Erika Fischer

Tell El-far'ah (Sud): Agyptisch-levantinische Beziehungen Im Spaten 2. Jahrtausend V.chr. (Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis) Erika Fischer

Tellel-Far ah (South) is among the sites in southern Palestine where W. M. F. Petrie searched for Egyptian material culture in order to further the understanding of the diverse relations between Egypt and Palestine. His expectations were fulfilled to a high degree. In addition to numerous tombs yielding Egyptian objects, he exposed a large building that he inter­preted as an Egyptian residence. Engraved ivory panels, which were dis­covered in the building and which had once adorned a wooden object, proved crucial for this assumption. However, Petrie presented his conclu­sions in only a few sentences, without dwelling on comparisons or detailed explanations. Also unfortunately, subsequent scholars who either shared or disagreed with Petrie s interpretation have not examined the site s finds and contexts in depth either. This book offers the first detailed analy­sis of the ivory panelsas well as the residence.

The stratigraphy and architectural history of the building are problem­atic. Its layout, however, shows clear parallels with Egyptian domestic ar­chitecture. Due to this fact, and despite looting, destruction and insufficient documentation, the determination of the function of certain spaces is feasi­ble. To enable a proper assessment of the building in the cultural and his­torical context of the Late Bronze Age Levant, a critical discussion of the so-called governors residencies is conducted. This analysis demonstrates the contradictory nature of the buildings previous classification and inter­pretation. As for the ivory panels, an elaborate study reveals that the de­picted themes, motifs, and antiquaria follow Egyptian models to a great extent. Only stray connections to other cultural regions are found. This exhaustive iconographic examination then lays the groundwork for the dating and art historical classification of the carvings, and it also aids the interpretation of the main character depicted. Finally, the relation between the patron, the ivory panels, and the building is discussed.