Edwin см. уап den Brink and Eliot Braun

Archaeology оГ Early Northcastem Africa Sludies ill Afric3.11 Archaeology 9

POZl1<1I1 Archaeological Museum 2006

South Levantine Influences оп Egyptian Stone and Pottery Production: Some Rare Examples

Memories 0/ Lecl. Ьу Edw;II "а" den Brillk

Му first memories of Lech Ю'е while ту colJeagues and J conducted the AUSE survey when in the mid-eighties we vi sited the expedition working at Minshat АЬи Отаг. Lech, уеаг after уеаг and always full of good humor and good wiJI, enthusiastically and energeticalJy would explain lO оиг team what was uncovered at that particular point of the excavation оп the gezira. Afterwards he would ассотрапу us to the excavation house where Kaгla would usually show us the most recent finds uncovered in the graves. This viewing was then followed Ьу lengthy discussions and exchanges of opinion, symposium-style in the true meaning of the word, that is accompanied Ьу lots of food and liquid refresh­ments. Оиг team always left МАО feeling uplifted in intellect, spirit and body, and yes еуег so slightly sad to abandon that small oasis of fгiendship and shaгed interests. We could then appreciate Lech's pгofuse knowledge, enthusiasm and dedication to his colleagues and students. Не will not Ье forgotten Ьу those who had the pleasure and privilege to know him and preserve his тетогу.

Introduction

Recent excavations at Теll el-Faгkha in the easteгn Nile Delta have revealed а group of eight calcite slOne vessels from а single cache. The vessels were found upside down, ргоЬаЫу where they had Ьееп placed in а single соп­tainer of some organic mateгial (possibIy а reed basket) now decayed. The cache, derived from а settlement context оп the easteгn Кот, is dated to Nagada ПlВ (Cialowicz & Chlodnicki, pers. сотт.) Ьу its 'sandwiched' archaeological context. Jt lies beneath graves of the Eaгly Dynastic period and is superimposed оп Naqada 111 building levels. While most of the slOne vessels аге of welJ knOWI1 Egyptian morphological types (Fig. 1), Ol1e smallish jar (inv. Nr. EI05/12N3. reg.

8 18 Ed\vi ll с.м. Vaтl dell Brink апd El iot В.'<ШIl

по, 435) stands Ollt as а гш'е, diminutive 'сору ' of ап ideali zed, south LеVШlliпе

ЕВ 1 stOI'age jar, complete with two well-defined ledge handles (Figs, 2, 3), As noted below, the Те" el-Farkha specimen is ап addition ю а small , select collec­tion af stопе vessels af clear SOUtll Lеvалtiпе morphological illspiration. produced in сопtеmрогш'у (royal?) workshops in Egypt.

Egyptiall Stolle Vessels of South Levalltille арреагаllсе

The earliest Egyptian stone vessel industry began in Naqada l алd seems [о have reached а first florllit iл Naqada IП whел it was ргоduсiлg а l агgе vагi е tу

of shapes and fОПllS (e,g, el-Khouli 1978; Aston 1994), тапу copies of Еgурtiал ceramic ргоюtуреs, Some of these were obviously copied fгот ceramic [уре,

already influenced in details алеl additions Ьу south Levantine potte,'y morphol­ogy that iлtгоduсеd such аррuгtелалсеs as lug-hалdlеs, tllыlаг-hалdlеss and ledge-l13ndles, Wl1ich initially арреагеd оп vessels imported fгоm the Sоuthегп Lеvалt during the sесолd half of the Naqada 11, Sllch additions were аррагелtlу

appealil1g to Egyptiall potters who imitated them and transmogrified them into highly stylized гелditiоп s, quite diffе,'елt from thei,' prototypes,

Today such examples of pottery аге аmолgst specialized groups, identified first Ьу Petrie WllO labeled them "О-, F- and W-wares", [п their tигл , these l'OI'eign Iшпdlе templates also found their way iлtо the герегюiге of Egyptian ,!опе vessels (e,g, el- Кhouli 's [1978] Class 11 jш's, А: cylinder jагs with ,егреп­tiле handles), SUCl1 stоле vessels exemplify Еgурtiал adaptation and со-орtiол оГ fOI'eign ideas, i,e, hyb,'id types, Il'3nslated in!O stone, similar [о шоsе fОllлd iл

potte,'y vessels,

There is, 11Owever, anothel" extremely гаге class of stone vessels that арреш's ю represent ап effort Ьу Egyptian wогkшеп [о direct ly сору souII, Lеvзпtiпе mогрhо lоgiсаl types rather than to repгoduce south Levantine iпflн­елсеd types, Опе sllch example is the Те" el-Farkha sЮпе jar, 'П the орiпiол of the wrile,'s of these !ines it is а [гuе сору of а south Levantine ceramic prototype tгалs!аtеd iлtо sюле, ratheJ' thал а сору of ал Еgурtiал [уре ceramic vesse! t!13t Iшd pl'ev iously Ьогюwеd SO I11e soutll LеVЗlltiпе lПогрhо lоg iса l aspects. Two aspects OI' t!lis vesse! that allow fO!' SUC!l а precise с!Jaгас tе,'izаt i оп ш'е, its оуе,'а "

morp!lO!ogy W11ic!1 is definiti ve!y поп-Еgурtiал , алd its broad !edge !13лd!еs that were not perforated, Ledge hand!es оп the mаjогitу of Egyptian stone vesse!s of this period ш'е ves tigia! (i,e, пш'J'оw, decorative e!ements) and often pierced (cf, e!-Kholl!i !978), '

I Picrcil1g or ledge IШlldlеs is oll ly veгy rarely appl ied 10 cOl1tel1lporary Southern Lev311tille pOHCI·Y vessels. TI1C Се\у kllO\Vn cxal1lplcs аге al\vays sillglc piercillg (see, Сог exal11ple, \' аl1 dell BI·i llk 2002: 295, Fig. 19.5) , 31ld COlllrasl \vi lll Ihe al\\/ays doubIe piercil1g 110Ied 011 rel evant Egypliall slol1e speCi l11Cl1S.

Soulh LeVall lil1e I Il П uеllсеs 011 Egypl ian SI011e 3Ild РОIlСГУ . 8 19

Fig. 1. Finds f'ml11 Те ll е l - Fш·khа. PllOlO Ьу Anlla Biel.

820 Ed\vi ll С. М. VШl dell B."illk 311d Eliot ВПЩIl

Fig. 2. Tell еl-Fагklш \vavy- h 'lIldlеd pot of SlO rlC. 111V. Nr. E/05/12N3.rcg. по. 435. Photo Ьу АI1IШ Biel .

Fig. З. Tel l cl-Farkha wavy-handlcd РОI ofstone. lnv. Nr. E/05/ 12N3.reg. по. 435. Drawing Ьу А I1IШ Lопgа.

SOlllll LсvшН irlС IrlПlrс rlсеs 0[1 ЕgурliШl StOIlC <l tld Роttсгу . 82 1

j:;'ig. 5. KrlObbcd bo\v l . Мuп iс ll As 5985.

822 Edwin с.м . van dcn Brink <l lld El io( Bгaun

Two additional yessels in the rarified аssешЫаgе of south Leyantine copies Ьу Egyptians ате а sша Ii bowl fгош ТеН еl DаЬ'а (Daqahlia Proyi nce, eastern Ni le delta; Abd еl-Мопеiш 2000: 152-153, Figs. 2Ь, 3) and another опе acqllired оп the antiquities шагkеt . The fOГlner, weIi proyenienced froш ап ехсн­yation, and dated Ьу its (graye) context !о the beginn ing of the First Dynasty (Abd еl-Nопеiш 2000: 151), is а hemisphel'ical bowl of basalt adorned with а single, continuous, lю .. i zопtаl row of eyenly spaced conical p .. otuberances below its rim. ТI1Зt bowl sha .. es the 11ighly di stinctiye пюгрhо lоgу of пшnеrotts ceramic yessels fl'om more or less contemporat·y contexts in 111e sоutl,еп, Leyant а, weIi а. а few ex",nples from Egyp!. The purcllased yessel is of similar арреагапсе, and purportedly deriyed from а Delta site. I! was fashioned of hard yeIiow limestone and now resides in the Egyptian coIiection of the Agyplisches Мusеuш Mtinchen (Figs. 4-5).

Уе! another example of Egyptian s!One yessel production of а south­Leyantine shape тау Ье а partiaIiy preseryed calc ite holemouth jar from the south Leyantine site of et-ТеIi/Аi (Amiran 1970: Fig. 1; PI . 39). Although this obY iotts Egyptian import was fou nd in а temple dated [о the ЕВ IП period (Iate 3'" InilIennitttn ВСЕ) , this yessel, and few Egyptian stone bowls found in the sшnе temple, were almost certai nly heirlooms that а, Amiran (1970: 172- 173) I1ЗS demonst .. ated, should Ье dated пюге 01' less!O (l1е pel'iod of the First Dynasty. TI1e jaJ' froJn Ai is made of hori zontal segl11ents. as Ш'е at least two stone vessels I· .. от tlle ТеН el-Farkha cache. А ltlюugh (l1 е .. е is по mOI'e iпfопnаtiоп а. (о [l1е

u ltiшнtе source of tl1is export , it is 11 0 1 impossibIe it originated in а sitnilш' \vOI'k­s lюр а, (l1е specimens from ТеН el-Farkha.

SOUtll Levantil1e kl10bbed bo\Vls il1 stol1e and pottery

Stone examples of knobbed bowls (Braun 1990: Туре [V) fro m tlle sоuthеш Leyant аге equaIiy rare; опlу two sотеwl1Зl similar examples аге

known ( о lhe aulhors of thi s рарег. Опе is apparently а re-worked, fenestrated, pedestaled bowl of the Chalcolithic period, fou nd in а сауе а! Megiddo (Braun 1990: Fig. 4.3А), seemingly in ап ЕВ 1 context. The other is а minuscule frag­ment, а rim wi th the distinctiye conical ргошЬегапсе, apparently from ЕВ 1 leyels а! Beth Yerah (Braun 1990: Fig. 4 .4). Both examples аге made of basalt, а material commonly used in the southern Leyant from Neolithic times for the pro­duction of bowls (уап den Brink е! аl . 1999), ,о thel'e is по reason [о suspect ап Еgурti ап огigiп fOl' either object.

Tllese knobbed bowls арреа .. (о Ье based оп cel'amic рго!О-tуреs , пюstl у

from adyanced ЕВ 1 phases in tlle ПОI·thеш region (ВI'аШI 1985). Pottel'y proto­[уре> haye siтilш' conical РГОIllЬе .. апсе, j ust below their I·ims. The potte .. y types тну Ье of different colors and show considerabIe yariation in oyerall form. ' " the

Soulh Lеvапtiпе IпЛuепсеs оп Еgурtiап Stопс апd POllery ... 823

north examples tend to have simple, incurving walls with rounded rims and flat bases (e.g. Braun 1990: Fig. 4: 5). Others, known only from fragments (e.g. Braun 1985; Zuckerman 2003: Fig. 23.15-20) probably were shallow, almost hemispherical in fоГП1 with incurving, tapered rims. Their colors уагу from gray to аlшоst black ог red and аге sometimes associated with specialized production such as Gray Bumished Ware ог 'Crackled Ware' that is often mottled with red and black patches, or painted red (Braun 1989). Examples тау Ье burnished ог un-burnished.

Additional examples of ЕВ 1 bowls with similar conical knobs аге known from mortuary contexts in the southem region. They аге гаге and show consider­able variation in form. Опе published example from Те" еп Nasbeh (Wampler 1947: PI. 52.1124) is а flat-based , deep bowl with slightly inverted, tapered rim. Somewhat unusually, the conical protrusions аге at the уегу top of the rim. Опе of them is pierced vertically. Another specimen, fгom AilEt Те" (Marquet Krause 1949: PI. LXXIV.I055), is also flat-based and deep, but has а broad, everted rim. Its protrusions, placed midway down the wall of the vessel give it the impression of carination and make it тоге similar in morphology to northern exarnples of Gray Bumished Ware with flattened pгotuberances. А third, unpub­lished bowl, оп public display in the Israel Museum, is fгom а [отЬ context а! Azor, а cemetery that is noted for yielding а considerable quantity of Egyptian imports. '! is somewhat unusual because it has опе, flat, pierced protuberance in place of а conical knob. Such handles аге по! uncommon оп other bowls of the Late ЕВ 1 horizon in the southem region. These southem examples аге made of buff ог light brown clay and арреаг to Ье produced locally. Additional ceramic examples, of fabrics тоге similar to the southern types, аге known from Egyptian contexts (see Abd el-Moneim 2000: in particular Fig. 4f-g).

Another unusual object, this time of pottery, adds а little el11phasis to wlшt appears to Ье а desire оп the раг! of ап Egyptian potter to directly reproduce ves­sels of 1110rphological types preferred Ьу their south Levantine neighbors. While there аге тапу eXaJnples of Egyptian pottery vessels influenced Ьу south Le­vantine decoration, only опе exal11ple of а deliberate сору (albeit somewhat idea­lized) of а south Levantine morphological type in pottery is known to the w"iters of these lines. It is а sOl11ewhat dil11inutive vessel (Fig. 6-7) recovered in а clear Late ЕВ 1 context а! Теl Halif Теггасе (see also Levy е! al. 1997: 34). Of unusu­ally light colored clay with а finely polished surface, this jar was checked petro­graphically for the origin of its fabric. It turned out to Ье demo)lstrably Egyptian and obviously ап ancient export to the hOl11eland of this style of vessel (sic!).

'" conclusion it сап Ье said that the Те" el-Farkha and Те" el-Dab'a stone jars presented аЬоуе, in conjunction with the pottery jar found at Теl Halif Теггасе, fоГП1 рап of а highly rarified collection of artifacts produced in Egypt

824 Ed,vi ll с.м. vап ,lcl1 Вгi пk i.I t1d Eliot Bratlll

Fig. 6 апd 7. Vсssс ll'гош Теl Halir Tcrracc.

during Naqada 111 , according 10 soulh Levanline ПlOrpllOlog ica l lemplales. They гергеsеПI еХlгаогdiпагilу гаге апd UllUsual examples of Ihe i'1IГu s i оп оС fогеigп

illtluel1ces il1tO tlle уегу traditiol1al sphel'es of Еgурtiзп stol1e 311d сегаш iс vessel рюdUСliоп. T I1ey сап Ье сопsidе,·еd аddiliопа l examples 10 Ы'РРОГI 111e view developed Ьу Wilkiпsоп iп hi s раре,· " RealilY verSllS Ideology" (Wilkiпsоп

2002).

Ackno,vledgements

The wrilers аге Ihапkflll 10 Krzyzslof Cialowicz апd Marek Сhlоdпiсki fo r Iheir kind pel"J11ission !о ргеsеПI tl1 е Те" el-Farkha s!Опе vessel апd !о Sylvia Schoske (AgYPli sc l1es MlIseum MUnchen) for 11 ег kiпd pel"lnission to гергоd ll се bowl AS 5985 . Thanks аге also due Тот Е. Levy апd Е. Капsа for 111e iI" kiпd регтissiоп !о reproduce Ihe Теl Halif Тегг.се pottery jar.

References

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