Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (16.2004(2005))

TELL EL-FARKHA

EGYPT

MODERATELY RICH GRAVES
Grave 12, probably looted, consisted of
a single chamber burial measuring 1.80 x
1.00 x 0.61 m, surrounded by a single row
of mud-bricks laid end to end. The
skeleton of a male (20-25 years old) was
incomplete and disarticulated. The head
pointed south. The grave yielded six,
mostly damaged, vessels and one stone
bead. Sherds of one of the bowls recovered
from this burial fitted with fragments
found in a neighboring grave (No. 20).
Grave 20 would have made the rich
category were burial goods the only
criterion; its size, however, and location led
to it being classed among the moderately
rich graves. It was a single chamber grave
measuring 1.80 x 1.14 x 0.95 m, sur-
rounded by a single row of mud-bricks laid
end to end. The body of a male (40-45


Fig. 9- Eastern Kom. Clay idol from Grave 20
(Photo R. Slahohski)

years old), poorly preserved, was placed on
its right side in flexed position, with the
head to the north. Burial goods comprised
18 vessels, a ceramic idol [Fig. 9], frag-
ments of a vessel lid and an unidentified
stone artifact. A noteworthy feature of this
grave was the arrangement of the pottery
in two layers: just below the surface of the
grave, clearly above the skeleton, were two
large storage jugs and several smaller
vessels, whilst at a lower level, directly
next to the legs of the individual were
a number of fairly small vessels. A rela-
tively large variation in vessel forms was
noted, the most interesting examples in-
cluding two red-burnished bowls, a large
oval dish, a wine-jar with pot-mark and
smaller vessels of various shapes.
Grave 21 [Fig. 10] belongs to the
single chamber grave class, measuring 2.60
x 1.28 x 1.06 m, and surrounded by a single
row of mud-bricks laid end to end. The
poorly preserved body of a male (35-40
years old) lay in strongly flexed position on
its left side with the head to the north.
Burial goods consisted of 10 pottery
vessels, a stone vessel fragment and animal
bones probably representing the remains of
a food offering. This grave had not been
looted and showed no signs of either the
goods or the skeleton having been
disturbed. Part of the superstructure, or
perhaps a thick brick roof protecting it
from the top, had also survived. The burial
goods were arranged along the two shorter
sides of the grave: three large storage
vessels of the wine-jar variety stood at the
southern end, and seven other, smaller
vessels, mostly medium-sized jugs, at the
northern end.
It was probably during the construction
of this grave that the one below it (Grave
14) was damaged. The latter was partly
excavated last season, when its southern

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