Tell el-Dab?a X/2

The pottery assemblage from two execration pits and a foundation deposit located in the south-eastern part of the palace district at ?Ezbet Helmi/Avaris, that belong to a transitional phase (D/1) dating to the beginning of the 18th Dynasty, is published here. Execration pit L1055 contained human skulls and fingers, and some pottery sherds as filling material. Execration pit L1016 was filled with two human skeletons at the bottom of the pit, some animal bones and a large amount of broken pottery on top of the bodies. The pottery assemblage is mainly from the late Hyksos period, and some vessels belong to the early 18th Dynasty. Locus1055 was cut in a lower stratum (str. e/1.2) than Locus 1016 immediately above (str. e/1.1), making it earlier than the latter. Nevertheless, there is a clear religious connection between the two execration pits, as well as a tie to the historical events that surround the occupation of the Hyksos city of Avaris by Ahmose. Foundation deposit L1057 comprised a small collection of clay votive objects, clearly related to the function of the structure to which it belonged – a royal storage building, perhaps employed in activities of the Egyptian army against the Hyksos.