Achaeology

Tell Ibrahim Awad

General Information

Tell Ibrahim Awad. General view

The modern province Sharqiya that is situated in the northeastern part of the Nile Delta is a very important place for Egyptologists. Here the ancient Egyptian nome I'btj («The East»), which had an economical, political and strategical significance, was located. The capital of Hyksos was situated in this nome, later Ramesses the Great founded his capital here.

Tell Ibrahim Awad is situated 14 km from Faqus, near Per-Ramesses. Archaeological prospecting conducted in 1986 showed some objects of Predynastic period in this place (area B), the remains of a settlement and a necropolis. Last layers are dated from the Middle Kingdom. The intensive survey in 1988–1990 allowed to suggest the following chronological chart of the phases of Tell Ibrahim Awad occupation (after E.C.M. van den Brink):

Phase	Date	Area A	Area B
1	1a — mid XII dynasty; 1b — I Intermediate period	1a — Temple/ Cemetery; 1b — Temple/ Cemetery Settlement remains
2	Old Kingdom IV–VI dynasties	Temple (?)/ Cemetery Pottery cache
3	Early Old Kingdom (II–III dynasties)	Temple (?)	3a — Sherd-filled pits; 3b — Settlement
4	Late Early Dynastic period	Settlement (?)	Settlement
5	5a — Late I–II dynasty; 5b — Early I dynasty	?	Settlement
6	«00» / 0 dynasty Naqada III a–b	?	Settlement
7	final Late Chalcolithic	?	Settlement

The geographical position of Tell Ibrahim Awad was very important. It is possible that the famous «Ways of Horus» — the routs of military and commercial expeditions to Eastern Mediterranean - were located nearby. Archaeological finds confirm the existence of connections with Syria, Palestine, Mesopotamia and countries of Central Asia. The neighborhood of Tell Ibrahim Awad with capitals of later periods (Avaris, Per-Ramesses) also can confirm its importance.

In 1988 in the frames of the NFARE (Netherlands Foundation for Archaeological Research in Egypt) project the Dutch expedition, directed by E.C.M. van den Brink, started excavations in Tell Ibrahim Awad. In 1991 Willem M. van Haarlem became the director of the expedition. Russian scholars take part in the excavations in Tell Ibrahim Awad due to the support of the Ministry of Industry, Science and Technologies of The Russian Federation. From 1995 the expedition is joint Dutch-Russian.

Plan of Tell Ibrahim Awad

The monuments of Tell Ibrahim Awad seriously suffered from agricultural activities. However, the finds made during two seasons of work of the joint expedition (1995–1996 and 1996–1997) allowed to suppose that massive mudbrick walls (about 2,9 m wide) in the area A belonged to a temple. Excavations of the temple became very important. There was close connection between the temple and the necropolis situated to the east from it. Correspondence of the archaeological layers, nearness to the temple and the orientation of the dead on the temple axis (north–south) confirm this fact. It is possible that Horus as a child was worshiped here (according to the finds of child figurines). It may be so, because in the New Kingdom this nome was called «Child» and from XXV dynasty — «Royal Child».

Deposit of vessels that were used for the «ritual of purification». I Intermediate Period.

The discovery in the temple area of deposits with votive objects (the similar ones were found in Abydos, Hierakonpolis, Elephantine) allows to suppose that Tell Ibrahim Awad was an important religious centre. It is possible that the ritual of purification took place here according to the great number of waterjars Hzt in the temple deposits. One of them contained 18 waterjars from 69 vessels, another one — 21 from 47. Unfortunately, we don't have a possibility to compare this number with the quantity of vessels of that type found in Abydos and Hierakonpolis. However, there are no doubts that in the «border temples» the ritual of purification was performed more intensively. Its aim was a purification after the return from foreign countries.

Tell Ibrahim Awad was an important religious and political centre. It could also clear out the genesis of the unified state of ancient Egypt.

G. Belova