All posts tagged archeology

The End of the Season

Working together with the ARCE project team we got a great deal accomplished this season in preparing the site to open to visitors. Most of…

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Our last week of excavation

Our last day of excavation was February 28, but we still have work to do. Since we are leaving Luxor next week, this will be…

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Old projects, new projects

Jaap’s wife, Egyptologist Julia Harvey, arrived on February 15, completing this season’s small team. Julia has agreed to take on the pottery, with which she…

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Our first week

According to the late French scholar, Agnes Cabrol, these 3 badly damaged sphinxes sitting east of Chapel D date stylistically to the reign of Ramesses…

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Back at Mut – How things have changed!

Our first day at the site this year was February 6, so most of this first posting will be about how the site has changed…

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The end of a short season

Because of potential unrest, no foreign missions were allowed to work in the field on Saturday, January 29, so we weren’t able to get back…

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DD4 paving

Our last full week

This is the posting intended for January 28 but not sent because of the lack of internet service in Egypt at that time. Richard and…

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bottom of mystery object

The Second Week

On January 15 we finished removing the baulk stub over the remains of the southern boundary wall of the Taharqa Gate approach. In this view…

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Qufti for season 2011

Season 25 is underway

We began what will be mainly a study season on January 11 with the traditional cutting of the camel thorn. Fortunately there isn’t much as…

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Taharqa Gate

2010 Mut Reports and Dig Diary 2011

The formal report on the 2010 season of work at the Mut Precinct, in English and Arabic, is now available online in the Mut feature…

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The End of the Season

In this last dig diary for 2010 I want to acknowledge the hard work, skill and patience of some of the most important members of…

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The season’s almost over

The base of this sphinx east of the precinct entrance is made up mainly of re-used blocks dating to Dynasties 25-26. The one under the…

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It’s Hot!

A general view of the excavation area on Thursday around noon. What you can’t see is how hot it is: 100°F on the site every…

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A new project and a few surprises

To the ancient Egyptians, magic (heqa in ancient Egyptian) was a potent force that could be used by deities and humans to influence the mortal…

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More brick

A view south from the precinct’s north enclosure wall of the whole area where we are now working. At the left are Chapel D and…

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The Week of the Brick

Tracing mud brick takes skill, patience and lots of scraping and brushing. It is paying off for Ayman and his team, though. By Tuesday, they…

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We’re up and running

   On Sunday, Abdel Aziz began looking for more of the mud brick found last week. He had no luck, as the northern part had…

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The Start of Another Season

The Brooklyn Museum Mut Expedition’s 2010  season of fieldwork is just getting underway. Once again we will be posting a blog each Friday describing the…

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Mut Expedition Reports Online

In the final dig diary posting for 2009, I talked about the importance of publishing the results of our work at the site. The first…

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And now it’s back to research and writing

The season is over. We finished digging on Tuesday and spent the rest of this week cleaning up, checking notes and taking final photographs. Our…

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This week in conservation at Mut

   During this past week I continued to treat small finds excavated from the west side of the Taharqa gate, and to watch the progress…

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Time Flies

It’s hard to believe that the season is almost over: this was our last full week of work, and it has been hot. Still, we…

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The Work Goes On

  Late last week we uncovered the top of a fairly substantial mud brick wall running across the Taharqa Gate square (left), but we only…

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Back on Site

I’ve been back on site for a week now and am happy to rejoin the team for my second season. It’s great to see Richard,…

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Imsheer Winds

The month on the traditional Egyptian calendar known as “Imsheer” (mid-February to mid-March) began this week and so far is living up to its reputation…

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Restoring Taharqa

This week we were able to start putting the north wing of the Taharqa Gate back together, restoring fallen blocks to their original position. We…

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Progress on all fronts

We are so happy that William and Elsie Peck could join us again this year. After a look around the site first thing Saturday morning…

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Our First Week

At the end of last season we covered the baked brick building north of the Sacred Lake with plastic and sand to protect it and…

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The First Day

We flew up to Luxor from Cairo on January 13. The view out the window was absorbing: the mountains of the eastern desert always take…

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The 2009 Mut Expedition – back in the field

The Mut Precinct’s front gate The Brooklyn Museum Mut Expedition’s next season of fieldwork will take place between mid-January and mid-March, 2009. Once again we…

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Parting Shots

Richard and I spent most of our last days at Mut photographing pot sherds, a necessary but decidedly unphotogenic task. However, I did have time…

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The End of the Season

Thursday, February 28 was our last day of work. It has been a very satisfactory season. We accomplished most of what we set out to…

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Wrapping up

The final week on site was spent finishing up various small projects, catching up on treatment notes, and packing up the tools and supplies for…

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Adjusting to life in the field…

After my second week on site I feel a bit less dazed and confused by the layout, the routine, and the scope and direction of…

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Our Last Full Week

You are looking northwest at the Taharqa Gate late Thursday morning. We are now down to the paving in the whole gateway, except for a…

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Arriving on site

My first day on site was Saturday, February 9th and I’m amazed at how quickly the week flew by. One of the things I did…

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The Work Goes On

This week we moved a couple of teams of workmen from the Taharqa Gate (where working space is getting a little constricted) to the excavations…

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Opening the Gate

Clearing the Taharqa Gate is one of the season’s main goals, a goal we achieved, at least in part, this week: the north wing of…

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The Last Week in January

The weather continues to be uncooperative. Last week it rained. This week, we’ve had unusually cold temperatures and high winds that sweep enormous clouds of…

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Internet Down in Egypt – Dig Diary Delayed

We just received a call from Richard Fazzini and Mary McKercher.  The internet is down in Egypt and many other countries, so the Dig Diary…

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Fair Weather and Foul

One of the week’s big events was the weather. Saturday, Sunday and Monday were cloudy and cold (mid-50s F, which is cold for Luxor) with…

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Our First Full Week

Excavation got underway last Saturday (our work week is Saturday-Thursday), with teams working in Temple A, at the structures north of the Mut Temple’s First…

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The Work Begins

We started work at the site on January 5, but the celebration of Coptic Christmas (January 7) and Islamic New Year (January 10) has meant…

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Mut 2008 — The Arrival

We flew to Luxor on New Year’s Day, and were able to start work on January 3. We haven’t done much yet but get re–acquainted…

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The Mut Expedition 2008 – we’re off!

The Brooklyn team leaves at the end of the month for another 2½-month season of work at the temple precinct of the goddess Mut in…

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