PREFACE This monograph is a collation of research on Late I reserve special gratitude to Prof. Eliezer D. Bronze Age Egyptian-type pottery in the southern Oren, Prof. Richard Zettler (Penn Museum), Prof. Levant that I conducted during the last ten years. An Larry E. Stager, Dr. Yuval Gadot, Dr. Ayelet Gilboa earlier stage of my investigation appears in my (the Department of Archaeology, University of Haifa) unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, submitted to Vienna and Dr. Ilan Sharon (the Institute of Archaeology, University (Austria) in 2005. Since receiving my Hebrew University of Jerusalem), who gave their per- Ph.D. I have published a number of articles on this mission to present previously unpublished vessels in topic and extended my inquiries to additional sites this volume. and to further aspects of the pottery under review. Special thanks go to Yaniv Agmon, Dr. John D.M. The person who made this entire endeavor possi- Green, Dr. Karin Kopetzky, Dr. Nava Panitz-Cohen, ble is Professor Manfred Bietak (Vienna University; Dr. Valentine Roux, Yossi Salmon and Ragna Stidsing, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna). Professor who generously contributed chapters to this volume. Bietak supported me from the outset of my journey My warmest thanks go to Myrna Pollak, who edited into scholarship in 1993. He introduced me to field the manuscript, and to Dr. Angela Schwab, the pro- archaeology and ceramic studies and nurtured my duction editor. Yulia Gottlieb kindly supported me in interest in the relationship between Egypt and the enhancement of drawings and in the arrange- Canaan. He was my M.A. and Ph.D. advisor and ment of the plates at the end of the book. financed the research and publication of this volume. Additional thanks go the institutions that granted I want to express my deepest appreciation and grati- me the permission to reproduce already published tude to this extraordinary scholar. My cordial thanks drawings of Egyptian-type pottery: the University of are further directed to Professor Israel Finkelstein Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthro- (Tel Aviv University), with whom I have had the pology, Philadelphia (Penn Museum); the Harvard honor to work in the excavations at Megiddo since Semitic Museum, Harvard University; the British 1998. Professor Finkelstein was the second advisor of Museum, London; the American Schools of Oriental my Ph.D. dissertation. He was generous in sharing Research; the Israel Antiquities Authority; the Israel with me his broad knowledge of the archaeology of Exploration Society; the Israel Museum, Jerusalem; the Land of the Bible. Beyond that, I am deeply the Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University of indebted to Doctor David Aston (Austrian Academy Jerusalem; the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv of Sciences, Vienna), who provided me with the tools University; the Department of Archaeology, Universi- to study the material presented here. He introduced ty of Haifa; the Archaeology Department, Ben-Guri- me to Egyptian pottery typology, chronology and on University of the Negev; and the Nelson Glueck ware analysis both as tutor and as friend. School of Biblical Archaeology of the Hebrew Union Moreover, I am grateful to all the scholars who College – Jewish Institute of Religion in Jerusalem. entrusted me with the publication of Egyptian ceram- To Eran Arie, Prof. Trude Dothan, Prof. Orly ic assemblages from various south Levantine sites Goldwasser, Dr. Robert Mullins, Dr. Nava Panitz- (Beth-Shean, Tel Aphek, Tel Mor, Ashkelon, Tel Serac Cohen and Alegre Savariego go my sincere thanks for and Tel Dan). These include Prof. Amihai Mazar (the their endless patience in various discussions. Last but Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University of not least, endless love and appreciation go to my fam- Jerusalem), Prof. Eliezer D. Oren (Ben-Gurion Uni- ily and especially to my wife, Meyrav, who accompa- versity of the Negev, Beersheba), Prof. Larry E. Stager nied me on this scholarly adventure with constant (the Harvard Semitic Museum, Harvard University), support and utmost enthusiasm. Dr. Yuval Gadot (the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University), Dr. Tristan Barako (Shelby White – Leon Levy Archaeological Publications Program) and Dr. Rachel Ben-Dov (Hebrew Union College – Mario A.S. Martin Jewish Institute of Religion, Jerusalem). February 2011 .