by Ayman Eltokhey (Field-school student, Inspector of the Ministry of Antiquities)

For the last field trip of the Beginner’s Field-School 2015 we gathered in the villa at 6:00 AM, and then the bus moved towards to the Red Sea at 7:00 AM. The weather was very good and it was a sunny day.

French excavation site, Wadi el-Jarf. Photo by Yasser Mahmoud.

After one and half hour we reached Ayn Sukhna and took a rest. Some of us went towards to the Red Sea shore to take photos, while the others drank coffee.

Students and supervisors take a little break during the trip. Photo by M. Yasser Mahmoud.

Then we moved again to the south on Zafarana road which is located between the Red Sea and the mountain of Galala. It was a very beautiful view. 20 KM south of Zafarana we reached the archaeological site which lies inside the desert about 3 KM. We could see the French mission tents from the road.

The French team kindly showed us their work. Photo by V. Pabeschitz.

We started the visit to the site with the French mission director, Dr. Pierre Tallet, who explained all the details about the galleries, excavated inside the rocks. We could go inside two of them. It was a very nice tour, and then we went to the lab and the magazine to see their finds from the site. They have found very important information for the Fourth Dynasty.

Dr. Gregory Marouard explains the pottery from the excavation. Photo by Yasser Mahmoud.

Then we had lunch break with the French team in the tent. After that the workers (from Qurnah in Luxor) celebrated with us with music and dancing! It was a very warm welcome. We took a group photo with the French team.

Group photo with the French team. Photo by Yasser Mahmoud.

We left the beautiful site of Wadi el-Jarf to drive back to Cairo at 2:00 PM. Once again we stopped at the rest-place in Ayn Sukhna. We took some photos on the sea and we saw dolphins swimming in the water, very close to the shore. It was a very wonderful day!

Students put their feet into the Red Sea. Photo by V. Pabeschitz.