Located on the southwestern corner of the Heit el-Ghurab site, separated from the SFW area by a broad low lying area, SWI could not be excavated for many years due to exceptionally high water-tables levels. The area is defined by a fieldstone enclosure wall, with a large open (empty) space occupying the southern 60%. We have hypothesized that the entire complex was an animal stockyard and slaughterhouse.³⁴ In the northern half of SWI there are two walled "enclosures" of roughly equal size. The whole area of the eastern enclosure (ES2) has been excavated, and the layout of the building and use of spaces suggests that it was the home and office of an overseer.³⁵ Within the enclosure there was a vestibule, an oven room, a room with vats and storage bins, a granary, and storage spaces, as well as a room containing all the trappings of a high official's "office" (painted plaster, pilastered niches, and stone furniture supports).³⁶ After the building fell out of use, the central court area was filled with a layer of thick black ash, which may be the remains of dumped waste burned in-situ. Enclosure 1 (ES1) to the west has only been minimally investigated.

One issue affecting botanical remains from this area is the infestation of a thick growth of Phragmites australis, the roots of which cause major damage to the (damp) charred remains.

³⁴R. Redding, 'The OK Corral: Standing Wall Island Mystery, Solved', AERAgram, 12.1 (2011), 2–5; R. Redding and W. Wetterstrom, 'Season 2015: Doing Science at Giza', AERAgram, 15.1–2 (2014), 10–13.

³⁵M. Lehner, 'Discovery 2015: House of a High Official', AERAgram, 16.1 (2015), 2–7; 'Season 2016: Exploring a HIgh Official's Office-Residence', ed. by W. Wetterstrom, AERAgram, 17.1–2 (2016), 2–7.

³⁶E. Malek, 'From the Giza Field Lab: Unique Finds in a High Official's Office-Residence', AERAgram, 17.1–2 (2016), 10–11.