Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (10.1998(1999))

DEIR EL-BAHARI

EGYPT

out that the two side walls were filled with
a procession of priests carrying offerings.
The general character of the scene recalls
the decoration on the walls of the offerings
room of Hatshepsut in the south complex
of the Royal Cult Chapels and taking into
consideration the stages in the building of
the temple, it should be thought of as the
prototype. It is an unique decoration, not
found in other temple structures.

Concurrently, preparations started on
replacing the original fragments of the
Ptolemaic portal and on the reconstruction
of the floor of the room. The consolidated
sandstone lintel of the entrance to the sanc-
tuary of Amenhotep son of Hapu and
Imhotep will be displayed in the Ptolemaic
portico before the entrance to the room of
the bark as there is now no place for it in
the original wall.

UPPER COURTYARD

A reconstruction of the upper band of the
decoration was carried out in the southern
section of the eastern wall, restoring the
series of scenes representing the procession
of the holy bark of Amun from the temple
in Karnak to the temple at Luxor during
the Feast of Opet. The brick wall was
replaced with more than 40 original blocks
with surviving decoration. The stone
material underwent conservation, remov-
ing from the wall concrete and gypsum
mortars used in the earlier reconstruction.
The missing parts were concealed under
a layer of plaster in which some of the
missing figures were modeled.
The scene beginning the ceremony was
completed. The royal pair (Hatshepsut
and Totmes III) is shown offering natron
pellets before the bark which stands in the
chapel of the Karnak temple (Fzg. 6). The
figure of the queen, which was followed by
that of Tuthmosis, was removed and
replaced with a depiction of the offerings.
In the same way, the composition of the
other scenes in the eastern wall was
changed. Sometimes, as in the last scene of
the bottom register of the decoration, the
figure of the queen was replaced with
a hieroglyphic inscription. Other blocks

replaced in the wall permit a reconstruc-
tion of consecutive episodes in the celebra-
tion of the feast, including dancers accom-
panying the procession, the retinue of
priests with standards, the procession of
royal statues including the surviving fig-
ure of queen Jahmes, princess Neferubity
and Mutneferet, mother of Tuthmosis II.
What is noteworthy is the rich repertory
of royal headdresses: composite crowns,
crowns of Lower and Upper Egypt, the atef
crown and the hpri helmet. The upper
register of the decoration ends with a rep-
resentation of the holy bark standing in
the chapel of the temple at Luxor.
A few additional fragments were also
restored to the bottom register of a repre-
sentation depicting the procession's
return by boat to Karnak, reconstructed
earlier by the Polish-Egyptian expedi-
tion.12^ The newly fitted elements
include two blocks of special interests,
showing the IJp-uaut jackal "opening the
way" depicted on one of the standards set
up on the bow of the royal ship. Small
decorated fragments (bow, rudders,
chapels) were also fitted into the repre-
sentations of the bark of Amun and the
boats transporting it.

12) Blocks from this part of the wall are to be found in a number of museums including Hanover and Berlin. Cf. J.
Karkowski, [in:] Geheimnisvolle Konigin Hatschepsut (Warschau 1997), pp. 111, 113.

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