DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4200#0019
THE TEMPLE OF TAUSERT.
15
Turning to the metal objects, they are all made
in thin sheet copper, to judge by their softness and
absence of corrosion. The piece 23 looks as if it
were a model ingot, cast in that form for convenience
of lifting it and of securing it on animals in travelling ;
the four lugs serve as handles by which two or four
men could lift it, and also for securing it by rope
lashing. The same form is known in the ingot of tin
found at Falmouth, weighing 158 lbs. and therefore
needing four men to lift it about readily {Evans,
Ancient Bronze, fig. 514). No actual ingots have
been yet found in Egypt, so far as I remember. The
two handled dishes 24, 25, probably represent mortar
trays. The long slips, 26, 27, seem to be crowbars,
as several were uniformly bent up at one end ; these
show then the only crowbars yet known from Egypt.
The hoes, 28, 29, 30, are of the type well known in
later Egyptian bronze, where the flat sheet of metal
is wrapped round the handle. The axe, 31, is of the
usual type ; as are also the adze, 32, and knife, 33.
The knife with a spur on it, 34, is a new form, the
meaning of which is obscure. The mortise chisel, 35
and flat chisel, 36, are of the usual forms. The
ebony cramp, 37, is a model of the wooden cramps
used for linking together the stones of a building,
and bears the cartouche with the title Neb taui. The
two model corn grinders of yellow quartzite have the
nefer signs and a border line painted on in black. A
piece of red glass, 39, is partly decomposed to yellow ;
what it represents is unknown.
Besides these small objects there were also in five
of the deposits a block of sandstone (XVII, 2)
bearing the two cartouches of Tausert carefully
engraved. And in one deposit a brick of coarse
mortar (XVII, 1) which has been stamped with the
cartouche ; it has been laid in the hole while soft,
and pressed out of shape, and further trodden upon.
Many jars were found, as fig. 5, and some bowls and
pans, figs. 8, 9, 10 ; a large number of little cups,
figs. 4, 6, were in most of the deposits ; and a few
handles of jars are also drawn here, for the sake of
dated types. Some of the potsherds bear inscriptions,
which were written on them as datings of wine, when
the jars were in use (XIX, 1-4). Of animal offerings
there was a calf's haunch in deposits I, 4, and 6 ; and
a call's head in deposits 4 and 6 ; a pigeon's head in
deposit 6, and a pigeon in deposit 1. In deposit 7
was a thick bed of leaves of a tree mixed with beads
above the glazed objects, and the copper models of
tools lay on the top of the leaves.
We now turn to consider the name and position of
the builder of this temple. At first the resemblance
of the cartouches to those of Ramessu II led us to
think that they were variants of that king ; but it
seemed plain when examined that these names
belong to a queen, for on XVI, 1, 2, 5, and XVII, 2,
we have clearly sit, not si ra. And on the cartouche in
XVI, 3, 6, 7 and XVII, 2 there is clearly t and not ra
at the top, and over the sotep; and the seated figure
has not the feather of Maat but the double crown of
Mut; hence it cannot be attributed to Ramessu II.
The date of this deposit is nearly fixed by the wine
jar inscriptions found in it being of Sety II ; and
hence it is almost certainly a very short time after
that reign. Now the important queen Tausert comes
next after Sety II, as queen of Siptah ; and we can
hardly refuse to read here therefore in the cartouches,
Ta-user-t: sotep-n-Mut: sit-ra: mery-amen. The
form of the cartouches is manifestly copied from those
of Ramessu II, and ingeniously adapted as a parody
or imitation of what was already so utterly familiar to
the eyes of every Egyptian in those times. Now
that this new cartouche is definitely established
by all these instances, we can see that a few other
examples of it may have been previously misplaced
as being of Ramessu II, one for certain from Gurob
(" Kahun " XXIII, 50).
t,2- Here we may well observe the question of the
relation of the reign of this queen to that of Siptah
her husband. Here in this temple there is no
evidence of Siptah ; nor can the objects have been
made at the same time as the foundation deposits of
Siptah, as there are differences throughout in the
colour and form of every class of object. Was then
her independent reign, and this temple, before or
after that of Siptah? There is most conclusive
evidence in the 4th deposit of Siptah, as there was
found a scarab of Tausert, like XVI, 7, different in
fabric and colour from those scarabs of Siptah, but
like those of Tausert. It is evident that this is a stray
scarab of the large batch made for the Tausert
temple. Unless then we imagine that Siptah's
deposit was opened beneath his walls to insert a
later scarab, or that Tausert's scarabs were made in a
different style by anticipation and kept for subsequent
use in her temple—either of which suppositions
would be very wild and forced—we must grant that
a stray scarab of the earlier batch made for Tausert
had been left over at the factory or office of works
and was put in with the later batch made for Siptah.
The style of the Tausert deposits is moreover
certainly intermediate between those of Ramessu II.
15
Turning to the metal objects, they are all made
in thin sheet copper, to judge by their softness and
absence of corrosion. The piece 23 looks as if it
were a model ingot, cast in that form for convenience
of lifting it and of securing it on animals in travelling ;
the four lugs serve as handles by which two or four
men could lift it, and also for securing it by rope
lashing. The same form is known in the ingot of tin
found at Falmouth, weighing 158 lbs. and therefore
needing four men to lift it about readily {Evans,
Ancient Bronze, fig. 514). No actual ingots have
been yet found in Egypt, so far as I remember. The
two handled dishes 24, 25, probably represent mortar
trays. The long slips, 26, 27, seem to be crowbars,
as several were uniformly bent up at one end ; these
show then the only crowbars yet known from Egypt.
The hoes, 28, 29, 30, are of the type well known in
later Egyptian bronze, where the flat sheet of metal
is wrapped round the handle. The axe, 31, is of the
usual type ; as are also the adze, 32, and knife, 33.
The knife with a spur on it, 34, is a new form, the
meaning of which is obscure. The mortise chisel, 35
and flat chisel, 36, are of the usual forms. The
ebony cramp, 37, is a model of the wooden cramps
used for linking together the stones of a building,
and bears the cartouche with the title Neb taui. The
two model corn grinders of yellow quartzite have the
nefer signs and a border line painted on in black. A
piece of red glass, 39, is partly decomposed to yellow ;
what it represents is unknown.
Besides these small objects there were also in five
of the deposits a block of sandstone (XVII, 2)
bearing the two cartouches of Tausert carefully
engraved. And in one deposit a brick of coarse
mortar (XVII, 1) which has been stamped with the
cartouche ; it has been laid in the hole while soft,
and pressed out of shape, and further trodden upon.
Many jars were found, as fig. 5, and some bowls and
pans, figs. 8, 9, 10 ; a large number of little cups,
figs. 4, 6, were in most of the deposits ; and a few
handles of jars are also drawn here, for the sake of
dated types. Some of the potsherds bear inscriptions,
which were written on them as datings of wine, when
the jars were in use (XIX, 1-4). Of animal offerings
there was a calf's haunch in deposits I, 4, and 6 ; and
a call's head in deposits 4 and 6 ; a pigeon's head in
deposit 6, and a pigeon in deposit 1. In deposit 7
was a thick bed of leaves of a tree mixed with beads
above the glazed objects, and the copper models of
tools lay on the top of the leaves.
We now turn to consider the name and position of
the builder of this temple. At first the resemblance
of the cartouches to those of Ramessu II led us to
think that they were variants of that king ; but it
seemed plain when examined that these names
belong to a queen, for on XVI, 1, 2, 5, and XVII, 2,
we have clearly sit, not si ra. And on the cartouche in
XVI, 3, 6, 7 and XVII, 2 there is clearly t and not ra
at the top, and over the sotep; and the seated figure
has not the feather of Maat but the double crown of
Mut; hence it cannot be attributed to Ramessu II.
The date of this deposit is nearly fixed by the wine
jar inscriptions found in it being of Sety II ; and
hence it is almost certainly a very short time after
that reign. Now the important queen Tausert comes
next after Sety II, as queen of Siptah ; and we can
hardly refuse to read here therefore in the cartouches,
Ta-user-t: sotep-n-Mut: sit-ra: mery-amen. The
form of the cartouches is manifestly copied from those
of Ramessu II, and ingeniously adapted as a parody
or imitation of what was already so utterly familiar to
the eyes of every Egyptian in those times. Now
that this new cartouche is definitely established
by all these instances, we can see that a few other
examples of it may have been previously misplaced
as being of Ramessu II, one for certain from Gurob
(" Kahun " XXIII, 50).
t,2- Here we may well observe the question of the
relation of the reign of this queen to that of Siptah
her husband. Here in this temple there is no
evidence of Siptah ; nor can the objects have been
made at the same time as the foundation deposits of
Siptah, as there are differences throughout in the
colour and form of every class of object. Was then
her independent reign, and this temple, before or
after that of Siptah? There is most conclusive
evidence in the 4th deposit of Siptah, as there was
found a scarab of Tausert, like XVI, 7, different in
fabric and colour from those scarabs of Siptah, but
like those of Tausert. It is evident that this is a stray
scarab of the large batch made for the Tausert
temple. Unless then we imagine that Siptah's
deposit was opened beneath his walls to insert a
later scarab, or that Tausert's scarabs were made in a
different style by anticipation and kept for subsequent
use in her temple—either of which suppositions
would be very wild and forced—we must grant that
a stray scarab of the earlier batch made for Tausert
had been left over at the factory or office of works
and was put in with the later batch made for Siptah.
The style of the Tausert deposits is moreover
certainly intermediate between those of Ramessu II.