The Amarna Royal Tombs Project - Dig diary 1998
by Paul Sussman


The Amarna Royal Tombs Project

Day 28, 13 December 1998

Today we were visited on site by Mr. Sabri, the General Director of Antiquities for Western Thebes. He's actually been several times before, but I've been so wrapped up in everything else that's been going on I've somehow neglected to mention him.

I wanted to do so before the dig ends, however, because he and his colleagues, including Mr. Mohammed El-Biali, Mr. Ibrahim Suleiman, and Mr. Ahmed Ezz El-Din, our on-site Inspector, have been absolutely wonderful to us. They have been unfailingly kind and helpful, and the expedition wouldn't have been half as enjoyable as it has been without their support.

'Egyptian history is human history,' says Mr. Sabri. 'It belongs to the whole world, not just to us in Egypt.'

Although today hasn't been quite as fruitful as yesterday, when it looked as if we'd uncovered a whole museum's worth of objects, we still made some interesting finds. Or rather Peter and Mohsen did, because I personally didn't get to do any more trowelling and brushing (I reckon the others are just jealous because I'm so good at it!)

Mohsen uncovered several ancient pottery plates, easing them out of the ground with infinite care and delicacy, as though he were defusing a bomb. Nubi, meanwhile, found another ostracon, this one with a drawing of an owl on it-'We've got to stop finding all these things!' wailed Nick, who was up in the dig hut trying to photograph all the objects-whilst Peter found a fish bone. Three thousand years ago, it seems, on this very site, a group of workmen were tucking into the ancient equivalent of fish and chips. I wonder if there's a hieroglyph for tomato sauce?

I only found one thing today, and that was a small lump of what looked like crumbly clay.

'What's this?' I asked Mohsen, holding it up for him to see.

'Wow!' he enthused. 'That's great!'

'Really?'

'Yeh!'

'So what is it?'

'Ancient cat dung.'

I spent the rest of the morning washing my hands in the Valley toilets.

There was one sad note today-Jiro left. He has had to go down to Dahshur, near Cairo, to supervise the opening of a sarcophagus discovered by his Japanese colleagues last year. I shall miss him. Despite the prank he played on me yesterday he always made me laugh. He's given me his address in Tokyo, and said I'm welcome to come and see his teddy-bear collection any time I want (he has, apparently, got 62 of them). In case you're reading, Jiro, thanks for being such a great bloke!

Tomorrow a final decision will be taken as to whether we stop at the level we're at, or else push on downwards until we hit bedrock. It's a decision that's been hanging over Nick and his team for the last few days now, and it can't be delayed any longer.

I'd like us to carry on, because I'm desperate to know whether or not there's a lost tomb down there (from the evidence we've gathered over the last few weeks it would seem there's a good chance there is).

I think Nick probably feels the same. He is, however, a professional archaeologist-unlike me, who's just professionally inquisitive-and won't move on until he's sure we've squeezed every last ounce of information from the remains of the workmen's huts we've found.

© Amarna Royal Tombs Project, 1998-2002