DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49516#0320
THE TUMULUS K IV
247
(b) Comparison of the contents of the graves:
The grave furniture of the subsidiary burials in K IV was far less well preserved than
in K III, mainly because the pits had been sunk in the alluvium. In the first place the
alluvium itself is moistened annually by the high Nile and is kept moist the greater part
of the year. The stratum in which the graves lie is only about three to five meters thick
and overlies a stratum of one or two meters of sand. Below that comes a second alluvial
stratum and another layer of sand. In this second layer of sand we struck water and drew
an unfailing supply of water for our camp. The plain south of the cemetery, which is how-
ever slightly lower (see Plan I), is strewn with clumps of stout bushes watered only by
the moisture of the soil. But another factor was the increased depth added to the graves
by the construction of the tumulus, which made it difficult for the thieves to examine the
contents of a grave without clearing it. Thus the objects in the graves have suffered not
only from exposure to moisture but also from a greater disturbance through plundering
than in K III. Nevertheless, the plundering by loosening the earth and removing the
disturbed objects from contact with the alluvium has led in a few cases to the preservation
of very perishable materials like wood, cloth, and feathers. The extent of this destruc-
tion may be seen in the facts that (i) while twenty-seven rams were actually found, there
were probably between thirty-five and forty originally, (ii) only five distinct traces of
hide covering occurred, (iii) only six pairs of horn-protectors out of a possible twenty-
seven to forty, (iv) the young female body on the second bed in K 425 was practically
reduced to bits — and many similar instances. The deeper lying materials, bones, and
objects, in the corridor, having been exposed not only to dampness and disturbance but
also to the greater pressure of the debris, had suffered even more than the corresponding
materials in the subsidiary graves.
In view of the conditions affecting the preservation of objects, a doubt arises as to the
significance to be ascribed to the absence of any class of objects. The bearing of this doubt
will be seen from the following summary of the objects belonging to the archaeological
group of K IV, in which I include the things found in the sacrificial corridor but exclude
those assigned to the main burial in chamber A:
Symbols:
* occurs in K III o occurs in K XVIII
f occurs in K IV p occurs in K XIX
y occurs in K X q occurs in K XX
n occurs in K XVI
If only one symbol is attached, then the object occurs in no other of the great tumuli. If no symbol is attached,
then the object occurs generally.
Dagger, bronze, usual form: K IV B (401:4; 413: 2); K IV B east, 8, 9, 10, 27; K IV B
west, 51, 53, 49, 58, 65; KIV B middle, ix (butt),
twelve examples.
K 420 (butt), K 424, K 425 (two), K 426, K 427, K 430,
K 432, K 433 (butt), K 438, K 440 (butt), K 444 (rivet),
K 453 (butt), thirteen examples.
broad blade: K 428, K 442 (two), three examples.
Total examples, twenty-eight.
* Mirror: none.
247
(b) Comparison of the contents of the graves:
The grave furniture of the subsidiary burials in K IV was far less well preserved than
in K III, mainly because the pits had been sunk in the alluvium. In the first place the
alluvium itself is moistened annually by the high Nile and is kept moist the greater part
of the year. The stratum in which the graves lie is only about three to five meters thick
and overlies a stratum of one or two meters of sand. Below that comes a second alluvial
stratum and another layer of sand. In this second layer of sand we struck water and drew
an unfailing supply of water for our camp. The plain south of the cemetery, which is how-
ever slightly lower (see Plan I), is strewn with clumps of stout bushes watered only by
the moisture of the soil. But another factor was the increased depth added to the graves
by the construction of the tumulus, which made it difficult for the thieves to examine the
contents of a grave without clearing it. Thus the objects in the graves have suffered not
only from exposure to moisture but also from a greater disturbance through plundering
than in K III. Nevertheless, the plundering by loosening the earth and removing the
disturbed objects from contact with the alluvium has led in a few cases to the preservation
of very perishable materials like wood, cloth, and feathers. The extent of this destruc-
tion may be seen in the facts that (i) while twenty-seven rams were actually found, there
were probably between thirty-five and forty originally, (ii) only five distinct traces of
hide covering occurred, (iii) only six pairs of horn-protectors out of a possible twenty-
seven to forty, (iv) the young female body on the second bed in K 425 was practically
reduced to bits — and many similar instances. The deeper lying materials, bones, and
objects, in the corridor, having been exposed not only to dampness and disturbance but
also to the greater pressure of the debris, had suffered even more than the corresponding
materials in the subsidiary graves.
In view of the conditions affecting the preservation of objects, a doubt arises as to the
significance to be ascribed to the absence of any class of objects. The bearing of this doubt
will be seen from the following summary of the objects belonging to the archaeological
group of K IV, in which I include the things found in the sacrificial corridor but exclude
those assigned to the main burial in chamber A:
Symbols:
* occurs in K III o occurs in K XVIII
f occurs in K IV p occurs in K XIX
y occurs in K X q occurs in K XX
n occurs in K XVI
If only one symbol is attached, then the object occurs in no other of the great tumuli. If no symbol is attached,
then the object occurs generally.
Dagger, bronze, usual form: K IV B (401:4; 413: 2); K IV B east, 8, 9, 10, 27; K IV B
west, 51, 53, 49, 58, 65; KIV B middle, ix (butt),
twelve examples.
K 420 (butt), K 424, K 425 (two), K 426, K 427, K 430,
K 432, K 433 (butt), K 438, K 440 (butt), K 444 (rivet),
K 453 (butt), thirteen examples.
broad blade: K 428, K 442 (two), three examples.
Total examples, twenty-eight.
* Mirror: none.