The 2017 Malqata Team | iMalqata

https://imalqata.wordpress.com/2017/02/13/the-2017-malqata-team/
On 02/13/17 10:55, iMalqata Blog wrote:

Diana Craig Patch

A successful field season always takes place because a group of people with expertise in excavation, mapping, planning, recording and conserving an archaeological site or the skills to support them comes together as a team. We accomplish our work at Malqata because we support each other in the best way possible to get the job done.

Today we would like to introduce the principal members of the team, shown here. Mohamed, the person on the far left, is our driver. He is a very careful driver and an extremely patient man. Ready early each morning, he gets us to work on time and then drives team members and the SCA inspectors around on the West Bank to carry out different tasks.

Moving to the right, the next person is Janice Kamrin, a colleague of mine at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the excavator of the West Settlement. This is Janice’s third season at Malqata and she is happily excavating an extremely interesting settlement and plugging away at piles of pottery.  She is a whiz at FileMaker and produces all kinds of extremely useful databases to organize our finds.

Behind her is Peter.  He was part of the original team from 2008 when we started surveying Malqata. He has worked in Egypt for over 35 years at many important sites –Abydos, Giza, and Deir el-Ballas– and wrote his dissertation on royal cities, including Malqata. He is recording the architecture of the King’s Palace, which was never recorded in any detail, working with Tony (who unfortunately could not be here this season) on its mudbrick reconstruction, and figuring out the complicated decorative narrative of the palace from tiny pieces of painted mud brick.

I am in front of Peter and he and I are the co-directors of the Joint Expedition to Malqata. I too started with the initial team in 2008 and subsequently worked on rerecording the fragile North Village, the publication of which is underway. Currently I am clearing the Industrial Zone that appears to have been created for the production of glass and faience.

Behind me stands Piet, an architect, surveyor, and talented planner with an impressive career in Egyptian archaeology, although he has worked in many other counties too. This is Piet’s first season at Malqata and he is working with Peter on recording the mud brick architecture of the King’s Palace. He is helping to tie Peter’s line drawings of the mudbrick walls together to create a comprehensive plan.

Catharine stands to my left.  She is another colleague of mine from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, who has been part of Malqata from the first season of work.  Catharine is critical to the expedition’s success.  Experienced in the local landscape of Western Thebes where she has worked off and on since 1989, she is interested in the immense causeway at the south end of the site and how it relates to Malqata. She led the team documenting the Amun Temple in 2010, and continues to be the site photographer. She also works with our surveyor, Joel, another original member of the team.

Serenela is new to JEM this year. She is a graduate student at the University of Florida and is here to gain experience in Egyptian archaeology. Serenela is critical to my survival as she is amazing at recording, drawing, and keeping track of all the bags, tags, and objects coming out of the Industrial Zone.

Last, but definitely not least, you see Hassan on the far right. He joined us for JEM’s first season of excavation in 2010. Hassan figures out how to make everything work: hiring workers, getting supplies, making sure people get where they are going and with the right papers or equipment. Just as important to our success is Hassan’s knowledge of excavation. He consults with all the archaeologists and conservators about the work. JEM could not function without Hassan!

Postscript: Tony, our mudbrick conservator, Joel, our surveyor, and Salima, our animal bones guru unfortunately are not in the picture  because their schedules did not allow us all to be together at once.

--   Sent from my Linux system.