DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.50108#0017
In the rock ridge on the east bank of the wady were visible a number of poor rock-cut tombs of
the period between the Old and the Middle Kingdoms. Immediately above this group were a number
of great shaft tombs of the Middle Kingdom, which had been completely plundered, and some of
these were cut into the gravel terrace quite near the lower end of Cemetery N 7000. On the op-
posite side of the wady, extending up from the edge of the cultivation, are situated the Cemeteries
N 500-900 of Dynasty II-VI (see REISNER, Naga-ed-Der III). These cemeteries had been ex-
cavated but not finished when work was begun on N 7000.
The gravel terrace on which lies Cemetery N 7000 is about 65 m. long and 35 m. wide, and about
15 m. above the floor of the wady. Its surface is nearly level from north to south but slopes very
gently from the cliff to the wady, with a secondary terrace close along the wady itself.
The surface had been untouched in modern times. Over the southern end of the terrace were
the scattered remains of wood fires built on the surface, and on the eastern edge was a rude con-
struction of rubble and mud. The remains of Coptic pottery found in the fires and the inside of the
small building indicated that these were of the Coptic Period. When the terrace was examined
superficially to ascertain whether Cemetery N 500-900 continued on this side of the wady, a few
fragments of black-topped pottery were picked up at various points, and immediately led to the sus-
picion that the terrace contained a predynastic cemetery. To determine whether such a cemetery
really existed, I began work on the morning of Monday, January 27, 1902, with about 30 men, at the
extreme northern end of the terrace where it entered the limestone cliff as a rock ravine. Trenching
southwards with the usual shallow trenches side by side, the first graves were struck after five or
six hours. This northern end of the cemetery proved later to contain the earliest of the predynastic
graves in the cemetery. The excavation was continued during the winter seasons of 1902-3 and
1903-4 until the southern limits were reached close to the group of Middle Kingdom shafts men-
tioned above. The numbering of the predynastic graves was begun with 7001 and eventually
reached 7635.
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the period between the Old and the Middle Kingdoms. Immediately above this group were a number
of great shaft tombs of the Middle Kingdom, which had been completely plundered, and some of
these were cut into the gravel terrace quite near the lower end of Cemetery N 7000. On the op-
posite side of the wady, extending up from the edge of the cultivation, are situated the Cemeteries
N 500-900 of Dynasty II-VI (see REISNER, Naga-ed-Der III). These cemeteries had been ex-
cavated but not finished when work was begun on N 7000.
The gravel terrace on which lies Cemetery N 7000 is about 65 m. long and 35 m. wide, and about
15 m. above the floor of the wady. Its surface is nearly level from north to south but slopes very
gently from the cliff to the wady, with a secondary terrace close along the wady itself.
The surface had been untouched in modern times. Over the southern end of the terrace were
the scattered remains of wood fires built on the surface, and on the eastern edge was a rude con-
struction of rubble and mud. The remains of Coptic pottery found in the fires and the inside of the
small building indicated that these were of the Coptic Period. When the terrace was examined
superficially to ascertain whether Cemetery N 500-900 continued on this side of the wady, a few
fragments of black-topped pottery were picked up at various points, and immediately led to the sus-
picion that the terrace contained a predynastic cemetery. To determine whether such a cemetery
really existed, I began work on the morning of Monday, January 27, 1902, with about 30 men, at the
extreme northern end of the terrace where it entered the limestone cliff as a rock ravine. Trenching
southwards with the usual shallow trenches side by side, the first graves were struck after five or
six hours. This northern end of the cemetery proved later to contain the earliest of the predynastic
graves in the cemetery. The excavation was continued during the winter seasons of 1902-3 and
1903-4 until the southern limits were reached close to the group of Middle Kingdom shafts men-
tioned above. The numbering of the predynastic graves was begun with 7001 and eventually
reached 7635.
xiii