Preliminary Report of Fieldwork season 2010 in the necropolis of Asyut[1]
Mahmoud El-Khadragy - Jochem Kahl – Ursula Verhoeven – Mohammed Abdelrahiem
From 17th August to 7th October the Egyptian-German joint mission of Sohag University, the Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz, and the Freie Universität Berlin conducted its eigth season of fieldwork in the ancient necropolis of Asyut situated in the western mountains.
Fieldwork concentrated on Tombs III and V of the First Intermediate Period, Tomb N13.1 and Tomb H11.1of the 11th Dynasty, Tomb N13.91 of the Middle Kingdom, Tomb I of Dynasty 12, Tomb of the Dogs of the Late Period to Graeco-Roman Period and the mapping of the necropolis.
Members of the mission were:
- Dr. Mahmoud El-Khadragy, Sohag University, field director;
- Dr. Jochem Kahl, Freie Universität Berlin, field director;
- Dr. Ursula Verhoeven, University of Mainz, project director,
- Prof. Dr. Mohammed Abdelrahiem, University of Sohag, field director;
- Hesham Ahmed Fahid, Egyptologist;
- Cornelia Goerlich, student of architecture;
- Chiori Kitagawa, MA, zooarchaeologist;
- Sameh Shafik, epigrapher;
- Monika Zöller-Engelhardt, MA, Egyptologist;
- Yasser Mahmoud, Egyptologist;
- Eva Gervers, student of Egyptology;
- Laura Sanhueza-Pino, MA, Egyptologist;
- Andrea Kilian, MA, Egyptologist;
- Silvia Prell, Egyptologist;
- Michael van Elsbergen, Egyptologist;
- Edyta Klimaszewska-Drabot, MA, ceramologist;
- Svenja A. Gülden, MA, Egyptologist;
- Josephine Malur, BA, Egyptologist;
- Barbara Reichenbächer, student of Egyptology;
- Teodozja Rzeuska, Egyptologist; Agatha Wiek, BA, Egyptologist;
- Mohamed Mustafa Al-Shafey, Egyptologist;
- Mohamed Helmi, Egyptologist;
- Mohamed Farag, student of Egyptology;
- Fritz Barthel, photographer,
- Ammar Abu Bakr, draughtsman.
The accompanying inspectors were Madame Howaida Mahar and Mr. Hamada Rifat
.
Tomb III:
The late antique connection between Tomb III and a quarry to the south was recorded. Thus all information about the architecture of Tomb III (Iti-ibi; N12.1) has been collected now.[2]
Tomb V:
Cleaning Tomb V brought a hitherto unknown shaft (shaft 2) to light. According to the stratigraphy and the finds, it was already plundered during the Mamluke Period. A burial chamber was built on the ground of the 10,50 m deep shaft. This chamber extends to the north; it measures 5.2 m on 5.3 m and it is supprted by one pillar. Originally it was closed by a door, as the pivot in the ceiling of the chamber still shows. Only a few objects were found in the shaft and the chamber (among others some fragments of a gold foil: SCA 207-208). Because of humidity especially the wood was damaged.
Tomb N13.1: Graffiti from the New Kingdom:
From the 15th of September until the 7th of October, 2010 the graffiti to be found on the walls of Tomb N13.1, which belongs to the nomarch Iti-ibi-iqer from the 11th dynasty, were again examined intensively on site. The aim of this season was to check drawings and facsimiles made in earlier seasons while taking into consideration the results of the research as well as the transliterations in hieroglyphs which have been done in the meantime in Germany. For many texts already digital drawings had been produced for the later publication being based on photos as well as on facsimiles. Likewise a revisal of the script, the images and of the damaged parts had to be carried out. Special interest was concentrated on a very long graffito with only two lines which starts in the middle of the North wall and expands over 10,75 m till the Southern side of the niche in the West wall. A new and complete facsimile was made as well as detailed photos. Since it is only partially readable because of very thin ink it is not yet possible to identify the sort of text, further research in a library will be necessary.
Concerning the literary texts being copied on tomb walls only in the case of Tomb N13.1, a further graffito could be identified as the beginning of the schoolbook Kemit, which is now to be found three times. Beside it was possible to detect more personal names, poetic texts about the local goddess Hathor of Medjeden and other details of content. All in all it can be stated that the more than 180 graffiti dating from the 18th to the 20th dynasty are able to reveal several reasons why scribes, priests and some administrative staff of Ancient Siut came to visit this tomb.
The Northern Soldiers Tomb (H11.1):
The Northern Soldiers-Tomb is located on the same level containing the three First Intermediate Period tombs III, IV and V, some 330 m. to the north of tomb IV. Adopting a new numbering system, the tomb bears now our number H.11.1.
Originally facing east, the tomb façade is now missing; its ceiling has collapsed as has the western wall. The northern wall is still preserved in parts but not in its original place. The partially preserved south wall is at present about 14 m. long[3].
As the tomb has never been fully documented in photographs or in facsimiles, and having no published plan, a thorough documentation of the tomb has been undertaken by our mission since the last season 2009 until now. Our work focused on:
- Making an architectural plan of the tomb-chapel, which has been already produced by Miss Cornelia Goerlich.
- Cleaning the surface of the inner hall[4] of the tomb-chapel from the huge blocks and several meters high layer of limestone debris of the collapsed ceiling[5]. The surface was cleaned from the western wall onwards. While cleaning, some architectural elements came to the light.
A large part of the original floor is now visible at the southern wall showing a horizontal line above which the wall was smoothed.
The upper part of a pillar could be seen in the middle of the hall, 5 m. from the western wall.
III. Documentation of the upper part of the scene of the northern wall (about 20 cm high), since the lower part is still under debris and preferred not to be rediscovered this season according to the fragile condition of the scenes, which must be restored and documented before any further damage should affect it[6].
- Restoring the decoration of the huge stone placed in front of the forecourt, this seems to be a part of the ceiling. The restoration work has been undertaken by Mr. Khaled Abdelmalek from SCA restoration department.
- Documentation of the tomb-chapel by photographs, which were taken by Mr. Fritz Barthel and Mr. Jasser Mahmoud from SCA.
Tomb I:
In the Tomb of Djefaihapi I (Tomb I; P10.1) facsimiles were collated. The restorers cleaned the coloured wall in the second passage, which has become fragile since last restoration.
Tomb N13.91:
From the 16th until the 28th of August a cleaning took place of the two shafts in the undecorated Tomb N13.91 lying on the southern end of level 7. The first shaft, no. 1, situated at the southern border east side of the tomb, is 6,40 m deep (149,30 m above NN at the upper level, 142,90 m at the bottom), no. 2 in front of the west wall is 9,60 m deep (149,37 m NN at the upper level, 139,67 m NN at the bottom). The side chambers are cut in the west side (no. 1: height 1,30m, depth 1,17m, width 3,30m; no. 2: 1,10m height, 1,50m depth, 1,20m width). In shaft 1 pottery remains could be identified as dating from the beginning of the 12th dynasty, other fragments in both shafts date from Ptolemaic, Coptic and Islamic period. Therefore the origin of the tomb itself seems to be from the early 12th dynasty.
Tomb of the Dogs (O11.13):
The work at the Tomb of Dogs (cf. Kahl et al., SAK 39, 2010, 9f.) concentrated in two different localities. On the one hand the cross-section east of the partly cleaned area of the gallery leading to the rock cut chambers of the Tomb of the Dogs was cleaned until the Gebel. On the other hand work began on a big entrance situated below and east of the gallery, as dogs’ bones and mummy parts indicated, that it might be the original entrance, so far unknown, leading up to the complex.
In addition, samples of dogs’ bones and pottery were taken in different areas of the Dog’s Tomb itself.
While cleaning the Gebel east of the gallery several remains of different tombs belonging to different periods, partly cutting and destroying each other, came to light.
Especially noteworthy are the remains of a shaft (O11.15), whose northern wall was destroyed in later times by prolonging the shaft to the north for unclear reasons. In the western wall, belonging to the original shaft, a niche was found, which still included a headless, non-inscribed alabaster-statue of a seated man (SCA 203). It was found together with some early Middle Kingdom pottery. To the south the shaft opened into a small chamber which was disturbed. Among the few finds a model adze blade (SCA 210) made of bronze and a bronze model chisel blade (SCA 209) are worth mentioning.
In the south-eastern part of the cross-section two anthropomorphic burial pits (O11.17) came to light, a burial feature, which is known to be common in the Ptolemaic Period.
In the north-eastern part of the cross-section another shaft (O.11.18), cutting an earlier chamber, included a very poor, but undisturbed burial of two individuals. Due to the lack of any grave-goods, the burial cannot be dated, but certainly belongs to a later period of occupancy.
Already last year was assumed, that a narrow but very high corridor, situated lower than O11.13 and running from east to west, might provide access to the chambers of the Tomb of Dogs. A tomb robbers hole directly to the east of the corridor suggested, that the corridor originally started more to the east, as the edge of its northern wall was to be seen inside the hole. Several layers of a Coptic white plastered floor with muddy base layers in the section of the hole made clear, that this part of the corridor collapsed already in antiquity. In Coptic Period the area was reused as dwelling place. The floor layers were only preserved in the east and totally destroyed in front of the corridor, nevertheless a small preserved part of the floor in the southwest, directly attached to the Gebel, showed, that it once certainly extended further to the west. In this part of the floor the lower part of an amphora was preserved in situ. It can be dated to the 5th-7th century AD.
After the documentation of the Coptic floor layers the removal of debris from the corridor itself was started. The ground floor of the corridor was reached in the southern half. The northern part was not cleaned to the ground level, as a round mud-brick structure was found attached to the northern wall. Sherds of several broken storage vessels and botanical remains, like olive pits, were found inside and suggest its function as storage unit.
Work inside the corridor had to be stopped after a few meters due to a hole in the ceiling, which caused big amounts of above laying debris to slope down to the inside. Several dog mummies and bones included in this debris make it probable, that the corridor doesn’t provide access to the rock cut chambers of the Tomb of the Dog’s after all, as the detected concentration of dog bones in O11.13b might derive from debris coming down through the hole in the ceiling. Resolving this question and to determine the actual entrance of the Tomb of the Dogs is going to be the intentions of next seasons fieldwork.
Animal remains:
In this season the focus was set on studying the faunal remains retrieved from the debris in front of the Tomb of the Dogs and the tomb itself. The most frequently identified species was dog Canis familiaris, followed by cat Felis sp.. Jackal Canis aureus and two fox species Vulpes vulpes and Vulpes rueppelli were also identified in small numbers. Apart from mammals, a few bird remains (mummies) were present as well.
Most of remains from the tomb still bore remains of skin, bitumen and sometimes lien (and string), while the trace of bitumen could hardly observed in those from debris (outside of the tomb).
Map of the necropolis:
During the first part of the fieldwork season a survey on level 6 brought some finds of Old Kingdom pottery, which has been relatively unknown in the gebel up until now. <this Old Kingdom pottery stems originally from level 7. I t was fallen down from there, as big heaps of debris fallen down from level 7 indicate. The find spots of this pottery were included in the map of the necropolis.
[1] As addition to this internal report for the SCA cf. the annual report and the bibliographical references in SAK 40, 2011 (forthcoming).
[2] Publication of Tomb III will be prepared by Jochem Kahl.
[3] The remaining decoration of this wall has been already published by M. El-Khadragy, in: SKA 35, 2006, 147-164, Taf.12.
[4] It is suggested that the tomb has inner hall and forecourt?
[5] The ceiling is broken down because of quarrying activities in the 19th century.
[6] According to Magee, the decorated northern wall still in situ when she visited Asyut in 1986, see: Magee, Asyut II, 36-37.