From the early Old Kingdom to the Badarian. Preliminary report on the 2012 excavation campaign in the settlement area of Elkab

Abstract

Since 2009, the Belgian Archaeological Mission to Elkab from the Royal Museums of Art and History (Brussels) has shifted its attention from the rock necropolis to the settlement area of the Upper Egyptian pharaonic town site of Elkab. Two excavation seasons in 2009 and 2010 revealed the presence of a vast habitation area dating to the late Early Dynastic Period and the early Old Kingdom, situated within the Late Period ‘Great Walls’ of Elkab and immediately west of the temple area. A 2 by 2 meter test pit was excavated in this area in 2009-2010, to a depth of almost 4 meters below the actual surface. The results indicated that the habitation dates back to Predynastic times and may even have originated in the Badarian period, suggesting that the site of Elkab was continuously inhabited for over 1500 years during late prehistoric and early historic times. The 2012 excavation campaign aimed to expand exploration and understanding of the Predynastic occupation at Elkab. This contribution presents the preliminary results of that field season.