‘Rich beyond the dreams of Avaris: Tell el-Dabca and the Aegean world—a guide for the perplexed’: A response to Eric H. Cline

Abstract

In his article inBSA93 (1998) 199–219, Eric Cline comments on the recent discoveries at the site of Tell el-Dabca, where palatial quarters of the late Hyksos Period and the early 18th Dynasty have been discovered. For Aegean scholars the most spectacular finds from these excavations were numerous fragments of wall paintings which were identified as Minoan by experts working at the excavations and visiting colleagues. Cline particularly criticises the change of dating given to the paintings which were attributed by the excavators originally to the Hyksos period (1992) and afterwards to the Early 18th Dynasty (1995). Doubts have also been expressed about the validity of the new date and the identification of the paintings as Minoan or Aegean. This response tries to show: (1) the context of the paintings in the 18th Dynasty palace quarters in the light of recent research, (2) why a dating to the Hyksos period was originally considered, (3) why the paintings should be identified as Minoan and (4) that Cline failed to make himself knowledgeable enough about the archaeology of the site of Tell el-Dabca to give a serious opinion on the excavations and material.

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