It’s been such a treat for me to have my daughter Lisa here for a couple of weeks this year. She’s spent most of her time at Beit Canada doing photography of small finds and pottery, but she and Jackie and Kathy are now helping us at the site. Lisa learned how to do levels today and helped Fatma and Kathy working in Fatma’s square. |
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Adam is working on the long brick feature discovered last year, and his uncovering of the eastward extension of this now looks quite fine. We are really wondering whether this was a ramped low wall that led down toward the lake. Last year we already noted that it was not a tall wall at all, but there are also some points that suggest a stepped structure. |
Kate is overseeing trenches at the rear of the precinct and has an enormous mud brick wall or gate in all of them. In the second square she opened there is distinct evidence of reuse of the top of the wall as a floor surface for housing. You see here small walls built atop the wall and also cut into it, and the pottery from here has a late date. |
Heather is drawing the upper walls in her square so that we can remove them tomorrow, and Peter, who is available at present, is helping her record measurements. As she holds the tapes and hangs the plumb bob she is able to establish the position of a wall point from the corners of her square. |
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In the Second Court of the Mut Temple, Jackie is helping Scott prepare for the moving of large blocks from the main temple platform. Here Jackie places a layer of B-72 protectant on some granite fragments before she paints an identifying number. Scott has made a plan of the room from which these blocks will be moved, and there will be a simple code to identify each block and cue it to the plan. Eventually we will re build the platform and replace the fallen blocks as best determined. But for now we will be sure where each stone came from. |
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Elizabeth and her gufti Mamdua are working along at defining the brick wall that runs south from the Thutmose III/Hatshepsut gateway. She is particularly happy that clear bricks, not eroded ones only, are being found, since we are dealing with an enclosure wall that was extended in breadth over many centuries. The original New Kingdom width still remains uncertain, but our knowledge of it is far better because of Mamdua’s careful work. |
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A great photograph of Heather’s trench, showing the granary of the Eighteenth Dynasty and a north-south wall next to it, with an apparent doorway in it. The granary here goes down several courses, but its relationship to the wall must be defined. |
Violaine helps Heather with her wall drawing, following the measurements made earlier in the day. She is everywhere and also willing to help. |
In Katie’s trenches there are now two granaries, both enormous. The one found last year is now visible in complete circumference, while the new one directly next to it is less distinctly complete due to a fire that destroyed bricks on part of its surface. But this granary area is quite remarkable. |
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As Farouk helped Abdel Nibbi, the man in charge of the pulley, called here a siba, an enormous fallen block from the platform was moved. It turned out to be much larger than thought, but maneuvering brought it up from the ground and over to the temporary mastaba we built. However, the block turned out to be so heavy that it cracked the top of the lumber making up the siba. |
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The end of the day after lunch we spent outside sorting and dating pottery. We can’t do it inside in the court quite yet, since we retiling that area and replastering and painting as well. Soon at the “new Beit Canda” we will resume our regular pottery work. |