Excavations at Helwan: new insights into Early Dynastic stone masonry

The new excavations at Helwan furnish new insights into just how sophisticated were the knowledge and technical skills of Early Dynastic stone masons. In particular, much light on the considerable experience and expertise in designing monumental stone structures in the Memphite area already in the Archaic Period is shed by a late 1st to early 2nd Dynasty large stone-encased grave structure, the architecture of which is described as a representative of early megalithic stone architecture. The tomb demonstrates that later development in the OK was merely a matter of quantity, and not of quality. (OEB)