Oxyrhynchus

Oxyrhynchus polis� literally means �City of the Sharp Nosed Fish� (the fish in question was a sacred animal connected to the god Thoeris) and is the Greek name for the Dynastic settlement of Per-medjed. Oxyrhynchus was an important city in Greek and Roman controlled Egypt�the capital of the 19^th Nome and described as the �third city of Egypt.�� Greek and Roman sources describe Oxyrhynchus as an important center for the religion of Christianity, with 12 churches, 10,000 monks, and 20,000 nuns according to one 4^th century account.� Little remains of the city itself, which is thought to have been destroyed during or after the Arabic invasion around 640 CE.� It was later resettled after a period of dormancy and the city of el-Bahnasa still exists on the original site of Oxyrhynchus.� Located on the Bahr Yusuf, a branch of the Nile which leads to Lake Moeris, Oxyrhynchus is 160 km south of Cairo.

The ancient city is important archaeologically and also important to religious scholars due to the wealth of papyri found in its garbage mounds.� The papyri recovered, which number in the tens of thousands, were typically fragmentary and covered a wide variety of subjects over the course of Oxyrhynchus� history as an administrative and religious center:� legal documents, letters, literature, philosophical treatises, and Christian holy writings.� These papyri date from between 250 BCE and 700 CE.� Predominantly Greek and Roman examples are catalogued, though it is known that writings in Arabic were found and disregarded by some early excavators.

Excavation at the site of Oxyrhynchus began in 1896 by Bernard Grenfell and Arthur Hunt of the London-based Egypt Exploration Society.� Working on information that Egyptian peasants were finding papyri at el-Bahnasa and selling them on the black market, Grenfell and Hunt started excavation with 100 workers and 30 overseers in the winter of 1896 at the unpromising-looking refuse mounds near the remains of the ancient city of Oxyrhynchus.� What they found was a scriptological mother lode.� Oxyrhynchus became the life�s work of the two men, and they continued excavation and translation well into the 20^th century.� Scientific interest in the site continued beyond the efforts of Grenfell and Hunt.� Italian excavator Ermengildo Pistelli and his crew continued excavation at the archaeologically fertile Kom Gammon, retrieving papyri from the refuse mound and also discovering the medieval tomb of Sheikh Ali Gammon, for whom the hill was named.� William Flinders Petrie also excavated at el-Bahnasa in 1922, concentrating on the architectural remains of Oxyrhynchus.� Petrie uncovered the remains of the city�s Hippodrome, which is estimated to have seated 11,000 people, and also a long, double colonnade which was thought to be the remains of a colonnaded street or square.� Another Italian, Evaristo Breccia, excavated two private homes during two digging seasons between 1928 and 1932 and recovered still more papyrus documents during that period.� Later excavations continuing into the nineteen eighties and nineties included those by the Egyptian Antiquities Service, a Kuwaiti expedition concentrating on the medieval al-Bahnasa, and a Catalan expedition starting in 1992.

The site of Oxyrhynchus provides a tantalizing glimpse at a world thousands of years removed from us in time.� Many writings by authors from the Greek and Roman periods thought long lost (such as the works of Greek poets Pindar and Callimachus) were found among the great city�s refuse. Other papyri found include ancient fragments of controversial religious texts, such as the Gospel of St. Thomas.� More valuable to the archaeological record than the works of lost poets and Christian gospels, were the papyri that deal with everyday life in the city of Oxyrhynchus.� Accounts of street repairs, letters to and from government officials, legal decisions, wills, shopping lists, and other papyrus and ostraka (clay shard) writings recovered from the site paint a vivid picture of life in a bustling Egyptian city.

Palace of Malqata

Pharaoh Amenhotep III founded the royal city and palace complex at Malqata on the western shore of Thebes. The Theban necropolis is on the West Bank of the Nile in the Luxor area. Malqata includes many kinds of structures in the desert such as various residential palaces, a temple of Amen, a festival hall, elite villas used for the relatives of the King, apartments for attendants, and a desert altar called Kom al-Samak and at least four other palaces.

In addition, the track of a huge artificial canal and a harbor named Birket Habu is observable from continuous piles of sandy soil on the southeastern side of the Palace City. The soil removed from that harbor by the excavation was used to make a series of artificial hills along the southwestern shore. Malqata Palace is located at the south of the mortuary temple built by Ramesses III. Malqata Palace was not like smaller ceremonial palaces connected to the funerary temples of New Kingdom Kings, rather it was a residential place or actual living place even though it might not had been a yearlong residence.

Like Elizabethan rulers, Amenhotep made royal palaces spread throughout the legeance. The large palace of Malqata consists of small chapels, large audience halls, parade grounds, villas for public officials, kitchens, offices workshop and quarters for servants. The area of the Malqata palace is about 50 by 125 meters wide. Having a long and narrow hall extended along the central axis, the structure of the palace was planned roughly symmetrical. The throne room was situated at the south edge of the hall, and Pharaohs private apartments in behind.

The Pharaohs apartment consisted of a number of continuous courts, mostly with raised throne divas at the other side of the entrance. The palace was located at the southwestern corner of a huge enclosure wall, at least 100 by 200 meters. The enclosure also included storage rooms, courts, kitchens, and smaller buildings. To enter the palace, Pharaoh passed through a rampway cutting the western face of the enclosure wall via a number of off-axis hallways and large courts. From these, one could go through an antechamber that led into the long central hall.

Much of the upper part of the palace was ruined. However, a considerable amount of the original decorated elements were still preserved. A large number of fragments of the paintings on the walls and ceilings were found from each room of the Malqata palace. Among those prominent motifs painted on the fragments were spiral patterns and rosettes, even though other motifs have been rarely found. Detailed analyses of the fragments led to the identification of several other ornamental patterns. One of the most incredible motifs was a series of vultures representing the Goddess Nekbet with wings spread out, and the names and titles of Amenhotep III are depicted under the motifs. The series of vultures is surrounded by geometrical patterns on each side. The motif has been found in several rooms (Room B, G, and H), and at the Pharaohs bedchamber of the Main palace.

The ceiling painting of each room has been restored and color drawings have been made using the actual painted fragments found from the rooms as a reference. The wall paintings at Malqata are the most complete of the other remaining palaces. They are significant in determining the spatial alignment of the palace activities. The palace had been adorned with a deliberate series of wall murals, painted pavements, ceilings and inlays. The pavements included symbols of pools with swimming ducks and fish surrounded by a border of papyrus with flying birds. The throne bases had steps adorned with bound prisoners and symbols of the nine bows, the traditional enemies of Egypt, who would be under foot whenever the King ascended or descended from the throne.

The columns of the Palace were made of wood with representations of lotuses carved and painted. Also, there were flying birds painted on the ceilings. The antechamber and Pharaohs bed chamber were the rooms that had most of the ornamentations. For example, the ceiling of the antechamber was adorned with a deliberate panel of spreading spirals, buchrania and rosette. The Pharaohs bedchamber had a ceiling adorned with flying vultures and amulet signs like the antechamber. Pharaohs room was surrounded by figures of the goddess Bes.

Image of Queen Tiye: from Megaera Lorenz at http://www.heptune.com/Tiye.jpg

Amenhotep III built this fabulous palace at Malqata in western Thebes for his Queen Tiye and for other members of the royal family. He retired to this palace with his wife where she supervised the affairs of state with the help of counselors and officials. Amenhotep died when she was forty-eight. Depictions of Tiy illustrate a powerful woman who had a sharp chin, deep-set eyes and a firm mouth. Tutankhamon, Pharaoh of Dynasty XVIII who was believed to be the grandson of King Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye, was born in Malqata.

There was a temple dedicated to the goddess Isis constructed during the Roman Period at the South of Malqata. Local people named the temple and its precinct Deir al-Shalwit . The excavations of Malqata-south were done from December 1971 to January 1979, and laboratory research continued three more seasons at al-Qurna village.

After nine years of excavation, portions of the site were excavated intensively in addition to the test excavations at the grid corners. Remains found by the excavations were categorized into four groups depending on their time periods: Paleolithic, Predynastic, the 18th Dynasty and the Roman-Byzantine period. Paleolithic sites are situated on the desert edge beside the Roman settlement and further into the desert. Some of the Predynastic period remains were discovered under strata in the Roman settlement area. However, there have been no remains of any structures identified up until now. Magnificent relics of the 18th Dynasty were found at a small mound called the "Kom al-Samak". Artifacts from the Roman-Byzantine period were uncovered from all over the area, which should be investigated as an assemblage consisted of a temple, a settlement and related mass graves.

J. Daressy started the partial excavation of this huge site (originally three square kilometers if Kom al-Samak is included) in 1888. After this excavation, R. de Tytus, published a personal preparatory report. Afterward, much of this site was removed between 1910 and 1920 by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The University of Pennsylvania started re-excavation in 1970s. Elizabeth K. Ralph, who did magnetic survey at Malqata in 1973, revealed the usefulness of magnetometry in Egypt in her publication from University of Pennsylvania Museum. David O'Connor, Egyptian Section Curator, and Cambridge University Egyptologist Barry Kamp also did excavations at Malqata from 1971 to 1977. Since 1985, most of the rooms of the Malqata palace have been re-excavated including Pharaohs bedchamber under the direction of Dr. Yasutada Watanabe, Professor of the Department of Architecture at Waseda University (Japan) .

Pelusium

Pelusium is located east of what is modern day Port Said.In 1910, Jean Cledat, a French Egyptologist, came to Pelusium and made a sketch map of the ancient city. Later in 1982 after Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, another excavation of Pelusium began.This excavation was led by Mohammed Abd El-Maksound who was the chief inspector for the North Sinai. In 1991, the site was again under notice when it lay in the path of the Peace Canal. Once discovered that the site was in the path of the Peace Canal, it, along with the surrounding sites, were divided up among teams from Egypt, Canada, Switzerland, and Britain. The surrounding sites such as Tell el-Makhazan and Kanais were believed to be parts of a Greater Pelusium. A joint Canadian-Egyptian team was assigned to excavate the western side of the Pelusium site while the Swiss team surveyed around Kanais and a British team surveyed around the southern side of Pelusium.

Pelusium was an ancient city, which was once located between the two easternmost branches of the Nile. The site of Pelusium, which is also known as Tell el-Farama, is four miles long and today is surrounded by the soft, salt-covered mud that once held the branches of the Nile. When the city was in use, historians had described Pelusium as a busy port city. It once contained quays, magazines, and customs offices for the trading activities, some of which occurred with Asia. There was also an industrial section to the city with salt vats, pottery kilns, fish tanks, and textile workshops. In the city, one could also find temples, baths, theaters, and racetracks.

Aside from being a busy port city, Pelusium also served as a military fort. During the 26^th dynasty, it faced Palestine and served as the main fortress against attacks from the east. The written accounts of Herodotus describe Pelusium as being the land granted by Pharaoh Psammetichus I to his Ionian and Carian mercenaries. No seventh-century remains have yet to be found from the site to prove Herodotus was correct. Herdotus also reports that in 525 B.C.E. the Persian army led by Cambyses defeated Pharaoh Psamtik III at Pelusium. So far, though, there have been no archaeological evidence unearthed to support Herdotus accounts. What was unearthed at the site was a twenty-acre fortress. In the fortress there were thirty-six towers, three gates, and seven-foot-thick walls. It has been dated by the Egyptian and German experts to be from the late 6^th century C.E. The destruction by fire can still be seen in traces on the fortress, which may have been caused by the Persian invasion of 619 C.E.

During the Graeco-Roman period, the city of Pelusium served as a major production and export station since it was on the trade route to the Red Sea. The city exported salted fish and garum, or fish sauce. This was also when the city was known for its dyed linens. Pelusium also imported items from the Mediterranean such as wine, honey, and oil. This changed, though, and later, Sinai and Palestine became the main trade partner

Saqqara

Saqqara, known as the “City of the Dead,” is located west of the Nile River near the point where the river splits and flows to the Mediterranean Sea. It is the largest and most important of the Memphite Metropolis covering 9 square kilometers. Giza is located approximately 17 km to the north and Dashur lies about 10 km to the south. Cairo is 40 km to the northeast. Saqqara is divided into two parts. Saqqara North covers the area between the Archaic tombs and the unfinished buildings of Sekhenkhet. It consists of several smaller cemeteries clustered around larger monuments. Saqqara South is located between the pyramid of Pepi I and Shepsekaf.

The oldest known funerary monuments are located on the northern plateau of Saqqara. They are called the Archaic Tombs. They were excavated by W. B. Emery between 1935 and 1956. The structure, known as a mastaba, was built during the reign of Horus-Aha, the first king of the 1st dynasty. There are several other mastabas along the ridge but they are thought to be private tombs as the names on the tombs are non-royal.

Saqqara became known as a royal necropolis in the 2nd Dynasty when Kings moved away from Umm el-Qa’ab. The structures were also very different from earlier structures when tombs were pits dug into the ground with side chambers. Instead, a long corridor descended into the ground into a maze of long narrow galleries. Later these were covered by long narrow buildings.

The 3rd Dynasty is first represented by the complex of Djoser, the second king. The complex of Djoser sits in the center of Saqqara North. The site had already been used by some of the kings of the 2nd Dynasty. The complex itself seems to have been built on a tomb for another king of that Dynasty, Sened. There were also some vessels with Narmer’s name found underneath Djoser’s pyramid. Djoser’s architect, Imhotep, designed a complex that represented a large step in technology and architecture.

It was Imhotep that began to build structures with more solid materials such as limestone compared to the mud and wood that comprised earlier pyramids. Imhotep had many talents outside of architecture and may have been the first true genius. He was later revered as a god of wisdom by later generations. There is another structure to the west of Djoser that is too weak to be explored fully but its resemblance to the other royal tombs of the 2nd Dynasty verifies that it is very likely a 2^nd dynasty tomb. No names have been found but speculation is that it may belong to Reneb, Sened or Khasekhemwi.

Immediately to the south of Djoser are two sets of subterranean galleries considered to have been the tombs of the first and third kings of the 2nd Dynasty, Hotepsekhemwi and Ninetjer. A third gallery belonging to Hotepsekhemwi, lies underneath the Pyramid Unas. Alessandro Barsanti discovered this in 1901. Seal impressions were found inside showing Hotepsekhemwi and his successor, Reneb. In one tomb, where some seals bearing the seal of Ninetjer, archeologists found several thousand mummies. These were determined to be from the Late Dynastic period. This tomb was excavated by Selim Bey Hassan in 1937-1938. Sekhemkhet, the third king, built his complex to the north west of Djoser. Imhotep is mentioned on the north wall of the pyramid confirming that he probably designed this complex as well. There are questions as to what happened to Sekhemkhet’s body as the sarcophagus was sealed and the passage blocked so the likelihood of grave robbers is doubted.

King Shepseskaf, the sixth king of the 4th Dynasty, was the first to return to Saqqara. His predecessors either preferred Dashur, Abu Rawash, or Giza. His tomb is the most royal tomb of Saqqara South.

The first king of the 5th Dynasty, Userkaf, built his complex at the northeastern corner of the Djoser complex. The return to Saqqara and to Djoser’s complex may be symbolic. His pyramid was called ‘Pure are the Places of Userkauf.’ The pyramid complex of Djedkare/Isesi, seventh king of the 5th Dynasty was excavated by Abdessalam Hussein in 1943. Djedkare is known as the first king to return to Saqqara even though Userkauf built his temple prior to Djedkare. Userkaf had started to move towards Abusir for the construction of his solar temple. Djedkare’s complex consists of a main pyramid called “Beautiful is Isesi,” a mortuary temple, a satellite pyramid, and for the first time, a separately functioning Queen's pyramid. There are still areas within this complex that remain to be excavated.

The last king of this dynasty, Unas, built his complex close to the southwestern corner of the enclosure wall surrounding the complex of Djoser. The main pyramid is called, ‘Perfect are the Places of Unas.’ There were human remains found but it is uncertain whether they are those of Unas. The pyramid is the first since that of Djoser to have decorated rooms. The columns in the antechamber and part of the horizontal passage are carved with hieroglyphs painted in blue. These are the earliest known examples of the pyramid texts and considered the oldest collection of religious texts known to man. Pyramid texts are inscribed with a collection of religious texts and spells.

Mounir Basta discovered the tomb of Niankhknum and Khnumhotep in 1964 near the causeway to the pyramid of Unas. These men shared the title of “Overseer of the Manicurists in the Palace of the King, King's Acquaintance and Royal Confidant” in the Palace of King Niuserre, the seventh king of this dynasty. There have been several scenes found depicting these men in close embrace and their relationship has been long debated.

Several 6th Dynasty kings chose Saqqara for their pyramids. Teti, the first king, built his pyramid to the northeast of the pyramid of Userkaf. His pyramid is called the ‘The Places of Teti Endure.’ North of Teti’s complex a private cemetery was established and Vizier’s Kagemni and Mereruka were buried under elaborate mastabas.

Pepi I, the third King, built his complex to the northwest of Djedkare’s complex. The pyramid was named ‘Pepi’s perfection is established’ and has been nearly destroyed. This was the first pyramid to have been inscribed with pyramid texts. There have been at least four queen’s pyramids uncovered within the complex. The most eastern pyramid was built for Nebwenet, a second pyramid bears the name of Inenek/Inti, a third for an unnamed but titled ‘eldest daughter of the king’ and the fourth, for Meritites, ‘Daughter of the king and wife of the king’.

The fourth king, Nemtimsaf I/ Merenre, had his pyramid built to the south west of Pepi I. Indications are that the work on the temple was abruptly finished when the king died after his short reign. The pyramid is also badly ruined. Pepi II, the fifth king, had his complex built at the southern most point of Saqqara. There are three queen’s pyramids within the complex. A pyramid to the south was built for queen Wedjebten, one to the north for Neith and the one to west for Iput II. Queen Ankhesenpepi is buried between the pyramids of Neith and Iput, not under a pyramid indicating she may have been of lower rank than the other queens.

King Ibi, from the 8th Dynasty, built the last royal pyramid at Saqqara. It was located near the causeway of pyramid of Pepi II in Saqqara South. Only piles of mud and limestone chips remain of this ruined pyramid. He is the last king buried in a royal tomb at Saqqara.

A private tomb was built for the last king of the 18th Dynasty, Horemheb. It is located to the south of an old causeway from Unas mortuary complex. By the end of the New Kingdom Saqqara was also used by the middle classes. Mummies found there will provide a good source for scientists. Saqqara was also used for burial of sacred animals. During the Roman period, the number of burials at Saqqara decreased. As Christianity prevailed, the funerary practices of mummification, sacrificed animals, and decorated tombs and temples decreased. By 391 AD on, these practices were forbidden.

Senneferi

The Tomb of Senneferi, also known as Theben Tomb 99, was built by Senneferi as his final resting place. It is situated in an area known as “The Tombs of the Nobles,” located on the west bank in Luxor, Egypt. It is surrounded by a number of other tombs found in this area. Senneferi was an important 18th Dynasty official under the reign of Tuthmose III. From inscriptions found in his tomb, archaeologists were able to find information on his family. His wife was named Taiamu, but that was all they were able to find out about her. There was nothing specific mentioned about Senneferi’s children, but he is believed to have had a son and a daughter. A statue of his daughter's husband, Amenhotep, was found in Senneferi’s tomb. His parents were mentioned a number of times in the tomb. His father’s name was Haydjehuty. He was believed to have been a winery official in the eastern delta before moving to Thebes. His mother's name was Zatdjehuty. She was depicted in the tomb as the “Lady of the House.” From the depictions of his parents in the tomb, they were not of high status in Egyptian society. Senneferi somehow worked his way up to becoming an important person during his time and secured his place in the Tombs of the Nobles.

Construction of Senneferi’s tomb took place around 1420 BC. In the rock he cut out a courtyard. From this courtyard led a tunnel to the back of the tomb, where the chapel was located. In the courtyard he also cut a shaft. Many more shafts would later be cut in this tomb but his was the deepest and this is where he was buried.

Senneferi’s tomb, like others built during the New Kingdom had some similar characteristics. These tombs consisted of three levels. Each level served a different function. The lower level is where the burial chambers were located. It was created by digging a shaft well below the surface. This level was known as the Realm of the Dead and belonged to Osiris. The middle level was the Realm of the Living. This is where the courtyard and offering chambers were located. The upper level was the Realm of the Sun God. This consisted of a pyramid-like superstructure or a niche. In the case of Senneferi’s tomb, a niche was located directly over the entrance and most likely held some type of statue. This niche served as the upper level for this tomb. Larger, pyramid-like superstructures serving as the upper level, are found in later tombs beginning in the 19th Dynasty.

Because the tombs in Thebes were built near ancient and modern centers of population, they were used and reused many times throughout their existence. There is evidence that the tomb of Senneferi was first reused during the 21st Dynasty, about 400 years after its initial construction. During this time a new shaft was cut. In the 22nd Dynasty, a family also used it for burials. Mummy cases from at least two generations of this dynasty were found. Two priests of Amun were also buried here long after the initial construction of the tomb. Numerous other burials followed for the next 700 years. Eventually, the function of this tomb went from burials to actual occupation of the tomb as housing. In 1907, the people living in the tomb, believed to be Coptic weavers, were bought out for 11 Egyptian pounds, and an iron door was place at the entrance.

Even though the tomb had been plundered by treasure hunters, it still provided a wealth of information to archaeologists. This tomb had gone from a sacred burial place to a place of residence and is also believed to have been a dumping ground at one time due to the massive amounts of broken pottery found here. There is still more work to be done on the Tomb of Senneferi and many more discoveries are certain to be made.