10th
Sakha (and some more cats)
Today it was quite hot and we had a BIG wind on site which made working conditions rather unpleasant as it blew dried earth and brick dust from the surface over everything – cleaned bricks, equipment and people. We did manage to trace some more wall faces so that we could plan them in, and to complete the survey points in the north part of the tell.
This afternoon we went for a drive around the old part of Kafr es-Sheikh which includes what remains of the ancient city of Sakha (Xois). Most of the site is buried beneath modern buildings but it was obvious as we approached the area that the ground level was rising and there is a small area that is used as an army training ground, so has not been overbuilt.
Part of the tell of Sakha with the wall of a red brick building preserved at a high level.
As often happens another part of the tell has been preserved because it has a sheikh’s tomb and surrounding cemetery on top of it. The sides of the tell have been revetted here with stone and there are steps to climb up the steep slope. At the top is a large ancient mill-stone made from nummilitic limestone.
Sakha, the sheikh’s tomb on a high part of the tell, with the mill stone beside it.
A group of cats in Sakha, making a good meal in a pile of rubbish
By contrast with the old town of Sakha, we returned to our hotel past the very impressive modern buildings of the University of Kafr es-Sheikh and the site of the new Museum which is currently under construction.
