Levantine-Egyptian Interactions during the 12^th to the 15^th Dynasties based on the Petrography of the Canaanite Pottery from Tell el-Dab^ca

Abstract

I NTRODUCTION 1 The nature of the interactions between Egypt and western Asia throughout the late fourth to the late second millennia BCE is one of the most discussed issues in the current literature on Egyptian archaeology. The ongoing excavations at Te ll el-Dab c a, the site of ancient Avaris, have put forward these discussions and the understanding of the entire sequence from the 12 th dynasty Middle Kingdom (MK), through the 15 th dynasty (Second Intermediate Period [SIP]), to the middle of the 18 th dynasty (beginning of the New Kingdom [NK]) (BIETAK 1986; 1991a,b; 1996. The rich archaeological record from Egypt and the Levant coupled together with valuable, yet limited contemporary documents, provide evidences for Egypt's commercial and cultural contacts with the Levant throughout the entire sequence. However, they leave open many questions regarding the detailed social and economic aspects of Egypt's interests in various parts of the Levant. The evidence for imports of foreign goods, mainly Canaanite and Cypriote ceramic wares (and presumably their contents) are especially important since they enable good chrono-stratigraphical correlations between sites in Egypt and western Asia. Provenance studies of pottery assemblages have been used in the past in order to examine the nature of the Egyptian-Levantine interactions (

Coupling lead isotope analysis and petrography to characterize fabrics of storage and trade containers from Hala Sultan Tekke (Cyprus)*

“…The fabric of group 5 probably corresponds to Neogene marl clay mixed with beach sand, and could originate from the northern Levantine coast, probably north of Akko and south of Latakia (see, e.g., Buchbinder ; Sivan , 48–53; Walley ; Goren and Halperin , 2558). This fabric is quite similar to Serpico Fabric Group 5, an origin for which is proposed along the Lebanese coastal plain (Serpico , figs 23 and 24), and probably also to a fabric defined for Kommos Canaanite jars (Cohen‐Weinberger and Goren , 73, Group B; Day et al . , Fabric 2).…”

Traditions and innovations during the 12th-to-11th century BC

“…102-103;Bikai 1987;Killebrew 2007;Pedrazzi 2007;Gilboa, Sharon, Boaretto 2008. 94 There were several provenance studies undertaken on various 'Canaanite-jar' assemblages, including: Jones, Vaughan 1988;McGovern 2000;Sugerman 2000;Cohen-Weinberger, Goren 2004;Smith et al 2004;Killebrew 2007, pp. 173-182;Day et al 2011;Ownby et al 2014;Gilboa, Waiman-Barak, Sharon 2015;Waiman-Barak, Gilboa 2016.…”

Ceramic studies and petrographic analysis in Levantine archaeology, the limitations of current approaches

“…Therefore, we will organize the research conducted into thematic and methodological groups. In addition to Goren and Porat, several recent authors have been notably prolific in this regard, and alongside the now traditional production of short reports, have used ceramic analysis to address significant cultural questions (Ben-Shlomo 2006;Boness et al 2015;Cohen-Weinberger and Goren 2004;Cohen-Weinberger et al 2017;Gilboa et al 2015;Iserlis 2009;Iserlis et al 2015;Maeir et al 2019;Waiman-Barak et al 2014). However, it is worth stating that despite great interest in petrography, the vast majority of research has been published by a relatively small number of scholars.…”