Tell el-Dab´a XII

Excavations over the past thirty years at the site of Tell el-Dab`a have revealed that it is by far the largest and the oldest Middle Bronze Age site in the Eastern Delta. Beginning in 1966 and resumed after a break between 1970 and 1974, some 50 excavation and study seasons have led to the accumulation of an enormous amount of material from sites dating from the Twelfth Dynasty to the Late New Kingdom. Most of the investigated strata, tombs and temples belong to the time of the Late Middle Kingdom and the Hyksos Period. The wealth of material finds which derive from this site is legendary, not least amongst these are those of a ceramic nature. This volume, the first of two which deal with the pottery from the Late Middle Kingdom to the end of the Hyksos Period, comprises an introduction and a general corpus of Egyptian and imported Levantine pottery from the time of the Late Twelfth and Thirteenth Dynasties. The co-existence between the culture of Ancient Egypt during the Late Middle Kingdom and the Second Intermediate Period with the Syro-Palestinian Middle Bronze Age culture receives its first detailed definition here, and, together with its companion volume on the pottery of the Hyksos Period, and conclusions, this book will be an important part of the publication results of the excavations at Tell el- Dab`a. Outside of the Memphis-Fayoum region, and, to a lesser extent, Elephantine, pottery of the Second Intermediate Period is but poorly known, and the publication of this material is a distinct addition to our knowledge of the regional styles, which were in operation at this time. Volume 1 begins with a general introduction listing the scope of the publication, clay fabrics, vessel terminology, differing parts of a vessel and descriptive abbreviations. Particularly noteworthy is the discussion of jug terminology, a particularly tricky subject as anyone working with such material is fully aware. This is followed by the corpus proper. Drawing primarily on complete forms, divided into 196 vessel groups, with 755 fully described and illustrated pots, it is logically arranged beginning with Nile clay forms which develop from native Egyptian traditions. These are themselves divided into decorated fine wares, undecorated fine wares, and coarse wares. All vessel groups are given both English and German names, which thus makes the volume easily usable for both English and German speakers. Some fifty vessel groups are included within this native Egyptian Nile clay corpus. This is followed by Egyptian marl clay vessels, divisible into nineteen vessel groups, undoubtedly imported into Tell el-Dab`a from elsewhere within Egypt. All told these sixty-nine groups represent a typical late Twelfth-Thirteenth Dynasty corpus known throughout Egypt, but never before illustrated in such detail. It will thus be of major importance to Egyptologists working on other Egyptian sites of a similar date. The corpus then shifts gear and there then follows a section on Levantine imports, and, what is very interesting, a large corpus of Levantine vessel forms which are clearly being copied by local potters using local Egyptian clays. This consists of eighty-three vessel groups, most with several subdivisions, and this corpus is perhaps unique to Tell el-Dab`a. As with the Egyptian corpus this is also divided into fine and coarse ware sections. This is followed by a chapter on Late Middle Kingdom functional vessels, divisible into twenty-five groups, and finally a section devoted to Late Middle Kingdom votive vessels. The volume is rounded off with a substantial bibliography. All the vessels are grouped typologically which allows a fast overview of how certain forms develop over time, the more so since they are all clearly illustrated at a user friendly scale.