DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.1036#0019
THE ANTIQUITIES OF KAHUN.
II
of Kahun could succeed the Mykenae pottery is in
most cases apparently impossible in its very nature.
Such pieces as (i, 8, 12 & 14) are all of styles which
do not fall into any place in the historic development
of pottery from Mykenae downwards, and yet which
most certainly came from Greece or Italy.
Finally, on the one hand we have a prepossession
to deal with as to what is likely in a period as yet
totally unknown, the pre - Mykenaean age. Pre-
possessions are often valuable, but very risky when
dealing with the wholly unknown. On the other
hand we have the external evidence of the early age
of this pottery in the XII-XIII dynasties; and the
internal evidence of extremely early features in it,
and of such never being found in later ages, and its
not falling into any part of the historic series of
known pottery. For the present I feel compelled to
conclude that we have here the products of the earliest
Libyo-Greek civilization of the Aegean and Italy at
about 2500 B.C. Many more of the strange signs
scratched on pottery have been found; but as I have
not time to prepare copies of them all, I give a hand
list of the forms (Pl. XV) for purposes of study.
23. Of stonework some curious figures have been
found. The dwarf supporting a dish (VI, 9) is
remarkable, as we have no clue to the meaning of
such figures in Egypt. This is one of the dish-stands,
which are generally simple columns; and which,
whenever they are found charged, have a cake of
dough stuck in the dish. It seems reasonable to
suppose that they are stands for household offerings
of daily bread. Another such stand (10) is of ruder
type, but carefully cut out in pierced work. The two
figures back to back recall another rude stand with
two figures found last year. Another unusual figure
is a torso of a girl carved in a rough and gross style
but solely naturalistic, and without any trace of the
Egyptian canon ; it is painted red, and bears marks
of a black wreath around the waist. Another figure
of a little girl playing a harp, small and coloured, was
also found, and is now at Ghizeh. A rough large
figure of Taurt was found, as also a small one last
year, shewing that her form was already fixed at
this period. And a good statue of a man seated
cross-legged, carved in limestone, but without any
inscription The inscribed statues will be noticed
under inscriptions.
24. In wood there are some good little carvings.
The lion (VIII, 1) and the crocodile (VIII, 2) are each
about as fine as they can be. And a most exquisitely
carved ivory ape seated on a palm capital may be
mentioned here : it is dated to Amenemhat II by a
cylinder found with it in a burial: it is of the finest
naturalistic work, shewing all the curious puckers of
the face, and the half human intelligence of the
animal. Of course it is now at Ghizeh. Another
bowl with rams' heads was found, like that in " Kahun "
(VIII, 3) but rather smaller, and not quite so well
worked. The hawk's head in wood (VIII, 7) has
garnet eyes inserted ; what the use of this was is
uncertain. The similar hawk's head in bronze (VIII,
8) has a rectangular hole through from breast to back,
as if to fit on to some object. The bases of both these
pieces are quite flat and smooth. They might possibly
be some pieces for a game. Among glazed objects
we notice the star (VIII. 14) the dragon fly (15), the
cowry (18) and the cone shell (19) all of blue or green
glaze.
25. We now pass on to the tools and fittings. The
wooden blocks in which the door-bolts slid have been
found and identified : they were let into the door near
the edge by a tenon, and fixed with a pin in the edge
of the door: the bolt slid through one such block and
into the wall, if a single door, or through the two
blocks on the edges of a double door. This double
door, with a bolt shot, is often seen on representations
of a door (see "A Season in Egypt," XX, 13, 20, 21);
and a bolt shot through two blocks is the regular
hieroglyph s. A set of tent pegs was found, cut with
heads, and with the ends of palm rope still around
them. The fire sticks for drilling fire have been again
found, both the lower pieces (VII, 25, 26) and also the
upper rotating piece (24). One block (26) is not
burnt in the holes, but is very deeply drilled ; it
suggests that it was a trial block for a learner, who
had not yet attained the skill of fire-making. The
other (27) is well used, all the holes being charred to
a glossy charcoal face ; two places have been notched,
but not yet drilled. The upper stick (24) is quite
charred at the lower end, and ground down with a
characteristic shoulder produced by the friction. It
is of the XVIIIth dynasty, found with a scarab of
Amenhotep III. How these fire drills were rotated
we can guess on seeing the common figures of drill
bows on the sculptures : such a tool could not be
familiar without being used for the fire-drilling.
Three examples of drill bows were found, one of
which is figured here (22), and also an unfinished drill
stock (23). The unsymmetrical form of the bow is to
adapt it to hold in the hand by the near end, and the
length of it is just suited to the swing of the elbow
from the shoulder.
C 2
II
of Kahun could succeed the Mykenae pottery is in
most cases apparently impossible in its very nature.
Such pieces as (i, 8, 12 & 14) are all of styles which
do not fall into any place in the historic development
of pottery from Mykenae downwards, and yet which
most certainly came from Greece or Italy.
Finally, on the one hand we have a prepossession
to deal with as to what is likely in a period as yet
totally unknown, the pre - Mykenaean age. Pre-
possessions are often valuable, but very risky when
dealing with the wholly unknown. On the other
hand we have the external evidence of the early age
of this pottery in the XII-XIII dynasties; and the
internal evidence of extremely early features in it,
and of such never being found in later ages, and its
not falling into any part of the historic series of
known pottery. For the present I feel compelled to
conclude that we have here the products of the earliest
Libyo-Greek civilization of the Aegean and Italy at
about 2500 B.C. Many more of the strange signs
scratched on pottery have been found; but as I have
not time to prepare copies of them all, I give a hand
list of the forms (Pl. XV) for purposes of study.
23. Of stonework some curious figures have been
found. The dwarf supporting a dish (VI, 9) is
remarkable, as we have no clue to the meaning of
such figures in Egypt. This is one of the dish-stands,
which are generally simple columns; and which,
whenever they are found charged, have a cake of
dough stuck in the dish. It seems reasonable to
suppose that they are stands for household offerings
of daily bread. Another such stand (10) is of ruder
type, but carefully cut out in pierced work. The two
figures back to back recall another rude stand with
two figures found last year. Another unusual figure
is a torso of a girl carved in a rough and gross style
but solely naturalistic, and without any trace of the
Egyptian canon ; it is painted red, and bears marks
of a black wreath around the waist. Another figure
of a little girl playing a harp, small and coloured, was
also found, and is now at Ghizeh. A rough large
figure of Taurt was found, as also a small one last
year, shewing that her form was already fixed at
this period. And a good statue of a man seated
cross-legged, carved in limestone, but without any
inscription The inscribed statues will be noticed
under inscriptions.
24. In wood there are some good little carvings.
The lion (VIII, 1) and the crocodile (VIII, 2) are each
about as fine as they can be. And a most exquisitely
carved ivory ape seated on a palm capital may be
mentioned here : it is dated to Amenemhat II by a
cylinder found with it in a burial: it is of the finest
naturalistic work, shewing all the curious puckers of
the face, and the half human intelligence of the
animal. Of course it is now at Ghizeh. Another
bowl with rams' heads was found, like that in " Kahun "
(VIII, 3) but rather smaller, and not quite so well
worked. The hawk's head in wood (VIII, 7) has
garnet eyes inserted ; what the use of this was is
uncertain. The similar hawk's head in bronze (VIII,
8) has a rectangular hole through from breast to back,
as if to fit on to some object. The bases of both these
pieces are quite flat and smooth. They might possibly
be some pieces for a game. Among glazed objects
we notice the star (VIII. 14) the dragon fly (15), the
cowry (18) and the cone shell (19) all of blue or green
glaze.
25. We now pass on to the tools and fittings. The
wooden blocks in which the door-bolts slid have been
found and identified : they were let into the door near
the edge by a tenon, and fixed with a pin in the edge
of the door: the bolt slid through one such block and
into the wall, if a single door, or through the two
blocks on the edges of a double door. This double
door, with a bolt shot, is often seen on representations
of a door (see "A Season in Egypt," XX, 13, 20, 21);
and a bolt shot through two blocks is the regular
hieroglyph s. A set of tent pegs was found, cut with
heads, and with the ends of palm rope still around
them. The fire sticks for drilling fire have been again
found, both the lower pieces (VII, 25, 26) and also the
upper rotating piece (24). One block (26) is not
burnt in the holes, but is very deeply drilled ; it
suggests that it was a trial block for a learner, who
had not yet attained the skill of fire-making. The
other (27) is well used, all the holes being charred to
a glossy charcoal face ; two places have been notched,
but not yet drilled. The upper stick (24) is quite
charred at the lower end, and ground down with a
characteristic shoulder produced by the friction. It
is of the XVIIIth dynasty, found with a scarab of
Amenhotep III. How these fire drills were rotated
we can guess on seeing the common figures of drill
bows on the sculptures : such a tool could not be
familiar without being used for the fire-drilling.
Three examples of drill bows were found, one of
which is figured here (22), and also an unfinished drill
stock (23). The unsymmetrical form of the bow is to
adapt it to hold in the hand by the near end, and the
length of it is just suited to the swing of the elbow
from the shoulder.
C 2