Buto II: Late Period Archaeology & Roman Storage

33
EGYPTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY ISSUE NO 53 AUTUMN 2018
The main purpose of our fieldwork is the
exploration of Buto’s urban evolution during
the roughly 1000 years from the end of the
Late Period around 330 BC to the beginning
of the Islamic Period in 642 AD. Within this
framework, we aim to determine different
types of contexts, such as domestic dwellings,
production facilities and communal places, e.g.
bath complexes. This article in particular
presents the results of recent eld seasons
(2016–18) that revealed evidence of a large
storage building of the Early Roman period on
top of kom A (right; for a map of the settlement,
see the following page), an economic structure
that is all the more remarkable as such buildings
are only very rarely attested in the Delta for
the Graeco-Roman Period.
Previous work
Surveying in 2010–12 had already shown
extensive settlement areas of the Saite/
Persian Period but also suggested progressive
abandonment from the early Ptolemaic
Period onwards until Byzantine and early
Islamic times. Diagnostic trenches dug in 2013
provided additional insight into the
development of the city’s fringes, revealing
domestic buildings of the Late Period in
sectors P13 and P14. In one of these, Building
2 (P14), important domestic and religious
objects (stelae, amulets) were found. Its
pottery assemblage indicated a last
occupation in the 5th century BC. On kom
C, by contrast, there were only scarce Late
Period traces; instead, it showed a
considerable concentration of pottery from
the Ptolemaic and, to a lesser degree, the
early Roman period.
Where the DAI excavations look at Buto’s beginnings, the missions of the
Universities of Poitiers and Paris Nanterre explore the urban settlement
from the end of the Late Period until the Islamic Period. Pascale Ballet
and Loïc Mazou summarise the results of the 2016–18 seasons, presenting
evidence for a large storage building of the early Roman period, an
economic structure rarely attested here for this time.
Buto II:
the Late Period
Further investigations have been conducted
outside the southern part of the temple
enclosure wall (P16), following a magnetic
survey in 2014: kilns of the late Ptolemaic
Period set on a huge mud-brick building show
that the empty space between the temple and
kom C was not unoccupied. Fieldwork since
2016, on the eastern border of kom C, has
revealed a signicant area devoted to industrial
ceramics production during the Ptolemaic
period (probably 2nd century BC), conrming
the importance of Buto at this time and its
long-standing tradition in pottery production.
A Roman storage building on kom A
Recent excavations have focused on the
central and northern parts of kom A (P15, P17,
P18), where stratigraphy is best preserved, in
order to explore the early and late Roman
occupations. In sector P18 (c. 1200 m2), four
phases have been identied, ranging from the
General view (to the
south-east) of the early
Roman storage building.
Photo: G. Pollin

34
Right: castor seeds
found in the storage
facility.
Photo: L. Mazou
Y=3452800
Y=3452900
Y=3453000
Y=3453100
Y=3453200
Y=3453300
Y=3453400
Y=3453500
Y=3453600
Y=3453700
Y=3453800
Y=3453900
X=284500 X=284600 X=284700 X=284800 X=284900 X=285000 X=285100 X=285200 X=285300 X=285400
Village de
Mohammed el-Baz
Village de
Sekhmawi
P1
P1K
P6
P5
P11 P2 P4
P3
P10
P14 P13 P12
P7
P9
P15
P16
P17
P18
P19 kôm B
(Temple)
kôm A
kôm C
Système de coordonnées : WGS 84
Projection : UTM
Zone : 36
Echelle : 1/1000
Equidistance des courbes de niveau : 0.25 m
M.A. Flechter et A. Knuth, 1996 (DAIK)
D. Laisney 2004 (IFAO)
R. Bernard 2006 (INRAP)
G. Marouard 2007-2013, 2015 (OI)
M. Gaber 2012-2014 (IFAO)
IFAO-DAIK - Relevés topographiques par:
Bouto
(Tell El-Fara‘in)
Secteurs de fouille depuis 2001 (P. Ballet)
P6
Secteurs de fouille de l’équipe du DAIK
depuis 1993 (D. Faltings) et 2000 (U. Hartung)
0 50 150 m
N
S
O E
1452
29.23
1455
29.25
1459
29.29
1462
29.24
1465
29.33
1466
29.37
1467
29.33
P20
J1-3, 8, 11,13
E0-E17
Cimetière
actuel
mid-1st to the 3rd/4th centuries AD, with a
nal occupation indicated by pottery material
from the 6th/7th centuries AD.
The main result of these excavations was
the discovery of a Roman storage building for
foodstuffs, mainly cereals, belonging to
phase 2, which can be dated to the 2nd century
AD. Built in mud brick, it is surrounded by
imposing walls around 90 cm thick. Our latest
eldwork in spring 2018 showed the structure
to consist of eight rooms for the storage of
agricultural products: six adjoining rooms with
a N-S orientation, two with an E-W orientation,
surrounding an open area in the centre. Five
of the rooms have a oor space of about 13
m2 (3.55 x 3.7 m), two are larger at 20 m2
(4 x 5 m) all with a mud-brick oor (the eighth
room is still unexcavated, so we do not yet
know its dimensions).
The best-preserved rooms show vestiges of
doorways with a closing system that led directly
into open space. We entered the rooms by
descending three steps (opposite page, top).
Being partly buried, the rooms would have
stayed cool for better preservation of the
stored goods. A silo was located in the central
Map of the settlement,
showing the
different sectors of
archaeological work on
Late Buto.
Map: P. Ballet / L. Mazou
Opposite page,
bottom left: remains
of architectural plaster
decorations from a
residential dwelling.

35
EGYPTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY ISSUE NO 53 AUTUMN 2018
BUTO II: THE LATE PERIOD
Photo: L. Mazou
Photo: L. Mazou
Photo: L. Mazou
Photo: L. Mazou
space, where we found a buried imported
amphora (middle right), still lled with a large
quantity of wheat grains. Wheat, together with
other grains such as castor-oil seed, was in fact
found in all the rooms of the structure
(opposite page, bottom). The absence of
containers suggests that the grains were stored
in bulk directly on the ground.
The building was abandoned after a re,
traces of which can be seen on the walls and
the oor, suggesting a signicant amount of
combustible material. One might speculate
that the re was caused by the fermentation
of cereals in poorly ventilated rooms, resulting
in the production of heat and the release of
ammable gases.
Size and layout of the structure, the thickness
of its walls, the neat brick paving arranged in
a herringbone pattern, the presence of
substantial amounts of ammable material and
of a silo as well as traces of grains found in
various quantities across the rooms, all point
to a storage facility for cereals of some kind
(Latin thesaurus / granarium), of particular
importance for Buto’s economy. Based on
ceramic evidence, the structure was built
between two phases of residential occupations
(phases 1 and 3), without discontinuity.
An interesting structure dating to phase 3
is a residential dwelling with a private garden
and what was possibly a modest portico.
Within a destruction level, we discovered
elements of architectural plaster decorations
and fragments of mural paintings, suggesting
a certain social standing of its occupants
(bottom left and right)
Phase 4 corresponds to the construction of
two buildings on either side of a street or open
area, though for the time being it is impossible
to determine their function, which could have
been domestic or economic. The excavation
of the lling of a space between two thick walls
Below: stairs to the
partially buried rooms
and remains of a
wooden closing system.
Middle: photo-
grammetric picture of
the cellar with buried
amphorae.
Bottom: foundations of
a residential dwelling
with a garden and,
possibly, a modest
portico.

Right: a crucible from
the metal-processing
workshop.
Below: photo-
grammetric image of
the metal-processing
workshop.
Photo: G. Pollin
Photo: L. Mazou
showed the presence of cellars in a narrow
passage, containing cooking ceramics with
animal residues and amphorae buried in the
oor. These nds suggest that the building also
provided storage space, as in phase 2.
It is conceivable that the area was used for
storage (or other economic functions) in both
phase 2 and phase 4, though evidence for the
later period is insufficient for a definitive
conclusion. But a large amount of both Egyptian
and imported amphorae from the western
and eastern Mediterranean (Tunisia; Tripolitania
in modern-day Libya, Cilicia, Pamphylia and
Knidos, all in modern-day Turkey; Crete; Gaza)
during phases 2 to 4 found around this area
could support this hypothesis.
In the eastern part of sector P18, a metal
processing workshop was discovered in
2017–18 (images below). Its various levels
correspond to the working stages of such a
facility, containing beads and copper drops,
thick layers of ash, rejects and many crucible
fragments, terracotta moulds and smelting
waste. Again, while there is no definitive
evidence, the production of copper objects
might have been linked to the storage facility
in the same area – producing, for example,
tools, locks and bolts, or seals.
Conclusions
If the area served as a storage facility during
phases 2 and 4, its mode seems to have evolved
from bulk storage to storage in amphorae and
small underground spaces. These changes might
indicate a parallel change of the neighbourhood,
evolving from a single, large storage structure
into a residential area with individual food stocks.
It is hard to tell whether the storage facility
belonged to the state or a private owner, and
whether grains were distributed for local
consumption or for trade (short or long
distance?). Its location certainly is surprising,
as it is far from the transport facilities in the
lower parts of the city. However, it does seem
safe to conclude that a storage facility continued
to operate at this spot over an extended
period, as attested by the great number of
Egyptian and imported amphorae. The arrival
of amphorae from across the Mediterranean
during phases 2 to 4 is remarkable, reafrming
Buto’s place in the distribution network of
imported foodstuffs.
36
• Pascale Ballet (Paris Nanterre University,
ArScAn) has directed the University of Paris
Nanterre mission at Buto since 2001. Loïc Mazou
(Poitiers University, HeRMA) has conducted
excavation in the center of kom A since 2014.
Others sectors have been excavated by G.
Marouard, M. Pithon, G. Lecuyot, B. Redon and
R. Séguier, with J. Marchand, M. Pesenti, R.
Reimann and A. Simony as ceramicists. The team
of the University of Paris Nanterre works through
the concession of the German Archaeological
Institute (DAI), with the support of the French
Foreign Ofce and Ifao (Cairo).
Further reading on Buto:
Surveys and excavations 2001–06: P. Ballet
et al., Tell el-Fara‘în–Buto VI (Archäologische
Veröffentlichungen 110; in press).
Post-2007 excavations: G. Marouard and M.
Pithon (Ptolemaic quarter), G. Lecuyot and
B. Redon (bath complex rst excavated by
the EES in the 1960s), EA 40 (2012).
For surveying and mapping on kom A in
2010–12: G. Marouard, MDAIK (forthcoming).
Several preliminary reports of the results can
be found in MDAIK 59, 63, 65 and BIFAO 111.