The ancient necropolis of Asyut: documentation and interpretation

阿斯尤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区域中心。它的起源可以追溯到公元前4千年。这座古城几乎完全消失在冲积平原的地层之下，而冲积平原又被迅速发展的现代城市所覆盖。因此，阿斯尤特古城的考古证据很少。与阿斯尤特不同的是，位于阿斯尤特西部利比亚沙漠边缘的石灰岩山Gebel Asyut al-gharbi提供了更多关于古阿斯尤特的信息。在古代，这座山是阿斯尤特居民的墓地，其中有高级官员，也有神圣的动物。除此之外，山上的几个地区被用作采石场。公元第一个千年期间，基督教隐修者住在山上，在Gebel Asyut al-gharbi上建立了修道院。特别值得一提的是该项目的三个目标：在Gebel Asyut al-gharbi发现的个别建筑结构（坟墓和修道院）、铭文、装饰和发现的文献（例如，统治者Djefai-Hapi I的坟墓，这是中王国最大的非皇室人物的坟墓；或者，狗的坟墓，一个大型的犬科动物墓地，里面有成千上万的死亡动物）。2. 确定了Gebel Asyut al-gharbi的几种功能，并检查了这些功能在几个世纪以来所经历的变化（例如，第11王朝nomarch的坟墓N13.1，在新王国时期被受过教育的人参观，此外，该坟墓在伊斯兰时期被用作祈祷的地方；或者，由罗马晚期定居点过度建造的新王国神庙的遗迹）。3. 从Gebel Asyut al-gharbi收集到的信息是为了提供新的和改进的关于考古上无法到达的城市的知识。在这方面，阿斯尤特的具体区域特征特别重要。

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.