31st
Tell Atrib
Starting off the afternoon session with a talk from Ahmed Gabr Nour-el-Din about Tell Atrib. Ahmed is giving his talk in Arabic and we’re very grateful to Randa Baligh for translating it into English as we go along.
Randa Baligh and Ahmed Gabr Nour el-Din
Tell Atrib is now within the modern town of Benha and has been excavated by several expeditions in the past, since Brugsch worked there in 1852. Most of the work in modern times has been undertaken by Polish missions and the SCA has been excavating the site since 2007. By the end of the 2010 season industrial areas had been excavated, including some kilns and channels leading to or from mortared red-brick structures whose use is uncertain.
Many objects have been found including Ptolemaic coins, terracotta figurines, oil lamps, stamped amphora handles, weights, statue fragments and pottery vessels.
The area where the SCA has been excavating has now been returned to its owner and will not be available for future archaeology so it is very important that the SCA has been able to investigate the area before it is developed.
Ahmed ended his talk by quoting references to Tell Atrib in the writings of Arabic travellers and commentators and demonstrating how the site has shrunk from the huge site of the nineteenth century to just one feddan of land now.
