Early Dynastic Egypt (64 page)

When calculating changes in the size of ancient populations it is important to consider settlement density as well as settlement area. For example, at Hierakonpolis tightly packed houses excavated within the walled town enclosure suggest a high density of settlement during the Early Dynastic period; this is likely to have offset any reduction in settlement area during the period of state formation (contra Trigger 1985:348). The evidence from all areas of Egypt points towards a process of permanent, if gradual, urbanisation (contra Janssen 1978:216). It is likely that the majority of the population— who were farmers, then as now—‘remained dispersed in hamlets and small villages’ (Trigger 1985:348); but, in the light of significant recent excavations, Egypt, even early Egypt, can no longer be considered ‘a civilisation without cities’ (Wilson 1960).

FACTORS INFLUENCING URBANISM

The factors affecting the beginning of urbanism are likely to have been several, and to have varied according to local conditions (Trigger 1972, 1985), especially the ‘political, cultural and regional setting’ (Seidlmayer 1996b: 126). The growth of large towns in Upper Egypt at the end of the Predynastic period may have been partly for defensive reasons (Trigger 1984:103), although it doubtless facilitated central control of the population by state authorities (Seidlmayer 1996b: 113). The nucleation of settlement at

Hierakonpolis may have been the result of climatic and/or ecological factors (Hoffman 1976:41). What is clear is that urbanism both reflected, and was made possible by, the large-scale changes which took place within Egyptian society during the Predynastic period. Increasing social stratification, the production of agricultural surpluses and the redistribution of these resources by the local élite enabled a section of the population to become engaged in full-time non-agricultural activity. The trend of craft specialisation was undoubtedly fostered by the demands of the élite and ultimately encompassed the development of writing and the growth of a literate scribal class engaged in administration. No longer tied to the land, a significant section of society could now benefit from living and working in a more compact form of settlement. Such a move would have been particularly advantageous to a nascent administration, allowing for more effective central storage of agricultural produce. Even after the unification of Egypt, local aristocracies—such as are attested, perhaps, by the élite First Dynasty mastabas at Tarkhan and the Third Dynasty mastabas at Beit Khallaf—may have continued to exert significant influence over their communities, and this factor should also be borne in mind when considering early urbanisation (Kemp, personal communication). Furthermore, the role of cult centres in the beginnings of urbanism should not be overlooked (Trigger 1972:590–1; Hoffman 1980:307–8). The site of a local shrine would have provided a natural focus for activity, particularly if the local élite depended upon intimate association with the supernatural to maintain its authority. The archaeological evidence at Hierakonpolis suggests that the location of an important shrine was one of the factors responsible for the growth of the early town (Hoffman 1980:307).

Regional differences

Fundamental though it was, urbanism did not take place simultaneously in all regions of Egypt (Kemp 1977:196, 198). It appears to have begun in Upper Egypt, where socio- economic change had been most rapid and where the process of state formation was initiated. Hence, the earliest domestic mudbrick architecture has been found at Hierakonpolis and Naqada (Petrie and Quibell 1896; Weeks 1971–2), the leading centres of Predynastic Upper Egypt. Based upon the available evidence, the settlement pattern in Middle Egypt seems to have been less affected by changes in late Predynastic society. However, this apparent situation may reflect the poor preservation of archaeological sites in Middle Egypt—due to geological factors, encroachment of sand dunes from the western desert, and the movement of the Nile channel—rather than the true extent of urban development in the region. Throughout the Nile valley, the major settlements appear to have been located on the west bank of the river. The apparent absence of significant sites from the west bank in Middle Egypt has undoubtedly influenced our view of the region; it may have been more flourishing in ancient times than the surviving evidence suggests. Indeed, until the dates of foundation of important later centres like Hermopolis and Herakleopolis have been established, we will remain ignorant of early urbanism in Middle Egypt. A reference to Herakleopolis on the Palermo Stone, in an entry dating to the reign of Den, suggests that the town may have been founded before the First Dynasty. On the east bank of the Nile, in the Matmar-Qau region, there is little evidence for the growth of urban centres until the Old Kingdom, when administrative developments connected with the royal court resulted in the growth of el-Etmania

(O’Connor 1972:93–4). The
demography
of the Memphite region was undoubtedly dominated by the foundation of Memphis itself, marking the imposition of central authority and control by the new national administration. There is increasing evidence that urbanism was well advanced in the Delta in late Predynastic times (contra Janssen 1978:216). Recent excavations have demonstrated the importance of sites like Buto and Mendes in the Predynastic period (see below), whilst other centres such as Saïs and Bubastis are likely to have been significant before the incorporation of the Delta into a unified kingdom (Kaiser 1986:1071). The appearance of mudbrick architecture in Delta settlements (van den Brink 1989; Wilkinson 1996b: 95) is likely to mark a fundamental change in the structure of Lower Egyptian society (von der Way 1993:96) and probably indicates the incorporation of the region into an expanding Upper Egyptian polity. ‘From this moment the spread of urbanism in the north could well have been closely parallel to that in Upper Egypt’ (Kemp 1995:687). The variable pace of urbanisation in different regions of the country emphasises the importance of local factors in the process of state formation (Wilkinson 1996b: 86–90).

Topographical and ecological factors

The most favoured location for settlements in Egypt, in ancient times as today, would have been the floodplain of the Nile. The river provided not only supplies of fresh water but also the most efficient means of transport and communication within the country (O’Connor 1972:79). However, the alluvium was prone to inundation, and it would therefore have been preferable to locate settlements on raised areas of land, beyond the reach of the floodwaters. In Upper Egypt, Predynastic settlements developed on isolated hillocks or abandoned levees within the floodplain, or on the margins of the low desert. The majority of early settlements which were located within the floodplain now lie under deposits of alluvium, and are covered either by fields or by modern towns and villages. As a result, few settlements have been excavated in Egypt, compared to the numerous cemeteries which lie along the desert edge and which are therefore much more accessible to archaeologists. In the earlier phases of the Predynastic period, marginal settlements at a number of sites, notably Hierakonpolis, spread back into the desert, following the edges of major wadis until the limits of cultivation were reached (Hoffman 1980:148). These desert-edge communities would have depended largely upon herding, the savannahs of the now arid low desert providing pasturage for flocks. The desiccation of these pasturages following the end of the Neolithic subpluvial, accompanied by a change to agriculture as the principal subsistence base, probably led to the widespread relocation of settlements to the floodplain. This may account for the demise of Maadi towards the end of the Naqada II period (see Chapter 10). The settlements that remained at the edge of the cultivation are likely to have been ‘functionally rather specialized’ (O’Connor 1972:79; cf. R.Friedman 1994:322), perhaps serving as administrative or symbolic centres, like Naqada South Town. However, with very few exceptions, it is such desert-edge settlements that have been studied in detail. It is important to remember this bias in the evidence when examining early urbanism in Egypt. We must admit that, to date, our picture of urban development is far from complete. Within the general setting of the Nile valley, the first urban centres seem to have developed in locations ‘favored by their overseas trading possibilities and by their economic hinterlands’ (Bietak 1979:129).

Chapter 10 explores the role of geographical and ecological factors in the growth of important regional centres. A settlement located at a strategic point in the course of the Nile – such as a natural constriction of the valley (for example, Memphis), or an intersection between the river and desert routes (perhaps the early town of This)—would have been in a position to control trade, and to function as an entrepôt for goods.

FUNCTIONS OF EARLY TOWNS

The centralising tendencies of the early Egyptian state, especially the redistributive economy which funded state projects, were doubtless important influences on the beginnings of urbanism in the Nile valley. They may also have had a direct effect on the character of early towns. Many of the earliest urban centres were surrounded by a large mudbrick wall, defining and restricting the area of dense habitation (Elephantine, Hierakonpolis and Naqada are all examples). The defensive role of town enclosure walls may have extended beyond protecting the inhabitants from aggressively jealous marauders. Walls may also have been intended to control access to and provide security for the administrative and economic centres located within early towns (Trigger 1985:348). A redistributive economy must have required a network of centralised storage facilities where agricultural produce could be collected for redistribution to the population, a proportion being retained as buffer stocks and some being channelled to the central treasury. These storage facilities would have required adequate protection, and are likely to have been located within towns. The evidence from Naqada South Town points to the settlement having served just such a purpose (see below). It has even been suggested that regional urban centres were not primarily concentrations of population but, rather, state foundations serving as locations for shrines and convenient nodes for the operation of the central administration. If so, the inhabitants of early Egyptian towns may have been principally state officials, craftsmen employed by the royal workshops, and priests: in other words, specialists not engaged in agriculture (Trigger 1985:348). As the Early Dynastic period progressed, the increasing economic demands made by the royal court on the country as a whole—to fund increasingly elaborate building projects— resulted in a widespread process of urbanisation, urban centres eventually functioning as ‘the backbone of Egypt’s political and administrative organisation’ (Seidlmayer 1996b: 127). State interference, if it may be characterised as such, was also manifest in another area: the foundation of planned settlements. These are well attested from the Old and Middle Kingdoms, but state activity was also important in the foundation or growth of earlier towns, such as Elephantine. By contrast, settlements like Hierakonpolis owed their existence more to local and/or regional socio-economic developments (Seidlmayer 1996b: 127).

THE EVIDENCE FOR EARLY URBANISM

Comparatively few settlements have been systematically excavated in Egypt. This state of affairs is the result of two main factors. First, the changing aims of archaeology and ancient history have influenced, to a considerable degree, the types of site investigated.

Until the latter half of the twentieth century, the primary aim of archaeologists working in Egypt was often the acquisition of artefacts for museums and private collections. These were to be found in abundance in the numerous cemeteries of all ages which lie along the desert edge. Archaeological activity was therefore primarily focused on cemeteries, and on the visible monuments of pharaonic Egypt: royal tombs and temples. An important exception was the work of Myers at Armant, unfortunately cut short by outside circumstances. The excavation of tombs and temples suited an age of scholarship which viewed Egyptian history from the perspective of the royal court. Social and economic history, an attempt to understand the experience of ordinary Egyptians in antiquity, has become a major academic concern only in the last thirty or so years. As a result, interest in Egyptian settlements—which constitute the primary source of evidence for economic and social history, administrative hierarchies, patterns of socio-economic organisation, and the daily life of the general population—has increased dramatically, and excavations are now underway at several settlements from various periods of Egyptian history. Second, the location of settlements in Egypt has hindered their archaeological exploration. As we have seen, the majority of ancient towns and villages will have been located in the floodplain, at sites which are now inaccessible due to modern land-use activities, the accumulation of alluvium, or changes in the course of the Nile. These factors limit the number of settlement sites which are readily accessible to scientific investigation (although the Dutch East Delta Survey revealed a large number of Old Kingdom settlements lying beneath the fields, not far below the surface). Furthermore, the earliest settlement levels of sites in the alluvial floodplain lie close to or beneath the water-table. Excavation of such sites is virtually impossible without pumping equipment (Mendes is a recent exception). This has been used to great effect at Buto in the north- western Delta, and we may expect other settlement sites lying below the water-table to be excavated in the future (for example, the Early Dynastic city of Memphis).