Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (10.1998(1999))

_DEIR EL-BAHARI_

EGYPT

a block made up of more than 20 pieces. Its
decoration is constituted by a frieze of
re£Zry«Z-figures, drawn as small lapwing
birds facing the entrance to the chamber.
The localization of this block with a cen-
trally positioned sm3 sign permitted a pre-
cise reconstruction of the remaining ele-
ments of this symmetrical composition. It
was decided to trace the silhouettes of the
missing figures of the fertility deities in
the new parts of the plaster in order for the
character of the scene to be made more evi-
dent (Fig. 4).
Single blocks with images of the offer-
ings brought before the holy bark were
mounted in two other scenes. Soot was
removed from all the royal images in the
bottom register of the decoration, including
the figure of Tuthmosis II and his k3 in the
west end of the northern wall of the room
and a representation of Amun embracing
Hatshepsut from the eastern section of the
southern wall. After the changes introduced
in the decoration at the end of the reign of
Tuthmosis III, the figure of Hatshepsut was
removed and the now isolated Amun was
given a w3s scepter to hold.
The final restoration of the western wall
of the hall of the bark was carried out to
the end. The wall was simultaneously the
facade of the entrance to the room of the
cult statue. In the previous two seasons this
wall was largely restored; now five new
fragments with a dedicatory inscription
and the royal titles seen on the jambs of the
entrance were added to the several already
installed original blocks in the tympanum
above the lintel (Fig. 5').
It was decided to remove from the bot-
tom courses of the northern jamb a block,
the surviving decoration of which indicat-
ed that it had been reused here in

Ptolemaic times. Upon dismantling, it was
found that the block had come from the
upper course forming the entrance leading
to the last room of the sanctuary, the hall of
the offerings. The arched tkr frame leaves
no doubt as to this.11)
A stone pavement was laid in the whole
room. Many original blocks were used
while the missing sections were recon-
structed of new limestone quarried in the
vicinity of the temple site. Also, the steps
leading to the hall of the table of offerings
were restored.
HALL OF THE CULT STATUE
A full conservation of the walls of this
room was carried out in the course of the
season. The entire eastern section of the
northern wall was taken apart and the loose
rock debris gathered behind it was
removed in order to release the pressure
that had caused the wall to bulge and be
displaced. The completely preserved block
found behind the wall must have been
thrown into the space when the room was
being rebuilt, still in the reign of
Hatshepsut. Its dimensions, scale and the
subject of the decoration with a hkr frieze
and the royal titulature visible at the top
indicate that the block must have belonged
to the back end wall of the side (northern)
chapel of the divinities of Lower Egypt. It
is also to be presumed that it originated
from the first stage of the building of the
sanctuary before year 11, when the two side
chapels were among the parts of the temple
that were renovated. Its place in the wall
was taken by a newly prepared block which
had been sized to fit the new chapel vault.
Of equal importance was the discovery
in the western corner of the northern wall
of the room of the cult statue of another

n) The block had been recorded earlier and erroneously localized in the back wall of the last room of the sanctuary, cf.
Karkowski et al., MDAIK 39, op. cit., fig. 1, p. 96.

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