11th
Driving to Daba
Since our experience with Riyad on suq-day last Saturday, we’ve continued to drive to the site along the old road from Kafr es-Sheikh, rather than (as we had for the first week) using the new international road which leads eventually to the holiday resort of Baltim. Going on the old road means we can avoid most of the crowded main street of Riyad and we come into the town from the south, passing on the way a small ancient site, Kom Wahhal, now completely overbuilt by a modern cemetery.
View of Kom Wahhal from our moving car!
After rejoining the main road through Riyad, we have a few more kilometres to drive until we reach the turn-off for the road that leads directly to Daba. On the first few days, before we got to know the route, we used a very elaborate pigeon-house on the corner as our landmark to show us where to turn right. On the left of the photo below is one of the small three-wheeled vehicles, known as toc-tocs, which are used extensively as local taxis. These are usually driven very badly by teenage boys!
The pigeon house where we turn right to Daba.
Today we completed the survey of the south part of the tell, by setting points along the southern edge, overlooking the surrounding fields. A very level area here is used by local children for football pitches with the goal-posts marked by rough blocks of stone and the edges of the tell itself are used by local farmers to tether animals, such as goats or water-buffalo.
Two fine gamusa (water-buffalo) watching us set survey points along the southern edge of the tell
