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Sunday, June 10, 2012
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| Today is a story of new and emerging squares begun one week ago. Maggie’s central 7 and Marina’s central 6 both had Late Period pottery pits in the top levels, but they both also had silos with weathered New Kingdom pottery of 18th and 19th Dynasty date. In the larger view photo showing people busy at work, Marina’s is at the top left, but the silo is hidden by the people working. In the lower left you see Maggie’s trench and the silo as it goes into the baulk. |
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The formal shot of central 7, taken looking north, also indicates a wall running south to north on the west side of the square and again running into the baulk. The remains of a large jar still sit on the surface which is, however, not a real floor. The floor to the silo may be slightly lower yet, although these circular features that were the bases of grain storage units are frequently preserved only by the circle of outer bricks, the interiors having been laid haphazardly in the lowest courses. |
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Still, we find ourselves still in a solidly industrial environment of the 18th Dynasty in these two squares, despite the presence in Marina’s trench of an earlier burial directly next to the silo! The formal photo of central 6 was taken looking east and shows the artificially isolated burial (with sand atop) directly next to the silo. |
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Here you see Hannah working on levels in central 6 and the burial behind her. She and Marina trade the data from the elevations taken after levels were shot. |
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You see Katherine, Gaultier, and Meredith by square east 13 where Meredith has had walls from the beginning of work, on the east, south, north, and west. The pottery and finds, as you may recall, are decidedly of 18th Dynasty, including the Amenhotep III and Akhenaten objects as well as blue painted pottery and the red and black painted ware of slightly earlier mid-18th. Meredith and Allie are looking at the west “wall” which is poorly indicated by brick. The qufti Mohamed is helping to clarify for Allie who is drawing the walls here. |
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Gaultier’s Square east 9 certainly looks rather messy, and I have to say that trench 12 to its west has generally been so too. This is due to the large early 18th Dynasty pottery pit on the west half of 9 and the east of 12. The view of 9 shows the limestone circular stone upon which the executed captive’s head sat, as well as one of the two sandstone column bases, both in situ from 2011, and both with sand foundation trenches. It is possible that the large pottery pit, consistent with the pottery of the levels in which the captive was deposited, resulted from clearing this area to put in the column bases and the small cross wall at the lower left. Note that the pottery pit obscures a lower brick wall just emerging and running nearly to true south-north, our squares being oriented slightly east of north.
The north baulk on the east side of the trench indicates the situation prior to the level in which the skeleton was deposited. Thick localized burned layers, corresponding to the level at which the limestone circular stone is placed, are visible here along with a gray ashy layer that reaches down into it and corresponding to the disturbance causes when the column bases were set. |
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In Katie’s east 12 square, the wide shot indicates a variety of features seemingly impossible to track. The lower right east-west feature extends into Gaultier’s trench and is likely associated with the 18th Dynasty column bases. North (behind) it the roundish feature with sand atop is the rather gory juvenile burial that was heavily burned with the head separated and placed upside down. In the northeast corner (upper right) you see a lighter floor color in this early morning shot. |
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In the next level this magloob turned into a scattered floor of roundish mud brick that you see here in two views, one showing them next to the large trough on the north and one a close-up. These are actually bricks and a few were removed to examine. Whether these round bricks represent a floor here or are dispersed from another feature is uncertain |
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