George Andrew Reisner excavated the Wadi Cemetery at Giza in 1904. His 150-man team cleared 40 by 30 metres and uncovered 77 tombs beneath a dump of debris cleared during Khufu's reign. The team took 243 photographs, but no maps, plans or detailed reports were published. More than a century later, Diane Victoria Flores of the Giza (Pyramids) Archive Project reconstructed the site from those photographs and produced its first sketch plan since the excavation. The records reveal two phases of mortuary architecture: earlier, isolated single-burial mastabas and later, larger compound mastabas. The cemetery's pre-Khufu phase was brought back into view!
Pre-Khufu tombs uncovered in 1904 at Giza's Wadi Cemetery beneath an ancient dump
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Key facts
- The Wadi Cemetery lies north of the Western Cemetery, beside Mastaba G 2000 near the Great Pyramid.
- It was excavated in 1904 by George Andrew Reisner.
- The cemetery was buried beneath a dump of debris cleared during Khufu's reign.
- Reisner's workforce of 150 men cleared an area measuring 40 by 30 metres.
- The excavation documented 77 tombs, designated GW1–GW77.
- The team took 243 photographs, but no maps, plans or detailed reports from the excavation were published.
- Diane Victoria Flores of the Giza (Pyramids) Archive Project reconstructed the photographic record and produced the first sketch plan since the excavation.
- The reconstruction identifies two phases: earlier, isolated single-burial mastabas and later, larger compound mastabas; the earliest tombs are pre-Khufu.
Sources
Harvard Archaeologist's Burial Monument is Restored in Egypthmane.harvard.edu
In 1903, he jumped at the chance to excavate the cemeteries surrounding the famous Giza Pyramids, just west of Cairo. ... The monument marking Reisner's burial in ...
The 'lost' Wadi Cemetery (Giza Archives Gleanings, III)researchgate.net
The earliest excavations undertaken by George A. Reisner at Giza are summarised, including a little-known area dubbed the Wadi Cemetery, to the north of the ...
George Reisnerharvardmagazine.com
Honing his new craft first at sites in Middle Egypt, he jumped at the opportunity in 1903 to excavate the cemeteries surrounding the famous Giza ...
George Andrew Reisner | Egyptologist, Archaeologist ...britannica.com
George Andrew Reisner was a U.S. archaeologist who directed many excavations in Egypt and Nubia (Nilotic Sudan) and discovered the tomb of ...
“On the Early History of Giza: The “Lost” Wadi Cemetery ...academia.edu
Reisner's 1903-1904 excavations uncovered 77 tombs, revealing earlier mortuary practices at Giza. Significant artifacts include a lintel of ...
GW 45 - Digital Gizagiza.fas.harvard.edu
Wadi Cemetery (Reisner; north of W. Cem) George Andrew Reisner, American, 1867–1942 Site. George Andrew Reisner Type Excavator Nationality & Dates American, ...
The 'Lost' Wadi Cemetery (Giza Archives Gleanings, III)*journals.sagepub.com
The earliest excavations undertaken by George A. Reisner at Giza are summarised, including a little-known area dubbed the Wadi Cemetery, to the north of the ...
The Phoebe A. Hearst Expedition to Naga ed-Deir ...opencontext.org
George Reisner and his team excavated at Naga ed-Deir lies north of the modern village of Naga ed-Deir and south of the tomb of Sheikh Farag.
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