Abstract
A palynological study of samples collected from the Tell el-Daba'a (Avaris) archaeological site, the capital of the Hyksos located in the Northeastern Nile Delta, Egypt, was conducted. A range of samples were analyzed for pollen content: mudbricks from tomb walls dating from the Middle (cal. 2124–1778 BC) and New Kingdom ages (cal. 1550–1750 BC), kitchen remains dating from the Middle Kingdom, kitchen middens from the 19th Dynasty (cal. 1750–1058 BC), and tomb offering jars from the Late Period (cal.1000-600 BC). Floristic composition of modern vegetation analysis at different habitats revealed four community types and nine associated types, providing an indicator of high soil salinity and moisture content. Cereal and Achillea-type pollen were common in the mudbrick samples, indicating the probable use of these plants as temper during mudbrick manufacturing in the Middle and New Kingdoms. The kitchen samples were dominated by cereals, broad bean, celery, and other weed pollen types, indicating the importance of cereals, legumes, and celery as strategic crops for food or medicines during the Middle Kingdom period. Weed pollen types were probably associated with crops, with “Cheno-am” pollen type recorded at highest abundance in the tomb filling jar, which may indicate the use of these aromatic herbs to repel insects and animals from tombs.
Highlights
IntroductionTell el-Daba’a (the name for Avaris, the capital of the Hyksos), located in the northeastern Nile Delta, has been recognized as an archaeological site since 1885 and contains accumulations of ancient settlement debris [1]
Tell el-Daba’a, located in the northeastern Nile Delta, has been recognized as an archaeological site since 1885 and contains accumulations of ancient settlement debris [1]
Different pollen were associated with each dominant species for Imperata cylindrica L,: Medicago sativa, Gnaphalium luteoalbum, Lamium amplexicaule, Sonchus oleraceus, Cyperus rotundus, and Amaranthu sgraecizans at abundances of 25.0, 10.7, 17.85, 10.7, 14.28 and 21.42%, respectively; for Chenopodium ambrosides L.:Malva parviflora, Cichorium endivia, Brassica nigra, Avena fatua, and Amaranthus ascendens with abundances of 9.0, 27.0, 36.36, 18.1, and 9.0%, respectively; for Conyza bonariensis (L.) Cronq: Phragmites australis, Cyperus articulates, Cyperus rotundus, and Anethum graveolens with abundances of 46.0, 10.0, 24.0, and 20.0%, respectively; and for Polypogon monspeliensis (L.): Cynodon dactylon, Emex spinosa, Launaea fragilis, and Convolvulus arvensis with abundances of 53.0, 17.0, 21.0, and 10.0%, respectively
Summary
Tell el-Daba’a (the name for Avaris, the capital of the Hyksos), located in the northeastern Nile Delta, has been recognized as an archaeological site since 1885 and contains accumulations of ancient settlement debris [1]. A number of excavations have revealed information about the gradual settling of Asiatic immigrants in the Delta under the Hyksos, a group of people who ruled for over a century during the Second Intermediate Period of Egypt The Hyksos forged a strong power base in the Northeast Delta, an area of great strategic importance for control of critical trade routes with the Near East and the Mediterranean by both land and sea. Tell el-Daba’a is associated with Pi-Ramesses, the Delta residence of Ramesses II in the 19th Dynasty [1]. Stratum e/1-3 contains material of a purely Egyptian
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