EGYPTIAN
two last seasons, is a huge pit dug by the builders of the foundations of the pronaos of the Ptolemaic temple, and filled with building debris. The lowest layer at the bottom of the pit contained re-used blocks of Tuthmosis III including two column drums. One of the re-used blocks came from the upper part of this temple and has a huge horizontal cartouche of the king. The removal of the mound of debris on the pronaos area was continued with the discovery of two red granite parts of a threshold and of a huge MK (Amenemhat I) slab of limestone. Sebastien Biston-Moulin (USR 3172CFEETK) undertook the epigraphic survey of the NK blocks. Close to the Tuthmosis III architraves was found a very well-preserved fragment with the face of the king, probably belonging to a scene of smiting his enemies. Christophe Thiers completed the epigraphic survey of the NK pylon with drawings of the Ramesside inscriptions and scenes while Romain David (Univ Montpellier 3) and Catherine Defernez (CNRS UMR 8167) studied the ceramics. At Bab el-Maganin, an important restoration and conservation programme was realised by Hassan el-Amir (IFAO) on the Ptolemaic and Roman blocks lying all around the gate of Antoninus Pius. The epigraphic survey of most of these blocks is now completed. http:// recherche.univ-montp3.fr/egyptologie/ermant/
Esna: An ARCE team led by Gerry Scott and funded by USAID under the EACP grant, carried out a preliminary investigative season of recording and documentation at the Monastery of St Matthew the Potter (Deir el-Anba Mattawus elFakhuri) 8km NW of Esna. The work comprised comprehensive photographic documentation, survey of the historic church and surrounding structures and four cleaning tests on the wall
ARCHAEOLOGY
paintings in the church. The results will be used to assess the feasibility of a conservation project here. www.arce.org/ Edfu: One of the main objectives of the season directed by Nadine Moeller (OI, Univ of Chicago) was the completion of the excavation of the SIP silo court and the late MK columned hall. Work focused on Silo Si 388, located in the N part of the silo area, which was found to be in a good state of preservation; its Edfu: well-preserved Middle Kingdom silos in the town to the front of the Ptolemaic temple. walls measuring more Photograph © Oriental Institute, University of Chicago than 4m from the silo reconnaissance survey at the small 3rd Dyn step floor to the last course of bricks and showing clearly pyramid 4km SW of Edfu. www.telledfu.org the beginning of the vaulted top. It was filled with Aswan (Syene): The joint team of the Swiss Inst layers containing hieratic ostraca and pottery of the and the SCA Aswan, headed by Cornelius von late SIP/early 18th Dyn as well as large quantities Pilgrim and Mohammed el-Bialy, and directed in of hippopotamus bones. Excavations were also the field by Wolfgang Müller, started preparing resumed at the late MK columned hall, which the construction site of a magazine and office resulted in the discovery of new clay figurines building for the mission’s work, focusing on and several hundred seal-impressions linked to final investigations of Ptolemaic-Late Roman administrative activity. Major clearance work accumulations outside the town wall in Area 2. continues in the area where early OK settlement www.swissinst.ch remains have been located, currently covered by several metres of debris. www.telledfu.org Thanks to Michael Jones for information on ARCE El-Ghonameya: Within the framework of projects, and to Peter Grossmann, Marlene De Meyer, the Tell Edfu Project, Gregory Marouard Nadine Moeller, Laure Pantalacci, Christophe Thiers (Univ of Chicago) and Hratch Papazian (Univ and Harry Tzalas for providing photographs. of Copenhagen) carried out a preliminary
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