Egyptian – Greek relations at Daphnae (Nile Delta)
Project leader: Jeffrey Spencer
Department: Ancient Egypt and Sudan
Project start: April 2008
Project end: March 2011
Other British Museum staff: François
Leclère, Alexandra Villing
Other departments: Greece and
Rome
Project funded by:
The Leverhulme Trust
The British Museum
External partners: Supreme Council for
Antiquities of Egypt
Description:
This project is examining the
relationship between Egyptian and Greek cultures in the Nile Delta
of Egypt from the seventh century BC. The work will focus on
antiquities from the site of ancient Daphnae, now called Tell
Dafana, where both Egyptian and Greek objects have been
discovered. Many of these are in the British Museum and they will
be the first group to be studied.
The site of Daphnae is relatively well
preserved and has the potential for new discoveries. The other
major centre of Greek presence in the Delta, the site of Naukratis,
which has been almost totally destroyed since its discovery in the
last century, is the subject of another British Museum research
project, organised by the Department of Greece and Rome.
Daphnae was a garrison town guarding the
Pelusiac branch of the Nile and controlling traffic into the heart
of the Delta. The site was first excavated in 1886 by Flinders
Petrie, who identified it as a camp for Greek mercenaries employed
by the Egyptian king Psamtik I (664-610 BC). Recent research
suggests instead that it might have been a temple town with a mixed
Egyptian and Greek population. This hypothesis needs to be tested
through further field work. If this is the case, it may change the
interpretation of the Greek material found at the site. The nature
of the Greek presence needs reassessment through proper study of
the objects found in Petrie’s excavations, dispersed in museum
collections, and a fresh investigation of the site.
Objectives:
The primary objective is to research the archaeology and
antiquities of Daphnae in order to retrieve new evidence for the
presence and activity of Greeks in the Egyptian Nile Delta. It is
hoped to establish the true nature of the site, shed light on the
interaction between the f
oreign and local population,
and achieve better dating for previously-discovered material. The
fine Greek pottery and other antiquities found at the site make it
the only substantial source of good parallels for material from the
Greek trading centre in Egypt at Naukratis, so investigation of
Daphnae may well shed light on both these sites.
Discovery of contextual information,
which is lacking from the nineteenth-century
excavations, will enhance the scientific value of the
antiquities from Daphnae by providing connections between the Greek
and Egyptian material and supplying vital chronological sequences.
This information will enable the re-interpretation and study
of the material from the site already in museums, adding
much-needed context to the existing finds and providing a better
understanding of the development of the site and its material
culture.
Further information:
Publications:
F. Leclère, ‘An Egyptian Temple at Tell Dafana?’ in Egyptian
Archaeology 30 (Spring 2007), 14-17.
A. Villing and U. Schlotzhauer,
Naukratis: Greek Diversity in Egypt.
Studies on East Greek pottery and Exchange in the Eastern
Mediterranean, (London, British Museum Research
Publication no. 162. 2006)
W.M.F. Petrie, TanisII, Nebesheh
(Am) and Defenneh (Tahpanhes), (London, Egypt Exploration
Fund, 1888)
Images (from top):
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Gold figure of the god Ra, contained in a
bronze shrine. After 600 BC. AES 38005.
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Image 02: View of the site of Daphnae,
with mounds marking the location of the archaeological site.
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Image 03: The mound of the so-called
“fort” excavated in the 1880s.