Conclusions

This final chapter addresses the individual research questions posed in the Introduction (Chapter 1), in the light of the data and discussion presented in Chapters 2–7. According to the range of settlement types defined by Troy (see Section 1.1), Amarna and Gurob may be regarded as cities, with a less specialized character and the presence of both a royal court and temples. While Amarna was not long-lived, it was specifically founded as a capital city with a large amount of urban planning. Gurob was certainly occupied for a long period, before and after the New Kingdom. Although Malqata can be defined as a royal city, it does not fulfil Troy’s definition of a city in that it was only very short-lived and served the sole purpose of a location for the festivities in honour of Amenhotep III, for which reason it should most likely be regarded a specialized settlement. In conclusion, it can be said that the presence of high-status goods and evidence of their manufacture enhances a settlement’s status. On the one hand, it proves that a strong demand existed for these types of objects, most of which were not for everyday use, and therefore implies the presence of either a consuming elite or royal court. On the other hand, should no royal court be present, it indicates at least the settlement’s dependence on the favours of royal personages acting as recipients of high-status goods. The presence of such personages would also enhance the settlement’s status. Hence, a developed infrastructure, together with a well-managed system of redistribution, as observed in all three case-studies discussed in this book, may very well be a factor determining a high-status settlement, such as a royal city. It can be stated that the analyses of the archaeological material from Amarna, Gurob, and Malqata have been successful in highlighting several areas of intensive industrial activity despite some issues regarding the nature of the data (see Section 1.4.3). In addition, it has been possible to further define the locations in which most of the finished products were found and, probably, used.

Malqata: Manufacturing at a Ceremonial Settlement

The eighteenth-dynasty royal city of Malqata has been selected, since much evidence has been discovered here, particularly with regard to faience-production and glass-working, and there is also limited evidence of metalworking and sculpture-production. The settlement itself dates to the reign of Amenhotep III, and more specifically to his thirtieth regal year, when it was established to celebrate the king’s first ḥb-sd (Sed-) festival, the jubilee and rejuvenation celebration of his thirty years of reign. He celebrated a total of three festivals, the other two taking place in his thirty-fourth and thirty-eighth regal years. Due to the somewhat patchy nature of the early excavations and survey work done at Malqata, especially between 1888 and 1971, no genuine spatial analysis, such as was done for the material from Amarna or Gurob, has been possible for Malqata. The early excavation reports, for instance that by Tytus, or those by Winlock for the Metropolitan Museum missions, simply state in a matter-of-fact way that they located the remains of glass factories in, for example, the South Village. They usually continue to list some of the artefacts that were found, which would indicate the presence of glass-working and faience-manufacture in the area, but they do not describe these objects in any detail, and nor do they indicate where—within the large area covered by the South Village—they were found. However, the author has had the opportunity to study the unpublished archive material from the early excavations at Malqata by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, which took place during the early years of the last century. The excavation diaries kept in these archives revealed no detailed information as to more precise locations or quantities of finds. They did, however, make possible a better understanding of the origins of these interpretations, and the sample of relevant artefacts examined made possible further identification and clarification of their nature. In addition, the author was able to access some of the objects relevant to glass-working and faience-production from Malqata at the Brooklyn Museum and was furthermore given permission to study some of the unpublished site reports, plans, and finds lists from the University Museum of Pennsylvania mission, which took place between 1971 and 1977.

Amarna: Urban Manufacture of Luxury Items

Little is necessary in terms of an introduction, since Amarna is one of the best-known settlements of ancient Egypt. The city was founded by pharaoh Amenhotep IV, known from his fifth regal year as Akhenaten, on his move away from Thebes and Memphis to found a new religious and administrative capital city. Akhenaten reigned approximately between 1348 and 1331 BC, and his principal wife was Nefertiti. Akhenaten’s direct successor appears to have been a figure named Smenkhare (or Ankhkheperure) who was married to Akhenaten’s daughter Meritaten. Like Nefertiti, Smenkhare/Ankhkheperure held the throne name Nefernefruaten. For this reason it is uncertain whether this individual was Nefertiti, who may have reigned for some years after the death of Akhenaten, possibly even with a brief co-regency, or whether this was a son or younger brother of the latter. The rule of Smenkhare/Ankhkheperure was short, and he or she was eventually succeeded by Tutankhamun. The core city of Amarna was erected on a relatively flat desert plain surrounded by cliffs on the east bank of the Nile, in Middle Egypt, approximately 60km south of the modern city of Minia, surrounded by the villages et- Till to the north and el-Hagg Qandil to the south. The site was defined by at least sixteen boundary stelae, three of which actually stand on the western bank, past the edge of the modern cultivation. In total, the city measures 12.5km north–south on the east bank between stelae X and J, and c.8.2km west–east between the projected line between stelae X and J and stela S to the far east, which also indicates approximately the longitude of the royal tomb. The distance between stelae J and F, to the far south-west, measures c.20km, and between stelae X and A, to the far north-west 19.2km. The core city, which is the part of the settlement examined in this section, was erected along the Nile, on the east bank, and it is defined by the ‘Royal Road’, a major thoroughfare running through the entire core city north–south.

Introduction and Background

This book aims to establish knowledge of the infrastructure and organization of the excavated cities in Late Bronze Age (LBA), or New Kingdom Egypt (c.1550–1069 BC), and provide an understanding of the accessibility and control of the high-status products and the raw materials and tools used for their manufacture. This is done by analysing the distribution of the artefactual and structural evidence of the manufacture of high-status goods from three sites used as case-studies, namely Amarna, in Middle Egypt, Gurob, in the Faiyum region, and Malqata, in ancient Thebes (Chapters 2–5). It attempts to achieve some knowledge of the control and distribution of the finished goods, highlighting buildings and areas in the settlements that were involved in the production, and others that would be the consumers of high-status goods. By detecting some mutual patterns between the sites analysed, it has been possible to achieve an understanding of urban high-status manufacture throughout the New Kingdom and its influence on the internal organization and status of settlements. Moving inwards, the study then focuses on workshops, their layouts and functionality (Chapters 6 and 7). A number of research questions will be answered, which address the issues of settlement status, craft production and its social context, the character of workshops as well as their influence on LBA settlements. These questions are presented in Sections 1.1–1.6 together with the data and methods used to address them. In the discussion of the status of a larger settlement we have to take into account the work and opinions of previous scholars. Trigger, for instance, differentiates between two approaches to settlement archaeology as a whole: (a) one focusing on the location, size, spacing, material culture, and activities, as opposed to another (b) focusing on the interactions of their environmental, economic, and technological determinants. While much information concerning the first approach existed by this date, he states that at the time of publication (in the early 1970s) there was still a lack of understanding concerning the economic and technological interactions within the settlements.

Household or Cottage Industries: Modelling Industrial Diversity in New Kingdom Houses and Courtyards

Both O45.1 at Amarna and IA1 at Gurob, discussed in Chapter 6, can be said to have been purpose-built and to some extent specialized, with the presence of kilns indicating a somewhat focused set of activities. By contrast, the smaller houses, or groups of the same in New Kingdom settlements have been observed to be generally less industrially focused or specialized on all levels. The present chapter therefore discusses a number of case-studies demonstrating artefact diversity in a range of houses, showcasing their variety both in appearance and in functionality. These case-studies include a range of houses in the Main City at Amarna and a comparison of the artefactual evidence they contained of relevant industrial activities in addition to Site J at Malqata. Excavations at Site J in the 1970s have revealed a series of small ovens, the purpose and locations of which will be discussed together with associated objects. This and the artefactual data from the houses at Amarna will provide an insight into the organization of industrial activities on a household-level. In the course of the spatial analysis undertaken for the Main City North (MCN) at Amarna (see Section 2.4), it has become apparent that thirty-four buildings, dispersed throughout this suburb, contained evidence not only of one industrial activity discussed in this book, but of several. The houses, each of which contains evidence of more than one industry, cover a range of varying sizes. While most of these thirty-four houses had a smaller ground area (less than 900m²), some larger ones also contained evidence of multiple industries. Eight of the thirty-four had an area of less than 100m², while a total of sixteen covered between 100 and 900m², the remaining ten houses being larger than 900m² including their courtyards. While most of the larger houses measured between 900 and 3,000m², three houses are even larger than this, with the largest property, R44.2, which measured over 10,000m², belonging to a ‘Steward of Akhenaten’. Table 7.1 demonstrates the combinations of industries queried with the GIS that were in operation in a number of buildings.

Gurob: Luxury Goods Manufacture in a Harbour and Palace City

The site of Gurob lies in the south-eastern section of the Faiyum region, on a desert plain, adjacent to the fertile land. It is located in the area that would have formed the entrance to the Faiyum in the New Kingdom. As with Amarna, it has also been possible to undertake a spatial analysis for Gurob, at least with the material recorded in recent years through the work of the active mission. Artefactual evidence from previous missions, such as Petrie’s and Hughes-Hughes’, was also considered, but can only be discussed with regard to its nature, as precise find locations were, unfortunately, not recorded. Gurob, like Amarna, can be regarded as an atypical settlement. The palace, which is this site’s main element, has been interpreted as a harem palace, the dwelling of the ladies belonging to the royal household. A variety of Ramesside papyri making reference to high officials belonging to the royal harem of Mer-Wer (translated as ‘the Great Canal’) form the largest group of evidence of this interpretation. Other factors in this connection are the purchase of the famous head of Queen Tiye by Borchardt, as well as the very frequent finding of clay woman-on-bed figurines by the present mission, which probably had a place in ritual activities. Gurob, with its position at the entrance to the Faiyum in the New Kingdom, would have played an important role for trade and diplomacy in the area. Despite its somewhat specialized function the settlement has been included in this analysis, as it was occupied for a considerable amount of time and thus represents a valid example of a New Kingdom royal city. Petrie excavated at Gurob for two seasons, in 1888 and in 1889–90. He excavated in the cemeteries, but mainly in the palace buildings and enclosure, as well as the area he initially interpreted as a temple. The majority of finds from his excavations are in the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London, although only about forty finds can be regarded with certainty as having come from Gurob.

Luxury Goods Manufacture at Amarna, Gurob, and Malqata Compared

It should be borne in mind that the data from all archaeological excavations and surveys over the world, not only with the evidence from Amarna, Gurob, and Malqata, ought to be treated with a certain amount of caution. One problem that affects the data from all sites discussed here is that early excavations resulted in many objects being lost or being held unprovenanced in collections. The particular challenge with the archaeological evidence from Amarna is the fact that the site was very short-lived and that there was an abrupt move away from Amarna at the end of the Amarna Period. Many objects of high value would have been removed by their owners, or stolen by those using the opportunity. Certain areas of settlement, especially those to the extreme north and south of the site, were also more exposed than others, thus being more vulnerable to looters. In addition, conditions of preservation differ across the site, resulting in the better survival of objects in some areas than in others. While finds at Amarna, at least from the DOG excavations onwards, were fairly well catalogued according to their provenance, the origins of the objects excavated in the settlement areas of Gurob by Hughes-Hughes on behalf of Petrie are not possible to reconstruct. Hence, this data can only be generally compared to the results of the modern spatial analysis, and only tentatively be used to better understand the use of the site. In addition, the exposure of the site to much modern human activity, in particular during its period of use by the army, has resulted in much destruction and subsequent loss of data. The name of Malqata alone, in Arabic meaning ‘the place where things are found’, highlights the vulnerability of the site in the past and present and the fact that the corpus of material from this site is far from complete. Moreover, the insufficient level of documentation supplied by the 1888–1920 excavators (and the fact that the finds from these missions have still not been completely acquisitioned by museums) means that neither spatial nor statistical analyses are feasible for this site.

The Workshop as a Microcosm: Workshops and Factories in Urban Settlements

The previous chapters used object data to detect distribution patterns in the artefactual evidence of a series of industries in order to identify areas of high activity and new workshops. Furthermore, they discussed the locations and physical relationships between workshops and other industrial areas in order to understand their role in the settlement’s infrastructure. By contrast, this chapter presents and discusses two case-studies from Amarna and Gurob to describe the various features often found inside a workshop or factory, showcasing the functionality and organization of specialized, high-temperature workshops, and associated firing structures in an urban environment. The case-studies include the glass, faience, metal, and pottery workshop O45.1 in the Main City North Amarna, excavated by Paul Nicholson and team in the 1990s. At Gurob, an industrial area was published by Brunton and Engelbach in 1927, which was partly re-excavated by the author and named IA1. The results of this excavation, together with the finds corpus, are compared to those from O45.1, as kilns and pottery production areas were found. Site O45.1 is located at the extreme north-western end of the Main City North, towards the southern edge of the Central City, south of the Small Aten Temple, and directly to the south of the modern water tower at Amarna. The excavated site, which measures 325m², has yielded much artefactual as well as structural evidence of glass processing, including glassmaking, faience production, and metal-working. It lies in the vicinity of the area examined by Petrie in the 1890s and described by him as an area of moulds, but during the work at O45.1 no traces were found of this area having previously been excavated. Many of Petrie’s finds relating to the glass-industry also came from the palace waste heaps, only a very small number coming from the palace itself. The largest portion of evidence was not contexted, as it had been found and brought to Petrie by local children from sites around Amarna. Thus, site O45.1 is not the only possible location of Petrie’s glass manufactories. The workshop is surrounded by a series of mud-brick walls forming an open courtyard, a common phenomenon in New Kingdom Egypt.