28th
Saturday 26th March 2011
View of Umm Harb from the total station
The weather was so much better today - a sunny morning already by the time we got in the car just before 7am! We collected our policeman, as usual, on the bridge in Shibin and headed to Quesna to meet our inspector, via the usual stop at the fruit stall for supplies of bananas. We went, for the last time until the summer, to the area of el-Rimaly, Tell Mustai and Umm Harb and collected one of the local inspectors, Hany, on our way through the town. He has been most helpful while we have been making the survey. Today we explored another area currently clear from vegetation - but we will return in the summer season when the fields will be clear and have planned already the specific areas that we would like to investigate. There are ceramic sherds everywhere and when the fields are clear we can get a better idea of their distribution across the wider area.
It was really quite a warm day today - the first day that both jumper and jacket could be discarded - much better for work than the rain and wind of Thursday! We worked through until just before 3 - breaking at around 11.30 for second breakfast, which as usual, consisted of ful beans and tamia. On the way home we stopped to collect a freezer that our colleagues had brought up from Luxor for repair - and it was a site to behold to see one of our friends, who works with us during the excavation seasons at Quesna, come towards us on his motorcyle with a freezer strapped to the back! Let’s hope it works!
Tomorrow we will move on to another site, a registered site by the name of Sobek el-Dahak. For tonight some pottery washing and cooking to go!
