The Forgotten Excavation at Tell Basta: New Information on the Graeco-Egyptian Bath and the Context of Gold and Silver Objects Discovered in 1906

Abstract

In 1906, the workers levelling the archaeological site of Tell Basta uncovered a group of objects known as the first hoard of Tell Basta. Soon after this discovery, the Service des Antiquités carried out a small-scale excavation during which a small deposit was uncovered along with a second hoard and the remains of a Graeco-Egyptian bath. Unfortunately, the exact locations of the discoveries made in 1906 were not recorded, and published descriptions concerning their context are still a matter of controversy. Recently the author of this paper discovered a letter with previously unknown photographs, which are discussed in this paper and shed new light on the context of the discoveries made at Tell Basta in 1906.