Realities of Life

The settlement ruins on Elephantine Island provide the opportunity to explore the daily life of the (non-elite) inhabitants of an ancient Egyptian town. In the project ‘Realities of Life’, households from the Middle Kingdom (around 1700 BCE) are investigated using modern research methods.

The remains of the settlement of Elephantine are located at the southern tip of the island of Gezirat Aswan at the northern end of the first Nile cataract. In the center of the picture is the settlement mound with the temple complexes, to the north is the Nubian village of Koti. © DAI Kairo // A. Hassan

Laufzeit  seit 2014

Disziplinen  Archäologie, Siedlungsarchäologie, Archäometrie

Projektverantwortlicher  Dr. phil. Johanna Sigl

Adresse  Dürenstr. 35-37 , Bonn

Email  Johanna.Sigl@dainst.de

Team  Peter Kopp, Dr. Clara Jeuthe, Dr. des. Marie-Kristin Schroeder, Stephan Seidlmayer

Laufzeit  seit 2014

Cluster/Forschungsplan  KAI - Komplexe Siedlungsformen

Fokus  Feldforschung, Auswertung (engl.), Methodenentwicklung

Disziplin  Archäologie, Siedlungsarchäologie, Archäometrie

Methoden  Digitale Fotografie, 3D-Dokumentation, Analoge zeichnerische Dokumentation, Digitale Dokumentation, Dokumentation Fund/Befund, Nivellierung, Schichtdokumentation, Vermessung, Experimente, Feldforschung, Funktionsanalyse, Ausgrabungen, Fundbergung, Schlämmen, Trockenreinigung, Altersbestimmungen, Botanische Großrestanalyse, Dünnschliffuntersuchungen, Fundanalyse, Gebrauchspurenanalysen, Gesteinsuntersuchungen, Holzartenbestimmungen, Keramikuntersuchungen, Materialuntersuchungen (anorganisch), Materialuntersuchungen (organisch), Metalluntersuchungen, Mikroskopie, Tierrestanalyse, Tonuntersuchungen, Räumliche Auswertungen, Statistik, Metallurgie, Steinverarbeitung, Töpfern, Typologie

Partner  Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities MoTA

Schlagworte  Ägyptologie, Archäobotanik, Archäologie, Archäometrie, Archäozoologie, Mikromorphologie, Siedlungsarchäologie, Abfallentsorgung, Backen, Ernährung, Fischfang, Hausarbeiten, Hygiene, Jagd, Kochen, Vorratshaltung, Mittleres Reich, 12. Dynastie, 13. Dynastie, Wohnen, relative Chronologie, Digitale Fotografie, Analoge zeichnerische Dokumentation, Digitale Dokumentation, Dokumentation Fund/Befund, Nivellierung, Schichtdokumentation, Vermessung, Experimente, Feldforschung, Funktionsanalyse, Ausgrabungen, Fundbergung, Schlämmen, Trockenreinigung, Botanische Großrestanalyse, Gebrauchspurenanalysen, Keramikuntersuchungen, Materialuntersuchungen (anorganisch), Materialuntersuchungen (organisch), Metalluntersuchungen, Mikroskopie, Pigmentuntersuchungen, Tierrestanalyse, Tonuntersuchungen, Räumliche Auswertungen, Statistik, Bearbeitungstechniken, Herstellungs- und Verarbeitungstechniken, Typologie

Projekt-ID  5340

Permalink  https://www.dainst.org/projekt/-/project-display/4711172

Überblick

Since the onset of archaeological work on Elephantine Island in 1969, the DAI has conducted various studies on residential buildings, especially from the Middle Kingdom (ca. 1980-1760 BCE). Objects of daily life are presented to the visitor in the so-called Annex Museum on the island. Nevertheless, the ruins of the Pharaonic town still seem 'deserted'. For this reason, the focus of the archaeological work within the sub-project 'Realities of Life' has since end of 2013 turned to cultural-anthropological questions. At the same time, excavation techniques have been modernised, and an increased integration of archaeometric methods has been sought. The study focuses on residential buildings from the late Middle Kingdom (around 1700 BCE) in the northwestern part of the settlement hill.

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Cooking experiments with modern unglazed ceramics on firing materials chosen after excavation finds to analyze sooting and thus types of use of the ceramics. © DAI Kairo // P. Kopp
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Carnelian chips from excavation debris indicate bead production from this semi-precious stone. © DAI Kairo // P. Kopp
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Shell of the species Chambardia sp. with opening marks (red arrow) and use abrasion (black arrows): the shell was used to clean fish before consumption. © DAI Kairo // J. Sigl
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Tail skeleton of a Nile perch (Lates niloticus) from a fish cutting site of the 11th dynasty between two construction phases. © DAI Kairo // P. Kopp
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Molten phytolites from the fireplace in Room 07 in House 169 indicate that extremely high firing temperatures were reached. © DAI Kairo // D. Fritzsch
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Residential area in the west of the Pharaonic town with the cult pyramid and the remains of the cemetery of the Old Kingdom in the right part of the image: sections of the Realities of Life project drawn in (north = right lower corner of the image). © DAI Kairo // A. Hassan
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Excavation work and sampling for micromorphological studies, spring 2016. © DAI Kairo // P. Kopp
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Historic settlement area of Elephantine with location of excavation sections of the Realities of Life Project and geographic features of the island town (after Ziermann 1993 and von Pilgrim 2010). © DAI Kairo // A. Hassan (photo), J. Sigl (details)
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Child's footprint in the remains of a 11th dynasty mud pit for brick production. © DAI Kairo // P. Kopp
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Sieving of soil during excavation work in the area of the Middle Kingdom residential quarters as part of the Living Realities Project. © DAI Kairo // P. Kopp