DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4104#0016
THE CEMETBEY.
were statuettes of Osiris, either standing or
seated, but several were of Isis and Horus, and
there Avere also a few crowned serpents, small
plumes, and even scraps of bronze. Several of
the larger figures were broken, revealing the
way in which they had been made. An ash core
was moulded as nearly as possible to the form
intended for the statuette. Sometimes this core
was stiffened by having in its centre a splinter
of wood. This ash statuette was then dipped
lightly in melted Avax and the thin layer that
adhered was modelled by the artist in order to
make certain parts sharper. Round this the
mould was packed, and then the Avhole mass
was heated, and the wax as it melted soaked into
the mould. This done the metal could be
poured in, so as to form a cast almost as thin
as paper. An English sculptor, avIio examined
them carefully, said he did not believe any cast-
ing could be done in England that Avould be
as thin and at the same time give the same
sharpness.
Naturally the question arose, why the box
had been buried there. As temples must con-
tinually have become croAvded with votive
offerings, no doubt such things Avere removed at
regular intervals. Probably having been once
dedicated to the deity, the images acquired a
sacredness Avhich saA^ecl them from the melting-
pot, or from being removed to another part of
the country and sold to neAv worshippers. This
Avould have seemed quite definite but for the
Avaste pieces and some figures that, having been
spoilt evidently in the casting, could never have
been sold or dedicated. If this Avere a trader's
box the scraps Avould be accounted for from the
value of the metal. But were votive offerings
ever in traders' hands ? Certainly this is not the
custom Avith such things to-day. And also Avhy
should they be buried in a cemetery at that dis-
tance from the toAvn ? What seems to me most
probable is that the whole manufacture and sale
of votive offerings was in the hands of the
priesthood. Possibly it Avas an important source
of revenue for the temple. If so it can easily
be imagined that the sacredness would gradu-
ally Aviden. Beginning with an image sacred
only Avhen dedicated to the god, after a little
every thing used in the making of the image
Avould be sacred, so that dedicated or not, any
metal that had taken the image of the god, no
matter hoAv imperfectly, Avould acquire a mystic
nature, and therefore would not be re-used.
16. As two days were quite sufficient to
Avork over this small part of the slope, and this
was only preliminary work Avhile the men Avere
being assembled and organized, Ave went on
the morning of the third day to the Shuneh,
and the cemetery north and Avest from there.
This cemetery has been plundered for the
last thirty years and more. The first excava-
tion Avas by Mariette's overseers, avIio dug for
thirteen years, in one part or another; long
afterAvards the Mission Jmelineau worked over
Avhat was left. So noAV Ave came to it, knowing
that our chief chance of obtaining unopened
tombs, that Avould yield information and an-
tiquities, lay in the extraordinary skill of our
Qufti Avorkmen. These men have been with
Professor Petrie for eleven years, and thanks
to his system of digging and to the immense
amount of personal attention, they are noAV
probably the best excavators in the Avorld. As
this Avas also a preliminary piece of Avork, the
tombs are only described for their more im-
portant contents.
At first the men started to probe for tombs
directly north of the Shuneh; here Avere
numerous small mastabas, cut down by sand
action to a level with the ground. Here and
there among them, without any order, Avere
pit tombs. The only one of any importance
had the chambers both north and south of the
shaft—see pi. xx. In the south chamber
there Avas a contracted burial, Avith a string of
small green beads of the Xlth Dynasty, wound
three times round the wrist.
During the first day's search two of the men
were statuettes of Osiris, either standing or
seated, but several were of Isis and Horus, and
there Avere also a few crowned serpents, small
plumes, and even scraps of bronze. Several of
the larger figures were broken, revealing the
way in which they had been made. An ash core
was moulded as nearly as possible to the form
intended for the statuette. Sometimes this core
was stiffened by having in its centre a splinter
of wood. This ash statuette was then dipped
lightly in melted Avax and the thin layer that
adhered was modelled by the artist in order to
make certain parts sharper. Round this the
mould was packed, and then the Avhole mass
was heated, and the wax as it melted soaked into
the mould. This done the metal could be
poured in, so as to form a cast almost as thin
as paper. An English sculptor, avIio examined
them carefully, said he did not believe any cast-
ing could be done in England that Avould be
as thin and at the same time give the same
sharpness.
Naturally the question arose, why the box
had been buried there. As temples must con-
tinually have become croAvded with votive
offerings, no doubt such things Avere removed at
regular intervals. Probably having been once
dedicated to the deity, the images acquired a
sacredness Avhich saA^ecl them from the melting-
pot, or from being removed to another part of
the country and sold to neAv worshippers. This
Avould have seemed quite definite but for the
Avaste pieces and some figures that, having been
spoilt evidently in the casting, could never have
been sold or dedicated. If this Avere a trader's
box the scraps Avould be accounted for from the
value of the metal. But were votive offerings
ever in traders' hands ? Certainly this is not the
custom Avith such things to-day. And also Avhy
should they be buried in a cemetery at that dis-
tance from the toAvn ? What seems to me most
probable is that the whole manufacture and sale
of votive offerings was in the hands of the
priesthood. Possibly it Avas an important source
of revenue for the temple. If so it can easily
be imagined that the sacredness would gradu-
ally Aviden. Beginning with an image sacred
only Avhen dedicated to the god, after a little
every thing used in the making of the image
Avould be sacred, so that dedicated or not, any
metal that had taken the image of the god, no
matter hoAv imperfectly, Avould acquire a mystic
nature, and therefore would not be re-used.
16. As two days were quite sufficient to
Avork over this small part of the slope, and this
was only preliminary work Avhile the men Avere
being assembled and organized, Ave went on
the morning of the third day to the Shuneh,
and the cemetery north and Avest from there.
This cemetery has been plundered for the
last thirty years and more. The first excava-
tion Avas by Mariette's overseers, avIio dug for
thirteen years, in one part or another; long
afterAvards the Mission Jmelineau worked over
Avhat was left. So noAV Ave came to it, knowing
that our chief chance of obtaining unopened
tombs, that Avould yield information and an-
tiquities, lay in the extraordinary skill of our
Qufti Avorkmen. These men have been with
Professor Petrie for eleven years, and thanks
to his system of digging and to the immense
amount of personal attention, they are noAV
probably the best excavators in the Avorld. As
this Avas also a preliminary piece of Avork, the
tombs are only described for their more im-
portant contents.
At first the men started to probe for tombs
directly north of the Shuneh; here Avere
numerous small mastabas, cut down by sand
action to a level with the ground. Here and
there among them, without any order, Avere
pit tombs. The only one of any importance
had the chambers both north and south of the
shaft—see pi. xx. In the south chamber
there Avas a contracted burial, Avith a string of
small green beads of the Xlth Dynasty, wound
three times round the wrist.
During the first day's search two of the men