Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (19.2007(2010))

TELL EL-BALAMUN

EGYPT

(and 2008), which added to the previously
surveyed area (including the strip of land
adjacent to the precinct on the outside) gives
a total of 20.1 ha [Fig. 1].
The instruments used in 2007 included
the Geoscan Research FM36 and FM256.
The latter with its bigger memory speeded
up the work considerably, as it permitted
measurements to be taken in units 20 by
20 m instead of the standard 20 by 10 m
used so far. As in previous seasons, the
procedure was to take measurements in
parallel mode following a measuring grid
0.50 m by 0.25 m, that is, every 0.25 m along
lines 0.50 m apart. The sensors of the
instrument were adjusted after completing
every 20 by 20 m grid unit. The results were
presented as greyscale magnetic maps, i.e.,
maps of changes of intensity in the Earth's
magnetic field [Figs 2-5].
The work in 2007 and 2008 covered
archaeological features known already from
earlier excavations: the main temple on the
site (Temple A), dedicated to Amun, and the
north corners and northwestern sides of the
two enclosure walls.
The northern section of the north-
western side of the exterior wall of the
Thirtieth Dynasty shows with great clarity
on the map, to the extent that the individual
sections of brickwork can be seen (between
D5 and B7,Fig$2~4). This effect was noted
previously on the scan of the northeastern
side of this wall. The length of particular
sections is about 30 m; the projecting part is
about 18 m long, the recessed part 12 m
long. These parameters correspond to those
determined for sections on the north-
eastern side of this wall, the only difference
being the wall thickness, which is about
19 m at the widest here, that is, about 2 m
more than the wall on the northeastern side.
The northwestern gate, excavated in 1994
(Spencer 1996: 57-58), is also quite clear on

the map (in the northeastern part of E4), but
the line of the wall to the southwest
disappears from view a short distance
beyond the gate. The exterior face shows for
a slightly longer distance than that on the
interior, but the entire western corner of the
wall is missing. This is due to ground erosion
to a level below that of the wall foundation,
the depth of which was not constant but
followed the lie of the land at the time of the
wall’s construction. The section of the wall
directly northeast of the gate (between the
northeastern part of E4 and the middle part
of D5) is just as indistinct — only the inner
face is visible. The evident southwestern end
of the better preserved northern section of
the wall (seen in the central part of D5), is
perfectly straight. It could be because of a
planned dismantling (or rebuilding) of this
fragment of wall adjacent to the north side
of the gate.
The inner enclosure wall of the Twenty-
sixth Dynasty is also visible around the
north corner of the temenos, but it becomes
difficult to detect in the area southwest of
the gate. Due to a high magnetic suscep-
tibility of the fill between the foundations of
the walls of the Twenty-sixth and Thirtieth
Dynasties, the northwestern face of the
Twenty-sixth Dynasty wall is particularly well
visible, including the projecting and recessed
sections (especially between the northwestern
part of D6 and the northwestern part of E5).
The inner face of the wall is hardly clear (just
two short sections in E5 and in D6 can be
discerned on the map).
Inside the north corner of the enclosure
measurements recorded a further three
concentrations of oval anomalies measuring
1.50 m across with an amplitude range
of -20/+60 nT (seen in the western part of
C7, around the joining of C6 and D6, and in
the southeastern corner of D5).' The
anomalies overlie the remains of the Twenty-

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Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 19, Reports 2007