Alexandria's Hinterland: Archaeology of the Western Nile Delta, Egypt (original) (raw)
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a complex of five treading floors with four mechanical presses. It was built of mud brick and stone blocks covered with waterproof plaster. Another winery was found behind the apse of the basilica 17 (N 30 o 50.458' E 029 o 39.823'). It consisted of two rooms, the first housing one large treading platform flanked by two mechanical presses, a collection vat, and one smaller, raised platform. In the second room there was another treading floor and vat. The third winery 18 within the area of Abu Mina was 17 8,40 m 7,80 m 6,70 m 4,70 m 5,10 m 5,70 m 5,45 m 6,30 m 1,10 m 0,90 m Drawing: D. Dzierzbicka Drawn by: M. Abd el-Aziz Negm, , BCH suppl. 33, 1998, p. 66, fig. 1 Recent excavations around Abou Mina Other remains visible on the surface in November 2005 Outlines of structures yet to be unearthed Drawn by M. Abd el-Aziz Negm, 'Recent excavations around Abou Mina', BCH Suppl. 33 (1998), p. 68 fig. 1 Other remains visible on the surface in November 2005 Outlines of structures yet to be unearthed
The Dynamic Landscape of the Western Nile Delta from the New Kingdom to the Late Roman Periods
"Archaeological sites are often recognized as the basis for studies of the cultural landscape, even as many have noted that the site concept itself has become more fractured over time. In Egypt, different meanings of the term have been cultivated over two centuries of scholastic practice and heritage law, though surprisingly it has rarely been applied to investigations of regional settlement in the Nile floodplain, particularly the Delta. Such a circumstance stands in direct contrast to the Delta’s potential contributions to a fuller narrative of Egyptian culture. In considering the archaeological and geoarchaeological record of the western Delta, this research draws together historical cartography, remote sensing data, prior archaeological work, and ancient texts to investigate its cultural and natural landscape. Fragmented information on relict channels from Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, Corona satellite imagery, and British Survey of Egypt maps informed a program of drill augering to investigate and confirm several observed distributaries of the Rosetta and Canopic branches. Prior archaeological work by the Egypt Exploration Society Delta Survey, the Naukratis Project regional survey of the 1970s and 80s, and others guided systematic surface collection that elucidated spatial distribution of ceramics on several elevated mounds (koms) occupied from the New Kingdom to Late Roman periods (1535 B.C.E. – 650 C.E.). Simultaneously, surface collection units and drill augering transects were arranged both within and beyond the visible extents of koms in order to test hypotheses about site extent. Moreover, detailed topographic survey coupled with observations of Quickbird-2 satellite imagery allowed for theorizing about subsurface architecture and modeling patterns of kom and site preservation. By exploring the promise of surface collection and other minimally destructive means of analysis, this study proposes an integrated methodology for investigating the cultural and natural landscape of the Nile floodplain, taking tentative steps towards more fully realizing the tremendous, largely untapped potential of the sown lands of Egypt."
The northeastern part of the Nile Delta during the Naqada III Period
[in:] M.D. Adams (ed.), B. Midant-Reynes, E.M. Ryan, Y. Tristant Y. (coll.), Egypt At Its Origins 4. Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference “Origin of the State. Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt”, New York, 26th – 30th July 2011, (OLA 252), Leuven – Paris – Bristol, CT 2016: 63-76, 2016
Recent research in the Nile Delta has demonstrated that its northeastern part especially was quite densely populated during the Naqada III period. The settlements that existed then had great significance both in developing contacts between Egypt and Canaan as well as in the process of state formation in Egypt. In addition to sites such as Tell el-Farkha and Tell el-Iswid (South), Predynastic–Early Dynastic occupation has also been confirmed at Tell el-Murra, Tell Abu el-Halyat, Tell Akhdar, Tell Gez. el-Faras, and Minshat Radwan, visited during the Polish Archaeological Survey in Ash-Sharqiyyah Governorate. This work has significantly increased the amount of data available for comparisons between materials found at these sites (especially Tell el-Murra where the excavations are presently conducted) and Tell el-Farkha, as well as Minshat Abu Omar. While similarities can be observed, some differences can also be noted. Of especially great importance are finds from Tell el-Farkha. Excavation there revealed many important objects, among them several dated to the period before the traditional date of unification, and comparable in character to objects coming from southern Egypt. These include, among others, pottery jars with royal names from graves dated both to the Protodynastic and Early Dynastic periods. The occurrence of two jars, each with a different serekh, found in the same grave dated to Naqada IIIB – probably at its beginning and prior to Iry-Hor – is especially worth noting. One of these serekhs contain two ḥḏ-like signs incised instead of the palace-façade in the lower compartment, and the second contains what is probably a n’r-sign in the name compartment. The occurrence of jars with the name of Iry-Hor in later graves is also worth noting, as previously known objects with his name derived mostly from Abydos and in one case from Zawiyet el-Aryan. Moreover, the name of Narmer was also attested on pottery from a grave of the same chronological group as those with Iry-Hor. These finds together raise the question of the importance of Iry-Hor’s reign to the process of the incorporation of the Nile Delta (at least its northeastern part), as well as the possibility of the existence of local rulers who reigned here just before the final stage of unification.