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Aspects of Technology and Trade in Egyptand the Eastern Mediterranean
during the Late Bronze Age
Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirementsof the University of Liverpool for the degree of
Doctor in Philosophy by
Susanna Thomas
March 2000
Aspects of Technology and Trade in Egyptand the Eastern Mediterranean
during the Late Bronze Age
Susanna Thomas
The genesis for this work was the discovery of part of a cake ofEgyptian Blue during excavations conducted by Liverpool Universityon the Mediterranean coast of Egypt, 300 km west of Alexandria and25 km west of Mersa Matruh.
The site at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham is the location for what isprobably the furthest west in a chain of fortresses built by Ramessesii in response to growing threats approaching Egypt from Libyaduring the Late Bronze Age. A substantial square installation withperimeter walls 140 metres long enclosed what was essentially asmall town, and excavations have already revealed temples,magazines, houses, and wells. The occupants of the sitemanufactured their own pottery for daily use, and there is evidencethat their diet included meat, fish and vegetables.
That this was supplemented by imported produce is shown by largequantities of foreign ceramics found at the site, which would havecontained products such as olive oil and wine. Some of these werefound in Magazine 1 in association with a group of differentpigments. These included part of a large cake of Egyptian blue, andsubstantial lumps of white, yellow, green and red. This thesisaddresses the question of whether, by the Nineteenth Dynasty, someof the colour material used in Egypt was being imported from abroad.
The finds are compared with pigments at other sites in Egypt, andthere is discussion of possible Egyptian manufacturing sites. Thetechnology and uses of Egyptian Blue in particular are discussed, asare the people who made and used the material.
Egyptian Blue is then placed firmly within the wider context of silicatetechnology with discussion of, and comparison with, falence andglass industries both in Egypt and in neighbouring countries in theMediterranean and the Near East.
The final section examines general issues concerning trade and'exchange in the Late Bronze Age, and then concludes with discussionof the role played by Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham.
ContentsAbstract
Contents PageI
List of Figures inAcknowledgements XII
Part 1: Pigments and Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham
1. Introduction 1
2. Excavations at the site 12
3. Pigments found at the site 20
4. Previous pigment studies 38
5. Pigments at other sites in Egypt 60
Part 2: Egyptian Blue
6. Technology of Egyptian Blue 81
7.Shapes of Egyptian Blue pigments 87
8. Processing technology 92
9. Egyptian Blue objects and shaping technology 97
Part 3: Documentary evidence in Egypt
10. Colour terms 120
11. Pigment lists 133
12. Outline draughtsmen 135
13. Egyptian makers and workers 139
14. bsb4: lapis lazuli, falence, glass and Egyptian Blue 148
Part 4: Fafence, glass and Egyptian Blue
15. Introduction 17716. Falence in Egypt 182
17. Glass in Egypt 195
I
Part 5: Non-Egyptian pigments, faience, glass andEgyptian Blue
18. Introduction 228
19. Pigments in Mesopotamia, Syria and Palestine 230
20. Pigments in the Aegean 233
21. Falence in Mesopotamia 236
22. Glass in Mesopotamia
245
23. Falence in Syria and Palestine 259
24. Glass in Syria and Palestine 263
25. Faience in Anatolia
267
26. Faience in Cyprus 268
27. Glass in Cyprus 272
28. Falence in the Aegean and Greece 274
29. Glass in the Aegean and Greece 276
30. Glass on the Ulu Burun Wreck
280
31. Egyptian Blue in Mesopotan-Lia, Syria, Palestine, Cyprus 287and the Aegean
6: Trade and Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham
32. Introduction 297
33. Foreign Pottery at the site 299
34. Possible models of trade and the site 318
35. Trade and Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham 322
Appendix 1
349
Appendix 2 374
Abbreviations 388
Bibliography 390
II
List of Figures
2.1 Plan of the fortress at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham 11
after the 1999 season
2.2 Looking east along Magazine 1 containing mud brick
13partition walls.
2.3 Temple and forecourt after excavation 15
2.4 (left) Magazine 2 with yellow ochre under the 15
fallen northern jamb
2.5 (above) Magazines 3 & 4 after excavation 15
2.6 (above) Magazines 5, 6 & 7 15
2.7 Looking south along the front of the magazines 15
3.1 Key to magazines, and niches and corridor in Magazine 1
21
3.2 Pigments in the floor of Magazine 1
24
3.3 Plan showing the distribution of pigments in Magazine 1
26
3.4 Cake of Egyptian Blue from Magazine 1 29
3.5 Red spindle jar and feeder cup with blue staining, 29found in association with the Egyptian Blue cake.
3.6 Large lump of yellow ochre from outside Magazine 2
31
3.7 Amphora from outside Stone Circle 4 containing yellow ochre 34
3.8 Sherd palettes from outside Stone Circles 4 & 5
35
4.1 Examples of Egyptian Blue from Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham 40
4.2 Examples of woflastonite (Egyptian green) from 49
Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham
4.3 Examples of red ochre from Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham .51
4.4 Examples of yellow ochre from Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham 54
ifi
4.5 Examples of yellow jarosite from Zawiyet Umm el-Rakhani 54
4.6 Examples of the pigments from Zawiyet Umrn el-Rakham 59
5.1 Examples of Egyptian Blue found at Ghurob 63(Liverpool Museum collection)
5.2 Yellow pigments found in the main city at Amarna 63(Liverpool Museum collection)
5.3 Potsherd containing blue paint from Amarna 63(Liverpool Museum collection)
5.4 Potsherd containing green paint from Amarna 63(Liverpool Museum collection)
5.5 Group of pigments found at Karnak (Le Fur 1994, 37) 67
5.6 Wooden chest containing pigments from the courtyard of the 70tomb of Kheruef (Saleh, Iskander, El-Masry & Helmi 1973, 142)
5.7 Cakes of Egyptian Blue, pottery jar containing orpiment and 70linen bag of realar (Saleh, Iskander, El-Masry & Helmi. 1973, 142)
5.8 Pigments from the wooden chest
70(Saleh, Iskander, El-Masry & Helmi 1973, 143)
5.9 Cake of Egyptian Blue with two embedded bag shapes 70(Saleh, Iskander, El-Masry & Helrni 1973, 145)
5.10 Painter's materials arid utensils from Dra' Abu el-Naga 72(Polz 1997, 35)
5.11 Small pot (left) containing blue pigment found outside 72the tomb of Senenmut (Dorman 1991 plate 45)
5.12 Funerary model palette belonging to Nehem-'ay 75(Hayes 1957, 275)
5.13 Palette with the cartouche of Amenhotep III 75containing six wells of pigment (Hayes 1957, 255)
5.14 Palette belonging to Meket-Aten (Hayes 1957, 296) 75
iv
5.15 Palettes from the tomb of Tutankhamun (Cairo Museum)
77
5.16 Pigments from the tomb of Tutankhamun (Cairo Museum)
77
5.17 Boxwood palette belonging to the Vizier Amenemopet 79
(Freed 1981, 58; Brovarski, Doll & Freed 1982, 288)
6.1 Egyptian Blue made by Spurrel (Liverpool Museum collection)
84
7.1 Large Egyptian Blue cake from Zawiyet Umrn el-Rakham 88
7.2 Unprovenanced large Egyptian Blue cake from Cairo Museum 88
7.3 Unprovenanced large Egyptian Blue cake from Cairo Museum
88
7.4 Small Egyptian Blue cake from Amarna 90
(Liverpool Museum collection)
7.5 Sack-shaped Egyptian Blue cake from Amarna 90
7.6 Spherical shapes of Egyptian Blue from Cairo Museum 90
9.1 Two small Egyptian Blue vessels and an Egyptian Blue 102
jug from Lisht (Lilyquist & Bril 1993, 19 fig 5)
9.2 Faience or Egyptian Blue footed dish (Friedman 1998, 139)
104
9.3 Alabaster footed dish (Brovarski, Doll & Freed 1982, 129)
104
9.4 Glass footed dish (Hayes 1957, 278) 104
9.5 Ebony statuette of a Nubian girl holding a footed dish. (Brovarski, 105Doll & Freed 1982, 205)
9.6 Bronze bowl decorated with a rosette or daisy pattern (Brovarski, 105Doll & Freed 1982, 124)
9.7 Pottery lentoid flask decorated with a green and black daisy 105
(Brovarski, Doll & Freed 1982, 149)
9.8 High-necked Egyptian Blue vase and cover
108(Brovarsid, Doll & Freed 1982, 159)
a9.9 Egyptian Blue lotus bowl with yellow decoration
108
(Page-Gasser & Wiese 1997, 155)
V
9.10 Fragment of an Egyptian Blue or faience vase showing
110Amenhotep III offering Maat to Atum (Kozioff & Bryan 1992, 415)
9.11 Fragment of a faience vase with handle with the
110cartouches of Amenhotep III and Tiy facing the nameof Hathor (Friedman 1998, 174)
9.12 Upper body of a (originally) blue and green faience vase, 112containing the cartouches of Amenhotep III. From Serabitel Khadim (Petrie Museum collection, UC 35328)
9.13 Part of a body of a falence vase, originally inscribed for
112Amenhotep III with blue inlay on a white background. FromSerabit el Khadim (Petrie Museum collection, UC 35322)
9.14 Fragment of a dark blue falence vase with the cartouches
112of Amenhotep III and Tiy inlaid in green. From Serabit el Khadim(Petrie Museum collection, UC 35324)
9.15 Egyptian Blue square pectoral showing a man
114worshipping Osiris (Cooney 1976, 37)
9.16 Egyptian Blue shabti with glass eyes (Cooney 1976, 39)
114
9.17 Egyptian Blue head of a queen or goddess
115from a statuette (Cooney 1976, 38)
9.18 Egyptian Blue ibex head (Brovarski, Doll & Freed 1982, 160)
115
9.19 Egyptian Blue head inlay (Cooney 1976. 38)
115
9.20 Egyptian Blue wig (made in profile only) (Friedman 1998,83)
117
9.21 Falence and glass wig (Friedman 1998, 83)
117
9.22 Egyptian Blue tripartite wig (Friedman 1998, 82)
117
9.23 So-called 'archaic' Egyptian Blue vase from the Petrie Museum
119
9.24 Beads from the domestic area at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham 119
9.25 Egyptian Blue beads from Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham 119
vi
10.1 & 10.2 Blue falence vase from Tell el-Yahudiyeh
130with hieratic inscription (Naville 1890, plate 8)
12.1 Khentika holding a paintbrush and paintpot
136and painting figures of the seasons (James 1985, 10)
12.2 Mereruka holding a paintbrush and paintpot
136and painting figures of the seasons (Forbes 1966, 249)
13.1 Limestone stela of Hatiay, 'Chief maker/ worker
140of hsbd' (Scott 1986, 93)
13.2 Limestone stela of Ameneinhab, 'Overseer of the 140
goidworkers of Amun' (Gaballa 1979, plate 2)
13.3 A falence stela showing king Smenkare offering a vase 142
to Ptah. From Gebel Zeit. (Caste! & Soukiassian 1985, 290)
13.4 Ste!a of Rekhamun, 'Maker/Worker of faience for Amun'
143(Friedman 1998, 250)
13.5 Limestone stela of Hatiay, 'Chief artisan of Ptah'
145(Gaballa 1979, plate 3)
13.6 Fatence stela of Ameneniheb, 'Overseer of the craftsmen
145of the House of Ptah' (Friedman 1998, 250)
14.1 Tribute from Retenu and the Oases in the tomb of Puyemre 154
(After Davies 1922, plate XXX)
14.2 Menkheperrasonb facing text describing an inspection 157
of the workshop of the Temple of Amun.(after Davies & Davies 1933, plate X)
14.3 Syrian kings and Aegeans bringing various tributes in the 157
Tomb of Menkheperrasonb (after Davies & Davies 1933, plate IV)
14.4 Syrians bringing various tributes in the Tomb of Amenmose 159(after Davies & Davies 1933, plate XXXIV)
14.5 The Chief of Lebanon offering gifts to Amenmose 159
(after Davies & Davies 1933, plate XXXVI)
vU
14.6 The scene of foreign tribute from the Tomb of Rekhmire 161
(after Davies 1935, plate XXII)
14.7 Aegeans bringing tribute in the Tomb of Rekhmire 163
(after Davies 1943, plate XVIII)
14.8 Syrians bringing tribute in the Tomb of Rekhniire 163
(after Davies 1943, plate XXI)
14.9 Syrians bringing tribute in the Tomb of Amunedjeh
167(after Davies & Davies 1941b, plate XIII)
14.10 Syrians bringing tribute in the Tomb of Amenmose
167(after Davies and Davies 1941a, plate XXIII)
14.11 Syrians bringing tribute in the tomb of Nebamun 169
(after Davies & Davies 1923 plate XXXI)
14.12 Huy, the Chiefs of Retenu, and Syrians bringing tribute 169
in the Tomb of Huy (after Davies & Gardiner 1926, plate XIX)
14.13 A possible ifiustration of glass ingots or Egyptian Blue 174
cakes from the Tomb of Amunedjeh
14.14 Blue vessels from the Tombs of Reklimire, 174Amunedjeh and Amenmose
14.15 Glass vessels from the tomb of Reklimire 174
15.1 Chemical and structural progressions of some ancient
181vitreous materials (Lilyquist & Brill 1993, 18)
16.1 (left) Bead belt made of green glazed steatite beads. From Badari 183Tomb 5735. Predynastic Period. (right) Blue faience and malachitebead necklace. From Ballas Tomb Q24. Late Predynastic Period(Friedman 1998, 74)
16.2 Pale blue-green falence Baboon statuette from Hierakonpolis. 186Dynasty 1-2 (Friedman 1998, 69)
16.3 Faience spiral beads from Hierakonpolis. Dynasty 1-2
186(Friedman 1998, 71) S
vui
16.4 Falence vase fragment with the serekh of Aha from Abydos. 186Dynasty 1(Friedman 1998, 75)
16.5 Faience tile from the step pyramid of Djozer at Saqqara. Dynasty 1863 (Friedman 1998, 72)
16.6 Blue faience hippopotamus, unprovenanced. Middle Kingdom
189(Friedman 1998, 148)
16.7 Turquoise falence 'Concubine of the dead', 189unprovenanced. Middle Kingdom (Friedman 1998, 104)
16.8 Blue faience vessel (baby's feeding cup) from Lisht. 189Middle Kingdom (Friedman 1998, 105)
16.9 Blue faience sceptre of Amenhotep II, from the 191
Temple of Seth at Naqada. 216cm high
17.1 Glass beads from Qau (Ulyquist & Brifi 1993, 49)
197
17.2 Pectoral of queen Aahotep with blue glass inlay 197
(Andrews 1990, 132)
17.3 Glass plaque naming Ahmose (Lilyquist & Brill 1993, 48)
197
17.4 Ught blue bead naming Amenhotep I and Ahmose 197
(Brovaski, Doll & Freed 1982, 169)
17.5 Hairpin from Assasif (Lilyquist & Bril 1993, 49)
197
17.6 Turquoise vase with enamel patterns, probably 200
from the reign of Tuthmosis Ill (Cooney 1976, plate 6)
17.7 Glass vessels from the tomb of the Syrian wives
200of Tuthmosis III (Lilyquist & Brill 1993, cover)
17.8 Glass shabti of Kenamun (Cooney 1960, 10)
203
17.9 Glass shabti of Hekareshu (Cooney 1960, 13)
203
17.10 Glass bottle from the tomb of Maiherpri (Barag 1970, 94)
205S
17.[1 Unprovenanced glass pilgrim flask thought to 208
have come from Ghurob (Kozloff & Bryan 1992, 371)
ix
17.12 Unprovenanced glass basering juglet thought to 208have come from Ghurob (Kozloff & Bryan 1992, 368)
17.13 19th Dynasty Glass pilgrim flask from
208Medinet Ghurob (Tait 1991, 31)
17.14 Unprovenanced krateriskos thought to have come 211
from Malkata (Kozioff & Bryan 1992, 368)
17.15 Unprovenanced krateriskos thought to have come
211from Malkata (Kozioff & Bryan 1992, 368)
17.16 Glass perfume bottle in the shape of a fish from
213Amarna (Kozioff & Bryan 1992, 370)
17.17 Milky-white krateriskos with twisted blue and white rim thought 216to have come from El-Menshiyeh (Kozioff & Bryan 1992, 378)
22.1 A bead from Tell Judeideh, the earliest example of
247glass in Mesopotamia.
22.2 Glass from Eridu, probably broken off from a larger lump; 247
very bubbly. (Barag 1985, plate 179)
22.3 Mosaic glass dish probably from Malkata (Kozioff & Bryan
2571982, 369)
22.4 Mosaic bowl with opaque yellow rim, which may be from Malkata 257(Cooney 1976, plate 3)
30.1 Glass ingots on the sea bed (courtesy of C. Puluk)
281
30.2 Cobalt blue glass ingots from Ulu Burun (Bass 1987, 716)
281
30.3 Comparison between (left) copper and (right) cobalt
281glass ingots (Bodrum Museum collection)
31.1 Egyptian Blue beads from Ur III level at Ur. 289(Dayton 1978 plate 20)
31.2 Egyptian Blue egyptiamzing bead with eye of Horus 289
from Tell Brak (Oates, Oates & McDonald 1997, 87) a
x
31.3 Egyptian Blue beads from Alalakh (Dayton 1978 plate 20)
291
31.4 Egyptian Blue vase with handle in the form of a couchant lion
291from Alalakh. (Woolley 1955, plate 83)
31.5 Egyptian Blue cake from Beth Shan (scale 1:1)
293(James & McGovern 1993, fig 73)
31.6 Egyptian Blue jug from Cyprus (Dayton 1978 plate 21)
295
31.7 Egyptian Blue from the acropolis at Mycenae 295
(Dayton 1978 plate 21)
31.8 Egyptian Blue rhyton from the House of Shields at Mycenae
295(Foster 1979, 135; Dayton 1978 plate 21)
33.1 Canaarnte amphora from Zawiyet Urmn el-Rakham 300
33.2 Stirrup jar from Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham
306
33.3 Feeder cup from Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham 310
33.4 Pilgrim flasks from Zawiyet Umm el-Rakhatn
313
33.5 'Late Minoan' jug from Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham 315
33.6 Cypriote flask from Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham
317
35.1 Suggested Mediterranean trade routes to and from
341Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham
Map 1 Sites mentioned in North Mesopotamia and Syria 385
(Moorey 1994, 9)
Map 2 Sites mentioned in Mesopotamia 386
(moorey 1994, 7)
Map 3 Sites mentioned in the Levant
387
xi
Acknowledgements
For help with this work I would like to thank the University ofLiverpool for the Postgraduate Studentship in Egyptian Archaeology,and my supervisor Dr Steven Snape.
Professor Charles Thomas and Jessica Mann. Professor Thilo Rehren.Professor Elizabeth Slater, Professor Ken Kitchen, Professor AlanMillard, Dr Christopher Mee, Dr Christopher Eyre, Dr Ian Shaw, DrKhaled Dawoud, Dr Mike Hayward and Ms. Patricia Winker at theUniversity of Liverpool. Professor Mike Tite and Dr Andrew Shortlandat the Laboratory for History of Art and Archaeology in Oxford. DrPiotr Bienkowski at Liverpool Museum. Dr Lorna Lee at the BritishMuseum. Dr Stephen Quirke and staff at the Petrie Museum,University College London. Professor George Bass, Professor ShelleyWachsmann and Dr Jemal Pulak at Texas A & M University. DrChristine Lilyquist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Dr SaraImmerwahr. Dr Donald White at the University of Pennsylvania. DrCohn Hope at Monash University. Dr. Jacqueline Balensi, InstitutFernand Courby. Aleydis Van de Moortel at the University ofWashington. Ann Kifiebrew at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.Professor Gaballa A. Gaballa, head of the the Supreme Council ofAntiquities, Egypt.
S
xli
Part 1: Pigments and Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham
1. Introduction
Badcground to the study
The theme of this thesis, as represented in its title "Aspects of
Technology and Trade in Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean durmg
the Late Bronze Age" is extremely wide. Egypt and the Eastern
Mediterranean are perhaps the most evidence-rich areas in pre-
Classical archaeology, particularly in the Late Bronze Age, a period
which must mark one of the high pomts of human civilisation.
Moreover, particularly in recent years, scholars have concentrated a
good deal of attention to the two major subject areas of technology
and trade at this period, in this region; this is not surprising given the
fundamental importance of mechanisms of production and
distribution of artefacts to sophisticated human societies.
Therefore the subject matter of this thesis is potentially vast and, to
be covered in any significant detail, would need many lives work.
However, given the intrinsic importance of the subject area,
methodologies and research strategies need to be formulated in
which discrete parts of the whole subject range can be tackled in
order to contribute to the understanding of the whole.
To st ate this is not to say anything particularly new. It has been
increasingly realised over the past fifty years that a generalist
approach to archaeology is not one which is likely to produce
1
meaningful work, hence the growth of archaeological specialism,
whether in the form of understanding of specific technical issues (e.g.
ceramic technology), archaeological techniques (e.g. palynology),
range of evidence (e.g. hieratic ostraca), or subject matter (e.g.
quarrying in Ancient Egypt). These approaches are ones that can
produce detailed and useful data, and the skilled practitioner can
amalgamate that data into cognate areas to add to overall
understanding of ancient cultures.
While studying for a BA degree in Egyptian Archaeology at University
College London, my interest was stimulated in aspects of the
mechanisms of ancient culture and the limits to our knowledge. The
theoretical base which underlay much of the teaching put effective
stress on the role of scholars as interpreters of evidence. The
concern, in formulating a research area for doctoral research, was to
explore such issues on a way which would effectively act like the
thread of a necklace, joining cognate areas to form a whole which
linked together a variety of subject areas. Ideally this would produce
a coherent account of various connected human activities, over a wide
social and geographical range, but within a limited time frame.
The problem of formulating such a general research aim is that for
subject areas likely to offer the potential for such close linkages, the*
basic data itself is vast. For example, it would be possible to examine
aspects of production, distribution and usage of ceramic material in
the Late Bronze Age, but the sheer amount of evidence which would
2
need to be studied in the required depth is far too wide for any one
person, hence detailed studies of limited areas of such material in the
doctoral work of Hirschfeld in Cypro-Minoan markings on Late
Bronze Age transport vessels, or Serpico on the transport and use of
terabinthus resin for a similar period.
I therefore needed a group of material which was limited enough to
study in some depth, yet well-documented enough to be able to
produce a coherent chain from production to distribution and use,
including international trade. Luckily, participation in the Liverpool
University excavations at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham gave me access
(through the kind permission of the director of the excavations Dr
Steven Snape) to two possible groups of such material discovered in
significant quantities at the site, Ostrich eggshells and
pigments/glazed materials, especially Egyptian Blue. Each was known
to have been a luxury item produced, traded and transformed in the
east Mediterranean mercantile encomium and beyond. However, it
seemed to me that Egyptian Blue/pigments offered a wider range of
possibilities for study, given that it was an artificial substance whose
production, including access to raw materials, gave an extra
dimension to potential studies when compared to the predominantly
natural production of the ostrich.
Consequently, this work is based on pigments found at Zawiyet Umm
el-Rakham, which is the largest known example, and probably of the
last, in the chain of fortresses built by Ramesses 11(1279-1213 BC) in
0
3
response to the growing unrest that threatened Egypt from Libya to
the west and the Mediterranean Sea to the north during the Late
Bronze Age.
The site of Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham
Situated approximately 300km west of Alexandria, and 15km west of
the nearest modern town at Mersa Matruh, the fortress is located on
the plain at the narrowest point (approximately 1km) between the
high desert edge and the coast. The high desert is a harsh, stony
environment with a few pockets of scrub plants sustained by winter
rainfall, and is only suitable for limited seasonal grazing by sheep
and goats. The plain surrounding the fortress consists of limestone
outcrops and poor stony soil, and has historically been used for the
cultivation of olives, figs and winter barley, with the water supply
coming from wells sunk to a depth of between 3 and 4 metres into a
lens of fresh water.
A team from University of Liverpool has been working at Zawiyet
Umm el-Rakham since 1994. In six seasons of excavation,
approximately 1/6 of the site has been investigated. Building
materials used at the site consist of mud brick, small stones gathered
from the surrounding area and larger limestone blocks which were
carved out of the hillside behind the fortress. The fortress is sited
approximately 100 metres from the foot of the escarpment, and
consists of a square installation with perimeter walls each 140 metres
long and between 4 and 5 metres thick, which contain an area of
a
4
approximately 20,000 square metres.
The perimeter walls were constructed with mud brick courses and
stone facing on the lower part of the exterior, and there is still
evidence of a plastered ramp or glacis at the foot of the walls. There
appears to have been a series of towers at the corners of the walls
(work is stifi ongomg in these areas), and the approach to the only
gateway, situated in the middle of the northern wall, was along a
heavily fortified corridor. An additional area was enclosed to the
north of the fortress at a later date, although the purpose of this,
perhaps as an extra area for occupation or storage of horses and
chariots, is as yet unclear.
The substantial size of the perimeter walls and defensive nature of
the positioning of the installation indicates that the fortress had a
serious military role, and was built to withstand attack. The whole
expanse of the plain between the fortress and the sea is clearly visible
from the site, and would have been controlled by the occupants of
the installation. It is also possible that there may have been smaller
additional structures between the fortress and the sea which are no
longer evident. It is not clear to what extent the Egyptian occupants
of the fortress had (perceived or real) control of the sea itself.
The main temple at the site is located against the west perimeter wall
and was constructed of large limestone blocks. Immediately to the
north of the temple is a series of nine magazines 16 metres long and
5
3 metres wide which are built of mud brick and have limestone jambs
and lintels inscribed with the titulary of Ramesses II. In front of the
magazines is a well inscribed with the cartouches of Ramesses II, and
this is surrounded by a group of seven small circular stone features
(possibly huts or animal pens), which may have been built by later
squatters after the site was abandoned by the Egyptians. Immediately
to the south of the temple are three chapels facing onto a walled
courtyard.
Both the magazines and the chapels contained a number of
abandoned ceramic vessels, most of which are non-Egyptian transport
vessels, including Canaarnte amphorae and coarse-ware Stirrup Jars.
The presence of these vessels suggests that another of the functions
of the fortress was as a trading post interacting with other countries
around the eastern Mediterranean.
Other features include an enigmatic structure (known as the South
Building) which consists of a series of rooms and corridors
surrounded by a large perimeter wall, with all the walls built of small
stones. Some of the rooms contain single standing stones, and all the
doorways have inscribed jambs and lintels, some with the titles of
Ramesses II and others featuring the commander of the fort Neb-Re
worshipping his cartouches. An area in the south east corner of the
fortress, where excavation is ongoing, consists of a series of small
three-roomed houses grouped around communal ovens.
6
Some as yet unidentified features would have been a necessary
prerequisite for a functioning outpost of the Egyptian Empire, and are
known from fortresses in Nubia and Palestine (although it should be
noted that this fortress is bigger than any other founded in the New
Kingdom yet known). Such features include the house of the
commander Neb-Re, and an inscribed block found in the South
Building showing the Commander and his wife Mery-Ptah raises the
possibility that she may also have been at the fortress, suggesting
that there may be a substantial mansion or palace. There must also
have been a command centre of the fortress, which may or may not
be a separate building. The workshops, including pottery production
areas and metalworking, animal lines, a chariot park, granaries and
other storage magazines, have also yet to be identified.
This thesis is based on a discovery made in Magazine 1 in 1995 of a
group of pigments. These consisted of varying sized lumps of blue,
green, red, yellow and white which were lying on the floor of the
magazine. The only other artifacts in the magazine, as already noted,
were substantial amounts of foreign pottery.
Various questions were raised by this material. Why was it at the site
in the first place, and why specifically in this building? Was there any
significance in the association between the pigments and the high-
status foreign pottery containers? Had some of the the pigments also
been imported from non-Egyptian sources? Research into the nature
of the pigments themselves raised more questions, such as the
7
potential sources of the raw materials, the methods of manufacture,
and the nature and development of the tecimology needed for the
production of the blue and green materials, both of which were
artificially produced copper products. This led to further questions
concerning the positioning of the process within the wider context of
silicate production during the Late Bronze Age.
This in turn led to exploration of a potential interface between
technology and trade, with the possibility that not only the pigments,
but also the capacity to produce such material, may itself have been
exchanged between the regions which were involved in the trade of
the goods contained in the vessels found at the site.
The approach taken includes looking at a range of documentary and
archaeological sources to cast light on the pigments at Zawiyet Umm
el-Rakham. Examination of examples of pigment production and use
at other sites in Egypt sets the pigments into a wider context within
Egyptian tradition. Examination of Egyptian Blue in particular, and the
development of relevant silicate technologies both in Egypt and in
other countries around the Eastern Mediterranean illustrates
technical developments in related regions. By comparing such
industries, suggestions are made as to the extent of international
relations in the Late Bronze Age through the exchange of both goods
and ideas.
8
The final section discusses more broadly issues of trade and
exchange during this period, and focusses on the role that Zawiyet
Umm el-Rakham may have played in such exchanges. There is an
outline and discussion of several issues, including several general
conceptual frameworks, and the specifics of such mechanisms that
may have applied to actions at the site. There is brief consideration of
the known foreign ceramic material, including discussions of possible
origins and contents, as well as potential routes by which the material
may have reached the site. Through such considerations, it is
demonstrated which models fit best with the existing evidence, and
an attempt is made to clarify the position and importance of the site
in such exchanges.
Part one describes the pigments and their context at Zawiyet Umm el-
Rakham. These are then compared with previous studies about
Egyptian pigments and with pigments found at other sites in Egypt.
Part two focusses on Egyptian Blue, with discussions of production
technologies and use of the material as paint, inlay and modelling
material. Part three looks at documentary and pictorial evidence for
pigments and their use in Egypt, and concludes with a discussion of
possible reinterpretations of words in certain contexts which have
traditionally been translated as lapis lazuli, glass or faience. Part four
is a historical overview of related silicate technologies in Egypt, with
consideration of the positioning of Egyptian Blue within these
traditions. Part five examines the development of similar
technologies in Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine, Cyprus and the
9
Aegean, and again looks at the role of Egyptian Blue in these
traditions. Part six looks at broader issues of exchange in the Late
Bronze Age and the specific mechanisms that may apply to Zawiyet
Umm el-Rakham and the material found at the site.
With unlimited and sole access to a class of finds from an important
site, and through examining how they were produced, what they were
used for, where they came from, this thesis casts light on aspects of
technology, trade and exchange both in Egypt, and between Egypt and
other countries in the Near East during the Late Bronze Age.
a
10
Ji1Northern tenslon (?) and Gate
000 Stone Circles0 North (Main) Gate
Magazines
0 Stone Circles00
ODD
TempleDaD
Chapels
South BUildIng
20 metres
Domestic Area
Fig.2.1 Plan of the site after the 1999 season
2. Excavations at the Site
1995 Season
In 1995 the first of nine magazines located due north of and next to
the temple was excavated. This structure, approximately 1Gm long by
3m wide, has walls still standing to between 1 and 2 metres high, and
contains a series of niches partitioned by mud brick cross walls at the
rear. A large number of foreign pots was found here, some stored
neatly against the walls, and others broken on the middle corridor
and threshold of the magazine, suggesting hasty looting at the end of
the useful life of the structure. The first indication of pigments here
was a broken cake of Egyptian Blue l found in association with a red
spindle jar, and one of six feeder cups which was itself stained with
blue around the hp and top half. Further excavation down to the
original floor level revealed a few patches of red staining on the
golden yellow sand, as well as various random lumps of yellow
pigment scattered within the magazine.
1996 Season.
Further careful excavation in Magazine 1 revealed scatters of various
pigments throughout the central part, with concentrations in the
central corridor and niches S4 and S3. Exploration of the niches
showed pigments in all layers down to the original floor level, most of
which were probably the result of spills not properly cleared up
because of the murky half light in the magazine. A very substantial
S
1 ZUR/M[/2 412
4'
Fig.2.2 Looking east along Magazine 1containing mud-brick partition walls
S
lump of yellow pigment2 (17 x 14 x 13cm) was also found with a
fallen door jamb outside Magazine 2. This piece was found next to
another feeder cup, and it seems likely that these two had been
looted from Magazine 1 and dropped here. Work on the Temple
forecourt revealed six column bases and two shallow pools fed by
rainwater channelled in an elaborate system of underground drains.
The north and east external walls were located, and proved to be
approximately 5m wide, with protruding buttresses or towers at the
external corners, and plastered, sloping glacis on the external faces.
1997 season
Further excavation of the magazines did not reveal any more foreign
pottery or pigments. There is evidence of later occupation/activity in
magazine 6; it seems likely that 'Libyans' were using these magazines
as an area for industrial activities - yielding a burnt area and at least
50 denticulates on blades, plus a large quantity of smaller flint tools
and debitage. The inscribed door jambs and lintels from the
magazines were found face down where they had fallen. When first
turned over, faint traces of yellow paint were visible within the
sunken relief, although this quickly became invisible when the stone
dried out. The stone circles located outside Magazines 8 and 9,
although empty, have significant amounts of foreign and Egyptian
pottery located all around and between them. An industrial area was
also found outside Stone Circle 4, with evidence of metal smelting
and casting, more flint working, and significant amounts of pumice.
Some samples of green pigment (wollastonite) were found here. One
2 ZUR/M2E/214
-
Fig.2.4 (left) Magazine 2 with yellowochre under the fallen northern jamb
Fig.2.5 (above) Magazines 3 & 4after excavation
V
• :.-
- : *=. -•r
Fig.2.3 Temple and forecourt after excavation
Fig.2.6 (below) Magazines 5, 6 & 7
Fig.2.7 (right) Looking south along thefront of the magazines
:' 4
of the large pots3 from around Stone Circle 4 contained yellow
pigment, with residue in the bottom and significant yellow staining
on the inside of the pot. We also found some evidence of pigment use
at the site, with one sherd having been used as a palette for yellow
and red pairit,4 and at least two others with white plaster/paint.s The
western extent of the perimeter wall was uncovered and, as with the
other perimeter walls, it was found to be approximately 5m wide.
1998 Season
Excavation of the magazmes was completed, but no further evidence
of pigments was uncovered. However, in the granary area a large
shaped lump of green wollastonite6 was found in association with
various items including a Canaanite amphora, a tall stand and a small
scarab7 on the floor outside Stone Circle 7. Excavation of the chapels
and the chapel courtyard was completed this year, and although
significant amounts of foreign pottery were found in Chapels 2 and 3,
no pigments were found in this area. Excavation also began on the
South Building. This is an enigmatic, two-storied structure containing
various rooms, many of which have inscribed jambs and lintels, and
some of which contain single standing stones. Large amounts of
Egyptian pottery were found in these rooms, mainly in the form of
offering bowls. Some Base Ring II and Canaarnte amphora sherds
were found and room S4 also contained a small fragment ofa
decorated Mycenaean fine ware.
3 ZUR/G4E/144 ZUR/G4E/375 ZUR/G4EI/86 ZUR/G4E/27 ZUR/GGE/18
However, no samples of pigment
16
were found. The southern side of the external wall was located, and
the fortress proved to be a square enclosure, with walls
approximately 1 40m long (giving an internal area of approximately
20,000 m2).
1999 Season
Further excavation of the Stone Circles 2, 7 and 8 revealed few
pottery finds, but one lump of Egyptian Blue 8 was found on the
ground near the well inscribed with the cartouches of Ramesses II
which is located in between the north and south stone circle groups.
The pigment was outside the north wall of Stone Circle 7. It is not
clear why this lump was found here, as it was not in association with
any other finds. It was probably dropped there, but it is not possible
to ascertain whether this occurred during the life of the magazines,
or at some later date associated with activity at the stone circles.
Work continued on the South Building, but there is still no evidence
for any pigments there. Excavation began this year in the domestic
area located in the south east corner of the fortress. This contains a
series of small dwellings grouped around communal ovens. One
house was fully excavated, and the storeroom or cellar leading south
from the front room of the house contained various domestic
artifacts, including pottery such as pilgrim flasks, beer jars and small
cups, as well as various types of small beads. The beads are made of.
assorted materials, including plain white (bone or shell), brown stone,
black and yellow banded stone and there are also 29 beads made of
8 ZUR/G7E/217
Egyptian Blue9.
Discussion
The relationship between the magazines and the Temple is evident.
They are located immediately adjacent to the northern wall of the
Temple, and mirror the position of the three chapels at the south.
Although the area in front of the magazine has not been fully
investigated, and it has not yet been determined predsely how they
were accessed (not least because of the intrusive nature of the later
squatter settlement), they were almost certainly connected to the
Temple, and can most probably therefore be considered the area
where the highest-status goods were stored in the fortress. This
supposition is strengthened by the discovery of significant amounts
of imported pottery in both Magazine 1 and the chapels. The pottery
includes some fine wares such as the Base Ring II juglet and the two
Mycenaean juglets. Some of the pottery, like the Canaarnte amphorae
and the coarse ware Stirrup jars, were not intrinsically valuable but
would have contained precious foodstuffs and probably substances
like incense and perfumed oils, which would have related to temple
ritual. Certain inferences may be drawn from the inclusion of
pigments with this assemblage.
As with sites in Egypt itself, one implication is that the supply of -
pigments was centrally controlled at the fort. There was probably a
system (perhaps similar to that recorded at Deir el-Medina for the
ZUR/K/38518
storage of tools) lO where craftsmen were allotted rations of pigment
when required. It seems likely that there would have been a
production area somewhere else at the site where the material would
have been transformed into paint ready for use, and it is hoped that
this will be found in future seasons.
Such a system of control suggests that the pigments were viewed as
valuable commodities. This would have been due, to a certain extent,
to the fact that they must have been brought to the site from
elsewhere, and it is not clear how regular or constant the supply may
have been. This is especially the case if some of the pigments were
coming from outside Egypt, and arriving at the site with other
imported products. As discussed below, red and yellow ochre
probably came from Egypt, and it is interesting that these native
products were stored along with the foreign high status goods. Is
there the implication that all pigments were valuable? Was it easiest
to store them all in the same place regardless of different value? Or
did the need for central control instil value in products which were
not intrinsically expensive?
It is also possible that there was some religious/ritual significance to
the pigments. If they were used to decorate the religious buildings
and areas at the site, it was perhaps important that they were kept
under the control of the religious personnel.11
10 Massart 1957, 181; Keller 199111 Polz 1997, 35; see also chapter "Pigments at other sites in Egypt"
19
3. Pigments found at the site
The overwhelming numbers of pigment samples discovered so far (50
out of 56) have been found in a single magazine. This may be due to
the vagaries of the archaeological process. Only a small area of the
site has been excavated, and there could be significant amounts of
pigments or paints elsewhere, perhaps in other storage facilities.
Nevertheless, it is possible at this stage to extrapolate from the
evidence various useful conclusions about the possible functions of
pigments at the site.
Magazine 1 contained many samples of pigment along with the
imported pottery discussed elsewhere.12 As already noted, Magazines
2-9 were essentially empty, and it is feasible that these other
magazines continued to be in operation after Magazine 1 had been
abandoned or collapsed. Evidence of flint-working and possible
occupation in Magazine 6 suggests that some of the magazines were
used after the departure of the original occupants of the fortress.'3
However, if any of the Magazines 2-9 had been used for pigment
storage either concurrently with or after the use of Magazine 1, then
pigment traces would, in all likeithood, have been evident in the
layers of accumulated dirt above the original floor. No such material
was_ found. Indeed the only evidence of pigments associated with
these other magazines is the substantial lump of yellow ochre found12 see below in chapter "Foreign pottery at the site"13 The fire and extensive evidence of flint working in the form of tools, flakes andcores, suggests that Magazine 6 was reoccupied at a later date.
20
Fig.3.1 Key to magazines andniches and corridor in Magazine
outside Magazine 2 and a small piece of Egyptian Blue found near the
welLl4
Pigments in Magazine 1
Within Magazine 1, most of the pigments were found in the niches
and the corridor in the (back) west half of the magazine. It has been
established that the front (east) of the magazine was probably used
less for storage and more for activities associated with the goods in
the pottery containers, for example decanting foodstuffs from large,
unwieldy vessels into smaller bowls, although it is also possible that a
few large vessels such as Canaanite amphorae were stored here.
However the majority of items in the magazine was housed in the
niches. Referring to the pigment plan, and the pigment distribution
chart (appendix 1), it can be seen that most of the pigments were
found in the south-west niches S3 and S4. It is logical to assume that
items identified by colour rather than shape or size would be housed
closest to the existing light source (the doorway at the eastern end of
the magazine), though it should be noted that an artificial light
source would have also been necessary. 15 If the eastern end of the
magazine was used as a work area, then there could have been
additional light sources placed here which would have cast light on
the eastern niches. There may have been holes in the roof to admit
14 see above in "Excavations in 1999 season"15 Note also that if daylight was the main light source, it would perhaps make moresense to have stored the pigments in the northern niches.
22
light, although the heavy winter rains render this unlikely.16 It is also
probable that additional portable lighting was also used.
The niche S4, which is closest to the door on the south side contained
the greatest amount of pigment, both in the abandonment level and
in all the layers above the original floor. Indeed (bright) red ochrel7
and (yellow) jarositel8 were only found in this niche. Niche S3,
immediately west of S4, also contained many pieces of pigment,19
although here there were fewer samples in the floor layers,
suggesting that this niche was utilised less regularly, perhaps only
when S4 was full. S2, immediately to the west of S3, contained two
lumps of yellow ochre and one small slab of (green) wollastonite.
However, all three were found on the surface of the final
abandonment level and at the front of the niche next to the west wall.
Their location is therefore probably a result of the ransacking which
marked the end of the useful life of the magazine, rather than
because the pigments were being stored in this area. Neither Si nor
Ni (the two niches at the western end of the magazine) contained any
pigments, indicating that they were almost certainly not used for
pigment storage. N2 contained one spherical lump of calcium
carbonate (white), which is the only example of white pigment found
in the magazines.20 It was found towards the back (west) against the16 See El-Naggar 1999, 155-157 & plate 187 for examples of oculi approximately60cm in diameter in the roofs of magazines at the Ramesseum. Note, however, thatthese magazines are much bigger than those at Zawiyet Uxnm el-Rakham (50-54mlong), and that there is almost no rain in Thebes.17 seven samples18 eight samples.There were also four examples of Egyptian Blue, five of yellowochre, two green wollastomte and seven dark red ocbre19 Four Egyptian Blue, ten green wollastonite and three dark red ochre20 The brown crust on the ball is not original to the pigment, but is rather areactive crust formed during the period of burial.
23
;
-
I
Fig.3.2 Pigments in the floor of Magazine 1
pr•1
1ç?. 1••
.I.
I.
. 1.J_.
Ii•'.....
western wall of the niche. This was the only pigment found m N2, so
either white only was stored here, or as with the other westernmost
niches, pigments were not stored in this area and this one sample
arrived by accident. N3 contained no pigments, again suggesting that
they were not stored here.
N4, the easternmost niche on the northern side, contained one small
piece of Egyptian Blue, and two large lumps of yellow ochre2l which
both exhibit at least one cut edge, suggesting either that they were
shorn off a very substantial piece, or that sections had been removed
from both. The ochre pieces were both found against the wall, and
both within the intermediate floor layers. This suggests that N4 may
have been used for the storage of this pigment. The lump of yellow
ochre found outside Magazine 2 indicates that this material was
stored in large lumps, and it is possible that it was not always kept in
containers, but may have sat in piles on the floor of the niche. It
should also be noted that an amphora containing yellow ochre was
found outside Stone Circle 4 in the squatter settlement.22 However, it
is likely that this material had already been treated at the site and
was ready for use.23
The floor layers of the corridor also contained a few examples of
pigments which were found between niches S3 and N3. There were
five_pieces of yellow ochre, two of Egyptian Blue and one of
21 ZUR/M1/N4/1 60x52x28mm and ZUR/M1/N4/4 5lx3lxl9mm22 ZUR/G4E1/4 Also note that the pottery found in this area had almost certainlybeen reused at a later date by the occupants of the squatter settlement23 see W.J. Russell 1892, 44 for discussion of similar pigments found at Ghurob
25
'-J If
S
UI.
-HH-H0
I
LT1
Fig. 3.3 Plan showing the distribution ofpigments in the floor of Magazine 1
Egyptian Blue
Green wollastonite
r Dark red ochre
Red oclire
Yellow ochre
Yellow jarosite'
Calcite white
wollastomte. These were almost certainly dropped at some point
during the life of the magazine, and they perhaps reinforce the idea
that the light source came from the front (east) end of the magazine,
as there seem to be no dropped pieces in the lighter area in between
S4 and N4. It is also possible that the front portion of the corridor
was swept more regularly than the back, either on purpose, or by the
action of floor-length clothes brushing past. There was also one other
sample of pigment found in Magazine 1, and it is perhaps the most
interesting. The eastern end of the magazine contained various
different types of foreign pottery. These included three Canaanite
amphorae24 which were probably in their original position stacked
against the northern wall. There were also a Base Ring II juglet and
seven locally made saucers2s neatly stacked in the corner of the east
wall of S4 and the southern wall of the magazine, again probably
where they had been used and abandoned.
There were also, however, various pieces which seem to have been
left where they were dropped in the middle of the floor. It is possible
that these should be associated with the sacking of the magazine
which seems to have occurred towards the end of the useful life of
the magazine. Whether this was done by the residents of the fortress
hastily emptying the magazine for some reason (perhaps imminent
collapse?) or by whoever occupied the fortress immediately
afterwards is impossible to know. The latter explanation is perhaps
more likely given the evidence that some at least of the foodstuffs
24 ZUR/M1/3, ZUIR/M1/4, ZUR/M 1/3025 ZUR/M1/7, ZUR/M1/15-21
28
Fig.3.5 Cake of EgyptianBlue from Magazine 1
Fig.3.5 Red spindle jar and feeder cup with bluestaining, found in association with the EgyptianBlue cake.
seem to have been consumed in situ by those who didn't understand
the mechanics of opening the pottery but seem rather to have
smashed the tops of vessels to get at their contents. A group of
'feeder cups'26 and one fineware Mycenaean juglet 27 were found
together, and the grouping strongly suggests that they were being
stored or transported together in either a bag or basket which has not
survived. Slightly north of these, a more disparate group was found.
This consisted of a red lustrous ware flask, 28 another feeder cup29 and
a section of Egyptian Blue 'cake'. 30 This is a common form for
Egyptian Blue, and such cakes are known from other Egyptian sites.31
There was also noticeable blue staining on the sand around these
objects, and also on the feeder cup. It is possible that some of our
other Egyptian Blue samples had been cut from similar shapes at an
earlier stage. This half-cake is the largest example of Egyptian Blue
so far found at the site.32
Pigment outside Magazine 2
One example of yellow ochre was located outside Magazine 2. This
was found in association with one feeder cup,33 and was discovered
under the collapsed southern jamb of this magazine and a covering
layer of plaster. This plaster is a problematic feature of the eastern
facade of the magazines. There was a large wash of grey plaster
26 ZUIR/M1/9-12 a
27 ZUR/M1/1328 ZTJR/M1/629 ZUIR/M1/830 ZUR/M1/2431 See in chapter "Shapes of Egyptian Blue Pigments"32 45x37x18mm, 30.8grams33 ZUR/M2E/1
30
Fig.3.6 Large lump of yellowochre from outside Magazine 2
approximately 1cm thick throughout the area abutting Stone Circle 1.
and covered the area between the stone circle and the entrance of
Magazine 1. This was linked to another large slick under the fallen
jambs of Magazine 2, but above the pigment and pottery. The
function of this plaster is not yet clear. It is speculated that this
perhaps represents a later phase for this end of the magazine
corridor, perhaps associated with the period of occupation which
included the stone circles. There was evidence for plaster working on
top of Magazine 2, and it is possible that it was used to waterproof
the magazine roofs. Evidence of plaster facing on walls in the South
building also indicates that walls were dressed with layers of mud
and grey plaster and it is possible that this plaster represents that
which has collapsed or slid off the front walls of the magazines.
Various lumps of similar material found within magazine 1 also
suggest that plaster was perhaps used as bungs for the pottery
vessels. The lump of yellow ochre is the largest single sample yet
found at the site.34 It exhibits constant colour throughout,35 and has
probably had pieces sliced off for use, although the outside edges are
now rounded with no visible cut edges. The noticeable size of this
piece has interesting implications both for the amount of pigment
used at the site, and also as a clue to the amounts of pigments that
may have been stored in the magazines.
Pigment in Magazine 8
One small sherd stained with Egyptian Blue was found in the fifi of
Magazine 8. However, this was found some way (approximately 70
34 ZUR/M1E/2, l7Oxl4Oxl3Omm35 pantone 115U
32
cm) above the floor level, and it seems likely that this sherd was
deposited here as part of the general wash at some later date after
the site had been abandoned. Nevertheless, it indicates that sherd
material was used as palettes, and this is reinforced by discoveries
associated with Stone Circle 5.
Pigment at the Stone Cirdes
No pottery has so far been found in the stone circles, but there are
significant amounts around and between the stone circle groups
located at the north and south ends of the magazine corridor. The
pottery and non-ceramic finds around the southern group of stone
circles (Stone Circles 1& 2) all seem to be of local production, apart
from one Canaanite amphora handle with a pot mark. 36 However, the
case is very different with the finds around the northern group (Stone
circles 3,4,5 and 6). A substantial amount of both local and imported
pottery has been found here, including identifiable types such as
complete 'flower pots', Canaanite amphorae, pilgrim flasks, a tall
stand and sherds of Cypriot White Slip II and white shaved ware.37
The non-ceramic finds include pumice, seashells, ostrich shell pieces,
crude pottery beads, loom weights, an inscribed scarab, flint blades
and debitage, metal fragments, slag and crude crucible pieces which
indicate partially successful attempts at metal working. Most of this
assemblage is unlikely to have been associated with the original
Egyptian occupation of the fortress, but rather represents the
material culture of a later squatter group. Whether these people were
36 see below in chapter "Foreign pottery at the site"37 HuJin pers. comm.
33
Fig.3.7 Amphora from outside Stone Circle 4 containing yellow ochre
Fig.3.8 Sherd palettesfrom outside StoneCircles 4 & 5
remnants of the fortress population left to fend for themselves, or
were perhaps Ubyan intruders who had occupied the fortress is not
yet clear. However, whoever they were, there is also clear evidence
that they were manipulating and using pigment supplies. One large
amphora, complete except for the rim, which contained a significant
amount of yellow ochre3 8 was found in between Stone Circles 3 and 4,
and three separate sherds which had been used as palettes were
found in the pottery material.39
These artifacts represent the first examples found at the site of the
pigments actually being used. The sherd palettes are not unusual, as
it is well attested from sites in Egypt that painters seem to have used
whatever came conveniently to hand to carry their materials. 40 The
amphora may represent a different class of vessel, something used in
an intermediate stage of paint preparation. The yellow ochre found
staining the sides and in the base of this vessel indicates that it
contained yellow ochre in a ready mixed form, i.e. after having being
combined with whatever binding material was being used. If this
vessel had been imported from the Oases with the pigment already
processed, then certain interesting questions are raised about the
state and nature of pigment movement within Egypt. The large size of
this vessel further suggests that substantial amounts of paint were
being prepared at any one time. However, once again, it is not yet
clear who exactly was using the materials in this area, and it is hoped
38 ZUR/G4E/14 This vessel is thought to have come from the Oases, and is thesubject of further research (Hope pers. comm.)39 ZUR/GS/5, ZUR/G4E/37, ZUR/G4ET/840 see chapter "Pigments at other sites in Egypt"
36
that further types of this class of container will be discovered in
future seasons to help clarify the mechanisms used by the original
inhabitants of the fortress.
37
4. Previous pigment studies
At Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham, we are in the unusual position of having
so far discovered examples only of the raw or intermediate
products,41 and have as yet little evidence of their final uses at the
site, either as paint (apart from traces of yellow in the magazine door
jambs) or (less likely given their context in association with each
other) as small moulded objects.42 Identification has consequently
been simple, with the use of XRD43 and SEM 44 to establish both the
mineral and elemental ingredients. We have not had to scrape tiny
amounts from surfaces, nor to separate the materials from other,
potentially confusing layers of decoration such as undercoats,
overpainting or varnish. The contexts of wadi wash and dry,
windblown sand in which they were found has meant that our various
samples seem to be essentially unchanged from when they were first
deposited, especially those found inside the magazine (apart from a
discoloured surface layer on a few examples). This suggests that the
wide colour range exhibited, which indudes samples with quite
subtle colour differences, such as the bright and dark red ochre, and
the range of blue and green copper compounds, were intentionally
different from each other. There is often debate about the range and
extent of the palette available to the ancient Egyptians, and this
assemblage indicates that there was a comparatively wide range of
4110 pieces of Egyptian Blue, 11 of green, 8 of red ochre, 11 of yellow ochre, 8 ofyellow jaro site and 1 calcium carbonate white42 see discussion of small Egyptian Blue beads found in the domestic area inchapter "Egyptian Blue objects and shaping technology"43 X-Ray Diffraction44 Scanning Electron Microscope
38
different shades.
The pigments fall into three main categories; synthetic pigments such
as the blue and green compounds, naturally occurring red and yellow
iron oxides, and those pigments where the origin or manufacture is
less clear, such as jarosite yellow and calcium carbonate white.
Blue
Historical interest in the nature and manufacturing processes of the
blue pigment known as "Egyptian Blue", which is similar to ten
samples found at the site, has far outweighed that shown in any
other pigment type. Egyptian Blue has fascinated archaeologists and
scientists since the beginning of the rediscovery of ancient Egypt,
with the Napoleonic expedition to Egypt (1801-1802). Pigments were
also found in excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum at the
beginning of the Nineteenth Century, and a small pot of blue pigment
found at Pompeii was examined by scientists including Sir Humphrey
DavyA5
This substance can be seen as significant for various reasons. It is an
artificial compound which had to be made rather than found, and
indeed as modern attempts to reproduce it have demonstrated,
created with quite sophisticated firing techniques. This in turn
suggests that both specialists conversant in pyrotechnology and
specific kiln locations were required. The copper component (and
perhaps bronze in the New Kingdom) would have had to come from
45 Davy 185039
Fig.4.1 Examples of Egyptian Bluefrom Zawlyet Umm el-Rakhain
somewhere. One can also surmise that the pigment would
consequently have had more value than naturally occurring pigments,
especially if the special techniques, any of the constituents, or indeed
the product itself was imported from outside Egypt.
Jaksch et a146 noted that synthetic pigments are unique amongst
ancient painting materials in the amount of information that can be
gleaned from them. The nature and potential sources of raw materials
are of interest for all ancient pigments, but with Egyptian Blue one
can also look at the method of manufacture and so the wider picture
of the development of technology in the past. Frizot 47 suggested that
Egyptian Blue has been seen by some as a symbol of secret
technology known by the Egyptians and since lost.
It is worth noting that there are few references to Egyptian Blue in
existing Egyptian records, and no mention at all of ingredients,
manufacture or method of usage. However, there is a long history of
research into both the materials and also the manufacturing
techniques.
Theophrastus48 stated that kyanos (Egyptian Blue) was made in Egypt,
and had to be produced by fire, and Vitruvius, who claimed that 'blue'
was first discovered in Alexandria, where sand flowers and copper
filings were made into small balls which were then baked, wrote that
"As soon as the copper and sand grow hot and unite under the
46 Jaksh. Seipel, Werner, & El Goresy 198347 Frizot 198248 Caley&Richards 1956
41
intensity of the fire, they mutually receive each other's sweat,
relinquishing their peculiar qualities, and having lost their properties
through the intensity of the fire, they are reduced to a blue colour".49
Modern analyses of the substance have tended to include
reconstructions of the material, with varying degrees of success.
Fouque5° analysed Egyptian samples, and established that Egyptian
Blue was a copper and calcium silicate. He reproduced examples, but
these were later disputed by others such as Spurreilsi who questioned
his accuracy. Russell52 used silica, lime, alkali and copper ore to
create samples, and noted that 2-5% volume of copper produced pale
blue, whereas 25-30% copper gave dark, blue/purple and a higher
percentage than that produced black. He also found that along with
the correct proportions "the heating was a delicate operation"53 in
order to achieve the desired result. Spurrell also managed to copy
various shades of Egyptian Blue after studying samples found at
Amarna.54 Laurie, McLintock and Miles SS used fine sand, 'fusion
mixture' (sodium carbonate), copper carbonate and calcium carbonate
to achieve "large quantities of blue crystals".56 They also found that
the ideal heating temperature was between 800°C and 900°C, and
that both above and below this "olive-green glass" was formed. These
results were more recently modified by Chase57 and Tite, Bimson and49 Vitruvius Book VII Chapter Xl50 Fouque 1889Si Spurrell 189552 WJ. Russell 1892, 1893-189453 W.J. Russell 1893-1894, 37558 Spurrell 1895. see also Weatherhead & Buckley 19895 Laurie, McLintock & Miles 1914
56 Laurie, McLintock & Miles 1914, 4227 Chase 1968
42
Meekss8 who indicated that Egyptian Blue could be produced at
temperatures up to 1000°C and Bayer and Wiedemann 59 who showed
that the decomposition temperature was 1080°C.
It is now generally accepted that Egyptian Blue was made from silica,
calcium and copper, with some form of alkali to form the 'fusion
mixture' and that the blue lumps contain cuproroviate CaCuSi4O10,
with left-over unreacted quartz, 6O and sometimes other components
such as wollastonite (CaCu3Si3O9) 61 or tin oxide. 62 There is debate
amongst the various analysts as to whether the term 'Egyptian Blue'
should apply to the cuproroviate component or to the whole product,
and also whether it is a frit or a melt. 63 Lucas64 called it a frit, and
Dayton65 differentiated between Egyptian Blue and Egyptian Frit.
However, as Nicholson66 pointed out, 'frit' is rather an ambiguous
term which can refer to 'fritting' i.e. the solid state reaction, the
fritted component within the whole, and the product itself, and
Weatherhead and Buckley 6 7 noted that 'frit' refers to materials
produced from silica, lime and an alkali with or without colour.
For this study I shall use the term 'Egyptian Blue' to refer both to the
samples that we have so far excavated at the site, and to their colour.
58 Tile, Bimson&Meeks 198159 Bayer & Wiedemarm 197660 Tite, Bimson & Cowell 1987, 4561 Lee & Quirke 200062 Jksh1 Seipel, Weiner & El Goresy 1983, 53463 e.g Jaksh,Seipel. Weiner & El Goresy 1983, 53164 Lucas 196265 Dayton 1978, 3466 Nicholson 1993, 1667 Weatherhead and Buckley 1989, 202
43
As can be seen from our own examples, the blue can actually range
from a pale turquoise to a dark purply-blue. Lee and Quirke6 8 noted
that the colour of the final product depends on the initial
components, the microstructure of the sintered product and the final
particle size. Weatherhead and Buckley, working at Amarna,
differentiate between blue and turquoise samples.69 However this
seems a nicety when looking at the whole spectrum of shades known
of in pigment form, not least those which contain more wollastonite
than cuproroviate and so are greeny-blue.7° Tite Bimson and Cowell7l
indicated that a two stage firing process was required, with the
components first fired together and then ground and shaped for a
second, shorter firing. This seems a reasonable hypothesis, given the
regular shapes of the pigment lumps known from various sites
including our own. Russell, and Laurie, McLintock arid M11es72
suggested that repeated grinding and re-firing progressively
produced lighter shades, but Tite Bimson and Meeks 73 found that
repeated refiring increased hardness.
Tite et a! group Egyptian Blue into three broad colour categories; dark
68 Lee & Quirke 200069 Weatherhead & Buckley 1989, 205-20770 Weatherhead and Buckley suggest that the sodium-calcium-copper sificatecreated by the addition of natron in the production of turquoise pigments shouldbe classified separately from the calcium-copper silicates in Egyptian Blue.However, they also note that the turquoise fnts tend to include significant amountsof iron. Although none of our Egyptian Blue samples contain iron, five of our green(mainly wollastonite CaCu3SI3O9)samples do so (although note that the iron may bepresent as an impurity in sand). Consequently I feel unable to agree to theseparation of turquoise samples only into a discrete category, but see them ratheras an integral part of the whole range of colours created by this method.71 Tite, Bimson& Cowell 1987, 4272 Laurie,McLintock & Miles 1914,2 373 Tite,Bimson & Meeks 1981, 300
44
blue, light blue and pale light blue,74 and state that light blue is
associated with a decrease in the overall dimensions of the clusters of
cuproroviate crystals, and pale light blue samples have a high alkali
content and a significant amount of glass. Weatherhead and Buckley
found that their turquoise samples contained significantly higher
ratios of sodium. Tests on our own samples have indicated that the
richer and darker blue samples contain higher proportions of copper
to calcium than the paler blues 7s and as noted above,76 Russell found
that higher levels of copper produced darker hues. Consequently, it
seems likely that the various shades were comparatively easily
manipulated by alternating the proportional amounts of ingredients.
The silica and calcium components would have been easy enough to
obtain in the form of sand in a country surrounded by desert.
Vitruvius noted the use of sand, and Strabo said that "there was in
Aegypt a kind of vitreous earth (sand?) without which many-coloured
and costly designs could not be executed".77 Russell states that
different colours of sand used could affect the colour of the finished
product, and that white sand produced blue frit, whereas red, iron
bearing sand produced greenish blue results.78 Analysis of Egyptian
Blue from a Sixth Dynasty tomb found Titanomagnetite, which El
Goresy et a! noted is an "important constituent of the opaque
74 Although they don't actually specify colour ranges (see, for example, Strudwick'swork with a Minolta CR-221 in Strudwick 1991, and Weatherhead & Buckley's useof 'Pantone Color Formula Guide')75 These findings were agreed by Dr Lorna Lee, Senior Scientific Officer at theBritish Museum, pers. comm.76 See note 1277 The Geography of Strabo 16.2.2578 W.J. Russell 1892,46
45
assemblage in desert sand".79
The alkali, which would have acted as a flux to lower the required
temperature, could either have been introduced with the sand as
feispars and clay minerals,8 0 or deliberately as plant ashes, 81 or as
natron from Wadi Natrun.82
However, perhaps the most interesting ingredient of Egyptian Blue is
the copper. Whether the Egyptians used natural copper carbonates
(such as malachite and azurite), or copper suiphite ores, or copper
filings or even bronze is a matter for debate. Copper within Egypt is
known to have come from the Eastern Desert and the Sinai, 83 and
although early studies note that "we have practically nothing of
importance to show today for all the metal that was mined, won by
conquest, and received in trading operations", 84 Hume details various
copper sources and ancient slag heaps indicating work in both these
areas.85 From the Eighteenth Dynasty onwards, some Egyptian Blue
examples also contain tin and/or arsenic, which suggests the use of
bronze rather than copper. Tite, Bimson and Cowell 86 and Saleh et a187
suggested that this could have occurred incidentally with the use of
scrap metal, but Jaksch et a! proposed that a new technique of
79E1 Goresy, Jaksch, Abdel Rasek & Weiner 1986, 1780 Tite, Bimson & Cowell 1987, 40
a
81 Jaksch, Seipel, Weiner & El Goresy 1983, 53282 Weatherhead & Buckley 1989, 20383 Lucas 1962, 20184 Garland & Bannister 192785 Hume 1937, 827-84386 Tite, Bimson & Cowell 1987, 4087 Saleh, Iskander, El-Masry & HelmI 1974, 153
46
preparation is indicated.88 It is generally accepted that there was an
enormous growth in building activity from the Eighteenth Dynasty
onwards, and it is possible that native resources could not cover the
increase in demand for products such as paint. Sources such as the
Amarna Letters illustrate the demand for metals from other
Mediterranean countries and it seems not inconceivable that the
copper element of Egyptian Blue was being imported from elsewhere.
However, even with the enormous body of work concerning the
ingredients and possible manufacturing techniques for Egyptian
Blue,89 little is known about the exact recipes and method of
manufacture. Recent evidence from Amarna arid Piramesse suggests
that pigment, faience and glass processing probably occurred in
conjunction with each other, and probably also in association with
metal working.90
Cobalt was used in the New Kingdom as a colorant in faience and
glass, and also to decorate 'blue painted' pottery associated with
Amenhotep III and Akhenaten at Amarna. 91 However, there are no
indications that it was ever used as a paint.
88 Jaksch. Seipel, Weiner & El Goresy 1983, 53589 See Delamare 1998a for a comprehensive bibliography90 Rehren pers. comm.91 Hope 1989, 11& 51
47
Green
The green samples found at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham are all examples
of artificial green frit which is closely related to Egyptian Blue. The
major component of green frit is copper wollastonite (CaCu3Si3Og).
This was made of essentially the same ingredients and under the
same conditions as Egyptian Blue. Reducing conditions will cause the
production of wollastonite rather than cuproroviate,92 and there can
also be instances of a higher lime and lower copper content.93
El-Goresy et a! suggested that copper chloride was also used as a
green colorant in the Old and Middle Kingdoms, but was totally
superseded by artificial green frit by the New Kingdont94 More
recently, Schiegl et a! concluded, firstly, that examples of copper
chloride and malachite green were inf act degradation products of the
glassy phase of artificial copper frits, and secondly, that most of the
greens from contexts before the New Kingdom were in fact applied as
light blue, which has since changed colour.95 It seems unlikely that
the greens known today were all originally blue, and experiments
conducted in the British Museum have found that, for example, blue
and green hieroglyphs found on a First Intermediate Period coffin
were separately and deliberately coloured by Egyptian Blue and
Malachite. 96 Blom-Böer suggested that combinations of copper
chloride and/or malachite were used as green colorants on wood
92 Tile, Bimson & CoweIl 1987, 4093 Lee & Quirke 2000, 11294 El Goresy, Jaksh, Abdel Rasik & Weiner 1986, 2095 Schiegi, Weiner & El Goresy 199296 Lee & Quirke 2000, 112 They suggest that malachite may have been used onwood but not on stone, although it is hard to understand why this might be thecase.
48
Fig.4.2 Examples of wollastonite (Egyptiangreen) from Zawiyet Uinm el-Rakham
between the 5th and 12th Dynasties.97 Some greens seem to have
been made by combining different pigments, as with a 19th Dynasty
papyrus where the green was found to be a mixture of Egyptian Blue
and jarosite. Green pigments found at Amarna consisted of both
artificial green frit (one sample) and the copper ore chrysocolla (two
samples),98 and chrysocolla was also identified in some Theban
tombs.99 Green pigments found in the Karnak group were identified
as chrysocolla,loo and those from the Valley of the Queens were
artificial green frit.'°'
Consequently, although there are occasional examples of malachite
and chrysocolla being used, the more common pigment (especially
during the New Kingdom) was the artificially produced green fit,
which was almost certainly produced in the same workshops as
Egyptian Blue.
Red
Although we have found two visually distinct types of red pigment at
the site, they are both anhydrous iron oxide (hematite) sometimes
9 7Blom-Böer 199498 Weatherhead and Buckley 1989, 20899 Reiderer 1974, 106100 Le Fur 1994,41101 Le Fur 1994, 53
50
Fig.4.3 Examples of red ochrefrom Zawiyet Uinm el-Raitham
known as red ochre.102 We have a bright red powdery formlo3 not
only in the niches but also as staining across the sand, and a darker
red/brownlo4 form in shaped lumps, similar to those described by
Russell at Ghurob, where he stated that "a remarkable feature in all
the natural specimens is that at least one side is perfectly smooth and
curved; had it been a fusible substance the inference would have been
that it had been melted and cast in a mould. However, when the
surface is carefully examined it is found to be marked with fine lines.
Instead of pounding or grinding the mineral they simply rubbed it in
a curved vessel, or might be a hollow in a rock, with a little water; fine
particles were thus abraded, and the water present gradually carried
them down to the bottom of the vessel, from whence they could be
easily removed."los Our samples are all regularly shaped, and two
pieces bear the fine lines noted above.The red pigments found at
Amarna between 1979 and 1986 are similarly shaped, and described
as being "roughly triangular in shape with one flat surface".106 Red
ochre is known to occur naturally in Egypt, notably in the Western
oases.107 Egyptian red ochres are also known to have been prized in
antiquity, with Theophrastus mentioning both the natural and
102 See Lee & Quirke (2000) for discussion of two types; hydrous iron oxidelimonite and anhydrous hematite, and Lucas (1962) for doubts on red limonite.There is also a much rarer red pigment realgar, which is an arsenic suiphide knownfrom the 18th Dynasty onwards. We did not find any samples of this, apart fromone very small crystal in the doorway of Magazine One. It should be noted thatalthough chemically distinct from each other, the two forms of red iron pigmentsare visually indistinct from each other, and the terms employed to describe red ironoxides (also known as anhydrous oxides of iron, or hematite) and red ochres(hydtated oxides of iron) are used interchangeably by many authors.103 Pantone colour 166U104 Pantone colour 1605 U and 174U105 W.J. Russell 1892, 44106 Weatherhead & Buckley 1989, 216107 J-Iume 1937, 209
52
artificial types known from Egypt,1o8 and Pliny referring to Egyptian
Earths being used by the Romans as pigments.1o9 Red was one of the
most widely used colours for a whole range of decorative purposes,
and red ochres are found from the Predynastic onwards.110
Yellow
Our most abundant pigment at the site, both in terms of numbers
and size of samples (the biggest single sample measuring 14cm by
14cm by 13cm) is yellow ochre.1'l It is also the only pigment that we
have found in containers outside Magazine 1, perhaps indicating
usage at particular areas of the site. Uke red ochre, yellow ochre
occurs naturally in Egypt and was widely used throughout Egyptian
history. El Goresy et a! reported that it occurs naturally in pockets in
sandstones, shales and in gossans of sulphide deposits. 1 1 2 It can stifi
be found throughout Egypt, and, like red ochre, is apparently
plentiful in the Western Desert Oases. 1 1 3 Russell notes that the quality
of the yellow ochre found at Ghurob was variable both in quality and
in colour strength. 114 However the examples found at Zawiyet Umm
el-Rakham are all of a similar strong yellow,11s with the colour
uniform throughout the body of each example.
108 Theophrastus (On Stones) Probably referring to the burning of yellow limoniteto produce red109 Pliny 35 13-15110 e.g Naqada, Hierakonpolis, Armant (Lucas 1962, 347)111 All the bright yellow samples consist of limouite with day and siliceous matter.We have no examples of the brighter yellow pigment orpiment (arsenic suiphide)found occasionally on royal monuments from the Eighteenth Dynasty onwards, seebelow.112 El-Goresy, Jaksch, Abdel Rasek & Weiner 1986, 24113 Hume 1937, 200114 W.J. Russell 1892, 45115 Pantone 115U 121U 12911
53
Fig.4.4 Examples of yellow ochrefrom Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham
Fig.4. 5 Examples of yellow jarositefrom Zawiyet Urn el-Rakham
The other, paler, yellow samplesll6 found at the site are perhaps more
interesting, and certainly of greater significance to current studies on
ancient Egyptian pigments. In 1978 Noll identified jarosite
(KFe3(SO4)2(OH)6) on Eleventh Dynasty pottery from el Tarif and also
at Thera. 117 It was later noted on tomb chapel walls from the Fifth,
Sixth, Eleventh and Twelfth Dynasties at Saqqara. 1 18 However, El
Goresy et a! stated that, as there is no other evidence for the
Egyptians looking for or even being aware of this pigment, U9 it is
more likely that this was used by nustake instead of yellow ochre,
and after noting that it was perhaps imported from Cyprus, Blom-
Böer suggested that this pigment is actually a result of the
degradation of a form of iron oxide.120 Nevertheless, recent findings
of jarosite in the painters' materials found at Karnak,121 and current
research on Middle Kingdom coffins at the British Museuml2 2 have
intimated that this pigment may well have been used intentionally.
There can be no uncertainty about the samples discovered at Zawiyet
Umm el-Rakham. We found eight walnut-size balls of Jarosite in
association with the various other pigments, and there can be little
doubt both that they were formed into these shapes, and also that
they are different to, and distinct from, the yellow ochre samples.
Analysis of the jarosite indicates that the material had been finely
ground before being shaped into small balls. Le Fur suggests that
116 Pantone 1205U117 Noll&Hangst 1975, 209-214118 Wy the Max-Planck Project (Blom-Böer 1994)119 El Goresy, Jaksch, Abdel Rasek & Weiner 1986, 24-25120 see Lee & Quirke 2000121 LeFur 1994, 45122 Andrew Milton and Sylvia Humphrey Department of Scientific Research (see Lee& Quirke 2000)
55
jarosite may have come from areas near Aswan,123 and jarosite has
recently been identified in the Southern Oases.124
The third yellow pigment used in Egypt was orpiment (As2S3). We
have not so far found any examples of this at the site. Blom-Böer
found pure orpiment only on royal 18th and 19th Dynasty
sarcophagi, and reported its use, layered with yellow ochre, on temple
and tomb walls..12 5 Although there is no evidence for orpiment in
private tombs at Thebes, there are examples of the pigment in
pigment groups in the tombs of Kheruef, 126 Tutankhamun,1 2 7 and
Horemheb.128 This suggests either that tomb painters had access to
the material but use was restricted, or that the mineral degrades in a
way that can render it undetectable to modern analysis. Petrie also
found orpiment at Ghurob.12 9 Orpiment has been found at Amarna,
with 'two large pieces and several lumps' found in House 049.17 and
traces on a stone vessel found in a well at the industrial area Q48.4.130
There is also a small bottle of orpiment from Amarna in the Liverpool
Museum.131 Sources outside Egypt include Kurdistan, Iran, Syria and
Anatolia,132 but no source has yet been identified in Egypt itself. Some
of the ainphorae on the Ulu Burun shipwreck contained orpimeflt,133
123 LeFur 1994, p1.9124 Hope, pers.comm.125 Blom-Böer 1994, 63-64126 Saleh, Iskander, El-Masry & Helmi 1973, 146 & fig 2127 Lucas 1933, 177128 13!ack & Brack 1980, 100129 petrie 1890, 38130 Weatherhead 1995, 394; identified by visual inspection only131 56.20.195 ex. Spurrell Collection132 Mooray 1994, 328133 flass 1986, 278
56
but it is not clear if this was intended to be used as a pigment.134 The
implication from the evidence in Egypt is that orpiment was al-i
expensive, high-status (if not exclusively royal) pigment used to give
an especially bright, golden yellow appearance to selected images.
White
The one example of white pigment at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham is
calcium carbonate (CaCo3). Calcium carbonate and calcium sulphate
were both used from the Predynastic period until the Roman
Period.135 Both occur naturally in Egypt, and it is also possible that
powdered shell was used,136 as the shells of molluscs are nearly pure
calcium carbonate. 137
Huntite (Mg3Ca9CO3)4) was identified by Riederer, who found it on
various New Kingdom artifacts.138 Blom-Böer also found huntite from
Middle and New Kingdom contextsl 39 and the British Museum also
identified the pigment on a 12th Dynasty coffin fragment and on
artifacts dating from the 18th to the 22nd Dynasty.140 Huntite is
formed by a weathering process on magnesium deposits, and
although at present the nearest known sources are in the Persian Gulf
and Tunisia,141 it is possible that Egyptian sources will be identified in
134 Bass believes that it is more likely to have been used as a component of the waxwriting boards (orpiment 25%, wax 75%), similar to one found on the ship, whichwere used in the Near East. (Bass, pers.com )135 Lucas 1962, 349; Blom-Böer 1994, 66136 Lucas 1962, 349137 used e.g. in Japanese painting (Gettens, West Fitz Hugh & Feller 1974, 162)138 Riederer 1974, 103139 Bom-Böer 1994, 76140 Lee & Quirke 200, 114141 Lee & Quirke 200, 114
57
the future. 14 2 Huntite, like orpiment, seems to have been used rarely
and exclusively on high status objects, and it seems likely that it also
was a rare and expensive pigment saved for occasions when specially
bright white paint was needed.
Black
Almost every analysis of black from the Predynastic period onwards
has shown that carbon in the form of soot was used.143 Spurrell
suggested that black ore of manganese from Sinai was used at Ben!
FJasan,144 but there are no more recent findings of this.
42Riederer 1974, 104143 Lucas 1962, 339: Lee & Quirke 2000, 108144 Spurrell 1895, 229; Lucas 1962, 340
58
Fig.4.6 Examples of pigmentsfrom Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham
5. Pigments at other sites in Egypt
Pigments found in a similar state to those at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham
(i.e. either in their raw state, or after having been rnitial processed)
are known from some other sites in Egypt. It is probable that many
more examples have been found than are now recorded in published
reports, as such samples have not always been identified, or seen as
important in archaeological terms.
Where would these pigments have been manufactured and
manipulated on ancient sites? Production of Egyptian Blue required
firing at high temperature for sustained periods of time. However, no
separate and distinct Egyptian Blue manufacturing and processing
area is yet known from the archaeological record.
There are some sites where such finds have led to research into the
processes involved in the manufacture and use of pigments, with the
main concentration of existing work on finds from New Kingdom
sites.
Meidum, Kahun and Ghurob
Russell conducted extensive studies on frits found at Meidum, Kahun
and Ghurob.145 The results can be summarised as follows:
145 WJ. Russell 1892, 1893-1894, 1893-189560
Blue
Russell analysed the blue pigments from Ghurob only, because he
found that the blue pigments from Kahun were 'inferior'. The colour
ranged from pure blue, light blue, strongly greenish blue and slightly
purplish blue. The 'several large pieces' all had 'a smoothed and
curved surface'. However, the furnaces necessary for manufacture
were not identified.
Red
The red pigments were found to be ferric oxide. Russell suggested
that some of the samples found were the end result of an initial
process, where the pigment had been 'reduced to a fine powder and
probably to some extent purified'.146 He later suggested that some red
ochre was made by heating yellow ochre, but there is no evidence for
this.
Yellow
All the yellow samples were found to be iron ochre. Some were light
yellow, while others had a much warmer tint.
White
The white pigment was calcium suiphite or gypsum. Russell
suggested that it had been 'ground and carefully prepared for use'.147
146W.J. Russell 1892, 44'47 W.J. Russell 1892, 47
61
Amarna
Petrie's excavations in the Main City at Amarna included furnaces and
workshops where blue, turquoise, purple and grey frits were found.148
Various attempts were made both to analyse the composition of these
frits and to reproduce them. More recently work has been undertaken
both on the main dump at the western edge of the city (where Petrie
had found faience moulds),149 and on the nearly seventy specimens of
pigment found at the Workmen's Vifiage between 1979 and 1986.'so
However, no fritting kilns were found during these latter excavations,
and it is thought that the pigments found in the village came from
the industrial area in the Main City. Excavation in 1987 of the
industrial area in the Main City revealed nearly forty more fragments
of pigments.151
The results can be summarised as follows:
Blue
All the blue samples analysed from both these excavations were
found to be Egyptian Blue, containing varying degrees of urireacted
quartz and/or silica. There were also traces of wollastomte in some of
the samples. They found neither sodium nor tin in the blue examples,
implying that copper rather than bronze was used in the
manufacture. A small straight-sided pot containing compacted
deposit of blue material, 152 and a shell (now in four pieces) used as a148 Surrell, 1895149 See in chapter "Falence in Egypt"150 Weatherhead & Buckley 1989151 Weatherhead 1995. None of these more recent groups has been analysedchemicallY.152 UC 8986
62
Fig.5.1 Examples of EgyptianBlue found at Ghurob
Fig.5.2 Yellow pigments foundin the Main City at Amarna
Fig.5.3 Potsherd containing Fig.5.4 Potsherd containing
blue paint from Ainarna green paint from Amarna
palette for blue paintl53 were both found by Petrie between 1891-
1892 in the 'glass factory'.154
Turquoise
The turquoise samplesiss were found to be Egyptian Blue containing
additional sodium. 'The conclusion is that a significant amount of
[sodium] was added during the manufacture over and above that
added for blue frit'. 156 Chlorine, potassium and iron were also noted.
Petrie and Russell both thought that the use of iron-rich sand would
produce a greenish tint in Egyptian Blue, but Tite, Bimson and Cowell,
in their analysis of Egyptian Blue elsewhere, have noted the presence
of iron in true blue samples.1s7 The use of iron in the manufacture of
faiencels8 and glass is discussed elsewhere.159
Green
Two green samples were chrysocolla, and one other was found to
have a chemical composition similar to the turquoise samples (i.e.
Egyptian Blue), with traces of iron and sodium.
Red
Only two examples were found in the workmen's village. One was
153 UC 24329154 Dayton 1987, 356 fig. 3l7See Weatherhead and Buckley 1989, Table 10.2155 Colour division introduced at Amarna, see above -156 Weatherhead and Buckley 1989, 207, although the form of sodium is notspecified.157 Tite, Bunson, Cowell 1984158 'We have failed to find clear evidence that iron was ever systematically anddeliberately added so as to influence the formation of green versus blue glazes withcopper..all one can say is that apparently greater care was taken in selecting ow-ironsands for blue than for green glazes' Kaczmarczyk & Hedges 1983 p.39159 See in chapter "Colorants in faience and glass"
64
Karnak
A group of pigments was discovered in 1984 at Karnak in what is
described as a Middle Kingdom context, 166 although unfortunately the
exact context is not reported. The material included a basalt rubbing
or grinding stone which had traces of red on both faces and had
probably been used to crush the pigments found in the form of small
cubes, and a small cylindrical pot containing blue pigment, which was
similar to small pots found in other excavations at the site. Traces of
pinkish red found around the sides of the pot corresponded to traces
of paint found on a small paintbrush. Other fragments of pottery
were also found, which bore traces of yellow and red. There was also
a shell containing white pigment.
Blue
The blue pigments were Egyptian Blue, and one example also included
wollastonite and quartz.167
Green
The green pigment was chrysocolla rather than artificial green frit,
and it is suggested that it may have come from the Gulf of Aqaba on
the Red Sea.l68
Red
The red material was found in two forms, both small lumps and in a
166 "La stratigraphie de la foulile des fondations du temple construit dans la courdu Moyen Empire situê cette palette au Moyen Empire" (Le Fur 1994, 39)16? Le Fur 1994, 45168 Le Fur 1994, 41
66
i3cm
Fig.5.5 Group of pigments found at Karnak
fine powdery state. Both types were a mixture of hematite and
goethite, and described as red ochre.169 However, Le Fur believes that
the powdery examples may represent yellow ochre which had been
burnt in order to obtain a red colour. He also suggests that the ochre
may have been obtained somewhere in the eastern desert, although
there may be sources close to the Valley of the Kings.'7o
Yellow
This was found to be jarosite.
White
The white paint was found to be calcium carbonate with traces of
quartz, and the shell was an example of a bivalve marine mollusc
from the Red Sea.
Black
The black pigment was carbon in the form of soot.
Tomb courtyard of Kheruef
University of Chicago excavations in 1938 on the West Bank at Thebes
uncovered a wooden chest containing various pigments in the
courtyard of the tomb of Kheruef (TT192 at Qurna). These consisted
of:
169Le Fur 1994, 45170 R. Janssen, pers. comm.
68
Blue
The blue material was in the form of five round cakes each containing
two bag shapes embedded in them, and two separate bag-shaped
lumps. All were analysed and found to be Egyptian Blue, with minor
amounts of wollastonite, quartz and tin oxide. The texture of the bag
inclusions was noted to be significantly finer than that of the
surrounding material. It is interesting to note that in each round cake
two stages of Egyptian Blue production are present. The assumption
must be that the bags represent samples of material which had been
previously fired, ground, and placed into small sacksl7l before being
introduced into unfired material. Although Saleh et a! believe that
the presence of tin oxide was accidental,172 it is an indication that
bronze rather than copper may have been used.
Red
The orange-red pigment was found as a mass of small fragments in
linen bag, and was identified as realgar (a form of arsenic suiphide
(AsS)), mixed with gypsum and other minor trace elements.173 There
are a couple of instances of realgar being identified in New Kingdom
contexts at Thebes.174 However, realgar can alter into orpiment on
exposure to light, and so is susceptible to misidentification in both
laboratory analysis and visual inspection.175 This bagful from the
tomb of Kheruef is the only recorded example of realgar as part of a
pinter's palette.171 Note that the authors state that 'the texture of the linen bag used is stifi evidenton the surface of these cakes'. (Saleh, Iskander, El-Masry & Helmi 1973, 144)172 Saleb, Iskander, E1-Masry&Helmi 1973, 153173 Saleh, Iskander, El-Masry & Helmi 1973, 144 and fig 4174 Quirke&Lee 2000, 114175 Quirke &Lee 2000, 114
69
I
Fig.5.8 Pigments fromthe wooden chest
Fig.5.9 Cake of EgyptianBlue with two embeddedbag shapes
Fig.5.6 Wooden chest containing
Fig.5.7 Cakes of Egyptianpigments from the courtyard of
Blue, pottery jar containing
the tomb of Kheruef
orpiment and linen bag ofreallar
Yellow
The pottery jar from the same collection contained lemon yellow
crystals resembling mica. These were shown to be pure orpiment,176
which is a pigment known from mainly royal contexts in the 18th and
19th Dynasties.177
Dra' Abu el-Naga
A group of utensils belonging to a painter were uncovered in 1991 in
an unstratified layer of limestone chips in the early New Kingdom
private cemetery of Dra' Abu el-Naga on the West Bank at Thebes.
This consisted of 10 pottery bowls (of early New Kingdom type), and
one thick and sixteen thin paintbrushes. Most of the bowls were
extensively used, with cracks and breaks, and many of them had been
used for more than one colour, with layers of different colours
visible. All the bowls still contained amounts of colour pigment.178
XRD indicated that the pigments consisted of:179
Blue: Egyptian Blue, Green: wollastomte, Red: red ochre, Yellow:
yellow ochre, White: calcium carbonate and huntite, Black: ground
charcoal (carbon).
Polz suggested that the pigments and brushes were deliberately -
deposited, and that due to the ceremonial and funerary nature of the
176 Saleh, Iskander, El-Masry & Helmi 1973, 147 and fig 5177 see above in chapter "Previous pigment studies"178 Polz 1997, 34179 Polz 1997, 35
71
_______pap,
,-.
Fig.5.1O Painter's materials andutensils from Dra' Abu el-Naga
Fig.5.11 Small pot (left) containingblue pigment found outside thetomb of Senenmut
objects that they had been used to paint, they may themselves have.
been seen as sacred in some way and so purposefully buried close to
the tomb for which they were employed.18o
Valley of the Queens
A few examples of pigments were found in 1986 in the Valley of the
Queens next to QV 80 and in front of QV 53, and they are described
as an 'atelier d'artiste'. 181 A base of a pottery jar contained red and
yellow pigment, and sherds bore traces of blue and green.
Blue
The Egyptian Blue found on the pottery sherds had already been
processed, in that it had been ground to a fine powder and mixed
with acacia gum.182
Green
There was also evidence of very hard fragments of green and
turquoise. These were analysed and, although appearing as different
shades, were both found to be a mixture of wollastonite, cristobalite
and quartz.183
Red
The red pigment was red ochre
Yellow
180 Polz 1997, 35181 Le Fur 1994, 53182 Le Fur 1994, 53183 Le Brun 1994, 56
73
The yellow pigment was a mixture of goethite, kaolinite, and calcite.
There are also a few examples of individual or stray pots of paint and
paintbrushes, such as a small pot with blue pigment in outside the
tomb of Senenmut, a small paint pot, again containing blue paint,
from the floor of Chamber 1 in KV5, 184 and 'a painting brush with a
paint pot or Jar' from the entrance corridor of tomb KV17, 18 5 a
fragment of pottery fified with blue pigment found at Deir el Bahri,186
and a broken piece of pottery filled with blue paint found near a
bundle of painters' equipment in the tomb of Montuherkhopeshef
(TF2O), which included coarse brushes and a length of string stained
red (used to mark out grids).187
A different sort of palette was more commonly found in high status
and royal tombs. Chapter 94 of the 'Book of the Dead' states that the
scribal outfit is essential for the deceased,188 and there are some
examples of palettes which were obviously made for the tomb.
Iversen noted that palettes made from stone were not intended for
use,189 and there are also examples of funerary models which
184 TMP web site185 Tomb of Seti I in Reeves & Wilkinson 1996, 138186 Le Fur 1994, 72 & fig.25187 Davies 1913, Robins 1997, 27188 Chapter for requesting a water-pot and a palette: Oh you great one who see your -father, keeper of the book of Thoth1 see, I have come spiritualised, besouled,mighty, and equipped with the writings of Thoth. Bring me the messenger of theearth-god who is with Seth, bring me a water-pot and palette from the writing-kit ofThoth and the mysteries which are in them. See, I am a scribe; bring me thecorruption of Osiris that I may write with it and that I may do what the great andgood god says every day, being the good which you have decreed for me, ohHorakhty. I will do what is right and I will send to Re daily. (Wasserman 1998, 109)189 Iversen 1955, 33 nt.56
74
r
- _______
-
Fig.5.12 Funerary model palettebelonging to Nehem-'ay
cm ct
-,
Fig.5.13 Palette with the cartouche ofAmenhotep III containing six wells ofpigment
1kFig. 5.14 Palette belonging to Meket-Aten
mimicked the appearance of real palettes, such as one found at
Saqqara which belonged to the Prophet of Thoth Nehem-'ay.190
However, there are also instances of small painter's palettes which
contain between two and nine circular depressions fified with
different coloured pigments (similar to watercolour sets used today),
which had probably been used by the dead person. The implication is
that painting was a popular hobby amongst the elite, and that such
palettes were included with other recreational implements in order to
ensure continued use.
Amenhotep ifi
An unprovenanced ivory palette with a cartouche at the top reading
'Neb-Maat-Re beloved of Re' and containing six cakes of pigment may
have come from the tomb of Amenhotep 111. 191 The paint colours are
blue, green, brown, yellow and red, and all have been well used. 192
Meket-Aten
A tiny unprovenanced palette, which Hayes describes as a toy,193
belonged to Meket-Aten the second daughter of Akhenaten and
Nefertiti. The paint colours in four oval inkwells are black, blue and
green, and the box stifi contains three paintbrushes.
190 Hayes 1957, 275191 Hayes 1957, 255192 It is interesting to note the absence of black and white in this palette, perhapsindicating that this was part of a larger kit.193 Hayes 1957, 296
76
c. '
p— —a.
Fig.5.15 Palettes from the tomb of Tutankhamun
I
1:
'1
Fig.5.16 Pigments from thetomb of Tutankliamun
Tutaxikhamun
The tomb of Tutankhamun contained 'a large number of funerary
palettes, with imitation colours and reeds, obviously for ritualistic
purposes'.194 Other palettes and writing outfits bore signs of use, and
had probably belonged to, and been used by, the king. Small amounts
of various pigments were also found scattered about in the annex,
and it is not clear whether these had originally been part of a set once
placed in a box, or if they were left behind by the tomb decorators.
Some of these pigments were found readily prepared for use in shells,
and there was also a linen bag containing Egyptian Blue.195 In fact all
the blue pigment found in the tomb was described by Lucas as
'artificial frit'. The red and black pigments are carbon and red ochre
in the scribal palette. In the palette with six colours, the red and black
were again carbon and red ochre, the white was (probably) calcium
suphatel96 and the yellow was orpiment.197
Anienemopet
A (unprovenanced) boxwood palette containing eight oval cavities
filled with 'much used blocks of dry pigment' including red, black,
white, blue, green and yellow, belonged to Amenemopet, who was
'Vizier and Overseer of the City' (Thebes).198 A narrow compartment
at the back of the box once had a sliding cover and contained
paintbrushes. Another (unprovenanced) palette probably belonging to
the same Amenemopet contains red, green, blue and (now) two'94 Carter 1933, 79195 Lucas, Appendix 11, 179 in Carter 1933196 Lucas did not test the white, and was not aware in 1933 of the use of huritite inNew Kingdom Egypt.197 Lucas, Appendix II, 180 in Carter 1933198 Hayes 1959, 146
78
Ic.
¼.'
_______
Fig.5.17 Boxwood palette belongingto the Vizier Amenemopet
blacks. Analysis has shown that the red is a mixture of iron ochre,
quartz and orpiment, the blue is Egyptian Blue, the green a mixture of
Egyptian Blue and wollastonite, and the blacks are mixtures of
graphite and Egyptian Blue'99 (suggesting that one of the blacks may
originally have been dark blue).
199 Silverman in Brovarski, Doll & Freed 1982, 288 a 180
Part 2: Egyptian Blue.
6. Technology of Egyptian Blue
Egyptian Blue appears in a wide range of fabrics, from soft and friable
to hard and semi-vitrified, from coarse to fine textured and from light
to dark blue.200
As previously discussed, Egyptian Blue was made from a mixture of
silica, calcium, copper and an alkali. The ratio between the various
components of Egyptian Blue can be used as a useful indicator of the
technical competence involved in the manufacture. A common feature
of all Egyptian Blue material tested, including that from Zawiyet Umm
el-Rakham has been the presence of an excess of silica (usually in the
form of quartz). An excess of lime would lead to the formation of
wollastonite, and an excess of copper would lead to the formation of
copper oxides (cuprite or tenorite). Reducing conditions also lead to
the production of wollastonite, but prevent the synthesis of
cuproroviate, and so lead to a green product.201
A low alkali content (less than 1%) probably indicates that the alkali
was not a specific ingredient, but rather entered the mixture as
impurities (feispars or clay minerals) in the sand. On the other hand,
if higher amounts of alkali are detected (over 1%) this probably
repisents a deliberately added separate ingredient. The two main
sources of alkali available to the Egyptians were plant ashes and
200 Tite, Bunson & Cowell 1987, 40201 Jaksh, Seipel, Werner & El Goresy 1983, 328
81
natron. These two types can probably be distinguished by the amount
of potassium and magnesium present. High potassium (over 1%) and
high magnesium (over approx. 1.5%) indicates that plant ash was
used. Low potassium and low magnesium content suggests that the
alkali was added in the form of natron, as this is a purer form of
alkali consisting of sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate.202
The alkali content was also one of the main factors which determined
the microstructure of Egyptian Blue.
A glass matrix occurred with a high alkali content2o3 (more than 1%
potassium oxide and/or sodium oxide). This led to the Egyptian Blue
crystals and the unreacted quartz crystals being held together to
form a stronger, harder fabric.
With a lower alkali content (less than 1%), glass tends not to be
present, and therefore the fabric is less well cemented together, and
hence softer and more friable.2o4
Texture of the material, which ranges from coarse to fine grained can
sometimes be visually distinguished.205 In coarse grained samples, the
Egyptian Blue crystals form clusters, some of which stick to
unreacted quartz grains. In fine textured samples, the Egyptian Blue
202 Lucas 1962, 263-267203 first proposed by Noll 1975204 Note that Tite believes that a higher firing temperature (1000°C as opposed to900°C was required to produce Egyptian Blue from batches with low alkali contents.205 i.e. close inspection can show if the material has a crystalline texture (like asugar lump) or whether the grain is too fine to distinguish by eye. A range of typesis apparent at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham.
82
grains tend to be smaller, and are more evenly distributed with the
quartz grains, which also tend themselves to be smaller.206
The range in colour from dark to light blue is therefore associated
with the size of the clusters of Egyptian Blue crystals in the material.
Consequently, darker blue versions tend to have coarser textures.
Spurrel first proposed2O7 the now generally accepted idea that fine-
grained (but not coarse-grained) Egyptian Blue was produced by a
multi-stage process, where the product of the first firing was ground
into a fine powder in order to distribute Egyptian Blue crystals with
the unreacted quartz in a sample, and re-fired (at least once). Second
stage firing would occur at a lower temperature (850-950°C) in order
to achieve coherence but not to stimulate further reaction.208
Light blue specimens can be produced from dark blue specimens
which have been ground, but very light blue (or diluted light blue)209
can only be produced by samples with a significant glass phase (and
high alkali content).
El Goresy et cil2iO suggested that a chronological division existed, with
206 Work with the Egyptian Blue from Zawiyet Umm el-Raikham has demonstratedthat, irrespective of the original colour of the sample, grinding with a pestle andmortar produces a nro gressivelv naler version of the material. Tests have alsoindicated that the darker blue samples contain higher proportions of copper tocalcium than the paler blues.20?Siiurrel 1895, 234208 Note that Tite is now not convinced that multi-stage firing always occurred, andrecent experimental work has shown that light blue, fine grained Egyptian Blue canbe produced with single stage firing.(Tite & Shortland, pers. comm.)209 as defined by Tite, Bimson & Cowell 1987210 El Goresy, Jaksch, Abdel Razek & Weiner 1986, 15
83
2e6
Fig.6.1 Egyptian Blue made by Spurrel
the higher content of glass due to the deliberate addition of a flux
(and therefore needing lower firing temperatures) only occurring
from the New Kingdom onwards, and thus indicating a different
manufacturing procedure.
However, technical advances in the production of Egyptian Blue can
perhaps be best identified by analysis of the copper component.
Copper ores such as malachite or azurite were probably used during
the Old and Middle Kingdoms. However, technical innovations seem
to have occurred in the 18th Dynasty during the reign of Tuthmosis
111. 211 Analyses undertaken by Jaksch et a! indicated that tin oxide
(cassiterite) was present in numerous samples taken from 18th, 19th
and 20th Dynasty sites. 212 This suggests either that there was a new
technique of preparing Egyptian Blue, or that a copper ore which also
contained tin was now being used. However, Egyptian copper ores do
not contain tin.213 There is therefore a strong possibility that for the
first time bronze was being used as the copper-containing component
(perhaps as scrap from metallurgical activity).214 Arsenic and lead
may also indicate the use of scrap metal rather than copper ores, but
it should be noted that lead may also have been present in the lime,
the sand, and the flux.215
Nonetheless, there is evidence from the tomb of Nefertari that local211 Probably similar to those undergone in both the falence and glass industries(see below)212 1983, table 1213 Jakcsh., Seipel, Weiner & El Goresy 1983, 532214 Note that el Goresy et al. believe that copper could only be added as an oxideform, and that the copper or bronze would have been processed first. (El Goresy,Jaksch, Abdel Razek & Weiner 1986, 18)215 Rehren pers. comm.
85
copper ores were still in use during the 19th Dynasty, as one sample
of Egyptian Blue contained gold, and was probably made with copper
oxide from Egyptian gold mines.216
a
216 Jaksch., Seipel, Werner & El Goresy 1983, 53586
7. Shapes of Egyptian Blue pigments
Ongoing work at Amarna and Qantir has facilitated a database of
different shapes for Egyptian Blue samples. These forms were
obviously dependent to a large extent on the vessels used during
manufacture. It is possible therefore that some shapes represent the
initial stage of manufacture (i.e. the result of single firing only).
Analysis of flat cakes of Egyptian Blue indicates that there were two
basic sizes. Large cakes (above 18cm diameter), and small cakes
(approximately 10cm diameter). It is not clear if these two different
sizes are related to different manufacturing stages, although
Weatherhead thinks that more coarsely granular samples tend to be
made into the larger forms.217 However, the pale and fine-grained
cake from Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham is one of the largest examples
known.The types are as follows:218
1. Large round flat cakes
Zawiyet Umm el Rakham: diameter 20cm, height 2cm 219
Kheruef (5 cakes):
diameter 18cm height 2-3cms22o
Deir el-Medina:
diameter 22cm, height 2cm221
Cairo Museum:
diameter 19cm222
Cairo Museum:
diameter 22cm223
217 Weatherhead and Buckley 1989, 210218 after Weatherhead and Buckley 1989, 210
a
219 ZUR/M1/24. The other samples, although some have flat or rounded faces, arenot large enough to estimate accurately the original shape from which they mayhave been taken.220 Saleh, Iskander, El-Masr &, Helm!. 1974221 Dayton 1978, 32; said to be 19th Dynasty222 Unprovenanced, Cairo Museum 2110223 Unprovenanced, Cairo Museum 2112
87
Fig.7.1 Large EgyptianBlue cake from ZawiyetUmm el-Rakham
Fig.7.2 Unprovenancedlarge Egyptian Blue cakefrom Cairo Museum
Fig.7. 3 Unprovenancedlarge Egyptian Blue cakefrom Cairo Museum
2. Small round flat cakes
Amarna:
Amarna:
Amarna:
Deir el-Medma:
Tell el-Yahudiyeh:
diameter 9.5 cm1 height 2cm224
diameter 9.5cm, height 3cm225
daimeter 9.5 cm1 height 2 cm226
diameter 9cm, height 4cm227
diameter 10.3cm, height 3
3. Large flat rectangular cakes
Arnarna: 17cm x 17cm, height 2cm229
Deir el-Medma:
described as 10cm thick23o
Deir el-Medma:
dimensions not given23l
4. Bowl-shaped cakes
with flat top and rounded base
Aniarna:
diameter 11.5 cm232
Thebes:
diameter not known233
Qantir: various examples, diameters not known234
224 Liverpool Museum 1973.4.352225 Bolton Museum 1966.A22 no.2226 Bolton Museum 1966.A22 no.1227 Dayton 1978, 31; said to be 19th Dynasty
a
228 BM 71.6.19.485229 Petne Museum UC 24686230 Dayton 1978, 32231 Dayton 1978, 32232 Liverpool Museum 56.2 1.786233 flritish Museum 5561, mWeatherhead&Buckley 1989, 210234 Rehren, pers. comm.
89
Fig.7.4 Small roundEgyptian Blue cakefrom Aniarna
Fig.7.5 Sack-shapedEgyptian Blue cakefrom Amarna
Fig.7.6 Spherical shapesof Egyptian Blue fromCairo Museum
a
5. Small sack-shaped pieces
indicating that the ingredients were sometimes
placed into small bags before firing
Kheruef:
13.5cm x 10.1cm (height not known)235
Kheruef:
10.7cm x 6.2cm (height not known)236
Amarna:
10.5cm x 8.5 cm (height not known)237
Qantir: sizes not kriown238
6. Thin cylindrical sticks
Qantir: sizes not knoWn.239
Tell Fara:
9cm x 1.3-0.9cm diameter24o
Nimrud: sizes not knowfl24l
7. Spherical shapes
(Graeco-Roman period onwards)
235 SaIeh1 Iskander, El-Masr &, Helini. 1974, 143236 Saleh1 Iskander, EI-Masr &. Helmi. 1974, 143237 Weatherhead & Buckley 1989, 213; a flattened example which probably burst orbecame untied at the beginning of the firing process.238 Rehren, pers. corn.239 Rehren, pers. corn.240 Dayton 1978, 32. In an area under Egyptian administrative and military controlduring the New Kingdom241 sticks and lumps of Egyptian Blue were found at Nimrud, and Mallowansuggested that the material was imported as a substance used in the incrustation ofivories (Majiowan 1966, 180). Egyptian Blue was also found in potsherds, atPersepolis and Schmidt thought that 'the ingredients of the compound wereImported and that the artisans who made the objects were foreign experts fromeither Egypt or the Two River Land' (Schmidt 1957, 133 a 4). Egyptian Blue in thefirst mifiemijum BC is outside the remit of this study, but is included here as anexample of continujng use of manufactured forms.
91
8. Processing Technology
As has been discussed elsewhere, pigments in the form found at
Zawiyet Umrn el-Rakham and other sites in Egypt are probably
representative of an intermediate stage of production. The artificially
manufactured materials had (self evidently) been made, and the
natural materials (ochres etc.) had probably undergone some sort of
processing and refining. The way that these materials were processed
is unknown, but various mechanisms have been suggested. For blue
and green artificial substances at least one stage of firing had
occurred, and the solid state reaction undergone in the firing process
had sintered the material into a solid body. In order to turn this into
paint, the material would have to be ground up once more, and then
mixed with some form of wetting medium to render it suitable to
paint onto various surfaces. Each stage of the process therefore
involves:
mixing firing grinding
Natural materials, such as red and yellow ochre, calcium carbonate
and gypsum white, jarosite, and carbon would also have required
processing in order to remove impurities and to achieve a suitably
fine-grained material.242
Russell believed that lumps of red ochre found at Ghurob were grated
242 Le Fur 1994, 66 -
92
in water in order to obtain fine particles of material to use as paint.243
However, it is likely that this or a similar form of processing also
occurred before such lumps were included in the painters' palettes.
There is also the possibility that some substances were heated as part
of the purification process. Le Fur suggested various models for the
processing phases:
1. washing > drying grinding
2. washing > decanting >
drying grinding
3. sieving > grinding
4. grinding •z> washing >
decanting .z>
drying
5. grinding > washing .::> drying
After pigments had been prepared for use, there would still have
needed to be some form of suspension medium to dilute and liquefy
them into paint, and to ensure that they adhered to whatever they
were painted onto. The word for scribe, and the verbs to write and
paint are represented by the hieroglyph ideogram showing a palette,
brushes arid a small pot containing water for dissolving the ink
(ss:). It is likely that water was a sufficient medium when black and
red ink had already been prepared with some form of binder which
was water soluble. However, it is likely that different binding media
were used, dependent on the canvas (limestone, plaster, wood etc.),
and_although this has been the subject of research, it is still an area
of speculation.244
243 w.J. Russell 1892, 44244 e.g. British Museum binding project was unable to define materials. Quirke, pers.comm.
93
Possible binding media include:
Glue
Glue is made from mima1 gelatin (collagen).245 It is easy to make and
can be prepared with low-level technology, as 'bones, hides, etc.
should be cleaned of any extraneous matter and then boiled in
water'. 246 The resulting jelly is then dried, powdered and mixed with
water. Fish glue is also possible, although Newman and Serpico point
out that it has poorer adhesive qualities and an unpleasant smell.247
Glue may have been used to bind paint in the tomb of Nefer at
Saqqara,248 but all other identified examples date from the Greco-
Roman Period. Nonetheless, Newman & Serpico note that 'glue was a
major adhesive that served many purposes in ancient Egypt'.249
Egg white or yolk
Eggs consist of albumen, ovalbumen, water and sugar.250 Egg white
needs to be whipped in order to break up stringiness, and yolk can be
used both alone and mixed with water. Egg white and gum were both
found in the tomb of Nefertari, but it is not clear if the egg was used
as a binder or varnish, or indeed if it was present as a result of later
restorations.251
245 Lucas 1962, 352; Le Fur 1995, 56246 Newman & Serpico 2000, 475247 Newman & Serpico 2000, 475248 Le Fur 1994, 59; doubted by Newman & Serpico 2000, 483249 Newman & Serpico 2000, 484250 Lucas 1962, 352; Le Fur 1995, 56251 Newman & Serpico 2000, 485
94
Gum
Most gums are water soluble,252 and are produced by vegetable
material (consisting of polysaccharides and sugars).253 The two gums
probably most commonly used were acacia gum (genus acacia) and
tragacanth gum (genus astragalus).254 Acacia wood was often used for
boat building, and the bark was used in the preparation of leather
from hides. 2 55 The plants grow both in sandy areas and along the
banks of the Nile, and the best acacia gum, known as gum arabic,
comes from acacia senegal which is distributed in Eastern Africa as
far north as Sudan.256 It is likely that this is one of the materials
traded between Punt and Egypt.257
Astragalus is not native to Egypt, but grow on mountain slopes in
Turkey, Syria/Palestine and Mesopotarnia. The best tragacanth gum is
obtained by tapping the roots of the shrub.258 Locust bean, tamarind
and cherry gum may also have been used.259
Analysis of New Kingdom painted stone surfaces at Karnak has
indicated that the paint was bound with gum (perhaps acacia gum),260
and wall paintings from Nefertari's tomb were bound with acacia
252 Jlepper 1990, 20253 Lucas 1962, 352; Le Fur 1995, 56; Newinan& Serpico 2000, 485 formonosaccharide structure and identification254 Newman & Serpico 2000, 476255 Hepper 1990, 22256 Newman & Serpico 2000, 476257 se e.g. Davies 1943, 19 foreign tribute in the tomb of Rekhmire.258 Newman & Serpico 2000, 478259 Newman & Serpico 2000, 479260 Identified by Le Fur 1994, 56 but disputed by Newman & Serpico 2000, 488, whodoubt that the analyses that were carried out could specify which species of gumwas used.
95
gum. 261 Paint on wood and stone objects in Boston were bound with
gum mixed with some other material.262
Resin and Bitumen
Resins, such as those made from conifers, are insoluble in water but
will dissolve in alcohol or turpentine (made from pLctacia atlantica).
Conifers available to the Egyptians would have included pine, cicilian
fir and oriental spruce.26 3 Mastic and chios balm were made from
pistacia, found in the Aegean, Cyprus and Turkey.264 Resins were used
as incense and in the manufacture of cosmetics, 26s and there is some
evidence that they were used as adhesives.266 These wood products,
along with wood itself, were imported from Syria/Palestine.
Although resins and biturnens were used as varnishes, there is little
evidence for their use as binders. Le Fur identified resin from pistacia
lentiscus (mastic bush) in paintings from the 18th Dynasty tomb of
Saranput II at Aswan, 26 7 but Newman & Serpico doubt this analysis.268
Bitumen was also used in mummification, and it is possible that it
was also used as an adhesive.
261 Newman & Serpico 2000, 488262 Niwman & Serpico 2000, 489263 Flepper 1990, 20264 Flepper 1990, 26265 Newman & Serpico 2000, 480266 Lucas 1962, 8267 Le Fur 1994, 59268 Newman & Serpico 2000, 491
96
9. Egyptian Blue objects and shaping technology
Egyptian Blue was used in the production of small objects such as
beads, scarabs, inlays and statuettes.
From the Middle Kingdom onwards, Egyptian Blue was also used to
make various forms of vessels, and these almost all exhibit high
levels of technical competence.
It is unclear whether, or to what extent, technical advances in the
production of Egyptian Blue facilitated the manufacture of large
items, but it should be noted that the material used for vessels tends
to be fme-grained.
There has been little work on the specific technical requirements of
producing objects made of Egyptian Blue, but the technology can
probably be related to those of faience and stone working.
The two main ways that faience was manipulated were through
modelling and moulding. Modelling was almost certainly done by
hand, where objects were shaped and then dried and fired. Moulding
involved using a mould or template in order to provide the shape of
the product. Most moulds found in Egypt (at sites such as Amarna
and-Qantir) are single sided, which allowed for easy access to the
material. There is also evidence that moulded objects could be joined
together before firing with slurry, as the sintering achieved on firing
97
would bind separate pieces together, and very large objects such as
the sceptre of Amenhotep II were made in this way.
It is not clear whether the same technique of joining pieces together
was suitable when working with Egyptian Blue, although some
objects, such as a Middle Kingdom jug from Lisht (see fig 9.1), must
have had pieces such as handles added at some stage. It is also
undear when inlays were added to Egyptian Blue objects, although
here it seems likely that this would have occurred after the material
had been fired, ground, mixed into a paste and reshaped and before a
second firing.
Fine finishes and details were probably added after drying and before
firing, although Nicholson notes that faience 'easily cracks and chips,
requiring great skifi on the part of the craftsmen'.269
Faience items could not be finished after firing, as any abrasions on
the surface this would have adversely affected the surface glaze of an
object. However, this is not the case for Egyptian Blue (or glass),
where the colour of the material is constant throughout the body.
Kozioff noted that Egyptian Blue could be carved into intricate
patterns when in a leather hard state after drying and before firing.270
However, it is also possible that it was easier and more effective to -
work on the material after firing, when it had reached a stable and
durable state.
269 Nicholson 1998, 31270 Kozioff & Bryan 1992, 393
98
Although initial moulding probably took place, most large objects
seem to have also been carved, and the tradition should perhaps be
thought of as allied more closely to stone working rather than to
those of related silicate technologies. Peltenburg first suggested that
glass and metal working should be considered as closely related 'hot-
technologies', whereas faience and pottery were 'cold-state
technologies'.271 It could now be suggested that there was a separate
but relate finishing tradition, where objects of Egyptian Blue and
glass were worked in a similar manner to stone.
Evidence from both tomb paintings and existing tools indicate that
techniques in stone working remained constant between the Old and
New Kingdoms. In order to make stone vessels, blocks of raw stone
were dressed with chisels into a rough shape, and this would then be
smoothed and finished with an abrasive stone (probably granular
sandstone)272 in vertical movements from top to bottom. The interior
shape of the vessels was hollowed out either with a stone bit set in a
drill or a copper tubular drill, which could extract a core thereby
saving time and energy. The cutting agent would be an abrasive
material (probably sand).
Cooney noted that there were various problems inherent in carving
glass, in that 'it is very hard, brittle and intractable and liable to -
damage when on the verge of completion'.273 Again, it is unclear to
what extent these problems would have been present when working
271 Peltenburg 1987, 20272 SpallngerinBrovarski, Doll & Freed 1982, 126273 Cooney 1960, 1.1
99
with Egyptian Blue. However, by the New Kingdom at least, a level of
technical proficiency sees to have existed where very hard Egyptian
Blue was produced (with a glassy phase).
As with related technologies of falence and glass, there are various
problems in trying to identify Egyptian Blue objects in the
archaeological record. Imprecise terminology, and indeed the
difficulty of accurately identifying material from visual inspection
alone are widespread.
Small Egyptian Blue beads were 'fairly common' from the 4th Dynasty
onwards274 (i.e. from the same period that the pigment is first
identified), and there are also a few examples of cylinder seals from
the Old Kingdom.275
Vandiver noted that with Middle Kingdom faience 'glazes are more
durable and have brighter hue; bodies are less friable, indicating
better control over composition and firing'.276 It is probable that the
production of Egyptian Blue was also improved during this period,
and Cooney noted that 'the composition of Egyptian Blue shows a
very definite development from the pale blue colour and soft granular
composition of the Old Kingdom to a slightly darker blue and a
slightly more compact composition of the Middle Kingdom'.277 This
development may explain the appearance of larger objects and
274 Lucas 1962, 343; Cooney 1976 37 stated that he found beads and cylinder sealson1y dating from the Old Kingdom275 Lucas 1962, 343276 Vandiver 1983, A92277 Cooney 1976, 37
100
vessels during this period. By the New Kingdom, Egyptian Blue was
often very dark blue, and also very compact (due to a significant
glassy phase).278
Two small Egyptian Blue vessels found at Lisht and dating from the
late Middle Kingdom279 are the same size and shape as contemporary
vessels in other materials. The cylindrical jar is one of the most
common forms of everyday vessels in Egypt, 280 and pottery examples
are known from the Late Predynastic and First Dynasty, 281 and the
form was also made in stone from the Old Kingdom onwards. 282 In
the Middle Kingdom the form appeared in stone, 283 blue faience284
and blue anhydrite, 285 and it seems likely that these Egyptian Blue
examples fit into this tradition. 286 There is an unprovenanced
example of the same form made out of glass,287 and an
unprovenanced blue and black falence version (probably 18th
Dynasty). 288 An example from Kahun contained resin, and the form is
often described as an unguent or ointment jar.289
Another vessel from the same site is an Egyptian Blue jug with a pear
shaped body, pronounced shoulder, ring base and handle joined at
278 see chapter "Technology of Egyptian Blue"279 MMA 15.3.119, MMA 22.1.112, inLilyquist &Brill 1993, 8, fig 5280 Friedmann 1998, 227281 see e.g Kelly 1976 pls.2.12, 2.28282 Petrie 1937, 99283 see e.g. Vandier d'Abbadie 1972, 12 5-129.284 Petrie 1937,5285 Friedmann 1998, 227286 There is another example of an Egyptian Blue version in the Fitzwilliain, (E275.1939)287 MMA26.7.1179288 Brovarski, Doll & Freed 1982, 158 no. 169289 Friedmanu 1998, 227
101
Fig.9.1 Two small Egyptian Blue vesselsand an Egyptian Blue jug from Lisht
the shoulder and the r1n1 290 This appears to have been modelled
rather than moulded, and it is also possible that it was constructed
around a core which was later removed. Interestingly, the shape is
characteristic of Middle Bronze Age II pottery from Palestine, 291 which
was copied by Egyptian potters in the period between the 13th
Dynasty and the Second Intermediate Period.292
An unprovenanced footed dish or tazza in Baltimore may also be
Egyptian Blue,2 93 although it is also sometimes described as blue
faience.294 The form first appeared during the reign of Tuthmosis Ill
and was common during the first half of the 18th Dynasty. Dishes
with three ribs and a separate foot appeared during the reign of
Amenhotep 111, 295 and this dish was probably made during the latter
period.296 The daisy motif in the centre of the dish is defined with
white paste inlay. 297 This is a little vessel (height 4.2cm, diameter
7.65cm) and is probably a copy of similar, larger forms known in
stone (with either two or three horizontal ribs), 298 pottery299 and
glass.300 There is also a larger faience version of the same footed dish
form, 301 and the shape suggests that they were all derived from a
290 MMA 22.1.64291 see e.g Arniran 1969, 112, 119; Bourriau 1981, 138 no.271292 Bourriau 1981, 139 no.2 72293 Kozioff & Bryan 1992, 406 no.107294 Brovarski, Doll & Freed 1982, 149 no.153; Friedmann 1998, 228 no.122295 Bournau in Brovarski, Doll & Freed 1982, 129296 Spalinger in Brovarski., Doll & Freed 1982, 149297 Spallnger in Brovarski et a! 1982, 149 and Kozioff in Kozioff & Bryan 1992, 406think that the central daisy is a paler turquoise colour, but Friedmann and Levequein Friedmann 1998, 237 nt.136 disagree.298 Vandier d'Abbadie 1972, 106-107299 Hope 1989, fig 1300 Hayes 1959, 278 fig 170 described as 'one of the most beautiful objects in ourcollection, a wonderful shade of bright turquoise blue; Nolte 1968, 137 nos. 3 & 4;Brovarski, Doll & Freed 1982, 165 no.181301 MMA.18.2.6 a,b
103
Fig.9.2 Faience orEgyptian Blue footeddish
Fig.93 Alabasterfooted dish
-
I-- -: U -..---!*&J--J U
Fig.9.4 Glassfooted dish
Fig.9.5 Ebony statuetteof a Nubian girl holdinga footed disk
r T f
Fig.9.6 Bronze bowl decorated Fig.9.7 Pottery lentoidwith a rosette or daisy pattern flask decorated with r
green and black daisy
metal prototype.302
Whether faience or Egyptian Blue, it is difficult to determine the
technique involved in the production of this vessel. The bowl may
have been formed over a core, with the decoration incised before (or
after) firing, or the whole vessel may have been carved into this
shape. If the bowl is falence, then the even, glossy surface and
saturated blue colour may be the result of either a glassy phase in the
faience, or of glass being included in the material of the vessel.303 The
daisy may have developed from earlier wheel patterns on
astronomical ceilings, and the motif was frequently used during the
reign of Amenhotep 111.304 This type of bowl is often shown filled with
ointment and handed around by servant girls in Theban tomb
paintings,305 and there is an ebony statuette in the Petrie museum3o6
ifiustrating a Nubian girl holding a similar dish. The precision of the
craftsmanship and the quality of the glaze are exceptional, probably
reflecting the artistry and kiln control of a royal workshop,307 and
the small size of this example suggests that it may have been made
specially for burial.
An unprovenanced Egyptian Blue vase (which may be from Luxor)
exhibits an 18th Dynasty form also known in stone vessels. Described
by Petrie as 'high-necked vases',308 they were only made during the -
302 Bpuniau in Brovarski, Doll & Freed 1982, 129303 As may have occurred in the falence rings from Amarna (see above).304 Kozioff in Kozioff and Bryan 1992, 406305 e.g Tomb of Nebamen and Ipuki, Davies & Gardiner 1936, p1 61306 tiC 14210307 Friedmarm 1998, 228308 petrie 1937, 13 and p1. XXXIII nos.846-959
106
reigns of Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis III, and stone versions have been
found in tombs at Sedment,309 Maket and Abydos.310 Similar
green/blue vessels described as frit (i.e.faience or Egyptian Blue) are
known from Aniba in Nubia 3 ll and from Rifeh. 312 The form is
occasionally found with a lid, as in this example, and probably
contained scented oil or ointment.
Egyptian Blue was also used to fill hieroglyphs and decorative borders
on objects made of faience, ivory, wood and stone.31 3 It is interesting
to note that these are usually high status objects with a royal
connection, perhaps reinforcing the idea of related workshops in
temples and palaces producing a range of objects in a range of
different media.
The material was also used to form objects which were then
decorated with inlays of different colours and materials. An example
of this is an (unprovenanced) fine lotus bowl made of Egyptian Blue
with yellow decoration. The bowl has a rounded base, wide, vertical
neck and a small flaring rim. The bottom of the bowl is decorated
with the common motif of an open lotus flower, and the shoulder
shows a row of gazelles lying down. This animal as a decorative motif
was popular in the 18th Dynasty. The decorations were incised into
the body of the vessel, and then filled with yellow paste. Again, the.
high quality of workmanship suggests that it was produced in a royal
309 Brovarski in Brovarsid, Doll & Freed 1982, 159310 Petrie 1937, 13 and p1 XIA311 Stemdorff 1937, 141-143, pL 9lnos. 9, 10312 Petrie 1907, p1 27a313 Kozloff&Bryan 1992, 395
107
Fig.9.8 High-necked EgyptianBlue vase and cover
Fig.9.9 Egyptian Blue lotusbowl with yellow decoration
workshop.3 14
An interesting group of objects which demonstrate other forms of
inlays are those where hieroglyphics of one colour naming the king in
association with various deities are inlaid into an object of another
colour. A vase fragment from Turin shows Amenhotep HI offering
Maat to Atum. Both body and inlay are described as Egyptian Blue by
Berman, 315 although this is disputed by Pierrat-Bonnefois, 316 who
compared the piece with another from the Louvre which shows the
cartouches of Amenhotep III and Tiy facing the name of Hathor
mistress of Dendera.317 This latter piece consists of a cobalt blue
falence body and copper blue/green falence inlay, and Pierrat-
Bonnefois suggests that the Turin piece has been mistaken for
Egyptian Blue due to the completely deglazed nature of the surface,
'undoubtably due to poor preservation conditions'. 3 18 However, the
ifiustration of the broken area shows that (although encrusted with
dirt) there is no evidence of a faience core, and that the blue colour is
constant throughout the body. It seems likely that these pieces
demonstrate the close association of related silicate products, and the
use of Egyptian Blue does not preclude the two objects being made by
the same factory or craftsmen.
Other similar examples of the type include a fragment with the king -
314 Page Gasser & Wiese, 1997, 155no. 17136 in Kozioff & Bryan 1992, 402
316 in Friedmann 1998, 261317 E 22662318 inFriedmann 1998, 263 nt.33
109
Fig.9.11 Fragment of afalence vase with handllewith the cartouches ofAinenhotep ifi and Tiyfacing the name of Hathor
Fig.9.1O Fragment of anEgyptian Blue or faiencevase showing Amenhotepifi offering Maat to Atum
and Sokar,319 a bead with Neith of Sais,320 and a plaque with Amun
Re,321 and a nemset-vase fragment in blue and green (possibly made
of Egyptian Blue). 322 These were all found at Thebes, but there are
examples from other sites, including the Turin fragment (above)
found at Heliopolis, and other fragments found in the temple of
Hathor in Smai. 323 Most of the examples from Serabit el Khadim are
small vases made of faience rather than Egyptian Blue, and with the
exeption of one small body sherd which has traces of what may be
the cartouche of Merenptah, they all date from the reign of
Amenhotep III. Petrie believed that they were brought from
somewhere in the Nile Valley (perhaps Thebes) to act as dedicatory
offerings in the Hathor temple.324 The group includes various
different faience colour combinations, such as pink or white inlaid
with blue, and the most common combination of either green inlaid
with blue or blue inlaid with green. There is also one rim fragment of
a cup made from Egyptian Blue.325
All these objects demonstrate a high level of technical proficiency,
and may well have originated in the same workshop. The royal
associations, and the use of high status goods (such as cobalt
colorant and Egyptian Blue) indicate that they came from an elite
production centre. It is possible that they were official (royal)
pducts distributed to temples throughout the country.326319 Louvre E 25564320 Louvre E 22630321 Louvre E 3043322 E 25565 inKozloff&Bryan 1992, 405 nt. 1323 UC 35322 - UC 35335324 Petrie 1906, 140325 UC 35336326 see Pierrat-Borinefois in Friedmann 1998, 261 for discussion
111
Fig.9.12 Upper body of a (originally) blue andgreen faience vase, containing the cartouchesof Amenliotep ilL From Serabit el Khadim
Fig.9.13 Part of a body of a falencevase, originally inscribed forAmenhotep ifi with blue inlay on awhite background. From Serabit elKhadim
Fig.9.14 Fragment of a dark bluefaience vase with the cartouchesof Amenhotep ifi and Tiy inlaid ingreem From Serabit el Khadim
There are various small objects, such as pectorals and shabtis, made
of Egyptian Blue, and there are some examples of Egyptian Blue used
to make inlays. The British Museum collection includes an unusual
square pectoral which was almost certainly made in a single sided
mould, and shows a man adoring the figure of Osiris.327 There is also
an unprovenanced shabti made of Egyptian Blue with black and white
glass inlaid eyes and eyebrows of a sem-priest and chief w3b priest
called '13y, which is an unusual example of Egyptian Blue inlaid with
glass. A head of a queen or goddess (said to be from Thebes) suggests
that comparatively large statuettes may have been made in this
material.328 There is an example of an Egyptian Blue ibex head,
although this is more likely to have been attached to some other
material, as there is a large peg under the neck, presumably to slot
the object onto another piece (perhaps a cosmetic dish in the form of
an ibex).329 Inlays include an Egyptian Blue head of a king (or perhaps
a god with blue flesh).330
Another instance of the colour blue being used in a royal or divine
context is that of various complete and fragmentary examples of
Egyptian Blue and blue faience wigs and crowns known from the
Amarna period. Votive statues were commonly found in the private
house and garden shrines at Amarna, usually depicting Akhenaten
and Nefertiti, 33 1 and some of the wigs and crowns were probably part.
of these composite statues. Such statues were usually made of
327 Cooney 1976, 37 no.333328 Cooney 1976, 38, no.340329 Brovarski in Brovarski, Doll & Freed 1982, 160330 Cooney 1976, 38, 339331 Johnson 1996, 74
113
Fig.9.15 Egyptian Bluesquare pectoral showinga man worshippingOsiris
Fig.9.16 Egyptian Blueshabti with glass eyes
:- T:
Pig.9.18 EgyptianBlue ibex head
Fig.9.17 EgyptianBlue head of aqueen or goddessfrom a statuette.
>1 ji
liii
Fig.9.19 EgyptianBlue head inlay
limestone, and there are also examples in granite and quartzite.332
It is interesting to note that in this instance both Egyptian Blue and
faience were used for exactly the same purpose, and it is probable
that they were made in the same workshop. There is an exact mould-
made counterpart in blue faience of the New Kingdom female wig in
Egyptian Blue.333 These wigs are made in profile only, and so were
probably intended for relief figures rather than statues. However, the
polychrome, faience and glass example and the tripartite wig
(probably from a falcon deity)334 are modelled in the round, and
would have been part of composite statues, which may also have had
faience or Egyptian Blue inlays on other parts of the body.335 The
round wig was a common Nubian-influenced hairstyle in the New
Kingdom, and particularly popular in the Ramesside period.336
Fragments of similar wigs are also known.337 The divine wig may have
come from a metal statue of a god intended for a temple, as these are
known from the Third Intermediate Period,338 which is the suggested
date for this piece.339 All the wigs were almost certainly made in (or
on) moulds, although the striations on the divine wig were probably
added by hand before firing. They illustrate the high level of technical
excellence reached in this method, and probably all originated in
palace or temple workshops.332 Friedmann 1998, 184. Note that she also suggests that the statue may have beenwooden.333 Friedmami 1998, 185334 Sçholke, 1990, 113335 see e.g. an 18th Dynasty wooden statue fragment with traces of blue in the eyesand eyebrows (Muller 1964, 72)336 Vandier 1958, 409337 Samson 1973, especiallyUC 23413, UC 23406338 Friedmarm 1998, 185339 Scholke, 1990, 113
116
Fig.9.22 EgyptianBlue tripartite wig
Fig.9.20 EgyptianBlue wig (made inprofile only)
Fig.9.21 Falenceand glass wig
A so-called archaic Egyptian Blue vase in the Petrie Museum is
sometimes cited as the earliest example of an Egyptian Blue object in
Egypt.34° However, although the material is undoubtedly Egyptian
Blue,34 1 the object is not archaic, and is thought to date from the Late
Period at the earliest.342
The only Egyptian Blue objects found so far at Zawiyet Umm el-
Rakham are a small group of beads found in the domestic area.343
These were in association with other small beads of various different
materials including shell and stone, and may well have been made
locally at the site. Ongoing analysis may establish whether the
material is the same as that of the samples found in Magazine 1.
These beads were almost certainly carved rather than moulded. They
vary in size from between 2-4mm and perhaps represent the efforts
of a soldier or artisan who had access to a supply of Egyptian Blue.
a
340 e.g. Friedmann 1998, 17 & 21 note 37341 Tite, pers. comm.342 Alter inspection by the author, Dr Snape and Dr Quirke.343 ZUR/K/385
118
Fig.9.23 So-called 'archaic'Egyptian Blue vase from thePetrie Museum
L
___c/ f•
. WT
-
- .'( L...
Fig.9.24 Beads from thedomestic area at ZawiyetUmm el-Rakham
Fig.9.25 Egyptian Bluebeads from ZawiyetUimn el-Rakham
Part 3: Documentary Evidence in Egypt
10. Colour terms
It is not my intention to specifically discuss colour in ancient Egypt,
either in terms of use, or in fashions or expansion of use, as this is a
separate subject too big for this study; nor is it my intention to
discuss the Egyptians' perception of colour, or how that may have
differed from our own.
This is rather a discussion of the materials available to the Egyptians
to make up the colour palette. Here, however, there will be some
inevitable foray into the world of colour (in the artistic sense) as often
the same terms and phrases that were used referred, as far as the
modern translator can ascertain, to colour (hue, brightness, intensity
etc.),344 to the substance that the colour was made out of (natural
ochre, artificial frit etc.) or even to the objects and artifacts that any
colour might imitate or represent (as with orange today).
Consequently the defining features regarding any colour term may
have been derived from meanings and associations other than that of
the actual colour itself.
There are some difficulties in trying to establish what the exact
traiislation of the various Egyptian terms are, not only because of the
ambiguities highlighted above, but also because of the uncertainty
involved in defining exactly how different colours were perceived and344 after Conklin H. 1973, 932
120
described.
Understanding which terms were used to describe which pigments or
colours is more difficult then one might first suppose. Colour
perception and definition of different colours is a subjective process.
Berlin and Kay suggested that all humans possess the same basic
colour categories, even before the development of the language to
describe them34s and, working from their theories, Baines has argued
that Egyptian language possessed four basic colour terms: black (km),
white (lid), red (ds'r), and 'grue' or green/blue (w3d).346 The mass of
material available is due to the fact that all Egyptian forms of two and
three dimensional art were, ideally, painted, and as Baines notes, "it is
still possible to make a better comparison between linguistic and
artistic classification in Egypt than almost anywhere else".347
However, it should be remembered that the surviving database of
terms is very limited, and represents no more than a fraction of the
original output in textual material. 348
The palette available in the Old Kingdom contained black, white, red,
green, yellow, blue and grey349 and by the New Kingdom the range
extended to include pink, brown and distinguishable bright blue and
345 Berlin &Kay 1969346 l3aines 1985, 283347 Baines 1985, 285348 Quirke 1996, 1349 see e.g Robins 1997 and refs.
121
light blue.35o
There are various driving forces behind the expansion in colour
usage. Added to the notion of basic human progression expounded
by Berlin and Kay, which accepts that innovation and drive for change
is generated within a society, it seems likely that there must also be
external forces for change.
The expansion of the Empire in the New Kingdom into large areas of
Syria/Palestine, and the growth of international sea-going trade
(especially with the Aegean) must have exposed the Egyptians to
many new foreign influences and opportunities. The
"democratisation" of, for example, tomb decoration and the explosion
in monumental architecture would have led to a greatly expanded
market for pigments, and once again it is possible to consider the
growth of imports into Egypt from elsewhere.
S
350 purple and orange which are included in Berlin and Kay stage 7 are absent,although there are some orangy yellows. Barnes offers no explanation for theabsence of purple. Perhaps the representational nature of colour use preduded theneed.
122
Terms 3 51
inm/iwn colour
Both words are translated as 'colour', and it is possible that both were
used as such in certain contexts. Both are certainly to do with visual
appearance, and it is possible that mm denotes the material or
substance, while iwn denotes the quality or appearance.352
bsbd blue
Seems to be an umbrella term which encompasses everything blue.
The term is used to describe blue pigment, and is foujid in major
pigment lists.353 bsb(t was also used with qualifying terms to describe
different pigments (as well as different substances).354
bsbd nfr nfr (very good hsbd) on an ostracon dealing with pigments,3s5
suggests that different qualities of blue were recognised, and it is also
occasionally found on documents which also list plain bsbd.356
bsb4 n s (hsbd for writing/drawing) frequently occurs,357 and may
refer to a specific type of blue pigment.
351 See Harris 1961; Lucas 1962 for discussion of identification of different terms.352 see Quirke 1996 3-4 for further discussion353 harris 1961, 149. Ostr. Stras H.41; Ostr. Tor A.11; Ostr. Cairo 25594; P. Cli. B.V.rt.8, 13354 Harris (1961, 148) believed that the term referred to the material that the colourwas imitating.355 CemyinHarris 1961, 149356 Ostr. Cairo 25649; Ostr. Cairo 25247 rt.6 vs. 8357 Ostr. Cairo 25247 rt.6; Hier. Ostr. 69, irt 7; Kawa VI, 12
123
bsb1 m (true hsbd) suggests a genuine, or naturally occurring blue
pigment, and probably means azurite.358 However, it is also possible
that this sometimes refers to lapis lazuli.3s9
The term is also translated as substances such as lapis lazull, cobalt,
blue falence and blue glass.
bsbd is often found in mineral lists36O and is sometimes described as
blocks or lumps.36 1 In this case this is probably not a pigment or
paint. bsbc! is sometimes translated as falence or glass. An example
of this is on the blue faience 19th Dynasty stela which self-evidently
describe craftsmen who worked with faience.362
bsb4 m (true hsbd) may therefore also be translated as true (or
genuine) lapis lazuli, especially when shown with a stone
determinative.363
bsbd nfr n bbr (good hsbd from Babylon) probably describes either
lapis lazuli that has passed through Babylon on the way from
Badakhshan to Egypt, or artificial lapis lazuli (Egyptian Blue, glass or
faience) coming from Babylon.
358 Harris 1961, 149359 Note, though, that lapis lazull was never used as a pigment36OEdfoull, 215, 4-5; Dend. Mar. I, 22; Urk. N, 744; Harr. 13a, 1361 Urk. lv, 638; Urk. N, 668; Urk. IV 732; Harr. 14a 2-3362 see in chapter "Workers"363 e.g. Urk IV, 638
124
bsbl n tJrr (hsbd from tfrr) by the same token describes something
which has come through or originated in tfrr (perhaps Tiflis or Tebris,
both south of the Caspian).364
'frr blue
This term is occasionally used alone, probably to describe lapis lazuli
from tfrr (as above). Harris suggests that it may have been a synonym
for bsbd, and it is also possible that different classes of lapis lazull
were distinguished by origin. Use of the term alone is relatively rare,
and known mainly from the Ptolemaic period.
bsbd iryt (made/worked hsbd) is also known, 365 and may describe one
of the blue vitreous materials.
bshd wdh (molten hsbd) is known from one context, where it is
associated with mjk3t wç/J and it is probable that these both refer to
an artificial material (falence or glass).366
Consequently, some examples of bsbd are almost certainly describing
a vitreous material. ,nhw m hsbd (filled with hsbd) is used to describe
walls in a 20th Dynasty papyrus,3 67 and may be a reference either to
blue paint, or to blue faience or Egyptian Blue inlays, and when'
Piramesse is described as being 'dazzling with halls of bsbd and
364 Harris 1961, 125365 Harris 1961, 125366 Harris 1961, 129367 Erman & Lange 1924, 12, 3
125
mfkt', 368 it seems likely that faience or glass tiles and inlays of these
colours are being described.369 A crown of bsbd37o was almost
certainly faience or Egyptian Blue.371
mfk3t turquoise
This is probably the term for turquoise, and that mainly from the
Sinai. There is some debate about the exact colour, as Egyptian
turquoise was often green, 37 2 rather than the blue/green associated
with the term today. There are also numerous examples of the term
used to describe artificial frit and pigment of turquoise colour,
although one cannot know exactly what colour is being described. It
is also possible that the term may refer to malachite.373
w3d green
The basic term, and the most common, for green. Harris notes that
when used to describe a semi-precious stone it almost certainly
referred to malachite, but that it was also often used in a more
general sense to include any green stone, as well as any green colour
or colouring agent.374 It was also used to describe green eye paint.375
Iversen agrees that the term meant "green, fresh" and that it also
368 "How happy is a day of thy time, how sweet was thy voice speaking when thoudidst build Pirainesse-miamun (l.p.h), the forefront of every foreign land and theend of Egypt, the (city) beauteous of balconies, radiant with halls of lapis lazull andturquoise" (In Praise of Meneptah and of his Delta Residence: Pap. Anastasi 111,9)369 Newberry 1939, 120370 P.Tur. PR. 32, 6371 see in chapter "Egyptian Blue objects and shaping technology"372 see Harris 1961, 108 for discussion and refs.373 Shaw, pers, comm.
'4 Harris 1961, 102ff.Harris also notes that the term was used for green frit, although he incorrectly
states that the frit was made from malachite.126
covered malachite.376
Jsmt green
Another term for malachite, probably specifically that obtained from
the Sinai desert.377
izrnt green
A term for green frit connected to the terms zmt craft and hmtwty
craftsmen.378
Jsyt Egyptian green
A term for artificial green pigment, not made from malachite.379
flFnt green
Green semi-precious stone, probably felspar.38o
mnt red
The most common word for red ochre, 381 and perhaps specifically
describing that coming from the western oases.382
376 Iversen 1955, 4. He also suggests that it sometimes means blue or blue/green.referring for example to Pap.med BerLVs. 1.9, with w31 nfr light blue and w3d kkw
dark blue viens, arid w3d-wr the sea. These are not persuasive to me as I think thatgreen could easily be being meant.377 see Newberry 1931, pp 316-323 for discussion of copper from sm and theidentification as Sinai.378 Harris 1961, 117379 Harris 1961, 152380 Harris 1961, 116381 Harris 1961, 147. Note that it is measured in nint vessels (eg. Harr. 65a, 2)382 Suggested at Dendera, see Mariette 1870, 71
127
niiy red
A term for a type of red ochre, perhaps from near Elephantine. Harris
suggests that it specifically refers to the reddish-brown colour used
for male skin tones,383 which is similar to the harder dark red ochre
found at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham.
pr red(?)
Probably red ochre, a word of later usage.384
3wt-ib red
The term for realgar, which is found occasionally from the New
Kingdom onwards. 385
sty yellow
Almost certainly originally referring to ochre from Nubia (t3-sty),386
the term is used more generally for soft ochres as opposed to hard,
artificial frits. Iversen notes that it is often listed with mnst,387 and is
probably more often specifically describing yellow ochre.388
knit yellow
The term for yellow orpiment. Often found listed in association with
3wt-ib (realgar), and with sty (yellow ochre).
383 Harris 1961, 154384 Harris 1961, 145385See Blom-Böer 1994 p73. Harris 1961, 142 noted that although the term wasknown from New Kingdom pigment lists, there was no evidence of use in Egypt atthat time. However, see pigments from Kheruef's tomb below386 see Gardiner 1988, 512387 Iversen 1955,21388 Harris 1961, 151 and refs
128
a
sw white
Harris was not clear about the meaning of this term, and disputes the
analysis of others that it refers to black ink. 389 It appears in various
mineral lists, 390 and is listed as tribute from Retinu and Syria.39'
Interestingly, as tribute from Syria ssvw is illustrated as white, oblong
bars.39 2 Consequently, ssvw can be viewed as a valuable mineral
substance imported into Egypt. Huntite is now known to have been
used as a pigment in New Kingdom Egypt, and it seems probably that
this is what ssw describes.393
drwy hard, artifidal pigments
A general term for colour and/or pigment, probably usually specific
to the hard, artificial pigments Egyptian Blue and Egyptian green.
Occasionally described as made into frit, or cakes, lumps or sticks of
pigment.394
kmyt gum
This term is sometimes found in association with pigment terms,
such as sty,395 and bshd,396 and there is a passage which mentions a
scarab that was drawn 'm hsbd hr mw nw kmyt (with hsbd on water of
389Harris 1961, 149150390 P. Ch. B. IV vs. 7, 6; Urk. 1V, 706; Urk. IV, 731; Urk. 1V, 744; Urk. IV, 1729391 Urk. lv, 731; UrkIV, 744; Urk. IV, 1101392 Urk. IV, 1101393 Note that huntite had not yet been identified as a pigment used in the NewKingdom when Harris was writing in 1961.394 Harris 1961, 158 for refs.39 Ostr. Cairo 25246396 Ostr. DM. 280; Ostr. MMA. 90.6.3 rt. 5. vs. 2 (Harris 1961, 159)
129
Fig.l0.1 & 10.2 Blue faience vase from Tellel-Yahudliyeh with hieratic inscription
kmyt).397 It is, however, unclear which form of gum or binder is
described. 398
tznt falence or glass
The more common term for faience or glass. The textual evidence for
the term is quite extensive, and includes a blue falence vessel from
Tel el-Yahudiyeh which has a black hieratic inscription 'the gift of a
vase of mnt and gold'.399 There are various contexts which suggest
that thnt was often green, such as with the leaves of a tree.400 Related
to the term thn (gleaming), Newberry suggested that the term derived
from thnw, the name for the north west delta region and the area
from where glass first appeared in Egypt.4o1
iznt psc! (t) (shiny thnt) occurs in the Harris papyrus 4o2 and probably
indicates especially brilliant or glassy faience.
tint m (true thnt) is sometimes listed with precious stones,403 or as a
material for amulets.404 Harris lists all the arguments for the meaning
of this term, and reaches the conclusion that a white or transparent
mineral is being named, such as rock crystal or quartz. This raises
interesting implications for the translation of t,int as faience or glass,
397 Totb. Leps. 165, 12 (in Harris 1961, 146)398 see chapter "Processing Technology"399 Naville 1890, 19-20, pL 8. Note that Naville (mistakenly) believed that thnt had tobe yellow400 Love Tur. 2,4 (in Harris 1961, 146)401 Newberry 1920, 160402 Harr. 15b, 9; Harr. 34a, 6; Harr. 53b, 2403 Edfou II, 215, 4-5; Dend. Mar. IV, 36, 49-50404 Dend. Mar lv, 87
131
as it is possible that the term describes the shiny surface of a
material, rather than the fabric or the colour.
132
ii. Pigment Usts
There are a few New Kingdom and later examples of lists of minerals
including colouring materials and binders. Iversen noted three from
Luxor Temple which related to offerings to the bark of Mut of
Karnak.405 The most extensive is part of an offering list in the
Colonnade Opet festival procession scene, and contains ntyw (myrrh),
wd (green), msdmt (black eye paint), knit (orpiment), /jsbd (blue), ty
((yellow) ochre), db(n (t) (black).406 There is also a tabulated block
from the 30th Dynasty in Cairo which includes dbt (black), mnsvt (red
ochre), wt-ib (realgar), bd (natron), msdmt (eye-paint?). 4°7 Quirke
describes this later list as 'an interplay of words perhaps between
those perceived as more and those less ancient'.408 However, these
lists were associated with offerings in temple cults, rather than
directly with artists.
There are also a few examples of shopping lists made by the
craftsmen themselves, including a hieratic papyrus of the Ramesside
Period which lists a group of items needed for temple supplies.
'Apply thyself to have provided everything (required) for the temple
in all its property, namely, oxen, younglings, short-horns, steers,
goats and their little ones, pigs, live geese, ro-geese, fatted geese, trp-
geese, sr-geese, water-fowl, green-breasts, loaves, srmt, bs3-grain,
dates, wheat, figs, grapes, pomegranates, apples, olives, green405 Jversen 1953, 26-27406 Iversen 1955, 26407 Iversen 1955, 27408 Quirke 1996, 8
133
moringa-pods, sweet moringa-pods, fresh fat, cream, unguents,
baskets, mats, castles, pylons, bkr of rushes, hnr, reeds, hd-fish, all
manner of assorted fish, papyrus, ink, reed pens, black metal, lead,
red, yellow, blue, mixed greens, 3w, falence, and everything which is
demanded for the treasury of Amen-Re', king of the gods. Take
cognizance thereof.'4o9 (Translation of tmty, km. dht, twr, kniw, bsbd,
wkl, wThnw, w, timn).
A similar example from the reign of Ramesses H is a letter from a
workman called Inherkhau, who wrote 'we have been working [in] the
places which my lord said must be decorated in proper order, but
there are [no morel pigments at our disposal...List for my lord's
information: yellow ochre, gum, orpiment, realgar, red ochre, blue
frit, green frit, fresh tallow for lighting and old clothing for wicks'.4'O
Quirke notes that draughtsmen often seem to have specified mineral
names and general terms for hard pigments and ochres, rather than
paint colours, and there is a Ramesside ostracon which records when
a scribe called Amenhotep received green and blue diw (artificial
pigments) and sti (ochres) which were reduced to dust.411
4O9Gardiner 1935, BM 10685, P. Cli B. VRt 8,6-14410 Robins 1997, 29; Egyptian terms not given411 Cerny 1931, 396
a
134
12. Outline draughtsmen
Two scenes from private tombs in the Old Kingdom show the tomb
owner sitting painting in front of an easel. These are almost certainly
representations of art as a pastime for the rich, and it is interesting to
note that, in both cases, the artists are using pots of paint rather than
the delicate palettes sometimes found in tombs and associated with
the hobby.412 In the 6th Dynasty tomb of Khentika known as Ikhekhi
at Saqqara, the tomb owner is shown painting three creatures named
after the three seasons, which may have some sort of ritual or
religious significance. The scene is oriented right to left, and he is
shown holding a paintbrush in his right hand and a shell (or shell
shaped dish) in his left hand which presumably held paint. There is
also a jar on a tall stand and a second, unsupported jar. Two
assistants are also shown carrying small scribal palettes.413 There is a
similar scene at Saqqara in the tomb of Mereruka, which is oriented
left to right, where the tomb owner is again shown with the paint pot
in his left hand and the paintbrush in his right, this time with his arm
reaching across the front of his body. Indeed all depictions of scribes
and painters tend to show the brush in the right hand and the paint
receptacle (either palette or pot) in the left.4'4
Draughtsmen or painters seem to have spent some years in training,
which consisted of imitating models given by teachers, and probably
412 see in chapter "Pigments at other sites in Egypt"413 James 1983, 10414 Le Fur 1994, 79
135
Fig.12.1 Khentika holding apaintbrush and paintpot andpainting figures of the seasons
Fig.12.2 Mereruka holding apaintbrush and paintpot andpainting figures of the seasons
also copying existing illustrations on temple and tomb walls.415 There
is also evidence that on large painting jobs, such as royal tombs, less
experienced artists probably filled in solid blocks of colours, while
master draughtsmen executed more detailed work.416
There are many representations of scribes shown at work dealing
with administrative matters in tomb and temple scenes. There are
also a significant number of representations of sculptors' workshops
in private tombs of the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms.4'7 However,
there are comparatively few depictions of painters working with
similar groups, even though it is likely that artists (like other
craftsmen) usually worked in teams.4 1 8 Evidence from Deir el-Medina
includes a list of specialised crew members (rmbw-ist hmww) who
worked in each royal tomb.419 These included relief sculptors,
carpenters, stone cutters and outhne draughtsmen (ss-kd), who were
organised into two crews (one for each side of the tomb) under the
control of the chief workmen, and the scribe (or scribes) of the
tomb.420
Le Fur believes that a certain number of differences could be
distinguished between 'outline draughtsmen'. He suggests that the
term outline draughtsmen was used both when painters worked in
groups with other craftsmen on statues and other objects, and also
415 Keller 1991, 5146 Keller 1991, 56417 Eaton Krauss 1984418 Robins 1997, 29419 OC 25581 in Keller 1991, 51420 Cerny 1973
137
when describing individual artists who were attached to temples.
However, there is little evidence for this, and it is disputed by others
who believe that artists always worked in teams.42'
421 Robins 1997, 29138
13. Egyptian makers and workers
There are a few examples of the craftsmen involved, where Egyptian
Blue, faience or glass working is mentioned within descriptive titles.
From the Middle Kingdom, a Thirteenth Dynasty 'Overseer of faience
makers/workers' called Debini is known from Lisht.422
A limestone pyramidal stela found at Saqqara and now in Cairo,423
which shows blue colour in some of the hieroglyphs, belonged to
Hatiay, a 'Chief maker/worker of hsbd' (hry irw bsb1).424 Gaballa dated
this to the late 18th/early 19th Dynasty on stylistic grounds.425
There are parallels for irw to be translated either as maker (of cakes,
bread, baskets etc)426 and as also as worker, as with Ptah-May a 'Chief
worker of fine-gold',427 and also on an 18th Dynasty round-topped
stela showing Arnenemhab and his wife Satamen, 42 8 where
Amenemhab is described as 'Overseer of the goidworkers of Amun'
(imy-r nbwy n lmn). This stela was purchased in Luxor and may have
come from the Theban area.
422 Unpublished, cited in Nicholson 1998, 55423 JE 25641424 Gaballa 1979, 46 no U425 Gaballa 1979, 50426 Gaballa 1979, 51427 Jamb in Cairo Museum room 19 (cited in Gaballa 1979, 51 nt.28)428 Scott 1986, 93 no.46
139
Fig.13.2 Limestonestela of Amenemhab,'Overseer of thegoidworkers of Amun'
(••:
Fig.13.1 Limestone stelaof Hatlay, 'Chief maker!
11'
worker of hsbd'
I
/
There are a few examples of faience stelae dating from the Second
Intermediate Period at Gebel Zeit on the Red Sea coast, including one
which shows a little-known king called Smn-M-R offering a vase to
Ptah.429
A 19th Dynasty innovation was the appearance of funerary stelae
made of faience,43° sometimes, not surprisingly, belonging to people
connected to the falence industry. A blue falence example in
Eclinburgh43l (sometimes incorrectly described as glass)432 belonged
to Rekhamun, who is described as a 'Maker/Worker of falence for
Amun' (irw bsbd n 'Jmn),433 with the context suggesting that, in this
case, hsbd means blue faience. The stela may come from Thebes,434
arid it is possible that Rekhamun worked in a workshop at the Amun
temple.
Other stelae are known which bear similar titles, such as a limestone
stela from Abydos belonging to Hatiay the 'Chief artisan of Ptah' (fry
simwy n Pt,)435 and a dark blue and pale blue faience pyramidal stela
(probably from Saqqara) belonging to Amenemheb an 'Overseer of
craftsmen of the house of Ptah' (imy-r fzmwwt(yw) n pr Pth) and his
429 Castel & Soukiassian 1985, 290. 'Plusieurs fragments de stèles en faience ont êtêretrouvés. Des petites dimensions, ces stèles pouvaient être fadilement transportésavec le materiel sacré que les expeditions apportalent de la Valée.'430 Friedmann 1998, 250431 RSM 449432 Liift 1977, 49; Gaballa 1979, 51433 Friedman 1998, 250 no 166. For discussion of the translation of /jsbd, see inchapter "Colour terms"434 The museum record (cited in Friedmann 1998, 253 a 159) says presumablyaquired at Thebes by Rbind in 1857435 Gaballa 1979, noffi
141
w.
tr$p ilISA.4-I
,-
Fig.13.3 A faience stela showing king Smenkareoffering a vase to Ptah. From Gebel Zeit.
:.•
Fig.13.4 Stela of Rekhamun1'Maker/Worker of faience for Amun'
wife. 436 Although in this case the exact nature of what he oversaw is
not given, the material of the stela suggests that faience working
probably came under his remit.
A 19th Dynasty funerary papyrus belonging to Ptahmose describes
him as the 'Chief maker/worker of hsbd for the lord of two lands'
(zry irw bsbd n nb twy),437 and there is another funerary papyrus
belonging to Qenenhor which refers to him as 'Overseer of
makers/workers of hsbd' (imy-r irw bsbi).438
Luft suggests that these various titles represent different ranks
within the profession, and that Rekhamun was the producer or
labourer, Hatiay and Ptahmose were master craftsmen and Qenenhor
was the supervisory official connected to the treasury (pr-4).439
The profession seems to have been divided between: supervisors and
foremen of work sites, workshops, or expeditions; craftsmen; and
labourers.44o Standard Egyptian practice would suggest that various
workers would have been involved in the production of a single piece
of faience or Egyptian Blue. These may have included labourers who
prepared the paste, craftsmen who formed the mItial shapes and a
perhaps a senior artist to carve and grind the final product.44' Firing
would probably have been under the control of separate kiln
436 Friedmann 1998, 250 no. 168437 Luft 1977, 48438 Bellion 1987, 320439 Luft 1977, 49; Friedmann 1998, 253 nt. 164440 Valbelle 1997, 46441 Friedman 1998,18
144
a
/>;
- - _______
1
, -4
'F"
••-- 4
- --
f• V . ?"c-.. -•44•;-:.
--•
ic1:: I
Fig.13.5 Limestonestela of Hatiay,'Chief artisan of Ptah'
Fig.136 Falence stela ofAmenemheb, 'Overseer of thecraftsmen of the House of Ptah'
workers,442 who may have been in charge of various different
pyrotechnical procedures, perhaps for a range of different media.443
By comparison with existing data for stoneworking, it seems likely
that the overseers responsible for the design of the craft productions
were more highly regarded (and better paid) than the
faience/Egyptian Blue workers themselves,444 and the level of success
was probably judged as much in terms of technical accomplishment
as of beauty.445
However, there are no definite representations of falence or other
vitreous material production,446 which is perhaps surprising
considering the many ifiustrations of working with wood, leather,
metal, pottery and stone.
This lacuna in the pictorial record has led to speculation that such
depictions were taboo in some way. One suggestion is that falence
working was deliberately shrouded in mystery because of the
inherent magic and religious significance of the material.447 Bianchi
goes further and suggests that coded messages were present in the
materials used by ancient craftsmen, and that members of the
Egyptian elite hired craftsmen to manufacture images and transmit
442 Firing at temperatures probably between 800-1000°C.443 Note however that Peltenburg 1987, 20 believes that faience working wasessentially a cold-state industry, and had less in common with pyrotechnologicalcrafts such as metal and glassworking than they had with each other.444 Bianchi 1998,23445 This leads into areas beyond the remit of this study to do with notions of thepurposes and functions of art in ancient Egypt in general.446 Nicholson 1998, 56 suggests that a Late Period scene in the tomb of Ibi (T36)may show a workman mixing faience ingredients.447 Friedman 1998, 17
146
this system of visually consistent messages.448
The name for faience, t,iflt, is etymologically related to words
connoting luminosity and scintilation.449 Thus the material was
associated with brilliance, and they may have been symbolic
attributions to the material itself as well as the objects formed out of
it. For example, Bianchi45o suggests that the falence tiles used as
architectural features such as inlays around doorways in Early
Dynastic temples symbolically represented all the minerals contained
on the earth, and that faience used as inlays on other materials (such
as on wooden furniture), imbued the objects with symbolic
properties.
However it may be that faience and Egyptian Blue production in
particular, where the process was based on transformations effected
within a closed kiln, predominately through the use of moulds, was
not considered visually stimulating, or satisfactorily renderable, by
the Egyptian artist, and therefore did not find a place in the
repertoire of 'daily life' scenes connected to production in workshops.
448 l3ianchi 1998, 22449 Bianchi 1998, 24450 Bianchl 1998, 26
147
Egypt4S2
Egypt4S3
Egypt4S4
B abylonia4 55
Hatti4S6
14. bsbd: lapis lazuli, falence, glass and Egyptian Blue
There are two main sources of documentary evidence from the 18th
Dynasty where it is possible that the term bsbd may refer to one or
more of the various substances listed above. These are diplomatic
letters exchanged between various rulers in the Eastern
Mediterranean world (notably the Amarna letters), and private tomb
depictions of trade or tribute brought by foreign envoys.
There is no question that lapis lazuli (the most common translation
for bsb1)45' is visible in the archaeological and historical record. There
is a wealth of documentary evidence describing the gift and transport
of both unworked and worked lapis lazuli between various states
around the eastern Mediterranean and the near east, and many
examples both of ornamental items of lapis lazuli alone, and also
where the material is used as a decorative part of larger artifacts. The
Amarna letters illustrate that lapis lazuli was traded between various
different powers, with routes including;
Assyria
Mitanni
Babylonia .
Egypt
Egypt
4 51 see in chapter "Colour terms"452 e.g. EA 15453 e.g. EA 19, 21, 22, 27, 29454 e.g. EA 7, 8, 9, 10, 13455 e.g. EA 14456 e.g. EA 41
148
However, it is perhaps possible, with the Egyptian records at least, to
re-examine those references which have traditionally been interpreted
and understood as lapis lazuli, and to suggest that on some occasions
a synthetic compound, such as faience, glass or Egyptian Blue, is
meant.
Ambiguity may stem from the imprecise nature of our understanding
of the terms used by the Egyptians and others when referring to
substances and artifacts, especially those which were primarily
identified by their colour. As discussed elsewhere, 457 colour terms of
pigments, paints and objects seem to have functioned in a primarily
descriptive sense, with the colour of an object acting as the main
identifier. This inexactitude is particularly noticeable when terms that
were used for blue are discussed. With the occasional exception of
frr (from bsbd n lfrr), which seems to refer to the geographical origin
of lapis lazuli, hsbd, either alone or with qualifying terms, was always
used to describe both blue substances and also the material that
made them blue. The term was also used more widely for objects that
were blue. In many cases it is therefore impossible to identify
precisely what is being described.458
The qualifying terms sometimes used with bsb4 give some indication
that different forms of blue substances were recogrnsed and
identified by the Egyptians. As previously discussed, 'real' or
'genuine' lapis lazuli (bsbd m) was sometimes distinguished. This
457 See in chapter "Colour terms"458 See in chapter "Colour terms"
149
indicates that there were also types of lapis lazuli recognised that
were not considered 'real'.
An inventory of gifts from Tushratta king of Mitauni to Nimmureya
(Amenhotep 111)459 contains a list of hundreds of high status items
and luxury goods made with 'genuine' lapis lazuli. At the end there is
a small list of items which contain 'lapis lazuli' without the qualifier
'genuine'. These include 2 sets of toggle pins of gold, their tops of
lapis lazuli, 9 maninnu-necklaces, of lapis lazuli, 2 'weaves' of lapis
lazuli and hiliba-stone, [1 maninnu-necklaces of lapis lazuli, with a
gold knob, for the two principal ladies in waiting. There are also 30
sets of earrings, of gold, their cones of lapis lazuli, and 10 spindles of
lapis lazuli destined for 30 dowry-women.
It is significant that these items were specifically intended for ladies-
in-waiting and dowry-women, rather than to be gifts to the Egyptian
royal family or as part of the personal dowry of a Mitannian princess.
They were obviously both less prestigious and less expensive than the
gifts containing real lapis lazuli.
It seems likely that the less prestigious articles listed at the end of
the inventory were made using a substitute for real lapis lazull, either
blue coloured glass or blue falence, or even that these items were
painted to look like the precious stone.
A material labelled as bsbd was sometimes illustrated as a trade or
459 EA 25 (see Appendix 2)150
tribute item in Theban private tombs during the 18th Dynasty.
Foreigners and their goods as illustrated in tomb paintings have been
subject to much debate, usually from the perspective of interaction
in the form of trade between Egypt, the Aegean and the Near East.460
It is impossible to know how accurate these portrayals are, or to what
extent they may be the result of ifiustrative traditions and motifs,
rather than a reflection of real people and events. Wachsmann
suggests that important aspects to consider with such tomb scenes
are hybridism, where subjects were created by bringing together
aesthetically pleasing aspects of different images, and the possible
use of 'stock scenes' which may have been copied in whole or in part
from pre-existing tomb scenes or collections of 'master' ifiustrations.
Thus, in the tomb of Menkheperrasonb, for example, a man with
Syrian hair, features and skin is seen dressed in a traditionally
Aegean kilt. It is possible in this case that the artist was representing
a generic 'foreigner' without having recourse to accurate source
material. This suggests that the articles of foreign tribute represented
in such scenes may also be generic foreign type goods, rather than
actual representations of imported items by any particular group at
any particular occasion. Nonetheless, Wachsmann suggests that it is
possible to differentiate between such composite images and actual
representations of real people and events, where physical appearance
and product types coincide with evidence from other documentary
and archaeological sources (such as Aegeans carrying rhyta, Nubians
carrying ivory and Libyans carrying ostrich eggs).
460 Kantor 1947; Vercoutter 1956; Merrfflees 1972; Kemp and Merrillees 1980;Wachsmann 1987
151
Although no pattern books or stock sets of designs have been
discovered in the archaeological record, it has sometimes been
suggested that they may have existed. Davies considered that the lack
of such material indicated that pattern books did not exist,461
although he believed that foreign tribute scenes in the tomb of
Rekhniire may have been copied from those in earlier tombs.462
Vercoutter believed that if pattern books had existed, then all the
tomb representations in them would have been identical,463 which is
not the case. Schafer believed that pattern books must have
existed,464 and Merrillees thought that it was possible that painters
learnt 'stock scenes' (although he is unclear as to the mechanisms
used when new images were being represented).46s Wachsmann
believes that master drawings must have existed which included the
basic elements of each scene, and which were used as the basis for
illustrations, but 'were not copied slavishly'.466
Whether or not such templates existed, the question as to whether or
to what extent illustrations were copied from earlier tombs is
dependent on the extent to which such scenes were accessible to the
artists. The group of Theban private tombs which show depictions of
foreigners bringing goods covers a comparatively short period
between the reigns of Hatshepsut and Amenhotep III (1479-1349BC).
Workmen from Deir el Medina were probably responsible for all of.
the scenes, and it is likely that illustrative knowledge and tradition461 Davies 1917, 7462 Davies 1943, 18463 Vercoutter 1936, 197464 Schafer 1974, 62465 Merrillees 1972, 288466 Wachsmann 1987, 24
152
would have been accessible in some form to those involved.
ifiustrations of bsbd467
Baskets containing blue, pale blue and red materials are shown as
tribute (or trade items) from both Aegeans and Syrians. These are
either labelled as bsbd, or else the exact material is not specified. As
discussed elsewhere, it seems certain that both lapis lazuli and lapis
lazuli-coloured silicate products were traded between various
different countries, and geographical point of origin alone is not a
sufficient indicator of material.
Tomb of Puyenire (T39)468
Puyemre served in the Amun Temple at Thebes during the reign of
Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis III. He was 'Second Prophet of Amun', and
as such, probably dealt with revenue to the temple and had some role
in the supervision of craftsmen and artists.469
The north panel of the west wall of his tomb shows two scenes of
three rows each and, while one shows tribute from Punt, the other
shows 'The count, royal chancellor, companion rich in love, great
chief of Nekheb, second priest of Amun, Puyemre, first in honour,
receiving the tribute of Retenu and also the tribute of Wat-Hor, also
the tribute of the southern and northern oases, which the king has
assigned to the temple of Amun'.47° The top register is labelled467 The following discussion is based on the premise that the events ifiustratedactually occurred. Locations are based on true north (after Porter & Moss 1994)468 Davis 1922469 Davies 1922, 27470 Davies 1922, 79 & pl.XXX
153
irØIXLiH
I 7 _______ • ____ __
L]4 I i L1;
; I -_________ ";
Fig.14.1 Tribute from Retenu andthe Oases in the Tomb of Puyemre
a
'tribute of further Syria', and the emissaries are from 'Retenu', which
Davies suggests means north Syria47l (perhaps Kadesh or Ugarit?).
The second man, with a long white robe and pale pinkish skin, is
shown carrying a bowl full of blue-green material which is not
labelled. Behind the (now missing) figure of Puyemre there is a group
of objects already delivered. These include Canaanite amphorae, ox-
hide ingots, a pair of two-handled vases and a large footed dish of
blue material labelled bsb!. The second register is labelled as 'tribute
from Wat-Hor' which was the area of Wadi Tumilat.472 This area was
part of Egypt's expansion into Syria and Palestine, arid this was the
only time that people from this area were shown as foreigners. The
first figure is described as 'overseer of the vineyard of the glebe lands
of Amun' reflecting the continuation from the Second Intermediate
Period of the wine-producing industry in the north east Delta area.473
Fruits such as pomegranates and grapes are ifiustrated, as are two
tables piled with blue and red material. Davies suggests that nomads
may have brought mineral products, such as lapis lazuli or turquoise,
and jasper or carnelian, from the Sinai or 'the nearer mountains'.474
Tomb of Menkheperrasonb (T186)475
Menkheperrasonb was First prophet of Amun during the reigns of
Tuthmosis III and Arnenhotep II. He was also the Superintendent of
craftsmen and of the treasury, and in this capacity he is depicted on a
471 Davies 1922, 80472 Davies 1922, 81473 Davies 1922, 81 believed that the 'glebe lands' referred to the north east Delta.See in chapter "Foreign pottery at the site; Canaanite Amphorae"474 Davies 1922, 82475 Virey 1891; Davies & Davies 1933
155
the southern wall of the east transverse corridor of his tomb
inspecting the temple workshops, with illustrations of leather
workers, carpenters and metal workers. He faces a text which reads
'An inspection of the workshop of the Temple of Amun and the
activities of the craftsmen.. .of genuine lapis lazuli and newly mined
turquoise, which his majesty made on his own initiative excellently
for his father Amun at Karnak'.476
On the northern wall of the east transverse corridor Tuthmosis is
depicted in a kiosk viewing four rows of decorative vases, and five
registers showing various tributes brought from the north. The top
row shows three men dressed as Syrians and labelled as kings of
Keftiu, Hatti477 and Tunip. 478 These are followed by nine Aegeans
carrying various vases, statues of bulls, bull-headed rhyta, bead
necklaces, strips of decorated cloth and goat horns. The second
register shows three identical figures, this time labelled as chiefs of
Kadesh and the Syrians. These are followed by a row of Syrians
alternating with Syrian/Aegean hybrids, and followed by women and
children (perhaps as slaves). This group are bringing vases, cloth,
helmets, bows, quivers, a sword, and daggers.479
Above the prostrate and kneeling chiefs there are two baskets, one
4?6 Davies&Davies 1933,11477 The Hittite king is shown as a Syrian/Aegean hybrid (see above). Wachsmann(198Z, 8) suggests that Egypt had only recently encountered the Hittites at thisperiod, and as there was no existing Hittite model, the artist created a genericforeigner by combining features of neighbouring races.478 Wachsmann (1987, 35) suggests that this is an example of transference fromearlier tombs (e.g.Amemnose 1T42), where Asiatics usually lead Aegean figures. It isotherwise hard to explain why a king of Keftiu (Crete) is shown as a Syrian.479 Davies & Davies 1933, 6-9
156
7 Uiii1
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Fig.14.2 Menkheperrasonb facingtext describing an inspection of theworkshop of the Temple of Amun
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Fig.14.3 Syrian kings and Aegeansbringing various tributes in theTomb of Menkheperrasonb
containing gold rings and the other containing blue material which is
labelled bsbl. The first Aegean is shown carrying a red one-handled
libation vase, a strip of cloth and a basket of turquoise (labelled
mjk3t).480 There are also four registers of luxury goods displayed on
the left of the scene. There are various elaborate gold and silver
vases, one with a (unlabelled) blue frog probably on some sort of a
central pedestal and one with a (unlabelled) blue bird in a similar
position.481 There are also three baskets of (unlabelled) raw materials
described as blue or green.4 8 2 Vercoutter suggested that this material
was either lapis lazuli or emeralds, 483 and Wachsmann suggests that
they may represent raw glass.484
Tomb of Anienniose (T42)48s
Amenmose was a Captain of the troops, and the 'Eyes of the King in
the Two Lands of the Retenu' during the reigns of Tuthmosis III arid
Amenhotep II. On the northern wall of the outer hail of his tomb
there is a scene of Amenmose offering a vase to Tuthmosis III, and
behind him four registers of Syrians bringing tribute or trade items.
The top row shows men in both Syrian robes and Aegean-type kilts
carrying vessels, weapons and 1:wo large dishes of (urillabelled) blue
material described by Davies and Davies as lapis lazuli.4 86 They are
facing a group of gold and silver vessels which are very similar to
480 Recorded by Virey (1891, 202-203 & pL 1) but not catalogued by Davies & Davies1933, 8481 Davies & Davies 1933, pl.1V482 Davies & Davies 1933, 6 no.4483 Vercoutter 1956, 364484 Wachsmann 1987, 54485 Davies & Davies 1933486 Davies & Davies 1933, 29
158
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Fig.14.4 Syrians bringing varioustributes in the Tomb of Amenmose
.1.•\.F_ 14: •.:....
(I II i II 1:
LIUL.U.SSHUI L\rY
Fig.14.5 The Chief of Lebanonoffering gifts to Ainenmose
those shown in the tomb of Menkheperrasonb. Here, however, there is
one bowl of blue material and one of red. The next row shows similar
men and objects, with another large bowl of blue material, again
facing a group of ornate vessels.
The north part of the west wail in the outer hail of the tomb shows a
scene unique in tomb decoration, with a scene 'almost certainly
drawn from the personal experience of Arnenmose when he followed
the campaigns against Retenu'.487 On the right of the scene a Syrian
fortress with crenellated walls and turrets stands in the middle of a
pine forest. The scene is labelled 'the arrival of the captain of
infantry, Amenmose, at Negau' and the prostrate figure in front of the
(missing) figure of Amenmose on the left of the scene is called 'the
chief of Lebanon'. The chief is followed by servants carrying an
elaborate vase, cloth, a large dish of (unlabelled) material, and two
small cows. 488 The trade/tribute offered no doubt represented the
local produce of the area, and there are various possibifities for what
is being represented in the bowl of material.
Tomb of Rekhmire (TT100)489
Rekhmire was Vizier and Governor of Thebes during the reigns of
Tuthmosis III and Amenhotep II. On the west side of the northern
wall of the transverse corridor of his tomb there is a scene of
Rekh.rnire inspecting five registers of different foreign peoples
487 Davies & Davies 1933, 30488 Davies & Davies (1933, 30) do not specify the colour of this material.489 Davies 1943
160
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bringing goods. These are from Punt, Keftiu (and 'the islands which
are within the Great Sea'),490 Nubia, Syria, and with the bottom
register showing a mixture of Nubian and Syrian captives. Davies
suggested that the registers were ranked according to each country's
relationship with Egypt, and that men from Punt and the Aegean 'lay
out of reach of the military forces of Egypt', as opposed to 'the
conquered Nubians and Syrians'.491 Vercoutter suggested that the
first four registers expressed the idea of the pharaoh's control over
all four corners of the earth, with the north represented by Syria, the
east by Punt, the south by Nubia, and the west by the Aegean.492
Wachsmann points out that this is the latest tomb in which Aegeans
are portrayed, and that the Aegean figures in this tomb were
repainted with more elaborate kilts at some stage in the tomb's
decoration, either for stylistic reasons, or perhaps because some
change in foreign fashion had been noticed.493
In the first register the Puntite goods consist of gold, gum, ebony,
ivory, leopard skins, and ostrich feathers and eggs. Puntite men are
shown carrying similar goods and also leading a baboon, a monkey,
an ibex and a cheetah.494
In the second (Keftiu) register, the goods piled in front of busy
scribes include blocks and rings of silver, various elaborate gold and,
silver vessels, animal head vessels (probably rhyta), three copper or
490 Davies 1943, 20491 Davies 1943, 18492 Vercoutter 1956, 57493 Davies 1943 22-25; Wachsmann 1987, 37494 Davies 1943, 19&pl. Xvii
162
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Fig 14.7 Aegeans bringing tributein the Tomb of Relchmire
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Figl4.8 Syrians bringing tributein the Tomb of Rekhmire
bronze ox-hide ingots, and two blue vessels.495 One is a tall vase with
gold bands and handles labelled 'ijsbd (w)', and the other is a
vase.496 Sixteen Aegeans leading to this group are carrying similar
types of gold and silver vessels, weapons and beads.
The Nubian goods include rings and bars of gold, ostrich feathers and
eggs, a monkey, skins arid tusks, six jars of sty (perhaps yellow ochre)
and a basket of green smt (perhaps malachite).497 The Nubian men
are carrying a similar range of goods, and also bring hunting dogs,
cattle, a leopard, a baboon and a giraffe.498
The fourth register is labelled 'the arrival in peace of the chiefs of
Retenu and all the lands of further Asia'.499 All the men have pale
skins and long white gowns, and their hair is either very short, or
down to their shoulders with a headband, or short and shaggy, and
many of them have pointed beards. Unlike representations in other
tombs, none of the Syrians is depicted wearing a short kilt. Davies
points out that their gifts 'do not suggest a very high civilisation or
great wealth'.soo The pile of goods includes (only) three large gold
vessels, two white tazza dishes (silver or perhaps glass?),501 logs and
planks of wood, bundles of reeds, four ox-hide ingots, and canaarnte
amphorae filled with (olive?) oil bk, incense sntr, and ointment sfl.
495 Davies 1943, 21-22 &pls. X\'H-XX496 Coloured blue by Hay (Davies 1943, 21 a 10)497 see colour terms section498 Davies 1943, 26-27 & pis. XVIII-XX499 Davies 1943, 27500 Davies 1942, 28501 see in "Egyptian Blue objects and shaping technology" for discussion of thisform
164
The scene also includes two patterned vessels which Davies thought
were 'apparently of glass',502 a basket of turquoise mft3t and a basket
of lapis lazuli ijsbd. The Syrians are carrying similar gold vessels, and
also bring a chariot and horses, weapons, a bear and a small elephant.
Tomb of Amunedjeh (TT84)503
Amunedjeh was First Royal Herald and Overseer of the Gate during
the reign of Tuthmosis III. The northern wall of the transverse
corridor of his tomb shows scenes of Nubians (west side) and Syrians
(east side) bringing tribute to Tuthmosis. Davies and Davies point out
that Amunedjeh was a contemporary of Rekhrnire, and that 'the
details of the corresponding scenes in the tomb of Rekhinire appear
to have been in the memory of the draughtsman, making it likely that
the same man was employed in both cases'.504 The action occurs in
front of the king, who is seated 'on the great throne in the palace of
Heliopolis in Upper Egypt, his heart very greatly uplifted in prowess
and victory'. Amunedjeh was aide-de-camp to the king during the
Syrian campaign, and it is possible that the Syrians and their goods
presented here are comparatively accurately portrayed.505 In the first
of two surviving rows,506 two types of Syrians are shown alternately,
one having pale skin, short hair and a long white robe with blue
edging, arid the other having dark skin, bushy hair and wearing a
short kilt with blue edging. The scene is described as 'the arrival in'
502 Davies 1943, 28, also see below503 Davies & Davies 194 lb504 Davies & Davies 1941b, 97-98. However, the tomb of Amunedjeh has nofflustratiOns of Aegeans.505 Note that Wachsmann (1987, 54) doubts the realism of the vessels ifiustrated inthis tomb.506 There were probably originally five registers (Davies & Davies 1941b, 96)
165
peace of chiefs of Retenu'.5o7 All the men in this register are shown
standing, rather than kneeling or lying down as in other scenes, and
there is a possible distinction between men who came in peace (and
perhaps brought trade items) and those who are portrayed as having
been defeated. The first man is carrying an ornate gold vase (labelled
nbw znw) with pomegranates around the rim. This contains a blue
frog which is not labelled, but described by Davies and Davies as lapis
lazuli (?) (sitting on an unseen pedestal in the centre of the dish).508
The second man is carrying a small blue vessel. The next four men
are bringing weapons and horses, and the seventh man is carrying a
large blue double handled jar which is labelled 'vessel of lapis lazuli'
(bsbd hnw).5°9
The second row shows four men (two of whom are now visible)
kneeling and with their hands raised. These men have closely cropped
hair and their gowns are open at the front. The scene is described
'the chief of Naharin prostrates himself, while giving praise to his
majesty because of his greatness throughout the land'.SlO A similar
gold vessel and (unlabelled) blue frog sit on the floor in front of the
first man.1l Behind these kneeling men the first standing man holds
a large basket of big balls or discs of blue material labelled jjsbd (w)
(?). The next two men are carrying vessels and strips of material, and
the fourth standing man is also carrying a large basket of balls or
discs of blue material (label now missing).507 Davies & Davies 1941b, 96 & pL XIII508 Davies & Davies 1941b, 97509 Davies & Davies 1941b, 97 ii 6510 Davies & Davies 1941b, 97511 Described by Davies & Davies as 'the seductive frog vase'.
166
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Fig.14.9 Syrians bringing tributein the Tomb of Amunedjeh
Fig.14.1O Syrians bringing tributein the Tomb of Amemnose
Tomb of Amenmose (TF89)512
Amenmose was 'Steward of the Southern City' during the reigns of
Tuthmosis III and Amenhotep III. He is described in his tomb as
'chancellor of the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, sole companion,
follower of the king in his journeys through the lands to the south
and the north', and it is within this context that a scene on the
eastern face of the northern (back) wall shows Amenmose presenting
foreign tribute to Amenhotep Ill from Syrians, Nubians and Egyptian
soldiers. It is possible that the Egyptian soldiers are depicted to
emphasise their role in New Kingdom expansions both north arid
south.513 The Syrians are all dressed in long white gowns edged with
blue, decorated sashes and have long hair and beards. The materials
already given by the Syrians include a group of elaborate gold and
silver vessels (similar to those in the tombs of Menkheperrasonb and
the other Amenmose), a lion headed rhyton and two bull head rhyta,
a hst vase described as being made of lapis lazuli,514 and seven dishes
of blue and green materials. A row of standing and kneeling Syrians
are carrying similar objects, with more vessels, animal heads, dishes
of materials and also chariots, javelins and bows and arrows.
Tomb of Nebaniun (TT9O)Si5
Nebamun was Standard-Bearer of the sacred bark 'Beloved of Amun',
and captain of troops of the police on the West Bank during the reign.
of Tuthmosis IV and Amenhotep III. One of the scenes in a recess in
512 Davies & Davies 1941a513 Davies & Davies 1941a, 134514 Davies & Davies 1941a, 134 no.6515 Davies & Davies 1923
168
4
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Fig.14.11 Syrians bringing tributein the tomb of Nebaniun
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Fig.14.12 Buy, the Chiefs of Retenu, andSyrians bringing tribute in the Tomb of Huy
the rear of his tomb shows Nebamun offering Syrian prisoners to
Tuthmosis IV, with the words 'To thy ka, oh good god, the spoil of the
countries chastised and the sons of the chiefs of Nahary by the
attendant of the lord of the two lands in the south and the north'.'516
Eleven Syrian prisoners are shown with their arms tied behind their
backs. Other men follow bowing in submission and bringing gifts.
These latter men are not shown as prisoners, but are stifi ifiustrated
as subordinates, either bowing or kneeling. The offerings/trade items
include horses, gold, vases and dishes of 'lapis and other
substances'.517
Tomb of Ainenhotep also called Huy (TT4O)5's
Amenhotep/Huy was Viceroy of Nubia or 'King's son of Kush' and
'Overseer of the Southern Countries' during the reigns of Amenhotep
IV and Tutankhamun. His tomb, as expected, shows various scenes
of Huy inspecting arid receiving Nubian tribute. However, there are
also scenes on the north side of the west wall which depict Huy
introducing the pharaoh to chiefs from Upper Retenu, and scenes of
Syrians bringing tribute, as well as depictions of Huy himself
receiving Syrian dignitaries or diplomats.
It is possible that these scenes were included to serve a purely artistic
function, in that they mirror and balance scenes of Nubians. As,
Davies and Gardiner point out, Huy is still depicted carrying the fan
and crook, which were the insignia of the Nubian viceroy. However,
516 Davies & Davies 1923, 33517 Davies & Davies 1923, 34518 Davies & Gardiner 1926
170
a
one of his titles here is 'king's envoy over every land',519 and it is
possible that this had been his job before becoming Nubian Viceroy,
or that his job gave him access to foreign tribute in some way.
The scene shows a large figure of Huy offering to the king, and
behind him there are two registers which subdivide into four. In the
top half Huy is shown carrying a large dish of 'a blue substance which
we may guess to be lapis lazuli' (not labelled).520 There are also two
bowls of red and blue material on the floor in front of him. The text
begins 'The king's son of Kush, overseer of the southern lands, fan-
bearer to the right of the king, Huy, justified', and ends 'Presentation
of tribute to the Lord of the Two Lands, that which is offered by
Retenu the vile, by the king's envoy to every land, the king's son of
Kush, the overseer of the southern lands, Amenhotep'. The bowls of
material (described as minerals) 521 are all blue with the exception with
the one in front of Huy in the upper register. The vessels in the lower
register are described as 'vessels of all the choices and best of their
countries, consisting of silver and gold, lapis lazuli, and turquoise,
and of all precious stones'. Although it is unclear how accurate the
portrayal of such objects usually was,522 there are examples of similar
vessels made of Egyptian Blue.523
519 Davies & Gardiner 1926, 28520 Davies & Gardiner 1926, 29521 Davies &Gardiner 1926, 28-30522 see Wachsmarin 1987, 4-11523 see in chapter "Egyptian Blue objects and shaping technology"
171
Discussion
It is not really possible to ascertain the extent to which these various
illustrations of foreigners and their wares are accurate portrayals of
historical events. A number of striking similarities between various
motifs and scenes in separate tombs suggest that, even if copy books
or stock scenes of some form did not exist, then a certain amount of
copying certainly took place from one tomb to another. It should be
remembered that all these tombs are sited close together on the west
bank at Thebes, that tomb chapels by their nature were meant to be
accessible to later generations, and that the draughtsmen and
painters involved in their decoration would have also been drawn
from a small pool of local workers. However, various features,
including nationally discrete forms of hairstyles and clothing, can be
corroborated from other sources, such as Minoan and Mycenaean
palace decorations, and were probably fairly accurate portrayals.
It seems unlikely that groups of foreign traders or diplomats were
commonly found at Thebes, and perhaps either at least one Theban
tomb painter had seen such people in Memphis, or such foreigners
had been described by people who had seen them. There are also a
few scenes of Syrian ships portrayed in the tombs of Nebamuns24 and
Kenamun.s2s It should be remembered that many of the tomb owners
would have encountered these various foreign peoples (and perhaps
have been on similar ships) in the course of their jobs. Indeed, this
factor suggests that the portrayals may have been quite accurate, as
524T 17, in Save-Soderbergh 1946, 55-56: Säve-Soderbergh 1957, 25-27525 Ti' 162; Davies & Faulkner 1947. see in chapter "Trade and Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham"
172
an important function of tomb scenes was to portray accurately (and
in glowing terms) the career highlights of the deceased.
It is also not possible to ascertain the extent of accuracy with which
various goods were associated with different groups of people.
Documentary evidence indicates that gold, for example, was a
material usually exported from Nubia through Egypt northwards to
countries around the eastern Mediterranean, and yet large gold
vessels are one of the most common items shown being brought to
Egypt from elsewhere. There are also examples of lapis lazuli bsbd
being requested from Egypt by both Babylonia (1 small container of
gold, and a stopper of lapis lazuli in the middle), 52 6 and Hatti ("and,
my brother, send me the 2 silver statues of women, and a large piece
of lapis lazuli").527 It seems probable that these are examples of
materials that were imported in a raw state to one country, processed
and finished with local techniques, and then re-exported, sometimes
to the countries of origin.
The baskets and piles of blue and green material which are
sometimes labelled hshd and mfk3t may always represent lapis lazuli
and turquoise. However, glass, faience and Egyptian Blue were often
produced in imitation of these precious materials. Glass in particular
was also itself valued as a precious commodity (often requested 1n
the Amarna letters),528 which came to Egypt from Syria/Palestine. The
form of the lumps of hsbçl shown in the tomb of Amunedjeh is more526 EA 14527 EA 41528 See Appendix 2
173
'V -
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Fig.14.13 A possible ifiustration ofglass ingots or Egyptian Blue cakesfrom the Tomb of Amunedjeh
VFig.14.14 Blue vessels from the Tombsof Rekh'mire, Amunedjeh and Amenmose
Fig.14.15 Glass vessels fromthe tomb of Rekhmire
separately defined and rounded than in other illustrations. It is
possible that these represent ingots, either of blue (copper or cobalt)
glass, or perhaps cakes of Egyptian Blue.
The two blue vessels in the tomb of Rekhmire are similar to one
shown in the tomb of Amunedjeh, and one shown in the tomb of
Amenmose (TT89). It is interesting to note the similarity between
such vessels and the Egyptian Blue vessel with handle from Lisht. It
is also possible that these vessels are glass, but it should be
remembered that glass vessels from the Near East did not have
handles (unlike those made in Egypt),529 and also that Late Bronze
Age glass vessels are much smaller than the vessels depicted
(although these were no doubt exaggerated in these scenes for visual
effect). The two vessels depicted in the tomb of Rekhmire may be
glass. However, their marblised pattern suggests that faience is
perhaps a more likely material (similar to the material from Nuzi and
the tomb of the Syrian wives of Tuthmosis I11).53 0 There are later
examples of glass vessels illustrated in the tomb of Ramesses 111,531
and these show more typical glass colours and patterns with drapes
and festoons.
The blue frogs illustrated in the tomb of Amunedjeh also appear in
the tombs of Puyemre and Huy,532 and the blue bird from the tomb of
Amunedjeh also appears in the tomb of Useramun.533 Wachsmann
529 see in chapter "Glass in Egypt"530 see in chapters "Glass in Egypt" and "Falence in Egypt"531 KV11532 Davies & Gardiner 1926, p1. XX533 Wachsmann 1987, 63
175
notes that the bowls these animals are sitting in (or on) are not
typical Aegean types, and he suggests that these were actually
imported from Syria. Animal figures in faience are known from many
sites in Mesopotamia and Syria/Palestine, and falence frogs have been
found at Ur and Tell al-Rimah.534 There were also a few Egyptian Blue
vessels with zoomorphic features found at Alalakh.535
S34 see in chapter "Falence in Syria and Palestine"S35 see in chapter "Egyptian Blue in Mesopotamia, Syria,Palestine, Cyprus and theAegean"
176
Part 4: Faience, glass and Egyptian Blue
15. Introduction
Egyptian Blue is a crystalline compound of silica, copper and calcium.
These were heated together to form a solid compound. However,
other vitreous materials such as falence and glass were also made
from a combination of these ingredients.
These materials can be categorised as ceramics, which is a group
divided by Vandiver into Egyptian Blue, Egyptian faience, glass, glazed
stone and clay-based ceramics.536
The compounds listed above were all made by processes which
involved the selection and combination of suitable raw materials,
(natural, inorganic and polycrystalline),537 which were subjected to
irreversible treatment by heat that formed the product into a solid,
durable material. Egyptian Blue, faience and glass can be further
defined as the products of heat treatment on natural materials that
led to the formation of oxides of sodium, calcium and silica. The
materials are therefore defined as soda-lime-siicates.538
Essentially, Egyptian Blue was made from sifica in the form of
crushed quartz, or flint, or sand, calcium either introduced with the
536 Vandiver 1983, A-937 Vandiver 1983, A-9
538 Vancliver 1983, A-9. See also Chase 1968, Noble 1969, Kiefer, Allibert 1971,Lilyuist, Brill 1993, Nicholson 1993
177
sand or added in some form of calcite lime,s39 alkali in the form of
natron or plant ashes, and copper. Falence was produced by
combining silica, calcium, and an alkali.54° The glaze on the outside of
the object was formed and glazed either by efflorescence,541
cementation,542 or application.543 Glass was made from combining
silica, lime and an alkali.
These products could also be mixed together. In some cases, the
problem of defining what material is represented can be caused by
trying to establish whether, for example, Egyptian Blue was mixed
with falence to produce a finished product which was seen as a
combination of the two substances, or whether Egyptian Blue was
used as an ingredient in the recipe. It has been suggested, for
example, that in Mesopotamia Egyptian Blue was added to colourless
glass in order to obtain blue glass.544
An issue which has often caused confusion in the reporting of objects
of Egyptian Blue, falence or glass, is that it is often impossible (short
of a detailed, and destructive, chemical analysis of an object) to tell
539 there is no direct reference to the lime component in tests either fromMesopotamia or later classical authors, hence the assumption that it may have beenpresent as an impurity in one of the other ingredients.540 Nicholson 1993, 9541 Where the water-soluble alkali salts such as carbonates, suiphates and chloridesof sodium migrate to the surface of the object during (pre-firing) drying, and thenmelt and fuse during firing.542 Where the faience object is placed (after drying) in a container fified withpowder made of lime (calcium oxide), ash 1 charcoal, silica and a colorant. Duringfiring the powder reacts with the surface of the faience vessel and forms a glaze.543 Where a glazing powder or slip is painted onto a falence object prior to firing. Itshould be noted that these processes were sometimes used in combination, with,for example, black pattern being painted onto a vessel which has glazed by theefflorescence method.544 Brifi 1970
178
exactly what material an object is made from.545 As has been
discussed above, these three different substances are essentially
made from the same ingredients, and differences between them can
represent no more that a slightly differing ratio of ingredients, or an
alteration in the length or temperature of firing times.546 There is also
the further complicating factor of materials which represent
intermediate phases between various different vitreous materials,
such as 'glassy faience'.547 This can be further blurred by materials
which are a combination of the above, such as 'glass faience with
glass'. 548 Any Initial visual differences can also have been further
obscured by weathering or other chemical degradations which may
have occurred since the objects were first made.
However, it is likely that many of the differences documented today,
some of which depend on subtle differences at a microscopic level,
were irrelevant to the original teclmician. Egyptian Blue, falence and
glass would have been perceivably different substances that were
manufactured and used for different purposes. Beyond these
distinctions it seems unlikely that the small differences discovered
today have much bearing on the motivation and functioning of
ancient technology production centres. Many of these distinctions, as
Ulyquist notes, 'may be the results of accidental occurrences: a little
54S Further confusion still for research of the subject is caused by the variousinterchangeable descriptive terms such as frit, melt etc. used by excavators.546 Nicholson 1993,16, agrees that Egyptian Blue, falence and glass are part of acontnluum of materials based on silica, alkali, lime and copper, but thinks that theyhad distinct compositions, specifically concerning the amount of alkali included,and that it would not be possible to turn one into another by simply prolonging oraltering the temperature of the firing phase.547 Lucas Variant E548 such as in Lilyquist & Brifi, 1993, 16 and 20 fig 10
179
extra alkali in the mix, inclusion of a crushed waster, a somewhat
higher temperature, a little longer time in the kiln - or a dozen other
day-to-day variations in working conditions.'549
Consequently, any research into the manufacture of Egyptian Blue
cannot fail to take into account exisling work on production sites for
the related products of faience and glass. Indeed, it is often the case
that the excavators themselves are not able to distinguish exactly
which of the various products were being produced, and in some
cases it is clear that various products, especially Egyptian Blue and
faience, were being produced together.
49 Lilyquist & Brifi 1993, 16 This problem of exact identification of materials isifiustrated at even rigorously excavated production sites such as Amarna andQantir.
180
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-
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z
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CCC
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- C)
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Fig 15.1 Chemical and structural progressionsof some vitreous materials
16. Faience in Egypt
Falence first appeared in Egypt during the fourth millennium B.C.
(Naqada I). The development may have been independent, and have
grown out of experimentation with steatite, or it may have been
influenced by trade with Mesopotamia.550 It is not known how the
technique was first discovered, although it almost certainly grew out
of an initial practice of glazing small pebbles and steatite shapes.
This method was probably established when 'men may have found
that fires built in certain spots and under certain conditions left some
of the stones beneath them coated with a lustrous blue.'ssl
These early discoveries may have been made in association with
metal working,552 not least because the desirable green and blue
colourss3 was obtained with the inclusion of copper. However, it has
been pointed out that the manufacture of glazed steatite and faience
may predate metal technology.554 Early manufacturing techniques had
much in common with those used with stone working for flaked or
ground tools, such as reduction and heat treatment, and 'the
advantages of shaping a fairly complex piece from plastic materials
and working it to a final shape rather than carving it from stone must
have been greatly appreciated.'sssSsOFoster 1979, 26; Bianchi 1998, 22551 RiefstaN 1968,1552 Moorey 1985, 137 notes that 'where umovatory faience production is evident,contemporary potting and metalwork exhibits a considerable mastery ofpyrotechnology and a willingness to experiment with both ores and pigments'.553 Thought to have been desirable both for reasons to do with various symbolicsignificances inherent in the colours, and also as a cheap alternative to turquoiseand lapis lazuli.554 e.g Nicholson 1998, 56555 Nicholson 1998, 56
182
Fig.16.1 (left) Bead belt made of green glazedsteatite beads from Badari. Predynastic Period(right) Blue faience and malachite bead necklacefrom Ballas. Late Predynastic Period
Predynastic falence
The earliest stage of technological development is characterised by a
wide diversity of materials and methods of production. Small objects
were glazed in a variety of ways. Glazes were applied on quartz or
steatite, and also applied, effloresced or cemented onto a crushed
quartz faience body.556 Glazed faience beads are known from
Predynastic graves at various sites including Naqada, Ballas, Badari,
el-Amrah, Matmar, Harageh, Abadiyeh, and el-Gerzeh.557 However,
entire faience bead necklaces are only known from the Late
Predynastic Period.558 All the falence dating from this period was
made with a combination of modelling the wet substance, and then
scraping and grinding into shape while drying. Nicholson also
suggests that these small beads were glazed with the application
method in a similar manner to glazed steatite.559
Early Dynastic falence
Falence was used extensively for religious and funerary purposes,56o
and small animal sculptures have been found in Early Dynastic
deposits at Abydos, 561 Fiephantines6 2 and Hierakonpolis. 563 It is
probable that these votive offerings would have been manufactured
in workshops associated with, if not attached to, the temples.564 It
556 Vandiver 1998, 122557 Nicholson 1993, 18558 Friedman 1998, 177n. 2559 Nicholson 1998,56560 Friedman 1998, 16561 Petrie 1902, 23-28562 Dreyer 1986, 68-76563 Adams 1974, 20-30564 However, it has been suggested that falence wall tiles may have beenmanufactured in a single location and exported to various temples. See Friedman1998, 16
184
also seems that the focus of innovation in this period was on forming
technology rather than technological advances in glazing. 565 Falence
spiral beads are also known from Hierakonpolis,56 6 and these are
thought to have been used as wigs for wood and stone statues, or
perhaps beaded curtains for temple doorways. Faience wall tiles with
reed patterns have also been found at the same site, and these
predate the blue green faience wall tiles found in the Osiris temple at
Abyc)os, at E)ephan tine, and in Djosefs step pyramid.
A fragment of a vase with the serekh of Aha found at Abydos
imonstrates that experiments with laying one colour of I aience
with another were undertaken at the begirming of the Dynastic
period,567 and faience manufactured at this site includes polychrome
and has relief techniques,568 with evidence of different body colours
being mixed together to form a marblised effect.569 Manganese or
iron-oxide black slips, paints and inlays were used to produce
purple/brown/black decoration at this time.570
Decorative use of falence inlay (probably in imitation of precious
stone) was well established by the early Dynastic period,57' with
evidence that wooden furniture was adorned with this material.572
565 Vandiver 1998, 122 states that efflorescence was the 'method of choice' duringthe Old Kingdom.566 Quibell, Green 1902, 30567 petrie 1903, 25; Kozloff 1998, 179568 \Tandiver 1983 A86569 Nicholson 1993, 21570 Vandiver 1998, 122571 Kozloff 1998 180, a 14. Emery 1954, 44 found small blue glazed inlays in tomb3504 at Saqqara.572 see e.g. Friedman 1998, 19 fig 5
185
Fig.16.2 Pale blue-green falence Fig.16.3 Faience spiral beadsBaboon statuette from from Hierakonpolis. Dynasty 1-2Hierakonpolis. Dynasty 1-2
Fig.16.4 Falence vase fragment
Fig.16.5 Faience tile from thewith the serekli of Aha from step pyramid of Djozer atAbydos. Dynasty 1
Saqqara. Dynasty 3
Old Kingdom Falence
Thousands of blue-green convex rectangular wall tiles from the 3rd
Dynasty step pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara probably represent the
first large scale use of moulds rather than modelling and/or
grinding.573 More complicated pieces of jewellery also appear,
including for example funerary collars.574
There is less evidence for the use of faience during Dynasties 4-6,
although the mortuary complex of Raneferef at Abusir has produced
quantities of faience blue tablets, tiles with added gold leaf, and
faience in1ays575
Vandiver believes that all faience material dating from before the
Middle Kingdom, whether moulded and shaped and ground, or
moulded, or formed around a core, was glazed by the simple method
of efflorescence. 576 However, Nicholson suggests that all three main
techniques of production were in use during the Early Dynastic
Period.577
Falence production continued during the First Intermediate Period in
major centres such as Abydos, where an Old Kingdom/First
Intermediate Period faience factory has recently been discovered,s78
arid 'demand for amulets in the late Old Kingdom and First573 Vandiver 1983 A83.74 Patch 1998 43 note 47S \Terner 1984, Nicholson 1993 2 1-22, Nicholson 1998, 57. Although recent
inspection by the author suggested that the material in question may be EgyptianBlue rather than faience.576 Vandiver 1983, A92
'7 Nicholson 1993, 18578 Lilyquist & BrilI 1995, 1
187
Intermediate Period seems to have been great and local rulers prided
themselves on furthering crafts.'579
Middle Kingdom Faience
Development in Middle Kingdom included the manufacture of
vessels, ornaments and faience elements for architectural
decoration.580 Cementation, core-forming and the use of a fine layer
of white quartz between body and glaze to create brighter finishes
were all common features at this period.581 Animal figures, including
hippopotami, apes, cats, lions, crocodiles and jerboa were popular,
many with black line decoration applied. There were also female
figures, known as 'Concubines of the dead', and food offerings. While
votive figures in the old kingdom are known from temple contexts,
these Middle Kingdom objects are known from private tombs in
cemeteries throughout Egypt. 582 Saucers, bowls and jars were also
made, and drinking vessels developed in the Second Intermediate
Period. Technological advances are still evident, as 'glazes are more
durable and have brighter hue; bodies are less friable, indicating
better control over composition and firmg.' 583 Nevertheless, even with
the more diverse methods of production, almost all the faience
known from before the New Kingdom was blue or green and coloured
by copper.
I
579 Arnold in Nicholson 1998, 58580 Riefstahl 1968,3581 Nicholson 1993, 23582 Patch 1998,32583 Vandiver 1983, A92
188
r
H'
a
Fig.16.6 Blue falencehippopotamus. MiddleKingdom
Fig.16.7 Turquoise falence Fig.16.8 Blue faience vessel'Concubine of the dead' (baby's feeding cup) fromMiddle Kingdom Lisht. Middle Kingdom
New Kingdom Faience
In the New Kingdom a variety of glazes of various different colours
was produced, and faience was put to a variety of different uses.584
Technological advances probably connected to the manufacture of
glass also led to the development of a stronger faience body
material.585 Powdered glasses and frits as well as other colorants were
included in both body and inlays. 586 Different faience types seem to
have been used intentionally for different objects, with for example
harder, glass-containing mixtures used in open faced moulids which
allowed large scale production of amulets, beads and rings.587
Statues, shabtis, game boards, sistra, headrests and vessels such as
canopic jars are known, mainly from funerary contexts.588
Large scale objects which pushed the material to the modelling limits
include the 216cm high was-sceptre of Amenhotep IT found at
Naqada, and 70cm high faience lions from Qantir. Architectural
elements such as tiles and inlays remained popular, and the increased
range of faience colours enabled the production of elaborate
polychrome tiles and plaques.
584 Riefenstahl 1968, 4585 Vandiver 1983, 108, Boyce 1989, 160586 Vandiver 1998, 122 Note however that Shortland believes that the glass found insuch_objects was a result of the interaction of the raw materials, rather than adeliberate addition (Shortland in Nicholson 1998, 51).587 Nicholson 1998, 60. Although he believes that this innovation probably madefalence available to a wider section of society than ever before, it should be notedthat these moulds have only been found in royal production centres (Malkata,Amarna, Qantir).588 Patch 1998, 32
190
Fig.16.9 Blue falence sceptre ofAmenhotep U, from the Templeof Seth at Naqada. 2 16cm high
Discussion
Faience production occurred throughout Egyptian history, and
Kaczmarczyk and Hedges note that the tremendous output and the
great variety of Egyptian faience of all time periods are clearly
indicative of a large number of workshops, some in operation long
before the unification of Egypt.589
Nevertheless, there seems to be a marked contrast between local
vernacular traditions, where small scale production continued with
the manufacture of limited ranges of small blue and green artifacts,
using essentially unchanged forms, ingredients and production
processes,590 and state controlled production centres, which had
access to both innovative techniques of manufacture and to an
expanding range of ingredients which affected both the texture and
colour of the finished product.
It has been suggested that there was a change in manufacturing
systems from one where a few regionally diverse factories were
involved in limited production (probably related to the copper
industry) of small high status beads and objects, to one involving
centrally controlled workshops producing large amounts of similar
objects for elite consumption.591
589 Kaczmarczyk and Hedges 1983,22 3590 r'Levertheless, it should be noted that Vandiver (1998,12 1) now rejects her earlierideas that falence production can be divided into various unchanging techniques,(efflorescence, cementation etc.), and now believes that it was rather an evolvinghigh-tech production sequence, and that 'in examining falence, establishing thevariation in these production sequences as part of a culturally distinctivetechnocomplex that changes spatlo-temporally is a prime goal'.591 Vandiver 1998, 123
192
a
However, it seems more likely that different traditions continued
simultaneously, with on the one hand, small scale domestic industries
which produced locally required votive and decorative items, and that
were able to function more or less continuously, unaffected by social
and political upheaval, and on the other, state controlled centres of
production, which, although embodying the opportunity to push the
technological and creative possibilities of the medium to its limits,
were nonetheless constrained by the vagaries of centrailsed power
and control. This latter tradition can be identified in the New
Kingdom in those centres of general vitreous material production and
manipulation where there was also access to new and exotic raw
materials, such as glass.
Considering the vast amount of falence production that occurred
throughout Egyptian history, there is extraordinarily little
archaeological evidence of where it was made. There must have been
faience workshops in the early dynastic period,592 and these were
almost certainly connected to the major urban arid religious centres
at Memphis and/or Saqqara, Abydos and Hierakonpolis.593 During
the Old Kingdom factory sites were probably attached to the major
temple and mortuary sites, but it should be stressed that there is
currently very little documentary or archaeological evidence for this.
From the Middle Kingdom, an 'Overseer of faience workers' is known
from Lisht.594 This ties in with the evidence for a late Middle
592 Friedman 1998, 17593 see Vercoutter 1993 for discussion594 see in chapter "Workers"
193
Kingdom/Second Intermediate Period faience production site near the
temple enclosure of Amenemhat 1.595
There is also evidence of falence use during the Middle Kingdom and
Second Intermediate Period at the Egyptian forts in Nubia. Although
the falence found there may have been imported from southern
Egypt, a local tradition of falence tiles made either from ground and
re-used Egyptian material, or produced locally, is evident.596 After the
reconquest of Nubia in the Eighteenth Dynasty, falence production
seems to have occurred within Egyptian tradition, with, for example,
Nineteenth-Twentieth Dynasty falence shabtis inscribed for local
residents.597
For the New Kingdom, the main evidence for faience manufacture
comes from those sites where glass production occurred. These are
all either royal or centrally controlled sites, such as Malkata, Amarna
and Piramesse.598 Although Petrie considered that the thousands of
moulds found at these sites represented an intermediate stage in
production, where faience was shaped prior to glazing and firing, it is
now thought that most of the small objects produced were glazed by
efflorescence.599
595 See in chapter "Glass in Egypt" for discussion of this site as a New Kingdomglass factory. Note that the date of this structure is not clear, and may all be lateNewTkingdom. Further work is planned at this site to clarify the picture. (Nicholson1998, 69 note 64)596 Lacovara 1998, 49597 O'Cormor 1993, 140598 See in chapter "Glass in Egypt"599 Petne 1894, 28, Nicholson 1998, 60
194
17. Glass in Egypt
There are various examples of small glass items which date from
before the New Kingdom cited in works concerning glass in Egypt.600
Early assumptions were that they are probably either imports, or the
result of accidental overfiring of faience. 601 The various examples of
pre-l8th Dynasty glass objects listed by Lucas and Harris have almost
all been deleted by later authors, including two 10th Dynasty udjat
eyes from Sedment 6o2 found to be faience,6o3 an 11/17th dynasty blue
lion spacer bead 6o4 which is actually Egyptian Blue, 605 a 12th Dynasty
black and white rod6o6 which is almost certainly Roman, 607 and a 17th
Dynasty blue kohl pot from Qau 608 either 18th Dynasty or Roman.609
12th Dynasty jewellery from Dahshur containing turquoise colour
inlays are sometimes cited as glass,610 but are in fact turquoise.61 1 A
bull 'mosaic' from the 12th Dynasty tomb of Princess Khnumet at
Dahshur is painted blue frit covered in rock crystal rather than
glass,6 12 and a 12th dynasty frog from Abydos6l3 is also thought to be
600 Newberry 1920, Beck 1934, Barag 1962 23-25, Nolte 1968, Barag 1970, 181-184,Lucas & Harris, 1962 179-184, Cooney 1976; Kozioff 1992 373-378, Nicholson 1993,Lilyquist 1993,Lilyquist & Brill 1993601 Cooney 1960, 11 suggests that 'the scattered examples of glass claimed forEgypt prior to Dynasty Eighteen fall into two classes, either they are misdated,actually belonging to a period much later than the New Kingdom, or if indeed ofglass and of early date they are invariably compositions intended as falence butOneS which turned completely vitreous when they were overfired'.602 Lucas & Harris 1962, 182 (c)603 Lilyquist & Brifi 1993, 5604 Beck 1934, Lucas &Harris 1962, 183(g)605 Cooney 1976, no 362606 Newberry 1920, 155; Lucas & Harris 1962, 182 (f)607 Lilyquist & Brill 1993, 6608 Lucas &Harris 1962, 183(h)609 Cooney 1962 23610 Wilkinson 1971,58; Andrews 1990, 173611 Lucas & Harris 1962, 183; Lilyquist & Brifi 1993, 7612 Nicholson 1993, 46613 Lucas & Harris 1962, 182 (e)
195
rock crystal rather than glass.614
Glass before the reign of Anienhotep Ill
Two 12th Dynasty scarabs in the British Museum may be glass,615 a
toggle pm probably from Avaris (17th Dynasty) has glass inlay, 616 and
the Antef diadem may have dark blue glass inlay.617
Some of the earliest dateable examples of glass are beads from graves
at Qau found by Brunton.618 Comparison with pottery suggests that
the beads date from the beginning of the 18th Dynasty (1550 BC).619
Some of the jewellery from the tomb of Ahhotep II (circa. 1550BC,
probably wife of Kamose) contained glass inlay, including round
pendants thought to be imported from Syria/Palestine.62o A pectoral
from the same tomb showing Ahmose with Re and Amun-Re is almost
certainly Egyptian, and the opaque turquoise inlay at least is made of
glass.6 21 Similar glass is known on an unprovenanced plaque with the
name Ahmose 1,622 an unprovenanced square light blue bead bearing
the names of Ahmose I and Amenhotep 1,623 and an amulet with the
name of Amenhotep 1.624
614 Nicholson 1993, 46615 Martin 1971, 39 no.441, 94 no. 1198; Cooney 1976, xv; Nicholson 1993, 45;Lilyquist & Brill 1993, 6. Described by Cooney as opaque blue glass and turquoiseblue glass, and dated by Martin to the second half of 12th Dynasty! first half of the13th Dynasty.616 Lilyquist 1993, fig. 24a.617 Lilyquist &Brffl 1993,7618 Brunton 1930, pL5619 BourriauinLilyquist&Brffl 1993,23620 Lilyquist & Brill 1993,2 3621 Lilyquist & Brill 1993,24. Other possible examples include dark blue glass in asphinx armiet (Anclrews 1990 p1140)622 Unpublished, cited in Lilyquist & Brill 1993,24623 Brovarski, Doll & Freed, 1982, 169 no. 192; Nicholson 1993, 47624 Petrie, 1909, 120; 1917 p1 24 15
196
Fig.17.1 Glass beads from Qau
ni 'r::: i 4LI, J.. '-- - ft
Fig.17.2 Pectorall of Queen Aahotepwith blue glass inlay (9.2 cm wide)
,r.
Fig.17.3 Glass plaque naming Ahmose
Fig.17.4 Blue bead namingAmenhotep I and Ahmose
Fig.17.5 Hairpin from Assasif
'A long tapering glass hairpin, the head decorated with a rosette' was
found by Lansing in a late 1 7th/early 18th Dynasty62s tomb at
Assasif,62 6 and glass beads and amulets are known from this period at
Ballas627 and Ghurob.628 A few beads were found at the mortuary
temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahri which are inscribed with the
name of Senenmut. The beads are dark blue, light blue, and green and
there are also three colourless examples. This evidence of colourless
glass suggests that it may have been 'through choice and not lack of
technical skifi that glass was chiefly used for the production of
brightly coloured imitations of semi-precious stones'.629
Consequently, as with the Near East,630 there is some indication that
the Egyptians may have been aware of the possibilities of glass well
before the flourishing of glass production after the reign of
Tuthmosis Ill.
Glass vessels are extremely rare before the reign of Amenhotep fl.631
The earliest are represented by two fragments of blue glass with
white, yellow and blue threads found in the tomb of Tuthmosis I
(1504-1492BC). 632 However, there is debate about the date of this
tomb, and it is thought that Tuthmosis I was probably reburied
during the reign of Tuthmosis III (1479-1425BC). 6 33 A few sherds of
glass are also known from the tomb of Tuthmosis Ill. These include
625 Lansing 1917, 10626 Lansing 1917, 21627 Lilyquist & Brifi 1993,24628 Wrunton&Engelbach 1927, pls.2lnos.15 & 23, 22 no.21629 Reeves 1986, 388630 See in chapter "Glass in Mesopotaniia"631 Barag 1970, 181632 Barag 1962, 23; Lilyquist & Brifi 1993,25633 Winlock 1929; Reeves & Wilkinson 1996, 95-96
198
an opaque blue kohl jar lid,634 and two turquoise blue sherds, one
with dark blue threads,635 arid another with a black and yellow twist
embedded in the body.636 There are a few other small pieces which
may date from this period. These include a blue bead from Ghurob
inscribed with the name of Tuthmosis 111,637 and 'piece of glass vase
with an inlaid name of Tahutmes I11'.638
An unusual (unprovenanced) turquoise blue jug in the British
Museum may also date from the reign of Tuthmosis 111. 639 It is
inscribed with 'the good god Men-kheper-Re given life' and decorated
with numerous yellow and white dots and three stylised yellow
tamarisk trees. Cooney notes that the decoration is enamel (crushed
glass painted on and then fired), and that this is the first example of
the technique in Egypt.64o Lilyquist & Brifi note that dots and botanical
forms, as well as the shape of the jug, are more typical of Palestinian
traditions, and suggest that the jug may have been made, if not in the
Near East, then probably by foreign craftsmen working in Egypt. 641 A
kohl jar from Riqqeh642 and a kohl tube in Cairo 643 may also be
ascribed to the reign of Tuthmosis III on stylistic grounds. A goblet of
turquoise blue glass with blue and yellow thread pattern and the
634 Nolte 1968, 47, 4635 Nolte 1968, 46, 1636 Nolte 1968, 46. 2. There is a similar (unprovenanced) sherd in the BrooklynMuseum (Lilyquist & Brifi 1993,2 5).637Thomas 1981, 270pL 14638 Petrie 1909, 120, apparently now lost (Lilyquist & Brifi 1993,2 6)639 Newberry 1920, 155; Nolte 1968, 50; Barag 1970, 182; Cooney 1976, 764640 Cooney 1976, 71641 Lilyquist & Brifi 1993,2 7. Note that Cooney (1976, 71) also believes 'that sosophisticated a technique was so well executed implies considerable experience andtradition', suggesting a non-Egyptian source.642 Engelbach 1915, 16; Nolte 1968, 48, 6643 Lilyquist &Brill 1993,2 7
199
4
-" '.. t...- .,". V.
________ -
Fig.17.6 Turquoise vase withenamel patterns (8.7cm high)
Fig.17.7 Glass vessels from the tombof the Syrian wives of Tuthmosis ifi
cartouche of Tuthmosis 1ff may date from the same period.644
The tomb of three Syrian minor wives of Tuthmosis III in Wadi Qirud
(two miles west of Deir el Baliri) contained a large group of glass
objects.645 These included over one thousand glass beads and inlays,
as well as a few vessels. The vessels comprise a glass turquoise
opaque lotiform cup incised with the king's name, which is closely
connected to some 18th Dynasty faience vessels, 646 and two other
vessels which are categorised either as falence or glass. 647 A pale
green krateriskos with a lid and gold trimming is very weathered, and
may be either faience or glass. 648 The other vessel, with a globular
body, broad neck and flaring rim, is of marblised fabric.649 Red-
brown, brown, blue, green, white and yellow glass are mixed and
fused together in imitation of veined stone. This dosely parallels both
vessel-type and fabrics from Nuzi, 650 and it was thought to have been
imported65l even before lead isotope analysis indicated a Near
Eastern origin for the vessel.652 The fabric is much more complicated
than the other glass vessels from the tomb, and can probably be seen
in terms of a luxury foreign import which influenced later Egyptian
glass manufacture, such as, for example, the glass with swirled
644 Newberry 1920, 155, pL VI:2 believed it to be Egyptiai Barag 1970, 182 thoughtthat it may be an import, with pattern (but not shape) very similar to Mesopotamianpiriform bottles; and Lilyquist & Brifi 1993, 26 obviously doubt its authenticity, notleast because of the peculiar (sideways) orientation of the cartouche.645 Winlock 1848646 Barag 1970, 182647 eg. Barag 1970, 182; Lilyquist &Brffl 1993, 9; Friedmarui 1998. 215G4 8 Lilyquist&Brffl 1993,9649 Winlock 1948, 61 p1 XXXV; Nolte 1968 49-50; Barag 1970, 182; Friedmarin 1998,215:90650 See below in "Glass from Mesopotamia"651 flarag 1970, 182652 Lilyquist&BriIl 1993, 11,61-66
201
Fig.17.8 Glass shabti Fig.17.9 Glass shabtiof Kenamun of Hekareshu
Amenhotep II and Tuthmosis 111.661 Both were cast in moulds and then
reworked, a technique which Cooney thought 'typical of all Egyptian
sculptures in glass'. 662 Although neither man was royal, the nature of
the material suggests that both shabtis were royal gifts. No glass
factory sites are known from this period, but it seems likely that
there would have been one or more at Memphis and/or Thebes,663
An interesting glass vessel was found in the tomb of Maiherpri at
Thebes.664 The tomb of a man who was probably a childhood
companion of a king, rather than a son by a lesser wife, 665 has been
variously dated from the reign of Amenhotep 11,666 to that of
Hatshepsut or even Tuthmosis IV. 667 The vessel has a piriform body,
flaring rim and rounded base, and is made of blue green glass with
green, white, orange and yellow meander and festoon decoration. It is
very similar to vessels found at Nuzi and Assur, and may well have
been imported from that region. 668 However, more typically Egyptian
glass was also found in the tomb, including dark blue, light blue and
red beads, a blue glass inlay of a jackal and opaque blue eyebrows on
an anthropoid coffin.669
661 Lilyquist & Brifi 1993, 30 nt.66662 Cooney 1960, 13663 Cooney 1960, 14664 Fossing 1940, 8; Barag 1962, 13; Nolte 1968, 51; Barag 1970, 183; Lilyquist &Brill 1993, 30665 Reeves & Wilkinson 1996, 179666 Barag 1962, 15 nt.45; Lilyquist & Brill 1993, 30667 Reeves &Willdnson 1996, 180668 J3arag 1962, 13. See below for discussion of Mesopotamian glass vessels669 Lilyquis t & Brifi 1993, 30
204
Fig.17.1O Glass bottle fromthe tomb of Maiherpri
The tomb of Tuthmosis N contained 35 glass vessels,67o but 'the
vessels [are] small, their decoration more homogeneous: the vessels
are completely in line with what one imagines of "Egyptian cored
vessels".67 1 Three violet glass bangles, one with white decoration and
one with yellow decoration, and various colourful furniture inlays
were also found in the tomb. This expanded repertoire of colours,
which was almost certainly manipulated by Egyptian workmen (or
foreign workers living in Egypt),can be seen to presage the greatly
expanded glass industry which flourished under Amenhotep Ill.
Although there has long been interest in establishing the location of
glass producing factories in Egypt, there is little concrete evidence for
this from any sites apart from Amarna and, more recently, Qantir.
This is due in part to the historical lack of emphasis on settlement
rather than cemetery sites. However, there are also indications that
glass workings, if not glass producing areas, have been found at other
centres in Egypt. Newberry672 noted that all the materials required for
making glass are found in the north-western Delta, and that this was
a major glass producing area in the Graeco-Roman period
(concentrated in and around Alexandria).673 There are also remains of
glass works in Wadi Natrun and south and south-west of Lake
Mareotis, although the date of these is not clear674 Newberry
speculated that 18th and 19th Dynasty glass may have been supplied
from these areas, perhaps in the form of ingots which were then
670 Nolte 1968, 63671 Lilyquist & Brill 1993, 31672 Newberry 1920673 See StraboXVl, 11,25674 Newberry, 1920, 160
206
worked elsewhere. During 1902-1903 he apparently excavated a glass
factory at Malkata, and he also mentioned two 20th Dynasty factories,
one at Lisht and one a short distance south of Menshiyeh.675
Ghurob
The earliest known glass working centre is at Ghurob, where Petrie
found that "many pieces occur in the town" of what he called
"Phoemcian glass".676 He also found various examples of glass vessels
in New Kingdom tombs at the site.677 However, the only identified
production centre is mentioned by Bnmton and Englebach, who note
"glass factories and lime-kilns" built on top of a small square
enclosure678 which was outside the north east corner of the outer
enclosure wall of a temple built by Tuthmosis III at the site.679
Kozloff suggested that the glass factories at Ghurob may have
functioned during the reign of Tuthmosis lv, when his queens lived
there with the young Amenhotep 111. 680 Cooney suggested that this
factory produced glass vessels with vertical handles formed from two
or more rods joined side by side 68 l and with heavy, dense fabric. It is
also possible that production at this site died out during active
periods at Malkata and Amarna, but was restarted later with the
675 el-Mansha (Ptolemais Hermiou)676 Petrie 1890, 38677 Petrie also found three glass vessels in a tomb dated to Tutankhamun. (1891, 17P1 XVII 3 5,37), dark blue glass with wavy yellow and white lines in a 19th Dynastyburial, (1890, 44), and various glass bottles and a bowl in a tomb of a similar datethe following year, (1891, 17 and PIXVffl 13, 18, 19, 26). Newberry (1920, 156) alsomentions a "perfect bottle of the time of Amenophis ifi"678 Dated either to the Archaic or the Second Intermediate Period by the excavators,so the glass factory must be at least New Kingdom in date.679 Brunton & Engelbach 1927, 3680 See Bryan 1991681 Cooney 1976, see also Kozioff & Bryan 1992, 383 and plate 43
207
Fig. 17.11 Unprovenancedglass pilgrim flask thoughtto have come from Ghurob
Fig. 17.12 Unprovenancedglass base-ring jugletthought to have come fromGhurob
Fig.17.13 19th DynastyGlass pilgrim flask fromMedinet Ghurob
production of glass amulets perhaps made from scraps of glass
melted down and poured into moulds.682 Kozloff suggests that these
later shops would have "cannibalised the materials left behind by the
earlier one, leaving few traces of it."683 This is one possible
explanation for the very different classes of glass found at Ghurob.
However, fine vessels are found in tombs dating throughout the 18th
and early 19th Dynasties arid it is also possible that small-scale glass
production continued at the site throughout this period.
Malkata
It seems probable that Tuthmosis IV and (more likely) Amenhotep Ill
may have had glass workshops somewhere in the Memphite area.684
However, the only major glass workshop known from this period is at
Malkata, the palace of Amenhotep III located one mile south of his
memorial temple on the west bank at Thebes. The site consists of a
group of large, rambling buildings facing onto open courts or parade
grounds along the western edge of an artificial lake. 68s The first
evidence was found by Newberry, who noted that "Pieces of at least a
hundred vases and scores of amulets, ear-rings and broken bracelets
have been brought to light among the ruins of the palace of
Amenophis III at Thebes; and near by was discovered the earliest
known glass factory, in which were found small crucibles containing
dark blue glass and a quantity of different coloured rods of the same
material".686 The Metropolitan Museum conducted five seasons of682 See Kozioff & Bryan 1992, 377683 Kozioff & Bryan 1992, 378684 See Kozioff 1998, 106, note 4468S See Stevenson Smith & Simpson 1981, 282-29 5686 Newberry 1920, 156. The footnote to this passage reads "Notes made by me in
1902-3, when Mr Tytus and I were digging at this site."209
excavation at the palace between 1910 and 1921,687 and the
University Museum of Pennsylvania have worked more recently at the
lake and the harbour. 688 Two separate areas of glass manufacture
were located, one south of the main palace complex6 8 9 and another
actually in the middle of the main palace area,690 which Simpson
suggested69 l was in a small village immediately adjacent to the North
(kthg's) Palace. "Crucibles, glass rods of different colors, which were
employed in the manufacture of polychrome glass, as well as many
varieties of the glass itself, have been found". 692 Modern analysis of
the glass found at Malkata has identified various trends which may
indicate specific production tecimiques or availability of materials.
Kozioff notes that blue glass coloured with cobalt is much more
common than copper-blue glass, indicating that the Malkata
workshops had access either to a source of cobalt or to a supply of
687 Winlock 1912, EvelynWhite 1915, Lancing 1918688 See Kemp and O'Connor 1974, Hope 1977, Leahy 1978689 "Farther south a dependent village of workmen's quarters was cleared, in whichartisans had carried on the manufacture of falence beads, rings, scarabs and othertypes of ornament for the inmates of the royal building." (Uthgoe, 1918, 6)690 "A settlement of artisans sprang up within the palace area, as has been noticedabove, and the ruins of their factories have yielded fragments of the crucibles inwhich they melted the glaze in the manufacture of falence, hundreds of moulds forbeads, pendants, and finger rings, and many examples of the objects themselves,often in their incompleted condition, showing in a most interesting way the methodof their manufacture, On laying and firing mosaics of colored glass paste into aground of white or blue falence was practised, and glass cut for this purpose, aswell as fragments of the finished products, have been found." (Winlock 1912, 187)691 Stevenson Smith and Simpson 1981, 282692 "Work began on November I on a section west of the residential buildinguncovered in the season of 1914-19 15, and in reports already received from MrLansing he describes that section as proving to have been occupied bymanufactories of glass and faience, Crucibles, glass rods of different colors, whichwere-employed in the manufacture of polychrome glass, as well as many varieties ofthe glass itself, have been found; also material illustrating the processed followedin the making of objects in faience, including many terracotta moulds in which thevarious types of objects were cast, as well as unfinished material in different stagesof its manufacture" (Lythgoe 1918, 6) It should be noted that, apart from the briefreports in the MM Bulletins, this area of the site remains unpublished (see alsoKeller 1993).
210
Fig. 17.14 Unprovenancedkraterfskos thought tohave come from Malkata
Fig. 17.15 Unprovenancedkrateriskos thought tohave come from Malkata
raw cobalt blue glass.693 There is evidence for cobalt blue glass at
Amarna, and it is possible that it was manufactured there (see below).
However it is also possible that such pieces were either transported
from Malkata, or that they represent work dating from the beginning
of the Amarna factory.
Amarna
Petrie considered that many of the finds he made at Aniarna were
concerned with the production of falence and glass.694 He found
masses of small moulds for faience in the west edge of the city, of
which he saved "nearly five thousand from Tell el-Amarna, after
rejecting large quantities of the commonest".695 He also located
evidence of glass-working in a dump associated with a palace on the
east edge of the city, and later discussed "the remains of the
factory",696 stating that the glass was "free of lead and borates, and
consisted of pure silica from crushed quartz pebbles, and alkali
doubtless from wood ashes. It was fused in pans of earthenware". He
suggested that the colour in the glass was introduced not by a
primary ingredient such as copper, but with the addition of a
coloured frit. "This glass was coloured by dissolving the blue or green
frit in it, or mixing other opaque colours". Petrie then went on to
describe specific manufacturing techniques, with "samples taken out
by pincers" and lumps of glass "patted into a cylindrical form, thei
rolled under a bar of metal, which was run diagonally across it, until693 Kozioff & Bryan 1992, 376. This is contradicted to a certain extent by Nicholson,who has found quantities of cobalt glass and slag at Amarna. Also see below forexamples of cobalt blue glass at Lisht.694 Petrie 1894695 petrie 1894, 30. See also Nicholson 1995b, 11696 Petrie 1909, 123-125
212
Fig.17.16 Glass perfume bottle inthe shape of a fish from Amarna.
it was reduced to a rod about the size of a lead pendil."697
However, as Nicholson points out, Petrie's report was from the
beginning interpretive of the evidence, and both uncertainty and
confusion are apparent, which are then compounded in later reports.
For example, he seems to confuse the size of pans from the two
different sites, and to state later that the quartz pebbles were used
as a kiln floor rather than as an ingredient.698 It should be noted that
Petrie's discussion of 10 inch diameter fritling pans is confirmed by
an example in the collection at the Petrie Museum.6 99 This pan was
found in association with the glass making materials from the east of
the city, rather than the falence moulds from the west. Nevertheless,
as Nicholson notes, "it seems safe to assume that very little, if any,
technological evidence was discovered in situ, and that no glass kilns
or furnaces were discovered."700
Working from Petrie's evidence, Nicholson has re-excavated the area
on the west of the city where the faience moulds were originally
located.701 Here he has found evidence for pottery making and firing,
falence moulds and objects, glass slag as well as glass canes and rods,
kilns for glass and/or faience making, various items termed "kiln
furniture", and (cobalt) blue slag and (cobalt) blue frit.7o2 There are
also examples of coarse yellow plaster, many with one surface coated'
691 Ptrie 1909, 124698 See Nicholson 1995b, 12699 UC 36457700 Nicholson 1995b, 13701 See Nicholson 1989, 1993. 1995a, 1995b, 1996, 1997702 Shortland & Tite 1998. Note that cobalt-blue glass and cobalt blue paintedpottery are both known to have come from Amarna at this period.
214
in blue or green powdery material, which Nicholson suggests may
represent an intermediate stage in the processing of Egyptian Blue
arid Egyptian green.703
EI-Mensbiyeh
El. Menshiyeh in Middle Egypt was described by Newberry as another
location of both complete glass vessels and a glass production centre.
He noted that the site had been 'completely plundered' by the time he
got there in 1911, with the exception of 'some glass slag and a few
rods of coloured glass'.704 It has been suggested that Middle Egypt
was an area of development during and after the reign of Amenhotep
III, with important cemeteries at Herakleopolis Magna, Hermopolis
Magna and Akhniim, 7°5 and an "unusual amount of building activity"
occurring at El-Menshiyeh during this period.706 Glass vessels said to
come from this site tend to be made of milky white glass, with thick
fabric and heavy design, and often with blue and white twisted rod
rims, which Kozioff suggest may be a stylistic hangover from Malkata.
An opaque yellow jar with handles trimmed in twisted rods was said
by Theodore Davis to have been found at el-Mansha (=FJ-
Menshiyeh)707 and is made of glass very like that from Amarna.
703 Spurrell 1895, 234, suggested that red ochre, yellow ochre and Egyptian Bluewere purified by being ground into water and then strained. Nicholson speculatesthat "It is known that a second firing was given to blue pigments after grinding, andthat they were sometimes put into bags for this process, Could the groundpigm.ents have been drained through a plaster-lined trough, and could the damppowder have been placed in such bags? The thin layer of blue left on the rathercoarse plaster would support this function as a kind of filter" (1995, 15, ii 23).704 Newberry 1920, 156705 Kozioff & Bryan 1992, 282706 Kozioff & Bryan 1992 378707 See Kozioff & Bryan 1992, 382 a 26 for refs.
215
Fig.17.17 Milky-white krateriskos withtwisted blue and white rim thought tohave come from El-Menslhiyeh
These factors indicate that this site probably functioned after the
production centres at Malkata and Amarna had ceased, and Kozioff
suggests7o8 that an Amarna glassworker may have set up shop there
after the dissolution of the factories at the capital. However, so little
is known about the level of state control of the production and
supply of glass that it is not known to what extent any glass worker
would have been able to function in a freelance capacity, if such was
the case at this site.709
Qantir
The site of Qantir in the eastern Delta was first identified as the
ancient location of Tell el-Daba and Piramesse by Hamza who
undertook survey and excavation there in 1928. 71 0 While digging in a
field to the south of a location where a small boy had unearthed some
"blue tiles of glazed faience with hieroglyphs in alabaster inlay", ?" he
discovered "a faience and glazing factory of great size". 712 The finds
included ten thousand terracotta moulds (similar to those found at
Amarna), many of which still had traces of the colour of the original
paste, faience tiles, hundreds of pieces of alabaster, flint tools, and
stone grinders and polishers. He also describes "lumps of the
favourite blue colour in vogue, as well as pieces of the glazing
material in the form of the pan in which it was smelted. A small lump708 Kozioff & Bryan 1992, 378709 Note that Keller (1983, 20 ii. 4), having consulted Newberry's notes, doubts theexistence of the existence of this site. The suggestion is that Newberry may havebeen-fobbed off with the name of this site, as the complete and virtually completevessels said to have come from there may in fact have been the result of illicitdigging at an unnamed cemetery site. Nevertheless, it should be noted thatNewberry records some evidence of manufacture (slag, glass rods).710 Hamza 1930711 Hamza 1930, 40712 Hamza 1930, 42
217
of blue colour still preserves the form of the packet in which it was
placed when diluted with water."713
The moulded packet is certainly Egyptian Blue, as examples are
known both from other sites and from more recent excavations at
Qantir. It is not clear whether the blue lumps or the glazed pieces in
the shape of bowls described are falence or Egyptian Blue, but the
latter seems likely. Inscribed jambs and lintels found in association
with the material indicate that the factory was founded during the
reign of Seti I, and continued in use until the 20th dynasty. Debris
from the area included many falence beads, some of which bore
traces of "gilding material".714 This suggests that gold working existed
in association with falence and pigment manufacture.
The northern part of Piramesse has been the subject of further
excavation since 1980, with a joint German/Austrian project working
on the palace area identified by Bietak. 715 The area under
investigation, to the west of the site of Hamza's work, has yielded a
large-scale metal factory of the late 18th and early 19th Dynasties,
which is covered by a 19th dynasty military complex. 71 6 This bronze
casting factory was accompanied by a range of other, non-metallic,
high-temperature industries.717 These include falence and glass
manufacture, as well as the production of Egyptian Blue. Theses
products seem to have been manufactured simultaneously at the site,713 Hamza 1930 42. It should be noted that Hamza did not mention examples ofthe red glass which is so prevalent in modem excavations at the site.714 flamza 1930, 52715 Bietak 1979716 Pusch 1990, 1991, 1994717 gehren, Pusch. Herold 1998, 227
218
with evidence for copper-red glass (in the form of fragments and
slag), faience objects and moulds, arid cakes and lumps of Egyptian
Blue.718
Initial mixing of the ingredients for glass making seems to have
occurred in pits in the ground which were lined with slag, and the
workshop area has produced a range of different fireplaces, hearths
and furnaces.719 At least forty crucibles (and hundreds of fragments)
have also been identified. These crucibles are all flat based,
cylindrical vessels, which are either vertical or slightly widening at the
top. They can be compared with the crucibles found at Amarna
(originally identified by Petrie as stands for fritting pans). Similar
vessels have been cited for the production of faience.720 It should be
noted that this is the only site where there is recognised evidence for
all the stages of glass production. However, there is not yet any
evidence for the final working of glass (canes etc.) or finished glass
products, suggesting that this area of the site was concerned with
production of the raw materials.
It seems likely that this and other factories at the site provided the
materials for the decorative motifs used at the palaces and the city in
general, and it is also possible that this was a major production
centre for the rest of the Delta region, and also perhaps for items fore718 See in chapter "Pigments at other sites in Egypt"719 Rehren& Pusch 1997,138720 e.g in Vandiver 1983 A1-A144. Although there is no definite evidence that suchcrucibles were also used for Egyptian Blue production, the similarity in size andshape of copper glass ingots and cakes of pigment is indicative that similar vesselsmust have been used. See Nicholson1 Jackson & Trott, 1997, 149 for chartcompanng thicknesses and diameter of glass ingots from Amarna, Qantir and UluBurun
219
international trade and exchange.
Lisht
There is some evidence for glass production at the pyramid site of
Amenemhat I at Lisht, where the Metropolitan Museum of Art
conducted excavations between 1906 and 1934. Although their
primary foci were the Middlle Kingdom pyramids, they had to dig
through later occupation levels around the base of the pyramid. "The
clearance of the Twelfth Dynasty structures was greatly complicated
by the presence of later house walls and silos, built partly on the
lower slopes of the pyramid itself, and covering all the ground in its
immediate proximity." 721 The east and north sides of the pyramid
were cleared between 1906 and 1908, and in addition to the walls of
later structures (dated between the Second Intermediate Period and
the Twenty Second Dynasty), they discovered many examples of
scarabs, rings, beads and fragments of glass.722 There was also
evidence for glass and faience manufacture, with "accumulations of
slag from glass fusing".723 This area can tentatively be dated to
somewhere in the latter half of the New Kingdom,72 4 based on both
inscribed scarabs and amulets, 725 and by more recent analysis of the
721 Mace 1908, 184722 "The houses of which the village was composed were all of crude brick and insome cases are sufficiently well preserved to admit of a definite plan, one showing ,remains of an arched roofing and of a staircase. Scattered through and over thehouse walls there were a number of interesting small objects- flint implements ofall kinds, weights, spinning-whorls, scarabs, and rings, quantities of beads and agreat number of fragments of finely colored glass." (Mace 1908, 185)723 Mace 1908, 185724"From the objects found in them it was possible to date them to a period earlierthan was at first supposed- the Twenty Second and innnediately succeedingDynasties." (Mace 1908 184)725 See Hayes, 1959, 397-398
220
glass fmds.726
Both cobalt and copper were used as colouring agents for blue glass
from the site, although, unlike at the other sites, copper seems to
have been a more common ingredient here. There is no evidence of
Egyptian Blue being found at the site, but the woeful publication
record of this part of the excavation indicates that negative evidence
should be cited with caution.727 Keller suggests that the Lisht factory
post-dates those at Malkata and Amarna, but notes that conclusive
archaeological evidence on this point is lacking.728
Bril states that the chemical composition of the glass found at Lisht
is identical to that from Malkata and Amarna, 729 but the rods of glass
found at the site are murkier and more bubbly than those from the
two royal palace sites. Kozloff notes that the glass vessels found at
the site are "of two distinctly different levels of quality - one of the
highest quality similar to that found at Malkata and el-Amarna; the
other, poorer both in design and fabric."73o He suggests that the
factory functioned during the Ramesside period, and that it recycled
earlier vessels taken from the nearby tombs at Saqqara. Cooney also
believes that glass pilgrim flasks found at the site represent a revival
of an earlier Eighteenth century tradition.731 However there is no726 Keller 1983, 24727 The later occupation levels were viewed as an inconvenience by the excavators:and the only ref rence to production is that beads and glass "seem to have formedthe thief industry of the village, for in certain spots there were accumulations ofslag from glass fusing, while lumps of crude amethyst, garnet etc. were found inlarge quantities all over the site." (Mace 1903 185)728 Keller, 1983, 28.729 Kozioff & Bryan 1992, 382 note 37730 Kozioff & Bryan 1992, 378731 Cooney, unpublished, cited in Kozioff &Bryan 1992, 378
221
material evidence for this theory other than a typological one, and
there are other possible explanations for the instance of poorer
quality glass production, including lack of suitable raw materials or
workmen with imperfect skills.
Tell el-Yahudiyeh
Griffith mentions a glass factory at eI-Yahudiyeh in a Twentieth
Dynasty context. He found various beads made of black opaque glass,
pale blue and green translucent glass, and variegated yellowish white
and blue glass in tombs which he dated to the reign of Ramesses
111.732 He also located "A factory of glass and porcelain [falence]
beads, &c., in the south-east part of the town, furnishing us with
many objects."733 The factory area contained similar glass beads to
those found in the tombs, as well as various items which indicated
that production of the objects had occurred at the site. These
included "terracotta" moulds for small amulets, "white-glazed ware
faded from green" (which almost certainly means falence), and
miscellaneous pieces of greenish slag, fragments of pottery crucible
with bubbles of iridescent pearly-white glass, and a number of
cylindrical rods of the same pearly half-decomposed glass. There are
various examples of fragments of glass fragments and inlays known
from the site, and Cooney suggested that the factory concentrated on
glass production for funerary use and temple decoration during the
reign of Ramesses 111.734
732 Griffith 1890, 47733 "The untouched earth was full of beads and minute ornaments in porcelain."(Griffith 1890, 48)734 Cooney, unpublished, cited in Kozioff and Bryan 1992, 379
222
Discussion
Consequently, although there is a significant amount of evidence for
glass working in New Kingdom Egypt, unequivocal evidence for the
production of raw glass is still slight. Ongoing work at Amarna and
Qantir continues to expand knowledge of this area. The location of
glass working centres indicate that glass was possibly a royal
prerogative, and certainly a material that was worked (if not
produced) at elite centres, such as palace and temple workshops. It is
possible that different classes of glass produciton or working occured
in different sites. The evidence for red glass at Qantir may indicate
that this site was involved in the production of raw glass which was
then refined and worked elsewhere, and the evidence from Amarna
suggests both that glass may have been produced there from local
materials, and more certainly that glass was worked there to produce
luxury products.
As both Nicholson working at Amarna73s and Rehren working at
Qantir736 point out, it is difficult to clarify exactly the divisions
between different pyrotechnologies in the archaeological record. It is
also hard to establish to what extent these divisions actually existed
for ancient craftsmen. It seems possible that various different but
related techniques for manufacturing or working with products such
as glass, falence, pigments and even metals and pottery were made in
the same or adjacent areas by the same people. Nicholson thinks that
pottery falence, glass and pigment were manufactured together, but
735 Nicholson 199 Sb, 6736 Rehren 1997 140-141; 1998 242-248
223
that metal working took place somewhere else at Amarna. He
categorises this as a 'generalised vitreous materials industry'.737
Rehren takes a slightly different view based on the work at the
industrial area (Qi) at Qantir, specifically that 'The crucial common
feature of this compound appears to be the mastering of lightly
controlled redox conditions for copper in a range of chemical
environments'.738 Various craft activities have been found in
association in this area, including bronze casting, glass making and
colouring, faience production and gold melting. Here, however, they
have not found any evidence of pottery manufacturing or firing, and
have concluded that this took place somewhere else at the site. A
number of examples of Egyptian Blue have also been found, and
during the most recent (1999) season, they also discovered strong
evidence of Egyptian Blue manufacture, indicated by finding many
crucible fragments.739
It seems likely that the particular combination of; copper use,
manipulation of high temperatures; and mechanical skills required
for the production of metal, faience, glass and pigments would have
been concentrated in the same few areas and under the control of a
few skilled practitioners.740
Friedman also thinks that craftsmen who specialised in the
737 Nicholson 1996, 18738 Rehren pers.comm.739 The Egyptian Blue samples found at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham are beingcompared with these samples.740 see Rehren, Pusch1 Herold 1998, 247 for further discussion.
224
manipulation of, for example, multicoloured falence inlays, would
also have worked on wood, ivory and bone carving, which were all
crafts requiring 'similar meticulous cutting into soft materials'.741
The assumption is therefore that Egyptian Blue (with green and
turquoise) was one of many craft products produced at specific
industrial sites within larger complexes at Egyptian settlements. It
can be further suggested that as the supply and use of metals (and
glass) was strictly controlled by the state, production of Egyptian Blue
may well have also been a royal prerogative, and that production
centres were limited to those areas under centralized control. This
would include sites in major cities such as Memphis, Luxor,
Piramesse, and major temples such as Karnak, Luxor and also royal
memorial temples on the west bank at Thebes. These last are known
to have functioned as small towns in their own right in the New
Kingdom, and there is ongoing work at, for example, the Ramesseum
where a major industrial complex adjacent to the magazines has been
investigated in recent years.742
It can be tentatively suggested that some or all of the blue and green
pigment samples found at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham may have been
fabricated at one of these centres of production.
It is also possible that an industrial centre will be found at Zawiyet
Unim el-Rakham in future years. It seems likely that pottery741 Friedman, 1998,17742 see Debono 1993-1994, 47. Work in this area has so far been concentrated on astone working area (flint working, stone picks etc.) but there is also some evidenceof pigment use, including yellow ochre found in bivalve Nile shells
225
production and metal working (if not casting) took place there.
However, it is unlikely that workmen and workshops with the
technical sophistication required to produce glass, falence and/or
Egyptian Blue would have been present. It should also be noted that
we have not yet found any evidence of faience or glass items, apart
from one small scarab, which was probably someone's treasured
personal possession that had been brought from home. The small
Egyptian Blue beads found in the kitchen area could equally well have
been brought from Egypt, or carved from existing supplies of
Egyptian Blue at the site.
Condusions
In that it has been established that Egyptian Blue was used as a
pigment on temples and tombs from the fourth dynasty onwards, the
substance must have been made somewhere, and almost certainly in
association with faience and later with glass. Any research into the
manufacturing sites of falence is at the same time an exploration into
the production centres of Egyptian Blue, both as a pigment to be used
as a paint, and an investigation of the production and use of Egyptian
Blue as an ingredient and colorant in the manufacture of falence and
copper blue glass. Kaczmarczyk & Hedges point out that from at least
the Middle Kingdom onwards, all blue and blue green falence was
coloured by copper compounds, and sometimes by Egyptian Blue,3
reinforcing the idea of the massive volume of Egyptian Blue that must
have been produced from the Middle Kingdom onwards. Given this
fact, it is surprising that there is not more archaeological evidence for
143 Thought unlikely by Tite and Shortland (pers. comm.)226
manufacture. The only conclusion that can be drawn from this lacuna
must be that Egyptian Blue was manufactured at the sites which have
previously been identified as falence production centres only.
Rigorous re-examination of existing archaeological evidence would
surely reveal features, like suitable fritting pans, which have been
previously misinterpreted or overlooked. From the volume of
Egyptian Blue that must have been used in Egypt, it is tempting to
suggest that production must have occurred both in state-controlled
production centres which had access to large volumes of the required
ingredients, especially copper, and at the same time that there may
well have been a certain level of Egyptian Blue production on a more
local, small scale basis. It can further be suggested that the Egyptian
Blue which has been found to contain scrap bronze or tin is more
likely to have been produced at those centres which would have had
access to larger amounts of precious (often imported) metals.744
744 Copper, lead and tin are explicitly listed as tribute from foreign lands during theeighteenth dynasty. (Kaczmarczyk & Hedges 1983, 224)
227
Part 5: Non-Egyptian pigments, faience, glass andEgyptian Blue
18. Introduction
If the premise is accepted that Egyptian Blue was only one of many
related craft products manufactured simultaneously, then this can be
borne in mind when looking at potential sources outside Egypt for
such material. There is as yet no non-Egyptian evidence for the
manufacture of Egyptian Blue. Nonetheless, there is evidence that this
product was used in other regions bordering the eastern
Mediterranean. It is possible that Egyptian Blue was also
manufactured at some or all of these other sites, but that such
manufacture has not yet been recognised in the existing evidence.
However, compared with evidence from Egypt, there is a general lack
of published analyses of material from excavated sites from around
the eastern Mediterranean. There is also a limited range of material
available from pre-classical period sites. These factors are due, for the
most part, to political uncertainties, notably in countries in the Near
East. It is possible that the situation will improve in future years (as is
currently happening in Iran, for example).
There is also the major drawback of significant lacunae in
documentary evidence. Cyprus has yet to yield any written evidence
at all concerning the extensive Bronze Age trade in metals that
undoubtedly centred upon the island. From the Aegean there are
228
some (untranslated) Linear A inscriptions, but it is known that most
of the recorded Linear B material is concerned with internal
movement and cataloguing of livestock, rather than with technologies
and international exchanges. The picture is somewhat clearer in the
Near East, especially from major trading centres such as Ugarit, and
production centres such as Nineveh and Babylon. Even here, however,
there are difficulties with the exact interpretation of the mearnng and
function of such texts.745 There is some documentary and
archaeological evidence for falence and glass production in some
areas, such as in Mesopotamia. It is possible, therefore, that in other
existing archaeological and documentary evidence already known
there are clues to other possible production centres which have not
yet been recognised as such.
745 Even Egypt should not be omitted from this list. Amongst the mass of survivingdocumentary evidence, especially from the New Kingdom, there is surprisingly littleconcerning the movement of goods between Egypt and her neighbours (with theexception of the Aniarna Letters) and almost none about the production of silicateproducts (falence, glass, Egyptian Blue).
229
19. Pigments in Mesopotaniia, Syria and Palestine
There is evidence of painted decoration on plaster wall faces in
various buildings from sites in Mesopotanila and Syria/Palestine.
These include Tepe Gawra746 in the fourth millennium BC, and Tell
'Uqair747 and Dur-Kurigalzu748 in the third millennium BC. Colours at
this stage tend to include black, white, red and yellow,749 with red and
white stripes on houses at Eridu,750 and black and red 'colour washes'
on many architectural features at Mari.751 However, 'traces of bright
blue paint on pieces of fallen plaster' were found in what may be a
third millennium context at Ur.752
There are also early second millennium paintings at Nuzi and Kar-
Tukulti-Ninurta, and by the middle of the second millennium, wall
paintings 'were almost universally used in conjunction with
sculptured reliefs'.753 The paint used at Nuzi was analysed by Gettens,
who found that the red ochre, carbon black and gypsum were used.754
'The private individuals at Nuzi gave expression to an aesthetic sense
in their frequent attempts at decorative wall painting',755 and it
seems likely that, as in Egypt and the Aegean, painted surfaces were
popular within houses of all ranks of society. The houses at Nuzi
746 Tobler 1950, pL XLI747 Lloyd and Safar 1943, pls. X-Xll748 Baqir, 1945. Although there is some evidence of wall paintings, modern analysisof the pigments used is not yet evident. See e.g. pis XI-X[V749 Lloyd and Safar 1943: Moorey 1994, 323750 Hall 1930, 210751 Moorey 1994 323752 Woolley 1974, 3753 Jaqir 1946, 80754 Starr 1939 491755 Starr 1939, 57
230
contained wall paintings using red, pink, white, black and grey. 756
At least 26 rooms in the palace at Man contain traces of wall
paintings. Colours include black red yellow and also brown, orange,
pale red, grey-green and pale blue.757 With first example of the blue,
which is 'almost certainly blue frit'758 appearing between 1800-1700
BC. Red paint (ochre) was also used to imitate other materials at the
site, including marble and textiles.759 However, there is no published
analysis of the pigments used at the site.
From the level VII palace at Alalakh and from the palace at Qatna,
there are Minoan-style wall paintings on lime plaster, and from Tell
Kabri painted plaster floors76O (as in the Aegean) dating from between
1700-1650 BC.
Palace terraces at Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta dated to 1250 BC were
decorated with stylised scenes of nature and imitations of textiles.761
The main colours used were red, black, white and blue. Andrea
described the pigments used, with 'red midway between vermilion
and Indian red, and the blue, very pure, and corresponds to the light
blue frit'. 762 Once again, however, there is no scientific analysis
available.
756 Starr 1939, 57757 Parrot 1958, 87758 Moorey 1994, 324759 Pierre 1987, 569760 Niemeier 1991761 Andrea 1925, 11-12762 Trans. m Moorey 1985, 325
231
The painted palace at 'Aqar Quf contained geometric and floral
decoration on the walls , a processions of human figures on the lower
part of door reveals.763 The paint used included black, red yellow and
blue. Without scientific analysis it is difficult to be precise about the
pigments, but the 'weak cobalt'764 blue referred to 'are likely in the
main to be of blue frit'.765
Different Mesopotanilan and Syrian iconic traditions can be identified
in wall paintings from sites in the Near East. However, it is less
apparent what pigments and techniques were used in their execution.
Although the evidence of pigments used in these various periods is
not very clear, with a combination of poor field records and little
technical analysis,76 6 the colours used in Mesopotanilan wall paintings
can be summarised as follows:
black: usually carbon, probably soot
red: red ochre
white: calcium carbonate and gypsum
yellow: yellow ochre
blue: Egyptian blue
763 Baqir 1946, 80764 Baclir 1946, 81765 Moorey 1994, 325766 Moorey 1994 322 notes that 'At one point or another every predictable fault isencountered and exposed when specialists study at leisure what has survived inmuseums: large and small inaccuracies in restoration and copying; overconfidentrestoration of designs; inaccurate descriptions of design and technique; very partialstudy of the surviving pieces; unstable colours.'
232
20. Pigments in the Aegean
As in the Near East, painting in the Aegean was primarily a mural art
used to decorate palaces, private houses and tombs.767 In the Early
Minoan Period (3000-2000 BC), coloured mortar was used with ashlar
or coursed masonry, and at Vasiiki and Myrtos in eastern Crete there
is evidence for plaster walls coloured red. By MMIIIA (1700 BC) hard
white lime plaster was used which was suitable for mural paintings.768
That such plaster was sometimes decorated when wet is indicated by
the impression of string guidelines and the penetration of some
colours.769
Extensive analysis of pigments from Thera, Knossos, Mycenae, Pylos
and Tiryns has identified the materials used, and indicates that there
was a general Aegean tradition in materials as well as pictorial
themes and techniques of execution.
Blue 7 7 0
Two different blue pigments were used in the Aegean; a naturally
occurring glaucophane and Egyptian blue. Glaucophane either alone
or mixed with Egyptian Blue has been found at Knossos and Thera in
contexts dating from before 1500 BC. Pure Egyptian Blue was also
used at Knossos between 3000-17 50 BC. No examples of glaucophane
are known from contexts after 1500 BC, and it seems likely that there
767 Immerwabr 1990, 11768 Cameron. Jones & Philippakis 1977769 llmmerwahr 1990, 14770 filippakis, Perdikatsis & Paradeffis 1976
233
was a supply of the material either on Thera or controlled by the
inhabitants of that island which was lost after the volcanic eruption
which destroyed the site. After 1400 BC all the blue pigments used at
Knossos, Mycenae, Tiryns and Pylos were pure Egyptian Blue. It is
possible that this is a reflection of greater Mycenaean access to the
material.
Green
A specific green paint does not seem to have been used in the
Aegean, but rather Egyptian blue and yellow ochre were mixed or
overpainted.
Red
Red ochre (iron oxide) was used at all sites. There is no evidence for
the use of realgar.
Yellow
Yellow ochre (iron oxides) was used, and there is no evidence for the
use of either orpiment or jarosite
White
The white lime plaster used as the canvas for Aegean wall painting
was often left unpainted when white areas were required. The same
material may occasionally have been watered down and used as paint.
234
Black
Carbon was used at all sites, and there is also evidence for the use of
black manganese at Thera.771
771 Profi, Perclikatsis & Filippakis 1977, 110235
21. Falence in Mesopotamia
There is some evidence from Mesopotamia for glazed or burnt
steatite and glazed quartz during the Ubaid Period (4500-3800 BC).772
A few faience objects are also known from this period, although the
exact dating of many finds remains problematic.773 The two main
sites from which such items occur are Tepe Gawra and Tell
Arpachiyah. Faience beads and stamp seals were found from levels
dating between 4300-3900 BC at Tepe Gawra.774 A disc pendant, and
faience and glazed steatite rings were found at Tell Arpachiyah,775
which probably dated from the same period.776 Foster suggests that
'on the basis of the proximity of the two sites and in the absence of
falence antedating these finds, one can conclude that falence was first
invented in this area of Northern Mesopotamia'.777
From about 4000BC, a few beads and seals are known from sites such
as Ur, Eridu and Susa.778 However, it is possible that these had been
imported from northern sites. The two main production centres seem
to have been in the north, at Tepe Gawra, where faience beads are
772 Moorey 1985, 138-140 -773 see Moorey 1985, 142 for discussion. Stone & Thomas 1956, 41 point out thatTepe Gawra was a site that 'could have been expected to have yielded the requiredinformation had modern methods of excavation and recording been adopted; as jtis digging by arbitrary levels with inadequate appreciation has merely addedconfusion to what ought to have been a site of first rate importance'.774 tobler, 1950, 192 (levels XLX-XVI)775 Mallowan&Rose 1933, 97; Beck, Stone 1936, 222776 Stone & Thomas 1956, 41 suggest that these may be the contents of later burialinclusions into earlier levels. Note also that Peltenburg (1987, 12) tested some 'frit'found at the site, and des covered that it was in fact azunte.777 Foster 1979, 22778 Moorey 1985, 143
236
common in fourth millennium burials,779 and Tell Brak. The 'Grey Eye
Temple' at Tell Brak had been built on many levels, and falence and
black steatite beads 'of which there were hundreds of thousands'78o
were found in all the layers. Some of the mud bricks in the
foundations also had falence beads embedded in them. One bead
examined by Stone and Thomas was segmented, and consisted of a
soft white core with traces of a light greenish glaze, and the authors
note that this is the earliest bead of its type known, and that it
'suggests a very active industry in northern Syria towards the end of
the fourth millennium'.781 There were also many amulets or seals
shaped as ammal figurines, trees, rosettes and (perhaps) model
kidneys.
Towards the end of the fourth millennium, the repertoire of falence
extended into small vessels, and there is some evidence for these at
sites in southern Mesopotanila, although it is possible that these once
more represent luxury trade items rather than the product of local
manufacture.782 A blue faience jar (which Woolley thought was core-
formed) and a small pale turquoise vase were found at Ur,783 and
similar vessels have been found at Khafajah7s4 and Telloh.785 Plaques,
beads, amulets and cylinder seals were found at Susa786 and further
779 Moorey 1985, 143. One grave alone contained 25,192 beads (Stone & Thomas1956, 41)780 Mallowan 1947, 43781 Stone & Thomas, 1956, 42782 Moorey, 1985 144783 Wooley 1956, 63784 perkins 1949, 153785 Moorey 1985, 144786 Schmidt 1937, 61
237
east at Tepe Hlssar, 787 and it is possible that faience was being
produced somewhere on the south eastern border of Mesopotarma
during this period.788
Consequently, it appears that glazed steatite and faience make their
first almost contemporary appearance in northern Mesopotanila
during the fifth millennium BC789 and that, by about 3000BC, there
was a major centre of faience production in northern Mesopotamia,
with perhaps a subsidiary centre in the southern790 or southeast of
the country.
Early in the third millennium, between 3000 and 2600BC (Early
Dynastic I and II), there is some evidence for faience beads, amulets
and pinheads from burial contexts at sites such as Khafajah, Ur and
Kish.79' Between 2600-23 50 BC (Early Dynastic Ill) beads became more
common in graves at Kish (with the introduction of manganese
black),79 2 but only a few were found in the royal cemetery at Ur.
Falence vessels are known from a house at Khafajah,793 a tomb at
Kish,794 and from Tell Agrab.795 Towards the end of the third
millennium (Akkadian Period 2350-2100 BC), there are various
examples from northern Mesopotamia/Syria, with material from Tell
787 Foster 1979, 26, although Stone & Thomas (1956, 43) note that the evidence iscontained in 'an account exasperatingly marred by the total absence of expertopinion on the composition of many of the beads and seals found'.788 Moorey 1985, 144789 Stone & Thomas 1956, 44790 Foster 1979, 27791 Moorey 1985, 144792 Moorey 1978793 Delougaz 1967, 28794 Moorey 1978, 74795 Delougaz 1942, 268
238
Taya, Chagar Bazar, Tell Brak and Hama.796 Finds from Tell Taya
include beads, some with granular faience decoration, and amulets,
pendants, a fragment of a blue beard, and several bowls, some with
lids, and a beaker of green falence with zig-zag incisions and a
perforated rim,797 and Reade believed that the falence was probably
made locally. 798
Many beads were found at Nineveh, and here for the first time they
were in association with a number of pieces of slag,799 indicating that
this was almost certainly a site of manufacture. Although there is
some debate about the exact date of this factory,800 parallels with the
finds from Tell Taya suggest a similar date for the thousands of
beads, which included new colours in addition to blue and green with
white, red, black, pale blue and some two-colour beads (black and red,
blue and yellow, and black and white stripes).801 It seems likely that
the expanded range of colours and forms found at this site was due
in part to the fact that they remained local to the centre of
production, and also perhaps the results of experimentation
ultimately deemed unsuitable for trade remained in situ.
Foster suggests that the industry in the north was using faience as a
cheaper substitute for lapis lazuli, whereas southern Mesopotarnia
had more ready access to precious stones through trade.
796 Foster 1979, 27797 Reade 1971, 98 and plate XXV d798 Reade 1973, 161799 Beck 1931, 427800 Stone & Thomas and Foster think that the site is contemporary with Tell Brak,while Moorey suggests the Akkadian period due to contemporary parallels.801 Beck, 1931, 430
239
Consequently, she assumes that the smaller but more adventurous
types of falence from these areas were due to artistic
experimentation, rather than being made in imitation of valuable
stones, as in the north.8o2
In the last century of the third millennium (Ur Ill), there is continued
evidence for an expanded repertoire of faience types, with finds of
beads, small vessels and animal figures at major sites such as Ur and
Nippur in the south arid Assur in the north. More colours were also
used, such as white, light blue and yellow on animal figurines at
Assur.803
In the first half of the second millennium (2000-1600BC) Ur, although
an important archaeological site in southern Mesopotamia, has few
faience artifacts in burials. 804 An area to the north of the city
contained various animal figurines; those of frogs, ducks, monkeys,
fish and tortoises. It is not clear, however, to what extent this
represents a shift in the value or use of the material. There are a few
finds from scattered sites in other areas, including a faience doll's
head at Susa in the east, and faience inlays for furniture, miniature
lamps, cups and jars at Mar! in the north west.805
Chagar Bazar in the north seems to have remained a centre of falence
production in between 2000 and 1500 BC, with finds of beads,
802 Foster 1979, 2 7-29803 Moorey 1985, 147804 Moorey 1985, 147805 parrot 1937, 83
240
amulets, animal figurines and miniature lampS.806
Between 3000 and 1500BC, as with Egypt and the Aegean, there
seems to have been no fundamental change in the falence repertory,
with concentration on personal ornaments and a limited production
of small vessels. However, again in concert with other countries in
the region, there was a profound extension in the range and intensity
of production of falence in the middle of the second millennium.807
Between 1600-13SOBC, the Mitannian kingdom spread across
northern Mesopotamia, and the expansion of falence colours and
styles may have been stimulated and facilitated by their desire for
luxury objects.808
The two sites where this expansion is most evident are Nuzi and Tell
al Rimah. The celia of Temple A, which was destroyed in Stratum II at
Nuzi, which Starr thought was at approximately 1400 BC (although
Moorey suggests a terminus of 1350BC),809 contained 'thousands of
beads scattered over the floor, some still retaining remnants of the
copper wire on which they were strung'.810 These were glass, blue frit
and stone. Two 'blue frit' vessels where also found, 811 but none of
faience.
806 Mallowan 1937, 122 137, 1947, 174807 The extent to which this acceleration is related to increased glass production isdiscussed below.808 see Moorey 1985, 151 for discussion.809 Moorey 1985, 150810 Starr, 1939, 92811 See in chapter "Egyptian Blue in Mesopotarnia, Syria, Palestine, Cyprus and theAegean"
241
The frit beads were chalky in texture, and most were grey-blue,812
although red frit was also found in knobbed beads and a plaque.813
There were two examples of faience vessels, which were both found
in the palace, with a bowl of mixed red and white with 'touches of
yellow', and a vase fragment, which is red, white and yellow with
'touches of blue glass'.814 These two objects are sometimes referred
to as glass,815 demonstrating the indistinct interface between the
different media at this time.
The other major group of falence objects from Mesopotan-iia during
this period comes from Tell al Rimah. A side room (V) in the temple
contained various examples of frit, faience and glass, with 'hundreds
of glazed quartz fnt beads, some grouped in strings', animal
figurines including lions, flies, hedgehogs and frogs, two cylinder
seals in the 'Mitannian style' and four cylindrical capsules, thought to
have contained either cosmetics or perfume. There were also glass
beads, and a plaque pendant of a nude female.816 The excavator
believed that 'most of these trinkets were presumably intended as
offerings in the shrine, and they must have been stored, or perhaps
even offered for sale, in the room'. 8 17 The site also contained evidence
for the manufacture of glass objects.88
812 Starr 1939, 446813 Starr 1939 447814 Starr 1939, 461815 e.g. Barag 1970, 140 who states that the material should be categorised as glassas it 'consists of a colourful mixture, contrary to the separate base material andglaze typical of falence.'816 Oates, 1965, 73817 Oates, 1965, 73818 See in chapter "Glass in Mesopotamia"
242
The indication is that faience production in Mesopotaniia at this time,
as in Egypt, was divided between what was largely a 'prestige' activily,
conducted in workshops at centrally controlled sites (such as palaces
and temples) having access to an expanded range of materials with
products found in shrines, palaces and wealthy burials; and also
continued small scale local production to serve local purposes.
With the rise in power of Assyria from circa 1420 BC onwards, and in
the following Middle Assyrian period (1350-1200 BC), as the balance
of power shifted, there was an expansion in both important
production centres and local workshops. Assur became the capital of
northern Mesopotamia, and the variety of falence objects found in
temples at the site indicate that there was almost certainly a local
production centre.819 Beads, amulets, gaming pieces, furniture inlays,
plaques, statuettes, human heads, eyes, feet and genitals, animal
figures and a few vessels including a blossom bowl82o and a
mouthpiece for an ostrich-egg rhyton have been found in the Ishtah
Temple and the earlier temple at Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta.821
'Mitannian style' faience cylinder seals and fragments of several
faience vessels were found in association with glass at the second
millennium palace at Tell Brak.822 The vessels included examples of a
rhyton, rim sherds of yellow bowls and also conical gaming pieces,
bluç, yellow, white green and red falence beads.823
819 Note, however, that no site has yet been identified820 see below in falence in Cyprus821 Andrae 1935, 96-101 p1 34-42822 Oates 1997, 88823 McDonald 1997, 101
243
A thirteenth century elite tomb at Tell a! Rimah also contained
Assyrian falence beads, a frit cylinder seal of Mitannian type, and a
quantity of beads of frit and other materials.824
There were various examples of faience at Marl in a cemetery which
also contained a falence plaque naming Amenhotep Ill. However, the
cemetery may nevertheless be dated to the thirteenth century BC.82s
There are similar finds from Babylon, including beads, amulets and
vessels, some with lids and geometric designs.826 There was also some
evidence of fire pits which may have acted as kilns to fire local
products.827
Falence vessels have been found at other important sites including
Nippur and Ur dating from between 1300-115OBC. However, small
faience vessels were an important trade item, and similar examples
have been found throughout the near east.828
824 Oates, 1965, 74, 1967, 93.825 Peltenburg 1977, 192826 Reuther 1926, 13-15827 Reuther, 1926 58. Note that Moorey 1985, 153 questions this attribution828 Peltenburg (1972) classified sinillar vessels found in Cyprus into two categories;Egyptian or Egyptianizing and Western Asiatic. The latter was further divided intoNorth Levantine and International Western Asiatic. However, some of these typesare quite hard to distinguish.
244
22. Glass in Mesopotamia
Although the evidence for glass production is less abundant than that
found in Egypt, there is little debate that glass vessel production first
occurred somewhere in the region of Mesopotamia/North West Syria.
Manufacturing debris is known from such sites as Tell Brak, and
dating of contexts has shown that glass vessels first appeared at a
few sites in this area between 1600-1500BC. The earliest known glass
vessels in Egypt probably appeared during the reign of Tuthmosis III,
i.e. after 1479 B.C., and these are thought to have been either trade or
tribute items coming from the east. As before, a distinction must be
drawn between those small glass items which were produced as a
byproduct of the faience industry, and those which belong to the
corpus of material which appeared after the development of a
separate and distinct glass industry.
As stated elsewhere, glass-making grew out of related pyrotechnical
sfficate technologies. There is evidence for small glass or glassy
objects from the middle of the third millennium onwards at various
sites across Syria and Mesopotamia.829 The earliest glass was found
in Phase G83o (3000-2SOOBC) at Tell Judeideh in the Amuq plain, in the
form of a 'short oblate spherical bead'.831 Matson described the bead
as pale yellow-green coloured by iron, with many bubbles on the
surface and the interior. He also noted many seeds and cords in the
829 Catalogued by Beck, 1934, and from which much of this section is drawn.830 (Braidwood & Braidwood 1960, 516) with cultural artifacts compared by theexcavators with the Eye temple complex at Tell Braq (see below)831 Braidwood & Braidwood 1960, 34 1-342
245
glass, which suggested that it had been melted at a 'fairly low
temperature'.832
A 'plain copper pin with a large spherical glass bead at one end'833
was found in Stratum IV (2350-2100) at Nuzi, and Starr noted that 'as
far as outward appearances show, the glass is identical with, and as
perfect as, the beads made in Nuzi almost a thousand years later.'834
Two glass beads were found at Nippur in association with tablets
from the Akkadian period (2350-2100BC). One is white and olive
green, the other yellow and bluish green.835
Two early examples of intermediate stages in the production of glass
artifacts are also known, with a pale blue-green chipped glass rod
found in the layer of debris corresponding to the period of the
desertion of the Akkadian Palace (i.e. circa 2100BC) at Tell Asmar,836
which Beck described as "modelled or moulded to its present shape,
and not cut out of a solid block.'83 7 The glass was free from inclusions
and only contained a few small bubbles, implying a higher firing
temperature and a grater degree of technical expertise than that
demonstrated on the earlier glass from Amuq.
A lump of aquamarine glass dating from between 23 50-2000BC wts
found under a pavement at Eridu, and Beck thought that it was832 Matson 1960, in Braidwood & Braidwood 1960, 341833 Starr 1939, 32834 Starr 1939, 380835 Moorey 1994, 190836 Frankfort 1934, 56; Degoulaz 1967, 189837 Beck 1934, no.7
246
Fig.22.1 A bead from TellJudeideh, the earliest exampleof glass in Mesoopotaima.
Fig.22.2 Glass from Eridu,probably broken off from alarger lump.
'probably a manufacturer's piece of material and the probability is
that it was made in the immediate neighbourhood of where it was
found.'838 Garner established that the colour was caused by cobalt,
and suggested that the source for the colorant was mines at Khemsar,
near Kashan (Iran), which are less than 400 miles from the site.839
Both these lumps were found in secure and accurately datable
stratigraphical contexts. However, there are so few glass objects
known from this period that it is possible these glasses were meant
to be ground into powder and then used for glazing, rather than for
the production of glass objects.840
Two third millennium graves at Ur contained a few examples of glass
beads, with collections of 'Beads: necklace of carnelian, lapis lazuli,
silver, jasper and glass'841 and 'Beads: a few small agate. lapis lazuli,
and carnelian, and some small glass ring-beads'.842 There were also
some glass beads in early second millennium graves at the site.843
There is some evidence for glass beads in a deposit in the Ziggurat at
Assur, although there is some debate about the date of this cache.844
Glass beads were also found in grave 486 at Assur.8 45 Fragments of a
glass rod and a glass bowl have been found in an early second838 Beck 1934 no.8839 Garner 1956, 148840 Barag, 1985,35841 l.L 11427842 U.12003. Note, however, that Woolley states that 'beads are not verysatisfactory material for dating because they are almost indestructible and may bein use for a long time indeed.' Woolley 1934, 371843 Moorey 1985, 198844 See Beck, 1934, 17; Moorey 1985, 198845 Hailer 1954, 39
248
millennium context at Tell Asmar.846
Moorey notes that 'from such meagre and scattered evidence little of
significance may be concluded'.847 Nonetheless, it is evident that there
was some production of glass prior to the major changes in glass
technology in the second millennium in and around Mesopotanila.
In Egypt a survey of glass production sites can be made through
analysis of existing factory evidence. Glass beads and vessels
themselves are useful as supplementary evidence, where material or
chemical composition can perhaps indicate common locations
through similarity in type or form, but the (large number) of artifacts
do not contain proof of origin in themselves.
In Mesopotamia, Syria and Palestine, however, there is less evidence
for such workshops. Consequently, previous bodies of' work on the
subject have had to rely on the archaeological evidence of the end
product - the glass objects themselves. The drawbacks inherent in
this technique are clear. Nonetheless, unless or until more evidence
is found for the processes involved, then it is only possible to try and
extrapolate backwards. As with the study of faience, a preponderance
of evidence in one place, especially in major urban centres, is
probably a comparatively accurate indication of local production.
As in Egypt, in most Mesopotamian sites glass vessels were mainly
846 Delou,gaz 1967, 263. These finds have not yet been compared with the glasslum p from the same site847 Moorey 1985, 198
249
found in temples and graves, and less frequently in palaces or elite
private houses.848
Although Starr points out that existing evidence of glass at Nuzi is
obscured both by looting in antiquity and by the 'excessively poor
condition of the fragments',849 he nevertheless identified many
examples of glass beads found in Temple A, and it is possible that
these represent the remains of extensive architectural decoration on
the walls, where beads had been hung as wall hangings.8s0 Two
plaques coated with green glass were also found in the Ishtah section
of Temple A,851 a shallow monochrome bowl, and four different
shapes of glass vessels were found in the great court, in rooms north
west of the palace and the temple, and also a few examples were
found in elite private houses at the site. These are; a high straight
sided cup, small open mouthed vases, small bottles, and small bottles
with a fluted surface.852 Most of the glass was blue (although some
has now turned green),853 and white, yellow, orange and black are also
present. The designs included single or compound scallops of
separate colours.854
The decorative patterns of some of the glass are very similar to
contemporary ceramic designs from the same period (Nuzi II 1500-
848 Barag 1.970, 135849 Starr 1939, 457850 S.tarr 1939, 91851 Starr 1939, 456852 Starr 1939, 457-458. Both types 1 and 2 may include knob bases, and Barag1962, 12 adds a hollow cylinder stand as a fifth type.853 Starr believed that all the glass now green was originally blue, but Baragsuggests that green may also have been used as a base colour.854 Starr 1939, 458.
250
1400BC),sss and Starr believed that the 'quantity, distribution, and
likeness of material and detail to the glass beads and plaques of the
temple leave no doubt that it was of local manufacture.'856 Three
lumps of blue, raw glass were also found at the site which reinforces
the idea that glass was at least worked there. Two staff-heads of
green and yellow glass, a blue macehead and pendants moulded with
stars (similar to those found in the Aegean) were also found.857 The
large number of glass finds at the site (11,000), and the range of
manufacturing methods and ingredients utilised indicate that glass
technology was already well developed by the time the site was
destroyed (circa. 1400BC).85 8 The marblised goblet from the tomb of
Tuthmosis III's wives has been shown to contain lead from a near
eastern source, and the closest parallels for vessel's shape and fabric
are at Nuzi level II and Assur tomb 37. This evidence further
emphasises the idea of Nuzi glass manufacture during the fifteenth
century BC.
According to Mallowan, similar glass and pottery forms were also
found at Chagar Bazar and Tell Brak, also dating from between 1 500-
1400 BC,8s9 but he did not publish the glass, although there was
apparently a 'considerable output of glass vessels' at Tell Brak.860
including two fragments which are blue, white and yellow.861
855 Note that Moorey 1985, 150 pushes the date to 1350 BC856 SIan 1939, 457857 Starr 1939, 459 One vessel of mosaic glass, which Starr thought was faience, isdiscussed below.858 Vandiver 1983b, 246859 Mallowan 1947, 77860 Mallowan 1947, 243 also see below861 Barag 1970, 146
251
More recent work at Tell Brak has cast considerable light on the
activities of the glass workers. The earliest glass find from the site is
a single spacer bead in a Late Middle Bronze Age context. 862 A few
sherds of vessels, including an unusual example of mosaic glass
patterned with blue and white rhomboids and a fluted vessel with
chevron pattern were also found in earlier levels (i.e. pre 1 500BC).
However, the majority (73) of the glass items come from the
Mitannian Palace destroyed in approximately 1283 BC.. 863 Piriform
bottles, piriform bottles with fluted bodies and footed beakers similar
to those found at Nuzi and Tell al Rimah were found, as well as one
example of mosaic glass and an unusual bowl or cup with granulated
glass decoration.864 Moulded plaques, pendants, a cylinder seal and
single-coloured and polychrome glass beads were also found in the
Temple at the site. Glass colours included black, brown, green, blue,
amber, orange yellow and red.865
More interestingly, thirteen glass ingots and fragments were
discovered in the palace, some in a store (room 5) next to a workshop
(room 7). The ingots are similar to those known from other sites,
such as Ulu Burun, and were cast in 'slightly concave crucibles'866
with an average diameter of 15cm. Most of the ingots are light blue
copper glass, and some dark blue examples were also found which
were coloured with cobalt867 Copper blue and red and white glass'
waste was also found in room 5. Analysis of the glass found at the862 contemporary with the glass finds at Alalakh, see below.8G3Oates 1997, 35864 Oates 1997 82865 Oates 1997 87866 Oates 1997 85867 Precise measurements are not given of these dark blue glass ingots.
252
site suggests that they are 'typical Mesopotamian soda glasses'
resembling that found at Nuzi and similar sites.868 There is no
primary evidence for glass production at Tell Brak, but it seems likely
that glass working at least occurred there as early as the fifteenth
century BC, and continued until the destruction of the Mitannian
palace.
Various glass vessels have been found at Assur, especially in
association with falence finds in the altar room of the Ishtah Temple.
Others were found in a group of elite graves at the site, notably in
tomb 37 which was at the same level as the Ishtah temple.869 Four
glass vessels were found in this tomb, including a brown glass
tripodal beaker similar to the faience example found in the Ishtah
temple; a piriform bottle with blobs marvered on the body but
sticking out on the neck, a knob base and flared rim; a brown and
blue piriform bottle with fluted body, pointed base, flared rim (Nuzi
shape 4) and feather pattern on the body; and a piriform bottle with
pointed base and flared rim made of either blue or green glass with
blue and yellow draped festoon pattern. The neck and rim both have
twisted rod patterns. This last bottle is very similar to the one found
in the tomb of Maherpra,870 and consequently was probably buried
1500-1400BC. A pair of glass pins also from tomb 37 have parallels
with one found in a tomb at Megiddo dating from about J500BC. 871 ' A
piriform bottle was found another grave (133) at the site, and this is868 BrIll & Shirahata 1997, 89869 Hailer 1954, 114 fig 148 p124. There has been debate about the date of thistomb, with suggestions ranging from 1500-1000BC. (See Barag 1962 14-15 fordiscussion).870 An official under Amenhotep II (1427-1396BC), see in chapter "Glass in Egypt"871 Barag 1970 142
253
also brown and blue with draped festoons and meanders, knobs on
the neck and a blue glass rim. 8 72 The glass vessels are all similar to
those found at Nuzi, but Barag thinks that 'differences are too
numerous to allow for both to have originated in the same
workshops,'873 and Moorey notes that "the archaeological evidence
certainly indicates a local industry making glass of all kinds as well as
a complementary production of artifacts in glassy (sintered quartz)
materials. '874
A similar piriform bottle was found at Ur, but here Woolley thought
that the vessel came from a grave below the floor of a private house
dating from approximately 1300BC.8 7 5 The bottle is opaque brown
glass with turquoise thread in chevron patterns, 876 and is similar to
the vessel from tomb 37 at Assur.
There is also evidence for glass production in association with falence
at the site of Tell al Rimah, although no raw glass or industrial debris
has been published from the site. 877 Most of the glass was found in
Middle Assyrian levels (1350-1250 B.C.). These included beads, glass
pendants, and a plaque pendant of a nude female found in the Ishtah
Temple,878 a glass cylinder seal of 'Mitannian type' and a light blue
glass bottle with white, yellow and orange festoons, 879 and a deep
blue glass beaker with a twisted pole round the rim and band y of872 Hailer 1954, 18873 Barag 1962, 17874 v1oorey 1985, 204875 This date is confirmed by Barag (1970, 147)876 Woolley, 1927, 387; Fossing 1940, 31; Barag 1962, 18; Barag 1970, 147877 Moorey 1985, 203878 OateS 1965, 73879 Oates 1967, 93
254
yellow, grey, blue and white.88o Once again, the forms of the vessels
resemble ceramic shapes found at Nuzi.
Most of the glass finds from the site of the Kassite capital at Dur
Kurigaizu are dated between 1332-1308 BC,881 and there are also
texts dating from 1232 BC which refer to glass being given to artisans
to decorate the 'Palace of the Stag',882 and it seems likely that as at
Nuzi, Assur and Tell Rimah, glass making and working occurred here
in a centrally controlled workshop. The material includes greenish-
black plaques with white paste and red plaques inlaid with turquoise
blue and yellow, both types with patterns of stars, circles (similar to
those found at Nuzi) and one example of the head and shoulders of
an eagle. There are also patterned and mosaic glass fragments,
including the ring base of a bowl, which were found as 'closely
packed striations of various coloured glass or paste, ground smooth
on both faces.'883
There is less evidence for glass production and use in Babyloma at
this time, with the exception of a few moulded blue glass votive axe-
heads found at Nippur in association with small polychrome faience
discs and semi precious objects perhaps representing a jewellers
stock,884 and few fragments of long tubular dark blue glass rods with
white decoration found at Susa,88s and a white glass handle *ith
880 (Yates 1968, 30 p1XXXV881 Moorey 1985, 205882 Gurney 1953 no.22883 Baqir, 1945, 91884 Peters 1898, 186-188; Moorey 1985, 206885 Barag 1970, 149
255
darker blobs found at Babylon.886
Most of the glass discussed above has parallels with that found in
Egypt, and it is not surprising that there has been a history of debate
as to where the industry started, and which cultures were importing
from or imitating the other.887 There are a few typological differences
that can be highlighted, such as the lack of handles of any vessels
from Mesopotaniia, and the limited repertoire of mainly piriform
bottle shapes.888 From at least the early fifteenth century BC, vessels
are found in Nuzi, Assur and Alalakh, 889 sites which Barag suggests
are 'in the Mitannian sphere',890 and it seems likely that the
production of glass vessels originated somewhere in this area.
However, there is one glass tradition which is commonly found in
Mesopotamia, yet has almost no parallels in Egypt. This is the
technique of mosaic glass, where vessels were built up on a core from
sections of circular glass rods of various colours. The whole object
was then surrounded by an outer mould or mantle and fired. It has
been suggested that the production of these glass objects represents
the transition from mosaic work in other materials such as falence.
Such experimentation with glazes and ceramics may have contributed
ideas to the manufacture of these glass vessels.891 A few such vessels
have been found at Tell al Rimah and Dur-Kurigalzu.892 There are also
886 Barag 1962, 19887 e.g. Beck 1934; Fossing 1940; Barag 1962888 Barag 1970, 171889 see below890 Barag 1962, 22891 Von Saldern 1970, 207892 Harden1 1968 42
256
Fig.22.3 Mosaic glass dishprobably from Malkata
Fig.22.4 Mosaic bowl withopaque yellow rim. whichmay be from Malkata
a couple of examples of mosaic glass dishes having been found in
Eighteenth Dynasty contexts in Egypt (Malkata, tomb of Amenophis
III), 89 3 and it seems likely that these were imported from
Mesopotamia.
Another form which, although occasionally found in Egypt, is
probably Mesopotanüan and perhaps relates to the above technique,
is that where objects are made of a marblised, or mixed opaque
composition imitating veined stone. There is an example of this style
in Egypt, in the form of a goblet found in the tomb of Tutmosis Ill
Syrian wives.894 Examples from Mesopotarnia include a bowl and
goblet from Nuzi,895 marblised beads from Nuzi and Tell Brak, and a
beaker base from Susa.896 Thus, variegated glass vessels may be
related to mosaic work in other materials, and to the practice of
imitating objects traditionally of one material with another.
Analysis of glass vessels found at sites such as Tell al-Rimah, Nuzi
and Nippur has indicated that similar industrial and decorative
techniques were employed at each site, suggesting a common
technical tradition. However, subtle differences in the raw materials
suggests that each production centre was exploiting locally available
raw materials, especially colorants and opacfiers.897
893 Friedmann 1998, 390. There are two dishes known from Egypt, one in the BritishMuseum (Cooney 1976, 145, no.1748) and one in Brooklyn (Kozioff 1992, 390 no.98)894 friedman 1998 215 fig 90: Lilyquist 1993, 9-11.89 Barag 1970, 13 9-40. (These vessels are also discussed in "Falence inMesoPOtamia" above)896 Lilyquist 1993, 10897 McGovern, Fleming and Swann 1991, 401
258
23. Faience in Syria and Palestine
Faience found from the second millennium in Syria/Palestine can be
described as an amalgamation of indigenous styles and foreign
artistic traditions derived principally from Egypt, the Aegean and
Mesopotamia.898 The dominance of artistic influence from abroad has
led some commentators to believe that 'the native contribution was
practically limited to assimilation and inlitation'.899 However, many
of the necessary metals and raw materials required for silicate
production were native to the area, and it is possible that
contributions were made to the innovations in sificate technology in
the middle of the second millennium when a range of new ingredients
were used as colorants and opacifiers.900
Several clay tablets and small faience head found in the bottom of an
oven may represent a centre of production at Ras Shanira.901 A
number of unusual faience artifacts have been found at the site,
including a chariot, a spoon with a duck or goose head handle, a
rhyton with a painted animals flanking a tree, and plaques showing
bearded Syrians.9o2 Several faience vessels were also found at Minet-
el-Beida.903
jJl the second millennium levels at Alalakh contain significtnt
898 Foster 1979 47899 Gray 1964, 161900 McGovern, Fleming & Swann 1993, 1901 Schaeffer 1962, 37; Foster 1979, 47, although Moorey (1985, 158) believes thatthis is very unlikely from the evidence cited.902 Foster 1979, 47903 Schaeffer 1933, p1 2
259
amounts of faience.9o4 Faience beads were found in graves in all levels
between level VII (1780-1750BC) and level 1 (1220-119OBC). The
beads included various types of bead included plain, striated and
fluted balls, date shaped, cylindrical and double conoid shaped.905
Although 'vessels of glazed frit were not numerous',906 a combination
of Mesopotamia, Syrian and Egyptian styles were in evidence, with
examples including cylinder seals and amulets, a human mask, a
vessel fragment covered in a seed pattern, bowls and goblets in blue-
green faience with lotus patterns, and a bowl showing a seated figure
in front of an offering scene. Woolley believed that this may have
been a local product imitating Egyptian styles, as the decoration was
painted after firing with 'some sort of water-colour paint'.907
Four hundred and forty five faience objects were found in an offering
deposit of the pro-celia of the nineteenth or eighteenth century BC
Obelisk Temple at Byblos.9o8 These included many small figurines of
hippopotami and other animals, induding a Syrian bear.9°9 Seven
small vases of 'Syro/Palestinian type'910 suggests that there may have
been a production centre at the site. All classes of finds in the Late
Bronze Age levels consist mainly of Egyptian imports, 911 although
there is still some evidence of local production with a vase bearing
the name (in cartouche) of a local ruler.912904 Woolley 1955, pls. 68, 74, 83. See below in chapter "Glass in Syria and Pa1estne"for full discussion of the importance of the site.905 Woolley 1955, 270906 Woolley 1955, 297907 Woolley 1955, 297908 Ijunand 1958, 741, the objects 'en pâte blanche vitrifiée'.909 Dunand 1958, p1. 108910 Dunand 1958, 768-769; Foster 1979, 48911 Foster 1979, 48912 Montet 1928, 212
260
Thousands of beads and pendants have been found in Levels VIII
(1294-1279BC) and VII (1279-1213BC) of the main temple prednct at
Beth Shan, where the artifacts attest to a combined Egyptian!
Canaanite cult.913 A votive deposit or cache was found deposited
below a stairway which included beads, pendants, animal figurines
and bowls. The excavators believe that a 'local variant of the Syro-
Palestine silicate industry' existed during the Middle Bronze Age at
the site which was then adapted by the Egyptians,9'4 with locally used
colours including yellow, white and grey entering the Egyptian falence
repertoire. Falence vessels, again found in or near the temple
precinct, include ten blue bowls with black line decoration, five
goblets, and various sherds of drop shaped and polychrome
vessels.915
Manufacturing evidence at Beth Shan included pieces of misshapen
and overfired refuse glass and falence, pieces of Egyptian blue9lG and
a mould.917
There was almost certainly at least one centre of faience production
at Megiddo and/or Lachish. Both Egyptian and local falence found at
Megiddo include various unusual pieces, with sherds of geometric
and floral designs,918 a naked dancing girl, 919 and a horse with a913 McGovern, Fleming & Swann 1993, 3914 "After the site was converted into a military garrison, faience of standard NewKingdom type, which was lower fired than Syro-Palestinian faiences, became veryprevalent." (McGovern, Fleming & Swann 1993, 6)915 James & McGovern 1993, 146916 see below in chapter "Egyptian Blue in Mesopotainia, Syria, Palestine, Cyprusand the Aegean"917 McGovern, Fleming & Swann 1993, 9918 Loud 1948 p1191919 Loud 1948 p1241
261
garland in its mouth.92o
The Fosse Temple at Lachish included many examples of 'scarabs,
cylinder seals, glass and faience vessels and several carved ivories'.921
The faience at Lachish is noteworthy for the 'high quality and unusual
character' 922 of the vessels found there. These include decorated
vases, flasks, bowls and kohl pots.923 There were also thousands of
faience beads, including many floral forms which the excavator
thought were 'typically XVIII dynasty'.924 Some of the pieces are
thought to be either locally produced, or 'Syrian' copies of Egyptian
ware, with, for example, a bowl with two human faces as handles,
which is much coarser in technique.925 Tombs at Jericho arid Tell
Fara contained similar faience vessels to those found at Lachish.926
The best evidence for a Late Bronze Age faience workshop in
Palestine is at Tyre,927 where various beads were found, including red
ones coloured by iron oxide.928
920 Loud 1948 p1 245921 Tufnell 1940, 19922 Foster 1979, 48923 Tufnell 1940 pis. 14, 21, 22, 23924 Tufnell 1940, 75925 Tufndll 1940, 63, p1 XXII no.58926 Foster 1979, 49927 "In Strata XVI 11425-1360BC1, XV [1360-1200BCJ and XIV E1200-1OSOBCI werefound a great quantity of beads, including about fifteen 'kiln wasters', beads whichhad been crushed during or before firing. The quantity of beads would mclicatethat the area, during the periods of Strata XVI and XV, and probably Xlv, was givenover-to the manufacture of beads; the presence of other objects, pendants, scarabs,etc., indicates that jewelry was also put together here. The pebbles may have beenthe result of sifting the sea sand to be used in the preparation of the paste for thefalence beads. The 'work table' of Stratum XVI was used in the preparation of thepaste. The pithos-kiln of Stratum XV was probably used to fire falence beads."(Bilcal 1978, 8)928 Brill 1978, 91
262
24. Glass in Syria and Palestine
The colourful falences found in Palestine are chemically very similar
to the first Late Bronze Age coloured glass found in the same area,
and it is possible that the change in medium took place in a well
established faience workshop in this region. At Alalakh, for example,
the simultaneous appearance of glazed terracotta929 and glass vessels
and the end of the Middle Bronze Age suggests that these may have
been two aspects of a similar technological breakthrough in existing
faience workshops.930
Alalakh is a site which seems to bridge the distance between Syria
and Mesopotamia. Although it is situated in the Amuq plain, the city
shows strong cultural and commercial ties with Mesopotanna, and as
Woolley wrote, 'Alalakh was a North Syrian - perhaps one should say
Hurrian - city whose allegiance fluctuated between Amorite lands to
the east and the 1-littite power in the North.'931
Glass fragments first appear in Level VI (circa 1600BC),932 and are
found in all levels until the end of Level II (circa 1250BC). The earliest
example of a core formed vessel was a fragment from the neck of a
bottle in translucent blue glass.933 The high level of competence
demonstrated by this sherd indicated that core-forming must Fave
929 Woolley 1955, 229 found green and blue glazed terracotta sherds in level VI(1650-15 50 BC).930 Moorey 1985, 201931 Woolley 1955932 See Barag 1962 19 note 64 for discussion of 'chronological problems' at Alalakh933 Woolley, 1955, 300; Barag 1962, 19; Barag 1985, 42 no.7
263
25. Falence in Anatolia
The state of faience production in Anatolia during the second
millenium is less clear. Moorey suggests that there may be some
evidence for production of faience at Alishar, where 'Mitarinean'
cylinder seals, a faience cup and sherds of similar vessels were
found.952 However, Foster thinks that the beads and an Ishtah
figurine found at Alishar HUyÜk were probably imported from
northern Syria.953 There is also evidence for a variety of luxury goods
at AcemhöyUk and Kultepe, including falence and glass, but Foster
believes that 'there do not seem to have been any second millennium
centres of faience production in Anatolia'.954
952 Moorey 1985, 149953 Foster 1979, 46954 Foster, 1979, 46
267
26. Faience in Cyprus
Faience beads first appeared in tombs on the north coast of Cyprus at
Vounous95s and Lapithos9s6 during Early Cypriote lI/Ill (2 500-2000BC).
These were found in sites associated with metal mining and smelting,
and were almost certainly imported from the Syria/Palestine.957
There is no evidence for faience production in Middle Cypriote
contexts, and a number of beads found in contexts from this period
reflect the expansion of the Cypriote copper industry and the
widening of foreign contacts. Spherical, globular and cylindrical beads
have been found at Lapithos, Ayios lakavos and Lambertis.958
From the Late Cypriote period, faience beads have been found 'in
quantity at nearly all sites'959 particularly in LCH levels (1450-
122 5BC). Native faience production occurred during the Late Cypriote
period, stimulated by the establishment of cities and workshops at,
for example, Enkomi and Kition, and by the influx of pottery and
other finished products from the Aegean, Egypt, and
Syria/Palestine.960 The interface and overlap between local and
imported motifs and types has led to much debate over the extent of
local production.961955 Dikalos 1940956 Grace 1940957 Foster 1979958 Astrom 1957, 158959 Foster 1979, 54, see Aström 1967, 48-51960 foster 1979, 50961 Peltenburg (1972) classified vessels found in Cyprus into two categories;
Egyptian or Egyptianising;, and Western Asiatic was further divided into:NorthLevafltme and International Western Asiatic.Some of these types are quite hard todistinguish.
268
Egyptian or Egyptianised local forms found at Enkomi include
blue/green and white bowls with black interior decoration,962 kohl
jars963 and pear-shaped jars.964 Pilgrim flasks, which may have been
influenced from pottery shapes in Mycenaean or Syria/Palestine,965
were found at Enkomi and Kition. 966 Stirrup jars from Enkomi were
decorated with geometric patterns,967 and with circles, stripes,
rosettes and dots.968
Examples of faience rhyta include the fine polychrome example found
in an early 13th century context at Kition. 969 The rhyton is pale
blue/grey, with the upper register showing a pastoral scene of red
bulls and a yellow goat among red flowers on green leafy stems, the
middle register showing two red hunters catching two yellow bulls,
and the bottom register contains a series of vertical panels filled with
yellow spirals. The rhyton shows an amalgamation of Aegean and
Near Eastern motifs, and the vivid colours and manganese
brown/black outlines are reminiscent of Egyptian falence techniques.
There is debate as to the origin of this vessel; Aström thinks that the
vessel was made by a Cypriote artist 'working under influences from
abroad', 97° Peltenburg thinks that it probably came from Byblos,97'
and Dayton thinks that it was made by Levantine or Aegean962 Foster 1979, 50963 Murray 1900, fig. 40964 Murray 1900, fig. 6396 See in chapter "Foreign pottery at the site"966 Murray 1900, fig 71967 Foster 1979, 51968 Foster 1979, 51 As with the Tuthmosis ifi pale blue glass jug (see glass in Egypt),the pattern of dots and botanical forms are typical of Palestinian or MesopotamiantraditionS.969 Astrom 1967,55 & fig. 68; Karageorghis 1976, pis. A, B & C; Foster 1979, 53970 Astrom 1967, 124971 jnKarageorghis 1976, 134
269
craftsmen working somewhere in the Egyptian Delta.972 Other
examples of falence rhyta include those in the shape of female and
animal heads.973
A number of bowls have been found at Enkomi with both rounded
bases and base rings (similar to contemporary Cypriote pottery
forms), and these are often decorated with bands of dots around the
rim.974 There are also similar 'blossom bowls' with pentagons
arranged like petals around the exterior,975 and petal colours include
yellow and white, 976 black, green and yellow, and blue and yellow.977
Plain and blossom bowls were sometimes fitted with a horizontal
spout, and examples have been found at Enk0m1978 and Idallon,979 and
similar forms have been found at Assur and Megiddo.980 Another
form found at Enkomi and Kition is that of carinated bowls,
sometimes with pentagonal or rounded petals. These bowls have
curved stems and two perforated projections at the rim, probably in
order to attach lids.981 Similar examples have been found at Lachish
and Assur. 982
Other faience forms include a flat, circular plate with a loop handle,983
972 Dayton 1978, 256 & 288973 Astrom 1967, 53-55974 Murray 1900, figs. 62 & 63975 Astrom 1967, 120976 Murray 1900, fig. 62977 Foster 1979, 51978 Atrom 1967, 120 & fig. 70 no. 22979 Murray 1900, fig. 62980 Astrom 1967, 120981 Murray 1900, fig 63; Astrom 1967, 120 & fig. 70 no. 23; Foster 1979, 52982 Astrom 1967, 120983 Astrom 1967, 51
270
a rectangular tray with sloping sides984 and a small, two handled
bucket9s 5 which probably imitate metal prototypes. Two faience
pomegranate juglets were found at Enkonii, and both examples are
decorated with wavy bands imitating similar glass pomegranate
vessels, and a single example of a falence cylindrical jar decorated
with chevron patterns,986 which is one of the most common forms in
Egypt, where it is known in pottery, stone, falence, glass and Egyptian
blue.987 The chevron pattern is reminiscent of glass designs from Tell
Brak988 and this interesting piece, which Aström believed was
imported from Egypt,989 encapsulates craft traditions from both Egypt
and the Near East.
984 Aström 1967, 53985 urray 1900, fig 63. Peltenburg noted the popularity of faience buckets inMesOP Ota-tflia and Syria/Palestine (in Foster 1979, 52)986 Aström 1967, 52 & fig. 70 no. 26; (Cyprus Museum mv. no. G72)987 See in chapter "Egyptian blue objects and shaping technology"988 see in chapter "Glass in Mesopotamia"989 Astrom 1967, 121
271
27. Glass in Cyprus
Globular beads were found in all Late Cypriote periods,990 and a
number of glass objects have been found in LCII contexts on Cyprus,
and there is debate as to whether or not they were imported from
Egypt of the Near East, or were products of local industry during the
Late Bronze Age. One example of a moulded blue glass plaque with a
female figure on from Milia was almost certainly an import from
Greece or the Near East.991
Core formed glass vessels similar to those found in Egypt and the
Near East are also known from Cyprus. Shapes include round-
bottomed amphoriskoi,992 round-bottomed jugs,99 3 arid lentoid
flasks,994 which Harden believed were all imported from Egypt,995
There are a few examples of glass vessels from Hala Sultan Tekke,
Maroni and Ayios Iakovos996 which mimic Cypriote Base-ring ceramic
forms, and although a few examples are known from elsewhere
(Egypt and Megiddo), it seems likely that these may be the result of
local glass production, probably at Enkomi and/or Kition.
Pomegranate shaped glass vessels are known from other countriesI
990 Astrom 1967, 125 In the Late Cypriote II period (1225-1O5OBC), the glassmaterial consists mainly of beads.991 Btrag 1962, 21; Aström 1967, 55 & 124; see glass in Greece992 Aström 1967, 58; Nolte 1968 163, form ifia993 Nolte 1968, 161, form lEa994 Astrom 1967, 59 & fig 71; Nolte 1968 172 form VII a995 Harden 1981, 32996 Astrom 1J67, 125
272
including Egypt, with a few fragments from Amarna and Ghurob,997
and Syria/Palestine, with one example from Megiddo998 and one from
and Beth Shan.999
However, thirteen examples of pomegranate vessels have been found
at Enkomi, with others from near Larnaka,1000 Koukila and
Lapithos,lool and although Aström thought that 'the evidence is not
strong enough to prove a local Cypriote glass industry',loo2 Barag
believed that 'the possibility that local production of core-formed
glass vessels can not be ruled out',1003 and Harden, who originally
believed that all examples of pomegranate glass vessels known from
Cyprus were Syrian imports, later believed that 'the predominance of
Cypriote find-spots can be accepted as firm evidence that these
vessels were made on that island'.loo4
Significantly larger numbers of pomegranate glass vessels have been
found in Cyprus than in all other countries, and it seems likely that
both this type and the examples of glass vessels based on Base-ring
shapes were locally produced, probably at Enkomi.
997 Cooney 1976, 50 no. 437;151 nos. 1772-1774998 Barag 1970, 186999 JThwe 1940, p1. XXI;221000 Harden 1981, 371001 Barag 1970, 1851002 AsITöm 1967, 1261003 Barag 1970, 1861004 Harden 1981, 37
273
28. Falence in the Aegean and Greece
Numerous faience vessels are known from the Aegean, but from
relatively few contexts, including Knossos, Zakros, and Mycenae.'°°S
There are also many examples of small beads, and also what seems to
have been an Aegean tradition of using falence in combination with
other materials, such as inlays in wooden boxes, and necks and
decorative motifs on ostrich eggs.
The earliest Minoan made faience, a shell and a piece of inlay, was
found at Knossos and dates from circa 2000BC (MMIa). lOO6 Knossos is
generally agreed to have been a major (perhaps the only) production
centre between 2 000-1 700BC (MMTa-MMIIJa), arid finds included thick
cakes of unfired falence and a black steatite mould.loo7
Two major changes seem to have occurred after 1550 BC (LMI). A
production centre was established at Zakros in eastern Crete, where
grinding stones, tools, partly vitrified pieces and other fragments
were found.1008 The site produced cups, bowls and shell-shaped
inlays.1009 Foster states that falence from these two centres was now
disseminated throughout Crete and the rest of the Aegean.101O
The shaft grave period (1650-1510 BC) shows the appearanc of
1005 Dickinson, 1994, 1401006 Foster, 1979, 1531007 Evans, 1902, 64lOO8 platon, 1971, 215-2181009 Foster, 1979, 1551010 Foster, 1979, 155
274
Minoan faience on mainland Greece, while at the same time there may
have been a local industry which produced mainly monochrome
vessels. However, the similarity between the two styles renders
identification difficult, as the Mycenaean tradition seems to have
drawn heavily on Minoan prototypes.
Between 1450-1300BC there seems to have been little Aegean falence
manufacture. A group of monochrome and polychrome vessels
dating from 1300-1250BC (LHIIIb) found at Mycenae and similar to
those found at Kition in Cyprus has led some commentators to
suggest that there was a brief resurgence of native faience production
at this time. 1011 However, others have argued persuasively that these
artifacts represent elite, palace-based trade between the Aegean,
Cyprus and the Levant.1012
1011 Wace, 1955, 111, Foster 1979, 127-130,1012 HigginS, 1967, 129, Cadogan 1976, 19, Peltenburg 1991, 166
275
29. Glass in the Aegean and Greece
Glass core-formed vessels are known from various sites in the
Aegean, but there is little evidence that any were ever manufactured
in these areas. There are also small glass beads and other ornaments
that were almost certainly being produced in Mycenaean centres, but
again there is no evidence that the glass was manufactured at these
sites.
Vessels (and fragments) have been found on Crete at Phaestos,
Karteros and Knossos,1013 Rhodes,1014 Mainland Greece, and Cyprus.
Although there has long been debate as to where exactly these vessels
originated, the majority of commentators have assessed that most
originated in Egypt,lols and a few probably from somewhere in the
Levant. 1016
Glass does not seem to have been used on Minoan Crete. There is
evidence from the shaft graves period that the Mycenaeans used blue
glass cast in steatite moulds,1017 and these have been found at
Knossos, Mycenae, Paliakastro and Nichoria.1018
The majority of these ornaments date from 1400-1200BC (LHIII).
However, there are a few earlier exceptions to this, including varkus
1013 See Fossing 1940, Harden 1981, 165 note 6 for rels.1014 Fossing 1940, 241015 e.g. Fossing 1940, Nolte 1968, Barag 19701016 Flarcling 1981, 31 and ref s. Harding divides the LBA glass vessels from Greecein the British Museum into Egyptian. Syrio-Cypriote and Cypnote types.1017 Vermeule 1966, 19671018 see Dickinson 1994, 186 for refs.
276
examples of disc-pendants with six or eight point stars, and
longitudinal spacer beads. Harding and Barag suggest that all these
glass objects represent the beginning of the glass trade between
Greece and Mesopotarnia (specifically Nuzi and connected sites where
such beads are common).1019 Some other objects, however, which
include a helmet from Dendra with blue tusks, a blue glass sword hilt
from Mycenae, and a fluted turquoise bowl from Kakovatos in the
western Peloponnese are distinctively Mycenaean in shape.1020
Haevermck assumes that these were all made locally, and
demonstrate the beginnings of a glass industry in the Aegean.1o21
However, Harding suggests that the imported glass beads from LI-H
and LHII gave the Mycenaeans a taste for blue glass which they then
continued to obtain from external sources. He points out that if glass
manufacture had spread to Greece, then glass of other colours would
surely have been made.
Jewellery workshops are known from LHIII at Thebes (Boeotia), with
evidence of gold, falence and glass used as raw materials.1o22
Although Vermeule assumes that the glass workshops would have
been mixing, tilting and melting the glass, as well as casting it, there
is no material evidence for the manufacture of the raw materials. 1023
There is some documentary evidence of glass and glass working, if
1019 Starr 1939, 451 p1120 for disc pendants, 453, p1130 for spacer beads.1020 Harding 1981, 40. Although Webb (1987, 146) suggests that this bowl copiesMinoan metal prototypes.1021 Flaevernick 1963, 1921022 Tournavitou 19881023 Vermeule (1967,2 1) and Harding (1981, 167) point out that the existingevidence need signify the activity of casting only.
277
kuwano is interpreted as glass. Kuwanowokoi, or glass workers, are
listed along with other craftsmen as recipients of rations,1o 24 and
glass is mentioned in a description of furniture at Pylos,1 025 with a
table "inlayed with aquamarines arid kyanos and silver and gold", and
a "chair of rock crystal, inlaid with kyanos".1026 The ffiad includes
mention of kyanos as glass paste inlays on furniture, weapons, and as
tiles on a palace wall.
Some commentators, like Tournavitou, maintain that 'Glass, like
falence, was apparently extensively manufactured in the Near East,
including Mycenaean Greece during the Bronze Age'.1027 However,
there is no evidence for these having been manufactured in the
Aegean. Blue glass was the only colour used, and Harden suggested
that such glass was probably imported in ingot form even before the
tJlu Burun shipwreck was found,1028 which indeed showed that this
material was traded around the eastern Mediterranean. Minoan and
Mycenaean craftsmen almost never made glass vessels in the round,
and the material was most extensively used to make small beads, and
occasionally inlays.1029
The blue glass in Greece is variously described as both cobaltl o3o and
1024 In the Mycenae-Citadel House 01 series (Chadwick 1962 58-59)1025 Pylos Ta furniture series, in Tournavitou 1995, 237. The debate over the exactfunctions of these pieces is not relevant here.1026 TA 642 and TA 714, cited in Foster 1979, 101027 Tournavitou 1995, 2371028 Harden 1981, 39. Note that Nicholson 1997 now suggests the possibility thatcobalt blue glass was being exported from Amarna, see below1029 Webb 1987, 147 suggests tht the lack of core-formed vessels in the Aegean maybe attributed to the fact that they were difficult to make, or perhaps that glass wasalready established as a cast material for plaques etc.1030 e.g. Haevernlck 1963
278
copperlO3l blue. However, the cargo on the Ulu Burun wreck
demonstrates that both types of glass were trade items, and it is
likely that both types were involved.
The small amount of Egyptian blue known from Greece therefore
probably indicated trade with the areas from which the Mycenaeans
obtained their raw glass, in other words either Egypt or somewhere in
the Levant.
1031 Harding 1981279
30. Glass on the Ulu Burun Wreck
One of the most interesting finds from the ship sunk off the coast of
southern Turkey in approximately 1305 BC1032 was over 170 blue
glass ingots.1033 There are approximately one hundred and fifty
coloured by cobalt, and over twenty coloured by copper. The cobalt
glass ingots are approximately 15% larger, with diameters over 15cm
and thicknesses averaging around 5cm, whereas the copper glass
ingots tend to be smaller, with diameters between 10-13cm, and most
are 3.5cm thick.1034
There has been much debate as to the origin of these glass ingots.1035
The diameter of the ingots is obviously a function of the internal
crucible width. Based firstly on comparison with crucible sizes,
Nicholson and Shortland have recently suggested that the cobalt blue
glass ingots came from Egypt, possible Arnarna, while the copper
glass ingots may have come from Mesopotamia. At the same time
Rehren, Pusch & Herold suggested that the copper ingots may have
come from Qantir.1036
As discussed above, both natron and plant ash were used as alkali in
faience and glass manufacture, and these can be distinguished by
assessing the levels of impurities (potash, magnesium) in a silicate
product. Egyptian cobalt from the western desert may also be
identified through the presence of specific impurities (Magnesium,
1032 Scafuri 2000, 11033 Bass 1987; Nicholson, Jackson & Trott 19971034 Nicholson, Jackson & Trott 1997, fig. 21035 See "fleets" in chapter "Trade and Zawiyet Urtun-el Rakham"1036 Rehreiz.Pusch & Herold 1998
280
Fig.30.2 Cobalt blue glassingots from tJlu bunm
Fig.30.1 Glass ingotson the sea bed
Fig.30.3 Comparisonbetween (left) copper and(right) cobalt glass ingots
aluminium, nickel and zinc) which naturally occur with the alum.1o37
Shortland and Tite have recently analysed examples of blue glass
from Amarna, and suggest that this falls into two types, with cobalt
coloured glass made with a natron-based alkali made from local
Egyptian materials, and copper coloured glass with a plant ash alkali,
which they suggest follows a Mesopotamian tradition of glass making,
and may indicate a Mesopotamian origin for the glass.1038
There is some documentary evidence for glass manufacture in the
Near East during the Bronze Age.1039 However, the texts were found in
the library of Assurbanipal (669-62 7 BC) and so probably recorded
over 500 years later. They are also in the form of religious ritual and
instruction, And 'the texts should not be treated as explicit recipes
and instructions for glassmakers'.1o40 Terms mentioned include, the
Akkadian uknu sadi 'lapis lazuli from the mountain', and uknu kuri
'lapis lazuli from the kiln'. There is also reference to (Sumerian)
NA.ZA.GIN ba-as-lu 'lapis lazuli produced by boiling'. An Egyptian
Blue peg from Nimrud is inscribed with 'peg of NA.ZA.GIN', and it is
possible that, as with Egyptian colour words, these terms which may
be lapis lazuli, blue glass or perhaps Egyptian Blue depending on the
context in which they were used.. Other terms from these texts
include various words such as mekku, tersitu, anzahhu, busu, zuku
and tusku, which are thought to be 'primary, alkali-silicate glasses1o41
(although Foster believes that mekku is quartz, and busu and dusu are
1037 Kaczmarczyk 19861038 Shortland & Tite 2000, 1411039 Oppenheim, Brifi, Barag & von Saldem 19701040 J3rffl 1970, 1061041 Oppenhelin 1970, 87-100
282
faience)1o42 NA.GA an alkali plant-ash, immanakku and anzahhu
thought to be quartz pebbles or quartz sand. Tersitu may be a
primary glass,1043 or blue glass,1044 and uqnu may be lapis lazuli
coloured glass.
Evidence from the Amarna letters indicates that glass eh!ipakku 1045
was demanded by Akhenaten from cities in Syria and Palestine.1046
Shortland and Tite suggest that this strengthens the notion that
copper blue glass was imported into Egypt. However, although it is
clear that some glass was indeed sent by vassal states, this does not
mean that Egypt did not also produce its own supply. It can be argued
that the demand for tribute from dependent regions was a function
of power and control as much as a demonstration of need. If glass or
a glass product was the best or most expensive thing that such areas
could offer, then demanding large quantities of such high status
products could be interpreted as a mechanism for emphasising
continuing dominance over these areas.
Analysis of early blue glass in Egypt (i.e. from the reign of Tuthmosis
Ill) has shown that the glass is identical to that found at Amarna. This
suggests that the same raw materials (copper-plant ash glass) were
present at the beginnings of glass production in Egypt. It is not clear
whether this represents the importation of some raw ingredients, or
the importation of glass, or if small-scale local glass production
1042 Foster 1979, 211043 Oppenheim 1970, 951044 Foster 1979,211045EA 235, 314, 3231046 Appendix 2
283
occurred. Analysis of cobalt blue glass from Egypt, Ulu Burun and
also Tell Brak has indicated that all the cobalt blue glass had a natron
alkali, and so probably an Egyptian source.1047
Consequently, it is possible that glass in Egypt and the Near east was
both locally produced and internationally exchanged. As more
anaiyses are undertaken of Late Bronze Age glasses, it is possible that
the exact mechanisms of such exchanges may become clearer.
Condusions
General discussion of colorants in Egyptian and Near Eastern faience
and glass in not appropriate here. However, some general points may
be mentioned in relation to copper and Egyptian Blue. In Egypt,
copper was the main colorant used prior to the New Kingdom. From
the 18th Dynasty onwards, and allied with the introduction of glass,
various new colorants occur, including lead antimonate to make
yellow and calcium antirnonate to make white falence and glass.1048 In
the Near East, glazing by application was the favoured method for
faience, with different colours painted on both side by side and in
layers one on top of another.1o49 Blue, green and black were in use by
3000 BC, brown/red and yellow by 2000 BC, and a variety of colours
were used in the second millennium.lOsO The main colouring agent
employed for falence in Mesopotamia was copper,1051 for blue, gteen
1047 Sliortland 20001048 for further discussion see Lucas 1962; Kaczmarczyk & Hedges 1983; Nicholson1998; Nicholson &.Peltenburg 20001049 Moorey 1994, 1851050 Vandiver 19821051 pollard &Moorey 1982, 47
284
and turquoise, iron and manganese for black.1o52
At Tell Brak, there is one example of blue glass coloured by what is
thought to be Egyptian cobalt.1053 Brown and orange glasses were
coloured with Iron oxide, and the turquoise and blue glasses were
coloured by cupric oxide.1o54 Calcium antimonate was used as an
opacifier.1055 Most of the glass analysed was a soda-lime-silica glass
with high levels of magnesia and potassium oxide.1056
In Minoan faience, copper was the main colorant for green falence,
whereas the few examples of blue may have been coloured
specifically by Egyptian Blue.1°57
Glass core-formed glass vessels appeared during the sixteenth and
fifteenth centuries BC at Mesopotamian sites such as Assur, Nineveh,
Nuzi, Tell al-Rimah, Tell Braq and Chagar Bazar. The shapes and
decorations of these vessels show that they belong to a homogeneous
group. All these sites belonged to an area either controlled or directly
influenced by the Hurrian kingdom of Mitanni, and it seems likely
that the person who first realised that glass vessels could be made
independently of a permanent core lO58 came from this area.
The rapid development of glass making in Mesopotaniia influel3ced
1052 Tell Taya (Bjmson, 1973); Tell al Rimah (Pollard and Moorey 1982)1053 Oates 1997, 951054 Oates 1997, 971055 Oates 1997, 991056 i.e. plant ash rather than natron1057 Foster &Kaczmarczyk 1982, 1471058 see Barag 1985, 36 for further discussion
285
other areas. Experimentation with glass in Egypt before the reign of
Tuthmosis III is demonstrated 'a long and rather slow formative
stage" 059 during which there were almost certainly contacts with and
influence from Mesopotaniia. Mesopotamian vessels, blue glass
spacer beads, disc pendants and plaques were also prevalent in Syria
and northern Palestine, at Alalakh, Ebla, Hazor, Megiddo, Beth Shari
and Lachish. Similar blue glass objects found in Mycenaean Greece
suggest that Mesopotan-ilan glass traditions also influenced this area
via Syria/Palestine.
a
1059 Barag 1985, 37286
31. Egyptian Blue in Mesopotanila, Syria, Palestine,Cyprus and the Aegean
The evidence for Egyptian Blue is disappointingly sparse, given the
long tradition of silicate production in these areas. This is to a certain
extent due to the adverse, acidic conditions which are not condusive
to preservation of samples, and, as Moorey notes, organic materials
perish rapidly in the soil of Mespotamia and the adjacent regions.1060
Nevertheless, the survival of glass and faience would suggest that,
had there been large amounts of Egyptian Blue produced, then they
would have been found. Nonetheless, there are occasional glimpses of
what may have been a comparatively common material.
There is also little evidence for both production sites and the
apparatus involved. A proportion of the evidence of frits and
pigments in Egypt comes from factory sites, collections of painters'
materials, or palettes in tombs, and this evidence is absent in
Mesopotamia. There are also a significant number of analyses of
painted surfaces from Egypt and the Aegean which have shed light on
the evolving range of pigments available to the Bronze Age artist.
Ur
The first evidence for Egyptian Blue used as a plastic substance
comes from the early Akkadian (2350 BC) cemetery at Ur, where
Woolley found 'beads of 'synthetic lapis', a bright blue paste made
partly of ground up stone, a substitute which would only be
1060 Moorey 1985, x287
employed when genuine lapis of good quality was hard to obtain'.1o61
Although these beads are categorised as glass paste in the finds
register, 1062 it is thought that they may be Egyptian Blue.1063 Dayton
also ifiustrates a necklace made of Egyptian Blue beads dating from
Ur III (2 100-2000 BC).1064
Nuzi
There is then a gap in the evidence until the Mitannian period at Nuzi,
where Egyptian Blue vessels, beads,1o65 and a 'blue frit mace-head'1o66
appear. The blue frit objects were analysed by Gettens, who
confirmed that they were all Egyptian Blue.1067 A bracelet from the
same period at Dur Kurigaizu contained Egyptian Blue inlay.1068
Tell Brak
Egyptian Blue objects from the Mitannian level at Tell Brak include
two beads, a 20cm diameter bowl and an 'egyptianizing' bead with an
incised eye of Horus.1o69
Work in recent years has concentrated on the colourants used in the
Mesopotamian glass industry, and there are a number of blue glass
examples which have been coloured by copper. However, it is not
always clear whether this copper was introduced in the form of
1061 Woolley 1934, 37210621]. 13531, U. 135981063 Moorey 1994, 1871064 Dayton 1978, pL2O1065 Vandiver 1983b1066 Starr 1939, 4601067 Starr 1939, 460, confirmed by Vanthver 19821068 Maxwell Hyslop 1971, 1641069 Oates 1997, 87
288
Fig.31.l Egyptian Blue beadsfrom Ur ifi level at Ur.
___-•
r? IFig.31.2 Egyptian Blueegyptianizing bead with eyeof Horus from Tell Brak
Egyptian Blue.
The evidence for Egyptian Blue in Syria/Palestine during the Late
Bronze Age is slightly better.
Alalakh
If it is accepted that Woolley's 'synthetic lapis' is actually Egyptian
Blue, (as at Ur, above) then there are various examples at Alalakh of
the material both as a modelled substance and a pigment. Cylindrical
beads, including some of 'lapis paste', were found in graves dating
between 1800-1220 BC,1070 and plain and striated ball beads made of
'lapis paste' were found in graves in levels Ill and 11(1358-1220
BC).'°7' It is interesting to note that the material was only used to
make the simplest forms of beads found at the site, whereas falence
beads ('glazed frit') appear in more complicated forms (such as cog-
wheel, spoked-wheel, petalled etc.). This perhaps suggests that
Egyptian Blue was more difficult to mampulate when making small
objects. There was also at least one cylinder seal, which Woolley
thought was Mesopotamian. 1072 However, there were also a few
examples of vessels made of 'lapis lazull paste',1073 which
demonstrate a high level of skifi in the exploitation of the material.
These include a slender vase with a handle in the form of a couchant
lion found in a cupboard in level II but thought to be older,1o74 an
open bowl with a similar couchant lion handle from level VI, 1075 and.1070 Woolley 1955, 270 does notspecify the first date that the 'lapis paste' formappears.1071 Woolley 1955, 2691072 Woofley 1955, 297 pL LXV, 911073 'The material as found is always soft and powdery, light coloured and with amatt texture' (Woolley 1955, 297)1074 Woolley 1955, 297 pL LXXXIII, f1075 Woolley 1955, 297
290
Fig.31.3 Egyptian Bluebeads from Alalakh
Fig.31.4 Egyptian Blue vasewith handile in the form of acouchant lion from Alalakli
part of a head of a bull.1076
Ras Shanira
Egyptian Blue seals have been found at Ras Shanlra,1o77 as have cakes
of Egyptian Blue.1078
Byblos
At Byblos, a vase, a female head and a fragment of a plinth were
found in the l8th-l7th century temple deposit.1o79
Beth Shan
A few Egyptian Blue beads were found in level IX (1400-1300 BC)1080
at Beth Shan, 1081 and large fragment of a small Egyptian Blue cake
(diameter 8cm if complete) was found in a context contemporary with
the Level VII (contemporary with Ramesses II) temple. 1082 Additional
pieces were found nearby, and there is one example of an anklet or
bracelet fragment. 1083 However, as other evidence from the site shows
that Beth Shari was essentially an Egyptian garrison at this time, there
is no reason to doubt that such examples would have been imported
from Egypt (perhaps Piramesse).
1076 Woolley 1955, 297, fig 74a, 91077 Moorey 1994, 187,1078 Jacqueline Balensi pers.comm dimensions not given1079 Dunand 1958, 7671080 McGovern., Flernrng & Swann 1993, 71081 The beads contained additional calcium oxide compared to the cake(McGovern1 Fleming & Swami 1993, 7). This may have been the result of adding limeto tile mixture, or because the slightly earluier beads were made from a different(pehaPs local) form of Egyptian Blue.1082 James & McGovern 1993, 1511083 James & McGovern 1993, fig 73 no 1
292
Fig.31.5 Egyptian Blue cake from Beth Shan (scalel:1)
The small amount of Egyptian Blue known from Greece and Cyprus
probably indicates that they represent trade items with the same
areas from which glass was obtained, in other words either Egypt or
somewhere in the Near East.
Cyprus
Dayton illustrates a jug in Nicosia museum, apparently LCII in date,
and made of Egyptian Blue,1o84 although it is described as faience by
Aström,1o85 who could find no parallels for the form and thought that
'it cannot be assigned to the Late Cypriote period with certainty'.1086
Mycenae
Schliemann found red and blue material (described by Dayton as raw
frit)l087 in the acropolis at Mycenae, and an Egyptian Blue rhyton in
the House of Shields. This was apparently made in two halves and
then lightly refired to fuse the join, indicating that it was probably
mould-made. The pattern may have been incised after firing. 1088
So what does this evidence demonstrate about the manufacture and
use of Egyptian Blue in the Eastern Mediterannean and the Near East
at this time? Although there is a tradition amongst modern scholars
to assume that silicate technology of all types was widespread
throughout the region, and was in many instances in advance of
similar traditions in Egypt, the archaeological evidence for Egyptian
1084 Dayton 1978, 2881085 Astrom 1968, 53 Amphora no.2 & Fig 70, 27; (Cyprus Museum mv. no. G82)1086 Aström 1968, 122108? J)ayton 1978, 2721088 See in chapter "Egyptian Blue objects and shaping technology"
294
I
.
Fig.31.6 Egyptian Bluejug from Cyprus
Fig.31.7 Egyptian Blue fromthe acropolis at Mycenae
Fig.31.8 Egyptian Bluerhyton from the Houseof Shields at Mycenae
Blue in particular is slight. Suggestions that Egyptian Blue might more
probably be called Mesopotaniian, Syriari lO89 or Mycenaeanlo9O cannot
at this stage be justified by the material remains.
It seems from the evidence that there may have been a different
tradition of use for Egyptian Blue in the Near East to that in Egypt.
From the middle of the third millenmum onwards, Egyptian Blue
seems to have been used as a material from which to make small
items such as beads. However, there does not seem to have been the
extension of use as a pigment (as in Egypt and the Aegean). The first
example of Egyptian Blue used as paint comes from 1800-1700 BC
context at Man. It is difficult to determine why two dimensional art in
Mesopotamia was slow to progress beyond the initial colour stage of
black red and white. Innate conservatism is possible, but this seems
unlikely given that, from the first, faience was produced in blue and
green. It is also possible that the various possibilities of Egyptian
Blue as a pigment had not been recognised. It seems that two
different traditions can be recognised. The first, where Egyptian Blue
was used in a similar fashion to falence, and then later, perhaps
mfluenced by Egypt or the Aegean, when the material was exploited
as a pigment.
1089 Quirke, pers.comni1090 Dayton 1978
296
Part 6: Trade and Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham
32. Introduction
Theories about Mediterranean trade have been debated for as long as
trade items have been recognised in the archaeological record. In
some ways however, the various theories and assun-iptions made to
describe such systems have themselves in some ways hampered
useful evolution of ideas. The two main stumbling blocks for modem
scholarship have been first, the inherent bias of many scholars to
favour their own area of interest, and second, the need to define the
single answer as to how trading systems worked. Hence Aegean
archaeologists have argued for Minoan/Mycenaean control of
international trade, and Near Eastern archaeologists for Canaanite/
Semitic control.'° 9 ' There has also been a perceived need to define
the exact exchange mechanism involved, with issues of, for example,
state controlled versus freelance trade.
However, it should be noted that the majority of works on Late
Bronze Age Mediterranean trade have examined mechanisms from
and between the Aegean, Cyprus and Syria-Palestine, rather than
trade involving Egypt. Although the absolute chronology of these
other Mediterranean cultures is largely based on Egyptian
archaeological and documentary evidence, theoretical analysis of
Egyptian participation in and contributions to international trade in
1091 Bass 1991, 77 notes that "every Near Eastern Scholar who has mentioned theCape Gelidonya wreck in print has accepted its Levantine origiii.without exception,archaeologists who work in Greece or Cyprus disagreed with or dismissed myprimary conclusions about the nationality of the ship"
297
the Late Bronze Age has been rather margmalized. This is due in part
to the assumption that significant Egyptian involvement effectively
ceased post-Amarna (approximately 1 300BC). Nevertheless, recent
work on 19th Dynasty settlement sites at Piramesse arid Zawiyet
Umni el-Rakham has added to the already extant evidence from sites
such as Saqqara, Deir el-Medina and Ghurob, and has demonstrated
that there was still substantial Egyptian participation in international
trade until at least 1200 BC and possibly until after the reign of
Ramesses Ill i.e. 1150 BC. It is also possible that the abundance of
textual and artifactual evidence from Egypt has actually lessened the
scope for modelling and interpretation, and has hindered the growth
of analytical approaches.
298
33. Foreign Pottery at the site
A long history of pottery analysis has been based on visible attributes
of form, decoration and fabric. More recently scientific residue
analysis has demonstrated what was contained in pots at some point.
Metals can be sourced, due to modern scientific techniques, and so
unlike pottery, where the form and contents can be attributed to a
particular region, the actual geographical source can be pinpointed.
Consequently the route may be reconstructed from source to final
abandonment.
Canaarnte amphorae
The morphology of Canaanite amphorae may have been introduced to
Syria-Palestine from Mesopotamia at the beginning of the Middle
Bronze Age.1092 Traditional Levantine fiat bottomed storage vessels
began to demonstrate rounded bases sometime after 2000BC. The
stress on the junction between bases and walls in flat based vessels is
greatly reduced or eliminated with a rounded, more pointed base.1o93
This allows greater volumes to be transported (especially of liquids).
Canaanite amphorae represent the biggest single type of foreign
pottery identified at the site so far. Magazine 1 contained two
complete jars and one broken jar fallen forwards from their original
placement against the side (north) wall of the magazine,1o94 and five
1092 Leonard 1995, 2371093 Wood 1987, 761094 ZUR/M 1/3, ZUR/M1/4, ZUR/M1/3 0
299
Fig.33.1 Canaanite amphorafrom Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham
others smashed in the magazine corridor, steps and threshold.1o95
Chapel 3 had two amphorae still standing in the north east corner by
the door,1o96 and one smashed in front of the threshold.1097 Three
more amphorae were found in association with many other imported
and local pottery types in the squatter area around Stone Circle 41O98
One pot contained a mass of unidentified small bird bones.1099 One
amphora was found still standing against the wall of the courtyard
area to the south of Stone Circle 6.1100 This was found in association
with a tall pottery stand and bowl and an inscribed scarab. It is
possible that this was an area of cult or votive practice.
Canaanite amphorae tend to average around 50 cm tall, and have
ovoid or piriform bodies and pointed, rounded or stump bases with
two large vertical loop handles attached opposite each other just
below the shoulder. The neck and mouth are narrow enough for
stoppering, but wide enough for easy pouring or extraction of the
contents.11o1 It has been suggested that a more triangular profile
developed in, and is an indicator of, the Late Bronze Age.1102
However, a variety of rounded and more piriform profiles have been
discovered in association together at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham.
1095 ZUR/M1/27, ZUR/M1/31, ZUR/M1E/1, ZUIR/M1E/2, ZUR/M1E/3W96 ZUR/C3/1, ZUR/C3/21097 ZUR/C3/31098 ZUR/G4E/1, ZUR/G4E/6, ZUR/G4E/1 51099 Compare with an amphora found with fowl in at Malkata, (Hayes 1951 92). Alsothe fowliiig scene from the tomb of Nakht, where birds are netted, and thenplucked, gutted and sun dried before being stored in amphorae. (Davies 1917, 69-70 & pis. XXII-XXIII)1100 ZUR/G4E/351101 An average-size person (me) can reach an arm into the vessels1102 Amiran 1969 42; Leonard 1995 237
301
Canaanite amphorae are known from many Middle and Late Bronze
Age sites around the eastern Mediterranean. It has been suggested
that they primarily contained Syrian and Palestinian wine, and that
18th Dynasty Egyptian control of the Canaanite region contributed to
an explosion in both supply and demand of 'fine wines' from this
region; hence the growth in numbers of amphorae found in high
status sites in Crete, the Aegean, Greece, Cyrus, and Egypt. However,
this view has been recently challenged by Leonard who posits that
wineskins may have been the main container for this product.1103 It
should also be noted that the final contents of the amphora may be a
completely different product from that for which it was made.
amphorae seem to have functioned like a 'tupperware' box in the
ancient world, in that they were used and reused many times to
transport a wide variety of food and drink commodities. Evidence
from Ulu BurunhlO4 also demonstrates that they were used for non-
edible items such as resins, glass beads and perfumed oils, and even
as containers for other smaller ceramic vessels.
Fifteen complete Canaarnte amphorae have been found at Zawiyet
Umm el-Rakham so far, as well as various sherds including five
handles, two with inscribed signs, from five different jars. This
assemblage comprises the single biggest group of intact vessels
known in Egypt. Canaanite amphorae are also known from various
New Kingdom sites in Egypt, including Ghurob,"os Malkata,uo6
1103 Leonard 19951104 Bass 19871105 Petrie 18901106 Hope 1977
302
Amarna, Deir el-Medina, Memphis,11o7 Avans-Piramesse, and the
Ramesseum.11o8 Evidence was until recently weighted in favour of
cemetery sites. However, current work on major New Kingdom
settlement sites at Amarna, Memphis and Piramesse has shown that
Canaanite amphorae were present in significant numbers in domestic
contexts.
The fabrics of the amphorae found at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham
conform with those found at Kommos. The southern group have light
red or reddish brown fabric. These are common in Palestine
particularly between Jaffa and Gaza. 1 109 The northern group are
concentrated in sites between Akko and Ugarit, and have reddish or
grey bodies. All of these amphorae have a pale green/white surface.
This was apparently achieved by dipping the vessels into salt
(probably sea) water prior to firing, rather than by the application of a
separate wash or slip, and is demonstrated by the total coverage of
the vessel both inside and out.11lo
Two-handled storage jars are a common feature in 18th Dynasty
tomb scenes. However, it is often difficult to ascertain whether
imported or local products are being illustrated. Equivalent New
Kingdom Egyptian storage jars (sometimes wrongly described as
'Syrian Jars') were obviously influenced by the morphology of
Canaanite amphorae, and are superficially similar. Nevertheless, the
1107 J3ourriau 19901108 Spiegclberg 19231109 Wattrous 19921110 Oren, pers. comm.
303
various examples found so far at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakhamiiii are
fairly easily distinguishable. They are slimmer in shape with a much
less well defined shoulder, and the handles are smaller and lower on
the body.
Handles appeared on Egyptian storage jars at the beginning of the
New Kingdom. It has been suggested that this innovation was copied
from Canaarnte examples which were imported into the country,
either as booty during the reign of Tuthmosis 1111112 or more generally
as trade items. However, Woodlll3 points out that the North Eastern
Delta was a region of cultural interface between Egyptians and
Semitic/Asiatic settlers during the late Middle Kingdom and the
Second Intermediate Period (especially at Avaris/Tell el-Dabai'14 and
its environs). These settlers continued to both use and produce their
own fabric traditions, as evidenced by the large numbers of Canaanite
finds from this area. The Delta was the main wine producing region
for Egypt, 1 1 1s and it is reasonable to assume that the vessel type was
first introduced to the Egyptian wine makers in this area.1116
Typological development then occurred during the New Kingdom in
Egypt separately from that in Syria/Palestine. 18th Dynasty examples
are squat and fat with handles approximately half way down the
body. By the 19th Dynasty, the form is taller and more slender, and
the handles tend to be higher towards the neck. The examples found1111 Such as ZUR/M1/25, ZUR/C2/13, ZUR/C3/51112 Grace 1936; Parr 19731113 Wood 1987, 791114 Bietak 1996 and refs.1115 Hope 1978; Lesko 1995; Leonard 19951116 See for example Bietak 1996 Fig 51 and P1. 25
304
at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham can be most closely compared with
amphorae found in a Ramesside tomb at Deir el-Medina (no.359).1117
Comparisons can also be made with amphora sherds found at the
Ramesseum, 111 8 Malkatalll9 and wine jars found in Tutankhamun's
tomb.1120 There is a 20th dynasty group of Canaanite amphorae
ifiustrated in the tomb of Ramesses III (118 5-1154BC).
Stirrup Jars
Stirrup jars first appeared during Middle Minoan HI, and they
probably represent a development from Middle Minoan oval-mouthed
storage amphorae. 1121 By Late Helladic hA the Mycenaeans also used
the same shape and form. The jar has been described as representing
Mycenaean and Aegean activity and influence in every area reached
by them and their products until the end of the Bronze Age.u22
Five Coarse Ware Stirrup jars have so far been found at Zawiyet Umm
el-Rakham, 1123 and one of small Fine Decorated Ware.1124 These
vessels were found in association with other imported wares in
Magazine 1 and Chapel 2.
111?Nagel, 1938, figs. 8.2 and 10.111118 Spiegelberg 1923, fig 271119 Hope 19771120 Leonard 1995, 2401121 Hankey 1995, 1161122 Leonard 1981; Leonard,Hughes,Middleton,Schofield 1993, 105; Hankey 1995,
116.1123 ZUR/M1/1, ZUR/M1/2, ZUR/C2/5, ZUR/C2/14, ZUR/Ml/231124 ZUR/M1/22
305
Fig.33.2 Stirrup jar fromZawiyet Umm el-Rakham
Large Stirrup jars were almost certainly used to transport olive oil.
Much work has been done on the Cretan olive oil industryll2s and it is
likely that the jars found at the site originally contained this
prestigious foodstuff. The particular shape of the jar, with the
bulbous body, solid central handles and a slightly offset spout, is well
suited to contain and dispense liquids, and Leonard points out that
the shape appears to have been specifically designed to facilitate the
extraction of the contents of thin, pourable 011. 1126 Hankey suggests
that similar jars found at Amarna and Deir el-Medina had arrived in
Egypt via Cyprus, through Aegean trade routes with the Eastern
Mediterranean. 1127 Work on Cypro-Minoan pot marks sometimes
found on the handlesll28 (including the jar from Amarna and two
from Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham) suggests that such pots must have
passed through, if not been originally fired by, Cypriot hands.
Only one large Coarse Ware Stirrup jar has previously been identified
in a 19th Dynasty context in Egypt, in a Ramesside cemetery at
Sedment.1129 Tomb 59 in Cemetery B contained a group of 'culturally
homogenous' 113o objects which can be compared to assemblages at
Ghurob (discussed below) and Tell el-Yahudiya.113' The Sedment tomb
and this latter group all contained Egyptian imitations of fine ware
1125 Haskelll98l,234-7; Hallager 1987; Wattrous 1990178-80; Dickerison 1994,2541126 Leonard 1981, 91; Knapp 1991, 29-301127 Hankey 1995, 1171128 Hallager 1987; Hirschfeld 19931129 petrie and Brunton 1924 25 & pl.LIX suggest an l8thDyn date, but Kemp andMerrilleeS (1980,246) argue persuasively for a Ramesside date.1130 Kemp and Merrillees 1980, 2481131 Small Stirrup jars were found in 20th Dynasty tombs at the site. Theseincluded one small dark-yellowish example, another with a flat foot and horizontalcircles, stained red. Fragments of a large specimen with red ornament, and severalothers. (Graville 1890,46 n. 15, pIxili)
307
Stirrup jars. The base of one handle is also known from Amarna,1132
and one sherd has been identified from Deir el Medina.1133
Small fine-ware Stirrup jars are thought to have contained limited
amounts of expensive perfumed 011. 1134 Examples similar to that
found at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham are known from Ghurob and
Amarna. The Stirrup jar from Ghurob is thought to have come either
from the Greek mainland or islandsll3s rather than from a Mycenaean
colony in Cyprus. There is also a Stirrup jar possibly from somewhere
fri the Levant at Ghurob.1136 All are thought to have originally
contained perfumed oil. It should be noted that the jars from Gurob
were found in an undisturbed 19th Dynasty burial.
Large Stirrup Jars probably contained a different product from the
small fine ware vessels, and other products apart from olive oil have
been suggested, such as olives, honey, wine, dried grain or fruit.
There are no 18th Dynasty representations of Stirrup jars, but there is
a 20th dynasty group illustrated in the tomb of Ramesses 111(1185-
11S4BC).
The five coarse ware Stirrup jars from Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham all
conform to the third type recognised from Chania, which is a tall jar1132 Bourriau, 1981, 124-125. Bourriau thinks that the sherd is not of Mycenaeanorigm (due to the coarse fabric and lack of technical skill), but certainly containedolive oil, which is contra Pendilebury who excavated the sherd and thought that itcame from a wine or water jar.1133 Bell 1982, 1511134 Cook 19811135 Bourriau 1981,1261136 Bourriau 1981,137
308
with a dark pattern on a light background.1137 One example from
Magazine 1 is pale cream/grey with faint red banding, while the other
is cream with bold red/black banding. The decoration of this second
jar was quite sloppily applied, and there are splashes of dark paint on
the body and in the lip of the spout. One jar from Chapel 2 is creamy
yellow with red banding around the body, wavy lines around the
shoulder and lines around the handles and spout.
Feeder Cups
Discussion of these ceramic forms is hampered by the fact that few
parallels are known. Six have been so far found at the site, five in
Magazine 11138 and one in the corridor outside the entrance to
Magazine 2.1139 Four of these vessels were found together in a
grouping which suggested that they had originally been stored
together in a bag or basket which has since perished. The fifth pot
found inside Magazine 1 was in the middle of the floor in association
with what appeared to be a random grouping of a red spindle jar and
a cake of Egyptian Blue. Possible analysis of the original contents is
being undertaken on sherds from the (broken) teapot from the
magazine corridor. They are all small (10-12cm high) pots, with
bulbous bodies and a base ring foot. They have one spout set at
approximately 90 degrees to their one handle. Where modern vessels
have lids, these exhibit integral strainer tops, with rather random
(between S and 7) holes punched in from the top. They are currently
thought to be Cypriot, based on visible fabric and decoration. The
1137 Watrous 1992, 1301138 ZUR/M1/8, ZUR/M1/9. ZUR/Mi/lO, ZUR/M1/1 1, ZUR/M1/1 21139 ZUR/M2E/1
309
Fig.33.3 Feeder cup fromZawiyet Umm el-Ralkhani
bodies are orangy/red, and all show traces of white lines on the top,
the body and around the handle and spout.
The form is not unknown, although it is classified as extremely rare.
One similar jug is discussed by Yon, 1140 and described as Late Cypriot
Base Ring I with the main opening at the top closed and then pierced
with holes. In this case she suggests that the central slightly larger
hole was used to fill the jug, and that the smaller holes around the
edge were for straining whatever was contained.1141
They were either transported with their contents already inside, or
they were a necessary or useful implement for something. It is hard
to envisage how whatever was in them could have been kept secure
during transport. The spout is blockable, but the strainer top exhibits
no visible means of securing a cover.1142
However, if these vessels were a clever tool to help with the
consumption of something known to the Cypriots at least, then why
have no parallels been found at other sites? Honey and/or opium
seem possible candidates for substances which were strained and
served in small quantities, or perhaps oil which had been flavoured or
perfumed by vegetable or fibrous matter that needed to be removed
before use.
1140 Yon, 1976, 103 and Fig 37,b1141 "Les ouvertures a filtre présentent un cas beaucoup pius rare, dont il y a desexceptionnels a des pêriodes variées: au Chyp. Rèc., un type de vase a large col enBase-Ring I ...l'ouverture prmcipale est obturée puis percêe de trous, qu'ils soientégauX ou que de plus petits entourent un trou de remplisage." (Yom, 1976, 103)1142 See Leonard 1981 figs 6 and 7 for a suggested lid for a Mycenaean alabastron
311
A final consideration is that these were pots could have been
manufactured specifically for an Egyptian market. However no
examples have been found at any other Egyptian site, and there are
no illustrations of this type of ware.
Pilgrim Flasks
Pilgrim flasks are known from all over the ancient near east, and the
shape may have originated in the pottery of Mycenae or Syria-
Palestine. The form has a long history of use from the New Kingdom
until the Byzantine Period. The term was originally coined because
flasks, often with saints embossed on the body, were manfactured as
Christian souvenirs for pilgrims visiting shrines in Egypt and the
East. 1143 The term is now used to describe all lenticular two handled
flasks, also described as vertical lentoid flasks in some
publications.1 144
Two complete flasks have been found in the fifi around Stone Circle
4 , 1145 two in the domestic area, and necks with handles have been
identified between Stone Circles 1 and 2, outside Stone Circle 51146
and in the South Building.
Hankey notes that the flasks are the most common ceramic type
found at Arnarna, and that the shape is known throughout Egypt and
1143 see Bourriau 1981 95 for St Menas flasks.ll44 Hankey 1995, 123, (FS 189)1145 ZUR/G4E/18 was complete, ZUR/G4E/22 was squashed against the stone circlewalL1146 ZUR/G4E/39
312
Fig.33.4 Pilgrim flasks fromZawiyet Umm el-Rakham
the Levant.1'47 An example from the reign of Tuthmosis III is known
from a tomb at Abydos.1148 It is thought to be Egyptian, but was
found in association with Cypriot pottery.
The flasks may have contained oil, 1149 or some sort of cosmetic
material.1150 Leonard notes that the form is well suited for
transporting and dispensing oil, that they have morphologically
similar spouts to those on Stirrup jars, and that the contents of both
forms must have been secured in the same manner (by a simple
stopper).11s1
Jugs
Another pottery type with few exact parallels comprises three large
jugs found in Chapel 2.1152 These are between 42cm and 47cm high,
with bulbous globular bodies (possibly wheel-made in two parts),
narrow necks, beaked spouts and handles going from near the top of
the body to the top of the rim. Two of the jugs have three cream
painted horizontal lines around the widest part of the body and three
wavy cream lines above them. The fabric is thin and brittle, with
mica, silica and shell inclusions giving a rather glittery appearance to
the red sand-tempered appearance.
S
114? Flankey 1995, 1231148 Bourriau 1981, 751149 1-lankey 1995, 1231150 Bourriau 1981,751151 Leonard, 1981, 921152 ZUR/C2/1, ZUR/C2/4, ZUR/C2/6
314
Fig.33.5 'Late Minoan' jug fromZawiyet Umm el-Rakhain
The fact that rims had been broken on all three jugs suggests that the
contents were extracted in this clumsy manner, perhaps because the
original sealing was hard to remove. It further suggests that the jugs
may have arrived at the site with their contents inside. It is thought
that they may have come from somewhere in the Eastern Aegean, and
a possible match is a jug found in Kos. 1153 There is no clue as to the
contents, except that the form implies that it was a liquid of some
nature, and the width of the original rim perhaps indicates wine
rather than oil. No parallels are known in Egypt.
Flask
The flask has a globular body, cylindrical neck, and a vertical handle
which extends from rim to shoulder, with a round mouth. It conforms
to Late Cypriot monochrome wares,1154 with reddish brown fabric
with small grit inclusions and a slipped and smoothed or burnished
surface. A similar fabric has been found on Bates' Island. The flask is
a common form, and similar examples have been found at Mycenae,
Tiryns, Khania and Kommos, Kition and Enkomi.115s
1153 Momcone 1973, 1761154p.J. Russell, 1991, 1341155 pilides 1991
316
Fig.33.6 Cypriote flask fromZawiyet Unini el-Raitham
34. Possible models of trade and the site
There is a long history of modern academic interest in prehistoric
trade and exchange systems, not least because of potential insights
that may be gained into the organisation and development in political
and economic terms of any participating societies involved in such
trade. This proposition can be characterised as a substantivist
approach, which is a form of institutional economics, where economic
behaviour is seen as an outcome of the particular institutions that
characterise a society; consequently economic behaviour is not
separable from other types of behaviour but is "embedded" in the
broader institutional fabric of the society. This is also a structural
approach, in that the structure of a society determines individual
behaviour.i 156
One mechanism for the study of trade is the use of theoretical
frameworks into which archaeological and documentary evidence can
be fitted. This processual modelling approach was first developed by
Renfrew,1157 who suggested four models for external trade or
exchange in the Aegean; Down-the-Line Exchange,1158 the Prestige
1156 Earle 1985, 106, after Polanyi 1957. See also Kemp 1989 232-2341157 Renlrew 1972, 465-4711158 Down the line exchange which involves an immediate contact zone around anatural or industrial source, and exponentially decreasing areas of contactillustrated by a steady falling off of contact as distances increase.
318
Chain,1159 Freelance Commercial Tradeit6o and Directional
Commercial Trade.1161 Evidence of 'Specialised production' has also
been used to infer cultural complexity, although there is debate on
the causal order. Other schemes used to exan-iine exchange include
world systems theory, structuralism, and structural Marxism.1162
Brumfield and Earle suggested three main theoretical systems of
trade; commercial,1163 adaptionistll64 and political.1165 Knapp and
Cherry proposed four kinds of trade mechanisms: 1 166 Centrailsed
regional or interregional political control, from cultures such as
Minoan or Canaanite; Localised control by single polities, such as
Ugarit, Enkomi, or Kommos, with intermediaries knking them
1159 Prestige Chain trade involving valuable or prestigious items which conform to aset of rules: 1. Transfer of prestige goods taking place between specific notablepersons 2. Prestige goods are frequently handed on in subsequent exchanges 3.Prestige goods are not expended or utilised in daily life 4. Prestige goods generallyappear in the archaeological record either as a result of deliberate burial (with thedead) or through loss or accidental damage1160 Commercial trade involves contact with strangers, often over considerabledistances, and frequently uses middle men, intermediaries who are specialists orsemi specialists in trade. Common features include: 1. Goods not usually highprestige objects, although sometimes luxury objects, with wide salability and appeal2. The merchant operates on a freelance basis. Often a middleman, occasionally aproducer 3. Profit is the main motive 4. Such goods are found within the radius ofmovement of the trader, and very rarely beyond. Such range is determined byavailable transport1161 Commodities transferred preferentially to specific locations. Generalisationsinclude: l.Primarily raw materials or other useful commodities 2. Trade generallycarried out on a regular basis, although the merchants need not be under the directcontrol either of the exporter or the importer 3. Specific sites at considerabledistance may be well provided with goods, while others nearer to it may be less wellsupplied.1162 See Knapp & Cherry 1994, 125 for refs.1163 Commercial development is where production and exchange are integrai witheconomic growth and are fuelled by economic efficiency and individual profit.1164 Adaptiomst models have political elites joining in the process and assumingkey roles in the organisation and centralisation of production, yet withspeciiulisation and certain amount of profit still remaining with individualproducers and traders.1165 In political models the elites direct all aspects of trade and exchange in orderto maintain social inequality and to legitumse and strengthen their own wealth andstatus.1166 Knapp & Cherry 1994, 128ff for extensive discussion of these models appliedto the Aegean, Cyprus, Syria and Egypt
319
together; Freelance or entrepreneurial trade; Ceremonial or gift
exchange.
However, these formalist approaches have recently been rejected as
too restrictive. Variations in exchange relationships and different
types of trade within the same societies can be obscured by such rigid
modelling. Kemp also noted the level of information required for
such modelling to occur. 'We can construct models of how they
[transactions] worked only from the ancient sources themselves, from
a judicious use of ethnographic literature, and from certain points of
reference which seem to be generally valid for economies in early
complex societies.'1167
Liverani put forward theories of reciprocity and redistribution, which
are 'rather interpretive than descriptive of reality'. 1168 As both models
fit best with small-scale transactions, such as interpersonal or small
group relationships, then both socio-economic situations were part of
the corm-non experience of all economic transactions. Any more
evolved or new trade experience (such as inter-regional) would
therefore have been perceived as extensions of these models.
Liverani further suggested that 'the centralized versus symmetrical
arrangement of the circulation of goods corresponds in more general
terms to a centralized versus symmetrical view of political interaction
asa whole'. 1169 Consequently parity in rank does not (or need not)1167 Kemp 1989, 2331168 Liveram, 1990, 205. Redistributive trade is that where the periphery suppliesthe centre; reciprocal trade is where partners trade equally with each other.1169 Liverani 1990, 22
320
exist in reality for reciprocal relations. Two partners need only agree
to each other as peers, and that the exchange of goods is equivalent
in the long run. The adoption (by the protagonists of the exchange;
secondarily by the outer observers) of one pattern or another is
therefore the result of an ideological decision. The same episode can
be described as redistributive (periphery to centre) for an internal
audience, yet reciprocative when addressing peers.
A possible position for the site at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham within a
theoretical trade context can be posited. As part of the Egyptian
empire, built by the Egyptian state under Ramesses II and staffed
with Egyptian soldiers, the fortress was obviously an outpost of the
state, and as such functioned as a representative of superior wealth
and resources and as a receiver of trade goods from the centre. At
the same time, Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham was located on the furthest
periphery of the Egyptian empire, with a vast geographic distance
between the Nile Valley and the site, and an isolated position as the
last in the chain of fortresses stretching out westward from the Delta.
This may have meant that the site also itself functioned as a centre
for redistributive and indeed reciprocal trade. The fortress would
have been the dominant power in the surrounding area, and must
have functioned as the centre and focus for trading activity.
321
35. Trade and Zawiyet Umm el-Rakhain
If, as was ahnost certainly the case, the foreign products arrived at
Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham from somewhere else on the Mediterranean
littoral, then there are various questions to be addressed:
35.a Where had ships come from before their arrival at Zawiyet
Umm el-Rakham?
35.b Where had the ship originated from, if different from (a)
above?
35.c Where was the ship going to, after Zawiyet Umm el-Rakhani?
35.d Where was the ultimate destination for the ship and/or cargo,
if different from (c) above?
35.e Who did the ship belong to, who was it controlled by, and
who were the people on board?
35.f What did the Egyptians trade or exchange in return?
In order to address the points listed above, it is necessary to examine
evidence from related sites in the Eastern Mediterranean which may
have participated in similar trade or exchange systems, both on land
and in the sea with shipwrecks like those found at Cape Gelidonya
and Ulu Burun.
5.a Where had ships come from before their arrival at Zawiyet
Umm el-Rakham?
It is currently thought that trade items coming to the site from other
322
countries in the eastern Mediterranean arrived from Crete. Few other
maritime origins are feasible, and there is a wealth of evidence from
the classical period to illustrate that the southern Crete-Egypt route
was accepted in the itinerary of sailings. Other possible explanations
are that the products arrived either overland or by coastal sail from
Egypt proper. However, the bulk of ceramic evidence is foreign
(Mediterranean) rather than from Egypt (only two Nile marl ware pots
have so far been identified). If such products arrived from Crete, then
it seem most likely that the ship either arrived from, or had at least
stopped at, the southern Crete port site at Kommos.
Trade between Egypt and the Aegean
Trade between Egypt and the Aegean is attested from the Old
Kingdom onwards, with the earliest Egyptian objects found in Crete
being a group of Late Predynastic/Early Dynastic stone vessels found
mainly at Knossos. 117O Egyptian and egyptianizing scarabs are known
from the First Intermediate period onwards,n71 and from the Middle
Kingdom precious goods from Crete have been found in elite contexts
in Egypt, such as the Tod treasure, and Kamares ware at Lisht, Kahun,
Harageh and Abydos. 1 1 72 Iconographic transference from Crete to
Egypt is also apparent during this period with Minoan motifs
(probably copied from textiles) appearing in Egyptian tombs.1'73
During the Second Intermediate Period royal contact may have been
sustained, with the cartouche of Khyan found on an alabaster lid at
1170 Warren 1991 for discussion of the problematic nature of these finds1171 Warren 1980, 4941172 Kemp & Merrillees 19801173 Barber 1991, 345
323
Knossos. 1174
The most immediately apparent evidence of contact between Crete
and Egypt at the beginning of the New Kingdom is that from the
North East Delta Site of Avaris/Tell el-Daba. Thousands of fragments
of wall paintings have been foi.md from an early 18th Dynasty 'royal
building' constructed by Ahmose, 1175 with Minoan motifs and styles,
such as bull leaping and bull grappling, acrobats, 'priests', mazes, and
decorative friezes similar to those found at Knossos, Phaistos and
Thera. It is generally agreed that these illustrations not only represent
Cretan scenes and decorative motifs, but also that they were created
by Minoan artists.1176
However, it is harder to establish the exact nature of the Minoan-
Egyptian coimections that are represented by this discovery. Bietak
believes that paintings at Tell el-Daba/Avaris are to be seen in the
context of a royal architecture that was of equal importance to that of
Knossos', il77 and Morgan believes that the scenes were painted in a
Minoan shrine. 1178 The wall paintings can be compared with Minoan
frescoes found at other sites in the Near East including Alalakh,
Qatna and Tell Kabri (although this is the only example of bull-
leaping outside Knossos). Niemeier 1179 suggests that Minoan artists
were employed in the Levant to decorate royal palaces, and that this'174 Evans 1921, 4201175-Bietak 1996, 80 Note that the 18th dynasty attribution is contra to earlierassertions that the building dated from the Second Intermediate Period Hyksos rule1176 Morgan 1995, 44 Bietak 1996, 75 and refs1177 Bietak 1996 791178 Morgan 1995, 44. Note that at time of writing the earlier date of the frescoeswas still assumed.1179 Niemeier 1991, 197
324
is referred to in Ugaritic poetry where the god of art and handicrafts
from Kaphtor is summoned to decorate a palace for Baal.
Consequently, it seems that this is an exceptional site within Egypt,
and few inferences can be drawn about the level of Cretan-Egyptain
contacts during the 19th Dynasty.
Trade during the 18th and 19th Dynasties between Egypt and Crete is
indicated both by representations of Keftiu in Theban tomb scenes,
and by foreign pottery.1180
Kommos is a large Bronze Age town with a harbour complex in south-
central Crete. Foreign pottery found at the site includes wares from
the Aegean, Greece, Anatolia, Cyprus, Syria/Palestine and Egypt.
Egyptian vases are most numerous at the site from LMIIIA contexts
(contemporary with Amenhotep IH). 1181 However, imported vessels at
the site dating from LMIIIB, including Egyptian storage jars, indicate
that it continued to be part of an active international trading network
into the reign of Ramesses II. As at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham, coarse-
ware stirrup jars from Charna were found in 'final floor deposits' in
the town. 1182 However, 'southern type' Canaarnte amphorae found at
the site are mostly dated to LMIIIA contexts, although four are dated
to LMIIIB. Unlike at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham, Italian vessels are also
present from this period.118 3 Watrous believes that the presence of
Egyptian pottery at Kommos indicates that direct Egyptian-Cretan
1180 See in chapter "foreign pottery at the site"1181 Watrous 1992, 1751182 Watrous 1992, 1811183 Hallager 1983 for discussion of possible Italian traders at Chania
325
iaritime contact occurred, with Kommos and Knossos playing
entral roles in such interchanges. With the discovery of similar
lasses of foreign pottery at Zawiyet Un-im el-Rakham, it is possible
[iat this site was also an important station on the route during the
eign of Ramesses II.
' this is the case, then the evidence from Kommos and Zawiyet Umm
l-Rakham contradicts the view accepted by many that direct Crete-
gypt contact had stopped by the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty.
respective of the nationality of the sailors and ship, the traders at
.ommos cannot have been unaware of the ship's' itinerary and may
'ell have either initiated or joined in any potential trade venture with
awiyet Umm el-Rakham and probably Memphis or Piramesse.
5.b Where had the ship originated from, if different from (a)?
vera1 Late Bronze Age coastal sites functioned as emporia or as
ateway communities' 1! 84 where they were strategically situated to
ploit factors of supply (raw materials/finished goods from the
nterland) and of demand (foreign or freelance merchants who
rived by sea), as well as facilitating the control of goods within their
here of influence. 1185 It is possible that ships which went to
Lwlyet Umm el-Rakham came originally from one of these sites.
ifortunately it is not possible to identify the original port.
)netheless, there is a certain amount of documentary and
2haeological evidence which indicates potential starting points for
Burghardt, 197135 Knapp and Cherry 1994, 135
326
international trading ventures.
Harbour sites
It is not known what sort of ships would have arrived at Zawiyet
Umm el-Rakham. There is no evidence of any form of harbour near
the site, although it is likely that, even if any structure had once
existed, all traces would have been washed away; and evidence from
other harbour sites around the eastern Mediterranean littoral has
demonstrated that the sea level has changed since the Late Bronze
age.1186 However, the beaches are sandy in parts with a gently sloping
incline, and it would be possible to land small vessels without harm,
and larger vessels could have anchored in the submerged reefs which
lie approximately 50m out from the shore.
Many Bronze Age settlements in the Aegean are located on or near
peninsulas, and some were established in relationship to offshore
islands, as at Amnisos, Nirou Kharn and Kommos on Crete. 1187 Large
structures found at Kommos have been interpreted as sheds used to
store ships during the winter, and large amounts of foreign pottery
found at the site have reinforced ideas that Kommos was a major
trading centre with Egypt and elsewhere.1188
There are no clearly identified Bronze Age sea harbours in Cyprus
and the Levant, due to both natural erosion and later rebuildiig.
However there were large coastal settlements at sites such as Ugarit
1186 Shaw 1986, 267 believes that the sea has risen between 1-3m at Konimos;White 1986, 80 believes that the sea level has dropped 1.3m at Mersa Matruh.1187 Shaw 1990, 4251188 Watrous 1992.
327
(with a port at Minet el-Beida and four known harbours but few
harbour remains),1189 Byblos and Tyre, and Kition, Enkomi (which also
had a river harbour that was silted up by the 11th Century BC),1190
and Hala Sultan Tekke in Cyprus. 1 '91 A 40m x lOm quay at Tel Dor in
Israel has masonry associated with early Canaanite settlement (circa
1200BC),1192 and at Kition there is evidence of walls that may have
been quays associated with Bronze Age lagoons (now silted up).1193
fleets
The two best examples of Bronze Age ships are the wrecks at lJlu
Burunhl94 and Cape Gelidonya.1195 These were both found with cargoes
and much of the bodywork essentially intact, and yet there is little
consensus of opinion as to where the ships originated from, who they
belonged to, or who they were being sailed by.
In, or soon after, 1306 BC 1196 a large ship sank at Ulu Burun, near Kas
in southern Turkey. The ship's cargo consisted mostly of raw
materials, including approximately 10 tons of copper in the form of
354 oxhide ingots and approximately 120 copper bun ingots. There
were also the earliest examples of ox-hide and bun ingots made of
tin." 9? Other materials included approximately 170 cobalt and copper
blue glass ingots, 1198 thousands of beads of agate, carnelian, quartz,1189 Schaeffer 1933; Astour 19701190 McCas]in 1980,91 -1191 see McCasIin 1980, 10 n. 17 for refs.1192 Raban 1983, 229-2381193 Collombier 19881194 Bass 1986; Bass 1987; Bass et a! 1989; Bass 1991; Pulak 1994; Scafuri 20001195 Bass 1967; Bass 1973; Bass 19911196 Most recent date on Scafuri 2000, 11197 Scafuri 2000,11198 See in chapter "Glass on the thu Burun Wreck"
328
glass, falence, ostrich egg shell and amber, 150 Canaanite amphorae
full of teribinth resin, an amphora full of orpiment, Egyptian ebony,
ostrich eggs, elephant tusks, hippopotami teeth, murex shells, and
plant remains including coriander, safflower, figs, grapes,
pomegranates and olives.1199 Worked items included Cypriote fine
and coarse ware ceramics, Mycenaean ceramics and four faience
drinking cups in the shape of ram's heads. Small items included
Canaanite and Egyptian jewellery, Mycenaean weapons and
jewellery,l200 two wooden diptychs, and Mycenaean, Cypriot, Egyptian,
Babylonian and Kassite seals. 1201 The excavators currently believe that
the ship was probably Levantine or Cypriote in origin, based on
typology of the stone anchors and the predominately Syrio-
Palestinian origin of most of the shipboard tools, weapons and
personal effects of those board (see further discussion below).1202
Approximately 100 years later, in about 1200 BC, a merchant vessel
foundered in Cape Gelidonya off the southern coast of Anatolia. The
bulk of the cargo consisted of 34 ox-hide copper ingots, copper and
tin bun ingots, metal working tools and scrap bronze ready to be
recycled. Other goods included pieces of unworked crystal, a jar full
of coloured beads made of stone, faience, and glass, five scarabs arid
a cylinder seal. The pottery consisted of Mycenaean stirrup jars, a
Late Cypriote Base Ring II jug, and cooking pots, water jars and bowls.
Egyptian and Syrian pan-balance weights also found indicate that
1199 Haldane 19901200 Pulak 1994, 91201 Bass 1991, 741202 Pualakl994, 10
329
someone on the ship was involved with metal trading. The ship may
have originated from Syria, 12 o3 Cyprus l2O4 or Mycenaean Greece,12o5
(although it is generally agreed that the previous stop had been at
Cyprus, where most of the ox-hide ingots came from)12o6 and may
either have belonged to one of these states, or represent an example
of 'freelance entrepenurial trade'.12o7
The material evidence from both these ships has demonstrated that
although certain aspects of nationality may be deduced, it is also true,
as noted by Kemp and Merrillees, that "archaeology by itself often
cannot resolve issues of identity".1208
Ships from Ugarit
Texts at Ugarit identify Ugarit as a commercial maritime partner with
Byblos, Tyre and Akko.12o9 There is also evidence of commercial
maritime contacts between Ugarit and Cyprus, and of Cypriote
merchants living in Ugarit.1210
A letter from the king of Tyre to the king of Ugarit says "Your ship,
which you sent to Egypt - it is (till now) in Tyre".1211 This evidence
indicates that at least the return leg of the journey was in an anti-
1203 Bass 19671204 Bass 19731205 Muhly 19771206 Gale 1991, 1991207 Merrillees 19741208 Kemp & Merrillees 1980, 2781209 Heitzer 1978, 1511210 I-leltzer 1978, 152. See also Lipmski 1997 concerning a letter (RS. 113) tomcnhotep ifi from an Egyptian official at Ugarit who had apparently been to
Cyprus1211 PRU, V, 59 (KTU. 2. 38) in HeitLer 1978, 151
330
clockwise direction. A letter from someone in Ugarit to the king of
Egypt says "by all the gods of Alashia, Nimmuria (Amenhotep III), the
king of the world...and the ships will enter",1212 apparently indicating
a complicated trade route to Egypt or back to Ugarit via Cyprus.
McCaslin believes that such texts and others similar indicate that
Ugarit had its own merchant fleet.1213
Ships from Cyprus
A number of bronze and clay ship models and anchors are known
from Cyprus, and it is likely that Cyprus (or a Cypriote city)
possessed its own fleet. 1214 McCaslin cites a Cypriote fleet mentioned
in EA 36, 1215 although Moran states only that it is too fragmentary for
translation, and concerned with the exchange of goods.1216
Nonetheless there are a number of references in the Amarna Letters
to goods, especially copper, being sent to Egypt from Alashia.1217
EA 39 from the king of Alashia to the king of Egypt says "My brother,
let my messengers go promptly and safely so that I may hear my
brother's greeting. These men are my merchants. My brother, let them
go safely and promptly. No one making a claim in your name is to
approach my merchants or my ship". EA 40 from the governor of
Alashia to the governor of Egypt repeats the plea, with "my brother,
these men and this ship belong to the king, my lord. So send me bk
the ship promptly and safely".1212 KTU. 2.42 inHeltzer 1978, 1521213 McCasIin 1980, 1011214 McCaslin 1980, 111 nt. 46a1215 McCaslin 1980, 1011216 Moran 1992, 1091217 EA33-EA4O
331
Ships from the Aegean
Before the discovery of Bronze Age frescoes at Thera, evidence of
ships from the Aegean consisted of schematic depictions on glyptic
surfaces, simple models,1218 and references in Linear B texts which
indicated that ship construction was a specific trade.1219 The West
House at Akrotiri contains several painted panels which show various
maritime scenes.1220 On the north wall there is a scene of the
apparent aftermath of a battle, with three ships and three bodies
floating in the water, and a sea shore containing marching soldiers
and a large flat roofed building. Kemp and Merrillees believe that this
depicts a raid somewhere on the North African coast, 1221 but Shaw
suggests the building is an Aegean boat shed, and that the scene may
represent fighting somewhere in the Aegean.1222
On the south wall of the same room, the scene shows a fleet of ships
which have left a small town set in a desert scene with a lion and
deer, and situated at the mouth of a river next to the sea. It is again
possible that this represents somewhere on the Libyan or Egyptian
coast (although Kemp and Merrillees note that the river would
therefore represent the Nile, and there is nothing distinctly Egyptian
about the town). 1223 The ships are heading towards a small town on
the right of the scene set in a double harbour containing two boats,
and three ships have already been partially pulled onto the shore. On
are a row of rooms with triangularthe shore behind the ships1218 Morgan 1988, 1211219 Morgan 1988, 1291220 Marinatos 19741221 Kemp &Merrillees 1980, 272l222Shaw 1990,4321223 Kemp & Merrillees 1980, 274
332
openings, which may be either dovecotesl224 or beehives.1225 The town
may be Akrotiri itself 1226 or somewhere else on Thera.
There is considerable debate as to the exact locations portrayed in
these scenes. Nonetheless, they are an indication that ships from the
Aegean may have travelled considerable chuferences to other
countries around the eastern Mediterranean.
Ships from Egypt
Although there is evidence for New Kingdom Egyptian maritime travel
along the Levantine coast, it is less clear whether the ships used
actually belonged the Egyptians, and there is little independent
evidence for an Egyptian Mediterranean fleet in the New Kingdom. In
the 6th year of his Syrian campaigns, Tuthmosis III transported
troops north in ships. 1227 In the next year, he inaugurated a policy of
seizing port towns in Palestine to serve as supply stations for the
Egyptian army. 1228 Annals for the 9th campaign indude "Behold all
the harbours of his majesty were supplied with every good thing of
that which [his] majesty received in /7hy, consisting of keftiu ships,
byblos ships and Sk-tw 1 2 29 ships of cedar laden with poles and masts,
together with great trees for the [ I of his majesty'.1230 Save-
Soderbergh thought that these were all Egyptian ships, and the
1224 Mannatos 1974, 431225 Shaw 1990, 4331226 Morgan 1988, 161; Shaw 1990, 4331227 BAR 11 463b1228 Save-Soderbergh 1946, 36; Wilson 1969, 2391229 Glanvific 1932, 14 suggested that this was the name for a subsidiary dockyardat Byb10SI23OBAR 11492
333
geographical names referred to the origin of their Cargoes.1231
However, it is now generally acknowledged that such ships Were
probably named after the locations that they sailed between. 1232
Nonetheless, evidence from the Punt expedition at Deir el-Bahri
indicates that 'Byblos ship' (kpn.wt) was used as a general term for
seagoing ship during the 18th Dynasty,123 3 and records from the royal
dockyard of Tuthmosis III describe several keftiu ships being built
and repaired at Prw-nfr. 1 234 Syrians are known to have worked in the
dockyards, and men with semitic names were clearly involved in
building or repairing ships.1235 Thus a vessel called an Aegean ship
was built in Egypt by Syrians.
Evidence from Theban tomb scenes show Aegean and Syrian
visitors l236 and Syrian maritime trading missions arriving in Egypt
(probably at Memphis, although the scene is depicted in a Theban
tomb) 1237 and the Amarna letters show that there were various
maritime trade routes functiornng between Egypt and other countries
around the Eastern Mediterranean. It is considered unlikely that
luxury imports at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham were brought by Egyptian
ships from somewhere in the Delta. However, although there is
almost no evidence that Egyptian ships ever went beyond the
Levantine coast, it is not impossible that Egyptian ships were involved
in' Save-Soderbergh 1946, 361232 Vercoutter 1956, 53; Wachsmann 1987, 121; Knapp 1993, 3361233 Save-Soderbergh 1946, 501234 Glanville 19321235 Save-Soderbergh 1946, 50; Wachsmann 1987, 1201236 see bsbd: lapis lazull, glass, falence and Egyptian blue above1237 tombs of Nebamun IT 17 and Kenamun TF 168. See Jeffreys 1985, 48-53 fordiscussion of harbours at Memphis.
334
in maritime trade with Crete.
There are almost no examples of scenes showing Egyptians travelling
abroad. This may be because of artistic selection (i.e. no artists went
abroad with Egyptian trading missions), or perhaps because
Memphite rather than Theban officials tended to be involved in such
foreign missions. 1 2 38 One possible exception to this is in the tomb of
Khaemhet (IT 57), where Wreszinski believed that a damaged
scene,1239 showing sailors trading with stall holders, depicted an
Egyptian flotilla on a trading mission to a foreign country, and its
return.
35.c Where was the ship going to after Zawiyet Umm el-
Rakliam?
There are three possible (and two likely) directions that a ship may
have taken after calling at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham.
35.c.1 North west across the Mediterranean to Crete
There is almost no documentary evidence for trade routes in the Late
Bronze Age, and studies have tended to extrapolate backwards from
modern sailing traditions and also from records from classical
authors.1240
1238 As archaeological work continues in the Memphite necropolis, it is possiblethat 18th Dynasty depictions of foreign interaction may be discovered in futureyears.1239 Wreszinski 1923, p1. 199; Porter & Moss 1994, 115 Scene 91240 Casson 1971; McCaslin 1980, 87-108 & refs
335
Weather between Egypt and Crete
Hesiod urged all sailors to stay away from the sea except for fifty
days after the summer solstice in July and August, 1241 and Vegetius
(who was a sailor) said that the best days for sailing were between
27th May and 14th September. Casson believes that 'all normal
activity was packed into the summer', 1242 and it seems likely that
clouds, which blocked view of the stars, and storms at other times of
the year would have made navigation very hazardous both for short
journeys which hugged the shores and longer journeys that were
made without the benefit of visible landmarks. All voyages between
Crete and Egypt would have involved sailing out of sight of land, and
some sort of celestial navigation would have been essential.
During late spring and summer, the prevailing wind in the
Mediterranean is usually from the north and northwest. Odysseus
supposedly sailed 400 miles from Crete to Egypt in five days 'on a
north wind that was favourable and fair', 1243 and Strabo stated that
'the voyage from Samonium [in Crete] to Egypt takes four days and
nights; though some say three'.1244 Casson worked out that, with
favourable winds, the average speed of sailing vessels in the Classical
period was between 4 and 6 knots over open waterJ24s
However, it should be remembered that local conditions (caused. by
topographical features such as
1241 Hesiod, Works and Days 663-6651242 Casson 1970, 2701243 Odyssey XIV 252-2571244 Strabo 10.475 in Casson 1970, 2871245 Casson 1970, 288
mountain ranges) can alter wind
336
direction, and also that winds can change. Experience at Zawiyet
Umm el-Rakham between August and October has shown that there
can be large variations in wind direction and force even in summer
months. In one year there can be no perceivable wind for a month,
and in another there can be strong winds from the south for a week.
There can also be great variations in wind patterns within a single
day. McCaslin notes that winds often blow away from the land in the
evenings,1246 but at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham it is more common for
wind to die away completely in the late afternoon.
Direct sailing from Egypt to Crete contradicts ideas of an exclusive
anti clockwise sailing route due to prevailing northerly winds in the
Mediterranean. Nonetheless, during March, April and September,
prevailing winds can often be from the south.1247 There is evidence
for direct voyages from Alexandria to Crete during the 17th century
AD, and Warren notes that during the 18th century AD sailing from
Alexandria to Crete was a common occurrence, and was usually
expected to take not more than five days given favourable winds.1248
Watrous, working at Kommos, noted that enormous amounts of
Minoan pottery have been found on Thera, Melos and Kea, which
indicates that northward sailing within the Aegean was possible.1249
He also reports that local villagers in Crete remember sail boats from
Egypt and Libya regularly landing near Kommos to sell rum, pottery
and wood and to buy grain, grapes and olives.125o One interesting
1246 McCaslin 1980, 891247 'Mediterranean Pilot' in Watrous 1992, 1771248 Warren 1995, 101249 Watrous 1992, 177I2SOWatroUS 1992, 178
337
point is that when the wind was not from the right direction such
boats would regularly reach port by means of rowing.1 251 Although
present knowledge of Bronze Age boats is limited, it is also possible
that direct northern sailing to Crete also occurred from Zawiyet Umm
el-Rakham.
35.c.2 East along the north African coast towards the Egyptian
Delta
The presence of Minoan, Mycenaean and Cypriote pottery at sites in
the Delta and the Nile Valley,1252 and the African or Libyan nature of
the Thera frescoesl253 suggest a direct Aegean-Egyptian trade route. If
a direct route was followed from the Crete to the Delta and/or back
to Crete, then it seems likely that coastal ports of call or harbours
would have existed on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa other
than that at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham (and the earlier nearby site at
Bates' Island).1254 Probable locations include El-Alamein and
Gharbaniyat, both suggested by Habachil25s and Kitchenl2S6 as the
sites of other forts in the chain built by Ramesses II. However, a
recent survey carried out by Whitel2sl between Salum on the Libyan
border and Sidi Abdel Rahman west of el-Alamain found no evidence
for any occupation earlier than settlements of the Greco-Roman
period apart from few sherds of Archaic-dassical Greek materiaLl2s8
However it should be noted that many potential sites have been1251 Watrous 1992, 1781252 See in chapter "Foreign pottery at the site"1253 Marinatos 1974, 44-571254 See in chapter "Bates' Island"1255 1-labachi 19801256 Kitchen 1982, 711257 White 19961258 White 1986, 26
338
extensively developed as holiday resorts in the last twenty years, and
also that large areas of the coast are still minefields, and are
therefore inaccessible for modern study.
35.c.3 West along the north Africa coast towards Libya
It is currently believed that Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham is the furthest
west of the chain of Ramesside fortresses. It is not known whether
the fort was supplied by sea from Egypt proper, and if Egyptian ships
travelled west along the coast. So little is also known about the
existence or level of Aegean-Libyan contact that it is not possible to
establish whether non-Egyptian ships would have ventured west
towards a potential major area of settlement in Cyrenaica..
35.d Where was the ultimate destination for the ship and/or
cargo, if different from (C)?
There are various possible routes that a ship sailing between Crete
and Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham may have followed.
35.d.1 South from Crete to the North African coast, then east along
the northern Egyptian coast to the Nile Delta, north around the coast
of Palestine and Syria, and west to Cyprus, Rhodes and back to Crete.
This route was proposed by Vercoutter,1259 and has gained general
acceptance in recent years.1260
1259 Vercoutter 1956, 417-4221260 e.g. Bass 1973; Bass 1987; Bass 1991; Kemp & Merrillees 1980; McCaslln 1980
339
35.d.2 East to Rhodes, Cyprus and Palestine, south along to the coast
to Egypt, then either back the same way, or north west across the sea
back to Crete.
This route can be verified by archaeological evidence in Rhodes,1261
Cyprus,1262 Syria and Palestine. 1 26 3 Watrous believes that the presence
of Southern Canaanite jars and Egyptian pottery at Kommos, coupled
with Minoan fine wares on mainland Greece and Minoan coarse ware
Stirrup jars at Cyprus, Rhodes and Ugarit indicate that this route
linked Crete with the east during Late Minoan JTIB.1264
35.d.3 Crete to Egypt to Crete. Discussed above. It should be noted
that this trade route would fit into the category of point-to-point
trade which clearly existed. Specific Egyptian orders for goods, such
as wood from Lebanon, or copper from Cyprus, involved directional
trade which can be differentiated from trade missions and routes (as
exemplified by the Ulu Burun wreck) where a continuous route
involving exchange of goods at different ports would not necessarily
have had a specific end-point.
A
1261 Stubbms 1951, 5-201262 Stubbins 1951, 25-461263 Stubbms 1951, 53-561264 Watrous 1992, 178-179
340
CC5woco
a,
U)
A >
U)
0
0
J/7I-...- •ICj
' "I1J -r
•
,r U)
U)
S.''
IH• °•'
c°9
j U)iç/
Fig.35.1 Suggested Mediterranean trade routesto and from Zawiyet Umm el-Raitham
35.e Who did the ship belong to, who was it controlled by, and
who were the people on board?
The best surviving archaeological evidence for the nationality of Late
Bronze Age sailors should come from the Thu Burun wreck. However,
as discussed above, at the time of sinking, the ship contained
Mycenaean, Cypriote, Egyptian, Babylonian, Nubian and Syrian
goods.126s One of the excavation's two directors believes that the ship
originated from mainland Greece and was run by Mycenaeans,1266 and
the other believes that, although the presence of at least two
Mycenaeans on board is revealed by the finds, the ship originated
from Cyprus or the Levant and was run by a Near Easterner (Sjc).1267
Perhaps the least satisfying but most reasonable conclusion is that
trade was conducted by various different people in various different
ways at the same time, with "a multidirectional, complex network of
state-run and entrepreneurial traders, inter linked on more than one
social and/or ideological level". 1268 For trade both within Egypt and
between Egypt and her neighbours around the eastern Mediterranean,
Kemp points out that for a centrally administered economy to be
overwhelmingly dominant, "either the system itself was able
constantly to assess every individual's needs and satisfy them, or the
needs of very large sections of the population remained not so much
static as passive, offering a mirror image of fluctuations within the
state system". 1269 Private greed and ambition also have little place in
1 Bass 1991, 741266 pulak, in Bass 1991,741267 Bass in Bass 1991, 741268 Knapp 1991, 501269 Kemp 1989 234
342
a centrally controlled system.
As the amount of archaeological evidence for trade around the
eastern Mediterranean grows year by year, it becomes evident that
there were extensive trading contacts between most regions most of
the time. It is possible that there has been a general underestimation
both of the volume of goods moving around any one time, and of the
expectations of the people who were the producers and recipients of
such trade items. It is not likely that only exceptional cargoes sank,
and the Ulu Burun shipment should be seen as emblematic of a
thriving international trade and exchange environment between both
public and private partners in the Late Bronze Age.
To try to identify too closely the cultural origin of such freelance
traders is perhaps to impose anachronistic constructs onto people
who may have defined themselves in other ways. Muhly defined the
metal artifacts found at Cape Gelidonya as an indication of 'a koine of
metalwork throughout the eastern Mediterranean'12 70 and it is
possible that a crew who travelled between different countries would
have defined themselves by their lifestyles rather than their (possibly
diverse) racial identities, and would have been merchants in an
international sense, with distinctiveness defined by language and
cultural or religious beliefs rather than geographical origin. the
general unrest and mass population movement at the end of the Late
Bronze Age could easily have led to the construction of new arid non-
regional tribal identities.
1270 Muhly 1982, 256343
35.f What did the Egyptians trade or exchange in return?
It is not possible at this stage to identify the exact mechanisms and
systems of trade used or participated in by the occupants of Zawiyet
Umm el-Rakham. Current understanding of trade at the site is that
there were various different exchanges functioning simultaneously,
which can be summarised as follows:
3 S.f. 1 Supply trade from Egypt proper (not enough is currently known
about the systems for supplying such outlying forts, and whether
state sponsored or entrepreneurial trade played any part).
35.f.2 Interaction with the indigenous population. Evidence from the
domestic area excavated in 1999 shows that the fortress was supplied
with a variety of foodstuffs (cow, goat, fish, ostrich and ostrich eggs)
which were almost certainly obtained locally. The exact nature and
level of contact with surrounding nomadic or settled peoples is not
known, but it is hoped that work in future years may illuminate this
issue.
35.f.3 Trade with the Oases. The ceramic vessel containing yellow
ochre found outside stone circle 41271 suggests the possibility that the
fortress was dealing directly with the chain of Oases. !272 The
stumbling block in this theory is that no New Kingdom remains.are
known from Siwa, which must have been a way-station on this route,
populated either by Egyptians, or (more likely) by a group of Ubyans
1271 ZUIR/G4E/141272 Cohn Hope, pers. comm.
344
who were engaged in trade with both the Oases and the Egyptians on
the coast. Nevertheless, it is possible that there was a small active
settlement not yet known from the archaeological record. Again,
future work at the Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham may cast light on this
activity.
35.f.4 Participation in trade on the eastern Mediterranean trade
routes (see above). The site fulfils a previously unrecognised function
(apart from the tentative role played by Bates' Island, see below) of
being the 'first contact' for seagoing vessels arriving from the North.
Again, the range of foodstuffs found in 1999 indicates that there was
a variety of edible goods available at the site, all of which could have
been offered as trading items. The relative values of such goods
compared with the luxury foreign items indicated by the eastern
Mediterranean pottery found at the site is not clear. It seems likely
that wine and olive oil could have had greater value than than cattle
or goats.
However, there would not have been an equal trading position
between the incoming sailors and the members of the fortress.
Various scenarios are possible, including the most unfriendly where
the Egyptians indulged in piracy, murdered the crew, looted the ship
and burnt the evidence. As the Ulu Burun and Cape Gelidonya wrecks
bear testament, it cannot have been unusual for ships to disappear
without trace. The military strength of the fortress could have been
exerted as easily against those arriving by sea as those from the land.
343
However, the amount of foreign goods found at the site and the
probability that a number of ships passed by suggests that this most
aggressive policy may not have been followed. Nonetheless, the
garrison would have been in the controlling position in any trading
exchange, and could have effectively set the relative prices of goods.
It is also possible that other goods were also traded. One product
found at the site which is known to appear in high status sites in the
Aegean and the Near East is ostrich eggs. It is not thought that there
was a systematic trade in these items based at Zawiyet Urnm el-
Rakham, 1273 but it seems likely that two or three eggs (like those
found on Ulu Burun) were traded, if not as food items, then as curios
for future sale.
Bates' Island
Some discussion must also be made of the nearby site of Bates'
Island, a place that has attained a totemic quality in studies of Bronze
Age trade connections with Egypt's Mediterranean coast. 1274 However,
evidence from this site should be assessed with great care. Bates'
Island is a tiny islet in a lagoon (which was an inlet in the Bronze Age)
on the coast at Mersa Matruh. The excavator noted both that the islet
was probably too exposed to the bitter winds of winter to have been
used year-round by its Late Bronze Age Inhabitants, 1275 and that it
was too small to have functioned as Matruh's only port facility even
in the pre-Greek period. 1276 The architectural evidence consists of a
1273 Snape pers. comm.1274 see e.g. Bass 1987, Hankey 1993, Knapp 19931275 White 1986, 841276 White 1996, 27-28
346
few small stone hut foundations of uncertain date. There are large
amounts of Roman ceramic material, and there are also Roman villa
and cemetery sites on the hills around three sides of the island. The
Bronze Age elements consist of over 1000 fragmentary ceramic
remains, of mainly Cypriot origin, and also evidence of metal working
including slag and crucible fragments. Such evidence is potentially
consistent with a single ship having stopped once at the site. Such a
ship could have traded metal artifacts with putative local (Libyan?)
settlers, which would explain the ostrich egg fragments found at the
site.
This is the minima! interpretation of the evidence, but ifiustrates the
extent to which tiny amounts of material evidence have been used to
formulate complex theories of international connections. It is
possible to see that the site at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham may answer
many of the questions raised by the site at Bates' Island. However, the
questions of which, if any, major power controlled the Island, and
whether it was run by Cypriots, Egyptians, locals or freelance
merchants and traders cannot be answered by the material evidence.
Nor can it be shown whether or not it was merely the location of a
single stopover on a voyage from Crete to Egypt.
347
Condusion
At Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham. the picture is much clearer. The site was
constructed and maintained by the Egyptian army, and documentary
evidence relating to other frontier forts shows that there may have
been a rigid system of controls from the centralised state. The
primary function of the fort was undoubtedly a military one, and
concerned monitoring and controlling local groups as well as
incursions towards Egypt from the west and north.
The extent of centralised state involvement in trade and exchange at
Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham has not as yet been established, but there is
certainly enough artifactual evidence of non-Egyptian/Mediterranean
goods at the site (most noticeably ostrich egg fragments) to indicate
that either local nomadic or Libyan groups were interacting with the
inhabitants at the fortress. It would seem reasonable to assume that
any contact between such groups and foreign merchants would have
been tightly controlled by the Egyptian population of the fortress.
The artifactual evidence from the site, as well as its advantageous
positioning on the Mediterranean littoral indicate that it functioned
as a trade or exchange centre. It is not yet possible to establish what
percentage of the activity of the fort was occupied in this secondary
function, although future archaeological discoveries (records office,
foreign quarter) may clarify the situation.
348
I-
I
IH
00d
Lfm
00
C'-4
N. 00
LrJ
riC,cJ
Lñ
00c)4
Appendix 1List of Pigments from Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham 199 5-1999
mm-
r. —4 N.00 L __ __ d c
- 00 -C, Q 00 X- rJ - - C,
x N-00 00 0 rnC'J C\J - 00
L(C,c.'jcJ
C)sJ LILC\
00 00cJ rJ
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— 'I 0)bO 0
0)
CO 4—' .00
.
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-: 0) 0) 0)
— — I — — — —0 .0 .0 .0 .0
.l
349
m en
en en
C'4 p.4
CO - 00
c..J U, c..J c, C')00 V) U) U) C/) C#) C/)
C') —p.4 - p.4 - -
oU N ______________N N N N N
-
L i—I 00 Li)
Li) • N- 0 C4
00 Li) If) If)
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It)0 N. en en N-
1 - C) —
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Li)00
U— ) C) 00 It) —4 '-4o C C) N. L/) Li) U) If)U CJ en en en en en
jU)U)
PCI 'C Li)
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0) .2
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I- , Vo U) .4..' PC
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— U) U) U) Cl) Cl)
'V 0)
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PC PC 4-' 4_I 4_I 4_I 4_I 4_I
4-.' 4_I 4_Il 4_I .4_I 4_I. . . .
Cl) ,.U) ..4U)
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______ ______ ( L ( L ___
350
enen
en-
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t-.(0 CO Lt Cs
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— - Cfl Lf3 en
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C)
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2 2 2 2 2 2_U) _U) _n
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351
- en
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0) 0) 0) 0)
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_______ __
352
-
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e.j eq
En (0 En Cfl 0 CflN. 00 CJ CJ i-I En
00 En en 0
r4. 0 '-I Cfl 0 en 0di tn en en
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353
c'.J
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- - - - - -
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0 0 0 0 0U U U0 0 0 . .. .,. ..-
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354
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355
5
4
3
2
0MISI M1S2 MIS3 MIS4 MINi MIN2 M1N3 M1N4 M1C M2E G7E H4E HSE
M2E M8 G4E G55
I
Egyptian Blue
Al. Distribution of Egyptian Blue
ID Green Wollastonite
1LL.MISI SIIS? MIS3 MIS4 MINI M1N2 M1N3 MIN4 \IIC
A2. Distribution of green wollastomte
356
IU Dark Red Ochre
A- -- --
MISI MISZ MIS3 M1S4 MINJ MIN2 M1N3 MIN4 MJC
M2E M8 H4E H5E
A3. Distribution of dark red ochre
DRedOchre I6 -
3
2
'liSt MIS2 MiS. \lI4 'liNt MIN? M1N3 M1N4 MIC
A4. Distribution of red ochre
M2E M8 i-14E HSE
m
357
5
4
3
2
0
MIS1 MIS2 M1' 1I-1 \IINI MIN2 MIN3 M1N4 Nill
[0 Yellow Ochre
1E H4L i-13E
0
A5. Distribution of yellow ochre
0 Yellow jarosite]
8 =
7
6 - ________
4
3 -- _________________________
2 -
o-______________\ISI 'flS2 \tIS3 '1IS4 'tINI 't1\2 (IN3 M14 \IIC
A6. Distribution of yellow jarosite
\12E M8 H4E H5E
358
w
tr:
N
-1z
7
Nz
z
-1•
2:
2:
N
-4
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O(PCnN N N N N '- i- - -
A7. Pigment distribution at the site
359
Appendix 1
Analysis of the Pigments from Zawiyet Umm el-Raithain
In order to identify the exact nature of the pigments found at Zawiyet
Umm el-Rakham a representative sample of each different type was
analysed in order to establish the chemical constituents present.'
It has thus been possible to compare and contrast the pigments found
at the site with those found at other sites in Egypt. Additional
quantitative analysis is currently being undertaken at the Laboratory
for History of Art and Archaeology in Oxford 2 (this facility being
unavailable at Uverpool) in order that the results may be added to a
growing database of similar analyses from other collections.
Although similar analyses are rare from none-Egyptian sites, it is to
be hoped that future work in these regions will allow for similar
comparisons to be made with material from the Near East.
The pigments consist of blue and green artificial copper compounds,
red and yellow iron oxides, pale yellow jarosite and white calcium
carbonate. They were examined by X-ray powder diffraction to
determine their mineral content, and by Scanning Electron Microscope
in order to identify elemental composition. This was achievec by
mounting a small sample and coating it in gold.
1 These were done at the University of Uverpool and I am very grateful to the staffin the Geology, Chemistry and Life Sciences departments.2 Many of the results mentioned below have been discussed with Professor Tite andDr Shortland, and their advice has had much bearing on what is discussed below
360
Blue
All of the blue samples tested were shown to be Egyptian Blue
consisting of cuproroviate CaCuSi4OlO and quartz.
Green
The green samples showed strong indications of a green glass phase
coloured by wollastonite CaCu3Si3O9, and it is not clear if they were
intentionally made green, or are examples of Egyptian Blue that either
went wrong during production (in which case it is hard to explain why
they were found at the site) or are examples of Egyptian Blue that has
degraded in some way. However, the most likely explanation is that
they represent examples of artificially produced green frit which have
weathered more severely than the similar examples of Egyptian Blue
due to the higher glass content. This would explain why the green
samples are all now similar very pale green colours.
Red
Both types of red pigment are red ochre coloured by anhydrous iron
oxide/hematite Fe 203. The dark red solid samples contain higher
amounts of clay, which leads to greater bulk adherence.
Yellow
The yellow samples are yellow ochre, consisted of clay and quartz
grains coated with a thin iron coating in the form of goethite FeO.OH.
Yellow ochre was the most common yellow pigment used in Egypt.
Significant deposits of goethite occur in the oases of the Western
361
desert, and chemical comparisons with yellow ochre from the
Southern Oases are ongoing. 3 It is probable that the lumps of both red
and yellow iron oxide found at the site are still in the natural state,
i.e. have not yet undergone any refining process.4
Pale Yellow
The pale yellow samples, which were found in small round balls with
a darker brown crust on the outside (the size of walnuts). These are
all jarosite, which is a potassium iron sulphate KFe 3(SO4)2(OH)6. The
material is very fine grained and has pore cohesion, suggesting that
initial processing has occurred.5
White
The one example of white pigment is calcium carbonate CaCO3, arid
the same material was also identified on one of the sherd palettes
from the stone circles.
I
3 With Cohn Hope as part of the Dakhla Oasis project4 1t would be otherwise hard to explain the cohesion of the various samples. Theclay content alone is not sufficient to bond the material once processing orrefinement has occurred.
Hayward, pers.comm.362
Fig.A.8 Scanning electron micrograph of Egyptian Bluesample ZUR/M1/24. Scale bar of 100 microns.Cuproroviate crystals, glassy matrix and air spaces are allvisible
Fig.A.9 Scanning electron micrograph of Egyptian Bluesample ZUR/M1/C4. Scale bar of 100 microns.Cuproroviate crystals, slight glassy matrix and small airspaces are all visible
363
1.1
Fig.A.10 Scanning electron micrograph of Green sampleZUR/M1/C5. Scale bar of 100 microns. Note lack of glassyphase and large air spaces.
Fig.A. 11 Scanning electron micrograph of Green sampleZUR/Ml/S3/8. Scale bar of 50 microns. Note lack of glassyphase.
364
Fig.A.12 Scanning electron micrograph of Yellow sampleZUR/Mi/Ci. Scale bar of 100 microns. Quartz grainsrimmed by iron-rich material. Groundmass mainlycomposed of small quartz fragments and clay minerals
Fig.A.13 Scanning electron micrograph of Yellow sampleZUR/M1/C3. Scale bar of 100 microns. Quartz gramsrimmed by iron-rich material. Groundmass mainlycomposed of small quartz fragments and day minerals.Small bright patches are Fe oxides.
365
••-&
Fig.AJ4 Scanning electron micrograph of Yellow jarositesample ZUR/S4/12. Scale bar of 5 microns. Small scale dueto the very fine grain size
Fig.A. 15 Scanning electron micrograph of Whitesample ZUR/N2/2. Scale bar of 50 microns.
I
366
:: - RH '': 0 - 20 H e .JLive: bUs Preset: bUOs Rernai ni rig: UsReal: 116s 1Lf Dead
S
• I_I
F , I-
I. 4r1. 4 i U -
• •:'''.'... ...
. 1 '+Cich 2E=
t'1a 1. E;3. [Jr. A. —11.;7'9 Ct.E
Al 6. Electron scan of Egyptian Blue(discount Au & Pd coating)
367
- RAY: U - 20 k e'.)Live: 100 s Preset: 100 s F.:erna nj ng:
Us
Real: 119s 16 Dead
0
I.,
F
C AU
• 0 5 . 1 211 k €1J
F— CL - I- ' --'_' r. _ u I .._ b b -
t'l E t'l 1: ; p e ': . 6 . II a q . 1 • •; 3
Al 7. Electron scan of green wollastonite(discount Au & Pd coating)
i 1:1.2139 ct.s
368
A18. Electron scan of dark red ochre(discount Au & Pd coating)
369
>—RAY:I •,, ..LI '.' t.ID -,.
o - 20 k&)lOUs Preset:1 1 C' -4
I_J'.
lUUs Rerrlairlirlg:Dead
Os
'AiU
FK
F
. LI- =- I •'• !J i'.,
FS= L+F:: ':h 2'66=MEF'll :'E;peciffieri 13.t'1ai 1 .S+.
A19. Electron scan of red ochre(discount Au & Pd coating)
1ii •'ILIi' - -IT I
370
- F'•': U - 2 U k &.)Li 1 UU s F'r.set: 1 Ui) s F.:erra Iii rg:r-. - - . i i - i - •. i. -r. ' d. I • I I ':. I b'. LI . d.'
I-I
H
1
FV
F
1:1.2c1::,
U UFS= Lfft'lEt'll : 3pc. 1
. I • uii I. -...'. I ..') P.'-..
di 266=Ma ' 2. Y € 1 1 oil..
A20. Electron scan of yellow ochre(discount Au & Pd coating)
371
U - 2U ket)Live: lOUs Preset,: lUUs Rernai ru rig:
Us
Real: 121s 17'. Dead
RU
Fe
K
p
HF
F
AU
- . 1._I- -
. Ii • i Ij iFS= '+K :h 266=
F'lEFIl : 3 p e. i men 9. Flag 1 . _____
A2 1. Electron scan of yellow jarosite(discount Au & Pd coating)
1ii •'II_J..
Ii I I -.
372
- F' A '' :I •.....i_. I • '. U
ID - I Ur.E.d. L
- 20 k&)Preset 1 0 U ; F.: rn a I ri i Ii 9
DeadUs
fl
A'1
C
a
A
• I)FE;= 8K:
LgM1 :Specimen
5. 1 2'iI k'a1..Jch 266=
12.t1a 1.N2.
10.2 :>89 i:t..:
A22. Electron scan of white(discount Au & Pd coating)
373
Appendix 2
Glass in the Amarna Letters'
From Sitatna, ruler of Akka (Akko)
£4235 + 327
Moreover, the king, my lord, has written to me for glass, and Iherewith send 50 units, their weight, to the king, my lord.
From Pu-Ba'lu, ruler of Yursa (Unknown)£4314
Since the king, my lord, has ordered some glass, I sent it to the king,my lord, my god, the Sun from the sky.
From Yidya, ruler of Asqaluna (Ashkelon)£4323
As to the king, my lord's, having ordered some glass, I herewith sendto the king, my lord, 30 pieces of glass.
From Sipti-Ba'lu, ruler of Lakisa (Lachish)£4331
And as to the king, my lord's, having ordered whatever glass I mayhave on hand, I herewith send it to the king, my lord, my god, mySun, the Sun from the sky.
1 From Moran 1992374
Lapis lazull/hsbd in the Amarna Letters
To Naphururea (Amenophis 1V/Akhenaten) from Burna-Buriyas, king
of Karaduniyas (Babylonia)£47
sending 4 minas of beautiful lapis lazuli as a routine greeting gift.[unworked stone measured by weight.1
To Naphururea from Burna-Buriyas
FA8
As a greeting gift I send you one mina of lapis lazuli
To Naphururea from Burna-Buriyas, king of Karaduniyas
£49
I send to you as a greeting gift 3 minas of genuine lapis lazuli
To Naphururea from Burna-Buriyas
£410
I send as your greeting-gift 2 minas of lapis lazuli, and concerningyour daughter Mayati, having heard (about her), I send to her as agreeting gift a necklace of cricket-(shaped) gems, of lapis lazuli, 1048their number.
To Naphururea from Burna-Buriyas
£411
I send 10 lumps of genuine lapis lazuli as your greeting gift, and tothe mistress of the house (I send) 20 'crickets' of genuine lapis lazuli.
375
Inventory of a dowry of a Babylonian princess
£413
an alabaster [shaped jar?] of genuine lapis lazulismall ziminzu-shaped beads of lapis lazulilentil [shaped] (stones) of lapis hzuli and mussaru-stonegold leaf, genuine hpis lazuli and...genuine lapis Jazuli[few more fragments of lapis lazuli refs.]
Inventory of Egyptian gifts from Naphururea to Burna-Burlyas
£414
1 small container (of aromatics), of gold, and a stopper of lapis lazuliin the middle.
To the king of Egypt from Assur-ubalit, king of Assyria
£415
1 date-stone [shaped] of genuine lapis lazuli, as your greeting gift
To Nimmureya from Tusratta, king of Mittani
£419
I herewith send as my brother's greeting gift: 1 golden goblet withinlays of genuine lapis lazuli in its handle; 1 manirinu-necklace, witha counterweight, 20 pieces of genuine lapis lazuli, and 19 pieces ofgold, its centrepiece being genuine lapis lazuli set in gold
To Nimmureya from Tusratta
£421
1 maninnu necklace of genuine lapis lazuli and gold as a greeting-gift
376
of my brother. May it rest on the neck of my brother for 100,000years.
Inventory of gifts from Tusratta
EA22
1 leather halter, its 'flint-blade' of genuine hulalu-stone; its inlay, ofgenuine lapis lazuli; the tasli, (with) inlay of genuine lapis lazuli. Itscentrepiece is set with hiliba-stone, and (this) centrepiece of hiliba-stone is mounted on genuine hpis IazulL...1 seal of genuine lapislazuli, mounted on gold.1 bottle, horse-shaped, of amatu-metal, with eagles of gold as inlay;and (also) its inlay, genuine lapis lazuli. 300 shekels in weight.1 hand-bracelet, of iron, overlaid with gold; its mesukku-birds have aninlay of genuine lapis lazuli 6 shekels of gold have been used on it.1 hand-bracelet, of iron, overlaid with gold; its mesukku-birds have an -inlay of genuine lapis lazulL 5 shekels of gold have been used on it.1 maninu-necklace, cut from 35 genuine lapis lazuli stones.1 set for the hand, beads of genuine lapis lazull, 6 per string.1 zallulu, its rettu overlaid with hiliba-stones and genuine lapislazuli; the handle, the figure of a woman, of alabaster; the inlay, ofgenuine lapis lazuli.
1 pair of shoes, of dusu-colour [leatherl, and studded with dardarali-ornaments of gold; their buttons, of hiliba-stone; with karat-nannalla-ornaments of genuine lapis lazuli, set here and there.1 pair of shoes, of blue-purple wool; their....of gold; their buttons ofhiliba-stone; the centre, an inlay of genuine lapis lazuli.1 fly whisk. its rettu has an inlay of genuine lapis lazuli1 helmet container, of alabaster, (with) an inlay of genuine lapislazuli, the rim of which is overlaid with gold.
1 dagger, the blade, of iron; its guard, of gold, with designs; its halt,of....; an inlay of genuine lapis lazu]!; its pommel, of hiliba-stone.
377
Inventory of gifts from Tusratta
EA25
1 set of earrings, of gold; their cones of genuine lapis lazuli, andtheir kukkubu of genuine hulalu-stone.1 set of earrings, of gold; their cones of genuine hulalu-stone, andtheir kukkubu of genuine lapis lazuli.1 set of earrings, of gold; their cones of genuine lapis lazuli, 4 oneach, their kuickubu of genuine hulalu-stone.1 set of earrings, of gold; their cones of genuine lapis lazuli, andtheir kukkubu of genuine hulalu-stone.1 set of toggle pins, with inlay their inlay of genuine lapis lazuli;their top of genuine hiliba-stone.
1 set of toggle pins, with inlay; their inlay of genuine lapis lazuli;their top of genuine hulalu-stone.
1 set of toggle pins, with inlay their inlay of genuine lapis Iazulitheir top of genuine hulalu-stone.
1 set of toggle pins, with inlay their inlay of genuine lapis Iazulitheir top of genuine hulalu-stone.
1 set of toggle pins, with inlay; their inlay of genuine lapis lazuThtheir top of genuine hiliba-stone.
1 set of toggle pins, of solid gold; their top of genuine lapis lazuli.1 weave: 6 genuine lapis lazuli stones, 7 hiliba-stones, 14 bikru-gemsof gold, 72 strings of genuine lapis lazuli and gold, 40 strings ofgold.
1 weave: 9 genuine lapis lazull stones, 10 hffiba-stones, 20 bllcru-gems of gold.....strings of lapis lazuli, 38 strings of gold.1 weave of gold: 1 hiliba-stone, 4 genuine lapis lazuli stones, 4.... ofgold.
1 maninnu-necklace, of seal shaped stones of lapis lazuli; 13 per'string, mounted on gold.
1 mariinnu-necklace, of seal shaped stones; 13 seal shaped stones ofgenuine lapis lazull, mounted on gold.1 maninnu-necklace with a counterweight: 28 genuine lapis lazuli
378
stones, 28 hi]iba-stones; the centrepiece a genuine hulalu-stonemounted on gold.1 maninnu-necklace, cut: 25 genuine lapis lazuli stones, 25 hiliba-stones; the centrepiece a genuine lapis lazuli stone mounted on gold.1 maninnu-necklace, cut: 26 genuine lapis lazuli stones, 26 hiliba-stones; the centrepiece a genuine lapis lazuli stone mounted on gold.1 maninnu-necklace, cut: 37 genuine lapis lazuli stones, 39 pieces ofgold-leaf; the centrepiece a genuine hulalu-stone mounted on gold.1 maninnu-necklace, cut: 38 genuine lapis lazuli stones, 38 pieces ofgold-leaf; the centrepiece a genuine hulalu-stone mounted on gold.1 maninnu-necklace, cut: 26 genuine lapis lazuli stones, 28 hiliba-stones; the centrepiece a genuine lapis lazuli stone mounted on gold.1 maninnu-necklace, cut: 38 genuine lapis lazuli stones, 38 pieces ofgold-; its centrepiece a genuine hulalu-stone mounted on gold.1 maninnu-necklace, cut: 43 genuine lapLs lazuli stones, x hiliba-stones; the centrepiece a sankallu-stone mounted on gold.1 maninnu-neddace, cut: 32 genuine lapis lazuli stones, x hiliba-stones; the centrepiece a genuine hulalu-stone mounted on gold.1 manirmu-necklace, cut: 30 genuine lapis Jazuli stones, 28 hiliba-stones; the centrepiece a ....-stone mounted on gold.1 manirinu-necldace, cut: 17 genuine Japis lazuli stones, 16 sankallu-stones, 35 pieces of gold; the centrepiece a sankullu-stone mounted
on gold.1 mariinnu-necklace, cut: 23 genuine lapis Jazuli stones, 25 Marhasi-stones; 48 pieces of gold-leaf; the centrepiece a genuine lapis lazulistone mounted on gold.1 maninnu-necklace, cut: 34 obsidian stones; 33 pieces of gold; thecentrepiece a genuine lapis lazuli stone mounted on gold.1 maninnu-necklace with counterweight: 14 genuine lapis lazul!stones, 25 genuine hulalu-stones, 17 hiliba-stones; the centrepiece agenuine lapis lazuli stone mounted on gold.1 maninnu-necklace with counterweight: 14 genuine lapis lazulistones, 16 genuine hulalu-stones, 30 pieces of gold leaf; thecentrepiece a ....stone mounted on gold.
379
24 gold kamaru; the centrepiece a genuine lapis lazuli stone
mounted on gold.....genuine lapis lazuli stones, 24 genuine hulalu-stones; thecentrepiece a genuine lapis lazuli stone mounted on gold.uttuppu: 60 genuine lapis lazuli stones122 genuine lapis lazull stonesx large....of gold tinged with red, 11 per string, set in genuine lapislazuli1 set of large agarhu-jewels, of genuine lapis lazuli, genuine hulalustone, genuine obsidian, mussaru-stone; the centrepiece a genuinelapis lazuli stone mounted on gold.3 sets of small agarhu-jewels, of genuine lapis lazuli, genuine hulalu-stone, genuine obsidian, mussaru-stone; the centrepiece a genuinehulalu-stone mounted on gold.219 'crickets' of genuine lapis lazuli, not mounted, for the hand.2 finger-rings, of genuine lapis lazuli.2 hand-bracelets, of gold, one attached to the other, with mesukku-birds; the mesuicku-birds have an inlay of genuine lapis lazuli. 30shekels in weight.1 seal-shaped stone of genuine lapis lazuli mounted on gold.2 genuine lapis lazuli stones to serve as counterweights.1 pin, of genuine hulalu-stone; its top of genuine lapis lazulimounted on gold.1 ointment receptade; its rettu of alabaster; its handle a ....overlaidwith gold, 2 genuine lapis lazuli stones are set in the centre.1 ointment receptade; its rettu of abasmu-stone; its handle a swallowoverlaid with gold, one genuine lapis lazuli stone is set in the centre.1 ointment receptacle; its rettu of abasmu-stone; its handle a pantheroverlaid with gold. It is set here and there with lapis lazuli andalabaster.1 kuninnu-bowl, of stone; its inside and its base have been overlaidwith gold; one genuine lapis lazuli stone is set in it.1 heart, of gold; the inlay, genuine lapis lazuli; 30 shekels in weight.1 lulutu (animal) horn-rhyton, overlaid with gold. its rettu of ebony.
380
It is set here and there with genuine lapis lazuli.1 fly whisk, overlaid with gold; its rettu and its handle....itsparattatinu, of huliba-stone, strung on a wire of gold; and its wirestrung with genuine hulalu-stones, genuine lapis lazuli stones,carnelian stones.
2 sets of toggle pins, of gold; their tops of lapis lazuli.9 maninnu-necklaces, of lapis lazuli.2 weaves of lapis lazuli and hiliba-stonex maninnu-necklaces of lapis lazuli, with a gold knob. This jewelleryis for the two principal lathes in waiting.
30 sets of earrings, of gold; their cones of lapis lazull, for 30 dowry-women.
10 spindles, of lapis lazulL...Iapis lazuli, its side-board....of lapislazuli, overlaid with gold and silver. 6 shekels of gold, 30 shekels ofsilver, have been used on them. It is all these objects and dowry-personnel that Tusratta, the king of Mitanni....
To Naphururea from Tusratta
FA27
Don't talk of giving statues just of solid cast gold. I will give you onesalso made of lapis lazuli.
To Naphururea from Tusratta
£429
...of lapis lazuli
To king of Egypt from Suppiluliumas, great king of HaUl
£441
As to the two statues of gold, one should be standing, one should beseated. And, my brother, send me the 2 silver statues of women, anda large piece of lapis lazuli.
381
Copper in the Amarna Letters
To the king of Egypt from the king of Alasiya
EA33
You wrote to me have transported 200 talents of copper, and Iherewith have transported to you 10 talents of fine copper.[probably Akhenaten, possibly Smenkare or Tutankamun. talents
perhaps bars or ingots]
To the king of Egypt from the king of Alasiya
E434
And behold, I also send to you with my messenger 100 talents of
copper.
To the king of Egypt from the king of Alasiya
£435
I herewith send you 500 talents of copper. My brother, do not beconcerned that the amount of copper is small. Behold, the hand ofNergal is now in my country; he has slain all the men of my country,and there is not a single copper worker.
To the king of Egypt from the king of Alasiya
EA36
more about copper.
To the king of Egypt from the king of Alasiya
£437
The greeting gift for my brother is five talents of copper, 5 teams of
horses.382
To the governor of Egypt from the governor of Alasiya
£440
I send to him 9 talents of copper, 2 pieces of ivory, 1 beam for a ship.I herewith send as your greeting-gift 5 talents of copper, 3 talents offine-copper, 1 piece of ivory, 1 beam of boxwood, 1 beam for a ship.
To Amanappa (an Egyptian official), my father, from Rib-Hadda
£477
As to your writing to me for copper and for sinnu, may the Lady ofGubla be witness: there Is no copper or srnnu of copper available tome or to her unjustly treated ones.
To the king of Egypt from Abi-Milku (Governor of Tyre)
£4151
I herewith send llumilku as messenger to the king, my lord, and I give5 talents of bronze, mallets, and 1 whip.
383
:
0 0-Cl).4 Cl,
0 Cl)
0
__
I
— Cl,
__ ___ 1 Cl) Cl) 0 __
Cl)
______ ___ ______ ___ ______
Cl)bCI
. 1Cl, Cl) — U) . Cl) —- ______________ __________________ _________________ ______________ _______________ ______________ ______________ _______________
9 zz Cf)'
I LJ c,)N N
- ___th
____ _____ V) — 0 —C,,
'U)
'U)
p C
C
__ ________ C U
A23. Possible foreign pigment terms384
z< JG,-
a-
(nj'
2
U'U
4E
U,
ES2
41
S4
d
S2
I4
4
a, aC
1I 4
z•-
— 81
., .\ SS
U)EI-
2
U,
(
II4!
&. C
E3
4
Map 1. Sites mentioned inNorth Mesopotamia and Syria
>-U) U,
424a
385
IRAN
'I1.11 HaIst
SYRIA
/ Eupi
( %'/( ,7•KIRKUK £Jjrmo
a Nuxi
\. 4c: /SAMARRA• ) •%JTl,2.l( J
'7 [M
£T.liAsmar\
Dii, - II
S.
-S.-S
5-.5.
.5.
S..5.
SAUDI ARABIA
-S-S
.5-.S.
IRAQ
- TURKEY
Bizara 8ivii
%NJAR£T.p.Gawra
N,nveh £ KhoraibadYwm T.p.a Arp.thiya £ $hm'hari
Till Rsmah£ £Ud
'? _ Till Hasauna
'7
- .5--..
'-5.
I
E LAM
othS
Map 2. Sites mentioned in Mesopotamia
386
Map 3. Sites mentioned in the Levant
387
Abbreviations
AA American Anthronoloi
AAAS Annales ArchéoJoiaues Arabes Svriennes
AJ The Antiauanes Journal
AJA American Journal of Archaeolov
ANET Pritchard J.B., ed. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relatin g to
the Old Testament Princeton
ASAE Annales du Service des Antiguités de 1'EgvDte
BA Biblical Archaeo1oist
BAR Breasted J.H. 1906-1907 Ancient Records of Egypt 4 vols.,
Chicago
BASOR Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research
BIFAO Bulletin l'Institut Francais d'Archéologie Onentale
BM British Museum, London
BMFA
BSA
CdE
Dend. Mar.
EA
EA
Edfou
GM
Harr.
Flier Ostr.
IJNA
JANES
JAOS
JARCE
JFA
JESHO
JGS
Bulletin of the Museum of Fine Arts. Boston
Annual of the British School at Athens
Chroniaue d'Elzvr)te
Mariette A. 18 70-1880 Dendérah 6 vols. Paris
Amarna Letters
Evrtian Archaeolo gy (Bulletin of the Egypt Exploration
Society)
Chassinat 1892-1934 Le Temule d'Edfou 14 vols. Cairo
ottinger Miszellen
Erichsen 1933 Panvrus Harris I Brussels
Cerny J. & A.H.Gardiner 1957 Hieratic Ostraca (vol 1)
Oxford
International Journal of Nautical ArchaeoIov and
Underwater Exnloration
Journal of Near Eastern Studies
Journal of the American Oriental Society
lournal of the American Research Center in Evnt
Journal of Egvrtian Archaeolov
Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient
Journal of Glass Studies
388
JNES
journal of Near Eastern Studies
JRA
Journal of Roman Archaeo1ov
JSSEA
Journal of the Society for the Study of Evtian
Antiquities
Kawa
Macadam M.F.L 1949 The Temples of Kawa: The
Inscriptions London
KRI
Kitchen K.A. Ramesside Inscriptions Oxford
MDAIK
Mitteilungen. des deutschen archäo1oischen Jnstitut
Kairo
OMRO Ouctheidkundie Mededeelinen nit het Riiksmuseum zan
Oudheden te Lieden
Ostr. Cairo G. Daressy 1901 Ostraca (Cat. Cairo) Cairo; Cerny J. 1935
Ostraca I-Iiêratiauea (Cat. Cairo) 2 vols. Cairo
Ostr. Stras. Ostracon in Strasbourg, in Iversen E. 1955 Some Ancient
Evr)tian uaints and pigments: a 1exicoraphical study
Copenhagen
Ostr. Tor. Ostraca in Toronto, in Gardiner A.J. 1913 Theban Ostraca
London
P. Ch. B. Gardiner A.H. 1931 The Chester Beattv Pap yri No. 1
London
PPS Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society
PRU le Palais royal d'Uarit (document classification numbers)
RdE Revue d'EvDtologie
RS Ras Shamra (document classification numbers)
SAK Studien zur altä gvptischen Kultur
SIMA Studies in Mediterranean Archaeolov
SmC Studies in Conservation
Totb. Leps. Lepsius 1842 Das Totenbuch der Agvpter nach dern
hieroglvphischen Pavrus in Turin Leipzig
UC Petrie Museum catalogue number, University College
London
Urk. Steindorff ed. Urkunden des agvntischen Altertums
ZAS Zeitschrift für ätvrtische Sprache und Altertumskunde
389
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