Archaeologists Excavating a Building at Heit el-GhurabRAWI Publishing
Often, people look at the pyramids, Sphinx, temples, and tombs as static monuments, each a template of a single moment in time. In fact, the Giza Plateau was a massive construction site in a continual state of flux throughout the 4th Dynasty (ca. 2600–2500) and even much later. Many structures reveal ancient alteration and renovation. The builders left many structures unfinished, giving us clues of their working hand and techniques.
Archaeological excavations rely on a variety of specialists with different backgrounds and skills. Ancient Egypt Research Associates (AERA) conducts systematic, interdisciplinary archaeology of the Giza Plateau, examining everything from megalithic structures down to the smallest seed and pottery sherd. Their goal is a broad-based picture of all ancient activity at Giza.
The large, international team includes specialists in stratigraphy (archaeological layers), archaeobotany (seeds and other plant remains), osteoarchaeology (human remains), archaeozoology (animal remains), ceramics, epigraphy (inscriptions), lithics (intentionally chipped stone), and more.
Think of it as a puzzle, and every expert brings another piece to the table!
Archaeologists Excavating Grain Silos at Heit el-GhurabRAWI Publishing
Archaeologists: The Field Experts
Archaeologists excavate the remains of buildings in ancient towns like Heit el-Ghurab. They examine everything from fireplaces and layers of floors to heaps of garbage and ashes from ovens and bakeries. Careful excavation and surveying of the walls allow them to identify the different types of buildings and all the changes people made to them.
This is how we know about all the different types of houses and accommodation buildings for the work crews, officials, and domestic workers in the pyramid builders’ town, as well as the bakeries and the granaries.
Archaeobotanists Discussing Plant IdentificationsRAWI Publishing
Archaeobotany: Ancient Plant Remains
Archaeobotanists study ancient plant remains. These are most often preserved in archaeological sites in dried out form (desiccation, e.g., in desert locations) or as burnt remnants like charcoal. The remains examined by archaeobotanists are usually the parts that were thrown away, the inedible parts such as olive pits or cereal chaff. This teaches us about the plants that were used and consumed in ancient towns.
Old Kingdom Archaeological SeedsRAWI Publishing
This is how we know, for example, that wheat and barley were used to make the bread and beer for the pyramid builders and that some people in the town ate fruits such as figs. We also know that olive oil jars imported from Lebanon were probably packed into cedar wood ships protected with olive wood twigs.
Archaeozoology: Ancient Animal Bones
Archaeozoologists and faunal analysts study animal bones from the animals that lived or were eaten in the ancient towns. They identify the species, age, and sex of the animals. The results of these studies tell us about the kinds of animals people ate and which parts they ate.
Archaeozoologist Studying Animal Remains IIRAWI Publishing
This is how we know that the pyramid builders ate lots of cattle, sheep, goat, pigs, and fish. It also tells us that they probably ate meat stews with nutritious bone marrow, and we have also discovered that some people in the town (the officials) ate better quality cuts of meat and bigger, tastier fish.
Osteoarchaeology: The Study of Ancient Human Bones
Osteoarchaeologists study the skeletons (bones) of humans. Burials are carefully excavated, and the bones are studied to learn the age and sex of the person, as well as their height and any diseases that can be detected in the bones, such as osteoarthritis or cancer. This is how we know the average height of the men from the Old Kingdom worker burials excavated at Giza.
Ceramologist Documenting Old KIngdom Ceramic SherdsRAWI Publishing
Ceramics: Studying the Production and Use of Clay Pots
On every archaeological site there are usually thousands of broken pieces of pottery (sherds) that were thrown away by people living in ancient towns and villages. Ceramics specialists study these sherds to learn about the shapes and sizes of pottery people used for storing and cooking food. They also study the kind of clay used, which can tell us where the pot was made.
Old Kingdom Bedja Clay Bread MouldsRAWI Publishing
For example, this is how we know the shape and size of the bread moulds that were used to bake the bread for the people in the workers’ town and the kinds of bowls they probably used for stews. This is also how we know that they used imported olive oil in because we have sherds from oil jars (pots) that were made in what is now present-day Lebanon.
Lithics Analysis: The Study of Ancient Stone Tools
Stone tools were used all over the world well beyond the end of the Stone Age. Lithics specialists study ancient stone tools such as knives, blades and axes and examine the shapes of the tools and the types of stone used (flint, chert, etc.). This can tell us about activities such as butchery or skinning animals. For example, long flint knives and scrapers for processing skins are concentrated in areas where slaughtering animals occurred. Knowing what kind of stone was used also tells us about things like trade between different regions.
Old Kingdom Lithics From The Worker's VillageRAWI Publishing
Long flint knives and scrapers for processing skins are concentrated in areas where slaughtering animals occurred, for example. Knowing what kind of stone was used also tells us about things like trade between different regions.
The Study of Ground Stone Tools
Ground stone tool specialists study artefacts like querns, grinders, and mortars. These were used by ancient people for grinding grains or seeds to make flour. Learning about these tools can tell us about household activities in ancient towns and villages. It is sometimes possible to study the tiny remains of plants embedded in them to learn which plants they were used to grind.
Old Kindgom Grinding Stone From The Priests’ TownRAWI Publishing
For example, we found querns and grinders at Heit el-Ghurab, which is how we know that people in the pyramid builders’ town used to grind their own flour for bread and that this job was not done outside the town.
Sealings: Impressions of the Past
Sealings specialists study the small lumps of dried clay that were originally used to seal things like rolls of papyrus, boxes, or doors—an ancient version of a piece of sticking tape or a lock and key. These clay sealings have impressions in them from stamps or cylinders that show who sealed the box, door, or papyrus.
Old Kingdom Seal Impression from the Worker's VillageRAWI Publishing
Specialists study the fragments to learn about the names and job titles of the ancient bureaucrats and officials who oversaw the pyramid-building projects. This included jobs like ‘overseer of granaries’ which helps us learn about the management of food supplies.
For more on Egyptian culinary history, check out this story on monastic diets.
Author:
Dr Claire Malleson
Story courtesy of:
AERA: Ancient Egypt Research Associates (http://www.aeraweb.org/)
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