Ancient Site Synthesis Essay

Archaeologists and Egyptologists are faced with several issues when trying to determine the location and identity of Ancient Sites. One key issue arising when locating the site of Tanis, and one that is still an issue for Archaeologists today is how well a site has been preserved. Evidence in the form of monuments, various objects and written materials play a vital role in understanding who was located where, and when. If a settlement was not preserved well it understandably meant that the evidence would also be spoiled, therefore making it harder for sites to be identified. Re-usage of materials was a common occurrence in Ancient Egypt. When looking at the location of any site, we need to investigate whether the materials found at the site were originally from there or whether they had been transported from somewhere else. Yoyotte (1988) discusses these two main issues when we focus on the identification and misidentification of Tanis.

In the 1920s, Pierre Montet was one of the first Archaeologists to excavate the site believed to be Tanis (Yoyotte, 1988, p.16). …show more content…
When historians look at ancient sites they need to analyze whether the materials they find are from that site originally, or whether they been taken from elsewhere and recycled. As a result of this some excavators to misidentified the location of Tanis (Yoyotte, 1988, p.16). Fortunately for those whom first begun excavating the suspected location of Tanis, the site had been well preserved. Many conditions are involved with how well a site is preserved, for Tanis it was due to the inaccessible location and the muddy grassland it was built on (Yoyotte, 1988, p.16). If Tanis were in a different location that was more reachable it can be concluded that it would not have been as well conserved as it is today. This would have made it more challenging for Archaeologists to identify the