This is a 2 X 2 m area excavated by Janet Long and A.C. D’Andrea between July 7 and August 17, 1986. A mud brick wall was exposed near the surface in 1263/1074, and at that point excavations shifted to concentrate in 1261S/1074E in the hopes of discovering a floor and perhaps other walls in association with the wall in 1263/1074.

From the first strata in both these units it was evident that the ceramics were somewhat different from those in other excavation units, particularly in the large numbers of sherds from thin, straight-walled cups, many of which had a faint red line near the lip (Figure , Plate ), as well as numerous fragments of "bread-molds" (Plate ).

Our suspicions that we were dealing with Middle Kingdom occupations in this unit were confirmed when we found several seal fragments that to date to the reign of Amenemhet I, of the 12th Dynasty.

Stratum I in 1261/1074 was a very sticky, plastic, clayey silt with some faint laminations apparently filling in a shallow depression. This is probably a small water-laid deposit washing in UPL material. Stratum II was also sticky and plastic, redder than Stratum I and also with some faint laminations. It contained relatively more decomposed red pottery fragments and is also probably UPL with some water-laid component.

Stratum III is a large, complex unit composed of numerous interfingered layers or lenses of yellow sand, darker brown silt or clay, and occasional thick black lenses of burned, ashy material. Ceramics, which are low in density, are generally conformable to bedding planes. [Buck, 1990 #249]:188) suggested two possible interpretations of this unit: a small channel deposit in which water flowed into a small gully; or a depression filled with colluvium from the habitation structure immediately to the south. [Cagle, 2003 #720]:66 favored the second interpretation as the deposits making up this Stratum seem to cut into the underlying deposits as if active erosion was taking place. The arrangement of strata in this unit appears quite similar to those in some levels of Unit 1204S-1060E.

Stratum IV is a very loose, unconsolidated silty sand containing numerous sherds and very disturbed by roots and rodents. The sherds are at different orientations, and the boundaries of the stratum are rather diffuse. The unit underlies the south wall between 1261/1074 and 1263/1074 and may represent a builder's trench or some other redeposition resulting from construction projects.

Stratum V is a compact consolidated silty sand with some concentrations of sherds, in which the larger sherds commonly conform with the bedding plane. It contains little charcoal or other organic matter and few mudbrick fragments.

Stratum VI is a greasy, non-plastic, dark sand that appears to contains considerable charcoal and concentrations of pottery. It may represent redeposition of materials burned elsewhere -- the sherds, in particular, show signs of having been burned. The lower boundary of the stratum (with Stratum VIII) is diffuse, and Stratum VI continues under the brick wall and into 1263/1074.

Stratum VII is a slightly greasy sand containing a great deal of charcoal and ceramics. It is similar to Stratum VI but the sherds have no apparent orientation and has less organic content.

Stratum VIII is almost identical to Stratum VI and is truncated by Stratum III. Its boundary with Stratum IX is clear and wavy largely because of the number of large sherds in Stratum IX, which is almost equally composed of sand and sherds. Larger sherds are especially abundant and no orientation. The sherd cores tend to be bright red.

Stratum X is a massive silty sand with no apparent internal stratification and contains moderate densities of sherds and some pebbles ca. 2-3cm in diameter. Stratum XI is quite similar to Stratum X, but with greater sherd densities.

Stratum XII is a massive, unstratified deposit of silty sand with rare flecks of charcoal but abundant pottery. It is also found in unit 1263/1074.

Stratum XIII is the brick wall illustrated in Figure (south wall)

Summary of 1261/1074 Two sets of deposits are represented in this unit. The lower deposits, Strata IV-XII, are a set of dump deposits of variable composition and character. These lower units were cut through by an erosional (or excavated?) basin which was then filled in with later materials making up a distinct upper layer. The bulk of the upper layer (Stratum III) consists of a complex series of redeposited material cut through by extensive rodent burrowing. The character of the deposits suggests a series of alluvial deposits transporting dump and/or household debris into the basin after the site was abandoned. These deposits appear to be directly associated with an adjacent wall. The wall appears to be a remnant of a small structure, but in the absence of a clear floor deposit in association with it or of other walls articulated with it, the nature of this structure is not clear. Capping these deposits are two layers of UPL, the lower of which was apparently redeposited by running water.

The artifacts found within the lower and upper units differ markedly in some respects. The higher of these, mostly Stratum III, are characterized by high densities of ground stone and fragments of sedimentary stone objects, perhaps waste products from the production of ground stone tools [Cagle, 2003 #720]:66). These are also some of the few deposits where cattle (Bos) and wild game or draft animals (hartebeest and ass) remains were found. These upper units were deposited after the brick wall in the south of the square and may contain material derived from this structure. This relatively distinctive complement of faunal remains is intriguing, but as a sample the materials excavated from this unit are far too small to infer significant differences between these Middle Kingdom deposits and the Old Kingdom remains. The relatively large numbers of equid remains may derive from just one or two animals, and equids are certainly evident in other, Old Kingdom deposits. Bird remains in these upper deposits seems particularly numerous, but overall the density of faunal material in these deposits is quite high. The lower units, in contrast, are generally much poorer in ground stone debris, little cattle or wild game, and much higher ceramic densities.

It should be noted, however, that the only grape seeds found at Kom el-Hisn come from this unit (Appendix x)--which may indicate a substantial difference between the Old Kingdom and Middle Kingdom economies of the inhabitants of Kom el-Hisn.

Most of the seal impressions from this unit appear to come from Strata IX, X, and XI, in levels containing considerable pottery. Finally, the relatively high frequency of stamp seal impressions from this unit raises the possibility of a significant difference in the external relations of the Middle Kingdom community, compared to the Old Kingdom period.