Excavations of the Western Kom at Tell el-Farkha in 2006

In 2006, research in the western part of the administrative and cultic complex at Tell el-Farcha (Eastern Nile Delta) was begun. The eastern part of this complex was examined in 2001, when i.a. a votive deposit spilled in one of the rooms was discovered. During the 2006 excavations a room (8 × 3.30 m) was unveiled, where several cultic vessels were found as well as a small jar filled with votive artefacts. There were 62 specimens in this jar, mostly figurines from hippopotamus tusks. The entire deposit, of a unique historical and artistic value, was made before the middle of the first dynasty and is so far the only deposit of this kind firmly dated. It includes i.a. depictions of women, children, captives, one of the anonymous Egyptian rulers, fantastic creatures, and most of all dwarfs.