together with Lyvia Morgan and Erico Peintner, Preliminary Report of the Tell el Dab'a Wall...

ÄGYPTEN UND LEVANTEEGYPT AND THE LEVANT

XXII/XXIII2012/2013

Internationale Zeitschrift für ägyptische Archäologie und deren Nachbargebiete

ÄGY PTEN UND LEVANTE

EGYPT AND THE LEVANTInternational Journal for Egyptian Archaeology and Related Disciplines

XXII/XXIII2012/2013

Founder and Editor in Chief: MANFRED BIETAK

Editors: BARBARA BECK-BRANDT, ERNST CZERNY, FRANK KAMMERZELL,CHRISTIANA KÖHLER, LAWRENCE E. STAGER

Institut für Orientalische und Europäische Archäologie der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Abteilung Ägypten und LevanteÖsterreichisches Archäologisches Institut • Institut für Archäologie der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

Institut für Ägyptologie der Universität Wien • Semitic Museum – Harvard University

Die Zeitschrift Ägypten und Levante ist eine internationale peer-reviewed Zeitschriftund wird gemeinsam herausgegeben und finanziert durch

Egypt and the Levant is a peer-reviewed journal. It is edited and funded by the following institutions

Alle Rechte vorbehaltenISBN 978-3-7001-7532-2

ISSN 1015-5104Copyright © 2013 by Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien

Satz: Crossdesign Werbeagentur GmbH, GrazDruck: Wograndl Druck GmbH, Druckweg 1, A-7210 Mattersburg

http://hw.oeaw.ac.at/7532-2http://verlag.oeaw.ac.at

Printed and bound in the EU

Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften

Semitic Museum Harvard University

Wissenschaftlicher Beirat/Advisory BoardJames P. Allen, Providence – Dorothea Arnold, New York – Shafia Bedier, Cairo –

Claude Doumet-Serhal, London – Hermann Gentz, Beirut – Orly Goldwasser, Jerusalem – Nicolas Grimal, Paris – Jens Kamlah, Tübingen – Angelika Lohwasser, Münster –

Peter Der Manuelian, Harvard – Hartmut Matthäus, Erlangen – Thomas Schneider, Vancouver – Stephan Seidlmayer, Berlin–Cairo – Peter Warren, Bristol – Harco Willems, Leuven –

Erich Winter, Trier

Die Zeitschrift Ägypten und Levante ist Ä&L abzukürzen.

The Journal Egypt and the Levant should be abbreviated E&L.

Beiträge sind zu senden an/Contributions shall be sent toErnst CzernyOREA. Abteilung Ägypten und LevantePostgasse 7/101010 [email protected]: http://verlag.oeaw.ac.at/

Inhaltsverzeichnis/Contents

Abkürzungen/Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

M. Bietak, Vorwort für das Herausgebergremium/Preface for the Editorial Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

M. Bietak, N. Math, V. Müller, C. Jurman, Report on the excavations of a Hyksos Palace at Tell el-Dabca/Avaris (23rd August–15th November 2011) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

I. Forstner-Müller, P. Rose, Grabungen des Österreichischen Archäologischen Instituts Kairo in Tell el-Dabca/Avaris: Das Areal R/III. 1. Vorbericht (Herbst 2010 bis Frühjahr 2011) . 55

Ch. Reali, The Seal Impressions from cEzbet Rushdi, Area R/III of Tell el-Dabca: Preliminary Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

M. Marée, Comments on two Tell el-Dabca sealings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

M. Lehmann, Vorbericht über die Grabungstätigkeiten der Frühjahrskampagne 2011 im Areal A/I von Tell el-Dabca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

F. van Koppen, M. Lehmann, A cuneiform sealing from Tell el-Dabca and its historical context . . 91

D. Collon, M. Lehmann, S.E.M. Müller, Tell el-Dabca Sealings 2009–2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

J. Kriwet, M. Lehmann, Ein Knorpelfischrest aus der ptolemäischen Siedlung in Tell el-Dabca, Ägypten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

S.E.M. Müller, Rettungsgrabung cEzbet Ruschdi/Tell el-Dabca (Areal R/II), Vorbericht über die Grabungskampagnen 2008/2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

M. Bietak, C. v. Rüden, J. Becker, J. Jungfleisch, L. Morgan, E. Peintner, Preliminary Report of the Tell el-Dabca Wall Painting Project – Season 2011/2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

J. Becker, J. Jungfleisch, C. v. Rüden, From Small Fragments to Large Animals. A Large-Scale Animal Fight in ‘Palace F’ at Tell el-Dabca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

J. Budka, F. Doyen, Life in New Kingdom towns in Upper Nubia – New evidence from recent excavations on Sai Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

J. Budka, T. Mekis, M.-C. Bruwier, Reuse of Saite temple tombs in the Asasif during the early Ptolemaic time – the tomb group of Mw.t-Mnw from TT 414 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Egyptian Mission Rescue Excavations in Tell el-Retaba. Part 1: New Kingdom Remains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

D. Aston, Radiocarbon, Wine Jars and New Kingdom Chronology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

A. Ben-Tor, A Decorated Box in the Collections of the Bible Lands Museum, Jerusalem . . . . . . . . 317

E. Braun, A Note on Relations between the Southern Levant and Egypt during Early Dynasty 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339

G. Broekman, Manetho’s ‘three other kings’ between Osorthôn and Takelôthis, and their importance for the chronology of the Third Intermediate Period and the New Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349

Inhaltsverzeichnis/Contents8

O. Goldwasser, Out of the mists of the alphabet: Redrawing the “Brother of the Ruler of Retjenu” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353

, North or South? A Note on the Provenance of EA 220 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375

H. Tronchère, B. Millet, J.-P. Goiran, P. Carbonel, H. Djerbi, R. Vera, M. Torab, M. Elassal, Y. Callot, Geoarchaeological results from the harbor of Taposiris and implications concerning the construction of the harbor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383

B. Vanthuyne, Amarna factories, workshops, faience moulds and their produce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395

U. Zevulun, I. Ziffer, Back from the Hunt: A Pictorial Tell el-Yahudiyeh Juglet in the Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431

Vorwort Preface

Die vorliegende Ausgabe von „Ägypten und Levan-te“ erscheint als Doppelnummer mit der Zählung 22/23 – 2012/2013. Der Grund für das Erscheinen als Doppelheft liegt vor allem in dem (mit 454 Sei-ten) überdurchschnittlichen Umfang des Bandes. Dieser kam dadurch zustande, dass es den Heraus-gebern wünschenswert erschien, keinen Artikel aus Platzgründen zurückzustellen, sondern alle einge-reichten und angenommenen Artikel in diesen Band aufzunehmen. Das Erscheinen des umfangreichen Bandes wurde auch durch die Umstellung auf das für alle Publikationen der Österreichischen Akade-mie der Wissenschaften nunmehr vorgeschriebene peer-review System verzögert. Wir sind zuversicht-lich, dass mit dem folgenden Band 24/2014, der

Voraussicht nach fristgerecht erscheinen wird, der bisherige jährliche Erscheinungsrhytmus wieder hergestellt ist.

Dieser Band umfasst im Sinne der Widmung dieser Zeitschrift vielfältige Beiträge, die von Nu-bien/Sudan über Ober- und Unterägypten, Sinai bis in die Levante reichen und auch die minoische Altertumskunde umfassen. Traditionsgemäß wer-den Vorberichte über die Ausgrabungen von Tell el-Dabca in dieser Zeitschrift untergebracht, die von der weiteren Freilegung eines Palastes, der mit dem Hyksos Chaian zu assoziieren ist (Beitrag Manfred Bietak, Nicola Math, Vera Müller und Claus Jur-man) bis zu domestisch-administrativen Bereichen der gleichen Zeit (Beitrag Irene Forstner-Müller, Pamela Rose, Chiara Reali und Marcel Marée), Rettungsgrabungen im Areal R/II (Sandra Müller) und schließlich zur spätzeitlichen Besiedlung des Tells (Manuela Lehmann, Dominique Collon, Franz van Koppen, Jürgen Kriwet) reichen.

Die Aufarbeitung der minoischen Fresken des Tuthmosidenpalastes bei cEzbet Helmi/Tell el- Dabca1 (Beitrag Manfred Bietak, Constance von Rüden, Johannes Becker, Johannes Jungfleisch und

This issue of the journal Egypt and the Levant appears as a double volume 22/23 for 2012/2013. The reason for this may be found in its unusual size (454 pages). It seemed preferable to the editors to include all submitted and accepted papers into the current issue and not to postpone the publication of some of them to the next volume, hence the size and double numbering. Due to its substance and the in-troduction of new external peer review regulations for all publications of the Austrian Academy, the preparation of this volume took a longer time than envisaged. With volume 24 for 2014 completed

will be able to resume the usual yearly publication rhythm.

This volume contains in keeping with the aims of this journal a variety of contributions which encompass the regions of Nubia/Sudan, Upper and Lower Egypt, the Sinai, the Levant and reach out even to Minoan studies. Traditionally one may find preliminary reports on fieldwork in Tell el-Dabca such as the continuation of the excava-tions of a palace associated with the Hyksos Khayan (contribution Manfred Bietak, Nicola Math, Vera Müller and Claus Jurman), from do-mestic-administrative quarters of the same period (contribution Irene Forstner-Müller, Pamela Rose, Chiara Reali and Marcel Marée), rescue excava-tions at cEzbet Rushdi, area R/II, (Sandra Müller) and finally the Late Period excavations (Manuela Lehmann, Dominique Collon, Franz van Koppen and Jürgen Kriwet).

The Minoan mural paintings from the Thut-mosid palace at cEzbet Helmi/Tell el-Dabca1 (Con-tributions Manfred Bietak, Constance von Rüden, Johannes Becker, Johannes Jungfleisch and Enrico Peintner) are a project of long durée which allows also interim reports and special studies one of which is published in this volume (Johannes Becker, Jo-hannes Jungfleisch, Constance von Rüden).

1 M. BIETAK, N. MARINATOS and C. PALYVOU, Taureador Scenes in Tell el-Dabca (Avaris) and Knossos, with a contribution of A. BRYSBAERT, UZK 27, Vienna 2007; N. MARINATOS, Lions from Tell el-Dabca, Ä&L 20 (2010), 325–355; L. MOR-GAN, A Pride of Leopards: A Unique Apect of the Hunt Frieze

from Tell el-Dabca, Ä&L 20 (2010), 263–301; EADEM, An Aegean Griffin in Egypt: The Hunt Frieze at Tell el-Dabca, E&L 20, 303–323.

Vorwort/Preface14

Enrico Peintner) ist ein Langzeitprojekt, das zwi-schenzeitlich zu Spezialstudien wie die in diesem Band vorgelegte (Johannes Becker, Johannes Jung-fleisch, Constance von Rüden) einlädt.

Wir freuen uns, abermals Beiträge der Forschun-gen der ägyptischen Altertümerverwaltung und der polnisch-slowakischen Mission auf Tell el-Retaba in diesen Band einbeziehen zu können (Beitrag Slawomir Rzepka, Mustafa Nour el-Din, Anna

2 Dieser Tell weist mit Besiedlung und Gräbern der Hyksoszeit sowie mit Siedlungsschichten der 18. und der 19. Dynastie eine ähnliche Belegungsstratigraphie wie Tell el-Dabca auf, besitzt darüber hinaus jedoch eine reiche Belegung der Dritten Zwischenzeit. Durch Straßen- und Kanalprojekte sind jedoch die-se wichtigen Denkmäler akut gefährdet. Deshalb werden von der ägyptischen Altertümerverwaltung und dem polnisch-slowakischen Team alle Anstren-gungen unternommen, die Teile des Tells, die durch die modernen Eingriffe der Zerstörung preisgege-ben sind, durch Rettungsgrabungen voll zu doku-mentieren.

Die Chronologie-Forschungen des Spezialfor-schungsbereichs SCIEM 2000 haben eine sinn-gemäße Fortsetzungen mit den Beiträgen von Da-vid Aston über neue Aspekte der Chronologie des Neuen Reichs und Gerard Broeckman über die drei von Manetho genannten obskuren „anderen“ Köni-ge der 22. Dynastie der Dritten Zwischenzeit und daraus entstehenden möglichen chronologischen Folgerungen.

Die auffallende Präsenz ägyptischer materieller Kultur in der südlichen Levante zur Zeit der Dyna-stie 0 wird von Eliot Braun aus Anlass der Erschlie-ßung des neuen Fundplatzes Ptora in der Nähe des bekannten Tell Erani einer erneuten Untersuchung unterzogen. Ausgehend von dem ägyptischen Stütz-punkt auf Tell Sakan in der Nähe von Gaza scheint sich ein ganzes Netzwerk von Siedlungen in der südlichen Negev gebildet zu haben, die mit Ägyp-ten in regem Handelsaustausch standen. Warum dieses Netzwerk wieder zusammenbrach, ist nach wie vor ungeklärt.

Die ikonographischen Studien an mit Bein einge-legten Truhen werden von Amnon Ben-Tor anhand eines reich dekorierten Beispiels aus dem Bible Land Museum in Jerusalem fortgesetzt,3 das den ägypti-

We are happy to publish the continuation of the results of fieldwork of the Egyptian antiquities au-thorities and the Polish-Slovak Expedition at Tell el-Retaba (contribution Slawomir Rzepka, Mustafa

2 This mound and its occupation with settlements and graves of the Hyksos Period, as well as with build-ings of the 18th and 19th Dynasty has a similar stratigraphy as Tell el-Dabca but has on top of it an occupation of the Third Intermediate Period. These monuments are, however, threatened by recent street and canal projects. The teams of the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and the Polish-Slovac Ex-pedition take all measures to excavate and docu-ment those parts of the Tell which are now doomed by destruction.

The research on the chronology of Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean of the special research pro-gramme SCIEM 2000 at the Austrian Academy finds a continuation by the contributions of David Aston about new aspects of the chronology of the New Kingdom and by Gerard Broeckman on the three obscure “other” kings of the 22nd dynasty of the Third Intermediate Period mentioned by Manetho and the chronological consequences of their consideration.

Eliot Braun presents a new study about the puz-zle of the strong presence of Egyptian material cul-ture in the southern Levant during Dynasty 0. For this analysis he uses new evidence from the site of Ptora southwest of Tel Erani. He comes to the con-clusion that starting with an Egyptian stronghold at Tell Sakan near Gaza a network of settlements de-veloped in the southern Negev which were strong-ly connected by trade to Egypt. The question why this network broke down suddenly has still to be answered.

The iconographic studies on inlayed boxes in the Levant and their specific style are continued by Amnon Ben-Tor3 with an example from the Bible Land Museum which shows Egyptian influence and local images in the melange typical for the Middle Bronze Age.

With the participation in the excavation of the University of Lille at the site of Sai island Julia Budka and Florence Doyen resume the tradition of the Austrian Academy in Nubian Studies. Julia Budka was able to realise this project which fo-

2 S. RZEPKA et al., Tell el-Retaba 2007–2008, Ä&L 19 (2009), 241–280; S. RZEPKA et al., New Kingdom and Third Inter-mediate Period in Tell el-Retaba, Ä&L 21, 129–184.

3 S. A. BEN-TOR, A Decorated Jewellery Box from Hazor, Tel Aviv 36/1 (2009), 5–6.

Vorwort/Preface 15

schen Einfluss in einer Melange von ägyptischen Ikonen mit lokalen figuralen Motiven auf die Kultur der Mittleren Bronzezeit in der Levante aufzeigt.

Die Tradition der Akademie in der Erforschung Nubiens wird durch Julia Budka und Florence Doyen durch ihre Beteiligung an der Grabung der Universität Lille auf der Sai Insel aufgenommen. Ermöglicht wurde das auf Stadtforschung und Definition der Kultur des Neuen Reiches in Ober-nubien konzentrierte Projekt durch ein ERC Star-ting Grant und ein FWF Start Projekt, die von Julia Budka gewonnen werden konnten. Die Genannte kehrt gemeinsam mit Tamás Mekis und Marie- Cécile Bruwier zu einem anderen ihrer Forschungs-gebiete, nämlich die spätzeitliche Nekropole von Theben zurück.4 Diese Studie untersucht das Phä-nomen der in der Ptolemäerzeit einsetzenden star-ken Wiederbelegung der großen Gräber der Spät-zeit mit zahlreichen Bestattungen.

Die Person des Bruders des Herrschers von Ret-jenu mit dem Namen Chebded, der aus einer Reihe von Denkmälern bei den Türkisminen auf Serabit el Khadem auf dem Sinai bekannt ist, wird von Orly Goldwasser unter Heranziehung aller Darstel-lungen und Inschriften einer soziologischen und ikonographischen Analyse unterzogen. Sie stellt dabei eine neue Rekonstruktion einer Darstellung des Chebded vor, der zu der Elite der Kriegerklas-se der frühen Mittleren Bronzezeit gehört haben dürfte. Es ist die Zeit, in der kanaanäische Minen-arbeiter in Nachahmung ägyptischer Votivstelen die für die weitere Zukunft bedeutsame Erfindung der alphabetischen Schrift machten.5

Die petrographische Analyse von Amarnabriefen durch Yuval Goren, Israel Finkelstein und Nadav Na‘man entfachte eine neue Betrachtungsweise in der Analyse über die Entstehung der Amarnabriefe.6 Tontafeln, die nach Textanalysen aus der nördlichen Levante stammen sollten, erwiesen sich als Produk-

cuses on New Kingdom urban life and culture in Upper Nubia by winning an ERC Starting Grant and a Start Project at the Austrian Science Fund. In another article together with Tamás Mekis and Marie-Cécile Bruwier she revisits another research topic of herself, the Theban Necropolis.4 This arti-cle examines the phenomenon of reoccupation of the big Late Period tombs in the Ptolemaic Period with numerous secondary burials.

Orly Goldwasser conducts a sociological and iconographic analysis of Khebded, the brother of the Prince of Retjenu, who shows up in representa-tions and inscriptions of Egyptian expeditions to the turquoise mines at Serabit el Khadem on the Sinai. She offers a new reconstruction of an image of his on a stela and shows that this personality seems to have belonged to the top of a warrior elite of the early phase of the Middle Bronze Age. It is the time when Canaanite miners in imitation of Egyptian votive stelae with hieroglyphic inscrip-tions developed the alphabet – an ingenious inven-tion which revolutionised after a long delay the writing system of the future world.5

The petrographic analysis of the Amarna tablets by Yuval Goren, Israel Finkelstein and Nadav Na’aman brought about a new vision on the proce-dures in writing those letters.6 Tablets which ac-cording to textual analysis seem to originate from the northern Levant proved according to the scien-tific analysis to be products of the south, most prob-ably of the seat of the governor at Canaan and were probably only written down there. As the cAmarna tablets in the Cairo Museum could not be incorpo-rated into the scientific analysis, according to phraseology and a toponym makes a case for a conceptual northern origin of the much debated letter EA 220 from the Cairo Museum.

The paleogeographer Hervé Tronchère from the University Lyon 2, who with colleagues from his

4 S. z.B. J. BUDKA, Bestattungsbrauchtum und Friedhofsstruk-tur im Asasif. Eine Untersuchung der spätzeitlichen Befunde anhand der Ergebnisse der österreichischen Ausgrabungen in den Jahren 1969–1977, UZK 34, Vienna 2010.

5 O. GOLDWASSER, Canaanites Reading Hieroglyphs, Ä&L 16 (2006), 121–160; EADEM, How the Alphabet was Born from Hieroglyphs, Biblical Archaeology Review 36(2) (2010), 40–53; EADEM, The Miners who invented the Alphabet – A

Response to Christopher Rollston, Journal of Ancient Egyp-tian Interconnections 4/3, (2012), 9–22.

6 Y. GOREN, I. FINKELSTEIN, and N. NA’AMAN, Inscribed in Clay: Provenance Study of the Amarna Letters and Other Ancient Near Eastern Texts, Tel Aviv 2004; Y GOREN et al., Proven-ance Study and Re-Evaluation of the Cuneiform Documents from the Egyptian Residency at Tel Aphek, Ä&L 16 (2006), 161–171.

Vorwort/Preface16

te des Südens, des Gouverneurssitzes in Kanaan, und wurden offenbar erst dort niedergeschrieben.

und eines Toponyms eines umstrittenen Amarnabrie-fes (EA 220, im Museum Kairo), der nicht in die petrographischen Untersuchungen aufgenommen werden konnte, dessen Herkunft zu ermitteln.

Der Paläogeograph Hervé Tronchère von der Universität Lyon 2, der gemeinsam mit Kollegen der gleichen Universität die Hafenanlagen von Avaris untersuchte,7 stellt hier die Ergebnisse seiner Feld-forschungen am antiken Hafen von Taposiris magna vor, und zeigt einmal mehr wie wichtig umweltbe-zogene Forschung für die Ägyptologie sein kann.

Die für Städte des Neuen Reichs so charakteristi-sche fabrikartige Fayence-Produktion wird von Bart Vanthuyne anhand der Fayence-Funde von Amarna analysiert, eine der wenigen Fundstätten, die auch eine Rekonstruktion der Fundumstände erlaubt.

Uza Zevulun und Irit Ziffer stellen einen seltenen Tell el-Yahudiya Krug aus dem Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv vor, der geometrische Verzierung mit der figürlichen Darstellung einer Steinbockjagd verbin-det. Sie machen anhand der Ikonographie und Typo-logie glaubhaft, dass dieses Objekt aus einem Elite-grab oder sogar Fürstengrab im nördlichen Bereich von Israel stammen dürfte. Auf Grund seiner Typo-logie datiert der Krug in die späte MB IIA. Mit dieser Studie wird eine wertvolle Ergänzung einer kürzlich erschienenen systematischen Untersuchung der Tell el Yahudiya Ware8 vorgelegt.

Manfred BietakFür das Herausgebergremium

university examined the harbours of Avaris,7 presents here an assessment of the antique harbour of Taposiris magna and shows once more how im-portant environmental studies can be for Egyptian archaeology.

Bart Vanthuyne analyses the industrialised fai-ence production so typical for New Kingdom towns in Egypt in an exemplary fashion for the city of cAmarna, one of the few sites which allows the reconstruction of find circumstances.

Uza Zevulun and Irit Ziffer study a rare jug of Tell el-Yahudiya Ware from the Eretz Israel Mu-seum with geometric and figural motifs. The latter shows a sort of narrative with a hunter and ibexes. According to the quality of the object, the motif and the iconography the jug seems to originate from an elite- or even princely tomb from northern Canaan. According to typology the jug dates to the late MB IIA. This study is a welcome complement to the recently published systematic analysis of Tell el-Yahudiya Ware.8

Manfred BietakFor the Editorial Board

7 H. TRONCHÈRE et al., Ä&L 18 (2008), 339–352; IDEM, Ap-proche paléoenvironnementale de deux sites archéologiques dans le delta du Nil : Avaris et la branche Pélusiaque, Tapo-siris et le lac Mariout, Thèse, Univ. Lyon 2010.

8 D. ASTON & M. BIETAK, Tell el-Dabca VIII, The Classification and Chronology of Tell el-Yahudiya Ware, with contributions by H. CHARRAF, A. MAEIR, R. MULLINS, L. E. STAGER, R. VOSS and K. KOPETZKY, UZK XII, Wien 2012.

PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE TELL EL-DABCA WALL PAINTING PROJECT – SEASON 2011/20121

By Manfred Bietak, Constance von Rüden, Johannes Becker, Johannes Jungfleisch, Lyvia Morgan and Erico Peintner

Thutmose III and Amenhotep II, was excavated in cEzbet Helmi near Tell el-Dabca (Fig. 1). Its size, date and position at a big harbour basin of 450 x 400 m permit us to treat it as a possible royal resi-dence of the site, identified by Manfred Bietak as

Introduction and General Setting

(Manfred Bietak and Constance von Rüden)

Over the last two decades a sizeable palatial pre-cinct of 13 acres, dating to the reign of Hatshepsut/

1 This project was financed during the last years by the Institute for Aegean Prehistory in Philadelphia, by the Fonds zur Förderung für wissenschaftliche Forschung, by the German Archaeological Institute, by the Deutsche Forschungs-gemeinschaft within a project of the Ruhr-University of Bo-chum and by the Pulitzer Stiftung at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. We would like to thank all mentioned institutions,

in particular Philip Betancourt, Malcolm Wiener and the Members of the Stiftungskommission at the Austrian Acad-emy. We also would like to thank the Austrian Archaeologi-cal Institute in whose name the excavations took place under Manfred Bietak and which puts its infrastructure at Tell el-Dabca under our disposal and for manifold support of the members of its staff.

Fig. 1 The palatial precinct of cEzbet Helmi near Tell el-Dabca with excavations areas

Ägypten und Levante/Egypt and the Levant 22, 2012, 131–147© 2013 by Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien

Manfred Bietak, Constance von Rüden, Johannes Becker, Johannes Jungfleisch, Lyvia Morgan, Erico Peintner132

the naval base Peru-nefer.2 Within the enclosure wall we find three palaces of different sizes on high platforms of mud brick, all accessible by ramps. In spite of the fact that only the substructures were preserved, reconstructions of floor plans are pos-sible to a certain extent.3 Of main interest for the wall painting project are ‘Palace F’ and ‘G’. In their vicinity, mainly at the foot and around the landing of the ramps, more than twenty thousand wall paint-ing fragments have been discovered in dumps. They must have flaked off due to the shrinking of the voluminous mud brick walls on alluvial ground, and then carried down the ramps and dumped there.

Up to now a quite impressive series of motifs and topics has been identified: Within the material of the small ‘Palace F’ the bull-leaping scenes,4 the small-scale human and animal hunts (see below Lyvia Morgan), small-scale acrobats, small-scale male figures and architecture,5 life-size male fig-ures,6 large-scale landscapes (see below Johannes Becker), griffins7 and lions, a life-size animal fight,8 a floor with maze pattern,9 a spiral frieze10 and large-scale cattle in relief (see below von Rüden) have been identified. The material of the larger ‘Palace G’ is as yet only very partially cleaned and restored. But the current work already brought to light big amounts of so-called ‘architectural imita-tions’ (see below Johannes Jungfleisch), large-scale landscapes (see below Johannes Becker), a life-size female figure, several ‘decoration-schemes’,11 tex-tile patterns, and different topics conducted in re-lief, as for example at least two male figures and a lion (below von Rüden).

The study of the wall paintings was initiated directly after their discovery at the beginning of the 1990s as a project of the Academy of Sciences in Vienna, supported by the Institute for Aegean Pre-history. As Manfred Bietak, Nanno Marinatos and Clairy Palyvou started their work, the newly exca-

vated material was considered as a sensation with-in the archaeological community. Conservation, study and reconstruction were then focused on the bull-leaping and bull-grappling scenes, which were published as a volume in 2007.12 Within the frame-work of this project, the first technical studies were conducted by Rudolfine Seeber and Ann Brys-baert.13 In the late 1990s Katherina Aslanidou and Lyvia Morgan started to work in the project. Kath-erina Aslanidou was studying the large-scale male figures of H/I, the miniature paintings of H/IV, and different ‘decoration schemes’ of H/III and H/IV as subject of her PhD,14 while Lyvia Morgan’s work concentrated on the hunt scenes. Together with Nanno Marinatos she analysed the small-scale fe-lines, published in articles in 2010.15 Her work is currently continuing with the small-scale hunting scenes (see below Lyvia Morgan). Also since the 1990s the so-called ‘ashlar-imitation’ of ‘Palace F’ is being studied by Clairy Palyvou with the support of students of the architectural department of the University of Thessaloniki. Constance von Rüden joined the team in 2007, focusing on the organisa-tion of a comprehensive documentation, which should pave the way to an integrated study of the material, including conservation, contextual analy-sis, and technical and iconographical studies. The additional financial support of the German Archae-ological Institute in 2009 permitted the inclusion of several students in the study as well as further analyses to support the conservational work. A comprehensive study of the huge amount of mate-rial is only possible as a team effort, hence the cooperation of the Academy of Sciences in Vienna and the Ruhr-University Bochum which was agreed in 2010. Since 2012 the study is embedded in a project of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, which aims to compare different sites with similar characteristics in Western Asia, Egypt and the Aegean.16

2 BIETAK 2009a; 2009b; 2010a; 2010b.3 BIETAK 2005, 145–156; BIETAK, MARINATOS & PALYVOU

2007, 21–26. fig. 16–22.4 BIETAK, MARINATOS & PALYVOU 2007.5 ASLANIDOU 2006.6 ASLANIDOU 2005.7 BIETAK & PALYVOU 2000.8 BECKER, JUNGFLEISCH & VON RÜDEN in this volume.9 BIETAK, MARINATOS & PALYVOU 2007, 42f.10 ASLANIDOU 2002.

11 ASLANIDOU 2007.12 BIETAK, MARINATOS & PALYVOU 2007.13 SEEBER 2000; BRYSBAERT 2002; 2007.14 Published in four articles: ASLANIDOU 2002; 2005; 2006;

2007.15 MARINATOS 2010; MORGAN 2010a; 2010b.16 Title of the project ‘Aegean Designs in Near Eastern Pal-

aces – Knowledge and Materiality in the Eastern Mediter-ranean of the Second Millennium BC’ under the direction of Constance von Rüden in collaboration with Johannes Becker and Johannes Jungfleisch.

Preliminary Report of the Tell el-Dabca Wall Painting Project – Season 2011/2012 133

Conservation and Processing of the Wall Paintings

(Johannes Becker, Johannes Jungfleisch, Erico Peitner, Constance von Rüden)

Since 2009, a standardized processing of the wall painting fragments has been established. The con-servation of the material is the first step of the processing, and is followed by the general archaeo-logical documentation, which provides the base for the more specific studies of single categories.

Naturally, the consolidation of the wall paint-ings already began in 1990 with the recovery of the fragments during the excavation by Rudolfine See-ber, who was then the conservator in charge.17 Be-cause of the large quantity of material, this process required several campaigns. Due to the humidity, the fragments had to be partly stabilised with Par-aloid B 72 in the field, and were afterwards trans-ported in a gypsum bed into the fieldlab, where they are currently stored in wooden boxes. Supported by the Institute for Aegean Prehistory, different con-servators, beneath Aris Gerontas and Giorgos Bal-lis, have been working since then continuously on the conservation of the wall paintings.

The principle aim of the present work by Erico Peintner18 is to consolidate and conserve the mate-rial and to permit the archaeological study of the material. Therefore, a consistent concept of conser-vation with specific procedures and appropriate selection of material was established, to ensure up to date standards. Individual pieces are in very dif-ferent conditions, and their treatment has to be adapted to their respective state of preservation. As a first step, the recovery measures, as far as they are reversible, have to be removed. Concerning the plaster fragments that were stabilised with Paraloid, only about 20 percent of Paraloid could be extract-ed using acetone. Distorted fragments are straight-ened only if this will not result in a loss of original substance. Otherwise, the fragments are to be left in their current state. In general, considerate meas-ures and a minimum of conservation material are used in order to preserve as much original sub-stance as possible.

Subsequent to the conservation, the archaeo-logical documentation is conducted. To facilitate

the work in a team, the work flow has been stand-ardized to allow comparative studies within the corpus of Tell el-Dabca. Along with the study of single categories with their specific set of archaeo-logical and anthropological problems (see below), therefore, a central aim and responsibility of the project is to catalogue all painted plaster fragments that have been found during the excavation of the palatial complex at cEzbet Helmi/Tell el-Dabca. The ultimate aim in the future is to provide public ac-cess to the complete corpus. To reach that goal the material has been rearranged according to their find context between 2007 and 2011. Furthermore a database has been compiled, which merges all relevant information of the single pieces: Beside the find spot, emphasis is placed on descriptions of iconographic and technical characteristics, the at-tribution of fragments to specific groups or even reconstructions, and to their current storage; stor-age in particular is an essential administrative effort due to the huge amount of material which is stored today in three big magazines on the site. The mac-ro- and microscopically obtained technical obser-vations will be selectively complemented by differ-ent scientific analytical methods. The current work focuses on areas H/I and H/III where the major part of the material has been found. To date, 7500 piec-es have been registered and described. Images of the fragments are produced with a scanner, which allows high-resolution pictures on a scale of 1:1 without any distortion. If the size or weight of a fragment does not permit scanning, photographs are taken. These illustrations are also used for a digital enhancement of the colours of relevant frag-ments, with a vector graphics editor to accentuate details that are less visible. In publications, how-ever, these enhanced illustrations will be juxtaposed with their unaltered versions in order to make the accentuations comprehensible and verifiable (see, for example, Fig. 3).19 This method makes it also easily possible to illustrate the sequence of the dif-ferent applications of paint by the ancient crafts-people, tracing the work flow and practice in the second millennium BC (Fig. 2). As a second step, tentative reconstructions are digitally drawn. In comparison to analogue reconstructions with the original fragments, these virtual reconstructions

17 SEEBER 1994.18 In spring 2012 supported by Adamantia Karampournioti.

19 See for this method: C. Palyvou, The Computer Reconstruc-tion, in: BIETAK, MARINATOS & PALYVOU 2000, 84–88.


have not only the advantage that the present state of preservation is not at risk, but also that different suggestions can be opposed to each other, empha-sizing the variability of possible reconstructions of the highly fragmented material.

Landscape paintings (Johannes Becker)A large amount of plaster fragments found during the excavations of the palatial complex at cEzbet Helmi/Tell el-Dabca show large-size plants and ele-ments of landscape. Until now only a few single pieces have been published20. Therefore, a full study of the representations of landscape in Tell el-Dabca

is still pending. It goes without saying that the study will give us new information about the whole mate-rial found at the site, but additionally it offers the possibility to compare the Tell el-Dabca material with the contemporary wall paintings found in the Aegean; an important task in regard to the far-spread use of the depiction of landscape and flora in the iconography of this region.21 The material will be studied as part of a PhD thesis concerning the depiction of landscape in the eastern Mediter-ranean in the second millennium BC with a special focus on Egypt and the Aegean. It aims to identify differences and similarities in the way the environ-ment is represented as well as possible interrela-tions among the iconographic systems of these re-gions.

Plaster fragments which show floral motifs and elements of landscape were found in different areas of the excavation at cEzbet Helmi/Tell el-Dabca and can be assigned to ‘Palace F’ as well as ‘G’. The material is highly fragmented and the sizes of the single pieces vary from about 40 x 30 cm down to 2 x 2 cm.

The biggest part of the so far inventoried mate-rial originates from area H/I and belongs to the smaller ‘Palace F’. About 130 pieces show floral motifs whereas on about 50 fragments elements of landscape are depicted. On the basis of technical observations up to now additionally about 50 most-ly monochrome pieces belonging to background of the scenery could be assigned to this group. Since the registration of H/I is still in progress more piec-es belonging to the background can be expected, whereas in areas H/IV and H/V none of fragments was decorated in this manner.

Because a large part of the wall plaster frag-ments of the surrounding of ‘Palace G’, found in areas H/II, H/III and H/VI, still needs to be re-stored, a final statistic of the related pieces remains to be done. Up to now only one piece from area H/II has been attributed to this category of material, but 25 fragments from area H/III and further frag-ments in the not yet restored material were already identified. The same holds true for the material found in area H/VI of which five pieces are inven-toried to date.

20 See for example: BIETAK 1994, 45f. pl. 14A; BIETAK 1996, pl. VIIA–B; MARINATOS 1998, 86f. fig. 13–14.

21 For example the ‘Monkeys and Birds Frieze’ from the ‘House of the Frescoes’ at Knossos (MM IIIB–LM IA), cf.

CAMERON 1968. For landscape paintings in the Aegean, cf. CHAPIN 2004; SCHMITZ-PILLMANN 2006; IMMERWAHR 1990, 40–50; MORGAN 1988, 17–40. For landscape elements in Aegean glyptic, cf. KRZYSZKOWSKA 2010.

Fig. 2 Sequence of the applied paint in case of a small-scale acrobat (H/I – F00007)


Different types of plants were depicted on the walls of ‘Palace F’. In most cases the background is either red or ochre-beige. The most common plant motif has lancet-shaped leaves with curved leafstalks on an either red or black stem. The leaves are executed in blue, greenish-blue, ochre and yel-lowish-white (Fig. 3). The differentiation in the colours of the leaves might well indicate different plant species. A tentative interpretation for the lan-cet-shaped blue leaves as myrtle is proposed by means of parallels on Aegean wall paintings.22 An ivy branch is depicted on at least one fragment. Its form is very similar to the execution of the ivy motif in Minoan iconography with characteristic heart-shaped blue leaves on a slightly curved red

stalk.23 Among other floral motifs that only occur on single pieces, long and narrow blue and green-ish-blue leaves could be recognised on different fragments which might be the representation of reed.24

For a final statement it is yet too early, but it seems as if the floral motifs depicted on the walls of ‘Palace G’ differ from the ones of ‘Palace F’. At least one blue papyrus with a row of white dots on the top edge of the umbel, so far unknown from ‘Palace F’, has been recognised.25 The representa-tion of a plant with oblong oval blue leaves and thin red leafstalks (Fig. 4) is also missing in the mate-rial from the smaller ‘Palace F’.

Fig. 3 Fragment of a plant with lancet-shaped yellowish-white leaves (H/I – F00246)

22 The same identification has also been proposed by M. Bie-tak, cf. BIETAK 1996, pl. VIIA. Myrtle could be identified on various wall paintings of the Aegean as for example the so- called ‘Fresco of the Goddess’ from Agia Triada (LM IA–LM IB), cf. MILITELLO 1998, 104–107. 271. Moreover, the lancet-shaped leaves in ochre on a red stem on three small fragments from ‘Building Gamma’ at Akrotiri – Thera (LM IA) have been interpreted as myrtle, cf. DOUMAS 1992, 19.

23 Ivy is depicted on Aegean landscape paintings for example on the so-called ‘Cat Fresco’ from Agia Triada (LM IA–LM IB), cf. MILITELLO 1998, 107–109. pl. G1; as well as on the ‘Monkeys and Birds Frieze’ from the ‘House of the Frescoes’ at Knossos (MM IIIB–LM IA), cf. CAMERON 1968, 11. 30. fig. 5a. pl. 5.3. In addition, ivy is also depicted as a repetitive

pattern in a frieze from room 1 of ‘House Beta’ at Akrotiri – Thera (LM IA), cf. DOUMAS 1992, 110f. fig. 78. Ivy as a repetitive frieze pattern is also known from Tell el-Dabca, cf. ASLANIDOU 2007, 196–199. pl. III.

24 On some fragments the blue and greenish-blue leaves over-lay one another. A good parallel for this could be the ‘Reed Bed Wall Painting’ from ‘Xesté 3’ at Akrotiri – Thera (LM IA), on which alternate yellow and grey reeds are depicted, cf. VLACHOPOULOS 2000.

25 Papyrus was depicted on various Aegean wall paintings. See for example the ‘Nilotic Landscape’ from the ‘West House’ at Akrotiri – Thera, cf. DOUMAS 1992, 48. 64–67 fig. 30–34; the ‘Monkeys and Birds Frieze’ from the ‘House of the Frescoes’ at Knossos (MM IIIB–LM IA), cf. MORGAN 2005, pl. 5.2.


Regarding the elements of landscape one of the most striking links between the Tell el-Dabca wall paintings and Aegean frescoes are the so-called ‘easter eggs’ or multicoloured pebbles, a motif that is – apart from Tell el-Dabca26 – only known in Minoan iconography.27 Another convention for the representation of natural terrain, multicoloured undulating bands or surfaces in different colours divided by undulations (Fig. 4), can also be found.28

The current work on the landscape paintings is still focusing on the identification of all relevant fragments. Especially monochrome fragments be-longing to the background still have to be identified on the basis of technical observations. A bigger part of the major fragments were already described and enhanced with the computer. As a further step ten-tative reconstructions will be composed with the help of digital drawings. In doing so, the small-scale wall paintings found at Tell el-Dabca will be of great help since a good part of the motifs de-picted in large-scale have good parallels in the smaller sized friezes.29 Due to their small size the layout of the motif can be easily understood in the latter even on smaller fragments and thus give val-

uable information for reconstructing the large-sized landscape paintings.

Architectural Simulations from ‘Palace G’ (Johannes Jungfleisch)Since the unexpected discovery of thousands of lime plaster fragments executed in the ‘fresco’-technique near the modern village of cEzbet Helmi/Tell el-Dabca during the 1990s, research focused mainly on the wall paintings from the excavation sites H/I and H/IV, the area of the so-called small ‘Palace F’. But there is also evidence of fresco paintings from the areas H/II, H/III and H/VI, just 200 m south of ‘Palace F’, generally associated with the so-called large ‘Palace G’. Although in recent years some of these wall paintings, espe-cially the ornamental scenes, were subject to thor-ough studies, the major part still has to be restored and examined.

Amongst the vast number of paintings found in the surroundings of ‘Palace G’ there is a signifi-cant group of fragments showing motifs well known in the Aegean for simulating architectural elements and building materials in large scale. Up to now, this kind of mural treatment was almost

Fig. 4 Fragment of a plant with oblong oval blue leaves in front of a red and ochre background divided by undulation (H/III – B00008)

26 Cf. MARINATOS 1998, 86f. fig. 14.27 The pebble motif can be found on various landscape paint-

ings for example on the ‘Partridge and Hoopoe Frieze’ from the so-called ‘Caravanserai’ at Knossos (LM IA–LM IB), cf. SHAW 2005, 104.

28 This convention was used as ground lines for figures and plants or as the rendition of rocky terrain on different Aegean wall paintings. For example on the ‘Papyrus Fresco’ from the ‘House of the Ladies’ at Akrotiri – Thera (LM IA), cf. DOUMAS 1992, 33–37. fig. 2–5.

29 See below Lyvia Morgan.


unknown within the corpus of wall paintings from Tell el-Dabca. Not for that reason alone, but also because of the special importance of the architec-tural simulations within the local ‘Egyptian’ con-text, a closer examination of this group looks promising. Bearing in mind that access to building materials like stone and timber was restricted in the Nile delta and the actual mud brick architec-ture of the palatial district follows rather ‘Egyp-tian’ models, a wide range of questions arises from this group of paintings: How was painted and real

-cific combination of local architecture and inno-vative wall decoration have on social interactions

-litical, cultural and social conditions causing the architectural and technological change reflected in

The same holds true for the appearance of sim-ilar architectural simulations and other innovative features apart from wall paintings within the tradi-tional architecture of several other sites in the an-cient Near East. Therefore, the study of the archi-tectural simulations from Tell el-Dabca will be im-bedded in a PhD project exploring this phenomenon

in the context of Near Eastern palatial architecture of the second millennium BC.

Up to now about 450 fragments of varying size, including tiny pieces as well as enormous plaster patches, could be assigned to the architectural imi-tations. At first sight, the plaster pieces of this group originate mainly from the area on both sites of the second entrance gate, leading through the enclosure wall of the palatial district directly to the base of ‘Palace G’.

Based on technical and iconographic observa-tions it was possible to recognize different groups belonging to the architectural simulations: The fragments of the following group are characterized by patterns, which are well known in the Aegean for reproducing the appearance of variegated stone slabs normally used as dados. The veining of the stone was rendered by fluent s-curved or scalloped lines executed in red on a white ground (Fig. 5) as well as by irregular undulating black bands on a greyish-white background. In the case of the latter group, there is some evidence for narrow red verti-cal bands.

Both manners of representations find close par-allels in the Aegean: s-curved and scalloped lines,

Fig. 5 Simulation of red-veined stone, probably depicting a painted dado slab (H/III – F06133)


reproducing the varied hues of veined stone, are known from Crete30 and Mainland Greece.31 Undu-lating black bands on a greyish ground decorated the walls of a lustral basin in Chania (Crete).32 In addition, red or yellow vertical bands were used in Aegean wall paintings for dividing the painted da-dos in different panels.33 Usually, these vertical stripes are considered as imitations of wooden up-rights, which fastened in real architecture the stone slabs of the veneer to the wall.34 Nonetheless, it should be noted here that reproductions of the ma-terial appearance of variegated stone and grained wood is also known from ancient Egypt,35 which will be taken more into account in future.

The aforementioned types of stone imitations are linked to fragments, which show either a linear pattern consisting of intersecting, narrow red stripes on blue ground or a sequence of red rectangles on ochre-beige ground. Because of their fragmentary condition and large-scale representation it is diffi-cult to give an interpretation of these pieces at this early stage of research. The red rectangles are rem-iniscent of similar motifs known from the wall paintings of a Late Bronze Age building at Alalakh. Here, the reddish rectangles represent the timber of

transverse beams and form part of an architectural simulation reproducing the structural arrangement of a wall in real architecture.36 Furthermore, accord-ing to a first tentative explanation some fragments showing narrow red bands on white ground might have given the appearance of a stone masonry façade.37 But before a definitive statement regard-ing the architectural simulations can be made, fur-ther research is needed.

In addition to that, one group of fragments con-sists of pieces showing rows of alternating red and black circles on white ground, usually interpreted in Aegean iconography as representations of ‘beam ends’.38 The solid circles vary in diameter from ap-proximately 13.5 to 14.0 cm (Fig. 6).

Although ‘beam end friezes’ are prevalent in miniature and small-scale architectural representa-tions, depicting either floor or transverse beams,39 there are only a few examples in large-scale in Aegean iconography.40 The most notable examples, showing black and brownish circles with a diameter of 32.0 cm and a wooden beam imitation with knot-holes, were found in the ‘Palace of Nestor’ at Py-los.41 Usually, the circles were depicted in alternat-ing red and blue colour,42 but some examples differ

30 For s-curved lines, cf. FYFE 1902, 109 fig. 2 (Loom Weight Basement, Palace of Knossos, Crete – MM IIB); EVANS 1935, 920f. fig. 894. 895 (Throne Room, Palace of Knossos, Crete – LM II–LM IIIA); for scalloped lines, cf. EVANS 1921, 356 fig. 255 (‘Marbled Dado’, Corridor 94, Palace of Knos-sos, Crete – MM IIIA); BRYSBAERT 2000, 54 fig. 3b (Building 6, Roussolakos/Palaikastro, Crete – MM IIIA).

31 For s-curved lines, cf. RODENWALDT 1912, 23f. no. 32. fig. 2.

cf. RODENWALDT 1912, 24 no. 33. pl. III, 11–13 (Inner Fore-LAMB 1919-1921,

198 no. 28. pl. X, 28 (Ramp House Deposit, Mycenae, Arg-olis, Greece – LH IIIA–LH IIIB).

32 Cf. ANDREADAKE-VLASAKE 1988, 67f. fig. 9. 11; EVELY 1999, 134. 250 (Lustral Basin 5, Splantzia/Daskaloyannis Street, Chania, Crete – MM IIIB–LM IA).

33 Cf. EVANS 1921, 356 fig. 255 (‘Marbled Dado’, Corridor 94, Palace of Knossos, Crete – MM IIIA); DOUMAS 1992, 50f. fig. 14–17. 56 fig. 24. 86–91. fig. 49–56. (Room 4 and 5, ‘West House’, Akrotiri, Thera – LM IA); RODENWALDT 1912,

LANG 1969, 177f. no. 25D46. pl. 106 (Hall 46, ‘Palace of Nestor’, Pylos, Messenia, Crete – LH IIIB).

34 Cf. PALYVOU 2000, 425.35 See for example GANDER 2009.36 Cf. WOOLLEY 1955, 231f. pl. XXXIX, c (Room 6, House

39/A, Alalakh, Turkey – Alalakh IV, LBA I).

37 Cf. BIETAK, MARINATOS & PALYVOU 2007, 42.38 Cf. BULLE 1907, 73; EVANS 1921, 221; LANG 1969, 145;

MORGAN 1988, 75–77; IMMERWAHR 1990, 145; PALYVOU 2000, 249f.

39 For a general discussion of ‘beam end friezes’ in miniature paintings, see MORGAN 1988, 75–77.

40 Two LH II tombs, one at Kokla and one at Mycenae, show painted lintels with the characteristic row of circles. Cf. DEMAKOPOULOU 1990, 113. 115f. fig. 3. 4 (Tholos I, Kokla, Argolis, Greece – LH II–LH IIIA1); TSOUNTAS & MANATT 1969, 133f. fig. 49. 50 (Chamber Tomb 81, Mycenae, Arg-olis, Greece – LH II).

41 Cf. LANG 1969, 145. 153f. no. 14F45. 207f.: M. Lang and S. Immerwahr note that there are no immediate antecedents for the pylian ‘beam end frieze‘ from Crete, but C. Palyvou mentions a fragment of a stone frieze from Akrotiri/Thera, which shows on the plastered surface a row of blue circles, as possible architectural prototype. Cf. LANG 1969, 28; IM-MERWAHR 1990, 145; PALYVOU 2000, 430.

42 Cf. EVANS 1921, 445f. fig. 321 (‘Pillar Shrine Fresco’, West Magazine XIII, Palace of Knossos, Crete – MM IIIB); BULLE

LANG 1969, 138f. 6A5. pl. 78. I (Room 5, ‘Palace of Nestor’, Pylos, Messenia, Greece – LH IIIB); IMMERWAHR 1990, 191 MyNo. 6. pl. 59 (Room of the Frescoes, Mycenae, Argolis, Greece – LH IIIB).


from this convention, showing other colour combi-nations like red and black.43

Comparing the architectural simulations of ‘Pal-ace G’ with the motif repertoire of ‘Palace F’ it becomes apparent that imitations of variegated stones as well as ‘beam ends’ are completely miss-ing in the latter. As opposed to this, Clairy Palyvou could recognize many fragments belonging to the depiction of a possible ashlar façade among the wall paintings of ‘Palace F’.

The processing of the wall paintings from ‘Pal-ace G’ in general and the architectural simulations in particular are still at the beginning. The follow-ing study season will concentrate mainly on the identification and conservation of diagnostic piec-es, which can provide new information, especially in regard to the transitions between the different (architectural) motifs. Apart from conservation and inventorying, work will continue on image process-ing of single pieces. Because of the fragmentary state of preservation and the large-scale depiction, it is equally important to evaluate all available information about architecture, representations of architecture and the reproduction of material appearances in the Aegean, Western Asia as well as Egypt. This approach provides an important basis

for future digital reconstructions and a better under-standing of the architectural simulations of Tell el-Dabca.

The Hunt Frieze (Lyvia Morgan)The Hunt Frieze is being studied and reconstructed from amongst the many fragments of wall paintings from the small ceremonial ‘Palace F’ at Tell el- Dabca. Like the majority of the painted plasters from the site, the frieze is Aegean in technique, idiom and theme, and is datable to the early Thut-moside period. It was part of an iconographic pro-gramme that centered on the physical manifesta-tions of male prowess and animal power, with the now famous bulls frieze,44 a related scene of acro-bats, and the hunt frieze, which included hunters with dogs, as well as feline predation within a rocky landscape with plants. The fragments were found in a large dump in area H/I, by the entrance ramp to the palace, mixed with fragments of plaster re-liefs, large-scale animals (griffin, leopard, bulls) and plants, processional male figures, maze-pattern floor, and imitation ashlar masonry.45 All these must have constituted a unified palatial programme. There is a distinct echo between the large-scale plants and animals, which presumably adorned the

Fig. 6 Part of a red circle, belonging to a ‘beam end frieze’ (H/III – F07251)

43 Cf. MILITELLO 2001, 97 F GF.2 (‘Grana Frana’, Phaistos, Crete – MM II–MM IIIA); LANG 1969, 138 4A20. 5A20 (Room 20, ‘Palace of Nestor’, Pylos, Messenia, Greece – LH IIIB).

44 BIETAK, MARINATOS & PALYVOU 2007.

45 von Rüden (reliefs), Becker (plants), Palyvou (masonry); BIETAK & PALYVOU 2000 (large griffin); ASLANIDOU 2005 (male figures); BIETAK, MARINATOS & PALYVOU 2007, 43 (maze floor).


Throne Room at the inner end of the palace, and the Hunt Frieze, which most likely ran above the windows and doors of the adjacent room or in a room on the floor above.46

Preliminary publications of the feline predators appeared in Ä&L, with articles on the lions (Mari-natos), leopards and griffin (Morgan).47 Over the years, I have been studying all the fragments, pre-paring the publication of the Hunt Frieze as a com-panion volume to the Bulls Frieze. In total there are some 700 fragments, of which 450 are sufficiently well preserved to be diagnostic.48 The vast majority are of the landscape in which the action took place. The first task was to organize the pieces into groups according to the background colour of red or yellow and the main subject (hunters and dogs, lions, leop-ards, deer, goats and bulls, plants, rocks etc.). They are now stored in 16 boxes according to such cat-egories, with their excavation contexts written on the backs. To date, all the fragments have been scanned, and some (with more to follow) have been restored on the computer with digital enhancement

of the colours. In the publications, the fragment appears next to the restored version (Fig. 7). The process involves careful study of the fragment, with observations on layers of paint and state of preser-vation (which I undertook) preceding the process of digital enhancement, which is skillfully executed by Marian Negrete-Martinez. At the same time, I made drawings as study aids. Each fragment was examined with a x12 magnifying glass and selected fragments have been viewed and photographed through a usb microscope, enabling me to study the techniques. Erico Peintner, the conservator now working at Tell el Dab’a, has provided me with invaluable advice on several of the pieces. In May 2012 I completed the catalogue.

Reconstructions, which are still in progress, are done first on paper then on the computer. The pro-cess began with sorting the fragments and estab-lishing associations. Attention was paid to the top and bottom of the composition, recognizable by the flattened edge of the plaster where it abutted the wooden frame in the wall. Associations were noted

46 Plan and reconstruction of the palace: BIETAK 2005, 88. fig. 3.5. Two stairways either side of the interior of the building indicate that there was an upper storey above the Throne Room.

47 Lions: MARINATOS 2010; Leopards and Griffin: MORGAN 2010a, 2010b. See also on the Hunt: BIETAK & MARINATOS

Fig. 7 Fragment of the head of a fallow deer, with a second deer behind, showing the original scanned fragment (left) and the digitally enhanced image (right)

1995; MARINATOS 1998, 2000, 2005; MORGAN 1995, 1998, 2004, 2006.

48 By ‘fragment’ is meant what is now a fragment, which in many cases is composed of several pieces (usually between 2–10, occasionally as many as 60–70, albeit small) joined in conservation.


according to which plants occurred with which animals, figures etc., how the red and yellow back-ground were related and how the rocks were inte-grated. Drawings which bring fragments together are all executed at 1:1 scale using tracing paper, while some colour sketches are made to provide an overall impression of how the reconstructions are developing. Comparative hunt scenes in Aegean art were compiled, as were those in Egyptian art. To date, all the felines and most of the prey have been reconstructed, while preliminary sketches have been made of the hunters and dogs and some of the landscape. There appear to have been at least four or five hunters with six or more dogs,49 and there are ten lions, six leopards, one griffin, six deer, and at least three goats, two of which are attacked by a dog. There are also many more white animals (goats and bovines), not yet reconstructed and mostly rec-ognizable by their surviving legs. Reconstruction of proportions and postures is drawn from the infor-mation available in the fragments, supplemented by comparanda, especially the many hunt scenes on Aegean sealstones. Once the reconstruction draw-ing is complete, it is scanned. Marian Negrete-Mar-tinez then re-draws the lines on the computer and places the enhanced fragments into the drawing. The final stage is the application of colour to the reconstructed parts of the scene (Fig. 7).

The hunters and dogs appear on both red and yellow backgrounds, and one fragment indicates how the two colours were divided by an area of banded rocks with pebbles.50 Ivy, reeds and papyrus are associated with them. The men wear loin cloths and white boots with lacings, while the dogs, pink, white, or black, have red collars and are held by a leash. The lions also occur on red and yellow back-grounds, with red below or above, while multi-coloured rocks lie beneath yellow ground, and blue rock interrupts red above, demonstrating the com-plexity of the landscape design. Reeds and papyrus are the associated plants. Most appear to be gallop-ing, eight lions to the left, two to the right. A bull is attacked by two of them, blood dripping from the wound.51 The single griffin is against yellow ground and moves to the left in ‘flying gallop’.52 In the

preliminary publication only the creature is recon-structed, but pinkish-ochre beneath the beak sug-gests a prey, while grey-blue rocks probably be-longed beneath. Of the leopards, all but one moves to the left, three pounce downwards to an unseen prey, while three prowl, demonstrating the charac-teristic hunting methods of leopards. All are against a red background, two providing evidence for (mostly) blue rocks beneath and another for plain red at the top. They therefore occupied the entire height of the frieze. Two plants are associated, quite different from those with the lions, a tall stemmed trefoil plant (Fig. 8) and a ground-covering stem-less plant with five leaves. The latter also occurs beneath a deer that is upside down, hence stricken, presumably having been attacked by the leopards. Like the leopards, the deer are all on red ground. Spots on their hides and a preserved head with antler establish that they are fallow deer (Fig. 7). One has blood on its hide. Some are associated with plants with lanceolate leaves. One of the goats so far reconstructed is on red ground; two others are on yellow ground with blue rock and plants, one attacked by a dog, the other crumpling to the ground.53 The largest number of fragments by far belongs to rocks, which must have lined the bottom of the frieze.

As a preliminary conjecture, in a frieze that ran over two, perhaps three walls, the hunters and dogs appear to be tracking goats (or antelope), and may have been in the vicinity of, but not hunting with, the lions, who attack bulls, while the leopards were hunting deer, and were separate from both the lions and the men. The frieze was carefully planned, with large areas destined for blue rock left in reserve when the red and then yellow ground were painted, a technique that was employed in Aegean painting, as noted in particular at Knossos and Ayia Irini, Kea.54

The Bulls Frieze and Acrobats are likely to have occupied a single long wall, while the Hunt Frieze ran along the others, each part of the frieze comple-menting the other in a series of scenes that drew attention to the relative hierarchy of species and the parallel prowess of man and animal, in a palatial

49 For the hunters and dogs, these are provisional numbers, as reconstruction is still in progress.

50 BIETAK & MARINATOS 1995, 59. fig. 14. Drawing: Lila Brock.

51 MARINATOS 2010, 341 fig. 22. 344 fig. 27.

52 MORGAN 2010b, 305 fig. 1.53 MARINATOS & MORGAN 2005, col. pl. 15:1. Reconstruction

by Clairy Palyvou and Nanno Marinatos.54 Knossos: CAMERON 1975, 281–283. 285. Kea: MORGAN,

forthc.


programme that no doubt promoted royal power and reflects intercultural relations.

The Stucco-Reliefs (Constance von Rüden)In contrast to other Near Eastern sites with ‘Aegean Style’ fresco paintings, the material from Tell el- Dabca is not restricted to paintings on a flat surface; additionally more than 350 fragments of stucco re-lief have been identified.55 With the exception of one or two pieces from the Argolid, whose original find spots are unknown due to the upheaval caused by the World War II,56 and few examples from The-

ra57 up to now reliefs have been detected only on Crete, including the island of Pseira directly adja-cent to it.58 Their discovery alone, therefore, at a site in the Eastern Nile delta far away from Crete, is exceptional; additionally, the very wide range of identifiable motifs shows the distinctiveness of the corpus.

As is the case for other fresco paintings in Tell el-Dabca, the stucco-reliefs have been discovered in the direct precincts of ‘Palaces F’ and ‘G’. Their fragmented state often makes an identification of the motifs extremely difficult, but to reconstruct the

Fig. 8 Leopard with plants. Reconstruction: Lyvia Morgan. Computer realization: María Antonia Negrete-Martínez. (MORGAN 2010a, 266, fig. 2)

55 For a first identification see BIETAK & MARINATOS 1995, 54. fig. 5; furthermore BIETAK, MARINATOS & PALYVOU 2007, 41–42. fig. 40.

56 It is unclear if the literature which refers to depictions of the hip of, more or less, life-size women, describes two different fragments or the very same one (KAISER 1976, 306. fig. 473, RODENWALDT 1921, fn. 152). One of the fragments is today stored at the Apothiki of the Tiryns excavation.

57 DOUMAS 1992, 131. I am very grateful to Lyvia Morgan to call my attention to these examples.

58 An example of a quite low relief of a decorative pattern is additionally found on Thera. Outside Knossos reliefs have been detected in Pseira, Gournia, Palaikastro, Kato Zakro, Agia Triada and Chania (for an overview see KAISER 1976, 299–304).


whole composition is at the very least a very chal-lenging, if not in many cases a simply impossible task. Therefore, in this preliminary discussion of the material, I will restrict myself to the identifica-tion of some motifs and some technical aspects of the material.

In the north-east of ‘Palace F’, at the foot of the entrance ramp, mostly unpainted, but often highly burnished fragments have been brought to light. Some of them can be clearly identified as extrem-ities of cattle, possibly bulls, while other can only be broadly attributed to the bodies of the same animal. The angle of the leg’s joint suggests that we have depictions of rather calmly pacing animals than, for example, bulls running in flying gallop, as it is the case in the bull-leaping scenes of the site59 or the famous bull of the ‘North Entrance Passage’ from Knossos.60 The range of motifs from the surroundings of ‘Palace G’, excavated primary in the south-east of the building, is much wider: for example depictions of at least one lion, possibly a griffin, sections of textiles and architec-tural elements, as well as human beings. Of the latter two examples with red skin, possible males can be identified. Their technical properties sug-gest that they belong to the same composition, probably facing each other. One envelops an ochre pole with his hand, evoking well known composi-tions in the Aegean, as for example in the so-called Master Seal Impression from Chania61 or the so-

called Chieftain Cup from Agia Triada with a young man in three quarter view also holding a pole.62 Another highly interesting fragment depicts a white-skinned human leg with a blue boot (Fig. 9). The boot is corded with an ochre string; it can be, therefore, assumed that tied textiles are depict-ed here, and, of course, not boots in our modern sense. The white skin of the leg is more puzzling. Traditionally, this would have led us to assume the representation of a woman, but similar boots are more common for acrobats and bull leapers, usu-ally considered to be men. It is perhaps simply our modern imagination of gender-dichotomy rather the material itself which confuses us here. Gener-ally, the motifs themselves and their stylistic exe-cution have parallels in the Knossian reliefs or Cretan iconography, but parallels in the syntax of the paintings are more difficult to assign, and need further research. The same holds true for the em-bedding of the images into their local context and their possible reception within it.

Reliefs have often been regarded as a simple sub-group of wall paintings on a flat surface.63 This has been criticized by Fritz Blakolmer with regard of their iconography. He has observed that more emblem-like compositional schemes are favoured within this genre.64 This might be also a result of their shaping in a third dimension, requesting a very sophisticated production technique. The process needs an even firmer planning than paintings on a

Fig. 9 White leg with blue boots in relief on a red background (H/II – F00037)

59 BIETAK, MARINATOS & PALYVOU 2007.60 EVANS 1930, 172–174. fig. 16.61 HALLAGER 1985; CMS V Suppl. 1A Nr. 142.

62 FOSDYKE 1952, 13–16.63 See for example KYRIELEIS 1968, 16.64 BLAKOLMER 2006, 17.


flat surface, allowing less space for spontaneous experimentation or a more impressionistic ductus.

A brief consideration of the chaîne opératoire of the relief-production and thus the required skills might illustrate this. Most of the reliefs of Tell el- Dabca have been recovered without the background plane on which they had been originally attached. This exposes a roughly flat back with thin crossing ridges, around 1–3 mm high, sometimes arranged in a net-like fashion (Fig. 10). Additionally, remains of red colour at the edges of the elevated part of the relief can be detected in some cases. These observa-tions give us an idea about the method of planning and execution of the reliefs. Obviously, the outline of the sculptured representation has been firstly

applied with a red preliminary drawing on the freshly plastered background plane. Then the inter-spaces have been incised with thin lines as anchor-ages for the application of the sculptured plaster. Only after all this preparation the craftsperson ap-plied the different plaster layers, composing the massive body of the elevated relief. Their heights range from relatively low reliefs of 1–2 cm up to very high and heavy examples of around 6 cm. The humid plaster then absorbed the colour of the red preliminary drawings on its rear, and the ridges of the anchorages are imprinted, traces of which thus helped us reconstruct important aspects of the pro-duction process.65

65 VON RÜDEN, in print.


If we think about parallels in these processes, we necessarily have to take the material of Crete, and especially Knossos, into consideration, due to the lack of similar findings in other regions. There we can often trace a very fine reddish plaster layer between the background plane and the sculptured relief itself.66 At present, it is difficult to say if this layer was restricted to the area where the relief was applied. If this is the case, it might have had a similar function as the preliminary drawings in Tell el-Dabca, but executed in a different way; here more research is still required. Furthermore, comparable net-shape incision as anchorages of the sculptured stucco can be identified in Knossos.67 The tech-nique is not used exclusively for a stronger attach-ment of the sculptured material on the background

plane; such anchorages are also found between sin-gle layers of the relief body. This is observable on the famous wall paintings of women from Pseira, and on two fragments of female breasts from the ‘Blocked Corridor’ in Knossos.68

The similarities to the Knossos material are thus obvious, but slight differences in the technique can be observed as well. Future research aims on the one hand to complete the full chaîne opératoire of the production process and give a more holistic picture of the identified motifs and possible com-positions, and on the other hand to focus in more detail on their consumption and their visual and haptic characteristics within the local context of the buildings.

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