DOI Artikel:
Naville, Edouard; Hall, H. R.: Egypt Exploration Fund: excavations at Deir El-Bahari
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.12055#0014
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Egypt Exploration Fund.
in the previous year, only four pillars standing out of the original total of
twenty-four. The sculptured facing-wall, originally built of large lime-
stone blocks like those of the similar wall in the north court, is now
nearly destroyed, but during the excavations we found many fragments ot
its reliefs: hunting scenes, in which the king is seen chasing antelopes
and other big game of the desert; boats carrying soldiers or passing across
the river in solemn religious procession; heaps of enemies slain by the
king's arrows, etc. Mentuhetep was certainly a warrior, and waged war
against the Semites ; the slain enemies, yellow men with pointed beards,
are called in an accompanying inscription Aamu, i.e. nomads of the
Sinaitic peninsula. Up to the present we have not found any correspond-
ing mention of Punt or the Punites, though we know that a king of this
dynasty sent an expedition to that land of the far south. Remains of the
original wooden pavement of the ramp, consisting of beams laid trans-
versely across it, were found in position. At the end of the season the
ramp was built up in its original form.
This clearing work involved heavy labour, and was not finished till the
middle of December. The chief antiquities found were several standing
Osiride figures of kings, of sandstone, painted red and white. The best,
which has been assigned to the British Museum, is inscribed with the name
of king Amenhetep I, who was, like his predecessor Mentuhetep III,
venerated as a protector of the western necropolis. An interesting point
in connection with these figures is the fact that during the course of the
work the upper part of a limestone stela was found, on which is an almost
contemporary (XVIIIth Dynasty) representation of the statues in question,
which are labelled with the names of Amenhetep I and Mentuhetep. Like
two of the figures found, they have the short heb-sed garment instead of
the long Osiride grave-cloth which the British Museum figure wears. The
scene on the stela represented the offering of adorations to the actual
statues, which were evidently originally erected in front of the temple near
the beginning of the ramp.
The first three days' work on the platform resulted in the exposure of
the whole eastern face, sixty feet long, of the central building of heavy flint
nodules, already mentioned, which was thought to be the pyramid of King
Mentuhetep. It proved to be square with the platform, the centre of the
eastern side being in the axis of the ramp. In only one place, the north-
western corner, has any of the outer facing been preserved (see pi. ii). This
is of fine white limestone, like the walls of the northern court discovered
last year. On this is a later sculpture of the King Siptah, of the XlXth
Dynasty, who is depicted kneeling in adoration, probably before the cow of
Egypt Exploration Fund.
in the previous year, only four pillars standing out of the original total of
twenty-four. The sculptured facing-wall, originally built of large lime-
stone blocks like those of the similar wall in the north court, is now
nearly destroyed, but during the excavations we found many fragments ot
its reliefs: hunting scenes, in which the king is seen chasing antelopes
and other big game of the desert; boats carrying soldiers or passing across
the river in solemn religious procession; heaps of enemies slain by the
king's arrows, etc. Mentuhetep was certainly a warrior, and waged war
against the Semites ; the slain enemies, yellow men with pointed beards,
are called in an accompanying inscription Aamu, i.e. nomads of the
Sinaitic peninsula. Up to the present we have not found any correspond-
ing mention of Punt or the Punites, though we know that a king of this
dynasty sent an expedition to that land of the far south. Remains of the
original wooden pavement of the ramp, consisting of beams laid trans-
versely across it, were found in position. At the end of the season the
ramp was built up in its original form.
This clearing work involved heavy labour, and was not finished till the
middle of December. The chief antiquities found were several standing
Osiride figures of kings, of sandstone, painted red and white. The best,
which has been assigned to the British Museum, is inscribed with the name
of king Amenhetep I, who was, like his predecessor Mentuhetep III,
venerated as a protector of the western necropolis. An interesting point
in connection with these figures is the fact that during the course of the
work the upper part of a limestone stela was found, on which is an almost
contemporary (XVIIIth Dynasty) representation of the statues in question,
which are labelled with the names of Amenhetep I and Mentuhetep. Like
two of the figures found, they have the short heb-sed garment instead of
the long Osiride grave-cloth which the British Museum figure wears. The
scene on the stela represented the offering of adorations to the actual
statues, which were evidently originally erected in front of the temple near
the beginning of the ramp.
The first three days' work on the platform resulted in the exposure of
the whole eastern face, sixty feet long, of the central building of heavy flint
nodules, already mentioned, which was thought to be the pyramid of King
Mentuhetep. It proved to be square with the platform, the centre of the
eastern side being in the axis of the ramp. In only one place, the north-
western corner, has any of the outer facing been preserved (see pi. ii). This
is of fine white limestone, like the walls of the northern court discovered
last year. On this is a later sculpture of the King Siptah, of the XlXth
Dynasty, who is depicted kneeling in adoration, probably before the cow of