pi-ramesse

pi-ramesse
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In the eastern Delta near the modern town of el-Qantir, once stood the ancient harbour city of Pi-Ramesse. Founded by the New Kingdom pharaoh Seti I, it was his son Ramesses II who transformed the town into a royal residence and seat of government. It is thought that he moved the capital from Upper Egypt up into the Delta in an attempt to sever some of the influence and power of the Theben priesthood, and also to be able to better protect Egypt's borders with modern Turkey and Syria.
The location of this city, well known from documentation, was long in question. However, in the 1920s, decorated tiles, including some with the name of Seti I and Ramesses II were discovered in the area. A mud brick palace, dating to the earliest phase of the town was discovered in 1929.

More recently, beginning in the mid 1960s, the site was examined by a German expedition, and the Austrian Archaeological Institute under the direction of Manfred Bietak. 

They have been using a magnetometer (gradumeter) to map out the long lost city. This relatively new method of archaeological discovery is mostly non-intrusive, and in many cases where the land is agricultural in nature, is the only suitable method of exploring a site. By late 1999, some 75,000 square metres had been measured in the fields around el-Qantir. Domestic areas, administrative quarters of a vast palace-temple compound, a possible cemetery and a region with poorer houses were defined.

In ancient times, there were many more branches of the Nile river located in the Delta, but only two remain. Pi-Ramesse was located on an extinct branch that dried out beginning in the 20th Dynasty. Faced with this problem, the pharaohs of the 21st Dynasty moved virtually all the monuments, item by item, to the new capital at Tanis. 

It is probable that a number of temples were located within this ancient city. These religious centres included a great temple of Re, along with other temples to Amun, Ptah and Sutekh (Set, or Seth). The remains of the temple dedicated to Sutekh have been located in the southern part of the city. There were probably many other smaller temples and chapels, some dedicated to Wadjit and Astarte.

Ancient Avaris

Many centuries before Pi-Ramesse had been established by the pharaohs of the 19th dynasty, the city of Avaris had been founded on the east bank of the Pelusiac branch of the Delta in the same area.

In 1966, work began on excavating the site by Manfred Bietak of the Austrian Institute in Cairo. Evidence of an extensive occupation by a non-Egyptian populace was found, and these discoveries directed Dr Bietak to identify the cultural objects he found as almost identical to Middle Bronze Age artefacts from Syro-Palestine. Consequently it was concluded that the site of Tell el-Dab'a was the lost town of the Asiatic Hyksos. Avaris was the capital of the Hyksos kings of the Second Intermediate Period. Their fortified city was built over a Middle Kingdom town they had captured. They built a Canaanite-style temple and had Palestinian-style burials there, including burials of horses. They also brought with them elements of their Syro-Palestinian culture, such as their superior weapons and their distinctive style of pottery, although they were to a certain extent "Egyptianised".

During the 1990s excavations by the Austrian team concentrated upon an area on the western edge of the site, known as Ezbet Helmi where a large palace-like structure dating to the Hyksos period was discovered. The ancient gardens revealed many fragments of Minoan wall-paintings, similar in style to those found in the palace at Knossos in Crete. It has been suggested that these paintings, with their distinctive red background may pre-date those of Crete and Thera. They may well have influenced some of the Dynasty XVIII tomb paintings which appear to include Minoan themes, such as the "flying gallop" motif of horses and bulls. In the Dynasty XVIII strata of Ezbet Helmi, Dr Bietak discovered many lumps of pumice stone, which may be present as a result of the volcanic explosion on the island of Thera.

Several cemeteries belonging to the Second Intermediate Period have been determined during recent excavations at Tell el-Dab'a. Burials dating from late Dynasty XIII to the end of the Hyksos Period have been uncovered. One of the more remarkable finds is a mudbrick vaulted tomb of a warrior, located to the west of the main temple enclosure.

Burial of a warrior at Avaris

The warrior was placed in his tomb in the typical "flexed knee" position of an Asiatic settler, with his head towards the entrance. On his left hand was an amethyst scarab. He was buried with his weapons and various types of pottery. On a dish next to his head are the remains of a meat offering. He wore a copper belt with an attached dagger with five middle ribs on his left side. In his arms he held a scimitar still in its sheath. The copper sword was well preserved, with a leather sheath and a bone handle. The blade is cast with a riveted socket, with a unique voluted point. It is the oldest specimen of this type yet found in Egypt.

Towards the end of the 17th dynasty, Ahmose I, the founder of the Eighteenth dynasty, captured Avaris just before the Hyksos were finally expelled from Egypt. A palace compound was constructed in the early 18th dynasty. It consisted partly of mudbricks from the Hyksos citadel and seems to have functioned as a royal residence. The palace area was settled up to the reign of Amenhotep III, or possibly up to the reign of Ramesses II.