daily life, materiality, and complexity in early urban ... · daily life, materiality, and...

Daily Life, Materiality, and Complexity in Early Urban Communities of the

Southern LevantPapers in Honor of

Walter E. Rast and R. Thomas Schaub

Edited by

Meredith S. Chesson

Associate Editors: Walter Aufrecht and Ian Kuijt

Winona Lake, Indiana EisEnbrauns

2011

Offprint from

© 2011 by Eisenbrauns Inc. All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

www.eisenbrauns.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Daily life, materiality, and complexity in early urban communities of the southern Levant : papers in honor of Walter E. Rast and R. Thomas Schaub / edited by Meredith S. Chesson ; associate editors, Walter Aufrecht and Ian Kuijt.

p. cm.Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN 978-1-57506-217-4 (hbk. : alk. paper)1. Cities and towns, Ancient—Middle East. 2. Excavations (Archaeology)—Middle East.

3. Israel—Antiquities. 4. Palestine—Antiquities. 5. Jordan—Antiquities. 6. Bronze age—Middle East. 7. Urbanization—Middle East—History—To 1500. 8. Material culture—Middle East—History—To 1500. 9. Complexity (Philosophy)—Social aspects—Middle East—History—To 1500. 10. Community life—Middle East—History—To 1500. I. Chesson, Meredith S. II. Aufrecht, Walter Emanuel, 1942– III. Kuijt, Ian. IV. Rast, Walter E., 1930– V. Schaub, R. Thomas, 1933–

DS56.D29 2011939.4′01—dc23 2011041269

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. †Ê

v

Contents

“the depth of their impression”: Honoring Walter E. Rast’s and R. Thomas Schaub’s Scholarship and Contributions to Early Bronze Age Studies in the Southern Levant . . vii

Meredith S. Chesson

Part 1: Peoples’ Lives and Deaths

in Early Bronze Age Towns

Beyond the City Walls: Life Activities Outside the City Gates in the Early Bronze Age in Jordan: Evidence from Khirbet ez-Zeraqon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Khaled Douglas

The Early Bronze Age Societies of Tell Abu al-Kharaz, Central Jordan Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Peter M. Fischer

Life In the City: Tel Bet Yerah in the Early Bronze Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Raphael Greenberg

The Domestic Unit at Tall Iktanu: Its Derivations and Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Kay Prag

Agriculture and Religion at Bâb Edh-Dhrâʿ and Numeira during the Early Bronze Age . . . . . . . . . 77David McCreery

Religion and Cult in Early Bronze IV Palestine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89William G. Dever

The EB IA People of Bâb edh-Dhrâʿ, Jordan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101Donald J. Ortner and Bruno Frohlich

Part 2: Trade, Exchange Networks, and Connections between

People through Material Culture

From Maadi to the Plain of Antioch: What Can Basalt Spindle Whorls Tell Us about Overland Trade in the Early Bronze I Levant? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Stephen H. Savage

Jordanian-Egyptian Interaction during the Third Millennium b.c.E. as Evidenced by the Abydos Ware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Zeidan A. Kafafi

vi Contents

The Late Chalcolithic–Early Bronze Age Transition in the Southern Levant and Some Pottery from Hujeyrat al-Ghuzlan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Susanne Kerner

Talking Trash: Observations on the Abandonment of Broadroom Structures in Southern Sinai during the Early Bronze Age II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Benjamin Adam Saidel

Nawamis, Shells, and Early Bronze Age Pastoralism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185Daniella E. Bar-Yosef Mayer

Part 3: Craft Production and People

Transitions in Macehead Manufacture in the Ancient Levant: A Case Study from Nahal Tillah (Tel Halif Terrace), Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Yorke M. Rowan and Thomas E. Levy

The Cylinder Seal Impressions from Numeira . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219Nancy Lapp

Calcite: A Hard Habit To Break . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233Gloria London and Robert Shuster

Blood From Stone: Can We Really Do Ethnicity from Flint? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247Steven A. Rosen

Of Pots and Towns: Old and New Perspectives on EB I of the Southern Levant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265Eliot Braun

Community Life, Household Production, and the Ceramic Industry at EBA Tall al-ʿUmayri . . . . 281Timothy P. Harrison

139

Jordanian-Egyptian Interaction during the Third Millennium b.c.e. as Evidenced

by the Abydos Ware

Zeidan a. Kafafi

Introduction

Today, extensive archaeological evidence exists from the southern part of Jordan, 1 especially at the sites of Faynan and Hujairet el-Ghuzlan/Aqaba (Hauptmann et al. 2005: 86), that provides informa-tion on the relationship between Jordan and Egypt during the time of Dynasty 0 and the beginning of Dynasty 1 (ca. 3300–3100 b.c.) in Egypt (Petrie 1901, 1902; Weinstein 2003: 146). Later, during the time of Egyptian Dynasties 1–3 (ca. 3100–2600 b.c.) and contemporary with the Early Bronze Age II in the southern Levant, extensive Egyptian activity in the Sinai mines included the deposit of ceramic vessels made in the Levant, and these ceramics are considered hallmarks of the Egyptian–Canaanite relationship in the early third millennium and have been encountered at several Egyptian sites (Wein-stein 2003: 147).

It seems that during this time trade went overland as well as by sea, and Egyptian maritime trade reached the Lebanese coastal city of Byblos. Among the contents of the EB II jars found in Egypt are vegetable oils, which could have been a valuable commodity perhaps used in food preparation, wine, or for cosmetic purposes (Hendrickx and Bavay 2002: 70).

Some scholars (Fischer 2002: 331) suggest that, during the Early Bronze Age I, southern Canaan was an extension of Egypt and not just under Egyptian influence. Others prefer to identify the presence of the Egyptians in this area as settlers or occupants (Fischer 2002: 331; Ben-Tor 1991: 3). The avail-able archaeological and written data permit us to conclude that the presence of Egyptians during this period in the south of the Levant was motivated by economic interests. This might, of course, encour-age occasional contacts between the Egyptian traders and the inhabitants of Jordan during that time, which invites us to speculate that there was an Egyptian community living somewhere in the Levant and working as liaisons or as trading posts between Egypt and this area. If this scenario is true, it permit-ted and encouraged not only the exchange of goods but also thought and ideas.

1. This article is uses the modern political term “Jordan” in its title, and, of course, this term has no historical basis prior to the fifteenth century b.c., when the prince of Tabqat Fahl (Pella) sent one of the Amarna Letters (No. 256) to the Egyp-tian Governor of the region (Pritchard 1969). At that time, Jordan, in terms of its modern borders, was a part of Canaan and perhaps Amurru lands (Kenyon 1963). However, several scholars have pointed out that the difficulty of agreeing on just what to call some of the regions that formed ancient “Canaan” (Levy and Brink 2002: 7). A variety of different terms have been proposed to identify this geographical region, such as The Holy Land, Palestine, Jordan, Syria-Palestine, the southern Levant, and Canaan. However, the earliest significant contacts between Canaan and Egypt took place during the second half of the fourth millennium b.c. (Brink and Levy 2002).

O�print from:Meredith S. Chesson, Walter Aufrecht, and Ian Kuijt, eds., Daily Life, Materiality, and Complexity in Early Urban Communities of the Southern Levant ç Copyright 2011 Eisenbrauns. All rights reserved.

140 Zeidan a. Kafafi

Abydos Ware and the Canaanites-Egyptians Interactions

The term Abydos Ware refers to a pottery repertoire consisting mainly of jugs, juglets, and storage jars excavated in Egypt and the southern regions of the Levant. It has been suggested that in ancient Egypt the name “Abydos” belonged only to the town in which the Osiris temple was erected. Cur-rently, however, the name “Abydos” applies to the town as well as a number of settlements, cemeteries, and structures situated along a narrow 4 km stretch of low desert (Patch 1997: 12).

Abydos pottery vessels, named after the site of Abydos and also identified as “Metallic Burnished Ware” (Fischer 2000: 215; Greenberg and Porat 1996), are commonly dated to the EB II period (ca. 3100–2700 b.c.) in the southern Levant (Amiran 1969: 58). This type of pottery vessel was first manu-factured during the First Dynasty in Egypt and was recovered from the royal tombs at Abydos, Saqqara, and Abu Seir el-Melek, in addition to many other sites in Egypt. Amiran (1969: 58) and others argued that this pottery was imported into Egypt from Canaan. The appearance of this ware at the site helped archaeologists establish their chronological relation to the EB II period.

The Early Bronze Age II followed the end of an Egyptian presence that characterized the eb i period in the Levant and witnessed the end of the direct overland trade with Egypt during the earliest phases of the eb ii period (Joffe 1993: 63). Moreover, it seems that the Canaanite city-states became very much involved in intersocietal exchange rather than with long distance contact. Furthermore, people who sustained some kind of interaction with nonsedentary groups were present in the arid areas of the Mediterranean zones. Joffe (1993: 84) cogently argues that there were two sets of elites during the eb ii: one urban and the other rural. The urban lived in cities, and the rural occupied the arid zones; nonetheless, all were Canaanites. The elites exchanged their knowledge with the rural produc-ers for their products. One presumes that there was high demand for some of the rural products, such as wine and oil, for both local and nonlocal consumption. However, it must be also argued that the elites were not confined to traders but also were agriculture producers who lived in an agrarian society. This is due to the fact that agriculture was the main source not only for living but also for surplus production, a necessity for exchanging goods and obtaining objects.

Archaeologists have noted the importance of Abydos Ware as an indicator of foreign relations between Egypt and Canaan since the first half of the third millennium b.c.. Wright (1937: 70) argued that the form of the inverted-rim bowl found in the Royal Tombs of Abydos was derived from the Levant. Hennessy (1967: 49–60) agrees that Abydos Ware imported to Egypt from other locales and dated to the First Egyptian Dynasty. With regard to the early stages of contact between the southern Levant and Egypt, one should also notice that the name of the Pharaoh Narmer occurs on serekh on jar fragments that have been recovered during excavation at sites in Palestine such as Arad (Amiran et al. 1978). This may indicate close trade connections with the First Dynasty in Egypt or knowledge of Egyptian writing in southern Palestine. Due to the fact that the eb ii city of Arad had been abandoned by the end of this period, it is likely that the site of Bab edh-Dhraʿ took over its role as a major site in the southern Levant during the eb iiI, thus connecting Egypt with this area. Several Egyptian goods were excavated in the charnel houses tombs dated to the eb ii/III at Bab edh-Dhraʿ. Moreover, Bab edh-Dhraʿ is located in an area very close to copper mines in Wadi Faynan and dominates the north part of Wadi Araba leading to the south of Palestine.

Abydos Ware pots were made in the Levant and filled with goods such as oil and cosmetics in southern Canaan for export to Egypt for the use of upper-class people. This conclusion is supported by the fact that all the different types of Abydos pots encountered in Egypt are also known from Palestine but not from Syria. In addition, chemical analysis has shown that the ware of the vessels excavated at Abydos in Egypt is almost identical to that of the pots found in Palestine (Ben-Tor 1992: 107–8).


141Jordanian-Egyptian Interaction during the Third Millennium

In order to study the interaction between two geographical zones, two interrelated subjects must be examined: sourcing of exchanged goods and description of the commodities’ spatial patterning (Schaub 1987: 247). This paper will focus on these two factors.

Forms

The Abydos Ware assemblage consisted mostly of jugs and juglets, very few bowls, amphoriskos, as well as a single type of storage jar. Many of these pottery vessels were slipped with a red-burnished slip, and some were painted mostly with black/dark or red color geometrical decorations such as triangles, arches, concentric semicircles, and dots covering only the shoulders of the pot. The jugs and juglets always have an oval form, oval vertical handles stretching from the rim to the shoulder, and sometimes two additional vestigial pierced, vertical, lug handles made on the middle of the body (Fischer 2000a: 453). Hennessy (1967: 49–50) recognized the following forms among the excavated Abydos Ware

Figure 1. Map showing major excavated Early Bronze Age II and III sites in Jordan.



vessels: narrow-necked jugs with either narrow or short or very tall narrow stump bases, tall bottles or flasks either with handles (Hennessy 1967: pl. XLII) or without handles (Hennessy 1967: pl. XLIII), juglets (Hennessy 1967: pl. XLIV), and jars (Hennessy 1967: pl. XLIV).

Joffe (1993: 66–67) noted that the Abydos vessels are characterized by burnished jars with flat bases, high necks, and loop handles. These pots were made of fine ware to contain wines and oils ready for export.

Bowls (Fischer 1995: pl.3a)

Only one example of this form has been found at Tell Abu al-Kharaz. It has been described as a small wheel-made bowl with “a dark grey, very fine inclusions, reddish-brown–grayish-brown slip, hori-zontally metallic burnished on outside” (Fischer and Toivonen 1995: 588, pl. 3a). It has a simple rim and a rounded base, similar to bowls excavated at Arad (Amiran et al. 1978: pl. 13:20).

Figure 2. Map of Egyptian-Canaanite interaction in eb ii/III (after Miroschedji 2002).



Jugs

Amiran (1969: 59) noted that the jug is the most typical form of the eb ii period and the most common type among the other vessels found at Abydos, as well as other sites in Egypt. Amiran distinguished five variations of this form: the typi-cal specimen in which the body is oval in shape with a loop handle; a similar form but with two small vestigial handles on the body; a similar form but with only one vestigial handle on the shoul-der; jugs with a cylindrically-shaped lower part (like a stump base); and the last is characterized by painted decoration that covers mostly the up-per part of the jug (Amiran 1969: 62, pl. 17).

The Abydos jug form found in the Jordanian sites is characterized by an ovoid-shaped body, everted or flared rims, loop handles, and flat bases. The jug found at Qweilbeh is white in color, while those from Tell Abu al-Kharaz have light grayish-brown and light grey colors, a reddish-brown matte slip, and vertical metallic burnishing. One of the jugs ex-cavated at Abu al-Kharaz bears a potter’s mark on the base (Fischer 1995: 590) and this was true also of one of the juglets found at Qweilbeh (see fig. 4:2 here). Potter’s marks were also noticed on juglets excavated at Abydos in Egypt (Porat and Adams 1996).

eb ii–III jugs were also excavated at the site of Bab edh-Dhraʿ. Jugs with narrow necks have been attributed to the last phase of the eb ii. One example was excavated in Stratum III at the town site and has been described as large with a ridge on the neck and degenerated handle on the side (Rast and Schaub 2003: 9.2.22).

Juglets

This form is dominant over other Abydos Ware types. Normally, it has a loop handle and some-times one or two lug-pierced handles (Fischer 1995: 3c). Juglets are slipped with reddish-brown or light reddish-brown slip (Fischer 1995: 3c, 3d), burnished, and tempered with grog. They have everted/flared rims, flat or stump bases, and mostly a cylindrical body. Parallel juglets have been found at Jeri-cho (Kenyon and Holland 1982: 229; fig. 85:9) and Tell es-Saʿidiyeh (Tubb and Dorell 1991: 82–84, 85, fig. 18:7). One of the juglets excavated in Tomb 13 at Qweilbeh (fig. 4:2) has a potter’s mark and the fingernail of the maker incised on the flat base. Similar eb ii juglets bearing potters’ marks have been also excavated in the Charnel House tombs at Bab edh-Dhraʿ (Schaub and Rast 1989: 400–401).

A few of the excavated juglets at Bab edh-Dhraʿ and Khirbet ez-Zeiraqoun (Genz 1993: 7) (and perhaps Qweilbeh, fig. 4:5) have one loop handle, with lozenge and dotted-triangle decoration, on a white colored ware. This form, bearing this type of decoration, is restricted to the First Dynasty in Egypt, and the few examples excavated in the southern Levant are from later contexts. Moreover, it has been noted that this type of vessels may have originated in the ʿAmuq region (Joffe 1993: 67).

Amphoriskoi (Fisher 1995: pl. 3b)

The example excavated at Abu al-Kharaz has two vertical pierced-lug handles placed on the shoul-ders, everted/flared rim, and a flat base (Fischer 2000a: fig. 2:5; 1995: pl. 3b). It was made of light brown to grey colored ware mixed with fine inclusions, slipped with a reddish-brown to grey slip and vertical metallic burnishing. Parallel amphoriskoi were excavated at Bab edh-Dhraʿ (Schaub 1981: 114, fig. 19:8).

Figure 3. Early Bronze Age II pottery vessels excavated at Kh. ez-Zeiraqoun (after Genz 2002).



Jars

Abydos jars found at sites in the Levant are characterized by everted rims, sometimes with a ledge handle on the middle of the cylindrically-shaped body and flat bases. They are decorated with a black paint covering the shoulders. The best examples were excavated at Arad in Palestine (Amiran et al. 1978).

The excavated eb ii jars at Abu al-Kharaz (Fischer 1993: fig. 13:5–8) are mostly hand-made and of medium coarse ware. They are decorated with an orange-red grain wash or pinkish-buff slip, and one has a trident-shaped pot-mark below the neck. In addition, the Abydos jars excavated at Kh. Ez-

Fig. 4. Unpublished eb ii pottery vessels from Qweilbeh.



Zeiraqoun are different in size and have flat bases, everted simple rims, loop handles, and are mostly decorated with either red or red-brown motifs (Genz 1993:6).

Techniques and Surface Treatments

Abydos ware represents the best pottery vessels manufactured in the eb ii/eb iiI period. The pots are mostly made of well-levigated clay and are beautifully formed. Many of the vessels were wheel-made and highly fired (Ben-Tor 1992: 107). However, scholars consider the Abydos Ware forms a part of the so-called metallic ware and some of them (Greenberg and Porat 1996; Hennessy and Millet 1963) have conducted spectrographic and spectrographic analysis for some of the excavated pots.

Table 1. Description of the EB II Pottery Excavated at Qweilbeh.

No. Identification

Surface

Treatment

Tech-

nique Ware Form Base Rim Handle

1 1959. Tomb 13.J. 8792U. 471

Slip: 10R6/6(light red)

Hand CoarseNo coreSurface crackingInclusions: basalt 0.5mmColor: 10R5/6 (Red)

Juglet Stump Everted/Flared

Loop

2 1959. Tomb 13.J. 8786U. 459

Slip: 5R5/6 Hand CoarseNo coreSurface crackingInclusions basalt+lime

0.5–1.5mmColor: 10R6/6 (Red)

Juglet FlatEngraved with a rectangu-lar shape (potmark)

Everted Loop

3 1959. Tomb 13.J. 8780U. 458

None Hand Soft/CoarseNo coreSurface cracking.Inclusions: basalt 1–2mmColor: 10R5/6 (Red)

Juglet Flat Everted/Flared

Loop

4 1959. Tomb 13.J. 8779U. 448

Slip: 10R6/8 (Light Red)

Hand CoarseNo coreSurface crackingPittedInclusions: basalt + lime

0.5–1.0mm.Color: 10R6/6 (Light Red)

Jug Flat Everted/Flared

Loop

5 1959. Tomb 13.J. 8783U. 468

None Hand HardNo coreNo surface crackingInclusions: 0.2–0.3mmColor: 10YR8/2 (White)

Juglet Stump Everted/Flared

Loop

6 1959. Tomb 13.J. 8784U. 461

Slip: 5YR7/6 (Reddish Brown)

Hand CoarseNo coreTraces of fire on the interior Color: 7.5YR8/2 (Pinkish

White)Inclusions: large basalt +lime

0.5–3mm

Juglet Stump Missing Missing

Key to the table: J= Number of the Amman Citadel Museum.M= Number of the University of Jordan Archaeological Museum.



The excavated Metallic Burnished pots at Tell Abu al-Kharaz were hard-fired, made of grey to brown clay, and a grey core is visible. The small vessels have very fine, fine, and medium inclusions, while the jugs have medium to coarse inclusions (Fischer 1995: 587–88).

Abydos Ware pots are characterized by light and dark painting (Genz 1993, cf. fig. 3 here); how-ever, combed decoration is visible on the surface of pitchers (Prausnitz 1954: 94). The forms excavated at Kh. ez-Zeiraqoun have light-red-faced painted and white-on-red decorations (Genz 1993).

Wright (1937: 70–71) mentioned that the Abydos Royal Tombs vessels falls into two groups: a cream-slip ware decorated with designs in dark paint and an undecorated red-slip ware.

Sites

Some scholars propose that the Early Bronze Age II period witnessed the emergence of urbanism, city-states, and the appearance of fortifications at major sites in the southern part of the Levant. How-ever, Schaub (1982) and Falconer (1987) argue against the existence of cities during the Early Bronze Age. Nevertheless, the eb ii period in the southern Levant is characterized by a shift to agricultural production as the major subsistence base for the cities. More than likely, both agriculture and trade contributed to the emergence of cities in the southern Levant. These cities might have functioned as major nodes for the redistribution of the agriculture surplus.

Pottery vessel assemblages attributed to the eb ii period and including Abydos pots were excavated at a few sites in Jordan such as Abu al-Kharaz, Bab edh Dhraʿ, Qweilbeh, and Khirbet ez-Zeiraqoun. However, eb ii pottery vessels were found at the sites of Abu al-Kharaz, Bab edh-Dhraʿ, Khirbet ez-Zeiraqoun, Qweilbeh (Abila), Shuneh North?, Tabaqat Fahl (Pella), Tell al-ʿUmaiyri, Tell al-Fukhar, Tell el-Handaquq North, Tell es-Saʿidiyeh, Um Hammad, and Tell es-Sukhne (see fig.1) (Chesson et al. 1995), and at other Palestinian sites (see figs.1 and 2).

At Tabaqat Fahl and directly on top of Jebel Sartaba the excavators reported that they excavated only sherds belonging to the eb ii–III. Apparently, no Abydos Ware has been encountered in this area of the site. The excavators noted that Jebel Sartaba was used as a camp during this period (McNicoll et al. 1982: 35). In addition, recent published reports of the results of excavations at Tabqat Fahl do not mention or illustrate any Abydos Ware found at the site (Bourke et al. 1994; Walmsley et al. 1993).

During the 1991 season of excavations at the site of Abu al-Kharaz, an assemblage consisting of nine pottery vessels that were identified as “Metallic Burnished” were uncovered (Fischer and Toivonen 1995: 587, pl. 3).

At Tell Abu al-Kharaz, Phase II, which is dated to the eb ii is characterized by intensive building activities and yielded Abydos pottery vessels (Fischer 2002: 323; 2000: fig. 12.7; 1995). Fischer (2000a: 453) argues that this type of ware originates from the vicinity of the northern part of the Jordan Valley, with workshops located in the Upper Galilee or on the southern slopes of Mount Hermon. The exca-vated archaeological material and the cluster of C14 dates show that the site was first occupied during the eb iB (Phase I), continued through the eb ii (Phase II), eb ii–III (Phase III), followed by a hiatus; then reoccupied during the MBIIB late-IIC (Phase IV) and continued through the Late Bronze Age (Phase V–VII) (Fischer 2002: Tables 1 and 2).

In addition to Tabqat Fahl and Abu al-Kharaz, an additional site in the Jordan Valley is Tell el-Handaquq (North), which yielded eb ii pottery (Mabry 1989: 74–79, figs. 9–11). Although no Abydos vessels have been recovered from the site, the excavator notes that the illustrated sherd excavated in colluvial sediments (fig. 6:14) represents a part of an everted-rim bottle with two pierced-lug handles attached between the neck and the uppermost part of the shoulder; although possibly parallel to the eb ii tradition, this fragment is too difficult to date (Mabry 1989: 69–71). The archaeological excava-



tions conducted in Area BB at Tell es-Saʿidiyeh yielded several vessels belonging to the Abydos Ware repertoire (Tubb 1988; 1990; Tubb and Dorrel 1991; 1993; 1994).

eb ii–eb iiI pottery vessels were also excavated in the charnel house tombs at the site of Bab edh-Dhraʿ, such as in A8, A41, and A44 (Schaub and Rast 1989: figs. 203, 217, 231). The excavators noted that Tomb A8 had been affected by an intensive fire during its final phase of use and yielded hu-man bones, charcoal, charred cloth, bronze pieces, beads, and pottery. In addition, Stratum III at the ancient town of Bab edh-Dhraʿ produced pottery vessel dated to the eb ii–III (Rast and Schaub 2003: 156–250).

The excavations conducted at the site of Um Hammad (1982–84) southwest of the famous site Tell Deir ʿAlla produced eb i–eb ii pottery assemblage. The excavators of the site defined it as a small settlement, a small farmstead during the eb ii (Betts et al. 1992: 10).

Tomb 13 at Qweilbeh (Abila), which was excavated in 1959 by the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, produced one Abydos jug and six juglets (one of them is recorded but could not now be located).

Khirbet ez-Zeiraqoun is located in northern Jordan about 12 km to the northeast of Irbid. Sur-veyed in the 1960s, the site was excavated in 1984–85, 1987–88, 1991, and 1993–95. The excavated archaeological material indicated that the site was first occupied during the fourth millennium b.c. and flourished during the eb ii (ca. 3100–2700) and eb iiI (ca. 2700–2300 b.c.) periods (Genz 2002: 7).

The locations of these eb ii sites were well chosen from an economic point of view, because some agriculture was possible in their vicinities. Only a few of these sites, such as Khirbet ez-Zeiraqoun and Bab edh-Dhraʿ, developed into large cities during the following period (eb iiI). The establishment of cities required, for instance, houses, temples, workshops, streets, silos, and water systems. In order to create these installations, a central plan and division of labor were required, which might have resulted in some kind of organization making decisions for the society.

Dating

Abydos Ware vessels are of great importance, because they represent a major factor in delineating the chronology of the Early Bronze Age II–III in south of the Levant (Genz 1993). Joffe (1993: 66–67) considers Abydos Ware to be the most significant pottery form of the eb ii that has its origin in the eb i. However, Wright (1937: 70) thought that Abydos Ware vessels were to be dated to the beginning of the eb ii period.

Scholars studying the subject of urbanization have suggested that the Early Bronze Age II repre-sents the first urban period in the southern Levant (Joffe 1993: 63; de Vaux 1971; Lapp 1970; Amiran 1970; Albright 1935). Abydos Ware in Palestine and Jordan made its first appearance at eb ii sites. Located not far from the southeastern part of the Dead Sea, Arad is considered to be a key site for un-derstanding the chronological sequence of Early Bronze Age Palestine. Stratum IV at the site did not produce any Abydos Ware and has been dated to the eb i, but Stratum III yielded a large quantity and was assigned to the eb ii (Amiran et al. 1978).

Apparently, Abydos Ware continued to be in use from the eb ii through the eb iiI periods, but changes are visible during the eb iiI, such as the elongation of jug bases, increasing frequency of jug-lets, and the disappearance of painted decoration. This transition is best exemplified by the Qweilbeh tombs.

At Tell Um Hammad in the Jordan Valley, eb ii pottery vessels include Abydos forms excavated in an accumulation located over the eb iB and under eb iV occupational levels. It should be noted that no eb iiI occupational levels have been discovered at Um Hammad. However, the excavators suggest



that it is possible that the local population lived in the large walled town Tell Abu Zighan (Handaquq South) (Betts et al. 1992: 14). Moreover, the excavators did not identify any vessels as Abydos Ware, although we may argue that nos. 1–3 on fig. 208 (Betts et al. 1992: 70; fig. 208) are parallel in form to the Abydos jars and jugs.

Khirbet ez-Zeiraqoun produced a cluster of calibrated C14 dates ranging from 3618 to 2709 b.c. (Genz 2002: 9, Table 1). Genz (2002: 9–14) argues that the majority of the C14 dates are parallel to the eb ii period of al-Kharaz in Jordan and et-Tell (ʿAi), Tell ʿArad, Tell es-Sultan, Tell Abu, and Tell Sheikh Ahmed el-ʿAreni in Palestine. The C14 dates agree completely with the architectural remains uncovered at the site: there was a continuation of occupation from the eb ii through the eb iiI.

Conclusions

To conclude, Philip (2001: 207) has stated that the Metallic Wares of the eb ii in Jordan is char-acterized by a soft, red-slipped and burnished ware. The six pottery vessels illustrated on fig. 4 of this paper generally have the same characteristics.

As a result of our study of the Abydos Ware in Jordan, the Jordan Valley sites of Abu al-Kharaz, Tabqat Fahl (Pella), Tell es-Saʿidiyeh, and Um Hammad attest to a gap of occupation after the eb ii. However, occupation at the major Early Bronze Age sites in Jordan, Khirbet ez-Zeiraqoun in the north-ern mountainous region, and Bab edh-Dhraʿ in the Wadi Arabah continues through the eb iiI and even eb iV.

Due to the small number of the excavated Abydos pots at eb ii sites in Jordan, it may be proposed that these were either manufactured or imported to Jordan. In addition, this may have been the result of small-scale interaction undertaken at community or household levels, rather than necessitating any overarching political organization. This may lead us to conclude that Jordan never had the same importance for Egypt as did Byblos in Lebanon during the third millennium b.c. In addition, the low quantities of Egyptian material found in the southern Levant during the eb ii period seems to indicate that the Egyptian presence in this area became less significant during the Egyptian First Dynasty than it was earlier.

The small number of Abydos vessels in Jordan could suggest that this type of ceramic vessel was imported to Jordan from other places in the Levant, as was the case in Egypt, but this does not mean that there were no relations between the two regions. Not only did both regions import the same type of vessels but, moreover, the Egyptians imported copper ores from the Wadi Arabah region.

Acknowledgments

Sincere thanks go to Dr. Yorke Rowan for reading this essay and making the necessary editing and scientific remarks. Also, I am grateful for the great understanding and help of the people of the Uni-versity of Jordan Archaeological Museum, represented by D. Maysoon Nahar, Mohammad Adi, and Manal Awamleh. I am also indebted to Mr. Ali Omari for his continuous help and for drawing the map included in this essay.

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