AUSTRALIAN EXCAVATIONS IN EGYPT
that are associated with the Australian Centre for Egyptology.

Macquarie University, Sydney.

SAQQARA
The November/December 1996 excavations at Saqqara, in the Old Kingdom "Rue de tombeaux" north of Teti's Pyramid, were very rewarding. Numerous late and New Kingdom burials were uncovered in the upper levels of the excavated mound, some with complete and well-preserved skeletal remains and interesting accompanying funerary objects. Examination of the human remains revealed some of the ailments suffered by the former inhabitants of the region. Details of these burials are to be published later in 1997, in a volume entitled The Teti Cemetery at Saqqara, Vol. 2.

The excavation of the newly discovered (in December 1995) tomb of Min-Inu (Mnw-inw) was completed during the 1996 season. This mastaba-tomb consisted os a superstructure of five rooms fully constructed from large limestone blocks. Three of the rooms were decorated in painted relief, including a large, monolithic limestone false door. The other two rooms were undecorated and in the larger of these a shaft, approximately 12 metres deep, connects to a burial chamber which, surprisingly, was lined with limestone and decorated with painted reliefs, although these were of poorer quality than those in the superstructure. The sarcophagus had been broken into, and no remains of the body of Min-Inu were found. However, some fine funerary objects belonging to the tomb were left behind by the tomb robbers. Min-Inu had the title "Overseer of Upper Egypt" listed in the texts in the chapel area, though the title "Vizier" was found inscribed on his sarcophagus, possibly indicating a promotion late in his career. Min-Inu also held an appointment in the "Priesthood of the Pyramid" of king Pepi I, during whose reign he probably held office.

The Macquarie University Expedition had the pleasure of receiving a visit from His Excellency the Australian Ambassador to Egypt and the Sudan, Mr Michael Smith, as well as the Hon. Barry Jones MP, both of whom expressed great interest in the work.

An illustrated lecture of this season's finds will be presented at the Australian Centre for Egyptology's annual Conference, at Maquarie University on Saturday 19th July, 1997.
THEBES
In 1995, Dr Boyo Ockinga of Macquarie Univerity continued the clearing, recording and conservation of the Ramesside period tomb of Amenemope (TT148 - circa Ramesses III-IV) at Dra' Abu El-Naga (Thebes). Quantities of re-used limestone blocks bearing 18th Dynasty inscriptions were found, and clearance in the tomb's forecourt was carried out, resulting in the discovery of the remains of a stone pylon.

In the current 1996/7 season, Dr Ockinga will complete the recording and conservation of this tomb. Given enough time remains, he will commence the excavation of the adjacent Ramesside Period tomb of Saroy (TT233), who held the position of "Royal Scribe of Pharaoh's Table".

February 1997 note: Dr Ockinga is still in Egypt and an update of his 1996/7 excavation will be forthcoming.
HELWAN
Macquarie University's newest Egyptology lecturer, Dr E. Christiana Köhler, started surveying the important site of Helwan, near Cairo, in December 1996. Dr Köhler specialises in the very earliest periods of ancient Egyptian history, and her studies on this site are expected to shed new light on the transition from prehistoric to the historical era of Egyptian civilisation and the formation of the Egyptian state.

February 1997 note: Dr Köhler is still in Egypt and an update of her 1996/7 excavation will be forthcoming.

DAKHLEH OASIS
In 1995, Dr Colin Hope of Monash University in Melbourne continued his excavations at Ismant el-Kharab in the Dakhleh Oasis. The continuing excavations have been funded for a further three years under a new grant made by the Australian Research Council. The expedition deals primarily with Greek and Roman Period settlements and single interments. Many of these burials in the loose sand have proved merely to be wrapped parcels of bones, often of individuals of widely differing age and sex, sometimes bound together or to a structure of wooden rods, to give the semblance of humanoid form. An interesting discovery was made of two platform-style tomb/mausoleums, which had a square central building surrounded by columns. Although most of the superstructures are missing in each case, the floorplan is virtually identical with a similar structure found in Libya, said to be modelled on a building in ancient Alexandria, no longer extant.

ABU SIR
Dr Gae Callender, who gained her doctorate in Egyptology and is an Associate in Ancient History at Macquarie University, participated on the Expedition of the Czech Institute of Egyptology to the Fifth Dynasty pyramid field of Abu Sir, to the north of Saqqara, in late 1995. A public lecture was given at Macquarie University on 23rd August 1996, and detailed the work on the southern end of the 3km-long Czech site, especially around the minor pyramid Lepsius 24 (L24). An interesting find was that the pyramids at this site were not built using the "internal buttress" method often described in books, but by building a square wall from the inside-out, and filling the interior with sand and debris.

THEBES 1996/7
A recent article (20-Jan-1997) by Dr Nigel Strudwick of Cambridge University (UK) tells of recent efforts of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities to relocate the villagers of Qurna, West Thebes, who for time out of mind have occupied houses built atop and amidst the cemetery of the nobles.
WADI NATRUN
An American excavation of a Coptic monastery in the Wadi Natrun has an impressive website, which is useful to those doing school projects, as well as being of general interest.

HTML & Web Page design by Peter C May Last modified 1st February, 1997.