From October 30 to November 28, 2010 the Centre for Egyptological Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences in cooperation with the Institute for Bioarchaeology (Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan, British Museum) conducted the ninth season of archaeological excavations at the site of Deir al-Banat.

The wok was mainly concentrated on the documentation of the archaeological finds and the anthropological material discovered in the previous seasons. In addition to this the following works were  carried out:

1. Drawing and photographing of architectural features in the “Monastery” area; excavation of room 22 (building III). In the course of digging, numerous fragments of whitened or painted plaster were discovered. A deposit of ash was found directly on the bedrock.

2. Excavation of dogs’ burials discovered in grave 133 in 2007, was completed. Remains of 57 animals were collected from the grave pit during the season. A total of 136 dogs were buried in the grave.

3. Work on conservation and study of textile production technology in the Roman and Byzantine periods was continued. A wooden anthropoid coffin, which had been found in grave 175, was reconstructed from fragments and restored.

4. Anthropological examination of the remains of 39 individuals that had been unearthed in the course of previous seasons was carried out.