Searching the Early Dynastic Cemetery at the North Saqqara Plateau

In 2023/24, a season of topographic survey was carried out at the North Saqqara plateau. The main objectives of this initiative were (1) the establishment of a spatial reference network of stable topographic nails distributed in the landscape, and (2) the photogrammetric survey of the portion of the Early Dynastic cemetery excavated by Cecil M. Firth and Walter B. Emery in the 1930s. Both tasks were completed successfully with the support of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. As a result of this work, the author has provided the area with a network of survey markers and found the location of structures whose existence is attested in archival documentation but whose whereabouts were then unknown. The present article is a report of the work undertaken in this field campaign, explaining the motivations, methodology, and preliminary results.