The characterisation of ceramic production from the central Levant and Egyptian trade in the Pyramid Age

Kamal Badreshany; Karin Sowada; Mary Ownby; Mathilde Jean; Michel De Vreeze; Alice McClymont; Graham Philip

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.103309

The characterisation of ceramic production from the central Levant and Egyptian trade in the Pyramid Age

Kamal Badreshany^*, Karin Sowada, Mary Ownby, Mathilde Jean (Contributor), Michel De Vreeze, Alice McClymont (Contributor), Graham Philip (Contributor)

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

A recent petrographic study of ceramic jars from Giza imported into Egypt during the 4th Dynasty of the Pyramid Age (c. 2613–2494 BCE) identified the original production zone as the Lebanese coast generally between Beirut and Tripoli, including the region of Byblos. The jars and their contents were imported to Egypt by maritime trade expeditions conducted at the behest of the Egyptian state. This study analyses a selection of these ceramic samples using ICP-AES and -MS for comparison with published data from the region of Byblos. The results not only confirmed the underlying petrography, but together with new evidence from Lebanon suggests the vessels likely belonged to specialised workshop production in the Byblos environs and were made specifically for export to Egypt. The finding sheds new light on the relationship between the Egyptian state and the polity of Byblos in the Early Bronze Age, indicating the presence of standardised local production and commodity procurement mechanisms tailored to the needs of a large trade entity. This relationship in turn delivered significant prestige and status to local elites in an environment of competitive local peer-polity interactions.

Original language	English
Article number	103309
Pages (from-to)	1-16
Number of pages	16
Journal	Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
Volume	41
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.103309
Publication status	Published - Feb 2022

Bibliographical note

Copyright the Author(s) 2023. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

Keywords

Archaeological science
geochemistry
petrography
ceramics
social complexity
trade
Early Bronze Age Levant
Old Kingdom Egypt

Access to Document

10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.103309

Publisher version (open access)Final published version, 14.7 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "The characterisation of ceramic production from the central Levant and Egyptian trade in the Pyramid Age",

abstract = "A recent petrographic study of ceramic jars from Giza imported into Egypt during the 4th Dynasty of the Pyramid Age (c. 2613–2494 BCE) identified the original production zone as the Lebanese coast generally between Beirut and Tripoli, including the region of Byblos. The jars and their contents were imported to Egypt by maritime trade expeditions conducted at the behest of the Egyptian state. This study analyses a selection of these ceramic samples using ICP-AES and -MS for comparison with published data from the region of Byblos. The results not only confirmed the underlying petrography, but together with new evidence from Lebanon suggests the vessels likely belonged to specialised workshop production in the Byblos environs and were made specifically for export to Egypt. The finding sheds new light on the relationship between the Egyptian state and the polity of Byblos in the Early Bronze Age, indicating the presence of standardised local production and commodity procurement mechanisms tailored to the needs of a large trade entity. This relationship in turn delivered significant prestige and status to local elites in an environment of competitive local peer-polity interactions.",

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author = "Kamal Badreshany and Karin Sowada and Mary Ownby and Mathilde Jean and {De Vreeze}, Michel and Alice McClymont and Graham Philip",

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AU - De Vreeze, Michel

A2 - Jean, Mathilde

A2 - McClymont, Alice

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AB - A recent petrographic study of ceramic jars from Giza imported into Egypt during the 4th Dynasty of the Pyramid Age (c. 2613–2494 BCE) identified the original production zone as the Lebanese coast generally between Beirut and Tripoli, including the region of Byblos. The jars and their contents were imported to Egypt by maritime trade expeditions conducted at the behest of the Egyptian state. This study analyses a selection of these ceramic samples using ICP-AES and -MS for comparison with published data from the region of Byblos. The results not only confirmed the underlying petrography, but together with new evidence from Lebanon suggests the vessels likely belonged to specialised workshop production in the Byblos environs and were made specifically for export to Egypt. The finding sheds new light on the relationship between the Egyptian state and the polity of Byblos in the Early Bronze Age, indicating the presence of standardised local production and commodity procurement mechanisms tailored to the needs of a large trade entity. This relationship in turn delivered significant prestige and status to local elites in an environment of competitive local peer-polity interactions.

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The characterisation of ceramic production from the central Levant and Egyptian trade in the Pyramid Age

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

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Pyramids, power and the dynamics of states in crisis

Trade in the Pyramid Age (c. 2610-2490 BC)

Public Lecture "Cosmic to Microscopic: Hidden Spaces and New Evidence from the Pyramid Field at Giza"

Invited Science Week Lecture "Cosmic to Microscopic: Hidden Spaces and New Evidence from the Pyramid Field at Giza

Seminar "The Old Kingdom Abroad: Levantine Exchange Patterns and Imported Pottery from Giza"

Imported pottery from Abydos: Weni the Elder and Late Old Kingdom Egyptian–Levantine Trade

Byblos and the early Egyptian state

Contents, status, and symbolism: the study of residues from imported jars at Old Kingdom Giza

Cite this

The characterisation of ceramic production from the central Levant and Egyptian trade in the Pyramid Age

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

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Cite this