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Area A/II
Late 12th Dynasty until the End of the Second Intermediate
Period
by Irene Forstner-Müller |
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Area A/II was occupied for the first time during the
late 12th Dynasty (in Stratum H). In this period vestiges
of tents could be discerned which were later on (Stratum
G) substituted by solider buildings made of mud brick
and few tombs (pic.
1). |
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By stratum F (early 13th dynasty) area
A/II the settlement areas were converted into cemeteries,
which soon spread to surround a large, newly constructed
temple (III) of Middle Bronze Age type. This major temple,
30m long, is one of the largest sanctuaries known from
the Middle Bronze Age world. It was painted blue, thus
probably dedicated to a cosmic god. In front of it a rectangular
altar was found which a bunch of acorns was retrieved,
maybe an indication of a tree cult (Asherah). To the southeast
of the altar tree pits could be identified. The arrangement
suggests that these trees provided shade for the altar.
Perhaps the acorns fell from one of these trees. In the
forecourt offering pits surrounding the altar were excavated
which contained numerous and varied fragments of pottery
and calcinated cattle bones. In this part of the sacred
precinct no pig bones were found. |
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In two pits, in front of the temple, pairs
of donkeys were found. At Tell el-Dabca donkeys
generally used to be buried in pairs next to males, predominantly
as part of weapon burials and can be deemed status symbols
(pic.
2).
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By contrast with other animals, they were
usually buried complete. The custom is clearly a well-known
Near Eastern trait and was probably adopted from Mesopotamia
via Palestine and Syria. In Egypt it is confined to the
Eastern Delta, at Tell el-Dabca donkey burials
are attested from stratum H to E/1.
Within the Mati correspondence the expression "to
butcher a donkey" was synonymous for making a treaty.
Perhaps the same cultural trait can be assumed in case
of the temple offering pit.
Within and near the precinct of the main temple, III,
two door jambs of limestone inscribed with the names of
King cAa-zeh-Rec Nehesy were found, not in situ. This
ruler of the early 14th dynasty left a scatter of monuments
in the Eastern Delta (Bubastis, Tell el-Dabca
and Tell Hebwa).
Around this main temple, several smaller buildings/temples
were built, some with Near Eastern layout, some as Egyptian
mortuary chapels. |
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On the western flank of this sacred complex
there was a second temple (II), a "Breithaustempel"
of old Near Eastern tradition. It had a double entrance
from a courtyard and a tower, its sanctuary was to the
left of the axis. This temple with a bent axis bears a
close resemblance to another temple which has been found
at the nearby site of Tell Ibrahim Awad (Van Haarlem 2000,
Eigner 2000, 2003).
Besides those Near Eastern type temples stood temples
with Egyptian layout which can be connected to the mortuary
cult.
Cemeteries came into being at the edges of this district.
Since their first appearance, the tombs inside these cemeteries
have been marked out by a blend of Egyptian and Asiatic
components (pic.
3). |
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Tombs without tomb architecture, such as
pit burials and jar burials, and tombs with mudbrick architecture
are discernible within the tomb architecture. As a rule,
the dead used to be buried with their heads pointing towards
the entrance, the most popular burial position being the
supine position with the contracted legs pointing upwards.
Rarely was the head positioned on a brick - a likely substitute
for a headrest which is also known from Elephantine, albeit
only for the late Old Kingdom and First Intermediate Period.
Single and multiple burials occur throughout the ages.
Offerings used to be laid according to shape and size:
weapons always on the body (pic.
4); toggle pins always on the left shoulder, as were
bowls and dishes - some near the head of the deceased;
light vessels like jars, cups and juglets near the head
or the torso. Groups of juglets can also be found at the
feet, large vessels at the entrance.
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During the later Hyksos time (identifiable
from stratum D/3 onwards) the living quarters of the town
reached into the funerary area. Tombs and chapels were
built over. Only Temple III remains intact. However, the
plot distribution is the same. Obviously, the same land
owners were at work. |
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Bibliography:
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Bietak, M.
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| 1968 |
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Vorläufiger Bericht über die erste und
zweite Kampagne der österreichischen Ausgrabungen
auf Tell el-Dabca im Ostdelta Ägyptens
(1966/1967), MDIK 23,
79-114. |
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| 1970 |
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Vorläufiger Bericht über die dritte
Kampagne der österreichischen Ausgrabungen
auf Tell el-Dabca, MDIK 26, 15-41. |
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| 1989 |
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Servant Burials in the Middle Bronze Age Culture
of the Eastern Nile Delta, EI 20, 30-43. |
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| 1991 |
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Unter Mitarbeit von C. Mlinar und A. Schwab, Tell
el-Dabca V, Ein Friedhofsbezirk der
Mittleren Bronzezeitkultur mit Totentempel und Siedlungsschichten,
UZK VIII. Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften,
Denkschriften der Gesamtakademie IX, Wien |
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| 1994a |
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Kleine ägyptische Tempel und Wohnhäuser
des späten Mittleren Reiches. Zur Genese eines
beliebten Raumkonzeptes von Tempeln des Neuen Reiches,
in: C. Berger, G. Clerc und N. Grimal, Hommages
à Jean Leclant. IFAO, Kairo, 413-435. |
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| 1994b |
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"Götterwohnung und Menschenwohnung",
Die Entstehung eines Tempeltyps des Mittleren Reiches
aus der zeitgenössischen Wohnarchitektur, HÄB
37, 13-22. |
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| 2002 |
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Temple or 'Beth Marzeah' ? in Symbiosis, Symbolism
and the Power of the Past: Canaan, Ancient Israel
and their Neighbors, From the Late Bronze Age through
Roman Palestine. The W.F. Albright Institute of
Archaeological Research and the American Schools
of Oriental Research Centennial Symposium, Israel
Museum, Jerusalem, May 29-31, 2000, eds. W.G. Dever
and S. Gitin. Winona Lake, Ind. 2002 |
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Boessneck, J.
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| 1976 |
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Tell el-Dabca III. Die Tierknochenfunde
1966-1969, UZK III. Österreichische Akademie
der Wissenschaften, Denkschriften der Gesamtakademie
V, Wien |
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Forstner-Müller,
I.
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| 1999 |
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Recent Find of a Warrior Tomb with a Servant Burial
in Area A/II at Tell el- Dabca in the
Eastern Nile Delta. Zeitschrift für klassische
Archäologie 12/IX/ |
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| 2001 |
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Vorbericht der Grabung im Areal A/II von Tell
el-Dabca, Ä&L 11, 197-220 |
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| 2002 |
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Tombs and Burial Customs at Tell el-Dabca
in Area A/II at the end of the MBIIA-Period (Stratum
F), in M. Bietak (Hg.), The Middle Bronze Age in
the Levant. Proceedings of an International Conference
on MBIIA Ceramic Material in Vienna. 24th-26th of
January 2001, 163-184 |
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| 2003b |
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Gräber und Grabkult des späten Mittleren
Reiches und der Zweiten Zwischenzeit im Ostdelta,
in: S. Seidlmayer, S. Lundström (Hg.), Akten
des Kongresses über Totenreligion im Niltal
und im Vorderen Orient, Berlin, AOF 12 |
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Müller V.
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| 1998 |
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Offering Pits of Tell el-Dabca, in: C. Eyre (Hg.), Proceedings of
the Seventh
International Congress of Egyptologists, Cambridge, 3-9 September 1995, OLA 82. Leuven-Paris-Sterling, Virginia, 793-803
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| 2001 |
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Bestand und Deutung der Opferdepots bei Tempeln, in
Wohnhausbereichen und
Gräbern der Zweiten Zwischenzeit in Tell el-Dabca, in: H. Willems,
(Hg.), Social Aspects of Funerary Culture in the Egyptian Old and
Middle Kingdoms, OLA 103, Leuven-Paris-Sterling, Virginia, 175-204
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| 2002 |
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Offering Practices in the Temple Courts of Tell el-Dabca and the Levant, in: Bietak, M. (Hg.), The Middle Bronze Age in the Levant.
Proceedings of an International Conference on MB IIA Ceramic Material
in Vienna, 24th –26th of January 2001, Contributions to the Chronology
of the Eastern Mediterranean 3, Denkschriften der Gesamtakademie 26,
Wien, 269-296 |
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Winkler, E. M. und H.
Wilfling
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| 1991 |
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Tell el-Dabca VI. Die menschlichen
Skelettfunde aus dem Bereich des Tells A,
UZK IX. Österreichische Akademie der Wisenschaften,
Denkschriften der Gesamtakademie X, Wien |
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