1st
Kafr Hassan Dawood and the Wadi Tumilat Survey
Professor Fekri Hassan is presenting the results of recent research on Kafr Hassan Dawood which is being undertaken by his team. KHD is situated in the Wadi Tumilat, an ancient branch of the Nile.
Professor Hassan has described the importance of the Wadi Tumilat, providing access from the Nile Valley, through the bitter lakes, eventually to the Red Sea. Excavation at KHD by Professor Hassan’s SCA/UCL expedition revealed extensive cemeteries ranging in date from the Protodynastic Period to the Ptolemaic era. He surveyed the burials, their orientations, number of grave goods, etc. The evidence can be used to study social stratification at the site. KHD can then be compared with other cemeteries - its social structure is quite different from that of Naqada, for example. Graphs can then be created to show equality or inequality at various sites.
Professor Hassan used results from his work in the Fayum to illustrate environmental changes over time, particularly in the First Intermediate Period when the Delta dried up.
He is now reviewing previous excavations in the Wadi Tumilat since the early EES work in the late nineteenth century. The oldest site in the Wadi is Abu Sueir which is Late Palaeolithic - several others, including KHD, date back to the Neolithic Period.
Professor Hassan is now describing the ancient attempts to create a navigable canal from the Nile to the Red Sea. Darius I (521-496 BC) described the construction of a precursor of the Suez Canal. Remote sensing might help to identify ancient canals. He is now describing other ancient sites in the Wadi.
Professor Hassan ended by encouraging expeditions to continue training archaeologists in Egypt.
Professor Fakri Hassan answering questions at the end of his talk.
