Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (8.1996(1997))

SAQQARA

EXCAVATIONS 1996
Karol Mysliwiec
The Polish-Egyptian mission worked at Saqqara from
September 1 until October 13, 1996.1 The area in question, which
corresponds to the territory that was subject to research in the
previous campaign, extends between the Djoser pyramid enclosure
in the east, the top of the sandy hill located between the Gisr
el-Mudir and the tomb of Ptahhotep in the west, the gafir's abode
in the north, and the line extending from the southern border of
Djoser's enclosure westwards. Three trial-pits excavated revealed
that the area west of the pyramid at Saqqara had been used as
a necropolis from the Archaic to the Byzantine Period.2
Current archaeological work concentrated on trial pit I, which is
located ca. 100 m west of the pyramid's western edge.3 The pit was
enlarged 10 m to the south, 2 m to the north and 5 m to the east, in
order to uncover the further course of a thick Early Dynastic wall
found traversing it. At its southern end the wall joined up with
a similar wall, but not of the same construction, running generally

The mission comprised: Prof. Dr. Karol Mysliwiec, director;
Prof. Dr. Ahmed Gouda Hussain, director of the geophysical team;
Dr. Zbigniew Szafrariski, Mrs Teodozja Rzeuska, egyptologists; Mr Marek
Puszkarski, artist; Mr Rafal Meszka, photographer; Mr. Tomasz Herbich,
Dr. Helmut Becker, Dr. Jorg Fassbinder, Mr. Hatim Hamdy Odah, Mr. Tareq
Fahmy Abd el-Latif, Mr. Mahmud Mikawy, geophysicists. The Supreme
Council for Antiquities was represented by Mr Kazzafi Abd el-Rahim, the
inspector.
We shoud like to express our deepest gratitude to the authorities of the
Supreme Council for Antiquities, both at Cairo and Saqqara, for their friendly
and efficient aid throughout the season.
2 K. Mysliwiec and T. Herbich, with a contribution by A. Niwinski, Polish
Research at Saqqara in 1987, ET xvii, Warsaw 1995, pp. 177-203.
3 Ibidem, pp. 186-195.

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