From the Field: Deir el-Ballas, Egypt

Amr Shahat, PhD candidate at the Cotsen Institute, and Nicholas Brown, PhD candidate in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, recently returned from fieldwork at the site of Deir el-Ballas, located in Upper Egypt, just north of Luxor (ancient Thebes). It was from here that around 1630-1540 BCE the 17th Dynasty kings launched their campaign to expel the Hyksos from the northern parts of Egypt. The site preserves a palace with an associated settlement dating from the end of the Second Intermediate Period into the early 18th Dynasty. At the site, Nick assisted in determining the function of the excavated structures, while Amr worked as archaeobotanist.