A Tale of Two Towns: Settlement Archaeology at Giza

November 5, 2008
7:00 pm, Breasted Hall

Mark Lehner, Research Associate at the Harvard Semitic Museum; Director of the Giza Plateau Mapping Project, Visiting Assistant Professor of Egyptian Archaeology at the Oriental Institute

Khentkawes Town (KKT) is the settlement attached to the monumental tomb of Queen Khentkawes, one of the great structures of the Giza Plateau. The footprint of her L-shaped town has been one of the principal templates in the study of the history of urbanism, especially in ancient Egypt. The KKT lies just across from the Heit el-Ghurob, or Wall of the Crow settlement at the main wadi at Giza - where the Giza Plateau Mapping Project has excavated for 20 years. Occupation in the two settlements should have overlapped at the end of the 4th dynasty. This lecture will explore new findings about the KKT from three seasons of work (2005, 2007, and 2008), how this work sheds new light on the history of settlement at the foot of the Giza Pyramids Necropolis, and the social organization we might infer from these settlement patterns.

This event is free, open to the public, with a reception to follow. For more information about this or any of our Members’ Lecture Series, contact the Membership Office at 773-834-9777