名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

Published for
PRELIMINARY REPORTAKORIS
2006
Edited by
Kawanishi, Hiroyuki
Tsujimura, Sumiyo
Doctoral Program in History and Anthropology, University of Tsukuba
305–8571, 1–1–1 Tenno-dai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
Printed by NAKANISHI PRINTING CO., LTD. Japan
Copyright ©2007 by KAWANISHI, Hiroyuki

CONTENTS
1 GENERAL VIEW............................................................................................................................Kawanishi, H.
2 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONSSouth Area................................................................................................................... Hanasaka, T.
Finds from the South Area........................................................................................ Hanasaka, T.
West Area..................................................................................................................... Tsujimura, S.
Finds from the West Area......................................................................................... Tsujimura, S.
3 QUARRY
Greek Graffiti at Zāwiyat al-Sulţān................................................................................... Suto, Y.
Unfinished Colossus and Remaining in the Quarry at Zāwiyat al-Sulţān................Endo, T.
2名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

1 GENERAL VIEW
Considering various archaeological traces stretching from the 5th Dynasty to A.D.700, the vitaltrend shown through grave- and house-constructions and manufacturing among the masses are
confirmed. They are the end of the Old Kingdom (OK)/the First Intermediate Period, the end of
the New Kingdom (NK)/The Third Intermediate Period (TIP) and the Coptic Period. In order toelucidate the city formation and its function and to re-examine ancient Egyptian history from a local
viewpoint, the Akoris Project was started in 1981 and since 1997 has mainly concentrated on theend of the NK to the Ptolemaic Period.
The city area is situated at the center while graveyard and production areas extend on its
periphery. The graves are both shaft- and tunnel-type and date from the OK to the Coptic Period.
Small scale production areas where faience, glass, pottery, olive oil, leather goods, etc. were
scattered around the city area while the large production areas were located on the western riversidestretching below the city area for agriculture and the northern and southern limestone crag forquarrying.
Many ancient quarries are existent within a 15km radius of the city area corresponding to a
one-day around trip. These quarries await archaeological and philological research. Being led by
the large inscriptions of Rameses III, Dr. L. Habachi suggested that the quarries in Akoris andFig. 1 Map of Egypt.

Fig. 2 Sites and villages near Akoris.
3

名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

al-Bābīn date back to the 20th Dynasty. However, this is still an uncertain assumption because of noarchaeological inspection.
Based on the investigations of the demotic and Greek graffiti which remain at the northernZāwiyat al-Sulţān and the southern Akoris quarries, the fact that they had been in operation in the
Ptolemaic Period was testified. They are probably the oldest quarrying traces in existence.
Among the eleven graves excavated in the West Area, two are distinguished in that one
contained products for the wealthy such as a copper/alloy mirror and another an animal such as agazelle. Moreover, both were women and date from the end of the OK. It might imply that these
women were of a special status.
In the South Area eleven mummies dating from the TIP, have been found in our investigations
since 2002. Most of them consist of women and one discovered in this season had a deliberately
pierced skull, which raises an issue about the social position of women in this period.

(Kawanishi)

2 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONSSouth Area (Cover; Figs. 3–6) At the end of
the 2003 season, the excavation trench waslaid, measuring 80.0m in length north-southon the slope and 8.0m in width east-west in theSouth Area at the base of the crag. The trench
was divided into ten 8.0m-grids, labeled A–J
from top down and preceded by the number ofthe year.
Since the 2004 season, we extended thealready existing rectangular trench further tothe west. It was extended to 11.0m in Areas
04A–F in the 2004 season, and 15.0–18.0m in
Areas 05A–D in the 2005 season. In the 2006
season, we continued the excavation 50.0m in
length north-south and 38.0m in width eastwest in Areas 06E–J at the end of the season.
We found many mud brick structures, houses,
granaries and workshops, belonging from the
TIP to the Late Period.
Areas 06E–F were situated in the south ofArea 05D, and in the west of Areas 04E–F. The
bedrock of this area, together with some mudbrick structures at the southern edge of
Area06F were abruptly cut, showing ahorizontal gap about 5.0m. The bedrock
collapse must have happened shortly after thetime of this occupational layer.
Fig. 3 Map of Akoris.

Areas 06G–J, where the inclination of the

4名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

Fig. 4 South Area.
5

名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

Fig. 5 Plan of the South Area, excavated in 2006.

slope ended, were situated at the south of Areas 04F and 06F, and at the west of Areas 03G–J. These
Areas 06G–J were divided into western trench and eastern trench by leaving a 0.7m bank in the
middle. The divided areas were thus named as 06eG–J and 06wG–J.
In Area 06F, we confirmed many ruins of circular structures built of mud bricks (Fig. 4: Upper
left and right). These could be classified into two types by their size and by the material remains
from inside. One type is a large granary, which usually have more than 2.5m in diameter. Four6名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

Fig. 6 South Area.
Upper: General view from the south; Upper
middle: Tomb 2; Lower middle: Tomb 3; Lower:
Circular structure in Area 06eI.

7

名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

such granaries were found from Area 06F. Two of them retained their circular form and they wereconstructed at almost the same time adjoining each other, east and west. The eastern one was 2.9m
in diameter and 0.6m in maximum height, and the western one was 4.1m in diameter and 1.0m in
maximum height. The size of mud bricks of these structures was 38–40 × 18–19 × 7–8cm. Their
floor was not covered by mud bricks but paved with mud. We found a small quantity of grain, chaff
and ears of cereal which were probably cultivated emmer wheat on the floor. It was the first time tofind such vegetable remains since we started the investigation in the South Area.
Another evidence of grain was found from a circular structure in Area06eJ, at the south side of
the 12m long east-west wall, which is mentioned below. The size of the circular structure was 3.0m
in diameter and 1.4m in depth, with the mud bricks measuring 37–38 × 18–19 × 7–8cm. It wasconstructed subterranean, and a small quantity of grain was found on the floor. Thus it is plausiblethat the original function of this structure was a granary. There were two other circular structures
which were found in 2002 and 2003 had an east-west alignment with the newly found one. All thesestructures had peculiar straight walls, with 0.7m and 1.0m thickness, as if to fill up a third to a halfof inside spaces. The function of these fillings is still unclear.
Another type of circular structures was probably used as storerooms. There were five, with asmaller diameter of about 1.0–1.5m used for general storage. However, all but one structure wereleft with just a part of their mud brick walls only a few tiers high. The only structure which kept theupper part was 1.4m in diameter and 1.0m in maximum height, and the wall was very thin made of
mud brick stretchers set on their side and plastered over with mud. Attached to that, there was asemicircular structure, 1.3m in diameter and 1.0m in height, and the vegetable remains were piled
up in the inside of both structures.
Two circular ovens in Area 04F were already reported in our previous report of 2004. There
are two more ovens found from the Area 06F. The four ovens in total were adjoining each otherand standing in an east-west alignment, each measuring about 1.1m in diameter and 0.5–0.6m inheight. The walls of the ovens were well fired and very thin, and much ash and charcoal were piled
up in the interior and around the ovens to more than 0.8m in height. It is supposed that the ovens
were used for baking bread or something for which does not require high temperature. One ovenout of the four, situated in the western end, was found underneath of the already mentioned easternlarger granary, thus the ovens must have been constructed earlier to the granaries.
Although we have found 6 large circular structures with over 2.5m in diameter in our previous
investigations and 8 in this year, the function of them are still unclear (Fig. 4: Upper middle right;
Lower left). There are no storage jars or amphorae found from insides of the structures, the few
exceptions were two structures from Area 06F and 06eJ mentioned above, which some grains were
found. Moreover, these are constructed with half subterranean chambers as opposed to generalidea of Egyptian archaeology that granaries are silos built on the floor level, with an opening at the
top to pour grains in, and at the lower bottom to extract grains. Some circular structures were evenreused as burials, 4 out of 12 burials found during 2002–2005 seasons were found from such reused
circular structures.
There was a house with more than five rooms was found from the Area 06eI (Fig. 4: Upper
middle left). The eastern wall, measuring 8.2m in length, was excavated in 2003. The western wall,measuring 6.4m, ran parallel to the eastern wall. The southern wall, measuring 9.2m, connects atright angles to the eastern and western walls and there is the northern walls which consisted of some8

名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

divided walls in the line.
There was a circular structure, with approximately 2.2m in diameter and 1.2m in depth,
located almost at the center of a house in Area 06eI (Fig. 6: Lower). It was constructed half
subterranean by digging the hardened floor of the house. Inside of the circular structure, there
were a lot of mud brick fragments and two wooden logs, measuring more than 2.5m in length and
2–10cm in diameter, which had fallen down from the upper part of the structure. As the two logs
were put into the wall and set crosswise at the boundary between lower and upper part of thestructure, logs were supposedly used for supporting the upper part of the structure which wasconstructed by piling mud bricks leaning slightly inward and forming cupola.
Four other small circular structures were found at the four corners of a house in Area 06eI.
They were not built of mud bricks, but simply made of mud. The base of the structure at thesouthwest corner was cut more than 0.8m deep into the hardened floor level and had sand piled
around the structure. The use of sand around the structure might have helped reducing thepressure imposed on the thin wall. The structure was about 1.40m in maximum diameter andtapered inward to the top, where there was an opening, 0.7m in diameter, with an unfired earthen
lid. Unfortunately, the content of this structure was not yet confirmed, since removing debris frominside would cause collapse of the thin wall.
The half subterranean structure, which was mentioned above, might have served as a storage
for seed, for it could have kept the inside temperature constantly. According to the local residents
who live near the site, this kind of half subterranean circular structure is still in use nowadays forkeeping seed.
In Area 06eG, there were a rectangular and a circular structure built side by side. They werebuilt on the slope of the site, the floors of which were not artificially modified horizontally. The
rectangular structure measured 3.6 × 1.8m square with an entrance facing the south and the heightof the existing wall was 0.7m. The size of the mud bricks was 34–35 × 16–17 × 6–7cm. The
circular structure, measuring 2.1m in diameter, was probably constructed at the same time as therectangular structure. Many fish bones, especially of catfish, cattle bones, and pottery sherds were
found. These structures were probably used for the storage of food.
There was an ancient street in Areas 02–03eJ. This street is a continuation of the street of theprevious seasons, and now has 25m in length, 2m in width (Fig. 4: Lower middle left). The street isrunning east-west, turned toward north at Area06wJ. The trace of the street became obscure at
Area 06wH–I, since bedrock was exposing on the surface of the ground. A 1.3m width street was
running vertically to this wide street at the area between Area 06eJ and 06wJ, forming a junction.
There were long dividing walls surrounding circular structures and common houses on both sidesof the streets, however, no entrance was found through these walls. There are walls for the circular
structures and rectangular houses alongside of the wide east-west street, however, no accessentrances from the street to the circular structures or houses have been made.
In this season, four burials were found in Areas 06F, 06eG, 06eI and 06wJ. Tomb 1, contained
a small rectangular wooden coffin, measuring 0.9m in remaining length, with only half of it where
the legs had been remained. There were only a child’s finger bones and some fragments of clothfrom the coffin.
Tomb 2 was situated in the inside of the circular structure in Area 06eG (Fig. 6: Upper middle).
The edge of the wooden coffin was uncovered during the 2004 season, however, at that time almost
9名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

Fig. 7 Finds from the South Area.

the entire coffin was out of the investigation area and so it had been left untouched. The burial was
found from the upper part of the circular structure and the coffin contained the skeletal remains ofan adult female. The coffin and the skeletal remains were cut cleanly in half. However, it wasstrange that the skeletal remains were not scattered here and there, but were in their original
position. The size of the coffin measured 1.3m in length and 0.5m in maximum width.
The burial, Tomb 3 was created by demolishing the northern wall of a residence in Area06eI(Fig. 6 Lower middle). Tomb 3 had a colored anthropoid coffin, measuring 2.0m in length and0.6m in width and covered with a straw mat. The lid of which was already destroyed in ancient
times. The base color of the coffin is whitish-yellow, with floral headband and gods were painted inblue, red, black, and green. The deceased was a female, originally wrapped in cloth, only fragmentsof which now remain. No funerary gift was discovered. The coffin was similar to the twoanthropoid coffins found in 2004 and 2005 seasons, therefore the one found this year might also be
dated from the 21st or the 22nd Dynasty. The dating criteria were already discussed by Mr. Uchidain the 2004 season’s Preliminary Report. It was noteworthy that a small hole was observed on theskull, with no trace of callus around the hole. This may indicate the cause of her death. Her brain
was found intact.
Tomb 4 was 2.2 × 1.5m square and 0.5m in depth, situated in Area 06wJ. It was a rectangular
shaft surrounded by mud bricks on the bedrock (Fig. 4: Lower right).

(Hanasaka)Finds from the South Area (Fig. 7) No. 1: Pottery Coffin, Area 06eG, l. 42.3 × w. 43.4 × t.
10.3cm. Fragment of a pottery anthropoid coffin lid with human face and two arms coming out
from the both sides of the face.
No. 2: Unfinished Pottery, Area 06eI, h. 25.5 × max d. 16.0 × t. 3.5cm. Lump of unfired
10名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

pottery jar with rim and neck, found in a smashed state.
No. 3: Pottery. Round bottomed jar, Area 06wJ, h. 15.7 × max d. 13.0cm.
No. 4: Pottery. Long necked jar with round bottom, Area 06wJ, h. 16.2 × max d. 10.6cm.
No. 5: Pottery. Round bottomed bowl, Area 06eJ, h .7.4 × max d. 21.7cm.
No. 6: Pottery. Shallow pedestal bowl, Area 06eI, h. 5.3 × d. 19.1cm.
No. 7: Ostracon, Area 06wJ, h. 12.4 × w. 11.5 × t. 1.3cm. Bearing three lines written inhieratic on a pottery sherd. Translation of the second line is [May he guard against the easterners(?)
and nomads(?)].
No. 8: Ostracon, Area 06wJ, h. 9.6 × w. 6.7 × t. 1.2cm. Bearing two lines written in hieratic ona pottery sherd.
No. 9: Cobra figurine, 06wJ, h. 8.9 × w. 5.7 × t. 2.6cm. There were 38 cobra figurines ofsimilar size and shape found from the South Area in this season.
No. 10: Human figurine with a navel-like projection, Area 06wJ, h. 7.2 × w. 4.3 × t. 2.2cm.
There are 4 figurines of this type found from the South Area in this season.
No. 11: Stone weight, Area 06eI, h. 6.3 × d. 3.6cm. Cone shaped alabaster plumb.
No. 12: Stone Vessel, Area 06eI, h. 5.6 × d. 5.4cm. Ointment jar, shaped out of alabaster block.
No. 13: Bronze bowl, Area 06eI, h. 2.8 × d. 8.3 × t. 0.29cm. Probably produced by hammeringa sheet metal.
No. 14: Human bone, Tomb 3 in Area 06eI, adult female skull with a small hole, about 1cm indiameter, at the back of the head.
No. 15: Brain, found from the inside of the skull, No. 14, a fist-sized lump of brain.
No. 16: Amulet, area 06E, h. 2.36 × w. 1.35 × t. 1.28cm. Fragment of faience god figurine,
Pataikos, with a scarab on the head.
No. 17: Amulet, Area 06E, d. 1.95 × w. 1.35 × t. 0.29cm. Fragment of faience open-work ring.
TIP-?
No. 18: Amulet, Area 06wJ, h. 1.27 × w. 0.72 × t. 0.44cm. Glazed stone god figurine, Pataikos.
No. 19: Faience plate, Area 06wI, w. 7.2 × h. 4.6, w. 5.9 × h. 5.2cm. Two pieces of faienceplates with papyrus pattern, bright greenish blue, Late New Kingdom (Ramesside).
No. 20: Amulet, Area 06G–I, l. 1.53 × w. 1.10 × t. 0.74cm. Glazed steatite scarab, withengravings of three humans or gods/goddesses and a sign.
No. 21: Amulet, Area 06F, l. 0.91 × w. 0.69 × t. 0.48cm. Faience Scarab with two nfr-signs (?)
and a nb-sign.
No. 22: Amulet, Area 06G–J, l. 0.84 × w. 0.97 × t. 0.54. Left side of faience double scarab.
No. 23: Amulet, surface of the area, l. 0.84 × w. 0.67 × t. 0.48cm. Glazed stone scarab, withengravings of cross stripes.
No. 24: Wooden Object, Area 06wJ, l. 19.5 × w. 3.0 × t. 1.1cm. Unidentified wooden object
with a crown headed bird on the top. Looks like a magical ivory knife of Predynastic Period.
No. 25: Wooden Object, Area 06eI, l. 31.4 × w. 12.2 × t. 0.5cm. Unidentified wooden object,possibly a farm implement for scooping cereals.
No. 26: Wooden Object, Area 06eI, l. 40.4 × w. 3.8 × t. 1.6cm. Wooden boomerang.
(Hanasaka)West Area (Cover; Figs. 8–11) We finished excavating some shaft tombs (Nos. 7, 8, 12, 13–16, 19, 21
and 22) amongst the tombs that we found in the last season. All of them except No. 12 measure11

名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

Fig. 8 Geographical map of the West Area.

Fig. 9 Discovered tombs
Right: West Area T.7
T.8
T.12 T.13
T.14 T.15 T.16
Left: T.17
T.21
T.24

12

名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

T.18
T.22
T.25

T.19
T.23
T.26

13

名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

Fig. 10 Upper left: Tomb 12; Upper and upper middle right: Tomb 16; Lower middle left: Tomb 14; Lower
middle right and lower right: Tomb 21; Lower left: Tomb 22.

14

名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

ca.1m square at the mouth, however, the in depths differ.
Tombs having a burial chamber are Nos. 7, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19
and 21, of which only No. 21 has a chamber to the west, rather
to the east as the other do. It was proved that they had been
made in the OK Period and some of them had been reused in
the TIP according to chisel unearthed objects and the chiselmark of the shaft as well as the shaft tombs themselves in thenorth part of this necropolis.
No. 7 which has a shallow shaft (1.0 × 0.95 × 1.2m) with

Fig. 11 Skull with a hole.

three notches on the west wall and a small chamber (1.3 × 0.53 × 0.4m) belongs to the TIP as
shown by an east-west row of bricks (36 × 18 × 7cm) just under surface layer at the mouth of the
shaft, in addition to unearthed pottery, several amulets which are Udjat-eye and figurines of deities
made of faience, and a finger ring made of cornelian. Both of No. 8 which is nothing more than avertical shaft, and Nos. 13–15 that consist of a shaft and a small chamber as well as the above
mentioned No. 7 are possibly to belong the TIP as determined by pottery remains including ahuman figurine with a navel-like projection characteristic of the TIP which was found in No. 14(shaft: 0.78 × 0.74 × 0.88m, chamber: 0.82 × 0.30 × 0.66m).
No. 12, the largest rectangular shaft (2.55 × 0.95 × 1.95m), is also supposed to have been cut
in the same period by remains (Fig. 10: Upper left). An anthropoid wooden coffin (north-south 1.9long × 0.52 wide at the shoulder × 0.42m high) remains at a little to the east on the bottom of the
shaft. Because the lid was badly damaged except for the north part with the face and wig
decoration, the legs of the body were exposed. Though the lid has not been removed yet, the bodyinterred in the coffin is estimated to be a male considering the size of the legs. Three round hollows
on both the east and west walls made pairs respectively and three wooden bars assumed to havebeen inserted in the hollows were found. They were perhaps supports for something like a plank or
a cloth over the coffin.
N o . 1 6 h a s t h e d e e p e s t s h a f t ( 1 . 0 7 × 1 . 1 × 2 . 1 5 m ) a n d t h e l a rg e s t c h a m b e r(2.13 × 1.4 × 1.2m), which connects diagonally to the shaft (Fig. 10: Upper and upper middle
right). The entrance of the chamber had been closed with rubble and lumps of clay. A female adultbody with the head to the north was lying on her back in the chamber. There is no coffin at present,
but many wooden pieces at her feet may have been a part of the coffin. A mirror with a tongue
made of copper/alloy, three large and a small the jujube-shaped beads made of red agate andfunerary goods of two intact potteries, a bowl and a beer jar remains at her head. The pottery
belonged to the 5th or 6th Dynasty at the end of the OK Period.
No. 19 has a shallow shaft (1.0 × 0.9 × 0.9m) and a large chamber (2.15 × 1.15 × 1.0m). A
rectangular burial space (1.56 × 0.36–0.20m) was built with rows of mud bricks (38 × 18 × 8cm)
and the lower parts of the east and the south chamber walls covered with a thick mortar of clay andpottery shards. There were no human bones inside, however judging from the widths of both ends,
the north is a direction of the head. Pottery unearthed from this tomb belongs to the TIP.
No. 21 has a shaft (1.1 × 1.1 × 1.6m) and a chamber (1.42 × 0.7 × 0.65m) to the west (Fig. 10:
Lower middle and lower right). The entrance of the chamber had been closed in the same way as
No. 16. Because the chamber is small, the adult female inside was found lying on her side with bent
legs and arms. Strangely, an ibex-like animal head was laid facing the female. Its forefoot was
15

名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

Fig. 12 Finds from the West Area. Nos. 1–11: Tomb 7;
Nos. 12–17: Tomb 14; Nos. 18–21: Tomb 16;
Nos. 22-24: Tomb 19; Nos. 25–27: Tomb 21;
No. 28: Tomb 22.

found behind the animal’s head, and its hind legs were found between her legs and the west wall.
The human skeleton of the whole body including the brain was in place, while the animal bones
remains only partially. It is therefore, it is unknown whether this animal was buried as a sacrifice orremnants of banquet as a religious observance.
No. 22 shaft is of usual size at the mouth, but its depth is shallow (1.10 × 1.08 × 0.57m, Fig. 10:
Lower left). A bent human skeleton estimated to be 7–8 years old with the head in the direction of
the north was found in a depression lined with stones (0.64 × 0.40 × 0.12m) at the northeast corner.
This skull had a hole of 7mm in diameter at the Vertex (Fig. 11). At the circumference scrape marksby a sharp knife were observed but no rejuvenation of bone cells. Judging from the shape of thehole, it is supposed to be the same medical operation as the trepanned female skull discovered in
the South Area, however neither one must have survived.

(Tsujimura)Finds from the West area (Fig. 12) No. 1: Bowl, intact, rim diam. 17.6 × h. 7.2cm. No. 2:
Amulet, l. 1.30 × w. 0.52cm, faience. No. 3: Amulet, l. 1.79 × w. 1.45cm, Thoth as a dog-headed
baboon, faience. No. 4: Amulet, l. 1.22 × w. 0.74cm, faience. The head is lost. No. 5: Amulet,
l. 1.12 × w. 0.83cm, Udjat-eye, faience. No. 6: Amulet, l. 1.04 × w. 0.79cm, Udjat-eye, Faience.
No. 7: Unidentified stone object, l. 4.60 × d. 0.76cm. No. 8: Ring, 2.08 × 1.66cm, diam. 1.55cm,
carnelian. No. 9: Gaming piece, diam. 3.57 × h. 2.13cm, alabaster. No. 10: kohl pencils,l. 6.64 × w. 0.95cm, l. 5.12 × w. 0.73cm, bones. No. 11: Spindle, diam. 4.57 × 3.69, t. 1. 31cm,
earthen. No. 12: Corn-shaped weight, bottom diam. 3.76 × h. 3.94cm, limestone. No. 13: Human,figurine with a navel-like projection, present l. 7.91cm × w. 4.69cm. The head is lost. No. 14: Bowl,
rim diam. 22.0cm × h. 9.6cm. No. 15: Blade, l. 8.47 × w. 1.53cm, flint. No. 16: Wooden object,l. 13.7cm. No. 17: Wooden staff, intact, l. 56.2cm, w. of the grip 7.0cm. No. 18: Beer jar, intact, rimdiam. 11.6cm × h. 29.2cm. No. 19: Bowl, intact, rim diam. 24.6cm × h. 8.85cm. No. 20: Beads,
16

名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

Fig. 13 Southern Quarry.
Left: Zāwiyat al-Sulţān and Akoris.
Upper: Geographical Map of Zāwiyat al-Sulţān.
Photo: General view of Zāwiyat al-Sulţān.

17

名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

l. 3.10 × d. 1.05cm, l. 2.93 × d. 1.04cm, l. 2.68 × d. 1.21cm, l. 1.00 × d. 0.68cm, agate. No. 21:
mirror, l. 10.1 × w. 11.1 × t. 0.35cm, (tongue l. 1.5cm), bronze. No. 22: Jar, diam. (max) 19.4cm ×present h. 25.0cm. No. 23: Amulet, l. 0.94 × w. 0.66cm, Udjet-eye, faience. No. 24: Spacer Bead, l.
2.30 × w. 1.03 × t. 0.52cm, faience. There were six holes for stringing beads. No. 25: Brain,
No. 26: Skull, No. 27: Animal bones, No. 28: Skull.

(Tsujimura)

3 QUARRY
Greek Graffiti at Zāwiyat al-Sulţān (Figs. 13, 14) There are extensive traces of ancient quarries on
the high barren plateau along the eastern edge of the Nile valley in the vicinity of Akoris, whichhave been surveyed by our team of architectural history directed by Y. Hori of Kyusyu University.
Zāwiyat al-Sulţān near New al-Minyā is one of the most impressive ancient quarries ever discoveredin this area. The most spectacular monument is undoubtedly a huge unfinished limestone block fora colossus of a standing king located at the top of the valley. Finding many Greek and demotic
graffiti on the ceiling of the hewn gallery under the huge block, T. Endo and S. Nishimoto haverecently made it clear that the modeled king is not Amenhotep III, as R. Klemm and D. Klemm
have identified (Steine und Steinbrüche im alten Ägypten, Berlin 1992, pp. 94–97), but a Ptolemie ruler.
A number of Greek and demotic graffiti are also found in the valley extending from the site of theunfinished colossus toward the southeast. Our epigraphic investigations at Zāwiyat al-Sulţān aim at
elucidating the nature of these valuable testimonies concerning the quarrying activities within theirproper historical settings of Ptolemaic Egypt.
In 2006 we registered 172 more or less legible Greek and demotic graffiti in the valley. They
are always painted in characteristic red color with a small brush for the Greek ones and acomparatively wide brush for the demotic ones. The graffiti are not evenly distributed inside thevalley but are concentrated in several sections. This situation of preservation may have largely beencaused by weathering and the later quarrying activities, since even on the southwestern side of thevalley, where very few legible graffiti are left on the vertical open walls, abundant graffiti are stillpreserved in excellent condition on the ceiling of the horizontal galleries deeply hewn into thevertical walls. The intensive survey of those graffiti inside the galleries will be conducted in 2007.
A typical Greek graffito is composed of three parts; a date (regnal year, month, day), a personalname in the nominative or genitive case, and several numerals possibly concerning the size of thequarried stone. The personal names refer to both Greeks and native Egyptians. They may havebeen the quarrymen (latomoi) who were responsible for the work in progress. Some names bear
additional monogram composed of lambda and epsilon, which seems to indicate that they belong to
the privileged status of free-quarrymen (eleutherolatomoi).
The sequence of the regnal years on the Greek graffiti suggests that there are two clues to fix
these relative dates on the scale of absolute chronology. First, the graffiti of the sections L, J, G, andF indicate that the vertical faces on the upper northeastern area of the valley were quarried fromthe south to the north in the years between the 34th and 38th regnal years of a king, whose reign
must have abruptly ended most probably in or just after the 38th year because the two graffiti inside
the inner trench of the section G belong to the third year of an apparently new sequence (Fig. 14:
G6, G9 and F11):18

名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

Fig. 14 Greek graffiti. Upper left: G6; Upper right; G9; Middle left: F11; Middle right: Q3; Lower left: Q17;
Lower right: General view from the east.

L: 34 → 35
J:					36G:			35 →			F:							

37 →
37 →

38 →
38

3

There are only two kings in the history of the long Ptolemaic reign, whose regnal years reached to,or went beyond, the 38th year, i.e. Ptolemy II Philadelphos and Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II.
Secondly, the regnal years on the graffiti of the section Q clearly show that another sequencemust have ended in or after the 25th year of another Ptolemy since the lower part of the wall at theextreme northeastern corner of the section Q yields another two graffiti dated to the 2nd year
19

名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

(Fig. 14: Q3 and Q17):
G:

22 →

23 →

25 →

2

The strong candidates for the kings are Ptolemy III Euergetes I, who died in the beginning of his
26th regnal year (autumn of 222 BC) and Ptolemy IV Philopator. It seems that the section was
worked in the last years of Ptolemy III and the early years of Ptolemy IV (ca. 226–221 BC).
Is it then possible to decide whether the sections L, J, G, and F were quarried earlier or later
than the section Q, namely under Ptolemies II and III or VIII and IX? In my view, the sections
were operated earlier than the section Q, and thus those sections were quarried during the later
years of the rule of Ptolemy II (ca. 252–248 BC). The quarry faces of the sections L, J, G, and F,
which are located higher up the valley, must have been worked earlier than that of the bottom of thevalley, since the continuous high vertical wall left by the quarrying activities at the bottom must havemade it almost impossible to transport the blocks downward from the upper area.
If the argument I have developed above is along the right line, we must admit that a significant
change of writing custom had occurred in the third quarter of the third century BC. The Greek
graffiti of the middle of the century were almost always juxtaposed with their demotic renderings,
while this interesting custom seems to have gradually been obliterated and only Greek was adopted
to make a record on the quarry face of the section Q in 220s. This phenomenon must have been
relevant to the literacy of the people working in this quarry. The custom of using monograms todenote the month was also introduced and established in the course of this change.
The results of our epigraphic investigations at Zāwiyat al-Sulţān show that this enormous
limestone outcrop was intensively exploited in the latter half of the third century BC under the
successive reigns of Ptolemy II and III. The unfinished colossus at the top of the valley now seems
to have been that of Ptolemy III rather than Ptolemy II, since the Greek graffiti found under therock have already adopted the system of monogram for representing the names of months. The
gigantic size of the statue seems especially worthy of the king, who was called euergetes through his
illustrious success in the east during the Third Syrian War against Seleucus II (246–241 BC). (Suto)
Unfinished Colossus Remaining in the Quarry at Zāwiyat al-Sulţān (Figs. 13, 15) Zāwiyat alSulţān is located about 6km southeast of el-Minyā, in middle Egypt, along the east bank of the Nile
River. Ancient quarries lie wide in the limestone mountain over the back of Muslim cemeteries
spread throughout the neighborhood. In a quarry at the northernmost summit, a colossus of an
unknown king of a length of no less than 20m remains as abandoned during quarrying. Ourinvestigation has so far completed a detailed drawing of the above-ground and undergroundregions of this unfinished colossus; we have recorded the distribution of many demotic and Greek
graffiti and innumerable red lines that were newly discovered on underground parts. The following
serves as an interim report on the knowledge obtained so far from an architectural point of view.
The unfinished colossus in Zāwiyat al-Sulţān is reported briefly with a rough sketch in the
recent petrological studies (R. Klemm and D. D. Klemm: Stein und Steinbrüche im Alten Ägypten,
Berlin 1992, pp. 94–97). However, it was not until our investigation that precise measurements had
been carried out both above-ground and underground (Fig. 15: Nos. 1–3). A king’s statue is drawn
with faint chiseled lines on a rock at the mountain summit, with length of about 22m and width ofabout 8m at maximum (Fig. 15: No. 4). Although it is among the greatest colossi of ancient Egypt,
there is no such case of one abandoned during quarrying. Accordingly, this is an extremely
20名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

Fig. 15 No. 1: Plan of the unfinished colossus. No. 2: Floor plan of the underground region. No. 3: Roof map of
the underground region. No. 4: Detail of the unfinished colossus. No. 5: Bottom of a vertical separatingtrench. No. 6: Beneath the unfinished colossus. Room C. No. 7: Demotic graffito discovered in Room C.
(Nos. 1–4: Drawings and photograph by T. Endo; Nos. 5–7: photographs by S. Nishimoto)21

名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

invaluable reference that indicates its own construction process1. There are vertical separatingtrenches excavated on the four sides surrounding the statue of about 8.5m deep. Their width isabout 50cm, which is presumed to be the minimum within which a human can engage in excavation
work (Fig. 15: No. 5). The bedrock has natural fissures along the vertical separating-trenches. It is
probable that the ground surface was cleaned first and the natural fissures were identified before
quarrying the colossus, then fissured parts, which were easy to excavate, were dug deeply according
to the dimensions of the huge rock to be acquired.
In the excavation of vertical separating-trenches, while two ramps were prepared for engaging
many workers efficiently, foothold holes were dug in multiple places as a secondary route forascending and descending the rock face. Moreover, many vertical separating-trenches wereexcavated on the east side of the colossus so that excess rocks were separated in parallel, to finish
quarrying and to carry out the colossus. Therefore, it is presumed that smooth progress of work
had been perfectly examined.
A low horizontal tunnel with a ceiling height of about 60cm had been dug underground, underthe boulder on which the relief of a colossus had been chiseled, to separate the colossus from the
bedrock. The underground floor plan is shown in Fig. 15: No. 2. Rooms A-D immediately under
the colossus support the huge rock on top with a columnar wall that remains at the southeast corner,with only three cross walls left. Double-coursed square stones are aligned with an almost constantinterval in the western half of the block of the colossus (Fig. 15: No. 6). These are assumed to havebeen prepared as a foundation at the time of the block’s separation from the bedrock.
Our investigation revealed that red lines and many demotic and Greek graffiti had been written
on the ceilings of rooms A–G (Fig. 15: Nos. 3, 7). Graffiti are observed between numberless redlines so that the regions are indicated. It is assumed that they are notes that are deeply related tothe excavation work of those days at the underground region. It is presumed that the date of thegraffiti is of the Ptolemaic period. R. Klemm and D. D. Klemm, who probably observed only theabove-ground region of this colossus, presumed the date of this colossus to be of the reign ofAmenhotep III in the NK period (Klemm and Klemm 1992, p. 97). However, this presumption
must be reconsidered for the reason described above. It is very likely that a few pottery fragments
discovered underground might become indirect evidence to support the date to be the Ptolemaic
period assumed from graffiti. Future investigation is essential.
The total number of the discovered graffiti is greater than one hundred. The demotic graffiti
consist of three consecutive numbers, and fractions such as 1/2, 1/3, 2/3, 1/6, 5/6, and 1/12 are also
used. The Greek graffiti, written together by the demotic ones, consist of a year of reign, a date, apersonal name, and then three consecutive numbers. The three numbers contained in a Greek text
written near a demotic one are of the same combination except for few exceptions. Why are almost
identical contents indicated in two different languages in the same place? The answer should bederived carefully through detailed investigation of the position of graffiti in each language, thedirection of texts, etc.
Precise measurement surveys indicate that the three numbers are likely to denote the amountof excavation in the region sectioned by red lines on the ceiling surface. It is especially noteworthy
that the last number always represents 1. This seems to signify the ceiling height of the low
horizontal tunnel dug underneath the colossus. It is interesting that numbers used here express
values with a unit close to the royal cubit (1 cubit = 52.5cm) in the dynastic period. The fractions
22

名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ

imply that measurement was carried out using a six-division ruler. Furthermore, measurements
proved that three numbers always represent width, depth, and height in this order.
The following summarize the outcome newly revealed by our investigation described above onan unfinished colossus remaining in the quarry at Zāwiyat al-Sulţān.
1. The colossus was abandoned after a tunnel had been dug thereunder and during the process of
separation from the bedrock.
2. An elaborate construction plan had been prepared for extracting a colossus, with preparation ofvertical separating-trenches excavated using natural fissures, and with many workers and theirconfigurations in consideration.
3. The construction date is assumed as the Ptolemaic period based on many newly discovered graffiti
in the underground region of the colossus.
4. The three numbers shown in both demotic and Greek graffiti are likely to express the amountexcavated in the region sectioned by red lines. Moreover, these three numbers represent width,
depth, and height in that order.
5. A measuring unit close to the royal cubit (1 cubit = 52.5cm) of the dynastic period was usedsuccessively also here; it is assumed that measurement was carried out using a six-division ruler.
Ancient Egyptian civilization has been well-known for many years to have developed thetechnology of dealing with megaliths in construction activities. However, many unresolved issues
remain related to its definite processes and labor organization at the time of acquiring the largest
stones. Accordingly, this quarry is an invaluable reference. Field surveys and discussions are in
progress; further studies will be conducted in the future on the contents summarized here.
The investigation at the site was assisted by S. Nishimoto, Y. Hori and his students. Also, theauthor is indebted to S. Nishimoto for providing valuable information and to S. Uchida, Y. Suto, R.
Takahashi and Dr. J. G. Manning for the reading of demotic and Greek graffiti.
Note:
1. Recent excavation study in a granite quarry at Aswān revealed an abandoned colossus during
quarrying. The author was allowed to inspect the investigation district through the courtesy of
Dr. Adel Kelany, who administered the site.

(Endo)

Members in 2006 Director: Kawanishi, H. University of Tsukuba; Members: Tsujimura, S. andEndo, T. Kokushikan University; Uchida, S. Meirin College; Suto, Y. Nagoya University; Hori, Y.,
Nishiyama, T., Kida, M. and Shigenaga, M. Kyushu University; Obayashi, K. and Endo, H. Tokai
University; Takahashi, T. Oita Prefectural Office; Uematsu, A. and Mitobe, H. Yamagata Prefectural
Office; Takahashi, R. King’s College, London; Iwasaki, M., Kano, K. and Hanasaka T. University ofTsukuba; Site Inspector: Hamada M. Kellawy
Supporting Persons and Organizations Dr. Zahi Hawas; Dr. Magdy el Ghandour; Mohamoud, H.;
Samil, A.; Adel, H.; Dr, Seif el dim, Mervat; Iwaki, N. C.E.O. and President, E&M; Murata, Y.
medical Dr.; JSPS Research Station Cairo; Kajima Corporation; Kawatoko, M. Middle Eastern
Culture Center in Japan; Shiojiri, K. University of Tsukuba; Nishimoto, S. Waseda University;
Ozawa, A.; Spencer, V.; Bahi Travel.
This project is sponsored by the Grant-in Aid for Scientific Research, the Ministry of Education,
Science and Culture, Japan.
23

名古屋大学/古代エジプトの情報伝達に関する調査アーカイヴ