We follow Gavin on an expedition to Tell el Dab’a and then on to the Nile Delta, following the old Red Sea–Nile canal north of Cairo to Zagazig, exploring in the Minoans’ wake.
Tell el Dab’a is a Middle Kingdom palace on a hill in the Nile Delta. Our goal is an ancient port beside the modern city, a place that was named Avaris during the Egyptian 13th dynasty, when it was a crucial trading port dominated by the commercial traders known as the Hyksos.
“… Egyptian Keftiu documents clearly indicate the leadership of Crete . . . The recently uncovered ‘Minoan style’ frescos at the site of Tell el-Dab’a in Egypt’s eastern Delta, and the Minoan style painted plaster floors at Tel Kabri in Israel open up the likelihood of diverse social or political contacts…”
The Minoan sphere of influence seems to be ever-increasing as Gavin’s journey continues.
Further reading:
Avaris: http://www.auaris.at/html/index_en.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avaris
http://archaeology.about.com/od/dterms/g/daba.htm
Minoan paintings in Egypt: http://www.therafoundation.org/articles/art/minoanpaintingsinavarisegypt
Panagiotopoulos, ‘Kefiu in context: Theban tomb-paintings as a historical source’, Oxford Journal of Archaeology 20, 263–4:
http://www.zaw.uni-heidelberg.de/hps/klarch/institut/ms_aegaeis/schwandner.htm
Keftiu at Abydos Ramses Temple:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Name-Keftiu-at-Abydos-Ramses-Temple.jpg
