Another archaeological season begins for Poles in Deir el-Bahari in Egypt

Serwis Nauka w Polsce

The Polish-Egyptian archaeological-conservation mission, focused around Hatshepsut's temple in Egypt, has been run since 1961. This year's season will last from November till April next year. The researchers, under Dr Zbigniew Szafrański of the Mediterranean Archaeological Centre of Warsaw University, will take part in reconstructing and conserving the royal centre of cult -Hatshepsut's temple, and also conserving of some of the sphinxes that form an avenue leading to the temple. This avenue is unique, as it is the first of its kind in Egypt.

"The Sphinx avenue was 500 m. long, that is 1,000 Egyptian ells. Looking at bases left along the avenue, we suspect there were 70 sphinxes. The avenue was 6 metres wide and the distance between each sphinx was 17 metres"- explains Dr Andrzej Ćwiek, who is a participant of the mission.

None of the figures have fully survived to our day. Their history is complicated. After Thutmose III came to the Egyptian throne, he ordered them to be removed, as they presented Hatshepsut on her own, who usurped the Egyptian throne. American archaeologists discovered fragments of them during excavation works in Deir el- Bahari in the 1920's, but these were quickly forgotten. Nobody took notice of them before 2005, when some fragments were found deposited in the burial cave of Harva - an Egyptian high priest from the XXV dynasty. Dr Francesco Tiradritti, who led the Italian mission informed the Poles about this discovery.

"The fragments most probably come from a dozen sphinxes. After eighty years since their discovery, we plan to recreate one or two figures" - said Dr Ćwiek.

The sphinxes are carved in sandstone that comes from the Jebel el- Silsila quarries, that are 100m away from the temple. Thanks to research during the previous season, we know that the sphinxes had different head ornaments such as the classical nemes (head scarf) - known from the Great Sphinx of Giza During the upcoming research, they will also study two astronomical events, that are visible from the temple. The first is connected with the winter solstice. At the point of sunrise at the end of December, rays of light would lighten up even the furthest elements of the temple where Amun-Ra's golden statue was placed.

A geologist- Dr Michał Wasilewski, from the Archaeological institute of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, will also participate in this season's works. The scientist will examine the dangers caused by the temple being built on a limestone cliff. He will also examine the stones used for the building of the Hatshepsut's temple.

PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland tr. ajb, Szymon Zdziebłowski