Returning after the holidays

First and foremost,

a truly happy new year, and best wishes for 2016 to be even more adventurous, successful, prosperous and joyful than years before!

How can one top a year that included three major discoveries, starting with the press release of the small Royal stele depicting Amun-Ra and Thoth,

followed by the re-discovery of the Temple of Kheny in May,

and now, most recently, the exciting discovery of six statues and relief scenes within shrines 30-31, previously thought to have been completely destroyed.

And, we shall not forget the unique discovery that forever has changed the history of our Speos - the rock cut temple - previously regarded as the work of Pharaoh Horemheb, but now with a chronology that is pushed back to the times of the female Pharaoh Hatshepsut, and with restoration work carried out by the famous boy-king Tutankhamun. 

Detail from within the speos showing the left partition of the usurped boat scene. Notice the small, square apertures

Wow, what a year it was! And to those amazing finds, Madam Silsila has delivered so incredibly much more... Rock Art, (more) Quarry Marks, Texts, demotic ostraca... the list goes on (...and includes some that you will have to wait a bit for).

So, with this post we would like to express our gratefulness towards all people involved in the work here at Silsila; all our scientists, assistants, inspectors, friends and family! Let us hope for another year of fantastic news for Madam Silsila!

And a new and exciting season has already begun! Here are some captured moments:

moon over Silsila

the place where it all begun back in 2007

Horus, our protector!

learning how to use a camera starts in early years around here

photographing a beauty through a rope hole...

and there was the beauty...

lovely visit from Prof. Cruz

Mr. Mohamed Abdalla, our inspector

Shihat working the prism magic

Moamen and Shihat mapping out 'Elephant Rock'

can it get any better?!

oh well, we guess it can

and until next time, safe journeys friends!

Acknowledgements are here in order for our sponsors for this season, including NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY and Gerda Henkel Stiftung! We would also like to express our deepest gratitude towards the Glen Dash Foundation for sponsoring the Silsila Team with our Total Station!