The 'Amârnah Texts a Century after Flinders Petrie

The ensuing remarks seek to elucidate some of the central issues in the study of the cuneiform texts discovered at Tell el-'Amârnah in Egypt. Progress in the study of the language, the social structure of Canaan at that time and certain historical problems will be reviewed. After an accidental find by a village woman in I887. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie was the first modern scholar to conduct archaeological excavations at the actual site. His work determined the probable spot where the tablets had been deposited when the ancient town was abandoned. Subsequently, Petrie articulated various interpretations of the evidence from the archaeological finds and also from the inscriptions. During the twentieth century, research was continued on all the many facets of these momentous discoveries. The focus in this paper is on the cuneiform epistles, the international and parochial correspondence that involved the Egyptian government.