The paper deals with the results of excavation in 2016 and 2017 at the site of Tell el-Murra in the northeastern part of the
Nile Delta. The investigation focused on Trench T5, where settlement remains dated mostly from the Early Dynastic period were
explored in its northern part, and early Old Kingdom structures in the southern part. Settlement remains of Lower Egyptian culture
were also excavated in Trench S3B. Continued research on the Early Dynastic cemetery in Trench S3 yielded eight more graves,
both pit burials and chambered tombs. In one case, the body was placed additionally in a pottery coffin. The results contribute new
data on Early Dynastic settlement architecture and burial customs, as well as the oldest habitation associated with Lower Egyptian
culture.
Casemate foundation platforms appeared in Egypt in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC during the 2nd Intermediate period. As they are similar in nature to palace-citadel structures from the capital of Egypt under the Hyksos, Avaris, the possibility of their being Asiatic in origin has been considered. Recently, however, similar structures from Deir el-Ballas have been associated with Nubian funerary architecture. Yet making a choice between these two hypotheses means forgetting about the achievements of Egyptian brick architecture. The link between casemate foundation platforms and high Nile floods, as well as their structural features, unquestionably suggest Egyptian origin. Over the course of this paper, I would like to consider if the appearance of casemate platforms in the 2nd Intermediate period and the beginning of the New Kingdom could be related to mastaba burials and the local development of foundation laying methods.
The 3rd millennium BC appears to be a key period of development of the historical settlement landscape in ancient Egypt. After the unification of the country, the process of disappearance of the predynastic socio-political structures and settlement patterns associated with them significantly accelerated. Old chiefdoms, along with their centres and elites, declined and vanished. On the other hand, new settlements emerging in various parts of the country were often strictly related to the central authorities and formation of the new territorial administration. Not negligible were climatic changes, which influenced the shifting of the ecumene. Although these changes were evolutionary in their nature, some important stages may be recognized. According to data obtained during surveys and excavations, there are a number of sites that were considerably impoverished and/or abandoned before and at the beginning of the Old Kingdom. On the other hand, during the Third and Fourth Dynasties some important Egyptian settlements have emerged in the sources and begun their prosperity. Architectural remains as well as written sources indicate the growing interest of the state in the hierarchy of landscape elements and territorial structure of the country.
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