Editing Openai/680fb62a-7c94-8002-8f67-b9a2a8c7c7ef (section)

===== Tell el-Ajjul’s international reach extended to the Aegean world. Archaeologists have recovered Mycenaean Greek pottery (16th–13th c. BCE) at the site. Among the finds are fragments of Mycenaean stirrup jars and painted amphorae typical of Mycenae or Crete, likely used to transport oils or wines. Petrie’s team reported “Mycenaean pottery and such from Upper Egypt” in Late Bronze layers – the phrasing hints at both Mycenaean and Egyptian wares co-occurring. The Mycenaean pieces at Ajjul include fine decorated vessels that may have arrived as diplomatic gifts or high-value trade goods. For example, a Cretan-style amphora of the 16th century BCE (contemporary with early Mycenaean palace era) was found, suggesting Minoan influence or trade via Cypruscommons.wikimedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=commons.wikimedia.org|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Amphora_either_imported_from_Crete_or_inspired_by_Minoan_design_Mycenae_16th_century_BCE_NAM_Athens.jpg#:~:text=Description%20Amphora%20either%20imported%20from,jpg|publisher=commons.wikimedia.org|access-date=2025-12-13}}</ref>. By the 14th–13th centuries, Mycenaean traders dominated Aegean-Levantine exchange; goods from the Greek mainland (e.g. pottery, painted kraters) would have reached Gaza’s port either directly or through Cypriot middlemen. These exotic ceramics in Canaanite contexts show that Ajjul was plugged into the “international age” of the Late Bronze Age, when merchants speaking different tongues bartered in its warehouses. =====

 Late Bronze Age '''painted amphora''' (16th c. BCE) from Mycenaecommons.wikimedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=commons.wikimedia.org|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Amphora_either_imported_from_Crete_or_inspired_by_Minoan_design_Mycenae_16th_century_BCE_NAM_Athens.jpg#:~:text=Description%20Amphora%20either%20imported%20from,jpg|publisher=commons.wikimedia.org|access-date=2025-12-13}}</ref>. Similar Aegean vessels reached Gaza, carrying oils or wine. Ajjul yielded Mycenaean ceramics amid its Canaanite stores, evidence of far-flung exchange. (National Arch. Museum Athens, photo © Mary Harrsch, CC BY-SA 4.0)

In summary, Ajjul’s material record reads like a who’s who of Bronze Age cultures: local Canaanite pottery and luxury crafts mingled with Egyptian scarabs, Cypriot copper and ceramics, and Mycenaean tablewares. Petrographic studies confirm that many pottery fragments at the site were made from non-local clays (Cypriot and Anatolian), corroborating written records of exchangeen.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tell_el-Ajjul#:~:text=excavations%20www,23%E2%80%9341|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-12-13}}</ref>. Tell el-Ajjul was truly a cosmopolitan entrepôt – a Bronze Age “global” port long before the modern era of globalization.