W. Claes, M. De Meyer, H. Willems, D. Huyge (eds), Remove that Pyramid! Studies on the Archaeology and History of Predynastic and Pharaonic Egypt in Honour of Stan Hendrickx, Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 305, Leuven 2021, 75-114., 2021
This article discusses cooking pottery as expression of group identity in the Egyptian context in... more This article discusses cooking pottery as expression of group identity in the Egyptian context in the late Middle Kingdom and the Second Intermediate Period. While evidence is not abundant in all regions and periods, the data available from Tell el-Dab‘a, Memphis and more limited Elephantine are gathered to identify which cooking pots are used in the Delta and/or further south. Thus, five cooking pottery types are presented, three of which are influenced by Syro-Palestinian and two by Egyptian traditions. The restricted bowl with folded rim used as cooking pottery (‘hole-mouth’ vessels) derived from Egyptian tradition is overwhelmingly more frequent and longer in use than the others. This cooking pot type is the only one in the mixed/entangled pottery repertoire of the late Second Intermediate Period at Tell el-Dab‘a. The article outlines the research history and quantity of these pottery types, discusses parallels in Syria-Palestine and Egypt, and traces possible precursors in both traditions. In Middle Bronze Age IIA Syria-Palestine no hole-mouth vessel shape was used for cooking, but rather a different type with upright or gutter rim. Thus, the entangled/mixed community
at Tell el-Dab‘a knew and used a small proportion of non-Egyptian cooking pots, but the majority belonged to the Egyptian tradition, demonstrating the material and/or relational entanglement at the site.
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This volume comprises the final archaeological report of three settlement layers of the late Middle Kingdom (ca 1830-1700 BC) at the site of Tell el-Dab’a in the north-eastern Nile delta. Area A/II was excavated to the expanse of 3800 square metres. The western part (1600 square metres) is the subject of this publication, while the eastern part will be presented in the second volume.
The settlement entails three phases, where the latest one, Phase G/3-1, is described and analysed first, because it was excavated in all squares and provides therefore a continuous overview of life. Five medium to small compounds were laid-out in a self-organised manner, which are not uniform in size or in plan. This suggests a certain element of social stratification. Beside simple dwellings the architectural remains yielded evidence for a number of round silos, several irregular alleyways, courtyards and installations such as hearths and fire places. Each of these features was numbered, described and the associated finds presented. The finds included pottery and stone vessels, chipped stone tools, stone objects such as querns, rubbing stones, animal bones, but also a few faience objects and stone palettes. The majority of the finds reflects domestic activities but some industrial remains with two horse-shoe shaped ovens and two limestone moulds for tools. The large amount of imported transport amphorae from Syria-Palestine is remarkable, hinting at the reception of commodities from there. Noteworthy are the burials of three individuals in houses and courtyards (two women and one child). While the number of the burials obviously does not correspond with the number of inhabitants in this neighbourhood, it is difficult to ascertain, whether there was a separate cemetery elsewhere or if the dead were buried in another neighbourhood.
The earlier archaeological Phases H and G/4 were excavated in a more restricted area as the later phase, often due to the high water table. While Phase H consisted mostly of thin dividing walls forming irregular areas with small huts and very few finds, the lay-out of Phase G/4 represents a precursor of phase G/3-1. Several alleyways and dwellings were in place then, with walls renewing this erstwhile lay-out. Remarkable for Phase H is a number of relatively large and well-built silos in the northern part of the excavation area, while thin dividing walls with regular pilasters presumably for strengthening them and small dwellings are typical for Phase G/4.
While comparative settlements in the Levant and Egypt are scarce, the full publication of this self-organised settlement provides primary evidence for daily life in the delta marches and a valuable source for Egyptian settlement archaeology.
That such pottery is also found in Sinai, other parts of Egypt and Nubia points to a complex system of internal trade which is also touched upon in this study.
Papers by Bettina Bader
In 2015 the project Beyond Politics: Material Culture in Second Intermediate Period Egypt and Nubia1 was initiated to assess archaeological finds in their own right, independently from
the historical, written sources. This approach was born out of necessity because the majority of archaeological finds do not bear dynastic affiliations. This is particularly true of the non-élite strata of ancient society.
The difficulties would not be alleviated even if such data were more frequent, because in the Second Intermediate Period (SIP) a) the sequence of pharaohs is not completely preserved2 b) the
reconstruction is not agreed upon3 and c) numerous archaeological SIP sites do not include any king’s names.
Most objects discussed here lack inscriptions or names, to demonstrate the complications and the need to add archaeological interpretations to obtain greater insight into the reconstruction of the lives of past people in the SIP. This is not to say that texts should be ignored, but the full value
of archaeological finds should be used to add knowledge of the past.
at Tell el-Dab‘a knew and used a small proportion of non-Egyptian cooking pots, but the majority belonged to the Egyptian tradition, demonstrating the material and/or relational entanglement at the site.
This volume comprises the final archaeological report of three settlement layers of the late Middle Kingdom (ca 1830-1700 BC) at the site of Tell el-Dab’a in the north-eastern Nile delta. Area A/II was excavated to the expanse of 3800 square metres. The western part (1600 square metres) is the subject of this publication, while the eastern part will be presented in the second volume.
The settlement entails three phases, where the latest one, Phase G/3-1, is described and analysed first, because it was excavated in all squares and provides therefore a continuous overview of life. Five medium to small compounds were laid-out in a self-organised manner, which are not uniform in size or in plan. This suggests a certain element of social stratification. Beside simple dwellings the architectural remains yielded evidence for a number of round silos, several irregular alleyways, courtyards and installations such as hearths and fire places. Each of these features was numbered, described and the associated finds presented. The finds included pottery and stone vessels, chipped stone tools, stone objects such as querns, rubbing stones, animal bones, but also a few faience objects and stone palettes. The majority of the finds reflects domestic activities but some industrial remains with two horse-shoe shaped ovens and two limestone moulds for tools. The large amount of imported transport amphorae from Syria-Palestine is remarkable, hinting at the reception of commodities from there. Noteworthy are the burials of three individuals in houses and courtyards (two women and one child). While the number of the burials obviously does not correspond with the number of inhabitants in this neighbourhood, it is difficult to ascertain, whether there was a separate cemetery elsewhere or if the dead were buried in another neighbourhood.
The earlier archaeological Phases H and G/4 were excavated in a more restricted area as the later phase, often due to the high water table. While Phase H consisted mostly of thin dividing walls forming irregular areas with small huts and very few finds, the lay-out of Phase G/4 represents a precursor of phase G/3-1. Several alleyways and dwellings were in place then, with walls renewing this erstwhile lay-out. Remarkable for Phase H is a number of relatively large and well-built silos in the northern part of the excavation area, while thin dividing walls with regular pilasters presumably for strengthening them and small dwellings are typical for Phase G/4.
While comparative settlements in the Levant and Egypt are scarce, the full publication of this self-organised settlement provides primary evidence for daily life in the delta marches and a valuable source for Egyptian settlement archaeology.
That such pottery is also found in Sinai, other parts of Egypt and Nubia points to a complex system of internal trade which is also touched upon in this study.
In 2015 the project Beyond Politics: Material Culture in Second Intermediate Period Egypt and Nubia1 was initiated to assess archaeological finds in their own right, independently from
the historical, written sources. This approach was born out of necessity because the majority of archaeological finds do not bear dynastic affiliations. This is particularly true of the non-élite strata of ancient society.
The difficulties would not be alleviated even if such data were more frequent, because in the Second Intermediate Period (SIP) a) the sequence of pharaohs is not completely preserved2 b) the
reconstruction is not agreed upon3 and c) numerous archaeological SIP sites do not include any king’s names.
Most objects discussed here lack inscriptions or names, to demonstrate the complications and the need to add archaeological interpretations to obtain greater insight into the reconstruction of the lives of past people in the SIP. This is not to say that texts should be ignored, but the full value
of archaeological finds should be used to add knowledge of the past.
at Tell el-Dab‘a knew and used a small proportion of non-Egyptian cooking pots, but the majority belonged to the Egyptian tradition, demonstrating the material and/or relational entanglement at the site.
This type of domestic architecture consists exclusively of mud brick. Measurements as well as proportions are given as possible means for dating such dwellings. The point of departure is the late Middle Kingdom settlement in Area A/II at Tell el-Daba, where a number of one and two room houses were excavated. While some of these houses are free standing, it is possible to find bipartite core-units, with one wide and one narrow room, embedded in other architectural assemblages in Egypt. These are known from at least the early Middle Kingdom onwards with a possible earlier tradition. At Tell el-Daba itself, the bipartite ground plan exists from the Middle Kingdom onwards with a possible earlier tradition. House models and other comparanda were also used to learn more about the distribution of this very simple architectural type used by non-elite individuals. In an overall cultural comparison various other socio-economic topics such as subsistence strategies, placement and capacity of storage facilities and various other influences on the assemblage found in Area A/II of the late Middle Kingdom are also discussed.
ceramic finds from the Temple of Millions of Years
of Thutmosis III in Thebes/West recorded from
2011 to 2015. Whilst the finds presented in this
article mostly date from the late Middle Kingdom
and Second Intermediate Period, tombs created
before the temple was built, are discussed in full,
selected New Kingdom pottery types are also
shown, e. g. from a foundation deposit. An interesting
cluster of tombs from approximately the 11th
Dynasty was situated to the north of the temple,
some pottery of which is also published.
Review by S. Rotroff in American Journal of Archaeology:
http://www.ajaonline.org/sites/default/files/1161_Rotroff.pdf
The papers cover domestic, funerary, festival, and ritual contexts and the ceramic finds within them. Additional topics are the widely neglected reuse of pottery and how ceramic material can be interpreted in its wider socio-economic context. The case studies discuss pottery derived from many sites in Egypt from the Delta in the north to Elephantine in the south, and cover a chronological range from the Old Kingdom to the Coptic period. This broad approach ensures that the focus was on the role of Egyptian pottery within past societies as seen through various types of archaeological contexts. This volume provides archaeological and ceramic insights that are significant beyond Ancient Egypt"
in the Report of the German Archaeological Institute and the Swiss Institute in Cairo by Johanna Sigl, Bettina Bader, Michael Fielauf, Clara Jeuthe, Ewa Laskowska-Kusztal, Peter Kopp, Claire Malleson, Marie-Kristin Schröder, Cornelius von Pilgrim
In periods or at sites, when and where material culture is the only preserved remnant of activity, particular care needs to be employed to not impose pre-conceived ideas, historiographic and modern, on the finds before the data set has been analysed in depth and thus provides a valuable source type, which can then be compared to other sources.
Differences in interpretation of relations by means of material culture can be observed when the material culture of the First Intermediate Period with all its regional developments and variation are contrasted with that of the Second Intermediate Period.
Various definitions and concepts will be discussed, especially where cultural contacts are perceived to go beyond Egypt.
Die Zweite Zwischenzeit (ca 1780 bis 1570/40 v. Chr) liegt zwischen dem Mittleren und Neuen Reich. Sie wird häufig immer noch als obskure Niedergangsphase beschrieben, obwohl eine Vielzahl von Quellen zur Auswertung und Interpretation zur Verfügung steht. Neben historische, schriftliche Quellen tritt die Archäologie mit der materiellen Kultur, um über verschiedene Aspekte der geschichtlichen Rekonstruktion Auskunft zu geben. Diese verschiedenen Quellentypen erlauben Erkenntnisse aus unterschiedlichen Blickwinkeln über Abläufe und Prozesse, die nicht durch schriftliche Quellen erfaßt sind, aber die Lebensrealität der antiken Menschen betreffen. Zusammen genommen ermöglichen sie ein weitaus differenzierteres Bild von Ägypten in der Zweiten Zwischenzeit als bisher. Vor allem Tendenzen der Regionalisierung der materiellen Kultur Ägyptens, die die chronologische Synchronisierung verschiedener Grabungsplätze nach dem Ende des Mittleren Reiches erschweren und die weitgehend politischer Einflußnahme zugeschrieben wurden, können deutlicher gemacht werden. Die vergleichende Zusammenschau von materieller Kultur aus mehreren Regionen Ägyptens ermöglicht einen Überblick über Unterschiede und Gemeinsamkeiten, und öffnet den Blick für Schwierigkeiten in einigen Aspekten der Erforschung des Wandels der materiellen Kultur in Übergangsphasen und ihrer Verbindung zur historischen Chronologie Ägyptens.
Even very broken material in surface contexts informs about the periods in which activities took place, because the general sequence of pottery development is quite well researched, so that at the very least a general date can usually be proposed. This is not to say that no more advances and refinement can be achieved or that new research is superfluous in the light of advances in research method and technology. The practice of dating by parallels from other sites is to a certain extent problematic especially in transitional periods because an absolutely uniform time horizon for certain pottery types seems to be the exception rather than the rule as well as total conformity in technology as well as in typology.
The paper focusses on methodology in processing, data collection and ways to tease out information of the smallest pieces of pottery including material from drill cores. Last but not least the controversial topic of discarding material will also be discussed.
Of special importance are the sequences in Sector 15 as well as the material deposited close to an inscribed stela of Nenj in Sector 20. The lowest exposure of Sector 15, where the water table ended the excavations, yielded ceramic material resembling that from other nearby Old Kingdom sites. Whilst the nature and derivation of these depositions remains unclear due to limited exposure, it provides an opportunity to have better idea of pottery development in the Fayoum region in the period from the late Old Kingdom to the beginning of the Middle Kingdom. The connection with Sedment on the other hand, allows one to see the further development of the ceramic repertoire in this area.
Furthermore a contrasting juxtaposition of grave good types between Herakleopolis and Sedment also allows an estimate of how thorough the destruction of the necropolis at Herakleopolis must have been.
Handed in to the Ministry of Antiquities in Egypt for publication in ASAE.
Handed in to the Ministry of Antiquities in Egypt for publication in ASAE.
Handed in to the Ministry of Antiquities in Egypt for publication in ASAE.
Handed in to the Ministry of Antiquities in Egypt for publication in ASAE.
The aim of this conference is to bring together scholars who would like to contribute to research on the history of poverty in ancient Egypt and the Near East, spanning the period from the middle of the 3rd to the end of the 1st millennium B.C.
Among the topics to be discussed during this conference, we would like to draw attention to the following:
- definition of poverty and its problems;
- the methods for studying poverty in ancient societies, and more broadly methodologies to assess social groups in antiquity;
- visibility of the poor in texts and images;
- vocabulary and description of poverty;
- perception and reflection of the poor by the rest of the society;
- visibility of the poor in archaeology;
- establishing criteria for defining the poor and the categorisation of these social groups.
- habits and practices of the poor including their professions – what work did poor people do?