Adam recording in his notebook as his crew carries dirt from the long brick feature behind the lake. He hit a large pottery pit and produced fourteen baskets of pottery – the record this year! |
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Fatma’s trench beautifully cleaned up and ready for a photograph in its 9th level. Taken from the west, this shot shows two lower walls, running east-west, emerging from under later ones. This corresponds roughly to the levels at which the distinct bakery features of the early 18th Dynasty were apparent in her square to the north (left). We will continue here for another two levels, despite the fact that some of her pottery is already Second Intermediate Period in type. |
Maria is receiving her “marching orders” from Elaine with regard to her square. She has both brick wall and also magloob in her square, and there has been some difficulty identifying which is which. The soil at the rear of the precinct is particularly light colored and sandy and does not make the clear identification of bricks easy, particularly after it dries. |
We have two granaries here, side by side, but we are at the lowest and next to lowest courses of brick. In addition there was fire here anciently, and bricks nearby were badly mutilated so that they do not appear to be definable. So here you see Mahmoud Abady, Violaine, Betsy, and Katie all intent on identifying brick borders. We wish to get the most from these important temple work installations. |
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Kate is drawing the bricks in second her square, and Lisa is helping her make measurements for the purpose. This is Kate’s first experience with the exercise, and it is often not entirely easy the first time. |
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Elaine’s trench has the same sandy soil a Maria’s, and there are some fascinating features here – albeit which are real and which not is certainly in question! Here she is brushing up some bricks – all turning out to be believable – to demonstrate two different colored brick soils to Violaine and Betsy. She appears to have an extension in width to a rather thin wall, but it is stone faced on its south side – something we have not seen behind the lake and indicating a structure of some prominence. |
Lisa, working with Kate to draw her brick wall, instructs Betsy on what she has been doing in the square. In only two weeks, the daughter has become the teacher. She’s had such a great trip, and she is going to miss Mut and her servitors. |
A superb Jay view of the two granaries in Katie’s area. This represents parts of three squares brought together – VIII G West 5, 8, 11. The 4.1 meter diameter buildings are next up for some mathematical figuring so we can get a volume content measurement, but first we’ll have to figure out how many courses were designed as an “off the ground” platform only. We’ll let you know when we know. |
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In the temple proper, Scott and Ahmed are overseeing the planning and movement of the fallen stones at the front of the west temple platform. Viewed from the west, the room is a mess, but Scott’s plan has precisely recorded where each fragment and huge block lays, so that we can make later decisions regarding their future placement. Conservation of the these precious but fragile sandstone pieces will begin in February. |
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Occasionally Jay sets up the camera to take a timed picture of himself. Here he is using a “pinhole” camera. We’ll have to report further on how he is using it at the site, since I’m writing this early in the morning before he awakes, and I don’t know! |
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In the afternoon, after lunch at the house, Violaine and Katie work to draw the brick granaries. This is especially tricky, due to the difficulty of seeing them, but it will certainly happen. |
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Betsy will be out of town for a few days, but the website will resume Sunday, January 18, and we’ll have pictures and captions for the whole period then. |