Fieldwork Report: Lorenzo Guardiano

Posted on October 1, 2024 by Marta Ostovich

Between River and Desert: September in Aswan

Lorenzo Guardiano, 2024 Katherine Barton Platt Fieldwork Scholarship Recipient

Since 2022, I have been part of the EIMAWA (Egyptian-Italian Mission at West Aswan) archaeological mission, directed by Prof. Patrizia Piacentini and Prof. Fahmy el-Amin, which sees cooperation between the University of Milan and the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. The mission operates in the necropolis surrounding the Mausoleum of the Aga Khan on the western bank of Aswan and started in 2017 as an archaeological preservation and excavation mission in an area affected by looting. The necropolis contains more than 400 tombs dating from the 7th century BC to 2nd century AD.

I specialized in Egyptian epigraphy of the New Kingdom and Graeco-Roman Period by working initially on the critical edition of all astronomical ceilings of New Kingdom temples and tombs in Egypt during my Ph.D. years. During my research fellowship at University of Milan, I worked on the preparation of a volume of the Cairo Museum’s Catalogue Général on private statuary of the Late and Graeco-Roman Period – the core of which is a manuscript by Bernard V. Bothmer, housed in the Archives of Egyptology at the University of Milan, which I revised, updated and supplemented with the edition of texts that Prof. Bothmer had left out. Participating therefore in the EIMAWA Mission as epigraphist of the team is a most valuable opportunity for me to work in the field with Egyptian epigraphy, particularly from the Graeco-Roman Period.

That is why I decided to send in my application for a Scholarship for Fieldwork Participation from ASOR in order to join the EIMAWA mission of September. When, on May 3, 2024, I received an email from ASOR with the news that I had won a Katherine Barton Platt Fieldwork Scholarship I literally jumped for joy! Indeed, this scholarship gave me the opportunity to continue and complete, together with Prof. Piacentini, the epigraphic study of all the inscriptions found on the site from 2019 to the present.

So, on September 10 I left for Aswan with a team of scholars from various disciplines: Egyptologists, anthropologists, radiologists, chemists, restorers, engineers, etc. The first few days challenged us with extreme weather conditions (temperatures of about 44 degrees!) and the site being in the middle of the desert! But even these temperatures failed to discourage us from doing our work and so, from our home on Sehel Island, we took the boat each morning to the site where, together with the Egyptian team, we discovered and excavated a tomb between two previously excavated ones. Back home, we would spend the afternoon working on the collected data, which we presented each day at the 6:30 p.m. meeting.

This very afternoon meeting was the most awaited moment of the day since it took place in the veranda of our house in Sehel Island. Before our eyes (and our data-filled computers), the sky was ablaze with the setting sun that descended just behind two knolls drawing the perfect hieroglyph of akhet (“horizon”). There was no fatigue or worry that did not fade away as we walked out of our rooms and were dazzled by the setting sun or moon between the river and the desert, smiling at the song of the ibis that perched on the cliff in front of the house or admiring the elegant flight of the hawk Horus that often passed over our heads. The poignant beauty of Egypt is shown in all its moving power on the first cataract of the Nile, the natural boundary of ancient Egypt.

Beyond the beauty that filled our eyes, taking part in the September mission gave me the opportunity to complete together with Prof. Piacentini the study and edition of all the hieroglyphic texts unearthed in recent years. The resulting paper has been sent to an international Egyptological journal (Aegyptus 104) and has already been accepted for publication in December. But this mission not only allowed me to refine my epigraphic field studies – working with experts from other disciplines allowed me to enrich my cultural background. I was able to follow every step of the excavation of a new tomb and learn a lot about archaeological methodologies (especially in extreme environmental conditions such as those of the Aswan Desert), I lent a hand to anthropologists in their reconnaissance of human remains, learning a lot from their discipline, and I listened to the timely reports of the restorer and chemist on the treatment of materials.

But the main enrichment was the human one. Working and living side by side with many people for three weeks was a really good experience. I made new friendships and consolidated existing ones. I interacted with the local community and became, along with the other mission members, a resident of Aswan! And for all this, I have to thank the mission director Prof. Piacentini, ASOR who gave me the opportunity to join the team, and, finally, Egypt for the beauty with which it continues to fill our lives every day.

Lorenzo Guardiano is a research fellow in Egyptology at the University of Milan where he obtained his PhD in 2022. His areas of research are Egyptian astronomy and cosmology and the hieroglyphic epigraphy of the New Kingdom and the Ptolemaic Period. His book “Il Cielo dei Faraoni. I soffitti astronomici nell’Egitto del Nuovo Regno” was published in 2024 by Milano University Press.

Want to help more students and early career archaeologists get into the field? Donate to the cause today by selecting “Fieldwork Scholarships” as your gift purpose!

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Fieldwork Report: Louis Mainwaring Foster

Posted on September 30, 2024 by Marta Ostovich

Stumbling Over Rocks

Louis Mainwaring Foster, 2024 BIPOC Fieldwork Scholarship Recipient

Thanks to this scholarship, I spent part of my summer working on the Brač Island Project along with a mixed team of students from University of Colorado Boulder, England, and Croatia. This summer was the last full season of excavation before a study season in 2025, thus there were a lot of objectives.

For the sake of the brevity of this report, my discussion of my time on the project will focus on Areas 1: the new terrace trench on the steep southern slope of Gradina Rat. This terrace trench’s aim was twofold, the first being to give a greater context to activity on the site during the Iron age and second to analyze the variety of finds from the large-pottery rich erosional deposit down this slope. After spending some time clearing away plants and other debris, a 3×5 meter trench was laid out across 3 terraces, with focus being placed on the fifth and sixth trenches from the top 19th century terrace walls. The excavation proceeded smoothly despite the islands attempts to impede us, Brač being known for being covered in lots and lots of rocks. The terrace trench produced material and soil ranging from the topsoil that accumulated above the 19th century terrace fill all the way down to fill from around the late 9th to 6th century BCE.

The methodology of our excavation process involved adapting the details and instructions from the Corinth Excavations Archaeological Manual by Alicia Carter Johnson, Guy D. R. Sanders, and Sarah A. James. This manual really aided me when I was trying to make sense of the material we were excavating. Details in the manual helped delineate soil layers based on composition, finds, and color change. We were often rotating between excavating, filling forms, and sieving in order to give us a big picture perspective all the while being guided by our trench supervisors. Being part of filling in the detailed forms for each layer helped me understand ways to break down the process of appraising the information that was being uncovered on site. Many of the details present in the Corinth manual along with the guidance of my trench supervisors will be crucial tools for helping me on future excavations.

The layer of the deposit in the terrace trench that I really enjoyed excavating was the 1st century BCE Erosional Deposit 2. This stratum was distinguishable by the compact, light yellowish brown, sandy/clayey silt. As is usual on Brač, about half of the inclusions were small boulders and cobbles, but there was also a large sample of pottery. There were also other types of inclusions along with this soil, namely charcoal, animal bones, shell, and a few chunks of building materials (clay and daub). I have never seen daub in person, so the presence of white and yellow clay might indicate a large presence of a decomposing wattle and daub construction. In my experience, these sorts of finds are the best since the information and building techniques that we learn about in class come to life in the field.

A variety of interesting finds, learning new excavation methodology, and enjoying the Mediterranean sun are some of the reasons I love to excavate. Every couple of days, a local visitor, in the form of a playful goat, Lola, dropped by the trenches to say hello and remind us to stay hydrated. Other fauna visitors included a snake that was trapped beneath one of the backfill tarps, which I luckily managed to extract without any bites.

After a hard days work on site and afternoon duties like pottery wash or pottery sorting, one could find me either in a local pub watching the pre-tournament matches for the 2024 Euros, relaxing at the beach, or eating lots of bakery items. I really enjoyed getting the opportunity to sort pottery since I find it very challenging and I always marvel at how easily experts can distinguish types of pottery that looks completely the same to my eye. It was also interesting to notice the presence of pottery from local sources, Rome, and Greece from a variety of periods all in one site and wonder how and why that might occur. I learned so much during this season of the Brač Island Project and I am grateful to ASOR for aiding me with this experience.

Louis Mainwaring Foster is currently a Master’s student in the Classical Art and Archaeology track of the Classics department at the University of Colorado Boulder. His thesis is focused on questions of identity and cross cultural influence in Hellenistic Bactria. When he is not buried in the books, one can often find him dancing to Afrobeats and reggaeton music or training for a marathon. Louis is always eager for the opportunity to travel to other countries and immerse himself in other cultures and make more international friends.

For more information about the Brač Island Archaeological Project, visit their website: https://bracislandproject.com/

Want to help more students and early career archaeologists get into the field? Donate to the cause today by selecting “Fieldwork Scholarships” as your gift purpose!