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Avaris, thought to be located at Tell el-Dab'a (some still argue for different locations), was the ancient capital of the Hyksos dynasties in Egypt. Located in the northeastern region of the Nile Delta, Avaris was the base of the Hyksos kings of Egypt's Second Intermediate Period. The city was built atop the ruins of a Middle Kingdom town that had been captured by the Hyksos. After this takeover, the Hyksos heavily fortified the city and ruled the country using technology never before seen by the ancient Egyptians, specifically horses and chariots.
The site at Tell el-Dab'a, covering an area of about 2 square kilometers, is in ruins today, but shows that at one point, it was a well-developed center of trade. Artifacts excavated at a temple erected in the Hyksos period have produced goods from all over the Aegean world. The temple even has Minoan-like wall paintings that may pre-date those found on Crete at the Palace of Knossos. A large mudbrick tomb has also been excavated to the west of the temple where grave-goods, such as copper swords, have been found.
Towards the end of the Seventeenth dynasty, Ahmose I, the founder of the Eighteenth dynasty, captured Avaris just before the Hyksos were finally expelled from Egypt. A palace compound was constructed in the early 18th dynasty. It consisted partly of mudbricks from the Hyksos citadel and seems to have functioned as a royal residence. The palace area was settled up to the reign of Amenhotep III, or possibly up to the reign of Ramesses II.
The town appears to have been mainly abandoned after the Hyksos expulsion but seems to have been reoccupied by the Nineteenth dynasty, at which time it may have taken the name of Pi-Ramesses (also spelled Pi-Ramases).
Evidence has also been unearthed in Avaris that shows contact between early Meditteranean civilizations.
Pi-Ramesses (Per-Ramesses)
In the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Avaris regained its past glory when Pharaoh Ramesses II (1279 BC to 1213 BCMichael Rice, Who's Who in Ancient Egypt, Routledge, 1999) founded his new capital city at the old site. The city was called Pi-Ramesses Aa-nakhtu, meaning “the House/Domain of Ramesses, Great of Victories”.
The decision to transfer his government and residence this far north from Thebes may have been caused by geopolitical reasons. The troublesome Egyptian vassal states in Palestine lay much closer as did the border with the hostile Hittite empire. Intelligence and diplomats would reach the Pharaoh much quicker. The main corps of the army were also encamped in the city and could quickly be mobilized.
Pi-Ramesses flourished for a century and poems were written over its splendour. The demise of Egyptian authority abroad during the Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt made the city less significant. When the Twenty-first Dynasty of Egypt established their capital of Lower Egypt at another site, Tanis, to the north-west of Pi-Ramesses the city deteriorated. The changing waterways of the Nile river delta may also have made the site less accessible for river transports. The Pharaohs of the Twenty-first Dynasty of Egypt moved many of the old monuments, obelisks, steles, statues and sphinxes, from Pi-Ramesses to Tanis.
The removals of the monuments of Pi-Ramesses mislead early archaeologists to identify Tanis as the site of Pi-Ramesses. However, recent excavations at Tell el-Dab´a and Qantir have identified the true site of both the Hyksos capital Avaris and the Ramesside capital Pi-Ramesses. In recent decades, the site has been excavated by an Austrian team of archaeologists headed by Manfred Bietak.
The discoveries include the foundations of palace buildings, temples, arsenals, storehouses, and tombs. Pi-Ramesses spread over a vast area of about 10 square kilometers, or 2500 acres. This makes the city one of the largest of ancient Egypt.
"Ra'amses" (Hebrew: רַעְמְסֵס) is mentioned in the Bible four times: in Genesis 47:11; Exodus 1:11 and Numbers 33:3,5. It is synonymous with Goshen, the land where Joseph and his descendants settled. Ra'amses was the point from which the Israelites departed during their exodus from Egypt.
Several possible locations for the biblical Ra'amses have been offered, including Tanis and Qantir, both in the northeastern area of the delta. Although no conclusive evidence has been produced, the consensus of current scholarship favors Qantir.
Minoan civilization sites
Besides Thera and Crete, only two other sites have a record of Minoan civilization besides Avaris. They are 'Tell Kabri,' and Alalakh in Syria. It is speculated by the excavator of TellDab'a (Austrian, Bietak), that there was close contact with the rulers of Avaris, and the large building representing the frescoes allowed the Minoans to have a ritual life in Egypt. These finds may also imply the later arrival of the Sea Peoples.
References
- Reeves, Nicholas. Ancient Egypt, The Great Discoveries, a Year-by-Year Chronicle, Nicholas Reeves, (Thames and Hudson Ltd, London), c 2000. See 1987, Avaris and the Aegean: Minoan Frescoes in Egypt.
- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. IV, pg. 38. Entry on "Rameses" by Dr. R. W. Pierce, (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids MI) 1988.
- Bietak, Manfred. "Avaris : the capital of the Hyksos : recent excavations at Tell el-Dab´a" (British Museum Press for the Trustees of the British Museum, London) 1996.
Archaeological sites in Egypt | Cities of Antiquity
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