When Archaeologists Play Tourist, Silly Photos Happen

We are back in Edfu after spending four days in Luxor for Eid.  Eid is a Muslim holiday (literally means “feast”), and lasts for four days.  Because it is a holiday where our workers will not work, it meant that we got to take a break as well, and pamper ourselves in Luxor.  Over the past few seasons, we have learned that it is worth it to pay a little extra to stay in a western-style hotel, so that we can have really good showers and breakfasts.  We stayed at the Sonesta, which is a very popular hotel for tourists- it even has a nice pool which we got to enjoy for a day.   But seriously, it is the showers we go there for (two words: water pressure).

If those are just the feet, imagine the size of that statue!

Eid is usually our time to sight-see in Luxor, though after three years I have seen almost everything that is open.   On Thursday, Janelle, Jonathan, Aaron and I visited the Ramesseum (mortuary temple of Ramesses II), which I had never been to before.   It’s not nearly as well preserved as Medinet Habu (mortuary temple of Ramesses III), but was still roofed in places, which is always cool.  Thursday we also visited the Valley of the Kings, which is always fun, though unfortunately all of the 18^th Dynasty tombs were closed.  I have really been wanting to see Thutmose III again, and Janelle had never been in there.  I don’t have any pictures of the tombs because you can’t bring your camera into the valley.  The same went for the Valley of the Queens which we also visited.  Only three tombs were open there, but they were really beautiful ones so it was worth the trip. 

Friday was our hiking day, where we hike from Medinet Habu to Deir el Bahri (temple of Hatshepsut) over the gebel (the Arabic word for mountain).   We always start at Habu because it’s really well preserved, and has lots of important texts and reliefs.  While Medinet Habu was the mortuary temple of Ramesses III, it was in use into the Coptic period as a settlement, since it had really high walls which made it excellent for defense.   We then walk to Deir el Medina, the workmen’s village for the Valley of the Kings.  From there you can take the stairs up the mountain to the path which takes you from Deir el Medina to Deir el Bahri.  It’s a great hike, and gives you a beautiful view of the valley below.   After our hike, we returned to the east bank for lunch (McDonalds!) and to explore a bit of the town as we tried to determine if we could get from the main east-west street to the main north-south one.   Several side streets later, we eventually made it back to our hotel, though we had gotten quite the eyeful of the slaughtering of the animals for the feast!

"Smiting" photos, with Janelle and I playing the foes
while Tasha plays the king.

Artistic reinterpretation of the Sea Peoples reliefs at Medinet Habu.

The beginning of the stairs up the gebel.  There are over 500
of them to the first cliff path, and over 500 more
 if you want to reach the top (we opted for the lower path)

We can fly!

Overlooking Deir el-Bahri.

So much good food!

I spent most of Saturday in bed/by the pool because I caught a cold and felt sick, but I was well enough to join the rest of the team at the house of our reis (chief workman) for dinner that evening.  He and his family spoiled us with fantastic homemade Egyptian dishes, including cabbage stuffed with rice, lamb, tagine vegetables, this green gooey stuff everyone but me likes, and many other things I can’t even remember.  It was awesome. 

Now we are back in Edfu and it is back to work!

Mini-Vacation!

Today we are heading to Luxor for our mid-season break.  We have the break because the Muslim holiday of Eid (meaning "feast") begins on Thursday, during which we can do no work since we'll have no workers.  Traditionally, during this holiday Egyptians will sacrifice an animal (goat and sheep being the most popular) and leave bloody hand prints on walls for good luck.  Then at night they will have a feast.  Which day this occurs during Eid varies each year, and I'm not sure exactly what day of Eid the big feast is this year, but the holiday itself runs through Monday.  We are staying in Luxor through Sunday, and we're staying at a really nice hotel, with western style showers (meaning we don't have to share one small water heater between five people) and big, fancy breakfasts.  I'm so excited!

A Hole in the Wall

Greg showing me the in situ post and burnt roofing material.

We had some really cool finds today on site in my area.  The first thing we noticed was that there was a very large piece of wood sticking out of the side of the tell where we were working.  Then Greg saw that right above it was roofing material- most likely hay thatching.  The sample was large enough for us to take a sample for C14 dating, which would be really awesome because then we could date the structure to which the beam belonged.   But the coolest thing was that we found where the beam had been in use- we found three holes for beams in the enclosure wall that are the same size!  And since the beam was found on a floor, we can estimate the height of the building- it wasn’t very tall, barely five and a half feet.  Ancient peoples tended to be shorter than modern people because of poor nutrition.   The roof beams were burnt, like much of Edfu for some reason.   There are some interesting theories about why Edfu was so burnt, including war, meteors, etc.   Though given the building materials- wood and straw- and the methods of cooking and providing light at night (fire), would it be that surprising that fires would occur and spread quickly?

Aurelie excavating the beam holes in the enclosure wall.

Today I also had a fun chat with my advisor about possible dissertation topics.  I'm actually really looking forward to starting investigative research when I return home in December. 

Water Fell from the Sky, and Other Things of Note

If you hadn’t noticed from my photos, we have a lot of silos in Zone III.  How they all relate to each other chronologically can sometimes be problematic, but, in some cases we get lucky.  With these two silos here, you can actually see how they relate.  The square one was there first, built against the enclosure wall.  Then later, they came in and cut down part of it, along with part of the enclosure wall, to build the larger circular silo.  You may also be able to see in the photo the ashy white material between the silo walls.  We think, though we can’t say for sure, that they put ashy around and under the silos as they built them to prevent rodents and insects from burrowing into the silos to get to the grain. 

On an unrelated note, look at the super cute pot I found today:

This adorable pot even had two holes for suspension by a string!

The rain happened before we got to site,
but seriously it looked like it was about to
storm all over us all morning.

In other news, the weather has finally started to change.  We are now averaging highs in the mid-90s, and everyone who was sick from heat exhaustion has recovered.   The other day it was even cloudy until 11am or so, and it rained right before we got to site in the morning! (Okay, it was more like sprinkles, but that’s about all you get in Egypt in terms of water falling from the sky).  

Heat Exhaustion Strikes Again!

Heat exhaustion is dropping our team like flies.  Only three of us haven't been hit yet- Tasha, Greg, and myself- and I'm feeling kind of queasy and ill this evening.  Hopefully I nipped it in the bud by taking a cold shower and downing liquids and salty foods.  Janelle, however, had to go home early from site because she was so ill and has tried several different medicines to stem the nausea, none of which has worked so far.  If you have suggestions, please let us know!  Hopefully the heat will break soon, I'm not sure how much more of the 100 degree plus temperatures we can take.

Egyptian Construction Methods

 In some ways, Egypt has not really changed since ancient times.  We are getting a practical lesson in this on site right now.   In the Old Kingdom area, we needed to move a wall by about two meters to make room for the work to proceed, as the wall built by the SCA was too close to where we work.  Over the last week, our workers have been demolishing the old wall, and in the last few days they have begun building the new one.  You can even see the stub of the old wall still there- much like the ancients, Egyptians will just reduce a wall to the height it needs to be to not cause a problem, and then start their new building.  (Though, I should note that in our case the wall stub is holding up the archaeological materials we are excavating from collapsing, so it still provides a function for now at least). 

To build the new wall, the first thing they did was dig a foundation trench, and then they placed a few layers of bricks within covered with muna.  Muna is a material made of dirt, water, and animal refuse (in our case, donkey poo).  You can see the workers preparing the muna in the big built up pit in the foreground.   The guy in there keeps mixing the muna with a hoe so that it doesn’t dry out, adding water occasionally.   The ceramicists and epigraphers work downwind of this area and have described the smell as "pungent".  Now that they are actually building the wall up, the muna functions like mortar as they lay the bricks.  In a country with very little rain, this building method works very well.  Many buildings don’t even use nice bricks like we are using here- often they use mudbricks just like the ancients.  Mudbricks are basically mud and a temper material (straw, sand, stone, etc.) formed in a wooden mold and left out to dry.   It’s a very cheap way to build, and the buildings are actually quite comfortable to live in- they deal better with the hot temperatures than the concrete buildings anyways!

Today's Lesson: Dirt is Not a Good Sunblock

You can’t be an archaeologist and not like getting dirty, and I’m no exception.  I have never, ever, in my life, that I can remember at least, been as dirty as I was today.   Part of the reason I was so dirty is because the level I was excavating is at about the height of my shoulders, so any dirty I moved ended up all over me.   But I’m quite proud of how much I excavated all by myself, especially in the sun and 106 degree heat.   This is at 7am this morning:

And this is at 1:15pm this afternoon:

I found the foundation of a square silo, in the upper, right hand corner of the photo.  I also cleared off part of the enclosure wall, so we can better understand the relationship between it and the two silos.  Unfortunately, the upper silo is about to fall, so one of the specialist workmen from Luxor will be excavating it.  I think everyone is in agreement that putting my accident prone self in a precarious silo is a bad idea.

And this is just how dirty I got over the course of the day:

Tasha suggested I pose like a woman
in an Egyptian fashion magazine.

It was so hot, all the dirt just caked on to me as I sweated.

My shower once I got home was the best shower I’ve ever taken.

Roasted Lindsey

It's getting ridiculously hot in Upper Egypt right now- we're reaching 103 or 104 F in the afternoons on site.  Of course we are all wearing pants and long sleeved shirts, which probably isn't helping with the heat, though is good for sun protection.  I've been feeling pretty bad towards the end of the day, especially since I've been mapping walls, which requires a lot of climbing up and down the tell in the sun all afternoon.  I was feeling really sick yesterday, and then today our inspector told me that she "hoped I napped" and that I "looked really ill" yesterday.  I think that's a nice way of saying I looked like crap.  I pretty much passed out in my bed as soon as I've showered after lunch, usually with my fan 3 inches from my body.  I've experienced worse heat in Egypt, but this is still rough.  My sunblock is just barely hanging on- I haven't burnt yet, but I am rather rapidly turning brown, despite layering sunscreen on twice a day.  I'm rockin' a fantastic farmer's tan already.  Not as awesome as Greg's of course.  Greg, who is the husband of the dig director and a sort of co-director, never wears sunscreen.

In other news, I mapped a tall silo and wall without falling and breaking anything, and my last two drawings have went over well with Nadine.  The wall and silo I mapped are on the right.  It's very strange, this big thick wall in the middle of a silo.  Our theory is that much later than the silo there was a structure built higher on the tell (which is now gone), and they sunk a very deep, thick foundation to stabilize the building.

Tomorrow, I will begin excavating a really neat area between a silo and town enclosure wall.  Since the area is full of gray ashy material, I'm probably going to get VERY dirty tomorrow.  I can't wait. 

I found an unbroken pot!

Excavating outside a silo!

We started excavation proper today, which I was so happy about (the more dirt I am covered in, the better).  I’m working in “Zone III”, which is the northern portion of the site including the First Intermediate Period enclosure wall.   I’ll be assisting Nadine with the supervision of the workers, as well as excavation portions myself.   We began the day by organizing the workers as well as recording and giving numbers to layers (accumulated debris) and features (walls, silos, etc.).  Numbering is VERY important so that we understand the stratigraphic relationships.  Archaeology is an inherently destructive process, meaning that since we are removing the material there is no way to go back and check our work after the fact.  We have to be meticulous with our recording and numbering so that pottery and finds can be associated with the correct context.  That way, we can use them to date the layers and features we excavate, and thus say something about the town at that period. 

I found something really cool in the afternoon when I began digging a little area adjacent the earliest enclosure wall- a complete nw-pot.   A nw-pot is often depicted in tombs and temples in the hands of a king, official, or private person making an offering to a god.  Finding a complete pot at Edfu is rare, as it was a site of human habitation and hence the majority of pottery only entered the archaeological record after it had been of no use to anyone (like when it was broken). 

The nw-pot in situ where I excavated it.

Jonathan and I demonstrate the appropriate offering position
when using a nw-pot, Jonathan playing the
part of the god, while I am the human.

All in all, despite the 102 degree heat, it was a good day!

It's the "Weekend"!

It is our day off!   Fridays are sort of the equivalent to western Sundays, as Friday is the day of prayer for Muslims.  Being so close to a mosque, this does mean it’s pretty loud in our apartment complex today though.  Our workers will attend morning prayer, or pray on their own at their apartment.   Some will have returned home to Luxor to be with their families. They’ve had a busy week moving heaving blocks, so we are happy they are resting.  Mostly today we will do some work and read and relax.  I have to move out of my room though and into the kitchen, because we have another person coming and we have to shuffle the living arrangements.  It's kind of hot in there, but not much worse than my old room. 

The sun setting over the cultivation west of Edfu.

Our neighbors feeding their animals.

Last night, we all spent the evening on the roof drinking (while alcohol is prohibited by Islam, foreigners can purchase alcohol from duty-free shops in airports and in Luxor) and watching the sun set.  I got some absolutely beautiful photos, and a good view of the area around our house.   We are right on the edge of the town, near the cultivation.  Our neighbors include several donkeys, a herd of goats, a pregnant horse, geese, chickens, ducks, and a turkey, along with a variety of Egyptians young and old.  While quieter than some of the other places we have stayed, which were along the main street of Edfu, there is still a lot of noise.  The donkey in particular likes to make a lot of noise, especially in the middle of the night.  Egyptians keep their animals pretty much everywhere- houses under construction, like the house to our west, are particularly common.  We even see animals like goats and chickens kept on the roof.  

From the roof, you can see just how close we are to the temple. We are within walking distance, which means each morning we walk there, at around 5:50am.  Archaeologists have to be morning people, if they don’t want to risk heat stroke!  You can also see just how many houses are under construction in Edfu- pretty much every building is in some state of construction or repair- this is because in Egypt, you don't pay taxes on buildings which are not complete, so pretty much everything is "under construction".  

Tomorrow, we start excavation officially.  I'm very excited to get to work in my area!

Blocks, rocks, and kittens, oh my!

Edfu Temple shortly after dawn. 

First off- if you have no idea of what I do, here's a primer. On the right is where I work.  In the background is the temple of Edfu, dating to the Ptolematic period (basically the same period as ancient Greece).  In the foreground is the "tell", which is an Arabic word for hill.  Tells are formed by centuries and millenia of human habitation- in this case, Edfu was occupied continuously for at least 3000 years in this area.  We excavate the tell area to understand more about how the ancient Egyptians lived their lives.  It's an awesome, awesome job, and my dig director is awesome.  

Aaron, Ahmed, and I braved the bats to
 locate a box for Tasha.

On to the update.  Today was our first full day on site.  Yesterday we had a short day on site to get our equipment in order, as well as to remove boxes of pottery from the pylon for Tasha, our ceramicist, to document and draw for her dissertation.   I, along with Aaron, our new Australian team member, braved the pylon bats along with some of our Luxor workers to remove the boxes.  A bat hit me in the face.  Bats are cute, but not in your face.  

Moving blocks.

Today, Janelle and Jonathan’s block yard project went into full swing.  What they are working on is pretty cool- there are a lot of stone blocks from various buildings that were located on the site at some point in its history, but were torn down and reused in other buildings.  These have over time been piled up near our work area, and this year Nadine decided something needed to be done about them.  Janelle and Jon will be organizing them, drawing them, and then our workers will build pedestals for them so that they can be displayed as part of the open-air museum.   They had their workers move 312 blocks today! 

Tasha Town!

I helped Tasha up in “Tasha Town” for a while this morning.  Tasha Town is where we store the pottery from large contexts (a context is a single layer of archaeological material) during and after the season.  Much of her dissertation is dependent upon this material.   Tasha was also training her new assistant, Aaron. 

On Saturday I’ll start work excavating in my area- I’ll be working in the enclosure wall area to the north.  This was the town wall of Edfu at around 2100 BC.  We’ll be investigating the different phases as well as the silo installations adjacent.  It should be interesting, though it is in an area that has absolutely no shade at all, unlike where the ceramicists and epigraphers will be working.  They got their own tents this year!

One last thing- look what we found today:

Hopefully she is still there in the morning.  Patches, Kiri, and Afrit from last year are also all back.  We think this one is Patches' kitten- she looks like she might have had a litter relatively recently.

And... we're back!

We are finally in Edfu!  27 hours of travel, 3 planes, 2 days in Luxor, and one fight with a hotel for double-charging us later, we are finally settling into our new house.  We are living in the most amazing location in the entire village of Edfu- it is like a palace compared to where we have stayed previously.  Normally we have one shower to share between 8 and 12 people, beds and pillows made of rags, doors which don’t open or close fully, chairs which collapse under you, etc.  This is my room this season:

We have two apartments, with two full bathrooms, two kitchens, a workroom, and five bedrooms.  All furnished in good, if a bit ostentatious, furniture.  There are even wardrobes and places to store our stuff- so we don’t have to live out of our suitcases.  Our advisor of course is paying for this, and because she paid a deposit she is VERY concerned that we don’t break anything.   It’s a palace!  The only slight problem is what is next door:

Call to prayer happens five times a day, including at 4am in the morning, which also includes a long recitation for about 30 minutes.   By the end of the season, we will all be used to it and sleep straight through, but right now, we will have to be early risers.