Introducing Tell Gabbara: New Evidence for Early Dynastic Settlement in the Eastern Delta

Abstract

Tell Gabbara, a previously undocumented site in the Sharqiya province, has recently produced evidence of a Naqada III settlement in the latest phase of its occupation. The economic nature of the community is beginning to emerge as a highly productive agricultural one in which grain harvesting and bread production played important roles, perhaps within the context of a larger redistributive system. This is supported by an archaeological record containing a large corpus of bread moulds, sickle blades, and mud-brick architecture, the latter beginning to appear over a significant area. It is likely that the population at this site was part of a larger network of Naqada III settlement throughout the delta, and thus was part of a system characterised by social, cultural, and economic developments accelerated by the unification.