Tell Dafana
Alternative site names:
Tell Dafana; Defenna; Tell Defeneh; Tell Defenneh; Tell Dafna; Tell Defenna; Tell Defenne; Tell Defenneh; Tell ed-Defenna; Daphnae (ancient Greek); Daphne; Tahpanhes; Tahapanes; Tehaphnehes
Arabic site names:
تلّ دفنة
Site description:
The garrison temple-town of Tell Dafana controlled the mercantile traffic on the Pelusiac branch of the Nile. Although some Greek pottery was recovered from the site, which Petrie interpreted as evidence for a possible Greek settlement, further study of the material culture from the site revealed that Egyptian manufactured material was more prominent.
Type of site:
Temple; town
Timeframe:
Temple (26th Dynasty); town (Ptolemaic Period)
Overlay map:
Excavation season:
Relevant publications:
Petrie, W. M. Flinders, Murray, A. S., and Griffith, F. LL. 1888. Nebesheh (Am) and Defenneh (Tahpanhes). Memoir of the Egypt Exploration Fund 4. London: Trübner & Co.
Leclère, François and Jeffrey Spencer (eds) 2014, Tell Dafana reconsidered: the archaeology of an Egyptian frontier town. London: British Museum.
Site gallery:
