The Oriental Institute Archeological Report on the near East: Second Quarter, 1939

Antino? (Sheikh cAbddeh). Papyrological Institute of the Royal University of Florence Work during March-April, 1939, brought to light a quantity of papyrus fragments in the mound of ancient debris in the northwestern necropolis. Excavation of the temple of Ramses II, first explored by the Frenchman Gayet in 1896, uncovered extensive areas of paving, inscribed fragments of architraves, and fragments of the roof, court, and hypostyle hall. Pieces of reliefs from Ikhnaton's reign were frequently encountered. On certain columns the name of Ramses II appeared on plaster covering surfaces previously defaced. Within the hypostyle hall was a colossal sandstone statue of a baboon. Trial diggings on some of the knolls at the edge of the ancient city uncovered a vast ensemble of vaulted funerary chambers built of limestone blocks and burnt bricks. They probably date to the Christian period. Plans were made of certain Roman rock-cut tombs at Deir el-Hawa, on the north of Antino?, which contain sarcophagi placed in niches. Still farther north, at Deir el-Dik, a rock-cut Christian chapel was visited. The Greek and Coptic inscriptions in it will be published with the epigraphic material from Antinoe. From a Department of Antiquities release sent by E. Drioton, also published in Egyptian Gazette, May 31, 1939.