Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (19.2007(2010))

TELL EL-LARKHA

EGYPT

stratigraphically to the end of the Early
Dynastic period. The last group comprises
poor burials in which body position and
grave alignment is completely different to
that noted in the other graves. These date
from the early Old Kingdom.
hi 2007, excavation of the cemetery was
confined to an area of 200 m2 extending
from the southeastern corner of the old
trench in an effort to examine a number of
graves marked in outline either on the
surface or in trench sections. These graves
would have been threatened with
destruction, if left unexplored. During the
season 10 graves were discovered, but not all
could be investigated due to the time
expended on documenting the extremely
rich burial in grave 55 (graves 59, 60, 63 left
unexplored). All of the graves excavated in
2007 were dated to the late phase of the
First Dynasty and the early Second
Dynasty.
Graves 51, 56, 57, 58 had brick surrounds
measuring 122-136 by 78-81 cm. The
burials inside the pits were moderately rich,
containing grave goods in the form of
pottery and stone vessels, placed at the
southern end of the pit, by the feet of the
deceased. The bones were in fairly poor
condition. When undisturbed, the skeleton
lay on the left (in one case on the right) side,
in contracted position, with the head to the
north. A mat was usually found under the
body and another one covering it. [Fig. 14,
top and bottom left]
Grave 62 had a modestly-sized pit (64 x
46 cm) bounded by a mud-brick wall one
brick thick [Fig. 14, bottom right]. The
child interred in it lay in contracted
position on its right side, head to the north.
Two small, stone vessels (very poorly
preserved) were placed behind the child’s
back. A bowl lay on the surface of the grave
and three beer-jars stood outside it,
alongside the south wall. No doubt the

vessels are indicative of rituals associated
with the cult of the dead, not necessarily
connected with the funeral alone.
Graves 61, 65 and 66 were poor pit
burials, 70-102 by 40-62 cm, either
wrapped in mats, covered by mats or devoid
of wrapping of any kind. The bodies had
been laid in contracted position, either on
the left or on the right side with the head to
the north, east, or in the case of the double
internment, one above the other, in grave 66
to the north and northwest. Grave goods
consisted of a miniature pot and a fragment
of quernstone recorded at the feet of the
deceased.
Another poor pit burial, grave 64, in
a brick surround (48 x 37 cm) one-brick
thick was found abutting the southernmost
section of the west wall surrounding
grave 55. There is no doubt that the two
were somehow related. The fragmentary
remains of the skeleton (the skull and
a small number of long bones covered with
a mat) indicated that the body had lain with
the head to the north, probably on its right
side; the state of the bones, however, makes
it impossible to tell whether the bones have
deteriorated so severely or whether
originally only fragments of a skeleton had
been interred here. Only one carnelian bead
was found in the fill of this grave. E could
very well have been a secondary burial
accompanying one of the wealthiest graves
discovered thus far at Tell el-Farkha, or it
may have been a sacrificial burial.
The mastaba-type grave 55 is the largest
(9.16 m N-S by 6.74 m E-W, superstructure
1.52 m high) and wealthiest burial recorded
thus far at Tell el-Farkha [Fig. 15}. It is
surrounded by a low wall with rounded
corners and a clearly defined entrance in the
southern side. The substructure comprised
four chambers divided one from the other by
narrow, mud-brick walls. The north chamber
was almost square in plan (0.54 by 0.57 cm)

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Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 19, Reports 2007