DOI Heft:
Egypt
DOI Artikel:Majcherek, Grzegorz: Kom el-Dikka: excavations 1997
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.41242#0038
vertically set slabs (nos. 4-5, 8). The group (nos. 1-3, 6-7)
represented a more developed type. Tombs were built of small
limestone blocks lined with plaster. In one case (no. 2), the western
part of the grave was apse-shaped and the floor was plastered with
lime mortar. Some 0.70 to 1.10 m below these superstructures,
stone-made burial cists were found, falling also into two different
groups: flat-roofed and gable-roofed. Both were constructed of
small, rather regular stones covered with slabs. Of special interest
was tomb no. 3, additionally equipped with a vertical shaft built
over the eastern part of the cist, apparently designed to
accommodate multiple burials. The accompanying layers yielded
few finds, mostly potsherds and some glass shards. Apart from
residual Late Roman pottery, a number of sherds of Ayyubid
Overglaze Painted and Early Mamluk Sgraff and Slip Painted
wares, as well as some Chinese celadon imitations were recorded.
The finds point to the 12th-13th centuries AD as the most plausible
date for the Upper Necropolis. Below the burials, a thick (1.5-2 m)
stratum of rubble sloping to the north and west was explored.
It consisted mostly of ashes and hardened slag. Typical Late Roman
series, including fragments of LRA 1, LRA 4, and Egyptian LRA
5/6, were accompanied by examples of Egyptian Red Slip Ware A
and early lead glazed "Coptic" ware, as well as related molded
glazed pottery. Immediately underneath, a demolition layer over
1 m thick was cleared and found to consist of stone rubble, mortar
and sand. This stratum covered the top of a huge N-S wall,
ca. 0.60 m wide. The wall of Late Roman date was apparently
demolished at the end of antiquity; however, its exact date and
function is yet to be established. It is surprising that no tomb
whatsoever of the Lower Necropolis (dated to the 7th-
8th centuries AD) was found in the trench. It seems that the entire
area south of the baths had already started to serve as a dumping
ground in this period.
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represented a more developed type. Tombs were built of small
limestone blocks lined with plaster. In one case (no. 2), the western
part of the grave was apse-shaped and the floor was plastered with
lime mortar. Some 0.70 to 1.10 m below these superstructures,
stone-made burial cists were found, falling also into two different
groups: flat-roofed and gable-roofed. Both were constructed of
small, rather regular stones covered with slabs. Of special interest
was tomb no. 3, additionally equipped with a vertical shaft built
over the eastern part of the cist, apparently designed to
accommodate multiple burials. The accompanying layers yielded
few finds, mostly potsherds and some glass shards. Apart from
residual Late Roman pottery, a number of sherds of Ayyubid
Overglaze Painted and Early Mamluk Sgraff and Slip Painted
wares, as well as some Chinese celadon imitations were recorded.
The finds point to the 12th-13th centuries AD as the most plausible
date for the Upper Necropolis. Below the burials, a thick (1.5-2 m)
stratum of rubble sloping to the north and west was explored.
It consisted mostly of ashes and hardened slag. Typical Late Roman
series, including fragments of LRA 1, LRA 4, and Egyptian LRA
5/6, were accompanied by examples of Egyptian Red Slip Ware A
and early lead glazed "Coptic" ware, as well as related molded
glazed pottery. Immediately underneath, a demolition layer over
1 m thick was cleared and found to consist of stone rubble, mortar
and sand. This stratum covered the top of a huge N-S wall,
ca. 0.60 m wide. The wall of Late Roman date was apparently
demolished at the end of antiquity; however, its exact date and
function is yet to be established. It is surprising that no tomb
whatsoever of the Lower Necropolis (dated to the 7th-
8th centuries AD) was found in the trench. It seems that the entire
area south of the baths had already started to serve as a dumping
ground in this period.
36