The Amarna Royal Tombs Project
- Dig diary 2002
by Paul Sussman
The Amarna Royal Tombs Project
Years ago, when I was a kid, I used to spend hours excavating in our back garden, digging large unsightly holes in my mum's herbaceous borders in the hope of unearthing some fabulous hidden treasure from the ancient past. Little did I expect that thirty years later I would be doing exactly the same in the Valley of the Kings, one of the greatest archaeological sites not just in Egypt, but the entire world.
This is our fourth season of work in the Valley, and we hope it will turn out to be the most interesting yet. Every dig has its moments of stomach-tingling excitement, of course - I will never forget the day last season when we unearthed the first piece of gold jewellery to be found in the Valley for eighty years - but I've got a feeling that this year could turn out to be particularly special.
There are two main reasons for this optimism. First, our concession has been extended to include the entire central portion of the Valley. This is an area of ground that has never been properly explored before, and one which miraculously began to yield Amarna period finds at the end of last season, including a rare and spectacular Amarna-style ostracon. If this evidence is anything to go by, we could well be on the verge of discovering new and crucial information about the missing Amarna-period burials of Nefertiti, Kiya and other members of Akhenaten's family.
The second exciting prospect is that we will also be opening a new site further up the Valley, towards the tomb of the warrior-king Tuthmosis III. This is an area of workmen's settlement which will provide an interesting comparison with the worker's huts we have already found above our Amarna-period remains. Again, this is a site that has never before been properly excavated.
Interestingly, last season, the eagle-eyed Professor Geoffrey Martin noticed an ancient graffito on a rock wall at the back of this last site bearing the name Butehamun. The latter was an ancient necropolis official, living around 1000 BC, charged with the emptying of the royal tombs and the caching of the royal mummies. His name has been found in several other places in the Valley, often associated with tombs. Will it be the same here?
And of course we still have important information to gather about the stratigraphy of the Valley, as well as finishing the re-excavation of tomb KV56, the Gold Tomb, where we found the aforementioned piece of gold jewellery. Who knows what surprises are in store down there - hopefully no more scorpions!
All in all, it promises to be a thrilling season. I'm not making any promises, but of one thing I am certain: we're going to find a lot more than I ever did underneath my mother's rose bushes!
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