DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4657#0010
THE PRE-DYNASTIC SITES.
5
V
CHAPTER II.
THE PRE-DYNASTIC SITES,
(a). The Cemetery at Alawniyeh.
14. It has already been mentioned in the opening
chapter that near the village of Alawniyeh, some two
miles to the south of the site selected for the camp,
the remains of a ransacked prehistoric burying place
were found. The graves had been placed somewhat
thickly on the northern slope of a slight incline that
stretches out from Bet Allam to the desert. They
may have numbered originally some two or three
hundred, but there remained to be examined only
about forty-five of them, hidden for the most part by
the sand thrown out from those which had been
plundered. Of these the half were uninstructive, but
about twenty were recorded in detail. With so small
a number it would have been difficult to have
established any new conclusion, had the graves been
unusual; but they proved to be characteristic of an
early period in the prehistoric scale, without marked
deviation from the established types. The import-
ance of this little site, as it appears, is its proximity
and relation to the prehistoric settlement lying amid
the tombs of nearer Mahasna.
The burials lay in contracted positions, with heads
to' the south, and, with two exceptions, on the left
side. The arrangement of surrounding objects
presented no features unusual to the period, which
has been profusely illustrated by the excavations of
Professor Petrie, Mr. Quibell, Mr. Mace and Mr.
Randall-Maclver.
15. Some few objects found in these graves, how-
ever, from special causes, are worthy of separate
mention, and are pictured on Pls. III. and IV.
Chief among them is a four-legged dish, of which side
and top views are given in the upper photographs of
Pl. III. The dish itself is oval in outline ; the legs
seem to have been separately made and attached,
and the whole then baked together. The pottery is
dark and of good surface, the interior decoration
being in light yellow. It is a design of human figures
and animals, with other portions which may be
merely ornamental. It may be compared with that
numbered 24A on Pl. XXV. of Professor Petrie's
Naqada and Ballas. This object was found in a
grave which had already been partly robbed, the
burial itself being broken and disturbed. There
remained, however, a pot of type 22A, Class B,
which is accredited with a range of 31-52 in the scale
of Sequence Dates.
Of more importance was the deposit of fragile
clay models, pictured lower down on this same plate.
Though in some cases broken, and in others scattered,
it was fortunately possible to recover the forms of
some of these models of flint implements and human
figures. By comparing the models of doubly-barbed
flint arrows with the actual weapons from the
neighbouring settlement, shown in the adjoining
photograph, any doubt that may have existed as to
the real prehistoric character of these implements is
finally removed. The other object found in the
remains of this interesting tomb, was the slate marked
N. 209 on Pl. IV, possibly a shuttle.
16. In view of the few graves left for examination
in this small cemetery at Alawniyeh, it was a matter
for satisfaction that its relative position in the pre-
dynastic date scale could be fixed with some certainty.
From a number of graves, pots and groups of pottery
were recovered, which, when tabulated on the system
of Professor Petrie, gave the following results, selecting
for tabulation here, however, only those tombs con-
arge groups :
Tomb 200
. S. D
36-38
,, 202
J>
33-4°
„ 204 .. .
it
32-44
,, 210
)j
34-40
,, 212
)>
33-47
,, 219 .. .
• ) J
34-56
„ 229 .. .
)»
36-43
Central date .
36-38
(b). The Pre-dynastic Settlement near Mahasna.
17. In the plan shown on PL. II., the site lying to
the south of Mahasna is arbitrarily divided into four
portions, suggested by the contour of the ground :
these are marked M 1 . . . . 4. It was in the portion
M 2 that the remains of an early settlement were
chiefly noticeable : hence it is called S 2. Another
portion lying to the south of the division M 1 is
referred to separately as S 1, though, as will be seen,
it was probably attached to the former—indeed, the
two portions may have been part of a continuous
village.
Between them, as was mentioned in the opening
chapter, lie tombs of the early dynastic ages. In the
vicinity of S 2 they become partly discontinuous, but
whether from unsuitability of the subsoil or from
visible obstacle is not clear. It seems certain, how-
ever, that the confines of the settlement were en-
5
V
CHAPTER II.
THE PRE-DYNASTIC SITES,
(a). The Cemetery at Alawniyeh.
14. It has already been mentioned in the opening
chapter that near the village of Alawniyeh, some two
miles to the south of the site selected for the camp,
the remains of a ransacked prehistoric burying place
were found. The graves had been placed somewhat
thickly on the northern slope of a slight incline that
stretches out from Bet Allam to the desert. They
may have numbered originally some two or three
hundred, but there remained to be examined only
about forty-five of them, hidden for the most part by
the sand thrown out from those which had been
plundered. Of these the half were uninstructive, but
about twenty were recorded in detail. With so small
a number it would have been difficult to have
established any new conclusion, had the graves been
unusual; but they proved to be characteristic of an
early period in the prehistoric scale, without marked
deviation from the established types. The import-
ance of this little site, as it appears, is its proximity
and relation to the prehistoric settlement lying amid
the tombs of nearer Mahasna.
The burials lay in contracted positions, with heads
to' the south, and, with two exceptions, on the left
side. The arrangement of surrounding objects
presented no features unusual to the period, which
has been profusely illustrated by the excavations of
Professor Petrie, Mr. Quibell, Mr. Mace and Mr.
Randall-Maclver.
15. Some few objects found in these graves, how-
ever, from special causes, are worthy of separate
mention, and are pictured on Pls. III. and IV.
Chief among them is a four-legged dish, of which side
and top views are given in the upper photographs of
Pl. III. The dish itself is oval in outline ; the legs
seem to have been separately made and attached,
and the whole then baked together. The pottery is
dark and of good surface, the interior decoration
being in light yellow. It is a design of human figures
and animals, with other portions which may be
merely ornamental. It may be compared with that
numbered 24A on Pl. XXV. of Professor Petrie's
Naqada and Ballas. This object was found in a
grave which had already been partly robbed, the
burial itself being broken and disturbed. There
remained, however, a pot of type 22A, Class B,
which is accredited with a range of 31-52 in the scale
of Sequence Dates.
Of more importance was the deposit of fragile
clay models, pictured lower down on this same plate.
Though in some cases broken, and in others scattered,
it was fortunately possible to recover the forms of
some of these models of flint implements and human
figures. By comparing the models of doubly-barbed
flint arrows with the actual weapons from the
neighbouring settlement, shown in the adjoining
photograph, any doubt that may have existed as to
the real prehistoric character of these implements is
finally removed. The other object found in the
remains of this interesting tomb, was the slate marked
N. 209 on Pl. IV, possibly a shuttle.
16. In view of the few graves left for examination
in this small cemetery at Alawniyeh, it was a matter
for satisfaction that its relative position in the pre-
dynastic date scale could be fixed with some certainty.
From a number of graves, pots and groups of pottery
were recovered, which, when tabulated on the system
of Professor Petrie, gave the following results, selecting
for tabulation here, however, only those tombs con-
arge groups :
Tomb 200
. S. D
36-38
,, 202
J>
33-4°
„ 204 .. .
it
32-44
,, 210
)j
34-40
,, 212
)>
33-47
,, 219 .. .
• ) J
34-56
„ 229 .. .
)»
36-43
Central date .
36-38
(b). The Pre-dynastic Settlement near Mahasna.
17. In the plan shown on PL. II., the site lying to
the south of Mahasna is arbitrarily divided into four
portions, suggested by the contour of the ground :
these are marked M 1 . . . . 4. It was in the portion
M 2 that the remains of an early settlement were
chiefly noticeable : hence it is called S 2. Another
portion lying to the south of the division M 1 is
referred to separately as S 1, though, as will be seen,
it was probably attached to the former—indeed, the
two portions may have been part of a continuous
village.
Between them, as was mentioned in the opening
chapter, lie tombs of the early dynastic ages. In the
vicinity of S 2 they become partly discontinuous, but
whether from unsuitability of the subsoil or from
visible obstacle is not clear. It seems certain, how-
ever, that the confines of the settlement were en-