Helwan 4

The volume presents graves 51 to 100 of the 218 graves hitherto documented at Helwan-Operation 4, which forms part of a large necropolis of more than 10,000 graves south of Cairo and was excavated by the Universities of Sydney and later Vienna in 1997-2012. Separate chapters deal with the remains of 50 individuals from 47 graves, nearly 15,000 pottery fragments, other small finds, animal bones, and - for the first time and starting with grave 1 - all botanical residues. The book ends with a comprehensive catalogue of the graves including all features and some 900 small finds. The grave group presented here comprises a considerable number of well preserved small graves and six particularly large graves of phase Naqada III D [dynasty 2] which produced good depositional data including funeral and ritual procedures, although all graves had [even repeatedly] been disturbed in antiquity. Two early pet graves were remarkable, too. The botanical remains illustrate a preference for coffins made of acacia and cedar and a surprisingly wide variety of species, particularly in beer and wine jars. Additionally, there was evidence for the use, reuse, and alteration of space in the cemetery.