The following are only his preliminary impressions, before he prepares a more detailed report based on his meticulous studies. Richard found that those tiny bits of bone that we recovered from the floor of the 'benches and troughs' area included some from mammal as well as fish. Also, we found fish bone from a number of different places in our excavations, not only alongside the benches. Cattle in general are considered a costly source of meat. They are fussier about their food and need to drink more than sheep and goats which have wider grazing habits.
Cattle are certainly more costly than pigs, which are omnivorous and reproduce quickly.
Pigs, which cannot move long distances, are associated more with a provincial village way of life. This may indicate that cereal grain is coming into the site already cleaned. So, to be simplistic, we are seeing evidence of expensive grain and expensive meat. If these impressions hold up to closer scrutiny, this material reflects a higher status of consumers than in village sites in provincial Egypt. These patterns perhaps bode well for the 'palace hypothesis' - the idea that we are excavating the back part of an outer enclosure around a royal residence of the pyramid building kings.