DENDERA

EGYPT

by a dromos leading from the eastern gate
of the Hathor precinct to a smaller temple
complex erected east of the great temple.
Little remains of this eastern temple. The
area in between was part of the ancient
urban complex.
The geophysical prospection revealed
a considerable destruction and disturbing
of the architecture, which was found to lie
very close to the surface in this area.
Excavations began in 1999 uncovered in
the eastern part of the site a mudbrick
structure that was presumably of a domes-
tic nature, possibly a bakery {Fig. 2). It
dated to the First Intermediate Period.

Debris found in the part of the area closer
to the Hathor precinct, in a zone densely
overgrown with half a grass, was cleared
and found to belong to a Roman-period
religious structure of the 1st century AD.
The stone blocks bear relief decoration and
hieroglyphic inscriptions.
The pottery assemblage collected from
the surface of the site is widely diverse,
ranging from the terminal Old Kingdom
to Muslim times. Some ostraca with frag-
ments of Greek texts have also been dis-
covered.
The work is planned to be continued in
the coming seasons.

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