Egypt

More re Edfu excavations

University of Chicago Chronicle (William Harms)

An Oriental Institute expedition at Tell Edfu in southern Egypt has unearthed a large administration building and silos that provide fresh clues about the emergence of urban life.

The discovery provides new information about a little understood aspect of ancient Egypt—the development of cities in a culture that is largely famous for its monumental architecture.

The archaeological work at Tell Edfu was initiated with the permission of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, headed by Zahi Hawass, under the direction of Nadine Moeller, Assistant Professor in the Oriental Institute. Work late last year revealed details of seven silos, the largest grain bins found from ancient Egypt, as well as an older, columned hall that was an administration center.

Long fascinated with temples and monuments such as pyramids, scholars have traditionally spent little time exploring ancient Egyptian residential communities. Due to intense farming and heavy settlement over the years, much of the record of urban civilization had been lost. So little archaeological evidence remains that some scholars believe Egypt did not have a highly developed urban culture; rather, Mesopotamia gained the distinction of teaching people to live in cities.

“The traditional view of ancient Egypt has been biased by the fact that most excavation work so far has focused on temples and tombs. The mounds that comprise the remains of Egyptian cities were either ignored, buried under modern towns, or else destroyed by modern agricultural activities. Edfu is one of the very few remaining city mounds that are accessible for scientific study,” said Gil Stein, Director of the Oriental Institute.

“The work at Edfu is important and innovative, in that it finally allows us to examine ancient Egypt as an urban society, whose cities and towns housed bureaucrats, craft specialists, priests and farmers.

- Online - The Tell Edfu Project
Oriental Institute See the above page for the links. The remains of what once had been the provincial capital of the 2nd Upper Egyptian nome can be found at Tell Edfu, which is one of the best well-preserved ancient towns in Egypt. The continuous occupation...

- Adopt A Dig
The Oriental Institute blog The Oriental Institute website The Get Involved/How To Give section of the OI's main website offers an opportunity to contribute to Egyptology by donating to the excavations at Tell Edfu. An overview of the site and the...

- More Re Edfu Discovery
eTurboNews (Hazel Heyer) An American archaeological mission from the University of Chicago has unearthed an administrative building and silos dating back to Dynasty 17 (c. 1665-1569 BC), as well as an older columned hall during routine excavations at...

- More Re: Ancient Egyptian Administrative Building, Silos Unearthed In Edfu
Al-Ahram When grain was currency "Ancient Egyptian administration is mainly known from texts, but the full understanding of the institutions involved and their role with towns and cities has been so far difficult to grasp because of the lack of archaeological...

- Ancient Egyptian Administrative Building, Silos Unearthed In Edfu
Egypt State Information Service A US archaeological team has unearthed an ancient Egyptian administrative building and silos dating back to the 17th dynasty, in the Upper Egyptian town of Edfu," said Egypt's Antiquities Department Tuesday17/6/2008....

Egypt