Deir el-Ballas 2026, Week 5: 1/31-2/03

Our final week of the 2026 field season at Deir el-Ballas was busy, energetic, and deeply satisfying. With excavation largely complete, the team focused on finishing documentation, expanding our site-wide survey network, protecting exposed archaeology, and preparing the site for our departure until next season.

Much of the week centered on survey and recording. New fixed points were installed and recorded across the site using the Trimble GNSS, expanding our grid into the North Hill Settlement Suburb, the South Wadi Settlement, and the high desert to the west. These points—some placed on hilltops, others down on wadi floors—will be invaluable for future mapping, excavation, and landscape analysis. Setting them was no easy task, requiring hours of digging, hauling water and cement, and wrestling with satellite signals in challenging terrain. The results, however, were well worth the effort, and the season ended with the final fixed point successfully recorded!

At the “South Palace,” recording work continued as the team documented several archaeological features in preparation for publication later this year. Close study of a looted casemate revealed new insights into ancient construction techniques, including a deep foundation trench cut into bedrock, leveling courses of bricks, and carefully applied plaster layers. Even at the very end of the season, the architecture was still offering surprises.

As we moved into wrap-up mode, attention also turned to site organization and protection. Finds and samples were packed, inventoried, and secured in the workroom, equipment was cleaned and prepared for transport, and several fixed points were carefully backfilled to protect them for future seasons. One especially satisfying milestone was the installation of a new site sign and security lights at the “South Palace” workroom—small additions that will make a big difference while the site is unoccupied.

Community engagement remained an important part of our final days. Conversations with local partners explored possible locations for a future mural project and highlighted the challenges of balancing development needs, such as new schools, with the dense archaeological landscape of the area. These discussions underscore just how interconnected the site is with the living community around it and how important it is for us to work together to find viable solutions for El-Deir el-Gharbi and Deir el-Ballas.

The final day of the season was a whirlwind. The last of the survey points were shot, outstanding documentation completed, and last-minute discoveries recorded. A final payday gave us the chance to thank the workmen for their incredible efforts this season in person and congratulate them on a job well done.

As tools were packed away and the site settled back into quiet, there was a strong sense of accomplishment. The 2026 season advanced our understanding of Deir el-Ballas while also laying important groundwork—literally and figuratively—for seasons to come.

Acknowledgements:

The success of the season was due to the skill and hard work of many individuals. It was our pleasure to work with our colleagues from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities as well as the Qena Antiquities Inspectorate. From the Cairo Office, we would like to thank the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Sherif Fathi, the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mohamed Ismail Khaled and Hisham Alithi, the Supervisor of the Permanent Committee of the Antiquities Department, Hani Abdullah el-Tayeb, the General Director for the Egyptian Committee, Mostafa Hussein Abdelrahman, and the Head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector, Mohammed Abdel el-Badiya.  

From the Qena Inspectorate, we would like to thank the General Director of Qena Antiquities, Sayed Gad el-Rab, the Supervisor of Conservation for Qena, Abdelrahman Kanawy Hussein Mabrook, the Head of Foreign Missions and Excavations of Qena, Amr Gad el-Karim, and our wonderful Inspectors, Sally Mohamed Ahmed Mohamed, Heba Mohamed Hussein, Mamdouh Ali Ismail, and Mohamed Mohamed Shahat Shamroukh.

We would also like to thank Salima Ikram and Magdy Aly (of the American University in Cairo), along with Nadine Moeller, Greg Marouard, and John Darnell (of Yale University) for their help and support this season. The Expedition is grateful to Dietrich Raue of the German Archaeological Institute in Cairo (DAIK), assisted by Anita Bokor, for lending us a total station this year for use on site. Additionally, setting our site wide fixed points would not have been possible without the time, equipment, and generosity of the Middle Kingdom Theban Project, directed by Antonio Morales, and with the assistance of Sergio Alarcón Robledo of Yale University. We would also like to thank Anne Austin who helped us at the eleventh hour by delivering a total station battery charger from the US for us! 

Finally, we would like to thank our 2026 Expedition staff: Ahmed Abdelgawad, Bettina Bader, Amalee Bowen, Fiona Burdette, Beth Hart, Waleed Hawatky, Ben Johnson, Wael el-Kady, Georgia LaMacchia, Claire Malleson, Gillian Pyke, Jayme Reichart, Victoria Shakespeare, and Sarah Sowerby. This work would not have been possible without their time, dedication to the project, and careful work on site. Their efforts were greatly facilitated in every way by our field manager, Hassaan Mohamed Ali. We are also grateful to our talented cadre of Egyptian teammates from Qena, El-Deir el-Gharbi, and Luxor, and the police who valiantly safeguard the site!