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Saturday, January 15, 2011


Balloon over the Nile

Early morning again, and today the wind is out of the southwest and blowing the balloons over the Nile to the east.  Jay happens to love the balloons so snaps them whenever they happen to get to us, but no one can make art with the immediate like Jay. Stunning!

Balloons

Square 9

A profile shot of Ashley’s old Square 9 is being taken as we attempt to separate the brick elements in the area. The profile shows us the “ramp” of a few bricks laid, is appears on a slight slope but atop a dark horizontal soil line that represents in this area Second Intermediate Period occupation.


Meredith, Katie, Michael and Kelly

The chilly morning gang gathers at square 10 where Meredith, Katie, Michael and Kelly are all together. Don’t know what was funny, but it’s great to laugh in the early hours. However, a little while later, when qufti Sayeed is finished, the two small rooms in the northeast of the square are cleaned and show pottery left on the floor. As in square 9, this area represents Second Intermediate Period usage.

Square 10

Looking over the south area

Betsy and Violaine look over the squares in the south where Chris and Katherine are working today (Gaultier is under the weather). Square 3 has walls along the west (right) and in the center, but is otherwise largely out of the enormous brick platform that we are working around back here. A blackened pit is on the east side where Chris and Katherine are standing. We hope from here to have a better idea of how and when the large structure was built.

Betsy and Violaine look at the south area excavations

Ashley's new square 11

Views from the south show Ashley’s new square 11 and the entire beehive of activity here. The “ramp” walls, or those running horizontally beneath at the south of square 9, are running north to south in the new square, revealing an very long bricked surface or wall. Tomorrow we will open a square to the west (left) of where the columns are to determine how a building related to those roof supports.

Work in square 11

Violaine and Katie

Typical candid shots of our supervisors show that their days are all about the squares: Violaine sits with Katie as they look over the brick connections; Marina leans into her trench to see what the qufti is showing her and view the progress; Maggie watches intently how her qufti Mohamed is working. It’s an all-day activity!

Marina
Maggie

Sorting pottery

Kelly and Michael are helping all day long too. Pottery sorting is their job whenever they are not taking levels for the supervisors. Betsy, Michael, and Kelly sit in the field of sherds that just grows and grows. But later Michael and Kelly are back helping Katie and Meredith measure the depth of their northeast rooms.

Measuring  Measuring

Michael holding the find of the day  View of the figurine

The “find of the day” goes to Michael who pulled this female figurine of marl clay out of a pottery basket he was sorting. After proudly holding it for a photo, he takes it to Katie from whose square it came, and she happily holds, sketches, and records it in her book. Nice job all!

Katie sketching the figurine  Close view of the figurine

 

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