Alexander in Amsterdam - Minerva

Surveying the Hyskos city of Avaris
Austrian archaeologists working
at Tell el-Daba, in the eastern
Nile delta, have recently
released images derived from
magnetometer and resistivity
surveys of what they believe
are the southern districts of the
ancient city of Avris, the largest
and most important of the
cities established by the Hyskos
(‘Desert Princes’). Their arrival
initiated the Second Intermediate
Period in c. 1780 BC and which
lasted about a century until the
establishment of the 18 th dynasty
of pharaohs and the beginning
of the New Kingdom period of
ancient Egyptian history. So far
about 2.6 square kilometres
have been surveyed and the
images have provided outlines of
the city’s street plan, as well as
Minerva September/October 2010
houses including large buildings
that are probably palaces and
temples. The Austrian researchers
also identified a port inside the
city, while Dr Irene Forstner-
Müller, head of the Austrian
Archaeological Institute in Egypt,
said that the geophysical survey
had ‘identified one of the Nile
River tributaries that passed
through the city, as well as two
islands’. It was ready access to the
Nile and the sea routes beyond,
that provided the Hyskos with
connections to other civilisations
of the eastern Mediterranean.
Earlier Austrian excavations in the
area have famously discovered
a temple complex containing
Minoan artefacts and decorated
with frescoes similar to those
painted at the place of Knossos.
Last October, a Babylonian seal
was also discovered from Avaris,
which, together with a cuneiform
tablet recovered earlier in the
year, also indicate economic and
diplomatic contacts between the
Hyskos and the civilisations to the
east.
Avaris appears to have been
abandoned midway through the
16 th century BC, following the
final defeat of the Hyskos by
Ahmose I (r. c. 1550-1525 BC)
and the establishment of the
18 th dynasty. However, the site
was resettled some 250 years
later by pharaohs of the
19 th dynasty, and became capital
of Egypt during the reign of
Ramses II (c. 1279-1213 BC)
when the city was modestly
renamed Pi-Ramses Aa-nakhtu
Bringing light to the end of the tunnel
since November 2007, egyptian
archaeologists have been
excavating and conserving a
174m-long tunnel cut through
the bedrock of kV17, the tomb
of seti i (c. 1314–1304 bC) in the
Valley of the kings. although
the tunnel was originally
explored in 1960, the recent
excavations revealed that
the passage continued for a
further 26.6m than had been
previously explored. the recent
excavations also discovered
shabtis, pottery fragments, and
a small model boat made of
faience.
the egyptian archaeologists
also uncovered a false door
with hieratic text: ‘Move the
door jamb up and make the
passage wider.’ it is thought
these were instructions left by
the architect of the tomb for
the workmen who were carving
the tunnel.
while the purpose of the
tunnel is unknown, dr Zahi
hawass, of the supreme Council
of antiquities, has theorised
Met acquires Three Graces
An ancient Roman group statue depicting
the Three Graces was acquired by New York’s
Metropolitan Museum of Art in July. The
marble sculpture is a 2 nd -century AD Roman
copy of a Greek work from the 2 nd century BC.
Discovered in Rome in 1892, the statue has
been on loan to the Museum from a private
collector since 1992, and has been on view in
the centre of the Leon Levy and Shelby White
Sculpture Court since it opened in 2007.
The museum’s Director, Thomas
P. Campbell, commented: ‘The charming
dance-like pose of the Three Graces, who
stand in alternating front and back view, with
their hands on each other’s shoulders, is one of
the most famous and enduring compositions
known from antiquity. It was first developed
in the 2 nd century BC, continued in popularity
in the Renaissance, and has been influential
during every subsequent period of Western
European art. Thanks to the generous support
of several Trustees and other good friends of
the institution, we are delighted to announce
the addition of this superb, extremely well
preserved, and beautifully carved work to the
Met’s encyclopedic collection.’
(House of Ramses, Great in
Victory). At its height Pi–Ramses
is believed to have covered more
than 18 square kilometers and
been home to more than 300,000
people. However, by the middle
of the 11 th century BC, the silting
up of the branch of the Nile on
which it was situated forced the
abandonment of the city and
most of the obelisks, statuary and
other masonry structures were
relocated to the new city of Tanis,
100km to the north-west.
James Beresford
that it may have originally been
intended to lead to a secret
burial chamber. however, with
the death of seti i near the end
of the 14 th century bC, work on
the new tunnel was brought to
a halt and the pharaoh’s body
was laid in the chamber that
had already been completed.
James Beresford
The Three Graces are Aglaia (Beauty),
Euphrosyne (Mirth), and Thalia (Abundance).
In mythology, they play an attendant role;
their closest connection is with Aphrodite,
whom they serve as handmaidens. For ancient
authors, the triad also served as an allegory for
the cycle of giving, accepting, and returning
favours, which were described by the ancient
Roman philosopher Seneca as the ‘chief bond
of human society’. After its discovery in Rome
in 1892 near the ancient Forum of Nerva and
Vespasian’s Temple of Peace, this sculpture
entered the collection of Joachim Ferroni and
has since attracted much scholarly attention.
The Three Graces traditionally are shown as
nudes with water jars covered by drapery at
their feet, a representation that ultimately
derives from the famous classical statue of
Aphrodite by Praxiteles at Knidos.
Sophie Mackenzie
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