Amarna South Tombs Cemetery The 2011 Excavations at the Lower Site and Wadi Mouth Site Preliminary Archaeological Report A. Stevens July 2012 1
The 2011 season of excavations at the South Tombs Cemetery ran from 14 November 28 December. The archaeological team comprised Anna Stevens, Julie Rogers, Trisha Drennan, Nabil Abd el-latif Abd el-hakam and, for part of the season, Barry Kemp. The SCA inspector was Mr Sayed Abd el-mailk Abd el-hamied, to whom we extend thanks for facilitating the excavations, along with the staff of the Minia and Mallawi SCA offices. Three junior SCA inspectors also joined the field team for one-month of training in excavation techniques. Introduction and aims The South Tombs Cemetery is located in a long straight wadi beside the South Tombs. It is one of several cemeteries located on the eastern desert margin of Amarna that were used for the burials of the general population of Akhetaten: those who could not afford a rock-cut grave at the North or South Tombs. The burials at the South Tombs Cemetery seem to belong entirely to the short period of 15 20 years of New Kingdom occupation at Amarna, with no sign so far of any earlier or later burials. Excavations have been undertaken at the South Tombs Cemetery annually since 2006, with three separate areas investigated over this period: the Upper Site, Lower Site and Wadi Mouth Site (Figure 1). The 2011 excavations focussed on the Lower and Wadi Mouth Sites, with no work undertaken at the Upper Site. The Lower Site, which lies approximately one-fifth of the way along the wadi, had been excavated in two previous seasons, 2009 and 2010. This work produced more wooden coffins and stelae than usual, raising the possibility that this area of the cemetery incorporated a cluster of burials that were slightly more affluent than average. In addition to the ongoing collection of human remains, therefore, we were interested to know whether this pattern would continue at the Lower Site in 2011. Ten five-by-five metre grid squares were opened here (Figure 2): W102 4 on the western bank of the wadi, adjacent to the squares excavated in 2009, and AA105 AG105, which extended in a strip eastwards from the 2010 excavation area, effectively spanning a channel that runs along the axis of the wadi and separates its sandy fill into an eastern and western bank. A second aim of the work here was to test whether the burials continued in this channel, or if this landmark may already have been present in the Amarna Period, to some degree, and not used for burials. An additional square was laid out on a piece of ground just to the north, AA109, to serve as a training area for the three junior inspectors. Four grid squares were laid out at the Wadi Mouth Site: AN117 118 and AO117 118 (Figure 3). This area had seen only one previous season of excavations, in 2010, and the main aim of work here was to continue to test for variation (in health, wealth, age and so on) in the burials across different parts of the cemetery Progress of excavation The surface of the cemetery is scattered with pieces of bone, sherds and limestone boulders that represent the remains of disturbed burials (Figure 4). The date at which this disturbance took place is not yet clear, although it seems to be a very ancient event. No stratigraphic or artefactual evidence was encountered this season that shed any further light on its date. The robbery was so widespread that essentially destroyed the ancient surface of the cemetery, including the stacked-stone cairns that probably marked the locations of most of the graves. In order to find the burials now, it is necessary to remove the overburden of sand across each grid square until the grave pits or interments become visible. The depth at which this occurs varies according to the local topography, and this season ranged from just a few centimetres to around 60 cm. Usually, the grave pits are visible only where they cut through a horizon of gravel-rich sand that underlies, and is more compact than, the upper layers of softer windblown sand (Figures 5 7). Sometimes, almost nothing remains of the grave cut itself. The pattern of 2
Figure 1. Map of the South Tombs Cemetery showing the three excavation areas, the 2011 excavations being confined to the Lower Site and Wadi Mouth Site. 3
105 T 175 168 121 13279 96 104 72 103 102 95 13475 13463 13476 13464 212 13622 13466 13637 105 cont. 234 13474 202 13639 13638 13640 209 13602 13644 13641 13643 13642 13588 13586 216 13483 13646 205 13648 13472 13471 13645 13647 13468 AB AC AD AE AF AG 13587 13585 139 134 13058 13057 142 141 13252 166 13256 171 138 13264 129 127 13259 13215 99 13214 13245 173 12899 131 13067 13500 13068 13065 136 125 183 13233 132 13063 128 stela 39936 124 13241 13041 122 123 13271 174 coffin 13262 13269 13205 191 193 coffin 13281 13275 13277 13297 13285 X Y Z 186 13207 187 192 13299 13212 194 13288 185 stela 39938 13416 13417 13435 13433 195 197 206 199A? 199D? 210 13419 13421 13425 13431 AA 196? 198 13482 100 12887 101 12897 105 201 207 208 13611 13477 0 1 2 3 4 5 m grid north magnetic north 12891 117 200 12894 13459 12899 103 stela 39948 106 12895 grave pit 12884 213 13628 102 stela 39396 13619 interment with no clear grave edge 12680 229 211 stela 39424 13233 grave pit number 103 13609 78 74 12644 12640 77? 12676 stela 39446 71? 76 12642 12661 75 98 12657 12663 12699 12671 116 stela 39425 13633 13655 73 12662 12669 12670 U V W 79 82 215 81 80 214 233 232 13631 13635 183 Individual number, placed at the head end of the grave, or beside the grave if orientation of the body is unclear wooden coffin heavily degraded wooden coffin stela 203 Figure 2. Plan of the Lower Site at the close of excavations. The training square, AA109, is not shown. 4
13049 123 13043 130 13056 179 13247 180 13050 170 126 184 13220 172 13218 176 13329 13332 122 13337 120 13325 13221 165 177 140 13222 137 13334 13125 13317 135 167 13321 13339 169 13223 133 181 AP 13311 13302 AQ grid north magnetic north 13551 13568 230 13561 0 1 2 3 4 5 m 118 13546 223 13565 228 13557 13556 226 224 227 225 13570 grave pit 13525 117 13532 13519 218 221 13538 13528 220 219 13575 231 13509 217 13325 183 grave cut number Individual number, placed at the head end of the grave, or beside the grave if this is unclear Possible graves, unexcavated 222 AN AO Figure 3. Plan of the Wadi Mouth Site at the close of excavations. 5
Figure 4. A general view across the 2011 excavation areas, facing site north-east. Part of the Lower Site is in the foreground, with the Wadi Mouth Site visible in the distance. excavation, therefore, is to remove the surface sand, immediate sub-surface layer of sand, and lower horizons of bulk sand across each grid square until the graves emerge, at which stage each is individually investigated. All of the spoil is sieved, and all material culture and bioarchaeological material is collected. Each set of skeletal remains is given its own Individual Number. Results The recovery of human remains Parts of at least 43 skeletons were recovered in 2011, 29 from the Lower Site and 14 from the Wadi Mouth Site. They range in age from infants (including one fetus) to adults of over 50 years of age. With one or two possible exceptions, no multiple burials were encountered in 2011, most individuals being interred singularly. An additional 14 likely grave pits were identified, all but two at the Lower Site, which await excavation in a future season. Usually, the bone was entirely skeletonised, although that from the Wadi Mouth Site tended to be slightly less bleached, with hair, desiccated skin and finger and toe nails encountered more frequently than at the Lower Site. The majority of the burials had been disturbed by tomb robbers, as had been the case in previous seasons. The same pattern of disturbance continued this year, the robbers usually rummaging through the bones of the torso, and removing the skull, but leaving much of the disturbed bone within the grave itself. There was no noticeable difference in the level of disturbance at the Wadi Mouth and Lower Sites. 6
Figure 5. Grid squares AA AC105 at the Lower Site during excavation, facing site west. Figure 8 shows examples of skeletons in situ, in these cases all largely undisturbed. Appendix 1 summarises the main features of each interment. Most of the skeletal material was studied by the bioarchaeological team from the University of Arkansas in mid-2012, and is now in storage in the on-site magazine at Amarna. Tomb layout and architecture All of the graves took the form of simple oblong pits, as is standard across the cemetery. In a few cases, the remains of stone cairns were encountered covering the burials; Figure 6 shows one, in the bottom left of the picture. There was no trace, however, of any mud-brick or purpose-cut stone grave elements, including the stelae and small pyramidians that have been encountered in previous seasons. In terms of orientation, those graves cut into flat ground tended to run approximately parallel to the line of the wadi, and those on sloping ground to run across the slope. This pattern has been observed in previous seasons, and suggests that the local topography was the defining influence on grave orientation. One interesting result from the excavations in the secondary channel at the Lower Site is that at least three of the excavation squares, AD AF105, contained no graves. In part, this might be due to the burials having been washed away during the flood/s that created this channel, if this occurred after the Amarna Period, although we might wonder if some trace of burials would still have remained. It remains possible that these squares were never used for burials. Perhaps they spanned some kind of access route through the cemetery. It is possible that the water channel itself was already in existence and so not used for burials in case of future flooding, perhaps being instead as a thoroughfare. Future excavations in other parts of the water channel might help clarify this. 7
Figure 6. Grid square AC105 at the Lower Site, with the grave pits just exposed. Facing site south. Figure 7. Grid squares AN/AO117 18 at the Wadi Mouth Site at the close of excavations. Facing site south-west. 8
Figure 8. Individuals 198, 217 and 209, clockwise from top left. 9
Figure 9. Well-preserved plant-stem matting with internal rope binding, beneath Individual 219 at the Wadi Mouth Site. East of the water channel, possible burials reappear in square AG105 (Figure 2). These were not excavated, due to time constraints. Nor were those in square AC105, immediately west of the empty squares, although these seem to be quite small as though they are for infants and children: perhaps these smaller graves were fitted into the spaces along the edges of the burial ground. Treatment of the body, and burial container Most of the skeletons had been wrapped in layers of textile and reed matting, or a finer plant-fibre matting, as also encountered in previous seasons. Usually the textile was very badly preserved, but the matting tended to survive better, and some well-preserved examples of such were found, especially at the Wadi Mouth Site (Figure 9). Samples of matting were collected from each of the graves, where it survived in good enough condition to be lifted. Five wooden coffins were also encountered. Three of these took the form of small undecorated rectangular wooden boxes, all for infants. Two came from the Lower Site (Individuals 210 and 212: Figure 10) and one from the Wadi Mouth Site (Individual 231). They were very badly preserved, the wood essentially crumbling to the touch, and only small samples of each could be retrieved. Square AA105 at the Lower Site also yielded an anthropoid wooden coffin, excavation unit (13438), with painted decoration on its exterior (Figures 11 12, cover image). Conservators Julie Dawson and Lucy Skinner joined the excavation team on site for a week to block-lift the coffin, first applying to it a layer of cyclododecane, a chemical that stabilises surfaces before gradually sublimating. Whilst a full recording of the coffin surfaces will only be possible once the application of cyclododecane has vaporised, some features of its decorative scheme were apparent during excavation. Each wall of the coffin seems to have borne images of three or four standing figures, separated by columns of hieroglyphic text, and with a large wedjat-eye painted near the head of the coffin on at least one side. The coffin lid had slumped over the upper wall around much of its edge, obscuring the heads of most of the figures. In one case, however, the head was still visible and was clearly canine (cover 10
Figure 10. Infant 212 in a wooden coffin. Near the head is a mud ball, object 39996. image), perhaps belonging to a figure of Anubis or Duamutef, one of the Four Sons of Horus. As such traditional funerary deities are usually thought to have been out-of-favour during the Amarna Period, the coffin is potentially of great significance in terms of the impact of Akhenaten s religious reforms on the general population of Egypt, hinting at freedom in religious expression. Inside the coffin were the jumbled remains of parts of four individuals: a female aged 15 24 years (Individual 199A), a male aged 36 50 (Individual 199B), a juvenile age 10.5 11.5 (Individual 199C) and an early second trimester fetus (Individual 199D). If we assume that one of these sets of skeletal remains represents the original occupant of the coffin, the most likely is Individual 199A, since this was the most complete individual (the skull also recovered), and also because the coffin seems to have been made for a reasonably short (but still adult) individual. This seems to rule out at least Individual 199B, who, at around 5 10, is one of the largest males recorded from Amarna. It is also possible, especially if Individual 199 was the original occupant, that the fetus was in the coffin as well, either miscarried or more likely in utero, the fetal bones found within sand and dirt adhering to the pelvic skeleton (Gretchen Dabbs, personal communication 2012). The bone from Individuals 199B and C can probably be understood as having been thrown into the coffin during the looting of the cemetery. In the last week of excavation, a second decorated coffin was discovered in grave pit <13570> square AO118 at the Wadi Mouth Site. As there were no conservators on staff at this time, it was decided to leave the coffin in place, covered with textile and sand, until it can be properly consolidated and lifted during the next excavation season in late 2012. Only the very upper part of the two ends were exposed, but the coffin seems to be a simple rectangular box measuring around 1 x 0.2 m, with painted surfaces (linear black decoration observed on the small parts exposed). In keeping with the good preservation of human remains at the Wadi Mouth Site, the wood also seems to be in better condition than other coffins encountered so far at the cemetery. These now number 20 in total, including the 2011 discoveries. 11
Figure 11. The right wall of the coffin being cleaned in situ, with cyclododecane applied to its upper part. Figure 12. The torso of a standing figure on the right wall of the coffin, in white paint with red outline. 12
Figure 13. A sample of the objects recovered during the 2011 season. Clockwise from top left: objects 39993, 39995, 39996, 39992 and 39993. Burial goods The 2011 season produced far fewer artefacts than previous seasons. In part, the explanation for this probably lies in the nature of the areas under investigation. Grid squares AA105 AF105 at the Lower Site, for example, all lie in an area that has seen at least one major post Amarna Period flood, making it likely that any artefacts lying in the upper horizons of sand would have been washed away. Few artefacts were noted during the 2010 excavation at the Wadi Mouth Site, suggesting that this may have been a slightly more impoverished area of the cemetery in comparison at least with the Lower Site (although the discovery of the two wooden coffins here in 2011, the first from this part of the site, must now temper this assessment). The most significant artefacts from 2011 (Figure 13) are: Object 39992 (i), (ii): two pieces of folded gold sheet found mixed-in with the disturbed bone of Individual 232, but probably originally from another grave and accidentally dropped into this burial by robbers. Object 39993: a copper-alloy ring found on the second toe of the right foot of Individual 230. The right femur of this skeleton had been broken during life and never healed properly, leaving it markedly bent. This raises the possibility that the ring was a magical or medical device connected with this deformity rather than a piece of jewellery. 13
Object 39994: a copper-alloy ring found on the fourth finger of the left hand of Individual 229, the bezel bearing a probable image of Re-Horakhty. Object 39995: a fragment of a steatite scarab found in a horizon of water-borne gravel in square AC105. and Object 39996: a mud ball with internal cavity found beside the head of infant 210, perhaps a kind of magical item. Other examples of such are known from houses within the city, sometimes with human hair in the central cavity. A small number of potsherds were encountered during the excavations. As is standard practice at Amarna, the non-diagnostic sherds were generally counted and discarded on site, only the diagnostic material retained, for study in a future field season. Two intact pottery jars were also recovered: a blue-painted jar in the burial of Individual 222 at the Wadi Mouth Site, and a small globular jar in infant burial 208 at the Lower Site. All of the artefacts have been placed in storage in the on-site magazine. They remain to be fully studied, photographed and illustrated in a future field season. 14
Appendix 1: Summary of interments excavated in 2011. Individual number Site Grid square Grave number ( i indicates bone is likely intrusive) Age and sex Extent of disturbance Coffin type Grave goods (other than potsherds) 195 LS AA105 <13419> adult (not yet low reed matting examined) 196 LS AA105 <13425>i? infant, 3.5 years high reed matting? 197 LS AA105 <13435> child, 6.5 years high reed matting 198 LS AA105 <13425> adult female, 25 35 years none reed matting 199A LS AA105 <13421> subadult/adult female, 15 25 years 199B LS AA105 <13421>i adult male, 36 50 years 199C LS AA105 <13421>i child, 10.5 11.5 years high decorated anthropoid wooden coffin? high unknown high unknown 199D LS AA105 <13421> fetus high unknown 200 LS W104 <13459> adult male, low reed matting 25 35 years 201 LS W104 <13477> adult female?, moderate reed matting 25 35 years 202 LS AB105 <13466> infant, 2.5 years high reed matting 203 LS AA105 <13482> juvenile, high reed matting 10.5 12.5 years 204 LS AA109 <13616> adult female, moderate reed matting 50+ years 205 LS AB105 <13483> adult female, high reed matting? 25 35 years 206 LS AA105 <13433> juvenile, moderate reed matting 12.5 14.5 years 207 LS W104 <13500> infant, 7.5 none reed matting months 208 LS W104 <13611> infant, 1.5 years none reed matting pottery jar 209 LS AC105 <13602> infant, 7.5 months 210 LS AA105 <13431> infant, 7.5 none undecorated mud ball (obj. 39996) months wooden coffin 211 LS W103 <13619> adult female?, 36 50 years high reed matting 212 LS AB105 <13622> infant, 7.5 months none undecorated wooden coffin 213 LS W103 <13628> infant, 3.5 years high reed matting 15
214 LS W102 <13655> infant, 4.5 years high reed matting 215 LS V103, W103 <13633> adult (not yet moderate reed matting examined) 216 LS AA105 <13468> adult male, 50+ low reed matting years 217 WM AO117 <13509> subadult, low reed matting 16.5 17.5 years 218 WM AN117 <13519> subadult/adult high reed matting female, 15 24 years 219 WM AO117 <13525> adult female, high reed matting 25 35 years 220 WM AO117, <13528> subadult/adult high reed matting AN117 male? 15 24 years 221 WM AN117 <13532> infant, 2.5 years high 222 WM AN117 <13538> subadult/adult male? 15 24 years 223 WM AN118 <13546> adult male, 25 35 years moderate reed matting blue-painted pottery jar none reed matting 224 WM AN118 <13556> infant, 10.5 years none reed matting 225 WM AO118 <13551> subadult/adult high male? 15 24 years 226 WM AN118 <13557> subadult, 16.5 high reed matting years 227 WM AO118 <13561> adult female, moderate reed matting 40 60 years 228 WM AN118 <13565> adult male? high reed matting 229 LS V103, W103 <13609> subadult/adult male 15 24 years 230 WM AN118 <13568> adult male, 36 50 years 231 WM AO117 <13575> Infant, 4.5 months 232 LS W102 <13635> adult male?, 36 50 years 233 LS W102 <13631> adult male, 36 50 years low reed matting copper-alloy ring on left hand (obj. 39994) moderate reed matting copper-alloy ring on second toe of right foot (obj. 39993) none undecorated wooden coffin moderate reed matting folded gold-sheeting (obj. 39992), probably intrusive moderate reed matting 234 LS AB105 <13574> Infant, 2.5 years none reed matting 16