All Things Ancient Egypt: An Encyclopedia of the Ancient Egyptian World [2 Volumes] by Sabbahy Lisa;

Author:Sabbahy, Lisa;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ABC-CLIO
Published: 2019-01-14T16:00:00+00:00

The presence of Asiatic men and women in Kahun is also attested by the excavation of various personal artifacts, such as torques, or simple necklaces popular in the northern Levant, and decorative hair combs, such as found in Jericho, which suggest some members of the Kahun population adorned themselves in Asiatic styles. Proto-Canaanite script incised on the surface of a loom demonstrates the presence of Asiatic textile technology, likely associated with foreign domestic labor in a private household. Pottery sherds from Nubia, Cyprus, and Crete, as well as weights calibrated to Palestinian and Phoenician standards found in the town, suggest the presence of foreign merchants or commercial contact with external markets. Kahun’s non-Egyptian inhabitants, numbering approximately 130 or more individuals (Petrik 213–215), would have been a small minority in the town; however, estimates for the general population size range from 8,500 to 10,000 (Kemp 2007, 216).

Kahun was abandoned during the Thirteenth Dynasty (1773–1650 BCE), although parts of the town and the surrounding desert were later used sporadically as burial sites. Stone from the Lahun pyramid complex and Kahun temples was removed for the temple of Ramses II at Ihnasya el-Medina, or Heracleopolis, farther to the south. A small cemetery in the desert between the Lahun pyramid and Kahun town dates to the Third Intermediate Period and Late Period, but almost all of these burials had reused earlier tombs. During the Late Roman Period, a Coptic monastery was located at the site, which Petrie examined but did not document.

Jennifer Ruth Butterworth

See also: Cities and Villages; Foreigners; Houses; Jewelry; Pyramids

Further Reading

Brunton, Guy. 1920. Lahun I: The Treasure. London: British School of Archaeology in Egypt University College and Bernard Quaritch.

David, A. Rosalie. 1997. The Pyramid Builders of Ancient Egypt: A Modern Investigation of Pharaoh’s Workforce. London and New York: Routledge.

Griffith, F. Ll. 1898. The Petrie Papyri: Hieratic Papyri from Kahun and Gurob (Principally of the Middle Kingdom). London: Bernard Quaritch, pp. 1–90.

Horváth, Zoltán. 2009. “Temple(s) and Town at el-Lahun: A Study of the Ancient Toponyms in the El-Lahun Papyri.” In D. Silverman, W. K. Simpson, and J. Wegner, eds. Archaism and Innovation: Studies in the Culture of Middle Kingdom Egypt. New Haven, CT: Yale University; Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Museum, pp. 171–203.

Kemp, Barry J. 2007. Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization. New York: Routledge, pp. 211–221.

Petrie, Sir Flinders, Guy Brunton, and M. A. Murray. 1923. Lahun II. London: British School of Archaeology in Egypt University College and Bernard Quaritch.

Petrie, W. M. Flinders. 1890. Kahun, Gurob, and Hawara. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner, and Co.

Petrik, M. 2011. “Foreign Groups at Lahun during the late Middle Kingdom.” In E. Bechtold, A. Gulyas, and A. Hasznos, eds. From Illahun to Djeme: Papers Presented in Honour of Ulrich Luft. Oxford: Archaeopress, pp. 211–226.

Quirke, Stephen. 1998. Lahun Studies. Reigate, UK: SIA Publishing.

Szpakowska, Kasia. 2008. Daily Life in Ancient Egypt: Recreating Lahun. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

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