Joint rescue excavation project by the Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung Berlin and the Aswan Inspectorate

The Egyptian-German Mission: Qubbet el-Hawa North was created at the end of 2015 at the invitation of Prof. Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim Ali, then Egypt’s Minister for Antiquities. It is a joint project between the Aswan Inspectorate and the Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection Berlin.

The project’s main purpose is the archaeological documentation and conservation of the newly discovered necropolis on the west bank of the Nile at Aswan. The necropolis was discovered by workers during the enlargement of the Nubian village. Shortly afterwards parts of the cemetery were plundered and damaged. In 2014 the Egyptian Antiquities Service intervened to secure the area and an initial archaeological documentation by members of the local inspectorate took place. Between 2015 and 2016/2017 two seasons of rescue excavations took place in close collaboration between the inspectorate and the Berlin museum. So far nine elite tombs have been uncovered, which can be dated to the Old and New Kingdoms. This work was significantly funded by the Förderverein des Ägyptischen Museums e. V. and by the Deutsche-Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). Since January 2017 the mission has been financed as a long-term project by the DFG.

Over the next few years the necropolis, which extends over about 25,000 m², will be completely documented, conserved and published. We hope that this documentation will supplement that of other settlements and cemeteries excavated in the region and help us to fill an important gap in our understanding of the local administrative structures of Ancient Egypt.