DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4862#0033
The decorated
doorways
Their coloring
The present
state of the
tomb
THE TOMB AND THE SITE
suggests that the three chapels reflect the three types of coffins or cas-
kets with flat, vaulted, or canopied lids, rather than domestic archi-
tecture.
The remains of the two doorways furnished the materials for the re-
construction in Plate XLIV, which may give us an idea how rich in tone
and detail the throne-room of a palace might be, even if it left much to
be desired in point of durability.1
The state of the reliefs when the tomb was taken over by the
Expedition had best be described, so far as it affects the scenes, as each
wall is dealt with. In the hall the greatest source of injury was the fall of
the central part of the roof, which entailed the ruin of the upper half of
the front wall along almost the whole of its extent, only the extreme ends
being preserved. The upper half of the south wall was destroyed by the
negligence of the owners of the adjacent tomb, who hewed out a burial
chamber too close to it. The piercing of the reliefs of the front wall for
the extra doorway constitutes another serious loss. The decorated entab-
latures had been in part built up of blocks too weak to meet the strain
imposed. These all fell away, the south door disappearing entirely with
the collapse of the front wall of the chapel. Ancient wells and chambers
seem to lie in close proximity to the tomb along its entire rear, and great
irruptions of debris still threaten the north and south chapels, being held
back only by a smear of mud, which a government employee, practised in
such methods by intimate knowledge of the art of illicit digging, cleverly
applied at weak points.2 One such cataclysm occurred while our men were
'This plate has been specially designed to supply a greatly needed gap in all publications; some
demonstration, namely, how bright an aspect the interior of a Theban tomb presented in its original state.
The light, however, ought to be much subdued. But, unless the chamber has been restored in the interval,
he who visits the tomb with this picture in hand or mind will consider himself sadly cheated. Except for
some of the scenes on the left, and blackened ceiling patterns, he will find an unsightly wreck with little of
the forms, and less of the color, here shown. Yet, apart from a little unimportant detail and a large part
of the inscriptions, everything can be guaranteed, the color being based on surviving traces, detached
fragments which preserved it in something like its original state, and practical knowledge of the almost
unvarying tones of the New Kingdom palette. The white slip on the edges of the stone which serves to
mark off the forms which the black color and dull lighting would otherwise have obscured, shows an unusual
regard for effect. In order to present the inscribed parts also in a perfect condition I have shamelessly
introduced borrowed phrases, as may be seen from a comparison with Plate XLV.
2 Underground chambers apparently exist to the south of the south chapel and are the cause of the
unsymmetrical shape of the tomb.
IO
doorways
Their coloring
The present
state of the
tomb
THE TOMB AND THE SITE
suggests that the three chapels reflect the three types of coffins or cas-
kets with flat, vaulted, or canopied lids, rather than domestic archi-
tecture.
The remains of the two doorways furnished the materials for the re-
construction in Plate XLIV, which may give us an idea how rich in tone
and detail the throne-room of a palace might be, even if it left much to
be desired in point of durability.1
The state of the reliefs when the tomb was taken over by the
Expedition had best be described, so far as it affects the scenes, as each
wall is dealt with. In the hall the greatest source of injury was the fall of
the central part of the roof, which entailed the ruin of the upper half of
the front wall along almost the whole of its extent, only the extreme ends
being preserved. The upper half of the south wall was destroyed by the
negligence of the owners of the adjacent tomb, who hewed out a burial
chamber too close to it. The piercing of the reliefs of the front wall for
the extra doorway constitutes another serious loss. The decorated entab-
latures had been in part built up of blocks too weak to meet the strain
imposed. These all fell away, the south door disappearing entirely with
the collapse of the front wall of the chapel. Ancient wells and chambers
seem to lie in close proximity to the tomb along its entire rear, and great
irruptions of debris still threaten the north and south chapels, being held
back only by a smear of mud, which a government employee, practised in
such methods by intimate knowledge of the art of illicit digging, cleverly
applied at weak points.2 One such cataclysm occurred while our men were
'This plate has been specially designed to supply a greatly needed gap in all publications; some
demonstration, namely, how bright an aspect the interior of a Theban tomb presented in its original state.
The light, however, ought to be much subdued. But, unless the chamber has been restored in the interval,
he who visits the tomb with this picture in hand or mind will consider himself sadly cheated. Except for
some of the scenes on the left, and blackened ceiling patterns, he will find an unsightly wreck with little of
the forms, and less of the color, here shown. Yet, apart from a little unimportant detail and a large part
of the inscriptions, everything can be guaranteed, the color being based on surviving traces, detached
fragments which preserved it in something like its original state, and practical knowledge of the almost
unvarying tones of the New Kingdom palette. The white slip on the edges of the stone which serves to
mark off the forms which the black color and dull lighting would otherwise have obscured, shows an unusual
regard for effect. In order to present the inscribed parts also in a perfect condition I have shamelessly
introduced borrowed phrases, as may be seen from a comparison with Plate XLV.
2 Underground chambers apparently exist to the south of the south chapel and are the cause of the
unsymmetrical shape of the tomb.
IO