Studie in de relaties tussen Egypte en het Nabije Oosten: de geo-chronologische distributie van Egyptische scarabeezegels in de Noordelijke Levant (Syrië en Libanon) van het late 3e millennium tot de late IJzertijd

Abstract

Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Art Sciences and Archaeology), Vrije Universiteit Brussel 2011-2012.
Thesis directors: Prof. Dr. Eric Gubel and Prof. Dr. Karin Nys.

During the past two decades, publications on scarab-shaped seals stressed the importance of an archaeological approach to this type of seal-amulet, its presence outside Egypt and its role in reflecting Egyptian-Levantine relations. So far, however, specialists have almost exclusively been concentrating on scarabs from the southern Levant (Israel and Jordan). With the compilation of scarabs from Syria and Lebanon and by contextualising them in their archaeological and historical settings, the present dissertation not only completes a large geographical lacuna but also the results from the southern Levant and addresses questions raised by the Levantine material, such as the existence of local workshops, or the impact of imports on the local production.

Nearly 1300 provenanced Egyptian and egyptianising scarabs are submitted to a detailed analyses, thus collecting information on provenance (if possible the precise archaeological context), material, iconography, style group, date and typology. These parameters are combined to study distribution patterns and the intensity and evolution of Egyptian influence in the northern Levant and to confront the archaeological data with the known historical context. Local imitations for example, but also the identification of local seal workshops, provide a clearer understanding of the nature and intensity of these contacts.
Firstly, the dating of the archaeological context and the object itself are determined independently, thus allowing identifying the object as contemporary or as an heirloom in its context. Secondly, a thorough analysis of the technical, formal, stylistic and iconographical aspects of the scarab permit to postulate its Egyptian or non-Egyptian origin. An archaeological study of each context (from over 60 sites excavated in present-day Syria, Lebanon and southern Turkey) and an iconographical analysis of each design type (inscriptions, motifs and combinations thereof) provide data from which the geographical distribution and the chronological evolution of Egyptian imports as well as the Levantine production are outlined. The results suggest the presence of a Middle Bronze Age II workshop at Byblos, an Iron Age II workshop at Tyre and an 8th-7th century paste workshop at Byblos.

The application of this approach on the entire (published and unpublished) corpus from a particular region had not been undertaken previously, not even for Egypt or the southern Levant. The added value of this study is not only that it represents a reference for the finds from the northern Levant but also that it looks beyond the individual objects. It places the finds in their stratigraphical (archaeological context), local (site), regional (nearby centres), interregional (distribution networks) and historical framework (Egyptian-Levantine relations). By resulting in an exhaustive catalogue in a format (multiple user web application) that encourages updates, additions and extensions, the present dissertation moreover looks at the future and the material from other regions that still need to be studied ...

Date of Award	31 Jan 2012
Original language	Dutch
Supervisor	Eric Gubel (Promotor) & Karin Nys (Co-promotor)