EGYPTIAN
ARCHAEOLOGY
as well as its modern Arabic one (Gebelein - ‘Two Mountains/Hills’). The recent growth of settlements and the expansion of agriculture now pose a significant threat to the remaining antiquities. Our project began with a brief field reconnaissance in April 2013, followed by a second phase in winter 2014, when the initial epigraphic and archaeological surveys commenced at the most endangered area of Gebelein. Epigraphic Survey The team discovered two concentrations of graffiti: the first one is located next to a small grotto close to the remains of the Hathor temple, on top of the eastern mound. One inscription mentions ‘Hathor, Lady of Inerty’, along with some personal names. The second concentration, much larger and older, is situated in the southern part of the western mound, opposite the Hathor temple. The graffiti are predynastic as well as pharaonic, showing, for example, depictions of gazelles, giraffes, dogs, humans and gods. Among the most significant results of our survey was the discovery of a rock inscription with cartouches of Ramesses IV, dated to his first regnal year and recently published by Dawid F. Wieczorek. A number of objects were documented by Piotr Witkowski using Reflectance Transformation Imaging. As these objects were sitting in almost perpetual shadow and their state of preservation is poor, this technique proved to be very useful in detecting graffiti.
third, bigger niche – located opposite the entrance – shows traces of sculptural decoration that was cut in the western wall, though this is now almost completely destroyed. Below the niche there is a badly preserved shelf, cut in the rock. Only in the western part of the speos some sunk reliefs have survived. They represent the goddess Hathor, ‘Lady of Inerty’, with an offering table in front of her. All discoveries were documented in the database and their positions measured with the use of mobile GIS, including also the bulldozed section mentioned earlier. As an analysis of the archives and contemporary satellite imagery (Landstat, Corona and high-resolution infrared images) revealed, most of the sites are severly endangered by the rapid growth of settlements and the development of agricultural infrastructure. We hope to document all archaeological objects at Gebelein in the coming seasons. The strategic location of Gebelein – at the crossroads of water and land routes – made the area a significant centre of trade and administration as well as an important stronghold south of Thebes, whose role and significance in Egyptian history deserves further studies.
Archaeological Survey We located a largely destroyed cemetery between the mounds. In 1996, an Italian mission had discovered a large saff tomb here. Recently, the eastern part of its courtyard was cut away by a bulldozer, and a 300-metre section made by the machine revealed the walls of yet another saff tomb – as well as other tombs – consisting largely of simple pits dated to the Eleventh/Twelfth Dynasties. Several simple rock-cut tombs have been discovered in the south-eastern part of the eastern mound, comprising three major elements: an outer, rectangular courtyard; an inner, square room (once supported by pillars); and a descending passage with a corridor linking the latter to a rectangular burial chamber. At least two of the discovered tombs have collapsed, while those remaining lie open and easily accessible. Unfortunately, no decorations, either inside or out, have been preserved. It would seem that they have been completely obliterated by the Nile inundations at the time of their highest water levels. A few hundred meters north of these tombs we located a small speos, its entrance c.3 m above current ground level. The speos consists of a broad vestibule (c. 6 by 3 m) and a narrow cell (c. 3 by 6 m) with two small niches, one in the northern, the other in the southern wall. A
Wojciech Ejsmond is a PhD student of archaeology at the University of Warsaw and director of the Gebelein Archaeological Project, which he conducts in association with Julia M. Chyla, MA, Piotr Witkowski (freelancer) and Dawid F. Wieczorek, MA (Polish Academy of Science). They would like to thank the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, Cairo branch, and its director, Dr Zbigniew E. Szafrański, for the support in establishing the project. The research was financed by the University of Warsaw Foundation and Consultative Council for Students Scientific Movement of the University of Warsaw.The publication was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Foundation for Polish Science. 8