Flints from the Road: on the Significance of two Enigmatic Stone Tools Found along the Darb el-Tawil

Abstract

This paper explores the function and dating of two rectangular flint tools found at different positions along the Darb el-Tawil caravan route. This route directly connecting the Dakhla Oasis with the Nile Valley has seen caravan transport during almost 4500 years from the Old Kingdom to the 20th century. The two flint objects are a rarity along this route but are also not well-known from archaeological sites elsewhere in Egypt. In bringing together the evidence from the site contexts of the current flint tools with parallels related to morphology and technical aspects of types of flint tools known from Egypt or beyond, it is concluded that these artefacts are likely to be interpreted as a sickle element in the one case and a gunflint in the other.

Keywords

• Egypt, caravan route, sickle element, gunflint