ASP '23 Week Two: Meeting some Ancient Egyptians
Hello from the end of our second week (first full week) of work! I'm definitely not used to the 5 am wake-up followed by an eleven-hour workday, but I am slowly getting there. The sunrises are superb.
We started this week in my Op by continuing work on the shaft tomb we had discovered early next week. I must say, I find it slightly comical viewing the images I included last week compared to what the shaft looks like now - I had thought we had made so much progress!
The shaft on Saturday
In fact, we were able to finish the shaft this week, and in full, it's approximately 16' deep/18' from the modern surface.
The shaft on Monday
The shaft yesterday
It's truly amazing how efficient and hardworking my team is! Participating in this has also made me much more aware of the human labor that would have gone into this originally. This was dug through gebel/tefla (strong, mostly stone, levels, similar to our bedrock), and it's not like this was the only tomb being dug at that time! It took us a week to complete, and that was just removing fill.
A beetle who met an untimely death, likely when the tomb was originally backfilled
I know, I know, this isn't what you want to hear though! You want to hear about why there's a gaping hole at the bottom of the shaft and, by golly Emily, what did you find?! First of all - architecture is just as, if not, more important than small objects, so hold your horses! The hole though - that is the burial chamber of the tomb! A whopping 12' by 10' chamber, with 6.5' ceilings.
Me, looking beyond thrilled when we discovered the cut did, indeed, continue
The opening before it was fully cleared
You will notice that it is filled with sand - this is not what it would have looked like originally. The bricks along the bottom edge are the top of a blocking wall that was put in place after the funeral. Unfortunately, some people broke into the tomb in antiquity and robbed it, leaving the destroyed wall. This allowed the elements to slowly refill their access hole, as well as the burial chamber, hiding it from the world until 2023 CE.
A complete vessel that was found in situ in the chamber
This doesn't mean it wasn't beyond data rich though! We did find some whoppers like the above pot, but we also have fabric, jewelry, an alabaster khol vase, pieces of a wooden coffin, and at least seven individuals (skeletal) and eleven shrews (also skeletal). Now that's some great data!
The alabaster jar
I do want to make a note here regarding human remains. You'll notice I didn't include any photos here, and I won't be including any in future newsletters. I feel that these remains are excavated for strictly scientific purposes and their photos shouldn't be paraded around for entertainment. This is also a belief that the local community holds and as they are the likely ancestors of these deceased individuals, I choose to respect their wishes. I apologize if any of you find this disappointing. I will also pre-answer the question of what happens to them after we are done. We will have an osteologist and biological archaeologist come to provide population information, and then they will all be reburied together in one of the large tombs. Will the rich skeletons be happy they're now sharing with everyone? No, but they can "live" with it.
Our shrew (or Nile rat) skulls. These were likely deposited as a votive offering.
I will say that the whole process was incredible, and being the second person to touch our in situ pots since somewhere around 1500 BCE was a life-changing experience. I am honored to be able to usher these items and their owners onto the next portion of their never-ending life stories.
A Kofta interlude photo
Because we were so close to finishing the shaft we also began moving onto different things within my unit (and opening five more...yup, I am running 550 sq. meters! Along with Ashraf, of course.). The number of shafts and pits just beneath the surface is truly astounding. Our current plan is to tackle an even larger shaft that seems to be appearing in one of the new ops, while also chasing down the answer to why there is a line of varying large stones running through the connecting op.
My ops from the South East
My ops from the North
I also, personally, excavated two small pit tombs, both of which are the burials of young children. I won't lie, it's a bit of a mental drag, but it feels important. Both had portions of their wooden coffins intact, and while they were disturbed, one was still mostly lying in place. This latter one also had some fabric wrapped around their body that survived in pieces. It's hard not to stand there and imagine the pain of their families, even from 3700+ years in the future.
An overview of the pit cut
Some of the fabric remains
This is all part of the process though and one of the primary goals of Egyptian post-mortem practices was to not be forgotten. Thus, I hope, that wherever these babies and their families are now, they're pleased to be remembered. To lighten the mood I offer you an image of my dig shoes. Yes, I do have several $200+ excavation boots, no, they can't be worn in tombs. Enter: the shipship. The Egyptian excavator's apparent shoe of choice is the classic slip on sandal. I had brought some as shower shoes, but I got sick of taking my boots on and off throughout the day, so now you can find me wandering around in these. Don't let anyone tell you that digging in the dirt can't be fashionable.
Target should sponsor my dig for this sandal advertisement
Elsewhere on the site things are a bit more confusing than in my area. Robyn came down on some walls and a wild, round, plaster-bottomed feature after her pottery dump. This is seemingly matching up with some of the walls found in Yazid's and Hazem's squares, but we're at a bit of a loss for what it is. It could definitely be a production area for funerary votives and offerings, but it's too early to be sure. Ahmed Hassan has reached his 12th coffin burial, however, there is absolutely nothing in or around them to provide a date, so we may have to rely on scientific dating methods after the season is over.
Robyn's feature
Crocodile scales from Robyn's op
Overall it's already shaping up to be an amazing season, and we all grow more excited with each passing day. I think that's all for this week! Talk soon! Emily
