Recent Excavations at the Pharaonic Port of Mersa Gawasis on the Red Sea, 2004-2005 Field Season

WG 28

At WG 28 a rectangular entrance was found opening into another large man-made cave (ca. 5 m x 5 m in area), mainly filled with windblown sand. This cave may have been used for storage, as cedar boat parts and five grinding stones were found inside. A broken ceramic ostracon with a poorly preserved hieratic inscription was also found there. Another artifact from the cave was a polishing tool made from a reused potsherd of a Black-topped Ware vessel. The pot had a rim-band of engraved triangles, and it may have been imported from Eritrea, the only region where such a decorated ware is known, but dating to the late 2nd – early 1st millennia BC (foto 3).