| Tell Ibrahim Awad |
Tell Ibrahim AwadGeneral Information
The archaeological site Tell Ibrahim Awad is situated in the central part of the Eastern Delta in the governorate Sharqiya, ca. 14 km. north of Faqus just outside the village of Umm Agram. Goals of the mission
Archaeological evidence collected during more than a decade of exploration at the Tell Ibrahim Awad site sheds new light on the evolutionary process leading to the emergence of the large territorial state in Ancient Egypt and enables hypotheses regarding processes involved in the formation of a unified state in the Nile Valley. Data from the Tell Ibrahim Awad site is of crucial importance for research in one of the main areas of the CESRAS’ scientific activities “Emergence and Development of the State in Ancient Egypt”. Exploration history of the site
Between 1984 and 1987 the Amsterdam University Survey Expedition conducted four seasons of geo-archaeological survey fieldwork in the area of 30x30 km around the towns of Faqus, Abu Kebir, al-Huseiniya and Tell Rak. 92 archaeological sites were located and recorded in the course of the survey. Results of the fieldwork showed that the majority of them have appeared on the sand islands (known as geziras). Tell Ibrahim Awad was selected for further research as the most promising site. Archaeological exploration of the site was started in 1988 by the Netherlands Foundation for Archaeological Research in Egypt (director of the mission E.C.M. van den Brink, later W.M. van Haarlem). From 1995 until 2001 the site was under excavation by the joint Russian-Dutch Mission directed by Dr. Galina A. Belova and Drs. W.M. van Haarlem.
Test trenches opened in the central part of the tell enabled establishing the stratigraphy of the site and revealed that the density of cultural accumulations reached ca. 4 m. Van den Brink divided the period of Tell Ibrahim Awad's occupation in nine phases from Dynasty 0 to the middle of Dynasty 12. In the course of excavations foundations of thick mudbrick walls covering an area of 35 m by 70 m were revealed. They belong to a temple of the Middle Kingdom. In the same location remains of consecutive mudbrick temple buildings from Pre-Dynastic Period to the First Intermediate Period were found. The temple of the Old Kingdom has two phases and is one of only three "preformal" temples of this period found so far in Egypt. A unique feature of the Old Kingdom temple are the deposits of votive objects (faience, ivory) from earlier periods in special compartments. In vicinity of the temple some domestic remnants belonging to a settlement which had been occupied from the Pre-Dynastic until the First Intermediate Period were unearthed. Later on the settlement was abandoned and the area was used as a cemetery.
Burials dated to the Ist Dynasty were discovered to the north-west of the temple area. The large sizes of the grave pits and rich grave goods let us presume that people of high social standing were buried here. Among the other finds Upper Egyptian stone vessels were unearthed in the burials of the Ist Dynasty. This might be taken as proof of close trade relations between the Delta and the Valley during that period. 83 burials in the necropolis dated to the late Old to early Middle Kingdoms were discovered to the east of the temple wall. Anthropological research at Tell Ibrahim Awad yielded rich data relative to the gender, age, characteristics, and pathologies of the local population.
PublicationsEigner D. Design, Space and Function: The Old Kingdom Temple of Tell Ibrahim Awad // B. Haring, i.a., (hrsg.), 6. Ägyptologische Tempeltagung. Funktion und Gebrauch altägyptische Tempelräume (Wiesbaden 2007), 83-103. Eigner D. Tell Ibrahim Awad: Divine Residence from Dynasty 0 to Dynasty 11 // Egypt and the Levant 10 (2000), 17-36. Haarlem W.M. van, Hikade Th. Recent Results of Research at Tell Ibrahim Awad // E. Czerny, i.a., (eds.), Timelines. Studies in Honour of Manfred Bietak (Orientalia Lovanensia Academica 149-I, 2006), 389-398 Wesemael Bas. van. The Relation Between Natural Landscape and Distribution of Archaeological Remains in the Northeastern Nile Delta // The Archaeology of the Nile Delta. Problems and Priorities (Ed. van den Brink E.C.M.). Amsterdam 1988. P. 126. Белова Г.А. Забытое божество? // Белова Г.А., Шеркова Т. А. (ред.) Древнеегипетский храм в Телль Ибрагим Аваде: раскопки и открытия в Дельте Нила. — М., 2002. — С. 52-58. Белова Г.А. Восточные пределы Египта. Новые данные // Белова Г.А., Шеркова Т.А. (ред.) Древнеегипетский храм в Телль Ибрагим Аваде: раскопки и открытия в Дельте Нила. — М., 2002. — С. 72-81. Belova G. Geo-Political Importance of Tell Ibrahim Awad // Maravelia A.-A. Ancient Egypt and Antique Europe: Two Parts of the Mediterranean World. Papers from a session held at the European Association of Archaeologists 7th Annual Meeting in Esslingen 2001. — Oxford, 2002. — P. 5-8. Белова Г.А. Фигурка иноземного посланца из тайника в Телль Ибрагим Аваде // История и культура древнего и раннехристианского Египта. Материалы научной конференции, посвященной 100-летию со дня рождения М.Э. Матье и М.А. Коростовцева. — М., 2001. — С. 29-34. Белова Г.А. Восточные пределы Египта. Новые археологические данные // Вестник древней истории. — 1999. — № 4. — С. 159-169. Шеркова Т.А. Жертвенные подставы в ритуальной практике древнего Египта. По материалам из святилища в Телль Ибрагим Аваде // Белова Г.А., Шеркова Т.А. (ред.) Древнеегипетский храм в Телль Ибрагим Аваде: раскопки и открытия в Дельте Нила. — М., 2002. — С. 59-71. Sherkova T.A. The Excavations at the Site of Tell Ibrahim Awad: Pot-Stands in the Ritual Practice of Ancient Egypt // Maravelia A.-A. (ed.) Ancient Egypt and Antique Europe: Two Parts of the Mediterranean World. — Oxford, 2002. — P. 9-14. Шеркова Т.А. Археологические открытия в дельте Нила // Вестник Академии Наук. — 2002. — №. 1. — С. 22-25. |
