chariots cobras and canaanites a ramessi

7/26/2019 Chariots Cobras and Canaanites a Ramessi

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Chariots, Cobras and Canaanites:a Ramesside Miscellany from Tell Abqain

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In Pharaoh riumphantProfessor Kitchen describes the steps taken by Ramesses II to control theLibyan population to the west of Egypt, Along the western desert edge of the Delta, between Memphis

and the sea, he strengthened a series of settlements, sometimes building new temples on them to the local

gods of the west, ancient towns that are now mere mounds.Tis offering describes work to date on one

of those ancient towns/mounds, ell Abqain.

At the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty the relationship between Egypt and the different groups that

made up the Libyans changed. Te Meshwesh and the Libu first emerge in Egyptian records after the

reign of Amenhotep III, appearing to have been both larger in population and more efficient in organi-

zation than the earlier attested jemeh and jehenu. From the Nineteenth Dynasty there is the record

from Year or of a Libyan war of Seti I at Karnak also showing prince Ramesses, although this mayrepresent a border skirmish or punitive raid rather than a full-scale campaign. By the times of Merenptah

and Ramesses III Egypt had to contend with full-scale Libyan invasions.

Although the current state of evidence for the exact nature of the Libyan threat during the reign of

Ramesses II is unclear, we do know that a major building programme was undertaken both of fortify-

ing existing settlements and of constructing new fortresses against a perceived menace. Te sites of these

fortified towns and fortresses include Kim el-Hisn, Kom Firin and ell Abqain along the western Delta

edge, and Gharbaniyet, Alamein and Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham stretching along the Mediterranean coast

towards the modern Libyan border. Tere are varying amounts of evidence for the Ramesside presence in

the fortresses along the coast. From Gharbaniyet there is a red granite column and from Alamein a granite

stele, both showing Ramesses II with Shu and Horakhty. Tese are now on display in Burg el-Arab. AtZawiyet Umm el-Rakham, where a Liverpool University mission has been working since , there is a

complete fortress where many of the buildings are still standing, some as high as the first floor.

Surprisingly little is known about settlement in the Western Delta, despite sporadic explorations over

the last century and a renewal of interest in the Delta region in recent years. Kom el-Hisn and Kom Firin

were visited by Petrie while he was working at Naukratis during the s, and at Kom el-Hisn he saw

K. A. Kitchen, Pharaoh riumphant:Te Life and imes of Ramesses II, King of Egypt(Warminster, ), . Most recently S. Snape, Te Emergence of Libya on the Horizon of Egypt in D. OConnor and S. Quirke (eds),Mysteri-

ous Lands(London, ), and refs.

S. Snape, Te Excavations of the Liverpool University Mission to Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham ,ASAE (),.


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a statue of Ramesses II describing him as beloved of Sekhmet-Hathor lady of Imu.More recent work

has revealed evidence at both sites of fortified enclosure walls surrounding an area containing a temple

precinct constructed mainly of mud brick with limestone jambs and lintels inscribed with the names and

epithets of Ramesses II.

ell Abqain, which is located km southeast of Alexandria and km southeast of the modern town

of Hosh Isa in the Beheira Governorate (fig. ), was identified as a Ramesside site in by Daressywho

reported two neighbouring mounds, one of which had a group of limestone blocks inscribed with large

hieroglyphic characters that he assumed were part of a gate. Habachi later visited these mounds in ,

when he relocated the group of blocks.However these had lost their inscribed faces by this time, as they

W. M. F. Petrie, Naukratis Part I. (MEEF ; London, ), . For Kom el-Hisn see C. J. Kirby, Preliminary Report on the survey of Kom el-Hisn, JEA (), . For Kom

Firin see N. A. Spencer, Kom Firin I: Te Ramesside emple and the Site Survey(BMRP ; London, ). For earlier work inthe area see L. Habachi, Te Military Posts of Ramesses II on the coastal road and the western part of the Delta, BIFAO(), and W. Coulson, Te Naukratis Survey, in E van den Brink (ed.) Te Archaeology of the Nile Delta(Amsterdam,), .

M. G. Daressy, Rapport sur Kom el-Abqain,ASAE (), . L. Habachi, Khatana-Qantr Importance,ASAE (), .

F. . Map of the Nile Delta and Mediterranean Coast, showing the location of ell Abqain and other fortress towns.

F. . View of the main tellfrom the northeast.


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had at some previous point been sawn off and removed to the Graeco-Roman Museum at Alexandria.

Habachi did find another group of large blocks close by with their inscribed faces intact, and was also

able to trace part of a mudbrick wall that was intersected by the gateway. In a team from Liverpool

University began work at the site of ell Abqain.Tis article will give a brief overview of recent work, in-

cluding a discussion of a number of small finds which, although unassuming in themselves, offer glimpses

of life in a Nineteenth Dynasty town.

oday the northwest mound is much smaller than its neighbour and is largely covered by a modern

cemetery. Te main mound or tell has a pitted and undulating surface covered in tall grass. Outcrops ofmud brick walling can be seen in the faces of the tell, particularly where sebbakhdigging has produced

relatively steep faces where the partial stratigraphy of the site is visible. Tis is especially true in an enor-

mous cutting which effectively defines the western side of the tell.

Te perimeter walls noted by Habachi extend around the settlement mound, and there are traces of

larger mudbrick structures at the southeast and northeast angles, which suggests that originally there were

bastions or towers on these corners. It has not yet been determined if there is a similar structure at the

north west corner as might be expected, as this section lies under the modern road and is more heavily

denuded. Te area and the northern wall will be further examined in future seasons.

Accession number JE .

For reports see S. Tomas, ell Abqain: a fortified settlement in the Western Delta. Preliminary report of the season,MDAIK (), .

F. . Plan of ell Abqain.


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Te walls are approximately m long, creating an internal area of , m.Te base of the

perimeter walls are . m thick, which can be compared with the fortress at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham

where the external walls are . m thick and include deep, corridor-like gateways, and the m thick walls

at Kom Firin.At all three sites the external faces of the walls appear to have been covered with a layer of

white plaster. However, unlike at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham where the mudbrick walls sit on stone and

rubble foundations, at Abqain the perimeter walls are constructed from large mudbrick stretchers laid

horizontally and vertically in rows on a bed of clean sand.

For some reason the fortifications at Abqain are asymmetrical in outline. Tere may have been exist-

ing architectural features predating the Ramesside defences that were taken into account when the wallswere constructed. It is also possible that a watercourse (either a tributary of the Nile or an artificially

constructed canal) ran near the site and that the walls were built to run along the edge of this, and further

magnetometric survey is planned in this area.

Excavations inside the walls have revealed a number of features. Te southern gateway fronts a mud

brick corridor originally paved with limestone slabs that extends m north into the town. Tere are a

number of slightly later buildings in this area, including one where a fine limestone lintel with sunk-relief

inscriptions featuring titulary of Ramesses II, including his Horus name strong bull, beloved of Maat,

was inverted and reused as a threshold block.

Te western side of the tell is defined by a substantial trench or cutting which runs approximately

north south. Investigation of the base of the trench indicated that the negative space represents the origi-nal western wall of the town. Te local workmen informed us that a small sugar-cane train used to run

along the northern edge of the town, and that this part of the perimeter wall was taken by sebbakhinap-proximately seventy years ago, apart from one small section of wall which was left to act as a bridge onto

the mound. Vertical sections of the eastern face were cleaned and recorded, including that which extends

between the present south end of the ditch and the path or bridge which leads to the tell.

Tese sections revealed many features. At the southern end, the ditch cuts through the original south-

ern perimeter wall of the town. Te rest of the sections show various walls from different small buildings

abutting the interior face of the wall inside the town. Some of these represent later occupation as they are

N. Spencer, . Tomas,MDAIK, and pl. b.

F. . Section A/, on the western edge of the tell, after cleaning and recording.


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built on top of earlier walls below. Different floor levels are also visible and sherd material indicates that

the lowest, and presumably earliest, rooms or small houses are contemporary with the perimeter walls

and date from the Ramesside period.

Wells at Tell Abqain

Although there are probably a series of wells at most settlement sites, surprisingly few are known from

the archaeological record. Inside the southeast corner of the perimeter walls at Abqain, Habachi found

and investigated two wells between , one of which was reported to me as having some inscrip-

tions.Working in July he was only able to dig down metres due to the comparatively high water table.

Habachi,ASAE, and pl. xxiv.

F. . Plan of the Well Area, in the southeast corner of the site.


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Tis was sufficient to show that the northern of the two wells was decorated with a series of Ramesses II

cartouches, while the southern well had unfortunately lost its corresponding courses.

Te Liverpool mission was able to relocate and further investigate these wells, aided by an elderly resi-

dent in one of the small villages around the site who remembered where Habachis excavation had takenplace. wo more wells to the north and west of Habachis original northern well (W) were revealed,

along with inscribed blocks from at least one other well. Te best preserved of these is Well (W), which

seems to be complete. It consists of courses of large, curved limestone blocks sitting on a single, large

block at the bottom of the well, which is . m deep. Te area to the south of W showed evidence of

occupation with mud brick walls surrounding three ovens. Tese are at a higher level than the wells cur-

rently visible and it is possible that further wells will be located here through magnetometry.

All three wells are decorated with two horizontal rows of inscriptions that appear to have been carved

in situ. Te higher row consists of alternating vertical cartouches Usermaatre Setepenre and Ramessu

Meryamun. Tese cartouches are topped with double plumes and sit above nwbsigns. Te lower row

consists of alternating horizontal cartouches prefaced with the titles King of Upper and Lower Egypt,Son of Re and Lord of Appearances and are all followed by given life like Re.

Almost no other functioning wells are known from the Ramesside period. wo have been found at

Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham, one in the walled settlement/food production area in the south east corner

of the fortress and one inscribed with Ramesses II cartouches, near the main temple against the western

perimeter wall. One other well with horizontal inscriptions was re-excavated in near Piramesse in

the Eastern Delta.

S. Tomas, Wells of ell Abqain,Ancient Egypt/ (), .

Snape,ASAE, . L. Giddy, Notes and News Ancient Well, EA (), .

F. . Detail of the vertical cartouches inside Well .F. . View into Well .


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Part of a Door Jamb referring to Anath

Tis architectural element was also found

buried in a vertical position against the outer

face of Well (WA/B). It is not clear why

the jamb was there, though it may have beenused at some point to shore up the side of the

well. Te fragment comes from the left hand

side of a doorway, and is inscribed on the

front face only. Te side-return face originally

forming the door-frame has been smoothed

while the other two faces are roughly worked,

almost certainly indicating that they were set

into a mud brick wall. Both the top and the

bottom of the jamb are now lost and only a

part of the original text remains on the mid-dle section that is just under m high. Te

vertical inscription in sunk relief runs down

between two inscribed lines or bands. Com-

parison with similar jambs from other sites

suggests that the doorway was originally in-

scribed with various names, titles and epithets

of Ramesses II. Te remaining text reads;

nb xaw (Ra-ms-sw mry-Imn)[mry]anTt

Lord of appearances, Ramesses beloved of Amun, [beloved of] Anath

Tough this represents a common form of text from a gateway, and indeed there are many examples

of similar jambs throughout the town at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham, it is less usual to find Ramesses be-

loved of the Semitic goddess Anath.

Anath, who was primarily associated with war, was one of a number of similar martial deities intro-

duced into Egypt from Syria-Palestine from the late Middle Kingdom onwards.By Dynasty she was

accepted within the Egyptian pantheon both as a wife of Sethand as a daughter of Re.Described,

along with Astarte, by Kitchen as lascivious goddesses of love and war, Anath seems to have been

particularly favoured by Ramesses II, who named a son Meher-Anath and a daughter Bint-Anath after

her,

as well as a horse, dogs and a sword. Gods and goddesses of Semitic origin are thought to have beenpopular during the Ramesside period especially in Lower Egypt, yet there are few known references to

Anath in the Delta apart from this example at ell Abqain and some remains found at anis. Tis latter

group almost certainly originated from a temple dedicated to Anath at Piramesse, though there is some

Te top of a mrsign is just visible on the bottom right corner of the inscription. For Anath in Egypt see R. Stadelmann, Syrisch-Palstinensische Gottheiten in gypten(Pd ; Leiden, ), ; also

Helck who suggested that the cult of Anath was popularised by Seti I, W. Helck, Zum Auftreten fremder Gtter in gypten,Oriens Antiquus (), .

A. Roccati. Une lgende gyptienne dAnat, RdE (), . P. Chester Betty I, ; A. H.Gardiner, Late Egyptian Stories(BAe ; Brussels, ), .

Kitchen, Pharaoh riumphant, . Child-of-Anath and Daughter-of-Anath.

F. . WA/B, the Anath Jamb.


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debate as to the exact nature of the temples in that city. Uphill suggests that the main temple at Piramesse

was similar to that at Karnak, with the cults of various gods included in one complex, or perhaps even a

syncretic Amun-Re-Horakhty-Atum cult being celebrated,whereas Kitchen thinks that different tem-

ples to different gods were located throughout the city, with the temple of Seth to the south in old Avaris,

Amun to the west, Ptah to the north and Re to the east, and satellite temples to Anath and Astarte closeto the Re temple.

Te references mentioning Anath found at anis were found on two pair statues of the goddess with

Ramesses II,an obelisk, and two more door jambs. Te first statue in red granite shows the king and

Anath standing side by side. On both sides of the dorsal pillar, as might be expected in this context,

Ramesses is described as the beloved of Anath, and on the rear as beloved of Anath, Lady of Heaven.

Te second, seated, statue is in grey granite. Te text is damaged in places but Anath, Lady of Heaven

is visible on the left edge of the group.Te obelisk was originally one of a pair and, though its primary

location remains unclear, the pyramidion of the obelisk suggests that it was dedicated to Heliopolitan

deities.Te shaft texts consist of names, titles and epithets of Ramesses II, and on the south face he is

described as Suckling of Anath.Te two door jamb parts were found in the sacred lake at anis, and both originate from one or more

monumental doors or gateways. Te first is the base of a substantial left-handed door jamb with much

of the inscription now missing but the name of Ramesses still visible along with the epithet beloved of

Anath, Daughter of Re.Te second more complete left jamb, which Montet estimated to stand be-

tween cm high, includes he has made his monument for [his] mother Anath of Ramesses II,

leading Kitchen to suggest that these would have come from the same building, presumably a lesser

temple of Anath.

An interesting aspect of these references is the variation in the way her name was written. As Lepsius

first noticed in the tomb of Ramesses IIs daughter Bint-Anath, the name of the goddess was spelt in a

number of different ways.From anis there are examples of anti, ant, anTi, and aTt, with anTt from thejamb at Abqain. Tere is a possible explanation for this inconsistency: Ward noted in his discussion of

foreign names at Deir el-Medina that Egyptian scribes in recording a foreign word or name tended to

write down what they heardthe transmission of those names into Egyptian depended on how they

sounded to Egyptian hearers,and Ramesside scribes working furiously to produce all the new inscribed

material at building projects in both Upper and Lower Egypt may well have been unfamiliar with the

goddess Anath.

E. Uphill, Te emples of Per Ramesses(Warminster, ), . RIANCV, , also Kitchen, Pharaoh riumphant, . See also the text In Praise of the Delta Residence Papyrus

Anastasi II, I.I-. trans. R. Caminos, Late Egyptian Miscellanies(BEStud ; Oxford, ), . Cairo JE and Louvre AF . I am most grateful to Keiko azawa for drawing these to my attention. Louvre AF . See P. Montet, Les Nouvelles Fouilles de anis(Paris, ), , pls. . exts in KRI, II, , RIA,

II, Cairo JE . See Montet, Nouvelles Fouilles, , pls . exts in KRIII, ; RIAII, . W. M. F. Petrie, anis I(MEEF : London, ), pl. VII: . KRIII, ; RIAII, . P. Montet, Le lac sacr anis(Paris, ), . pl ; KRIII ; RIA II, . Montet, Le lac sacr, pls and ; KRIII ; RIAII, . RIANCV, . In Lepsius tomb Grab der Konigin, now QV, he noted Varianten des Namens der Konigin including antwandanti.

See LDIII, . W. A. Ward, Foreigners living in the Village in L. H. Lesko (ed.),Pharaohs Workers(Ithaca, ), .


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Tere was a quantity of other artifacts found in and around the wells and ovens. Te great majority

of these are ceramic sherds from large storage jars, bowls, dishes and plates - not unexpected in an area

of food preparation and production. Almost all the pottery found in the wells no doubt comes from pots

used to obtain water; funnel-neck jars, round and flat-based beer jars, meat jars, high-neck amphorae

with handles (sometimes known as Egyptian wine jars), pilgrim flasks, small bowls and a number ofceramic bungs. Tis repertoire can be directly compared with pottery found at Piramesse and Zawiyet

Umm el-Rakham.

A Miscellany of Small Finds

Other ceramic objects from the wells area include a jar- stamp, part of a spinning bowl, part of a bird,

the head of an animal and fragments of cobra figures.

Te jar stamp (WA/) was found near the mouth of Well . It is . cm long, . cm wide and made

of coarse red-ware with straight sides and rounded ends. Te lug handle on the back is broken off with

only a stump and a mark remaining, and the bottom left quarter of the front face is also missing. Te

face is inscribed with signs surrounded by an elongated oval frame, all of which are deeply incised with

rounded profiles that produce clear, raised relief when the wetted stamp is pressed into a yielding surface.

Te motif appears to be a disc, horns and a nfr-sign surrounded by the oval frame.

Despite the large numbers of inscribed jar sealings known, surprisingly few actual jar-stamps from

this period have been identified from the archaeological record. Portions of three similar pottery stamps

were found at Buhen, and one from Petries excavations at Gurob.Te size of the Abqain stamp suggests

that it was used to mark the clay sealings covering storage vessels.

Different products are known to have been transported in ceramic containers that were sealed and

marked with inscribed stamps, including wine, beer, meat, small fowl and fats.Te majority of known jar

For classifications see D. A. Aston, Die Keramik des Grabungsplatzes Q I. Forschungen in der Ramses-Stadt; Die Grabungendes Pelizaeus-Museums Hildesheim in Quantir-Pi-Ramesse. I,Corpus of Fabrics, Wares and Shapes(Mainz, ).

H. S. Smith, Te Fortress at BuhenII. Te Inscriptions(EES EM ; London, ), , and pl. xlix; W. M. F. Petrie Ka-hun, Gurob and Hawara(London, ), , pl. XVIII. See also L. Giddy, Kom Rabia. Te New Kingdom and Post New KingdomObjects(EES EM ; London, ), for discussion of these and a few stone and wooden parallels. For slightly earlier exam-ples of stamped wine jar seals see also W. C. Hayes, Inscriptions from the Palace of Amenhotep IIIJNES (), figs .

C. A. Hope, Excavations at Malkata and the Birket Habu. Jar Sealings and Amphorae(Warminster, ), . See B. G.Wood, Egyptian Amphorae of the New Kingdom and Ramesside Periods, Biblical Archaeologist: (), for further refs.

F. . WA/, Jar-Stamp; WA/, ceramic animal head; W/-/, part of a bird; WB/, WA/, WB/, cobra fragments.


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sealings come from wine jars, and the temptation in this case is to attribute the seal to the long-established

viticulture traditions of the Delta.Egyptian wine was often graded with nefers(good, double good, and

triple good) and a further suggestion might be that wine produced nearby and stamped at Abqain may

have come from the vineyards and estates producing good wine of the Western River in particular.

Te spinning bowl was found near and to the north east of the mouth of Well and appears to havebeen a two-handled model made from the local fabric. Spinning bowls are known from the Middle King-

dom onwards and have been found at many New Kingdom settlement sites.Tey are open bowls made

from pottery or occasionally stone which contain between one and four internal handles. urning

flax into yarn suitable for weaving was a complicated process, with one of a number of stages involving

splicing and spinning wetted fibres together and such bowls were used simultaneously, to guide the roves

through a liquid and to provide a certain amount of tension. Tere is some evidence from Old King-

dom tomb scenes that male spinners produced cord for fishing nets; however thread for spinning seems

to have been almost always prepared by women.Indeed, with the exception of specialist centres such as

the royal workshops at Gurob, most spinning and weaving appears to have been part of a low-level cot-

tage industry with much material produced in the home.Te bird and the head of an animal are harder to identify both in form and function. Te bird was

found near the bottom inside Well .It was made by hand and has great variations in body thickness

with finger marks evident on the interior where it has been pressed into shape. Te outside has been

smoothed and shaved with rudimentary wings made separately and then squashed onto the body before

firing. Only the body is preserved, and it may form part of a vessel of some sort where the potter has

worked like a sculptor to reproduce the imitated object in three dimensions.Alternatively the bird may

represent some ritual or magic object, or a childs toy. Te hollow body could perhaps have been used as a

rattle,or simply a model animal to play with, which at some point was either broken and thrown away

or dropped by mistake down the well.

Te animal head was found near Well .It is made of dense, heavy clay material with a dark greycore. Te head has a pronounced snout, chubby cheeks, with a flat, rear facing right ear, and left ear

broken off. Te head sits above a thick neck sloping slightly backwards. Tere is a slight indenta-

tion mark for the left eye and the snout has a small hole in the middle formed pre-firing. Te sur-

face has been thoroughly smoothed and although quite crudely made it is an appealing object. Exactly

which animal is represented here has been a matter of much debate, perhaps a bear, a dog or a camel.

Note for example that Most of the vineyards represented in utankhamuns cellar were along the Western River L. H.Lesko, Egyptian Wine Production During the New Kingdom in P. E. McGovern, S. J. Fleming, A. H. Katz (eds), Te Originsand Ancient History of Wine (Philadelphia, ), .

A/WA/. See S. A. Allen Spinning Bowls: Representation and Reality, in J. Phillips (ed.),Ancient Egypt, the Aegean, and the Near

East. Studies in honor of Martha Rhoads Bell(San Antonio, ), , for other examples. B. Kemp and G. Vogelsang-Eastwood, Te Ancient extile Industry at Amarna(EES EM ; London, ), and

. Kemp and Vogelsang-Eastwood, Te Ancient extile Industry at Amarna, . Allen, in Phillips (ed.), Studies Bell, . A/W//.J. Bourriau, Umm el-Gaab. Pottery from the Nile Valley before the Arab Conquest(Cambridge, ), . H. Hickmann Die altgyptische Rassel,ZAS, () . However even if the bird was a rattle it does not mean

that it was necessarily a toy. For example, as Kozloff points out, objects that made rattling noises were sacred to Hathor, A. Ko-

zloff and B.Bryan (eds), Egypts Dazzling Sun: Amenhotep III and His World(Cleveland, ), . A/WA/.


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Without a specific religious or magical context, or any supporting textual evidence, it is practically

impossible to determine whether small models or imitations of ordinary objects such as these were ei-

ther created or used as ritual objects or as playthings. Even in a mortuary setting it is extremely hard to

ascertain if such objects are meant as companions or protectors. At Abqain where these pieces have been

found in a domestic context it is not possible to define their purpose. All that can be said is that they arealmost certainly of the living rather than the dead.Te cobras (see below) seem more firmly tied to an

amuletic role, but one must be wary of imposing modern ideas as to suitable objects for toys.

One cobra head was found immediately next to Well in an area that may have been disturbed by Ha-

bachis workmen. Te other two fragments, a head and a base, come from the ovens area south of Well

.Parallels with statuettes found at other sites suggest that the cobra figures at Abqain were designed

to be freestanding, rather than as part of cobra bowl.Teir presence implies that there was a domestic

cult of a protective snake goddess at the site, perhaps Reneneutet, or Wadjet from her cult centre at Buto.

Te figurines may also have had magical texts recited over them and then been placed in the corner of

rooms at night where people slept to ward off sickness, demons and spirits of the dead.Similar figures

have been found at Memphis, Piramesse, Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham and Kom Firin,and there arealso many fragments of cobra figurines from the late Ramesside farmhouse recently excavated at Sais.

Comparable snake figurines have also been found in and around other military installations along Egypts

Mediterranean border and into the Levant.

From the Ramesside levels in the western cutting on the other side of the site there are other indica-

tions of connections with states around the eastern Mediterranean, where two interesting sherds were im-

mediately apparent in the sections; a Mycenaean fineware sherd with biscuit coloured body and horizon-

tal glossy orange stripes, which is most likely from the base of a small juglet or stirrup jar,and part of a

Canaanite amphora, with a sherd representing the top of the body, the shoulder and the beginning of the

neck.Although there is much available evidence for international trade during the Eighteenth Dynasty,only in recent years has it been recognized that many trading links continued into the Nineteenth and

wentieth Dynasties. Along with material from mortuary contexts, there are examples of ceramics from

Greece, the Aegean and Syria-Palestine in settlement sites including Memphis, Piramesse and Zawiyet

Umm el-Rakham.Mycenaean fineware stirrup jars are thought to have contained limited amounts of

See S. Quirke, Figures of Clay: oys or Ritual Objects?, in S. Quirke (ed.), Lahun Studies(Reigate, ), , fordiscussion of clay figurines from Lahun, Buhen and Uronati. Quirke concluded that firm identification of childhood toys mayonly be reached through study of child burials, and from the sites in question: the figures seem to me more likely to have beenused by Egyptian adults to defend themselves, than by Egyptian children to amuse themselves.

A/WA/. A/WB/, A/WB/. I am grateful to Kasia Szpakowska for the identification. see R. K. Ritner, O. Gardiner : A Spell Against Night errors,JARCE (), for discussion of a spell to be

recited over [ura]ei made of pure clay. Giddy, Kom Rabia, pls and . Spencer, Kom Firin, . P. Wilson, Sais Report () . For other examples see Giddy, Kom Rabia, . A//. A//.

S. Tomas, Imports at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham, in Z. Hawass (ed.), Egyptology at the Dawn of the wenty-first Century:Proceedings of the Eighth International Congress of Egyptologists,,Archaeology(), and refs.


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expensive perfumed oil,and many Canaanite amphorae imported into Egypt contained wine or Pistacia

resin from Syro-Palestine. However the final contents of Canaanite amphorae in particular were often a

completely different product as they seem to have functioned like a tupperware box, in that they were

used and reused many times to transport a wide variety of food and drink and also objects such as glass

beads or other ceramic vessels.

Tere is one other small object found in

Well which offers more information than

might first appear. It is a small calcite stoneknob . cm high and . cm wide.Simi-

lar knobs have been found at Memphis, Pi-

ramesse and at Beth Shan where they were

described as having at once so exotic and

so plebeian an application.Comparison

with evidence, mainly from objects in ut-

ankhamuns tomb, indicates that this knob

is a yoke-saddle finial, and it was an essen-

tial part of the mechanism that guided the

reins that connected horses to chariots. Tefinials were connected to the wooden yoke-

saddles by bronze nails that went through

the top of the finial and into the saddle.

Tese saddles were then lashed to the front

Bourriau, Umm el-Gaab, . Tere are very similar pieces from the enclosed residential/industrial area at ZawiyetUmm el-Rakham.

Te most famous examples being those found on the Ulu Burun shipwreck. G. F. Bass, A Bronze Age Shipwreck at UluBurun (Kas): Campaign,AJA (), . See also A. Leonard, Canaanite Jars and the Late Bronze Age Wine rade,in P. E. McGovern, S. J. Fleming, A. H. Katz (eds), Te Origins and Ancient History of Wine(Philadelphia, ), .

A/W//. F. James, Stone knobs and chariot tracks, Expedition. (), .

F. . (left) W/-/, yoke-saddle finial; (top right) reconstructionshowing finials in position on yoke and yoke-saddles (after C. N.

Reeves, Te Complete utankhamun(London, ), ); (bottomright) finial in use, as illustrated in the tomb of Mahu at Amarna (after

W. H. Peck, Drawings from Ancient Egypt(London, ), pl. ).

F. . /, sherd of a (reconstructed) Canaanite amphora; /, Mycenaean fineware base; WA/, spinning bowl fragment.


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C, C C A

of yokes and sat across horses shoulders. Harness straps then passed through the holes in the fork ends of

the saddles.Te finials are one of the few chariot elements made of stone and it is assumed that this is

due to the strength and tension required to link the harnesses to chariots. Although it is of course possible

that the chariot from which this finial came was used for hunting game, this is the first artifact from the

site that suggests a military purpose.Tere is undoubtedly much more work to be done at the site of ell Abqain, and some of the ideas

suggested here may be amended as a result of further discoveries. Comparison with other Libyan and

western Delta fortress town sites along withmnnwor fortress towns in Nubia, for example, suggests that

there will be the remains of at least one substantial temple within the town. Nonetheless, each object

discussed above does in its own way begin to build up the picture of a settlement with military aspects at

least, with evidence of chariots, cobra cults popular in Nineteenth Dynasty forts, the war goddess Anath

and indeed the structure itself with large, imposing perimeter walls. Indications are that there were dif-

fering economic and social groups living together. Although the exact nature of the military presence at

ell Abqain is unclear, there would almost certainly have been a troop commander and other officers,

perhaps accompanied by their wives and families and with access to fine wine and imported delicacies,along with cavalry and foot soldiers and perhaps Medjay scouts to monitor the surrounding areas.Tere

was also no doubt a significant civilian population dealing with everyday activities such as farming, crop

production and other domestic industry. Situated on the edge of the Western Delta facing out towards

the rising threat of immigration or invasion, and with the name of their pharaoh inscribed on many sur-

faces throughout the town, the people of ell Abqain were perhaps comforted by constant reminders of

their pharaoh Ramesses II and the gods intention to protect them.

Acknowledgements

I hope this contribution, a miscellany of things which are seldom, if ever, published, forms an appro-

priate tribute to Professor Kitchen, whose wide interests in every aspect of Egypts Ramesside culture has

for so long been an inspiration to all working in the same fascinating area. I wish to thank the Supreme

Council of Antiquities in Cairo and Alexandria, and in particular Mr Rabia Amin Abu el-Kasim and Mr

Ahmed Adel Fattah Yousseff in Beheira for greatly facilitating the work of the mission, and also the kind

services of Mrs. Rawya Ismail in the Cairo office of the EES. I would also like to thank team members

Drs Ashley Cooke and Fiona Simpson for their hard work, Julian Heath for his drawings and the Wain-

wright Fund for their financial support for this project.

M. A. Littauer and J. H. Crouwel, Chariots and Related Equipment from the omb of utankhamun(S ; Oxford, ), and pls XXXIIIV.

For discussions of mnnwfortress towns, see E. F. Morris, Te Architecture of Imperialism. Military Bases and the Evolutionof Foreign Policy in Egypts New Kingdom(Pd ; Leiden, ), , .

chariots cobras and canaanites a ramessi

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