Zurich Open Repository and Archive University of Zurich Main Library Strickhofstrasse 39 CH-8057 Zurich www.zora.uzh.ch Year: 2007 Scarabs, Chronology, and Interconnections: Egypt and Palestine in the Second Intermediate Period Ben-Tor, Daphna Abstract: The present study deals with relations between Egypt and the Levant during the Second Inter- mediate Period, based primarily on contemporary scarabs from both regions. The potential contribution of scarabs for the historical reconstruction of the Second Intermediate Period, especially with regard to Egyptian/Levantine relations, has long been recognized. Yet the controversy over scarab typologies ruled out scarabs as a reliable historical source. This study proposes a new typology of scarabs of the first half of the second millennium BCE, which is now feasible owing to recent studies of ceramic assemblages from Egypt and the Levant. Based on these studies one can determine the relative and absolute dates of deposits in which scarabs and scarab impressions have been found in both regions, and substantiate the corrrespondence of the Second Intermediate Period in Egypt with the Middle Bronze Age IIB in the Levant. The principal methodological difference between the present study and previous scarab studies is its treatment of the Egyptian and Palestinian series as two separate groups. The geographical classi- fication of the large corpus of scarabs, which previously had been dealt with as one entity, allowedfora systematic differentiation between Egyptian and Canaanite scarabs of this period and the establishment of separate stylistic and chronological typologies for each group. The historical conclusions presented in this study confirm the significance of scarabs as a primary source of information for reconstructing the history of the Second Intermediate Period in Egypt and the Levant. Posted at the Zurich Open Repository and Archive, University of Zurich ZORA URL: https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-137119 Monograph Published Version Originally published at: Ben-Tor, Daphna (2007). Scarabs, Chronology, and Interconnections: Egypt and Palestine in the Second Intermediate Period. Fribourg / Göttingen: Academic Press / Vandenhoeck Ruprecht. ORBIS BIBLICUS ET ORIENTALIS, Series Archaeologica 27 Published on behalf of the BIBLE+ORIENT Foundation in co-operation with the Department of Biblical Studies, University of Fribourg (Switzerland), the Egyptological lnstitute, University of Basel, the Institute of Archaeology, Near Eastern section, University of Berne, the Department of Religious Studies, University of Zurich, and the Swiss Society for Ancient Near Eastern Studies by Susanne Bickel, Othmar Keel and Christoph Uehlinger The author Daphna Ben-Tor is the curator of Egyptian Archaeology. at The lsrael Museum, Jerusalem. Born in Jerusalem, she received a B.A. in Archaeology, M.A. and Ph.D. in Egyptology from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her scholarly work focuses on scarabs of the first l'ralf of the second millennium BCE, mainly with regard to Egyptian/Levanti ne relations. Among her publications: <The Relations between Egypt and Palestiñe in the Middle Kingdom as Reflected by Contemporary Canaanite Scarabs>>, Israel Exploration lournal 47 (1997) 162-189; <The Absolute Date of the Montet Jar Scarabso, in Ancient Egyptian and Mediterranean Studies in Memory of W. A. Ward, ed. L. H. Lesko, Providence, Rl, 1998, 1-17; <Egyptian-Levantine Relations and Chronology in the Middle Bronze Age: Scarab Research>, in The Synchronisation of Civilisations in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Second Millennium B.C. Il, ed. M. Bietak, Vienna, 2003, 239-247. Her publications also include exhibition catalogues of the lsrael Museum Orbis B¡ blicus et Orienta l¡ S 27 Series Archaeologica Daphna Ben-Tor S carab S Chronology, an d lntercon nections Egypt and Palestine in the Second lntermediate Period I Academic Press Fribou r8 Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Cöttingen Gedruckt mit Unterstützung des Spezialforschungsbereichs SCIEM 2000 ,,Die Synchronisierung der Hochkulturen im östlichen Mittelmeerraum im 2. Jahrtausend v. Chr." der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften beim X'onds zur X'örderung der Wissenschaftlichen X'orschung SCIEM 2000 Special R,esearch Programme SCIEM 2000 "The Synchronisation of Civilisations in the Eastern Mediteranean in the Second Millennium 8.C." of the Austrian Academy of Sciences at the Austrian Science X'und Publication subsidized by the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Jean Nordmann Foundation Fribourg lnternet general catalogue: Academic Press Fríbourg: www.paulusedition.ch Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Cöttingen: www.v-r.de Camera-ready text submitted by the author @ 2007 by Academic Press Fribourg, Fribourg Switzerland Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Cöttingen ISBN: 978-3-7278-1593-5 Academic Press Fribourg ISB N : 9 78-3 - 525 -53204-1 Vanden hoeck & Ruprecht ISSN 101 5-1 850 (Orb. biblicus orient.) Table of Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................................... xiii Maps .................................................................................................................................................................. xiv Principal Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period sites in Egypt and Nubia yielding scarabs and seal impressions .............................................................................................................................................. xiv Principal Middle Bronze Age sites in the Levant yielding scarabs ................................................................ xv Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................... 1 The Stylistic and Chronological Typologies................................................................................................... 3 CHAPTER I TYPOLOGY OF SCARABS FOUND IN LATE MIDDLE KINGDOM CONTEXTS IN EGYPT AND NUBIA............... 5 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... Table of main sites.............................................................................................................................................. 8 §IA. Typology of Designs ................................................................................................................................. 10 §IA 1. Design class 1 – Linear patterns ............................................................................................................ 10 §IA 1a. Design class 1E – Floral motifs............................................................................................................. 10 §IA 2. Design Class 2 – Scrolls and spirals...................................................................................................... 12 §IA 2a. Design class 2A – Scrolls and spirals, unlinked ....................................................................... 13 §IA 2b. Design class 2B – Scroll and spirals, interlocking ................................................................... 13 §IA 3. Design class 3 – Egyptian signs and symbols ....................................................................................... 14 §IA 3a. Design class 3A - Monograms and varia.................................................................................. 15 §IA 3a1. Design class 3A1 - Sign of union (smæ-tæwy)............................................................. 15 §IA 3a2. Design class 3A2 – nbty design.................................................................................. 16 §IA 3a3. Design class 3A3 – Varia .......................................................................................... 16 §IA 3a4. Class 3A4 – Horus hawk with nïr and other signs.................................................... 17 §IA 3b. Design class 3B – Symmetric patterns ..................................................................................... 17 §IA 3b1. Design class 3B1 – Cobras........................................................................................ 17 §IA 3b2. Design class 3B2 – King of Upper and Lower Egypt (nsw-bít) ................................. 18 §IA 3b3. Design class 3B3 – Red crowns ................................................................................ 18 §IA 3b4. Design class 3B4 – Horus eyes (wÿæt)....................................................................... 19 §IA 3b5. Design class 3B5 – Sedge plants (swt)....................................................................... 19 §IA 3b6. Design class 3B6 – Gold sign (nbw) in longitudinal setting ...................................... 19 §IA 3b7. Design class 3B7 – Forepart of lion (œæt).................................................................. 20 §IA 3c. Design class 3C – Formulae ..................................................................................................... 20 §IA 3d. Design class 3D – Cartouches .................................................................................................. 21 §IA 3e. Design class 3E – Panels .......................................................................................................... 22 §IA 4. Design class 4 – Concentric circles ......................................................................................................