DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.11365#0014
4
THE SITE.
been deserted in favour of a new alabaster quarry, R,
about a mile to the south-west of it. In a narrow
side valley there lie two quarries ; the western one
is partly subterranean, the entrance parts being
tunnelled, and the inner part being opened to the
sky. There are many tablets of the Xllth dynasty
here, but as most of them were only painted they
have nearly disappeared. The best is one that
records a keeper of the recruits, Petuameny, under
Usertesen III. (PL. XLII) ; others name a private
person Teta. Just beyond this quarry the valley has
been excavated into a shallow pit, in which there are
no inscriptions. These quarries were found by Mr.
Fraser, guided there by the Arabs last year.
Other quarries, T, He in a valley about three-
quarters of a mile to the east, but they contain no
inscriptions. I found them while surveying this
region. The high rock marked on the plan is a
striking point from all sides ; upon the top are
model flights of steps, only a few inches wide, cut by
the ancient workmen. There are traces of an ancient
road, along the broken line on the plan XXXIV,
branching at the valley head from the IVth dynasty
road ; pieces of alabaster lie scattered along this road,
occasional way-mark stones are set up, and a group
of huts occurs half-way. The valleys of these quarries
slope down to the south, and evidently join into a
large valley which drains into the great valley south-
east of the plain.
Turning next to the northern quarries, one already
noticed by Wilkinson is at the head of two valleys
running opposite ways, quarry G. This is an open
pit of alabaster, of large width, but not deep. It is
approached by a sloping trench from the W., and
some niches for tablets occur in the sides, and traces
of a tablet now illegible ; from the style it looks
early, not later than the Xllth dynasty.
In a spur of the hill between the valleys is a lime-
stone quarry, H, facing toward the peak of white rock
on the top of the cliffs ; it is cut as galleries into the
cliff face, and contains the cartouche of Queen Thyi
(PL. XLII), in the wide cartouche band which is
characteristic of the art of Tell el Amarna. This is
of importance, as proving the queen's sole regency
after the death of Amenhotep III., and her adoption
of the peculiarities of style before Akhenaten. I
found this quarry while surveying the region.
Another quarry, L, contains the names of Ram-
essu II. and Merenptah ; this is only inserted
approximately, as it was found by Mr. Newberry
after I had left. It seems to have been the source of
alabaster for the XlXth dynasty. Strange to say, no
one litis yet succeeded in finding the alabaster quarry
of Akhenaten ; great quantities of this stone were
used in the palace here, but the source is yet un-
known, although I followed up every road that I
could find.
8. The ancient roads are of four classes : (i) the
patrol roads of the mazau or police ; (2) the roads to
the quarries ; (3) the roads to the tombs ; (4) the
roads to the steles.
The patrol roads run from end to end of the plain,
or along the crests of the hills, or into the desert.
They are marked out by the pebbles being swept off
from ten or twenty feet width of ground, and heaped
in a ridge on either side : or in more remote parts
they are merely indicated by way-marks on the ridges
of the country. In the plain they take advantage of
any rise of the ground to run over it and command
a view ; the foothill in the middle of the plain was a
favourite point of inspection, and every road but one
runs over it. An isolated round hill at the foot of the
southern range was also a look-out station. That
these roads were only for patrols is proved by their
nature ; they run up slopes on the hills which would
be impossible for a chariot, while easy ascents could
be found near by; in the long desert road the straight
line is carried across the tip of a spur with a rise oi
20°, instead of turning round it. Such roads then
could not be for royal chariot drives, nor for transport
of stones, but rather like our coastguard paths to keep
the patrols from wandering off the line in the dark.
In the plan (PL. XXXV) the connections of the roads
are unfortunately not completed, owing to my foot
being disabled during the last weeks of my stay at
Tell el Amarna ; Mr. Carter very kindly completed
the survey this year, but his map with all the notes
was lost in the post. The roads were really con-
tinuous from end to end, but are much broken up and
washed away in many parts by the torrents from the
valleys. The roads along the crests of the hills are
also for patrolling, and not for travelling. The road
is very well defined where it passes above the stele
U, and runs on without hesitation to the small valley
south of the stele. Here it abruptly ends, at a sheer
fall of about three hundred feet, and is resumed on
the other side in the same line. No man could
possibly get across, or even climb down and up, at
this point ; and, if transit had been required, it would
have been quite easy to diverge around the head of
this little valley. There is no sign of such a con-
tinuation, however, and the roads must have been
THE SITE.
been deserted in favour of a new alabaster quarry, R,
about a mile to the south-west of it. In a narrow
side valley there lie two quarries ; the western one
is partly subterranean, the entrance parts being
tunnelled, and the inner part being opened to the
sky. There are many tablets of the Xllth dynasty
here, but as most of them were only painted they
have nearly disappeared. The best is one that
records a keeper of the recruits, Petuameny, under
Usertesen III. (PL. XLII) ; others name a private
person Teta. Just beyond this quarry the valley has
been excavated into a shallow pit, in which there are
no inscriptions. These quarries were found by Mr.
Fraser, guided there by the Arabs last year.
Other quarries, T, He in a valley about three-
quarters of a mile to the east, but they contain no
inscriptions. I found them while surveying this
region. The high rock marked on the plan is a
striking point from all sides ; upon the top are
model flights of steps, only a few inches wide, cut by
the ancient workmen. There are traces of an ancient
road, along the broken line on the plan XXXIV,
branching at the valley head from the IVth dynasty
road ; pieces of alabaster lie scattered along this road,
occasional way-mark stones are set up, and a group
of huts occurs half-way. The valleys of these quarries
slope down to the south, and evidently join into a
large valley which drains into the great valley south-
east of the plain.
Turning next to the northern quarries, one already
noticed by Wilkinson is at the head of two valleys
running opposite ways, quarry G. This is an open
pit of alabaster, of large width, but not deep. It is
approached by a sloping trench from the W., and
some niches for tablets occur in the sides, and traces
of a tablet now illegible ; from the style it looks
early, not later than the Xllth dynasty.
In a spur of the hill between the valleys is a lime-
stone quarry, H, facing toward the peak of white rock
on the top of the cliffs ; it is cut as galleries into the
cliff face, and contains the cartouche of Queen Thyi
(PL. XLII), in the wide cartouche band which is
characteristic of the art of Tell el Amarna. This is
of importance, as proving the queen's sole regency
after the death of Amenhotep III., and her adoption
of the peculiarities of style before Akhenaten. I
found this quarry while surveying the region.
Another quarry, L, contains the names of Ram-
essu II. and Merenptah ; this is only inserted
approximately, as it was found by Mr. Newberry
after I had left. It seems to have been the source of
alabaster for the XlXth dynasty. Strange to say, no
one litis yet succeeded in finding the alabaster quarry
of Akhenaten ; great quantities of this stone were
used in the palace here, but the source is yet un-
known, although I followed up every road that I
could find.
8. The ancient roads are of four classes : (i) the
patrol roads of the mazau or police ; (2) the roads to
the quarries ; (3) the roads to the tombs ; (4) the
roads to the steles.
The patrol roads run from end to end of the plain,
or along the crests of the hills, or into the desert.
They are marked out by the pebbles being swept off
from ten or twenty feet width of ground, and heaped
in a ridge on either side : or in more remote parts
they are merely indicated by way-marks on the ridges
of the country. In the plain they take advantage of
any rise of the ground to run over it and command
a view ; the foothill in the middle of the plain was a
favourite point of inspection, and every road but one
runs over it. An isolated round hill at the foot of the
southern range was also a look-out station. That
these roads were only for patrols is proved by their
nature ; they run up slopes on the hills which would
be impossible for a chariot, while easy ascents could
be found near by; in the long desert road the straight
line is carried across the tip of a spur with a rise oi
20°, instead of turning round it. Such roads then
could not be for royal chariot drives, nor for transport
of stones, but rather like our coastguard paths to keep
the patrols from wandering off the line in the dark.
In the plan (PL. XXXV) the connections of the roads
are unfortunately not completed, owing to my foot
being disabled during the last weeks of my stay at
Tell el Amarna ; Mr. Carter very kindly completed
the survey this year, but his map with all the notes
was lost in the post. The roads were really con-
tinuous from end to end, but are much broken up and
washed away in many parts by the torrents from the
valleys. The roads along the crests of the hills are
also for patrolling, and not for travelling. The road
is very well defined where it passes above the stele
U, and runs on without hesitation to the small valley
south of the stele. Here it abruptly ends, at a sheer
fall of about three hundred feet, and is resumed on
the other side in the same line. No man could
possibly get across, or even climb down and up, at
this point ; and, if transit had been required, it would
have been quite easy to diverge around the head of
this little valley. There is no sign of such a con-
tinuation, however, and the roads must have been