LEVANTINE - EGYPTIAN INTERACTIONS: PETROGRAPHIC STUDY OF THE CANAANITE POTTERY FROM TELL EL-DAB^cA.
Anat Cohen-Weinberger and Yuval Goren
Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures, Tel-Aviv University, Israel and the Israel Antiquities Authority, Jerusalem, Israel

The nature of the Levantine-Egyptian interactions during the Middle Kingdom and the Second Intermediate period is one of the most discussed issues in the current literature in Egyptian archaeology. We present the results of a comprehensive petrographic study of the Canaanite pottery from Tell el-Dab'a. The results suggest an extensive long distance maritime trade of Canaanite pottery between the Lebanese and Syrian coastal area and the Nile Delta during the late 12^th to the 15^th dynasties (strata H-D/3-2, d/2-b/1). In the late 12^th dynasty (stratum H), the Canaanite pottery from the Negev coastal plain is negligible, but it gradually increases toward a peak period during the late 13^th dynasty (strata F-E/3, b/3-2). During the late 12^th to the 15^th dynasties, there is also a relatively significant and stable amount of imported pottery from the coastal areas of Israel to Tell el-Dab'a. Other regions in the Levant, (e.g. Judea and Samaria Hills, Shephelah and the Jordan Valley) are hardly represented among the imported Canaanite pottery from Tell el Dab^ca.