Time and place

12 Pages·2010·1.17 MB·English

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ISSUE6 Autumn2009 The Amarna Project and AmarnaTrust newsletter
MEDITERRANEAN SEA Time and place
Alexandria
Akhenaten, Pharaoh of Egypt for seventeen years from around
Kantir 1350 BCE, has a place in the history of ideas. He introduced a
religious cult that recognized only one god (the power of the sun,
Wadi Natrun Wadi Tumilat
the Aten) whilst at the same time not preventing the population of
Heliopolis
Q Giza CAIRO Egypt from continuing to honour gods and goddesses of the
Sakkara Memphis
home and of the locality. In our own age of intolerance his attitude
Fayum
is unexpected. But the way of thinking of the times did not see the
Medinet el-Ghurab S
(Gurob) need to apply ideas consistently across the board.
Amarna,the‘HorizonoftheAten’,wasthe
PharaohAkhenaten,here
placeinMiddleEgyptwherehetriedouthis
dispensingrewardsfromhis
Hermopolis experiment.Itdrewinapopulationofseveral palaceatAmarna.Scenein
(El-Ashmunein)
Tuna el-Gebel El-Amarna tensofthousandsofpeople.Theybuilta thetomboftheGod’sFather,
city,occupieditbusilyuntilshortlyafterhis Ay(no.25atAmarna).
death,andthenwentawayagain.Theyleft
arecordoftheirpresencethatisuniqueinits
R
scaleforancientEgypt.
TheAmarnaProjectseekstodocumentall
thatisatAmarnaandtounderstand
Abydos
primarilythrougharchaeologytheintentions
ofitsfounderandthelifeofhispeople.
Luxor (Thebes)
HorizonisthenewsletteroftheAmarnaTrust
Kharga Oasis thatsupportstheworkoftheProject.
0 100 200
Elephantine Aswan
kilometres
contents ThecemeteryatAmarna 2 HyaenasatAmarna 8 BirkbeckCollege&AmarnaTrust 10
Thebioarchaeologyfieldschool 4 MrHayter’snotebook 9 TheAmarnaTrust 11
Meretaten’sbathroom 6 RebuildingRanefer 9 Acknowledgments 12
Surveyingtheground 7 Thenewferry 10
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page2
Notes from the field
The cemetery of
Amarna’s people —
Thelowersiteliesontheslopingsideofthewadinotfar
expanding the excavation
fromitsmouth.
WeresumedexcavationsattheSouthTombsCemeteryin Thelowerareaof
excavationatthe
February.Withanenlargedexcavatingteamwewereable
SouthTombs
toopenanewareaaswellascontinuingwherewehave
Cemeteryattheend
duginpreviousyears.Theaimistoexplorehowuniform ofexcavation.
thecemeteryis.Thenewarealiesacrosstheothersideof Viewedtotheeast.
thewadiandmuchfurtherdowntowardsitsmouth.
Thegravesexposedinthenewparthada objectfromthelowersite,anarrow
muchmoreorderlylayoutthanisthecase limestonepyramidion(39433),provided 39424 39448
attheuppersite,mostbeingoriented withafacetedsocketontheundersidefor
perpendiculartothewadi,withtheheadto attachmenttoalowerlayerofbuilding
approximatelysouth-west.Thismight materialsthatcouldhavedevelopedthe
reflectsimplythatthisisthemost shapeofasmallpyramid.
comfortablewaytoliedownonapieceof
Oneofthemarkers(39448),intheshapeof
slopingground(withtheheadupslope) 39446 39425
around-toppedstela,hadbeenmadefrom
ratherthanadesiretoorientinrelationto
alocalclaymix,castinamould.Tracesof
cardinalpointsorlandscapeelements.
redpaintremainedaroundthebase,but
Littlesurvivestoshowhowthegraves anypainteddecorationonthefacehad
weremarkedaboveground.Weguessed beenlosttoerosion.Piecesofmortarfrom
earlyonthatthescattersofrounded thebasealsosurvivedandtheybore,on
39433 39433(underside)
stonesonthesurface,thatsometimes theback,theimpressionofthesurfaceofa
formclusters(especiallyintheareaofthe roundedstone.Sothisonewasperhaps
lowersite),aretheremainsofcairns.In fixedtoacairnofnaturalunworkedstones.
2006twocarvedlimestonegravemarkers
Fromthestartthecemeteryhasbeen
withpointedtopswerefound,inonecase
thepointsbeingthreeinarow.Thisyear sparingingravegoods.Onecanblame Thegroupofstelaeorgrave
ancientrobbery,butthelackofobjectsin markersfoundatthelowersite
thelowersiteproducedfivemoremarkers,
intactburialsalsospeaksofchoiceinthe duringthe2009season.
eachonedifferentyetagainemphasizinga
matter,inindividualcasesperhaps
triangularshape.
compoundedbypoverty.Nevertheless,we
Each,initsownway,givesasenseof haveagrowingcatalogueofpiecesthat
beingmorethanatwo-dimensional areprimarilypersonalandutilitarian.Two
representation,butanactualmodelofa fromthisyearareinmetal:acopper-alloy
rock-cuttomb,thesmallnicheof39424 mirror(wrappedincloth)fromtheburialof
lendingtheimpressionofatombentrance anadultwoman,andasmallringofgold
dwarfedbyaloomingmountainpeak,and alloyfromthegraveofachild,decorated
thedouble-recessof39446invokingboth withanimageofanibex-likeanimal.One
tombentranceandinternalniche,inthe looselyassociatedgroupofbrokenvessels
settingofamulti-peakedlandscape.The foundscatteredinthesandinonepartof
triangularrepresentationon39425 thelowersitemightrepresentthecontents
reinforcesthecentralimportanceofthe ofasingleburial,ofslightlygreaterwealth Smallstela(39448)castfroma
mountainsidetomb;perhapsasmall thanaverage.Thegroupcomprisesthree localclaymix,withsomeofthe
plasterremainingthathad
representationofthedeceasedwasalso travertine(alabaster)vessels,andoneor
attachedittoacairnofrounded
shownwithinit.Themountain-tomb-model morepotsimportedfromMycenaeand
stones.
istakentothenextstepwithanother perhapsCyprus.Fromtheirbreakageone
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page3
Double-sidedplaque39419made
Fragmentsoftravertine
(alabaster)dishcarvedin Mycenaeansherd39401 fromsteatite,showingastridingking
theshapeofafish. fromthelowersite. ononesideandvariousdesigns
includingababoonontheother.
canjudgethatsomeobjectsthatseem plant-stemmattingcoffin.Theevidencepoints
attractivetousheldnointeresttotherobbers, toreburial.Perhapstheindividualdied
Copperalloymirror
whomighthavebeenattractedonlytometal. somewhereelseandhadtobetransported
(39460)foundonthestick
coffinofIndividual120. backtoAmarnaforfinalburial.Perhapsthisis
Gravesinevitablymarklong-lostpersonal
aburialwhichwasrobbedduringthelifeofthe
stories.Whenfirstrevealed,gravepit<12796>
cemeteryandsowasreburiedwiththeother
attheuppersitewaswideenoughto
twoindividuals(anadultwomanandchild).
accommodatetwoburialssidebyside.Further
Otherscenarioscanbeimagined.
diggingshowedthatonehalfofthepithad
actuallybeendugseparatelyandprobablylater Thecemeteryasawholeislongandnarrow.
thantheother.Itcontainedthebonesofa Diditgrowlineally,sothatthelowerpartis
20–25year-oldwoman(Individual90),but earlierthantheupper,ordiddifferentgroups
althoughalltheboneswerepresent,theywere developfamilyplotsspacedalongthewadiso
notallintheirproperpositions.Somepartsof thatonlythefirstburialsineachplotwould
thebodyseemedtohavebeenstillpartially reflectanearly–to–latesequence?Wasbeing
heldtogetherbytissuesothatelements buriedclosertothemouthofthewadi
remainedarticulated;otherpartshadbeen somethingofaprivilege,forpeoplemore
Smallgoldalloyring carefullyputbacktogetherinroughorderand closelyconnectedtothehighofficialswhose
(39447)fromthegraveof piledontopofthelegs,possiblytohelpkeep rock-cuttombswereinthevicinity?Muchmore
achild(Individual98), theburialtogetherwhileitwasmoved.Traces evidenceisneededtoprovideasounderbasis
depictinganibex-like
oftextilesuggesttheburialwaswrappedin forassessmentsofthiskind,thatarecrucialto
animalinfoliage.
cloth.Theoddshapeandshortenedlengthof explaininganynoticedvariabilityinthehuman
thebodywerethendisguisedusingarollof populationburiedinthecemetery.
reedmattingtomakemoreofanormalshape
beforetheremainswerewrappedinanouter MostoftheobjectphotographsarebyGwilOwen.
Beads(objectgroup39458)from
Individual100,strungintheorderfound
onthearm(photobyJoeLewis).
Tinybutexquisite:a
selectionofloosebeads,
Beadsfound
madefromcarnelian,
inplaceon
blueglassandagold
thearmof
alloy,fromgroup39458, ThestrangecaseofIndividual90inpit<12796>:a
Individual100.
thearmletofIndividual completeskeletoninafamilygrave,butthebones
100(photosbyB.Kemp). jumbled(plansbyMaryShepperson).
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page4
The bioarchaeology field school
For the second year running the bones were the focus of a month-long field
school run by the University of Arkansas, Department of Anthropology, led
by Prof Jerry Rose, assisted by Melissa Zabecki and Gretchen Dabbs.
A group of thirteen university students participated.
Frequencies ofindividuals in age groups from the upper site at the
AmarnaSouth TombsCemetery (2005–2009) Theenlargedexcavationproducedmorematerialthanin
45 pastseasons.Studyinvolvesreassembly,ofpartsof
40 individualsscatteredbyrobbers.Bytheend62individuals
hademerged,wholeorinpart,with13isolatedskullsand
35
fourisolatedmandibles.Stressmarkersthatsuggestpoor
30
childhoodnutritionandinjuriessustainedoverthecourse
25
oflifecontinuedtoappearregularlyamongstthenew
20
material.Notonlywerethesenewbonesstudiedinfull,
15
buttheentirecollectionfrompreviousseasonswas
10 checkedthroughtoenlargethescopeformatching.
5
Aspecialpointofinterestiscomparisonofresultsbetween
0
0–5 5–20 20–35 35–50 50+ unknown thetwosites.Theaverageageofdeathforall154people
studiedfromtheSouthTombsCemeteryis22years.The
averageageofdeathofthe88peoplewhosurvivedto
Frequencies ofindividuals in age groups from the lower siteat the adulthoodis32years.Adultwomenlivedtoanaverageage
AmarnaSouth TombsCemetery (2005–2009)
of34years,iftheylivedbeyond18years.Menreaching
9
adulthoodonlylivedtobe30yearsofage.However,the
8
deathstatisticsfromthetwositesarenotquitethesame.
7 Thechartofagecategoriesatdeathforthelowersite
6 revealsmanydeathsfrombirthtofiveyearsofage,whichis
5 normalinancientsocieties.Thedeathratefallstoalow
4 between5and20yearsofage,whichisagainnormalforall
3 populations.Finallythedeathratebeginstoriseafterage20
withonlyafewoldadultsdyingafter45yearsofage.
2
Althoughthelengthoflifeforthepeopleinthelower
1
cemeterylocationisrelativelyshort,theirdistributionby
0
0–5 5–20 20–35 35–50 50+ unknown agesatdeathisnormalforancienthumanpopulations.In
contrast,theuppercemeterylocationhasfewerdeathsafter
birththanwouldbeexpectedinanormalpopulation,butthe
Frequencies ofindividuals in age groups from the entire deathrateoflaterchildhood(5–20yearsofage)remains
AmarnaSouth TombsCemetery (2005–2009) high.Therateclimbsinthe15to20yearagegroup,when
50
deathratesshouldbeattheirlowest.Theadultrateofdeath
45
after20yearscontinuestoincreaseasexpected.Thisisan
40 abnormalagedistributionwithalargenumberofdeaths
35 between5and20yearsofage,whentheyshouldbethe
30 lowest.
25
Thesamplefromthelowersiteissmall.Iffuturework
20
substantiatesthedifferencebetweenthetwosites,it
15
becomesimperativetounderstandbetterwhetherthe
10
passageoftimeorsocialstandingdictatedwhereinthe
5 cemeteryindividualswereburied.
0
0–5 5–20 20–35 35–50 50+ unknown
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page5
Theteamselectedtwoskulls,oneofanadultandone
ofachild,andsubmittedphotographsandotherdata
totheUniversityofLouisiana,ForensicAnthropology
andComputerEnhancementServices(FACES)
Laboratory(theskullsremainingatAmarna).Thanks
tothegoodofficesofMaryManhein,theLaboratory
returnedfacialreconstructionsbasedona
computerizedmethodthat‘drapes’tissueandhair
overskulldata.Theadultskullanditsreconstruction
areillustratedhere.
Individual114wasawomanofbetween40and50at
herdeathandso,forhertime,asurvivor.Shewas
between161–2cmtall(around5ft3ins).Shehad
brokenherleftupperarmbutithadhealedtoa
shorterlength.Shehadsufferedablowtoherhead
thathaddepressedherskullslightlyandbrought
infection,butthathadhealed,too.Shehadbeen
buriedfacedownwards,andthishadpreservedher
longhairplait.Shetooktothegraveasingleitemof
jewellery:aroundbeadwithaflatsurfaceanda
domedbackthatsheworeonathreadarounda
fingerofherlefthand.ThedesignisthatoftheEyeof
Horus(illustratedonthecoverofHorizonissueno.5).
Inthereconstructionofherprofile,wehavegivenher
adecoratedear-studofthekindwornatthetime.
Statureisanotherwayofprofilingapopulation.Sincelastseason,a
revisedformulaforcalculatingadultstaturespecificallyforancient
Egyptianshasbeenpublished.TheaveragemalestatureofallSouth
TombsCemeteryskeletonsisnowcalculatedat163cm(5'4"),while
thatforfemalesis153cm(5'0").Asthesizeofthesamplegrows,it
offersincreasingscopefortestingideas.Wecan,forexample,divide
theadultpopulationintothoseolderthan35yearsatdeathandwho
wouldhavegrownupbeforetheAmarnaperiod,andthoseyounger
than35,whocouldhavecompletedallorsomeoftheirgrowthjust
beforeandduringtheAmarnaperiod.Meanheightforthemalesin
thefirstgroupwas165cm,whileforthoseinthesecondgroupit
was162cm.Femalesexperiencedasimilardeclineof3cm.Does
thismeanthatchildhoodnutritionandhealthdeclinedduringthe
Amarnaperiod? Thegroovesacrosstherightmandibularcanine,
shownbythetwobluearrows,areenamel
hypoplasias.Enamelhypoplasiasaredeficiencies
inenamelthicknessresultingfromacombination
ofstress(e.g.disease)andnutritionaldeficiencies
duringtheformationoftheteeth.Fifty-eight
ProfJerryRose,
percentoftheindividualsexaminedfromthe
Universityof
cemeteryatAmarnahaveatleastonehypoplasia.
Arkansas,leads
theAmarna Inotherwords,overhalfoftheadultsatAmarna
bioarchaeology hadsufferedfromandsurvivedatleastonevery
fieldschoolat seriousincidentofchildhooddiseaseduringa
Amarna.
timeofunder-nutrition.
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page6
Meretaten’s bathroom
Aided by a generous grant from the Amarna Research Foundation of
Denver the programme of repairs to the North Palace was resumed
between April 8th and May 7th, supervised by conservation architect
Surésh Dhargalkar, working with SCA engineer Nabil Ishak Armanios.
Theoriginalexcavationin1924bytheEgyptExplorationSocietyuncoveredafull
domesticsuiteforitsroyalownerwho,attheend,wasMeretaten,Akhenaten’seldest
daughterwhoreignedasqueenforashorttime.Herswasthenamefoundonthe
survivingstoneworkelsewhereinthepalace.Inthecentreofthedomesticsuitestood
abathroom,foundinanunusuallygoodcondition,asphotographstakenatthetime
show.Thefrontparthadaconventionalbrickfloorrunningfromasandstonedoor
threshold.Therearpartwasaslightlyraisedbathingarea.Thesideshadbeenthickly
plasteredwithgypsumtoaheightofaround1.5metres,thefloorwasslightlyraised
andalsoplasteredwhite,andtheentirerearpartwasseparatedbyalowwallorcurb
ofwhitewashedbrickinterruptedbyalowstonestep.Aholeinthelowwallallowed
Limestonedoorwayintotheside
watertodrainintoasquaresandstonebasinsunkintheground.Intheyears
oftheanimalcourtsatthe
following1924allofthepartsintherearbathingareawereremovedbyvillagersor
NorthPalace,asfoundin1923
destroyedbyweathering,exceptforthesandstonetankthatremainedinposition. (EEScopyright,negative23/121).
Theoriginal1924photographof Thebathroomnewlyrefurbished.
theNorthPalacebathroom.(EES
copyright,negative24/139).
Theplanforthisyearwastoreplacetherearpartssimilarly, Meretaten’sbathroomisaslightlylargerversionofastyleof
usingthe1924photographasaguide.Afterdiscussionand bathroomseveraltimesfoundinthelargerhousesinthecity.
experimentation,itwasdecidedtoplasterthewallsofthe Theyhavenosourceofwateroftheirown,andthesmall
rearpartusinglocalmaterials:desertmarl(heeb)andsieved drainagesumpsareintendedtobeemptiedbyhand.They
sand.Followingtheancientdesign,theplasterwasapplied musthavedependeduponservants.Meretaten’sissituated
atanangletothevertical,thickeratthebottom.Withinaday quiteclosetothekitchenareawheretherewereseveral
theplasterhaddriedandbecomeveryhard,without ovens.Didtheyprovideherwithhotwaterinthewinter
significantcracking.Italsoappearedtobefirmlybondedto months?
thebrickwallsbehind.Thenextstepwastolayabrickfloor
TheoriginalreportisT.Whittemore,‘Theexcavationsat
withinthespacedefinedbytheplaster.Wecannotbesureif
El-‘Amarnah,season1924–5.’JournalofEgyptian
theoriginalfloorwasbrickorstone,butathicklayerofheeb-
Archaeology12(1926),7,Pl.II.TheEESarchive
plasterwasalsospreadacrossitssurface,increasingits
photographsare24/138,139.
height.Twolimestoneblocks,setcloselysidebyside,were
laidinthecorrectpositionforthestep.Tore-createthelow
wallorcurb,afewbricksweremadethatwerethinnerthan
normal,andtheseweresetontheirnarrowedge.Aspace
BuilderMohammedAliKamel
wasleftforthedrainholeabovethesandstonetank,andthis
appliesplastertothe
wasmadeinheeb-plaster.Therestofthefloorofthe
bathroomside.
bathroomwasthenlaidwithanewfloorofbricks.Thefinal
actwastocoveralloftheheeb-plastersurfaceswithcoats
oflime-wash.Inchoosingthematerials,especiallyheeb-
plasterandlime-wash,ithastoberememberedthatthe
The2009seasonalsosaw
originalbathroomwasroofedandthereforesubjecttoa
repairstotheanimalcourts,
morecontrolledlocalclimate,whereasthebathroomnow
herethedoorwayshownalsoin
liesopentotheelements,includingextremetemperature the1923photographand
variations.Thematerialswehaveusedaremorelikelyto subsequentlydestroyed.
withstandtheenvironment.
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page7
Surveying on and
under the ground
InAkhenaten’svisionrecordedonthe
BoundaryStelaethe sacredplaceforthe
Aten,Akhetaten,wasthe wholedesertplain
ofwhichthecitywasonlyapart.Recording
thedesertthroughsurveyisanimportant
partoftheexpedition’swork.
Begunin2000,themappingofthesurfaceofthe
desertplainatAmarnabyHelenFenwick(University
ofHull)thisyearreachedasuccessfulconclusion.
ThelastportionoftheGPSsurfacesurveyoftheAmarnaplain,
UsingadifferentialGPSsystemshehascollected
shownasanunsmootheddigitallandscapemodel.Surveyby
digitalinformationfromwhichaseriesofcontour
HelenFenwick.
mapsoftheAmarnaplain—tothetopedgeofthe
cliffs—willbecreated,mapsuponwhich
archaeologicalfeatureswillbedisplayed.These
includethecomplexnetworkofancientroadways
andboundarylinesthathelpedtodefinethenature
ofAkhetaten.Thenewmapswillcomewithawritten
explanationandcommentary,andareintendedto
complementthesurveyofthecityitself,Asurveyof
theancientcityofEl-‘Amarna,byB.KempandS.
Garfi,publishedbytheEESin1993.
Athirdstageofsurveyremainstobedone,using
equipmentthatcanrecordfeaturesthatliebeneaththe
surface.DuringMarchtheCenterforAdvancedSpatial
Technologies(CAST)oftheUniversityofArkansas
suppliedateam(ChristopherGoodmasterand
StephanieSullivan)whoconductedapilotsurveyover
partsoftheNorthCityusingamagnetometeranda
ground-penetratingradarunit.Theprincipalresults
weremagnetometrymapsoftwoareasthatrevealthe
shadowyoutlinesofunexcavatedhousesand,inthe
cornerofonemap,whatlookslikeapatternoftree
pitsfromagarden.Usingtheexperiencegained,the
planistodevelopageophysicalsurveyofthemajor
unexcavatedportionsofthecity,plannedtostartin OneofthemagnetometerplotsattheNorthCity,superimposed
theearlypartof2011.Thiswillbeajointventurewith uponSheet1oftheAmarnacitysurvey.
theUniversityofArkansasandwiththeUniversityof
CaliforniaLosAngeles.
StephanieSullivan
ChristopherGoodmaster calibratingthe
assistedbyMohammed magnetometeratthe
AliKamelworkingwithin NorthCity,infrontof
amagnetometergridat theoldEESnorthern
theNorthCity. dighouse.
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page8
Hyaenas at Amarna
Prof.TonyLeggeoftheMcDonaldInstituteforArchaeologicalResearchdescribesoneresultofarecent
examinationofanimalbonesatAmarna.
e
b
ManyscenesinEgyptiantombsdepictthefaunaof c a b c d
Egypt.Amongthemoreimprobablecreaturesshown
a
underhusbandrywasthestripedhyaena.TheOld
1 2
KingdomtombsofMereruka(above)andKagemniat e
50mm
Saqqaracontainenigmaticscenesofhyaenahandling 50mm
andfeeding.Theprocessoffeedingbeginswiththe d d c b a
animalswaitingtobefedinturn,tetheredbycollarand
lead.Thefeedingthentakesplacewiththehyaenaheld
e
onitsback,itsfeetsecured,whilefoodispushedintoits
mouthinaprocessofstuffingperhapsmorefamiliarwith 1.Rightmandible: 2.Leftmandible:
a,b,c–damagefromchopping; a,b,c–brokenbypercussion;
geese.Benchesbesidethehyaenascarrythedressed
d–cutmarksandsomeprobable d–missingfromsocket;
carcassesofducksorgeese,suggestingfoodofthe
doggnawing; e–ascendingramusbroken;
verybestforthehyaenas.Finally,therepletehyaenas
e–scrapemarks. f–cutmarks.
aregentlyshepherdedawaybytheirhumanattendants.
Butwerethesescenesreal,andwerethehyaenastruly‘domesticated’?19thcentury
ADrecordsfromEgyptincludestoriesofhyaenacaptureusingtraps,orevenby
intrepidhuntsmenseizingtheanimalinitslair.Itisalsopossibletotamethestriped
hyaena,andthereareexceptionalrecordsinrecenttimesofthesebeingmaintained
evenashouseholdpets.Butwasitevernecessarytoforce-feedhyaenas?This
species,anditsspottedcousinfromsouthernAfrica,areby-wordsforgluttony.
Yetwhilewecannotyetsayifhyaenaswerecapturedorcaptive-bredinancientEgypt,
itisnowevidentthattheirmeatwaseaten.AtAmarna,hyaenaboneshavenowbeen
identifiedfromtheWorkmen’sVillage.Thirteenbonesincludemandibles,limbbones
Hyaenamandible984A,asshownin andpiecesofpelvis.Eachonecarriesmultiplecutmarkswherethemusclegroups
linedrawing1.
havebeenstrippedfromthebonebyseveringthetendons.Suchcarefulbutchery
stronglyimpliesthatthemeatfoundfavourinthehumandietthere.Certainlythe
hyaenawaseatenintorecenttimes,aswasrecordedbyvariousobserverswho
describethemeatinavarietyofways,fromhavingarepulsivesmelltotasting‘sweet.’
OneaspectofeatinghyaenaswouldhavebeenriskyinancientEgypt,asnow.
Carnivorousandomnivorousmammalscommonlycarryadangerousparasitecalled
Trichinellaspiraliswhichcausesthediseasetrichinosis.Itisoftenfoundinpigsthough
manyothermammalscanbehoststothisspecies.Thisparasitehasasimplelife
cycle,lyingencystedinmuscletissueandwaitingtobeeaten,withinasuitablehost.
Whenthisfallsvictimtoapredator—humanorotherwise—thecystsdevelopinto
maturewormsandreproduce,fillingthemuscleofthenewhostswithencystedlarvae.
Hyaenapelvis1733,showingcut
Onlylengthycookingatorabove70ºCwillkillthelarvae,sothatundercookedmeatis
marksfromablade.
apotentsourceofinfection.Whiletheinfectionisseldomfatalinmoderntimes,for
earlierpeopleswithlittleornounderstandingofhealthcare,itwouldbea
dangerousinfection.
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page9
Page 96 Page 102
, ,
onwhicharethedetails illustratingloosefragments
oftheeasternpainted ofcarvedstoneandpainted
falsedoorofRanefer’s plasterfoundintherubble
house(N49.18). ofRanefer’stransversehall
CopyrightEgypt (Room2).CopyrightEgypt
ExplorationSociety. ExplorationSociety.
From the archives
Mr Hayter’s notebook
‘Tofewofusisitgiventoproduce,inspiteofwind, orderliness,andskillindrawing.Hecoveredsomeofthedays
sand,heatandflies,note-bookssoneatthattheycan whenRanefer’shousewasbeingexcavated,andthepages
bereferredtoaseasilyasaprintedvolume.’ wherehedoessohaveprovedveryvaluablewhilstwritingup
there-examinationofRanefer’shousethattookplace
ThewordsappearinafootnoteinCityofAkhenatenI,the
between2002and2004.
recordoftheEESexcavationsof1921and1922that
includedareportonthehouseofRanefer.Thekeeperof Sadlyhis1921seasonatAmarna,workingunderT.E.Peet,
thenotebookwasAngeloGeorgeKirbyHayter(1863– washislastinEgypt.AfterhisdeathPeetcommemoratedhis
1927),schoolmaster,linguistandarchaeologist,equallyat talentsinwordsthatringjustastruetoday:‘Thosestudies
homeonRomansitesinBritainandonsitesofallkindsin whicharesupposedtobewithoutdirectapplicationtothe
Egypt.Asarchaeologisthewasoneofthosewhoblurthe needsofmodernlifeleadinthesedaysaprecarious
distinctionbetweenprofessionalandamateur.HisAmarna existence,andtheyonlysurviveatallbytheenthusiasmand
notebook,partoftheEESarchive,revealsasharp devotionofthosewhoprofessthem.’QuotefromJournalof
enquiringmindandeyefordetail,anaturalneatnessand EgyptianArchaeology14(1928):324.
Amarna displayed
Rebuilding Ranefer
TheAmarnaVisitorCentreprogresses.Risingfrom
thefloorofthecentralspaceisafull-scalepartial
rebuildofthehouseofRanefer.Itisstillinonlyrough
cementbricks,butthefinalstagewillbetocladit
withrealisticsurfaces.ThepresentruinsofRanefer’s Thefullrebuildisonlypartial.
housereachonlytoaroundshoulderheight.Theydo Otherpartsaretobepresentedin
notprepareyouforthetoweringscalethatcomes theconditionofamodernruinor
rebuilttoonlyatokenheight.
fromrebuildingittoatwo-storeyheight.Initsrough
initialformthereplicaalreadysucceedsinconveying
Amarna’scity-scaleaspect.
Viewacrossthetransverse
hall.Itsrearwallcontainsthe
outlineofoneofthefalse
doorsandthewidespace
Thehouseissurroundedbyamplespaceforpanelsthatwill
intowhichthereplicaof
explainthecityandthelifeofthepeoplewholivedthere.The
Ranefer’smaininternaldoor
gapsinthemetalsidebridgeswillbefilledwithglass.
willfit.
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page10
InauguratingthenewvehicleferryatEl-HaggQandilonacold,windydayinMarch.
Amarna today
THE NEW FERRY
ThevehicleferriesatAmarna,oneatEl-TillandoneatEl-HaggQandil,have Thenewferryinaction,offeringa
safer,fastercrossing.
struggledtokeepgoingforsometime.Thelatterhasalsobeenthesceneofa
tragedy.InlateDecember2007,beforedawn,aminibustakingrelativesofvillagers
backtoCairoafteracelebrationplungedintotheNilewhilstattemptingtodriveon
toasmallprivately-ownedsupplementaryferryatEl-HaggQandil.Overadozen
womenandchildrendrowned,andtheferryboatwasimmediatelyimpounded.
OnMarch23rdofthisyear,abrand-newvehicleferrywasintroducedatEl-Hagg
Qandil.Largerandswifter,andfittedwithsafetygatesonitsramps,itcantakeeven
thelargetouristbuses.ItalsorepresentsalatetriumphofAmunatAmarna,for
Amunisitsname.Ironically,itssisterferryatEl-BershehisnamedtheAkhnaton.
ExploringtheruinsofAchoris(Tehnehel-Gebel).
Birkbeck College with
the Amarna Trust
Between26Marchand6April,LornaOakesbrought
agroupfromBirkbeckCollege,London,toEgyptfor
astudytourcentredonMiddleEgypt.TheAmarna
Trust,workingwithGatewaytoEgyptTours,
AtEl-Ashmunein,DrRawia
arrangedtheitinerary,DrRawyaIsmailguided,
Ismailexplainstheterrain.
BarryKemplectured.WebeganinCairo,endedin
Luxor,andmanagedasafejourneyandpacked
itineraryinbetween.
Ourswastheveryfirst RecentpicturesofAmarnatakenbytheDanishEgyptological
tourbustoboardthe Societyduringtheirvisiton27Septemberareviewableat
newferryatAmarna. http://tinebagh.wordpress.com