Geoffrey T. Martin _ Excavations in the Sacred Animal Necropolis at North Saqqara, 1971-2 ;...

8/10/2019 Geoffrey T. Martin _ Excavations in the Sacred Animal Necropolis at North Saqqara, 1971-2 ; Preliminary Report ,

1/29

Egypt Exploration Society

Excavations in the Sacred Animal Necropolis at North Saqqara, 1971-2: Preliminary ReportAuthor(s): Geoffrey T. MartinSource: The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 59 (Aug., 1973), pp. 5-15Published by: Egypt Exploration SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3856091

Accessed: 03/05/2010 03:19

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unl

you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and

may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.

Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=ees.

Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or prin

page of such transmission.

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range

content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new fo

of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

Egypt Exploration Societyis collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Jou
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3856091?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=eeshttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=eeshttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/stable/3856091?origin=JSTOR-pdf


2/29

(5)

EXCAVATIONS

IN

THE

SACRED

ANIMAL

NECROPOLIS

AT

NORTH

SAQQARA,

1971-2: PRELIMINARY REPORT

By

GEOFFREY

T.

MARTIN

THE work

at

Saqqara

this season

was

divided into

two

parts,

the

first

directed

by

Professor H. S. Smith and the second

by

the

present

writer.

Camp

was

opened

on

October

14,

197I.

Professor

Smith

worked

upon

two

important

literary

papyri

found

in the

I966-7

season,

and

completed

a revision and collation

of the texts of the

demotic

stelae

and

graffiti

dedicated

by

priests

and

necropolis

masons in the Burial Place of the Mother

of

Apis.

A

programme

of

glassing

all the

papyri

found

by

the

Society

at

Saqqara

was

initiated,

and

largely

completed

by

the end of the season.

On

October

3I

Professor

R. Holton

Pierce of

Bergen

University, Norway, joined

the

expedition,

his fare

being

generously defrayed

by

the

Norwegian

Research

Council.

He worked

through

the

whole collection

of

demotic

papyrus

fragments

found at the

site

in

previous

seasons,

transcribing

and

sorting,

in

preparation

for

a

volume of

legal

and administrative

texts

he

will

edit for

the

Society.

We wish to

express

here

our

gratitude

for

his

valuable

collaboration,

his

work this season

resulting

in the

discovery

of

several docu-

ments dated to

the

First Persian Period and the

Twenty-ninth

and Thirtieth

Dynasties,

which tends to confirm the conclusion that the bulk of this archive belongs to the

fifth

and

fourth

centuries

B.C.

Professor Pierce

also identified a number of

interesting

protocols

of

cases

or

pleas

heard in the Palace of Pharaoh at

Memphis

which,

though

too

fragmentary

o

yield

case

histories,

are

of

value from

the

legal point

of view.

Mr.

J.

D.

Ray

(Birmingham University)

arrived

on

November 22 to continue

his

work

on the series

of ostraca of the

reign

of

Ptolemy

VI

Philometor,

which concern

the

career

of

the scribe

Hor

and his various

prophetic

dreams. Professor

Smith,

Professor

Pierce,

and Mr.

Ray

also

co-operated

in

preliminary

work

on

the

decipherment

of

a

number

of

papyri,

and the

foundation

has

been laid for several

papyrus publications.

Mrs.

Smith

spent

the

early

weeks

of

the season

in

re-equipping

the

camp

and in

setting up

a

new

photographic

studio.

Later

she

re-photographed

certain

papyri

and

stelae.

The writer

would

like

to

pay

tribute

to the

work done in the

expedition

house

by

Professor and Mrs.

Smith before our

arrival,

resulting

in

a

comfortable and well-

organized camp

for the

archaeological

eam.

On December

IO

our

skilled

Qufti

workmen

arrived,

and

four

days

were

spent

under

the direction

of Professor

Smith

on the

cutting

of

practice

trenches,

one of

which

yielded

the earliest

Mother-of-Apis

stela so

far

known,

recording

burials in

the

37th


3/29

GEOFFREYT.

MARTIN

year

of

Amasis

(533

B.C.)

and

the

33rdyear

of Darius

(488

B.C.).

On

December

15

the

excavation

team

arrived,

headed

by

the

present

writer,

with Miss C.

D.

Insley,

Miss

H.

C. Ward

(surveyor),

Mr. D. A. Lowle

(Liverpool

University),

and Mr. M. A.

Green

(Liverpool

University).

The

Society gratefully

acknowledges

the

services

of Dr. H.

D.

Schneider

(Leiden

Museum),

who acted

as

principal

site

supervisor

throughout

the

season,

and of Mr. F. G. Van

Veen,

the Museum

photographer,

who workedwith us

for

one week

at the

end of the

season,

and

whose

photographs

illustrate

the

present

report.

Both

were seconded

to the

expedition

through

the

generosity

of Professor

Adolf

Klasens,

whose interest

in

our

work,

and

the

friendly

co-operation

of Dr. W. F.

G.

J.

Stoetzer,

the head

of

the new

Dutch Institute

in

Cairo,

are likewise

warmly

acknowledged by

the

Society.

The Leiden

Museum

of

Antiquities

and

the

Institute

also

defrayed

the

fares

of our

Dutch

colleagues,

and

gave

a

generous

financial

subven-

tion

to

the

excavations.

Mr.

J.

R.

Baines

(Durham

University)

spent

a

week

with

us in

January,

and worked

on a

descriptive

catalogue

of

votive bronze

objects

from the

site

which

he will

publish

for the

Society.

The

Antiquities

Service

was

again

represented

by our friend and colleague, Mr. Aly el-Khouly. This season we have again enjoyed

the welcome

financial

support

of Museums

and

of

private

members

of

the

Society.

The

late

Professor

Emery's

work

in

the

Sacred

Animal

Necropolis

from

1964

to

197I

resulted

in

some

spectacular

discoveries:

galleries

containing

the

mummified

remains

of sacred

ibises,

falcons,

baboons,

and

cows

were

located,

together

with

their

associated

temples,

shrines,

and

courtyards.

Masses

of

papyrus

documents

in

demotic,

Aramaic,

and

Greek

were

uncovered,

originally

forming part

of the

temple

archives,

and

great quantities

of

votive

objects,

including

statues

of

bronze, wood,

and

stone,

the

offerings

of

pious

pilgrims

over

the

centuries,

were

recovered,

as well

as

important

groups

of

cult

vessels

and

furnishings

used

in

the

temple

ritual.

A new field

of

inquiry

into the sacred animal cults

of the

Late Period

and

Graeco-Roman

Period

has

been

opened

up

in

consequence

of

these

discoveries,

for

though

other sacred

animal

sites

in

Egypt

are

known,

they

have

been

only

partially

dug

or

published,

and

Saqqara

is

unique

in its

multiplicity

of

cult-places

and

temples,

and

in the

abundance

of

objects

and

documents

found.

The demotic

archive

from

our site

is one

of the

richest

found

in

Egypt

for

many years,

and

is of

special

interest

emanating

as it does

from

the

northern

part

of the

country,

and

has

initiated,

under

the direction

of Professor

Smith,

a

new

phase

of

research

into

that

script.

As a direct

result

there

has

emerged

a

new

generation

of

young

English

demotists.

The Aramaic

archive

and

the Carian

texts

are

likewise

of

great

interest

and

importance.

The

galleries

and shrines

have

now

been

thoroughly

investigated,

apart

from

minor

details, and our

plan

this season has been to explore one other aspect of the site to

supplement

the

work

of

Professor

Emery

and

to

round

off our work

in this

areaof

the

Sacred

Animal

Necropolis:

the administrative

and

domestic

area associated

with

the

shrines.

Most

of the

Animal

Necropolis

which

falls

within

our

present

concession

had

already

been

worked

by

Professor

Emery,

but

there remained

some untouched

ground

in

the

area

called

Sector

7,

between

the

South

Ibis

Gallery

courtyard

and

the

main

Temple

terrace

(fig.

i and

pl.

I).

The

probability

of this

area

being

a

temple

town

had

6


4/29

SE TOR

7

I

,

A

Scale

1

4

6

8

10

12

.

16

20

matrp-

BLOCK

5

FIG.

IA.

SECTOR

7

SECTION

AA

Scale

?

;

2

..

4

,

6

,

,

,

metres

A

-"

F

FIG.

IB.

i

imtIIut


5/29

GEOFFREY

T.

MARTIN

already

been

noted,'

and

accordingly

we

opened

the

excavation

here

on December 19

in

the

hope

of

locating

the

administrative

and

domestic

quarters.

Work

continued

on

the site

until

February 27.

Our first

discovery

was a

rectangular

mud-brick

and

rough

stone

building

of

some

i nterest,

2I.O

X

II

o metres in size, which has been designated Block 5 (figs. 2-3 and

SECTOR

7

Block

5

Scale

Ie

-

1

2

4

6

8

'metres

e

I

FIG.

2.

I

I

FIG. 2.

pls.

II-IV).

It was

completely

covered

with

a

deep

deposit

of wind-blown

sand,

over

which,

at

its

western

extremity,

was a

large

mound of

soft

limestone

chippings deposited

by

the workmen

who cut the South

Ibis

Galleries

nearby.

Thus we know that our

building,

the core of which

has

been

identified

as a

small

temple,

is earlier

than the

Ibis

galleries

(which

on

documentary

evidence

at

present

appear

to

date from

the

second

century

B.C.). Judging

by

the

depth

of the sand

deposit

between the

chippings

and

the

remains

of the

'temple'

walls

(I.6o

metres),

the

newly-discovered

building

may

be

considerably

earlier,

but

naturally

the rate

of

deposit

of

wind-blown

sand can

hardly

be

measured with

great accuracy.

Specimens

of charcoal

and wood from the

'temple', collected for Carbon 14 analysis, should enable us eventually to assign an

approximate

date.

The

'temple'

is

entered

from a

stamped

mud

courtyard

on the east

side. There is

evidence

that the

building

overlies

an earlier

structure,

the

foundations

of

which

were

revealed

by

robbers'

pits

at the south-east

corner

and in the

interior.

Here

again

Carbon

I

JEA

57

(I97I),

o.


6/29

-.~fC

4, >

-*w

~

'

---

~~

-' '

,a-

.***~fcl~~f

*c*

^-

- -

.^^^^^;-

*t

-,

?

? S; -r.

. .

.

:.*.

.;

*I

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

^

.... . .

-.

.~.'

..~

..

.

....,.. ..

*

-

^

.

. .

*.:..

"-.

': *...

,I'

*-

*"

";"**~

. .

.;.'':~"...'

.'

A..

' .

"..'.;' ..

:.:

.

.

}'../

.

.

."*

:

,***

".*

',

*..

..-

' .

'

." J 7 ,R

, .

'.

.

.

.

'

.

', .

'

i;-

. ....

.

.

..' . .

...

.':'.

.

":

..

..

.' ~

.:'.:

: '

......;*...

IX

*..........

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~".'~

.

:"':.'::i

....

.

ti ..&, :.... '`

..~~~~~~~~~~~

:r;....,.. ....;~F. :.

..

... , ... , . . o.~

. ...~.~...:

.

.....-..

..... ......

.,

;~;

;j

...

~

...,

~.....~ .,..,~,.

,

~~,..

,

. .. ... ..ii . ..':; .;:.?:l:v':

.~~r

.z~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.:.'

:

4

4

-A-

i~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"~~~~~~~~

,.f ". -

..,

"~

. . tC:r

r

.t..:.',:

:..,?,,::.i. ,::

~

;? ..

.....8.

,. .:',,,.

'~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~,,..

:. . . . . .

~

t

~~~~~~:,,,,,......rr

:

a4

~

-F

~~ ~ ~

~.ir

~ ~

::

~~

;~~

~ ~ ~~~~~

~

.*I . .L. .-:. .p.

....I

~~~~~~~

i I

~~~~~,

..

.

~

r

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~M~~~

.r

..

..,

:

'. .

i~~y

'..::

..

.,

,.

*II

~ ~

~ ~~~~~~~

, .

)~~~~~~n

~~~~~~

*E ~'

a

*

..

. *.-.

-

.', t *' .....-

'-

Generalview of Sector

7

fromthe

south.

In

the

foreground

Block

5,

in the middledistance

Blocks

i

and

4,

in the

ba

NORTH

SAQQARA,

1971-2

.


7/29

-f

~1"'

X i i%

):tI,3

A

:ii:

':

I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~:

...s

1

S

A

-.z

40

.

*

I

C 1

r

1

-:a i

.

: '* *. i:dl:l':il

uc:::::

ly

:. ::::P:

*-

t.

J""', "'.

iL

}i

.

'

f

.",

'4

a r

,,c

,.

..

9

' U

,

. ..;;

.',:?

%,.

4

';-.........?.:.z:.',y

,:.i;

5_'

4

-

9

;

a.

,S.

.

:

~

t X

n

4

.

i~~ '~~

~= .

~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. ,,-*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~:~~.

,/

8

\

\

,C.

-

.

S

:

,

.~~ ,

..n

'

?

'

, t'

~ i,

I

-t1

PLATE

II

.k

.

Geoffrey T. Martin _ Excavations in the Sacred Animal Necropolis at North Saqqara, 1971-2 ;...

Documents

Transcript of Geoffrey T. Martin _ Excavations in the Sacred Animal Necropolis at North Saqqara, 1971-2 ;...