Early Dynastic Egypt Page 4

  Emery resumed his excavations in the Early Dynastic necropolis in 1964, after an interval of nearly nine years. He directed his attention to the western part of the site, where he still hoped to locate the Asklepieion and the associated tomb of Imhotep (H.S.Smith 1971:199). Emery uncovered several mastabas of the Third Dynasty, overlying cult places of the Late Period, and this gave him hope that the tomb of Imhotep lay nearby. The Early Dynastic tombs discovered in these seasons were published only as preliminary reports (Emery 1965, 1968, 1970); an analysis of Emery’s field notebooks might be expected to reveal significant information about the development of mortuary architecture in the Third Dynasty.

  Pointing the way: Kaiser, Kaplony and Kemp

  Following the end of Klasens’ excavations at Abu Rawash and the change in emphasis of Emery’s work at North Saqqara, little archaeological interest was shown in Egypt’s early periods throughout most of the 1960s. The Egyptological world was largely preoccupied with the campaign to record and salvage the monuments of Lower Nubia, threatened by the construction of the Aswan High Dam. Few scholars paid much attention to questions surrounding the origins of Egyptian civilisation, with two notable exceptions.

  Werner Kaiser may be credited with the rebirth of interest in early Egypt. His article on the internal chronology of the Naqada culture (Kaiser 1957) revolutionised Predynastic studies, replacing Petrie’s sequence dating system for establishing the relative date of Predynastic graves. A series of seminal articles in the late 1950s and early 1960s (Kaiser 1959, 1960, 1961a, 1964) reviewed the state of knowledge on early Egypt and investigated particular questions relevant to the birth of the dynastic state. Kaiser was particularly interested in the possibility that the legend of a line of kings ruling Egypt before Menes might have a basis in reality, and he explored the evidence for a degree of political unity prior to the beginning of the First Dynasty (Kaiser 1961a). In doing so,

  Kaiser made an important contribution to the problem of reconciling the later king lists with the names recorded on monuments of the Early Dynastic period, and he produced a valuable new reconstruction of the Palermo Stone, one of the key documents for early Egyptian history. Kaiser was the first Egyptologist to recognise the significance of early serekh marks, and the possibilities of arranging them in chronological order by reference to the types of pots on which they occurred. His analysis of the Tura cemetery led him to conclude that up to ten generations of kings had ruled a united Egypt before the reign of Aha (Kaiser 1964). Whilst this dramatic suggestion can no longer be entirely sustained, there is no doubt that state formation was well advanced before the beginning of the First Dynasty, and that the credit for developing this new picture of Egyptian origins belongs to Kaiser. He was also the first scholar to recognise the spread of Upper Egyptian cultural traits northwards during the late Predynastic period (Kaiser 1964), and this model of cultural development remains at the heart of present theories of state formation. Kaiser’s interest in early Egypt was to have a profound impact on the direction taken by Egyptian archaeology in the 1970s and 1980s. As director of the German Archaeological Institute in Cairo, he was to launch major new projects at Abydos and Buto, which continue to shed new light on the Predynastic and Early Dynastic periods. However, his influence was not restricted to the world of German Egyptology. Kaiser’s work also had a pivotal role in reawakening interest in the site of Hierakonpolis, one of the key sites for the rise of the Egyptian state. He was the first scholar to re-examine the material excavated by Quibell and Green at the turn of the century, and to suggest an important role for Hierakonpolis in the process of state formation (Kaiser 1958). The publication of an extensive field survey of sites in Upper and Middle Egypt revealed the extent of early remains at Hierakonpolis, and the great potential of the site for further study (Kaiser 1961b). As a direct result of this information, the Hierakonpolis Project was launched in 1967 (see below).

  Another scholar of Kaiser’s generation is Peter Kaplony. His interest lies primarily in the fragmentary inscribed material to have survived from early Egypt, and his pioneering work unlocked some of the secrets of the earliest Egyptian script for the first time (Kaplony 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966). Much of what we know about Early Dynastic administration is based upon Kaplony’s analysis of seal-impressions.

  The late 1960s witnessed a revival of interest in the monuments of the first three dynasties, in particular the royal tombs and funerary enclosures at Abydos. Since Emery’s excavations at North Saqqara, the balance of scholarly opinion had shifted in favour of his firm belief that the First Dynasty royal tombs were located at Saqqara, the monuments of Abydos being no more than southern ‘cenotaphs’. In two articles Barry Kemp re-examined the evidence in favour of Abydos as the true burial ground of Egypt’s earliest kings (Kemp 1966, 1967). He established beyond all reasonable doubt the claim of Abydos to be the Early Dynastic royal necropolis, a view which is now shared by most Egyptologists. Kaiser picked up on Kemp’s work and showed how the Step Pyramid complex of Netjerikhet, from the beginning of the Third Dynasty, was related, both architecturally and symbolically, to the late Second Dynasty enclosures of Peribsen and Khasekhemwy at Abydos (Kaiser 1969). Together, Kemp and Kaiser contributed enormously to our understanding of Early Dynastic royal mortuary complexes, and the process of development that led from mastabas to pyramids.

  New beginnings in Upper Egypt: Hierakonpolis and Elephantine

  The late 1960s also saw the launch of two important new projects in southern Upper Egypt, projects that continue to reveal important information about their respective sites. The Hierakonpolis Project, under the direction of Walter Fairservis (1921–94), began survey and excavation in 1967. Hierakonpolis had been visited sporadically by archaeologists since Quibell’s and Green’s pioneering excavations, but no systematic survey of the whole site had ever been attempted. The project was formed to examine the site from a regional perspective, establishing both the geographical and the chronological range of the surviving archaeological material. Fairservis was primarily interested in the Early Dynastic period, and he began by excavating on the Kom el-Gemuwia, the ancient town site of Nekhen. Preliminary results indicated that the site had great potential, and a full-scale expedition was launched. The early seasons of excavation yielded a spectacular discovery: a mudbrick gateway from a monumental building, decorated with an elaborate series of recessed niches in the ‘palace-façade’ style (Weeks 1971–2). The context of the gateway indicated that the adjoining building probably served a secular purpose, and a royal residence seemed the most plausible explanation. This identification has been generally accepted, and the building confirms the suitability of the term ‘palace-façade’ to describe the style of recessed niche decoration common in the Early Dynastic period. The political situation in the Middle East forced the abandonment of the Hierakonpolis Project in 1971, to be resumed again seven years later.

  In 1969, a joint German-Swiss mission, under Kaiser’s overall direction, began excavations on the island of Elephantine, on ancient Egypt’s southern border. Buildings of many periods have been investigated by the Elephantine mission, including important Early Dynastic structures. One of the most revealing sites is the small temple of Satet, a shrine serving the local community on the island and built initially in a natural niche between granite boulders (Dreyer 1986). Excavations between 1973 and 1976 revealed the walls of the earliest building, dating back to the Early Dynastic period, and a large number of early votive objects from the floor of the shrine. Together, the evidence forms an important source for provincial cults in early Egypt. Like the Hierakonpolis Project, the excavations at Elephantine were to yield more important results for the understanding of Early Dynastic Egypt in subsequent seasons.

  EARLY EGYPT REDISCOVERED: 1977–90

  The German revival

  The reawakening of scholarly interest in Egypt’s Predynastic and Early Dynastic periods was driven very largely by the activities of German archaeologists, particularly from the German Archaeol
ogical Institute in Cairo. With the easing of the Middle East political situation in 1977 and the resumption of foreign excavations, the resources of the German Archaeological Institute were directed towards exploring the problems of early Egypt through the excavation of key sites known to have played an important part in the process of state formation. The first such site, important since the very beginning of archaeological interest in Egypt’s early history, was Abydos.

  The Umm el-Qaab

  Over seventy years after Petrie had worked on the Umm el-Qaab, a third re-excavation of the Early Dynastic royal tombs was launched in 1977, under Kaiser’s direction. The stated aim of the mission was to investigate the construction of the tombs, illuminating changes in royal mortuary architecture over the course of the Early Dynastic period, a subject which had been dealt with only summarily in Petrie’s publications. The early seasons of excavation concentrated on Petrie’s Cemetery B, comprising the tombs of Aha, Narmer and their immediate predecessors of ‘Dynasty 0’. The clearance of these tombs resulted in a much better understanding of the royal tomb’s early development, and inscribed pottery from tomb complex B1/2 has suggested to some the possible existence of a late Predynastic king called *Iry-Hor. Kaiser made an important contribution to the history of early Egypt by suggesting an order of succession for Aha’s predecessors based upon the early royal names incised on vessels. Clearance work in Cemetery B uncovered late Predynastic burials belonging to an adjacent cemetery, named Cemetery U. This seems to have been the burial ground of the Thinite rulers, ancestors of the First Dynasty kings. Systematic excavation of Cemetery U has revealed numerous tombs spanning almost the entire Predynastic period. Vessels from one of the late Predynastic brick-lined tombs, U-s, bear ink inscriptions which include some of the earliest serekh marks known from Egypt. They confirm the élite status of those buried in Cemetery U. The most dramatic discovery was made in 1988: an eight-chambered mudbrick tomb, designated U-j, which is by far the largest tomb of its date anywhere in Egypt. The tomb contained a massive collection of imported vessels, bone labels bearing the earliest writing yet attested in Egypt, and an ivory sceptre, symbol of kingship.

  Concurrent with excavation of Cemetery U, clearance began of selected First Dynasty royal tombs, to record details of their construction. During clearance of the tomb of Den, an impression from the king’s necropolis seal was discovered, which lists the first five kings of the First Dynasty (Narmer to Den) and also names the king’s mother, Merneith. This is the first ancient document to confirm the order of succession in the first half of the First Dynasty, and it further suggests that Narmer was regarded in some way as a founder figure by his immediate successors. Further re-excavation of Den’s tomb revealed the unique annex at the south-western corner, which seems to have housed a statue of the king (a statue which could act as a substitute for the king’s body in providing a dwelling- place for his spirit or ka). In 1988 the south-west corner of Djet’s tomb was investigated to clarify the original appearance of the superstructures of the royal tombs. These investigations discovered the vestiges of a ‘hidden’ tumulus, covering the burial chamber but completely enclosed within the larger superstructure, a fact which has dramatically enhanced our knowledge of early royal mortuary architecture and which raises important issues about its symbolic nature. Regular preliminary reports (Kaiser and Grossmann 1979; Kaiser and Dreyer 1982; Dreyer 1990, 1993a; Dreyer et al. 1996) have presented the findings from the ongoing excavations on the Umm el-Qaab.

  Buto

  In order to shed light on the role of the Delta in the process of state formation, the German Archaeological Institute launched a preliminary geological and archaeological survey of the area around Tell el-Fara’in (ancient Buto) in 1983 (Plate 1.6). The team,

  directed by Thomas von der Way, investigated the various settlement mounds (tells) in the vicinity and carried out a number of drill cores to establish the whereabouts and depth of early occupational strata; full-scale excavations began in 1985. Aided by pumping equipment, which Hoffman had pioneered at Hierakonpolis, von der Way and his team were able to excavate far below the water table, reaching strata dating back to the early

  Plate 1.6 Tell el-Fara’in, the site of ancient Buto in the north-western Nile Delta (author’s photograph). The tents in the distance are those of the German Archaeological Institute’s expedition.

  Predynastic period (von der Way 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991; von der Way and Schmidt 1985). The results were spectacular: sherds of spiral reserved slipware suggested contacts between Buto and northern Syria, whilst imported Palestinian vessels indicated trade with areas further south. The excavation of a second area, a little to the north, from 1987 to 1990, revealed a large building of the Early Dynastic period comprising a series of interconnected corridor-like rooms leading to two central chambers; it may have served a cultic purpose, perhaps connected with divine kingship. Seal-impressions from the building dated its later phase of occupation to the Second Dynasty. An earlier building in an adjacent location may also have had a religious significance, perhaps associated with the cult of a divine bull kept at Buto. Careful analysis of the pottery from the complete stratigraphic sequence at Buto revealed a ‘transition layer’, where pottery manufactured in the indigenous, Lower Egyptian tradition was superseded by pottery made according to the more advanced ceramic technology of Upper Egypt (Köhler 1992). This discovery was hailed as proof of an Upper Egyptian expansion believed to have characterised the process of state formation (von der Way 1991, 1992). Although the interpretation of the transition layer has since

  been revised (Köhler 1995), there is no doubt that Buto provides unique evidence for the technological and social changes which accompanied the rise of the Egyptian state. Excavations resumed at Buto in 1993 under the direction of Dina Faltings; to date, these have concentrated on the Predynastic settlement levels (Faltings and Köhler 1996).

  Minshat Abu Omar

  During the 1960s a number of late Predynastic and Early Dynastic objects, said to have come from the north-eastern Delta, had appeared on the international antiquities market. Some were bought by the Staatliche Sammlung Agyptischer Kunst in Munich, which subsequently launched an exploratory survey of the Delta to try and locate the source of the objects. As early as 1966, the site of Minshat Abu Omar was identified for future excavation by the frequency of early pottery and stone vessels on the surface. The Munich East Delta Expedition was launched in 1977 and excavations at Minshat Abu Omar began in 1978, continuing until 1991, under the direction of Dietrich Wildung and Karla Kroeper (Kroeper and Wildung 1985, 1994; Kroeper 1988, 1992, 1996). A cemetery spanning the late Predynastic and First Dynasty periods was revealed, comprising some 420 graves. Close contacts with southern Palestine were indicated by imported vessels in some of the tombs. The richest grave in the entire cemetery was further distinguished by a unique architectural feature: signs of recessed niche decoration on the inner faces of three walls. The use of ‘palace-façade’ decoration in a location which would have been invisible after the burial illustrates the strength of the symbolism inherent in this style of architecture. Moreover, the identification of the tomb owner as a child of nine has important implications for the social structure of the local community, which seems to have been characterised by hereditary status even after the foundation of the Egyptian state.

  Intensive excavation throughout Egypt

  The north-eastern Delta

  The success of the Munich East Delta Expedition proved that good results could be obtained from excavating in the Delta, and prompted other archaeological missions to investigate the region for early sites. An expedition of Amsterdam University, directed by Edwin van den Brink, conducted four seasons of geo-archaeological survey in the north- eastern Delta between 1984 and 1987, identifying eight Early Dynastic sites (van den Brink 1989). Soundings at Tell el-Iswid South revealed a settlement spanning the transition between the late Predynastic and Early Dynastic periods, whilst contemporary cemetery and settle
ment material was excavated at the nearby site of Tell Ibrahim Awad in three seasons from 1988 to 1990. The level dating to the period of state formation yielded several sherds incised with early royal names, including the serekhs of ‘Ka’ and Narmer. An Italian mission conducted small-scale excavations at nearby Tell el-Farkha in 1988 and 1989, revealing mudbrick buildings of the Early Dynastic and Old Kingdom periods, whilst excavations by the University of Zagazig at Ezbet et-Tell/Kufur Nigm in the late 1980s uncovered a substantial cemetery of the early First Dynasty. The upsurge of interest in the archaeology of the Delta—particularly in the early periods—was marked

  by a symposium held at the Dutch Institute in Cairo in 1986. The publication of the proceedings from this meeting (van den Brink 1988) sparked further interest in the potential of the Delta to reveal important information about the process of state formation, a potential which is increasingly being realised.

  Abydos

  Whilst the German Archaeological Institute has been excavating on the Umm el-Qaab, an American team under the overall direction of David O’Connor has concentrated on the accompanying funerary enclosures on the low desert nearer the cultivation. A new clearance of the area in 1988 yielded firm evidence of a built structure within the enclosure of Djer, previously demarcated only by a rectangle of subsidiary tombs (O’Connor 1989). This discovery links the enclosures of the early First Dynasty with their later counterparts, and enhances our understanding of Early Dynastic royal mortuary architecture. Even more striking was another discovery made in the same season. Excavations within the funerary enclosure of Khasekhemwy (the Shunet ez-Zebib) revealed the lower courses of a mudbrick mound in the centre of the enclosure. Reconstructed as a substantial massif with sloping sides, this feature has been dubbed a ‘proto-pyramid’ (O’Connor 1991, 1995). The funerary enclosure of Khasekhemwy seems, therefore, to have foreshadowed in many ways the architecture of the Step Pyramid complex, built in the following reign. The recent discoveries at Abydos have highlighted the step-by-step development of royal mortuary architecture during the Early Dynastic period, and the striking links between the late Second and early Third Dynasties.