Between Tombs and Defence Walls: Tell el-Retaba in Seasons 2019 and 2021

Abstract

This article presents preliminary results from the 2019 and 2021 excavation seasons at Tell el-Retaba. In Area 4, the focus was on settlement activities spanning the Second Intermediate Period and the late New Kingdom. In Area 2, exploration delved into a settlement and defence structures of the New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period. Area 4 underwent a change from a settlement at the beginning of the Second Intermediate Period to a cemetery of the same period used continuously into the early 18th Dynasty. It was only later during the 18th Dynasty, that the excavated area reverted to a settlement of mudbrick houses. A rich assemblage of small finds and a battery of ovens bear witness to the lively industrial activity or craftsmanship of its inhabitants, and their long-distance contacts. The discovery of a walkway, dating to Phase D4, adds an intriguing detail to 20th Dynasty military architecture. Isolated finds from the Third Intermediate Period (Phase C) demonstrate the spread of the settlement, known from previous excavations, further north on the tell. In 2021, work shifted to Area 2, separated from Area 4 by a ca. 20 m wide recent asphalt road. On the northern edge of the explored part of Area 2, two massive walls in partial supraposition were uncovered. The upper one exhibits construction similarities with the walls of the Ramesse III fortifications; however, the function and date of the lower wall have not been solidly established yet.