Egyptian Foundation Deposit

Overview

A half-meter-thick layer of homogenous light-brown soil runs all along the southern wall of Palace VI. An inscribed faience (glazed) ring was found in the disintegrated mudbrick material during the 1976 season. The inscription on the ring reads, “Amun-Re abundant in every favor, praise and joy.” This ring belongs to a well-represented category of rings from the New Kingdom inscribed with confessions of faith and praises. The excavators suggest that the ring was worn by an Egyptian who was traveling to Canaan through Aphek.

The foundation deposit for Palace VI was found during the 1977 excavation season. It was measured at an elevation about 1 m higher (Stratum 8) than that of the inner courtyard of the palace (Stratum 12). The foundation deposit consisted of a dedicator plaque to Isis inscribed with the name of Ramesses II. The deposit was found in a 0.5 m-layer of dark grey ash and debris, indicating to the excavators that the area functioned as a threshing floor. The presence of Philistine bichrome pottery dates the debris to 1150-1050 BCE. The deposit may attest to an Egyptian temple to Isis at Aphek during the Late Bronze Age, but no remains of a temple have been found. It is also not known how the plaque ended up in later debris.