Did Unemployed Minoan Artists Land Jobs in Ancient Egypt?

Submitted by owenjarus on Tue, 01/05/2010 - 16:04

One of the most perplexing mysteries that Egyptologists and Aegean experts are tackling is that of the frescoes of Tell el-Dab'a, also known as Avaris.

This site was used as the capital of the Hyksos, at a time when they ruled much of Egypt, from 1640 – 1530 BC. It is on the Nile Delta and would have provided access to the Sinai, Levant and southern Egypt.

The site appears to have been abandoned for a time after the Hyksos were driven out. However, by the end of the 18th dynasty (when the Egyptians were back in control of their land), the site was in use and sported with three – yes three – large palaces. They were ringed by an enclosure wall. The whole complex was about 5.5 hectares in size.

There is no question that the frescoes at Tell el-Dab'a are Aegean influenced

Now here’s the mystery –

Two of those palaces were decorated, for a very short period of time, with Minoan frescoes. These include drawings of bull-leaping scenes – which are well known from the Palace of Knossos in Crete.

Site excavator Manfred Bietak published a book in 2007 that discussed these frescoes and compared them with the more famous scenes at the Palace of Knossos.

There is no question that the frescoes at Tell el-Dab'a are Aegean influenced, and it seems likely that the artists are from Crete. Dating them is tricky but from the stratigraphy and pottery they seem to date to around the time of Thutmosis III.

What are They Doing in Egypt?

It’s an important question - but one that is difficult to decisively answer.

Bietak said in his book that the paintings may symbolize the marriage of a Minoan princess into the Egyptian royal family.

“Ancient Near Eastern history is full of examples which prove that matchmaking was an important instrument of Egyptian and Near Eastern foreign politics,” he said, citing the well-known Amarna letters.

Another idea, which Bietak brings up, is that the frescoes may have been painted for the purpose of a state visit of Minoan leaders to Egypt. This is backed up by excavation which reveals that the paintings appear to have fallen off the walls after a short period of time – possibly only a few years.

These ideas certainly have quite a ring to them - a royal marriage with special painters? An ancient international summit? It sounds like the stuff of legend.

Now there’s a new idea emerging – one that is decidedly lacking in romance.

Unemployed Minoan Artists

At a lecture a few weeks ago in Toronto Professor Maria Shaw ,of the University of Toronto, proposed her own theory. Shaw has done extensive archaeological work in Crete so her background is more from the Aegean side of the coin.

She believes that the frescoes were drawn by out of work Minoan artists – who travelled to Egypt as the Minoan civilization was declining.

Professor Shaw’s argument works like this-

Cretan rulers controlled their art extremely carefully. Shaw said that the bull-leaping scenes are a symbol of the Palace of Knossos and are found nowhere else on the island. “I stress in no other palaces,” she said.

Also half-rosettes, the flowery decoration seen on the scenes at Tell el-Dab'a, are “a sign of royalty... it’s amazing that it was appropriated and used at Tell el-Dab'a.”

Given that the bull-leaping and half-rosette symbols were tightly controlled on Crete, it makes no sense that the rulers would let their artists paint them in a foreign country.

So, again, what are they doing in Egypt?

Shaw believes that the paintings date to a time when the Palace of Knossos was in decline (ca. 1400 BC). The artists that worked there would have found themselves out of work and needing a new benefactor. “Artists must have left from there and went find jobs in Egypt,” said Shaw.

Also, as the Palace of Knossos declined so did the willingness to honour its symbols of rule.
“The respect or fear that people had not to imitate Knossos - went with Knossos,” said Shaw.

It’s also no surprise that Egyptian rulers would sanction the use of Minoan art.

Egypt at that time was open to foreign influences. The Amarna letters show that Egypt was wheeling and dealing diplomatically in the Near East. Paintings have been found showing people from the Aegean bringing gifts to Egypt. Minoan motifs have also been found in Egyptian tombs.

“There was an interest in Egypt of things Minoan,” said Shaw.

Further backing up her point is evidence from the site of Mycenae in Greece. Fragments of a bull leaping scene, similar to those found at Knossos, have been found there as well - further proof that when Knossos fell, its art and artists travelled far and wide.

Read 14 comments, or leave your own

About The Author

Owen Jarus (follow me: e-mail or

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Last three pieces by this author:

19 New Objects from King Tutankhamun's Tomb Discovered in New York | 'Unique' astronomical object reveals Ancient Egyptians kept close tabs on the Big Dipper | King Tut suffered 'massive' chest injury, new research reveals

Owen Jarus is a freelance writer based in Toronto ,Canada. He has written articles on archaeology for a variety of media outlets including The Canadian Press newswire (CP), U of T Magazine, The Mississauga News and The Guelph Mercury. Education: BA from the University of Toronto in History, Geography and Near & Middle Eastern Civilizations.

Comments

Tammy:

The Hyksos were in power when Joseph was storing up grain for seven lean years. Very likely the 7 year drought mentioned in the Bible caused changes in trade, attracting buyers of grain to Egypt, as Joseph's father Jacob was. Possibly the Minoan royal art was part of a transaction? If Minoans were dying of famine, they weren't like to quibble about the price.

Thu, 07-01-2010 03:28

Peter:

The volcano exploded on Santorine in approx 1500BC, which devastated the area, the fallout can be found in Eygpt and descriptions in the bible at the time of Moses match a volcanic cloud event. Many people fled Santorine about 20 years before hand due to volcanic activity, one place artist may have fled to was Eygpt. Lots of changes happened around this time in the eastern med, with people moving west, Isralites move out of Eygpt along the coast through the Reed sea (not Red sea a translation mistake) to the north and are caught by the tsunami, but clear the marshes before it hits and wipes out the Eygptions. So there would be no Minoans royalty to stop the arstists.

Thu, 07-01-2010 15:26

Ann:

In the - I must admit, fantasy - book I read about the war against the Hyksos, the painters were send as a gift (although tribute might be more correct) to the Hyksos' emperor, and did not really like being at Avaris. (It ended badly for the painter of the griffin, which had an affair with the Hyksos Emperor's sister, as he got murdered by the jealous wife of the Emperor's First Minister, whom he refused to sleep with. Or something like that.)

Thu, 07-01-2010 15:42

Edward Lowe:

In response to Tammy's and Peter's post I would say that attempting to reconcile the words of the bible and current archeology is usually a losing proposition. Readers and believers of the bible who attempt to use archeology to prove their faith are usually thwarted in their attempts by contrary evidence or absence of evidence. Over the years archeology has not been good to the bible-----in fact, from a strictly secular scientific view, archeology and other scientific disciplins have led to the following conclusions: Human evolution is certain; the earth is about 4.5 billions years old; their is no evidence for Moses and an exodus out of Egypt and if these things were true----their should have been ample evidence; their was no conquest of Isreal by the Hebrews----the land of Isreal was settled by people of the Jewish religion mostly peacefully and over a long period of time; Their may have been a king named David, but he was not the impressive character known in the bible----if he existed he was probably little more than a tribal chief; there is no evidence for Solomon or any of the momentus deeds ascribed to him in the bible(and their certainly should be evidence if it were true); there is no evidence for a united monarchy at the time the bible says it existed----rather archeology and written evidence suggest that a strong state of Israel existed in the north, and a minor state of Judah existed in the south and it wasn't untill the assyrian destruction of the northern state of israel can we see any discernable consolidation of parts of the northern and southern parts of Israel; further the flood story appears to have been borrowed from the Bablonian story of Gilgamesh during their captivity; One can go on and on. The bible is an important religious document for people who subscribe to the religion the bible represents-----but trying to reconcile events in the bible with actual history is quite simply impossible. And Peter, the date of the eruption of Thera is contentious and not accurately known---but the most likely time of the eruption is between 1600 bc and 1650 bc. And the story of the exodus in the bible, for which there is no evidence whatsoever, would had to have taken place no earlier than 1200 bc if it did in fact happen, in order for the chronology of the bible to make any sense.

Thu, 07-01-2010 16:24

Manfred Bietak:

The theory of Professor Maria Shaw is careless and lacks any chronological foundation. The dumps of the frescos from the palace of Tell el-Daba are covered by a settlement of the time of the late reign of Tuthmosis III and Amenophis II, dated by pottery and scarabs. Please study the literature in the bibliography of <www.avaris.at> and read the pertinent publications before you come up with such theories and do not say carelessly that potteryinvolved has not been published yet. To challenge the dates would need the involvement of top specialists in Egyptian New Kingdom Pottery, most of them work with us and the others like have visited the site and have studied the material involved. In this field Maria Shaw has no competence.

I am glad, however, that Maria Shaw had changed her mind and joined the club of experts who came to the conclusion that the frescoes were painted by Minoans according to technique, motifs and style (Nanno Marinatos, Lyvia Morgan, Clairy Palyvou, Wolf-Dietrich Niemeier, Peter Warren and others).

Fri, 08-01-2010 06:20

Rich:

There are myths and legends concerning this area of Egypt with Greece at this timeframe. So long as you know that this is the "nome of Arabia". Heck, even the name "Abaris" appears in the Perseus myth.

I believe a very strong case can be made that Ahhotep is the Argive princess Io, aka the Athenian Artemis, or Mistress of Wild/Animals... honored here 4 generations later.

Wed, 20-01-2010 02:27

norenxaq:

To Manfred Bietak:

Hello. You mention a Minoan-Egyptian royal marriage here. I also saw a similar item in a recent published article. Who were the people involved? What, if anything, is known about the Minoan's ancestry?

thank-you

Fri, 02-04-2010 22:35

Benny:

Your words reflect a lot of in vogue theories and hypotheses that are still being passed off as fact in the culturally biased West. Do your own research and your own thinking instead of accepting what your professors told you. If you are reasonably intelligent and you are truly capable of independent thinking, you will come to different conclusions.

Tue, 13-04-2010 13:22

Benny:

Sorry, my words were directed to Edward Lowe.

Tue, 13-04-2010 13:23

IFIGENIA:

What I see here is a lot of cultural bias. Zahi Awas one time on a history channel show said that he had a dislike for Greeks. Imagine that. I wonder why and furthermore I'd like to see what he is supressing. Thee were Greeks in Egypt. To think that , as this story suggests, The egyptians hired a nuch of Unemployed Artists to go to Egypt and Paint giant mural of Greeks is absurd. it shows that the Author of this article has a bias against Greek Civilization and its different history periods. Now there is a video floating around claiming that the Hyksos, Minoans and Myceanians were JEWS !

Thats how low some groups of people have sank.

Sun, 13-02-2011 16:26

IFIGENIA:

Edward, The Biblical Archaeology has reached new lows. There are documentaries on YouTube that are claiming that the Mycaenians Minoans and Hyksos were Jews. Also one Biblical scholar said that the people living in Greece at 1000BC were Jews. They absconded with the identity of the Helots, the Greek hill people, and theyre claiming that the Helots were Jews and that the Spartans enslaved them. These people are so deluded that its frightening. They would be willing to destroy History, just like the Taliban did in Afghanistan, in order to hide the truth.

Sun, 13-02-2011 17:50

Layla Taure:

I'm a bit worried about the minoan frescoes due to recent events that have occurred in Egypt. Anybody knows where are the minoan frescoes? Austria or Egypt? Thanks

Fri, 04-03-2011 13:05

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Wed, 12-10-2011 09:27

Daniel Knight:

Tammy that was thousands of years before 1400 B.C. Study Biblical history first before making such comments.

Fri, 04-11-2011 07:31

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