Minschat Abu Omar
 
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Minschat Abu Omar and Sile in Egypt |
Minschat Abu Omar (also Minshat Abu Omar , Arabic Minshāt Abū `Umar , Ash Sharqiyah , Sharkia ) is the name for an archaeological site 150 km northeast of Cairo . A necropolis and settlement remains from the Egyptian pre- and early dynastics , as well as the Greco-Roman times, were located here .
The most important finds are sometimes the inscriptions of the kings Hor Aha and Narmer . According to Dietrich Wildung , the place was an "advanced civilizing outpost" and served to integrate the eastern delta into the emerging overall empire. In addition, the site was considered a hub for shipping and trade with Palestine .
location
The site is located in the eastern Nile Delta , near Tell el-Ginn . It extends from the edge of the modern village of the same name 550 meters in a north-northeast direction and is located on a 2.5 meter high "gezira" . In ancient times the place was on the Pelusian branch of the Nile .
Research history
The site was identified in 1966 during an archaeological prospecting . The original aim was to find the place of origin of some predynastic finds that had previously surfaced in Europe and the United States . The associated excavations began in 1978 and continued until 1991.
graveyard
The cemetery is located on the southern part of the site and has so far been completely excavated and explored. A total of 420 graves from the pre / early dynasty and 2630 graves from the late and Greco-Roman times were discovered.
Predynastics
The predynastic graves are oval pits, all of which are oriented from north to south. The pits are 1 to 1.5 m long and 1.5 to 2.0 m deep. In them, the body was buried in a crouched position, lying on the right side, with the head to the north and the face to the west. The pits were carefully worked out only a few. The few grave goods include small spherical and conical pots. In some cases there were more precious offerings such as B. wave Henkel vessels , painted vessels, small stone jars, pallets , disk-shaped carnelian beads, ivory spoon , rarely, bracelets or harpoons from copper .
Of particular interest is a small group of imported pots from the Palestinian region. The vessels may indicate early trade relations with foreign countries and also appear in later grave groups.
Early dynasty
0th dynasty
The tombs of the 0th Dynasty date from the reign of Narmer and show a sudden change in the burial tradition. Rectangular burial pits that appear larger and deeper than the earlier ones are characteristic. The walls were reinforced with mud paving and rush mats were used as flooring and roofing. The most important change was the orientation of the graves. The dead crouched on the left, with their heads pointing northeast to east.
The number of pots added increased greatly, which were now in a small side chamber. The additions included many high-quality stone vessels. Cosmetic items such as spoons and make-up palettes, as well as jewelry made of various materials were also included. Copper axes , harpoons and saws are more common than in previous graves. There were also remains of coffins made of wood, reeds and mud.
It is remarkable that traces of grave robbery can be found for the first time . Grave robber pits could be observed especially in larger systems.
1st dynasty
Not much has changed in the 1st Dynasty graves . The position and orientation of the body as well as the number and variety of grave goods remained the same. Among the special finds are two ivory boxes.
The eight largest chamber tombs are called "elite" tombs and were built of mud or mud bricks. They consist of two or three underground rooms, the largest of which served as a burial chamber. All chambers were equipped with a roof made of reeds or papyrus mats, which were on top of wooden beams . The roof was fastened with mud and pieces of mud tiles. The largest grave had three rooms and external dimensions of 4.90 m × 3.25 m.
The main chambers, which presumably contained copper and gold , were completely looted, but the side chambers remained intact. The looting probably took place shortly after the burial.
Four of the chamber tombs are among the most magnificent in Minschat Abu Omar with up to 125 grave goods. Tomb 2275 contained unique niches that were clad in wood, plastered, and painted red and white.
Greco-Roman time
The majority of the tombs from Minschat Abu Omar date from Greco-Roman times, of which up to 120 are located in an area of 10 × 10 meters. However, the missing remains of grave goods do not allow a more precise dating . The rest of the pottery found ranges from the 26th Dynasty to the Coptic period.
The graves are generally very simple and mostly consist of simple pits. In individual cases there are reinforcements with fire bricks and mud bricks. A few were equipped with coffins made of ceramic, wood or limestone . The carefully crafted graves consist of underground chambers with up to 27 burials. They contained mummies and stucco mummy masks . Children were often buried in amphorae . The grave goods consist of amulets and other jewelry, glass bottles and some pots.
Settlements
The ancient settlement was in the northern part and is known as Tell Saba Banat . Coin finds date the settlement in Greco-Roman times.
The early Egyptian settlement was 500 m southeast of the cemetery. There traces were found four to six meters below today's surface and three to four meters below the groundwater . The Neolithic settlement was a little deeper, but has not yet been explored further.
See also
literature
- Manfred Bietak , Josef Dorner: Tell el-Dab'a - The place where it was found in the context of an archaeological-geographical investigation of the Egyptian eastern delta . Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1975, ISBN 3-7001-0136-8 .
- Stan Hendrickx: Analytical Bibliography of the Prehistory and the early Dynastic Period of Egypt and northern Sudan . Leuven University Press, Leuven 1995, ISBN 90-6186-683-9 .
- Karla Kroeper & Dietrich Wildung: Minshat Abu Omar. A prehistoric and early historical cemetery in the Nile Delta I. Graves 1 - 114. von Zabern, Mainz 1994.
- Karla Kroeper & Dietrich Wildung: Minshat Abu Omar II. A prehistoric and early historical cemetery in the Nile Delta. Graves 115-204. from Zabern ,. Mainz 2000.
- Karla Kroeper: Radiocarbon and thermoluminescence dates from the Pre / Early Dynastic cemetery of Minshat Abu Omar (North Eastern Nile Delta). In: Krzyzaniak & Kroeper & Kobusiewics (eds.): Cultural Markers in the Later Prehistory of Northeastern Africa and Recent Research (= Studies in African Archeology. No. 8) Archaeological Museum Poznań, Poznań 2003, pp. 227–249.
- Karla Kroeper: Minshat Abu Omar - Aspects of the analysis of a cemetery. In: S. Hendrickx; RF Friedman, KM Cialowicz, M. Chlodnicki (Eds.): Egypt at its Origins. Studies in Memory of Barbara Adams. Proceedings of the International Conference "Origin of the State. Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt", Krakow, August 28th - September 1st, 2002. (= Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta. No. 138) Publishers Peeters, Leuven 2004, pp. 859-880.
- Karla Kroeper: Minshat Abu Omar. In: Kathryn A. Bard (Ed.): Encyclopedia of the Archeology of Ancient Egypt. Routledge, London 1999, ISBN 0-415-18589-0 , pp. 529-531.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kamel: The predynastic time , Kemet issue 4/2001, pp. 12-13.
- ↑ sand island.
- ↑ a b c d e body : Minshat Abu Omar. In: Kathryn A. Bard: Encyclopedia of the Archeology of Ancient Egypt. 1999, pp. 529-531.
- ↑ Some of them were composed of two different types of stone.
- ↑ Including a gold brooch and earrings .
- ↑ Some finds from deeper layers also come from the late period.
Coordinates: 31 ° N , 32 ° E