They were discovered by a team of archaeologists led by Manfred Bietak, in the palace district of the Thutmosid period at Tell el-Dab'a.

The paintings have been partially reconstructed to reveal bull-leaping and bull-grappling scenes, some against a maze pattern, and felines chasing ungulates.

There are also hunting scenes, life sized figures, men with staffs, and a white female wearing a skirt, as well as griffins.

[3] They seem to have been applied to the walls during the early part of Thutmose III's reign, and removed during the later Thutmosid period.

[1] Especially important are the emblems of the Minoan palace such as the half rosette frieze and the presence of big griffins which are the same size as the ones in the throne room at Knossos on Crete, and the technique of the paintings are typically Aegean.

However, with the continuation of excavations, evidence has pointed to the paintings originating in the early reign of Thutmose III during the time of the 18th dynasty.

The composition of the paintings, which included mountainous scenery, and motifs, also fit in perfectly with those of the Aegean world.

According to Bietak, the use of specific Minoan royal motifs in a palace in Tell el-Dab'a indicates "an encounter on the highest level must have taken place between the courts of Knossos and Egypt.

[2][7] Marinatos has additionally argued that the Tell el Dab'a paintings are evidence of a koine, a visual language of common symbols, which testifies to interactions among the rulers of neighboring powers.

Minoan Knossian authority was involved in Egyptian affairs possibly because Crete had a strong naval force to offer the pharaoh.