We are continually amazed at the size of el-Amra and the variety of periods represented there. However, there have been multiple trials and tribulations in our work (some of which we will not mention here, following the idea that discretion is the better part of valor), not the least of which was our EDM (the major piece of equipment needed for surveying) malfunctioning.
Jane and Melinda contemplated kicking the machinery, but managed to keep themselves under control for the couple of days of troubleshooting which were required to find out that the problem was due to a faulty cable. A cable is on its way from the US to Cairo now, but in the meantime we’re manually crunching numbers in the field to make due. Since the Polish magnetometry team is arriving Saturday afternoon, we were in a bit of a panic about being able to lay out an area for them to start surveying. In the meantime, Antonio has been collecting and processing pottery, which has started to become overwhelming already, though we’ve only been collecting from one of the three cemeteries so far.
El-Amra is predominantly known for its predynastic activity, being a type site for a division of that period (originally called the “Amratian Period” after the name of the site, though most scholars now call it the Nagada I Period). However, it has some earlier activity and a lot of later activity too, including Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom use of the cemetery. The areas with later tombs have not been previously excavated (at least not officially), but we have already found evidence for these periods form surface collection.