The XIth dynasty temple at Deir el-Bahari .. - NYU | Digital Library ...

the central luiililinn- (pyramid-base?). One
tomb (No. 3) was found ia the upper colonnade
during the first year. No. 3 was a complete
cliamber-tomb, of tlie ^^ame type as No. 2 (in the
court), and, thoufili disturbed, yielded very
good funerary furniture of the Xltli Dynasty,
which will lie ri)tiiiil described in Chapter
Ml. with the objects from TdUibs Xos. 4
and .'), in the same colonnade, which were
discovered during the second season. Both
contained large uninscribed sarcophagi of
white limestone. So. 6 was an unlinished
shaft. The tondjs at the back of the pyramid,
Nos. 7 to li', were of the same type as the
foregoing, but with deeper shafts. In two
(Nos. 11 and !)), were found the Avhite lime-
stone sarco^ihagi of their original occupants,
like that in No. 5 in shape, but inscribed
with the names of the dead. In addition, that
of No. 9 is splendidly decorated with carving in
relief, and is unique in its style. It is the finest
sarcophagus of the ^Middle Kingdom ever found,
and is now one of the chief treasures of the
Cairo Museum. In addition, the fragments
of a similar sarcophagus, with the sculpture
painted, were discovered in tomb No. 10.
The full description of these tombs and their
contents will be found in the chapters dealing
specially with them. Here we are only con-
cerned with the chronicle of their discovery,
and tlie relation between them and the temple
itself, with the shrines which arc next to be
mentioned. They were made after the artificial
squaring of the rock for the building of the
temple, and in accordance with its design, for
all are within the outer upper colonnade, yet
outside the wall of tlie ambulatory. But at
the same time they were made before the final
completion of the temple, because the j)avcment
was placed in position over them, and in
two cases a column originally stood directly
above the shaft of a tomb.' That is to say,
they are contemporary with the building of the
' Tombs Nos. 9 (see p. 48) and 11 (see p. 50).
THE TEMPLE AND ITS EXCAVATION. 31
temple, which was completed after the death of
Neb-liepet-R I I., the unfinished tomb No. 8
being perhaps intended for a queen who sur-
vived him, and never was buried here (see
p. 47). Similarly one of the shrines was never
completed, the rock never having been properly
levelled for it.
The shrines or chapels, which were discovered
in the second season, are built on the line of the
wall separating the pillar-hall or ambulatory
round the pyramid-base from the outer colonnade
in which tombs 7-12 lie. As is said below (p. '64.),
a portion of this wall seems to have been removed
soon after its erection to make room for
these chapels, which were evidently not con-
templated in the original plan. The plans of
the chapels are easily traceable, and part of the
contiguous wall-slabs of two of them, beautifully
decorated with coloured sculpture (PI. xviii.,
upper photographs), are in place. There were
apparently six in all (as there were si.x tombs
behind them), arranged in two groups, each of
three, north and south of the west doorway.
One (the first south of the doorway) was never
properly built, as has been noted above. The
fragments of their coloured reliefs that have
been found show us that these shrines were inti-
mately connected with the tombs behind them.
They are, in fact, the chajsels of these tombs, and
in them the ofi'erings were made to the spirits of
Henhenet, Kauit, Kemsit, and the other jjrin-
cesses who were buried here. Among these
others, according to the shrine inscriptions, were
Aashait, the actual queen of Neb-liepet-Rii II.
(see p. 8, above), and the princesses Sadhe and
Tamait. Sadhe is apparently a foreign name.
Aashait may have been an Ethiopian (see below,
p. .32) ;
p. 50)
Kemsit seems to have been a negress (see
; but Henhenet was certainly an Egyptian
of aristocratic type, as her mummy shows
(PI. X.).
The reconstruction of the chapels will not be
attempted till the second part of this book.
But here it may be permissible to describe
•A'