#nitoris

Dig Diary, February 24, 2019:

The season ended on February 21. We got an incredible amount done in just three weeks. 

Here you are looking east across the south side of Temple A’s 1st Court, which has been completely cleared for the first time. The next few pictures will give you a more detailed view.

The limestone sphinx bases we saw for the first time in the 1990s are now visible again along with the walls built over/around them. There is even a patch of original paving (rear) between the base on the left and the one on the right. It is impossible to date any of this precisely, but we can at least determine the sequence of construction. The sphinx bases are the earliest feature as the one on the right was cut by the construction of the 25th Dynasty 2nd Pylon. The south wall, which abuts the footing of the colonnade,  sits on several centimeters of earth above the limestone and rides over the lip of the pylon, so it was built after the pylon was completed, that is, no earlier than late Dynasty 25. The east wall is part of the same structure as the south wall and sits on top of another sphinx base.

You are looking southwest across the central area, which we excavated this year. The small structure against the west wall of the area (right) may be a small chapel. What the square feature in the foreground is we will never know. Both appear to be built on the remains of the row of sphinx bases. The wall dividing the area into east and west was cut back to accommodate the north wall of the chapel(?), so it is either contemporary with or slightly later than the western structure.

As well as excavating the area, we neatened it up by straightening up the column drums in what is left of the colonnade along the south side of the court (background).

The Nitocris chapel at the end of the season. Attributed to her on the basis of a lintel found nearby, it was presumably built in Dynasty 26, and is thus the only datable structure on the south side of the court. Earlier in the season we discovered the broken block that formed the east doorjamb, with its granite pivot. We put it back in place so that the chapel now has a doorway in roughly its original position. While we couldn’t excavate the rear room, we have at least leveled the pair of raised sandstone blocks against the south wall and put the eastern column drum (left) back on its base.

Here’s another view of the chapel looking north. Once we had cleared the first two rooms, we laid down sheets of plastic and covered them with sand and a layer of gravel in hopes of inhibiting the growth of weeds and grass. The doorjambs and their door pivots are a bit clearer in this picture.

Once all the excavation was done, Mary began to map the area. It’s a fussy and time-consuming task, but has to be done.

On February 16, I noticed this gaping hole in the lowest course of the court’s north wall, whose reliefs depict the birth, circumcision and presentation of Taharqa to the gods. This is one of the most important relief sequences at the site, so repairing the wall became an instant priority. There was a similar but smaller gap nearby in the 2nd Pylon.

By February 20, Salah and Anwar had repaired both areas using sandstone blocks. The surface will be coated with a layer of mortar tinted to match the original stone after we leave – we just ran out of time.

On February 17, the torso of the Ramesside statue was lifted out of the dirt and placed on its new mastaba.

The three pieces of the statues and the rear half of the sphinx at the end of the season. They are now at least somewhat protected against encroaching dirt and dampness.

We had originally planned on re-erecting only the two eastern columns on the north side of the court, but concluded that we could use the blocks from the disorganized heap of column drums Mary described last week to build a third column. This column’s base was partly covered by the pathway leading to the Taharqa circumcision scene, one of the most popular features of the site. We had to cut the path back a bit, but it was worth it to get this column back in place. We’ve also generally cleaned up the area, including putting an elaborate column capital up on a mastaba. Pillet had left it with its decorated side facing the 3rd Pylon and thus hidden from view. It is just in front of the column on the right.

Here’s a view roughly northeast along the complete colonnade on the court’s north side. All the columns are now in their proper locations After we leave, Salah and Anwar are going to build new bases for the 4th and 5th columns from the left, which are now just sitting on bricks.

Before I leave you, I want to introduce one more important member of the team: Ezadin Mohamed Abdel Razik. Eza keeps us supplied throughout the workday with hot tea and karkadeh (a drink made from hibiscus blossoms). This may sound minor, but hot tea is very welcome on cold mornings, and karkadeh is very refreshing in the heat of the day. Eza is also a very cheerful and conscientious person.

On Thursday morning we saw a large number of harriers (I think- we need Jaap to tell us for sure) scavenging on the surface of the Nile.

For some reason, a few of the trees in the hotel garden have been severely pruned and the spaces where large branches used to grow have been filled with cement in which white stones have been carefully set. Each tree has a plaque commemorating a couple. No one now at the hotel remembers why this was done or who the couples were. There’s always some mystery in Luxor.