By Hoda Ossman Khalifa (Inspector, Ministry of State for Antiquities)

Until these days, I did not feel the true meaning of the above words. I worked with the team during 2012, when we discovered the “Silo Building,” and it was a marvelous season. We worked hard as a team, and departed with a hope to work together again in the same site again. However, we did not meet during the past year.

Some of the 2012 team : (left to right)Hussein Rikaby, Hoda Ossman, Mohamed Fathy Mansour, Ahemd Abdel Hamid, Ahmed Orabi and Mohamed Abdel Basset (sitting). Photo by Saied Salah.

Now it is the beginning of 2014 season, and I was notified that I am to accompany the American mission planning to work in the Pyramids area. I got to the site to meet Dr. Mark, Mrs. Ana, and Mr. Dan. Works started over again; workers removing the sand layer which we left on site since last season. Silos and walls were appearing one after another, as if they were sequences in a flashback movie showing inside my mind.

The Silo Building excavation in 2012. View to the northwest, photo by Saied Salah.

The imaginary movie goes on; in this spot there was an interesting discussion between Dr. Mark and Dr. Mohsen on the status of that wall; and on that spot Dr. Mark debated with Mr. Rabea on the silo’s structure; in another location we found a knife and thus we called that location “the kitchen”.

Hoda in the ‘kitchen’ this season, filling a jar sunken in the floor with clean sand to present it from deteriorating. Daniel Jones in the background. View to the west, photo by Ana Tavares.

Now, I find myself standing on the same point which I discovered with my colleague, Mohamed Mekawi, while we were talking about it and competing over who will succeed to finish this part of site first. It’s Coming Back To Me Now.

Best of luck to the team. It will be an inspiring season.