Pre-dynastic Egyptian artefacts reveal ‘strong’ Nile ties to southern Levant

AMMAN – Even before Egypt became a political and military power, during a predynastic period (6,210 BC-3,100 BC), archaeologists and historians had enough material evidence to conclude that a significant degree of imports and Egyptian influenced objects, particularly pottery in the Early Bronze Age, were primarily found in the region of the Gaza Strip and southern Levant. 

While early works were somewhat less than specific as to the time span when the mass of Egyptian-related material appeared in the archaeological record, more recent research has shown the phenomenon to be associated with late phases of Early Bronze Age I, but mainly at select sites within a limited geographical region, noted an American archaeologist.

"The appearance and quantification of Egyptian-related artifacts in the Early Bronze Age, as presently understood from the archaeological record, has suggested a four-tiered hierarchy of Egyptian associations,” said archaeologist Eliot Braun. 

Tier 1 sites are defined as those likely to have primarily been peopled by Egyptians1, while sites defined as Tiers 2-4, have yielded, respectively and in descending order, significantly less, very little, or no evidence of Egyptian material culture, Braun noted.

He added that all this intensified activity appears, on the basis of a number of serekhs found at sites in the southern Levant, to date to the reigns of Ka and Narmer, sometime at the end of the fourth millennium or late Dynasty 0 to early Dynasty 12.

It should be important to understand differences between original Egyptian imports, objects transported from the Nile Valley and “Egyptianised” objects, i.e. artifacts of recognisably Egyptian style, but which were fashioned locally of indigenous materials. 

That distinction is made because of logistics involved in transporting objects, in particular fragile ceramic vessels (and their contents) from the Nile Valley over long distances to sites in the southern Levant in the context of the late 4th millennium BC. 

Unfortunately, often definitive identifications of the Egyptian origin of such objects are impossible without the help of pure scientifically based criteria, such as petrographic studies, which, because they are labour intensive and somewhat costly, may only be done on a limited scale, Braun elaborated.

Egyptian imports include prestige items such as specific types of fine ware ceramic bottles and cylinder vessels, stone palettes, a single, exquisitely fashioned ripple-flaked knife and a cylinder seal, Braun continued.

The archaeologist added that several of these were associated with tombs but numerous additional examples of similar ceramic containers as well as “wine jars” and lentoid-shaped bottles have been found in settlement contexts at Tel Erani, En Besor and Amaziya.

"Possibly some calcite mace heads, most of which are probably to be considered prestige objects were also Egyptian in origin. Additional imported objects include a small quantity of imported Egyptian lint objects, knives and arrowheads," Braun said. 

Regarding Egyptinised objects, there are vessels of Egyptian morphology, generally fashioned of extremely coarse fabrics with significant quantities of vegetal inclusions, some of which may have been imported, although most are thought to have been fashioned locally. 

Such items as baking trays, (aka “bread molds”), “lotus bowls” and granary jars, mostly of extremely coarse fabrics (“rough ware”), found at some locales in great quantities, suggest Nilotic foodways were associated with some elements of the late EB I population in the southern Levant. 

Egyptian style bullae, clearly administrative paraphernalia, made locally and obviously related to goods, presumably foodstuffs, were apparently used by Nilotic peoples sojourning in the southern Levant.

"The sum total of documented pre-dynastic and proto-dynastic, Egyptian-associated objects found in the southern Levant to date is truly impressive, with the overwhelming bulk of them dated to late phases of Early Bronze Age I [ca. 3,100-3,000 BC]," Braun elaborated.

The archaeologist added that they are correlated, based on parallels from their homeland and serekhs found in the southern Levant, with the reigns of Ka and Narmer.