Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (12.2000(2001))

DEIR EL-BAHARI

EGYPT

PROSPECTS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

The three newly discovered robbers' shafts
illustrate repeated attempts to localize
a potential tomb, suggested also by the
presence of several graffiti with the name
of the Royal Scribe Butehamun, usually
accompanying ancient tombs. Excavations
have brought to light a considerable
amount of ancient man-made limestone
chips, no doubt originating from some
rock cutting process in antiquity, as well
as, more importantly, a part of the handle
of a ceremonial royal dagger of the
Seventeenth-early Eighteenth Dynasty style,
undoubtedly robbed from a tomb. Considered
together, this evidence is indicative of the
existence of a tomb in the area.
Sector D seems to be a highly probable
place for a tomb. It is covered with fallen

stones, most probably remnants of
a catastrophic rockfall that destroyed the
temple of Tuthmosis III and damaged the
temple of Hatshepsut sometime during the
Twenty-First Dynasty. Indeed, the boulders
still resting on the slope in sector D pose a
threat to the reconstructed temples below
and should be removed, especially stones a
and (3. The mission has already taken steps
in preparation for this task, starting work
on a protective platform that needs to be
made on the slope below the stones, before
they can be broken up.
Further excavations in sector D could
lead to the discovery of the entrance to
a putative tomb of the early Eighteenth
Dynasty that had probably been robbed and
reused during the Twenty-First Dynasty.

SURVEY IN THE NORTHERN DEIR EL-BAHARI CIRCUS

A survey in the northern branch of the Deir
el-Bahari circus searched for traces of
potential human activity on the level on
which our excavations were made. Six
spots, bearing some characteristics of places
where tombs can usually be expected, have

been identified. The rock faces above these
spots had been cleared of weathered
substance and stone chips appear on the
ground. Probes to verify whether there had
been any human activity in these places
will be carried out in the next season.

CLIFF RESEARCH
by Mikolaj Budzanowski

The alpine survey of the cliff-face over the
Hatshepsut Temple was continued, the
work focusing on searching for new graffiti
in inaccessible parts of the cliff.
Earthquakes and human activity have
changed the form of the original rock shelf.
The ancient ground level has disappeared
completely in many places, making the
higher parts of the rock-shelf inaccessible.
The survey concentrated on the 45 m of
cliff face over the main rock-shelf (section

C) and on the lower shelf, some 20 meters
above the casing wall of the Hatshepsut
Temple (section G).
The team made several descents on
rope from the upper ridge of the cliff
down to the rock-shelf, not finding,
however, any new graffiti or chisel marks.
The lower shelf proved far more
promising. Several rock inscriptions were
found (cf. below in this report, section on
the graffiti survey).

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