| Formerly a double
mound some 500m from the village. In 1912, each mound was being used for
modern burials, especially the northern one, including tomb of Sidi Aly
el-Komi. Appears on ESA 1996 map NH36-I5b as a small area with Islamic
graves, to the SE of the town of Bendariya. Excavations of 1912 by Daressy
produced monuments from a range of periods, including a limestone block
inscribed for Sheshonq III, funerary statuettes and part of a ceramic coffin
of the XXth dynasty. There may have been an enclosure wall, possibly for
a temple complex. Romano-Coptic architectural elements occurred re-used
in the village. Parts at the west and north-east have been levelled for
agriculture and the remaining high parts are used as cemeteries.
Visited by the EES Delta Survey project led by Joanne Rowland in 2005 and 2006, who supplied the following information: The site is 25 feddans in size, but once rose to a height of 10m. Skeletons (not mummified) have been found in the SCA excavations. Many bones and pottery vessels have been found. The oldest pottery is Coptic and Islamic in date. Many terracotta statues of Bes have been found, also granite and basalt weights and bronze coins. Most of the area is noted to be Coptic and excavations were carried out annually by the local inspectorate from 1970 to 2003. The site is 25 feddans in size, ithe biggest tell in Minufiyeh, and once rose to a height of 10m - although it appears to be less high than that today. Skeletons (not mummified) have been found in the SCA excavations. Many bones and pottery vessels have been found. The oldest pottery is Coptic and Islamic in date. Many terracotta statues of Bes have been found (no exact figures given and dating uncertain), also granite and basalt weights and bronze coins, inscribed in Greek and also Turkish. A pile of stone columns lies at the north edge of the site, apparently from other places including some in Kafr es-Sheikh, where they have been found re-used in mosques. They are not from Zawiyet Rosein. A c.40cm fragment of a red granite column also sits on the ground. The mound of Bendariya has been cut into, probably for modern agricultural work but is still intact from the north to south along the west side. There is pottery all over the surface in the enclosed area. The tell is also called Tell al Bindar. The cemetery on the top is surmounted by the tomb of Sheikh Ali al Komi, which is on top of what appear to be ancient mud bricks. Looking into the tomb, the seventh step is a re-used red granite column and steps one to three are re-used limestone blocks. To the south of the tell are two mud-brick structures, thought to be Coptic in date, possibly a monastery and an industrial area for ceramics. These structures are now clear of the mound but it is likely that originally they were within the main extent of the tell. |
The
satellite photographs (2007) of ths site are particularly instructive.
They show not only the remaining high areas but also the shape of the entire
original mound, including levelled areas, preserved in the field pattern.
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