An Amarna-period ostracon from the Valley of the Kings.

An Amarna-period ostracon from the Valley of the Kings. The Amarna Royal Tombs Project The Amarna Royal Tombs Project was a project based in the Valley of the Kings, Egypt. Set up in 1988, it operated in the Valley until 2002. Its director is Nicholas Reeves. External linksWhat is The Amarna Royal Tombs Project ? (ARTP ARTP Amarna Royal Tombs ProjectARTP African Rice Testing Program ) initiated its programme ofarchaeological survey and excavation in the central part of Egypt'sValley of the Kings in November 1998, and has now completed threesuccessive seasons of work under the joint field-direction of NicholasReeves and Geoffrey T. Martin. The emphasis to date has been on thedocumentation and investigation of the ancient settlements which onceoccupied much of the central Valley -- those neglected `workmen'shuts' which previous excavators have occasionally noted, sometimes`cleared', and more rarely planned. A particular focus ofARTP's work has been that area of settlement located between tombsKV 56 (`The Gold Tomb') and KV 9 (Ramesses VI), which in the earlyyears of the 20th century was partially explored both by Theodore Davis(who left little record: cf. Davis 1908: 31) and by Howard Carter(Carter & Mace 1923: 87; cf. Reeves 1990a: plate XIV; Reeves &Wilkinson 1996: 84). The greater part of this restricted site -- a gooddeal of its archaeology still intact, despite earlier sondages -- hasnow been excavated down to bedrock, with intriguing results. Beneath the spoil of ancient workings and more modem excavations astepped wadi formation has revealed itself, and several distinct phasesof activity encountered. Of these, the two principal are: 1 An upper layer of settlement, consisting of a row of modestshelters at first sight of single-room depth but in part, at least,extending beneath the tourist path. These huts, which link up with aseries of similar structures positioned around the entrance to the tombof Ramesses VI (cf. Reeves 1990a: plate XIV), on excavation yieldedpottery of Ramesses III-Ramesses VI date and a quantity of small-finds.The latter included inscribed and figured ostraca os��tra��ca?n.Plural of ostracon. and jeux de nature --natural flint nodules reminiscent of (and sometimes enhanced by theaddition of paint more accurately to represent) lunar discs, a kneelinggoddess, etc. 2 Indications of a lower and presumably pre��sum��a��ble?adj.That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. earlier layer of settlementextending from the east, again running beneath the modern path and stillto be investigated. To judge from the neighbouring portions of thissettlement which Carter photographed (cf. Reeves 1990b: 51, 75) andplotted (cf. Reeves 1990a: plate XIV), these huts are distinguished fromthe Ramessid structures which lie above by the slightly smaller scale ofthe rooms and by the use of somewhat larger stones in theirconstruction. An interesting find which may prove to have a bearing both on thedating and on the significance of this lower level of huts was made atthe end of ARTP's third season in 2000. This is a large, figuredostracon os��tra��con?n. pl. os��tra��caAn inscribed potsherd.[Greek ostrakon, shell; see ost- in Indo-European roots.] of limestone, dated not only by the obvious Amarna style of thecharcoal sketch it carries -- showing an elaborately dressed officialwith shaven head, scrawny neck, narrow shoulders and pot belly, standingwith his arms raised in adoration -- but by the discovery nearby, at asimilar depth overlying overlyingsuffocation of piglets by the sow. The piglets may be weak from illness or malnutrition, the sow may be clumsy or ill, the pen may be inadequate in size or poorly designed so that piglets cannot escape. these lower-level huts, of several fragmentsfrom a large, blue-painted storage jar of the late 18th Dynasty. It has for some time now been recognized that the burials ofTutankhamun's predecessors -- Akhenaten and the members of hisimmediate family -- were transferred from el-Amarna to Thebes during orjust after the young king's reign. Here, at Thebes, it seems thatextensive portions of the burial equipments belonging to theseindividuals were reworked for Tutankhamun's own use, with what wasleft over being similarly adapted and divided again among the originalowners for their re-interments nearby (Reeves 1997). Intriguingly, onlyone of these reburials has so far been identified: the mix-and-matchdeposit discovered in January 1907 by Theodore Davis within tomb KV 55-- for this writer, at least, the final resting-place of Akhenatenhimself(Reeves 1990c; 2001: 80-84; Hussein & Harris 1988; but cf.still Filer 2000). Since objects of Amarna date are of some considerable rarity in theValley of the Kings, the recent discovery of an Amarna-style ostraconand contemporary pottery in undisturbed layers not far distant from theburial of Tutankhamun and tomb KV 55 is an interesting development --the first clear evidence yet encountered of significant late18th-Dynasty activity on ARTP's site. Whether this activity is tobe associated with the establishment of one or other of the`missing' Amarna reburials -- either in a tomb still unknown toarchaeology, or in an anonymous sepulchre SEPULCHRE. The place where a corpse is buried. The violation of sepulchres is a misdemeanor at common law. Vide Dead bodies. such as KV 56 (a queenly tombof 18th-Dynasty date cleared out for re-use at the end of the 19thDynasty: Reeves forthcoming) -- remains to be determined. Acknowledgements. The Amarna Royal Tombs Project's excavationsin the Valley of the Kings are carried out with the generous permissionand co-operation of Egypt's Ministry of Culture and Supreme Councilof Antiquities The Supreme Council of Antiquities (commonly abbreviated SCA) is part of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture and is responsible for the conservation, protection and regulation of all antiquities and archaeological excavations in Egypt. (SCA). Grateful acknowledgement is made to the SCA'sPermanent Secretary, Prof. Dr Gaballa Aly Gaballa, and to itsever-helpful officers and inspectors -- Dr Mohammed el-Soghir, DrMohammed Nasr, Mr Sabry Abd el-Aziz, Mr Mohammed Abd el-Aziz el-Bialy,Mr Ibrahim Mahmoud Suleiman, Mr Ahmed Ezz el-Din and Mr Ezz el-DinKamal. Thanks are due also to Dr Zahi Hawass, Undersecretary of Statefor the Giza Pyramids. The Project would like to express its gratitudeto its several sponsors, whose names, together with further informationon the work of the ARTP, may be found on the website of the Valley ofthe Kings Foundation: www.valleyofihekings.org My own thanks, as ever,to the members of the team. References CARTER, H. & A.C. MACE. 1923. The Tomb of Tut. ankh ankhAncient Egyptian hieroglyph signifying life, consisting of a cross surmounted by a loop. In tomb inscriptions, gods and pharaohs are often pictured holding the ankh, which forms part of the hieroglyph for concepts such as health and happiness. .Amen I.London: Cassell. DAVIS, T.M. 1908. The Tomb of Siphtah; the Monkey Tomb and the GoldTomb. London: Constable. FILER, J. 2000. The KV 55 body: the facts, in Egyptian Archaeology17 (autumn): 13-14. HUSSEIN, F. & J.E. HARRIS. 1988. The skeletal remains from TombNo. 55 in Fifth International Congress of Egyptology, October29-November 3, Cairo, 1988. Abstracts of Papers: 140-41. Cairo:International Association of Egyptologists. REEVES, C.N. 1990a. Valley of the Kings. The decline of a royalnecropolis necropolis:see cemetery. necropolis(Greek: “city of the dead”) Extensive and elaborate burial place serving an ancient city. The locations of these cemeteries varied. . London: KPI. REEVES, N. 1990b. The complete Tutankhamun. London: Thames &Hudson. 1990c. The archaeological analysis of KV 55, 1907-1990, in T.M.Davis, The tomb of Queen Tiyi (2nd edition): iv-xiv. San Francisco: KMTCommunications. 1997. Public lecture, Bloomsbury Theatre, University CollegeLondon “UCL” redirects here. For other uses, see UCL (disambiguation).University College London, commonly known as UCL, is the oldest multi-faculty constituent college of the University of London, one of the two original founding colleges, and the first British , 17 May. 2001. Akhenaten, Egypt's false prophet. London: Thames &Hudson. Forthcoming. On some queens' tombs of the 18th Dynasty, in N.Strudwick & J.H. Taylor (ed.), The Theban Necropolis: past, presentand future. London: British Museum Publications. REEVES, N. & R.H. WILKINSON. 1996. The complete Valley of theKings. London: Thames & Hudson. NICHOLAS REEVES, Myers Museum of Egyptian and Classical Art, EtonCollege, Windsor SL4 6DW, England. n.reeves@etoncollege.org.uk