A small number of Egyptian royal statues and statues of officials have been found in the excavations of southern Canaanite city states, most in contexts from the time of the Egyptian Empire in Canaan and a few in contexts from the time of Hyksos rule in Egypt. Yet all these statues were manufactured much earlier, mainly in the Middle Kingdom (2035–1650 BCE), with one exceptional item from the time of the Old Kingdom (2686–2181 BCE) – both periods of minimal contact between Egypt and southern Canaan. It is therefore generally agreed that these statues were brought to southern Canaan long after they were produced. The date and circumstances of the arrival of these items in southern Canaan are uncertain, but it is likely that they arrived when relations between Egypt and Canaan were strong – either during the time of the Egyptian Empire or in the Hyksos Period. Were these statues official gifts from the Egyptian court to local rulers or tributes to local temples? The plundering of royal and private statues took place throughout Egyptian history, and it was not unusual for such items to be reused decades or even centuries after their time of production