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Thursday, June 14, 2007


Early morning at the site.

Jay, our photographer, is as usually the first one on the site. The sun is not yet up which makes it the best time of the day for photography: no deep contrast between shade and light.

Reis Farouk who manages the workmen is already here; the workmen who have to “sign in” at the gate will soon follow.

 

Early morning at the site.

 


 

Sarah and Adam taking levels.

Sarah and Adam taking levels. Sarah and Adam work together to take elevations in their respective trenches. As mentioned yesterday, we are trying to verify if the wall in Adam’s trench, inside the temple, might join with the brick wall that Sarah is clearing, outside the temple. It is therefore essential to constantly monitor how deep one trench is in relation to the other as the excavation progresses.

 


 

Working in the heat.

The heat makes everyone’s work so much more difficult. It almost looks like those two workmen are about to play “rock, paper, scissors” to determine who will pick the largest block!

 


 

Violaine reviews drawings.

One of Violaine’s responsibilities over the years has been to generate a master-plan of the temple’s precinct. Today she is going over a series of drawings made during previous seasons. In the maze of blocks, she is asking Adam to help her identify the features which have been drawn. Once checked, the plans will be scanned, integrated in the master-plan and “inked” on the computer.

Violaine discusses the site drawinds with Adam.
Violaine works on the site drawings.

 


 

Will checks Keli's drawing.
Will is checking one of Keli’s drawings. The inscription on one of Hatshepsut’s columns has been traced on transparent acetate film with a sharp permanent marker. To make corrections on a faulty line, Keli uses a Q-tip soaked in alcohol to erase the ink.


 
Jessica drawing pottery.
Jessica drawing pottery.

The work at the dig house has been somewhat disrupted by an electricity shortage. This however does not affect the work of Jessica, Jon and Dorothy who have set up their drawing station outside under the entrance porch.

Here you see Jessica taking the first step in the pottery drawing process. She is leaning the potsherd against a vertical flat surface to figure out its orientation (above); since in a complete pot the rim is horizontal, she will know that she has the proper orientation of the piece when every centimeter of the rim touches the flat surface. Then she places the sherd, holding it in its correct position, over her sheet of paper before tracing its contour(left).

Work continues at the dig house.

 


 

Without electricity Jim, a Hopkins alumnus who is helping Jay with the photographic record of objects, is out of work. He is taking this opportunity to come to the site to see the context which the material he is working with comes from.

Jim visits the site.

 


 

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