing. Vessel 2279; Eastern cemetery, Tomb 59A (GUY and ENGBERG 1938: pl. 157:13 [photo only]) This vessel is characterized by a flaring upper part. It was retrieved from a storage(?) pit (A) in a large cave (GUY and ENGBERG 1938: 106–108), which seemed to have been also used for purposes other than those of burial and throughout the Late Bronze (predominantly) and Iron Ages. Large open bowl with ledged rim This type describes large open bowls with exterior ledge or ridge below the rim and, most commonly, a ring base. In Egypt, this type is well known in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasties, after which it disappeared (MARTIN 2005: type BL21). In the southern Levant, good examples of such bowls come from Lachish Fosse Temple III (TUFNELL, INGE and HARDING 1940: pl. XXXVIII:55–56), Tel Batash (PANITZ-COHEN 2006: type BL55, especially pl. 17:1 [Stratum IX]), Tel Mor (MARTIN and BARAKO 2007: fig. 4.7), Tel Aphek X-14 (MARTIN 2005: pl. 23:1), and Beth-Shean (MULLINS 2007: type BL4b-c). Note that as open form of rather basic shape, this type is less strongly linked to the Egyptian pottery tradition than the types treated up until now (cf. also footnote 3 above). Vessel 96/F/41/VS13; Area F, Stratum F-9 (Fig. 1:7; ILAN, HALLOTE and CLINE 2000: fig. 9.10:26) Rim diameter: ca. 40 cm; only rim preserved; the piece comes from Level F-9 in Area F, which was correlated with OIE’s Stratum VIII, with a slight possibility of Stratum VIIB (ibidem: 220).

CONCLUSION In summary, it is evident that Egyptian shapes are relatively scarce at Megiddo in the time of the Eighteenth Dynasty. This is in analogy with the evidence at other south Levantine sites with Egyptian-type pottery, where such forms are still rather rare in the course of the Eighteenth Dynasty and strongly increase in popularity in the Ramesside period, concurrent with Egypt’s more intensified presence in the southern Levant (MARTIN 2004). Also at Megiddo, Egyptian forms are more common in the time of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasties. Exceptional in this regard is the cemetery on the eastern slope of the tell, where vessels of unequivocal Egyptian affiliation are limited to the Eighteenth Dynasty (for a similar conclusion see already GONEN 1992: 51). In later LB tombs only simple, plain-rimmed bowls are attested, which do not necessarily stand for direct Egyptian influence (see footnote 3 above). Some of the reviewed vessels can be well-dated and are hence valuable chronological markers within their contexts. The earliest occurrences in the Late Bronze Age do not seem to predate the LB IB, i.e. the second half of the fifteenth century BCE. On the basis of a carinated jar, a reassignment of Level F-10a in Area F to the LB IB (previously LB IA) was suggested. While one can assume that the carinated jars at Megiddo were actual imports from Egypt, all other vessels under review were probably local imitations. The few discussed pots were dispersed in funerary (eastern cemetery), residential (F-10a in Area F; courtyard house in Area BB) and public (F-9 in Area F) contexts. Noteworthy is, finally, the concentration of as many as six vessels of clear Egyptian affiliation – five slender ovoid jars and one ‘flower pot’ – in Tomb 26. While GONEN (1992: 41) ascribed this tomb to the LB IIA, this cave, with its many chambers and alcoves, does not seem to have been in use during a single period only (GUY and ENGBERG 1938: 103). It is impossible to say, to how many burials the Egyptian-type vessels belonged. From a typological point of view, all but one (see above) fit in any time in the LB I–IIA. In any case the buried, possibly (a family of) Canaanite official(s), seem to have had some ties with Egypt.

Egyptian-type Eighteenth Dynasty Pots at Megiddo 217

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NEUTRONENAKTIVIERUNGSANALYSEN AN KERAMIK AUS TELL DJINDERIS/GINDAROS* Von Tobias Mühlenbruch (T. M.), Johannes H. Sterba (J. S.), Dietrich Sürenhagen (D. S.)

Neutronenaktivierungsanalysen (NAA) wurden mittlerweile an zahlreichen Exemplaren mykenischer Keramik durchgeführt, um die Frage nach ihren Töpferzentren und Herstellungsgebieten zu beantworten.1 Dies ist für die mykenische Keramik unter anderem deshalb von großer Bedeutung, da sie im Mittelmeerraum weit verbreitet war.2 Für Funde aus der nördlichen Levante liegen bisher jedoch nur wenige Analysen, wiederum primär aus dem südlichen Syrien, vor [Tell Kazel (Sumur?)].3 Dadurch besitzen die hier vorgelegten Untersuchungen aus der nordsyrischen Siedlung von Tell Djinderis eine besondere Bedeutung. Die Gefäßform, die Art der Verzierung sowie die Beschaffenheit des Tons und der Bemalung der vier analysierten Skyphoi hatten zudem auf eine Herstellung außerhalb Südgriechenlands schließen lassen. Als mögliche Herkunftsgebiete war an Zypern sowie auch die Gegend von Tell Djinderis in der nördlichen Levante selbst zu denken.4 Das Ergebnis der NAA zeigt, daß wir von der Herstellung mykenischer Keramik bei Tell Djinderis ausgehen können.

* Für die Möglichkeit, im Rahmen meines Projektes „Die Synchronisierung der nördlichen Levante und Kilikiens mit der Ägäischen Spätbronzezeit“ (siehe MÜHLENBRUCH 2009) als Teilbereich des Spezialforschungsbereiches SCIEM 2000 – „Die Synchronisierung der Hochkulturen im östlichen Mittelmeerraum im 2. Jahrtausend vor Christus” Neutronenaktivierungsanalysen durchführen zu lassen, danke ich dem Ersten Sprecher von SCIEM 2000, Manfred Bietak, sehr herzlich. Ein herzlicher Dank gilt auch Max BICHLER und Johannes STERBA für die Durchführung der Analysen, Hans MOMMSEN für den Abgleich mit seiner Datenbank, Andreas Müller-Karpe für die Bereitstellung von Altstücken mykenischer Keramik aus der Argolis aus der Lehrsammlung des Seminars für Vorund Frühgeschichte der Philipps-Universität Marburg zu Vergleichszwecken sowie ganz besonders Dietrich Sürenhagen, dem Grabungsleiter von Tell Djinderis/Gindaros, für sein spontanes Angebot, Funde aus seiner Ausgrabung beproben zu lassen. Weiterführende Gespräche zum Thema konnte ich dankenswerterweise mit Joseph Maran führen. Zum Begriff „mykenische Keramik“ siehe MÜHLENBRUCH 2009, 23 mit Anm. Ägypten und Levante/Egypt and the Levant 19, 2009, 219–227 © 2009 by Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien

Durch die Beprobung von typisch einheimischer Keramik aus Tell Djinderis war ein Vergleich mit lokalen Warenarten gegeben. Aus der Lehrsammlung des Vorgeschichtlichen Seminars der Philipps-Universität Marburg standen Altfunde mykenischer Keramik aus Tiryns und Mykene zur Verfügung, um einen Abgleich auch mit südgriechischer Keramik zu ermöglichen.5 (T. M.) TELL DJINDERIS/GINDAROS Die ca. 20 ha große und bis zu 20 m hohe Stadtruine Tell Djinderis/Gindaros (Abb. 1) befindet sich im äußersten Nordwesten Syriens, am Ostrand der Ebene von Antiochia (modern: ‘Amuq). Als ehemals bedeutendes, urbanes Zentrum kontrollierte der Ort den westlichen Teil des AfrinTales und den unmittelbaren Zugang zu einer Handelsroute, die einst Palästina und Anatolien miteinander verband. Er war zugleich an einer weiteren alten Handelsroute gelegen, die im Bereich der Orontes-Mündung (modern: Nahr als-Asi) beginnt, in ihrem westlichen Abschnitt

1

2 3 4

5

76f., wo auch der Terminus „lokal“ problematisiert wird. Mit „lokal“ wird die Keramik gemeint, die der Keramiktradition in der Umgebung des Fundortes entspricht. (T. M.) Zuletzt ausführlich BADRE, BOILEAU, JUNG und MOMMSEN 2005. Eine ausführliche Literaturliste zu NAA auch an mykenischer Keramik findet sich bei MOMMSEN: http://www.iskp.uni-bonn.de/gruppen/mommsen/ xpubl. html (24.03.2009) und der Universität Manchester: http://www.archaeometry.missouri.edu/datasets/ uman/index.html (24.03.2009). Wichtig zu ergänzen: von MOMMSEN selbst MOMMSEN, DIEHL, LAMBRECHT, PANTENBURG und WEBER 1990 sowie FRENCH 1991; FRENCH und TOMLINSON 2004; TOMLINSON 2007. Vergleiche MOUNTJOY 1986, 163–177. Siehe BADRE, BOILEAU, JUNG und MOMMSEN 2005, 15f. Zusammenfassend BOILEAU, JUNG und MOMMSEN 2005, 36. Die genaue Herkunftsgeschichte der nicht weiter signifikanten und daher nicht inventarisierten Stücke ist bedauerlicherweise nicht mehr zu klären; sie dürften jedoch wohl bereits im frühen 20. Jahrhundert nach Marburg gelangt sein.

220 Tobias Mühlenbruch, Johannes H. Sterba, Dietrich Sürenhagen

Abb. 1 Tell Djinderis/Gindaros

Neutronenaktivierungsanalysen an Keramik aus Tell Djinderis/Gindaros 221

dem Tal des Afrin folgt und sich nach Osten hin, noch über den Euphrat hinweg, verfolgen lässt. Ausgrabungen der Universität Konstanz in den Jahren 1993 bis 2000 erbrachten den Nachweis einer fast ununterbrochenen Besiedlung vom ausgehenden 4. Jahrtausend v. Chr. bis in das 6. nachchristliche Jahrhundert. Die bisher ältesten im Zusammenhang freigelegten Siedlungsreste bestehen aus Sakralbauten und Festungsmauern der Mittleren Bronzezeit (1. Hälfte des 2. Jahrt. v. Chr.), die sich auf einer zitadellenartigen Erhebung im Nordosten der Ruine befinden. Aus der nachfolgenden Spätbronzezeit (2. Hälfte des 2. Jahrt. v. Chr.) und der Frühen Eisenzeit (Frühes 1. Jahrt. v. Chr.) sind überwiegend Abfallgruben, neben nur spärlichen Bauresten, bezeugt. Es gibt Anzeichen dafür, dass das religiöse und politische Zentrum der Stadt sich zu jener Zeit auf der Nordwestkuppe der Ruine befand. Dennoch erlauben umfangreiche Keramikfunde und eine größere Zahl weiterer Artefakte, den bisher nur unzureichend beobachteten Kulturwandel zwischen dem Ende des Hethiterreiches und der Etablierung der aramäisch-späthethitischen Kleinfürstentümer des frühen 1. Jahrtausends v. Chr. in Nordwestsyrien besser zu verstehen. Von besonderem Interesse sind Anzeichen für Migrationen aus dem anatolischen Bereich während des Überganges vom 2. zum 1. Jahrt. v. Chr. Im frühen 1. Jahrt. v. Chr. gehörte der Ort mit größter Wahrscheinlichkeit zu einem wahlweise als Pattin oder Unqi bezeichneten, späthethitischen Kleinkönigtum. Es scheint nicht ganz ausgeschlossen, dass Tell Djinderis mit der Hauptstadt dieses Kleinstaates, Kinalua, identisch ist. Im Gegensatz zu den recht spärlichen historisch-geographischen Nachrichten sind das Zeitalter des Hellenismus, die Zeit des römischen Kaiserreiches und die frühbyzantinische Zeit archäologisch gut bezeugt. Von besonderer Bedeutung ist hierbei der geomagnetische Nachweis einer flächendeckenden Streifenstadt. Antiken Quellen zufolge war Tell Djinderis damals unter dem Namen Gindaros bzw. Gindarus, woraus sich der moderne Ruinenname ableitet, Hauptort des westlich an Antiochia anschließenden Bezirks Kyrrestike. (D. S.)

6

DIE KERAMIK Die hier behandelten Späthelladisch III C-zeitlichen Gefäßfragmente (Abb. 2) entstammen einer Stichprobe von 4212 eisenzeitlichen Scherben aus den Kampagnen 1993–1995, bei denen es sich in 3390 Fällen um Profilfragmente (Ränder, Böden, Henkel, Tüllen) handelt. Hiervon sind 1287 Stück = 38 % bemalt und 218 Stück = 6,4 % mit einer (braun)roten Engobe versehen. Der Anteil von Schalen- und Schüsselfragmenten beträgt 1318 Stück = 38,9 %, darunter 140 = 10,6 % bemalte und 141 = 10,7 % rot engobierte Fragmente. Unter den bemalten Stücken befinden sich 43 Fragmente von Skyphoi, was nur 3,3 % aller Schalen- und Schüsselfragmente, aber 30,7 % der bemalten Varianten entspricht. (D. S.) Vier Gefäße (Nr. 1–3, 17) sind als Skyphoi anzusprechen. Die Existenz dieser Gefäßform in Tell Djinderis ist ohne die Kenntnis ägäischer Exemplare nicht zu erklären. Dennoch weisen sie Merkmale auf, die auffallen. Dazu gehört hinsichtlich ihrer Form der geknickte Wandungsverlauf. Skyphos Nr. 1 besitzt zudem einen geradezu trichterförmig ausladenden Rand, der für südgriechische Skyphoi ungewöhnlich ist. Ebenfalls untypisch für Skyphoi Südgriechenlands ist die spezifische Art der Bänderung. Rein linear gestaltete Exemplare (Nr. 1 und 3), auch mit einem Band über dem Henkel wie bei Nr. 3, finden sich besonders in Späthelladisch III C, weisen dann aber zumeist eine innen monochrome Ausgestaltung auf. Skyphos Nr. 2 scheint „komplexer“ verziert gewesen zu sein, doch kann über das Motiv nur gemutmaßt werden. Auch dieses Gefäß sollte in Späthelladisch III C gehören, ebenso wie Nr. 17 mit seiner Wellenlinie.6 (T. M.) Bemalte Skyphoi sind in Tell Djinderis in fünf Formvarianten (Formenschlüssel: B.M 4.4, 4.5, 5.1–5.3) vertreten, die allesamt einen betonten Bauchknick aufweisen, sich aber in der Randgestaltung leicht voneinander unterscheiden. Nr. 1 entspricht Formvariante B.M 4.5, Nr. 2 Formvariante B.M 5.3 und Nr. 3 Formvariante B.M 5.2. Unterschiede bestehen auch hinsichtlich der makroskopisch bestimmten Warenbeschaffen-

Vergleiche MOUNTJOY 1986, 117 f., 129–131, 149–152, 176–179, 190–192 und PODZUWEIT 2007, etwa Beilage 78.

222 Tobias Mühlenbruch, Johannes H. Sterba, Dietrich Sürenhagen

Abb. 2 Die analysierte Keramik aus Tell Djinderis/Gindaros. M 1:3; (Reihenfolge: Nr. 1 – Nr. 2; Nr. 3 – Nr. 17; Nr. 5 – Nr. 6; Nr. 10 – Nr. 11; Nr. 12 – Nr. 13)

heit. Nr. 1 und das Körperfragment Nr. 17 (Formenschlüssel: 0.M 5.7) weisen die charakteristischen Merkmale der oxidierend gebrannten früheisenzeitlichen Standardware (Warenschlüssel: C2.1) auf. Es handelt sich um mittelfein ausgeschlämmten Mergelton von gelblich-rötlicher Farbe, mit wenig bis mäßig vielen Anteilen von unregelmäßig verteiltem Kalkgrus, wenig Grob-

sand und sehr feinen organischen Zuschlägen, bei denen es sich eventuell um Grassamen handelt. Von den oben aufgeführten 43 Skyphosfragmenten aus Tell Djinderis weisen 14 diese Wareneigenschaften auf. Die überwiegende Mehrzahl ist jedoch aus einer reduzierend gebrannten Variante dieser Ware (Warenschlüssel: C2.2) hergestellt und ent-

Neutronenaktivierungsanalysen an Keramik aus Tell Djinderis/Gindaros 223

sprechend von gelblichgrauer bis graugrünlicher Farbe. Hierzu zählt das Skyphosfragment Nr. 3. Reduktionsbrand könnte auch Ursache für die im Kern mittelgraue Ware der Nr. 2 gewesen sein, doch unterscheidet sich diese von den früheisenzeitlichen Standardwaren durch die Feinheit des Tons und die farblich scharf getrennte Schichtung des Scherbenbruches, der innen- und außenseitig eine dünne hellrote Schicht von 0,5 mm Stärke aufweist. Im Warenspektrum von Tell Djinderis sind hierzu bislang keine Entsprechungen vorhanden. Der Dekor besteht in drei Fällen aus horizontalen Malbändern in schwärzlich-roter (Nr. 1) und rotbrauner (Nr. 2, 3) Farbe, die beidseitig in unregelmäßiger Dichte aufgetragen wurde. Ein weiteres Malmotiv (Nr. 2) ist zu fragmentarisch erhalten, um eine zuverlässige Bestimmung zu erlauben. Letzteres ist gelegentlich auch bei den 43 oben angeführten Skyphosfragmenten der Fall, die sämtlich mit Horizontalbändern versehen sind. In nur 8 Fällen, zu denen auch das Körperfragment Nr. 17 zählt, wurden horizontale Malbänder auf Skyphoi mit Wellenbändern kombiniert. Die gleiche Maltechnik und Farbe findet sich auch auf früheisenzeitlichen Gefäßfragmenten aus lokaler Produktion. Hierzu gehören folgende Proben: Nr. 15 (Körperfragment einer schwarzbraun bemalten Knickwandschale mit hellgrauer, streifig geglätteter Engobe auf der Außenseite; Formenschlüssel: B.M 4.3, Warenschlüssel: C2.1). Nr. 13 (Körperfragment eines steilwandigen, sich nach oben verjüngenden Pokals mit feinen schwarzbraunen horizontalen Malstreifen; Formenschlüssel: B.M 2.0, Warenschlüssel: C2.1). Nr. 5 (Hals einer Kleeblattkanne; Formenschlüssel: E.M 5.8, Warenschlüssel: C2.1). Ebenfalls zur Gruppe der Kleeblattkannen zählt das bichrom rot und schwarz bemalte Schulterfragment Nr. 6 (Formenschlüssel: 0.M 12.7, Warenschlüssel: C2.2). Nr. 10, 11 (zwei rotbraun bemalte Schulterfragmente von Krateren. Nr. 10: Warenschlüssel: C1.4.1, Formenschlüssel: 0.M 6.3. Nr. 11, mit singulärer floraler Bemalung: Warenschlüssel: C1.4.1). Nr. 12 (Schulterfragment eines nicht näher bestimmbaren, flachschultrigen Topfes mit röt-

7

Vergleiche MOMMSEN und SJÖBERG, 2007

lich-violetter Dreiecksbemalung; Formenschlüssel: 0.M 4.9, Warenschlüssel: C1.4.1). Die Ware der Proben 10–12 (Warenschlüssel: C.1.4.1) ist im Ursprung spätbronzezeitlich, wurde aber während der frühen Eisenzeit weiter verwendet. Sie unterscheidet sich von der früheisenzeitlichen Warengruppe C2 durch mäßige Zuschläge von mittelfeinem Häcksel und Grobsand und durch einen leicht reduzierenden Brand. Innerhalb der oben genannten Stichprobe unterscheidet sich eine Gruppe von 33 statistisch erfassten Scherben, darunter ein Skyphosfragment, dadurch von den hier untersuchten und beschriebenen Fragmenten, dass ihre überwiegend schwarzbraune Bemalung durch einen auffällig flüchtigen Pinselstrich gekennzeichnet ist. Sie wurde deshalb als „mykenisierend“ bezeichnet. Nur 8 dieser Fragmente bestehen eindeutig aus den früheisenzeitlichen Standardwaren C2.1 und C2.2 von Tell Djinderis. Es erscheint daher auch weiterhin nicht ausgeschlossen, dass neben lokaler Keramikproduktion im spätmykenischen Stil, wie es die Ergebnisse der NAA nahelegen, auch Importe mykenischer Herkunft in Gebrauch waren. Aufschluss hierüber könnten allerdings nur weitere Beprobungen erbringen. (D. S.) Probenvorbereitung und Neutronenaktivierungsanalyse Für die Analyse der Keramik wurden von jeder Probe nach Absprache ein etwa 3 × 3 mm großes Stück abgebrochen. Die Stücke wurden gereinigt und in einer Achatmühle von Hand zu einem Pulver (Korngröße < 3µm) gemahlen, um eine Homogenisierung des Probenmaterials zu gewährleisten. Das entstandene Pulver wurde 12 h bei 110°C getrocknet und dann in Suprasil™ Quarz-Glas Röhrchen eingewogen. Zur Einwaage kamen jeweils etwa 140 mg. Die Quarz-Röhrchen wurden verschmolzen und zusammen mit drei Proben des “Bonner Standards”7 im TRIGA Mk II Reaktor des Atominstituts zur Bestrahlung gebracht. Die Bestrahlung erfolgte im Zentralen Bestrahlungsrohr für 40 Stunde bei einer Neutronenflussdichte von 1·1013 cm-2 s-1. Nach einer Abklingzeit von 5 Tagen wurden die Proben außen dekontaminiert, in Kapseln verpackt und im Probenwechsler des Atominstituts zur ersten

Tabelle 1 Ergebnisse der Neutronenaktivierungsanalyse

224 Tobias Mühlenbruch, Johannes H. Sterba, Dietrich Sürenhagen

Neutronenaktivierungsanalysen an Keramik aus Tell Djinderis/Gindaros 225

Messung mit einer Messzeit von 1 800 s gebracht. Eine zweite Messung mit einer Messzeit von 10 000 s erfolgte 4 Wochen später. Die erste Messung erbrachte die Aktivitäten der mittellebigen Radionuklide 24Na, 42K, 76As, 140La, 153Sm und 239Np (als Zerfallsprodukt von 239U), die zweite die Aktivitäten der langlebigen Radionuklide 46Sc, 51Cr, 59Fe, 60Co, 86Rb, 124Sb, 134Cs, 131Ba, 141Ce, 147Nd, 152Eu, 160Tb, 169Yb, 177Lu, 181Hf, 182Ta und 233Pa (als Zerfallsprodukt von 233Th). Die Messung erfolgten beide auf einem HPGeDetektor (1.78 keV Auflösung bei 1332 keV; 49% relative Efficiency) in Verbindung mit einem PCbasierten Vielkanalanalysator mit einem LossFree Counting System. Die Ergebnisse der Analyse sind in Tabelle 1 zusammengefasst. ANALYSE DER CHEMISCHEN DATEN Primäres Ziel der Datenanalyse war es, festzustellen, welcher der drei Vergleichsgruppen – mykenische Keramik aus Tiryns und Mykene sowie syrische Keramik in lokaler Tradition – die fraglichen vier Skyphoi aus Tell Djinderis (Nr. 1–3, 17) zuzuordnen sind. Dazu wurde sowohl die Prinzipalkomponentenanalyse als auch die Lineare Diskriminanzanalyse angewendet. Beide Verfahren wurden sowohl vor als auch nach einer Verdünnungsrechnung8 durchgeführt, um etwaige Verzerrungen des Datensatzes durch verschiedene Verdünnungen auszuschließen.9 In beiden Fällen brachte die Verdünnungskorrektur keine signifikante Veränderung der Datensätze. Die Prinzipalkomponentenanalyse ist ein Verfahren, das hauptsächlich dazu dient, einen mehrdimensionalen Datensatz durch die Projektion auf eine Ebene darstellbar zu machen. Dabei wird die Projektionsebene so gewählt, dass die erste Hauptachse in Richtung der größten Streuung weist, die zweite Hauptachse in Richtung der

größten verbliebenen Streuung. Die Ergebnisse der Prinzipalkomponentenanalyse sind in Abb. 3 dargestellt. Die erste Achse stellt 56% der gesamten Streuung des Datensatzes dar, die zweite weitere 12%. Deutlich ist zu erkennen, wie in dieser Projektion die Datenpunkte der nicht zugeordneten Proben aus Djinderis eindeutig mit den Proben lokaler Herkunft zusammenfallen, während sie klar von den beiden anderen Gruppen getrennt werden. In der linearen Diskriminanzanalyse werden aus einem Übungsdatensatz bekannter Zugehörigkeit die Faktoren für eine lineare Funktion bestimmt, die die bekannten Gruppen möglichst deutlich trennen. Im zweiten Schritt werden die noch nicht zugeordneten Daten mit der im ersten Schritt bestimmten Funktion den vorgegebenen Gruppen zugeordnet. Die Ergebnisse der linearen Diskriminanzanalyse sind in Abb. 4 dargestellt. Wieder ist deutlich zu sehen, dass die nicht zugeordneten Proben aus Tell Djinderis starke Überschneidungen mit den bekannten Proben aus Tell Djinderis zeigen und deutlich von den beiden anderen Gruppen getrennt werden. Der deutlichere Unterschied zwischen den Proben aus Mykene und den Proben aus Tiryns ist darauf zurück zu führen, dass schon im Übungsdatensatz zwischen diesen beiden Gruppen unterschieden wurde. Zusammenfassend ist festzuhalten, dass die Proben aus Tell Djinderis eindeutig der lokalen Gruppe „Pottery Samples from Djinderis“ zuzuordnen sind, die sich selbst wieder deutlich von den importierten Gruppen „mykenische Scherben aus Tiryns“ und „mykenische Scherben aus Mykene“ unterscheiden lässt. Diese beiden Gruppen stehen wiederum nicht mit den Gruppen „Mykene/ Berbati“ und „Tiryns/Asine“ in Verbindung. (J. S.)

Sigel der beprobten Fragmente zum Keramikkatalog Tell Djinderis/Gindaros: Nr. 11 = Ähnlichkeit mit 0. M. 10.5 (TM 11) Nr. 12 = 0. M. 4.9 (TM 12) Nr. 13 = 0. M. 3.1 (TM 13) Nr. 15 = Einzelmotiv, 0. M. 10.x (TM 15) Nr. 17 = 0. M. 5.7 (TM 17)

Nr. 1 = B. M. 4.5 (TM 1) Nr. 2 = B. M. 5.3 (TM 2) Nr. 3 = B. M. 5.2 (TM 3) Nr. 5 = E. M. 5.8 (TM 5) Nr. 6 = 0. M. 7.1 (TM 6) Nr. 10 = 0. M. 6.3 (TM 10)

8

Vergleiche BEIER und MOMMSEN 2008.

9

Vergleiche STERBA, MOMMSEN, STEINHAUSER und BICHLER 2009.

226 Tobias Mühlenbruch, Johannes H. Sterba, Dietrich Sürenhagen

Abb. 3 Ergebnisse der Prinzipalkomponentenanalyse

Abb. 4 Ergebnisse der Linearen Diskriminanzanalyse

Neutronenaktivierungsanalysen an Keramik aus Tell Djinderis/Gindaros 227

Bibliographie BADRE, L., BOILEAU, M.-L., JUNG, R. und MOMMSEN, H., with an appendix by KERSCHNER, M. 2005

The Provenance of Aegean- and Syrian-Type Pottery found at Tell Kazel (Syria), Ä&L 15, 15–47.

BEIER, T. und MOMMSEN, H. 1994

MOUNTJOY, P.A. 1986

Mycenaean decorated pottery. A guide to identification, SIMA 73, Göteborg.

MÜHLENBRUCH, T. 2009

Modified Mahalanobis filters for grouping pottery by chemical composition, Archaeometry 36, 287–306.

Die Synchronisierung der nördlichen Levante und Kilikiens mit der Ägäischen Spätbronzezeit, CChEM 19, Wien.

FRENCH, E.B.

PODZUWEIT, CHR.

1991

2007

Tracing Exports of Mycenaean Pottery: The Manchester Contribution, 121–125, in: N.H. GALE (Hg.), Bronze Age Trade in the Mediterranean. Papers presented at the Conference held at Rewley House, Oxford, in December 1989, Jonsered.

FRENCH, E.B. und TOMLINSON, J. 2004

The contribution of chemical analysis to provenance studies, 15–25, in: J. BALENSI, J.-Y. MONCHAMBERT, und S. MÜLLER CELKA, (Hg.), La céramique mycénienne de l’Égée au Levant. Hommage à Vronwy Hankey, Lyon.

MOMMSEN, H., DIEHL, U., LAMBRECHT, D., PANTENBURG, F. J. und WEBER, J. 1990

Eine mykenische Scherbe in Spanien: Bestätigung ihrer Herkunft mit der Neutronenaktivierungsanalyse (NAA), PZ 65, 59–61.

MOMMSEN, H. und SJÖBERG, B.L. 2007

The Importance of the ‘Best Relative Fit Factor’ when evaluating elemental concentration data of pottery demonstrated with Mycenaean sherds form Sinda, Cyprus. Archaeometry 49, 359–371.

Studien zur spätmykenischen Keramik. Tiryns 14. Forschungen und Berichte. Wiesbaden.

STERBA, J. H., MOMMSEN, H., STEINHAUSER, G. und BICHLER, M. 2009

The influence of different tempers on the composition of pottery, JAS 36, 1582–1589.

TOMLINSON, J.E. 2007

Comparison of NAA Data for Six Mycenaean-style Samples from Kilise Tepe with Chemical Reference Groups from Mainland Greece, Crete, Cyprus and the Levant, 377/378, in: N. POSTGATE und D. THOMAS (Hg.), Excavations at Kilise Tepe, 1994–98: From Bronze Age to Byzantine in western Cilicia, BIAA Monograph 30, Cambridge.

ISSUES OF SCUM: TECHNICAL ANALYSES OF EGYPTIAN MARL C TO ANSWER TECHNOLOGICAL QUESTIONS By Mary Ownby* and Dafydd Griffiths**

INTRODUCTION

MARL C SURFACE LAYER

The Egyptian ceramic fabric called Marl C in the Vienna System has recently received attention in a number of studies (BADER 2001; BADER 2002; CYGANOWSKI 2003). However, several issues remain regarding the exterior coating on the surface of Marl C vessels, variously called a slip, self-slip, or scum, and the very noticeable argillaceous inclusions within the fabric. For the exterior coating, information was needed on what the coating is, how it develops, and what terms might most appropriately be used to describe it. The principal question for the argillaceous inclusions was whether they were natural to the clay or added as a tempering material. In order to understand better these two features of the Marl C fabric and any technological features associated with them, a series of technical analyses were performed. Petrographic analysis of Marl samples provided information on how the exterior surface was related to the vessel matrix and also established the distribution of the argillaceous inclusions. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to obtain images of the exterior layer to investigate its consistency, while the instrument also provided images of the inclusions to characterize their attributes. Additionally, the SEM analysis acquired chemical data to investigate differences in composition between the sherd and both the surface layer and the argillaceous inclusions. Further, elemental maps could be taken to assess if the movement of elements contributed to the exterior surface. Finally, non-destructive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) was employed to examine compositional differences between the exterior and interior surfaces of sherds from Marl C vessels. These techniques proved quite effective in providing information to determine the origin of both the white surface layer and the clay-like inclusions in the fabric.

The vessels manufactured of Marl C are produced from a calcareous clay with various amounts of sand and limestone added as temper. The appearance of the limestone suggests the vessels were fired between 750ºC to 1000ºC giving them a greywhite surface and a red fracture (NORDSTRÖM and BOURRIAU 1993: 180–181). A whitish layer appears on the exterior surface of closed vessels and both surfaces of open vessels (BOURRIAU et al. 2000: 131; BADER 2002: 30; GRIFFITHS and OWNBY 2006: 67). Based on observations of a white surface on modern pots after drying, this layer is believed to be the result of soluble salts migrating to the surface of the vessel as the clay dries before firing. This layer becomes fixed on the surface when the vessel is fired, and can range from a very light to a thick coating (up to 0.5 mm). NOLL’S (1981) study was the first to employ scientific techniques to examine white surface layers on ancient Egyptian pottery. Through analysis by X-ray fluorescence with energy dispersive spectrometry and X-ray diffraction, the composition of these coatings was determined to be made of a quartz-rich clay, gypsum, and calcite (CaCO3) (NOLL 1981: 115). The calcite substance appeared to also contain calcium sulphate, while other coatings included salt and phosphorus. An analysis of the white pigment proved that calcite played a primary role, and gypsum (CaSO4 2H2O) and calcium sulphate (CaSO4) were used for both pigmentation and binding (NOLL 1981, 134). More importantly, NOLL noted that the calcite and sulphur could react creating calcium sulphate, leading to the discovery of gypsum in association with calcite. While these results offered the first real analysis of the chemical composition of white coatings, the difficulty was in knowing whether these coatings were deliberately applied slips or the light surface layer currently under discussion. Furthermore, the pottery was analyzed

*

**

Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge

Ägypten und Levante/Egypt and the Levant 19, 2009, 229–239 © 2009 by Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien

Institute of Archaeology, University College London

230 Mary Ownby and Dafydd Griffiths before the Vienna System of fabric classification had been created, thus the samples were not given designations beyond Nile clay or Marl clay pottery. In the same volume, DO. ARNOLD (1981) discussed the presence of a light, whitish surface layer on the Marl clay pottery. Do. Arnold believed that the movement of salts during drying followed by firing created the layer. Furthermore, observations by H. and J. Jacquet of pottery manufactured in Tunisia showed that a whitish coating developed when the clay was mixed with seawater. This seemed to confirm the importance of salt in creating these surfaces. The main problem in applying this to Egyptian Marl clay pottery was the fact that there were examples (especially in the Pre-dynastic and New Kingdom periods) of Marl clay vessels without a white surface. Thus, DO. ARNOLD (1981: 172) suggested several scenarios in which either the clay utilized in the Middle Kingdom contained more salt, salt water was mixed with the clay, or a sand coating had prevented proper drying of the vessel. Additionally, she argued that the white surface layer served as an impermeable barrier to prevent leakage of the liquids in the containers, and would therefore have been intentionally created by the potters’ selection of materials (DO. ARNOLD 1981: 172). In BADER’s (2001) study of the Marl C vessels from Tell el-Dabca additional features of this white surface layer were noted. In particular, with vessels having inscribed lines in the clay before firing (i.e. the so-called fish plates and vessels with pre-firing pot marks); the white surface was seen in the grooves but did not feature any “pools” of colour to suggest a slip. The characteristics of the surface were not consistent with being a slip and it appeared the white layer formed after the vessels had been incised during drying and firing. However, BADER (2001: 23) did note that some vessels featured “drips” that indicated an additional white slip may have been applied. This last fact complicates matters and suggests careful examination of the surface must be made to determine whether it is a “naturally” formed white layer or an intentionally applied coating. Finally, BADER (2001: 23–24) suggested that the white surface layer was not found only on storage vessels and in fact may not serve to seal the pores

1

in the vessel wall. Although considerable thought has been given to this white layer on Marl pottery with many good suggestions put forth and some studies made to investigated possibilities for its formation, additional analytical work is needed to clarify the processes at work and to directly study the Marl pottery that features this white surface so clearly. The presence of a white surface layer on pottery caused by the manufacturing process is not unique to Egyptian ceramics. In fact, examples of pottery with a white surface utilized for painted decoration comes from the American Southwest (ABBOTT 2008). This pottery, known as Buff Ware, was produced by the Hohokam from roughly 650 to 1400 AD and features quite intricate designs in red paint on a buff background. Petrographic analysis had shown the buff surface was not a slip. Therefore, an experimental study was undertaken to determine how this surface had developed. Test tiles were prepared from clays believed to be similar to those employed by the Hohokam. The clays were mixed with varying amounts of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and salt (NaCl) before being fired at different temperatures. The tiles made did not exhibit a white surface before firing. The results showed that between 800°C and 850°C a thick white surface developed on the tile made from a calcium rich clay to which calcium carbonate and salt had been added. This surface was created when the small-grained calcium carbonate dispersed in the clay, assisted by the added calcium carbonate and salt, reacted with the iron in the paste resulting in a bleaching effect. An earlier study by WEISMAN (1987) had suggested that adding calcium carbonate alone would not result in the development of the surface, but rather it required the fine naturally occurring calcium in a carbonate-rich clay. The reaction between the calcium and iron occurred at around 800°C, while the ferric chloride (FeCl3) resulting from the reaction of the salt and iron volatized at this same temperature. Therefore, a white surface would only develop when a calcareous clay with a calcium content between 6% and 9%1 was tempered with limestone (calcium carbonate), salt was added, and the vessel was fired above 800°C. A much earlier study of Mesopotamian pottery with a white surface was conducted by MATSON

The authors do not say if this is in weight % as oxides, but presumably the figure is based on an analysis of the clay that would have provided results as %wt for oxides. The same probably applies to the other cited studies below.

Issues of Scum: Technical Analyses of Egyptian Marl C to Answer Technological Questions 231

(1971). MATSON noted that the presence of chlorides on the vessel surface due to capillary action resulted in a white surface upon firing. The reaction of the chlorides with iron produced ferric chloride that volatized at 800°C. Additionally, the calcium ferrosilicates within a vessel would become olive to yellow in colour above 1000°C. This temperature could be lowered depending on the salt content in the clay, whether existing naturally or supplemented by salts introduced by the potter. In tests of fired briquettes, those with salt added showed increased bleaching of the surface with rising temperature. Typically, between 800°C and 900°C a white surface would develop due to the additional salts reacting with the calcium rich ferruginous clays. This description appears similar to the processes occurring in the Hohokam pottery (ABBOTT 2008), indicating once again that a chemical reaction occurs with calcium, salt, and iron around 800°C to produce a white surface. In a study of modern Egyptian pottery from the town of Ballas, MATSON (1974: 136) suggested the white surface layer developed as the vessel dried due to the evaporating moisture bringing soluble salts to the surface. Using a scanning electron microscope, measurements of elements were take on the surface and core, revealing that more calcium, relative to silica, was on the surface, while the concentration of iron was unchanged (MATSON 1974: 137). The presence of a small amount of sulphur in the layer suggested that soluble calcium sulphate (CaSO4) played a role in forming the white surface. However, in a second sample analyzed, the iron amount was less on the exterior and no sulphur was present. In this case, it was suggested a loss of iron due to the volatilization of ferric chloride (FeCl3) had produced the layer when the vessel was fired above 800°C. MATSON (1974: 137) describes the white surface formed due to calcium and sulphur as much whiter than the more yellowy colour of the layer resulting from the reaction of calcium and iron. This study suggested several processes, one with sulphur and one without, were involved in the creation of the exterior white surface due to soluble salts in the paste (MATSON 1974: 138). Chemically, several compounds can exist in clays that will migrate to the exterior surface of a vessel when the water within the clay is evaporating (GRIMSHAW 1971: 558; RICE 1987: 88). Typically, these are called soluble salts and consist of

calcium sulphate, magnesium sulphate, potassium sulphate, sodium sulphate, and sodium chloride (GRIMSHAW 1971: 276; RICE 1987: 336). All of these components can produce a whitish surface on a vessel upon firing. While calcium sulphate is not typically present in clay in large amounts, it can be formed during firing (GRIMSHAW 1971: 280). This is due to the release of sulphur when the heat breaks down pyrites (ferric sulphide, FeS2), which can react with calcium concentrated on the surface to produce calcium sulphate (CaSO4). If the atmosphere is oxidizing and free sulphur becomes available, this is likely to occur and can produce a whitish surface (GRIMSHAW 1971: 276, 927). Soluble magnesium sulphate (MgSO4) can be naturally present in the clay and migrate to the surface during drying creating a white surface even in very low amounts of less than 0.05% (GRIMSHAW 1971: 281). Clearly, sulphur is vital for the production of the layer whether during drying or firing. If the sulphur content is greater than 1% then a white surface will occur, while an amount between 0.2% and 0.5% will result in an uneven whitish surface that is thicker on exposed edges due to the evaporate processes that concentrated it in these areas (GRIMSHAW 1971: 926). Typically, the surface is dominated by calcium sulphate, but magnesium and alkali sulphates can still be present in small amounts (GRIMSHAW 1971: 925). Surprisingly, marl clays are not known to naturally possess large quantities of soluble salts (GRIMSHAW 1971: 42). Another possibility for forming the white surface is that identified for the Hohokam and Mesopotamian pottery involving the reaction of decomposed calcium carbonate, iron, and salt (NaCl) at temperatures above 1000°C (RICE 1987: 88; GRIMSHAW 1971: 278, 280, 920). This results in the formation of calcium ferrosilicates that reduce the red colour and give an olivegreenish to yellow colour on the surface (RICE 1987: 336). This is because the iron has now become apart of the mineral lattice by substituting for aluminium; a process that occurred when the clay entered a liquid phase during firing (GRIMSHAW 1971: 703). However, this event occurred only on the vessel surface due to the migration of finely disseminated calcium carbonate and sodium to the exterior during drying (GRIMSHAW 1971: 925). These components act as a flux to form liquids at lower temperatures resulting in a liquid phase on the surface where

232 Mary Ownby and Dafydd Griffiths

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

the clay is directly exposed to the heat, while the clay in the interior has yet to reach this point (GRIMSHAW 1971: 275, 701, 720). Thus, when the calcium ferrosilicates are formed, they incorporate the iron preventing a reddish colour appearing, while the white colour is due to the presence of the calcium on the surface (MANIATIS et al. 1981: 268). This process may explain the olive colour on the Marl C sherds, and why the interior does not exhibit a dramatic colour change. Relevant to this scenario, was BUTZER’s (1974: 381) observation that calcareous clay pottery produced by modern Egyptian potters was fired to temperatures between 900°C and 1000°C to give a buff colour. However, as previously mentioned a white surface can appear due to sulphates. Therefore, the possibility for the development of a white surface layer is between two reactions both involving the migration of elements towards the surface. The first occurs with sulphur to produce calcium and magnesium sulphate, and the other involves calcium, iron, and sodium that produce a bleaching effect. Perhaps the crucial difference is that the last process requires a temperature above 800°C, while the former does not.

A petrographic comparison of a Marl C sherd and a Nile clay sherd with an applied white slip high-

lighted the distinct differences between the two white surfaces (OWNBY forthc.).2 Under the microscope, the Marl C surface appeared as a greyish area on the edge of the sample that blended into the matrix (Fig. 1). Inclusions in the matrix were observed within the greyish area suggesting the surface was irregular and integrated with the body of the vessel. However, the white slip on the Nile B2 vessel was a clearly separate layer attached to the surface of the vessel (Fig. 2). The slip lacked inclusions identified in the fabric of the sample. A Marl A sherd from Giza also exhibited a faint whitening of the exterior surface of the vessel. The thin section of this material confirmed that this feature was a greyish area toward the edge of the sherd containing quartz and limestone inclusions found in the vessel matrix. These distinct features of the exterior surface layer on Marl pottery were noted in a petrographic study by PAPE (1991: 67–68).3 The current petrographic examination of the surface layer on Marl vessels from Giza confirms the term “slip” in these cases is not applicable. Additionally, in a thin section of a sherd with a self-slip, defined as when the potter smoothes the exterior with the same materials used to form the vessel, the edge would appear as a finer layer of optically oriented clay and not as a different coloured region (RICE 1987: 151). Thus, the term self-slip is also not appropriate for the

2

3

Petrographic Analysis

The sherds were a part of a study of fabrics from the Giza Plateau Mapping Project generously supplied by Dr. Anna Wodzinska.

PAPE (1991: 67–68) believed the white surface was produced due to the reaction of salts and iron to give a bleaching effect.

Issues of Scum: Technical Analyses of Egyptian Marl C to Answer Technological Questions 233

To characterize further the white surface seen on Marl sherds, scanning electron microscopy was performed. Initially, the same Giza Marl C sample was analyzed as a whole object by SEMEDS (energy dispersive spectrometry).4 Images of the scum revealed that it is not as uniform and smooth as it appears in hand specimen (Fig. 3). Rather, the scum is uneven and crusty with some areas containing a more developed layer than others. In fact, this type of irregular surface would appear smooth and white due to the effect of scattered light. Elemental maps were created of the polished cross-section of the sherd to ascertain the degree of movement of calcium and salts to the exterior surface from the interior core through evaporative processes.

Surprisingly, this type of analysis did not show any significant movement of elements such as calcium, sodium, sulphur, or chlorine toward the surface. This may have been due either to difficulties in the instrument detecting the fine movement of elements (this type of analysis is only semi-quantitative, rather than being fully quantitative), the scale at which the analysis took place, or problems arising from post-depositional alterations to the composition. An examination of the cross-section of the Marl A sherd also failed to detect any differences between the centre and edge to indicate the movement of elements. The next step was to establish the elemental differences between the core matrix composition and the white surface layer. This was also performed on the same whole sherds with polished cross-sections. Elemental readings were taken from approximately 2 mm2 areas of the core of the section and of the exterior and interior surfaces. Both the Marl C with its thicker surface and higher firing temperature (>850°C) and the Marl A with its light surface layer and lower firing temperature (10wt%). Clearly, calcium plays the primary role in the colouring of the surface. Summary of Analyses of Marl C Surface Layer The results of the analyses performed indicate the white surface layer on Marl pottery is a scum that formed due to the movement of elements during drying and reactions that occurred through firing. Two processes appear to have played a role in the development of the scum. While soluble salts are involved in both processes, only in the process that produces calcium ferrosilicates does the temperature have to be above 800°C. The petrographic examination confirmed that the Giza Marl C vessel was fired above 800°C and the SEM analysis of the sample showed a

with very different compositions were correctly separated by fabric. Future in-field analysis by non-destructive XRF should recognize the limitations of the technique for fabrics with very similar compositions.

Issues of Scum: Technical Analyses of Egyptian Marl C to Answer Technological Questions 235

Sherd # 7638IIIi 7638IIIe 7676i 7676e 7682i 7682e 44771i 44771e 44780i 44780e 44788i 44788e 44790i 44790e 44797i 44797e 44804i 44804e 44817i 44817e 44818i 44818e 44850i 44850e 44863i 44863e 44868i 44868e 44869i 44869e 44871i 44871e 44876i 44876e 44880i 44880e 44883i 44883e 44905i 44905e 44920i 44920e 44931i 44931e 44933i 44933e 44984i 44984e

Fabric Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C2 Marl C2 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C2 Marl C2 Marl C2 Marl C2 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C2 Marl C2 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C2 Marl C2 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C1 Marl C1

Scum None Yes None Light None None None Light None Light None Light None None None Yes None None Yes Yes Yes Yes None Yes None None None None None None None Yes None None None Light Yes Yes None Yes None Light None Yes None Yes None Yes

Na2O % 8.0 4.6 3.7 2.7 3.9 2.3 4.7 3.5 2.6 2.3 3.0 1.6 1.5 2.1 3.0 2.7 4.7 3.3 4.4 3.2 2.5 2.5 3.7 2.3 1.6 1.8 2.1 3.1 3.0 2.1 3.9 2.8 2.5 1.7 3.0 2.0 3.2 4.1 4.0 3.4 3.5 1.6 4.9 1.6 4.5 4.3 3.2 2.5

MgO % 2.1 6.3 2.2 3.4 1.7 1.7 2.4 3.2 2.5 2.7 2.5 2.8 2.2 2.3 2.2 3.0 2.9 2.7 3.0 3.0 3.3 3.2 2.2 3.8 2.7 2.9 2.4 3.3 2.0 2.9 2.6 3.4 2.5 3.2 2.6 3.7 2.3 2.3 2.3 3.1 2.9 2.8 2.6 5.1 2.0 2.8 2.1 3.0

SO3 % 1.3 3.6 2.0 3.9 7.8 18.5 2.8 4.2 1.5 3.0 2.3 1.1 0.5 3.6 0.9 2.1 2.0 8.7 3.4 6.7 0.4 2.1 1.6 1.9 1.0 6.4 0.6 3.3 1.0 4.2 3.5 6.8 1.6 2.1 9.8 1.4 9.8 10.7 0.5 3.8 0.6 7.6 0.6 3.1 13.1 10.4 0.8 5.4

CaO % 6.4 12.3 7.8 13.6 5.3 7.2 7.5 10.5 9.5 12.8 7.3 10.3 2.4 6.4 10.3 9.2 7.2 13.7 12.6 14.2 9.9 13.6 8.0 11.3 7.2 8.9 6.5 10.0 4.3 9.3 8.9 13.3 8.4 8.2 7.3 6.4 10.6 13.2 5.2 9.0 5.8 10.3 5.7 13.4 6.1 13.3 4.2 13.2

Fe2O3 % 6.5 6.1 7.5 6.2 7.3 7.3 7.9 5.4 6.6 6.6 6.5 6.0 6.4 6.3 5.7 5.3 5.7 6.4 5.2 5.5 6.5 6.1 8.7 7.2 6.4 6.4 5.7 6.1 6.9 6.6 6.0 5.2 6.9 5.6 7.3 6.3 6.9 5.4 7.2 5.1 8.9 7.7 7.7 7.2 7.0 6.9 6.5 5.8

(Note: Due to the technique and issues discussed in the Appendix, only the concentrations for samples with totals between 80% and 100% are listed. These are considered more accurate. If more than one determination was available, they were averaged.)

Table 2 Marl C XRF data; amount of scum and major elemental concentrations on the interior (i) and exterior (e). All sherd numbers preceded by “UC”

thick surface rich in the elements calcium and iron. Therefore, it seems likely that the scum on this vessel formed due to the reaction of calcium

and iron, which was facilitated by the addition of limestone temper that decomposed upon firing. The Giza Marl A sample with lighter scum and

236 Mary Ownby and Dafydd Griffiths

Fig. 4

fired below 800°C had an increased amount of calcium, magnesium, sodium, and sulphur on its surface. Thus, the presence of salt and calcium and magnesium sulphates probably produced its scum. The XRF data suggested that for the Kahun Marl C vessels the scum was composed of calcium and magnesium sulphates. For future studies, the identification of decomposed limestone, either visually or petrographically, that suggests a high firing temperature may be all that is needed to establish which process resulted in the surface scum. MARL C ARGILLACEOUS INCLUSIONS The study of the clay-like inclusions characteristic of Marl C began with SEM analysis. This is because it seemed important to first establish their character as either grog, unmixed clay or shale inclusions. The term argillaceous inclusion covers a range of inclusion types including shale/argillaceous rock fragments (ARFs), grog, and clay pellets (natural or temper). Determining between these inclusions is often difficult and a petrographic study by WHITBREAD (1986) has attempted to characterize each type. Using WHITBREAD’s summary of properties for ARFs, grog, and clay pellets, backscatter electron images of the Marl C samples were examined to identify characteristic features. In particular, any cracks running lengthwise through the inclusions were noted as these may reflect how wet the material was when processed (WHITBREAD 1986: 84). A large majority of the inclusions appear to be clay pellets with only a few mineral inclusions. They

featured a prolate and stretched appearance often with cracks, and sharp to slightly merging boundaries with the matrix (Fig. 4). This suggests that some were moist and may have been distorted by the pressure applied by the potter during the process of vessel manufacture. The boundaries indicate that in certain cases they were wet enough to be integrated with the matrix, while still being dry enough to remain distinct. The variation in their appearance suggests a range between more lithified inclusions and those that were more clay-like. Therefore, a single determination as either shale inclusions or clay pellets may not be accurate. Rather, it seems appropriate to continue to refer to these inclusions as argillaceous inclusions as this term only refers to the clay component and not the degree of solidification. The next issue is whether these inclusions resulted from a ground, dry clay with pieces that did not become mixed and acquire temper when processed, or whether they are indications of intentionally added clay temper (WHITBREAD 1986: 84–85). The nature of marl clay, typically originating as hard pieces that are broken and mixed with water, suggests the argillaceous inclusions could be the result of clay processing. The variation in the extent of lithification also seems to support this hypothesis. In order to determine if the argillaceous inclusions derived from the original clay, chemical analysis by SEM-EDS was performed to establish if the elemental composition of the inclusions and clay matrix were the same. SEM-EDS allowed for the careful analysis of

Issues of Scum: Technical Analyses of Egyptian Marl C to Answer Technological Questions 237

just the inclusions and a separate analysis of only the clay. A total of 25 samples were prepared as polished sections and analysed to determine the elemental concentrations in the clay matrix and in the argillaceous inclusions. Statistical analysis was employed to assess the significance of chemical differences between the inclusions and the clay (FLETCHER and LOCK 2005). Four tests were utilized, starting with one to assess the variability within the two sets of data, those from the argillaceous inclusions and those from the clay matrix. Called an F-test, the results suggested that the variances in the two groups were different for the elements calcium, potassium, sodium, and titanium (FLETCHER and LOCK 2005: 90). Based on these results, a two-tailed Student’s T-test was performed assuming unequal variances and a normal distribution (FLETCHER and LOCK 2005: 95). The results from this test revealed significant differences in the means for calcium and silica values. This is undoubtedly due to the increased calcium in the matrix because of the addition of limestone temper, while the clayey inclusions have an increased amount of silica relative to the matrix. Additionally, the inclusions had lower amounts of iron, potassium, magnesium, and manganese, but high concentrations of aluminum and titanium. Despite small differences, the data suggest that the argillaceous inclusions are in fact quite similar in their elemental composition to the surrounding clay matrix. Although a normal distribution for the values from both data sets was safe to assume, a second significance test was run that does not require the data to show normality (FLETCHER and LOCK 2005: 97). Called the Mann-Whitney Test, it also confirmed that there were significant differences in the mean silica and calcium values, but not in the data from the other elements (FLETCHER and LOCK 2005: 97). A final test was the KolmogorovSmirnov test to determine if the two data sets were likely to have come from the same “source” (FLETCHER and LOCK 2005: 111). The results suggested this was probable for most of the elemental data, except the values of calcium and silica. In summary, the statistical analyses of the elemental data from the clay matrix and argillaceous inclusions support the opinion that the inclusions derive from the same source as the clay matrix and are residual components. The hypothesis that the argillaceous inclusions are natural to the marl clay utilized to manufacture Marl C vessels was further supported by the

petrographic examination of the Giza Marl C sherd. The characteristics of the inclusions in this sample suggest they may have been inherent to the clay but did not become crushed and hydrated. This is because the size of the argillaceous inclusions ranged from fine (0.125 – 0.25 mm) to very coarse (>2 mm). The presence of fine pieces and the gradation to larger fragments makes it less likely they are temper, which would probably exhibit a narrower size range. CYGANOWSKI (2003: 27) also suggested the inclusions derived from the clay based on the examination of a corpus of Marl C thin sections. She further proposed that the size and amount of argillaceous inclusions may be used to indicate the extent to which the clay was processed for vessel production. Thus, large and plentiful inclusions would indicate the clay had not been thoroughly broken up, while a few, fine inclusions would indicate near complete pulverization of the clay for vessel manufacture. CONCLUSIONS This study has examined two characteristic features of Egyptian Marl C pottery, the white surface layer and the argillaceous inclusions. The analyses established that the white layer should be referred to in the literature as “scum”. This scum can develop on the pottery in two distinct ways, both involving the movement of soluble salts to the surface. One process is the deposition of calcium and magnesium sulphates on the surface during drying. The other is the formation of calcium ferrosilicates on the surface during firing, a process which may be facilitated by the presence of sodium as a flux. The analyses indicate that both processes were involved in creating a scum on the surface of Marl C vessels, with the only distinction being the firing temperature resulting in a thicker surface at higher temperatures due to the formation of calcium ferrosilicates. The formation of this surface indicates the sophisticated knowledge of pottery making and firing of the Ancient Egyptians. All of the correct components in the appropriate amounts were needed for the surface to develop, in addition to the control of the firing to reach above 800°C. On some Marl C sherds, a distinct surface scum is not present as seen from the description of Marl C sherds published by BADER (2001). Lack of a distinct scum on the surface of a Marl C sherd may arise from a small amount of evaporation having taken place through that surface during drying, or from the firing temperature reached by

238 Mary Ownby and Dafydd Griffiths that surface having been too low or too brief for a calcium ferrosilicate scum to develop. Limestone tempered pottery fired above 800°C would have been susceptible to lime spalling after firing as the decomposed limestone hydrated. To avoid this, the potters would have either needed to add salt or fire the vessel above 1000°C (RICE 1987: 98). The addition of salt would have lowered the temperature at which the calcium ferrosilicates formed. These would encapsulate the decomposed limestone pieces preventing them from rehydrating during use. Thus, fewer resources would have been needed for firing since it would no longer be necessary to fire the vessels to 1000°C to prevent lime spalling. Ironically, the addition of salt would not only prevent spalling, but would also have resulted in the production of a surface scum due to the creation of calcium ferrosilicates at the surface where soluble calcium and sodium would be concentrated during drying. The common occurrence of decomposed limestone in the Marl C fabric confirms the high firing temperatures that may have necessitated the addition of salt, which would have also ensured a scum formed (NORDSTRÖM and BOURRIAU 1993: 180–181). While this may suggest the scum was a by-product due to methods to prevent lime spalling, there is also the distinct possibility that this surface was intentionally created. The possible presence of an added white slip on Marl C vessels was noted by BADER (2001), and may indicate a white surface was desired and could be enhanced if it did not appear naturally. The important point is to consider the possibility that the scum may have been produced deliberately. The typically red inclusions within the Marl C fabric appear to be argillaceous inclusions resulting from the processing of the clay for manufacturing vessels. These pieces had not been completely obliterated into a uniform clay size and remained somewhat impervious to the water added during vessel production. Technologically, a certain amount of these inclusions may have been advantageous. The pore space created around them would have assisted in vessel drying and allowed the escape of gases during firing. Additionally, large inclusions with open space or weak bond around them are known to help pre-

vent crack propagation. Once again, a choice may have been made to not completely grind the clay into a fine powder as the presence of these argillaceous fragments in the clay gave desirable properties during vessel manufacture and use. Overall, it should not be assumed that the argillaceous inclusions and scum were accidental features of Marl C pottery. The Ancient Egyptian potters had a long tradition of manufacturing marl clay vessels that undoubtedly lead to their intimate knowledge of the materials and their properties. In all probability, they intentionally selected particular clays, given that there are numerous marl clay beds along the Nile, and utilized specific recipes and firing procedures to produce the desired results. These fascinating technological practices involved in the production of Marl C pottery highlight the need to gain a more complete understanding of pottery manufacture in Ancient Egypt. The utility of technical analyses in this area of research is clear. Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Simon Groom, Philip Connolly and Kevin Reeves for laboratory assistance at the Wolfson Archaeological Science Laboratories, University College London. Dr. Anna Wodzinska generously allowed the SEM analysis of the two Marl samples from the Giza Plateau Mapping Project. The thin sections were produced and analyzed at the Charles McBurney Laboratory for Geoarchaeology at the University of Cambridge. Prof. Thilo Rehren and Prof. Clive Orton both provided guidance for the XRF analysis, while the former also facilitated the SEM analysis. Alice Hunt from UCL kindly assisted with the SEM analysis. XRF analysis of the Kahun Marl C sherds was permitted by the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology with the assistance of Hugh Kilmister and Subhadra Das. The XRF project was conducted by M. Ownby to complete her MSc degree at University College London with the support of a Marie Curie Early Training Fellowship. A preliminary draft of this article was reviewed by Dr. Carla Gallorini, Dr. David Aston, and Dr. Bettina Bader, who provided valuable suggestions and constant feedback to encourage the project along.

Issues of Scum: Technical Analyses of Egyptian Marl C to Answer Technological Questions 239

Bibliography ABBOTT, D.R.

MATSON, F.R.

2008

1971

The study of temperatures used in firing ancient Mesopotamian pottery, 65–79, in: R.H. BRILL (ed.), Science in Archaeology. Cambridge, MA.

1974

Technological Studies of Egyptian Pottery – Modern and Ancient, 129–139, in: A. BISHAY (ed.), Recent Advances in Science and Technology of Materials, Vol. 3, New York.

The process, location, and history of Hohokam Buff ware production: some experimental and analytical results, Journal of Archaeological Science 35: 388–397.

ARNOLD, Do. 1981

Ägyptische Mergeltone („Wüstentone“) und die Herkunft einer Mergeltonware des Mittleren Reiches aus der Gegend von Memphis, 167–191, in: D. ARNOLD (ed.), Studien zur altägyptischen Keramik. Mainz am Rhein.

NOLL, W. 1981

BADER, B. 2001

2002

Tell el-Dabca XIII: Typologie und Chronologie der Mergel C-Ton Keramik. Materialien zum Binnenhandel des Mittleren Reiches und der Zweiten Zwischenzeit, UZK 19, Wien.

Bemalte Keramiken Altägyptens: Material, Rohstoffe und Herstellungstechnik, 103–138, in: D. ARNOLD (ed.), Studien zur altägyptischen Keramik, Mainz am Rhein.

NORDSTRÖM, H.A. and BOURRIAU, J. 1993

A Concise Guide to Marl C Pottery, Ä&L 13: 29–54.

Ceramic Technology: Clays and Fabrics, 147–190, in: D. ARNOLD and J. BOURRIAU (eds.), An Introduction to Ancient Egyptian Pottery. Mainz am Rhein.

BOURRIAU, J., SMITH, L.M.V. and NICHOLSON, P.T.

OWNBY, M.

2000

2005

New Kingdom Pottery Fabrics, Nile Clay and Mixed Nile/Marl Clay Fabrics from Memphis and Amarna. London.

BUTZER, K.W. 1974

Modern Egyptian Pottery Clays and Predynastic Buff Ware, JNES 33: 377–382.

CYGANOWSKI, C.J.K. 2003

An Intersite Comparison of Middle Kingdom Lower Egyptian Marl C Fabric. Unpublished MPhil thesis, University of Cambridge.

FLETCHER, M. and LOCK, G.R. 2005

Digging Numbers: Elementary Statistics for Archaeologists, 2nd Ed. Oxford.

Non-Destructive X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry of Marl C Sherds from Kahun, Egypt. Unpublished MSc dissertation, University College London.

forthc. Petrographic and Chemical Analyses of select 4th Dynasty Pottery Fabrics from the Giza Plateau, in T. RZEUSKA and A. WODINSKA (eds.), Proceedings from the Old Kingdom Pottery Workshop, Warsaw, 20–22 August, 2007. PAPE, A. 1991

Keramik – eine schwierige Quelle: Interdisziplinäre Methoden ihrer Erforschung, ZÄS 118: 54–68.

RICE, P.M. 1987

Pottery Analysis: A Sourcebook, Chicago.

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Assessing the Occurrence of Egyptian Marl C Ceramics in Middle Bronze Age Sidon, Archaeology and History in the Lebanon 24: 63–77.

GRIMSHAW, R.M. 1971

The Chemistry and Physics of Clay and Allied Ceramic Materials, 4th Ed. London.

MANIATIS, A., SIMOPOULOS, A. and KOSTIKAS, A. 1981

Moessbauer Study of the Effect of Calcium Content on Iron Oxide Transformation in Fired Clays, Journal of the American Ceramic Society 64: 263–269.

Pioneer to Sedentary ceramic technology at La Ciudad, 1–40, in: J. KISSELBURG, G. RICE and B. SHEARS (eds.), La Ciudad: Specialized Studies in the Economy, Environment, and Culture of La Ciudad. Anthropological Field Studies No. 20, Tempe, AZ, U.S.A.

WHITBREAD, I.K. 1986

The Characterization of Argillaceous Inclusions in Ceramic Thin-Sections, Archaeometry 28: 79–88.

TELL EL-RETABA 2007–2008 By S lawomir Rzepka, Anna Wodzi nska, Jozef Hudec, Tomasz Herbich

Archaeological explorations of the site of Tell elRetaba in Wadi Toumilat have been carried out by a Polish-Slovak Archaeological Mission working under the auspices of the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, ever since 2007. Previous excavations had already established the existence on this spot of an important fortress controlling the route between the Eastern Delta and the Sinai in the Ramesside period. The first regular large-scale excavations of the site were conducted more than 100 years ago, but the gaps in our knowledge are still substantial – virtually nothing is known about Tell el-Retaba before the Ramesside period and very little about its history after the New Kingdom. Even for the period of the 19th and 20th Dynasties, which is when the fortress existed, there is practically no information about its organization und functioning. Thus, the aim of the present project is to reconstruct the history of the settlement in Tell el-Retaba from the earliest times until the end of its existence.

This brief overview of work never mentioned before in archaeological literature is intended to give the reader a fuller understanding of the history and archaeology of Tell el-Retaba. 1885 E. Naville1 Despite finding a number of New Kingdom objects, Naville came to the surprising (and erroneous) conclusion that he had discovered a Roman military camp. 1906 W.M.F. Petrie2 Petrie discovered the defense walls of a fortress dating to the Ramesside Period and of an older fort, allegedly from the Hyksos period. Within these walls he found some remains of temples and other buildings. Pottery, stone vessels and small objects from the site testify to the existence of a settlement from at least the Old Kingdom to the Third Intermediate Period. A late New Kingdom and Third Intermediate Period cemetery was discovered to the north of the fortress.

1. PREVIOUS EXCAVATIONS ON THE SITE

1930 S. Schott3

The site was investigated scientifically for the first time by E. Naville in 1885. Twenty years later W.M.F. Petrie conducted large scale excavations and his publication remains practically the only source of information on Tell el-Retaba. It is not to say, however, that there was no archaeological activity on the site for the next 100 years. Retaba was excavated by several Egyptian and one American archaeological mission, and it was also surveyed twice, but nothing (except the survey results) has been published from this work. The present team has consulted excavation reports in the archives of the Supreme Council of Antiquities and efforts are being made to locate and study the finds from these earlier excavations.

During a survey of the Eastern Delta a large number of flint tools was found. They were dated to the Archaic and Old Kingdom periods.

1

4

2 3

NAVILLE 1887, 24 ff. PETRIE and DUNCAN 1906, 28 ff. SCHOTT et al. 1932, 44.

1972 Mohammed Abd el-Haq Ragab, Suez Canal and Sinai Inspectorate4 Small-scale excavations (24 by 14 m) were conducted to the southeast of the fortress, on the outskirts of Ezbet Abu Said village. Several insubstantial vaulted mud-brick tombs were discovered, two with pottery coffins. 1977 J.S. Holladay, Wadi Toumilat Survey5 The site was surveyed again by the Canadian Wadi Toumilat Survey Project. Large quantities of

5

Ägypten und Levante/Egypt and the Levant 19, 2009, 241–280 © 2009 by Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien

Unpublished. The team has been granted permission to consult reports in the SCA archives and to localize and study objects found during these excavations. HOLLADAY 1982; REDMOUNT 1989, 125 ff..

Fig. 1 Map of Tell el-Retaba showing areas destroyed or threatened by modern development

242 Slawomir Rzepka, Anna Wodzinska, Jozef Hudec, Tomasz Herbich

Tell el-Retaba 2007–2008 243

sherds collected were dated mostly to the New Kingdom and Third Intermediate Period. 1977–1981 H. Goedicke, John Hopkins University Testing on the tell covered, among others, a place identified by Petrie as a temple. Confirmation was obtained of 7-meter deep deposits with archaeological layers from the Second Intermediate Period attested at the bottom, but the results have not been published.6 Some of the documentation is accessible on the website of Michael Fuller, one of the members of this mission.7 1984 Mahrous Abdallah Ali, Suez Canal Inspectorate8 Egyptian rescue excavations were carried out to the northwest of the tell where a large transformer station was planned. A late New Kingdom – Third Intermediate Period cemetery had already been localized there by Petrie and more vaulted mud-brick burial chambers were now investigated. The burials, some in pottery coffins and some in wooden ones, appear to have been furnished quite richly considering the golden amulet and bracelet that were found with one of the bodies. The excavator dated the tombs to the Late Period, but a Third Intermediate Period dating seems more appropriate. These tombs were found c. 0.50 m beneath the surface. An older series of tombs, possibly from the New Kingdom, was located one meter down, but could not be explored because of rising ground water. Nothing can be said of their architecture and furnishings. 1984–1985 Mohammad Selim Hassan el-Hangoury and Magdy Saad Salip, Suez Canal Inspectorate9 Digging a long narrow trench (c. 200 by c. 10 m) east of the water pipeline (see below, section on the preservation of the site and major threats), the excavators distinguished two ancient strata: a “New Kingdom” and a “Middle Kingdom layer” under the modern surface layer. In their New Kingdom layer, they found a number of poorly built and poorly preserved structures, many of them round in plan and with traces of fire on the walls. These structures were filled with ashes, preserving also many remains of animal bones and

6

7

Hans Goedicke and Betsy Bryan have kindly granted permission to study the mission’s field notes and documentation. http://users.stlcc.edu/mfuller/Retaba

plants. Saad Salip believed the area to be an artisans’ quarter, but without reexcavation it is impossible to determine whether the structures (of which no plan, section or photo was included in the report) were furnaces or rather storage silos. In the latter case, the traces of fire on the walls would refer to a time when the structures were already abandoned and used as a dumping place. Neither the pottery nor the small finds from this “New Kingdom layer” were illustrated in the report, but judging by general site stratigraphy, these remains should be of late New Kingdom or Third Intermediate Period date. Ruins of a well preserved rectangular building were excavated in the so-called “Middle Kingdom layer”. The walls were preserved to a height of about 1.50 m including the beginning of domes in the corners. Passages between the rooms were quite small (only c. 0.80 m high). Saad Salip was probably right in interpreting this structure as a “storeroom”. Although in plan it resembles one of the Third Intermediate Tombs found by Petrie,10 the finds mentioned in the report do not suggest a funerary context. The building may have been a granary and the small openings between the rooms were not doors, but slots for extracting the grain stored inside. Saad Salip’s date to the Middle Kingdom is surely wrong. A New Kingdom dating is more viable, but without further cleaning and excavation nothing more precise can be said. 1988 Suleiman Mahmoud al-Said, Suez Canal Inspectorate11 Reexcavation of the migdol in the western defense wall. 1990 Magdy Saad Salip, Suez Canal Inspectorate12 Digging of a section of the southern defense walls, c. 15 m long, revealed a number of child burials and two graves of adults. Most of the children were buried in amphorae, which – according to Saad Salip – should be dated to the late 18th and early 19th Dynasty. Unfortunately the stratigraphic relation between the burials and the defense walls is not clearly described in the excavator's report.

8 9 10 11

See note 4. See note 4. PETRIE and DUNCAN 1906, pl. XXXVA. See note 4.

Fig. 2 Map of Tell el-Retaba showing ancient structures visible on the surface and areas excavated during the 2008 season

244 Slawomir Rzepka, Anna Wodzinska, Jozef Hudec, Tomasz Herbich

Tell el-Retaba 2007–2008 245

1997 Ragab Hussein Hosni, Suez Canal Inspectorate13 Clearing of part of the southern defense wall revealed nine rather poor burials dug into it. The burials were equipped with amulets and a necklace of glass stratified eye-beads, the latter of the same type as found by Petrie14 and dated to the 23rd Dynasty. This dating is surely too high as beads of this type occur (not only in Egypt, but in all of the Mediterranean) in the Persian period,15 so the tombs discovered by Hussein Hosni must also belong to the 27th Dynasty or later. 1998 Mohammad Abdel Maqsour, Suez Canal Inspectorate16 Two squares 10 × 10 m were opened in the northern part of the site. In one of them, a fragment of the northern defense wall was cleared. Close to this wall, inside the fortress, remains of a silo, c. 2.40 m in diameter, were excavated. In the other square (its exact location is not clear from the report) a mud-brick tomb was found, apparently quite similar to the tombs found by Mohammad Abd el-Haq Ragab in 1972. According to information from local antiquities inspectors, excavations have also been carried out in 2000 and 2002. So far no reports of this work could be found in the SCA archives. 2. POLISH-SLOVAK ARCHAEOLOGICAL MISSION, SEASON 200717 The objectives of the first season of fieldwork included: - evaluating site preservation, - identifying major threats, - locating structures excavated by Petrie at the beginning of the 20th century, - verifying Petrie’s documentation, - and supplementing Petrie’s documentation, for example, by tracing the northern defense wall. Mapping, fieldwalking and geophysical survey were among the methods used for the purpose.

12 13 14 15 16 17

See note 4. See note 4. PETRIE and DUNCAN 1906, 33, pl. XXXVB. Cf. SHIAH 1944, 269–273; cf. also SPAER 2001, 91. See note 4. April 12–30, 2007. Mission members: Slawomir RZEPKA (archaeologist, director of the mission), Jozef HUDEC (archaeologist, deputy director), Anna WODZINSKA

2.1. Site preservation and major threats Serious damage to the site has occurred in relatively recent times (threatened or destroyed areas marked in Fig. 1). An asphalt road put in the late 1970s divides the site into a smaller western part and a bigger one on the east. It used to run on top of the tell, but a few years ago it was rebuilt making it safer, but destroying in the process any archaeological remains found in the part of the tell through which it was cut. This trench, about 20 m wide and up to 3 m deep, runs just east of the western fortress wall. Huge pipelines bringing water from the Ismailiya Canal to irrigate an area called el-Hasma south of Tell el-Retaba have also caused serious damages. The two pipes, each c. 2 m in diameter, were laid in a trench c. 8 m wide and up to 5.50 m deep, cutting south to north through the center of the tell. The southern part of the tell was leveled to bring in heavy equipment. Some photos and plans documenting the scale of the destruction can be found on the website of Michael Fuller, a member of the John Hopkins University mission, which was working on the site at that time.18 The building of a large transformer station to the northwest of the tell in the mid 1980s damaged the late New Kingdom – Third Intermediate Period cemetery located there as well as the remains on the tell itself, where poles of the highvoltage power lines crossing the site N-S were erected directly on top of the southern defense wall of the fortress. Government plans for a new water pipeline following the asphalt road further threaten the archaeological remains on the tell, especially the temple area identified by Petrie. The sides of the cut made for the road have already revealed some thick walls, apparently belonging to a large building, preserved to a substantial height of 1–1.50 m. An appeal to Egypt’s archaeological authorities has resulted in action being taken by the Supreme Council of Antiquities to stop the building project and to preserve this important

18

(ceramologist), Vojtech Gajdoš (geophysicist), Kamil Rozimant (geophysicist), Mahmoud Galal Mokhtar Khattab, SCA inspector. Thanks are due Mr. Tarek Harash, General Director of the Ismailiya Area, and Mr. Nasrallah Mohammed el-Killany, Director of the Ismailiya Area, for their professional involvement and generous support. http://users.stlcc.edu/mfuller/Retaba/Retaba1981.html

246 Slawomir Rzepka, Anna Wodzinska, Jozef Hudec, Tomasz Herbich

Fig. 3 Southern defence wall of the Ramesside fortress, Petrie’s “wall 2” (Photo S. Rzepka)

Fig. 4 A granary (?) in the middle of the fortress, discovered in 1984–1985 during excavations by the SCA (Photo S. Rzepka)

Tell el-Retaba 2007–2008 247

Pharaonic site in northern Egypt for further study and documentation. 2.2. Mapping All traces of archaeological remains – defense walls and mud-brick structures – were mapped with state-of-the-art surveying equipment (altogether about 7000 measurement points), drawing a precise contour map of the site and of all of the structures, whether ancient or modern. For a better understanding, the map was combined with Petrie’s published plan of architectural remains19 (Fig. 2), making it clear that some features excavated by Petrie can still be seen on the surface. Especially the thick walls of the Ramesside fortress (Petrie’s “wall 2” and “wall 3”) in their southern (Fig. 3) and western sections are quite easy to discern. Even the casemate structure of “wall 2” is to be recognized in places. The good visibility of these sections is due to recent clearing by Egyptian archaeologists in the 1980s and 1990s (see above). Structures that are now not traceable but were documented by Petrie include the earliest defense wall (“wall 1”) dated by Petrie to Hyksos times (a controversial dating however)20 and the “Great House” (of 18th Dynasty date according to Petrie). Of the Ramesside temple only very modest remains can be traced on the surface. On the other hand, a number of ancient structures not known to Petrie can now be observed on the ground. The most important are the substantially preserved (maximum height c. 1.50 m) buildings east of the Petrie’s “Great House”, in the middle of the fortress (Fig. 4). These are the structures (storerooms, granaries, workshops) excavated in 1984–1985 by Mohammad Selim Hassan el-Hangoury and Magdy Saad Salip (see above). Some indistinct remains of mud-brick walls can be seen also outside the fortress, close to the defense wall in one place and about 100 m to the north of it (possibly the cemetery excavated by Petrie).21

Fig. 5 Fragment of Ptolemaic faience vessel (Photo J. Hudec)

Fig. 6 Fragment of terracotta with representation of a horseman (Photo J. Hudec)

More than 600 diagnostic sherds22 and 58 small objects were discovered during the fieldwalking of the site. Most of these small finds are objects made of stone: fragments of vessels, weights, pounding

stones, slingstones. The most common type of stone among these finds is limestone; quartzite is also quite common, less frequent is red granite, quartz, greywacke and calcite. One is entitled to speculate that the relatively large number of quartzite fragments is a suggestion that the architectural elements and furniture of the temple of “Atum of Tjeku” discovered by Petrie were made of this material. This type of stone, quarried in

19

21

2.3. Small finds

20

PETRIE and DUNCAN 1906, pl. XXXV. REDMOUNT 1989, 130.

22

PETRIE and DUNCAN 1906, 29. Cf. WODZINSKA forthc.

Fig. 7 Electrical conductivity map (Processing K. Rozimant)

248 Slawomir Rzepka, Anna Wodzinska, Jozef Hudec, Tomasz Herbich

Tell el-Retaba 2007–2008 249

Gebel Ahmar near Heliopolis, was a popular material for monuments related to the solar deities and solar ideology already during the Old Kingdom. Artifacts made of Egyptian faience, copper, clay, and shell were also found. Meriting note is a small faience vessel decorated with a floral motif (Fig. 5), identified as a small goblet of a type well known from Egypt and abroad.23 This vessel is a puzzling find, because of its date which is placed securely in the Ptolemaic period. Very limited pottery evidence and no architectural remains from this period have been identified on the site so far. It is generally assumed that by this time Tell el-Retaba was a settlement of no consequence and may have even been abandoned in favor of Tell elMaskhuta. This luxury object (part of a burial set?) is proof that even in the last centuries of the 1st millennium BC Retaba may have been something more than a poor hamlet and/or cemetery. Another object of high artistic quality, also possibly from the Ptolemaic period, is a remarkable fragment of a terracotta horse rider (Fig. 6) found in the eastern part of the site. Other small finds include, among others, part of a faience Hathor sistrum, a small faience amulet in the form of the god Pataikos, several faience beads, some kauri shells. Objects made of copper are poorly preserved and their shape is difficult to identify. Two of them might even be evidence of copper smelting activities because of the copper slag traces they bear. 2.4. Geophysical survey The main goal of the geophysical survey24 was to locate the northern defense wall of the fortress. Petrie had excavated only a very small section of this wall, tracing the remaining parts hypotheti-

23

24

25

26

NENNA and SEIF EL-DIN 2000, pls. 6, 40; REDISSI 1994, 423–434; ADRIANI 1932–1933, 31, fig. 6, pl. XV, 3. Carried out by Vojtech Gajdoš and Kamil Rozimant of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Bratislava. For DEMP the area was divided into squares 50 × 50 m oriented N–S and E–-W. Survey lines were set 2 m apart and the station interval was also 2 m. For more details, see RZEPKA et al. 2008. The second season of the Tell el-Retaba Archaeological Mission lasted from 12 August to 18 September 2008. The team comprised: Slawomir Rzepka (archaeologist, director of the mission), Jozef Hudec (archaeologist, deputy director of the mission), Anna Wodzinska (ceramologist), Veronika Dubcová (archaeologist), Karoli-

cally. The objective was to verify its position and locate a gate or gates, if any, giving access to the fortress from the north. Dipole electromagnetic profiling (DEMP)25 demonstrated that the northern wall did not follow a straight line (as the southern, western and eastern walls did), but clearly turned south in its western part (Fig. 7). The position of the gate also seems to have been located – an evident gap in the eastern section of the wall. Another gap is visible close to the western corner of the fortress, but the tell here is much lower and the defense wall may simply be destroyed. The gap is too broad for a gate anyway; moreover, its position here makes no sense as the big migdol in the western defense wall is just around the corner. 3. POLISH-SLOVAK ARCHAEOLOGICAL MISSION, SEASON 200826 The objectives of the second season were twofold: - excavation of locations based on results of the 2007 survey; - continuation of the geophysical survey using different methods and different equipment. 3.1. Excavations Two locations were chosen for exploration (see Fig. 2): Area 1 – location of a big limestone block in the center of the northern part of the site. The geophysical survey in 2007 traced the northern defense wall through this area, giving reason to suppose that the block was part of a big gate jamb despite the absence of any gap on the geophysical map tentatively corresponding to an entrance. Excavations soon revealed that the block was not in situ and that there was no gate in this place.27

27

na Górka, BA (archaeologist), Sylwia Gromadzka, BA (archaeologist), Tomasz Herbich, MA (geophysicist), Lukasz Jarmuiek, BA (archaeologist), Marcin Jakub Ordutowski (geophysicist), Radoslav Soth, BA (photographer). Working with the mission as inspectors representing the SCA were Mahmoud Ahmed Mahmoud and Mustafa Hassan Mahmoud, whose help and support were invaluable to us. We would also like to thank Tarek Harash, General Director of the Ismailiya Area, for his involvement and support. One of the local workers told of the block being dragged to its present location in the 1990s from a spot to the east where the ground had been disturbed by the laying of the big water pipeline.

250 Slawomir Rzepka, Anna Wodzinska, Jozef Hudec, Tomasz Herbich Area 2 – location in the northwestern part of the site, near the asphalt road crossing the site, in an area threatened by the planned construction of a new water pipeline (for major threats to the site, see above, section 2.1.1). Well preserved mud-brick walls visible in the cut for the modern asphalt road indicate that ancient structures can be expected in the area. AREA 1 By Jozef Hudec Excavations in Area 1 covered 10 × 10 m, divided into four squares 5 × 5 m. Squares Y255/X265 and Y250/X270 were excavated to no more than

c. 1.0–1.5 m; in the remaining two squares only the surface layer was cleared. The upper layers in both excavated squares had been disturbed extensively by sebbakhin digging. In square Y255/X265, at least four big pits were recorded; excavations put the number of such cuts in square Y250/X270 at six. More than a hundred years ago Petrie described sebbakhin habits as follows: “… As in other ancient sites, so here, the natives remove large quantities of earth to lay upon the fields. But instead of this destructive custom exposing the earlier remains, as is the case on other sites, it makes the lower levels here even more inaccessible. Any pit in this region is quickly filled up with sand from the desert, and the holes

Fig. 8 Plan of Area 1 (Drawing J. Hudec, L. Jarmuiek)

Tell el-Retaba 2007–2008 251

Fig. 9 Area 1, square Y 250/X 270, looking north. In the background, remains of the northern defence wall of the fortress (Photo J. Hudec)

made in one year are levelled up again in the next. At first sight the mound looks untouched; but a large part of it is now a honeycomb of old pits filled with sand. This makes work here unprofitable, as it is needful to dig through so much depth of running sand in which nothing can be found…”28 The present Polish – Slovak works has confirmed the extent of sebbakhin digging activities and the complications described by Petrie with regard to reaching untouched layers. It took five workers digging according to contextual excavation principles almost four weeks to remove the layers of sand mixed with mud-brick rubble and rainfall deposits. However, the unprofitability of the work is a matter of priorities. While spectacular finds were absent from the post-sebbakhin layers, there were objects that merited attention despite a weaker chronological attribution. Square Y250/X270 constitutes the northwestern quadrant of Area 1. A large oval sebbakhin pit divided it practically into two. The ground between the pit and the northern edge of the square was filled in part by the northern defense

28

PETRIE and DUNCAN 1906, 28

wall (Figs. 8–9). Revealed in the trench is the preserved part of the inner (southern) face of the wall (max. height 83 cm) running from southwest-west to north-east-east; it declines more or less aslant into deposits covering wall´s lower edge. The lower part of the wall consists of three stretcher courses of mud bricks, followed by a course of mud bricks laid upright on the long sides. This bonding pattern is then repeated with one mud brick course of each kind (Fig. 9). Judging by the bondwork, which is similar to that observed on the face of the northern defense wall uncovered east of Area 1, probably in excavations by Mohammad Abdel Maksour in 1998 (Fig. 10), the base of the wall has not been reached in Area 1. It can be assumed by comparison that at least one more course of mud bricks standing on the longer side edges should still be concealed in the ground in this square. There is a layer of plaster preserved in the eastern lower corner of the defense wall. In this part, another mud-brick wall was connected almost perpendicular to the defense wall; this wall runs

252 Slawomir Rzepka, Anna Wodzinska, Jozef Hudec, Tomasz Herbich

Fig. 10. Northern defense wall uncovered in 1998 (Photo J. Hudec)

Fig. 11 Preserved mud brick bondwork in Petrie’s Wall 3 (Photo J. Hudec)

Tell el-Retaba 2007–2008 253

Fig. 12 Vaulted silo (Photo J. Hudec)

southward, disappearing into the eastern trench wall of the square. The bondwork, as well as color and quality of the material used to manufacture the bricks, shows similarities with Petrie’s Wall 3 (Fig. 11).29 This corresponds also to the geophysical survey results (discussed below) and Petrie’s observation: “…the third wall was built nearly on the same lines;30 this was slightly inside the older wall at the south, upon the line and the gateway at the west, and there overlapped the old first wall”.31 On the geophysical map the inner wall of two eastern defense walls at its northern end clearly passes into the northern defense wall. However, the double nature of the walls is less evident on the northern side; further excavations should ascertain the situation (superposition of walls?) and internal structure of the defense wall(s) in this part of the site. None of the dating ceramic material from square Y250/X270 could be connected reliably

29 30

PETRIE and DUNCAN 1906, pl. XXXV. In line with Wall 2; PETRIE believed it was constructed in the times of Ramesses III; on some published items of

with the defense wall. The deposits from the two sebbakhin pits on the top of the northern wall are obviously of no use for this purpose and the wall itself has not yielded any potsherds yet. The oval sebbakhin pit also removed about half of a vaulted mud-brick silo (Fig. 12). A similar silo had been found next to the northern defense wall, about 80 m east of square Y250/X270, by Mohammad Abdel Maksour in 1998. The present silo is smaller, its external diameter being only c. 110 cm and wall thickness about 10 cm. It stands about 0.45 m from the defense wall. The silo should be older than the nearby oven and fireplace, judging by its position and the stratigraphy of layers covering it on the southwestern side. Its relation to the defense wall could not be determined now due to time constraints and will be examined in the future. A few potsherds (SU 64) could date, according to A. Wodzinska, the filling of the silo provisionally to the late New Kingdom period.

the foundation deposit (found under the south-eastern corner) are displayed the cartouches of Wcr MAat ra Mry Imn – PETRIE and DUNCAN 1906, pl. XXXIV, XXXV C.

254 Slawomir Rzepka, Anna Wodzinska, Jozef Hudec, Tomasz Herbich In the southern third of square Y250/X270, two partly preserved structures were noted in the southwestern corner despite serious disturbance by another three sebbakhin pits. This was a furnace (Fig. 13) and a fireplace. The furnace is about 2.30 m south of the defense wall. It stands on a layer of mud-brick rubble. The mud bricks of irregular size and shape may have come from an older silo(s), but the furnace itself seems to have been built to order without reusing any earlier structures. It is constructed of massive, almost cubic mud bricks, lined on the inside with thin mud bricks and thickly coated with plaster on the outside; thus, the maximum diameter of the oven is c. 1.30 m and wall thickness is about 35 cm. Due to a disturbed archaeological context, the function of this feature – whether a furnace for firing pottery or an oven for baking bread or something else entirely – remains for now a matter for speculation. The structure was later reused as a fireplace. Deposits inside it consisted of ashes with pieces of ostrich eggshells mixed in together with tiny fragments of bronze, bones and ceramics. A low break-wall of piled mud-brick rubble stood to the north and northeast. Two vertical hollows, left by wooden poles or plant roots (?), were discovered

under these bricks (SU 21). The pottery deposited under and beyond (north of) this break wall has been dated provisionally to the late New Kingdom (SU 45). A fireplace made of mud-brick rubble adjoined the oven on the southwest. It was shielded from the southwest by a large potsherd. It formed an irregular feature, c. 60 × 64 cm, and was filled especially with ash deposits. The functional relationship, if any, between the oven and fireplace needs to be further examined. Square Y255/X265 covers the southeastern quadrant of Area 1. Here, too, sebbakhin digging has removed most of the upper strata. Four large pits were recorded, the largest in the north-central part, flanked by other pits on the west, south and east of the square. A small section in the southwestern corner of the square appeared relatively untouched. Some mud-brick structures were found here. About 10 cm below the ground surface there was a mudbrick platform made of one layer of bricks of a different color and size. In the southwestern corner of the platform/square, the edge of a recent excavation pit with a virtually vertical side was traced; this cut was filled with fine, light yellow sand.

Fig. 13 Mud brick furnace (Photo J. Hudec)

Tell el-Retaba 2007–2008 255

Fig. 14 Silo (Photo J. Hudec)

Fig. 15 Detail of preserved wall of silo

256 Slawomir Rzepka, Anna Wodzinska, Jozef Hudec, Tomasz Herbich Running roughly north-south under the eastern edge of the platform was a mud-brick wall consisting of four irregular stretcher courses of bricks. The maximum length was 2.20 m, maximum height c. 0.45 m and width from c. 0.50 to 0.70 m. The brick courses were disturbed by both sebbakhin digging which opened the wall to further erosion and by an ashes-rich substratum below. The only original post quem deposits were preserved west of this wall. East of the wall, at a depth of c. 1.10 m, another mud-brick feature was traced. Considering that the sebbakhin pits largely avoided it, it can be presumed that it had stood quite strong at the time. The poorly preserved remains that are now to be seen – two low walls only c. 0.30 m high erected on a foundation – can be recognized as a mud-brick silo (Fig. 14). This structure was of slightly irregular shape with a diameter of about 2.40 m, walls thickness c. 20 cm and a later fireplace in the centre. The best preserved part of this feature was on the northwestern side (Fig. 15). The wall retains

Fig. 16 Dwarf amulet (Photo S. Rzepka)

31 32

33 34 35

PETRIE and DUNCAN 1906, 30. Detailed discussion of both objects will be published in HUDEC forthc. GASSER 2001, 113–116. HERRMANN 2002, 27. HERRMANN 2002, 19.

three courses of mud bricks laid in stretcher bond on a wider foundation. Nothing but brick height and width could be statistically evaluated (c. 10 × 20 cm). The rest of the structure is heavily eroded with some of the bricks actually lying on the ground outside the feature’s outline. The younger mud-brick structures mentioned above may have reused bricks from this silo, but it seems that they largely respected the western side which must have still been standing high at the time. Small finds Small finds from the excavations come mainly from the sebbakhin pits. Among these there is a small amulet depicting a headless figure (Fig. 16), a clay seal with four cobras (S 227), a terracotta figure (S 224)32 and faience beads of various shapes. 1) Amulet (Fig. 16) Inventory no: S 86 Material: Egyptian faience Dimension: length 2.15 cm; max. width 1.4 cm; thickness 0.9 cm The stylized bluish-white amulet depicts a dwarf which could be identified as either Bes33 or Pataikos.34 The head, which could have features important from both the iconographic and the chronological point of view,35 is missing. Nonetheless, amulets representing protective and/or creative dwarf-demons are quite popular in this area. Petrie found at least eight Bes amulets36 and more or less the same number of Pataikos amulets.37 Amulet S 86 was found in a sebbakhin pit (SU 15) in square Y255/X265; it bears some similarity with the headless amulet from tomb 29 (probably Pataikos, accompanied by two amulets of Bes in the same tomb context)38 dated by Petrie to Dynasty 22–23.39 Being not fully convinced as to the correspondence between Petrie’s understanding of these dynasties and recent chronologies, we prefer to date the amulet to a more broadly defined Third Intermediate Period.

36

37

38 39

PETRIE and DUNCAN 1906, pls. XXXIV (tomb 29) and XXXIVC. PETRIE and DUNCAN 1906, pl. XXXIV (tombs 4, 29), pl. XXXIVA (tombs 18, 24), pl. XXXIVB (tombs 9?, 17, 31?). PETRIE and DUNCAN 1906, pl. XXXIV. PETRIE and DUNCAN 1906, 32.

Tell el-Retaba 2007–2008 257

2) Sling stones (Fig. 17, Table 1) Altogether 19 round-shaped stones were found in the two seasons of excavations at the site (see above). In 2007, three of the stones (S3, S27 and S37) were located by the survey alongside the northwestern (NW)40 and north-central (NC) inner part of the defense wall; S46 was found more to the south, alongside the pipeline trench and S33 was recorded in the northern area, outside the defense walls. In 2008, nine stones were discovered in Area 1 and five in Area 2. They contexts were both late New Kingdom and Third Intermediate Period, but mainly from sebbakhin pits (SU 17, 23 in Area 1). Some of these are like the pounding stones published by Petrie.41 Their function as sling loads should, however, be taken into consideration considering the site’s position on an insecure land route between Egypt and Syro-Palestine. The sling was known in Egypt despite the fact that its ancient name still escapes researchers.42 Thus, it is quite possible that sling stones made of hard quartzite, flint and ore, weighing from 125 g to more than 300 g, were in

Fig. 17 Sling stone (Photo S. Rzepka)

use at a military installation like Tell el-Retaba.43 The material of which they are made comes from distant sources. Further excavations might indi-

No.

Area

Square

Feature

Material

Weight/g

Notice

Dimensions/mm

S3 S 27 S 33 S 37 S 46 S 117 S 127 S 128 S 132 S 133 S 136 S 158 S 159 S 164 S 165 S 167 S 168 S 170 S 171

NW NC out/walls NW NC 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 2

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Y110,X235 Y250,X270 Y250,X270 Y110,X235 Y250,X270 Y255,X265 Y255,X265 Y255,X265 Y255,X265 Y115,X240 Y255,X265 Y255,X265 Y115,X240 Y115,X240

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 137 23 23 168 29 17 17 17 30 165 17 17 200 200

Quartzite Quartzite Quartzite Quartzite Quartzite Quartz? Quartzite Quartzite Quartzite Quartzite Quartzite? Quartzite Quartzite Flint Limestone Flint Magnetite? Flint Quartzite

160 145 305 135 280 120 200 125 210 100 180 150 180 150 350 160 250 150 210

complete damaged complete complete complete part complete complete complete part complete complete complete damaged complete complete damaged complete complete

56×51×44 68×60×28 75×60×50 48×52×52 67×59×50 50×49×34 53×53×47 43×44×45 55×55×45 47×47×40 48×48×50 52×42×43 48×47×45 46×46×44 61×59×59 50×49×46 51×41×39 51×49×47 67×54×41

Table 1

40 41 42

Between Area 1 and Area 2. PETRIE and DUNCAN 1906, pl. XXXVIC, nos. 37, 39. Schleuder, LÄ V, 1984, 656; BONNET 1926, 115–117.

43

Another object of the militaria class originating from Tell el-Retaba is a sickle-sword (khepesh; British Museum EA 27490, cf. GRIFFITH 1890, 57, pl. XIX).

258 Slawomir Rzepka, Anna Wodzinska, Jozef Hudec, Tomasz Herbich cate whether their concentration in some area(s) of the site reflects storage or more dramatic events, like an attack on the defense walls. Conclusions The present excavations have proved Petrie wrong in his assertions regarding Tell el-Retaba that “the soil itself also is poor in objects in the untouched parts. The mound is not an accumulation of house ruins, as such mounds usually are; but large parts of it only contain a few enclosing walls, and the area seems to have been largely left open, and then gradually filled up with ashes and blown dust”.44 Features and buildings uncovered in the PolishSlovak excavations, combined with the results of previous fieldwork on the site, have indicated that at least the areas beside and along the northern defense wall were not left open. Area 1 appears to have been used for storage purposes (silos) and later on probably also for craft workshops. The finds from Area 1 date mainly to the late New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period. However, the deposits of the Third Intermediate Period were mostly removed by sebbakhins. The late New Kingdom deposits indicate several phases of settlement, especially in the square Y250/X270. Further excavations should verify relations between these late New Kingdom deposits and the (post-Ramesses III?) northern defense wall; a precise stratigraphy could be helpful for specifying the occupation phases of the late New Kingdom period. AREA 2 By S lawomir Rzepka Structures Three squares 5 × 5 m were partly excavated. In all three squares, mud-brick walls were found, some preserved to a height of more than 1 m (see Figs. 18–20). They seem to belong to a single, apparently phased building. The stratigraphical relations of particular features will become clearer once the excavations have been completed.

seen in the north wall). It was entered originally from the west. An obscure, step-like structure was attached to the outer face of the wall to the north of the entrance. Phase II Rooms 1 and 2 were added to the west of room 4. The step-like structure was partly covered by a wall separating these two rooms. The entrance to room 4 appears to have been blocked at this time. A set of loom weights was found on the floor of room 1. Room 3, which has a slightly different orientation than the rest of the building, may have also been added in this phase. Most of the floor of this room was destroyed by a deep sebakhin pit, but a fragment along the east wall was preserved. After prolonged use – the accumulated sequence of occupational levels is c. 10 cm thick – the floor was paved with bricks. Soon afterwards it seems to have been abandoned and turned into a place for dumping ashes. All structures northeast of room 3 were destroyed by a very large pit filled with clean drifted sand. This was interpreted first as another sebakhin pit, but its large diameter (apparently at least 5 m) and depth (c. 3 m), not to mention the almost vertical walls, suggest that it is one of Naville’s test trenches. A circular trench marked by Naville on his plan45 is located approximately in the area of our excavations. Naville also mentioned that his trenches were up to 30 feet deep. Phase III Once the vault of room 4 had collapsed, the building was abandoned and used as a dumping place. A thin wall running N-S was erected on top of the ruins of room 4, creating a narrow unit 4a (the northern end of this wall has not been preserved). Phase IV

Room 4 (see plan in Fig. 20), the largest one, had a vaulted roof (some remains of which can still be

Unit 4a was finally abandoned and filled with ashes. The pottery evidence from the house established the date of the structure with all its phases in the 21st through 22nd Dynasty (cf. section 3.2. on the ceramics). The domestic function of the excavated building is beyond doubt, considering the discovery of loom weights (see below, Figs. 26, 27) and frag-

44

45

Phase I

PETRIE and DUNCAN 1906, 28.

NAVILLE 1887, pl. 11.

Tell el-Retaba 2007–2008 259

Fig. 18 General view of area 2, looking south (Photo S. Rzepka)

Fig. 19 Excavated part of the Third Intermediate Period house. Rooms 1 and 2 are visible in front, room 4 in the background (Photo S. Rzepka)

260 Slawomir Rzepka, Anna Wodzinska, Jozef Hudec, Tomasz Herbich

Fig. 20 Plan of the Third Intermediate Period house (Drawing L. Jarmuiek)

mentary bone spatulas (see below, Fig. 25), which could have also been used for weaving or netting. Fishbones and mussels were frequent in the occupational layers, unlike mammal bones which occurred only sporadically. Fish thus seems to have been a diet staple of the dwellers of this house. There could have been fishermen among them – a small, bent piece of lead can be interpreted as a netsinker (see below, Fig. 28). Papyrus Anastasi VI informs of “pools” or “ponds” located in the vicinity of Tell el-Retaba; Shasu Bedouins were said to water their flocks there.46 The

46

dwellers of the settlement in Tell el-Retaba could have caught their fish there. Once abandoned the ruins of the buildings served as a dump for large amounts of ash. Most of the interesting small finds came from these ash deposits. Small finds The small finds presented below – a small part of the collection consisting of almost 200 objects from Area 2 – have been selected with the objective of illustrating the occupations and customs of

Pap. Anastasi VI, 51–61, GARDINER 1937, 76 f. For a discussion of this passage, see GOEDICKE 1987, 83–98.

Tell el-Retaba 2007–2008 261

Fig. 21 Faience cartouche-plaque, inv. no. S59 (Photo S. Rzepka, drawing S. Gromadzka, L. Jarmuiek) Scale 2:1

the dwellers of the house (or the immediate neighborhood as some of the objects come from layers deposited already when the building had been abandoned and was being used as a dumping ground). 1) Cartouche plaque (Fig. 21)

cartouche contains the name of a ruler from the Third Intermediate Period. Three kings of the 22nd Dynasty: Osorkon II,48 Sheshonq III49 and Pemu,50 used Wsr-mAat-ra stp-n-ra as their throne name, apparently following in this the example set by Ramesses II. Considering the chronological context in which the plaque was found, this interpretation seems to be the most plausible.

Inventory no.: S59 Material: green-glazed faience Dimensions: length 2.9 cm, width 1.5 cm, thickness 0.3 cm Molded plaque, decorated on one side with a hieroglyphic inscription reading Wsr-mAat-ra stp-n-ra inside a cartouche ring. The plaque is damaged; originally there must have been two feathers at the top of the cartouche. Wsr-mAat-ra stp-n-ra is the throne name of Ramesses II. However, the plaque was found in a layer which can be dated by the pottery to the Third Intermediate Period. If it is indeed the cartouche of Ramesses II, the plaque must have been in use as an amulet for several generations. Since such cartouche-plaques are also found in foundation deposits,47 it is possible that the plaque was part of a foundation deposit from a royal Ramesside building destroyed during the Third Intermediate Period. The other possibility is that the

Inventory no.: S62 Material: iron Dimensions: length 11.2 cm, width 2.1 cm, thickness 0.6 cm Leaf-shaped blade, flat, without mid-rib; tang oval in section. The tip of the blade and part of the tang are broken off. Found in a stratum dated to the 22nd Dynasty. In the beginning of the 1st millennium BC iron was still very rare in Egypt. Single objects, usually of meteoritic iron, are known from much earlier periods, the most famous being the dagger of Tutankhamun.52 Very few objects date from a time closer to the Tell el-Retaba blade, among these an iron spearhead from Tell Nebesheh in the Delta. The spearhead comes from a grave context which has been attributed to a foreigner, a Cypriot mer-

47

50

48 49

E.g. foundation deposit from Tell el-Retaba containing cartouche-plaques of Ramesses III, cf. PETRIE and DUNCAN 1906, pl. XXXVIB: 53–55. BECKERATH 1999, 186–187. BECKERATH 1999, 188–189.

2) Iron blade51 (Fig. 22)

51

52

BECKERATH 1999, 190–191. For a detailed discussion of the find, see RZEPKA in prep. For a review of such early iron items, cf. WALDBAUM 1978, 22, 36.

262 Slawomir Rzepka, Anna Wodzinska, Jozef Hudec, Tomasz Herbich

Fig. 22 Iron blade, inv. no. S62 (Photo S. Rzepka, drawing L. Jarmuiek)

cenary from the time of the 26th Dynasty (7th century BC) according to Petrie,53 but more likely a Philistine from the 11th/10th century BC.54 Another example from this period is an iron sword of the Naue II type, found in the tomb of Psusennes I in Tanis.55 In the former case, the weapon would have been brought by its owner from his homeland, in the latter it was a prized possession imported from abroad. It should be noted in this context that iron smelting is first evidenced in Egypt at the Greek colony in Naukratis, where it is dated with some reserve to the 6th century BC. Iron did not start to

53 54 55 56 57 58 59

PETRIE 1888, 21, pl. 3, cf. also WALDBAUM 1978, 36. DOTHAN 1957, 151–164, cf. also WALDBAUM 1978, 36. WALDBAUM 1978, 36. PETRIE 1917, 33, pl. XXXIX [142]. EMERY 1999. 10th century BC; PETRIE 1930, pl. 50.598. 10th–8th century BC; DOTHAN and PORATH 1982, pl. 15.12.

play a dominant role in the production of tools, weapons and objects of daily use until the reign of the Ptolemies. Thus there can be no doubt that the blade from Tell el-Retaba was imported. The shape is not very distinctive however and similar blades have been found in Mycenae, for example,56 but it would surely be too farfetched to suggest such an origin for our blade. Especially in view of the fact that similar objects have been found in a much less distant area, namely, in Israel. In Emery’s typological study of weapons of the Israelite monarchy,57 our blade falls into the “light spearhead” category, that is, a weapon part used either for thrusting or throwing (contrary to the “heavy spearhead” which was used only for thrusting). Less probably, it was a very large arrowhead and even less probably, a double-edged knife. Similar spearheads were found in Tell Farcah South,58 Ashdod,59 Lachish,60 Megiddo61 and Tell Sacidiyeh.62 Consequently, it seems probable that our iron spearhead was produced in Palestine. The question remains how it came to Egypt and there are several possibilities to be taken into account. The least probable is the assumption that the spearhead was left by invaders from the East, who had attacked the city. So far no traces of violent destruction in the Third Intermediate Period have been found within the limits of the excavated area. It is tempting to interpret this find as a spoil from a victorious raid into Israel organized by Sheshonq I, but this will have to remain speculation. Equally well the spearhead could have been simply acquired through regular trade. 3) Scarab63 (Fig. 23) Inventory no.: S61 Material: white steatite, no traces of glazing Dimensions: length 1.8 cm, width 1.3 cm, thickness 0.8 cm The back of the scarab is decorated with double girdle lines; three vertical lines are incised on the elytra; vertical lines are also incised on the head and the clypeus; the legs are not marked. The body is pierced along the axis.

60 61

62 63

8th century BC; TUFNELL 1953, pl. 39–4 8th–7th century BC; LAMON and SHIPTON 1939, pls. 80.24, 80.32. 8th–7th century BC; PRICHARD 1985, fig. 172.5. For a discussion of this scarab, especially its decoration, see GROMADZKA and RZEPKA in prep.

Tell el-Retaba 2007–2008 263

Fig. 23 Scarab, inv. no. S61 (Photo S. Rzepka) Scale 2:1

way, he is identified with Osiris.67 As Osirian motifs are extremely rare on scarabs,68 these parallels should not be cited in explanation of the meaning of the two flails on the scarab from Retaba. The only royal representation with two flails and without Osirian connotations is a statue of Amenophis III found in the temple of Month in Karnak.69 It shows the king in a heb-sed mantle, kneeling in front of Amun-Ra. The meaning of the unusual iconography on our scarab (whatever it was70) needs not to parallel that of the statue of Amenophis III, but two flails are evidently an artist’s mistake.71 4) Terracotta figurine (Fig. 24)

The base of the scarab is decorated with an incised image of a king kneeling on one knee. A uraeus is marked clearly on his forehead. His arms are bent at the elbows and his hands, both holding flails, are placed on the chest. The object on the king’s left resembles a cobra. A single line acts as a frame around the representation. The execution is quite schematic, no details of the king’s dress or headdress are shown, so it is only to be presumed that he is wearing the blue crown or (even more likely) the so-called “Ramesside cap” on his head. The scarab, which is complete, was found in a stratum dated to the 21st–22nd Dynasty. The modeling of the scarab suggests a much earlier date, in the 19th–20th Dynasty,64 and the nearest parallels to the decoration on the base come from the Ramesside period.65 The decoration has one rather unusual feature: the two flails held by the king instead of the regular crook and flail. This is extremely rare in royal representations on scarab bases,66 as well as in royal iconography in general. In the rare instances when a king is shown in this

Inventory no.: S138 Material: pottery Dimension: height 4.5 cm The figurine is made of Nile silt, modeled by hand. It was fired, quite carelessly, in an oxidizing atmosphere; the upper part is light red, the lower one gray (possibly the figurine was fired together with pottery vessels, having been put inside one of them). The features of the face are reduced to a beak nose. Modeling of the body is very schematic: hands, waist, hips and buttocks are not marked. The most distinctive feature is just one conical breast, the left, the other one having never existed. The legs are separated by a vertical groove and the toes are rudimentarily marked with short engraved lines. The feet are very small and the figurine could not stand unsupported. The pubic hairs are marked by incised dots arranged in a circle. All these details were made with a sharply pointed tool. No traces of paint are visible. This complete figurine was found in a stratum, which is dated provisionally by the pottery evidence to the 22nd Dynasty.

64

67

65

66

ROWE 1936, pls. XXXII–XXXIII; cf. also WIESE 1990, 92. NEWBERRY 1907, 119, pl. VII (CG 36472); 290, pl. x (CG 37158). Cf. also KEEL et al. 1985, 340, Abb. 6–8. Only three comparable examples are known to the authors. Wiese lists five scarabs with images of the king with two flails (WIESE 1990, 21 n. 47), but at least two should be excluded from this group. In one case, the king has unnaturally long arms which Wiese took for flails, in the second the king holds a flail and an object similar in shape to a flail, but ending in a ball. Both were found in Meroe, cf. DUNHAM 1963, 52, fig. 37a/58; 315, fig. 182/13.

68 69 70

71

As in the painting with the scene of the “opening of the mouth” ceremony on the wall of the tomb of Tutankhamun, cf. ROBINS 2007, 326, fig. 2. Two ushebtis found in the same tomb depict the king with two flails, cf. REEVES 1990, 139. Cf. HORNUNG and STAEHELIN 1976, 90–91, 98. Now in store 262 in Karnak, cf. SEIDEL 1996, 191–193. According to one theory, the flail was an emblem of birth, fitting well in the heb-sed context; cf. WESSETZKY 1989, 425–429, pls. I–V. As supposed by Wiese in the case of the above-mentioned scarabs: WIESE 1990, 21 n. 47.

264 Slawomir Rzepka, Anna Wodzinska, Jozef Hudec, Tomasz Herbich

Fig. 24 Terracotta figurine, inv. no. S138 (Photo S. Rzepka, drawing L. Jarmuiek)

Small figurines showing nude females are usually called “fertility figurines”.72 Although found not only in houses (also in burials and temples), they are supposed to “belong primarily to the sphere of magical and religious practices to promote and protect fertility in daily life. The term fertility covers the whole process from the conception of children to their successful rearing”.73 This interpretation was recently modified and nuanced by E. Waraksa,74 who emphasized the magical function of the figurines rather than their link with fertility (preferring also “female figurines” as a more neutral designation). The figurines should have played some role in magic healing rituals and they are mentioned in this role in magical papyri. This interpretation is especially tempting in the case of our figurine because of the missing right breast. Perhaps it was used during some kind of healing ritual for a disease which affected a woman’s breast. It was surely made specifically for whatever occasion it was used for, out of a cheap material and quite hastily, with little effort in terms of esthetic or artistic effect. It was apparently also quickly discarded – the figurine shows no trace of prolonged use.75

5) Bone spatulas (Fig. 25)

72

76

73 74

75

This designation was used by G. PINCH in her comprehensive study on the subject: PINCH 1993. PINCH 1993, 225. WARAKSA 2008; WARAKSA 2007 (only a fragment of this dissertation was available to the authors). For a more detailed interpretation of this figurine, see JARMUIEK and RZEPKA in print.

Inventory nos: S97, S98, S178 Material: bone Dimensions: S97: length 5.1 cm, width 2.6 cm, thickness 0.5 cm S98: length 12.8 cm, width 2.7 cm, thickness 0.3 cm S178: length 2.7 cm, width 1.3 cm, thickness 0.3 cm Only S98 is relatively well preserved and its shape can be described in more detail. It is a relatively long and narrow “blade”, pointed at one end (the other end is broken off). This implement was apparently made of a rib, of which one surface and the bone matrix was removed. The remaining part was naturally smooth on one side and porous on the other. The porous side was smoothed, but the textural remains of the bone matrix are still visible. The “blade” is not flat, but naturally curved like the rib it was made of. Spatulas of this kind are known from various periods (from the Neolithic through Roman times) and from various regions in the Mediterranean.76 They were well known in Egypt during the New Kingdom.77 Their function remains controversial and it is also doubtful that they were always used for the same purpose in all the periods and place where they have been found. Vari-

77

For a useful overview of this subject, see ARIEL et al. 1990, 127–134. “Bone knife” from Amarna now in the Liverpool Museum, 56.21.911, cf. http://www.globalegyptianmuseum.org/record.aspx?id=4072; Petrie found such objects (which he called “netters”) in Gurob and commented that “such netters abound in sites of the 18th and 19th dynasty”, cf. PETRIE 1917, 53.

Tell el-Retaba 2007–2008 265

Fig. 25 Bone spatula, inv. no. S98 (Photo S. Rzepka)

ous authors have interpreted them as knives for cutting, forks for eating, tools for grinding drugs to powder, for hairdressing, incising designs on pottery before firing, leatherwork, net-making and weaving, and as styli for writing.78 The latter is surely not true of spatulas found in Egypt; other interpretations are more or less probable, but can be neither proved nor disproved. Interestingly, the spatulas from Tell el-Retaba were found in a house where weaving and netting have been evidenced (see below for loom weights and lead net-sinker).

shape, and clearly form part of a set used on a loom. Single loom weights, similar in material and shape, were also found in other contexts (S163, S166, S199).79

6) Limestone loom weights (Fig. 26) Inventory nos: S111, S112, S113, S115, S116 Material: limestone Dimensions: S111: length 7 cm, width 5.5 cm, thickness 5.2 cm S112: length 6.4 cm, width 4.8 cm, thickness 3.2 cm S113: length 7.5 cm, width 6 cm, thickness 3.9 cm S115: length 6.6 cm, width 5 cm, thickness 2.9 cm S116: length 8.5 cm, width 5 cm, thickness 3.2 cm All the weights have an ovoid, elongated, slightly flattened shape. A small incised groove for fixing a thread runs around the circumference on the long axis. All the weights were found on the floor of room no. 1. They are quite uniform in size and

Fig. 26 Limestone loom weight, inv. no. S111 (Photo S. Rzepka, drawing S. Gromadzka, L. Jarmuiek) Scale 1:2

78

79

For a list of theories with bibliographical references, see ARIEL et al. 1990, 129.

PETRIE discovered loom weights of this type in Tell elRetaba, cf. PETRIE and DUNCAN 1906, pl. XXXVIC, 44, 45, 46.

266 Slawomir Rzepka, Anna Wodzinska, Jozef Hudec, Tomasz Herbich

Fig. 27 Clay loom weight, inv. no. S114 (Photo S. Rzepka, drawing S. Gromadzka, L. Jarmuiek) Scale 1:2

7) Clay loom weight (Fig. 27) Inventory no.: S114 Material: clay Dimensions: S114: length 9.7 cm, width 7.7 cm, thickness 3.4 cm Thick, roughly round disc, with a hole c. 1 cm in diameter pierced in the middle. Found together with the above-described limestone loom weights. It was probably used for the same purpose. This set of loom weights shows that room 1, at least in the late phase of the excavated building, was used as a workshop. 8) Net-sinker (Fig. 28) Inventory no.: S141 Material: lead Dimensions: length 1.6 cm, width 1.4 cm, thickness 0.9 cm

Fig. 28 Lead net-sinker, inv. no. S141 (Photo S. Rzepka, drawing S. Gromadzka, L. Jarmuiek)

80 81

PETRIE and DUNCAN 1906, 33, pl. XXXVB As only the lower part of the amulet is preserved, identification of the goddess is not possible.

A strip of lead sheet folded in two. Heavily corroded. It may have been attached to a fishing net and used as a sinker. Petrie found similar objects in Tell el-Retaba, identifying them as net-sinkers,80 but giving no details of the context and making no attempt to date them. Also worth mentioning are faience amulets in the form of Bes (S120) and a seated goddess (S6081), a large number of faience beads, a fragment of a scaraboid (S123), fragments of faience rings (S63, S139) and numerous pieces of worked stone. 3.2. CERAMIC MATERIAL By Anna Wodzinska Introduction82 The archaeological site at Tell el-Retaba comprises remains of a settlement and a cemetery. This ancient kom located in Wadi Tumilat has been excavated and surveyed repeatedly, by Petrie, Goedicke, Holladay, and the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities. According to Aston, the pottery from the settlement area excavated by Petrie83 can be dated to the New Kingdom, Third Intermediate Period, Late Period, and Ptolemaic Period, that from the cemetery to the Third Intermediate Period.84

82

83 84

I would like to thank Daniel Jones and Iwona Zych for correcting the English text. PETRIE and DUNCAN 1906. ASTON 1996, 27–28.

Tell el-Retaba 2007–2008 267

The second season (2008) revealed a settlement generally dated to the end of the New Kingdom and beginning of the Third Intermediate Period. The stratigraphically excavated units appear not to contain contaminated pottery material. 30,386 ceramic sherds were collected during the season. All of them were first sorted into Nile and marl fabrics and secondly into nondiagnostic and diagnostic pieces. Each of the diagnostic sherds (3,783 in total) received a unique number. The typology of the pottery found in two excavated areas (Area 1 and 2)92 was based on the surface finds from the 2007 survey season.93 This typology was further enlarged and corrected according to the new evidence. The ceramics were made mostly of Nile alluvium with only approximately 3% of the material recognized as marl. The pottery from the 2008 season comes generally from the 20th–21st Dynasties and maybe even the 22nd Dynasty. Some of the excavated stratigraphic units appear to be earlier, that is from the late New Kingdom – beginning of the 20th Dynasty.

Some of the pottery from excavations by Hans Goedicke in 1977, 1978 and 1981, illustrated on Michael Fuller’s website85 can be dated mainly to the Third Intermediate Period. Vessels from the cemetery located to the north of the main kom seem to be earlier (late New Kingdom). Ceramics collected from the surface during a survey conducted in Wadi Tumilat by the Wadi Tumilat Project directed by John S. Holladay Jr were later described by Carol Redmount.86 She concluded that some of the early pottery material from Tell el-Retaba could be dated to the Second Intermediate Period.87 Tell el-Retaba was later excavated by the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) and the material was described in the SCA field reports.88 Selected ceramic vessels coming from the investigated areas of the settlement and cemetery were dated to the late New Kingdom – beginning of the Third Intermediate Period. One of the jars seems to be later, probably from the late Persian – beginning of the Ptolemaic periods. The ceramic material from Tell el-Retaba under discussion in this paper was assembled during the 2008 season of work conducted by the Tell el-Retaba Archaeological Mission. The first season (2007) was devoted mostly to a ceramic survey.89 Over 600 sherds, generally diagnostic pieces, were collected from the surface of the kom. This pottery assemblage can be broken down according to the following chronological divisions: late New Kingdom, Third Intermediate Period, Late Period and Ptolemaic Period.90 Most of the material can be dated to the Third Intermediate Period and Late Period. Unfortunately, the pottery distribution across the site does not reflect original site organization since the kom in Tell el-Retaba has suffered a lot from destruction in modern times. Among the surface finds some imported vessels can be identified.91 They came from three general directions, Greece and the Greek islands, the Levant and Cyprus, during the Third Intermediate Period, through the Late Period to the beginning of the Ptolemaic Period.

Ceramics of this period (Fig. 29) came from a few stratigraphic units (21, 29, 40, 44, 45, and 46) in Area 1. Those units seem to be not disturbed by later intrusions. They consist of a uniform set of pottery types, clearly different from those coming from the Third Intermediate Period. All the late New Kingdom units contained plates with red coated external and internal (Fig. 29.1), or only internal surfaces (Fig. 29.2). The vessels have flaring walls and recurved rims. Similar to other pots from Tell el-Retaba they were made of a Nile B2 sandy variant. They vary in size, but 20–24cm in diameter seems to be the most common. Similar bowls dated to the late New Kingdom were also found in Memphis.94 Small cups of the early 20th Dynasty often have red painted rims (Pl. 1a). They are made of Nile B2 variant with significant amounts of fine sand.

85

91

86 87 88 89 90

http://users.stlcc.edu/mfuller/Retaba.html. REDMOUNT 1989, 124–131, fig. 54. REDMOUNT 1989, 125. Cf. the section “1. History of exploration” above. WODZINSKA forthc. WODZINSKA forthc. See also ASTON 1996, 27-28, 144–152, figs. 42a, 43–50; REDMOUNT 1989, 124–131.

Late New Kingdom

92

93 94

WODZINSKA forthc. For description of the excavated areas, see section “3.1. Excavations” above. WODZINSKA forthc. ASTON 2007, 30, fig. 20.8, 11, 16–17.

268 Slawomir Rzepka, Anna Wodzinska, Jozef Hudec, Tomasz Herbich Jars with rounded narrow rims were covered with red slip on the outside and smoothed (Figs. 29.3–4, Pl. 1b). They were made of Nile B2 sandy clay. Such jars can be dated to the beginning of the 20th Dynasty.97 Some however occur later, during the reign of Ramesses XI.98 The complete vessels have an elongated body measuring approximately 52cm in height. A marl jar with a cylindrical neck and rounded rim (Fig. 29.5, Pl. 1d) came from unit 45. The external surface of the pot was clearly burnished with shiny vertical stripes. Rims of similar jars made of marl F found at Qantir are dated to the Ramesside period.99 The date of the late New Kingdom units is confirmed by the occurrence of a small fragment of a blue-painted bowl (Fig. 29.6, Pl. 1c). According to Aston100 the blue-painted decoration does not occur later than the time of Ramesses IV. The bowl is made of Nile B1 clay, covered with red slip and subsequently painted cream and blue inside. The vessel is characterized by its very good quality of manufacture. Third Intermediate Period

Fig. 29 Pottery from the late New Kingdom

These hemispherical cups are 10–13 up to 16cm in diameter. Similar pots were found at Elephantine95 and Memphis.96

95

96 97 98 99 100

ASTON 1999, 34–35, pl. 6, fig. 131 dated to the late New Kingdom. ASTON 2007, 31, fig. 21:33, 41, 45, 49. ASTON 1996, 17, 110, fig. 8b. ASTON 1999, 43–33, pl. 9, fig. 198. ASTON 1998, 504–509, figs. 1991–2027. ASTON 1996, 79.

The material from this period (Figs. 30–33) is predominately characterized by the presence of four ceramic vessel types: bowl with flaring walls (Fig. 30.7–8), small hemispherical cup (Fig. 30.9–11), flat bread tray (Fig. 30.13), and jar with cylindrical neck and more or less upright rim (Fig. 31.15–16). The most frequently found ceramics are bowls with flaring walls and recurved rims made of Nile B2 sandy clay (Fig. 30.7–8). They represent 23% of all of the diagnostic fragments. They were wheel-thrown and probably made of local material. Their surface was well smoothed without any coat. The vessels vary in size but the most common are those with 23–26cm in diameter. The bowls101 dated to the Third Intermediate Period were also very popular in different regions of Egypt, for instance Elephantine,102 Memphis103 Qantir,104 and Tanis.105

101

102

103 104 105

For bowls from Tell el-Retaba, see also REDMOUNT 1989, 363, fig. 54.27–35. ASTON 1999, e.g.50–51, pl. 11, fig. 257 from the 20th–21st dynasty, also 65, 69, pl. 15, fig. 494 – the 22nd dynasty. ASTON 2007, 34, fig. 29:153–157. ASTON 1998, 545, figs. 2220–2222. BAVAY 1998, 323-324, fig. 34.38–39.

Tell el-Retaba 2007–2008 269

b)

a)

c)

d)

e)

Plate 1 New Kingdom pottery a)Bowl with red-painted rim from the late New Kingdom; b) Red-slipped jar from the late New Kingdom; c) Blue-painted bowl from the late New Kingdom; d) Jar from the late New Kingdom; e) Pilgrim flask from the Third Intermediate Period. Number: 1219

270 Slawomir Rzepka, Anna Wodzinska, Jozef Hudec, Tomasz Herbich

Fig. 30 Pottery from the Third Intermediate Period

Tell el-Retaba 2007–2008 271

Fig. 31 Pottery from the Third Intermediate Period

The second most common vessel is a small bowl with straight sides also made of Nile B2 sandy clay (Fig. 30.9).106 It usually has very thin walls and its production seems to have been very fast and not very careful. Their size, 10–14 cm in

diameter, and clay properties suggest that they were probably used as drinking cups.107 This type of bowl seems to be very well known already in the late New Kingdom when its rim was usually red slipped (see above). Later the decoration gradu-

106

107

See also REDMOUNT 1989, 361, fig. 54.1–6.

See also ASTON 2007, 33, fig. 28:137–145.

272 Slawomir Rzepka, Anna Wodzinska, Jozef Hudec, Tomasz Herbich

Fig. 32 Pottery from the Third Intermediate Period

ally disappeared,108 although it is still sporadically visible (Fig. 30.10). Uncoated bowls were also common in Tanis.109 The cups have wheel-made, slightly pointed bases (Fig. 30.11). A large bowl made of sandy Nile B2 is also common at Tell el Retaba (Fig. 30.12).110 The pot has a thickened flaring rim and its external surface always bears impressions of string. Another frequent find from the site is a flat bread mould (Fig. 30.13).111 It is made of Nile C or Nile E clay. Rim diameter varies between 26 and 31cm. These vessels were very popular across Egypt from the Third Intermediate Period to the Late Period.112 Large rough trays occur in some quantity (Fig. 30.14). Their rim diameter exceeds 40cm. They were made of very coarse clay (NC) with many organic inclusions. Their very irregular shape indicates handmade manufacture. Trays of simi-

lar shape were also found in Tanis in the Third Intermediate Period layers.113 Another characteristic form is a jar with long cylindrical neck and slightly thickened rim (Fig. 31.15–16).114 The fabric is the same as in the case of the bowls from Fig. 30.7–11, which is Nile B2 sandy. The external surface of the jars is very often blackened with traces of soot indicating possible use as a cooking vessel. There is also an almost complete jar with wide open flaring rim and ring base, the so called ‘chamber pot,’ made of Nile B2 clay (Fig. 31.17). Its shape fits very well into the Third Intermediate Period corpus.115 However pots of this kind usually have one vertical handle attached to the rim and shoulder.116 Approximately 60% of the Retaba vessel is preserved so it is highly probable that it had a handle which is now lost.

108

113

109 110 111 112

For uncoated bowls of this type dated to the beginning of the Third Intermediate Period, see e.g. ASTON 2007, 33, fig. 28.142–143, 145. BAVAY 1998, 321–322, fig. 33.19–20. REDMOUNT 1989, 371, 373, fig. 54.93–94, 98–99. See also REDMOUNT 1989, 391, fig. 54.251–255. See, for instance, ASTON 1998, 570, figs. 2340–2344; 1999, 200, 203, figs. 1835–1836.

114 115

116

BAVAY 1998, 323–324, fig. 34.46–47. See, for instance, ASTON 2007, 35, fig. 31:237–244. ASTON 1996, 131, fig. 29.208 – jar from Tanis, 134, fig. 32b – pot from Nebesheh, 168, fig. 66.402–403 – two pots from Memphis. ASTON 1996, 160, fig. 58.12 – vessel from Heliopolis, 168, fig. 66.404 – jar from Memphis. See also ASTON 1998, 550–551, fig.1.

Tell el-Retaba 2007–2008 273

Jars with incurved walls and elongated rims, and often with a pair of handles (Fig. 31.18), were also very common.117 The pots are well known from the Third Intermediate Period contexts at Tell el Daba118 and Mendes.119 So called ‘pigeon’ pots (Fig. 32.19) also characteristic of the Third Intermediate Period120 are known from Tell el-Retaba. They are usually made of NC or NE clays and their external surfaces are well smoothed. Parallel throwing lines visible inside indicate the vessels were made on a wheel. Fragments of pilgrim flasks were also found. A small two-handled pilgrim flask (Fig. 32.20) is made of Nile B2 clay with a thin layer of red slip applied to its external surface. The piece is well datable with analogies coming from the 20th–21st Dynasty context at Qantir.121 The shape of another pilgrim flask found at Tell el-Retaba (Fig. 32.21) is also known from Qantir.122 The ceramics are not decorated, except for pilgrim flasks made of Nile B1 clay (Pl. 1e), and shallow bowls with ledge rims. No complete pilgrim flask with decoration has been preserved. However, several decorated body sherds were discovered. The red-coated pots were painted black on the outside (Pl. 1e). The patterns are very simple circular bands. According to Aston on the basis of ceramics from Memphis such pots can be dated to the 11th–10th century BC.123 Similar pots are also known from Tanis.124 The bowls were also black-painted (Fig. 32.22), but the motifs are more elaborate. The interior of the bowl has a stylized floral pattern. Its rim was additionally painted with short parallel strokes. Black parallel lines can be found on a bowl from Tanis.125 Similar patterns can be seen among pots described by Petrie.126

The field work revealed two main phases of site occupation, late New Kingdom and the beginning of the Third Intermediate Period. The late New Kingdom in comparison to the Third Intermediate Period layers contained less vessels. Both assemblages demonstrate some parallels, e.g. bowls with flaring walls and small hemispherical cups. Nonetheless, the two assemblages are clearly different. In the course of a relatively short time the pottery repertoire visibly changed. Jars with round rims slipped with a red coat and marl jars with a cylindrical neck and rounded rim disappeared. Red paint on the rims of small hemispherical cups gradually vanished. The Third Intermediate Period contained neither red-slipped bowls with flaring walls nor blue-painted pots. The decoration of the vessels is also different. Pots from the 21st and 22nd Dynasty have black-painted decoration. The motifs are very simple, usually short parallel lines appearing on rims of unrestricted vessels, also circular bands painted on pilgrim flasks. Why did the pottery production change so rapidly? Perhaps the phenomenon reflects the political situation in Egypt. The power shift to the northern Delta must have influenced pottery production. The ceramic repertoire may indicate new trends coming from a different production center, located perhaps in Tanis. The structures excavated in 2008 came from two general periods, the late New Kingdom and Third Intermediate Period. Material from the Second Intermediate Period mentioned by Carol Redmount is probably located in the lower strata not yet excavated. Material from the Late and Ptolemaic Periods visible on the surface of the kom must be connected to some as yet unidentified structures in other parts of the site.

Conclusions

CATALOGUE OF POTS127

The ceramic material coming from the 2008 excavated areas is well defined. It appears to be very homogenous, even though the site has suffered from destruction.

Fig. 29.1 – Number 2744. Area: 1. Unit: 46 (occupational deposit). Clay NB2. Surface ex: red-coated and smoothed. Surface in: red-coated and smoothed. Manufacture: thrown.

117

123

118

119

120

121 122

See also REDMOUNT 1989, 395, fig. 54.270–275. ASTON 1996, 142, fig. 40.6, pot K3436 dated to the 20th–21st Dynasty. ASTON 1996, 130, fig. 28.8 – Ramesside and Third Intermediate Periods. See BAVAY 1998, 323–324, fig. 34.41; DEFERNEZ and ISNARD 2000, 217, pl. XIX, type 36A. ASTON 1998, 550–551, fig. 2243. ASTON 1998, 544–545, fig. 2225.

124

125 126 127

ASTON 2007, 53, fig. 47.557. DEFERNEZ and ISNARD 2000, 170, 211, pl. XIII, type 17A; BAVAY 1998, 321–322, fig. 33.22. BAVAY 1998, 319–320, fig. 32.6. PETRIE and DUNCAN 1906, pl. 36:2. Drawings of ceramic vessels were made by Karlina Górka, Sylwia Gromadzka, and Anna Wodzinska. Photographs are by Anna Wodzinska.

274 Slawomir Rzepka, Anna Wodzinska, Jozef Hudec, Tomasz Herbich Fig. 29.2 – Number: 2335. Area: 1. Unit: 29 (occupational deposit). Clay: NB2. Surface ex: smoothed. Surface in: red-coated, smoothed. Manufacture: thrown.

Fig. 30.14 – Number: 2544. Area: 2. Unit: 197 (ash-rich deposit). Clay: NC. Surface ex: roughly treated. Surface in: roughly smoothed. Manufacture: handmade.

Figs. 29.3, Pl. 1b – Number: 2594. Area: 1. Unit: 45 (occupational deposit). Clay: NB2 sandy. Surface ex: red-coated and smoothed. Surface in: smoothed. Manufacture: thrown.

Fig. 31.15 – Number: 1136. Area: 2. Unit: 137 (surface). Clay: NB2. Surface ex: smoothed. Surface in: smoothed. Manufacture: thrown. Remarks: a little bit burned inside.

Fig. 29.4 – Number: 2882. Area: 1. Unit: 45 (occupational deposit). Clay NB2 sandy. Surface ex: red-coated and smoothed. Surface in: smoothed. Manufacture: thrown.

Fig. 31.16 – Number: 1235. Area: 2. Unit: 141 (wall collapse). Clay: NB2. Surface ex: smoothed. Surface in: smoothed. Manufacture: thrown. Remarks: burned on the external, and partly internal surface of the rim.

Figs. 29.5, Pl. 1d – Number: 2578. Area: 1. Unit: 45 (occupational deposit). Clay: M. Surface ex: burnished. Surface in: smoothed. Manufacture: thrown. Figs. 29.6, Pl. 1c – Number: 2577. Area: 1. Unit: 45 (occupational deposit). Clay: NB1. Surface ex: red-coated and polished. Surface in: red-coated and polished. Manufacture: thrown. Decoration: cream- and blue-painted bands on the internal surface.

Fig. 31.17 – Number: 2828. Area: 2. Unit: 203 (occupational deposit). Clay: NB2 sandy. Surface ex: smoothed. Surface in: smoothed. Manufacture: thrown. Remarks: ‘chamber pot’. Fig. 31.18 – Number: 1296. Area: 1. Unit: 127 (occupational deposit). Clay: NB2. Surface ex: pink-coated and smoothed. Surface in: smoothed. Manufacture: thrown.

Fig. 30.7 – Number: 875. Area: 2. Unit: 129 (surface). Clay: NB2. Surface ex: smoothed. Surface in: smoothed. Manufacture: thrown.

Fig. 32.19 – Number: 1620. Area: 2. Unit: 157 (ash-rich deposit). Clay: NC. Surface ex: smoothed. Surface in: smoothed. Manufacture: thrown.

Fig. 30.8 – Number 1624. Area: 2. Unit: 157 (ashrich deposit). Clay: NB2 sandy. Surface ex: smoothed. Surface in: smoothed. Manufacture: thrown.

Fig. 32.20 – Number: 1627. Area: 2. Unit: 157 (ash-rich deposit). Clay: NB2. Surface ex: redcoated and smoothed. Surface in: smoothed. Manufacture: thrown. Remarks: pilgrim flask.

Fig. 30.9 – Number: 865. Area: 2. Unit: 120 (ashrich deposit with many animal bones). Clay: NB2. Surface ex: smoothed. Surface in: smoothed. Manufacture: thrown.

Fig. 32.21 – Number: 2135. Area: 2. Unit: 176 (ash-rich deposit, probably a fire place). Clay: NB2. Surface ex: smoothed. Surface in: smoothed. Manufacture: thrown. Remarks: pilgrim flask, one piece in unit 168.

Fig. 30.10 – Number: 1700. Area: 2. Unit: 156 (natural aeolian sand). Clay: NB2. Surface ex: smoothed. Surface in: smoothed. Manufacture: thrown. Decoration: red-coated rim on internal and external surface. Fig. 30.11 – Number: 1292. Area: 2. Unit: 127 (occupational deposit). Clay: NB2 sandy. Surface ex: smoothed. Surface in: smoothed. Manufacture: thrown. Fig. 30.12 – Number: 894. Area: 2. Unit: 118 (surface). Clay: NB2 sandy. Surface ex: smoothed. Surface in: smoothed. Manufacture: thrown. Remarks: string impression on external surface. Fig. 30.13 – Number: 2273. Area: 2. Unit: 192 (ash-rich deposit). Clay: NC. Surface ex: smoothed. Surface in: smoothed. Manufacture: handmade.

Fig. 32.22 – Number: 2475. Area: 2. Unit: 197 (ash-rich deposit). Clay: NB2. Surface ex: redcoated and smoothed. Surface in: red-coated and smoothed. Manufacture: thrown. Decoration: black-painted pattern on internal surface. Pl. 1a – Number: 2446. Area: 1. Unit: 33 (occupational deposit). Clay: NB2. Surface ex: smoothed. Surface in: smoothed. Manufacture: thrown. Decoration: red-painted rim. Pl. 1e – Number: 1219. Area: 2. Unit: 141 (wall collapse). Clay: NB1. Surface ex: pink-coated and polished; Surface in: smoothed. Manufacture: thrown. Decoration: black circular painted bands on the external surface. Remarks: body sherd of pilgrim flask.

Tell el-Retaba 2007–2008 275

3.3. GEOPHYSICAL SURVEY By Tomasz Herbich Following geophysical prospection in 2007 using dipole electromagnetic profiling (DEMP) for horizontal mapping of structures and electrical resistance tomography (ERT) for vertical imaging,128 the site of Tell el-Retaba was surveyed with the magnetic method. The northern section of the fortress wall had been mapped with the DEMP method, failing however to reconstruct any of the architecture inside the walls apart from a very general determination of building orientation – rectilinear with respect to the fortifications in the eastern part of the site and oblique with regard to the north defense wall in the western part (Fig. 7). ERT vertical imaging led the geophysicists to the conclusion that there was stone architecture on the site. The magnetic method has already been proved the most effective in mapping mud-brick architecture.129 The geological conditions of the site favored its application in Tell el-Retaba. The underlying layers here consist of sand and gravel, both characterized by low magnetic susceptibility (usually less than 0.3×10–3SI); the same material is the main constituent of layers filling and covering mud-brick structures. Mud-brick is on the other hand a material with considerable magnetic susceptibility (c. 2×10–3SI). In view of this substantial difference between the magnetic properties of the material used for construction and the surrounding deposits, the magnetic method promised to give good results, even in the face of the considerable destruction of the site by numerous archaeological and civil building excavations, not to mention sebakhin digging, which lowered the clarity of the magnetic images. * Fluxgate-type gradiometers by Geoscan Research, model FM 256 of 0.1 nT resolution, were used for the purpose.130 The measurement grid applied was

128

129 130

RZEPKA et al. 2008. For a brief summary of the survey results, see above, section 2.4. HERBICH 2003. Geophysical research at Tell el-Retaba was carried out on 3–12 September 2008. The survey was run by Tomasz Herbich, currently representing the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, supported in his work in Egypt by the Polish Center of Archaeology of the University of Warsaw.

20 × 20 m, with points every 0.25 m along traverses set 0.5 m apart. The measurement density of this grid (8 measurements per square meter) guaranteed the recording of even small-size structures (e.g. walls not more than 20 cm wide). The measurements were carried out in parallel mode (the equipment was moved along the measuring lines in one direction only); sensors were adjusted at the reference point after completing each grid. The grid used was intentionally shifted with respect to the geodetic grid, the purpose being explicitly to carry out the survey along lines that would cut across the known orientation of ancient structures on the site (established in Petrie’s excavations) at an angle of approximately 45 degrees. The traverses followed a SW-NE orientation. Two areas, marked A and B, covering a total of 4.28 ha, were surveyed: area A covering 24,000 sq.m in the western part of the site and area B covering 18,800 sq.m. eastern part of the site (Fig. 33). The areas are separated by a depression created by the laying of a water pipe and by the part of the site cleared during earlier archaeological excavations. The magnetic survey made it posible to map precisely the course of the northern and eastern section of the wall enclosing the settlement. On the magnetic map this wall appears as an anomaly characterized by fairly uniform intensity of the magnetic field, from 10 to 12 m wide, stretching between squares F1 and P14 (northern section) and squares P15 and L17 (eastern section) (Fig. 33). The southern, inner face of the northern section of the wall can be observed with greater precision; in the case of the eastern section of the wall, it is the outer edge which is better visible. The map leaves no doubt that the northern section of the wall does not run in a straight line. The direction of the wall in area B corresponds to that established by Petrie, but in area A it evidently swings 6 degrees to the south. The inner line of the wall was confirmed in excavations in Area 1.

Participating in the work was Mr. Jakub Ordutowski, student at the Institute of Archaeology of the Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin. One of the instruments used for the magnetic surveying was provided by the Programma de Estudios de Egiptolgía (Consejo Nacional de Investigationes Cientifícas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires) on the grounds of a cooperation agreement with the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology of the University of Warsaw.

Fig. 33 Magnetic map combined with archaeological map of the site. Fluxgate Geoscan Research FM256 gradiometers. Sampling grid 0.25 by 0.50 m, interpolated to 0.25 m by 0.25 m. Low pass filter. Dynamics –4.2 nT (white)/+6.4 nT (black). Grid lines every 20 m (Processing T. Herbich)

276 Slawomir Rzepka, Anna Wodzinska, Jozef Hudec, Tomasz Herbich

Tell el-Retaba 2007–2008 277

The magnetic results appear to disprove Petrie’s idea about only one wall running around the settlement on the east. The presence of a second wall parallel to the first one is suggested by a less than distinct anomaly c. 10 m wide, noted between the southern corner of square R15 and square N17. The evident gap in the anomaly (in the northern part of O16) could correspond to a gate, but it could equally well reflect a trench by some early excavator, cutting across the wall at right angles (there is a depression in the ground at this point). Nothing on the magnetic map even hints at the presence of another, outer wall on the north side of the site. The survey mapped a number of structures enclosed within the walls. In Area A, the clearest image is that of a structure corresponding approximately to the southwestern corner of the temple excavated by Petrie (in D4; the southern fragment of a feature oriented EW can be seen on the surface). Sets of linear anomalies arranged rectilinearly with an amplitude of changes typical of mud-brick architecture at a shallow depth can be observed in squares C7–D7, C4, F4, G7–G8. Five rectangular anomalies in the northern corner of G4 and the western corner of H4, arranged in two rows and forming a rectangle measuring 10 by 8 m, correspond to the ash-filled interiors of a building. On this spot the ground is slightly elevated and the soil inside the purported rooms has ashes clearly mixed in. Area A features a number of anomalies with lowered magnetic field intensity compared to the surroundings. Sets of linear anomalies in F8 and at the joining of G7 and G8 could be a reflection of walls raised of bricks with considerable sand temper in the silt. Anomalies of an oblong shape correspond to features of a larger size: an anomaly c. 4m wide and 50m long, observed between the southern corner of C3 and the northeastern edge of D5, could reflect a street running from east to west. Such an interpretation is supported by the nature of the structures on the northern and southern side: anomalies which are clearly the image of walls would correspond to the street edge. In the case of a similar anomaly (same width, 35 m long) recorded between B4 and A5, running along a N–S line, the magnetic prospection registered no

131

NAVILLE 1887, pl. 11.

traces of any features parallel to its edges. In all likelihood, this anomaly should be interpreted as a trench (see below). In Area B, anomalies typical of mud-brick structures occupy a strip 20 m wide adjoining the northern section of the defense wall (between the northern part of M11 and O13). Structures can be seen also in a strip up to 40 m wide along the western border of the area and near the northeastern corner of the site, in square N14 and its nearest neighborhood. The magnetic map has also yielded an exhaustive record of the damages to the surface layers of the site. Sebakhin activity is reflected in the sets of anomalies typical of sand-filled pits: irregular outlines, lowered values in the center and higher ones around the edges. Sets of anomalies of this kind can be seen all over the surveyed area, but especially in the northwestern corner of Area A where their concentration excludes any reconstruction of the original plan. These anomalies mostly correspond to depressions in the ground and can reflect unrecorded excavation. A comparison of the magnetic map and site maps showing location of trenches made it possible to identify the anomalies which most probably reflect the work of the early excavators. The anomaly with reduced values, mentioned above as being situated between B4 and A5, corresponds on Naville's plan with a trench of practically the same size and orientation. In the same way, another trench from Naville's plan is reflected in an oblique anomaly of reduced values observed in the western corner of N15 and the northern part of M15. In many places the readings are disturbed by iron objects. The iron pole foundations are imaged by a band of disturbed readings between F3 and G5, C6 and D7. The disturbances in C8–D8 and I3 reflect power line poles, while the linear anomaly cutting across Area A from north to south (between D8 and G5 and in I3–I4) corresponds to a cable laid on the ground. The anomaly in P13 is a reflection of a dump of waste metal (invisible on the surface). Areas of magnetic disturbance recorded between N17 and R17 correspond to rubbish dumps. Interesting conclusions are to be drawn from a comparison of two different geophysical meth-

278 Slawomir Rzepka, Anna Wodzinska, Jozef Hudec, Tomasz Herbich ods – electromagnetic (Fig. 7) and magnetic (Fig. 33) – used to survey a site with mud-brick architecture. At Tell el-Retaba the electromagnetic survey has mapped the northern section of the fortress wall very well, in places where it is readable on the magnetic map (e.g., between O12 and O14) as well as where the extent of the destruction of the wall in the subsurface layers precludes its registration by the magnetic method (e.g., in M9). On the other hand, the electrical conductivity map (Fig. 7) reveals no traces of the eastern section of the fortress wall, which is well visible on the magnetic map. Moreover, the electromagnetic method has proved completely inadequate in recording the remains of structures with narrower walls (one meter and less). None of the structures of this kind recorded on the magnetic map have found any reflection on the electrical conductivity map, not even structures visible on the ground (e.g. remains of the temple). This leads to the conclusion that the electromagnetic method will locate mudbrick structures only if they are of sufficient mass, in terms of both width (at least a few meters) and depth. Therefore, on a site like Tell el-Retaba, the electromagnetic method will be useful in tracing the outer fortifications, but will not give any grounds for determining the plan, or even orientation of the architecture situated inside the walls.

4. CONCLUSIONS The first two seasons of fieldwork by the PolishEgyptian Archaeological Mission in Tell el-Retaba have contributed significant new information about the site: – the position of the northern defense wall of the Ramesside fortress was traced with the use of geophysical methods; a fragment of this wall was also excavated; – two gates were located by geophysical methods, one in the northern and the other in the eastern defense wall; – remains of residential structures dating to the Third Intermediate Period were excavated; other remains, observed on the surface and traced with geophysical methods, prove that Petrie was wrong in assuming that most of the area inside the fortress was left empty. An effort was made by the mission to search out unpublished excavations reports. The results of Egyptian missions working on the site between 1972 and 1997 throw new light on the daily life of the fortress and the character of the cemeteries around it. These results, as well as the unpublished documentation of the John Hopkins University mission directed by Prof. Goedicke will be included in the final publication of excavations by a Polish-Slovak team on the site of Tell el-Retaba.

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Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen, Mainz.

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La céramique provenant de la structure elliptique, 155–218, in: P. BRISSAUD and C. ZIVIE-COCHE (ed.), Tanis. Travaux récentes sur le Tell San el-Hagar 2, Paris.

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PINCH, G. 1993

Votive Offerings to Hathor, Oxford.

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PRICHARD, J.B.

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GROMADZKA, S. and RZEPKA, S. in prep.Unusual royal iconography on a scarab from Tell elRetaba. Archaeological geophysics in Egypt: the Polish contribution, Archaeologia Polona 41, 13–55.

Les coupelles à bec verseur en faience de Carthage, 423–434, in: BERGER-El NAGGAR, C. (ed.), Études isiaques; Hommages à Jean Leclant; 3; BdE 106, Le Caire.

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Some new finds from the Tell el-Retaba, Asian and African Studies, Volume 19, in preparation.

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DIE SIEGEL AUS AREAL F/II IN TELL EL-DABcA. ERSTER VORBERICHT Von Nicolas Sartori*

Die Grabung des Österreichischen Archäologischen Institutes Kairo zusammen mit dem Institut für Ägyptologie der Universität Wien im sog. Areal F/II, westlich von Tell el-Dabca, hat seit 2006 die erste bisher bekannte palatiale Anlage der frühen Hyksoszeit freigelegt.1 Diese Entdeckung erweitert unsere Kenntnisse der Architektur und der materiellen Kultur dieser noch zu schlecht bekannten Phase der ägyptischen Geschichte. Im folgenden soll ein Vorbericht über die erste Kampagne zur Bearbeitung der Siegel aus diesem Areal gegeben werden.2

I. ALLGEMEINES Die Grabungsarbeiten in Areal F/II haben im Laufe der zwei ersten Kampagnen 2006 und 2008 eine sehr grosse Quantität an Material zu Tage gebracht. An erster Stelle muss die Keramik erwähnt werden, die den Forschenden erlaubt hat, einerseits mehr über die Funktion dieses Baukomplexes zu erfahren, andererseits das Korpus an Formen und Dekor für diese Epoche wesentlich zu erweitern.3 Die zweitgrösste Gruppe von Funden, die in diesem Areal gemacht wurden, bilden die Siegel.

Abb. 1 Sieben des Aushubs in Areal F/II (Foto N. Sartori)

* Universität Basel, Schweiz. 1 BIETAK/FORSTNER-MÜLLER 2006, BIETAK/FORSTNER-MÜLLER/HERBICH 2007 und der Bericht über die Grabungskampagne von 2008 in diesem Band (BIETAK/FORSTNERMÜLLER 2009). 2 Die Siegel aus Areal F/II bilden voraussichtlich den Kern meiner Dissertation an der Universität Basel, im Rahmen der Arbeiten des Österreichischen Archäologischen Institutes in Tell el-Dabca, unter Betreuung Ägypten und Levante/Egypt and the Levant 19, 2009, 281–292 © 2009 by Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien

3

von seinem Direktor Manfred Bietak und von Susanne Bickel. Alle Zeichnungen der hier publizierten Siegel (Masstab 2:1) sind von María Antonia Negrete Martínez und die Fotografien von Axel Krause; Fotografien und Plan wurden von Nicola Math graphisch bearbeitet. Allen dreien sei hier für ihre unentbehrliche Arbeit gedankt. Dieses Material wird von David Aston bearbeitet; BIETAK/ FORSTNER-MÜLLER 2006, 75–77.

282 Nicolas Sartori

22

23

24

25

L787

J L794-796

K

L 21

M

L698

L695

N

L61

L263

L259

L487

O L478

20

L870

P

L637

L644

L868 L637

Q

L417

L581 L177

L81.17 L81.6B L577 L81.3

L586

L81.6A

R

L81

L423 L79 L81.15 L81.12 L81.14 L81.11 L81.0

L81

L609

L559

S L613

L610

T

U

L846

0

Abb. 2 Plan von Areal F/II mit den für die Siegel relevanten Loci

20m

Die Siegel aus Areal F/II in Tell el-Dabca. Erster Vorbericht 283

Damit sind nicht nur die Stempel selber gemeint, sondern in grösseren Mengen ihre Abdrücke auf Tonklumpen. Diese dienten zum Verschluss verschiedener Kästen, Truhen, Riegel, Säcke, Gefässe oder Papyri. Ihre Ausmasse reichen von 3,7 bis 0,4 cm, bei einer minimalen Dicke von bis zu 0,2 cm). Insgesamt wurden bis jetzt 16 Skarabäen und 230 Siegelmassen mit Abdrücken (im weiteren „Siegelverschlüsse“ genannt) gefunden und erfasst. II. GRABUNGSTECHNIK Vorweg muss auf einen grabungstechnischen Punkt aufmerksam gemacht werden: Mindestens die Hälfte der Siegel (dies umfasst Skarabäen und Siegelverschlüsse) wurde nicht direkt durch stratigraphische Ausgrabung gefunden, sondern durch das systematische Sieben vom Erdaushub, welcher aus Areal F/II gewonnen worden war. Der Schutt wurde in einem ersten Schritt zum Trocknen auf Plastikplanen gelegt, wofür mehr als ein Drittel der gesamten freigelegten Fläche benötigt wurde. Nach dem Trocknen wurden die Erdklumpen von erfahrenen Arbeitern unter der Aufsicht von Grabungsmitgliedern systematisch gesiebt und durchsucht (Abb. 1). Diese Methode wird im Kontext des Nildeltas unseres Erachtens noch zu selten angewandt. Die Erfahrung der zwei letzten Jahre zeigt, in welchen

100

Massen die Fundmenge somit erweitert werden kann, insbesondere im Fall von Kleinfunden. Es wäre zu bereuen, wenn das Beispiel von Tell elDabca in dieser Hinsicht keinen Einfluss auf künftige archäologische Untersuchungen im Nildelta haben sollte. III. DER ARCHÄOLOGISCHE KONTEXT Die genauere Herkunft der Siegel innerhalb von Areal F/II wirft Fragen zu den Funden und Fundstellen auf (Abb. 2 und 3). Nur sehr wenige Stükke stammen aus Böden oder Gehhorizonten; bis jetzt können keine Siegel Räumen zugeordnet werden. Circa 80% der Siegel konzentrieren sich auf drei Loci: die grosse Grube L81 (41%),4 die dichte Ablagerungsschicht L637 (32%) und der Ziegelbruch L417 (7%). Die restlichen Siegelkonvolute (jeweils mindestens 2 Stücke) kommen vor allem aus Gruben: L787, L794, L796, L803, L846 und L868. Was die Stratigraphie betrifft, stammen mehr als drei Viertel der Siegel aus Stratum c, das Phase D/3 bzw. der mittleren 15. Dynastie entspricht. Die grosse Anzahl an Siegeln, die aus Grube L81 stammen, ist nicht erstaunlich, bedenke man die Quantität an Material, das dieser Locus sonst geliefert hat.5 Die Siegel haben bisher noch keine Auskunft über die Funktion dieser Grube gegeben.

100

90 78

80 70 60 50 40 30

16

20

9

10 0

L81

L637

L417

L803

6 L613

6

3

L868

L423

3 L796

2 L577

2 L787

2 L794

2 L846

Abb. 3 Herkunft und Anzahl der Siegel nach Locus

4

Bei den Skarabäen handelt es sich um zehn von sechzehn Stücken, die aus der Grube L81 stammen.

5

BIETAK/FORSTNER-MÜLLER 2006, 74–77, und BIETAK/ FORSTNER-MÜLLER 2009.

284 Nicolas Sartori Bei den Siegeln der Loci L637 und L417 dürfte es sich eher um Funde aus Abfalldeponien handeln: Nach dem Brechen der Verschlüsse und dem Öffnen der Behälter wurden die Tonklumpen schlussendlich entsorgt und landeten, wie viel anderes Material, in Bereichen – oft Gruben – in denen der Abfall gelagert wurde. Falls es sich bei Grube L81 nicht um eine Abfalldeponie sondern um eine Opfergrube handelt, könnten dann, parallel zu den dort gefundenen kompletten Gefässen, auch ungebrochene Siegelverschlüsse vorkommen.

nen aufweisen – Sobekhotep III., Neferhotep I., Sobekhotep IV. –, ist es üblich, in der zweiten Spalte eine genealogische Angabe zu finden.7 Der Name des Vaters – oft ein jt nTr – wird mit dem Ausdruck jrj n eingeführt, der Name der Mutter – oft eine mwt nsw – hingegen durch ms n. Bei der Kartusche kann es sich hier nur um den Thronnamen Sobekhotep III. handeln, und die rechte Kolumne gibt deutlich den Namen seiner Mutter an. Die Inschrift ist demnach wie folgt zu rekonstruieren: nTr nfr %xm-ra-swAD-[tAwj] ms n mwt nsw [JwHt-jbw].

IV. KÖNIGSSIEGEL

Inv. Nr. 9370H und 9370J: F/II – p/21, L637 (Planum 0–1), Stratum c, oder jünger (Abb. 5)

Die grosse Mehrheit der bisher bearbeiteten Siegel weisen, sofern identifizierbar, nur ornamentale Stempelabdrücke auf.6 Mindestens fünfzehn Verschlüsse tragen hingegen hieroglyphische Inschriften – meistens mit Titel und Name – und zählen somit überhaupt zu den wenigen Schriftzeugnissen, die Avaris bis heute geliefert hat. Die erste Gruppe von königlichen Siegelverschlüssen bilden drei Objekte mit der Königstitulatur nTr nfr. Alle kommen aus der Ablagerungsschicht L637, welche anhand der Keramik grösstenteils auch aus der Hyksos-Zeit datiert und höchstwahrscheinlich eine Anhäufung von Abfallschichten darstellt. Inv. Nr. 9375H: F/II – p/21, L637 (Planum 1–2), Stratum c, oder jünger

(Abb. 4)

Auffällig ist die Aufteilung der Inschrift in zwei Kolumnen, wobei rechts eine Kartusche und links ein Epitheton zu erkennen sind. Ein Blick in Tufnells Tafeln erlaubt, den rechten Teil zu rekonstruieren. Auf vielen Skarabäen, welche die Titulatur von Königen der 13. Dynastie in zwei Kolum-

Die Präsenz des an erster Stelle in der Kartusche lässt an einen der drei Könige der 13. Dynastie denken, die den Geburtsnamen Neferhotep trugen.8 Siegel Nr. 9370J zeigt eindeutig den Ansatz einer genealogischen Angabe, ähnlich wie bei Siegel Nr. 9375H, mit dem oberen Teil des und dem linken Ende des . Somit könnten beim hier besprochenen Siegeltypus die Namen Neferhotep I. und seiner Mutter Kemi zu ergänzen sein: nTr nfr Nfr-[Htp] ms n [mwt nsw Kmj].9 Wenn sich die Lesung dieser Königsnamen bestätigen sollte, würden diese drei Verschlüsse die Frage der Aufbewahrung von versiegelten Behältern über längere Zeit stellen, vergleichbar zu den möglicherweise auf Mobiliar aufgebrachten Siegeln der Hyksos-Zeit, die in einem Neuen Reichs Kontext gefunden wurden, nämlich im Palast der 18. Dynastie in cEzbet Helmi.10 Von besonderer Wichtigkeit für die Datierung des Gebäudekomplexes von Areal F/II sind sechs Siegelverschlüsse, die in Verbindung mit den Hyksos-

Abb. 4 Siegelverschluss Inv. Nr. 9375H 6

7 8

Hier wird auch eine Gruppe von Siegeln mit sog. anraMotiven eingeschlossen. TUFNELL 1984, Taf. LIV–LV. Hier dürfen Königsnamen ausgeschlossen werden, die eine Sonnenscheibe enthalten.

9

10

Vgl. TUFNELL 1984, Taf. LIV, Nr. 3118, 3121, 3122, und 3124, sowie WEGNER 2007, 314, Nr. (5). BIETAK 2004.

Die Siegel aus Areal F/II in Tell el-Dabca. Erster Vorbericht 285

9370H

9370J

Abb. 5 Siegelverschlüsse Inv. Nr. 9370H und 9370J

Abb. 6 Siegelverschluss Inv. Nr. 9373M

Abb. 7 Siegelverschluss Inv. Nr. 9376J

königen stehen (Abb. 6–11): fünf Stücke tragen den Titel HoA xAswt und vier den Namen des #yAn Ch(a)yan/Chiyaran/Chayran, eines der „grossen Hyksos“ der 15. Dynastie. Letztere kommen alle aus der Grube L81 (Stratum c), ebenso ein Verschlussfragment, auf dem nur der Titel HoA xAswt erhalten ist; das andere Exemplar auf dem der Herrschername nicht erhalten ist, stammt aus der Grube L803 (ebenso Stratum c), die sich in einem Hof nördlich des im Jahr 2006 ausgegrabenen „Magazintraktes“ (Abschnitt A11) befindet. Diese sechs neuen HyksosSiegel weisen vier verschiedene Typen von Stempeln auf. Von diesen Stücken sind Parallelskarabäen bekannt (s. unten), es soll jedoch darauf aufmerksam gemacht werden, dass deren Unterseite stets wesentlich grösser ist als die Abdrücke auf den Verschlussfragmenten aus Areal F/II.

11 12

BIETAK/FORSTNER-MÜLLER 2006, 68–71. MARTIN 1971, Taf. 49; TUFNELL 1984, Taf. XXXII.

Inv. Nr. 9373M: F/II – r/23, L81 (Untergrube 12, Pl. 2–3), Str. c (Abb. 6) Das erste Stück aus Grube L81 entspricht Typus I ag von Martin sowie Motivklasse 7C von Tufnell.12 Es zeigt auf der rechten Seite, dass die oben offene und mit Ösen endende Rahmung aus mindestens zwei länglichen ineinandergreifenden Spiralen bestand. In Zusammenhang mit dem Titel HoA xAswt ist mir für dieses spezifische Rahmungsmotiv noch keine Parallele bekannt. Inv. Nr. 9376J: F/II – j/23, L803 (Pl. 1), Str. c (Abb. 7) Der nächste Siegelverschluss, aus Grube L803, trägt hingegen einen Stempeltypus mit den von Petrie getauften „Hyksos-sides“,13 wo der Herrschername in einer mittleren Kolumne geschrie-

13

STOCK 1942, 24–25; V. BECKERATH 1964, 140; entspricht Motivklasse 3E in TUFNELL 1984.

286 Nicolas Sartori

Abb. 8 Siegelverschluss Inv. Nr. 9355

Abb. 9 Siegelverschluss Inv. Nr. 9354Q

Die Siegel aus Areal F/II in Tell el-Dabca. Erster Vorbericht 287

Abb. 10 Siegelverschluss Inv. Nr. 9374C

Abb. 11 Siegelverschluss Inv. Nr. 9354

Inv. Nr. 9354Q: F/II – r/22, L81 (Untergrube 6; Pl. 4–5; Sit. 1), Str. c (Abb. 9)

ben und von zwei Randfeldern flankiert wird. Die im oberen Teil zusammen gebundenen Kolumnenträger sprechen meines Erachtens eindeutig für einen bestimmten Typus, nämlich für die zwei flankierenden Uräen, die auf zwei der Chayan-Siegeln aus Grube L81 vorkommen (s. unten Inv. Nr. 9355 und 9354Q; möglicherweise gehören alle drei Abdrücke zu einem einzigen Stempeltypus). Inv. Nr. 9355: F/II – r/22, L81 (Untergrube 6; Pl. 4–5; Situation 1), Str. c (Abb. 8) Stempelfläche: 0,8 × 1,2 cm Das besterhaltene Exemplar des Uräen-Typus weist die fast komplette Inschrift HoA xAswt #yAn ohne Kartusche in der mittleren Kolumne, zwei symmetrisch angeordnete und oben zusammen gebundene Kobras, sowie zwei Randfelder mit der Formel wHm anx auf. Interessanterweise wird hier das sehr fein dargestellt, mit einem gut sichtbaren Sporn auf der Rückseite des Rinderbeins, im Gegensatz zu den gröberen Zeichen auf Martins Skarabäen Nr. 1171–1176 und 1179.14

Das sehr fragmentarische Stück weist genug Elemente auf, um dem Uräen-Typus des Chayan zugewiesen zu werden: rechts der Körper des rechten Uräus und der Unterteil des ; in der Mitte der rechte Teil des und des . Inv. Nr. 9374C: F/II – r/23, L81 (Untergrube 12; Pl. 4; Sit. 3–4), Str. c (Abb. 10) Breite Stempelfläche: 0,8 cm Der Titel HoA xAswt ist nur auf einem Siegel des Chayan komplett erhalten, das einen anderen Kolumnentrenner zeigt, nämlich die geschlossene Doppellinie. Vom Herrschernamen ist nur das erhalten. Im linken Randfeld („Hyksos-side“) ist einzig das oberste Füllmotiv erhalten, wahrscheinlich

14

MARTIN 1971, Taf. 40, Nr. 29–33 und 35; Taf. 41, Nr. 5. TUFNELL 1984, Taf. LVI übernimmt alle Zeichnungen dieser Skarabäen von Martin. Es ist zu bemerken, dass der Oberteil der Uräen auf der nächsten Parallele (Nr. 1173, heute MMA 10.130.36, in MARTIN 1971, Taf. 41, Nr. 5) nicht zusammen gebunden ist.

288 Nicolas Sartori

Abb. 12 Siegelverschluss Inv. Nr. 9373

ein . Als Parallelen können demnach Martins Skarabäen 1170, 1175 und 1179 erwähnt werden.15 Inv. Nr. 9354: F/II – r/22, L81 (Untergrube 6; Pl. 4–5; Sit. 1), Str. c (Abb. 11) Stempelfläche: ca. 1,4 × 0,9 cm Der sechste Hyksos-Verschluss, ebenso aus Grube L81, weist einen mir für Chayan bisher unbekannten Stempeltypus auf. Die Spiralrahmung mit drei Paaren von länglichen ineinandergreifenden Spiralen entspricht Martins Typus I ad und Tufnells Motivklasse 7B3(ii)a. Titel und Name des Herrschers ohne Kartusche – HoA xAswt #yAn – füllen die Mitte des Abdrucks. Das oberste erhaltene Zeichen rechts sieht am ehesten nach einem aus, obwohl es direkt vor den Pluralstrichen steht; hier ist vielleicht eine graphische Verschmelzung von und geschehen. V. EIN LEVANTINISCHER BESUCHER Inv. Nr. 9373: F/II – p/21, L637 (Pl. 1–2), Str. c, oder jünger (Abb. 12) Aus der Schuttgrube L637 kam zusätzlich ein fragmentarischer Siegelverschluss zum Vor-

15 16

17

MARTIN 1971, Taf. 40, Nr. 28, 32 und 35. Der erste links hat einen etwas verkürzten Hinterteil und sieht fast wie ein Vogel aus. PORADA 1980, 82–83 und 93, Nr. III-17, III-18 und III19; TEISSIER 1994, 58–59 und 235, Nr. 575; OTTO 2000,

schein, der eine eindeutig nicht-ägyptische Herkunft aufweist. Er trägt nämlich den Abdruck eines Rollsiegels, von dem der gerade linke Rand erhalten ist und durch eine dünne Linie unterstrichen wird. Es folgen sechs erhaltene Reihen von sich wiederholenden Motiven in erhabenem Relief übereinander, die meisten davon rechtwinklig zur Abrollung angeordnet: im obersten Register drei Hasen, dann drei Greifen,16 zwei Löwen, drei liegende bärtige Köpfe, zwei Hirsche und im untersten Register der obere Teil von einer Figur (Gehörn?), vielleicht eine Antilope oder ein Oryx. Parallelen zu diesem Stück lassen sich im Vorderen Orient der Mittleren Bronzezeit zwischen altbabylonischen Vorbildern und syrischer Tradition finden. Bei der früheren nordwestsyrischen Gruppe von Siegeln u.a. aus Acemhöyük, Kültepe und Karahöyük finden wir die frühesten Beispiele von Tier- und Kopfreihen.17 Diese Siegel stammen aus Schichten, welche möglicherweise zeitgenössisch mit der 13. Dynastie in Ägypten sind.18 Auch der jüngere, von Collon identifizierte „Green Jasper Workshop“ aus der Region von Byblos weist viele Ähnlichkeiten auf; Reihen von Tieren sind

18

Taf. 1–7 (Siegelgruppe 1) und 29 (Siegelgruppe 5a); vielleicht auch COLLON 2005, 178–179, Nr. 841. Für den Hinweis bin ich Christian Eder sehr dankbar. Nach der „Neuen mesopotamischen Chronologie“ von GASCHE et al. 1998.

Die Siegel aus Areal F/II in Tell el-Dabca. Erster Vorbericht 289

Abb. 13 Parallelen zu Siegelverschluss Inv. Nr. 9373 (aus COLLON 1986, Nr. 16, 18 und 21); a) Paris, Bibl. Nationale Nr. 418; b) Byblos; c) Alalakh, Nr. 155

niedergeschrieben und nach Avaris geschickt – hier muss man zusätzlich annehmen, dass in dieser Zeit Papyrus als Schreibmaterial nach Syrien exportiert wurde –, oder die Rolle wurde in Ägypten beschriftet und versiegelt. In diesem Fall müssen wir uns vorstellen, dass die Asiaten, die im Nildelta residiert haben – Diplomaten, Händler –, zum Teil ihre von zu Hause mitgebrachten Siegel verwendeten. Die mit Inv. Nr. 9373 versiegelte Papyrusrolle war vielleicht für ein Archiv in Ägypten, oder im Gegenteil zum Verschicken nach Syrien gedacht, verliess aber nie Avaris.

charakteristisch für diese Gruppe, die im ganzen östlichen Mittelmeerraum verstreut gefunden wurde und in das 18./17., bzw. 17./16. Jh. datiert wird.19 Unser Fragment gehört wohl eher zu einer frühen Phase, in der die rechtwinklig zur Abrollung liegenden Tier- und Kopfreihen das Hauptsujet einer voll orientalischen Darstellung bildeten20 (Abb. 13), wobei sie auf den späteren Stücken nur noch Füllmotive waren, oft in einem ägyptisierenden Ambiente.21 Die Tiere auf Siegel Nr. 9373 sind dazu keine „segmented animals“, was zusätzlich für eine frühe Phase spricht.22 Dies ist nicht der erste vorderorientalische Rollsiegelabdruck, der in Tell el-Dabca gefunden wurde.23 Bei Inv. Nr. 9373 ist der Kontext chronologisch besonders aufschlussreich, bedenkt man die Datierung ins 17.–16. Jh. und die in der Ablagerungsschicht L637 überwiegende Keramik der Hyksos-Zeit. Siegel Nr. 9373 ist allerdings nicht nur wegen seiner Vorderseite von grossem Interesse. Auf der Rückseite trägt es nämlich den Abdruck eines Papyrus und ist demnach als Buchrollenverschluss zu identifizieren. Die Versiegelung eines Papyrus mit einem levantinischen Stempel lässt die Frage nach möglichen Szenarien aufkommen.24 Zwei Hypothesen bieten sich an: das Dokument wurde entweder im Vorderen Orient

Die weitere Erforschung der Siegel aus Areal F/II in Tell el-Dabca wird sich voraussichtlich auf drei Achsen konzentrieren: Die Siegel aus Areal F/II sollen in einer ersten Stufe in den Kontext ihrer Objektgattung gestellt werden. Sie sind Produkte einer reichen Bildkultur und sollten demnach mit der Ikonographie der anderen Siegel aus Tell el-Dabca verglichen werden. Hier soll geprüft werden, ob eine Verbindung mit den früher erforschten Bereichen der Stadt besteht. An erster Stelle sollen hier die Publikationen von Christa Mlinar erwähnt werden, die jahrelang ihre Arbeit den Skarabäen Tell el-Dabcas gewidmet hat.25

19

21

20

COLLON 1986; OTTO 2000, Taf. 29 (Siegelgruppe 5a); COLLON 2005, 52–53, Nr. 200–205; der von ihr angewandten „Mittleren mesopotamischen Chronologie“ steht jedoch die „Neue Chronologie“, nach welcher der „Green Jasper Workshop“ ca. 100 Jahre später, also ins 17.–16. Jh. datiert werden müsste, was dem hiesigen Fundkontext (frühes 16. Jh.) näherkommen würde. Für ihre Hilfe und den reichen Informationsaustausch bedanke ich mich ganz herzlich bei Dominique Collon COLLON 1986, 60 und 68, Nr. 16, 18, 21; COLLON 2005, 52–53, Nr. 201.

VI. FORSCHUNGSPERSPEKTIVEN

22 23

24 25

COLLON 1986, 58–59, 61, 63–66 und 69, Nr. 1–5, 7–9 und 23–24. COLLON 1986, 60 und 68, Nr. 22, scheint hier wie einen Übergang darzustellen. COLLON 1986, 62. COLLON 2006 und HEIN 2006; beide dort besprochenen Siegelabdrücke datieren ins 18. Jh. v. Chr. Zu erwähnen ist auch das im Palast der 13. Dynastie in Areal F/I gefundene Rollsiegel (Inv. Nr. TD 2995), ein Objekt, das allerdings in Ägypten angefertigt wurde; s. v.a. PORADA 1984 und BIETAK 1996, 26–29 und Taf. 12C. S. bereits HEIN 2006, 144–146. U.a. MLINAR 2001a, 2001b, 2004 und 2006.

290 Nicolas Sartori Darüber hinaus stehen Tell el-Dabca und seine Siegel in einem komplexen Zusammenhang zwischen dem ägyptischen Mittleren Reich und der mit dem Vorderen Orient der Mittleren Bronzezeit in enger Verbindung stehenden Zweiten Zwischenzeit. Ein stilistischer Vergleich mit den Siegelgruppen aus dem Mittleren Reich, der 13. und der 15. Dynastien, sowie aus den orientalischen Kontexten dieser verschiedenen Epochen scheint mir demnach unumgänglich. Nach dem ersten Schritt der ikonographischen und chronologischen Einordnung soll die Beziehung zwischen Fundkorpus und archäologischem Kontext im Detail untersucht werden. Die Versiegelung mit Tonverschlüssen kann jeweils an zwei Orten stattgefunden haben: entweder in Avaris selbst – z.B. bei der zentralisierten Lagerung von Gütern, sei es in kleineren Behältern oder in grösseren Strukturen wie Kornspeichern und Magazinen –, oder ausserhalb der Stadt – die Siegel wären dann zusammen mit verschlossenen Objekten nach Avaris transportiert worden. In beiden Fällen geben sie uns ein Bild des Gütertransfers und der administrativen Organisation, wie wir sie für die Hyksos-Zeit gerne näher kennen würden. Hier soll darauf aufmerksam gemacht werden, dass das bisher für die Zweite Zwischenzeit vermutete Nachlassen der administrativen Siegelpraxis26 etwas nuanciert werden und vorsichtshalber nur für die bisher erforschten Stätten gelten sollte. Auf einer engen Ebene soll das Verhältnis der Siegel innerhalb jeder einzelnen Fundstelle untersucht werden. Es soll dabei geprüft werden, ob diese Objekte uns helfen können, die Funktion der ausgegrabenen Strukturen besser zu verstehen und ihre Datierung genauer festzustellen. Die Unterschiede zwischen den einzelnen Fundstellen zu erfassen, stellt dabei ein wichtiges Ziel dar. Eine stilistische Untersuchung der Siegel aus der Hyksos-zeitlichen Ablagerungsschicht L637, unter denen sich möglicherweise einige Exemplare aus der 13. Dynastie befinden, lässt z.B. auf versprechende Resultate hoffen.

Die Siegel tragen aber sicherlich auch wichtige Informationen und Indizien über Aktivität und Funktion der gesamten Anlage von Areal F/II. Der palatiale Charakter des Gebäudekomplexes erlaubt es, in diesem Material Belege für den Betrieb einer administrativen Einrichtung zu suchen. Insbesondere das Verhältnis zwischen Skarabäen und Siegelabdrücken ist hier anderes als z.B. im funerären Kontext des Mittleren Reiches und der Zweiten Zwischenzeit in Tell elDabca.27 Der Rückseite der Siegelverschlüsse soll an dieser Stelle grosse Aufmerksamkeit gewidmet werden. Wie schon gezeigt wurde,28 dürfen die Siegelverschlüsse nicht nur als Bilder- oder Inschriftenträger betrachtet werden. Die Verwendung eines Siegelverschlusses zeigt sich in erster Linie durch seine gesamte Form; die Anbringung und Orientierung des Stempelabdruckes auf der Oberfläche ist in dieser Hinsicht in vielen Fällen von sekundärer Relevanz. Sinnvoll ist demnach eine doppelte Erfassung und Betrachtung: auf der einen Seite der „Verschlusstypus“ (Knopf-, Sack-, Gefäss-, Buchrollen-, Riegelverschluss), auf der anderen Seite der Siegeltypus – ich bevorzuge den Ausdruck „Stempeltypus“ –, dem schon seit mehr als einem Jahrhundert in der sog. Stempelsiegelamulett- und Skarabäenforschung Aufmerksamkeit gewidmet wird. Als letztes erhoffe ich mir eine breitere Überlegung über Siegelwesen und Siegelsitte in Ägypten und im Vorderen Orient. Die Thematik ist schon früh als sehr wichtig empfunden worden, blieb aber, von einigen bedeutenden Ausnahmen abgesehen,29 noch nicht genug erforscht. Problematisch sind hier vor allem die museale Herkunft der meisten Siegel und die mögliche stratigraphische oder geographische Mobilität der in situ gefundenen Stücke, welche eine Kontextualisierung erschweren. Darüber hinaus sollte meines Erachtens die Grenze zwischen eingeritzten, siegelartigen Amuletten und zum juristischen/ administrativen Abstempeln gedachten Siegeln

26

28

27

PILGRIM 1996, 252–254 und 284; POLZ 2007, 13–14. FORSTNER-MÜLLER 2008; MLINAR 2004 und 2006. Man kann nur die Vermutung von KEEL 1995, 115–116 kräftig bestätigen, der schon eine Linie zwischen siegelartigen Amuletten aus Gräbern und Verschlussfragmenten mit Abdrücken aus Siedlungen und Verwaltungsgebäuden gezogen hat. VON

29

30

S. v.a. den Kapitel über die Siegelverschlüsse in VON PILGRIM 1996, 234–274, 282–284 und 318–319, Taf. 38–39, sowie in WEGNER 2007, bes. 300–315. S. u.a. BOOCHS 1982; KÜHNE 1980, 17–28; KEEL 1995, 115–128 und 266–277; VON PILGRIM 1996, 234–274; Le Sceau 2001, passim; WEGNER 2007, 299–361; DUBIEL 2008, inbesondere 87–146. S. Fussnote 27.

Die Siegel aus Areal F/II in Tell el-Dabca. Erster Vorbericht 291

stärker betont und besser geklärt werden.30 Als Beispiel dafür sei hier noch erwähnt, dass alle hier publizierten hieroglyphischen Stempelabdrücke (Inv. Nr. 9354, 9354Q, 9355, 9370H, 9370J, 9373, 9373M, 9374C, 9375H und 9376J) von links nach rechts zu lesen sind. Die oft erwähnte Relevanz der Schriftrichtung in der Unterscheidung zwischen „Siegelamulett“ und

juristischem/administrativem Siegel darf demnach hier einmal mehr verworfen werden.31 Durch die Erforschung der Siegel aus Areal F/II soll dieses neue, aus einem gut datierten Kontext stammende Material der Öffentlichkeit vorgestellt werden und somit ein weiterer Beitrag zur Kulturgeschichte der Zweiten Zwischenzeit geliefert werden.

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BECKERATH, J.

1964

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2005

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New Seal Impressions from Tell el-Dabca, 97–101, in: E. CZERNY, I. HEIN, H. HUNGER, D. MELMAN, A. SCHWAB, (eds.), Timelines, Studies in Honour of Manfred Bietak, OLA 149.2, Leuven.

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2009

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BIETAK, M., FORSTNER-MÜLLER, I., HERBICH, T. 2007

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31

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Skarabäen und andere Siegelamulette aus Basler Sammlungen, ÄDS 1, Basel.

S. z.B. VON PILGRIM 1996, 250, contra HORNUNG/STAEHELIN 1976, 17, GIVEON 1984, 970, und KEEL/UEHLINGER 1990, 63– 64.

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Le Sceau 2001

2001b Die Skarabäen aus dem Grabungsareal A/II-o/14 – A/II-p/15 von Tell el-Dabca, Ä&L 11, 223–264. 2004

Der Beginn des Neuen Reiches. Zur Vorgeschichte einer Zeitwende, Berlin/New York.

1980

MARTIN, G.T. 1971

Untersuchungen in der Stadt des Mittleren Reiches und der Zweiten Zwischenzeit, Elephantine 18, AV 91, Mainz am Main.

POLZ, D. 2007

KÜHNE, H. ET AL. 1980

Die Entstehung und Entwicklung der Klassisch-Syrischen Glyptik, UAVA 8, Berlin/New York.

Le Sceau et l’Administration dans la Vallée du Nil. Actes du colloque organisé par Habitat et sociétés urbains en Égypte et au Soudan et l’Institut de papyrologie et d’égyptologie de Lille, Villeneuve d’Ascq 7–8 juillet 2000, CRIPEL 22, Lille.

TEISSIER, B. 1994

Sealing and Seals on Texts from Kültepe K årum Levels 2, Uitgaven van het Nederlands HistorischArchaeologisch Instituut te Istanbul 70, Istanbul

TUFNELL, O. 1984

Studies on Scarab Seals II. Scarab Seals and their Contribution to History in the Early Second Millenium B.C., Warminster.

NEWBERRY, P.E.

WEGNER, J.

1906

2007

Scarabs. An Introduction to the Study of Egyptian Seals and Signet Rings, London.

The Mortuary Temple of Senwosret III at Abydos, PPYE 8, New Haven/Philadelphia.

AN INDUSTRIAL SITE AT AL-SHAYKH SAc°D/WÅD° ZABAYDA By Harco Willems, Stefanie Vereecken, Lucia Kuijper, Bart Vanthuyne, Elena Marinova, Veerle Linseele, Gert Verstraeten, Stan Hendrickx,* Merel Eyckerman,* Ann Van den Broeck,* Wim Van Neer, Janine Bourriau,** Peter French,** Christoph Peeters, Véronique De Laet, Sophie Mortier,*** and Zoë De Kooning

Since 2002 Leuven University has been conducting archaeological fieldwork at Dayr al-Barshå.1 The principal research aim is to understand the spatial organisation of the cemeteries at the site, which date mainly to the Old Kingdom, the First Intermediate Period, and the Middle Kingdom. In this way we hope to gain a clearer understanding of the social stratification of the community buried there, at least insofar as this reflects itself in burial practices. An important segment of the population buried at Dayr al-Barshå originated from the nearby provincial capital at al-Ashm¥nayn/Hermopolis; at least that city is repeatedly referred to in tomb inscriptions. However, it is often assumed that some inhabitants of this town were buried, not at Dayr al-Barshå, but at al-Shaykh Sac•d (see Fig. 1), where a large OK elite cemetery exists, as well as a number of others about which hardly any published information exists. It seemed therefore that the inhabitants of al-Ashm¥nayn had a choice between two burial sites. In order to facilitate comparison of the use life of the two cemeteries, a surface survey was carried out in al-Shaykh Sac•d during the 2007 season. The various burial grounds there are indicated in Pl. I. Apart from the OK rock tombs for which the site is renowned (A),2 a series of small cemeteries at the mouth of the Wåd• Gam¥s (B), a small

one behind the rock knoll separating A from the Wåd• Zabayda (C), and the large, but thoroughly rifled cemetery inside this wadi itself (D), was visited, as well as the area of the wall (E) at the foot of the hills where cemetery A is located.3 During a walk from the latter area to cemetery D, we crossed a low hill at the northern edge of the mouth of the Wåd• Zabayda, where a peculiar object of red granite caught our attention. It was rounded on both sides, and showed horizontal striations around its circumference (Fig. 2). A cursory inspection soon revealed that the entire hill was littered with these stone artefacts, which are certainly drills4 for hollowing out stone vessels. Also, numerous pottery shards were found, as well as a finely carved limestone relief fragment in Amarna style, showing the upper legs and hips of a woman wearing a long, transparent dress (Pl. IVE). Although we did not realize this at first, similar observations had already been made before. In his account of the al-Shaykh Sac•d tombs, N. de G. Davies remarks: “On the last slopes of the hills towards the mouth of the wady, a pile of stone débris, drill cores and grinders, marks the site of a small settlement of workers in stone and alabaster. As the wady leads to the alabaster quarries of Het-nub, the presence of these relics is not surprising.”5 Although it had apparently escaped Davies’ notice that the Hatnub quarries had been discov-

*

3

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Provinciale Hogeschool Limburg Cambridge University *** Universiteit Gent. All other authors Leuven University. This investigation was funded by FWO Vlaanderen and the Bijzonder Onderzoeksfonds of Leuven University. We also express our gratitude for the financial support of Marc Decroo (CompuSoft NV), Christine Decroo, Adolf Devis, and other members of the society Egyptologica Vlaanderen 1 Transcriptions of Arabic toponyms follow the International Journal of Middle East Studies except where a well established English rendering exists (like Giza). 2 N. DE G. DAVIES, The Rock Tombs of Sheikh Saïd, ASE 10, London, 1901. **

Ägypten und Levante/Egypt and the Levant 19, 2009, 293–331 © 2009 by Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien

4

5

For the wall, see already B.J. KEMP, in: J. FAIERS, Late Roman Pottery at Amarna and Related Studies, EES Memoir 72, London, 2005, 37–38. Our survey determined that the masonry contains Late Roman ceramics. The difference between a borer and a drill is that a borer is propelled by hand and a drill mechanically. Although as yet we have no clear idea of how the stone objects were used, it seems likely that the more or less parallel striations are the result of a mechanically driven instrument. We therefore opt for the term ‘drill’. DAVIES, Sheikh Saïd, 5; cf. IDEM, The Tomb of Rekh-mi-RŸ’ at Thebes I, New York, 1943, 49. Stone vase drills from the site are also referred to by W.C. HAYES, The Scepter of Egypt II, New York, 1959, 216.

294 Harco Willems et alii

Fig. 1 Plan of the region of al-Ashm¥nayn, Dayr al-Barshå, and al-Shaykh Sac•d (plan Chr. Peeters). The area covered by the frame near al-Shaykh Sac•d is rendered at a larger scale in Pl. I

An Industrial Site at al-Shaykh Sac•d/Wåd• Zabayda 295

Fig. 2 Pink granite vase drill with traces of use on two sides (Z1/10). Drawing Ann Van den Broeck

ered by Newberry at an entirely different location some 15 km SE of al-Amarna,6 the rest of his account is basically correct, as will be seen below. As stated before, the site is situated at the north slope of the mouth of the Wåd• Zabayda. It lies about 300 metres N of the ruined shrine of Shaykha Zabayda, which is itself located on the opposite, southern flank of the wadi. The area in between is a flat desert surface, of which the western end disappears under the cultivation at the

6

7

8

9

See F.LL. GRIFFITH, P.E. NEWBERRY, El Bersheh II, London, 1894, 2; 47–54. The quarries referred to by DAVIES had already been mentioned before by W.M.F. PETRIE (Tell el Amarna, London, 1894, 4, quarry G). The toponym al-Shaykh Sac•d is an egyptological invention, as no settlement of the name exists. Egyptologists use it to designate the late OK elite tomb group A, which is, however, locally known as the tombs of alBarshå, after the village located some 2 km further north. To add to the confusion, most Egyptologists incorrectly use the latter name for Dayr al-Barshå. The name al-Shaykh Sac•d was chosen by Davies because of the presence of a (now ruined) shaykh’s tomb of that name more than a kilometre south of tomb group A. D. KESSLER, Historische Topographie der Region zwischen Mallawi und Samalut, Wiesbaden, 1981, 104–106. Some scholars prefer the term ‘travertine’ instead of ‘alabaster’ (J.A. HARRELL, Misuse of the Term “Alabaster”

edge of the floodplain. Immediately to the west the site is bounded by an irrigation canal running south-north. To the north there is another, rather small wadi, which runs east (see Pl. II–IIIA). In this article the site will be designated as al-Shaykh Sac•d/Wåd• Zabayda (or SS/WZ), as it is located at the point where the wadi reaches the Nile Valley in the archaeological region of al-Shaykh Sac•d.7 The site has hardly ever been mentioned in the literature, but D. Kessler did discuss a number of archaeological features in the region.8 Like Davies, he refers to a quarry (the Maghåra Ab¥ cAz•z) at the eastern end of the Wåd• Zabayda, adding to this a few remains S of the wadi mouth and inside it. He mentions: 1. a (probably XVIIIth dynasty) cemetery of uncertain location mentioned by A. Kamal; 2. a NK cemetery S of the wadi mouth, which is perhaps identical with 1; 3. a large cemetery about 1 km into the wadi, located on its southern side (this is cemetery D referred to above [see Pl. I]); 4. a post-NK cemetery in the hills SE of the OK elite tombs published by Davies (our cemetery C [see Pl. I]). These loci have produced a number of finds, although it is in most cases unclear from where they derive exactly. Kessler mainly discusses items of XVIIIth and XIXth dynasty date, which, perhaps not insignificantly, include ‘alabaster’9 shabtis. The names on some published stelae suggest their owners were foreigners, according to Kessler “nach Mittelägypten abkommandierte Soldaten”.

in Egyptology, GM 119 (1990), 37–42; B. ASTON, J. HARI. SHAW, Stone, in: P.T. NICHOLSON, I. SHAW (ed.), Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology, Cambridge, 2000, 21–22 (in the follwing AEMT), arguing that the term ‘calcite’ is a mineralogical, not a petrological term. This has been criticised by R. KLEMM, D. KLEMM (CalcitAlabaster oder Travertin? Bemerkungen zu Sinn und Unsinn petrographischer Bezeichnungen in der Ägyptologie, GM 122 (1991), 61–69), who propose the term ‘calcite alabaster’. The term ‘alabaster’ is at any rate scientifically confusing as it can refer both to gypsum or calcite. Our samples could not be scratched with a fingernail (hardness 2.2 on Mohs’ scale), ruling out that the material is gypsum (hardness 2). The hardness of the stone in al-Shaykh Sac•d corresponds with that of calcite (Mohs 3). P. Degryse determined that the quarries in the Wåd• Zabayda only produced limestone and calcite, no gypsum. We will therefore speak of ‘calcite alabaster’. RELL,

296 Harco Willems et alii A royal stela found in the same region designates Ramses II as an “opener of stone quarries”. Kessler associates this information with a mention in the Onomasticon of Amenemope 376 of the settlement Pr-Ss, ‘the House of Alabaster’, which should lie south of al-Ashm¥nayn. This he relates to information based on earlier publications and personal observation that a settlement might have existed S of the wadi mouth. He further speculates on the analogy of other sites in Middle Egypt that a pharaonic settlement may have existed on the fan of wadi deposit W of Wåd• Zabayda.10 This point is not unproblematic, for no such fan now exists. Rather, there is a depression here: the cultivated area already discussed (see Pl. II–IIIA). The field owners, who work land that has been held by their family for many generations, told that the agricultural field is old, and definitely not the result of recent irrigation projects. According to them their ancestors built a dam to prevent Nile floods from reaching the area, a measure that only makes sense if this occasionally happened. The depression is thus unlikely to be the result of recent agricultural interventions. We will see below that the absence of the – indeed expected – wadi fan may be highly significant for understanding the archaeological context. It should be added that a field walk undertaken in March 2008 produced no trace of the second of the four cemeteries referred to by Kessler, nor of the settlement S of the wadi. Immediately S of the cultivated area, there is still evidence of stone working, but further S archaeological surface remains cease almost, except near the shrine of Shaykha Zabayda, where some tombs (with Coptic graffiti) and quarries exist. The upshot of all this is that archaeological evidence for human activity in the region concentrates around the axis linking the Maghåra Ab¥ cAz•z to the wadi mouth, and particularly N of this axis, near site SS/WZ. This article will discuss the main features of the site. First the results of a survey carried out in 2007 will be presented, giving an overview of the variety of the material culture encountered. The tool assemblage for stone vase production will be outlined, and the chronological distribution determined on the basis of the ceramic assem-

10 11

Op. cit., 106–107. See H. WILLEMS, M. DE MEYER, D. DEPRAETERE, CH. PEETERS, S. HENDRICKX, T. HERBICH, D. KLEMM, R. KLEMM,

blage. Next, the results of the 2008–2009 excavations will be outlined. After this, the site will be placed in context, relating it to the quarries that must have supplied it with raw material and to the ancient landscape of the wadi mouth area. This will lead to a synthesis of how use of the site evolved over time. 2. THE 2007 SURVEY 2.1 Strategy The extent of the site is relatively well defined. Hardly any drills and associated material are found on the floor and on the southern flank of the Wåd• Zabayda, and hardly any appear beyond the northern gully (Pl. II, S1–R15), although occasional finds of drills were made as far north as the Coptic wall (E in Pl. I). The find scatter also has a clear eastern demarcation, although this is not marked by any natural barriers. Only few tools and potsherds were found east of the line of measuring points with the digit 13 (see Pl. II). Despite signs of intensive and prolonged use, no clear surface traces of architecture were observed. In most places only a thin layer of stone chips and artefacts covers the bedrock. Only the far thicker depositions in the S, roughly S of the M-line in Pl. II, may conceal in situ remains. Evidence for this was observed only on the southern fringe of the hill, where use of the track into the Wåd• Zabayda has carved out a roughly vertical edge displaying a clear stratigraphic sequence (Pl. II, between grid points J6–7). Further E along the J-line, some mud bricks were observed, suggesting the presence of buildings in this area. No other in situ anthropogenic remains were noted, except on a rock spur near grid point N7. On this spot, which provides a comfortable seat, some shallow depressions had been hollowed out, which may have served as z•r emplacements, or have been used during the production of the vases. For the survey the site was subdivided in 10 × 10 m squares (Pl. II). The grid fits into the general system used in the Dayr al-Barshå project,11 within which it occupies the area between 4,750–4,845 m on the N–S axis, and between 7,610–7,740 m on the E–W axis, thus a rectangular stretch of land roughly covering 95 × 130 m (12,350 m2). The grid

L. OP DE BEECK, M. DEPAUW, Preliminary Report of the 2002 Campaign of the Belgian Mission to Deir al-Barsha, MDAIK 60 (2004), 248–250.

An Industrial Site at al-Shaykh Sac•d/Wåd• Zabayda 297

points of the survey are designated by a combination of capital letters (used to indicate positions on the N–S axis) and numbers (used to indicate the E–W position). In Pl. II the grid points have been plotted on the topographic plan of the site. On 13–15 March 2007, surface material was collected. The sampling strategy aimed at collecting material in a way that would permit a statistical analysis of possible distribution patterns of the various kinds of objects across the site. To this end, all surface material was collected that occurred within a circle with a 1 m radius centred on pins placed on the grid points (dogleash method). The material was collected in bags marked with the code of the pertinent grid point (e.g. M8). All surface material on a total surface of 390 m2 (or 3.14 %) was gathered. Interesting material was also picked up between the grid points (e.g. tool types not sampled by means of the dogleash method). Since only selected objects were picked up here, no statistical relevance can be attributed to the latter find collection. These finds were collected in bags that received a different code: the designation of the SW grid point followed by the word ‘sq(uare)’ (e.g. ‘M8Sq’). H.W. 2.2 The Ceramic Assemblage 12 2376 potsherds were collected around the 124 measuring points, but of these, only 116 were diagnostic, i.e. on average less than one diagnostic sherd was collected per grid point. A statistically more relevant result could have been attained if potsherds would have been gathered over larger surfaces around the grid points, but when the survey was carried out it was expected that the amount of sherds was so large that this would be unnecessary. Also this would have put the capacities of the pottery team under strain. The situation being as it is, the statistics are based on far fewer sherds than anticipated, and the results should be interpreted with caution. Nevertheless, some conclusions are clear. Visual inspection on the spot confirms at a glance that sherd density increases sharply as one descends the slope. The density is greatest in the wadis north and south of the hill, and particular-

12

The ceramics collected during the survey was analyzed in 2007 by S. Vereecken; in 2008 all the material was studied by J. Bourriau, P. French, S. Hendrickx, and Z. De Kooning (Z. DE KOONING, The Ceramological Corpus of

ly on the S slope. This must be due mainly to material being washed down. The oldest ceramic material dates to the OK. It is hardly encountered across most of the site, but some sherds of this date were picked up in the northwestern area, in squares P3, R2, R3, S3, and Q5, and at other isolated spots. The southern concentration at grid points L5 and J7, and within squares J5–6, J8, K5–6, and L5 is more important. The sherds here were conspicuous by their size and good preservation. They include fragments of bread moulds and Maid¥m bowls. The 2008–2009 excavations allow a better insight in the material (see 3.2). Some of the pottery dates to the XVIIIth dynasty. A few blue-painted ceramic sherds can be attributed to the Amarna period. Considering that the northernmost habitations of Amarna (including the North Riverside Palace) are only 2 km away, it would in fact be astonishing if no ceramics of that era would occur here at all. The relief fragment in Amarna style (Pl. IVE) points in the same direction. The amount of pottery from this period is however limited. The diagnostic surface material is overwhelmingly (80 %) of late NK and Third Intermediate Period date. Such sherds are spread all over the site. Moreover, non-diagnostics made of fabrics in current use in the late NK and TIP dominate the picture in the higher ranges of the hill, suggesting that the entire site was occupied then. The pottery assemblage consists for the most part of large storage jars. Most of the vessels are covered with a thick cream slip which has been burnished to make the vessels less porous, allowing them to store liquids. XXVth dynasty sherds are sparsely attested. Interestingly they include a few sherds of kegs made in an oasis fabric.13 Finally there is Ptolemaic, Roman and Byzantine pottery, but this is fairly exceptional. FIP and MK ceramics are conspicuous by their complete absence. S.V., S.H., J.B., P.F., Z.K. 2.3 The Tool Assemblage for Vase Production The stone material collected at the survey consists of more than 1000 artefacts. Many (about 40% of

13

the Surface Survey Carried out in al-Shaykh Sac•d South in 2007 [MA thesis Leuven 2008]). C. HOPE, Kegs and Flasks from the Dakhleh Oasis, CCÉ 6 (2001), 189.

298 Harco Willems et alii

C) A)

D) B)

F)

E) Fig. 3 Drill types collected during the survey. Drawings by A. Van den Broeck

the total amount) show striations due to wear. These tools were most likely used as drills to hollow out calcite alabaster vessels. Fragments of such vessels in all forms and stages of manufacture were in fact scattered about in the same area. Based on

the amount of material a workshop for alabaster vases must have been established here. Vase production clearly took place all over the hill. The material is still under analysis, but we are already able to provide a preliminary overview of

An Industrial Site at al-Shaykh Sac•d/Wåd• Zabayda 299

its variety. The vast majority of the stone drills are made of (probably locally gathered) silicified limestone. Different forms of drills can be recognized (Fig. 3). 1. One form resembles what Petrie designated as the ‘hour-glass borer’ and what Davies compared to a ‘figure-of-eight shield’14 (Fig. 3A). These drills are horizontally oblong with an almost flat underside and a more or less flat top side. All other sides have been knapped like flint. Both the long sides show a slight concavity. The striations are mainly at the underside, where they show a concentric pattern. Occasional striations at the short sides are horizontal. The length of the about 20 drills of this variety varies between 5.2 and 11.6 cm. These drill heads were placed in a forked wooden steel (see signs [OK] and [NK] for ‘craft, art’).15 They have been found at several places in Egypt, for instance the predynastic and early dynastic vase production sites at Hierakonpolis and Abydos, the workmen’s settlement at Giza, or in the Vth and VIth dynasty levels in the Satet temple at Elephantine. 16 2. Drills which are horizontally oblong like type 1, but with a concave upper side. No term seems yet to have been coined for this type. We will designate it as the ‘boat-shaped drill’ (Fig. 3B). The long sides have been knapped. The underside can be round as well as flat. The striations are located on the short sides and sometimes at the underside. On the short sides the striations are horizontal; when seen from below they are concentric. The length of this type of drill varies from 4.2 to 14.7 cm. Sixty-five complete boat-shaped drills were found. 3. Vertically oblong drills. These drills, being longer than wide, were knapped like flint to an axial shape. Lateral striations due to use exist at the proximal part.17 One side is partly or completely flat. This side has a slanting angle relative to the striations. The drill head can be round as

14

15

16

W.M.F. PETRIE, Tools and Weapons, ERA 22, London, 1917, 45, pl. LII (73); DAVIES, Rekh-mi-re’ I, 49; D.A. STOCKS, Experiments in Egyptian Archaeology. Stoneworking technology in Ancient Egypt, London, 2003, 142. A.H. GARDINER, Egyptian Grammar, Oxford3, 1957, 518–519 (U24–25). J.E. QUIBELL, F.W. GREEN, Hierakonpolis II, ERA 5, London, 1902, 49; pl. LXII; W.M.F. PETRIE, Abydos I, EEF

well as flat in section. This proximal part either has a completely circular profile with continuous striations or only a more or less oblong central part (Fig. 3C) with the striations only occurring at the ends. The flat underside of a drill can have striations, but this is not always the case. If the drill head is round in section it usually also is round in profile. The total amount of complete drills found is about 170, most being made of silicified limestone. Within this category great variety exists. The variability ranges between two extremes: a: long and thin (Fig. 3C) The length of the drill is at least twice its width. The length of the part with striations vacillates in this group between 1.9 and 8.3 cm, the total length of the drills varying from 7.4 to 12.7 cm. Of the about 60 drills three consist of calcite alabaster instead of silicified limestone. b: long and broad The proximal part of this drill is broader than its distal part. The drill head can be so broad that the tool assumes an ‘anchor-shape’ (30 of the 110 artefacts of this group) (Fig. 3D). The width varies between 3.4 cm (with a total length of the drill of 6.8 cm) and 11 cm (with a total length of the drill of 11.3 cm). In general the width (diameter) does not exceed 8 cm. Only 6 out of 110 are broader; one of these belongs to the ‘anchorshaped’ variety. Eight drills of the total amount are made of a type of rock different from the local silicified limestone. 4. More or less discoid stones with a flat underside (Fig. 3E). The upper part and the sides of these artefacts (of which about 10 were picked up) have been knapped. Concentric striations are only located on the flat underside. Some of these objects show traces of earlier use in stone vase production, demonstrating that at least this class of objects could be produced by

17

memoir 22, London, 1902, 25–26, pl. LIII; A. TAVARES, Small Finds, Big Results. Inconspicuous Stones a Key to an Ancient Industry, Aeragram 9.2 (2008), 4–5; G. DREYER, Elefantine VIII. Der Tempel der Satet, AVDAIK 39, Mainz am Rhein, 1986, 86–87; pl. 44 (350). The proximal part is the part closest to the drill head; the part farthest from the drill head is the distal part.

300 Harco Willems et alii

A)

B)

C)

D)

Fig. 4 Examples of unfinished calcite alabaster vessels. Drawings A. Van den Broeck

An Industrial Site at al-Shaykh Sac•d/Wåd• Zabayda 301

remodelling old tools. The earlier traces point to a first use as stone drills or as the kind of objects to be discussed next (5). The diameter of the instances found vacillates between 2.6/2.8 cm and 7.3/7.7 cm. Their height varies as well, and does so independently of the diameter. Thus one artefact with a diameter of 4.4 cm has a height of 1.7 cm, while the height of another, with a diameter of 5.5/5.6 cm, is 4.1 cm. Hitherto no parallels for this type of tool seem to be known. The closest analogy we have come across was found at Tall al-Farc•n (Buto), but here the striations continue on the sides. This material dates to the IInd–IIIrd dynasties.18 5. Stones with shallow hollows (Fig. 3F). In general these tools are more or less flat. The shallow hollows, which are only some millimetres deep, are mostly elliptical, show striations, and vary in size between 2.1 × 1.5 cm and 5.9 × 5.4 cm. Sometimes several overlapping hollows are present on one and the same stone. Only one of the about 45 objects of this type found by us is not made of silicified limestone, but of granite. Stones like these have been found in Tall alFarc•n (Buto)19 (IInd–IIIrd dynasties) and in the Step Pyramid.20 The above listing gives an overview of the main formal categories recognized in the material. However, there are also drills of other forms. An instance is the one rendered in Fig. 2, which was first used on one side and then on the other. It is not yet clear whether or not these objects constitute a separate category. Most of the recorded drills hitherto known from the literature are the hourglass drills and the crescent-shaped drills. The other drill forms found at site SS/WZ are (almost) completely absent. Until now no site with so many different types of stone drills, in such quantities, was known. In terms of variety, the most closely com-

18

19 20

21

22

23

K. SCHMIDT, in: T. VON DER WAY, Tell el-Faracin – Buto: 3. Bericht, MDAIK 44 (1988), 302; 304. K. SCHMIDT, MDAIK 44 (1988), 300; 303. C. FIRTH, J.E. QUIBELL, The Step Pyramid, (ERA, 4–5, Le Caire, 1935, I, pl. 28; II, pl. 93 (6). Cf. D. ARNOLD, Building in Egypt; Pharaonic Stone Masonry, New York, Oxford, 1991, 262. G. CATON-THOMPSON, E.W. GARDNER, The Desert Fayum, London, 1934, 105. FIRTH, QUIBELL, The Step Pyramid I, 125/6; II, pl.93 (4). They thought the crescent drills were used to dress wall

parable site is Tall al-Farc•n (Buto), where, on a total of only twenty drills, no less than four of the SS/WZ drill categories are attested (an ‘hourglass drill’, a variety of the discoid drills; a stone with shallow hollows; crescent drills). Tools made of other kinds of rock More than 30 rounded black granite artefacts may have been used as hammers.21 Also a modest number of silex tools were found. The ‘crescent-shaped drills’, of which more than 200 were picked up during the survey, constitute the largest group. The front- and the backsides of these drills have been knapped, part of the cortex occasionally still remaining on one of the sides. Between the two extremities, the top is mostly concave. Tools like these have been found in large quantities for instance in a gypsum vase-maker’s workshop in Umm al-Sawwån,22 and at the Step Pyramid.23 On the basis of about 2000 pieces, CatonThompson and Gardner subdivided the crescentshaped drills in the following shape categories:24 a) shield-shape, b) crescents, c) rods and d) dwarf drills.25 These crescent-shaped drills date to the OK.26 Most of the tools of this type found in alShaykh Sac•d belong to the crescents (category b). The size of crescent-shaped drills in al-Shaykh Sac•d varies between 2 × 2 × 0.9 cm and 7.8 × 4.1 × 2 cm, which implies that some are dwarf drills.27 Calcite alabaster The c. 200 pieces consist of both recognizable parts of vessels and waste. The former group enables one to discern different stages of the production process: from total roughlings to fragments with polished surfaces. Recognizable forms belong to i.a. vessels and beakers; small round pots with three ribs28 (Fig. 4A); ‘spoon formed’, round bottomed objects;29 both as roughlings and in more advanced stages of manufacture (Fig. 4B;

24 25

26 27

28

29

blocks down; the crescent drills of this group seem to be somewhat larger than the Umm al-Sawån ones. CATON-THOMPSON, GARDNER, The Desert Fayum, 124. Also called ‘pygmies’ and ‘pygmy drills’ (CATONTHOMPSON, GARDNER, Op. cit., 115; pl. LXIX [31–41]). CATON-THOMPSON, GARDNER, The Desert Fayum, 129. CATON-THOMPSON puts the limit for a dwarf crescent at about an inch in width (= 2.54 cm) (op. cit., 131). B.G. ASTON, Ancient Egyptian Stone Vessels. Materials and Forms, SAGA 5, Heidelberg, 1994, 87; 150. ASTON, Ancient Egyptian Stone Vessels, 159.

302 Harco Willems et alii 4C); a neck with two handles belonging to a pilgrim’s flask30 (Fig. 4D); and an artefact with two hollows. These items can be dated to the NK and TIP. In view of the diameter of the drills, mainly small vessels and pots must have been produced. How stone vases were made is not entirely clear. Stocks31 offers a reconstruction of the production technology based on scenes in tombs and mostly of his own experiments. He argues that, from c. 3600 B.C. on, when the Egyptians had mastered the process of melting and casting copper, the first hole in a lump of hard stone was drilled out with the help of a copper tubular drill. This drill was attached to a stick weighted with stones. In case of a bulbous vase, further hollowing out was achieved by using increasingly large hourglass stone drills. Evidence for the use of copper tubular drills are inner cores of hard stone. It is highly remarkable that such cores were not found in the survey material. During the 2008 excavations two small broken calcite alabaster cylinder cores were found, but considering the enormous amount of drills and (fragments of) stone vases, drilling out inner cores with copper tubular drills was clearly exceedingly rare at the site. L.K., A.v.d.B. 2.4 Conclusions and Research Questions

Although the OK evidence retrieved during the survey was not rich, it derived from an area with in situ strata, and its spatial distribution was much less generalised than that of the NK and TIP evidence. An important feature of the OK ceramic material is, however, that one of the fabrics (see p. XXX) is tempered with crushed calcite alabaster, a strong indication that the pottery was made locally, and at a period when stone objects were being produced here. The abundance of ashes in the OK strata, coupled with the presence of bread moulds, suggests that the bread consumed by the workmen engaged here was produced nearby. The survey thus suggests, that calcite alabaster was worked at the site both in the early OK and in the NK and TIP. However, since it did not produce evidence for early vase production, the possibility is that the vase production toolkit dates mostly or entirely to the later periods of occupation. This has important consequences. It would for the first time provide us with a vase production site of such a late date; and the fact that several of the tools encountered here differ from those already known may reflect this chronological development. More significantly, however, some tools (like the hour-glass drills and the crescent-shaped drills) are not so different at all from the early OK instances that were already known. This raises the possibility that some elements of the vase production technology were remarkably resistant to change (or, of course, that vases were produced here in the OK after all). Finally, the fact that evidence for tubular drills is almost completely absent suggests that this technology was less widespread than is commonly believed. S.H., L.K., C.P., B.V., S.V., H.W.

The chronological interpretation of the survey results mainly rests on the pottery material. This suggests an OK occupation mostly in the southern parts of the site (area A) and more sparingly in the northwestern part, an abandonment between the late OK and the late MK or even the SIP, and a phase of reuse spanning the NK and particularly the TIP. In this period, evidence for use is found all over the site. It is likely that cemetery D in the Wåd• Zabayda reflects this period of use. Formally, the discarded fragments of unfinished stone vessels seem to date predominantly to the NK and the TIP. The generalised spatial distribution of vase production tools and stone vase fragments parallels the equally wide distribution of late NK and TIP ceramics. Arguably, therefore, stone vessels were only, or predominantly, produced here in this period. This would be highy significant, as stone drills of such a late period were hitherto unknown. Another implication is that the OK site must have had another purpose than stone vase production.

During the 2008 campaign, four trenches were opened N of the Wåd• Zabayda track to obtain clarification on the issues just raised (Pl. II). The location of sector 1 was determined by the fact that an OK ash layer with bread moulds was observed here in 2007. Sector 2 was opened some 50 m further east, because the presence of mud bricks suggested there might be preserved architecture here. When the excavations in sector 1 produced indications that remains related to

30

31

ASTON, Ancient Egyptian Stone Vessels, 88; 157.

3. THE 2008–2009 EXCAVATIONS 3.1 Description of the Field Work

STOCKS, Experiments in Egyptian Archaeology, 139–168.

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food production increased towards the east, sectors 3 and 4 were opened in this area. Work in these sectors continued in 2009. In sector 2, only mixed surface depositions occurred, with pottery mostly of mid-NK (Amarna Period) through the TIP date. This material will not be discussed here. Sectors 1, 3 and 4 offer more information on the evolving use of the site. These sectors are located on the NE flank of the Wåd• Zabayda track and are orientated roughly perpendicularly to it. For easy reference, the road side of the trenches will here be designated as the ‘south’, the baulk farthest from the road as the ‘north’ baulk, and those on the left and right as the ‘western’ and ‘eastern’ baulks. Wherever correct astronomical orientations are vital this will be made explicit. All sectors have a length of 5 m. as measured from the edge of the track (i.e. from ‘south’ to ‘north’). Sector 1 is a 5 × 5 m square. It is separated from sector 3, to its E, by a 0.60 m. baulk. Sector 3 had a width of 2.30 m, but it was later expanded eastwards by a 3 × 0.50 m. strip because the foot end of a burial extended below the eastern baulk. Further E is sector 4, with an initial width of 2.5 m E–W. To this, a N–S strip (2.6 × 0.60 m) was later added, also to facilitate the excavation of a burial. The archaeological features recognised during excavation received a feature number composed of the letter S (for al-Shaykh Sac•d) followed by a serial number. Occasionally feature numbers were split up in units distinguished by letters. For instance, S54 was initially used as a designation for a deposit covering the whole surface of sector 4, later to be subdivided in a southern part S54A, a northern part S54B, and a southeastern part S54C. During later analysis it appeared that some of these distinctions have real stratigraphic significance. S54A, which first emerged in the southwestern corner, in fact continues below S54/S54B in the north, and it covers S54C. Conversely, the difference between features originally distinguished is not always clear. Thus, S117 and S122 are very similar, and in the final analysis could not be kept apart very well, even though deposits labelled S122 emerged later during the excavation, and thus lay mostly below S117. Feature S5 in sector 1 presented itself as homogeneous during excavation, but later analysis of the baulk suggests it actually consists of two subsequent depositions corresponding to S111–112 in sector 3 and S51–52 in sector 4. S6 was collected in the field as one deposit, but the designation actually conceals a top layer we now

designate as S6A and a lower layer S6B. The stratigraphy of the sectors is schematized in Fig. 5. Work in sector 1 soon revealed that the topsoil consisted of thick accumulations of heavily mixed material (potsherds, bone, stone drills, calcite alabaster chips) none of which was in situ. Not knowing whether it would be possible to continue excavating here in subsequent seasons, we decided to save time by swiftly removing the topsoil to a depth of some 0.35 m in the rest of this sector and in sectors 3 and 4. Near the northern edge of the latter, where the thickness of the mixed top layer suddenly decreased, this has led to some loss of information. As shown in Fig. 7, topsoil feature number S110 near the N baulk of sector 3 effectively designates three layers, the corresponding feature number S50 in sector 4 four. This distinction is indicated in Fig. 5 and 7 by a Roman numeral added to the feature number (e.g. S50–II). Phase 1 The stratigraphy builds up on the rock substrate, which was not yet reached everywhere in sector 3. The rock surface slopes down from N to S and also somewhat from W to E. It is topped by an almost sterile sandy layer (S60 in sector 4, S132 in sector 3. In the somewhat higher sector 1 the deposit did not occur). Although the soil looks like a natural deposition, a few OK potsherds were found, suggesting a degree of human intervention, perhaps for creating a plane surface. Phase 1 represents a period of early OK settlement activity. Its most notable feature is wall S130 in sector 3, which stands immediately on sand layer S132 (see Fig. 6). No foundation trench was observed. The structure is built of rough limestone blocks, is about 0.60 m thick and still about 0.30 m high. It is carefully orientated to the astronomical north. Part of the ‘eastern’ baulk of the trench and the desert track ‘south’ of sectors 3 and 4 were partly excavated in 2009 to determine the continuation of the wall. Although it continues in the baulk, no certain remains were found under the road, suggesting that parts were removed at a relatively recent date to even the track. In its northern part the stone wall decreases in height as the rock surface rises until it stops altogether near the NW corner of sector 3. Wall S130 separates two activity zones A and B. The former lies east of the wall and covers sector 4 and the part of sector 3 east of the wall. Activity zone B lies west of it, occupying sector 1 and the part west of the wall in sector 3.

304 Harco Willems et alii

Fig. 5 Harris matrix of sectors 1, 3 and 4

In activity zone A a large group of bDA bread moulds were found standing upside down almost immediately on top of S60, and thus at the same level as the bottom part of wall S130. One of these bread moulds is visible in the section in Fig. 7 (24). Most bread moulds were still almost complete, but all showed at least cracks or missing rim fragments, rendering them unfit for use. The moulds were not simply thrown away, but placed upside down. In several cases as many as three were placed one

atop the other. They were arranged in two irregular E–W rows that seem to demarcate surface areas, perhaps separated by a path (see Fig. 6). When the bread moulds were lifted, all appeared to be filled with burned vegetal remains, ashes, charcoal, burned bone and sand. Usually, the most heavily charred material was found uppermost, and the sand (often the same as S60) below. In view of the similarity of their fill, the bread moulds were clearly deposited in the

An Industrial Site at al-Shaykh Sac•d/Wåd• Zabayda 305

Fig. 6 Phase 1: wall S130 and in situ discarded bread moulds

course of a single action, having been used to scoop out nearby fireplaces where food had been prepared upon the sand. East of wall S130 there is a large deposit of burned material, some of which has become very hard (S127). It includes large amounts of ashes, red burned ceramic, large potsherds, bone, and so on. This may have been a fireplace, or a deposition of smouldering material taken from a nearby fireplace and thrown against the wall. Although later burials have disturbed the contact area of S127 and the wall, the E–W upward slope of S127 (see Fig. 7 [9]) suggests it rested against the wall. In a next stage, a thick garbage deposit was heaped up, covering most of activity zone A (Fig. 7 [8]; [24]). It consists of dirty, coarse sand mixed with chunks of ceramic (predominantly bDA-bread moulds), large bones, vegetal remains, pieces of limestone and sandstone polishers. In sector 3,

32

Still later, much of the area of sector 4 was covered with a mixed layer with many ash and charcoal inclusions (S54), which, however, does not continue westwards

this deposit (S114 = S121) lies on top of S127, in sector 4 it covers the rows of bread moulds just discussed (S54C = S57 = S65). In the southern part of sector 4 this heap markedly decreases in height, leaving a large depression from the bottom of which the earlier rows of bread moulds still emerged. This pit was later filled with similar garbage as in S65, although it was now heavily burned (S54A). Huge amounts of bread mould sherds, bones, and jar stopper fragments (some with seal impressions) occurred here. In the SW corner of sector 4, deposit S54A steeply rises to a height of some 70 cm. Since this is close to the southern end of wall S130, S54A was apparently heaped up against the wall just like S127. In the northern part of sector 4, a large pit was dug in S65, in which a whole series of successive fireplaces were created (S64, S63, S58). On top of S65 and S54A, a further fireplace S59 appeared.32

into sector 3. The fireplaces to which S54 must be linked, were probably located further E.

Fig. 7 Section drawings of the northern baulks of sectors 3 and 4

306 Harco Willems et alii

An Industrial Site at al-Shaykh Sac•d/Wåd• Zabayda 307

Apparently, after having been used as a garbage heap, activity zone A saw a second phase of use, during which it served for heating food or other things. In view of the large amount of bread moulds and bone remains here, food preparation seems the most likely option. It is improbable that large fireplaces and garbage existed inside buildings. Activity zone A must therefore have been open to the air. In activity zone B, the lower levels of the fill were much more homogeneous, consisting of greyish sand interspersed with some large pottery fragments (S126; S129 in sector 3; connected to S6B = S9 and S8 in sector 133). Feature S8 is a small part of a hard, greyish sand floor with a series of shallow holes (Pl. IIIC). Considering that this was a bakery area, the holes were probably emplacements in which hot bread moulds could be placed before being filled with dough. The context reminds one of the much better preserved bakeries recently found in the workmen’s settlement at Giza. These bakeries are fairly small, rectangular, stone-built chambers containing, in one corner of the room, two vats for mixing dough, and along one of the long sides, two rows of depressions in which bread moulds could be placed.34 Above the top level of wall S130 sector 3 contained a very mixed fill, with parts of bDA bread moulds, but also bread trays, beer jars, and Maid¥m bowls, types of ceramic that were less strongly in evidence in sector 4. Also, a large amount of broken mud bricks were found (sector 1: features S6A = S10; S14; sector 3: feature S117 = S122). These features overwhelmingly consist of material that also characterizes the garbage heaps in sector 4. The most conspicuous items in phase 1 are bread moulds. As noted before, in sector 4 these were often neatly stacked upside down. In other areas the deposition is more chaotic. Even where the moulds were well preserved, not a single one was entirely intact. Apparently, moulds that were beginning to show cracks or of which small parts were broken off, were discarded in a fairly organized manner.

33

34

In sector 1, fireplaces S12 and S13 lie below these deposits. Their stratigraphic link to sector 3 is not yet clear. M. LEHNER, ‘Introduction’ in: M. LEHNER, W. WETTERSTROM (eds.), Giza Reports. The Giza Plateau Mapping Project I. Project History, Survey, Ceramics, and Main Street and

Interspersed between the bread mould sherds, large quantities of animal and vegetal remains were found, probably for consumption (see 3.4–5). The garbage disposed in the area was frequently burned. Evidence for this is found in the form of ash layers, and of localised fire spots where small, but intense fires led to the remains being charred. Perhaps the fires should be interpreted as a measure to reduce nuisance in the form of stench and animals. This, in its turn, may suggest there were habitations nearby. Besides extensive evidence for food production, many clay sealings of jars and containers closed by ropes were found. Several bore seal impressions, which will be dealt with in 3.3. Much evidence for stone production emerged during the excavations in the form of chips of calcite alabaster, many of which showed traces of being worked. Evidence for vase production, however, remains scant and uncertain. Phase 2 The layers of phase 1 were topped by two consecutive depositions of light yellow wadi sediment with small stone inclusions (feature S5-I and II; S111–112, S51–52; see Fig. 5–6), which contained hardly any archaeological remains. The fact that these natural deposits differ in texture, and that a clear horizon separates them, suggests two successive periods of wadi activity. For the date of these events we will first look into the evidence for phase 3. Phase 3 Four tombs were discovered: one in sector 1 (S7), two in sector 3 (S116; S118/S119) and one in sector 4 (S55 and S55A, the latter being apparently the tomb pit). Tomb S7 was cut through both of the natural deposits of phase 2 (S5I–II). In sector 4, however, the uppermost of these deposits (S51) covers the mouth of tomb S55, which has been dug through the second natural deposit S52. In sector 3, tomb S116 seems to be covered by the topmost natural deposit S111, but not by the second, S112.35 Since the higher layer of wadi deposit covers at least some of the tombs, whereas it is

35

Gallery III. 4 Operations (Boston, 2007), 24–27; 32; M. LEHNER, Pyramid Age Bakery Reconstructed, Aeragram 1,1 (Fall 1996), 6–7. The second tomb in sector 3 may be more recent than S111, but the stratigraphy is disturbed by a later pit.

308 Harco Willems et alii dug through by at least tomb S7, it seems certain that it was deposited at a time when the cemetery was in use. All tombs are orientated exactly N–S, with the head in the north, and all contain rectangular, plastered, but undecorated wooden coffins. No burial goods can be confidently attributed to these burials. A strong dating argument derives from sector 4. Here, a tomb was dug through S52, a fairly sterile layer which, however, included one NK bead mould. A NK blue painted jar fragment was also found in stratum S5-I through which tomb S7 was dug. The natural event that led to the deposition of S5-I, S111, and S51 is thus datable to the NK. There are indications that the orientation of the tombs is due not so much to a religious urge as to conditions at the site at the moment the dead were committed to the earth. Two burials (S116; S118/119) have pits that fit snugly against wall S130 (one is shown in Fig. 6). This suggests that the tombs were dug deliberatly against it, and therefore that at least ruins of the building must still have been visible, jutting out of the lowermost layer of wadi deposit (S112).36 Since excavations revealed no in situ remains of a wall in S112, it seems that, when the tomb pit was excavated, the higher parts of the wall were removed and that the other OK remains in the area were also displaced. This also explains the confused state of the layers immediately above what now remains of the wall. In S117 = S122, numerous pieces of broken mud brick were found, none of them in situ. Arguably, the higher parts of wall S130 were made of this material, and were dismantled when tombs were made here in the NK. Phase 4 On top of these layers a thick level of topsoil covered all excavated sectors (S1 in sector 1, S110 in sector 3, S50 in sector 4). Most of it is a densely mixed greyish/brownish matrix filled with calcite alabaster chips, vase drills and other lithic artefacts, bones, and large amounts of ceramics. This material includes pottery from various phases, although mostly of NK and TIP date. Part of the topsoil was carefully excavated in sector 1. After enough material had been collected to gain an

36

Poor NK burials against earlier walls are well known (e.g. M. BIETAK, J. DORNER, P. JÁNOSI, Ausgrabungen in dem Palastbezirk von Avaris. Vorbericht Tell el-

impression of its nature, most of the remainder was removed without further inspection. As was pointed out above, this has led to the removal of some stratified layers in the northern parts of sectors 3 and 4. We hope to be able to define the nature of these layers in the course of future excavations. Clearly, however, the layering in the lower parts of S110 and S50 must correspond to a period of use of some duration. In sector 3, a large pit was dug through S111, S112, S114 = S121 and S127 before the lowermost layer of S110 was deposited (see Fig. 7 [4]). Later on, a second pit was dug, most of which is located in the baulk and in sector 1, but which just abuts on sector 3. Its fill is indistinguishable from the very mixed material that litters the surface everywhere at the site, and which, on the basis of the survey results, seems to date to the period spanning the Amarna Age and the TIP. In sector 3 this pit i.a. produced a finely carved piece of Amarna relief to be published elsewhere. This find affords a reliable terminus ante quem non for the pit. L.K., B.V., H.W. 3.2 The Interpretation of the Phase I Ceramic Assemblage Among the most characteristic elements of the material are Maid¥m bowls, bread moulds, flat bread trays and bowls with internal ledge-rim. A remarkable common element is the presence of white inclusions as temper in Nile fabrics. Under magnification, the particles have a shining appearance and can be identified as calcite alabaster from the nearby quarry Maghåra Ab¥ cAz•z, implying that the great majority of the pottery was locally made. This temper is the most characteristic element for the ceramic assemblage from site SS/WZ. The inclusions vary greatly in size and quantity. Their distribution is uneven within the paste and the particles are generally angular, showing that it concerns beyond doubt an intentional addition. Although relatively rare compared to the huge amounts of bread moulds, several fragments of Maid¥m bowls have been found. They occur in a variety of fabrics (Nile A, B1, B2, Marl A-2) but the majority is made in a fine Nile silt

Dabca/cEzbet Helmi 199–2000, Ä&L 11 (2001), 68–69, Abb. 24–25).

An Industrial Site at al-Shaykh Sac•d/Wåd• Zabayda 309

A)

B)

Fig. 8 A) round-shouldered Maid¥m bowl; B) sharp-shouldered Maid¥m bowl. Drawing R. Naebers

(Nile A, B1) tempered with fine calcite alabaster. Although hardly any complete vessel shapes of these bowls could be reconstructed, it is clear that examples of both the sharp-shouldered type A1 and the round-shouldered types B1 and B3 occur.37 The round-shouldered ones have deep shapes as was already common before the IVth dynasty (Fig. 8A).38 Other fragments belong to sharp-shouldered bowls with the maximum diameter at the shoulder, a typical feature for Maid¥m bowls of the IVth and Vth dynasties (see Fig. 8B).39 This chronological position is corroborated by the fact that the rims are never wider than the

shoulders. There is a close resemblance with early and mid-IVth dynasty bowls at al-Tårif40 and al-Kåb.41 But the best parallels are from Giza42 and Elephantine, where both round-shouldered and sharp-shouldered Maid¥m-bowls are also attested.43 It is to be noted that the finest Maid¥m bowls, as indicated by their very thin wall and high grade polish, are not made in the local calcite alabaster tempered fabric. For their production, a fine Nile A or Marl A fabric was used and this pottery can be considered elite imports. Another elite element is a fragment of a large pentagonal bowl with lobes, made in a fine but

37

41

38 39 40

Types according to L. OP DE BEECK, Possibilities and Restrictions for the Use of Maidum-Bowls as Chronological Indicators, CCÉ 7 (2004), 239–280. OP DE BEECK, op. cit., 249–253. OP DE BEECK, op. cit., 260; 268. B. GINTER, J.K. KOZLOWSKI, M. PAWLIKOWSKI, J. SLIWA, H. KAMMERER-GROTHAUS, Frühe Keramik und Kleinfunde aus el-Târif, AV 40, Mainz am Rhein, 1998, 81, Abb. 41,5–6.

42

43

OP DE BEECK, op cit., 250, fig. 3,31 and 3,33. A. WODZINSKA, ‘Preliminary Report on the Ceramics,’ in: LEHNER, WETTERSTROM (eds.), Giza Reports I, fig. 11.19 CD6A (A1); fig. 11.20.CD6B (B1); fig. 11.21CD7 (B3). D. RAUE, Ägyptische und Nubische Keramik der 1.–4. Dynastie, in: W. KAISER et al., Stadt und Tempel von Elephantine. 25./26./27. Grabungsbericht, MDAIK 55 (1999), 184, Abb. 39,1 and 2; Abb. 40, 1, 2, 6.

310 Harco Willems et alii

Fig. 9 Fragment and reconstruction of pentagonal bowl imitating stone vessels (S9/79.9 + S9/125.19) Drawings M. Eyckerman

rather low fired Nile silt (Fig. 9). This bowl imitates a common OK stone vessel type,44 but only few parallels in pottery are known: one fragment from the so-called Valley Temple of Snofru at Dahsh¥r,45 and another fragment found in the settlement debris at Giza.46

Even more limited in number than the Maid¥m bowls, but chronologically also very significant, are the shallow bowls with internal ledgerim and flat bottom (Fig. 10). All are made in a coarse Nile B2 and were left uncoated. This type of pottery is known from the early Ist dynasty

44

46

45

ASTON, Ancient Egyptian Stone Vessels, 115, no. 61. W.K. SIMPSON, in: A. FAKHRY, The Monuments of Sneferu at Dahshur II, Cairo, 1961, 118.

K. KROMER, Siedlungsfunde aus dem Frühen Alten Reich in Giseh. Osterreichische Ausgrabungen 1971–1975, ÖAW. Denkschr. d. Gesamtak., 136: Wien, 1978, 63; Taf. 25, fig. 4.

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Fig. 10 Bowl with internal ledge-rim (S1/1.517 + S1/27.10). Drawing R. Naebers

onwards but no longer attested after the IVth dynasty. Their typo-chronological evolution is well documented for Elephantine47 and characterized by the broadening over time of the internal rim while the vessels tend to become shallower.48 The SS/WZ examples compare well with bowls found at Giza49, characterized by a shallow shape and broad internal ledge-rim. This bowl found at site SS/WZ represent a step subsequent to the typo-chronological evolution attested at Elephantine for the period up to the early IVth dynasty.50 It occurs no longer after the IVth dynasty but is apparently the predecessor of a more open Vth dynasty type.51 The large majority of the pottery is related to the production of bread. The most characteristic type is the clock-shaped bDA bread mould (Jacquet-Gordon’s type A1)52 (Fig. 11A). As is normal for bread moulds, they are made from Nile C, but all examples are tempered with crushed calcite alabaster. The bDA moulds of which complete profiles were preserved are characterised by a flaring shape and a very prominent, sharp ‘ring’

47 48

49

50 51

52

53

RAUE, op. cit., 173–190. RAUE, op. cit., 183 („tieferer Ansatz der Innenleiste“); A. OP DE BEECK, S. HENDRICKX, Deir al-Barsha Pottery Survey, BIFAO, in press. A. WODZINSKA, op. cit., 304, fig. 11.30: CD32A; Z. HAWASS, A. SENUSSI, OK Pottery from Giza, Cairo, 2008, 244, no. 176, 211, 238–239 Nazlet el-Samman A24; 244 no. A62; A74; C47; H32–23; H43. RAUE, op. cit., 173–190. OP DE BEECK, HENDRICKX, op. cit.; see already: G.A. REISNER, A History of the Giza Necropolis II, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1955, 84, fig. 75, no. 69 (type D-XXXIXC) and fig. 115. H. JACQUET-GORDON, A Tentative Typology of Egyptian Bread Moulds, in: DO. ARNOLD (ed.), Studien zur altägyptischen Keramik, Mainz am Rhein, 1981, 11–12 and fig. 2. D. FALTINGS, Die Keramik der Lebensmittelproduktion im Alten Reich. Ikonographie und Archäologie eines Gebrauch-

around the base. Although such ‘rings’ occur for Vth and VIth dynasty bread moulds,53 our examples differ by their concave transition between base and ‘ring’, and by the deeper base. Similar ‘rings’ are found in late IIIrd dynasty bread moulds from Elephantine,54 but the best parallels are the mid-IVth dynasty examples from the workmen’s settlement at Giza.55 All of the latter are shaped over a hump and have both base ‘rings’ and deep bottom cones. The parallelism between the two sites is confirmed in a remarkable way by the presence at both sites of very large bread moulds with flat internal base, up to now only attested for the site of Giza. (Fig. 11).56 Besides the bDA moulds, many of the flat bread trays are likewise made from Nile C fabric tempered with calcite alabaster (Fig. 11C–F). These apr.t trays have a flat bottom on to which one or several thick rolls were added, resulting in trays with lower and higher flaring sides. Both round and oval shapes occur.57 According to shape and size, four different types are distinguishable, similar to the types that were discovered at Giza.58

54

55 56

57 58

sartikels SAGA 14, Heidelberg, 1998, 130–132 (fig. 9a, nos. 20–24). S.J. SEIDLMAYER, Die staatliche Anlage der 3. Dynastie in der Nordweststadt von Elephantine. Archäologische und historische Probleme, in: M. BIETAK (ed.), Haus und Palast im alten Ägypten. Internationales Symposium 8. bis 11. April 1992 in Kairo, UZK 14, Wien, 1996, 201, Abb. 4; Kaiser et al., Stadt und Tempel von Elephantine 25./26./27. Grabungsbericht, MDAIK 55 (1999), 173– 189. WODZINSKA, op. cit., 298 and fig. 11.38.F2B. WODZINSKA, op. cit., 298 and fig. 11.38. F2C; J. NOLAN, Tales from the Crypt: the 1999 Season, Aeragram 3, no. 1 (1999), 1–13. FALTINGS, op. cit., 83–88. WODZINSKA, op. cit., 298, F1; fig. 11.36–37 (F1A, F1C); HAWASS, SENUSSI, op. cit., 237 (126); 191; 237.

312 Harco Willems et alii

A)

B)

C)

E)

D)

F)

Fig. 11 A) bDA bread mould (S50/17.5); B) bDA bread mould (S54A/183.1); C) bread tray (S122/9.5); D) bread tray (S1/1.519 + S1/1.160); E) bread tray (S9/36.1 + S9/122.1 + S9/178.4 + S9/48; F) bread tray (S54A/64.31)

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Fig. 12 vat S9/197.36, inside eroded. Drawing R. Naebers, scale 1:2

The excavations produced dozens of (mostly fragmentary) seal impressions. They occur on clay jar stoppers, clay seals with fibre impressions on their backs that must have been used to seal textile bags closed with a rope, and seals with flat backs used to seal wooden objects (chests; doors). Some seals bear hieratic signs inscribed with a stylus

when the clay was still wet, but this is of rare occurrence. All other marked seals and stoppers bear the impressions of cylinder seals, and in one case of a stamp seal. 60 One has the impression of a cartouche ending in a bird-like sign which perhaps reads w, in which case the royal name must have been either that of Snofru or Khufu. Another seal bears the Horus name MDdw (Pl. IVA). This is the Horus name of Khufu, confirming the impression already gained from the pottery that the excavated area was used in the early IVth dynasty. On the seal, depictions of a king and columns of hieroglyphs flanked the Horus name. Although the texts can no longer be read, this is likely to have been a so-called ‘institutional seal’ used in official administration.61 Other seals are of the kind designated by H.G. Fischer as ‘cylinder seals for the lower classes’.62 These display an iconography depicting for instance animals or human beings in a style that does not follow the rules of the classical Egyptian art canon. In many cases they do not include

59

61

A final element of the bread production at the site are large vats used for the preparation of dough (Fig. 12).59 These vessels, that were not easily transported, confirm the production of bread at the site itself. In ancient Egypt, the trades of bread and beer production were intimately linked, but only few beer jars were found. The work force inhabiting the site must nevertheless have received the habitual beer among its rations. The almost complete absence of beer jar fragments suggests that the brewery must have been located at some distance from the part we excavated. S.V., S.H., J.B., P.F., M.E., S.M., Z.K. 3.3. Seal Impressions

60

FALTINGS, op. cit., 115–121. The seals depicted in pl. IVA, B and D were recorded with the help of the Leuven Camera Dome System (http://www.arts.kuleuven.be/assyriologie/cuneiform .htm#Barsha).

62

U. DUBIEL, Amulette, Siegel und Pezrlen. Studien zu Typologie und Tragesitte im Alten und Mittleren Reich, OBO 229, Fribourg, Göttingen, 2008, 126–127. H.G. FISCHER, Old Kingdom Cylinder Seals for the Lower Classes, MMJ 6 (1972), 5–16. P. KAPLONY, Die Rollsiegel des Alten Reiches I, Mon. Aeg. 2, Bruxelles, 1977, 21–35, calls these seals ‘Figurensiegel’.

314 Harco Willems et alii hieroglyphic writing. When hieroglyphs do occur, it often seems as though the seal cutter had little or no scribal competence. Often, for instance, the signs are arranged in symmetric groups that cannot really be ‘read’. Perhaps they were merely imitations of real texts. In some cases, royal names in somewhat better style can be added to these seals. The seal in Pl. IVB is a good instance. It contains depictions of mammals and birds. In a number of impressions we encountered figures of seated ‘dogs’. The one depicted in Pl. IVD shows the legs, tail, back and neck of such an animal.63 Some seals contain symmetrical arrangements of groups of hieroglyphs. A recurrent pattern, of which the best preserved instance is reproduced in Pl. IVB, contains two facing -signs. Between the two, there is a , and a is also written over the backs of both animals. Another inscription found on several seal impressions contains the word (Pl. IVD). Perhaps this is the term di.w ‘delivery’, although it is hard to understand the round sign at the end. Moreover, the signs are again symmetrically arranged and may not be real writing. Some seal impressions are also remarkable because, after they had been applied, a hieratic inscription was written over it in black ink. One impression, showing the back of a recumbent dog, carries a hieratic jotting including a sign probably depicting a crouching dog ( )(Pl. IVC; this seal resembles the one shown in Pl. IVD). One wonders if it is mere coincidence that the seal impression depicted a crouching animal as well. Was the same sign intended? Although the signs are in most cases illegible, the addition of hieratic notes to existing seal impressions suggests that the administration not only required that product containers were sealed, but that, at some later stage of the process, another administrator added a further text. This may be a variant of the procedure of applying ‘counter-seals’

Early OK seals and seal impressions have been found at many sites in Egypt,64 and in recent years they are fortunately being increasingly presented within their archaeological context. A huge amount found over the years on Elephantine Island have now been published by J.P. Pätznik.65 The sealings found at this important settlement span the period between the IInd and the VIth Dynasties, an era when the state repeatedly interfered here, witness the presence of an early dynastic fortress, the late IIIrd dynasty miniature pyramid of king Huni, and the IVth-VIth dynasty governor’s residence. Seal impressions are also appearing in great numbers in the planned settlement at Giza, which gave shelter to the work force involved in building the IVth dynasty pyramids.66 A small group of impressions was recently found at desert site Chufu 01/01, about 60 km SW of the Dåkhla Oasis.67 This was an expedition site that may have been exploited to obtain minerals used as paint. The presence of royal inscriptions at the site indicates that those engaged here were sent by the central administration. Of these sites, the workmen’s settlement at Giza offers the closest analogy, for (other than at Elephantine and site Chufu 01/01) both institutional and figurative seals seem to have been in current use here. It is true that the Giza team has thus far only published a few seals, all of which are ‘institutional’, but Nolan also points out that some of the Giza material is “informal”. This, he explains, means that “the layout of the design – either textual or representational – does not conform to a strict template.”68 He also indicates that the informal seals are apparently more frequent and in a better state of preservation than the formal ones. Unfortunately, not a single ‘informal’ seal impression with representations is depicted by him. Still, it seems likely that this material is similar to the seals with non-hieroglyphic ‘signs’ found at al-Shaykh Sac•d. Since both sites also share the presence of royal name seals and incised seals, it

63

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64

65

The seal closely resembles a Vth dynasty one from Ab¥ S•r (H.G. FISCHER, MMJ 6 [1972], 6). See KAPLONY, Rollsiegel. In this book, the archaeological context is in most cases not very clear. Rollsiegel I, 347–374 does discuss some contexts, but those of the IVth dynasty are not very informative. Die Siegelabrollungen und Rollsiegel des Stadt Elephantine im 3. Jahrtausend v. Chr. Spurensuche eines archäologischen Artefaktes, BAR IS 1339, Oxford, 2005.

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J. NOLAN, in: LEHNER, WETTERSTROM (eds.), Giza Reports I, 179–181; 271–275. F. FÖRSTER, Preliminary Report on the Seal Impressions Found at Site Chufu 01/01 in the Dakhla Region (2002 Campaign), GM 217 (2008), 17–25. J. NOLAN, op. cit., 273. Emphasis H.W.

An Industrial Site at al-Shaykh Sac•d/Wåd• Zabayda 315

would seem that they have more in common with each other than with the two other sites. Institutional seals could be read, and were therefore useful in a nationwide administrative system: even administrators who did not know each other because they worked in distant areas would understand what the seal impressions meant. It is assumed that the figurative seals also served an official purpose, but that they were for local use only. It is not certain what they mean precisely, but they may have designated persons with regional responsibilities in a graphic way. These ‘logos’ would have been meaningful locally, but not to officials elsewhere in Egypt. Therefore, the figurative seals are thought to have belonged to members of provincial elites who may not have formed part of the network of state administrators, but whose responsibilities at the local level were nevertheless very real. In many recent studies it is argued that the figurative cylinder seals emerged in the course of the Vth dynasty and that they were succeeded in the late OK by ‘stamp seals’.69 The evidence presented above offers crucial new information in this debate. Firstly, we have seen that figurative cylinder seals did not emerge in the late OK, but that they were already widely in use at al-Shaykh Sa‘•d and probably Giza in the early OK. Moreover, our 2009 season produced incontrovertible evidence that stamp seals with mock-hieroglyphs were also in existence already then. This shows that the chronological development needs to be reconsidered. Also, the probable existence of similar seals in the workmen’s community at Giza casts doubt on the idea that such material is representative of provincial culture only. H.W.

The garbage heaps excavated at site SS/WZ offer good opportunities to study the plant economy and diet of the workmen living at the site. In an initial study 4 flotation samples were taken into consideration. The sample taken in 2007 derives

from the section north of the track into the Wåd• Zabayda. Material was collected in 2008 in sectors 1 and 4, in the higher levels of the undisturbed OK deposits. The studied plant assemblages were retrieved by means of manual flotation using sieves with meshes of 1 and 0.3 mm. The average sample size taken for flotation ranged between 5 and 10 litres. The plant macrofossils are preserved mainly in charred form. In one of the samples, dominated by melon (Cucumis cf. melo), mineralised material was preserved as well. Wood charcoals and some pieces of desiccated wood were also found. The studied material represents various plant macrofossils derived from cultivated plants, their weeds and the wild flora around the site. The samples are very rich in identifiable seed/fruit remains. In one of them the concentration of plant materials reached 164 identifiable items per litre. In all of the plant assemblages emmer (Triticum dicoccum; Pl. VA; C) and hulled barley (Hordeum vulgare; Pl. VB) occur. Emmer generally prevails over barley and in some samples is the main component of the cultivated cereals. The pulses are represented by single seeds of pea (Pisum sativum; Pl. VD), grass pea (Lathyrus cf. sativus; Pl. VE) and 18 seeds probably of faba bean (cf. Vicia faba; Pl. VF). Together with them also about 30 badly preserved and almost unrecognisable large leguminous seeds were found. One of the samples is dominated by seeds most probably of melon (427 seeds, Pl. VH), in another one dock (Rumex sp.) prevails with c. 230 seeds counted. Numerous caryopses of Lolium sp. (small caryopses of “Group 1” according to Nesbitt70) are available in the samples. Together with it, possible weeds frequently found in Egypt since Predynastic times71 like Phalaris sp., Steratia verticillata/viridis., Chenopodium cf. murale. etc. were also present. Some of them, as well as some small leguminous seeds determined as Medicago/Trifolium, and the seeds of Acacia sp. might originate from dung fuel. The typical OK cereal crops emmer and barley72 are represented both by grain and, to a much less-

69

71

3.4. Archaeobotanical analysis

70

FISCHER, loc. cit.; KAPLONY, Rollsiegel I, 21–35; A.B. WIESE, Die Anfänge der ägyptischen Stempelsiegel-Amulette, OBO SA 12, Fribourg, Göttingen, 1996, 3–91; B. KEMP, Ancient Egypt. Anatomy of a Civilization, London, New York2, 2006, 141–143; DUBIEL, op. cit, 131. M. NESBITT, Identification Guide for Near Eastern Grass Seed, London, 2006, 54–55.

72

A. FAHMY, Evaluation of the weed flora of Egypt from Predynastic to Greco-Roman times, Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 6 (1997), 244. A.M. MURRAY, Cereal production and processing, in: NICHOLSON, SHAW (eds.), AEMT, 209.

316 Harco Willems et alii 100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0% 1 Acacia nilotica-type

2 Acacia sp.

Tamarix sp.

3 cf. Zillia spinosa

4 Pharagmites

indet

Fig. 13 Proportions of the wood charcoal taxa found in the four studied samples

er extent, by chaff remains. The cereal grains are the most numerous remains and they probably originate from the preparation of food. This is especially true for the emmer caryopses which seem to have been charred in a dehusked state (c. 90 % of the studied grains). This is indicated by the absence of chaff traces on the grain surface, making them at first sight resemble naked wheat. Chaff traces usually remain when the caryopses are charred in their hulls. Another indication for dehusking is the generally rough “wavy cross rippling” surface typical for charred naked grains. The fact that the emmer was found in a dehusked state suggests the grain remains were prepared for human consumption. The possible find of Vicia faba at site SS/WZ provides the earliest known macrofossils of this cultivated plant in Egypt, although slightly later mac-

robotanical evidence is known from a Vth dynasty tomb at Ab¥ S•r.73 The many large leguminous seeds (some identifiable as cf.Vicia faba) may represent a pulse crop used at the site. The poorly preserved, indeterminable large leguminous seeds could represent a taxon other than Vicia faba, but they likely belong to the faba bean too. It should be recalled that large-size pulses tend to preserve badly in the archaeobotanical record as, due to their size, they easily fragmentize, losing important morphological features.74 Another reason for the bad preservation and “invisibility” of the faba bean in the archaeobotanical record could be that the seed coat was deliberately removed in order to reduce its toxicity.75 It should be noted that palynological evidence suggests an even earlier occurrence of this plant around 3000 B.C. at the site of Mendes in Lower Egypt.76

73

75

74

R. GERMER, Flora des pharaonischen Ägypten, SDAIK 14, Mainz am Rhein, 1985, 81. A.M. MURRAY, Fruits, Vegetables, Pulses and Condiments, in: NICHOLSON, SHAW (eds.), AEMT, 638; K. TANNO, G. WILLCOX, The origins of cultivation of Cicer arietinum L. and Vicia faba L.: Early finds from north west Syria (Tell el-Kerkh, late 10th millennium BP), Vegetation History and Archaeoboany 15 (2006), 203.

76

G. JONES, P. HALSTEAD, An Early Find of ‘Fava’ from Thebes, Annual of the British School at Athens 88 (1993), 103–104. S.M. AYYAD, K. KRZYWINSKI, Archaeopalynological thoughts on Vicia faba type pollen from ancient Mendes (Tel-Robca Area, Egypt), PACT-Journal of the European Study Group on Physical, Chemical, Biological and Mathematical Techniques Applied to Archaeology 2–4 (1994), 25–36.

An Industrial Site at al-Shaykh Sac•d/Wåd• Zabayda 317

The isolated finds of pea and grass pea can neither confirm nor exclude their use at the site, as ethnographic observation in the Mediterranean shows that most of them (especially Lathyrus) can also represent arable weeds.77 Such single finds are common at predynastic and early dynastic sites78 and in many cases are considered as weeds. But in the contemporary settlement of the Giza pyramid builders there is clear evidence for their consumption.79 Although known since the predynastic period with finds of single seeds,80 melon is uncommon in the archaeobotanical record.81 The hundreds of seeds found at our site are not necessarily indicative of the importance of the plant as the seeds could originate from accidental burning and one fruit alone produces more seeds than the amount we found. It is impossible to identify the variety of melon (sweet or not) on the basis of seeds only. The not sweet chate melons are eaten like cucumbers. OK tomb scenes suggest the use of the chate melon.82 Melon seeds at site SS/WZ also occur in mineralized form, possibly indicating dump disposal. All four samples were very rich in charred wood fragments. The few desiccated wood fragments were so badly preserved that no determination was possible. From each sample c. 200 charred wood fragments were studied. Their general composition is very homogeneous (Figure 13). All are dominated by Acacia nilotica-type and Acacia sp., followed by Tamarix sp. Since both taxa need good underground water supply, this shows use of wood resources close to the Nile. In two of the samples grass stems (Poaceae) with diameters up to 4 mm and some fragments of reed stems (Phragmites australis) were found. The reed remains identified in two of the samples speak for this too. The seed/fruit record of the wild flora

77

78

79

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G. JONES, P. HALSTEAD, Maslins, mixtures and monocrops: on the interpretation of archaeological crop samples of heterogenous composition, JAS 22 (1995), 112–113. H. KROLL, R. PASTERNAK, XVII. Untersuchungen der Botanischen Funde, MDAIK 61 (2005), 134. A.M. MURRAY, Feeding the Town: New Evidence from the Complex of the Giza Pyramid Builders, General Anthropology 12 (2005), 7. W. VAN ZEIST, G. DE ROLLER, Plant remains from Maadi, an Predynastic site in Lower Egypt, Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 2 (1993), 10; A. FAHMY, Palaeoethnobotanical studies of Egyptian Predynastic cemeter-

(Carex spp., Cyperus spp. Scirpus spp.) likewise indicates the presence of reeds and swamps close to the site. The occurrence of the stems of reed could be connected with the use of the plant as building material or for matting. In general the plant macrofossils assemblage fits well in the picture for the Early Dynastic plant economy known until now, but also it affords new insights in the use and importance of faba bean and melon for this period. E.M. 3.5 The Animal Remains The standard procedure for retrieval of the fauna consisted of hand picking in the excavation trench, followed by dry sieving of all sediment through 4 mm meshes. Wet sieving of in total about 10 litres of sediment for archaeobotanical sampling, using fine sieves with 0.3 and 1 mm meshes, yielded some additional, smaller remains that allow to some extent to correct for the loss when using only a 4 mm mesh. Thus far approximately 15,000 animal remains have been analysed of which about 5300 could be identified. They are mainly from activity zone B, where some features interpreted as bakery floors were found (S8, S6B=S9), as well as from activity zone A. The latter seems to have been an open-air waste-disposal area, part of which yielded a large concentration of bread moulds (S54A), and where also some circular fire places were made (S58; S59). Although differences can be noted between the fauna of the two activity zones, both are considered together in this first report. Despite a long tradition of archaeological research in Egypt, only few publications exist on faunal remains, especially from settlement contexts. OK settlements of which faunal data have been published are Buto,83 Kawm al-Óisn,84 Tall

81

82 83

84

ies: new dimensions and contributions, in: K. NEUMANN, A. BUTLER, S. KAHLHEBER (eds.) Food, fuel and fields. Progress in African archaeobotany, Acta Praehistorica 15, Köln, 2003, 99–100. A.M. MURRAY, in: NICHOLSON, SHAW (eds.), AEMT, 634–635. GERMER, Flora des pharaonischen Ägypten, 129. A. VON DEN DRIESCH, Tierreste aus Buto im Nildelta, Archaeofauna 6 (1997), 23–29. R.J. WENKE, P. E. BUCK, H. HAMROUSH, M. KOBUSIEWICZ, K., KROEPER, K., R. REDDING (eds.), Kom el-Hisn: Excavation of an Old Kingdom settlement in the Egyptian Delta, JARCE 25 (1988), 5–34.

318 Harco Willems et alii Ibrah•m Awad,85 Giza,86 Elephantine87 and Abydos.88 The assemblage from site SS/WZ represents a large new dataset. As indicated in the species list (Fig. 14), fish are very common at the site. Almost 2000 remains have been identified. These include 15 taxa, indicating that the fishing gears used allowed capturing a large part of the available spectrum. It is likely, however, that the species proportions suggested by the table are biased because of the lack of systematic fine sieving, i.e. on meshes of 2 mm or smaller. The bones from the archaeobotanical samples yielded far higher proportions of fish with very small bones, like Alestes/Brycinus. Yet, even taking into account a degree of bias, the abundance of Nile perch remains striking (approx. 1200 specimens, or about 60%). The species is caught in the deep parts of the Nile and also the Bagrus and Synodontis catfish are deep water fish.89 Because of their large size, the cyprinids may also belong to this category. Clariid catfish and tilapia, two typical floodplain dwellers, are far less common at al-Shaykh Sac•d. They represent less than 15% of the fish bone assemblage. Certainly in the case of clariid catfish, which have sturdy bones and which can attain sizes of up to one metre, this is not an effect of sampling bias or poor preservation chances. The low numbers of floodplain fish can either mean that during the OK the floodplain near the site was not used for fishing, that people were not around during the flood season – when these fish are most easily captured – or that there was simply no or only a small floodplain nearby. For the moment, the last pos-

sibility seems most plausible in view of the results from geomorphological work carried out so far. Size reconstructions have indicated that 40% of the Nile perch bones are of very large specimens, of 1–2 m standard length. They must have been caught in particularly deep parts of the Nile, since the average size of Nile perch caught increases with depth. Possibly, the high proportion of large Nile perch indicates that such big fish could be easily obtained. If the water inlet near the site already existed during the OK (see 4.2), this would have made it easy to access the main Nile, and may have facilitated fish landings as well. The provisioning of the workers with large fish may also have been a deliberate choice. Over 3000 mammal remains, nearly all of domestic animals, have been identified. Over 2000 bones of sheep/goat, and 1150 of cattle were counted. No pig remains have been found at all, except some in the NK levels. The absence of pig is unparalleled in the other OK sites mentioned above. The sheep, goat and cattle remains include many young animals. About 10% of the cattle were newborn to about half a year old, implying that they were probably derived from herds that were kept in the neighbourhood. The high proportion of young animals may be indicative of high quality food, in this case tender meat. At Giza the cattle included a large proportion of 1–2 year old males that are supposed to have been brought in on the hoof.90 Wild mammals are uncommon at site SS/WZ. Low numbers of game are normal at postNeolithic Egyptian sites, but here numbers are particularly low.91 The only species present are

85

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J. BOESSNECK, A. VON DEN DRIESCH, Weitere Tierknochenfunde vom Tell Ibrahim Awad im östlichen Nildelta, in: E. C. M. VAN DEN BRINK (ed.), The Nile Delta in transition: 4th–3rd millennium B.C. Proceedings of the seminar held in Cairo, 21–24 October 1990, Tel Aviv, 1992, 97–109. M. KOKABI, Tierknochenfunde aus Giseh/Ägypten, Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums 83 (1980), 519–537. A.M. MURRAY, General Anthropology 12 (2005), 1–9. R. REDDING, Main street faunal remains, in: M. LEHNER, W. WETTERSTROM (eds.), Giza Reports I, 171–178. R. REDDING, Gallery III.4 Faunal Remains, in: LEHNER, WETTERSTROM (eds.), Giza Reports I, 263–269. R. REDDING, ‘Treasures’ from a high-class dump, Aeragram 8,2 (2007), 6–7. J. BOESSNECK, A. VON DEN DRIESCH, Tierknochenfunde der Ausgrabungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts Kairo auf Elephantine. Studien an subfossilen Tierknochenfunden aus Ägypten, München, 1982.

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J. WEGNER, V. SMITH, S. ROSSEL, The Organization of the Temple Nfr-KA of Senwosret III at Abydos, Ä&L 10 (2000), 83–125; S. ROSSEL, Food for the dead, the priests and the mayor: looking for status and identity in the Middle Kingdom settlement at South Abydos, Egypt, in: S.J. O’DAY, W. VAN NEER, A. ERVYNCK (eds.), Behaviour behind Bones. The Zooarchaeology of Ritual, Religion, Status and Identity, Oxford: 2004, 198–202; IDEM, A tale of the bones. Animal use in the temple and town of Wah-Sut, Expedition 48 (2006), 41–43. W. VAN NEER, Evolution of prehistoric fishing in the Egyptian Nile Valley, Journal of African Archaeology 2 (2004), 251–269. A.M. MURRAY, op. cit. V. LINSEELE, W. VAN NEER, Exploitation of desert and other wild game in ancient Egypt: the archaeozoological evidence from the Nile Valley, in: M. HERB, F. FÖRSTER, N PÖLLATH, H. RIEMER, Desert Animals in the

An Industrial Site at al-Shaykh Sac•d/Wåd• Zabayda 319

Activity zone A Shells Fossil shell Large bivalve Fish Polypterus sp. Alestes/Brycinus Hyperopisus bebe Mormyridae Cyprinidae (min. 2 species) Distichodontidae/Citharinidae Catfish 1 (Clariidae) (min. 2 species) Catfish 2 (Bagrus sp.) Catfish 3 (Synodontis sp.) (min. 2 species) Catfish 4 (Auchenoglanis sp.) Nile perch (Lates niloticus) tilapia (Tilapiini) Unidentified fish Softshell turtle (Trionyx triunguis) Wild mammals Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) Hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus) Domestic mammals Sheep (Ovis ammon f. aries) Goat (Capra aegagrus f. hircus) Sheep or goat Cattle (Bos primigenius f. taurus) Unidentified mammal Carnivore dropping Sheep or goat dropping

Activity zone B

Total

1 0

1 1

2 1

0 1 3 14 31 0 42 19 118 1 755 74 843 1

2 2 4 1 29 1 80 22 182 0 424 75 458 1

2 3 7 15 60 1 122 41 300 1 1179 149 1301 2

13 0

6 1

19 1

7 35 647 671 3726 1 0

49 99 1185 464 3661 0 5

56 134 1832 1135 7387 1 5

Fig. 14 Animals identified in OK deposits at site SS/WZ (numbers of identified specimens, NISP) (collected by hand and through dry sieving on 4 mm meshes only)

hippopotamus and hartebeest. Hippo was probably hunted in the Nile or in the grassland close to it.92 In the latter also hartebeest could be found, although the animal must have been rare in Upper Egypt since the end of the Palaeolithic.93 Almost all of the animal remains analyzed should be considered as food waste. Some have butchery marks that confirm this. The diet of the workers appears to have been of high quality (cf. large Nile perch, young domestic animals), but the range of animal species that provided pro-

Eastern Sahara: Their Position, Significance and Cultural Reflection in Antiquity, in: Proceedings of an International ACACIA Workshop held at the University of Cologne, Germany. December 14–15, 2007 (in press).

teins was relatively small compared to contemporary settlements. Intrusive animals, such as mice, rats or other rodents, are completely missing in the excavated deposits. Carcasses of animals such as dogs, that were not eaten after their death, are absent as well, except in topsoil. It is unclear whether the hippo remains are also food waste, or if their presence must be explained differently. Many of the bones are burned. This is particularly true for feature S54A where at least 40% of all bones are burned. They usually have

92

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R.D. ESTES, The behaviour guide to African Mammals. Including hoofed mammals, carnivores, primates, South Africa, 1997, 222. V. LINSEELE, W. VAN NEER, op. cit.

320 Harco Willems et alii a brown or black colour and only few are grey or white, colours associated with high temperature burning. A simple camp fire must have been sufficient to obtain the burning observed.94 Often the bones are burned entirely, which means there was little or no meat on them, or that the meat was destroyed completely by the fire. Rather than being related to food preparation, it is possible that these fires were intentionally lit and maintained in areas like S54A to prevent animal pests and stench (see page xx). In general, gnawing marks of carnivores and rodents are rare on the bones, which also fits this scenario. Yet, some droppings of carnivores (and of sheep or goat) were found, showing that these animals visited the waste disposal areas. The deposits yielded several sets of articulating bones. In combination with the observations above, this points to waste deposits that were, apart from fires, little disturbed after their initial deposition. V.L., W.v.N.

It has been shown that calcite alabaster was worked at site SS/WZ in the early OK and from the mid-NK to the TIP, when the site’s main purpose seems to have been vase production. The most likely reason why calcite alabaster objects were produced at such a scale precisely here, is that the hinterland of the site contained the extraction area of the rough material. In 1894, W.M.F. Petrie already pointed out the existence of a large quarry, the Maghåra Ab¥ cAz•z (Pl. I and IIIB), remarking: “Turning next to the northern quarries, one already noticed by Wilkinson is at the head of two valleys running opposite ways, quarry G. This is an open pit of alabaster, of large width, but not deep. It is approached by a sloping trench from the W., and some niches for tablets occur in the sides, and traces of a tablet now illegible; from the style it looks early, not later than the XIIth dynasty.”95

J. Harrell recently made the significant point that this quarry (his number 3) not only produced calcite alabaster (or ‘travertine’, as he prefers to call it), but also limestone.96 Not all of Petrie’s remarks are apt. The quarry is indeed wide, but it is also very deep (in some places certainly more than 10 m.), and although recent illicit quarry exploitation has sorely affected the site, the high vertical edges are in many cases definitely ancient. Also, the cut out road to the W observed by Petrie is not the only of its kind: a second one, departing from the SE end of the quarry, gives access to the wadi leading to the North Tombs in Amarna, suggesting that the quarry was in use in the Amarna era. However, the presence of OK bread mould fragments suggests that stone extraction in the area began long before. Near the quarry, a rock spur facing the beginning of the quarry track still shows the remains of the stela niches Petrie referred to (Pl. IIIB). Several, which contain no traces of decoration, were simply niches into which loose stelae were cemented. The easternmost stela, however, was carved in the living rock (see Fig. 14). Its lower part still contains remains of a scene showing two standing male figures facing a third person on the right. Behind the leftmost figure are traces of the text [...] di (?) [...] nb mi Ra D.t. The righthand column, which is even more damaged, had the same text. Although there are occasional traces of other signs, none are legible. At the top of the left jamb of the panel, there are still the remains of the Horus name of a king, whose name unfortunately remains illegible. The entire emplacement strongly recalls the situation at the calcite alabaster quarries at Hatnub. Here also, the quarry is a crater reached by a road carved out of the living rock, and here also the sides (and particularly the S side) contains rectangular stelae. As far as the remains permit a judgement, these date to the OK. Horus names occur here as well, and one has a text ending with the same words as the one under discussion.97 All of this suggests that the Maghåra Ab¥ cAz•z may date back to the OK, and that it remained in

94

96

4. THE SETTING OF THE SITE 4.1 The Quarries at the End of Wåd• Zabayda

95

LYMAN, R.L., Vertebrate Taphonomy, Cambridge Manuals in Archaeology, Cambridge, 1994. PETRIE, Tell el Amarna, 4 and pl. XXXIV; see also the remarks by DAVIES (n. 5) and KESSLER (n. 8).

97

J. HARRELL, Ancient Quarries near Amarna, Egyptian Archaeology 19 (2001), 36–38. R. ANTHES, Die Felseninschriften von Hatnub, UGAÄ 9, Leipzig, 1928, Taf. 5 (Inschr. VI; date: Merenre).

An Industrial Site at al-Shaykh Sac•d/Wåd• Zabayda 321

Fig. 15 Sketch of remaining decoration on the eastern stela in the Maghåra Ab¥ cAz•z (H. Willems)

use at least until the Amarna period. It is tempting to assume that the quarry and site SS/WZ form two ends of one industrial complex. H.W. 4.2 Landscape reconstruction of the wadi mouth: an ancient harbour site? During the 2008 and 2009 seasons, the flat cultivated area at the mouth of the Wåd• Zabayda (see Pl. II; IIIA) was subjected to a geomorphic survey in order to reveal the landscape evolution of the area. 27 manual sediment corings were made in the cultivation with an edelman coring device. Their depth ranges between 1 m – where large angular stone fragments prohibited further coring – and 6 m. Complementary to these corings, five 2D-electrical resistivity profiles were run: two are oriented W-E, i.e. parallel to the axis of the wadi, while three ran N–S, perpendicular to the wadi. Electrode spacing equalled 2.5 m. and the average depth of penetration was approx. 15–20 m. (for the locations of the corings and the resistivitity profiles, see Pl. II). Just before the 2009 season, the owner exploited part of the cultivated area as a quarry, removing the soil matrix up to a depth of 1 m in the northern part and up to 2 m

in the southeastern part of the wadi mouth. The newly exposed quarry faces were measured in 2009 at several locations, offering more detailed stratigraphical information. The resistivity profiles showed that coarse deposits typical of wadi origin are the main type of sediment in this area. This was confirmed by most of the sediment corings. The quarry faces showed that these wadi deposits are layered horizontally, layers with yellowish coarse angular fragments alternating with smaller gravel layers, but also with thin layers of dark-brown fine-grained sediments typical of floodplain deposits. The latter units increase in thickness towards the W, pointing to an increasing interfingering of Nilotic and wadi influence in this area. However, in the central part of the cultivated area, an anomaly of lower resistivity values was observed in the N–S profiles, pointing towards an area of much finer deposits. Corings showed that sediments here are dark brown and poorly sorted. Dominant texture ranges from fine sand and small gravels to silt and clay. However, several small and larger angular rock fragments are incorporated. Moreover, at several depths, ceramic fragments were retrieved from the corings. Most are too small for diagnostic analysis, but

322 Harco Willems et alii some sherds indicate dates in the NK and later. This sediment unit is also rich in fragments of organic debris and charred plant remains, however, mostly too small to be determined to species level. At the top of this unit, coarse-grained wadi sediment prevails again. We interpret this sediment unit as a non-natural depositional mixture of 1) fine-grained Nile sediment (silt and clay), 2) fine-grained wadi sediment (sand and small gravel), and 3) anthropogenic debris (organics and ceramics; single large angular rock fragments embedded in thick fine-grained sediments). This unit is about 15–20 m wide and has a depth of at least 6.40 m. Three AMS dates were performed on charred plant remains recovered from this sediment unit. One sample, situated immediately below the wadi deposits that cover this sediment unit and 1 m below the modern surface, returned an age of 980–1150 cal. A.D. Two samples situated at depths of 2.6 and 4.4 m. (at two different coring locations), i.e. in the middle of the sediment unit, returned ages of cal. B.C. 1430–1260 and cal. B.C. 900–790, respectively. These ages are in agreement with datings obtained from the ceramics. In the northern part of the cultivation, all cores were limited to a depth of 1–2 m. Sediments here are characterised by a matrix of coarse material that is more angular than typical wadi deposits, suggesting a local origin. Moreover, high concentrations of ceramic fragments were found. In one quarry face in the NW-part of the cultivated area, part of a IVth dynasty bread mould was identified 1 m below the modern surface. One AMS date on charred plant remains from a nearby core at a depth of 1.2 m returned an age of 2890–2620 cal. B.C. Here we have to take into account the usual problem that 14C date ranges for this period are generally higher than conventional dating: the latter usually just fit at the most recent end of the radiocarbion date range.98 Our dates, in fact, exactly fit a simulated 14C date corresponding to a ‘historical date’ of 2587 ± 50 B.C. for the reign of Khufu.99 Based on the sedimentological evidence found so far, we interpret the anomalous sediment unit that is nowadays buried in the central part of the

98

See S.W. MANNING, Radiocarbon Dating and Egyptian Chronology, in: E. HORNUNG, R. KRAUSS, D.A. WARBURTON (eds.), Ancient Egyptian Chronology (HdO I, 83: Leiden, Boston, 2006), 338–350. Of importance here are the shape of the calibration curve for this period and

cultivated wadi mouth as an ancient harbour inlet that was once connected with an active Nile channel running close by, and that is nowadays completely infilled. Based on all the evidence, a palaeogeographical reconstruction of the harbour channel is indicated on Pl. II. At present, the Nile runs 600 m W of the site, but CORONA satellite imagery from 1970 indicates that at that time a secondary channel was situated immediately W of the site, on the other side of the present-day irrigation channel (Pl. I–II). No information on the first use of this harbour is available as the bottom of the sediment fill was not reached with the manual coring devices and thus could not be dated. The harbour channel eventually has been filled up gradually by a combination of processes. First of all, anthropogenic debris fell from the shore into the channel, deliberately or accidentally. Not only ceramic fragments ended up here but also the larger, angular rock fragments that are so typical for the surface near stone production sites, as well as large amounts of charred remains. Secondly, floodwaters from the Nile brought in finegrained sediment giving the typical dark brown colour to the sediment matrix. And finally, episodic wadi floods delivered fine-grained gravel and sand to the channel. The top of the sediment unit is dated at approximately 1000 A.D. Charred plant macroremains in the top of this layer, such as Zilla spinosa (L.) Prantl, belong to the typical wadi vegetation. Finds of Raphanus sativus L. in the same layer could point towards the same age as this crop was widely cultivated in this area only from the Coptic period onwards (approx 7th century A.D.). G.V., V.D.L., E.M., H.W. 5. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS Sections 4.1–2 show that the stone production facility at site SS/WZ forms the core of a large geographical region that can be coherently interpreted as an industrial site. Limestone and calcite alabaster were extracted in the Maghåra Ab¥ cAz•z, transported down the wadi to the hill at al-Shaykh Sac•d to be transformed into vases and other commodities, and shipped elsewhere from the harbour in the water inlet just south of the hill.

99

the use of ‘old wood’ in the contexts from which material was sampled (the latter factor cannot, of course, have had much impact on our sample). Corresponding to a 1s date range of 2880–2620 BP; based on OxCal 3.9; see S.W. MANNING, op. cit., 342.

An Industrial Site at al-Shaykh Sac•d/Wåd• Zabayda 323

The OK activity is dated firmly firmly to the early IVth dynasty on the basis of ceramics, a seal impression mentioning king Khufu, and a radiocarbon date for a charcoal sample. Possibly the harbour was already in existence at this early date. It is at any rate clear that, already then, calcite alabaster from the Maghåra Ab¥ cAz•z was worked here, but the nature of the industry remains somewhat obscure. The stone vase drills that litter the site include crescent drills for which close parallels are known from other early OK quarry sites. In the OK levels at site SS/WZ, however, none of these were found in contexts that are securely dated to the early OK. To explain the absence of this kind of material it could be argued that the OK levels in sectors 1, 3, and 4 were primarily used for food production, and that drills were deployed elsewhere. However, the greatest density of drills encountered during the survey occurred precisely around sectors 1–4, so that their near absence in in situ OK levels can hardly be coincidental. Moreover, remains related to the production of stone items other than vases are frequent here, proving that stone production waste did end up in the OK strata of sectors 1, 3 and 4. Quite an amount of fragments with smooth surfaces (and sometimes edges) suggest that the stone objects made here were carefully dressed and polished architectural elements, and also that the site did not produce raw material (or at least not only that), but rather (nearly) finished products. Unfortunately the kinds of object concerned as yet cannot be determined. The narrow early IVth dynasty date range suggests a connection with the grand building projects undertaken by Khufu (and perhaps his predecessor Snofru). It stands to reason that some of the calcite alabaster may have gone into the royal pyramids of the time, into the sepulchres of high officials, or into other major structures located near the residence. It is still too early to estimate the extent of the early OK settlement. An indirect indication is afforded by the sheer quantity of bread moulds discovered. Future analysis will enable us to make a rough estimate of the number of bread moulds discarded in the small excavated area (approx. 50

m2). It is already clear that this number will be very high, and of course the excavated sectors represent only a part of the actual waste disposal area. An indication of its total size is afforded by the find of well preserved bread mould fragments linked to an ash layer at the western end of the excavation made by the local farmer after the end of our 2008 campaign, some 75 m. from the eastern side of sector 4. Apparently the strata with charcoal and bread moulds continued as far as here. This suggests that the food production area was spread out over an E–W distance of at least some 80m. It cannot be ruled out that the total bread production area extended even further east and west. Bread production must thus have been going on here at a vast scale. Another point of interest is that, in Egypt, the production of bread and beer usually took place in adjacent facilities, but that only few beer jars were encountered in sectors 1, 3 and 4. The breweries must therefore have occupied another part of the site, and may have had dump areas elsewhere. In any case the garbage heaps linked to the production units for bread and beer were extensive. Since their period of use seems to have been only brief, a sizeable work force must have been sheltered here. The macrobotanical and archaeozoological analysis has shown that this population lived on a diet with rather limited variation, but high in quality. It consisted of emmer made bread, and probably beer, pulses, vegetables, fish (mainly Nile perch), and (often young) sheep, goats and cattle. The predominance of these animals may indicate large-scale, centrally controlled, food provisioning. This picture is similar to that seen for the higher status workers at the Giza settlement of the pyramid builders, which is only slightly later.100 Another similarity to the latter settlement is the occurrence of an exceptional type of bread mould. These very large pots have distinct typological traits that were hitherto known only from the settlement of the pyramid builders at Giza.101 Our evidence suggests that this type of ceramic may have been used specifically for bread production in the framework of rationing large work forces.

100

101

R. REDDING, Aeragram 8,2 (Fall 2007), 6–7. MURRAY, op. cit.; R. Redding, pers. comm. also suggests that the large Nile perch at Giza were used predominantly by higher status workmen.

A. Wodzinska therefore remarks that these bread moulds are specific for the town at Giza (WODZINSKA in: LEHNER, WETTERSTROM (eds.), Giza Reports I, 306–308).

324 Harco Willems et alii The activities of such contingents must have been coordinated by a group of administrators. Indirect hints to the presence an elite are afforded by the pottery evidence. Although this consists overwhelmingly of rough, locally made, utilitarian vessels, some of the Maid¥m sherds are of an exceedingly fine quality (see p. 308f.). One dish (see Fig. 9) definitely does not belong to the pottery assemblage commonly used in daily life either. It is a luxury item imitating a stone plate. It is unlikely that ordinary quarrymen surrounded themselves with such a material culture. It would rather seem to belong to the apparel of a fairly high elite. The seal impressions found at the site that belong to the category of the institutional seals, demonstrate that a form of administrative control was in force. The exceptional pottery items just mentioned may reflect the lifestyle of those exerting that control. Few parts of the settlement have so far been found, but it must have existed nearby. It probably included a brewery, pottery kilns, and an administrative centre. Although only a single wall has so far been found (S130 in Fig. 6), it has an interesting story to tell. It is built of rough field stones, has a thickness of about 60 cm, and is orientated exactly to the N. Walls in organically grown settlements of the period tend to be thinner, are built of mud brick, and have no fixed orientation.102 This is different in planned workmen’s settlements near early OK pyramids. The best known example is the workmen’s settlement in south-eastern Giza recently excavated M. Lehner. Interestingly, the eastern fringe of the excavation has exposed an organically grown settlement, but the planned workmen’s settlement with its barracks, bakeries, and official buildings are strictly orientated north, are built in field stones, and have walls of a thickness that compares well to those at site SS/WZ.103 A similar settlement with the same type of walls was found near the Menkaure pyramid. Some walls here were built of ‘alabaster’, suggesting that this precious material, that must have been imported

from Middle Egypt, was lying about in huge quantities here.104 Finally, a comparable early IVth dynasty structure was found near the red pyramid in Dahsh¥r.105 Although we have thus far excavated only a minute part of the settlement at site SS/WZ, the best compraranda are clearly these workmen’s settlements around the pyramids, which obviously were a state initiative. It is concluded that site SS/WZ must have been a fairly populous settlement of which the base of subsistence was not agriculture and animal husbandry (as was probably the rule in rural Upper Egypt), but the production of stone items. This, the similarities with the contemporary Giza settlements of the pyramid builders, and the presence not only of workmen but also of an elite, suggests we are facing the remains of a state institution. In the early OK such establishments in the provinces are well known: they are the so-called royal domains (Egyptian Hw.t). A contemporary iconographic rendering of the nationwide network of domains is preserved on the walls of the so-called valley temple of king Snofru at Dahsh¥r. In keeping with the feminine gender of the word Hw.t, the domains are here depicted as a procession of ladies carrying the Hw.t-sign on their heads. Inside the sign occurs the name of king Snofru. Each lady was thus designated as Hw.t¤nfrw, ‘domain of Snofru’.106 In lists like this, each lady personifying a domain is depicted carrying products: a symbolic rendering of how the produce of the domains is channelled to the residence. This transfer of commodities from the provinces to the capital must have been one of the foundations of the royal economy of Egypt. Domains must have existed all over Egypt.107 Although this leaves no doubt as to their importance for the economy of OK Egypt, little is known about their structure and functioning. Archaeological evidence of only one was hitherto known. It concerns the late IIIrd dynasty domain at Elephantine,108 of which parts were excavated by S.J. Seidlmayer. Unfortunately only a few enig-

102

103

This is the case, for instance, for the OK settlement at Elephantine (M. ZIERMANN, Elephantine XXVIII. Die Baustrukturen der älteren Stadt (Frühzeit und Altes Reich), AVDAIK 108: Mainz am Rhein, 2003; IDEM, MDAIK 55 (1999), 78; also the parallels cited by N. MOELLER, The Development of Provincial Towns in Ancient Egypt from the End of the Old Kingdom to the Beginning of the Middle Kingdom, Diss. Cambridge 2003.

104

105

106

E.g. the bakery walls at Giza depicted in LEHNER, Aeragram 1, no. 1 (Fall 1996), 6–7. ABDEL AZIZ SALEH, Excavations around Mycerinus Pyramid Complex, MDAIK 30 (1974), 131–154. For alll these sites, see ZIERMANN, Elephantine XXVIII, 108–112. FAKHRY, The Monuments of Sneferu at Dahshur II, 17–58.

An Industrial Site at al-Shaykh Sac•d/Wåd• Zabayda 325

matic walls still exist here. Seidlmayer suggests they saw two phases of use. During the second, according to him, a platform was created on which an important building was erected. The fill consists of waste dating back to the first period of use, and includes huge amounts of pottery and seal impressions, the latter suggesting the presence of an administrative elite. There are also indications that written records were kept in old beer jars, the inscriptions on some of which suggest they were secondarily used for document storage (an ‘archive’). The material culture of this phase is startlingly similar to what is encountered at site SS/WZ: massive amounts of flat and deep bread moulds, Maid¥m bowls, seal impressions, and (in Elephantine) beer jars. The Elephantine domain also includes a small step pyramid. Although its exact purpose is not clear, it must have served a form of royal cult.109 Perhaps the Elephantine domain produced commodities made of Aswån granite. If so, it would have been of a kind comparable to the one in al-Shaykh Sac•d. Other domains of this kind may have existed. A likely candidate is the Hatnub quarries. In layout, the large Hatnub quarry is reminiscent to the Maghåra Ab¥ cAz•z. Both are reached by a quarry road from the Nile valley, of which the last part was artificially carved out in the rock. In both, royal stelae were carved in the southern side of the entrance road (in Hatnub a few also occur in the northern face). No settlement has been found to accompany Hatnub, but some OK sherd material was found in Amarna south, close to where the Hatnub road must have ended up in the valley.110 Interestingly, the earliest royal inscriptions at Hatnub date to the time of

Khufu.111 Perhaps the creation of the facility at alShaykh Sac•d formed part of a more encompassing regional programme of calcite alabaster exploitation. The material culture so far unearthed is very homogeneous, and fits uniformly to the early IVth dynasty. It is as yet unclear whether and how it relates to the monumental tombs for which the site is most reputed (at A in Pl. I). All of these date to the later Vth and VIth dynasties, so that there is no chronological overlap with the site described in this article. However, some tantalizing indications exist that there is a connection nonetheless. The first concerns the landscape. Nowadays, visitors normally arrive from the north, and ascend the steep cliffs to the decorated tombs from the modern ghaf•r’s hut (left of the letter A in Pl. I). A longer, but far easier access also exists, however. From the stone production site, close to where we surmise the existence of a harbour, the ground slopes gently upwards so that it is easy to walk to the tombs. It seems more likely that the funerary equipment was brought up this track than that the steep tourist track was used. If this path was really used, it is likely that some form of occupation still existed near the stone production site in the Vth dynasty. The second indication is that Serefka, a Vth dynasty provincial administrator buried at alShaykh Sac•d, claims the title im.y-r Hm.w-nTr #wi=f-wi, ‘overseer of the priests of Khufu’ among the functions listed in his tomb.112 It has been suggested that this reflects his involvement in Khufu’s pyramid cult at Giza,113 but this is not the only possibility. OK kings established cult places for themselves throughout Egypt.114 The far earli-

107

110

108

109

H. JACQUET-GORDON, Les noms des domaines funéraires sous l’Ancien Empire égyptien, BdE 34, Le Caire, 1962; J.C. MORENO GARCIA, ¡wt et le milieu ruralégyptien du IIIe millénaire. Economie, administration et organisation territoriale, Paris, 1999. A wall at Shar¥na has also been attributed to a royal domain, but its context is very unclear (L. GESTERMANN, F. GOMAÀ, B. HEILIGMANN, P. JÜRGENS, W. SCHENKEL, alKøm al-Ahmar/Šar¥na 1991, GM 127 (1992), 92–94. S.J. SEIDLMAYER, Die staatliche Anlage der 3. Dynastie in der Nordweststadt von Elephantine. Archäologische und historische Probleme, in: M. BIETAK (ed.), Haus und Palast im alten Ägypten, UZK 14, Wien, 1996, 195–214; IDEM, Town and State in the Early OK. A View from Elephantine, in: J. SPENCER (ed.), Aspects of Early Egypt, London, 1996, 108–127.

111

112

113

114

Information kindly supplied by PAUL NICHOLSON. R. ANTHES, Die Felseninschriften von Hatnub, 13 (Inschriften I–II). N. DE G. DAVIES, The Rock Tombs of Sheikh Said, 11 and pl. VI. Thus M. PARDEY, Untersuchungen zur ägyptischen Provinzialverwaltung bis zum Ende des Alten Reiches, HÄB 1, Hildesheim, 1976, 131–133. E. LANGE, Die Ka-Anlage Pepis I. in Bubastis im Kontext königlicher Ka-Anlagen des Alten Reiches, ZÄS 133 (2006), 121–140. Note also the Hw.t-nTr n.t %nfrw ‘temple of Snofru’ mentioned in Papyrus Gebelein I, D1 (P. POSENER-KRIÉGER, I papiri di Gebelein, Torino, 2004, pl. 3). The same king had other ‘temples’ elsewhere in the country, as the high official Metjen claims to have been the HqA of such an institution (Urk. I, 7,3).

326 Harco Willems et alii er miniature pyramid of Huni at the Elephantine domain may illustrate the same phenomenon, as may the other miniature pyramids of the late IIIrd and early IVth dynasties.115 Such branches of the royal cult must have been run by regional elites. If this is what Serefka is referring to, a functioning cult place for Khufu may have survived into the late Vth dynasty. It stands to reason that this cult would have been founded when Khufu’s domain at site SS/WZ was created. If this hypothesis is correct (and for the time being, it is of course not more than that), it must be relevant that Serefka in the same inscription claims the similar title ‘overseer of the priests of Userkaf’, while his son Werirni was an ‘overseer of the priests of Niuserre’.116 Did these kings also have cult places in al-Shaykh Sac•d? If so, it is likely that the OK occupation there lasted much longer than the archaeological remains thus far unearthed suggest. Of course the near absence of later OK material in our excavations does not support the idea, but the excavation sectors cover only a very small surface, and the settlement may have developed into other parts of the site. The situation at Elephantine is again suggestive. The IIIrd dynasty domain on the ‘Western Island’ was apparently only in use for a short period of time, but in the early IVth dynasty, a probably state-run production site for granite commodities (including an administrative building and bakeries) emerged on the ‘Eastern Island’. Although there is as yet no evidence that something similar happened at al-Shaykh Sa‘•d/Wåd• Zabayda, the possibility exists. Speculating further, the continued presence of such a settlement may help explain why the late OK nomarchs chose al-Shaykh Sac•d as their last resting place.117 After the OK, evidence for activity in the excavated area ceases. The OK levels (phase 1) are covered by almost sterile wadi deposit (phase 2). Remains datable to the FIP, the MK, and the SIP are conspicuous by their absence. The site was reactivated only in the course of the XVIIIth dynasty. In phase 3, it was used as a cemetery. Since some of the tombs are covered by the ster-

ile wadi deposit, while others were dug through it, the wadi material must have been deposited at a time the area was already in use as a cemetery, i.e. in the NK. This suggests a major natural event (or series of major natural events) probably in the early NK. No in situ remains have been found in the topsoil, which is very mixed. It nevertheless seems to provide consistent evidence for a continuous phase of use that at least includes the Amarna period and continues into the TIP. The Amarna evidence includes two relief fragments (see Pl. IVE) and indications for the production of faience beads. It is likely that the site was an outlier of the town of Amarna. But most of the material is of later NK and TIP date. Inscriptional evidence testifies to quarry activity under Ramses II. On the basis of material excavated in the neighbourhood (and particularly in cemetery D in the Wåd• Zabayda), Kessler assumed there must have been a sizeable settlement here in the Ramesside Period, which would have been preceded by a smaller settlement in the Amarna Period. This cemetery is so large that it must indeed be linked to a settlement of some consequence, and most likely the industrial site at SS/WZ. The spatial distribution of the vase drills and other tools used for working calcite alabaster is the same as that of the NK and TIP pottery. This, and the fact that no such tools were found in the OK levels, suggests that the toolkit is characteristic for the later period of use. Although several production sites for stone vases are known, all have been attributed to the late Predynastic and the early OK. However, some of the tools we found (and most notably the crescent drills) fit well into Caton-Thompson’s typology of OK drills. This suggests that this component of the material culture remained in use for a very long period of time without noticeable evolution, a result that warrants for caution in dating other quarry sites. On the other hand, the remaining range of drill types does differ from the early toolkit (although some still resemble the hourglass drills).

115

117

116

G. DREYER, W. KAISER, Zu den kleinen Stufenpyramiden Ober- und Mittelägyptens, MDAIK 36 (1980), 43–59. On their cultic role, see SEIDLMAYER, in: Haus und Palast, 207–210. N. DE G. DAVIES, op. cit., pl. XIII.

Note that several of them directed royal domains of Pepi (I) and Teti (see M. DE MEYER, Old Kingdom Rock Tombs at Dayr al-Barsh å. Archaeological and Textual Evidence of their Use and Reuse in Zones 4 and 7, Dissertation Leuven University, 2008, 75–81).

An Industrial Site at al-Shaykh Sac•d/Wåd• Zabayda 327

Plate I Cemeteries in the al-Shaykh Sac•d area. The production site discussed in this article is situated at area SS/WZ (for al-Shaykh Sac•d/Wåd• Zabayda). The excavations that will be reported upon below are concentrated around 30°53’19,0” N, 27°42’15,3” E, 49,4 m. a.s.l. (plan V. De Laet)

Plate II Plan of the site at the mouth of the Wåd• Zabayda (V. De Laet). The hill of SS/WZ with its survey grid is depicted at the top; the excavation sectors S1, S2, S3, and S4 are designated at the southern foot of the hill. Further south is the agricultural field, with indications of positions of augerings, traverses of electric resistivity imaging (2008) and stratigraphic sections (2009). In the area indicated as ‘quarry farmer’, a large amount of earth was removed by the owner of the field between the 2008 and 2009 seasons

328 Harco Willems et alii

An Industrial Site at al-Shaykh Sac•d/Wåd• Zabayda 329

Plate IIIA View upon site SS/WZ from the SE in March 2008. The Wåd• Zabayda enters the picture from the lower righthand corner, disappearing under the cultivation in the centre. Site SS/WZ lies on the rock spur beind the cultivation Photo B. Vanthuyne

Plate IIIB The Maghåra Ab¥ cAz•z from the west. In the foreground the quarry road to site SS/WZ, in the background the quarry itself. The steep rocks to the right of the end of the quarry road contain the stela niches

Plate IIIC Bakery floor S8 in sector 8 (photo L.D.R. Kuijper)

330 Harco Willems et alii

A)

B)

C)

D)

E)

Plate IV A) Institutional seal impression displaying the Horus name MDd.w S13/26; B) Figurative Seal impression S54A/116; C) Figuratrive seal impression S121/6A with hieratic note; D) Figurative seal impression S54A/135 (photos H. Hameeuw [A, B, D] and H. Willems); E Fragment of raised relief in Amarna style, depicting the upper legs and hips of a woman wearing a transparent dress. Photo H. Willems

An Industrial Site at al-Shaykh Sac•d/Wåd• Zabayda 331

A)

B)

C)

F)

D)

G) E)

H)

I)

Plate V Charred plant remains found at al-Shaykh Sac•d. A) emmer – Triticum dicoccum; B) barley – Hordeum vulgare. C) emmer, rachis fragment – Triticum dicoccim; D) pea – Pisum sativum; E) grass pea – Lathyrus cf. sativus; F) possibly faba bean – cf. Vicia faba; G) Large Leguminous-indet. H) probably melon – Cucumis cf. melo; I) Acacia sp.

DIVINE OR HUMAN? AN INTRIGUING LATE BRONZE AGE PLAQUE FIGURINE FROM TEL BETH-SHEMESH By Irit Ziffer* and Shlomo Bunimovitz and Zvi Lederman**

A unique Late Bronze plaque figurine found during the eighteenth season (2008) of the current excavations at Tel Beth-Shemesh stands at the focus of our discussion.1 Unconventionally depicting a male figure, the figurine raises intriguing questions: is the figure of a divine nature or does the imagery commemorate a human male/female related to the government of 14th century BCE Beth-Shemesh? ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONTEXT: THE LATE BRONZE AGE AT TEL BETH-SHEMESH The Canaanite city of Beth-Shemesh was first uncovered by Duncan Mackenzie in 1911–12. Late Bronze remains were found in his limited ‘Central City Area’ and included imported Mycenaean and Cypriote pottery (1911: 61–72; 1912–1913: 1–39). A much larger exposure of the Late Bronze city was achieved by the American expedition from Haverford College, Pennsylvania, headed by Elihu Grant in 1928–1933. In the final synthesis of these excavations, conducted by G. Ernst Wright, two prosperous Late Bronze phases separated by destruction were distinguished within Stratum IV: Late Bronze I (15th century BCE); and Late Bronze II (14th–13th centuries BCE) (GRANT and WRIGHT 1939: 9–12, 35–50). The rich repertoire of finds from house-ruins, cisterns and tombs included local and imported Cypriote and Mycenaean pottery, spectacular jewelry (TADMOR and MISCHBRANDEL 1980), figurines, numerous Egyptian scarabs and artifacts, and two significant written documents: a cuneiform tablet written in the Ugaritic alphabet (SASS 1991 with earlier bibliography) and an ostracon with a Proto-Canaanite inscription (CROSS 1967). In recent years, Late Bronze remains are being uncovered by the current expedition (for a comprehensive summary about the Iron Age levels

* Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv ** Tel Aviv University 1 The renewed excavations at Tel Beth-Shemesh is an ongoing project which is directed by S. Bunimovitz and Z. Lederman since 1990. Currently the project is under Ägypten und Levante/Egypt and the Levant 19, 2009, 333–341 © 2009 by Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien

exposed in the new excavations see BUNIMOVITZ and LEDERMAN 2009). A destroyed Late Bronze I layer was found just above the Middle Bronze IIB city gate at the southern part of the mound. More extensive Late Bronze remains are being uncovered on the northern quarter of the mound. Here a tight stratigraphical sequence of three superimposed Late Bronze cities – Levels 10–8 – were exposed so far, spanning the 14th–13th centuries BCE. The main architectural features of Level 8 (13th century BCE) are two spacious buildings, with beautiful cobble and plaster floors, separated by an alley. The remains of Level 9, within which the plaque figurine was found, are very impressive. Over the entire area of excavation – about 500 sq.m. – a heavy mantle of hundreds of toppled mudbricks fired by a tremendous fire was exposed. Apparently, entire walls had collapsed over the contents of a large multi-roomed building. The plaque figurine (Reg. No. 5850.01) was found in Square B22, within a layer of decomposed mudbricks and ash (L1530), which comprises part of Level 9 destruction debris. Description (Pl. 12) Relief plaque figurine, impressed into a delicately carved open mold, as evidenced by minute details: head fillet rendered by a fine ridge, belt, pointed toes and a developed muscular chest. The plaque is flat, of uniform thickness, measuring 88 × 50 × 12 mm. A fine rectangle frames a slender male figure with short hair and a fillet, clad in a short kilt which is held in place by a broad belt. The figure strides to the left, both heels firm on the delineated ground-line. The head is rendered in profile, the upper body frontal, then from the belted waist down in profile again. His bent (Vshaped) arms are extended sideward, each holding lotus stems that curve inward at the bottom.

2

the auspices of the Marco and Sonia Nadler Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University. All plates for this paper were prepared by Rodica Penchas and Yulia Gottlieb, from the Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University.

334 Irit Ziffer, Shlomo Bunimovitz and Zvi Lederman

Pl. 1 The plaque figurine from Tel Beth-Shemesh

Two diagonal sketchy lines appear under the ground-line. The portraiture: elongated figure and the way the feet are firmly planted on the ground, signals the Canaanite artisan’s familiarity with Egyptian 18th Dynasty artistic style. Contextual discussion: the plaque in its Near Eastern setting The plaque belongs to a special class of anthropomorphic cult objects of small clay, mold-impressed figurines, that make their first appearance in Palestine in the middle of the second millennium BCE

a)

and become abundant in the third quarter of the millennium. Characteristically, they depict a naked female, whose Hathor-wig coiffed head is always en-face, in a variety of postures, sometimes holding plants or animals (TADMOR 1982: 140). Unlike their ancestors, the mass-produced Mesopotamian plaques that first appear in the second half of the third millennium BCE, which abound in themes including both female and male deities and humans, and Late Bronze Age North Syrian plaques, amongst which the naked female plaques predominate, although some plaques depict

b) Fig. 1 a. Gold plaque, Minet el-Beida (NEGBI 1976: fig. 118); b. Mold-impressed clay plaque, Tel Harasim (GIVON 2002: fig. 2:1)

Divine or Human? An Intriguing Late Bronze Age Plaque Figurine from Tel Beth-Shemesh 335

a)

b)

Fig. 2 Hathor-type goddess holding plants on Canaanite scarabs, a. Gezer, b. unprovenanced (SCHROER 1989: 97, nos. 6, 8)

enthroned male gods (Meskene-Emar, MARGUERON 1995: 137; Munbaqa: WERNER 1998: 4162, 4163, 325, pls. 165, 226; BLOCHER et al. 2000: 129–131, applied to the wall of a rectangular stand) and mortal males playing the lute (Munbaqa: WERNER 1998: 4165–4169, 325–328, pls. 165, 227; Tell Hadidi: DORNEMANN 1979: fig. 28) or engaged in action (Munbaqa, boxers, WERNER 1998: 4174, pls. 165, 227), the Late Bronze Age Palestinian humanoid clay repertoire was exclusively female and restricted to the nude woman. The fact that male statuary was produced in metal has been taken to support the view that in Canaan female terracottas illustrate private piety within the home, predominantly associated with women (MOOREY 2003: 38). The male lute player plaque figurine from Tel Dan, dated to the 14th–13th centuries BCE, seems to be an exception (BIRAN 1986: 168–173; BRAUN 1999: fig. III/2–2; TADMOR 2006: 330). Iconographic discussion Females grasping lotus stems in both hands usually stand on the back of an animal, most often a lion (for prestigious metal and gold plaques, NEGBI 1976: nos. 1697–1699). They belong to the Qadesh (Qudshu/Qedeshet/Qadishtu) type of Egyptianizing naked female figures with Hathor hairstyle in a frontal nudity, whose V-shaped arms are extended sideward, and holding plants, flowers, animals (serpents, caprids, lions), classified by UEHLINGER under Type VIII of the naked goddess (UEHLINGER 1998: 47; Fig. 1). They did not survive the fall of the Egyptian Empire in Canaan (MOOREY 2003: 39). Of Asiatic origin (Fig. 2), Qadesh was introduced into Egypt along with the cults of other Asiatic divinities during the 18th Dynasty. Her image is only identified in Egypt (Fig. 3). In Egypt, Qadesh, whose full frontal nudity suggesting sexuality and fertility, stands on the back of a lion, usually holding snakes and lotuses in her bent and extended arms, alone, or more commonly, together with an Egyptian god and a foreign god: between the indigenous mummiform ithyphallic god of sexual potency Min, to

Fig. 3 Winchester College stela inscribed Qadesh, Astarte, Anat (KEEL 1992: fig. 206)

whom she offers the lilies, and the Asiatic god Reshep, lord of war and thunder, to whom she offers the snakes (Fig. 4); between the war god Onuris and Reshep or between Baal Zaphon and Reshep. Reshep is a martial god: he holds in one hand a battle axe, occasionally replaced by an ankh or an Egyptian ws scepter, and Asiatic weapons, in the other. In spite of Reshep’s warlike character and the fact that he also was god of lightning, plague and destruction, he was often addressed as “he who hears prayers” and sometimes asked for healing (SHOEMAKER 2001: 5). Min’s attributes, which stand behind him, include a round hut, lettuces and a double lily. The lily is a New Kingdom development, and it is tempting to see a connection between these lilies and the flowers Qadesh extends to the god (SHOEMAKER 2001: 8). In Egypt Qadesh was associated with two other Asiatic goddesses worshipped in Egypt from the 18th Dynasty on and mentioned together in the texts of Ugarit, Astarte and Anat (MANNICHE 2002: 10–11). These two goddesses have both sexual connotations, and a bellicose nature (CORNELIUS 1993: 23–25). During the New Kingdom Astarte was depicted horseback-riding, and wielding her weapons, shield and mace/blade (CORNELIUS 1994: 73–82). She may even be enthroned on the back of a horse (HOFFMEIER and KITCHEN 2007;

336 Irit Ziffer, Shlomo Bunimovitz and Zvi Lederman

a)

b) Fig. 4 Qadesh between Min and Reshep; a. Turin: Deir el-Medina; b. British Museum: Deir el-Medina (KEEL 1992: figs. 211, 210)

Fig. 5). She may ride the horse without weapons, or with just one piece of arms (LECLANT 1960: figs. 18–23, pl. IIIA). These weapons the goddess shares with the god Reshep (LECLANT 1960: 26). On two monuments of the Qadesh-type goddess a horse takes the place of the ubiquitous lion mount of the goddess as her divine attribute. It

should be emphasized that in the Late Bronze Age the horse had exclusively bellicose connotations, even though the goddesses in both monuments do not carry weapons, but attributes of peace. In the pottery mold from Tel Qarnayim (BEN-ARIEH 1983) the frontal goddess with V-shaped arms holds a flower and a mirror (Fig. 6). The gold plaque from Lachish, found in the temple on the tell and dating from the 13th–12th century BCE (CLAMER 1980; KEEL and UEHLINGER 1992: 76, fig. 71) shows the goddess with V-shaped arms, holding oversized lotus flowers, both feet pointed right, and her head

Fig. 5 Stela from Tell el-Borg, Sinai (HOFFMEIER and KITCHEN 2007: fig. 1b)

Fig. 6 Pottery mold, Tel Qarnayim (KEEL and UEHLINGER 1992: fig. 72)

Divine or Human? An Intriguing Late Bronze Age Plaque Figurine from Tel Beth-Shemesh 337

Fig. 7 Gold plaque, Tel Lachish (CLAMER 1980: fig. 1)

Fig. 8 Metal figurine of a smiting god, Minet el-Beida (NEGBI 1976: fig. 128)

in profile to the right (Fig. 7). In this unusual rendering of the head in profile the goddess assumes the active role of striding male figures. In our plaque, the head in profile and the wide stride, are typically male, evidence the warrior in smiting pose (Fig. 8), which was also used to depict the warrior goddess. The fillet on the figure’s brow is typical of Egyptian depictions of Asiatics, including the Semitic god Reshep (FIG 4b), whose gazelle’s head emblem is secured to the forehead by a fillet (CORNELIUS 1994: pl. 22). Although the V-shaped arms are typically feminine, a unique representation of a male god with a V-shaped arms is known from a Late Bronze Age scaraboid of unknown provenance (GIVEON 1980: pl. 20:1; CORNELIUS 1994:121–124: RM40; Fig. 9). He wears a white crown with an unclear emblem on his brow (Rehsep’s gazelle?), a short kilt, his right arm hanging down, grasping an ankh, reminiscent of Egyptian renditions of Reshep and of the standing goddesses identified by inscriptions as Anat or Astarte (CORNELIUS 2000: 72–73). In his outward extended V-shaped arm he clutches the legs of an upright caprid in the attitude typical of the Qadesh-type goddess, witness the two sheet gold pendants, one from Minet el-Beida (NEGBI 1976: 99–100; Fig. 10), the other retrieved from the Ulu Burun shipwreck (BASS and PULAK 1989: 3–4). To his right a caprid rears; a papyrus stalk and a lion appear to his left. Striding to the right, the god treads on a guilloche, often used

Near Eastern art as a ground-line and emblematic of water streams. Because of the horned animals he may be identified as Reshep, in his role as life-giving Master of Animals. The ground-line with two faint diagonals may indicate a mount for the figure, similarly to the guilloche on the scaraboid (Fig. 9). It slightly resembles an Egyptian nb-sign, reminiscent of the

Fig. 9 Scaraboid showing god with V-shaped arm (Drawing: Rodica Penchas)

338 Irit Ziffer, Shlomo Bunimovitz and Zvi Lederman

Fig. 11 Figure striding above nb-sign, Cannanite scarab, Tell el-Farcah South (KEEL 1995: no. 392)

Fig. 10 Qadesh type goddess on lion, Gold pendant, Minet el-Beida (NEGBI 1976: 100: fig. 119)

design in Middle Bronze Age Canaanite scarabs. In the scarabs figures sometimes appear above a nb-sign. Like many Egyptian symbols, it first appeared in Palestinian scarabs as an imitation of Egyptian Middle Kingdom scarab design and evolved into a local motif of local context (DAPHNA BEN-TOR, personal communication December 15, 2008). Human figures appearing above the sign, which seems to have been perceived as a pedestal or mount, include royal and divine figures, single or in pairs, sometimes holding a flowering stem (KEEL 1995: figs. 389, 410a-c, 452, 498, 499, 503–504, 518–526; 2002: 199, fig, 21; TEISSIER 1996: 113:2v, 115:2x; Fig. 11). On the other hand, the diagonal striations may be a very sketchy rendition of a crescent, another emblem of the goddess, witness the gold plaque from Minet el-Beida, dépôt 213 bis depicting Qadesh holding flowers standing above a crescent moon and stars (Fig. 12). INTERPRETATION Ceramic plaques must be a cheap version intended for the wide public of elite-style plaques wrought in copper alloys and gold jewelry, espe-

Fig. 12 Qadesh-type goddess on lunar crescent (NEGBI 1976: 99, fig. 117)

cially amulets (LIPINSKI 1986: 89). Both precious metal figurines and the humble clay figurines were “reflections of the official cult images used outside the cult for devotional and prophylactic purposes” (VAN DER TOORN 1998: 94). The striding posture of our figure is suggestive of aggressive warriors, both divine and human. The figure’s gesture with V-shaped arms and distinct floral attributes, suggest divine nature, in spite of the fact that he does not wear a divine headdress. In our figure, traits of Reshep and Qadesh-types converge to represent not a martial figure, but rather a peaceful one, whose floral emblem, was considered by Albright to be the Canaanite symbol of feminine appeal (ALBRIGHT 1969:75; SHOEMAKER 2001: 6). However, on a unique unprovenanced Late Bronze Age stele in the Hecht Museum, said to have come from the area of Tell Beit Mirsim, (MERHAV 1994), an enthroned god is portrayed raising his hand in greeting towards three long-

Divine or Human? An Intriguing Late Bronze Age Plaque Figurine from Tel Beth-Shemesh 339

Fig. 13 Hecht Museum Stela, courtesy of the Hecht Museum, Haifa

stemmed lotus flowers which emerge from his footstool (Fig. 13). The lotus flower, held by an enthroned mortal male, was a mark of kingship (ZIFFER 2005: 138, 153). Does our plaque proclaim a divinity who confounds the boundaries of gender, or does it depict a mortal? A queen at Beth-Shemesh? In Canaan, the clay figurines are mostly found in urban debris, within areas of housing, storage and craft activities, in streets, pools and cisterns. This is also true of our figurine. Its imagery must have been significant to the inhabitants of BethShemesh. Divine or mortal: whose portrait does our plaque commemorate? It may be a local god. Yet it may also depict a local ruler of the time.

3

It seems that FINKELSTEIN (1996:230; also in GOREN et al. 2004:277) erred in assuming that Beth-Shemesh could not be a proper seat for a Canaanite ruler. By doing so

Incidentally, two of El-Amarna tablets (EA 273–274) were sent over to the Egyptian court by a female ruler from Canaan (MORAN 1992: 318–319). The name of the addressor is BŸlitnŸšeti (fNIN-UR.MAH.MEŠ “Mistress of lions/the lioness”), yet the locale of her seat is not mentioned in her letters. Like many other Canaanite rulers at the time, she sent to Pharaoh her desperate request for help in face of violence and turmoil in the vicinity of her city. Since BŸlit-nŸšeti mentions the sons of Milkilu, king of Gezer, Ayyaluna (biblical Aijalon) and Íar∆a (biblical Zorah), all related to the northern Shephelah, it is quite plausible that her seat was in this region. NA’AMAN suggested that the she was the ruler of Beth-Shemesh (GOREN et al. 2004: 277). His hypothesis seems to be further confirmed by the petrographic analysis of EA 273 (GOREN et al. 2004: 276).3 Apparently, during the Amarna period Beth-Shemesh took advantage of its location in the Sorek Valley on the border between the major city-kingdoms of Gath (Tell es-Íafi) and Gezer, and kept its political independency (NA’AMAN 1988:18; BUNIMOVITZ 1995:326; Fig. 6. For the role of Beth-Shemesh as a border town in the Iron Age see BUNIMOVITZ and LEDERMAN 2006; 2008; 2009) BŸlit-nŸšeti’s assuming name hails the image of Mistress of Animals. There may have been some sense of conflict with her sex and her masculine role as ruler. Such conflict is not unknown in the ancient Near East and Egypt. The Sumerian King List designates the Early Dynastic female ruler of Kish, Kù/Ku(g)-Baba, a barmaid, “King” (JACOBSEN 1939: 104–105). In Egypt, the female Pharaoh Hatshepsut was portrayed as if she were physically male, with a male royal costume and a false beard. However, her royal names and title were written with feminine grammatical endings (SHAW 2004: 89; ROTH 2005: 12). It may be that to resolve that conflict and perhaps also to legitimize her authority with a symbolic display of masculinity (MCCAFFREY 2002: 391) the female ruler of BethShemesh in the Amarna period presented herself as male, yet preserved the feminine Qadesh gesture along with the floral attribute, which in Canaan was an emblem of kingship.

he ignores the vast evidence of a prosperous Late Bronze city exposed at the site by three expeditions since 1911.

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NOTES

NOTES

UNTERSUCHUNGEN DER ZWEIGSTELLE KAIRO DES ÖSTERREICHISCHEN ARCHÄOLOGISCHEN INSTITUTS Herausgegeben in Verbindung mit der Kommission für Ägypten und Levante der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften von MANFRED BIETAK

Band I

MANFRED BIETAK, Tell el-Dabca II. Der Fundort im Rahmen einer archäologisch-geographischen Untersuchung über das ägyptische Ostdelta. Wien 1975.

Band II

LABIB HABACHI, Tell el-Dabca and Qantir I. The Site and its Connection with Avaris and Piramesse. Aus dem Nachlaß herausgegeben von EVA MARIA ENGEL. Unter Mitarbeit von PETER JÁNOSI und CHRISTA MLINAR. Wien 2001.

Band III

JOACHIM BOESSNECK, Tell el-Dabca III. Die Tierknochenfunde 1966–1969. Wien 1976.

Band IV

MANFRED BIETAK und ELFRIEDE REISER-HASLAUER, Das Grab des cAnch-Hor, Obersthofmeister der Gottesgemahlin Nitokris (mit einem Beitrag von ERHART GRAEFE). Wien 1978.

Band V

MANFRED BIETAK und ELFRIEDE REISER-HASLAUER, Das Grab des cAnch-Hor, Obersthofmeister der Gottesgemahlin Nitokris. Teil II (mit Beiträgen von JOACHIM BOESSNECK, ANGELA VON DEN DRIESCH, JAN QAEGEBEUR, HELGA LIESE–KLEIBER und HELMUT SCHLICHTHERLE). Wien 1982.

Band VI

DIETHELM EIGNER, Die monumentalen Grabbauten der Spätzeit in der Thebanischen Nekropole (mit einem Beitrag von JOSEF DORNER). Wien 1984.

Band VII

MANFRED BIETAK, Tell el-Dabca IV. Stratigraphie und Chronologie (in Vorbereitung).

Band VIII

MANFRED BIETAK, unter Mitarbeit von CHRISTA MLINAR und ANGELA SCHWAB, Tell el-Dabca V. Ein Friedhofsbezirk der Mittleren Bronzezeit mit Totentempel und Siedlungsschichten. Wien 1991.

Band IX

EIKE M. WINKLER und HARALD WILFLING, Tell el-Dabca VI. Anthropologische Untersuchungen an den Skelettresten der Kampagnen 1966–69, 1975–80, 1985. Wien 1991.

Band X

JOACHIM BOESSNECK und ANGELA VON DEN DRIESCH, Tell el-Dabca VII. Tiere und historische Umwelt im Nordost-Delta im 2. Jahrtausend anhand der Knochenfunde der Ausgrabungen 1975–1986. Wien 1992.

Band XI

KARL KROMER, Nezlet Batran. Eine Mastaba aus dem Alten Reich bei Giseh (Ägypten). Österreichische Ausgrabungen 1981– 1983. Wien 1991.

Band XII

DAVID A. ASTON, MANFRED BIETAK, Tell el-Dabca VIII. The Classification and Chronology of Tell el-Yahudiya Ware, with contributions by Aren Maeir, Robert Mullins, Lawrence E. Stager Ross Voss and Karin Kopetzky. Ausgrabungen in Tell el-Dabca, Manfred Bietak (Hrsg.).

Band XIII

PETER JÁNOSI, Die Pyramidenanlagen der Königinnen. Untersuchungen zu einem Grabtyp des Alten und Mittleren Reiches. Wien 1996.

Band XIV

MANFRED BIETAK (Hrg.), Haus und Palast im Alten Ägypten. Internationales Symposium 8. bis 11. April 1992 in Kairo. Wien 1996.

Band XV

ERNST CZERNY, Tell el-Dabca IX. Eine Plansiedlung des frühen Mittleren Reiches. Wien 1999.

Band XVI

PERLA FUSCALDO, Tell el-Dabca X. The Palace District of Avaris, The Pottery of the Hyksos Period and the New Kingdom (Areas H/III and H/VI), Part I. Locus 66. Wien 2000.

Band XVII

SUSANNA CONSTANZE HEINZ, Die Feldzugsdarstellungen des Neuen Reiches – Eine Bildanalyse. Wien 2001.

Band XVIII

MANFRED BIETAK (Ed.), Archaische Griechische Tempel und Altägypten, Internationales Kolloquium am 28. November 1997 im Institut für Ägyptologie der Universität Wien. Mit Beiträgen von DIETER ARNOLD, ANTON BAMMER, ELISABETH GEBHARD, GERHARD HAENY, HERMANN KIENAST, NANNO MARINATOS, ERIK ØSTBY und ULRICH SINN, Wien 2001.

Band XIX

BETTINA BADER, Tell el-Dabca XIII. Typologie und Chronologie der Mergel C-Ton Keramik. Materialien zum Binnenhandel des Mittleren Reiches und der zweiten Zwischenzeit. Wien 2001.

Band XX

MANFRED BIETAK und MARIO SCHWARZ (Eds.), Krieg und Sieg. Narrative Wanddarstellungen von Altägypten bis ins Mittelalter, Interdisziplinäres Kolloquium, 29.–30. Juli 1997 im Schloß Haindorf, Langenlois. Wien 2002.

Band XXI

IRMGARD HEIN und PETER JÁNOSI, Tell el-Dabca XI, Areal A/V, Siedlungsrelikte der späten Hyksoszeit. Mit Beiträgen von K. KOPETZKY, L.C. MAGUIRE, C. MLINAR, G. PHILIP, A. TILLMANN, U. THANHEISER, K. GROSSCHMIDT. Wien 2004.

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Band XXII

NADIA EL-SHOHOUMI, Der Tod im Leben. Eine vergleichende Analyse altägyptischer und rezenter ägyptischer Totenbräuche. Eine phänomenologische Studie. Wien 2004.

Band XXIII

DAVID ASTON in collaboration with MANFRED BIETAK, and with the assistance of BETTINA BADER, IRENE FORSTNERMÜLLER and ROBERT SCHIESTL, Tell el-Dabca XII. A Corpus of Late Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period Pottery. Volume I: Text; Volume II: Plates Wien 2004.

Band XXIV

PETER JÁNOSI, Giza in der 4. Dynastie. Die Baugeschichte und Belegung einer Nekropole des Alten Reiches, Band I, Die Mastabas der Kernfriedhöfe und die Felsgräber. Wien 2005.

Band XXV

PETER JÁNOSI, Structure and Significance. Thoughts on Ancient Egyptian Architecture. Wien 2005.

Band XXVI

GRAHAM PHILIP, Tell el-Dabca XV. Metalwork and Metalworking Evidence of the Late Middle Kingdom and the Second Intermediate Period. Wien 2006.

Band XXVII

MANFRED BIETAK, NANNÓ MARINATOS and CLAIRY PALIVOU, Taureador Scenes in Tell el Dabca (Avaris) and Knossos (with a contribution by Ann Brysbaert). Wien 2007.

Band XXVIII IRENE FORSTNER-MÜLLER, Tell el-Dabca XVI. Die Gräber des Areals A/II von Tell el-Dabca. Ausgrabungen in Tell el-Dabca, Manfred Bietak (Hrsg.). Wien 2008. Band XXIX

VERA MÜLLER, Tell el-Dabca XVII. Opferdeponierungen in der Hyksoshauptstadt Auaris (Tell el-Dabca) vom späten Mittleren Reich bis zum frühen Neuen Reich. Teil I: Katalog der Befunde und Funde; Teil II: Auswertung und Deutung der Befunde und Funde. Ausgrabungen in Tell el-Dabca, Manfred Bietak (Hrsg.). Wien 2008.

Band XXX

ROBERT SCHIESTL, Tell el-Dabca XVIII. Die Palastnekropole von Tell el-Dabca. Die Gräber des Areals F/I der Straten d/2 und d/1. Ausgrabungen in Tell el-Dabca 3, Manfred Bietak (Hrsg.). Wien 2008.

Band XXXI

BETTINA BADER, Tell el-Dabca XIX. Auaris und Memphis im Mittleren Reich und in der Hyksoszeit. Vergleichsanalyse der materiellen Kultur. Ausgrabungen in Tell el-Dabca, Manfred Bietak (Hrsg.). Wien 2009.

Band XXXII

KARIN KOPETZKY, Tell el-Dabca XX. Die Chronologie der Siedlungskeramik der Zweiten Zwischenzeit aus Tell el- Dabca. Teil I: Auswertung und Datierung; Teil II: Abbildungen und Tabellen. Ausgrabungen in Tell el-Dabca, Manfred Bietak (Hrsg.). Wien 2010.

Band XXXIII LOUISE C. MAGUIRE, Tell el-Dabca XXI. The Cypriot Pottery and its Circulation in the Levant. Ausgrabungen in Tell elDabca, Manfred Bietak (Hrsg.). Wien 2009. Band XXXIV JULIA BUDKA, Bestattungsbrauchtum und Friedhofsstruktur im Asasif. Eine Untersuchung der spätzeitlichen Befunde anhand der Ergebnisse der österreichischen Ausgrabungen in den Jahren 1969–1977, Band I: Topographie, Architektur und Funde. Wien 2010. Band XXXV

M. BIETAK, E. CZERNY, I. FORSTNER-MÜLLER (Eds.), Cities and Urbanism in Ancient Egypt. Papers from a Workshop in November 2006 at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Wien 2010.

forthcoming

TINE BAGH, Tell el-Dabca XXII. Levantine Painted Ware and the Beginning of the Middle Bronze Age. Levantine Painted Ware from Tell el-Dabca Compared to Other Sites in Egypt and the Levant. Ausgrabungen in Tell el-Dabca, Manfred Bietak (Hrsg.).

VERÖFFENTLICHUNGEN DER ÄGYPTISCHEN KOMMISSION Begründet von FRITZ SCHACHERMEYR † Herausgegeben von MANFRED BIETAK

Band 1

GÜNTHER HÖLBL, Ägyptisches Kulturgut auf den Inseln Malta und Gozo in phönikischer und punischer Zeit. Wien 1989. Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Phil.-hist. KLasse, Sitzungsberichte, Bd. 538.

Band 2

ULRICH LUFT, Die chronologische Fixierung des Mittleren Reiches nach dem Tempelarchiv von Illahun. Wien 1992. Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Phil.-hist. KLasse, Sitzungsberichte, Bd. 598.

Band 3

PETER JÁNOSI, Österreich vor den Pyramiden. Die Grabungen Hermann Junkers im Auftrag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien bei der großen Pyramide in Giza. Wien 1997. Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Phil.-hist. KLasse, Sitzungsberichte, Bd. 648.

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CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE CHRONOLOGY OF THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN Edited by MANFRED BIETAK and HERMANN HUNGER

Volume I

MANFRED BIETAK (Ed.), The Synchronisation of Civilisations in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Second Millenium BC. Proceedings of an International Symposium at Schloß Haindorf, 15th–17th of November 1996 and at the Austrian Academy, Vienna, 11th–12th of May 1998, Wien 2000.

Volume II

VASSOS KARAGEORGHIS (Ed.), The White Slip Ware of Late Bronze Age Cyprus. Proceedings of an International Conference organized by the Anastasios G. Leventis Foundation, Nicosia, in Honour of Malcolm Wiener. Nicosia 29th–30th October 1998, Wien 2001.

Volume III

MANFRED BIETAK (Ed.), The Middle Bronze Age in the Levant. Proceedings of an International Conference on MB IIA Ceramic Material. Vienna, 24th–26th of January 2001. Wien 2002.

Volume IV

MANFRED BIETAK (Ed.), The Synchronisation of Civilisations in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Second Millennium BC. II. Proceedings of the SCIEM 2000 – EuroConference, Haindorf, 2nd of May–7th of May 2001. Wien 2003.

Volume V

CELIA BERGOFFEN, The Cypriot Bronze Age pottery from Sir Leonard Woolley’s Excavations at Alalakh (Tell Atchana). Wien 2005.

Volume VI

HERMANN HUNGER and REGINE PRUZSINSZKY (Eds.), Mesopotamian Dark Age Revisited. Proceedings of an International Conference of SCIEM 2000, Vienna 8th–9th of November 2002. Wien 2004.

Volume VII

ULRICH LUFT, Urkunden zur Chronologie der späten 12. Dynastie: Briefe aus Illahun. Vienna 2006.

Volume VIII

MANFRED BIETAK and ERNST CZERNY (Eds.), Scarabs of the Second Millennium BC from Egypt, Nubia, Crete, and the Levant: Chronological and Historical Implications. Wien 2004.

Volume IX

MANFRED BIETAK and ERNST CZERNY (Eds.), The Synchronisation of Civilisations in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Second Millennium BC. III. Proceedings of the SCIEM 2000 – 2nd EuroConference, Vienna, 28th of May–1st of June 2003. Vienna 2007.

Volume X

KATHRYN O. ERIKSSON, The Creative Independence of Late Bronze Age Cyprus. An Account of the Archaeological Importance of White Slip Ware in Assessing the Relative Chronology of Late Bronze Age Cyprus and the Island’s Historical Links with the Societies of the Eastern Mediterranean During this Period. Vienna 2007.

Volume XI

PETER FISCHER, Tell Abu al-Kharaz in the Jordan Valley. Volume II: The Middle and Late Bronze Ages. Vienna 2006.

Volume XII

PETER FISCHER (Ed.), The Chronology of the Jordan Valley during the Middle and Late Bronze Ages: Pella, Tell Abu al-Kharaz and Tell Deir cAlla. Vienna 2006.

Volume XIII

IRMGARD HEIN (Ed.), The Lustrous Wares of Late Bronze Age Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean, Conference held at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, 5th–6th November 2004. Vienna 2007.

Volume XIV

FLORENS FELTEN, WALTER GAUSS and RUDOLFINE SMETANA (Eds.), Middle Helladic Pottery and Synchronisms. Proceedings of the International Workshop held at Salzburg, 31st of October–2nd November 2004. Ägina Kolonna, Forschungen und Ergebnisse 1, Vienna 2007.

Volume XV

CLAUS REINHOLDT, Der frühbronzezeitliche Schmuckhortfund von Kap Kolonna. Ägina und die Ägäis im Goldzeitalter des 3. Jahrtausends v. Chr. Mit einem Beitrag von A.G. Karydas und Ch. Zarkadas. Ägina Kolonna, Forschungen und Ergebnisse 2. Vienna 2008.

Volume XVI

PETER FISCHER, Abu al-Kharaz in the Jordan Valley, Volume I: The Early Bronze Age. Vienna 2008.

Volume XVII MANFRED BIETAK and ERNST CZERNY (Eds.), The Bronze Age in the Lebanon. Studies on the Archaeology and Chronology of Lebanon, Syria and Egypt. Vienna 2008. Volume XVIII JACQUELINE PHILLIPS, Aegyptiaca on the Island of Crete in their Chronological Context: A Critical Review. Vienna 2008. Volume XIX

TOBIAS MÜHLENBRUCH, Die Synchronisierung der nördlichen Levante und Kilikiens mit der Ägäischen Spätbronzezeit. Vienna 2009.

Volume XX

IRMGARD HEIN (Ed.), The Formation of Cyprus in the 2nd Millenium B.C. Studies on Regionalism in the Middle and Late Bronze Age. Proceedings of a Workshop, held at the 4th Cyprological Congress, May 2nd 2008. Nicosia, Cyprus. Vienna 2009.

Volume XXI

DAVID A. ASTON, Burial Assemblages of Dynasty 21–25. Chronology – Typology – Developments Vienna 2009.

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Volume XXII

REGINE PRUZSINSZKY, Mesopotamian Chronology of the 2nd Millennium BC. An Introduction to the Textual Evidence and Related Chronological Issues. Vienna 2009.

Volume XXIII JÖRG WEILHARTNER, Testimonia. Die literarischen Zeugnisse über das antike Aigina von Homer bis in byzantinische Zeit. Ägina Kolonna, Forschungen und Ergebnisse 3. Vienna 2010. Volume XXIV VERONIKA JAROSCH-REINHOLDT, Die geometrische Keramik von Kap Kolonna. Ägina Kolonna, Forschungen und Ergebnisse 4. Vienna 2009. forthcoming

KATHRYN O. ERIKSSON, Cypriot Bronze Age White Painted V and VI Wares. Problems of Chronology and First Appearances.

forthcoming

AREN MAEIR, In the Midst of the Jordan (Jos 4:10): The Jordan Valley During the Middle Bronze Age (circa 2000–1500 BCE) – Archaeological and Historical Correlates.

forthcoming

IRMGARD HEIN, Craftsmanship in Red and Black: The Manual of Cypriot Bichrome Wheelmade Ware.

forthcoming

ANNE SEILER, ROBERT SCHIESTL (eds.), Middle Kingdom Pottery Handbook. Volume I: The Corpus Volume, Volume II: The Regional Volume.

forthcoming

FRANCIS BREYER, Ägypten und Anatolien. Politische, kulturelle und sprachliche Kontakte zwischen dem Niltal und Kleinasien im 2. Jahrtausend v. Chr.

BERICHTE DES ÖSTERREICHISCHEN NATIONALKOMITEES DER UNESCO-AKTION FÜR DIE RETTUNG DER NUBISCHEN ALTERTÜMER Herausgegeben von der Kommission für Ägypten und Levante der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften durch MANFRED BIETAK

Band I

MANFRED BIETAK und REINHOLD ENGELMAYER, Eine frühdynastische Abri-Siedlung mit Felsbildern aus Sayala – Nubien. Wien 1963. Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Phil.-hist. Klasse, Denkschriften, Bd. 82.

Band II

REINHOLD ENGELMAYER, Die Felsgravierungen im Distrikt Sayala – Nubien. Teil I: Die Schiffsdarstellungen. Wien 1965. Denkschriften, Bd. 90.

Band III

MANFRED BIETAK, Ausgrabungen in Sayala – Nubien 1961–1965. Denkmäler der C-Gruppe und der Pan-Gräber-Kultur (mit Beiträgen von KURT BAUER, KARL W. BUTZER, WILHERLM EHGARTNER und JOHANN JUNGWIRTH). Wien 1966. Denkschriften, Bd. 92.

Band IV

KARL KROMER, Römische Weinstuben in Sayala (Unternubien). Wien 1967. Denkschriften, Bd. 95.

Band V

MANFRED BIETAK, Studien zur Chronologie der nubischen C-Gruppe. Ein Beitrag zur Frühgeschichte Unternubiens zwischen 2200 und 1550 v. Chr. Wien 1968. Denkschriften, Bd. 97.

Band VI

FATHI AFIFI BEDAWI, Die römischen Gräberfelder von Sayala Nubien. Wien 1976s. Denkschriften, Bd. 126.

Band VII

EUGEN STROUHAL und JOHANN JUNGWIRTH, Die anthropologische Untersuchung der C-Gruppen- und Pan-Gräber-Skelette aus Sayala, Ägyptisch-Nubien. Wien 1984. Denkschriften, Bd. 176.

Band VIII

MANFRED BIETAK und MARIO SCHWARZ, Nagc el-Scheima, eine befestigte christliche Siedlung, und andere christliche Denkmäler in Sayala – Nubien. Wien 1987. Denkschriften, Bd. 191.

Band IX

MANFRED BIETAK und MARIO SCHWARZ, Nagc el-Scheima. Teil II. Die Grabungsergebnisse aus der Sicht neuerer Forschungen. Wien 1998. Denkschriften, Bd. 255.

In Vorbereitung: EUGEN STROUHAL und ERICH NEUWIRTH, Die anthropologische Untersuchung der spätrömischen-frühbyzantinischen Skelette aus Sayala, Ägyptisch-Nubien. EUGEN STROUHAL und ERICH NEUWIRTH, Die anthropologische Untersuchung der christlichen Skelette aus Sayala, Ägyptisch-Nubien.

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