Digging in Egypt

Excavating in Egypt

Digging itself is in general the easiest part of the excavation, and the only archaeological activity known to the public. However, there is often a substantial selectivity involved, often only implicit in the work, revealing a certain political dimension; selection is inevitable, given the constraints of time and cost on any excavator, but the criteria of selection should be made explicit. In former times it was very often the custom to destroy the levels at a site which the excavator did not regard as scientifically 'useful'. For example, in Egypt it was for a long time usual to destroy Roman, Coptic and Islamic levels without recording. As a result, we now have a seriously limited picture of these periods. The number of Roman and Coptic houses found in Egypt must have been very high, but the number recorded is very small. An excavator interested in earlier periods could, reasonably, choose sites without substantial later occupation. If this is not possible, then the duty remains to record all higher levels before their removal in the search for evidence from lower, more ancient strata.

Areas to be excavated are now regularly separated into sections/units/squares (often 10 x 10 metres). However, in conditions such as loose desert sand or underwater archaeology, it is hard to keep clear borders, whereas this method applies well to cultivated land.

There are several options for excavating a site. A trench or cut at a certain point is an easy and rapid way of obtaining an early general view of the development to be expected under excavation. It is an ideal means of revealing the stratigraphy of a place (stratigraphy: the recording of superimposed layers at an archaeological site, each representing a different period, with the layer at the bottom the oldest and the one at the top the most recent - stratigraphy is most important for settlement archaeology - compare Hemamieh). An excavation of a larger area is needed to reveal the architecture and structure of a site at a certain point of its history.

The important aspect of an excavation is RECORDING: that is, to record all finds with their exact find spot and to record all structures found. Excavators also need archaeological experience to be able to find certain structures. In the 19th century several Delta sites were excavated, but no architectural structures were found. This did happened not because there were no structures, but because the excavators did not recognise the mud brick walls, almost identical to the mud of the ground in which they were buried.

The arid climate can make an excavation in Egypt quite different to one in other places. Hyperarid desert sand creates perfect preservation conditions for organic material. However, this does not mean automatically that all organic material is well preserved. Wood can be very soft, and any decoration on it can disappear just with a soft wind blowing over it. A conservator is always needed on site to consolidate structures and small finds and ensure their preservation.