September 2011
11 posts
A full day!
Monday 26th September 2011
Another busy day! Today we had a new team member with us for the day - from Germany - who was of great help with the preparation and consolidation of a number of burials in the trench! The students, as yesterday, spent the period before second breakfast in the trench and then moved into the workrooms to receive more instruction - more practical today - in conservation...
All change for the students!
Sunday 25th September 2011
This morning saw a big change - the students switched their activities to focus on the analysis and drawing of ceramic finds and also on conservation. They did, however, work in T9 until second breakfast at 10am and made considerable progress there before heading into the work rooms after breakfast!
Five of the students worked with Mr Yasser on conservation - already...
Excavation and off to the university!
Saturday 24th September 2011
Today, as with last Saturday, was quite a long day - but successful! This morning was spent up at the site where most of the activity - and manpower focussed on T9! T11 continued to go down and now the extended section of the trench is at approximately the same depth as the original western part. Plant remains below the surface may suggest that we will soon be...
Excavations in the Ptolemaic cemetery continue!
Wednesday 21st September and Thursday 22nd September 2011
Work continued at a good pace in T9, the trench investigating the northern extent of the main part of the Ptolemaic (and possibly Early Roman) cemetery. More information will become available after Friday when Ashraf el-Senussi joins us from the Fayum to investigate the ceramics that have been collected from the surface layers and from...
Steaming ahead!
Tuesday 20th September 2011
Time is really flying! All continues to go very well with the fieldschool with the students really focussing on the excavation of skeletal remains again this week in T9. It has been helpful for them - and for us - to work in all areas: from trowelling back, to clearing larger amount of sand, and sieving their own sand to, in order to check for small bones and any...
In the classroom and back in the field!
Saturday 17th September 2011
Saturday afternoons are now our chance to work in the classroom together with the students on the fieldschool! On Thursday afternoon the students finished up at 1pm to enable everyone to visit their families on Friday and then re-assemble in the local university at Shibin el-Kom on Saturday afternoon for lectures from the fieldschool teachers!
So, on Saturday...
The pace quickens!
Wednesday 14th September 2011
Today was one of our busiest days! We started at 7.30 as usual and since yesterday have been joined by our 10th student - one of the students from the local university. Everyone is thoroughly immersed in the work and seems to be enjoying the work and learning a lot day by day. Most of the teaching will take placed in the field, however, we will have sessions every...
The start of the fieldschool
Sunday 11th September 2011 This morning saw the start of the first fieldschool at Quesna! The team from Shibin arrived on site just after 7am to meet the workers - many of whom we have worked with now since 2007! One worker who had been away for a couple of years has returned following his national service - we were very pleased to have him back on board! The fieldschool students arrived by 8am...
Up at Quesna!
Saturday 10th September 2011
Today we returned to Quesna to prepare for the fieldschool which will start tomorrow! Three of the field school students already came by today to say hello and we will start at 7.30am tomorrow morning!
Today was a good chance to walk over the site and select the locations for the trenches for this year. The results of Kris’s GPR survey are just through and...
Khatatbah - brief update!
From Saturday 3rd September 2011
We returned to Khatatbah on Saturday 3rd - the follow-up to our 2009 season! Khatatbah lies on the western edge of the Delta and is west of the Rosetta branch of the Nile as well as two relatively recent canals. The week saw much walking as we tried to cover as much ground as possible in order to assess the spread of artefactual remains on both the higher ground...
Re-assembled and ready to go!
Friday 2nd September 2011
Today everyone headed towards Cairo and then up to Shibin using various modes of transport - private cars, taxis and trains included! The team is now ready to go for the prehistoric survey at Khatatbah tomorrow morning! We have colleagues from New Zealand with us and also a colleague from London who will be the lithics specialists guiding the fieldwork.
We hope to...