Avaris (Tell el-Dab'a)

Avaris (Egyptian: ḥw.t wꜥr.t, sometimes hut-waret; Ancient Greek: Αὔαρις, romanized: Auaris; Greek: Άβαρις, romanized: Avaris; Egyptian Arabic: اڤاريس, romanized: Avaris) was the Hyksos capital of Egypt located at the modern site of Tell el-Dab'a in the northeastern region of the Nile Delta. As the main course of the Nile migrated eastward, its position at the hub of Egypt's delta emporia made it a major capital suitable for trade. It was occupied from around the 18th century BC until its capture by Ahmose I in the 16th century BC.

Etymology

The name in the Egyptian language of the 2nd millennium BC was probably pronounced /*ḥaʔət-waʕrəʔ/ ('House of the Region') and denotes the capital of an administrative division of the land (wʕr.t). Alternatively, Clement of Alexandria referred to the name of this city as Athyria.

Excavations

In 1885, the Swiss Édouard Naville started the first excavations in the area around Tell-el-Daba. Between 1941 and 1942, Labib Habachi, an Egyptian Egyptologist first forwarded the idea that the site could be identified with Avaris. Between 1966 and 1969 and since 1975, the site has been excavated by the Austrian Archaeological Institute. Using radar imaging technology, its scientists could identify in 2010 the outline of the city including streets, houses, a port, and a side arm of the River Nile passing through the city.

The site at Tell el-Dab'a, covering an area of about 2 square kilometers, is in ruins today, but excavations have shown that, at one point, it was a well-developed center of trade with a busy harbour catering to over 300 ships during a trading season. Artifacts excavated at a temple erected in the Hyksos period have produced goods from all over the Aegean world. The temple even has Minoan-like wall paintings that are similar to those found on Crete at the Palace of Knossos. A large mudbrick tomb has also been excavated to the west of the temple, where grave goods, such as copper swords, have been found.