The 2005 Season Ends Successfully! The 5th season of excavations at Tell el-Borg took place between April 6 and May 16th. A staff of 20 along with the more than 30 Egyptian laborers worked for 6 weeks. Although the dig season started a month later than usual, the weather was generally pleasant, making for a productive season.

Work concentrated in several fields. Field VI continued to produce more of the REED HUTS like those uncovered in previous seasons. A 15th century date for some of the huts had been assigned based on the Egyptian and Canaanite potsherds found within them. A garbage pit for this little village was discovered which yielded hundreds of potsherds, but more significantly a stamped jar handle with the cartouche of Neferneferu-aten (the successor of Akhenaten, ca.1336 B.C.) and a seal impression with the name of Pharaoh Horemheb (1323-1295 B.C.). These finds suggest that the reed-hut village was occupied for a long period of time.

One of the goals for this season was to try to locate the western (or rear) moat of the earlier or 18th Dynasty fort. Thus we returned to Field VIII, area 2 to resolve this question. The excavations suggest that the entire WESTERN MOAT is now lost. In 2004 it was determined that the Nile channel that flowed just north of the moat had caused flood damage in Field VIII, area 1. Evidence for FLOODING also was found this year, which likely led to the abandonment of the first fort and the construction of the second fort. Probably in Greco-Roman times, the red-bricks were looted from this area for reuse elsewhere.

During the 2004 season, we uncovered the GATE AREA of the Ramesside period fort. It showed signs of being violently destroyed. LIMESTONE FRAGMENTSwere strewn throughout the area, along with ash and other signs of burning. This season we found hundreds of fragments of pink and black GRANITE, again, indicators of a violent destruction. Only a few of the fragments contained hieroglyphs, indicating that the granite objects likely came from statues and/or stelae that were destroyed along with the fort. Clearing the foundations trenches this season has enabled us to get a clear plan for the gate.

The most significant discovery was the moat belonging to the Ramesside period (ca. 1300-1180 B.C.). In 2000 we discovered traces of this moat on the west side of the canal that separates Fields IV and V (see SITE PLAN). That year we also attempted to find the moat in Field V, but failed to do so. Then in 2004, we dug a trench perpendicular to the fort’s eastern wall in Field V, but no trace of the moat was to be found. So we were to uncover a 17 meter section of the MOAT on the north side of the northern wall of the fort. The moat was situated 11.5 meters from the wall. The construction technique was the same as the section discovered in 2000, namely, blocks of limestone served as the FOUNDATION for the angled walls of the moat which were made of mud-brick. In Field V, the blocks were quite irregular in size, varying from small fragments wedged together to 1.4 meter long blocks, as well as red (fired) brick (as was the case in the section found in Field IV).

The clearing of the entirety of moat was limited by the discovery of a group of animal bones dumped into the middle of the moat. THREE EQUIDS (not sure if they are donkeys or horses) were uncovered, but not removed.

The bottom layer of the limestone foundation was very close to the water table. When the area supervisor, Ron Bull, dug small probes under several of the longer blocks, one could feel under the blocks. It was clear that some of them contained inscriptions. So after careful documentation, the blocks were removed one by one. In all, 17 blocks and pieces contained. One piece appears to have been from an Old Kingdom (ca. 2400) tomb. While several others blocks contained the titles of a high-ranking private official, the most important group bore the name of pharaoh Amenhotep II (1425-1400 B.C.). The blocks were resued doorjambs, most likely associated with the earlier fort at Tell el-Borg. Most significantly, two of the blocks included the name Tjaru, the nearby capital of the region, but, unfortunately, the name of our fort was not discovered.

Previously we had conjectured that the earlier fort had been constructed by Thutmose III or Amenhotep II (1460-1400 B.C.). These new blocks seem to support this theory. Because of the importance of these new inscriptions, an article is being prepared for immediate publication.

We estimate that there may be 30-40 meters of this moat yet to clear which we plan to excavate in 2006. Hopefully, further significant inscriptions will be discovered.

James K. Hoffmeier- Project Director  

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