Oh dear, how does one
begin to summarize 2 months, almost 9 weeks, of survey work? This first half of
the 2014 season’s fieldwork has brought an incredible amount of new material,
knowledge and understanding of the site in general, and chronologically span
over 10 000 years of history. Epigraphy, topography, ceramic analysis,
geological (surface) analysis, lithic studies, rock art recording,
‘contemporary’ epigraphic documentation (early travellers, etc.), quarry marks,
team marks, extraction techniques, transportation routes; these (along with
many more) are all topics that have been incorporated into the larger umbrella
of our comprehensive archaeological study of Gebel el Silsila this season.
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| Glorious equinox sunrise over the East Bank |
We have reached a
greater understanding as to the chronological development of the site, from its
earliest visitors in the form of nomadic hunter-gather groups that temporary
found shelter and hunting ground along Silsila’s shores and wadis, to the
various quarrying expeditions that were sent out by this and that pharaoh for
the building of one or another
sanctuary. Epigraphic, ceramic and archaeological material comes together and
help us understand in greater detail the smaller differences of techniques used
on site – this may not sound very interesting or important, but each one of
these details aid us in pinpointing Silsila’s function and importance during
antiquity.
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| One of many shrines at Silsila |
In addition to the
purely scientific work, we have enjoyed a peaceful and successful season filled
with excitement and adventure! We have been visited by various friends and
colleagues, individually and groups; each one of which have reminded us of how
blessed we are to work in such a magical ancient site as Madam Silsila.
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| One of many quarry marks on the West Bank |
So, how can we then
summarize this spring season? Well, let us divide it into weeks and take you on
a visual journey (like so often before).
Week 1:
During the first week we
conducted a general visual overview of the site, walking through the landscape
and reminding ourselves of the diversity of archaeological material presented.
It feels good to start each season with a couple of days’ inspection in order
to estimate current state of preservation, to see the material in new light,
with new experience and with the stored knowledge and understanding from
previous seasons. The light changes incredibly much from season to season,
month to month, morning to night, so a revisit now and again to already
recorded locations can be very fruitful. It is also a nice introduction for our
new inspector (s), to get a quick and summarized insight into the site. This
week we had the great pleasure of welcoming Dr. Sarah K. Doherty to the site,
and efficient and driven as she is she jumped straight into the task of
recording the pottery in our Main Quarry. Scott A. Roberts visited the site
this week and provided the team with some professional photographs in
preparation for a nice coffee table publication (!). The team was furthermore
joined by three inspectors in training from Kom Ombo, and received during the
season field experience necessary for their education.
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| Ahmed and John inspecting rock art, with Scotty capturing the moment from another angle |
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| John describing the transportation of blocks within the northern corridor of Q37 |
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| Maria using a ladder to capture epigraphic material on higher grounds |
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| Our visitor Scotty busy photographing |
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| The arrival of a great Irish(wo)man |
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| Inspector Mohamed |
Week 2:
This week the team
divided into a ceramic study group and a rock art documentation group. As Sarah
continued working her way through the pottery of the Main Quarry she generously
took the time to teach our visiting inspector students the various ins and outs
of ceramic analysis. Meanwhile the rock art survey continued on the west bank, including
a more comprehensive photographic documentation, production of acetate copies
and hand drawn images, measurements, marking of GPS coordinates into the
system, etc. The surface in and around the various rock art sites was studied,
and in some cases revealed lithic material that may bring a better
understanding in terms of chronology. The lithic work shop (surface scatter)
that was discovered during our 2013 season was studied in more detail, and
other than the vast amount of debetage (waste material/’left overs’), we were
happy to record various cores, triangular geometrics and scrapers made of
quartz, flint, volcanic stone and the odd silicified sandstone –used as tools
or for tool making. During our second week we were all taken by
the beauty captured in a series of fossilized leaves and branches dating some
75 million (!) years back. The word of the day was ‘wow’ as we all painted an
inner picture of what Silsila must have appeared as all these millions of years
ago. Humbleness for sure!
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| Documentation of a Roman road |
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| Sarah at her best! |
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| assistant worker Salah having some time off for Shisha |
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| Salah helping Maria in directing/reflecting light for rock art photography |
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| Ahmed drawing the rock art by hand |
Week 3:
The rock art survey continued on both sides of the Nile and the ceramic
analysis moved from East to West to take a closer look at the various scattered
layers on and around Pottery Hill. The aim was to begin the long process of
setting up a stylistic database for the site, something that has never been
done before. Those of you who have worked with pottery before know very well
how long this process is and it goes without saying that Sarah’s job this
season was only a beginning, but hey, one has to start somewhere!? Despite one
or two curses of Roman pottery our honorable ceramic specialist seemed to have
come to terms with the somewhat later material than the Old Kingdom material
she had grown so fond of previously.
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| Lunch time on Pottery Hill |
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| Understanding from the hat and scarves, March was rather chilly |
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| Breakfast time on the motorboat |
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| John trying to argue for his cause |
During this week the Gebel el Silsila Survey Project team was honored to participate
in the UNESCO organized conference ‘the southern gate of Egypt’ in Aswan where we
presented the latest research from site.
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| The Silsila Team at the Aswan conference |
Weeks 4-5:
Prof. James Harrell joined the team during week 4 and we spent some
quality time studying and discussing the various extraction techniques and geological
features of the site. The plan is for Jim to return to site and begin a larger
geological study in 2015. As always, it is a true pleasure and delight to have
him present!
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| One of Silsila's many strange but wonderful geological features |
As we said our farewell to our Irish team member the focus turned towards
the south where two rock inscription sites were documented in more detail. As reported
previously we were pleased to find more evidence of Middle Kingdom activity in
the area, represented in epigraphic material as well as in quarrying
techniques. During a day with a heavy, but beautiful thunderstorm we recorded
some 50 textual and pictorial inscriptions in this area with representations
ranging from Predynastic pictographs to Roman game boards!
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| Quarrying (trench) detail |
Week 7:
There was no fieldwork carried out during what should have been week 6
since we left Egypt for the UK to participate in the CRE XV conference in
London. No rest for the wicked though, as we returned to Silsila the day after
our return to Egypt, and we were joined by visiting Egyptologist Dr. Philippe
Martinez. Philippe will join the team officially as a team member for the
coming season and will be responsible for the recording of foremost hieroglyphic
material. As reported in our last blog post, this week brought with it some
proper daredevils as we had a 15 m scaffolding system erected in the
northern-most part of Silsila East. Forget about western health and safety
measures, this piece brought us an opportunity, not to mention experience and
adventure, of a lifetime as we climbed the external ladder to record the stele
of Amenhotep IV. At the same time, five Predynastic rock art panels were
recorded and two Epipalaeolithic clusters of depictions were added to the
forever growing list of Prehistoric material at Silsila. Then one shall not
forget to mention the excitement (?!) of entering the bat-colonized
subterranean quarry gallery that revealed one or another piece of interesting
information. Dressed in chicken-yellow rubber clothes from top to toe, an internal
sauna was to be expected, but hey, who said archaeology is an easy task?!
Weeks 8-9:
During our last week and a half we spent some quality time recording the
epigraphic material in the Main Quarry of the West Bank, which also resulted in
the production of a preliminary plan drawing of the quarry’s 50+ quarry faces. As
this gigantic ‘hole’ in the mountain was created during various chronological
phases it came as no surprise to discover texts and images ranging from the New
Kingdom throughout to the Roman Period. Quarry marks, proper identity marks,
labels of the quarry, names of individuals, and pictorial graffiti in various
forms were all presented before our eyes.
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| the Main Quarry of the West Bank |
Our last couple of days on site was spent recording the area commonly
known as the ‘harbor’ at the West Bank, and it was during these days that we
had the great pleasure of welcoming Mr. Francois Tonic and his tour group who defied
the heat and visited the site one morning. We like to express our gratefulness
for their support of our work and look forward to future visits!
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| 'Harbor' Quarry with inspector Sayed acting providing scales |
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| French group on a day's visit to Silsila |
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| the same group invited to share drinks on the floating dig house |
Then it was time to pack
up, collecting one’s belongings from the floating dig house of two months, try
to write up and summarize a report of what had been done and what results had
been achieved, and try to return to a more normal office life where the first
task would be to deal with the thousands and yet thousands of images that had
been produced during the season. As so
often before, this season has brought us more questions, thankfully also many
answers, but we count ourselves fortunate to be able to now gather our
thoughts, review the material and prepare for the next season of work to come. Maybe
we will manage to put another little blog post in here before the autumn season
takes off, and either way, we hope to have you with us virtually along this
exciting journey of surveying Madam Silsila!
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| Inspector Sayed giving scale to prepared blocks |
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| Maria documenting epigraphic material and extraction layers |
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| John, Philippe and assistant Mohamed having a closer look at one of the shrines |
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| Philippe enjoying himself in the Speos |
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| John with inspectors Sayed and Mostafa in one of the shrines |
Thank you for all your
support and encouragement this season, for your comments and for all the new
contacts that we have made during this journey. In the not too far future we
will present our new, proper website for you and with it the ‘Friends of Silsila’,
which will enable various exciting features to the project!
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| first half of the season's team |
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| second half |
The team of spring 2014:
Stretching from March 1
to April 30 2014 the team for this season consisted of Mission Director Maria
Nilsson, topographic recorder John Ward, ceramic specialist Sarah K. Doherty,
geological specialist James A. Harrell, visiting Egyptologist Philippe Martinez
and SCA inspectors Mr. Mohamed Hamdy, Mr. Ahmed Sayed, Mr. Mohamed Hassan, Mr. Mostafa Mohamed and Mr. Sayed Mahmoud. In
addition three inspectors were trained in fieldwork, including Mr. Khalid
Ahmed, Miss Walaa Ali and Miss Asmaa Mohamed.
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| one cannot forget to include Mr. Carter in the team of spring 2014 |
We owe our deepest
gratitude to the members of the Permanent Committee for giving us permission to
work at Silsila. Our gratefulness is directed also to the inspectorates of Kom
Ombo, especially Ahmed Sayed and Mohamed Ngar, and Director Abd el Moniem Said,
and equally to the General Directors of Aswan Mr. Fathy Abuzied, and to all the
inspectors assigned to our project.
Varia:
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| Lightning over Silsila |
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| One of our symbolic protectors |
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| one cannot forget our flying friends |
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| Maria |
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| John |
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| Sometimes the desert present strange artifacts, such as plastic sunglasses' frames |
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| and what a laugh we had... |
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| no words needed |
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| hiding from the smell of a dead animal |
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| assisting the erection of the scaffolding from the top |
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| John busy broadcasting for Intrepid Radio each Monday morning |
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| migrating storks |
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| visit from our Dutch friends |
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| more lightning |
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| yet some more |
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| rock art recording... |
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