el-Ballas; el Ballas; Deir el-Ballas; Deir el Ballas; Zoweiyda; Zawaydah
Arabic site names:
بلّاص
Site description:
The site of a royal palace and administration centre was occupied by rulers in the Second Intermediate Period was unclosed by a wall. The complex consists of a northern palace that served as a royal residence, a southern palace that served as an administrative centre, a village for staff, workers and artisans, and various utilitarian building like granaries and stables.
Further excavations in the 1980s revealed a much larger site with additional palace complexes, a group of large houses and further settlements.
Type of site:
Town; Palace; Cemetery
Timeframe:
Town (Dynasty 17); palaces (Dynasty 17); cemetery (Early Dynastic Period).