Egypt

More re recent discovery in Edfu

Guardians.net

Thanks very much to Rick Menges for sending me this link to another article about the recent discoveries at Edfu, which has some good photographs.

H.E. Farouk Hosni, Minister of Culture, announced today that 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 Edfu.

Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), explained that the columned hall is a mud-brick building with sixteen wooden columns that predates the silos. Pottery and seal impressions dated to early Dynasty 13 (c. 1786-1665 BC) were found inside the hall. Hawass said that the layout of the building shows that it may have been part of the governor’s palace, which was a typical feature of provincial towns. It was used by scribes for accounting, opening and sealing containers, and also for receiving letters.

New York Times (John Noble Wilford)

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Archaeologists have long fixed their sights on the grandeur that was ancient Egypt, the pyramids, temples and tombs. Few bothered to dig beneath and beyond the monumental stones for glimpses into the living and working spaces of ordinary Egyptians.

Parts of an administration building, above, and a large silo, top, at the site of an ancient provincial capital on the Upper Nile.

That is changing slowly but steadily. In the last two or three decades, excavations have uncovered urban remains and swept aside the conventional wisdom that the Egypt of the pharaohs, in contrast to Mesopotamia, was somehow a civilization without cities.

“We can now confirm that this was not the case,” said Nadine Moeller, an Egyptologist at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Dr. Moeller was speaking of her own recent findings, as well as those of other excavators who practice what is known as settlement archaeology.

She described the discovery of a large administration building and seven grain silos buried at the site of an ancient provincial capital on the Upper Nile.

- 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 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...

- 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