KEFTYU

A foreign people named in Egyptian accounts mostly during Dynasty 18 and depicted in certain tomb paintings with local produce. These depictions leave little doubt that they are Minoans from Crete, and the existence of Minoans in Egypt is confirmed by the discovery of Minoan pottery at Egyptian sites from the Middle Kingdom. Egyptian stone vessels found in Crete indicate a trading relationship beginning in the Early Dynastic Period. An inscription from the reign ofAmenhotep III names several cities of the Keftyu, notably Knossos, but it is unclear whether the reference is contemporary or based on earlier records. Recent discoveries of Minoan frescoes at Avaris confirm the presence of Minoan traders or artists in Egypt beginning in the late Second Intermediate Period or early Dynasty 18.

See also Trade.