Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (10.1998(1999))

_DEIR EL-BAHARI_

EGYPT

stores, it became possible to reconstruct the
entire south jamb, as well as the decoration
above the lintel, at the same time providing
firm grounds for a theoretical reconstruc-
tion of the course of blocks in the walls of
the room of the offerings. In view of the fact
that the original spot is taken up by the
Ptolemaic portal, the block which was
removed from the northern wall and com-
bined with the remaining elements of the
original entrance is now on display in the
upper court next to the sanctuary. The
Ptolemaic jamb was reassembled and con-
solidated with silico-organic agents.
The conservation and cleaning of the
walls lasted through the season. Around
the places, where in Coptic times oil lamps
had been lighted, the layer of soot was so
thick that the treatment consisting of soft-
ening the soot with saturated tampons and
removing it mechanically had to be repeat-
ed several times so that the original paint-
ed surface would not be damaged in any
way. The greasy soot deposits have caused
a permanent discoloration of the stone in
the bottom courses and in the entrance to
the room decorated with the characteristic
band ornament. On the northern door
frame, a poorly preserved representation of
a kneeling Senenmut was traced, including
an illegible hieroglyphic inscription
which had been hammered out. All the
scenes representing the purification of the
statue of Amun (water libation, offering of
incense and pellets of natron by
Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis III) were
cleaned. An analysis of the decoration clar-
ified by the cleaning treatment has shown
that originally the purification of the stat-
ue of Amun was carried out by the royal
pair, Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis III, in
unison. As in many other parts of the tem-
ple, so here the figure of the queen occu-
pied the southern side, while the figure of
the king dominated in the northern part

of the room. The representation of the
queen seen next to the entrance on the
south wall is especially noteworthy. The
yellow pigment on the face of the queen
testifies to the artist's intent to emphasize
the female gender of the represented fig-
ure. The obviously modeled female breast
corresponds with this intent. These attrib-
utes, as well as the portrait features of the
queen and the localization itself of the
relief in the room from the first stage in
the construction of the temple at Deir el-
Bahari, constitute evidence that the repre-
sentation we are dealing with here is that
of Hatshepsut still as a woman although
dressed already in male royal dress. The
traces of red paint on the shoulders, body
and legs are the effect of repainting exe-
cuted either still in the reign of
Hatshepsut or under Tuthmosis III.
The soot-covered vault of the room was
left untreated as it was found that under
the influence of the temperature the mol-
ecules of the blue background had reacted
chemically with the soot to such a degree
that the deposits could not be lifted with-
out considerable damage to the painted
layer. The treatment was limited to reat-
taching peeling fragments and to filling
the void joints between displaced blocks.
Work started on the new floor and on the
last aesthetic touches.
ROOM OF THE OFFERINGS
(Ptolemaic sanctuary)
The reconstruction of the entrance, identi-
fication of the arrangement of the wall
courses and of a few decorated blocks from
the side walls permitted the first provi-
sional theoretical restoration of the icono-
graphic program of the room of the offer-
ings. This was possible thanks to the dis-
covery of several as yet unknown blocks
which the Ptolemies had installed with the
decorated side facing inward. It has turned

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