Sunday, February 22, 2015

The face of a pyramid

We have decided to remove the fallen rubble from the north face of the pyramid to see if there might be further indications of how and when it was built and how it may have been connected to the pyramid of one of the most important kings buried at El Kurru—Piye (also called Piankhy)—whose pyramid burial is immediately to the north.

This work will also transform the appearance of the pyramid and of the site. The pyramid was built of stone blocks around a rubble core. Right now, it’s mostly the rubble core that’s visible—the upper stone blocks were taken for re-use elsewhere in medieval times, and the rubble simply spilled out over the pyramid stones.


We are excited to see how this will develop in the remainder of the season.




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8 comments:

  1. UnknownFebruary 27, 2015 at 11:58 PM

    I noticed that the stones are quite large. How large and what is the weight of the stones from the pyramids you are excavating?

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  2. Geoff EmberlingFebruary 28, 2015 at 5:35 AM

    Hi Brian,

    The stones are big, but not so big that it's a mystery how they were moved. On average the facing stones are about 70 cm long, 50 cm high, and 45 cm deep. We haven't weighed them directly, but we estimate they weighed about 500 pounds (240 kg).

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  3. UnknownMarch 3, 2015 at 9:43 AM

    It`s sounds good !!, Greatly appreciate the excellent & extensive efforts excretion by your team regarding to the recent discoveries , I wish I was there attending the other remaining jobs on site ,concerning I being born in this village back in 1993. Nasr Eldein- Malaysia

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  4. Geoff EmberlingMarch 4, 2015 at 9:47 PM

    Thanks--stay tuned for end-of-season updates

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  5. UnknownMarch 5, 2015 at 9:42 PM

    How many teams work in these sites? Also if it is more than one team, do different teams work in this site along with the temple different times of the year?

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  6. Geoff EmberlingMarch 7, 2015 at 2:14 AM

    Hi Brian,

    There are three kind of separate teams working at El Kurru, but we work together really well--in some contexts as just two teams and in some contexts as one. We try to work at the same time so that we can coordinate our activities--it's also more rewarding to be in the field at the same time.

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  7. UnknownMarch 18, 2015 at 8:19 PM

    Just saw your PBS program. Looking froward following this season's progress. Best wishes.
    Rudy Bernhard, a fan.

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  8. Geoff EmberlingMarch 25, 2015 at 2:55 PM

    Thanks Rudy!

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