The detection of direct archaeological remains of alcoholic beverages and their production is still a challenge to archaeological science, as most of the markers known up to now are either not durable or diagnostic enough to be used as secure proof. The current study addresses this question by experimental work reproducing the malting processes and subsequent charring of the resulting products under laboratory conditions in order to simulate their preservation (by charring) in archaeological contexts and to explore the preservation of microstructural alterations of the cereal grains. The experimentally germinated and charred grains showed clearly degraded (thinned) aleurone cell walls. The histological alterations of the cereal grains were observed and quantified using reflected light and scanning electron microscopy and supported using morphometric and statistical analyses. In order to verify the experimental observations of histological alterations, amorphous charred objects (ACO) containing cereal remains originating from five archaeological sites dating to the 4 th millennium BCE were considered: two sites were archaeologically recognisable brewing

Excavations at Tell el-Farkha in 2012 and 2013 were conducted on all three koms making up the site. The upper layers excavated on the Western Kom during the first campaign were connected with the beginning of phase 4 at Tell el-Farkha and the lower layers with phase 3. A few poorly preserved rooms were unearthed, mainly in the southern part of the trench. Also part of a brewery dated to Naqada IIIA1 was explored. A rectangular building with thick walls discovered on the Central Kom was most probably the remains of a big Naqadian store. Results of geophysical research from 2000 were verified; excavations uncovered a round edifice, 7 m in diameter, surrounded by a wall almost 2 m thick. In a test trench on the Eastern Kom, a rectangular room (2.50 m by 6 m) with two regular entrances from north and south was unearthed. In the main trench, work concentrated on the area north and south of the monumental mastaba uncovered a few seasons earlier.

Tell el-Farkha was an important centre already in Predynastic times, when a great Lower Egyptian culture complex was erected on the Central Kom. Items found inside confi rmed both the signifi cant role played by the local elite and its relationship with the Levant and Upper Egypt. The fi rst large Naqadian building was erected outside the town centre. This building and the whole settlement were destroyed (Naqada IIIA1) by the next group of Naqadians, probably connected with another political centre. They were the constructors of the oldest Egyptian mastaba. During the reign of Iry-Hor (middle of Naqada IIIB), the third group of Naqadians appeared at the site. The period between Naqada IIIA and middle of IIIB phase seems to have been a period of competition between the most infl uential Naqadian proto-kingdoms. In the middle of the First Dynasty, Tell el-Farkha changed its role: from the capital of a part of the Eastern Delta to a provincial town of only economic signifi cance.

Discoveries made at Tell el-Farkha prove that the presence of mud brick was well rooted in Lower Egyptian building tradition. The oldest known examples from the site are breweries connected with the activity of Lower Egyptian culture. Soon thereafter, bricks were used in more innovative ways as separating walls. A period of stronger Naqadan influence, which started in Naqada IID1, resulted in the further development of mud brick buildings, initially in the creation of massive walls and rounded corners. From their very first appearance at Tell el-Farkha, these characteristically shaped corners accompanied monumental structures of special significance. A large mastaba from the site dated to Naqada IIIA2/B1, represents the next evolutionary stage of the rounded corner idea, which was continued during the Early Dynastic period by sepulchral enclosure no. 55. These two constructions show that the architectural legacy of the Delta contributed to the formation of the typical Egyptian mastaba. However, due to the scarcity of evidence from other sites, this picture is based mostly on data collected at Tell el-Farkha.

The paper discusses archaeological investigations carried out on all three tells making up the site of Tell el-Farkha, expanding on the findings from earlier seasons. Phasing of the brewery discovered four years ago on the Western Kom gave a time range for the use of the installation from the first Southern Egyptian occupation (Naqada IID) to the Naqada IIIA1/2–IIIB phase, when a catastrophic fire destroyed the entire settlement. The big Naqada warehouse on the Central Kom was also phased (beginning in Naqada IIIA1) and further parts of an underlying building attributed to the Lower Egyptian culture were explored, including a wooden fence around the structure. The 11 graves explored on the Eastern Kom were dated to the Tell el-Farkha Phase 6 (Naqada IIIC2–IIID). They cut into a building (temple?) from an earlier phase.