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This paper presents an archaeological report on the anonymous Fifth Dynasty mastaba AS 88 from the Abusir South necropolis, south west of the tomb of the official Kaaper (AS 1). The tomb was reduced to the ground in antiquity and only fundaments of its architectural disposition remain: the chapel and serdab located in the southernmost third of the ground plan, and the main burial Shaft 4 with looted burial chamber to the north. The tomb owner was a robust male who lived to relatively old age, between 40 and 60 years. Neighbouring ritual Shaft 5 has been undisturbed since antiquity and near its opening, a dislocated base of a combed ware vessel of Syro Palestinian provenance was found, probably having come from the looted burial equipment of Kaaper. Other selected ceramic, anthropological (including two undisturbed Old Kingdom burials in subsidiary shafts of the tomb), and archaeozoological finds are presented as well in the report. The last part of the article discusses the importance of similar structures in the broader understanding of the Old Kingdom at Abusir, as they provide a humble counterpart to the pyramids and major tombs of Royal Abusir.

The tomb of Kairsu is located north of the pyramid of Neferirkare and is part of a so far unexplored cemetery dating to the reign of Neferirkare – Nyuserre. The mastaba features several highly unusual characteristics. Basalt blocks had been used for the pavement in front of the façade and in the chapel. To date, it is the only attestation of such a practice in a non-royal tomb in the Old Kingdom. Some of the titles of Kairsu show that he was a high ranking official. Kairsu was overseer of all royal works of the king and foremost of the House of Life. There was a very close link established between this institution, which was in fact a centre of knowledge and wisdom in the Old Kingdom, and the god of creation Khnum. It is also important that the House of Life appears from the reign of Nyuserre when Osiris is attested for the first time. Another important feature of the tomb is the fact that the statue of the tomb owner was placed in front of the sarcophagus. This only confirms the previous assumption that ancient Egyptians were placing statues not only in different areas of tombs’ superstructures but also in the burial chambers. There is a strong possibility that the owner of the tomb may be identical to the famous sage of Egyptian history, who, according to a much later tradition, was author of the Loyalist teaching, Teaching for Kagemni and Teaching of Kairsu and also father of the early Sixth Dynasty vizier Kagemni.

Mastaba AS 104 is located above the Wadi Abusiri, to the south-east of the tomb of Kaaper (AS 1). It was preserved almost to the height of the former roofing, hence almost completely. The whole structure was built on a platform with a trapezoid section and, looking from the south, it must have appeared as a two-stepped structure. The core of the upper step was built of rather small undressed blocks of local limestone and contained a rectangular room (Serdab 2) and three deep shafts. It was covered with a layer of large and heavy mud bricks. The superstructure contained the main focal point of the funerary cult (cruciform chapel and Serdab 1). Contrary to other similar structures of roughly the same date, niching decorated only the eastern wall. The tomb was built for a custodian of the king’s property, Nyankhseshat, whose other titles reflect his position in the organization of work, the overseeing of gold procurement and a religious connection to metallurgy. This tomb represents, at least in the Abusir area, currently the last known tomb of transitional type. Apparently, in the Fourth or Fifth Dynasty, the main chapel fell into disuse and the mastaba was used by new owners (scribe of the treasury and royal wab-priest Sekhemka and his spouse, king’s acquaintance Henutsen), which is demonstrated by a limestone stela inserted into the eastern outer wall. Altogether five limestone basins were uncovered, four of them in situ. A number of interesting finds were collected in the shafts (wooden coffin fragments, copper and travertine models, a clay sealing, human bones, animal bones). This article presents an architectural and archaeological description of tomb AS 104 and offers some preliminary analyses of the finds, supplemented also by concise information on human and animal bones found. Last but not least, it describes documentation and methods used in the field.

During the spring season of 2018, the mastaba of Nyankhseshat (AS 104; 29.60 × 13.20 m), belonging to the transitional type of tombs, was excavated at Abusir South. The tomb is located to the southeast of Ity’s tomb (AS 10) on the edge of Wadi Abusiri. The whole structure, with the core of irregular limestone blocks and mud brick casing, was built on a platform with a trapezoidal section. The superstructure consisted of a cruciform chapel, Serdabs 1 and 2, three shafts and a corridor chapel. The name of the tomb owner and his most important title – property custodian of the king – were preserved on an offering basin and a wooden panel in the western wall of the chapel (with a shortened form as Ishet). The mastaba was built in the early Fourth Dynasty. However, it was reused in the first half of the Fifth Dynasty (the reign of Neferirkare) when a stela of scribe of Treasury Sekhemka and his consort, Henutsen, were added, along with four limestone offering basins found in situ in the corridor. Although all the shafts were looted, they brought to light remains of burials. Apart from human bones, the remnants of the burial equipment were uncovered, including fragments of wooden coffins, travertine and copper model vessels, ceramic sherds and a mud sealing with the name of King Neferirkare. Animal bones and natural animal mummies were collected as well. Three structures, excavated only partially, were located in the vicinity of AS 104: AS 105 (to the east), AS 107 (to the north) and AS 108 (to the south).

The most significant findings of the ongoing exploration of the Fox Hill site in the western part of the Sabaloka Mountains include the detection of extensive remains of a more-than-one-metre thick deposit on Terrace 1, tentatively interpreted as a relic of prehistoric Nile floods that must have reached as high as 10 metres above the present level of the Nile inundation, and the confirmation of the considerable size of the burial ground on Terrace 3, where 26 primary inhumations and 21 groups of more or less articulated human bones appertaining to a still unspecified number of individuals have been uncovered so far. Further examples of scarce remains of grave goods were found with three individuals (stone tools, bones of a large mammal, beads of ostrich eggshell and red quartz). We suppose Mesolithic dating for most of the burials, but a Neolithic date is more likely in the case of the burial of a child with stone beads found in the uppermost stratigraphic position (indication of the continuity of the burial ground into the Neolithic). It is thus confirmed that Fox Hill stands out in many respects in the settlement structure of the western part of the Sabaloka Mountains and can constitute a source of data of extraordinary significance for addressing a number of issues of supra-regional importance.

A new tomb (AS 98) of Ankhires, inspector of hairdressers of the Great House, was excavated at Abusir South in the autumn seasons of 2016 and 2017. The stone-built mastaba is preliminarily dated to late Fifth Dynasty, from the reign of Nyuserre to Djedkare. It has an unusual architectural plan, consisting of a corridor chapel, Rooms 1 and 2, an L-shaped chapel, two serdabs and Shaft 1. It was obviously built in two phases. The extension gave the mastaba the area of 413 m2 . In view of several facts, the tomb represents a new phenomenon not only at the Czech archaeological concession but also at the Memphite necropolis. It was surrounded by several structures including tombs (AS 101, AS 102), a technical(?) structure (AS 100) or a cultic installation (AS 99), which were also partly excavated. The work has brought to light many interesting finds, being it remains of the original wall decoration, remains of wooden statues or ecofacts. An analysis of the animal bones assemblage is also incorporated in the present study.

This article summarises the excavations of tomb AS 91, uncovered during the autumn season of 2016 at Abusir South. The mastaba was highly damaged and its superstructure had almost completely disappeared. Three shafts were detected in the mastaba core. Shafts 1 and 2 were rather shallow, but to the contrary, Shaft 3 was considerably deeper, and at its bottom, an unfinished burial chamber was hewn. The burial had been looted, but a few fragmentarily preserved human bones, a fairly high number of animal remains, and even two Barn Owl skeletons were collected there. The archaeological report is supported by an archaeozoological analysis of the animal remains and by an anthropological study of the fragmentary human bones.

ln November 2015, the expedition directed by the Czech Institute of Egyptology carried out its fourth excavation campaign at Jebel Sabaloka (West Bank). Efforts were devoted to further exploration of the site of Sphinx (SBK.W-60) in the area of the "Rocky Cities" where a large late prehistoric burial ground, tentatively dated to the 8th millennium cal. BC, had been uncovered in 2012. Altogether 5 trenches, with the square area of 17 m2 in total and with their depths equating to as much as 1 m, were excavated to explore another section of the burial ground and to investigate the settlement stratigraphies in the southern and central parts of the site. Alongside the excavation, selected categories of finds (lithics, ground slone artefacts, animal bones) were analysed and documented. Also, further detailed surface survey and documentation of varied features at the site were performed in order to gather additional data necessary for the preparation of the first detailed report on this remarkable site. Lasl but not least, special measures were taken to protec! the study area from damage by both illegal excavation and gravel quarrying.

The assemblages ofvertebrate microfauna gained from the owl's pellets can tell US not only about the composition of the owl 's diet, but also about the composition of the surrounding environment. Our remains came from the Old Kingdom mastaba (AC 29) located in the Abusir necropolis (Egypt); they were unearthed during the spring season of 2013 from the bottom of a burial shaft and an adjacent burial chamber. The tomb was robbed and partially destroyed during the First Millennium B.C. - it seems that niches in the shaft and the burial chamber were used as a nesting place by owls in this period until the shaft was filled by desert sand again. Fortunately, several owls' pellets were uncovered in a good state of preservation and can be determined as belonging to the Common Barn-owl (Tyto alba). The dominant part of the assemb lage (ca 2/3 of individua] s) was formed by small and medium-sized rodents (mainly the House Rat and House Mouse, occasionally also gerbils and the Three-toed Jerboa). Asubstantial part ofthe assemblage was also made bythe white-toothed shrews (18.32 %) and frogs (10.79 %). Asmall amount ofsmall birds (singing birds and quails) and sporadic fmds of beetles, bats or snake were also recorded. The species composition reflects an environment strongly influenced by human occupation, with an admixture of species of semi-deserts/deserts, species of grassland/fields and species of river banks/shallow waters. Compared to a recent assemblage ofthe bam-owl pellets, the species composition of the older diet i s more di verse, with the occurrence of poorly known species, and reflecting changes in the surrounding environment.

Ostrich eggs are sought after not only for their nutrition content, but also for use in artefact industries. The egg shells can be used to make containers or items of personal decoration, such as pendants and disc beads. The latter artefacts and the process of their manufacturing were studied on the material gained through excavation in 2012 of Sounding 2 (20 m2 ) at the Mesolithic settlement and burial ground of Sphinx (SBK.W-60) at Jebel Sabaloka (West Bank) in central Sudan.

Rozsáhlý archeologický výzkum v okolí stanice metra Národní třída v Praze přinesl nejen nové poznatky týkající se předlokační a lokační zástavby Nového Města pražského, ale také dosud nejstarší objev pivovarského sladu na našem území. Archeobotanická analýza prokázala, že se na rozdíl od dosud známých vzorků z mladších období skládal z několika druhů obilovin. Ačkoli v terénu nebyly zaznamenány jednoznačné stopy objektů, které bychom mohli spojit se sladovnickou činností, lze nález sladu považovat za doklad přípravy piva v těchto místech.

A multi proxy approach was applied in the reconstruction of the architecture of Medieval horse stable architecture, the maintenance practices associated with that structure as well as horse alimentation at the beginning of 13th century in Central Europe. Finally, an interpretation of the local vegetation structure along Morava River, Czech Republic is presented. The investigated stable experienced two construction phases. The infill was well preserved and its composition reflects maintenance practices. The uppermost part of the infill was composed of fresh stabling, which accumulated within a few months at the end of summer. Horses from different backgrounds were kept in the stable and this is reflected in the results of isotope analyses. Horses were fed meadow grasses as well as woody vegetation, millet, oat, and less commonly hemp, wheat and rye. Three possible explanations of stable usage are suggested. The stable was probably used on a temporary basis for horses of workers employed at the castle, courier horses and horses used in battle.