DOI Artikel:
Naville, Edouard: Egypt Exploration Fund, [6]: Excavations at Deir el Bahari
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.10056#0015
Excavations at Deir el Bahaki.
•3
excavations in the soil of this court and along the outside of the shrine
confirm Mariette's discovery that the temple was built on the site of a
necropolis of the Xlth Dynasty. In the immediate vicinity of the
temple I came across thirteen tombs, which I thoroughly cleared,
finding that, as usual in most Egyptian cemeteries, they had all been
anciently rifled. Some had been re-used in the XXIst Dynasty for
priests of Amon. But even in a rifled necropolis we may hope to dis-
cover occasionally a tomb which was overlooked by the plunderers, and
to this end it is necessary that every tomb in the place should be
systematically excavated. The tombs at Deir el Bahari are all on the
same plan; they are rectangular pits dug in the soft and flaky rock to a
depth of ten or twelve feet. On one side, generally on the west, opens
a small chamber, originally closed by a brick wall, which contained one
coffin only. The plundering of these tombs had usually taken place
shortly after burial, and in such cases the rubbish with which they
were filled consisted of the rock chips made in the course of cutting out
the pit. Several pits, which, judging from the nature of the rubbish
which they contained, were apparently untouched, proved to have been
completely cleared except for a few wooden figures, or a little coarse
pottery. But when a pit contained stone that had obviously been taken
from the walls of the temple, there could be no doubt that the tomb
had been re-used ; and in that case the door would be found closed
with two or three stone slabs, and the tomb itself contained a yellow,
mammiform coffin of XXIst Dynasty style.
The interments of the Xlth Dynasty were apparently made with a
certain degree of lavishness, and the tombs originally contained valuables,
otherwise they would not have tempted the cupidity of the robbers. I
could form some idea as to what the character of this necropolis must
once have been from a tomb which had been only partly plundered. In
emptying the pit we found two pieces of the gilt cartonnage and the
necklace of blue glazed beads from the mummy. The chamber contained
a coffin in the style of the Xlth Dynasty, made of sycamore wood,
rectangular, very thick and heavy, and in a perfect state of preservation.
Outside, on box and lid, are lines of blue hieroglyphs giving the name
of the deceased, and also there are two large eyes, a decoration
characteristic of coffins of that period. The angles are lined with
gilding. The inside is entirely covered with paintings and inscriptions.
Above are hoiizontal lines of large hieroglyphs most exquisitely painted,
as well as representations of the objects supposed to be placed near the
deceased; mirrors, necklaces, bracelets, &c. Below and on the bottom
E 2
•3
excavations in the soil of this court and along the outside of the shrine
confirm Mariette's discovery that the temple was built on the site of a
necropolis of the Xlth Dynasty. In the immediate vicinity of the
temple I came across thirteen tombs, which I thoroughly cleared,
finding that, as usual in most Egyptian cemeteries, they had all been
anciently rifled. Some had been re-used in the XXIst Dynasty for
priests of Amon. But even in a rifled necropolis we may hope to dis-
cover occasionally a tomb which was overlooked by the plunderers, and
to this end it is necessary that every tomb in the place should be
systematically excavated. The tombs at Deir el Bahari are all on the
same plan; they are rectangular pits dug in the soft and flaky rock to a
depth of ten or twelve feet. On one side, generally on the west, opens
a small chamber, originally closed by a brick wall, which contained one
coffin only. The plundering of these tombs had usually taken place
shortly after burial, and in such cases the rubbish with which they
were filled consisted of the rock chips made in the course of cutting out
the pit. Several pits, which, judging from the nature of the rubbish
which they contained, were apparently untouched, proved to have been
completely cleared except for a few wooden figures, or a little coarse
pottery. But when a pit contained stone that had obviously been taken
from the walls of the temple, there could be no doubt that the tomb
had been re-used ; and in that case the door would be found closed
with two or three stone slabs, and the tomb itself contained a yellow,
mammiform coffin of XXIst Dynasty style.
The interments of the Xlth Dynasty were apparently made with a
certain degree of lavishness, and the tombs originally contained valuables,
otherwise they would not have tempted the cupidity of the robbers. I
could form some idea as to what the character of this necropolis must
once have been from a tomb which had been only partly plundered. In
emptying the pit we found two pieces of the gilt cartonnage and the
necklace of blue glazed beads from the mummy. The chamber contained
a coffin in the style of the Xlth Dynasty, made of sycamore wood,
rectangular, very thick and heavy, and in a perfect state of preservation.
Outside, on box and lid, are lines of blue hieroglyphs giving the name
of the deceased, and also there are two large eyes, a decoration
characteristic of coffins of that period. The angles are lined with
gilding. The inside is entirely covered with paintings and inscriptions.
Above are hoiizontal lines of large hieroglyphs most exquisitely painted,
as well as representations of the objects supposed to be placed near the
deceased; mirrors, necklaces, bracelets, &c. Below and on the bottom
E 2