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

The tombs in which the princesses were buried
have been described in tlie preceding chapter.
With each tomb was connected a chapel or
slu-iae. 01" tlicse we believe we can trace six.
Many fragments of these shrines have been pre-
served. They have been collected, and cnm-
pared, ami if possible one of tiic shrines will be
reconstructed for the second part of this book ;
but at present we have not yet ascertained the
precise dimensions of all and their exact shape,
so that their description also must be deferred
to the next volume.
In these tombs we found three stone sarco-
phagi of a type characteristic of that epoch.
They are of limestone, and probably contained
in every case a coffin made of wood or of
cartonuage. Of the most perfect, that of
Kemsit, only small pieces remain, which,
however, could to some extent be pieced
together to be copied.' This w(ji-k was done by
Madame Naville (PI. xxii. and xxiii.).
As the tombs were small, and the pit leading
to the chamber very narrow, these coffins were
not lowered into the grave in one piece. Each
side was a separate stone, and they wei'e put
together in the chamber. The coffin of Kauit is
made of six pieces, one for each side, the bottom,
and t]u> lid. It is now put together in the
.Museum at Cairo. In the coffin of Henhenit,
' Altogether several hundred small fragments of the
sarcophagus were recovered. The larger ones, which
alone could be pieced together, twenty-seven in number,
are now in the British Museum.
53
CHAPTER rv.
THE SARCOPHAGI OF THE PRINCESSES,
liv l^DOUAKI) NaVILLE.
now at New York, the long sides are in two
halves, so that it consists of eight pieces.
These coffins are examples of three lifFerent
degrees of completeness in workmanship, and
that of Kemsit was, as has been said, the finest.
The outside was sculptured, and after the
engraving had been finished it was painted. In
the inside there is no sculpture, only painting.
The coffin of Kauit is completely sculptured.
It was finished not long before it was used for
the deceased. The iak outline drawn for the
engraver is still discernible. There is no
painting whatever ; inside, the inscription is
simply drawn in Mack.
As for that of Henhenit, there is no sculpture
at all other than the inscription and the great
eyes ^^ at the side. The cutting of the
hieroglyphs of the inscription is unfinished, part
of them being painted only, and the inside is
l>laiik.
riic scenes which are represented on these
sarcophagi remind one of the tombs of the Old
Empire ; the religious te.xts which cover the
wooden coffins of the deceased of the Xllth
Dynasty are still absent. We must compare the
sarcophagi of Kemsit and Kauit with what we
find at Gizeh or Sakkarah, with the tomb-walls
covered with apparent representations of the
present life. Tliere the man is described as hav-
ing obtained all the enjoyments which riches and
higli social standing may bring him. lie is seen
supervising his labourers in the fields, the hunters
and fishermen who provide for his table game
and fish, all the slaves who have to work for