DOI Artikel:
Griffith, Francis Ll.: Progress of Egyptology: archaeology, hieroglyphic studies, etc
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.12055#0037
Archaeology, Hieroglyphic Studies, Etc.
25
Davis has for some years provided the funds, was continued last winter, and
resulted in the discovery of the tomb of the parents of the famous wife of
Amenhotep III. The tomb is situated in the small side valley on the left
as one approaches the main group of royal sepulchres, and is between
numbers 3 and -4. These two, long known, are of the times of
Rameses III. and Barneses XII.; the chips thrown out by the excavation
of the two later galleries had been banked up between them and had never
been touched. The possibility that they might conceal some earlier
monument occurred to us and a trench run into the bank soon disclosed the
mouth of the new shaft.
'•' A short steep stair of seventeen steps, a more gently sloping gallery and
another stair led to the mouth of the burial chamber. It had been
blocked by a wall of rubble daubed over with mud and sealed with great
prints of a seal representing an Anubis and nine prisoners. Part of the
wall had been broken down, and we could immediately see that the tomb
had been robbed and also that much had been left. The chamber,
roughly 8 metres by 3, was packed with coffins, chairs, canopic vases, vases
of earthenware and other objects, manyr of them lavishly gilt and silvered :
so remarkable was the preservation that the silver was still bright, but
within three days, and before anything could be moved, it had become
black.
"The objects are now on view at the Museum. Two publications are to be
made ; Mr. Davis will publish an edition de luxe, to which M. Maspero
will contribute a life of Yuaa and Thuaa, Mr. Newberry an appreciation
of the objects, and Mr. Carter a series of coloured plates. The second
publication will form a volume of the Catalogue General.
" Yuaa was laid in four coffins, one inside the other. The outer one can
hardly be called a coffin; it is a square box on runners, but has no bottom;
it forms a cover or tent over the rest. It is of wood covered with pitch, and
ornamented with bands of inscription in relief on gilt plaster. The second
coffin is of the shape of a mummy, covered like the last with glistening pitch
and with gilt bands of text. In the third coffin the gilt bands are the same,
but the background is of silver leaf. The fourth is gilt all over and has
hieroglyphs of glass inlaid in the gold. This coffin was silvered inside and
contained the mummy; the body had been thoroughly searched ; evidently
Yuaa was known to have been buried with jewellery. His gilt carton-
nage mask and the bands which encircled the body remained, but were
broken.
" The mummy itself is in wonderful preservation, better perhaps than any
other from Biban el Moluk; the features are not distorted; the powerful
25
Davis has for some years provided the funds, was continued last winter, and
resulted in the discovery of the tomb of the parents of the famous wife of
Amenhotep III. The tomb is situated in the small side valley on the left
as one approaches the main group of royal sepulchres, and is between
numbers 3 and -4. These two, long known, are of the times of
Rameses III. and Barneses XII.; the chips thrown out by the excavation
of the two later galleries had been banked up between them and had never
been touched. The possibility that they might conceal some earlier
monument occurred to us and a trench run into the bank soon disclosed the
mouth of the new shaft.
'•' A short steep stair of seventeen steps, a more gently sloping gallery and
another stair led to the mouth of the burial chamber. It had been
blocked by a wall of rubble daubed over with mud and sealed with great
prints of a seal representing an Anubis and nine prisoners. Part of the
wall had been broken down, and we could immediately see that the tomb
had been robbed and also that much had been left. The chamber,
roughly 8 metres by 3, was packed with coffins, chairs, canopic vases, vases
of earthenware and other objects, manyr of them lavishly gilt and silvered :
so remarkable was the preservation that the silver was still bright, but
within three days, and before anything could be moved, it had become
black.
"The objects are now on view at the Museum. Two publications are to be
made ; Mr. Davis will publish an edition de luxe, to which M. Maspero
will contribute a life of Yuaa and Thuaa, Mr. Newberry an appreciation
of the objects, and Mr. Carter a series of coloured plates. The second
publication will form a volume of the Catalogue General.
" Yuaa was laid in four coffins, one inside the other. The outer one can
hardly be called a coffin; it is a square box on runners, but has no bottom;
it forms a cover or tent over the rest. It is of wood covered with pitch, and
ornamented with bands of inscription in relief on gilt plaster. The second
coffin is of the shape of a mummy, covered like the last with glistening pitch
and with gilt bands of text. In the third coffin the gilt bands are the same,
but the background is of silver leaf. The fourth is gilt all over and has
hieroglyphs of glass inlaid in the gold. This coffin was silvered inside and
contained the mummy; the body had been thoroughly searched ; evidently
Yuaa was known to have been buried with jewellery. His gilt carton-
nage mask and the bands which encircled the body remained, but were
broken.
" The mummy itself is in wonderful preservation, better perhaps than any
other from Biban el Moluk; the features are not distorted; the powerful