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Polish Archaeological Expedition to North Asasif - Asasif Project
North Asasif is the name for a natural continuation of the northern slope moving eastwards from the Deir el-Bahari rock amphitheatre. Research conducted by the PCMA Expedition began in this area in 2013.
The work being undertaken focusses on the rock cut tombs, dating to the Middle Kingdom and reused intensively in later periods. The aim of the project is to reconstruct the picture of the complex history of this part of Western Thebes over the centuries, with a particular emphasis on the functioning of this part of the necropolis in the Middle Kingdom.
Work is being conducted in nine tombs, the construction of which date back to the reign of Mentuhotep II Nebhepetra and the subsequent kings of the Eleventh and Twelve Dynasties. Almost all of these tombs belonged to the highest ranking officials, which is reflected in their architecture, decoration, and burial equipment.
Comprehensive archaeological and epigraphic work, as well as restoration and reconstruction activities, are being carried out in two decorated tombs located at the western and eastern ends of the North Asasif slope: Cheti (TT 311) and Meru (TT 240). Other tombs investigated by the Expedition, numbered as MMA 509a, MMA 511, MMA 512, TT 314, MMA 514 and MMA 515, are located in the central part of this area; the artifacts discovered from these tombs allow for reconstruction of the development of this part of the necropolis and relations between the officials once buried there. The last of the tombs currently being explored is MMA 507, located at the western end of the slope, where the remains of about 60 soldiers who died in battle are buried.
In the majority of tombs in the area, the remains of burials dated to the Third Intermediate Period and Late Period have been found. In addition, one of the satellite tombs (MMA 514a), originally cut in the Middle Kingdom, was reused in the Eighteenth Dynasty, while another tomb (MMA 517/TT 240) served as a hermitage for early Christian monks.
Beyond archaeological and Egyptological activities, the project includes specialized studies in the fields of architecture, ceramics, physical anthropology, archaeozoology, and traseology. Conservation and restoration of the original decorative programme in the tombs of Khety and Meru also constitute important parts of the ongoing project.
Project supervisor: Dr Anastasiia Stupko-Lubczynska
Contact: a.stupko-lubcz@uw.edu.pl; pm.chudzik@uw.edu.pl
https://pcma.uw.edu.pl/2018/01/05/29877/
https://www.facebook.com/projektasasif
Bibliography:
2021 Ragazzoli, Ch., Secondary epigraphy in the North Asasif tombs: The "restoration label" of Paser in Khety's tomb TT 311, year 17 of Ramesses II, in: P. Chudzik, Z.E. Szafrański (eds.), Deir el-Bahari Studies 3. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 30 (1), pp. 215-242
2021 Stupko-Lubczynska A., What an artist saw: Tracing the local iconographic tradition for the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari, in: P. Chudzik, Z.E. Szafrański (eds.), Deir el-Bahari Studies 3. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 30 (1), 2021, pp. 187-214.
2016, Chudzik, P. Tajemnice egipskich grobowców/Secrets of Egyptian tombs, Wrocław
2016, Chudzik, P., A unique royal mortuary temple and exceptional private complexes. The architecture of the Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II monument reflected in the funerary structures of high officials at Thebes, (w:) M. Ullmann (red.), 10. Ägyptologische Tempeltagung: Ägyptische Tempel zwischen Normierung und Individualität. München, 29.31. August 2014, Wiesbaden: 71–80