Minoans In Egypt (1479-1425 BCE)
Minoan Fresco from Tell El-Dab'a / Avaris (c1450 BCE)
(Image taken at Heraklion Archaeological Museum by Martin Dürrschnabel via Wikimedia commons. Online at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Reconstructed_Minoan_Fresco_Avaris.jpg
Map of Nile Delta showing Hyksos Capital City of Avaris
Preliminary Report That Some Egyptian Pigments Used In Thutmose's III Tomb Are Minoan
(May 30, 2024) It was in the tomb of Thutmose III - the first of many - that a major discovery was made. "The analyses carried out during the 2024 campaign revealed the rare use of pigments of superior quality, as well as an unprecedented mixture of colours," explains Catherine Defeyt, a FED-tWIN researcher at the CEA. "This observation calls into question what was perceived as established knowledge about Egyptian art. The techniques used could be the result of intense cultural exchanges with the Minoan world, as already demonstrated by the use of an innovative ornamental repertoire during the 15th century BC," continues Philippe Martinez, Egyptologist at the Paris Sorbonne and head of the project.
References
University of Liege Press Release (May 7, 2024) Major discoveries in the Valley of the Kings : The portable laboratory opens an unprecedented window on Egyptian art. Online at: https://www.sciences.uliege.be/cms/c_12603482/en/major-discoveries-in-the-valley-of-the-kings-the-portable-laboratory-opens-an-unprecedented-window-on-egyptian-art
Minoans (Those of the Reed-Boat, Those of the Goddess) in Egypt
(November 10, 2023) Queen Pharaoh Hatshepsut came to power shortly after her half-brother and husband, Thutmoses II (1492-1479) died. She was the one who consolidated the new Egyptian empire and made an accommodation with the natives of the southern Levant who were mostly Israelites. Hatshepsut had the following statement posted on a wall in her mortuary temple at Deir-el Bahari and it mentions the "Asiatics" as miners in the Sinai:
[I am a] good [heir] …. One to whom the kingship of the Black Land (the Nile delta lands of upper Egypt) and the Red Land (lower Egypt) was given, all foreign land being beneath my feet. My southern frontier is on the shores of Pwenet (Punt) … My eastern frontier is on the marshes of Asia (Jordan River valley) and the Montiu of Asia are in my grip. My western frontier is at Manu-mountain (the mythical mountain across the western desert) and I rule ….. and my power overwhelms them that are across the sand all together. As grain is shipped, so is myrrh of Pwenet (Punt) brought to me … and all the marvels of this foreign land – they are directed to my palace as a single item. The Asiatics (those of the Reed-Boat) provide … of turquoise from the land of Roshayt (Sinai), they bring me the choicest products of Negev, namely cedar and juniper (?) and mrw-wood …. All the fine woods of God’s (Alu's) land … (translated by Redford 1992 p 151 although not to any declared standard so its accuracy is uncertain)The word "Asiatics" in the above translation is a mistranslation of an Akkadian compound word sounded out in hieroglyphics. This Akkadian word a.amu (chapter 8 in Shaw, 2000). It means “those of the Reed-Boat.” The “Reed-Boat” is an epithet for the goddess Ayu who corresponds to the crescent moon and is the connective life power goddess of the Ancient Pagan Paradigm. Because Minoan traders were operating the turquoise mine at Serabit el-Khadim, the “people of the Reed-Boat” must refer to them.
The word "Alu" in the above text is another Akkadian word for a deity, in this case the life source deity. It is translated as "God" in the Hebrew scriptures of the Bible. Alu's land is literally the land of Israel coming from the Akkadian compound word "Išeru.Alu" meaning either the "Righteous of Alu" or "Straight-Ones of Alu."