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!