Tell El-Dab'a XV

The collection of metal artefacts from Tell el-Dab'a of the eastern Nile Delta, dating to the first half of the 2nd millennium BC, is probably the richest, best-documented find of the eastern Mediterranean that has been published to date. The material will provide new insights into various dimensions of past societies of this region. A brief introduction to the site begins the volume, followed by a fully illustrated catalogue of the findings - an extensive range of copper-alloy artefacts and smaller numbers of silver and gold objects. Next, the various artefact classes are discussed in terms of their wider typological parallels, chronology and distribution, thus permitting the material from the Delta to be viewed in terms of the wider Egyptian and Levantine equivalents. From this comparison it is clear that the bulk of the material is of west Asian inspiration, derived from styles first seen in north-west Syria in the last centuries of the 3rd millennium BC. The extensive range of metalworking debris from the site, including limestone and steatite moulds, crucibles, copper ingots and tuyeres, is treated in detail, and the relationship between the artefacts for which there is evidence of on-site production and the finds in general is discussed. The volume also reports on the chemical analysis of a wide range of copper and silver artefacts from the site, and considers the correlation, in some cases surprising, between composition and typology. Contextual analysis of grave findings clarifies links between artefact types and the age and sex of the buried individuals, sets of artefacts, and patterns in the positioning of artefacts within graves; changes through time can also be seen. Thus it is possible to investigate the similarities and contrasts between burial practices in Tell el-Dab'a and contemporary practices in the Levant and the Nile Valley. Despite the hybrid material culture of the Delta society, it is argued that mortuary practices, at least for the elite, drew heavily on aspects of west Asian ideology. This leads to a discussion of the connection between the symbolic role of metalwork and the expression of status, and a consideration of the possible social and political implications of changing stylistic zones within the east Mediterranean basin during the earlier 2nd millennium BC. Also reviewed is the manner in which specific elements of material culture were influenced by the development and flourishing of a distinctive Nile Delta elite identity.