Ancient Tell Ibrâhîm ‘Awad

During excavations at Tell Ibrâhîm ‘Awad in the eastern Nile Delta, beneath the rubble of a large Middle Kingdom temple which dates to around 2000 BC, were traces of five earlier temples, the earliest dating back to around 3100 BC. This is at least as old as the oldest temple previously discovered in Egypt, namely at Hierakonpolis. The first soundings also revealed an intact First Dynasty tomb. Several other tombs of the same period were found in this area nearby. Close to these tombs -- referred to as site B -- traces of a settlement came to light going back to Predynastic times. The remains of the Middle Kingdom temple were partly destroyed by agricultural activity but the nucleus of the temple was spared. The stratigraphy shows an uninterrupted sequence from the Late PreDynastic with no mudbrick architecture; to the Early Dynastic with substantial mudbrick architecture. Initial excavations reveal the occurrence of certain ceramics clearly differing from contemporary sites in the Nile Valley and therefore possibly reflecting an original Delta Culture.