Memphis, 1991

Abstract

The Survey of Memphis continued in 1991 with three main objectives: (1) to explore the buried stratigraphy beyond the ruin field by means of drill cores and resistivity meter survey; (2) to study the material excavated from six seasons of excavation on Kom Rabi'a; (3) to complete the first stage of the Epigraphic Survey by copying the large Middle-Kingdom inscribed block found re-used as a support beneath the granite statue of Ramesses II at the west gate of the Ptah enclosure. As in previous seasons, work was also carried out at Memphis in collaboration with inspectors of the EAO, notably on Kom Qal'a and Kom Rabi'a, as well as with other colleagues at Saqqara.

Stratigraphic landscape analysis: Charting the Holocene movements of the Nile at Karnak through ancient Egyptian time

“…That these granules are not present below 4.75 m in core AS12 (Figure 6b) may suggest that the material recovered dates from before the eolian "blown sand" event of the late Old Kingdom/First Intermediate Period described from the north of Egypt at Dahshur (ca. 30 km south of Cairo) (Alexanian & Seidlmayer, 2002) and Saqqara-Abusir (18-20 km south of Cairo) (Giddy & Jeffreys, 1992.…”

The Abusir Drill Core Survey, Egypt

“…Furthermore, the sand horizon confirms that this lake could not have survived from ancient times, as suggested by Emery (1965, 8), and that the area is more likely to have been dry and arid during the classical Pharaonic period. When considered alongside earlier suggestions this sand lens indicates that there was an eastward movement of desert sands at Giza, Saqqara and Lisht during the First Intermediate Period (Giddy and Jeffreys 1992). This sequence appears consistently throughout the Memphite region and is more indicative of a progressive accumulation rather than a large, single episode of sand deposition.…”