DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.55202#0061
THE RULERS OF ALL EGYPT IN THE ELEVENTH DYNASTY 41
path was a bit cater-cornered as he crossed the peristyle. In this
newest part of the temple the pavement was of limestone and the
walls were of sandstone, except for the high, beautifully sculptured
screen around the altar at the back. Probably the little niche at the
rear of the temple was for a statue of the king, and one should not
forget that it was in this neighborhood that Lord Dufferin excavated
and that it is said that in his collection there was a statue of Neb-
hepet-Ref48
An interesting point is that, with the pyramid placed in the middle
of the hypostyle hall and with the cramped aisles between the col-
umns and the narrow doorways, there is absolutely no provision for
the procession of the Barque of the god Amun.49 Furthermore, it is
interesting to see how ill-adapted the whole structure is for pro-
cessions and how poorly planned for a resting place of the Barque.
Later, after the Twelfth Dynasty instituted the pilgrimage of the
god when Amun-em-het I had assumed the crown, Deir el Bahri
became the scene of this new pageantry. Amun-em-het was pro-
foundly affected by the plan of the temple at Deir el Bahri, however,
and his pyramid at Lisht is placed upon a terrace with its original
chapel a small affair of brick below its eastern side.
At first it was proposed to quarry an enormous tomb close under
the northern stone wall of the court, and bricks were laid out to mark
the outline of its entrance. For some reason this plan was aban-
doned, and the tomb was actually excavated on the axis of the court
then being laid out. The entrance of this tomb, known to-day as
the Bab el Hosan, was cut a few yards south and east of the site
first chosen, with an underground passage planned to bring its cham-
ber under the pyramid, some 140 meters to the west. As we have
seen, this tomb was used for a statue at the Sed festival in 2022 b.c.,
and the king had already begun to quarry still another tomb whose
entrance was in the peristyle court of his temple (Pl. 34).50 In this
latter tomb Neb-hepet-Rec was presumably buried.
Here there was a descending passage some 150 meters long and
absolutely straight, with a granite sarcophagus chamber at the
bottom. The shale through which the passage descended grew more
and more threatening, and some 50 meters from the entrance to
48 Naville, op. cit., II, p. 21, Pl. X.
49 See below page 90.
50 Naville, op. cit., II, pp. 4, 5, 18, 21, Pls. VII, XXI, XXII, XXIV; Vol. Ill, pp. 24, 31,
Pl. XIX, where it is mistakenly called “the Ka-sanctuary.”
path was a bit cater-cornered as he crossed the peristyle. In this
newest part of the temple the pavement was of limestone and the
walls were of sandstone, except for the high, beautifully sculptured
screen around the altar at the back. Probably the little niche at the
rear of the temple was for a statue of the king, and one should not
forget that it was in this neighborhood that Lord Dufferin excavated
and that it is said that in his collection there was a statue of Neb-
hepet-Ref48
An interesting point is that, with the pyramid placed in the middle
of the hypostyle hall and with the cramped aisles between the col-
umns and the narrow doorways, there is absolutely no provision for
the procession of the Barque of the god Amun.49 Furthermore, it is
interesting to see how ill-adapted the whole structure is for pro-
cessions and how poorly planned for a resting place of the Barque.
Later, after the Twelfth Dynasty instituted the pilgrimage of the
god when Amun-em-het I had assumed the crown, Deir el Bahri
became the scene of this new pageantry. Amun-em-het was pro-
foundly affected by the plan of the temple at Deir el Bahri, however,
and his pyramid at Lisht is placed upon a terrace with its original
chapel a small affair of brick below its eastern side.
At first it was proposed to quarry an enormous tomb close under
the northern stone wall of the court, and bricks were laid out to mark
the outline of its entrance. For some reason this plan was aban-
doned, and the tomb was actually excavated on the axis of the court
then being laid out. The entrance of this tomb, known to-day as
the Bab el Hosan, was cut a few yards south and east of the site
first chosen, with an underground passage planned to bring its cham-
ber under the pyramid, some 140 meters to the west. As we have
seen, this tomb was used for a statue at the Sed festival in 2022 b.c.,
and the king had already begun to quarry still another tomb whose
entrance was in the peristyle court of his temple (Pl. 34).50 In this
latter tomb Neb-hepet-Rec was presumably buried.
Here there was a descending passage some 150 meters long and
absolutely straight, with a granite sarcophagus chamber at the
bottom. The shale through which the passage descended grew more
and more threatening, and some 50 meters from the entrance to
48 Naville, op. cit., II, p. 21, Pl. X.
49 See below page 90.
50 Naville, op. cit., II, pp. 4, 5, 18, 21, Pls. VII, XXI, XXII, XXIV; Vol. Ill, pp. 24, 31,
Pl. XIX, where it is mistakenly called “the Ka-sanctuary.”