DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.3391#0031
22
THE PLUNDERING OF THE TOMBS
1 !
class scarabs which they stole from the graves, and
this accounts for the fact that the amulets found with
these replaced graves were generally of inferior work-
manship, whereas those in the unplundered graves
were good, or at least had some good ones among
them. In the xxiind-xxvith dynasties no value
seems to have been placed on amulets, as in cemetery
B they were found widely scattered, though some
were very fine.
In the xiith-dynasty shafts from cemetery B, we
are indebted to the plunderers for most of the objects
found, as all the shafts had been flooded by a modern
canal, and the looseness of the damp earth rendered
them very dangerous to work. Only the objects
already taken out to higher levels could be removed
by us.
58. Many of the graves had been replundered in
later times, and in one of the xiith-dynasty shafts
of the main cemetery A (no. 118) a bronze coin was
found; also many of the graves of cemetery B had
been plundered in Arab times.
In several cases, notably in grave no. 21, the robbers
had cut a mark on the wall of the shaft, about 6 feet
from the surface, so as to know which tombs they
had finished with. The graves marked thus had
been most thoroughly plundered, and in grave 23
the contents of the room seem to have been sifted.
They all contained fragments of later pottery, pro-
bably xviiith dynasty. Another curious point with
regard to cemetery A is that in only one case does
one room of a tomb-shaft break into an adjoining
room of another tomb-shaft. It is inconceivable that
if there were not a plan of some sort they should not
have fallen foul of each other in some cases, as the
tombs were packed as tightly as they could lie.
So close, indeed, were some of the rooms to those
of an adjoining tomb that the ancient plunderer had
in several cases broken through the few feet of rock
or marl which separated one room from another,
having detected that there was another room near,
by the hollow sound given out by their picks when
striking the walls. In a case from Dendereh (see
Dendereh, p. 9), the robbers had burrowed from the
side into a deep tomb, and exactly struck the side
of the sarcophagus which enabled them to extract
the valuables, leaving the tomb apparently un-
touched. All these things go to show that not only
did the guardians of the tombs use some sort of
map when digging the graves, but that they made
use of the map to plunder the graves when the
relations of the deceased had relaxed their guard.
In the xviiith-dynasty cemetery, no such accuracy
is shown in laying out the graves, the usual pro-
cedure in the case of one tomb breaking into another
being to brick up the hole, or to fill it up with lime-
stone blocks and plaster it over.
The next point which we have to consider is how
we may accept the pottery found in a robbed grave
as a group, and not as a mere chance combination
arising from the robbers throwing out the pots from
the grave they were robbing, into another that they
had finished with. In the case of steles and stone
work, steles from one tomb have been found scattered
around in several other tombs, as, for instance, the
blocks of Sen-mera. It might, therefore, be assumed
that the pottery was similarly thrown about, but this
is not necessarily the case for two reasons, the first
being that on examining the ground before any
excavations were made, there were very few frag-
ments of potsherds lying on the surface, though in
places there was a considerable quantity of stone
chips on the surface where the large blocks had been
broken up. Stone has at all times, and particularly
in late times in Egypt, had a good market value for
building and other decorative work, so it is probable
that all stone found was thrown up for examination,
whilst the pottery, which was of no use to anybody,
was merely turned with the other useless things into
a corner of the tomb, in which position we have
often found jars, although the tomb had been com-
pletely plundered and the body broken up.
In cases where there was any reasonable doubt as
to the grouping of the pottery, the grave is omitted
from the tomb-register (pis. xl-xlv).
CHAPTER X
THE PAINTED COFFINS AND CHAPEL
By HILDA FLINDERS PETRIE
59. DURING the course of the excavations at
Riqqeh, three very interesting tombs with drawings
and inscriptions of the xiith dynasty were found in
the northern part of the Gerzeh cemetery. These
needed instant copying, while the colours were fresh
and the texts remained legible, and it was my
privilege to make the reproductions of them in
facsimile on the spot.
The coffin of Antef, re-used by Ameny, was
inscribed in colour which was liable to peeling, and
painted on wood which had become very dark
and rotten. The coffin was sent over to Tarkhan
THE PLUNDERING OF THE TOMBS
1 !
class scarabs which they stole from the graves, and
this accounts for the fact that the amulets found with
these replaced graves were generally of inferior work-
manship, whereas those in the unplundered graves
were good, or at least had some good ones among
them. In the xxiind-xxvith dynasties no value
seems to have been placed on amulets, as in cemetery
B they were found widely scattered, though some
were very fine.
In the xiith-dynasty shafts from cemetery B, we
are indebted to the plunderers for most of the objects
found, as all the shafts had been flooded by a modern
canal, and the looseness of the damp earth rendered
them very dangerous to work. Only the objects
already taken out to higher levels could be removed
by us.
58. Many of the graves had been replundered in
later times, and in one of the xiith-dynasty shafts
of the main cemetery A (no. 118) a bronze coin was
found; also many of the graves of cemetery B had
been plundered in Arab times.
In several cases, notably in grave no. 21, the robbers
had cut a mark on the wall of the shaft, about 6 feet
from the surface, so as to know which tombs they
had finished with. The graves marked thus had
been most thoroughly plundered, and in grave 23
the contents of the room seem to have been sifted.
They all contained fragments of later pottery, pro-
bably xviiith dynasty. Another curious point with
regard to cemetery A is that in only one case does
one room of a tomb-shaft break into an adjoining
room of another tomb-shaft. It is inconceivable that
if there were not a plan of some sort they should not
have fallen foul of each other in some cases, as the
tombs were packed as tightly as they could lie.
So close, indeed, were some of the rooms to those
of an adjoining tomb that the ancient plunderer had
in several cases broken through the few feet of rock
or marl which separated one room from another,
having detected that there was another room near,
by the hollow sound given out by their picks when
striking the walls. In a case from Dendereh (see
Dendereh, p. 9), the robbers had burrowed from the
side into a deep tomb, and exactly struck the side
of the sarcophagus which enabled them to extract
the valuables, leaving the tomb apparently un-
touched. All these things go to show that not only
did the guardians of the tombs use some sort of
map when digging the graves, but that they made
use of the map to plunder the graves when the
relations of the deceased had relaxed their guard.
In the xviiith-dynasty cemetery, no such accuracy
is shown in laying out the graves, the usual pro-
cedure in the case of one tomb breaking into another
being to brick up the hole, or to fill it up with lime-
stone blocks and plaster it over.
The next point which we have to consider is how
we may accept the pottery found in a robbed grave
as a group, and not as a mere chance combination
arising from the robbers throwing out the pots from
the grave they were robbing, into another that they
had finished with. In the case of steles and stone
work, steles from one tomb have been found scattered
around in several other tombs, as, for instance, the
blocks of Sen-mera. It might, therefore, be assumed
that the pottery was similarly thrown about, but this
is not necessarily the case for two reasons, the first
being that on examining the ground before any
excavations were made, there were very few frag-
ments of potsherds lying on the surface, though in
places there was a considerable quantity of stone
chips on the surface where the large blocks had been
broken up. Stone has at all times, and particularly
in late times in Egypt, had a good market value for
building and other decorative work, so it is probable
that all stone found was thrown up for examination,
whilst the pottery, which was of no use to anybody,
was merely turned with the other useless things into
a corner of the tomb, in which position we have
often found jars, although the tomb had been com-
pletely plundered and the body broken up.
In cases where there was any reasonable doubt as
to the grouping of the pottery, the grave is omitted
from the tomb-register (pis. xl-xlv).
CHAPTER X
THE PAINTED COFFINS AND CHAPEL
By HILDA FLINDERS PETRIE
59. DURING the course of the excavations at
Riqqeh, three very interesting tombs with drawings
and inscriptions of the xiith dynasty were found in
the northern part of the Gerzeh cemetery. These
needed instant copying, while the colours were fresh
and the texts remained legible, and it was my
privilege to make the reproductions of them in
facsimile on the spot.
The coffin of Antef, re-used by Ameny, was
inscribed in colour which was liable to peeling, and
painted on wood which had become very dark
and rotten. The coffin was sent over to Tarkhan