Excavations at Armant, 1935–36

Abstract

IMPORTANT discoveries are announced in the report of the expedition of the Egypt Exploration Society to Armant, which has been at work in Upper Egypt since last autumn under the direction of Mr. Oliver Myers. The expenses of the expedition were borne entirely by Sir Robert Mond. It had three objectives. Of these the first was unsuccessful. A fortnight's search failed to find graves containing the Saharan pottery, of which sherds are found scattered on the low desert. The settlements and graves of these people seem to have weathered away; but it is probable that they visited Egypt before the known Pre-dynastic periods. The second object was to investigate the origins of the combed burnished pottery closely resembling Badarian. This proved to belong to an intrusive people of the Proto-dynastic period. More than a hundred graves were opened, and although the top of the cemetery had been removed and the contents disturbed, so that no object of intrinsic value was retrieved, what remained was of the greatest interest. The people were small, and may have been of two distinct races. Possibly they practised bull-worship, for the more important members of the tribe were buried with their cattle. The oxen were crouched in pear-shaped graves facing the main burial. The pottery had the incised chevron pattern around the rim; and some showed the incised white decoration found on the Nubian pots of the Middle Kingdom. Agate lunates hafted to form arrows resemble those from the tomb of the wazir of Den of slightly later date.