The ancient necropolis of Asyut: documentation and interpretation

阿苏特是埃及中部的一座城市，位于现代开罗以南约375公里处，最晚从古王国一直到罗马时期都是一个地区中心。它的起源可以追溯到公元前四千年。这座古城几乎完全消失在冲积平原的地层之下，而冲积平原又被快速发展的现代城市所覆盖。因此，关于阿育古城的考古证据很少。与城市本身形成对比的是，Gebel Asyut al-Gharbi是一座石灰岩山脉，位于利比亚沙漠边缘的Asyut以西，提供了关于古代Asyut的更多信息。在古代，这座山是阿育居民的墓地，他们中的高级官员，以及神圣的动物。除此之外，这座山的几个地区被开发为采石场。基督教主播在第一个千年期间住在这座山上，在Gebel Asyut al-Gharbi上建立了修道院。该项目的三个目标特别值得一提的是：1.记录单个建筑结构(陵墓和修道院)、碑文、装饰和在Gebel Asyut al-Gharbi出土的文物(如Gouverneur Djefai-Hapi一世陵墓，这是中央王国最大的非王室人物陵墓；或狗之墓--一个大型犬科动物墓地，里面埋葬着数千只死去的动物)。2.确定了Gebel Asyut al-Gharbi履行的几项职能，并检查了这些职能在几个世纪以来所经历的变化(例如，第11王朝游牧民族的陵墓N13.1，在新王国时期有受过教育的人参观，此外，该陵墓在伊斯兰时期被用作祈祷的地方；或者，由罗马晚期定居点修建的新王国寺庙的遗迹)。3.从Gebel Asyut al-Gharbi收集的信息和关于Gebel Asyut al-Gharbi的信息是为了提供关于这座考古上难以进入的城市的新的和更好的知识。在这方面，阿育特的具体区域特点尤为重要。

Asyut, a city in Middle Egypt roughly 375 km south of modern Cairo, has been a regional center from the Old Kingdom at the latest all the way up to the Roman Period. Its beginnings can be traced back into the 4th millennium BCE. The ancient city is almost completely lost under the strata of the alluvial plain, which is in turn covered by the rapidly growing modern city. Accordingly, archaeological evidence for the ancient city of Asyut is scarce. In contrast to the city itself, the Gebel Asyut al-gharbi, a limestone mountain located to the west of Asyut at the edge of the Libyan Desert, provides far more information on ancient Asyut. In antiquity, the mountain served as a necropolis for the inhabitants of Asyut, high officials among them, as well as for sacred animals. In addition to this, several areas of the mountain were exploited as a quarry. Christian anchorites lived on the mountain during the First Millennium and monasteries were erected on Gebel Asyut al-gharbi. Three objectives of the project deserve to be mentioned in particular: 1. The documentation of individual architectonic structures (tombs and monasteries), inscriptions, decoration, and finds recovered at Gebel Asyut al-gharbi (e. g. the tomb of the gouverneur Djefai-Hapi I., which is the largest Middle Kingdom tomb of a non-royal person; or, the Tomb of the Dogs, a large burial site for canids, which houses thousands upon thousands of dead animals). 2. The identification of several functions the Gebel Asyut al-gharbi has fulfilled, and the examination of the changes these functions underwent over the centuries (e. g. the 11th Dynasty nomarch's tomb N13.1, which was visited by educated people during the New Kingdom, in addition, the tomb was used as a place for praying during the Islamic Period; or, the remains of a New Kingdom temple overbuilt by a Late Roman settlement). 3. The information gathered from and about Gebel Asyut al-gharbi is to provide new and improved knowledge on the archaeologically inaccessible city. In this context, the specific regional characteristics of Asyut are of particular importance.