DOI Artikel:
Naville, Edouard: Egypt Exploration Fund, [3]: Excavations, Work at the Temple of Deir el Bahari
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.10055#0019
Excavations at Deie el Bahaki.
5
dition to Punt, and it is in an equally ruinous condition. The enormous
blocks from the ceiling which have fallen between the pillars were very
much in our way, and we have only been able to clear the space between
the western row of columns and the wall. The sculptures, as far as we
can judge from the few which have been preserved intact, were of the
best workmanship; but as they all referred to the person of Queen
Hatshepsu, they have been mercilessly erased by King Thothmes III.
They described the birth of the queen, her infancy, when she and
her ha (double) were attended and nursed by the Hathors, aud her
enthronemeDt by her father Thothmes I. Whether as infant, youth,
or adult, she is always represented as belonging to the male sex,
although in the inscriptions the occurrence of feminine pronouns
and words leaves no doubt as to her being a woman. Evidently these
inscriptions were the originals from which were copied those of the
so-called chamber of the birth of Amenophis III. at Luxor, which
were described long ago by Cbampollion. I found at Deir el Bahari
the inscription which attributes to the queen a divine origin, Amon
himself being her father, as in the case of Amenophis III. The words
are nearly identical in both temples, the text at Luxor being only a
little shorter. As Thothmes III. seems to have had no antipathy
towards Thothmes I., his grandfather, and his queen Aahmes, although
they were Hatshepsu's parents, he did not erase their faces, so that in
the middle of a series of sculptures which have been entirely destroyed
we come across a piece of original work, magnificent sculptures and
hieroglyphs, most elaborately carved and painted. Other pieces have
been restored by Rameses II. on white plaster, but the work is of an
inferior kind. By far the greater part of the wall is erased, and has
been allowed to remain so. I succeeded in copying some of the in-
scriptions ; for instance, a long text which I had already recognized
last year, and which recounts the enthronement of the queen by her
father.
North of the platform is the hypostyle hall which Mariette calls "le
speos du nord." He there found a great number of mummies, but left
the place full of rubbish nearly to the top, so that it was necessary
to creep through narrow holes in order to get into it. It is now
entirely cleared, from the ceiling to the floor, as well as the chapel
which opens into it. It is in a perfect state of preservation, the
paintings and sculptures being intact, except for the erasures made by
Thothmes III. The starred ceiling rests on three rows of four so-
called proto-doric columns, with sixteen-sided shafts, over which are
5
dition to Punt, and it is in an equally ruinous condition. The enormous
blocks from the ceiling which have fallen between the pillars were very
much in our way, and we have only been able to clear the space between
the western row of columns and the wall. The sculptures, as far as we
can judge from the few which have been preserved intact, were of the
best workmanship; but as they all referred to the person of Queen
Hatshepsu, they have been mercilessly erased by King Thothmes III.
They described the birth of the queen, her infancy, when she and
her ha (double) were attended and nursed by the Hathors, aud her
enthronemeDt by her father Thothmes I. Whether as infant, youth,
or adult, she is always represented as belonging to the male sex,
although in the inscriptions the occurrence of feminine pronouns
and words leaves no doubt as to her being a woman. Evidently these
inscriptions were the originals from which were copied those of the
so-called chamber of the birth of Amenophis III. at Luxor, which
were described long ago by Cbampollion. I found at Deir el Bahari
the inscription which attributes to the queen a divine origin, Amon
himself being her father, as in the case of Amenophis III. The words
are nearly identical in both temples, the text at Luxor being only a
little shorter. As Thothmes III. seems to have had no antipathy
towards Thothmes I., his grandfather, and his queen Aahmes, although
they were Hatshepsu's parents, he did not erase their faces, so that in
the middle of a series of sculptures which have been entirely destroyed
we come across a piece of original work, magnificent sculptures and
hieroglyphs, most elaborately carved and painted. Other pieces have
been restored by Rameses II. on white plaster, but the work is of an
inferior kind. By far the greater part of the wall is erased, and has
been allowed to remain so. I succeeded in copying some of the in-
scriptions ; for instance, a long text which I had already recognized
last year, and which recounts the enthronement of the queen by her
father.
North of the platform is the hypostyle hall which Mariette calls "le
speos du nord." He there found a great number of mummies, but left
the place full of rubbish nearly to the top, so that it was necessary
to creep through narrow holes in order to get into it. It is now
entirely cleared, from the ceiling to the floor, as well as the chapel
which opens into it. It is in a perfect state of preservation, the
paintings and sculptures being intact, except for the erasures made by
Thothmes III. The starred ceiling rests on three rows of four so-
called proto-doric columns, with sixteen-sided shafts, over which are