Publisher's Synopsis
This volume publishes an expanded version of the first Raymond and Beverly Sackler Foundation Distinguished Lecture in Egyptology, delivered by Professor Bietak at the British Museum in July 1992.;Avaris was a Canaanite city on Egyptian soil, situated in the eastern Nile delta, and linked with the Levant by routes across Sinai. The site of the ancient town lies beside the modern village Tell el-Dab'a, where Bietak has been directing excavations since 1966. The first Egyptian settlement was founded in the 12th dynasty by King Amenemhat I (1963-1934 BC) and shortly afterwards a workers' town was established at the site. Canaanite occupation of the area commenced in the later part of the 12th dynasty, and subsequently expanded until Avaris became a major city, among the largest in Egypt. It served as the capital of the so-called Hyksos kings who dominated Egypt for over a century, until expelled at the beginning of the 18th dynasty.;The excavations carried out by Bietak and his team from the Austrian Archaelogical Institute have helped to reveal the history of this important urban centre, and have rescued its houses, graves, palaces and temples from obscurity.
