Lions from Tell el Dab‘a

Nanno Marinatos Egypt and the Levant. International Journal for Egyptian Archaeology and Related Disciplines XX (2010): 325-355.

Περίληψη (στα Αγγλικά, από την Εισαγωγή)

Over three dozen fragments of lions have been identified in the material from Tell el Dab‘a, all found together in a dump in sector H/I. While their precise location within the palace is impossible to identify, some facts are clear. The lions and leopards belonged to a set of friezes all of which dealt with the theme of predatory hunt. This composition, in turn, was related to a frieze of human hunters and dogs engaged in ungulate hunt. Finally, all these compositions were stylistically and thematically associated to the frieze of bull leaping. The unifying element -apart from the homogenous style – is the landscape. The lions are very incompletely preserved. Although many fragments exist, the joins are disappointingly few. Nevertheless, important information has been yielded by the preserved pieces.