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ABSTRACT. Fieldwork was carried out every year for about one month, in 2014 – 16 in spring and in 2018 in
autumn. The main aim of all campaigns was to excavate deepest layers at the Western and Central Koms, and
investigate the settlement and further graves discovered at the Eastern Kom. The excavations at the Western
Kom focused on remains of a brewery (W272), discovered in 2012 and partially explored in 2013. The brewery
had at least three distinct phases of use: the earliest one in the Naqada IID period, a very badly preserved
middle phase in the first half of Naqada IIIA1, and the latest phase connected with Tell el-Farkha Phase 4
(Naqada IIIA1/2 – IIIB). At the Central Kom, exploration of a big rounded construction excavated since 2012
was finished. Since the same year a monumental rectangular building has been excavated, which most likely
served as a central storage facility. Two phases of the building – early Naqada IIIA1 (Tell el-Farkha Phase 3)
and Naqada IIIA1 – IIIA2 (Phase 4) – were distinguished. The storage was connected with a big Naqada building
at the Western Kom, which was still in use during the earliest stages of existence of the administrative-cultic
center. Below the foundations of this building, remains of a “Lower Egyptian Residence” (partially excavated
in 2007– 09) were unearthed. Its complicated plan and objects found inside confirm a special status of the in-
habitants of the Residence. 29 burials were discovered at the Eastern Kom. They are clearly divided into a few
Protodynastic tombs and a larger group of later burials from the Early Dynastic period. The most interesting
grave no. 130, representing a small mastaba type, was composed of a mud brick superstructure (ca. 3.7 ×3 m)
and a quite deep single burial chamber. The superstructure would have been fairly well preserved if a later
grave no. 126 had not cut its upper part. Some other Early Dynastic graves were dug in the ruins of a big
edifice that had been erected during the second half of the Naqada IIIB period at the eastern edge of the Proto-
dynastic cemetery and was connected in some way with the cult of the dead.
KEYWORDS. Tell el-Farkha, Eastern Nile Delta, Lower Egyptian culture, Naqada culture, Predynastic Egypt,
Early Dynastic Egypt
© IAE PAN and Marek Chłodnicki, Krzysztof M. Ciałowicz, 2019
Archeologia 68, 2018, 81– 154
Tell el-Farkha is located next to the northern out-
skirts of the modern village of Ghazala, along the
southern side of the Ghazala Drain, about 14 km east
of El-Simbillawein. The site occupies an area of about
45,000 sq. m, with maximum height of ca. 4.5 m
above the level of the cultivation plain. The site is
actually marked by three mounds along the northern
edge of gezira and a gentle slope delimited by houses
I I. F I E L D R E P O R T S
POLISH EXCAVATIONS
AT TELL EL-FARKHA (GHAZALA) IN THE NILE DELTA
PRELIMINARY REPORT 2014 – 2018
BY
MAREK CHŁODNICKI
1
AND KRZYSZTOF M. CIAŁOWICZ
2
WITH CONTRIBUTIONS BY
GRZEGORZ BĄK-PRYC,
3
JOANNA DĘBOWSKA-LUDWIN,
4
URSZULA DOROS,
5
MAGDALENA KAZIMIERCZAK,
6
AGNIESZKA MĄCZYŃSKA,
7
JAKUB SKŁUCKI,
8
MAGDALENA SOBAS,
9
ANITA SZCZEPANEK
10
INTRODUCTION
1
Orcid: 0000-0002-1728-464X.
2
Orcid: 0000-0001-9448-703X.
3
Orcid: 0000-0003-2183-6651.
4
Orcid: 0000-0001-6904-910X.
5
Orcid: 0000-0003-0015-6980.
6
Orcid: 0000-0001-6415-8497.
7
Orcid: 0000-0002-5828-032X.
8
Orcid: 0000-0003-4578-8041.
9
Orcid: 0000-0001-9417-3436.
10
Orcid: 0000-0003-0936-767X.