Karnak (Upper Egypt)
Middle Kingdom workshops
Marie Millet (Centre Franco-Égyptien d'Étude des Temples de Karnak, UMR 8152 CNRS/Université Sorbonne-Paris IV/Collège de France with Claire Newton (Nottingham)
Late Period and Ptolemaic priests' houses
Aurélia Masson (CFEETK, UMR 8152) 2004, 2006 with Claire Newton (Nottingham)
Systematic dry-sieving and collection of plant remains from both sites during two years of excavations allowed us to gain a broad diachronic view of the local vegetation and agriculture during the Middle Kingdom, despite poor preservation conditions. The later priests' houses yielded material more difficult to interpret, because of the social status of the inhabitants and because of the complex supply system within the temple precinct.
A view of the excavations in March 2006, Middle Kingdom workshops area, with the great enclosure wall in the background.
An oven in the sector of the priests' houses. March 2006.
Carbonised Acacia nilotica fruit segments and seeds, Middle Kingdom. CFEETK, photograph by Antoine Chéné.