Author Description

The cemetery of 6th Dynasty mastaba tombs at Balat, 200 miles west of Luxor, show that Egyptian control extended far into the Libyan desert even at a very early period. This is the most recent report of French excavations, from 1984 to 1993, in the Balat area, and describes the discovery of a named mastaba tomb. Seals, stone and ceramic vessels, painting fragments and inscriptions were found, and they are all catalogued. There are detailed descriptions of the tomb's architecture, and a large number of black and white photographs and drawings of the architectural and artifactual discoveries.