Egyptian Greetings in the Jezreel Valley

July 2, 2014

An ancient coffin containing a skeleton was revealed in the Jezreel Valley near Tel Shadud. Following the discovery, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) conducted a salvage excavation. It was determined by archaeologists from the IAA that the coffin, which contained personal belongings of an obviously wealthy Canaanite who was possibly an official of the Egyptian Army, could be dated back some 3,300 years (13th century BC, Late Bronze Age).

Photo credit: Israel Antiquities Authority and Ashernet According to the excavation directors, Dr. Edwin van den Brink, Dan Kirzner and Dr. Ron Be’eri of the IAA, “During the excavation we discovered a unique and rare find: a cylindrical clay coffin with an anthropoidal lid (a cover fashioned in the image of a person). Next to it were buried pottery, a bronze dagger, bronze bowl and hammered pieces of bronze. Since the vessels interred with the individual were produced locally, we assume the deceased was an official of Canaanite origin who was engaged in the service of the Egyptian government.”

The discovery of the coffin is evidence of Egyptian control of the Jezreel Valley in the Late Bronze Age. A rare artifact that was found next to the skeleton is an Egyptian scarab seal, encased in gold and affixed to a ring. The scarab was used to seal documents and objects. The name of the crown of Pharaoh Seti I appears on the seal. Seti I was the father of Ramses II, identified by some scholars as the pharaoh mentioned in the biblical story of the Israelites’ Exodus from Egypt.

Photo credit: Israel Antiquities Authority and Ashernet Already in the first year of his reign (1294 BC) a revolt broke out against Seti I in the Beit Shean Valley. Seti conquered that region and established Egyptian rule in Canaan. Seti’s name on the seal symbolizes power and protection, or the strength of the god Ra, the sun god, one of the most important deities in the Egyptian pantheon. The reference to the pharaoh Seti on the scarab found in the coffin aided the archaeologists in dating the time of the burial to the 13th century BC.

Tel Shadud preserves the biblical name ‘Sarid’ and the mound is often referred to as Tel Sarid. The city is mentioned in the Bible in the context of the settlement of the Tribes of Israel. Sarid was included in the territory of the tribe of Zebulun and became a border city, as written in the Book of Joshua (19:10).

Source: Excerpts of article by Edgar Asher, Ashernet