EAA2021: Abstract

The reliefs of Ramesses III’s temple at Medinet Habu are still being used as a central argument in many if not the most, broader discussions of the period around 1200 BC in the Eastern Mediterranean. In addition, texts and archaeological evidence are brought in which in their vast majority come from Upper Egypt, especially the Theban area. Archaeological evidence from the Nile Delta is rarely referred to, even though the region is central to one of the most important events – the battles between the Egyptian forces and the sea peoples.
The lecture will take the perspective from the site of Pi-Ramesse, Egypt’s capital during this time and discuss the results of more than 40 years of archaeological research and their implications for the discussion. While no large-scale destruction layers can be observed, the end of the New Kingdom seems to have been preceded by an end of monumental construction in the capital. Moreover, official buildings seem to have been used as squatter residences. These results will be analyzed within the framework of the general historical development in Egypt.
One of the central points which need to be discussed is whether the events around 1200 BC and their aftermath were really behind the end of New Kingdom Egypt which took place only about 100 years after the end of the Late Bronze Age.

Late Bronze Age, Egypt, Qantir-Piramesse, New Kingdom, Nile Delta

 Abstract (PDF)

Henning Franzmeier^1,2