EAST DELTA
Tell Tebilla 2
The Southern Cemetery Area
The University of Toronto, 2000 Season
G. Mumford and S. Parcak sieving excavated soil. (Photo: P. Carstens)
The 2000 season uncovered portions of two late Third Intermediate Period (Dyns.21-25) to Late Period (Dyns.26-31) mud brick mortuary complexes (mastabas) along the mound's southern edge. The eastern mastaba measures at least 3.25 metres high, has a slight batter (80 degrees) on its northern face, and covers a minimum area of 15 by 20 metres. No traces of plastering appeared on the exposed wall faces, but further excavation is needed along its preserved exterior walls. The original surface from which this complex was built remains unexcavated, and it became covered by successive layers of soil and material culture debris. Some layers yielded pottery deposits; these are probably associated with funerary banquets and offerings by family members of the deceased. The mastaba's eastern end remains unexcavated; agricultural fields have bisected the southern side, exposing two chambers (vaults A-B), artifacts, and human remains. Chamber 1 (Vault A) produced bones from a juvenile and a faience vessel sherd. Chamber 2 (Vault B) contained the remnants of jewellery (two faience beads; a bell-shaped amulet), fragmentary containers (pottery; two faience sherds; a calcite fragment), a broken shawabti, and a flint blade.
The surviving complex encloses four rectangular chambers (nos.3-6), of which two partly excavated shafts (nos.3-4) contained successive levels of multiple burials. Some bodies bore traces of linen wrappings and bitumen coating, indicating burial and preservation techniques found normally with more affluent segments of Egypt's population. This reflects the social status of these individuals and the significance of the town in Late Period Egypt. A preliminary examination of the bones from this area (by A. Burridge, L. Chinery, T. Davidson, C. Gilbert, and S. Parcak), reveals a broad range of trauma and diseases: e.g., broken bones, abscesses, heavily worn teeth, osteoporosis, and arthritic conditions. In addition to revealing the general health of Tebilla's populace and different social classes, further analysis should provide more information about trauma and stress related injuries and their associations with different occupations.
Dynasties 26-31+ mortuary complexes at south end
of Tebilla
(Plan: G. Mumford).
The two excavated chambers enclosed by the eastern mastaba held a wide range of funerary products. Excavation of the western half of the top of Chamber 3 uncovered six burials, some jewelry (a glass and faience bead; a bronze hoop-earring), containers (potsherds; a faience sherd), four metal pieces (curved, tubular iron pieces; a bronze fragment), and two ceramic disks. The northern half of the upper levels in Chamber 4 revealed four burials (a child; a young adult; two adults). The burials had crystalline residue from the deterioration of body fat, containers (potsherds; a faience bowl fragment; a faience neck-and-rim sherd from a flask), jewelry (a faience striding figure amulet; a faience bead), a limestone erotic figurine, a small stone tool, and a copper droplet.
The wall top debris beside these chambers also yielded some artifacts: a faience Bes amulet, a wadjet-eye, a faience rim sherd, a bronze strip and wire, and a ceramic token. The continuation of interments within the uppermost levels of the preserved chambers in the eastern mastaba suggests that burial space was at a premium. Ideally, future DNA and other analyses of the burials may determine whether or not any relationship existed between the deceased within and between each burial chamber.
Burials in west half of chamber three. (Photo: P. Carstens)
To the west of this complex, excavation traced an open area spanning 10 metres East-West and 17 metres North-South, with a largely destroyed mud brick wall bordering the south (visible along the mound's edge). No architectural remains appeared within the open area. The shallow excavation work here, however, cannot exclude the possibility of small mastaba tombs and graves placed on and cut from lower surfaces within the 3.25 metres of debris accumulation lying against the eastern mastaba. Along the mound's southern edge, where the eroded southern wall angled southeastward, the exposed section revealed an accumulation of multiple layers of reddened soil, ash, and burnt sherds from the Late Period. An upper layer contained numerous densely packed, flat-lying sherds beside a sunken jar base and a brick-lined hearth. The dense packing of flat-lying pottery --(which slopes gently down to the west)-- suggests a pre-meditated "paving," or debris deposit; this provides a firmer surface during the winter rains that turn the clay at Tebilla into a slick and slippery, muddy area.
The absence of pottery wasters and metal and vitreous slags removes pottery, metal, and glass manufacture as probable activities in this open area. The presence of a hearth and a sunken jar suggests cooking activities, possibly associated with funerary banquets. However, the dense and successive ash and reddened debris layers could also reflect larger scale industries involving pyrotechnology: e.g., baking, brewing, grain parching, vegetable and animal oil extraction through heating, and boiling water for laundering textiles. A more remote and to-date unsubstantiated possibility, is that some of these multiple burn layers may reflect periods of foreign invasion (by Kush, Assyria, Babylonia, and Persia), rebellions against occupying forces, reprisals, and/or the various civil wars that mark portions of Dynasties 21-31.
Section through chamber 4 in mortuary complex (G. Mumford).
Another mud brick structure (the west "mastaba") encloses the western side of this industrial area, but requires further investigation to clarify its function and date. The lower part of a small square chamber lies near the western building's northeast corner. To resolve fully whether it represents a sealed shaft top, further brick removal is needed below the six courses already extracted from the chamber's "flooring." Furthermore, since only the top of the west mastaba has been exposed, it is necessary to determine the foundation level for this structure in relation to the east mastaba. This question can be resolved by excavating a trench between the two mastabas. One could then observe whether both mastabas are associated with the same surface layer, or if one mastaba's foundation trench and ground surface predates or postdates those of the other mastaba.
Unit 8: Northeast corner of the West "Mastaba". (S. Parcak)
The successive soil layers that accumulated against these mastabas date to Dynasties 26-31 and yielded fragments from imported pottery (e.g., Phoenician amphora; Judean juglet), regional pottery (e.g., desert marl vessels), local and/or regional pottery (e.g., Nile silt platters, bowls, juglets, jars, braziers), non-ceramic containers, jewelry, figurines, and tools (many pieces probably originated from nearby disturbed burials). The fragmentary, non-ceramic containers included a limestone sherd and 11 faience sherds from bowls, jars, and flasks (two faience sherds bore representations of bovines). Four faience chips may represent vessel and jewelry fragments (one has an inscription). The jewelry consisted of beads of faience (seven examples), bronze (six beads), limestone (one piece), clay (one bead), and lapis lazuli (one piece with gold flecks), 12 faience amulets (four wadjet-eyes; Thoth; Taweret; Bes; Bastet; Heh-figure; Ptah-Sokar; headdress fragment; a bell-shaped piece), and a small incised plaque. The remaining artifacts include a terra cotta plaque figurine, bronze items (a coin?/disk; a hooked rod; a wire; a slab), iron pieces (an arrowhead; a spearhead; a hook; a fragment), two stone flakes, and five ceramic disks.
Faience vessel fragment from southern cemetery
area
(Artist: L. Pinch-Brock; inked by G. Mumford).
At the end of the Late Period Tebilla's inhabitants added a structure to the northern side of the eastern mastaba. This expanded it into at least a 20 by 30 metre building, maintaining the original orientation of the earlier mastaba and its western wall face. This northern extension was laid in a foundation trench that cuts through earlier walls and strata. This trench was associated with a surface that lay at some point above the modern ground surface overlying the eroded east mastaba. The foundations contained reddened soil, Late Period potsherds, and a bronze hoop-earring. The wall debris from the northern structure produced a tiny faience Bes amulet and the base from a faience bowl. Although the function of this northern addition remains under investigation, its builders knew of the existence of the mostly buried eastern mastaba and reused part of its exposed upper structure in their new construction.
In the Greco-Roman period eight shallow pit-graves intruded into the Late Period east mastaba. This phase may coincide with the town's abandonment and the Roman period and later mining and extraction of stone architecture from the Third Intermediate Period to Late Period shrine at Tebilla. The surface graves held four infant burials, four adult burials, and scattered bones. The debris from these graves included faience jewelry (a scarab[?] fragment; two Thoth amulets), containers (a limestone bowl sherd; potsherds), and an ostracon with a Demotic inscription. A preliminary examination of bones from Unit 6 (by Alwyn Burridge) suggests some evidence for leprosy amongst the burial population; Laura Chinery noted Roman period terrazzo flooring fragments (i.e., broken up pottery pieces set in plaster) from the pit-burials sunk into Chamber 4 of the eastern mastaba.
Modern pits cutting into south cemetery area.
(G. Mumford; C. Gilbert; K. Diamond)
In addition to the pit-graves, excavation delineated four modern pits cutting deeply into the east mastaba and adjacent soil debris layers. The pits yielded potsherds, a copper wire fragment, a ceramic tool, a fragment from a terra cotta plaque, a faience neck-and-rim sherd from a flask, a zipper from a modern, discarded garment, peanut shells, a cigarette butt, and a cigarette package (citing a 1991 bylaw). In addition to modern debris, the largest pit also contained the scattered bones from at least four individuals (a small child; a young adult; two adults).
The surface layers covering excavation units 1-8 yielded some modern items: a five piastre coin dating to 1984, metal wires, an iron bar, a bolt, a glass marble, and a piece of worked wood; it also produced ancient items: Containers (potsherds; a calcite piece; a faience sherd; two limestone sherds), faience jewelry (five beads; an incised plaque; a wadjet-eye; a disk), eight faience fragments, a faience shawabti head, a terra cotta head, a female figurine, fragmentary tools (two sandstone pieces; two flint blades; three flint flakes), and a ceramic disk. The items from the pits and uppermost surface layers reveal a wide range of activities extending from at least 1984 through 1991 and later.
L. Chinery excavating Pit-1 in Unit-6. (Photo: P. Carstens)
Drawings showing different
sections from trenches (G. Mumford)
East Delta (Tell Tebilla)
Arabic Summary
Arabic Report
Bibliography
Bibliographic sources
for Tell Tebilla
Tell Tebilla 1
Project Personnel
Background
Survey and Excavation Results
Tell Tebilla 2
Southern Cemetery 2000
Tell Tebilla 3
Western Cemetery 1999-2001
Tell Tebilla 4
Northern Cemetery 2001
Northeastern Cemetery
Tell Tebilla 5
The Temple
Tell Tebilla 6
The Settlement
Conclusion
Tell Tebilla 7
Magnetometer and
Surface Survey
Tell Tebilla 8
History & Commerce
Tell Tebilla 9
The Material Culture
from Tell Tebilla
Tell Tebilla 10
Imported Pottery
Tell Tebilla 11
Osteology
Remote Imaging (E. Delta)
Satellite Images & Aerial Photography Studies
SCA excavations at Tell Tebilla 2002-3:
The SCA el-Mansoura office (directed by Naguib Noor) initiated salvage excavations in the southwestern part of Tell Tebilla, focusing on an area that measured approximately 60-75 by 150-170 metres. The excavations were directed by chief-inspectors Ali Amrea and Salem Gabre, with assistance from SCA inspector Said el-Talhwe, over a six-month period from October 2002 to April 2003. Their investigations have exposed more square and rectangular mud brick mastaba-tombs and adjacent streets and open areas from the Late Period cemetery. Many of the chambers and exterior walls yielded signs of differential burning, ranging from structures displaying light red surface staining to structures with deeply burnt, interior bricks. These mastaba-tombs produced hundreds of burials with some tomb chambers containing rough, limestone block linings for their interments. The excavated mastabas contained thousands of artefacts (with over 700 individual types), including pottery, stone vessels, jewellery (beads; amulets; pendants), funerary figurines (shawabtis), models (e.g., a model chariot), and other items. The Supreme Council of Antiquities and University of Toronto expeditions to Tell Tebilla hope to publish their findings in a joint series of publications.
Above: SCA 2002-3: Salvage excavation area along
southern edge of mound (Photos: P. Carstens;
courtesy of Dr. Z. Hawass and the SCA).
Summary from information provided by Naguib Noor, Ali Amrea, and Salem Gabre (SCA, el-Mansoureh).
Other discoveries at Tell Tebilla
By 1988, private landowners removed an approximately 200 by 250 metre, low-lying, triangular portion of the mound’s edge that lay to the north of a small, modern cemetery. The 50-70 cm layer of soil, which lay above the current rice fields in this area, produced over a dozen intact pottery vessels and a stone vessel --rescued by SCA salvage operations under the directorship of Mohammed Abd Fettah. This low-lying ground presumably represented a continuation of the Late Period necropolis and mastaba-tombs that are truncated at the current, southern edge of the mound.
