Necklaces of faience beads and pendants
Canaanite, about 1500-1200 BC
From Lachish (modern Tell ed-Duweir), Israel
Egyptian fashions in the southern Levant
These fine necklaces from the Fosse Temple at Lachish
illustrates the strongly Egyptianizing style of Cannanite art of
the Late Bronze Age. During this period the southern Levant was
under Egyptian domination. Lachish is referred to in the Amarna
letters - a group of clay tablets written in Babylonian cuneiform
found at Tell el-Amarna in Egypt and preserving diplomatic
correspondence to Egyptian pharaohs from vassal kings. The ruler of
Lachish was Shipti-ba’al, a vassal king, subject to the firm
control of Egypt, and enjoying the wealth and security that such
political domination provided.
The so-called Fosse Temple was a small sanctuary first built
around 1550 BC in the disused moat (fosse) that had formed part of
the fortifications of Lachish in the early second millennium. A
sudden destruction in about 1200 BC left remarkable contents in
position in the building. These included many vessels containing
the bones of animal offerings, and also rich finds of glass,
faience and alabaster, imported pottery, ivories and jewellery in
many materials, including gold and silver.
J.N. Tubb, Canaanites (London, The British Museum Press, 1998)