The Amarna Royal Tombs Project
- Dig diary 2002
by Paul Sussman
The Amarna Royal Tombs Project
Things really started moving today. Ana, Mohsen and Andrew spent all morning walking around the Valley doing complicated-looking things with theodolites and Total Stations (a machine that surveyors use to establish the elevation and position of various points in the Valley). Since I struggle to get my head round even the most basic ground rules of surveying - far too many numbers and angles for my liking - I was given the task of carrying various bits of equipment up and down steep hills, a job that did wonders for my fitness, if little for my sense of pride (if we all suddenly transformed into animals, I would no doubt come out as a donkey).
Joking aside, surveying might not be the most glamorous of tasks - you never see Indiana Jones trudging round with a tripod and prism - but it is absolutely essential to the job of archaeology. Excavating isn't simply a matter of digging holes in the ground and discovering ancient objects (although that is the bit I enjoy). It is about gathering as much information as possible about the past, and to do that you need to have a clear physical picture of the site you are digging - its contours, its stratigraphy, the precise position and context of any objects that are unearthed, the way the site relates to other sites nearby. For all of this, surveying is crucial. It is, if you like, what gives the archaeology depth and meaning.
Today the surveying was focused on what has, for the present, been designated Site A. This is the area of tumbled ancient workers huts at the southern end of the Valley, towards the tomb of Tuthmosis III. What Ana has to do - and this is common archaeological practice - is to establish a grid of five-metre (16.4-foot) squares across the site so that when we start excavating we are able to keep precise track not simply of what is being found, but where.
At the same time a group of seventeen workmen under the watchful gaze of Reis Ahmed got started on removing the huge heap of debris at the southern end of the site. This is material that was either dumped by previous excavators, or washed down into the Valley by flash-floods, and, although it's pretty sterile, the workmen are careful to keep their eyes open for any stray objects. Today we found quite a lot of ancient pottery, and part of a small figurine with a scrawled cartouche on it that caused great excitement until Mohsen pointed out that it was modern. Spoil-sport!
The other interesting event was that we went back down into KV56 to remove all the equipment that we had stored in there at the end of last season. We didn't actually do any archaeological work - you will remember that we have been given a concession to re-clear the tomb, a process that we have to complete this season - but it was still nice to be down there again. It sounds rather arrogant, but I have come to think of it as MY tomb. Today I found a small faience "curl" sitting on the rubble near the entrance to the tomb (these curls formed the decorative wig of a coffin), which struck me as a good omen.
Further work on building the bridge in the centre of the Valley could not get started till 5 p.m. because of the disruption it would cause to the flow of tourists. A group of workmen, therefore, stayed behind and worked into the night, supervised by Mr Mohammed, the Kajima chief engineer, Mohsen and Yumiko. Dave and Tom stuck around to film the whole thing.
Lazy old me, meanwhile, returned to the hotel to catch up on my daily diary and get an early night. It is a sign of what a sedentary life I lead in England that a day of mild physical exertion in the Valley of the Kings completely wears me out.
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