Logistics in Infrastructure 50

From the material remains of fortified architecture and storage facilities that would have supplied military personnel, it is possible to assess the material remains to investigate how the logistical system impacted infrastructure. In addition to architectural remains, the ceramic repertoire is consulted to establish when these sites were active and if any dynastic policy changes can be identified. An examination of pottery also has the potential to indicate how bases were supplied.

Critical in our analysis is in an examination of architectural features constructed of

mudbricks. This thesis points out the varying brick sizes in relation to architectural features. Brick sizes are important as they allow for the sequential dating of architectural features at a site. For instance, if the establishment of a site utilised the same bricks in the foundation of its main architectural features and then later additions were constructed in bricks of different dimensions, this would allow a researcher to determine which features at the site developed later and speculate why these developments took place. Although this sequential dating is

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possible, it is impossible to attribute a brick size to a particular pharaoh.166 _{Similarly, the} dating of an architectural feature cannot be ascribed to a specific dynasty based on brick size alone since there is no noticeable difference between brick sizes between the 18th _{and 20}th dynasties. Brick dimensions only allow for a general comparison of architecture built during the New Kingdom (see Section 4.2.4.4.2). Additionally, the bonding techniques in pharaonic architecture also signify that stacking methods were varied in New Kingdom Egypt, thus, they cannot be used for dating criteria either (Figure 2).167

Figure 2 - Brick bonding patterns (Emery 2011, fig. 1). The sites that are most relevant to our investigations about Levantine campaigns and

logistical supply are located at the edge of the eastern Delta and the north Sinai. The purpose of our examination is to study each site in detail to determine the nature of the settlement and how it could have contributed to hegemonic control of southern Canaan. These sites are incorporated into previous studies on ancient Near Eastern architecture during the LBA.168 However, there is a shortcoming in most analyses of each site. Often, a site’s military value is only considered against the back-drop of the literary record. Although the textual record should be analysed to glean some information about a region or site, very rarely is the archaeological material addressed to achieve a comprehensive analysis of how settlement patterns at ‘fortresses’ manifested in the archaeological remains.

166 _{Spencer 1979, pl. 41 contra Oren 1987, 87} 167 _{Spencer 1979, pl. 14}

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One of the difficulties of examining these sites is that some of their archaeological remains have not been fully published. In most cases, the architectural features of sites have been described in detail while other aspects of the archaeological remains (e.g. burials, pottery, seal impressions, etc.) are insufficiently described to form a satisfactory analysis within their respective subsection. Nevertheless, an excavator’s passing comments in publications about a site’s material remains are often enough to form the ‘broad strokes’ of how a site

contributed to the logistical network of the New Kingdom. Thus, there is a discrepancy in the type of detail presented for some topics in the discussion of features of archaeological sites. The publication of this ‘new’ material will have to be integrated in future analyses. Similarly, all of the sites examined have experienced significant disturbance by human activity or natural erosion.

The sites in this thesis are selective. There are many sites that could be added to this discussion to illustrate Egyptian hegemonic control of the eastern Delta to the southern Levant, such as Tell el-Retabeh, Deir el Balah, Beth Shean, Tell Farah (south), Gaza, etc. However, due to thesis space constraints and the fact that these sites have been recently discussed by Morris, a protracted analysis of these additional sites is not necessary to illustrate the character of an Egyptian ‘outpost’.169 _{Therefore, the sites examined in this} thesis were chosen as they are located along the direct overland route into Canaan through the northern Sinai. The implications of this analysis for additional Egyptian-held sites in the eastern Delta to the Levant are discussed in the conclusion of Chapter 4.

Tel Mor, situated along the coast of the southern Levant, might appear out of place in the analysis of military sites. The inclusion of this site is to not only add commentary to this recently published material but to illustrate the dimensions and archaeological remains from an Egyptian-held site in Canaan. The archaeological strata of the site correlate with the traditional interpretation of the Egyptian hegemony in the Levant as proposed by

Weinstein.170 _{The site’s coastal location will also be discussed in relation to maritime traffic} as Chapter 5 includes a discussion of how shipping would have contributed to the

maintenance of the Egyptian hegemony. Using an analysis of Tel Mor as a source for Egyptian-held sites in Canaan, we can then analyse how the logistical network manifested itself in architectural remains throughout the Levant. Tel Mor represents a vital site for the study into topics of imperialism, cultural interaction and architectural remains during the LBA. 169 Morris 2005 170 Weinstein 1992; 1981