FIVE YEARS’
EXPLORATIONS AT THEBES
OXFORD
PLATES AND LETTERPRESS
PRINTED AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS
BY HORACE HART
[Illustration: ELECTRUM STATUETTE OF A YOUTH
XVIII^{TH} DYNASTY: PERIOD OF AMENHETEP I.]
FIVE YEARS’
EXPLORATIONS AT THEBES
A RECORD OF WORK DONE 1907-1911
BY
THE EARL OF CARNARVON
AND
HOWARD CARTER
WITH CHAPTERS BY
F. LL. GRIFFITH, GEORGE LEGRAIN, GEORGE MÖLLER
PERCY E. NEWBERRY AND WILHELM SPIEGELBERG
WITH SEVENTY-NINE PLATES AND FRONTISPIECE
HENRY FROWDE
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
LONDON, NEW YORK, TORONTO AND MELBOURNE
1912
PREFACE
The following volume contains a record of work done in the Theban
Necropolis during the years 1907-11. In the editing of this report I
have availed myself of the generous help of several scholars, whose
names appear at the heads of the chapters they have contributed. To
these gentlemen I wish to tender my sincere thanks for their
co-operation.
Mr. Howard Carter has been in charge of all operations; and whatever
successes have resulted from our labours are due to his unremitting
watchfulness and care in systematically recording, drawing, and
photographing everything as it came to light.
To Professor Sir Gaston Maspero, the Director-General of the Service des
Antiquités, I wish to proffer my thanks for his most kind and valuable
support; as also to Mr. Weigall, who, in the course of his official
work, has given me his most willing assistance. To Dr. Budge I should
also like to express my indebtedness for several valuable suggestions.
CARNARVON.
HIGHCLERE,
_August 1911_.
CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE. BY THE EARL OF CARNARVON v
INTRODUCTION. BY THE EARL OF CARNARVON 1
CHAPTER
I THE MORTUARY CHAPEL AND SEPULCHRE OF TETA-KY. BY
HOWARD CARTER 12
II THE PAINTINGS AND INSCRIPTIONS OF THE VAULTED CHAMBER
OF TETA-KY. BY GEORGE LEGRAIN 14
III THE FUNERARY STATUETTES FROM TOMB OF TETA-KY. BY
PERCY E. NEWBERRY 19
IV EXCAVATIONS IN THE VALLEY OF DÊR EL BAHARI. BY
HOWARD CARTER 22
V WORK DONE IN THE BIRÂBI. THE SEVENTEENTH DYNASTY
TOMB NO. 9. BY HOWARD CARTER 34
VI THE CARNARVON TABLETS I AND II. BY F. LL. GRIFFITH 36
VII THE ‘VALLEY’-TEMPLE OF QUEEN HATSHEPSÛT. BY HOWARD
CARTER 38
VIII PTOLEMAIC VAULTED GRAVES. BY HOWARD CARTER 42
IX DEMOTIC PAPYRI AND OSTRACA. BY WILHELM SPIEGELBERG 46
X COLONNADE AND FOUNDATION DEPOSIT OF RAMESES IV. BY
HOWARD CARTER 48
XI OTHER ANTIQUITIES DISCOVERED. BY HOWARD CARTER 49
XII THE LATE MIDDLE KINGDOM AND INTERMEDIATE PERIOD
NECROPOLIS. BY HOWARD CARTER 51
XIII HIERATIC TEXTS FROM TOMB NO. 37. BY GEORGE MÖLLER 89
XIV THE VEGETABLE REMAINS. BY PERCY E. NEWBERRY 94
INDEX 95
ILLUSTRATIONS: PLATES I-LXXIX _At end_
ILLUSTRATIONS
FRONTISPIECE
ELECTRUM STATUETTE OF A YOUTH: XVIIITH DYNASTY
PERIOD OF AMENHETEP I
FIGURES IN TEXT
FIG. PAGE
1. Excavations in the Birâbi 2
2. First Appearance of the ‘Valley’-Temple Wall 3
3. The ‘Valley’-Temple Wall 5
4. Tomb No. 25 6
5. Tomb No. 37 7
6. Uninscribed Cones of the Eleventh Dynasty 8
7. Votive Cake-offering--Tomb of Kha-em-hat 9
8. Chert Chisels and Hammers 10
9. Scarab from Tomb No. 5 27
10. Hieratic Inscriptions from ‘Valley’-Temple 39
11. Graffiti on Stones from ‘Valley’-Temple 40
12. Gilt Copper Vessel from Ptolemaic Vaulted Graves 43
13. Ptolemaic Coins from Ptolemaic Vaulted Graves 44
14. Key to Gaming-board 57
ILLUSTRATIONS
LIST OF PLATES AT END
PLATES I-XII: TOMB OF TETA-KY:
I (1) Open Court-yard; (2) Vaulted Chambers.
II Plan of Tomb.
III (1) Right Wall of Painted Niche; (2) Left Wall of Painted Niche.
IV (1) Ceiling Decoration; (2) Ceiling Decoration and Frieze.
V Scenes on North Wall.
VI Scenes on Eastern and Western Walls.
VII-IX Scenes on Southern Wall.
X (1) Shawabti Figure in Model Coffin; (2) Shawabti Figure of
Sen-senb.
XI Model Coffins.
XII (1) Table for Offerings; (2) Funerary Statuettes.
PLATES XIII-XXIV: DÊR EL BAHARI VALLEY:
XIII Panoramic View showing the Sites excavated.
XIV Tomb No. 5 before and after opening.
XV Plan of Tomb No. 5.
XVI Series of Coffins from Tomb No. 5.
XVII Tomb No. 5, Antiquities from.
XVIII Tomb No. 4, Limestone Statuette; and Pottery from Tombs Nos. 1-16.
XIX (1) Foundations of Wall of Amenhetep I and Aahmes-nefert-ari;
(2) Offerings to a Tree.
XX (1) Serpentine Wall; (2) Bathing Slab.
XXI (1) Offerings from Dromos Deposit; (2) Brick-lined Hole for Dromos
Deposit.
XXII Dromos Deposit. (1) Pottery and (2) Implements.
XXIII (1) Child’s Toy; (2) Pottery from Excavations; (3) Stamped Bricks
of Amenhetep I and Aahmes-nefert-ari.
XXIV Panoramic View showing Site of ‘Valley’-Temple and of Dromos
Deposits.
PLATES XXV-XXIX: TOMB No. 9:
XXV (1) Three sides of a Canopic Box; (2) Three Canopic Jars in
Pottery.
XXVI Types of Pottery.
XXVII Carnarvon Tablet I, _obverse_.
XXVIII Carnarvon Tablet I, _reverse_.
XXIX Carnarvon Tablet II, _obverse_ and _reverse_.
PLATES XXX-XXXII: HATSHEPSÛT’S ‘VALLEY’-TEMPLE:
XXX Plan of Hatshepsût’s ‘Valley’-Temple and Neighbouring Tombs.
XXXI Northern Boundary Wall of ‘Valley’-Temple.
XXXII (1) Tally-stone of Hatshepsût; (2) Stamped Brick of Hatshepsût;
(3) Wooden Hoe; (4) Stamped Bricks of Hatshepsût and
Thothmes I.
PLATES XXXIII-XXXIX: PTOLEMAIC VAULTED GRAVES:
XXXIII View of Ptolemaic Vaulted Graves over Site No. 14.
XXXIV (1) Amphorae beneath Floor of Vaulted Grave; (2) Façade of
Vaulted Grave.
XXXV} Carnarvon Papyrus I.
XXXVI}
XXXVII Demotic Dockets and Inscribed Potsherd.
XXXVIII} Carnarvon Papyrus II.
XXXIX}
PLATE XL: SITE No. 40:
XL Foundation Deposit of Rameses IV.
PLATES XLI-XLIII: SITE No. 14:
XLI A XXIInd Dynasty Stela.
XLII (1) Osiride figure; (2) Mud Feretory or Shrine; (3) Reed Burial of
a Man; (4) Inscriptions on Underside of Lid of a Box.
XLIII Funerary Statuettes and Model Coffins.
PLATES XLIV-XLVII: TOMB No. 24:
XLIV (1) Statuette of Ankhu; (2) Mummy Decoration; (3) Wooden
Doll; (4 and 5) Faience Bowl.
XLV (1) Jewel-box; (2) Contents of Jewel-box; (3) Scribe’s Palette.
XLVI (1) Jewel-box; (2) Contents of Jewel-box.
XLVII Pottery Vessels and Pans.
PLATES XLVIII-LII: TOMB No. 25:
XLVIII (1) Ivory and Ebony Toilet-box; (2) the same with Drawer and
Lid open.
XLIX (1) Scene Engraved on Front of Toilet-box; (2) Inscriptions on Lid
of Toilet-box.
L (1 and 2) Gaming-board and Playing Pieces in Ivory.
LI (1) Blue Faience Hippopotamus; (2) Necklace, Mirror, and Brooch.
LII (1) Alabaster Toilet Vases; (2) Pottery.
PLATE LIII: TOMBS Nos. 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34:
LIII (1, 2, 5) Types of Pottery; (3) _Rîshi_ Coffin
(Tomb No. 32); (4) Dug-out Coffins (Tomb No. 29).
PLATE LIV: TOMBS Nos. 27 and 31:
LIV Stela of the Keeper of the Bow, Auy-res.
PLATES LV-LXXVIII: TOMB No. 37:
LV Plan of Tomb.
LVI Central Passage showing Closed Doorway of Hall C.
LVII North Wing of Corridor showing Closed Doorway of Chamber A.
LVIII (1) Seal Impression on Doorway of Chamber A; (2) Interior of
Chamber A.
LIX (1) Chamber B before Opening; (2) Chamber B after Opening.
LX (1) Decorated Rectangular Coffins; (2) Plain Rectangular Coffins.
LXI (1) Children’s Coffins and Viscerae Boxes; (2) Plain Anthropoid,
‘Dug-out’, and Semi-decorated Anthropoid Coffins.
LXII (1) _Rîshi_ Coffins; (2) Decorated Anthropoid Coffins of New Empire.
LXIII Decorated Anthropoid Coffin of the New Empire.
LXIV (1) Rush-work Baskets; (2) Mechanical Toy Bird and Bird Trap.
LXV (1) Toilet Set; (2) Fan-holder, Kohl-pot, &c.
LXVI Scribe’s Outfit.
LXVII (1) Electrum Statuette; (2) Statuettes lying in Coffin No. 24;
(3) Wooden Statuette.
LXVIII (1) Objects from Decorated Rectangular Coffins; (2) Objects from
Plain Rectangular Coffins.
LXIX (1) Objects from a Rectangular Gable-Topped Coffin; (2) Objects
from a Plain Rectangular Coffin.
LXX Objects from _Rîshi_ Coffins.
LXXI (1) Chair and Stool; (2) Musical Instruments.
LXXII Scarabs, Cowroids, and Rings.
LXXIII Bead Necklaces, Bangles, and Bracelet.
LXXIV Pottery Vessels.
LXXV Panel Stelae.
LXXVI (1 and 2) Writing Tablet No. 28, _reverse_ and
_obverse_; (3) Panel Stela.
LXXVII Writing Tablet No. 26, _obverse_.
LXXVIII Writing Tablet No. 26, _reverse_.
PLATE LXXIX: BOTANICAL SPECIMENS AND FIG BASKETS.
INTRODUCTION
BY THE EARL OF CARNARVON
The necropolis of Thebes--the great city which for so many centuries had
been the capital of Egypt--lies on the western side of the Nile valley,
on the margin of the desert opposite the modern village of Luxor. No
ancient site has yielded a greater harvest of antiquities than this
famous stretch of rocky land. From time immemorial it has been the
profitable hunting-ground of the tomb robber; for more than a century a
flourishing trade in its antiquities has been carried on by the natives
of the district, and for nearly a hundred years archaeologists have been
busy here with spade and pencil. The information that has been gleaned
from its temple walls and tombs has enabled scholars to trace, point by
point, the history of the city from at least 2500 B.C. to Ptolemaic
times. The necropolis itself extends for some five miles along the
desert edge, and evidences of the explorer and robber present themselves
at every turn. Open or half-filled mummy pits, heaps of rubbish, great
mounds of rock débris, with, here and there, fragments of coffins and
shreds of linen mummy-wrappings protruding from the sand, show how
active have been the tomb despoilers. Notwithstanding all the work that
has been done here, very little can, in any sense, pretend to have been
carried out in a systematic manner; and as few records of the various
excavations have been kept, the work of the present-day explorer must
necessarily be a heavy one. Often he will get no further in his
excavations than the well-sorted-over dust of former explorers; and if
he is fortunate enough to make a ‘find’, it is often only after clearing
away a vast amount of rock débris and rubbish to the bed-rock below.
With a view to making systematic excavations in this famous necropolis,
I began tentative digging among the Kurneh hills and desert margin in
the spring of 1907. My workmen were all from the neighbouring villages
and their number has varied from seventy-five to two hundred and
seventy-five men and boys. I had three head reises--Mansûr Mohammed el
Hashâsh, Mohammed Abd el Ghaffer, and Ali Hussên--who all worked well
and satisfactorily. The labourers themselves were a willing and
hard-working lot: but though they were no more dishonest than other
Egyptian fellahin, inducements for them to steal were many, and we found
it essential to proceed in our work with great care. I made it a rule
that when a tomb was found, as few workmen as possible should be
employed; and, in order that the opportunity for stealing should be
reduced to a minimum, no clearing of a chamber or pit was carried on
unless Mr. Carter or I was present. That nothing should escape us, we
also, in certain cases, had to sift over the rubbish from the tombs
three times.
[Illustration: FIG. 1. EXCAVATIONS IN THE BIRÂBI.]
My preliminary excavations eventually resulted in my confining attention
to three sites in that part of the necropolis which lies between the
dromos leading to Dêr el Bahari and the great gorge giving entrance to
the valley of the Tombs of the Kings. These three sites were: (1) a spot
a few metres to the north of the village mosque, where, according to the
natives, lay a hidden tomb; (2) the Birâbi,[1] which is near the desert
edge, between the hills of Drah abu ‘l Nagga and the cultivated land,
and adjoins the entrance to the dromos of Hatshepsût’s famous terrace
temple; and (3) that part of the XIth Dynasty cemetery which lies along
the hill slope, on the northern side of the Dêr el Bahari valley.
Excavation on the first site was begun in 1908, and, after a fortnight’s
arduous work among the native houses and rubbish heaps of the village,
an important inscribed tomb of the beginning of the XVIIIth Dynasty was
opened. This tomb proved to be of a ‘King’s Son’ named Teta-Ky, and
contained, among many painted scenes, a figure of Aahmes-nefert-ari, the
queen of Aahmes I and mother of Amenhetep I. This is the earliest known
portrait of the celebrated queen, who
[Illustration: FIG. 2. FIRST APPEARANCE OF THE ‘VALLEY’-TEMPLE WALL.]
afterwards became the patron goddess of the necropolis: she is figured
as of fair complexion and not black, as is usually the case in her
portraits of a later date. The scene shows her adoring the goddess
Hathor, as a cow issuing from a cliff; and behind her is a lady,
presumably the queen’s mother,[2] named Teta-hemt, who is otherwise
unknown. In the course of clearing this tomb many wooden Funerary
Figures, in model coffins, were brought to light. These figures were of
two types: (1) rudely carved mummiform figures with model coffins of
wood, clay, or pottery, some of which were inscribed with hieratic or
linear hieroglyphic texts; and (2) well-carved figures in wood, painted
and with gilt faces, and inscribed with an early form of Chapter VI of
the Book of the Dead. The figures of the first type were all found in
the four niches in the courtyard wall (Pls. I and II). Those of the
second type were buried in pairs in shallow holes round the four sides
of the top of the main pit shaft in the centre of the courtyard floor
(Pl. II). The placing of shawabti figures in this position--as it were
for them to guard the mouth of the pit of the sarcophagus chamber--is
only known in this instance.
The clearance of Teta-Ky’s tomb having been completed, we turned our
attention to the Birâbi site. Three days’ digging in the loose débris
unmasked a hidden burial-place. Masses of pottery and denuded mummies
were brought to light, and at the very threshold of the tomb (afterwards
numbered 9) were discovered two wooden tablets (one in fragments)
covered with stucco and inscribed with hieratic texts. One of these
tablets has written (1) on its obverse, an important historical text
relating to the expulsion of the Hyksos kings by the King Kamosi; and
(2) on its reverse, a copy of part of the well-known Proverbs of
Ptah-hetep.
In the early spring of 1909 work was continued on the Birâbi site. The
tomb (No. 9), discovered the previous season, was finally cleared, but
nothing further was found in it. Jutting out of one side of the hole
caused by the excavation of the tomb, however, appeared the beginning of
a well-built stone wall. About forty metres’ length of this wall was
cleared, and though unfinished, the masonry in general was good. A
doorway, giving ingress from the north (see Plan, Pl. XXX), eighteen
metres along its length, showed that its northern side formed its
exterior face. The facing of the stone blocks, not agreeing in direction
of their chiselling, showed that they had been re-used from some older
building, and as the size of the blocks and their chiselling were
similar to the masonry of the Mentu-hotep temple at Dêr el Bahari, it
was conjectured that the wall must be of a date posterior to the XIth
Dynasty. Regarding the purpose of the wall, we obtained no clue in 1909,
nor could we then date it with any precision. In 1910, however, we found
several blocks lying near the wall which bore hieratic inscriptions
giving the name of Hatshepsût’s master-builder, Pu-am-ra. Afterwards,
similar inscriptions were found on the blocks built in the masonry.
These, together with a single block bearing the name of the great
queen’s famous architect, Senmut, clearly proved that the wall which we
had found must have belonged to some building of Hatshepsût’s reign.
Further clearance revealed that the building was of the nature of a
terrace temple like that at Dêr el Bahari. So far as we can at present
see, the axis of the building corresponds to the axis of the dromos
leading to Hatshepsût’s temple. This point, together with the fact that
a foundation deposit with objects bearing the prenomen of the queen and
the name of her temple (_Zeser-zeseru_) was brought to light, apparently
in the centre of our monument, shows that we are dealing with a building
in some way connected with the temple at Dêr el Bahari. The probable
interpretation is that this newly-discovered ‘Terrace Temple’ is in
reality a ‘Valley’-Temple or ‘Portal’ to Hatshepsût’s noble monument at
Dêr el Bahari. It would, therefore, correspond to the so-called
‘Valley’-Temples of Gizeh and Abusîr. Another interesting fact relating
to Hatshepsût’s Dêr el Bahari temple was the discovery of a foundation
deposit at the north-west corner of the dromos (Pl. XXIV, _b_), where
it joins the temple. This is the largest deposit that has hitherto been
discovered, and exhibits two new features in connexion with the custom
of placing of such deposits, namely, the consecration of the building by
unction and flesh and blood offerings. These offerings were kept
separate from the usual model tools and implements which were found near
by, and the vessels containing the unguents and wines were smashed, and
their contents, as well as grains of corn, were poured over the clean
sand that filled the cache. In 1911 search was made for the companion
deposit in the south-west corner (Pl. XXIV, _c_); this was soon found,
and it differed only in the fact that the secondary group--i. e. the
tools and implements--was missing.
[Illustration: FIG. 3. THE ‘VALLEY’-TEMPLE WALL.]
Beneath the foundations of the ‘Valley’-Temple we cut through a layer of
rock débris averaging two metres in thickness, and discovered a series
of pit and corridor tombs hewn in the rock-bed below. These had all been
plundered, some indeed twice, and most of their contents had been
scattered and some burnt. Several bore evidence of having been pilfered,
in the first instance, shortly after the close of the Middle Kingdom,
and then again during Hatshepsût’s reign, probably by the workmen
employed in building the ‘Valley’-Temple. As evidence of the earlier
plundering we may mention the fact that fragments of one stela were
found in two separate tombs (Nos. 27 and 31), on opposite sides of the
great wall. After this first plundering, the rock débris must have
collected to a considerable depth above the tombs before the second
spoliation took place, for rough retaining walls, built of stones and
bricks found in the mounds, were made to support the sides of the shafts
pierced through the earth by the later robbers.
[Illustration: FIG. 4. TOMB NO. 25.]
The tombs, as we have already noted, are of two types: (1) pit tombs,
comprising a vertical shaft with one or more chambers at the bottom, and
(2) corridor tombs, with open court in front, vestibule and passage
leading to chambers with vertical shafts, and sarcophagus chamber below.
In all cases the original contents had been plundered and some of the
tombs had been re-used towards the end of the Intermediate period. One
of the pit tombs, however, contained an unopened coffin and objects
scattered about the chambers, which all clearly belonged to the original
burial. Fortunately one of the objects--the fine casket figured in Pl.
XLVIII--was inscribed with the cartouche of Amenemhat IV, and
[Illustration: FIG. 5. TOMB NO. 37.]
this enabled us to date with precision tomb No. 25. This casket is of
ivory, ebony, and cedar wood, and was found broken into about two
hundred pieces, which have been admirably fitted together, and the whole
box restored to its original form by Mr. Carter. Beside the names of
Amenemhat IV this casket bore the name of the ‘Keeper of the department
of Food’, Kemen. It is interesting to note that in the prayer inscribed
upon the top of the lid, the god invoked is Sebek, Lord of
[Illustration: hieroglyph] _[H.]ent_, a locality in the Fayûm where the
later XIIth Dynasty kings appear to have been very active. Among the
objects found in this tomb and belonging to the same early date, were
the board for a game, which Mr. Carter has succeeded in elucidating (p.
56), a coffin bearing the name of Ren-senb, and containing, besides the
mummified body, a fine bronze mirror with ebony handle mounted in gold,
and a beautiful necklace of gold-capped obsidian beads. In tomb No. 24
were necklaces of beads and amulets characteristic of the same period,
and a mounted XIIth Dynasty scarab-seal. The stela, fragments of which
were found in tombs Nos. 27 and 31, is of the XIIIth Dynasty, and to the
same period may be ascribed several other objects found in these tombs.
All these antiquities certainly belong to the original interments; and
this enables us to date the whole group of tombs to the period covered
by the end of the XIIth and perhaps the whole of the XIIIth Dynasty.[3]
These Middle Kingdom tombs, we have already noted, had in some cases
been re-used: this fact was brought to light in 1910, when we discovered
fragments of several _Rîshi_ coffins in both the pit and corridor tombs.
Coffins of this type are peculiar to the XVIIth and early XVIIIth
Dynasties; so in them we had evidence of the tombs having been re-used
at this period. In 1911 further light on this point was obtained by the
discovery of tomb No. 37, which we found to contain some sixty-four
coffins, and a large number of miscellaneous objects which may all be
referred to the same period. Of the bricked-up chambers here, one bore
seal impressions of Thothmes I, and among objects scattered over the
floors of other chambers were scarabs of Amenhetep I, Thothmes I,
Thothmes II, Hatshepsût, Neferu-ra, and Thothmes III, as well as several
scarabs contemporary with the XIIIth Dynasty and the Hyksos period: the
contents of this tomb thus cover the whole of the Intermediate period to
the beginning of the reign of Thothmes III.
[Illustration: FIG. 6. UNINSCRIBED CONES OF THE XITH DYNASTY.]
Altogether about 11,000 square metres of débris were cleared from the
Birâbi site and, of course, many miscellaneous antiquities were brought
to light in the course of the excavation. On the débris and rubbish that
had collected above the ruins of the ‘Valley’-Temple were many vaulted
graves, built of mud bricks; these, however, proved to have been
plundered without exception. Under their floors were generally placed
one or more amphorae which had been used for storing grain, water, and
cakes, no doubt for the welfare of the deceased. One vase was sealed
with clay and contained two well-preserved Demotic papyri, comprising
deeds of sale, executed under Ptolemy Epiphanes; these documents, and a
hoard of copper coins of Ptolemies III and IV, also found here, enable
us to date the vaulted tombs to the Ptolemaic period.
Below these graves on the north-west corner of the site, and on the same
level as the upper court of the ‘Valley’-Temple, we unearthed paving
slabs bearing marks of columns, with, beneath the corner of these
substructures, a foundation deposit of Rameses IV. This, fortunately,
enabled us to differentiate the building from the earlier temple; but we
have as yet no further clue as to its nature, except that it was of
stone quarried from the Dêr el Bahari temple of the Queen.[4]
The third site which we worked was along the northern slope between the
north-eastern foot hills of the Dêr el Bahari valley and the Queen’s
temple.
[Illustration: FIG. 7. VOTIVE CAKE-OFFERING.]
Along the face of the cliff here are the rock-cut tombs of the great
nobles of the Early Middle Kingdom, and lower down are some graves of
their retainers. These tombs had been re-used at the time of the Priest
Kings, and were afterwards again violated. Then at a later period they
were used for interments of Saite date, and, lastly, they served as
dwelling-places for the Copts.
Out of the fifteen locations investigated by us only one (No. 5) gave
any reward, and here we found undisturbed burials of a poorish class of
people belonging to late Saite times.
[Illustration: FIG. 8. CHERT CHISELS AND HAMMERS.]
In nearly all the early tombs pottery cones were found, sometimes in
great numbers, but not in a single case did we obtain one that was
inscribed. They were always found in the front courts and were certainly
contemporary with the tombs of the Early Middle Kingdom. In all other
parts of the Theban necropolis these cones date from the beginning of
the New Empire[5] downwards, and, with rare exceptions, they have the
names and titles of the deceased persons for whom they were made. Their
real meaning has always been an open question. Maspero has suggested
that they are model cakes or loaves of bread, made in burnt clay for the
sake of permanency. Rhind found them built into a wall in a tomb court;
and he and others have asserted that they were intended for ornament in
the construction of the tombs. The same argument that they were meant
for decoration might be used in the case of the pots that the modern
natives frequently use when building light walls at the present day in
the same tombs. The bas-relief in the tomb of Kha-em-hat, shown in Fig.
7, together with the fact that the cones are found nearly always on the
floors of the open courtyard of tombs, tends to corroborate the theory
of Maspero.
Distributed over the surface of the hillside were numbers of chert
hammers and chisels, and also heaps of flakes, showing that they had
been made on the spot. These are exactly similar to others that have
been found at Beni Hasan and other rock-cut tomb sites of Egypt. They
were probably used for the rougher work when hewing out the rock.
Our trenches near to the Dêr el Bahari temple exposed the workmen’s
dwellings and part of a large wall bearing the names, stamped upon its
bricks, of Aahmes-nefert-ari and Amenhetep I. Here also were found
votive offerings, as well as leaf offerings[6] in small pottery vessels,
and oblations to trees.
These offerings to trees had already been noticed during the excavation
of Hatshepsût’s temple by the Egypt Exploration Fund,[7] when trees were
discovered in the Lower Terrace with similar votive objects buried in
the earth around them. In the tombs of the XVIIIth Dynasty and later
periods representations of people offering to trees are often found;
while even at the present day a general feature of the Mohammedan
cemetery is its tree (generally a _gemmêz_, ‘sycomore-fig’[8]), under
which water and other offerings are often placed by mourners, while rags
are attached to its branches or twigs. In the tomb of Thothmes III the
deceased king himself is depicted[9] as receiving nourishment from the
tree through a breast that protrudes from one of its boughs. It is
interesting to note in regard to the votive offerings that within 600
yards of the scene of our excavations the tomb of Sheikh Abd El Kurneh,
the local Mohammedan saint, is surrounded by heaps of mud model houses,
small vessels of henna, and even the latest European wax candles, to
invoke his assistance for the public weal.
CHAPTER I
THE MORTUARY CHAPEL AND SEPULCHRE OF TETA-KY
BY HOWARD CARTER
Though partly excavated in the rock at the side of a foot-hill the
Mortuary Chapel of Teta-ky and his family is mainly a crude mud-brick
construction, with its actual sepulchres subterranean: these latter are
approached from a vertical shaft in the centre of the fore-court (Pl. I.
1 and 2).
The peculiar irregularity of the courtyard and buildings, which will be
seen from the plan (Pl. II), seems due, in the first place, to the shape
of the site, and, secondly, to the fact that this particular part of the
necropolis must have been much overcrowded. Though it is built of
mud-brick, the structure itself suffered comparatively little damage
until recent years. The low walls of its fore-court, entered from the
east, the small painted shrine in the south wall, the vaulted chambers
on either side of the alley that leads to the principal and decorated
chapel under the rock at the north end, are all more or less intact. In
fact, the greater part of its destruction can be put down to the Arabs
of modern times. Hence, except from slight mutilations, the structure is
still practically intact.
Architecturally the plan and construction is of a well-known type. Its
chapels are early examples of the brick-vaulted chambers often found in
and so typical of the Dêr el Medînet Necropolis of Thebes. Only two of
its chambers are painted: the small shrine or niche built in the wall of
the fore-court; and the main chapel under the rock called upon the plan
‘painted vaulted chamber’. The latter alone has inscriptions.
The painted niche has depicted on its right wall seated figures
(unnamed) receiving offerings (Pl. III. 1); and on the left wall a
conventionally drawn vineyard, in which there is shown a figure
gathering grapes (Pl. III. 2). Its barrel-vaulted ceiling, now
destroyed, was decorated with multicoloured bands which are so
frequently seen on the roofs of Theban rock-cut tombs. But of this
ceiling hardly enough remains to allow a true and accurate description.
The main chapel, or painted vaulted chamber, has upon its walls the
usual funereal, husbandry, and offering scenes, and among the people
portrayed are relatives of Teta-ky (see further description by Legrain,
p. 14). Its segmental barrel-vaulted ceiling is painted, like the Beni
Hasan tombs, with a wooden key-beam running longitudinally down the
centre, painted yellow with darker and almost red graining (Pl. IV. 1);
and on either side of the beam, above a _Kheker_ frieze, the space is
divided by black lines into red, yellow, and white squares (Pl. IV. 1
and 2). The red and white squares contain quatrefoils. In fact, to quote
Professor Newberry’s description[10] of the ceiling decoration of the
tomb of Amenemhat would be to describe the roof ornamentation here, it
differing only by the absence of imitation mat-work in the centre. Below
the _Kheker_ frieze is a band of hieroglyphic inscription giving the
names of the deceased, and of his mother.
An interesting and new feature is the series of four small niches along
the west wall of the open courtyard (Pl. I. 1 and Pl. II). In these
niches were found numerous shawabti figures in model coffins of mud and
wood (see further description by Newberry, p. 20). This I believe to be
the only instance where such figures have actually been found _in situ_,
a fact of some importance, for so little is known about the provenance
of these early figures.
Another important discovery was eight similar, but more fully developed
figures in wooden sarcophagi (see further description by Newberry, p.
19) placed in pairs on each of the four sides of the mouth of the shaft
leading to the subterranean sepulchral chambers (Pl. II). These were
buried about a foot below the surface, and were dedicated to persons
buried in the vaults below. The reason for their being so placed is
unknown; they were possibly guardian figures, like the magical ones
placed in the walls of later tombs at the four cardinal points.[11]
From the north and east walls of the main painted chamber are two
passages which could not be excavated further than the plan shows, owing
to their being under modern native houses. But judging from the kind of
rubbish that choked them they appear to have been opened and ransacked.
This was probably done by tunnelling from the interior of the native
houses above.