DOI issue:
Egypt
DOI article:Chłodnicki, Marek; Ciałowicz, Krzysztof M.: Tell el-Farkha (Ghazala): season 2005
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.42091#0151
TELL EL-LARKHA
EGYPT
structures were built, and when these were
in turn submerged beneath Nile silt de-
posits another building altogether was
raised.
All served the same purpose and all were
similarly constructed. Each building
consisted of several (8 to 12) circles,
surrounded by fire-dog type bricks [Fig. 4,
bottom]. Some of these bricks were inserted
diagonally into the ground and supported
thick-walled vats with wide rims and narrow
bases. Two of these vessels have been found
in situ, but fragmentary pots of the kind have
also been registered. The bricks were fired on
the whole, although possibly not inten-
tionally, as in many places the same bricks
appear in sun-dried form. In functional terms,
these structures were all used for the same
purpose and in the same way.3 The Naqada
potsherds found in the breweries provided
grounds for dating the breweries to a period
contemporary to Naqada IIB/C.
In the immediate vicinity of the bre-
weries, across virtually the entire extent of
EXCAVATIONS ON
The work on the Central Kom was begun
across the whole surface of the trench
marked out during the previous seasons
(690 m2). The objective was to complete the
exploration of mud-brick constructions
revealed in 2004 and to excavate the
underlying layers. The complicated strati-
graphic record encountered on site resulted
in slow progress and so the gezira sand was
not reached this year.
In 2004, excavations had been inter-
rupted on three different levels. On the tell
slope, only the upper, Old Kingdom and
the area excavated evidence was discovered
of a complex of structures undoubtedly
linked to Lower Egyptian culture [Fig. 3]-
These were covered with a thick layer of
Nile silt, clearly demonstrating that the Tell
el-Farkha gezira must have been affected
quite frequently by episodes of flooding
before human intervention led to a signi-
ficant rise in its relative height. The struc-
tures in question must have had walls made
of organic materials, which have left their
trace in the form of narrow furrows. The
complicated interior division may stem
from the fact that some sections of the
building, which were clearly utility areas,
may have been separated from other parts by
low walls made from organic materials or
silt.4 A dating contemporary with Naqada
IIB/C is supported for this architecture.
Finds included potsherds and a few com-
plete vessels, in distinct concentrations as
well as solitary pieces. A modest number of
flint tools, both whole and fragmentary, was
also recovered from these deposits [Fig. 2).
THE CENTRAL KOM
Early Dynastic layers were excavated,
whereas in the main trench different levels
of Naqada IIIA had been reached, older in
the northern part, where the trench was
60 cm deeper, and younger (Naqada IIIB-C)
in the southern part.5
Remains of a mud-brick wall, two bricks
wide and going NW-SE, were discovered in
the trench on the tell slope. Two other walls
joined it on both sides, forming units on
either side. They constituted the lower part
of the construction discovered in 2004. The
cross-walls were built during a later phase
3 Ibid., 133.
4 Ibid., 135.
5 Ibid., 135-136.
147
EGYPT
structures were built, and when these were
in turn submerged beneath Nile silt de-
posits another building altogether was
raised.
All served the same purpose and all were
similarly constructed. Each building
consisted of several (8 to 12) circles,
surrounded by fire-dog type bricks [Fig. 4,
bottom]. Some of these bricks were inserted
diagonally into the ground and supported
thick-walled vats with wide rims and narrow
bases. Two of these vessels have been found
in situ, but fragmentary pots of the kind have
also been registered. The bricks were fired on
the whole, although possibly not inten-
tionally, as in many places the same bricks
appear in sun-dried form. In functional terms,
these structures were all used for the same
purpose and in the same way.3 The Naqada
potsherds found in the breweries provided
grounds for dating the breweries to a period
contemporary to Naqada IIB/C.
In the immediate vicinity of the bre-
weries, across virtually the entire extent of
EXCAVATIONS ON
The work on the Central Kom was begun
across the whole surface of the trench
marked out during the previous seasons
(690 m2). The objective was to complete the
exploration of mud-brick constructions
revealed in 2004 and to excavate the
underlying layers. The complicated strati-
graphic record encountered on site resulted
in slow progress and so the gezira sand was
not reached this year.
In 2004, excavations had been inter-
rupted on three different levels. On the tell
slope, only the upper, Old Kingdom and
the area excavated evidence was discovered
of a complex of structures undoubtedly
linked to Lower Egyptian culture [Fig. 3]-
These were covered with a thick layer of
Nile silt, clearly demonstrating that the Tell
el-Farkha gezira must have been affected
quite frequently by episodes of flooding
before human intervention led to a signi-
ficant rise in its relative height. The struc-
tures in question must have had walls made
of organic materials, which have left their
trace in the form of narrow furrows. The
complicated interior division may stem
from the fact that some sections of the
building, which were clearly utility areas,
may have been separated from other parts by
low walls made from organic materials or
silt.4 A dating contemporary with Naqada
IIB/C is supported for this architecture.
Finds included potsherds and a few com-
plete vessels, in distinct concentrations as
well as solitary pieces. A modest number of
flint tools, both whole and fragmentary, was
also recovered from these deposits [Fig. 2).
THE CENTRAL KOM
Early Dynastic layers were excavated,
whereas in the main trench different levels
of Naqada IIIA had been reached, older in
the northern part, where the trench was
60 cm deeper, and younger (Naqada IIIB-C)
in the southern part.5
Remains of a mud-brick wall, two bricks
wide and going NW-SE, were discovered in
the trench on the tell slope. Two other walls
joined it on both sides, forming units on
either side. They constituted the lower part
of the construction discovered in 2004. The
cross-walls were built during a later phase
3 Ibid., 133.
4 Ibid., 135.
5 Ibid., 135-136.
147