FIVE YEARS’
EXPLORATIONS AT THEBES
OXFORD
PLATES AND LETTERPRESS
PRINTED AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS
BY HORACE HART

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

ILLUSTRATIONS

ILLUSTRATIONS

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

CHAPTER II
THE PAINTINGS AND INSCRIPTIONS OF THE PAINTED VAULTED CHAMBER OF TETA-KY
By George Legrain.

THE following description of the paintings of the tomb of Teta-ky is taken from notes I made in 1909 when I visited Lord Carnarvon’s excavations. The notes I made at that time were not then intended for publication. This fact will explain their briefness. The tomb of Teta-ky having unfortunately been mostly destroyed by natives since that date, the copy of the texts and pictures that I took on the occasion of my visit in 1909, together with Mr. Howard Carter’s photographs, are the only remaining records of this tomb.

The funerary chamber is rectangular. The shorter walls lie east and west, whilst the longer sides face north and south. The roof is vaulted, barrel in form, and fairly regular. The ceiling is painted with a many-coloured chequer pattern; this decoration can be well seen in [Plate IV]. 1 and 2.

The decorations of the north and south walls consist of a long row of Kheker-ornaments. Beneath this row there is a line of detailed hieroglyphs, and beneath these again are scenes which run from left to right. These pictures were painted on stucco mixed without straw. This stucco has fallen away in several places, which has naturally caused the disappearance of many portions of the scenes represented in the tomb. Added to these accidents the tomb was re-used in ancient times, and part of the scenes were covered with an opaque lime-wash. Besides all these mutilations, breaches, and holes have very much spoilt this curious monument.

The general scheme of decoration can be described as follows:—

This order is adopted in the following description.

Scene A ([Pl. V]). The dead man

Behind the girl is a woman standing near the right-hand column.

Scene B ([Pl. V]). Two women stand before three seated men. By the side of the smaller woman there is a harp. The text relating to this woman reads:—

Scene C. A woman opening a small box shows its contents to two squatting men.

Nine women follow. Their names read:—

Scene D. Much of this scene is covered with whitewash. A woman brings a cup in one hand, whilst in the other she holds a red clay vase. A squatting woman beneath a tree is in front of her. To the right a man paddles.

Harnessed and loaded donkeys are seen here ([Pl. V]). To the right men unload the donkeys. Further on a man squats before a heap of grain

East Wall. The decorations of this wall are arranged in the following manner:—

The Solar Disk spreads its wings above the two scenes, A and B.

Scene A ([Pl. VI]). To the left is depicted the Cow Hathor, white with brown markings, the Solar Disk between her horns. She is

In the left lower corner of this scene, below the Hathor Cow, two men and a woman are carrying offerings.

Scene B. This scene on the right side is practically destroyed, only the picture of the Hathor Cow is remaining.

South Wall. Scenes, sections A and B divided by the entrance door, are headed by the following inscription:—

Scene A ([Pl. VII]). The mummy is seen under a canopied sledge. Two men opposite each other embrace the mummy. A woman fondles the feet, another the head. On the side of the canopy a long coiled snake forms the frieze. A man with arms hanging by his sides follows behind the sledge. He wears a wig, necklace, and a long tunic, and is following the funeral procession. The sledge itself is pulled by three men and two beasts. Between these men and animals and the sledge a man is shown pouring water upon the ground to facilitate the traction of the sledge. Above this man we read

The driver places his left hand on the hind-quarters of the cattle and with his right hand lifts a stick as if to strike.

Three men, wearing curious high and open-work head-dresses, come forward to meet the funeral procession and dance before it ([Pl. VIII]). Above these dancers the following hieroglyphs can be read:—

Scene B ([Pl. VIII]). Beneath the funerary canopy the mummy is placed upright. The priest throws a few grains of incense into a censer which he presents to the mummy. The mummy is perhaps of the Rîshi or feather type; that is to say, of the kind of decoration used for the mummy cases of the Antefs, and of the people of Thebes who died before the beginning of the XVIIIth Dynasty. A number of coffins of the same and more elaborate type have since been found by Lord Carnarvon in the necropolis of the XIIth to XVIIIth Dynasties in the immediate neighbourhood of Teta-ky’s tomb.

Scene C ([Pl. IX]). To the right of this scene, in a Naos, stands the Osiris Khent-amenti clad in white, wearing the Upper Egyptian crown, and holding the crook and flail. In front of him, from left to right, are, firstly, the plan of an habitation in which two of the MW-dancers are walking. Secondly, two obelisks in red granite. Thirdly, two trees covered with fruit. Fourthly, two rows of four shrines containing gods, goddesses, and funerary genii.

Scene D ([Pl. IX]). This scene, almost entirely destroyed, depicted the transport of the Tekenu to the necropolis. This person is wrapt in red cloth and is squatting on a sledge. At this spot much of the wall is broken away. We read the following legend in front of the Tekenu:—

The ceremonial continues to the right. Above the break in the wall is the sign

West Wall ([Pl. VI]). The decorations on this wall are arranged in the following manner:—

B. right side. The

C. left side. The

Lower portion.

D. Central false door. Almost entirely destroyed. Decorated with multicoloured palm-leaf frieze; this was the funerary stela of Teta-ky.

E. Left side. On the left a man is seated. The text in this instance is so mutilated that his name

Text:

F. right side. A similar group to E, with the following texts above the two seated persons:—

The inscription above the man making offerings has been covered by whitewash, and it is only possible to read the following signs:—

CHAPTER III
THE FUNERARY STATUETTES FROM TOMB OF TETA-KY
By Percy E. Newberry

THE discovery of Model Sarcophagi containing Funerary Statuettes in small holes on the four sides of the entrance to the mummy shaft (see [Pl. II] and p. 13) of Teta-ky’s tomb is of considerable interest; it is, I believe, the first recorded instance of shawabti figures having been found in such positions. They were placed in the four holes in pairs; each model coffin and figure bears a different name, but curiously enough, that of Teta-ky, whose body was buried in the sarcophagus chamber at the bottom of the shaft, does not occur. Each model coffin consists of a rectangular box and lid of wood; the lid, having uprights at each end, is curved in section

Besides the Funerary Statuettes described above, a large number of figures in Model Sarcophagi[12] were discovered in the four niches in the wall on the west side of the main court (Pls. I, II, p. 13). These Model Sarcophagi are of painted pottery, mud, or wood, the boxes are rectangular or oval in shape, with lids having uprights at each end; some of them bear inscriptions ([Pl. XI]). The figures are all of wood roughly carved to represent human mummies, and some of them are inscribed ([Pl. XII]. 2). The inscriptions, written in linear hieroglyphs or in hieratic, are of five types:—

(1) Giving only the name of the person for whom they were made.

(2) The simple de hetep seten formula to Osiris: e.g.

(3) The de hetep seten formula to Osiris, Lord of Busiris and Abydos.

(4) The de hetep seten formula to Osiris with name of dedicator added; e.g.

(5) The shawabti text in its early form:

The personal names occurring on these shawabti figures are typical of the period immediately preceding the XVIIIth Dynasty. I arrange them in alphabetical order.

Table for offerings ([Pl. XII]. 1) with rectangular depressions pierced with holes for draining to spout, and inscribed with the de hetep seten formula to Osiris Khent-amenti, and to Osiris, Lord of Busiris and of Abydos, that he may give offerings for the Ka of the Royal Son, Teta-ky. The horizontal line across the lower part of the table for offerings gives:—

(1) The name and titles of Teta-ky’s father

A fragment of a statue of Teta-ky bears the following legend:—

CHAPTER IV
EXCAVATIONS IN THE VALLEY OF DÊR EL BAHARI
By Howard Carter

THE panoramic view given in [Pl. XIII] clearly shows the nineteen different sites that were excavated and examined in this particular part of the necropolis during 1909 and 1910. Many were experimental excavations made on the chance of there being hidden tombs, but as several sites gave no results it is unnecessary to describe them.

Site 3. A tier of tombs, plundered, and most of them used in later times, probably by Copts, as dwellings.

In the corner of the court of the principal tomb of this series, under a fallen stone divisional wall (original), was a number of long and well-made pottery cones, uninscribed; the position and state in which they were found, the wall having fallen and covered them at an early period, gives us reason to suppose that they belong to the tomb and are of the XIth Dynasty (see [Fig. 6], p. 8). Besides these cones, a very rough sandstone table of offerings without inscription, two Coptic pots, one with a wooden lid, some fragments of leather sandals, and a granite colour-grinder, were found dispersed in the drifted sand.

Site 4. A large tomb, facing west, high up on the mountain slope, with a causeway some twenty-five metres broad, walled on either side with rough stones, and leading down the face of the hill.

Like the tomb itself the façade is hewn in the rock; its right and left wings and overhead retaining wall, now mostly destroyed, were built of mud-brick.

The passage and chambers being open for many centuries the task here was to clear the façade court, into which its walls had fallen and been covered with rubbish drifted in from the desert above. It was discovered that the floor of the court, owing to the sloping rock bed, had been levelled and made good with stone rubble faced with lime mortar. The enormous fissures in the rock which ran through from side to side along its transverse axis had been treated in the same way. In the centre of the court, before the tomb entrance, was a large square shaft, sunk into the rock and formed mostly out of the natural fissures, previously mentioned, which had been utilized by the ancients in its construction. At the bottom of this shaft was the sarcophagus chamber, with its doorway blocked by a sandstone portcullis of one piece, measuring two metres high and one and a half metres broad. The sarcophagus chamber was rectangular in shape, low, and just large enough to receive the burial, i.e. the sarcophagus with the funereal equipment. At the south-east side of the court, buried beneath the fallen bricks of that side wing, is a small unfinished chamber.

The total area of the court had some two metres of earth covering it, and in the upper surface there were many cylindrical beads, a blue paste scarab (uninscribed), and two rough limestone heart-scarabs covered with blue paint. On the floor-level were fragments of funeral boat figures in wood, and a torso in limestone of one of the original occupants of the tomb ([Pl. XVIII]. 1 and 2). Covered by comparatively recent workings were two iron spear-heads.

In the shaft, which was filled with earth, were more cylindrical beads, some gilt, a black amber head, an obsidian eye-pupil from a coffin, a fragment of a crystal bead, the head and fractured pedestal of the limestone torso found in the court ([Pl. XVIII]. 1 and 2); also many burnt pieces of wood from coffins and figures including a rough table of offerings in limestone. The fractured pedestal had upon it the following partially erased inscription:—

The sarcophagus chamber was plundered and three parts full of rubbish. Access to it was obtained in ancient times by means of an opening forced between the top of the portcullis and lintel of the doorway. Its contents were smashed and burnt. Beads and small fragments of the objects of the burial were all that remained.

The side chamber of the court, mentioned above, was completely choked with drifted sand and had no antiquities in it at all.

Though among the objects found there were many of the XXIInd Dynasty, or even of a later period, the larger portion were certainly of the original XIth Dynasty burial; which, judging from the scanty remains, must have been very fine in quality, and of some high state official, but there was no inscription to tell us who he was.

Site 5. A depression in the surface of the hill slope, which proved to be a rock-cut court with sepulchral chambers on both sides and at its northern end ([Pl. XV]).

Almost at the commencement of its excavation the men came across the small chamber on the east side, containing the coffin of an adult burial untouched since the time it was deposited there. The entrance to this chamber was walled in with stones mixed with bricks and pieces of pottery, and it was found intact with the exception of a small opening at the top accidentally made by the workmen before discovering its real nature.

Later on, at the opposite side of the court, another small chamber was disclosed, but it proved to be unfinished.

Lastly, at the end of the court, a large chamber containing burials of seven adults and one child was found to be untouched. The sealing of the entrance was in perfect condition and was constructed like the other with similar stones and bricks ([Pl. XIV]. 1 and 2). The chamber was about two-thirds full of rubble, upon which the coffins were deposited, the first two having a slight excavation made for them. The first two coffins were placed side by side with their heads towards the east: they were covered by a pink shawl and chain garlands of leaves; with, beside the first one, a bouquet of cornflowers. This was evidently the last tribute paid to the dead placed in this sepulchre (see [Pl. XVII]. 3). The rest of the coffins, seven in all, belonging to a previous interment, and of a different type, were lying north and south with their heads to south. They were crowded together as if to make room for the latter burials. Some of these latter coffins had pieces of mummy-cloth upon them; the last of all some fragments of a decayed garland.

The east side-chamber was quite clean, and the coffin in it was placed exactly east and west with its head to the west.

After the removal of the coffins the large chamber was carefully explored. At the far end the commencement of an uncompleted pit was found, and at the entrance the remains of the early brick wall that originally closed the doorway were uncovered.

From the style of this tomb, the brickwork that closed the doorway, together with the pottery and some cones found in the rubbish, it clearly belongs to the earlier epoch of this district, the roughness of form being mostly owing to the inferior rock in which it is hewn (a conglomerate of lime and flints striated with Tafle). The beginning of a chamber on the west side of the court had been abandoned on account of some large flint-boulders embedded in the conglomerate which had prevented further progress, and the chamber on the east side was made in its stead. Neither of these cuttings seem to belong to the original design; they were most probably made by the usurpers found within the tomb: the fact that the floor-level of the completed side-chamber was the same as that of the rubbish drifted into the courtyard and tomb before its usurpation, I think, corroborates the above conjecture.

The burials in detail are as follows:—

1. A. ([Pl. XVI]. 3). A coffin containing inner case and mummy of a man named

Outer Case. Of wood, top of lid flat, with the face, head-dress, ornamental collar, and vertical line of hieroglyphs down the centre, painted.

Inner Case. Of thin wood, very roughly made, and painted white, with the four ‘Amenti’ figures painted in colour upon the chest. The vertical inscription on the front gives the de hetep seten formula to Osiris, and the name

Reth-ar-es, which seems to have no connexion with the other names mentioned on the outer case.

The mummy was swathed in (1) the outer covering, consisting of a pink shawl bound by three longitudinal and seven transverse yellow bandages, (2) the inner covering of numerous narrow swathing bands bound round the body as well as crossways, with folded pieces of linen napkins and pieces of shawls stuffed in the hollow parts. Among these numerous wrappings were pieces embroidered with small blue patches woven into the fabric, some had their edges fringed, and many were much worn and darned.

The body was of a male adult, middle aged, with the hands placed at the sides.

1. B. A coffin containing a mummy of a lady named

The coffin is far more elaborate than the former one, and generally finer both in workmanship and painting. The scenes painted upon it are of the deceased witnessing the weighing of her heart against the feather of truth in the presence of two apes representing Thoth, the devouring monster Lord of Duat, the goddess of truth Maat, Horus, Osiris, Nephthys, and two children of Horus. Below, the spirits of Ash-Mut and winged figures of Ra on either side.

Round the case, on the two outer sides and end, is a band of coloured hieroglyphs; and in the interior on the bottom, a painted figure of the goddess Mut surmounted by the winged Horus.

All the inscriptions give the de hetep seten formula invoking the gods in favour of the deceased, they also give her name and parentage

The mummy was enveloped in a well-preserved dark terra-cotta coloured linen shroud, tied underneath and held in position by several narrow bands of brown and yellow linen, making a rich piece of colour and delicious harmony in contrast to the clean white and decorated interior of the coffin. Lying at the head was a fillet of leaves, like a diadem, sewn together and adorned with tiny petals of flowers ([Pl. XVII]. 2). The swathings under the shroud were similar to the first mummy (1. A), with the exception that the linen was coarser and the bandages broader (185 mms.). Among the folds were four Amenti figures and one Bennu bird in wax ([Pl. XVII]. 2); these were placed on the right vertical nipple line and on a level with the base of the Xephisternum.

The body was of a female adult of approximately thirty-five years of age. The hands were placed between the thighs.

2. B. Coffin containing a mummy of a man named

The decoration of the coffin and the manner of mummification of the body were both similar to 1. A. Some of the linen bandages had markings in light and dark blue, and red striated with dark blue running the whole length, woven into the stuff; and, like the others, many of the bandages were mended.[13]

The genealogy of these three persons was as follows:—

The meaning of the bandages being in so many cases carefully darned and mended might be explained by the inscriptions found on the walls of the tombs of the New Kingdom—a part of the ritual and last words of the relatives before the mummy when depositing it for ever in the tomb. ‘Woe, woe.... Alas this loss! the good shepherd has gone to the land of Eternity; he who willingly opened his feet to going is now enclosed, bound, and confined. He who had so much fine linen, and so gladly put it on, sleeps now in the cast-off garments of yesterday.’[14] The mummy bandages are strips torn nearly in every case from larger pieces like shawls and garments.

The second group of coffins, 3. B to 7. B (see [Pl. XV]), are of slightly smaller dimensions, painted black, and of a much rougher type. Only one of them had traces of design upon it, and that was in yellow upon the black background. The mummies they contained, though in good preservation and simulating the others in fashion, did not in general display the same care as in the former series. The linen in which they were wrapped had similar markings and mends, but they were of a coarser nature, and in some cases the materials were quite worn and old rags.

Coffin 3. B bore the de hetep seten formula, but the name of the deceased was omitted.

The mummy in coffin 7. B, of a man not more than thirty years of age, had on the left arm, tied at the elbow, a very fine blue glazed steatite scarab ([Pl. XVII]. 1, also Fig. 9, p. 27).

The small child’s coffin, 8. B, was of plain wood exceedingly roughly made, and it contained the remains of a young boy prepared in the same manner as the others.

This last group may possibly have relationship in common with the others, even though their class does not appear to be of so high a standing; but unfortunately we have no inscription or real indication to tell us; the existing evidences show two distinct families but tend towards their being within a short period of one another—perhaps not more than a century.

Site 6 had openings to tombs, but proved unproductive.

Site 7, in the open courtyard of a large tomb of the XIth Dynasty; many decayed funeral boats and granary figures, as well as pottery cones and potsherds, cast out in past times, were the only reward for its excavation.

Site 8. Here were tombs with mud-brick buildings in front of them, like dwellings of embalmers. Beads and amulets, and a broken Tazza[15] (table) in pottery, all of different periods, were here unearthed.

Site 10. A tomb with large open courtyard facing south. This was completely excavated. On the east side of the main door was a low single brick wall; between it and the east corner a shallow round hole in the floor, like that for a foundation deposit (see tomb No. 16). In the east wall of the court was a small chamber, its entrance passage was three parts full of sand, while the chamber itself was comparatively clean. It must have been open anciently for many years as the ceiling, walls, and even the pots in it, were covered with mason-bees’ nests. Mingled with the rubbish were pots of peg-top shape ([Pl. XVIII]. 10), broken pieces of coffins, funereal cones (see [Fig. 6]), and human bones, all of different dates and occurring here accidentally. The pieces of coffin were eaten by white ants, a pest certainly foreign to this part of the Theban necropolis, and for that reason I believe these wooden fragments came from some other portion of the Theban necropolis. There is reason to suppose that the courtyard was never finished; there were many huge stones protruding out of the rock and jutting into the yard. In this yard more pottery was found, with among them two small pieces of linen tied up and containing pellets, like masticated corn mixed with grains of wheat.

Sites 11 and 12 produced nothing of further interest than a palm-tree in front of one of the tombs (12) which had been planted there in Nile mud brought up from the cultivation.

Site 13, a large rubbish heap formed of the débris thrown out by the ancient workmen when making the neighbouring tombs.

Here our hopes were to find a grave covered and protected by stuff thrown over it. Such indeed was the case, for within a few days the greater part of the mound was cleared away and the mouth of a cutting exposed. Naturally this raised great expectations, as the chances were that it would be undisturbed. But, as nearly always happens to the excavator in such cases, it is the unsuspected that occurs; the tomb had never been completed!

Sites 15 and 16 were on the open desert close to one another. 15 proved to be unfruitful. 16, though it at first appeared to be more promising by there being plenty of artificial chippings, had but little interest outside the fact that it led to a cutting of an already pilfered tomb. At the entrance of this cutting, in a small hollow in the Tafle rock, on the west side, was a ‘pocket’ of barley, which was at first a puzzle, as it did not seem accidental. Afterwards, on thinking that it might be of the nature of a foundation deposit to the tomb, the opposite side was carefully searched, and a corresponding ‘pocket’ with barley was eventually found; thus proving the conjecture to be correct, and showing that the tombs here, like the royal ones in the Valley of the Kings,[16] had foundation deposits as was customary also in the temples.

At the doorway of this tomb a pottery pan offering like a ‘Soul House’ was found ([Pl. XVIII]. 16).

Site 17. Here a pair of rush sandals and a pottery female figure were the prizes of the last day’s work of the season of 1909 among the sepulchres of this region.

In [Pl. XVIII]. 3 are shown examples of each type and shape of the XIth Dynasty pottery found in the above excavations. There were only two other examples of a later date (Coptic), and they were of the most common form; the numbers on the illustration refer to the sites they came from.

Continuing the work in the year 1910, the large mounds immediately east of the footpath leading to the Biban el Mulûk were thoroughly investigated. These extend north and south on the hill slope below the great rock-cut tombs which are situated under the cliff at the top. This work was divided into two sites, Nos. 18 and 19 ([Pl. XIII]) and placed under two reises. It produced practically nothing, being only an immense covering of stone chippings upon the gebel thrown out from the tombs above. Among this accumulation, which varied in depth from one to five metres, many horns of animals suggesting sacrifices, leather thongs from implements, broken timber, and balanites kernels ([Pl. LXXIX]) were found; in fact the refuse from the workmen who had been employed upon the sepulchral caverns above. Thus, in the two seasons, this half of the north side of the valley between the eastern foot hills at its mouth and the mountain path may be said to have been thoroughly explored, leaving but small chances of undiscovered tombs.

The men were then removed further westward, close to Hatshepsût’s Temple, where parallel trenches, twenty-five to forty metres broad, were dug. They began at the base of the slope and were carried up, in some cases, nearly to the foot of the vertical cliff; the excavations were continued until the rock surface had all been exposed.

Trench 20, begun from the temple temenos, yielded the following results:—

1. On the flat of the valley bed, between the temenos and the rising ground, was disclosed the mutilated foundation of a large wall ([Pl. XIX]. 1), extending east and west, two metres wide, and built of crude bricks stamped with the cartouches of Amenhetep I and Aahmes-nefert-ari ([Pl. XXIII]. 20).

2. Over and along the side of the wall were many irregularly built mud dwellings for workmen, made of stray bricks of the XIth and early XVIIIth Dynasties; they no doubt were the rest-houses of the builders of the Queen Hatshepsût’s temple.

3. Among the huts, in a depression roughly enclosed by limestone blocks, were the roots and stem of a date palm, set in black soil. Below the roots of the tree were several pots and a broken limestone statuette, placed as offerings for the welfare of the palm ([Pl. XIX]. 2). The pots contained a mud sediment. The statuette, which seems to have been used also as an offering, has the following inscriptions upon it:—

They mention the ‘True Royal Scribe, Scribe of the Altar of the Lord of the Two Lands’, Amenemhat, called Keriba (the Son of) ‘Scribe of the Altar’ Amenhetep. It was dedicated by Amenemhat’s brother, ‘Who made to live his name,’ ‘The Royal Scribe,’ Userhat.

4. A few metres above, in the first part of the hill slope, hewn in the Tafle, was a chamber (No. 21). The interior had been plastered and it appears to have been a kind of office for the clerk of the works for the Queen’s temple. It contained a broken rush and wicker-work stool, fragments of a mat, a basket, torn fragments of papyrus, clay pellets for seal impressions, and a donkey halter. Leading up to the entrance was a small causeway. The fragments of papyrus, forty-three in number, when fitted together, proved to be part of Chapter XLI of the ‘Book of the Dead’, a list of different names of Osiris.

5. Higher up, on the top of the low foot-hill, was a series of cells built against the second incline. In one of these was a washing slab made of sandstone, with a hole in the corner of its sunken bed to allow the water to drain into a cesspool below; this was perhaps the bathing-place for the workmen ([Pl. XX]. 2).

6. On the second incline, eight metres above the bath, was part of a ‘serpentine’ wall ([Pl. XX]. 1), a peculiar structure not uncommon in building operations. Such a wall was found near the unfinished part of the north colonnade of the Queen’s temple. Another example was found this season in Site 14. Its specific purpose is not thoroughly understood, perhaps it was an economical method of making enclosures for the working staff. In this particular case the bricks used for it belong to different periods—the XIth Dynasty brick (black mud without straw) and stamped bricks of Amenhetep I, Aahmes-nefert-ari, and Hatshepsût; the latter shows that it cannot have been earlier than the date of the Thothmes family.

7. A natural fissure in the hill near by had been, in late times, converted into a group of small tomb-chambers (No. 22). They had in them the plundered remains of burials like those of site No. 5, found in the season’s work of 1909 (p. 23).

Trench 23, the next trench (parallel and east of 20), produced little or nothing. More stamped bricks of Aahmes-nefert-ari and Amenhetep I were found, and the beginning of an unfinished tomb-shaft in which was a boulder bearing the name, written in black ink,

Full attention being required by the Birâbi excavations, the third parallel trench was not begun until after an interval of ten days, when the good services of Mr. Cyril Jones were obtained for this express purpose. Mr. Jones, with thirty men and sixty boys, steadily continued the work as before, the base of his trench (No. 26) reaching as far as the north-east corner of the temple inclosure wall. The part ascending the valley side was barren and only exposed a plundered XIth Dynasty tomb (No. 30), re-used as an habitation, and afterwards as the place of a later burial consisting of a wooden dug-out coffin. But, on turning round the corner of the temple enclosure, he discovered a most interesting historical cache, a foundation deposit of the Dêr el Bahari dromos (for the exact position of this deposit see [Pl. XXIV]). For this deposit a circular hole, three metres deep and 140 cms. in diameter, had been made, and lined with a mud-brick wall with rounded and plastered coping ([Pl. XXI]. 2). The interior was filled with greyish (local) sand sprinkled with grains of corn. But for some reason the whole of the deposit was not placed in it. The tools and implements were found in a smaller hole, simply dug in the ground a few feet away, and like the former pit it was filled with sand and grain.

In the main pit the objects, placed in groups under alternate layers of sand, were discovered in the following order:—A few inches below the surface, the skull of an ox ([Pl. XXI]. 1), and underneath it a group of pottery, whole and broken, one pot containing grain, another containing fruit of the Nebbek tree. Then came the jaw-bone and fore-leg of an ox ([Pl. XXI]. 1), a piece of bread, a square sample of wood, an ebony symbolical knot ([Pl. XXII]. 2. E), and an alabaster pebble ([Pl. XXII]. 2. N) elaborately inscribed. In the third batch another symbolical knot, of cedar wood, two samples of fine linen, broken pottery that had contained oil, wines and foodstuffs, and two samples of coarse linen. Lastly, a rush mat, a pitcher-carrier, a second rush mat, and under it a second pitcher-carrier, masses of broken pottery, including a vessel containing a sample of mortar. Below these was plain sand reaching to the bottom of the pit.

Those of the second hole, mostly implements, were placed apparently not in any particular order, and are given in the following list, and illustrated in [Plate XXII]. 2:—A bronze axe (A), graver (B), and chisel (C); an adze with a bronze blade bound by leather thongs to its wooden handle (F); a wooden mallet (D), hoe (G), brick mould (H), and peg (J); two sieves, one of palm-leaf with coarse mesh (K), the other of halfa-grass, with fine mesh, and made of horse or donkey hair (L); a rushwork jar rest (?) (M); a smelting crucible made of sun-dried mud (I), and lastly a pottery dish and jar. Many of these models were quite large, about three-quarter actual size, and all in a most perfect state of preservation. The two knots ([Pl. XXII]. 2. E) have engraved upon them

The alabaster pebble ([Pl. XXII]. 2. N) has also the following legend:—

Types of the pottery are given in [Plate XXII]. 1. These vessels of red pottery have nearly all been dipped into colour of a terra-cotta hue. The lip, rim, and neck of the jars (D, F, H), the upper half of the bowls (E, G, I), the interior and rims of dishes (A, B, C), are all coloured in that manner.

There is no doubt that the pots were intentionally smashed when deposited, and that the probable reason for this breaking was to disperse their contents during the ceremony over the sand. From this cause most of the pots and potsherds were found adhering to one another, due to the spilt unguents as well as to the blood from the flesh-offering having dried and caked them together. This may be a reason for the more perishable objects being placed in a separate cache. The bones, shown in [Plate XXI]. 1, are those of a young beast, the ossification being that of an immature animal. They measure:—

Skull. Length from top of occipital tuberosity to end of the pre-maxilla, 457 mms. (approximate); width of frontal bone between orbits, 150 mms.; length of jaw, from the mandibula condyle to end of the sub-maxillary bone, 380 mms.

Fore-leg. Length of scapula, along scapula axis, 317 mms.; length of humerus, from the head to the tip of outer condyle, 283 mms.; length of radius, from head to the lower end, 287 mms.; maximum length of the great metacarpal, 215 mms.

Other details of interest brought to light by these excavations in these trenches are recorded below:—

1. A potsherd with charcoal sketch of a Sinaitic ibex upon it.

2. A fine ostracon, bearing, in hieratic, a receipt dated in ‘The 11th year (? Thothmes III), third month of Summer, 24th day’, for various articles given by the ‘Mayor’ Aahmes.

3. Fragments of a shawabti figure, of white and violet glaze, bearing the name and title ‘Royal Scribe of the Altar’,