Kom Firin
The present day appearance of the site
Kom Firin, previously located at the edge of the desert, is now
surrounded by intensively farmed land (above, right). A small
village lies adjac
ent to the southern edge
of the site. The lake just west of the village is coloured red
through the run-off of chemical fertiliser from the surrounding
fields, and attests to the high level of the water table.
Much of the site consists of gently undulating terrain with no
visible surface features, and covered with areas of halfa-grass.
However, several parts present a different appearance.
The central part of the site (left), west of the SCA resthouse
and magazine, was termed the 'citadel' by Flinders Petrie, on
account of its elevated position and the presence of multi-roomed
mud-brick structures on the surface. Petrie believed this area was
a later foundation, on top of a sand mound, but 
analysis of the open
sections revealed evidence of earlier phases of building activity
in this area.
The south-eastern part of the site is formed of pedestals of
archaeological fill and remnants of mud-brick structures, created
through the removal of parts of the mound to use as agricultural
fertiliser (a common practice in the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries). The traces of the narrow-gauge railway track
built to remove the deposits are still visible today, along the
access track from the nearby road. This is also where excavation
and survey work have been focused in the last three seasons.
Images (from top):
- Aerial photograph of Kom Firin (March 12,
2006)
- Looking west over the Citadel area, with
multi-roomed mud-brick structures visible in the foreground
- Pedestals of archaeological deposits and
fragments of walls are all that remains after sebakh
quarrying in the south-east of the site