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Egyptians in Southern Palestine During the Bronze

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Egyptians in Southern Palestine During the Bronze ARCHAEOLOGY INTERNATIONAL found themselves at an interface between Strangers in a strange land: Egyptians in different and sometimes conflicting cul- tures. In the Middle Bronze Age (2000– southern Palestine during the Bronze Age 1540 BC), increasing economic exploita- Rachael Sparks tion of resources in Sinai by the Egyptians, as well as the development of trading cen- When the Institute of Archaeology was formally established in tres such as Tell el-Dab’a in the eastern Nile 1937, it became responsible for housing Sir Flinders Petrie’s col- delta (Fig. 1), saw waves of Canaanite lection of archaeological material from Palestine.1 This unique immigrants drawn south. These settlers inheritance has great value as a research collection, as its cura- gradually rose to social and political prom- tor demonstrates here in her discussion of interaction between inence in their new communities in Egypt, until their leaders were able to assume the Egypt and Palestine in the Bronze Age. ultimate accolade – that of becoming phar- aoh. Known as the Hyksos, a word derived he eminent archaeologist and Palestine, principally the ancient towns of from an Egyptian phrase that translates as first holder of the Edwards Tell el-’Ajjul, Tell Fara and Tell Jemmeh “rulers of a foreign land”, they absorbed Chair of Egyptology at UCL, Sir (Fig. 1). They range in age mainly from the much Egyptian culture in their rise to Flinders Petrie, is best known third to the first millennium BC, and almost power. In turn, their cousins back in for his work in Egypt. However, every material and class of artefact is Canaan were at the receiving end of new he devoted the last 15 years of his life to present: ceramic vessels, stone and metal products and styles, as trade flourished digging in southern Palestine, which he tools and weapons, figurines, seals, amu- between the two neighbouring regions. euphemistically described as “Egypt over lets, jewellery and a wide variety of In Egypt, this process of infiltration and the border”. Although he may have used personal items. acculturation is detectable in the textual this phrase partly to persuade supporters, A project is currently under way to and archaeological records.4 People with such as the British School of Archaeology document the collection fully, and to enter semitic names appear in Egyptian docu- in Egypt, to continue funding his projects, onto a database images and details of every ments, in a variety of occupations ranging it was no idle comment. Indeed, one of the object. The database will then be made from shopkeeper to temple songstress. main characteristics of the three sites in available through the Internet to research- Objects of Canaanite style and manufac- Palestine that Petrie chose to excavate was ers around the globe. In the course of this ture also appear at contemporary sites in that they lay in a frontier zone at the south- work, fresh evidence has come to light that Egypt, although most of this evidence ern edge of the land of the Canaanites.2 illuminates the cross-cultural relation- comes from the north of the country where Farther south, the more arid lands of Sinai ships that existed between Egypt and the the Hyksos rulers had their strongholds. and the Negev inhibited the development Levant during the Bronze Age. My own Many such objects are to be found in the of urban centres and were home to groups research, part of which is described here, collection of the Petrie Museum of Egyp- with a pastoral way of life, such as the focuses on how different categories of tian Archaeology, also housed at Univer- shashu – the bedouin of the Bronze Age – material – administrative, domestic and sity College London.5 At the same time, a and beyond that region were the borders of religious – can be used to explore the social similar process was happening back in Egypt itself. and technological interchanges that made southern Palestine. Egyptians and Egyp- up the complex web of Bronze Age socie- tianized Canaanites came to live in the The Petrie Palestinian Collection ties in the two regions. cities of the Levant, to facilitate the com- Many thousands of objects were left to the mercial and diplomatic ties that were Institute of Archaeology by Petrie, as a leg- Life on the edge of empires developing between the regions. Nor did acy of his passion for the past and to be The overland caravan and military route these people come empty handed. Mer- used in training the archaeologists of the across the frontier zone between Egypt and chants, mercenaries and artisans, entre- future.3 They came from a few sites strung southern Palestine was an historical preneurs and opportunists, each would out along the Wadi Ghazzeh in southern hotspot, and the peoples living there often have brought with them a whole system of cultural values reflecting their background and upbringing. Some of these would find N Sea of Galilee expression in the small, personal items they took with them to their new homes, MEDITERRANEAN SEA BethBeth ShanShan J o such as perfume jars, cosmetic applicators, r d a jewellery and amulets (Figs 2–4). Others n would find expression in their daily lives Tel Aviv – their diet and eating customs, the shrines Jerusalem Amman they worshipped at, or the tools they used to carry out their trades. All these things Ashkelon Dead Tell el-'Ajjul Sea leave their mark on the archaeological TTellell JJemmehemmeh record, and each has its own story to tell. These processes of interaction did not Tell Fara stop at this stage, and the subsequent Wadi history of southern Palestine reflects its Ghazzeh Tell el-Dab'a continuing role as a frontier zone. The Egyptian rulers of the Seventeenth Dyn- asty (1638–1540 BC) – who became vassals of the Hyksos – seem to have been involved in several confrontations with their over- N Cairo 0 km 100 i lords. Sekenenre Tao died of a wound l e inflicted by an Asiatic-style battle axe, and his successor Kamose broke a treaty by Figure 1 The Levant and the Nile delta, showing the location of the ancient sites men- raiding settlements controlled by the tioned in the text. Hyksos in Middle Egypt and the Nile delta. 48 ARCHAEOLOGY INTERNATIONAL 120 difficult in this period to distinguish Objects as indicators of cultural between an Egyptian living in Canaan, and identity 100 a Canaanite who has adopted Egyptian cul- These dynamic processes of interaction ture, as local elites used the trappings of between Egypt and southern Palestine, 80 their conquerors to identify with the new extending over millennia, are reflected in 60 sources of political power. many objects in the Petrie Palestinian Col- At the close of the second millennium lection. Two types of Egyptian artefact can 40 BC, the Egyptians withdrew from southern be used to illustrate this phenomenon: Palestine, but the region retained its stra- stone cosmetic vessels and a specific type 20 tegic value. In the following centuries, it of metal razor. was contested by Philistines and Israelites, During the Middle Bronze Age, Egyp- 0 absorbed by the Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian tian cosmetic vessels became popular and Persian empires, conquered by the items of trade with Palestine, reflecting the kohl jars jewellery armies of Alexander the Great, claimed by increasing sophistication of the Canaan- toiletry items cult jewellery knives/daggers cult accessories funerary objectsroyal-name seals his generals, and then absorbed into the ites, as well as their entry into broader royal-name jewellery Roman empire. The region has continued world markets. They were used to hold to act as a border zone – whether a northern scented oils and fats, various kinds of Figure 2 The frequency of selected frontier of an Egyptian state or a southern make-up and some medicinal prepara- classes of Egyptian material found at Tell boundary of a northern empire – right up tions. Yet Canaanite customers were selec- el-’Ajjul, dating to the Middle and Late to the present day. Yet throughout this tive in their choices. The range of vessels Bronze Age. Toiletry items include mir- troubled history its occupants have man- that appears in Palestine is not identical to rors, cosmetic applicators and razors; jew- aged to survive the processes of change by Egyptian assemblages, but a smaller subset ellery consists of amulets, and finger rings taking on foreign ideas and technologies that reflects different cultural preferences. bearing divine names; cult accessories and integrating them with their own dis- Some forms that are uncommon in Egypt, consist of figurines and musical instru- tinctive material cultures. ments; funerary objects include shabtis (human figures) and fragments of canopic (b) jars. (a) After his death, his brother Ahmose con- tinued the fight, capturing their capital city at Avaris (modern Tell el-Dab’a) and forc- ing the Hyksos to retreat into southern Palestine, where their dynasty was finally brought to an end by the pursuing army of the Egyptians. In the following period, (c) (d) Egypt took a much more aggressive mili- tary stance towards Canaan that culmi- nated in conquest and absorption into the powerful Egyptian empire of the New Kingdom (1540–1070 BC; Fig. 5). The land route between Egypt and southern Palestine became crucial in this (g) process. It had long had some value for the passage of trade caravans, linking the economies of the two regions. However, in the new world order that followed the con- quest of Palestine, it also became part of a wider communications network, known as (f) the Ways of Horus, used by both military and civilian organizations. Forts and way- stations were set up along the route, to (e) safeguard supplies and water sources along it.
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