DOI issue:
Egypt
DOI article:Myśliwiec, Karol: Excavations 1995
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.26390#0059
3"* century B.C. Among the amulets there is an ithyphallic figure of
Amon-Min and a number of tesserae with relief representations of
Bes on one side and the eye on the other. The most original
fragment of faience vessel is an applique showing an erotic scene in
relief. Figures of a similar function made of materials other than
faience also occur, e g. a bronze figurine of Osiris. The significant
Egyptian presence in the beliefs of the local population at the turn
of the 3^ century B.C. is confirmed by the presence of a miniature
stele of the "Horus-on-crocodile" type, made of schist. Terracotta
figurines from the earlier Ptolemaic layers include numerous Bes
representations, characterized by a flat rendering of the back.
The layer corresponding to the first half of the 3"* century B.C.
contained a number of bronze coins of Ptolemy II and silver coins
found for the first time in Tell Atrib. The two silver coins turned
out to be tetradrachmae bearing the image of Ptolemy 1; one
comes from Soter's times, the other from the reign of Philadelphos.
The coins were found not far from the spot where a limestone head
of one of the first Ptolemies was discovered during the last season.
Its attribution to Philadelphos, based on style and stratigraphy, now
finds confirmation in the coin evidence. The deepest layer
uncovered, which is 0.5 m thick in places, lacks coins, but contains
instead pottery sherds typical of the Late Dynastic and Early
Ptolemaic periods: Amphoras with cylindrical bodies spreading
slightly toward the bottom and two arched handles set just under
the angular edge of the flat upper part. The amphoras are made of
a light (pinkish, yellowish or greenish) marl clay and are usually
found in context with thick-walled vessels of Nile silt covered
frequently with a polished dark-red slip on the outside. The
remains of a (pottery?) furnace discovered in this layer yielded two
terracottas representing Macedonian horseriders in CYIM5A7
headdresses and windblown on the shoulders. The
discoveries confirm the assumption that the suburbs of ancient
Athribis, which have been uncovered in the Polish-Egyptian
excavations, were settled by soldiers of Alexander the Great who
57
Amon-Min and a number of tesserae with relief representations of
Bes on one side and the eye on the other. The most original
fragment of faience vessel is an applique showing an erotic scene in
relief. Figures of a similar function made of materials other than
faience also occur, e g. a bronze figurine of Osiris. The significant
Egyptian presence in the beliefs of the local population at the turn
of the 3^ century B.C. is confirmed by the presence of a miniature
stele of the "Horus-on-crocodile" type, made of schist. Terracotta
figurines from the earlier Ptolemaic layers include numerous Bes
representations, characterized by a flat rendering of the back.
The layer corresponding to the first half of the 3"* century B.C.
contained a number of bronze coins of Ptolemy II and silver coins
found for the first time in Tell Atrib. The two silver coins turned
out to be tetradrachmae bearing the image of Ptolemy 1; one
comes from Soter's times, the other from the reign of Philadelphos.
The coins were found not far from the spot where a limestone head
of one of the first Ptolemies was discovered during the last season.
Its attribution to Philadelphos, based on style and stratigraphy, now
finds confirmation in the coin evidence. The deepest layer
uncovered, which is 0.5 m thick in places, lacks coins, but contains
instead pottery sherds typical of the Late Dynastic and Early
Ptolemaic periods: Amphoras with cylindrical bodies spreading
slightly toward the bottom and two arched handles set just under
the angular edge of the flat upper part. The amphoras are made of
a light (pinkish, yellowish or greenish) marl clay and are usually
found in context with thick-walled vessels of Nile silt covered
frequently with a polished dark-red slip on the outside. The
remains of a (pottery?) furnace discovered in this layer yielded two
terracottas representing Macedonian horseriders in CYIM5A7
headdresses and windblown on the shoulders. The
discoveries confirm the assumption that the suburbs of ancient
Athribis, which have been uncovered in the Polish-Egyptian
excavations, were settled by soldiers of Alexander the Great who
57