Dig Days: How far back we are By Zahi Hawass Egypt's written history begins around 3,000 BC. This date also roughly marks the beginning of the First Dynasty, when Hor-Aha (known as Menes) united the two lands of Upper and Lower Egypt, ruling them from Inb-hdj, or "White Wall", the first capital of Egypt. The kings of the First Dynasty chose to be buried at Abydos, near the place where they were born, a small town called Thinis. They placed their capital, however, at the juncture of Upper and Lower Egypt. It is thought that Inb- hdj was located to the north of the tombs of the First and Second-Dynasty officials at Saqqara. The kings of the Second Dynasty were buried at Saqqara, with the exception of the last two, who were buried at Abydos for religious reasons. Excavations at Abydos have proved two important facts. First, we know from finds at the site that writing began in Egypt about 150 years before the founding of the First Dynasty. The other important piece of knowledge gained at Abydos was that the subsidiary burials beside the tombs of the kings were for royal followers such as servants and officials. Sir Flinders Petrie, the "father of Egyptology", raised the possibility that these people were killed in order to accompany their king into the afterlife. Petrie suggested that they were not sacrificed, but committed suicide because they wanted to be near the king. This idea has been rejected by many Egyptologists, but Gènter Dreyer, director of the German Archaeological Institute in Cairo, is excavating at the site. He has found important evidence supporting Petrie's claim. The ancient Egyptians later decided that it was unnecessary to kill themselves to join their king in the next world; they could simply build their tombs near his so that when they eventually died they would be close to him. Our knowledge of the period before the First Dynasty can be summarised fairly quickly. The Old Stone Age is very dark in Egypt, and pre-historians cannot agree on exact dates for the period. Some believe that it could have begun 100,000 years ago, at a time when man was only a hunter and gatherer who struggled to survive in the desert and along the banks of the Nile. The Middle Stone Age is also a relatively unknown period in Egypt's history. The New Stone Age, or Neolithic Period, is marked by the beginning of agriculture. I had the opportunity to excavate at Merimde Beni Salama, a site in the Delta belonging to this period. Here, people gathered in one of the earliest known agricultural settlements in Egypt. We have a new department within the SCA dedicated to the study of prehistoric sites. This department is headed by a young archaeologist named Khaled Saad, and has recorded many previously unknown sites such Marsa Alam, Gebel Al-Rusas, Khadra and Ain Al-Sira. The department has also recorded sites in the White Desert, Southern Sinai and the Western Desert. The biggest surprise in prehistoric archaeology in Egypt came about when the department was conducting a survey at Siwa Oasis and found a new site that bears the marks of prehistoric inhabitants. The site is located on top of a mound. The SCA excavators working in the area came across two large footprints that had been left in wet sand, and then preserved when the sand dried. This was a great surprise to us, and a discovery that could prove to be very important. It is possible that these footprints date back millions of years. We are examining plant remains found at the same level by using carbon-14 dating. These footprints may help us to date the Old Stone Age in Egypt. We have to re-examine the discovery to see how far back in history it really goes. It is really a problem that people are always interested in historic Egypt, and in discoveries related to kings, mummies, and tombs. Prehistory has been neglected, but we are now returning to it to understand the origins of the Pharaohs.
