THE COURTYARD

To better plan further efforts, we decided to excavate a trial pit in the courtyard. We divided the trial area into 4 x 4 m wide squares, and started to dig in front of the false door carved in the southern part of the western wall. After the removal of the surface layer – about 50 cm deep – we discovered the untouched archaeological soil. The soil in front of the false door had been disturbed by a trench excavated in the 1970’s during a survey. We decided to follow the border of the trench as to verify the vertical the stratigraphy. The trench had been refilled at two different times. The first layer of fill corresponded to sand thrown into the trench by the original diggers, while the second layer of fill was due to the progressive accumulation of sand and the collapse of the upper, southwestern corner of the courtyard. Many objects were found in the fill, demonstrating that debris from the archaeological soil was used to refill the trench. The trench had been dug to uncover the solar text inscribed on the false door and ends here.

The large mound of debris covering the southern part of the courtyard was also removed, enabling us to see further details of the reliefs engraved on the wall. Scenes were discovered depicting men occupied in various activities of rural life. Their fragmentary nature notwithstanding, it was possible to identify a scene describing the measurement of fields after the inundation. A relief with a row of donkeys was also uncovered by the excavation.

During the removal of the debris a small area of the archaeological soil was superficially excavated. This led to the discovery of a series of relief fragments coming from the southern wall. Among them we recognised a scribe, a gold or copper-smith (Fig. 7), the hand of a man holding a staff, parts of cows, and other details of less easily identifiable figures. These findings demonstrate the complexity of the scenes carved on the southern wall of the courtyard. Their poor condition prevents an overall picture of the wall decoration, though the preservation of the row of donkeys at the bottom and the many fragments discovered in this season will help us to identify most of the wall scenes in further campaigns.

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