DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.11714#0036
TELL
BOTAB.
In the Wadi Tumilat, on the border of the
desert, one mile south of the lock of Kassassin,
stands the mound called Tell Kotab (pi. xi.).
It is situate near the remains of the ancient
canal, and consists of a brick enclosure which,
except on the north side, is nearly perfect.
The enclosed area is about 400 metres long
and 150 wide. The ground rises very con-
siderably towards the middle, and on the top
stands a rough granite block without any in-
scription. The large bricks with which the
enclosure is built, cause it to look very like
that of Tell el Maskhutah, with this difference,
that, instead of being carefully built with cement,
the bricks seem to have been piled over one
another in great haste, at least in that part of
the enclosure which is above the sand (pi. xi.,
section). Being anxious to identify the sites
of the Wadi Tumilat, I made an attempt to
excavate at Tell Rotab, which was entirely un-
successful. The great number of fragments of
hard stone which bestrew the mound, the
numerous remains of brick houses, and the
large granite block, caused me to hope that
something interesting might perhaps be dis-
covered; but this, unfortunately, was not the
case. I cut trenches and sunk pits more than
30 feet deep, as indicated on the map ; but the
result was very trifling. I found two other
granite blocks as large as the first, but without
inscriptions ; a fragment of limestone with the
second cartouche of Barneses II.; abronze sword,
or rather an Egyptian ^) khopsh, now in the
British Museum; and a piece of a blue enamelled
saucer bearing this inscription written in cha-
racters of the style of the Saite period (pi. ix. i):
" in his elevation: the chief of the prophets of
the gods, the lords of" . . . Despite a most
careful search, I could never find the other
fragments; and although no very trustworthy
evidence might be derived from a small frag-
ment, the geographical name which ought to
have followed exactly where the saucer is
broken, might perhaps have given us a clue for
the identification. I also found a few scarabs;
one inscribed with the name of Eameses II.,
and another with a name which seems to be Si
Amen.
The resemblance of this place to Tell el Mas-
khutah induced me to begin on the western side,
where I supposed the temple would have been;
but I there found, as elsewhere throughout the
Tell, only a bed of black soil interspersed with
layers of lime and charred ashes. At the top
I found a few large jars, each with a smaller
one inside, containing ashes. This must have
been a burial-place of later time. Brick walls
and remains of houses are also extant on the
Tell; but it contains no storehouses like those
of Pithom. The place seems to have been in-
habited during a long period; the scanty re-
mains discovered showing that it was occupied
under the Nineteenth Dynasty. The houses
were built and rebuilt on the same spot during
so many centuries that their ruins have caused
an accumulation of more than thirty feet of
artificial soil, which I had to cut through before
I reached the natural soil. The houses after a
time stood higher than the enclosure wall, which
they entirely covered on the northern side.
The most interesting part of the work was
when cutting through the enclosure, which I
did on three sides. I thus discovered that the
original enclosure on the southern and eastern
sides was below the present soil, and of the
best workmanship. The bricks are among the
BOTAB.
In the Wadi Tumilat, on the border of the
desert, one mile south of the lock of Kassassin,
stands the mound called Tell Kotab (pi. xi.).
It is situate near the remains of the ancient
canal, and consists of a brick enclosure which,
except on the north side, is nearly perfect.
The enclosed area is about 400 metres long
and 150 wide. The ground rises very con-
siderably towards the middle, and on the top
stands a rough granite block without any in-
scription. The large bricks with which the
enclosure is built, cause it to look very like
that of Tell el Maskhutah, with this difference,
that, instead of being carefully built with cement,
the bricks seem to have been piled over one
another in great haste, at least in that part of
the enclosure which is above the sand (pi. xi.,
section). Being anxious to identify the sites
of the Wadi Tumilat, I made an attempt to
excavate at Tell Rotab, which was entirely un-
successful. The great number of fragments of
hard stone which bestrew the mound, the
numerous remains of brick houses, and the
large granite block, caused me to hope that
something interesting might perhaps be dis-
covered; but this, unfortunately, was not the
case. I cut trenches and sunk pits more than
30 feet deep, as indicated on the map ; but the
result was very trifling. I found two other
granite blocks as large as the first, but without
inscriptions ; a fragment of limestone with the
second cartouche of Barneses II.; abronze sword,
or rather an Egyptian ^) khopsh, now in the
British Museum; and a piece of a blue enamelled
saucer bearing this inscription written in cha-
racters of the style of the Saite period (pi. ix. i):
" in his elevation: the chief of the prophets of
the gods, the lords of" . . . Despite a most
careful search, I could never find the other
fragments; and although no very trustworthy
evidence might be derived from a small frag-
ment, the geographical name which ought to
have followed exactly where the saucer is
broken, might perhaps have given us a clue for
the identification. I also found a few scarabs;
one inscribed with the name of Eameses II.,
and another with a name which seems to be Si
Amen.
The resemblance of this place to Tell el Mas-
khutah induced me to begin on the western side,
where I supposed the temple would have been;
but I there found, as elsewhere throughout the
Tell, only a bed of black soil interspersed with
layers of lime and charred ashes. At the top
I found a few large jars, each with a smaller
one inside, containing ashes. This must have
been a burial-place of later time. Brick walls
and remains of houses are also extant on the
Tell; but it contains no storehouses like those
of Pithom. The place seems to have been in-
habited during a long period; the scanty re-
mains discovered showing that it was occupied
under the Nineteenth Dynasty. The houses
were built and rebuilt on the same spot during
so many centuries that their ruins have caused
an accumulation of more than thirty feet of
artificial soil, which I had to cut through before
I reached the natural soil. The houses after a
time stood higher than the enclosure wall, which
they entirely covered on the northern side.
The most interesting part of the work was
when cutting through the enclosure, which I
did on three sides. I thus discovered that the
original enclosure on the southern and eastern
sides was below the present soil, and of the
best workmanship. The bricks are among the