I. Edfu South Pyramid

A first reconnaissance survey has been carried out at the small step pyramid located 5 km south west of Edfu, at the village of el-Ghonameya by G. Marouard (University of Chicago) and H. Papazian (University of Copenhagen). This pyramid is a step pyramid and belongs to a series of almost identical small pyramids which have been discovered near several provincial center in Egypt such as Elephantine, Hierakonpolis, Naqada, Abydos, Zawiet el Meitin and Seila in the Fayum. According to an inscription found at Elephantine, which has been linked directly to the pyramid, it dates to the reign of Huni, a ruler of the 3^rd Dynasty. It is also clear from a study carried out by W. Kaiser and G. Dreyer in 1980 that these pyramids were not intended for funerary use. Their precise function has not been determined yet.

The site is currently endangered by a fast developing modern cemetery and road works in the vicinity.  This is also the last pyramid of the group, which, has so far been relatively untouched and has thus potential for the discovery of further data relating to its period of use and precise function. The monument in its current state of preservation has sides measuring 18 m in length; its height lies around 5.50 to 6.00 m consisting of four steps. The blocks are made of local sandstone.

Within the frame of the Tell Edfu Project, we are planning to conduct extensive cleaning and restoration work including some excavation along the eastern and northern sides of this monument depending on finding the necessary funding.

II. Old Kingdom Settlement remains

Major clearance work continues at Tell Edfu in the area where we have identified the oldest settlement remains. This area lies close to the Ptolemaic temple enclosure wall and was covered by several meters of debris and rubble left by the sebbakhin and also by A. Barsanti, who cleared an area 15 meters to the north in order to place the decorated stone blocks of the temple wall he dismantled in 1906 (see ASAE 7, 1906, pp. 97-104).  We have already cleared a large area and are slowly starting to see the remains of the Old Kingdom settlement appearing underneath it. We will focus our excavation in this area next year. The aim is to find new information about the earliest settlement remains and the origins of the town of Edfu. The pottery we have found so far dates back to the 4^th Dynasty but it is very likely that we will discover remains that date back earlier than that. The presence of the 3^rd Dynasty pyramid in the vicinity and the reliefs in the Djoser complex mentioning the shrine of Edfu provide some indication that the town of Edfu already existed back then. The work has been tough for the workers since it is very dusty and it is a long path to the place were the removed debris and soil can be discarded.

 

Old Kingdom area after 6 weeks of work

III. Excavation of the silo-court dating to the 17^th Dynasty

One of the main foci in the silo area has been the excavation of Silo Si 388, which is located in the northern part of the silo court. As noted already last season, its walls have been preserved to a considerable height, measuring more than 4 meters from the silo floor to the last course of bricks showing clearly the beginning of the vaulted top. We can estimate that it was about 80% intact at the time of its abandonment and subsequent loss of the structure was minimal until the French expedition dug a deep trench in this area in the 1930s. This silo was built in the available space between Silo Si 316 and the northern enclosure wall of the silo area. Therefore the shape of Si 388 is slightly egg-shaped and not as round as some of the other silos in this area. 

Silo Si 388 

The silo was filled with numerous large fill layers containing many new hieratic ostraca. The pottery from these layers contains mainly sherds dating to the early 18^th Dynasty as well as large quantities of hippo bones.  Latter will be analyzed in depth next year by archeo-zoologist Richard Redding (Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan ).

Hippo bones from the silo fill

Silo Si 316, which is the largest and probably oldest silo of the silo court was also fully excavated this season. In contrast to Silo Si 388, its interior was filled by large quantities of broken mud-bricks, which stem from the collapsed roof and upper wall parts. Numerous hippo bones have been found here, too.

The exterior space along the eastern sides of Silos 405 and 393 was also investigated in depth. The corresponding floor level was relatively high in this part of the silo court and we had already discovered the unevenly cut foundation trenches for the silos in this area which gave us an indication that earlier settlement remains were lying underneath it that were on a higher ground than the more or less contemporary columned hall of the Middle Kingdom. It turned out this season, when we excavated this area, that there were multiple traces of occupational activity in this part, which predate the silos but postdate the columned hall of the late Middle Kingdom. We are dealing with the period of the early Second Intermediate Period, which is very interesting in terms of ceramic types. The area consisted of a multiple succeeding floor levels, which were covered with fireplaces and holes of various sizes for placing pots and smaller holes for wooden posts. Two small column bases were also found in situ here.

Exterior space along eastern side of Silos Si 405 and Si 393 

IV. Excavation in the columned hall of the Late Middle Kingdom

Several new areas were excavated down to the floor level of the columned hall. In the abandonment layer we found three striking clay figurines: A broken figure of a striding man whose eyes were incised in the form of wdjat – eyes, a female figurine with a tripartite wig and a clay cocoon with a headless female figurine inside. All of them can be dated to the late Middle Kingdom according to their archaeological context.

Another new discovery was a seal-impression made with an institutional seal. This season we have found several hundreds of seal-impressions, mainly linked to the administrative activity taking place in the columned hall. Quite a few of them belong to the category of private name sealings.

Underneath Silo Si 316 more of the floor level belonging to the columned hall has been excavated. So far it seems that were was an additional room, probably with two or four columns on the northern side of the columned hall. The wall separating this room from the columned hall was found in a bad state of preservation. The excavation continues...