Sponsored by: ARCE-PA, Lecture at UPenn Museum, Classroom 2
Presented by Dr. Peter Lacovara
ARCE-PA Lecture, UPenn Museum, Classroom 2
Dr. Peter Lacovara, Director, The Ancient Egyptian Archaeology and Heritage Fund
“The Egyptian Empire Strikes Back: Deir el-Ballas and the Hyksos Expulsion”
Long ignored, the important site of Deir el-Ballas was originally excavated by the Phoebe A. Hearst Expedition of the University of California under the direction of George A. Reisner in the years 1900 to 1901. During the season’s work, he uncovered the remains of a large royal palace, called the North Palace, and a massive watchtower at the Theban end of the site known as the South Palace, along with a series of cemeteries, villas, and a workmen’s settlement. That makes this site one of only a few complete town sites known from ancient history and one dating to a period of pivotal importance in Egyptian history- the rise of the New Kingdom. The settlement appears to have been founded by Sekhenenre Tao as a campaign palace and a place to stage his campaign against the Hyksos and provide a model for the great royal cities of the Eighteenth Dynasty, Malqata and Amarna. New excavations have shed light on its history, at a time when the site is also in danger of destruction.