Read Online Early Dynastic Egypt by Toby A. H. Wilkinson - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Toby A. H. Wilkinson
Tags: Social Science, Archaeology
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directly, but the mortuary record certainly indicates the primacy of This/Abydos towards the very end of the Predynastic period. The Naqada III tombs in Cemetery U are large, brick-lined structures, several of them with multiple chambers (Dreyer 1993a: 32–6, pls 4.d and 5). The most lavish burial, tomb U-j ( c. 3150 BC), comprises eight chambers, some of them linked by small slits which probably symbolise doorways. The tomb as a whole may represent the royal palace in microcosm (Dreyer 1992b: 295), in which case it would be the earliest example of palace symbolism in Early Dynastic mortuary architecture (Baines 1995:107). The provision of an arena for the ritual of kingship, modelled on the courts and buildings of the royal residence, was a key component of the royal mortuary complex in the first three dynasties. Tomb U-j may allow us to trace this aspect of royal mortuary architecture and ideology back into the Naqada III period, once again emphasising the Predynastic origins of Egyptian kingship. One of the objects recovered from tomb U-j was an ivory heqa -sceptre in the form of a shepherd’s crook (Dreyer 1993a: pl. 7.a, 1993b: 11). This remained one of the essential elements of royal regalia throughout Egyptian history, and its presence among the grave goods of tomb U-j leaves no doubt as to the royal status of
the occupant. Moreover, the tomb is by far the largest of its date anywhere in Egypt, suggesting the strong possibility that its owner exercised rule or at least hegemony over much, if not all, of the Nile valley. The extent of his influence is highlighted by the other grave goods with which tomb U-j was furnished.
TRADE, OWNERSHIP AND POWER
Perhaps the most striking categories of object from Abydos tomb U-j are those which illustrate the economic and administrative apparatus at the ruler’s command (Figure 2.2). Dozens of inscribed bone labels constitute the earliest corpus of writing yet found in Egypt (Dreyer 1992b: pls 6.1–4, 1993a: pl. 7.c-j). The short inscriptions, comprising no more than two or three individual signs, refer to places which presumably supplied the ruler’s court with commodities. The labels themselves would originally have been attached to these consignments, recording their quantity and provenance. Localities mentioned on the labels include Delta towns such as Bubastis (Dreyer 1992b: 297, pl. 6.4, 1993a: pl. 7.i). Either the Thinite king already ruled Lower Egypt or he possessed sufficient status to command supplies from the Delta. There is no doubt that his court engaged in large-scale trade with the Near East: the tomb contained over 400 imported vessels from Syria-Palestine (Hartung, in Dreyer 1993a: 49–56, pl. 9). (Note that the word ‘trade’ as used here refers to the exchange of commodities without the profit motive that characterises trade in the modern world.) Many types are previously unattested in Egypt, and petrographic analyses have led to the conclusion that some of the vessels may have come from as far afield as northern Israel and the Lebanon (van den Brink, personal communication). The closed forms indicate that the pots were used as containers for liquids; the residues which have survived inside some vessels suggest wine as one of the principal commodities (Dreyer 1992b: 297). We do not know what Egyptian products passed in the other direction, but the sheer number of pots illustrates the scale of trade conducted between Upper Egypt and the Near East in the late Predynastic period.
Long-distance trade in high-status goods had been practised by Egyptians from early Predynastic times. Lapis lazuli from the mountains of Badakhshan (present-day Afghanistan) is attested in graves of the Naqada I period (Matmar 3005: Brunton 1948: pl. LXX); imported vessels from Syria-Palestine and even Mesopotamia turn up sporadically in burials from this time onwards (Kantor 1965:6–14, figures 3–4), whilst Nubian hand-made bowls are a rare, but characteristic, type of pottery in
the occupant. Moreover, the tomb is by far the largest of its date anywhere in Egypt, suggesting the strong possibility that its owner exercised rule or at least hegemony over much, if not all, of the Nile valley. The extent of his influence is highlighted by the other grave goods with which tomb U-j was furnished.
TRADE, OWNERSHIP AND POWER
Perhaps the most striking categories of object from Abydos tomb U-j are those which illustrate the economic and administrative apparatus at the ruler’s command (Figure 2.2). Dozens of inscribed bone labels constitute the earliest corpus of writing yet found in Egypt (Dreyer 1992b: pls 6.1–4, 1993a: pl. 7.c-j). The short inscriptions, comprising no more than two or three individual signs, refer to places which presumably supplied the ruler’s court with commodities. The labels themselves would originally have been attached to these consignments, recording their quantity and provenance. Localities mentioned on the labels include Delta towns such as Bubastis (Dreyer 1992b: 297, pl. 6.4, 1993a: pl. 7.i). Either the Thinite king already ruled Lower Egypt or he possessed sufficient status to command supplies from the Delta. There is no doubt that his court engaged in large-scale trade with the Near East: the tomb contained over 400 imported vessels from Syria-Palestine (Hartung, in Dreyer 1993a: 49–56, pl. 9). (Note that the word ‘trade’ as used here refers to the exchange of commodities without the profit motive that characterises trade in the modern world.) Many types are previously unattested in Egypt, and petrographic analyses have led to the conclusion that some of the vessels may have come from as far afield as northern Israel and the Lebanon (van den Brink, personal communication). The closed forms indicate that the pots were used as containers for liquids; the residues which have survived inside some vessels suggest wine as one of the principal commodities (Dreyer 1992b: 297). We do not know what Egyptian products passed in the other direction, but the sheer number of pots illustrates the scale of trade conducted between Upper Egypt and the Near East in the late Predynastic period.
Long-distance trade in high-status goods had been practised by Egyptians from early Predynastic times. Lapis lazuli from the mountains of Badakhshan (present-day Afghanistan) is attested in graves of the Naqada I period (Matmar 3005: Brunton 1948: pl. LXX); imported vessels from Syria-Palestine and even Mesopotamia turn up sporadically in burials from this time onwards (Kantor 1965:6–14, figures 3–4), whilst Nubian hand-made bowls are a rare, but characteristic, type of pottery in
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