Tell el-Farcha
Coordinates: 30 ° 56 ′ 0 ″ N , 31 ° 36 ′ 0 ″ E
Tell el-Farcha is the modern name of a hill of ruins in the eastern delta of Egypt . These are the remains of a settlement that was inhabited under the Maadi culture , in late Predynastic times and in the Old Kingdom . The first excavations took place from 1988 to 1990 by an Italian expedition. New Polish excavations have been taking place since 1998.
The Tell (hill of ruins) is about 400 × 110 m in size. A settlement and a cemetery were recorded during the excavations. The settlement in particular produced valuable excavation results. The remains of a brewery were uncovered. However, the discovery of a temple depot is particularly noteworthy. Two gilded wooden statues were found , the wood of which had already completely disappeared, but whose gilding allowed them to be reconstructed. Lapis lazuli was inlaid in the eyes of one statue .
Other finds are above all numerous ivory figures , which are probably votive offerings for the local temple. The deity worshiped here is unknown. The place seems to be especially in the late Predynastic period around 3200 BC. To have had great importance, which he lost in the Old Kingdom.
literature
- Marek Chłodnicki, Krzysztof M. Ciałowicz: Tell el-Farkha - preliminary report 2006 . In: Polish Archeology in the Mediterranean, Reports XVIII, Warszawa 2008, pp. 127-153. online (PDF 8.4 MB)
- Marek Chłodnicki, Krzysztof M. Ciałowicz, Agnieszka Mączyńska (eds.): Tell el-Farkha I Excavations 1998-2011. Poznań – Kraków 2012, ISBN 978-83-60109-21-2 . online (PDF 34.4 MB)
Web links
- Website for the ongoing excavation (Polish)
- bibliography
- Poznań Archaeological Museum
- Picture of the gilded statues ( Memento of September 18, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
