Tag Archives: Brick architecture

Hidden – and almost faded – mudbricks at SAV1E

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Given the sloping appearance of square 2, it was only today that we went deeper in the gravel deposit just north of the small bin where we found the in situ 18th Dynasty ceramics (feature 14).  At first appearance, this massive deposit seemed natural and just as a topographical feature. Here is a view of SAV1E with square 2 in the foreground, prior to excavation:

IMG_8988To confirm the hypothesis, we now decided to remove more of the gravel, working very slowly and horizontally. And this proved to be successful: Despite the difficulties recognizing any structures in this massive pebble layer, we managed to trace remains of a new mudbrick structure – a small section of a wall running more or less North-South (to the left in the picture below) and some scarce remains further to the East (to the right in the picture).

Feature 18 detailAlthough just a few centimetres are preserved, this almost lost new feature 18 confirms again early Pharaonic occupation in SAV1E: ceramics associated with it are predominantly (71 %) datable to the early 18th Dynasty; especially relevant is one fragment of a beer jar, still sticking to the remains of what was once a mudbrick.

Mud Brick Architecture at SAV1E

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As work progressed in Squares 1 and 2, we can now happily confirm that we have a mud brick structure of considerable size at SAV1E – its North-South extension is more than 15 m and we calculate c. 12 m for its East-West side. Both, size and orientation match perfectly a structure visible on a geophysical survey conducted in 2011.

WORK at the eastern wall

Cleaning the remains of the mud brick wall in Square 1.

As yet, we have unearthed only parts of its eastern and southern wall – although most of the eastern wall is now a negative impression filled with very soft sandy material, there are sections with bricks still in place, giving the width of the wall.

Section of the eastern wall of large mud brick structure at SAV1E. Note the circular depression west of the wall – they also showed up at the geophysical survey’s map and are possibly storage pits?

Section of the eastern wall of large mud brick structure at SAV1E. Note the circular depressions west of the wall – they also showed up at the geophysical survey’s map (and are possibly storage pits?)

Because of the large amount of New Kingdom ceramics associated with the remains, we remain confident that it dates to the 18th Dynasty. Details of the architecture, stratigraphy and possibly functional use will be clarified in the course of upcoming fieldwork!