How the pharaohs were fed

Gumby Rawks tucson, az — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:02:24 GMT

I hear about greek and roman money(currency). I wonder if they will discover ancient egyptian money from these eras.

How the pharaohs were fed

steve smyth — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:12:47 GMT

what a beautiful image of a man made object...we do some nice stuff when there's no big rush, eh?
are those anthropogenic bricks?

How the pharaohs were fed

John Bass, Lincolnshire, England, UK — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 23:07:48 GMT

This is a brilliant display of continued civalisation occupation within a single area.
It would be interesting to know what type of ash was present covering the 17th. Dynasty grain silo's, if it was volcanic, or due to invasion and destruction, or due to fire from natural or other causes.
This could be a very exciting look into this civalizations past experiences, which could shed light on this regions continued civalised occupation.

How the pharaohs were fed

Tim Rommes, Washington, UT — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 23:10:16 GMT

Alan,

Is there any indication whether the ash layer, referred to in the caption, was due to a one time structure fire, such as an accident over the whole city - like Rome, or an intentional cerimonial burning - like completing a task then leaving -- or -- was the "thick" layer due to several burnings over time? Or was it something like volcanic ash?

How the pharaohs were fed

Alan Boyle — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:42:38 GMT

On the ash layer: Nadine Moeller has a wonderful collection of newsletters on the dig, and you should check them out to get more info about all this. Here's a quote from her 2006 newsletter (and the parenthetical exclamation point is hers, not mine):

http://homepage.mac.com/nadinemoeller/
.Public/Tell%20Edfu%2006.pdf

"... Numerous square structures, which seem to have functioned as cellars, were found close to walls belonging to larger buildings. Some of these cellars were built into the substantial ash layer covering much of our area, which provided additional protection for stored foodstuff against insects and rodents. The ash layer, which is in parts several meters thick (!), has been deposited in an earlier occupation phase than the cellars and is a sign of industrial activity here, most likely related to bakeries. ..."

You can find the newsletters as well as photos and more info at Moeller's Web site:

http://homepage.mac.com/nadinemoeller/Menu5.html

How the pharaohs were fed

d sands, sc — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 02:16:32 GMT

Could these graineries be the same that Joseph used during the 7 years of plenty in preparation for the 7 years of famine?

How the pharaohs were fed

Charlie - Grapevine TX — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:54:07 GMT

So what grains were in the bins?

How the pharaohs were fed

Alan Boyle — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:16:18 GMT

What kind of grain? Here's the word from Moeller:

"Grain, which was usually barley or emmer wheat, was used as food and medium of exchange. One form of payment was the monthly ration of grain."

http://egyptology.blogspot.com/2008/06/
more-re-ancient-egyptian-administrative.html

Flax was another type of grain typically grown in those days.

As for Joseph and the granaries, you might find this story interesting:

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/976470.html

It's interesting to hear that the Egyptians mixed sand with the grain to fight off bugs. Come to think of it, having a layer of ash underlying your granary might have served as a similar type of anti-pest measure, as Moeller has noted.

How the pharaohs were fed

Tim Rommes, Washington, UT — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 05:49:15 GMT

Sounds like that sand may be diatomaceous earth, fossil remains of a hard shelled algae. It's safe to use in foodstuffs, as it is too small to slice up our insides, but it makes little slices in the crawlers and kills them. If there was a mine or outcropping anywhere in the region it could have been dispersed all across the known world, nothing needs to be done to it, it's ready to kill just about any insect. Not sure about locusts, thick shell and if they don't drag their belly ...

How the pharaohs were fed

gdog — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:31:54 GMT

Uh, don't know about the diatomaceous comment! diatomaceous material would look as white as chalk, but nice try Indy.

How the pharaohs were fed

Bonnie, USA — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:50:47 GMT

Grain used as a form of money...payment. Over 5,000 years later and grain/oil could be making its way towards that exchange again. Another example of this world and civilization coming full circle again........

How the pharaohs were fed

D Jaxon — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:55:31 GMT

Looks like the stories in the old testament are true.

How the pharaohs were fed

Bob Hockenhull, Warwick, RI — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:32:37 GMT

The picture showing the stratification should be textbook material for every archaeology student on the planet. Makes one wonder what Troy would have looked like had the same policies been in force back then.

How the pharaohs were fed

Marta, New York, NY — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:36:28 GMT

This is awesome news! Give us more news like this!

How the pharaohs were fed

Richard G, Irvine California — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:05:21 GMT

As far as I know, coinage was invented around the 6th century BC by the Greeks. There are almost no coins with hierogpyphics on them, as coinage was introduced by the Ptolomies after Alexander the Great's conquest. There is actually one Egyptian coin I have seen that has hieroglyphics on it...

How the pharaohs were fed

S.B. Stein E.B. NJ — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:46:38 GMT

Were there any documents (stone or otherwise)found? What other information was found that could indicate time? What does the ash indicate? Was it just left over rubble that covered the previous layer?

How the pharaohs were fed

Eddie Eagle — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:48:13 GMT

Similar to the Tel Edfu granary I was pretty impressed when visiting Versailles one year and touring the King's Kitchen Garden.

Royalty in many civilizations had the best foods and creature comforts which made up several levels of wealth. All these things make up a most interesting part of each culture.

How the pharaohs were fed

Tim Rommes, Washington, UT — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 07:58:01 GMT

gdog,
After some study, because I thought making any comments made should have some value, hint, I found some interesting things. Currently, 16 grit sharp sand, crushed granite, cinder ash or pumice are used for termite control. They're used to make a physical barrier, minimal sizes for each dimension are 20" wide and 3" thick. Of course, any one place recommended either wider or deeper. Tamping is recommended. It provides a physical barrier in that the larger grains are too large for the termites to move and if they try to squeeze between the smaller grains the get cut. This proccess relies on the concentration of the sand to work. Although mixed in with the grain I imagine insects would sustain cuts as they travelled that would compound each other.

More interesting is the use of wood ash as a desiccant. After being sliced open by the sand the insects would have been dehydrated. Capping a full silo with a thick layer of wood ash would also have sealed this access point to the grain from insect attack. This would be the effect noted in the excerpt from Moeller.

Of course, for this sand to work it would have to be unweathered. I don't know of any convenient way to sort old and new sand from each other, but they may have produced it by crushing material in a mill. Collecting sand from a dune wouldn't work for reasons pointed out in my earlier, DE, post.

Wood ash has adds a further element to pest control in that it raises pH to a level which may be an irritant to pests. And still both ash and sand are easily separated from the grain. I wonder if leaving the ash helps with digestability.

How the pharaohs were fed

Kristen Clark, Great Bend, Kansas — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:44:22 GMT

Could it be that the ash was scattered on the city deliberately to get rid of some kind of pest like lice, or cover up a virus that was causing sickness?

How the pharaohs were fed

Trevor Rees, Taunton , UK — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 17:57:12 GMT

I heard that the Egyptians added sand to grain to make it easier to grind - but it also wore away their teeth.

How the pharaohs were fed

Chicago — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:01:02 GMT

The earlier referenced Tell Edfu project website has changed and now can be found at: http://www.telledfu.org