Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (13.2001(2002))

NAQLUN

EGYPT

parts, the bricks were of smaller size, laid in
a cross bond for the first four courses and as
stretchers afterwards, alternately horizontal
and vertical. Despite the variety, the wall
appears to be fully homogeneous. The
surviving height is close to 2.20 m, the
highest point being in the southwestern
corner, while the northeastern one has been
razed practically to the ground. The ruins
here reveal a different structure that raises
doubts as to whether it was part of the
original building.
Building AA.30 likely had two
entrances, one in the western facade and the
other in the southern one. There is no
certainty as to whether the entry from the
east, near the southeastern corner, had been
in use in the first occupational phase of the
building.
Building AA.30 was quite definitely
a storied structure as indicated by the

massiveness of the walls (80-90 cm), as
well as a variety of architectural elements,
like column bases and capitals. A basin
and water-vessel stand, which were found
in the debris filling room AA.30.2, appear
to have fallen from an upper storey when it
collapsed. The ground floor consisted of
three rooms: a big hall (AA.30.2) to the
west and two much smaller units (AA.30.1
and 3) to the east.
Room AA.30.1 is a small space (3.20
by 3.40 m) with a staircase fitted into it;
the steps were made of limestone slabs
supported on palm-wood beams. It was
cleared completely in the previous season.
Room AA.30.2 is practically square in
shape and big (6.70 by 6.30 m) with thick
walls that survive to a height of 2.20 m.
The entrance from the outside was through
a doorway in the middle of the west wall —
later blocked carefully — while another


Fig. 3. Site A. Room AA.30.2, northern wall with niche in the middle
(Photo W. Godlewski)

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