Hopkins in Egypt Today

Thursday, January 25, 2007


Katie will open a third trench today and is thus closing down the first she opened. As you can see that first sondage has revealed only fill with small and large stone within it. This was to be expected. The small amount of pottery found is largely Roman in date, but it cannot be said that it has been found in a stratigraphic context.
	The second trench, being worked by the qufti Yasin, shows in the morning the bricky area on its south side. The wall just south of the trench (lower right) is of red brick and dates to the Roman era, perhaps of early second century C.E. The brick area in the excavation area is of mud brick, but as with the first trench, the remainder of the trench is fill. Katie will dig further to see whether she has a separate wall or collapsed brick.


Within the fill of the second trench Katie has found some interesting things today. An animal bone emerged but looked to her very much like a moose horn. She also found the bottom of a glass bottle. The context of the fill could mean that the bone and the glass are both of relatively recent date or that both are more ancient. Without study we cannot say, but we know that Janet Gourlay and Margaret Benson worked in this area of the precinct during their 1895-97 explorations. It could be very useful for us to attempt to identify the bottle further. If it is a more recent item, then it could tell us how recently there was activity here.

	Katie sets up the level to take readings as the work of leveling this area continue apace. She will also now prepare to open the third trench.

	Now Salah has moved over to begin Trench 3, as Yasin continues to dig in number 2. If you look carefully, you will see that the brick area on the south side of Trench 2 continues, but a bright red area emerges later in the day. This may turn out to indicate baked brick or other ceramic presence. We will have to wait until Saturday to see.


Katie, taking notes and drawing sketches of her two working trenches, is accompanied by Kent . You can see her in the other picture discussing with Inspector Fawsy and her qufti Salah. The stone in Trench 3 might be better understood with an addition to the work on Saturday. Do we have evidence of the ancient door threshold or is this foundational? It's best for us to clarify.

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