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Jordan Times
12-05-2025
- General
- Jordan Times
Archaeologist reassesses scope of early Egyptian colonies in Southern Levant
Located 5km south of Gaza City, Tell es-Sakan has houses dating to 2,600-2,300 BC (Photo courtesy of Palestinian Department of Antiquities) AMMAN — The question of permanent Egyptian colonies in the southern Levant remains a matter of debate among scholars. Until the discovery of Tell es-Sakan, Archaeologist Eliot Braun was somewhat dubious of that characterisation, and he thought such occupation might have been confined to enclaves of Nilotic peoples within primarily south Levantine population centres. Braun accepts the existence of an Egyptian colony independent of south Levantine communities, but with reservations concerning its scope. "Scholars' characterisations tended to 'paint pictures' of that colony with very broad brushes and, I believe, to exaggerate the degree and nature of the Egyptian colonial episode. Their interpretations also purportedly indicated quite distinct territorial limits for the colony and even some rather precise descriptions of its socio-political and military activities," Braun said. Following is a brief review of the more detailed characterisations available in the literature, with my most recent interpretations of available evidence. Three, or possibly four sites in the southern Levant, all in the central, southwest fertile zone seem to have been populated by immigrants from Egypt's Nile Valley, he added. That hypothesis is extrapolated from the evidence of material culture at a handful of sites, which seems to have been predominantly Egyptian-associated, with little evidence of local south Levantine material culture. One site seems to have been central to the Egyptian colonial enterprise, while two or possibly three others were apparently its satellites, the archaeologist underlined. There may have also been a fifth site associated with the Egyptian colony, but information on it is equivocal. The first is Tell es-Sakan where wealth of Egyptian and Egyptianised material culture that apparently predominated at the site in four of the earliest strata, offers great credence to the idea of a permanent Egyptian community planted in the southern Levant, Braun elaborated, adding that the site is strategically placed adjacent to possible anchorages on the Mediterranean coast and not far from the border of the arid, northern Sinai land route. "Tell es-Sakan was an ideal location for a south Levantine colonial enterprise. The relative size of that occupation, as well as its associated massive fortifications, proclaim it the central site of Egyptian activity in the southern Levant in that time span," Braun underscored. The second is En Besor that was completely excavated and it has been dated to late EB I. The third is Tel Ma'ahaz which is less known and due to limited fieldwork, scholars concluded that it was a campsite. "However, the wealth of looted ceramics from the site argues for a more sedentary type of settlement as well as suggesting it too was largely, if not exclusively, populated by Egyptians," Braun underlined. The fourth one is Taur Ikhbeineh which is in a close proximity to Tell es-Sakan, and it seems likely that the site was some sort of satellite to the larger community occupying the fortified site nearby. The fifth one is locale of Sheikfh Zuweid, Northern Sinai Five intact Egyptian storage jars, four of which are published, purportedly from a locale near Sheikh Zuweid on the Wady el-Arish (located east of el-Arish where they were purchased) in northern Sinai, may, if indeed such a site existed and these vessels derive from it, indicate additional Egyptian activity at the very border of the southern Levant. "As these objects were looted in modern times, and acquired on the antiquities market, there is no surety of such an archaeological provenience. If such an Egyptian settlement actually existed there, then that site might have been associated with activity in more eastern regions, perhaps as a way-station on the way to copper sources at Timna and Faynan," Braun concluded.
Jordan Times
06-05-2025
- Science
- Jordan Times
Pre-dynastic Egyptian artefacts reveal ‘strong' Nile ties to southern Levant
AMMAN – Even before Egypt became a political and military power, during a predynastic period (6,210 BC-3,100 BC), archaeologists and historians had enough material evidence to conclude that a significant degree of imports and Egyptian influenced objects, particularly pottery in the Early Bronze Age, were primarily found in the region of the Gaza Strip and southern Levant. While early works were somewhat less than specific as to the time span when the mass of Egyptian-related material appeared in the archaeological record, more recent research has shown the phenomenon to be associated with late phases of Early Bronze Age I, but mainly at select sites within a limited geographical region, noted an American archaeologist. "The appearance and quantification of Egyptian-related artifacts in the Early Bronze Age, as presently understood from the archaeological record, has suggested a four-tiered hierarchy of Egyptian associations,' said archaeologist Eliot Braun. Tier 1 sites are defined as those likely to have primarily been peopled by Egyptians1, while sites defined as Tiers 2-4, have yielded, respectively and in descending order, significantly less, very little, or no evidence of Egyptian material culture, Braun noted. He added that all this intensified activity appears, on the basis of a number of serekhs found at sites in the southern Levant, to date to the reigns of Ka and Narmer, sometime at the end of the fourth millennium or late Dynasty 0 to early Dynasty 12. It should be important to understand differences between original Egyptian imports, objects transported from the Nile Valley and 'Egyptianised' objects, i.e. artifacts of recognisably Egyptian style, but which were fashioned locally of indigenous materials. That distinction is made because of logistics involved in transporting objects, in particular fragile ceramic vessels (and their contents) from the Nile Valley over long distances to sites in the southern Levant in the context of the late 4th millennium BC. Unfortunately, often definitive identifications of the Egyptian origin of such objects are impossible without the help of pure scientifically based criteria, such as petrographic studies, which, because they are labour intensive and somewhat costly, may only be done on a limited scale, Braun elaborated. Egyptian imports include prestige items such as specific types of fine ware ceramic bottles and cylinder vessels, stone palettes, a single, exquisitely fashioned ripple-flaked knife and a cylinder seal, Braun continued. The archaeologist added that several of these were associated with tombs but numerous additional examples of similar ceramic containers as well as 'wine jars' and lentoid-shaped bottles have been found in settlement contexts at Tel Erani, En Besor and Amaziya. "Possibly some calcite mace heads, most of which are probably to be considered prestige objects were also Egyptian in origin. Additional imported objects include a small quantity of imported Egyptian lint objects, knives and arrowheads," Braun said. Regarding Egyptinised objects, there are vessels of Egyptian morphology, generally fashioned of extremely coarse fabrics with significant quantities of vegetal inclusions, some of which may have been imported, although most are thought to have been fashioned locally. Such items as baking trays, (aka 'bread molds'), 'lotus bowls' and granary jars, mostly of extremely coarse fabrics ('rough ware'), found at some locales in great quantities, suggest Nilotic foodways were associated with some elements of the late EB I population in the southern Levant. Egyptian style bullae, clearly administrative paraphernalia, made locally and obviously related to goods, presumably foodstuffs, were apparently used by Nilotic peoples sojourning in the southern Levant. "The sum total of documented pre-dynastic and proto-dynastic, Egyptian-associated objects found in the southern Levant to date is truly impressive, with the overwhelming bulk of them dated to late phases of Early Bronze Age I [ca. 3,100-3,000 BC]," Braun elaborated. The archaeologist added that they are correlated, based on parallels from their homeland and serekhs found in the southern Levant, with the reigns of Ka and Narmer.
