Hopkins In Egypt Today

Statue of a Queen

Now you can see how incredibly beautiful she truly is. This is the perfect face of the period of Amenhotep III's reign, and we are able to say that it was sculpted in the last eight years of the rule. On the queen's crown are cryptographic writings of Amenhotep III's prenomen (Nebmaatre), and these are written in the Sed festival kiosk. These writings and the kiosk are associated with the period during and after the king celebrated at least one of these three sed festivals, in years 30/31, 33/34 and 36/37. The queen's triple uraeus consists of two cobras (protective goddesses from Upper and Lower Egypt ) flanking the vulture that is an extension of her vulture headdress. The feathers of that headdress surround her face and cover part of the wig.

Rooms and Walls in Elizabeth's Square   Baulk in Elizabeth's Square

In Elizabeth's square cross walls separate several rooms. On the right side you notice that the cross wall (left-right) is darker color on the right side. That is because there is actually no brick here, and we will remove it soon so as to reflect actual bricks present. Probably this was a doorway opening. However, note that we made a mistake digging here, and we missed a cross wall. Thank goodness that baulks tell stories too, so we can record it.

Detail of Emily's Square

Emily's square has parts of two granaries right next to each other, and the platform connecting them was covered with garbage, i.e., pottery refuse. The brick, though dark and still damp, does go from the top of the larger feature (top) down to the surface with the pottery scatter, and it and the other round silo stem from the same level.

Katie's Square   Katie's Square

Katie's square was almost given up for dead, but IT'S BAAACK! Fikhry has found a wall in the center with brick running east-west. A squarish feature in the center has other brick leading away from it to the east, and this may simply be part of the breadth of the wall. However, it is a bit unusual. The rounded feature on the baulk remains unclear. It has a brick border that is four layers high, but its interior is soil. Probably a storage area, but was it connected with the new wall?

Adam in his Trench Mearuing Wall   Adam in his Trench Mearuing Wall

Adam's trench has a fine north-south wall that terminates at the round feature in the northwest - part of the granary also partly visible in Emily's square. He is now drawing his wall, and perhaps it's good timing, because you never know when something new will arrive.

Kent and Hiroko Cleaning Fragments of Granodiorite

In the Second Court, Kent and Hiroko clean fragments of granodiorite. These all came up in the near vicinity of the queen statue, but only a few are certainly related. Most are parts of Sakhmet statues, of which there are nearly 300 tops and bottoms still on the site. Still, we must look at them all to make sure that we don't miss something.

Removing BLocks from Temple Platform   Removing BLocks from Temple Platform

Franck Burgos, the stone mason, and his crew have begun to remove the blocks that are deteriorated from the front of the temple platform. Decorated and inscribed blocks are being placed on the new mastabas, and they will be conserved by Kent, Hiroko, and Lotfi Hassan. This will be an exciting thing. Stay tuned for a week.


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