BOOK REVIEWS 61

Roman art in turn was transformed into that mentally to Asiatic aesthetic than he does in of Byzantium." This is an ambitious aim his hurried references to such influences, and but one which represents the highest goals ofI should be much interested to know more archaeological research and interpretation, fully his thoughts about the colonnaded and there could be no one better qualified to spaces of the great Ionic temples of the face it than Professor Hanfmann. Anatolian coastal region as compared to The book is divided into five chapters those of the Persian hypostyle halls. And in reflecting the plan of the study. It begins the highly illuminating and suggestive chap- with "Sardis, Croesus and the Persians"-- ter on the social role of sculpture in the the native and eastern elements in the early Roman cities one would like to have read period; then, the spread of Greek culture inmore of his views on how this might relate to the area, two chapters on the period of Oriental traditions. Roman dominance, and a final section on the All this is to say that one wishes that early fourth century. Professor Hanfmann would produce still The treatment is generally a kind of another book, as no doubt he intends to do. survey or review of the buildings and The volume at hand however does stand on sculpture of the respective periods through- its own feet as an authoritative study in its out the several cities, very much up to date, own right, and is characteristically stimulat- of course, in mentioning discoveries and ing and fruitful in suggesting new ideas. It scholarly treatments. In this respect if no is handsomely printed, with excellent and other it would be extremely valuable to the usually fresh illustrations. Altogether it is a student and interesting even to the more great credit both to George Hanfmann and general reader. The descriptions of the newly to Thomas Spencer Jerome. discovered material, as well as of the older ROBERT SCRANTON and more familiar, evoke a vivid picture of The the atmosphere in these cities, as well as of the peculiarities and qualities of the individ- ual monuments. In this evocation itself is achieved in Tell el-Dab'a II: Der Fundort im Rahmen considerable measure the purpose of the einer archdologisch-geographischer Unter- book; the reader sees for himself the changing suchung iiber das digyptische Ostdelta. By character of the cities, the play of the various . Vienna: Verlag der cultural traditions in the shifting scenes of Osterreichische Akademie der Wissen- life. And the author's frequent comments schaften, Denkschriften der Gesamtaka- calling attention to this or that indication of demie, 1975. Pp. 236 + 47 pls. such interplay help to keep the picture alive This sumptuous book is not only the best- and in focus. But in a sense this manner of illustrated archaeological report on in presentation prevents a complete realization several decades, but it also represents a of the aim: there is so much information and milestone in the conception and execution detail in so limited a space that there is of no Egyptological research. It is only one of room for the deeper and more reflective four volumes on the Austrian excavations interpretation. Such an interpretation should of 1966-69, planned to appear over a three- be based, moreover, on the intellectual and year period. religious environment, which could thus The first, by Labib Habachi, will discuss reveal the author's personal understandings the site in connection with Qantir and the of the deeper levels of consciousness and previous discoveries there; the second civilization. For one or two random examples, volume, but earliest to appear, is reviewed his tantalizing comments on the peculiarly here; the third contribution, by Joachim east-Greek use of frieze-sculpture on wall Boessneck, will cover the animal bones; and surfaces he might have related more funda- the fourth, again by Bietak, will present the

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unique layer-by-layer stratigraphy geomorphologic and problems, the develops models chronology of Tell el-Dab a infor interpretation,full detail. illustrates landscape facets The organization of volume by 2 a wealthis focused of color and black-and-white on the identification of Tell el-Dab a and photos, reproduces the key topographic map nearby Qantir as the locus of both the of the Description de l'Agypte at full scale, capital Avaris and the Ramesside residence reconstructs the detailed history of the Pi-Ramesse. The site has proved to have Pelusiac Branch on two multicolored folding traces of Early Dynastic occupation, exten- maps at 1:100,000, and, finally, presents the sive evidence of repeated urban settlement composite palaeogeography and archaeology from the Middle Kingdom through the of the eastern Delta in three colors at Second Intermediate Period, massive Rames- 1:200,000 in a large coverpocket map. With side ruins, as well as some Ptolemaic vestiges. this background, Bietak places Tell el-Dab a The Hyksos levels (Middle Bronze II) signi- and Qantir, including the new 1:5000 topo- ficantly rest on the fire-scarred remains ofgraphic map (by J. Dorner, H. Konig) and a the Middle Kingdom town, and the site was site reconstruction, into its former setting conspicuously abandoned during the on the Pelusiac Branch. The abandonment Eighteenth Dynasty. The Ramesside city of the site at the end of the Ramesside period was up to 3 km2 in extent, including a royal is explained by the rapid deterioration of palace, residences of major dignitaries, and the Pelusiac Branch in Twenty-first Dynasty several temple complexes (including one for times, due to piracy of its waters by the the Sutech cult). During the Twenty-first Tanitic Branch at Bubastis. As a result, the Dynasty, Tell el-Dab a was superseded by harbor became unusable for marine traffic, (Djanet) as the royal residence and in and the minor water networks of the Bahr fact remained unoccupied from the eleventh el-Baqar to the east no longer afforded to the third century B.C. Volume 4 will protection for the agricultural hinterland. report on the exemplary urban archeology at Hence the selection of Tanis at the head of the site itself, and the task set here is to the Tanitic subdelta as a new maritime reconstruct the physical, economic, and harbor and administrative center. political organization of the eastern Delta in The second major component of Bietak's Dynastic times. The strategy has been to study attempts to integrate the geomorpho- establish the context, prior to elucidating logic data base and the archaeological frame- the content. work of the Nile Delta with the written Following the introductory section, the documents. The various deltaic reconstruc- first major part deals with the "paleogeo- tions derived from Dynastic sources are as graphy" of the eastern Delta: general good as the data allow, going well beyond relationships between settlement and terrain; A. H. Gardiner's previous effort (Ancient the stability and dynamism inherent to Egyptian Onomastica [Oxford, 1947], vol. 2, rivers; clues to reconstructing abandoned Nile pp. 153-71). The brief discussion of the branches from the modern micro-topography; classical authors also adds a fresh reconstruc- methods of dating of such ancient streams tion on the basis of Ptolemy's information. by written documents, architectural pattern- These materials are then integrated into an ing, and dated archaeological remains; exacting temporal-spatial reconstruction of discussion of the reconstructed courses: the the Delta nomes from the Old Kingdom to Pelusiac and Tanitic branches, the Helio- Strabo. Finally, the entire corpus of inscrip- politan and Butic canals, the Wadi Tumilat tions having any bearing on Avaris and Pi- basin, the Bahr el-Baqar drainage system, Ramesse and their setting (including an and the general mapping of archaeological excursus on the Exodus) is presented and sites; and specific dating of these branches painstakingly evaluated. The reader can by means of the associated settlements. This decide for him- or herself whether the case sixty-five-page section deals effectively with has been made beyond a reasonable doubt.

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Altogether, this ranks study of the asOld Testamentone andof the the environ- finest historical-geographical ment of ancient studies Israel. yet accomp- lished in Egypt. Had It is researchhardly possible to do ofjustice comparableto a book vision and thoroughness been focused on of this type within the framework of a brief Memphis and several Upper Egyptian sites review. Its value lies in the innumerable new during the nineteenth century, our whole interpretations of individual passages, some understanding of ancient Egypt would have of which may very well prove to be contro- been different. At this time, one can only versial. However, such controversy can only hope that the research strategies imple- further our understanding of this proble- mented by Bietak will be emulated by other matical text, and one can only commend the scholars so that optimal results can be derived author for the courage with which he has put from that which remains. forward his interpretations. May the two following observations serve as a token of the KARL W. BUTZER reviewer's appreciation of Goedicke's book. The University of Chicago On p. 79, the author notes the various explanations given for the Semitic loan word m-r:-ke, derived by A. Erman and others The Report of Wenamun. By HANS GOEDICKE. from the root mlk ("royal present"), and The Johns Hopkins Near Eastern Studies. compared by Sir Alan Gardiner to Hebrew Baltimore and London: The Johns Hop- berdkdh ("gift"). More recently, Manfred kins University Press, 1975. Pp. 192. Garg has suggested a connection with In the latest volume of this rapidly Babylonian mulhgu (Ugaritic mig), denoting expanding series, Hans Goedicke has brought a kind of dowry ("mrk [Wb. II, 113] = kan. his full ingenuity to bear on one of the most mig.?," GM 13 [1974]: 13-15). problematical of all Late Egyptian texts: the On p. 123, he deduces from the fact that report of Wenamun about his journey to the Zeker-ba'al speaks standing rather than Levant to procure timber for the sacred bark sitting in the midst of his people that the of Amun in Thebes. meeting was informal. The practices de- Taking up a suggestion by the late Dr. scribed J. in the Homeric epics, which are not Cerny that this report is a genuine adminis- that far removed in time and space from the trative document rather than a literary reportwork of Wenamun, suggest exactly the of fiction, he argues that the extant version opposite: anyone who spoke in the assembly is a copy made some one hundred years later,had to step forward and was given a scepter perhaps in preparation for a similar under- by the herald (e.g., Od. II, 35-38), while taking. This would make it an invaluable speaking from one's chair was unusual and eye-witness account from one of the darkest required special notice (Il. XIX, 76-77, with periods of Egyptian history, and as such thea comments of Ameis-Hentze ad loc.). gold mine of information on the international relations of that time. tDIETER MUELLER With this prospect in mind, Goedicke The re- University of Lethbridge Lethbridge, Alberta translates the entire text line by line with the originality one has come to expect from this author, examining each word for what- ever insights it might provide into the status of Wenamun, the international position Ancient of Egyptian Literature. Vol. 2. The New Egypt, and the social and political conditions Kingdom. By MIRIAM LICHTHEIM. Berkeley in the Eastern Mediterranean world at the and Los Angeles: University of California time of his journey. The result is a fascinating Press, 1976. Pp. XIV + 239. $10. and highly stimulating book of equal interest In 1973, Miriam Lichtheim published the to Egyptologists and those specialized in the first volume of the most comprehensive

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