Posted by Steve LaPidus

I have spent the last six weeks as a volunteer on the AERA Giza Plateau Project with some of the most interesting and knowledgeable people I have ever met. I went on a site tour set up for the team early on in the schedule. We had a chance to walk through the sites, to listen to presentations and to ask questions on the project’s operations. It was easy to understand why there was a requirement by the Egyptian Government and AERA to submit your security paperwork six months in advance. It is obvious how much thought goes into the selection of the team members because there are multiple openings on the project and for each… READ MORE »

Posted by Dan Jones

As the 2011 excavation season at Khentkawes draws to a close, it is a chance for me to reflect on the past few weeks. The last week on site was very busy as we finished excavating, did extensive mapping to record the exposed archaeology, and organised post excavation photographs. The last few days were particularly hectic as back filling began.

Kasia and I were doing last minute note taking, checking, and measurements as the workmen moved ever closer covering the valley complex in a thick layer of sand. Although this season has been very eventful and time has as always flown by (there is never enough time!), we left the site for the last time with… READ MORE »

Posted by Dan Jones We re-started our excavation on the enigmatic structure that is situated at the eastern limit of the L-shaped Khentkawes mortuary complex. The 2008 and 2009 seasons revealed a wealth of information on this structure, aptly named the Lower Buried Building (LBB) due to its position at the base of an extensive quarry cut in the limestone bedrock.

The Old Kingdom builders put substantial thought and effort into LBB. Two ramps, one leading up from the south and one leading up from the north, give access to the causeway of the Queen’s mortuary complex from a lower open terrace. A higher-level corridor leads in from the east, accessed from the terrace by a stairway.

Our careful peeling… READ MORE »

Posted by Mohsen Kamel and Ana Tavares, joint-Field Directors

We have just started excavations again at Giza, after a hiatus last year. During this busy hiatus we prepared material for publications, held an Analysis and Publication Field-School in Giza and a second Salvage Archaeology Field-School in Luxor.

This season we are excavating in both concession areas at Giza – the Workers Settlement (a.k.a the Lost City, a.k.a. Heit el-Ghurab) and the town of Queen Khentkawes. Both sites date from the mid 4th Dynasty (circa 2529 -2471 B.C.) although the town of Queen Khentkawes and the village inside the Valley Temple of Menkaure seem to have functioned until the end of the Old Kingdom (late 6th Dynasty, circa 2154 B.C. Click… READ MORE »

A small group of us had dinner with Mark Lehner last night and I caught up with him at the dig site this morning. One of the fascinating stories he told today was about the apparent pattern of occupation, abandonment, and then reoccupation of the Menkaure valley temple (MVT) and perhaps the Khentkawes town (KKT) as well.

AERA is re-excavating areas that Reisner and Hassan both recorded. In general, those researchers, however, did not do an in depth study of the phasing of the two sites, which was not common in their era (although Reisner did two phases in MVT). Phasing refers to an examination of the relationships between stratigraphy or layers of archaeology to determine when structures were built… READ MORE »

Driving back to the hotel from the main dig site today, I was reminded of two features of the daily commute during my month digging with the AERA team in 2004: driving through the crowded suburb of Nazlet es Saman past the Sphinx and hearing three or four languages spoken at once in the microbus. French, Polish, Swedish, English, and Arabic were the interwoven music of drive time.

Today I heard almost exclusively Arabic because I was on the bus with Egyptian field school students.

All of these students work for Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities as inspectors. Most of the 1,500 or so inspectors in Egypt are trained in Egyptology, the study of the language and culture of ancient… READ MORE »

Archaeology always presents fun puzzles to be resolved. Mike House recently found a puzzling structure while excavating a road or ramp within the Khentkawes complex.

The structure consists of a possible square mud brick plinth or platform (1.90m x 1.70m) with an additional mud brick extension to the east. The platform and extension were plastered, and only the lowest courses survive. Selim Hassan recorded it in the 1930s as a Wabet (w’bt) tent, although its function is unclear.

Its position in the road may suggest a different use; it may represent an administrative platform with steps leading up to it inside of a building.… READ MORE »