A05_09

Decisive Progress in the Absolute Chronology of Ancient Egypt

Erdil P ¹,  Kuitems M¹, Webster L², Knoblauch C³, Bestock L⁴, Höflmayer F², Beeckman H⁵, Fuller D⁶, Manning S⁷, Dee M¹

¹Centre for Isotope Research, ESRIG, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands, ²Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austrian Archaeological Institute, Vienna, Austria, ³Department of Heritage, History and Classics, Swansea University, Wales, UK, ⁴Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World, Brown University, Providence, USA, ⁵Service of Wood Biology, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium, ⁶Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London, UK, ⁷Cornell Tree Ring Laboratory, Department of Classics, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA

In recent decades, there have been numerous attempts to use radiocarbon dating to establish an absolute chronology for ancient Egypt; however, important discrepancies have remained unresolved, especially with regard to the Old and Middle Kingdom periods. As part of the ECHOES project at the University of Groningen, we have conducted a new study that builds on previous radiocarbon-based research. Here, we present close to 50 new radiocarbon dates obtained on samples from secure Old and Middle Kingdom contexts and, in conjunction with existing data, we provide an updated absolute chronology for the dynastic period. We discuss key modelling assumptions, such as the application of a regional offset to samples from the Nile Valley. We report two key findings: First, our new model much better secures the absolute position of the Old Kingdom and lends support to the hypothesis that this period of political unity ended around the time of the so-called 4.2 ka aridification event. Second, we address the placement of the reign of the king Senusret III, where different interpretations of a Sothic (Sirius) record have led to a long-running debate. Our Middle Kingdom model includes 38 high-precision radiocarbon dates from Uronarti, an Egyptian fortress in Nubia. With this data, we restrict the accession year of Senusret III to the early 19th century BCE. Accordingly, at 95% probability, our model supports only the High Chronology position for the Middle Kingdom, thereby resolving the long-running debate over the date of this king and the chronology of the whole Middle Kingdom.