ʿAin Aṣīl - ʿAin Aṣīl

'Ain Asil (also 'Ain el-Asil, Arabic:عين أصيل‎, ʿAin Aṣīl) is an archaeological site in northeastern the egyptian Sink ed-Dāchla. The local governor's palace and settlement were built in the 6th ancient Egyptian dynasty. The settlement's cemetery is located approx. 1 kilometer west in Qilāʿ eḍ-Ḍabba. The testimonies in the northeast of Balāṭ are among the oldest pharaonic monuments in the Western desert and prove the importance of Balāṭ as an important administrative center in the Old Kingdom.

background

Of course the village is Balāṭ already from the early travelers been visited. But they could not have reported anything about ʿAin Aṣīl.

The local archaeological site was only uncovered in January 1947 by a sandstorm. In October 1968 the first stitch excavations were carried out by the Egyptian Egyptologist Ahmed Fakhry (1905-1973). Brick walls, ceramics, inscribed stone blocks and a tombstone with the king / throne name Nefer-ka-RePepi II.). The work was interrupted by the death of Fakhry, but in 1978 by the Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale du Caire under the direction of the Egyptologist Jean Vercoutter (1911-2000) resumed. The work in Qilāʿ eḍ-Ḍabba and ʿAin Aṣīl has not yet been completed and is now being led by the Egyptologist George Soukiassian.

The settlement of ʿAin Aṣīl is something special. On the one hand, that there was a large and prosperous settlement far away from the Nile valley. On the other hand, it is its good state of preservation that enables scientists to study a city of the Old Kingdom and its cemetery in Qilāʿ eḍ-Ḍabba.

The city existed between the late 5th or early 6th Dynasty and the Second Intermediate Period. During this time there were several settlement phases in which the earlier buildings were completely overbuilt. The first phase ended after about three generations due to a fire in the palace and other parts of the settlement.

The settlement was still used. The most recent finds from ʿAin Aṣīl were inscribed blocks of posts and the stele of Men-cheper, dating from the 18th and 19th centuries. Date Dynasty (New Kingdom).^[1]

getting there

Arrival is only possible with an all-terrain four-wheel drive vehicle. When choosing a driver, pay attention to his or her local knowledge.

mobility

The subsoil around the excavation site is sandy.

Tourist Attractions

The admission price is LE 40 and for students LE 20 (as of 10/2017) for a joint visit Qilāʿ eḍ-Ḍabba.

The Excavation site extends over approx. 800 meters from north to south or over approx. 500 meters from east to west. The oldest part of the ancient settlement from that time Pepis I. was surrounded by a roughly rectangular wall with a side length of about 170 meters. There were bastions at the corners. Later buildings were added to the south, but no new walls were built around them.

In the north is the Governor's Palace, easily recognizable by the portico. The palace had dimensions of 225 meters from north to south and a width of 95 meters.

The palace had chapels of the dead of three governors. A portal with two columns led from a central courtyard to another courtyard with a hall and two elongated side rooms. A stele with the royal decree of Pepis II confirms the purpose of these chapels.^[2]

To the east of these chapels was a large administrative district with its own courtyard.

All buildings were made of adobe bricks and plastered.

There were four ceramic workshops in the southern part of the settlement.

accommodation

Accommodation is available in courage and in Qasr ed-Dachla.

trips

The visit to the archaeological site can be completed with a visit to the old town of Balat and the cemetery of Qilāʿ eḍ-Ḍabba connect.

literature

• Generally
  • Osing, Jürgen: Monuments of the Dachla Oasis: from the estate of Ahmed Fakhry. Mainz: Babble, 1982, Archaeological publications; 28, ISBN 978-3805304269 , Pp. 33-37, panels 7, 61.
  • Valloggia, Michel: Dakhla Oasis, Balat. In:Bard, Kathryn A. (Ed.): Encyclopedia of the Archeology of Ancient Egypt. London, New York: Routledge, 1999, ISBN 978-0-415-18589-9 , Pp. 216-219.

• More excavation reports
  • Soukiassian, Georges; Wuttmann, Michel; Schaad, Daniel: La ville d’ʿAyn-Aṣīl à Dakhla: État des recherches. In:Bulletin de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale (BIFAO), vol.90 (1990), Pp. 347-358, panels XXIV-XXVII.
  • Soukiassian, Georges [et al.]: Les ateliers de potiers d’ʿAyn-Aṣīl: fin de l’ancien empire, première période intermédiaire. Le Caire: Inst. Français d'Archéologie Orientale, 1990, Balat; 3, ISBN 978-2724700893 .
  • Midant-Reynes, Béatrix: Le silex de ʿAyn-Aṣīl. Le Caire: Inst. Francais d’Archéologie Orientale, 1998, Documents de fouilles de l'IFAO; 34, ISBN 978-2724702309 .
  • Soukiassian, Georges; Wuttmann, Michel; Pantalacci, Laure: Le palais des gouverneurs de l’époque de Pépy II: the sanctuaires de ka et leurs dépendances. Le Caire: Inst. Français d'Archéologie Orientale, 2002, Balat; 6th, ISBN 978-2724703139 .
  • Marchand, Sylvie; Soukiassian, Georges: Un habitat de XIII dynasty: 2nd period intermediaire a Ayn Aṣīl. Le Caire: Inst. Français d'Archéologie Orientale, 2010, Balat; 8th, ISBN 978-2724705300 .

Individual evidence

Web links

• Balat, Website of the Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale du Caire