Commercial contacts between Middle Kingdom Egypt and the Aegean are indicated by a few sherds of Minoan pottery in the I2th-Dynasty phase of the Lahun settlement, as well as a pyxis lid and fragments of local Egyptian pottery that were clearly imitating Minoan types. Because these sherds were found in refuse deposits, however, it is Difficult to be sure of their dates or their original stratigraphic contexts. Curiously, they appear to have been common vessels used by the workmen (rather than luxury imports), perhaps even indicating the presence of foreign workers from Crete among the town’s population. In the i2th Dynasty, there are also a few deposits of sherds from Minoan ‘Kamares vessels’ at such sites as Lahun, el-Haraga, and Abydos, and in a i2th-Dynasty grave as far south as Elephantine. Numerous items from this time also reveal the presence of a Mediterranean network of artistic and iconographic exchange: Egyptian motifs can be found on items as far-flung as the dedicatory clay scarab beetles offered in the peak sanctuaries in parts of Crete. Egyptian stone vases also made their way to Crete, where their styles were imitated by Minoan craftsmen. Although such local imitations of Egyptian styles and iconography are often from undated contexts, they are nevertheless important in that they suggest frequent contact leading to exchange of ideas as well as materials and products.
At Lahun and Lisht, there is also early evidence for the distinctive Tell el-Yahudiya ware (see Chapter 8), comprising jugs that perhaps once contained Near Eastern oil. The Egyptian kings actively promoted imports of timber, oil, wine, silver, and perhaps ivory from Syria-Palestine. Both Cypriot and Minoan pottery are also attested from other occasional finds in Egypt. Egyptian goods, such as scarabs, statues, vases, jewellery, and even several sphinxes have been found in sites as far apart as Byblos, Ras Shamra, and Crete. Via Syria, further contacts were made with Cyprus and Babylon, but very little of this material comes from properly dated contexts.
Increasing contact with the Near East is suggested by the fact that Asiatic weights actually outnumber Egyptian ones at Lahun. In addition, one of the richest finds of the Middle Kingdom is a collection of Asiatic (or perhaps Minoan) gold and silver material discovered in four bronze caskets underneath the temple of Montu at Tod. Conversely, Pierre Montet discovered a hoard of 1,000 Egyptian items buried in a jar at the Syrian city of Byblos, including jewellery bearing a strong likeness to the ‘treasure’ from the tombs of 12th-Dynasty princesses in the Lahun necropolis. Neferhotep and other Egyptian rulers were acknowledged as overlords by the local rulers of Byblos, who not only copied Egyptian insignia and titles but also imitated Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions.
There were also strong contacts with the areas to the south of Egypt. Apart from their activities in Nubia, many of the Middle Kingdom rulers, particularly Mentuhotep III and Senusret I, maintained trading links with the African region of Punt (probably located somewhere in the vicinity of modern Eritrea). The lath-Dynasty port of Sa'waw has been discovered at the eastern end of the Wadi Gawasis, on the Red Sea coast (a short distance to the north of modern Quseir), and several inscribed stelae, found both along the wadi and at the port itself, provide records of 12th-Dynasty journeys to Punt.
World History
