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EGYPTIAN    RESEARCH  ACCOUNT,  1901 

SEVENTH    YEAR. 


MAHASNA 

AND 

b£t   khallAf 


BY 

JOHN    GARSTANG,   B.Litt. 

READER   IN   EGYPTIAN  ARCHEOLOGY  AT   UNIVERSITY  COLLEGE,  LIVERPOOL. 


WITH  A  CHAPTER  BY 

KURT     SETHE,    Ph.D. 

PROFESSOR    OF  EGYPTOLOGY  IN   THE   UNIVERSITY  OF   GOTTINGEN. 


LONDON: 

BERNARD    QUARITCH,    15,    PICCADILLY,    W. 

1903. 


51 


LONDON  I 

PRINTED  BV  WILLIAM  CLOWES  AND  SONS,   LIMITED, 

DUKI   STREET,   STAMFORD  STREET,    S.E.,    AND    GREAT  WINDMILL  STREET,   W. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 


Introduction 


PAGE 

1-4 


5-* 


Sect,  i,  The  season  and  site  of  work.  2,  Boun- 
daries to  the  district  explored.  3,  Special 
indications;  Alawniyeh.  4,  The  necropolis 
of  Mahasna.  5,  Main  results  of  its  excava- 
tion. 6,  One  elaborately  furnished  tomb. 
7,  Exploration  continued  northward ;  the 
Der  at  Bet  Khallaf.  8,  Real  nature  of  the 
structure;  a  great  tomb  of  the  Illrd 
Dynasty.  9,  Architectural  features ;  the 
earliest  arch.  10,  Other  neighbouring  tombs. 
11,  The  step-pyramid  at  Saqqara.  12,  The 
traditional  burial-place  of  Neter-Khet.  13, 
The  tomb  of  Neter-Khet. — Bibliography. 


CHAPTER  II. 
The  Pre-dynastic  Sites  (L.  and  MS.)     . 

(a)  The  Cemetery  at  Alawniyeh:  14,  General 
features.  15,  Some  special  objects.  16, 
Sequence  dates  of  pottery,  (d)  The  Settlement 
near  Mahasna:  16,  Its  position  in  the 
middle  of  a  necropolis.  17,  Nature  of  the 
ground.  18,  Nature  and  results  of  excava- 
tion. 19,  Summary;  its  situation.  20,  Its 
houses  and  dwellings ;  traces  of  habitation. 
21,  A  large  pottery  kiln.  22,  Flint  imple- 
ments, their  variety  and  character ;  co-rela- 
tion with  the  Cemetery.  23,  The  pre- 
dynastic  civilisation. 


CHAPTER  III. 
Third  Dynasty  Tombs  at  Bet  KhallAf  (K). 

The  Tomb  of  Neter-Khet  (K  1)     .        .     8-1 1 

24,  Position  and  appearance.  25,  Its  chief 
architectural  features.  26,  The  arch  and 
barrel  roof.     27,   The  descending  passage 


closed  with  stone  doors.  28,  Entrance  of 
the  burial  chamber.  29,  The  shaft  by  which 
the  chambers  were  reached.  30,  The  surface 
deposits  and  objects  found  on  the  stairway. 
31,  Copper  and  flint  implements.  32, 
Objects  from  the  chambers.  33,  The  seal- 
ings  and  royal  names.  34,  The  alabaster 
vases. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
The  Tomb  of  Hen  Nekht  (K  2)       .         .1 1-14 

35,  Appearance  and  identification.  36,  Ana- 
logy with  the  Step  Pyramid.  37,  Details  of 
plan  and  section.  38,  The  remains  of  the 
King.  40,  State  of  the  burial  chamber. 
41,  Details  of  Construction.  42,  Dr.  Myers' 
statement  with  regard  to  the  bones  and  skull, 
with  measurements  and  details. 


CHAPTER  V. 
The  Tombs  K  3,  K  4,  and  K  5  .        .         .   14-16 

43,  Situation  and  character.  44,  Comparison 
of  details.  45,  Skull  and  bones  from  K  3. 
46,  Position  and  construction  of  K  5 ;  the 
tomb  furniture. 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Archaeological    Types    of    the    IIIrd 
Dynasty 16-18 

48,  Paucity  of  material.  49,  Evolution  of  tomb 
construction.  50,  The  hard  stone  bowls. 
51,  The  vessels  and  tables  of  alabaster.  52, 
The  implements  of  copper.  53,  The  flint 
implements.     54,  The  Pottery. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 


CHAPTER  VII. 


Rkmarks  on  the  Inscriptions.  By  Prof. 
Sethe 19-27 

55,  General.  56,  Sealings  of  Neter-Khet.  57, 
Sealings  from  tomb  K  2.  58,  Sealings  from 
tombs  K  3-5.  59,  Cursive  ink-written  in- 
scriptions. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Cemetery  at  Mahasna  (M). 

The  Tombs  and  Burials         .        .        .  28-33 

60,  Character  and  (61)  Construction  of  the 
tombs.  62,  The  undisturbed  burials.  M  70, 
unusual  position.  M  87,  Gold  pendants. 
M  100,  Carnelian  beads  and  pendants. 
M  107,  An  elaborately  furnished  tomb. 
M  114,  Burial  in  shaft.  M  349,  Representa- 
tive   group.       M    386,    Scarab    pendants. 


M  401,  A  typical  burial.  M  420,  421,  424, 
Burials  in  curious  positions.  M  441,  Deposit 
of  vases  in  wooden  box.  M  442,  Simple 
burial  in  irregular  position.  63,  Contracted 
burials.  64,  General  results  of  the  excava- 
tion. 65,  Special  features.  66,  Dr.  Myers' 
note  on  the  skulls  and  bones. 


CHAPTER  IX. 
The  Tomb  Deposits         ....  33-36 

67,  The  inscribed  stones.  68,  The  button 
seals  compared  with  Cretan  pictographs.  69, 
Copper  implements  and  mirrors.  70,  Group- 
ing of  the  tomb  deposits,  indexed. 

CHAPTER  X. 
Description  of  Plates,  indexed     .        .  36-39 

GENERAL  INDEX  ....   40-42 


LIST   OF    PLATES. 


General. 

I.  El  MahAsna  and  Bet  Khallaf:   the  dis- 
tricts explored,  1 900-1. 
II.  The  sites  excavated  at  Mahasna  and  Bet 
Khallaf. 

El  Mali&sna:  Predynastic. 

III.  Dish,  flint  objects  and  kiln. 

IV.  Settlement  and  cemetery. 

V.       Flints  and  other  objects  from  cemetery. 

Bit  Khalldf:  Illrd  Dynasty. 

Tomb  of  Neterkhet : 
VI.      Architectural  features. 
VII.       Plan  and  section. 
VIII.,  IX.,  X.  Sealings  (i.,  ii.  and  iii.). 


XL 

Types  of  alabaster  vases. 

XII. 

Types  of  stone  bowls. 

XIII.,  XIV 

Types  of  alabaster  vases   and  vessels 

(i.  and  ii.). 

XV. 

Copper  and  flint  implements. 

XVI. 

Copper  tools  and  implements. 

Tomb  of  Hen  Nekht : 

XVII. 

Architectural  features. 

XVIII. 

Plan  and  section. 

XIX. 

Sealings. 

XX. 

Skull,  vessels  and  implements. 

XXI. 

Types  of  alabaster  vessels. 

XXII. 

Model  cylindrical  vases  of  alabaster. 

XXIII. 

Copper  implements  and  fittings. 

Tombs  K  3,  K  4,  K  5  : 

XXIV. 

Architectural  and  miscellaneous. 

XXV 

Plans  and  sections. 

XXVI. 

Sealings. 

XXVII. 

Types  of  stone  vases. 

LIST  OF  PLATES. 


Tombs  K  1-5  : 
XXVIII.       Cursive  inscriptions  written  in  ink,  and 
pot-marks. 
XXIX.       Alabaster  tables  of  offerings. 
XXX.,  XXXI.  Types  of  pottery. 

El  Makdsna :  IVth-XIth  Dynasties. 

XXXII.  Burials,  pottery,  etc. 
XXXIII.  Copper  implements,  inscriptions,  etc. 
XXXIV.  Gold  pendants,  vessels  of  alabaster  and 
hard  stones. 


XXXV.  Groups    of   stone    vases    and   alabaster 

vessels. 
XXXVI.  Alabaster    vessels    of    the     IVth-VIth 

dynasties. 
XXXVII.  Tomb    deposit    from    burial    M     107, 

IVth-Vth  dynasty. 
XXXVIII.  Tomb  group  of  alabaster  vases,  107. 
XXXIX.  Button  seals,  amulets  and  pendants. 

XL.  Copper  mirrors  of  the  Old  Kingdom  and 
subsequent  period. 
XLL,  XLII.  Pottery  types. 

XLIII.  Diagrams  of  burial  types. 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTION. 
[With  Pls.  I.,  II.] 

1.  The  present  volume  deals  with  the  results  of 
excavations  made  for  the  Egyptian  Research  Ac- 
count during  the  season  1 900-1 901,  from  the  end  of 
November  to  the  beginning  of  May.  It  had  been 
arranged  by  the  Director  that  the  exploration  should 
proceed  from  near  the  scene  of  the  previous  season's 
work  at  Abydos  over  the  desert  lying  immediately  to 
the  north.  The  camp  was  fixed  in  the  open  desert 
south  of  the  village  of  Mahasna,  not  far  from  a  walled 
village  (originally  a  large  garden  enclosure)  called  the 
Maslahet-Harun,  at  a  point  where  some  partly- 
cleared  tombs  of  the  Old  Kingdom  disclosed  the 
presence  of  a  cemetery  not  completely  plundered. 

2.  The  scene  of  work  was  marked  off  on  the  south 
by  the  northern  boundary  to  the  bay  of  Abydos — a 
great  headland  which  reaches  down  almost  to  the 
cultivation  near  the  village  of  Alawniyeh.  From 
here,  after  trending  north-west,  the  hills  again  break 
away  westward  so  sharply  that  above  the  village  of 
Mahasna  the  lower  desert  is  nearly  six  miles  wide. 
The  surface  is  not  all  even,  being  broken  in  its 
western  half  by  a  series  of  foothills  fringing  a  small 
plateau.  North  of  Mahasna,  above  the  village  called 
Ilg,  the  conformation  becomes  more  regular  ;  and  the 
Libyan  hills,  curving  inwards,  narrow  the  desert  to 
three  or  four  miles  (some  six  kilometres).  At  this 
point  the  surface  lies  unbroken,  and  the  stretch  of 
waste  sand  is  wide  and  impressive.  Just  to  the 
north,  however,  above  the  village  of  Bet  Khallaf, 
where  the  hills  again  fall  westward  behind  a  still 
wider  bay,  the  desert  assumes  a  new  character.  It  is 
caused  by  a  series  of  sand-dunes  and  pebbly  mounds, 
for  the  most  part  unconnected  yet  lying  in  curious 
symmetry,  which  reach  down  to  within  two  miles  of 
the  cultivated  land.  It  is  here  that  the  northern  limit 
to  the  season's  work  was  reached. 


The  region  examined  was  thus  some  ten  miles  in 
length,  embracing  the  villages  of  Alawniyeh  on  the 
one  hand  and  of  Bet  Khallaf  on  the  other,  with  El 
Mahasna  about  its  centre,  and  with  the  smaller  settle- 
ments at  Bet  Allam,  the  Maslahet  Harun,  Bet  and 
Ilg,  intervening  along  its  edge.  The  more  accessible 
portions  of  this  stretch  of  desert,  where  it  abuts  upon 
the  cultivation,  or  is  of  level  or  merely  undulating 
surface,  were  examined  with  some  care ;  but  the 
portions  of  it  on  the  west  that  are  broken  by  low  hills 
were  not  explored  systematically.  The  wildness  and 
isolation  of  the  district  would  have  required  more 
time  for  its  exploration  than  could  have  been  spared 
from  the  work  in  hand.  A  cave-tomb,  found  half 
way  up  the  face  of  the  further  cliffs  above  the  village 
of  Alawniyeh,  apparently  of  Roman  date,  was  the 
only  result  of  following  up  many  stories  brought  by 
local  people. 

3.  Near  to  Alawniyeh,  just  above  the  houses 
clustered  together  as  Bet  Allam,  were  traces  of  a  pre- 
historic cemetery  already  much  disturbed.  It  proved 
to  be  a  small  site,  almost  completely  plundered ; 
nevertheless  some  interesting  objects  of  pottery  and 
flint  were  found  in  the  few  tombs  that  remained,  with 
a  sufficient  quantity  of  the  more  ordinary  types  to 
enable  its  character  and  date  to  be  determined. 

Meanwhile,  in  the  middle  of  the  site  first  fixed 
upon  between  El  Mahasna  and  the  Maslahet  Harun, 
great  numbers  of  worked  flints  and  some  domestic 
pottery  indicated  the  presence  of  a  Settlement  also  of 
the  prehistoric  period.  A  great  downpour  of  rain 
helped  materially  to  define  its  area  and  suggest  the 
lines  for  its  excavation.  It  was  almost  in  the  centre 
of  the  cemetery,  between  (and  for  the  most  part 
avoided  by)  tombs  of  the  IVth  and  Vlth  Dynasties. 
Its  houses  had  been  constructed  of  wicker,  or,  more 
probably,  of  "  wattle  and  daub,"  and  in  a  few  cases 
their  stouter  piles  remained  in  position  to  show  how 
they  had  been  arranged.  The  spot  they  covered  was 
small ;  but  the  flint-strewn  area  was  much  larger, 
reaching  southward  along  the  desert-edge,  in  a  strip 


INTRODUCTION. 


two  to  three  hundred  feet  wide,  beyond  the  confines 
of  the  cemetery,  and  thus  partly  disturbed  by  the 
tombs  placed  there  in  the  early  dynasties.  For  the 
purpose  of  defining  these  better  preserved  portions  of 
the  settlement  they  have  been  accorded  different 
letters  according  to  their  positions  in  the  general  plan 
of  the  site  on  PL.  II. 

4.  The  tombs  of  this  cemetery  were  for  the  most 
part  of  the  period  between  the  Old  and  Middle 
Kingdoms  ;  yet  the  earlier  dynasties  were  also  repre- 
sented. The  excavation  when  completed  showed 
remarkably  how  the  cemetery  had  spread  slowly  and 
consistently  northward  through  a  long  sequence  of 
years.  Its  earliest  tombs  must  date  back  to  the 
early  Hnd  or  perhaps  the  1st  Dynasty.  These  had 
been  already  excavated  (it  was  said  by  De  Morgan), 
but  they  were  re-opened  to  verify  their  dates  and 
character.  It  was  found  that  they  formed  the 
southern  limit  to  the  cemetery.  A  few  uninstructive 
and  plundered  pit-tombs  led  on  to  some  characteristic 
graves  of  the  IVth-VIth  Dynasties,  bordering  upon 
the  knoll  on  which  the  prehistoric  settlement  had 
formerly  stood.  There  were  found  in  them  some 
stone  bowls  and  small  objects  of  art  characteristic  of 
the  period.  The  knoll  itself  was  devoid  of  tombs : 
possibly  the  character  of  its  sand  had  been  unsuitable 
for  sinking  shafts,  or  perhaps  the  ruins  of  the  former 
habitations  had  still  remained  conspicuous  obstacles, 
and  so  caused  it  to  be  avoided.  Beyond,  in  a  small 
valley  to  the  north,  tombs  of  the  Vlth  and  later 
Dynasties  were  plentiful,  and  spread  over  the  farther 
rise  to  the  number  of  several  hundred,  all  undisturbed. 
With  the  Xlth  Dynasty  they  came  to  an  end.  It 
does  not  appear  that  this  was  the  necropolis  of  any 
large  or  important  town,  but  rather  the  burying  place 
of  some  small  village  or  villages,  which  then,  as  now, 
rose  here  and  there  in  the  cultivation,  built  and 
rebuilt  upon  the  ruins  of  the  past. 

5.  The  tombs  of  the  later  period  yielded  little, 
though  they  were  numerous  and  undisturbed.  The 
same  feature  has  been  noticeable  in  other  sites  of  the 
same  date  wherever  they  have  been  examined.  This 
general  poverty  and  rudeness  of  the  known  works  of 
this  period  between  the  Vlth  and  Xlth  Dynasties, 
while  it  provides  a  marked  contrast,  is  seemingly  not 
to  be  attributed  to  any  real  change  of  burial  custom. 
The  reason  must  rather  be  seen  in  a  general  depres- 
sion of  art  and  artistic  sense,  the  products  of  which  in 
those  brighter  ages  found  their  way  into  the  graves  of 
the  time.  Thus  the  excavation  of  these  tombs, 
following  upon  those  of  the  Old  Kingdom,  was  useful 


in  supplying  further  evidence  of  local  detail,  shewing 
how  a  small  and  presumably  average  rural  district  of 
the  ancient  country  was  beset  by  the  same  depression 
and  decline  as  seem  to  have  prevailed  in  general 
during  this  period  throughout  the  whole  of  Egypt. 

Archaeologically,  too,  this  period  provides  a 
unique  interest,  in  the  small  "button  seals,"  glazed  or 
of  worked  stone,  which  (with  the  increasing  number 
of  preserved  specimens)  are  attracting  a  corresponding 
increase  of  attention.  Twenty-eight  were  found  in 
this  excavation  in  their  original  position  upon  the 
bodies.  With  women,  they  were  mere  pendants, 
attached  to  a  necklet  of  beads  or  other  trinkets  that 
adorned  them  ;  but  with  men  they  always  occurred 
singly,  suspended  from  the  neck  or  attached  to  a 
finger  of  the  left  hand.  The  designs  upon  them  are 
always  symmetric,  often  geometric  and  conventional; 
yet  no  two  from  this  site  were  alike,  nor  are  any 
strictly  the  same  as  those  existing  in  private  collec- 
tions with  which  they  have  been  compared.  They 
were  almost  certainly  signets. 

6.  Apart  from  these  objects,  the  period  yields 
nothing  comparable  in  interest  to  the  small  objects 
of  art,  jewels,  and  pendants,  that  characterise  the 
IVth,  Vth  and  Vlth  Dynasties.  The  furniture  of 
one  rich  burial  of  the  Old  Kingdom  from  Mahasna 
(No.  104)  was  chosen  entire  by  the  Government  for 
exhibition  in  the  Museum  at  Cairo.  It  comprises, 
among  its  larger  objects,  thirteen  vessels  of  alabaster 
and  hard  stones,  finely  wrought  and  of  delicate  finish, 
an  alabaster  head-rest,  with  fluted  column  upon  a 
plain  base  and  square  abacus,  and  a  mirror  of  copper. 
Its  beads  are  chiefly  carnelian,  glaze  and  gold,  with  a 
pendent  carnelian  centre.  But  the  chief  feature  of 
the  deposit  is  a  long  chain  necklet  of  gold,  of  remark- 
able fineness  and  finish,  each  link  delicately  welded, 
in  the  manner  in  which  each  link  is  doubled  through 
the  two  loops  of  that  which  precedes  it  in  the  chain. 
Other  objects  of  good  quality  were  found,  and  are 
pictured  in  the  plates.  They  do  not,  for  the  most 
part,  establish  any  new  archaeological  types. 

In  the  village  of  Mahasna  itself  were  found 
some  traces  of  a  former  burying  place.  A  tomb  in 
the  road,  revealed  by  the  falling  in  of  the  surface, 
yielded  some  good  pieces  of  red  polished  pottery  of 
the  Old  Kingdom.  A  few  other  tombs  were  either 
difficult  of  access  or  unsafe  to  dig ;  many  must  have 
been  built  over  by  an  arm  of  the  village  ;  the  search 
in  other  accessible  places  around  was  devoid  of 
result. 

7.  Work  having  reached  this  stage  by  the  end  of 


INTRODUCTION. 


January,  it  was  decided  after  consultation  with  the 
Director  to  make  an  examination  of  a  large  brick 
structure  standing  prominently  in  the  desert  above 
the  village  of  Bet  Khallaf.  It  was  already  a  feature 
well  known,  conspicuous  for  miles  around  :  it  had 
been  thought  by  some  to  be  a  fortress  of  the  Old 
Kingdom  ;  by  others  to  be  of  Greek  date  ;  the  Arabs 
themselves  had  sanctified  it  with  the  name  of  a  Der. 
It  had  thus  escaped  plunder  and  serious  attention. 
From  above,  it  might  well  have  been  taken  for  a 
walled  enclosure  full  of  rubbish.  But  the  filling  was 
by  no  means  of  the  nature  of  blown  sand :  it  was 
desert  gravel  mixed  with  large  stones,  themselves 
evidence  that  the  filling  was  not  the  work  of  nature. 

8.  A  few  days'  work  sufficed  to  show  that  it  was 
not  a  building  of  known  kind,  but  it  was  some  weeks 
before  its  unique  character  became  finally  apparent. 
Meanwhile  the  clearing  away  of  some  accumulated 
rubbish  on  the  eastern  side  had  revealed  a  stairway, 
which  had  been  anciently  filled  up  and  bricked  over 
to  conceal  its  existence.  Following  this  down  some- 
what laboriously  through  hardened  Nile-mud,  the 
steps  were  found  one  after  another  laden  with 
alabaster  vessels  and  tables  of  offerings,  wine-jars  and 
pottery,  all  of  an  early  date.  The  usual  caps  of  mud 
on  these  jars  were  found  to  be  sealed  with  the  royal 
name  of  Neter-Khet,  and  bore  the  names  of  his 
officials,  vineyards,  palaces,  etc.  It  then  became 
evident  that  at  last  it  was  possible  to  identify  a  royal 
tomb  of  the  Illrd  Dynasty — a  discovery  which  dates 
the  beginning  of  any  definite  archaeological  history  of 
that  period.  The  prevailing  motive  of  the  time  was 
soon  made  plain  ;  it  is  what  might  have  been  looked 
for  at  the  beginning  of  the  Pyramid  Age.  The 
striving  after  great  size  and  massive,  even  ponderous, 
effect,  was  to  be  seen  alike  in  the  construction  of  the 
tomb  as  in  the  nature  of  the  offerings  and  monuments 
in  general.  The  cylindrical  vases  of  alabaster,  for 
example,  which  were  found  upon  the  steps,  were 
solid,  weighty,  and  roughly  (but  not  rudely)  made. 
Their  mere  numbers  were  astonishing  ;  each  step  had 
been  piled  up  until  it  could  contain  no  more.  On 
successive  steps  were  seventeen,  eleven,  thirteen,  and 
so  on,  as  well  as  alabaster  tables  in  similar  profusion. 
The  total  removed  from  the  whole  stairway  was 
nearly  eight  hundred.  Towards  the  bottom  the 
numbers  decreased,  while  the  quality  improved.  The 
fragmentary  condition  in  which  the  objects  were 
found,  however,  suggested  that  here  they  had  been 
crushed  by  the  settling  down  of  a  great  slab  of  stone, 
which,  though  not  remaining  in  its  place,  was  shown 


to  have  been  one  of  a  series  of  doors  designed  to 
guard  the  approach  to  the  burial  chamber. 

9.  Turning  at  the  foot  of  this  stairway  southward 
under  an  arch,  the  passage  began  to  descend  steeply 
below  the  desert.  It  was  stopped  at  intervals  by 
massive  stones  of  increasing  heights,  and  from  eight 
to  thirteen  tons  in  weight.  The  shafts  by  which 
these  had  been  anciently  dropped  into  position  were 
dug  out  in  succession.  The  last  of  all  gave  access  to 
the  chambers.  It  was  eighty-seven  feet  deep  from 
the  surface  of  the  Mastaba  ;  and  for  fifty-four  feet  its 
sides  were  unprotected  by  brick,  being  sunk  through 
the  desert  gravel.  The  stone  at  the  bottom  of  the 
shaft  which  covered  the  chamber  door  was  seventeen 
feet  in  height ;  and  fortunately  of  width  sufficient  to 
allow  a  small  hole  to  be  made  below  its  centre  to  get 
access  to  the  chambers  within.  A  short  passage  still 
descending  led  down  to  them,  at  a  total  depth  of 
ninety-one  feet  below  the  summit  of  the  tomb. 

There  were  eighteen  chambers  leading  out  from 
the  central  passage  in  somewhat  bewildering  fashion. 
A  large  stone-walled  room  in  the  centre  had  been  the 
burial  place.  Its  walls  had  been  broken  and  its  floor 
torn  up :  some  bones  of  a  man  lay  broken  and 
scattered.  Vessels  of  offerings  by  hundreds,  and 
pottery,  lay  piled  in  heaps  or  strewn  about  in 
confusion.  Two  Roman  Amphorae  above  the  debris 
revealed  the  plunderers.  After  making  trial  attempts 
in  every  likely  place,  these,  most  skilful  of  all  tomb- 
robbers,  had  descended  by  means  of  a  hole  so  small 
that  the  workmen  had  declared  it  to  be  the  work  of  a 
jackal. 

10.  Meanwhile,  examination  of  the  tract  around 
had  disclosed  the  existence  of  other  tombs  similar  in 
character  and  design.  The  largest  of  these,  a  little 
way  to  the  north,  disclosed  another  royal  name,  as 
yet  unidentified,  which  may  be  read  variously,  Hen- 
Nekht,  Hen-Khet,  or  with  Professor  Sethe,  Sa-Nekht ; 
a  fragment,  which  may  be  part  of  a  cartouche  oval 
(the  earliest  recorded),  is  unhappily  not  capable 
of  restoration.  Other  tombs  proved  to  be  those  of 
servants  of  Neter-Khet :  and  a  fifth  one  of  some  size 
and  magnificence,  lying  to  the  east,  was  that  of  a 
Ha- Prince  during  the  same  reign. 

11.  The  step-pyramid  at  Saqqara  having  long 
been  reputed  to  be  the  burial  place  of  Neter-Khet,  it 
may  be  well  to  look  briefly  into  the  origin  of  this 
tradition.  It  will  probably  be  sufficient  to  recite 
briefly  a  few  facts,  some  new,  and  some  old  but 
forgotten. 

In   the  first  place  the  Pyramid  was  entered  by 

B  2 


INTRODUCTION. 


Minutoli,  who  recorded  his  observations  in  1824. 
After  lamenting  the  loss  of  some  fragments  of 
alabaster  and  hard-stone,  amongst  other  objects 
observed,  he  related  that  he  secured  a  small  portion 
of  the  broken  pieces  of  a  valuable  mummy,  "  doubt- 
less the  remains  of  the  prince  who  was  buried  there  " 
(ohne  Zweifel  die  Reste  des  hier  beigesetzten 
Fiirsten).  In  this  one  sentence,  as  it  will  be  seen, 
lies  the  foundation  of  the  tradition.  Its  quotation  is 
sufficient  for  the  present  purpose  ;  but  it  is  of  interest 
to  notice  that  the  burial  described  in  the  ensuing 
context,  with  its  gilded  head  and  feet-soles,  which 
he  regarded  as  that  of  the  prince,  was  probably  of 
the  later  dynastic  or  even  Ptolemaic  period  ;  and 
that  there  is  neither  evidence  nor  indication  of  a 
burial  of  the  early  dynasties. 

In  the  second  place,  there  exists  a  doorway  of 
glazed  tiles,  bearing  a  name  identified  with  Neter- 
Khet.  It  came  from  within  the  pyramid,  and  is  now 
at  Berlin.  Opinion  is  divided  as  to  its  date.  Dr. 
Borchardt,  after  a  detailed  examination,  drawing  his 
evidences  from  the  material,  its  construction,  fixing, 
the  characters  upon  it,  and  the  forms  of  the  hiero- 
glyphs, decided  that  it  was  certainly  of  the  XXVIth 
Dynasty.  Yet  in  view  of  recent  discoveries  in  early 
tombs,  it  is  to  be  admitted  (as  did  Dr.  Borchardt  at 
the  time  he  wrote)  that  the  point  is  at  least  open  to 
reconsideration.  Some  archaeologists  believe  that  the 
door-frame  in  the  main  is  of  date  contemporary,  or 
nearly  so,  with  the  inception  of  the  Pyramid  ;  while 
some  who  have  examined  it  see  signs  of  restoration 
on  the  lintel  upon  which  the  name  is  inscribed. 

12.  However  that  may  be,  sufficient  has  been 
made  clear  to  account  for  the  tradition.  It  is  em- 
bodied in  these  two  facts,  stripped  clean  of  their  later 
growths  ;  the  one,  that  the  first  observer  believed  he 
had  seen  signs  of  a  royal  burial  within  the  Pyramid  ; 
the  other,  that  later  observers  believed  they  had 
found  evidence  that  Neter-Khet  was  builder  of  the 
Pyramid.  It  was  perhaps  not  unnatural,  without 
other  evidences,  for  still  later  observers  to  think  as  a 
result  that  Neter-Khet  was  buried  at  Saqqara  ;  and 
so  the  tradition  grew  until  it  was  believed,  and  myth- 
like assumed  to  itself,  with  time  and  neglect,  the 
similitude  of  a  fact  It  is  needless  to  recall  the  many 
theories  that  have  been  built  and  rebuilt  upon  this 
slender  foundation.  All  that  is  proved  in  this  respect 
with  regard  to  the  step-pyramid  at  Saqqara,  upon 
actual  evidence,  is  that  its  origin  was  traditionally 
ascribed  to  a  king  now  reasonably  identified  with 
Neter-Khet,  and  that  this  tradition  was  at  least  as 


old  as  the  XXVIth  Dynasty :  and  further,  that  when 
the  pyramid  was  entered  a  number  of  burials  were 
found  within,  all  of  which  seem  to  have  been  later 
than  the  XXVIth  Dynasty.  Archaeology  agrees 
readily  that  the  date  of  the  pyramid  may  well  have 
been  of  the  Illrd  Dynasty  ;  but  it  cannot  admit, 
however  much  the  literature  on  the  subject  be  sifted 
and  searched,  that  there  exists  at  the  present  time 
any  real  evidence  to  show  that  an  early  royal  burial 
was  placed  within  the  pyramid.  There  is  sufficient 
analogy  to  show  that  a  king  was  by  no  means 
necessarily  buried  in  the  pyramid  he  had  con- 
structed. 

13.  On  the  other  hand,  at  Bet  Khallaf  this  great 
tomb  of  the  Illrd  Dynasty  stands  unique  in  character 
and  size,  not  far  from  the  royal  burial  place  of  the 
earlier  dynasties  and  from  the  site  of  ancient  This. 
It  is  attended  by  tombs,  also  large  and  imposing,  of 
the  chief  officials  of  this  king,  while  the  tomb  of 
another  king  of  the  same  age  is  close  by  it  to  the 
north.  A  great  necropolis  of  the  same  period,  as  it 
appears  from  more  recent  excavations,  is  separated 
from  it  by  a  short  distance  only.  Its  stairways  were 
concealed  and  its  passages  guarded  by  enormous 
stones.  Its  superstructure  stands  thirty  feet  or  more 
clear  of  the  desert,  and  its  burial  chamber  lay  nearly 
a  hundred  feet  below  the  top.  Precautions  more 
extensive  and  more  elaborate  than  in  any  earlier 
royal  tomb  had  been  taken  to  guard  against  robbery 
and  to  preserve  the  security  of  the  remains.  The 
bones  found  within  attested  the  burial  of  one  man  ; 
there  was  no  suggestion  of  a  second  or  a  later  burial, 
the  character  of  the  tomb  almost  precluded  the 
possibility.  The  thousand  offerings,  many  of  them 
sealed  with  the  royal  and  official  names  of  Neter- 
Khet,  bore  out  in  detail  the  analogy  afforded  as  to 
the  tomb-furniture  of  the  early  kings  by  the  royal 
cemetery  at  Abydos.  The  absence  of  some  particular 
object  familiar  in  the  earlier  tombs  is  to  be  attributed 
to  a  possible  change  of  custom  rather  than  to  other 
causes  :  there  is  here  the  unique  instance  of  the  tomb 
of  a  king  with  its  contents  almost  complete,  unmixed 
with  later  offerings. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

1824.     Minutoli  :     Reise    zum    Tempel   des    Jupiter    Amnion    (p. 

298,  etc.). 
1829.     Perring  :  The  Pyramids  of  Gizeh,  III.  (PI.  XII.). 
1839.     Valeriani  and  Segato  :   Atlante  Monumentale  del  Basso  e 

dell'  Alto  Egitto,  Tomo  I.  (PI.  37  A-D). 
1849.     Lepsius :  Denkmdler,  II.  (i.  and  text). 
1891-2.     Borchardt :  Zeitschrift  (p.  83).     Also  1898. 


THE  PRE-DYNASTIC  SITES. 


5 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE  PRE-DYNASTIC  SITES. 

(a).   The  Cemetery  at  Alawniyeh. 

14.  It  has  already  been  mentioned  in  the  opening 
chapter  that  near  the  village  of  Alawniyeh,  some  two 
miles  to  the  south  of  the  site  selected  for  the  camp, 
the  remains  of  a  ransacked  prehistoric  burying  place 
were  found.  The  graves  had  been  placed  somewhat 
thickly  on  the  northern  slope  of  a  slight  incline  that 
stretches  out  from  Bet  Allam  to  the  desert.  They 
may  have  numbered  originally  some  two  or  three 
hundred,  but  there  remained  to  be  examined  only 
about  forty-five  of  them,  hidden  for  the  most  part  by 
the  sand  thrown  out  from  those  which  had  been 
plundered.  Of  these  the  half  were  uninstructive,  but 
about  twenty  were  recorded  in  detail.  With  so  small 
a  number  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  have 
established  any  new  conclusion,  had  the  graves  been 
unusual ;  but  they  proved  to  be  characteristic  of  an 
early  period  in  the  prehistoric  scale,  without  marked 
deviation  from  the  established  types.  The  import- 
ance of  this  little  site,  as  it  appears,  is  its  proximity 
and  relation  to  the  prehistoric  settlement  lying  amid 
the  tombs  of  nearer  Mahasna. 

The  burials  lay  in  contracted  positions,  with  heads 
to  the  south,  and,  with  two  exceptions,  on  the  left 
side.  The  arrangement  of  surrounding  objects 
presented  no  features  unusual  to  the  period,  which 
has  been  profusely  illustrated  by  the  excavations  of 
Professor  Petrie,  Mr.  Quibell,  Mr.  Mace  and  Mr. 
Randall-Maclver. 

15.  Some  few  objects  found  in  these  graves,  how- 
ever, from  special  causes,  are  worthy  of  separate 
mention,  and  are  pictured  on  PLS.  III.  and  IV. 
Chief  among  them  is  a  four-legged  dish,  of  which  side 
and  top  views  are  given  in  the  upper  photographs  of 
Pl.  III.  The  dish  itself  is  oval  in  outline  ;  the  legs 
seem  to  have  been  separately  made  and  attached, 
and  the  whole  then  baked  together.  The  pottery  is 
dark  and  of  good  surface,  the  interior  decoration 
being  in  light  yellow.  It  is  a  design  of  human  figures 
and  animals,  with  other  portions  which  may  be 
merely  ornamental.  It  may  be  compared  with  that 
numbered  24A  on  Pl.  XXV.  of  Professor  Petrie's 
Naqada  and  Ballas.  This  object  was  found  in  a 
grave  which  had  already  been  partly  robbed,  the 
burial  itself  being  broken  and  disturbed.  There 
remained,   however,   a   pot  of   type   22A,   Class   B, 


which  is  accredited  with  a  range  of  31-52  in  the  scale 
of  Sequence  Dates. 

Of  more  importance  was  the  deposit  of  fragile 
clay  models,  pictured  lower  down  on  this  same  plate. 
Though  in  some  cases  broken,  and  in  others  scattered, 
it  was  fortunately  possible  to  recover  the  forms  of 
some  of  these  models  of  flint  implements  and  human 
figures.  By  comparing  the  models  of  doubly-barbed 
flint  arrows  with  the  actual  weapons  from  the 
neighbouring  settlement,  shown  in  the  adjoining 
photograph,  any  doubt  that  may  have  existed  as  to 
the  real  prehistoric  character  of  these  implements  is 
finally  removed.  The  other  object  found  in  the 
remains  of  this  interesting  tomb,  was  the  slate  marked 
N.  209  on  Pl.  IV.,  possibly  a  shuttle.  tA 

16.  In  view  of  the  few  graves  left  for  examination 
in  this  small  cemetery  at  Alawniyeh,  it  was  a  matter 
for  satisfaction  that  its  relative  position  in  the  pre- 
dynastic  date  scale  could  be  fixed  with  some  certainty. 
From  a  number  of  graves,  pots  and  groups  of  pottery 
were  recovered,  which,  when  tabulated  on  the  system 
of  Professor  Petrie,  gave  the  following  results,  selecting 
for  tabulation  here,  however,  only  those  tombs  con- 
taining large  groups : 


Tomb  200 

„        202 

„    204 
„    210 

»    219 
„    229 


S.  D. 


Central  date 


36-38 

„  33-46 

»  32-44 

»  34-40 

»  33-47 

..  34-56 

»  36-43 

•  36-38 


(b).  The  Pre-dynastic  Settlement  near  Mahasna. 

17.  In  the  plan  shown  on  Pl.  II.,  the  site  lying  to 
the  south  of  Mahasna  is  arbitrarily  divided  into  four 
portions,  suggested  by  the  contour  of  the  ground  : 
these  are  marked  M  1  .  .  . .  4.  It  was  in  the  portion 
M  2  thai;  the  remains  of  an  early  settlement  were 
chiefly  noticeable :  hence  it  is  called  S  2.  Another 
portion  lying  to  the  south  of  the  division  M  1  is 
referred  to  separately  as  S  1,  though,  as  will  be  seen, 
it  was  probably  attached  to  the  former — indeed,  the 
two  portions  may  have  been  part  of  a  continuous 
village. 

Between  them,  as  was  mentioned  in  the  opening 
chapter,  lie  tombs  of  the  early  dynastic  ages.  In  the 
vicinity  of  S  2  they  become  partly  discontinuous,  but 
whether  from  unsuitability  of  the  subsoil  or  from 
visible  obstacle  is  not  clear.  It  seems  certain,  how- 
ever, that  the  confines  of  the  settlement  were  en- 


THE   PRE-DYNASTIC  SITES. 


croached  upon,  from  objects  found  (apparently  as 
they  had  been  left)  in  undisturbed  patches  lying  be- 
tween the  tombs.  But  in  most  places  the  further 
indications  were  unreliable,  the  traces  having  been 
scattered  by  the  constant  turning  over  of  the  sand. 

17.  The  ground  itself  was  darker  than  the  desert 
around,  an  appearance  caused  by  the  mixing  of  the 
sand  with  dust  of  a  dark  colour.  The  same  effect 
can  be  secured  experimentally  by  grinding  to  powder 
bricks  or  hard  pieces  of  Nile  mud,  and  mixing  with 
sand  in  sufficient  quantity.  If  the  amount  of  dust  is 
small,  a  greater  contrast  with  pure  sand  can  be  gained 
by  sprinkling  with  water.  It  is  a  matter  of  common 
experience  that  the  presence  of  underground  tombs, 
when  built  of  brick,  may  often  be  detected  by  the 
character  and  colour  of  the  desert  just  below  the 
surface  This  darker  earth  is  well  known  to  the 
natives,  who  find  it  excellent  ground  from  which  to 
sift  the  sebakh  required  for  agricultural  purposes,  as 
they  do  from  ancient  town  mounds.  On  this  account 
it  is  difficult  to  secure  for  excavation  the  site  of  a 
settlement  that  has  not  been  more  or  less  disturbed  ; 
the  examination  of  such  a  spot  would  be  in  any  case 
a  minute  process,  but  its  difficulties  become  extreme 
when  the  disturber  has  been  at  work.  It  is  like  the 
attempt  to  trace  the  lines  of  a  camp  that  has  been 
moved  in  fields  turned  over  by  the  plough. 

18.  In  the  present  case,  a  mound  that  superficially 
looked  promising  was  found  to  have  been  thoroughly 
trenched  and  sifted  by  the  sebakhtn.  A  small  flat 
area  adjoining  it,  however,  remained  in  better  con- 
dition. Pottery  of  the  pre-dynastic  character  was 
common  ;  fragments  lay  strewn  thickly  about,  while 
more  rarely  was  to  be  seen  "  black-topped  "  pottery, 
or  an  occasional  piece  decorated  with  white  lines  of 
the  kinds  familiar  in  the  tombs.  Among  the  cases 
in  which  these  were  found  there  was  little  indication 
that  this  pottery  had  been  in  use  ;  on  the  contrary,  it 
seemed  to  have  been  carefully  deposited,  in  some 
cases  buried,  where  it  lay.  In  type  it  corresponded 
exactly  with  the  period  of  the  pots  found  in  the 
neighbouring  cemetery  at  Alawniyeh.  More  inter- 
esting, and  more  common,  were  the  domestic  pots, 
large  and  small,  which  were  found  in  the  various 
places  noted  in  the  plan.  Some  of  them  had  been 
used  for  storing,  but  the  black  traces  of  fire  clinging 
to  the  majority  indicated  that  they  had  been  used 
for  cooking  purposes.  The  bones  of  fish  and  small 
animals  and  pieces  of  crocodile  hide  were  not  un- 
common. In  one  place  only  a  maj'ur,  or  large 
earthenware  vessel,  was  found,  inverted   but  empty. 


Among  other  small  objects  found  are  those  shown  in 
the  upper  photograph  on  Pl.  V.  On  the  left  hand  is 
a  small  stone  vessel,  of  excellent  work,  fashioned  in 
the  form  of  a  seated  frog.  The  limbs  are  faithfully 
delineated,  but  the  photograph  shows  the  effect 
poorly.  On  the  right  are  some  mace-heads  and  frag- 
ments of  them,  pieces  of  characteristic  stone  vases,  a 
polished  "  celt,"  and  some  small  round  objects  (gene- 
rally of  pottery)  pierced  with  a  hole,  hence  probably 
spinning-whorls. 

It  is  thus  seen  that  the  indications  of  a  settlement 
were  plentiful ;  but  the  main  features  of  interest  con- 
nected with  early  village  communities — their  choice 
of  site,  their  habitations,  their  social  relations  and 
domestic  conditions — are  problems  waiting  to  be 
solved.  It  is  only  possible,  in  this  instance,  to 
illustrate  one  or  two  features  from  a  new  point  of 
view. 

19.  The  position  chosen  for  the  settlement  was  a 
prominent  rise  in  the  sandy  desert  at  the  present 
edge  of  the  cultivated  lands.  There  can  be  no 
certainty  that  this  was  also  the  ancient  limit  to  the 
annual  inundation,  but  the  steepness  of  the  desert 
edge  just  at  this  point  indicates  the  action  of  water. 
Considering  all  things,  it  seems  probable  that  there 
was  at  this  place  some  quantity  of  water,  probably 
stagnant.  Around  the  northern  side  (Pl.  II.)  a  con- 
siderable valley  breaks  through  the  sands.  It  has 
presumably  been  formed  by  water,  but  at  what  age 
it  is  impossible  to  say.  It  is  at  least  older  than  the 
middle  empire  tombs  built  in  it.  A  similar  valley 
bounds  the  southern  limit  to  the  portion  S  1,  while 
the  two  portions  called  S  1  and  S  2  are  separated  by 
a  less  marked  depression.  To  the  west  the  situation 
is  wholly  exposed  to  the  wide  desert,  of  which  it 
commands  a  view. 

20.  The  indications  of  dwellings  are  enigmatical. 
In  the  part  S  2  there  were  found  the  remains  of  some 
wood-piles  arranged  in  some  system,  and  between 
them  the  abundant  traces  of  small  twigs  intertwined 
and  of  powdered  mud.  There  can  be  little  hesitation 
then  in  saying  that  the  essentials  of  the  shelter  were 
provided  by  a  "  wattle  and  daub "  construction.  A 
difficulty  then  arises  as  to  the  arrangement.  In  the 
sketch  plan  on  PL.  IV.,  the  position  of  all  the  piles 
found  within  that  area  is  indicated.  A  pencil  line 
drawn  through  the  numbers  14,  15,  16,  17,  19,  25,  13, 
24,  in  succession,  reveals  the  curious  fact  that  only 
two  sides  of  any  rooms  are  represented  in  the  plan. 
The  same  effect  occurs  with  29,  30,  31  and  32.  The 
"  room  "  in  each  case,  indicated  by  the  litter  of  bones 


THE  PRE-DYNASTIC  SITES. 


and  pottery  scraps  upon  its  floor,  was  to  the  south 
of  these  piles.  Is  it  to  be  supposed  that,  like  the 
nomads  of  to-day,  these  pristine  settlers  raised  their 
shelter  only  against  the  cold  northerly  winds  ?  In 
the  portion  S  I  the  indications  were  less  definite ; 
there  was  the  appearance  of  twigs  and  mud,  but  no 
accompanying  piles.  Instead,  there  appeared  here 
and  there,  in  no  apparent  system,  the  traces  of  walls 
of  mud.  The  traces  of  actual  habitation  were  scant, 
but  the  ground  had  been  too  much  turned  over  in 
recent  years  to  allow  of  any  satisfactory  conclusion 
being  deduced.  At  one  point  a  large  stem  (apparently 
of  a  then  growing  tree)  had  been  built  up  to  by  a  low 
wall,  from  one  direction  only.  The  number  of  small 
worked  flints  of  the  finer  quality  taken  from  this 
portion,  was  greater  than  from  the  other. 

The  whole  area  was  strewn  with  flints,  some 
rough,  others  worked  or  chipped.  At  one  point  on 
the  outskirts  was  found  a  deposit  of  curious  natural 
flints,  a  selection  from  which  is  illustrated  on  Pl.  V. 
Though  some  of  them  are  of  a  snake-like  appearance, 
not  all  are  so.  They  were  found  buried  in  clean  sand 
at  a  depth  of  one  metre. 

21.  At  another   point  just  to  the  south    of  the 
place  S  I   was  cleared  a  series  of  pot  kilns,  unique 
in  character.     The   photographs   of  PL.  III.  at  the 
bottom   show  the   best  preserved   kiln,  with   pot   in 
position,  supported  by  vertical  bars  of  brick.     Owing 
to  the  difficulty  of  getting  good  light  from  this  point  of 
view  (from  the  north)  the  photographs  do  not  show  the 
details  with  satisfactory  clearness.     [A  diagrammatic 
drawing  appeared  in  "Man"  for  March,  1902,  Art.  29.] 
A  large  earthenware  pot  (or  majur)  is  apparently  in 
the  act  of  being  baked.     It  is  supported  upon  a  bed 
of  clay,  which  is  lined  with  a  thin  layer  of  charred 
material,  probably  some  kind  of  herbage.     This  clay 
is  held  in  position  by  a  series  of  fire-bricks  arranged 
vertically,  in  graduated  sizes,  at  equal  distances  apart, 
and  so  entirely  supporting  the  superimposed  weight 
These  bars  are  flat  on  one  side  and  round  on  the 
other ;  similar  bricks  (but  broken)  had  been  noticed 
by  Professor   Petrie   at    Naqada,  but   their   use  was 
not  known.     One  of  the  longest  of  these  measured 
28  inches.     The  whole  rested  upon  a  prepared  clay- 
bed,  and  was  surrounded  by  a  wall  of  fire-brick  of 
ordinary  character.      It    seems    probable    that    the 
obvious   explanation   is   correct :    that   the   fire  was 
placed  between   the  bars  below  for  the  purpose  of 
baking   the  pot  that  rested   above.     Possibly  there 
was  a  roof  to  the  kiln,  but  it  had  been  destroyed. 
The  kiln  proved  to  lie  in  the  corner  of  a  group 


arranged  somewhat  regularly  together,  though  all 
appeared  to  be  independent,  and  not  merely  parts  of 
a  common  furnace.  Several  other  isolated  examples, 
and  groups  of  two  and  three,  were  found  near,  but 
were  in  bad  preservation.  The  large  pot  could  not 
be  removed,  being  already  broken  and  not  thoroughly 
baked  ;  so  the  whole  kiln  was  carefully  covered  over, 
and  the  authorities  of  the  museum  informed  of  its 
position.  A  similar  large  pot,  well  baked,  but  un- 
fortunately cracked,  was  found  in  the  settlement  It 
was  of  unusual  size,  being  4  feet  6  inches  high,  and 
it  was  indented  along  the  rim  with  regular  rectangular 
indentations  like  that  which  was  in  the  kiln. 

22.  The  flint  objects  found  within  the  area  of  this 
settlement  possess  some  special  features  of  interest. 
As  may  be  seen  by  a  glance  at  the  plate,  there  are 
two  distinct  types,  which  in  Europe  would  be  named 
Palaeolithic  and  Neolithic  respectively.  On  Pl.  III. 
is  figured  a  group  of  the  finer-worked  examples  from 
the  point  S  2  of  the  settlement.  These  include  pieces 
of  knives  and  cutting  implements,  some  saw-edged 
pieces,  and  portions  of  bracelets.  Two  other  kinds 
require  special  consideration.  The  one  is  a  round 
flint,  somewhat  thick,  worked  down  nearly  all  round 
to  a  fine  cutting  edge  on  one  side  only ;  two  examples 
are  shown  on  the  right  hand  of  this  photograph ; 
another,  of  rougher  sort,  appears  on  Pl.  V.  in  the  last 
photograph  on  the  left  hand  at  the  bottom  from  the 
site  S  1.  The  other  is  the  arrow  or  lance-head,  of 
which  several  varieties  are  shown  in  the  photograph. 
It  has  a  double  barb  only.  In  the  adjoining  photo- 
graph of  clay  models  from  a  tomb  of  the  cemetery  at 
Alawniyeh  are  shown  some  models  in  unbaked  clay 
of  the  identical  form.  There  can  remain  no  longer 
any  doubt  as  to  the  real  pre-dynastic  character  of 
these  flint-heads. 

Turning  now  to  Pl.  V.,  there  are  three  groups  of 
flints  selected  for  illustration  from  the  great  quantity 
that  were  found  as  representatives  in  the  main  of  the 
different  classes  which  they  typify.  Perhaps  the  best 
series  is  that  of  the  Flint  Hoes,  unfortunately  photo- 
graphed on  a  scale  somewhat  too  small.  There  is 
one  of  these  in  particular,  now  in  the  Pitt-Rivers 
Museum,  which  is  noteworthy ;  it  is  shown  in  the 
centre  of  the  bottom  row.  One  side,  on  the  upper 
half,  has  received  and  retained  a  remarkable  polish, 
as  by  long-continued  friction  with  a  non-gritty  earth. 
The  action  of  sand  alone  (says  Mr.  Balfour)  would 
not  have  created  such  perfect  smoothness.  The  other 
side,  at  the  same  end,  has  a  polish  not  so  marked  ; 
while  the  other  end  is  hardly  smoothed  at  all,  having 


I 


THE  TOMB  OF  NETER-KHET. 


probably  been  fitted  to  the  haft.  On  the  same  plate, 
just  to  the  right  above  this  object,  is  shown  a  some- 
what perfect  saw-flint ;  it  is  thicker,  and  of  better 
finish  in  the  body  than  the  selection  illustrated  in 
the  photograph  below.  These  latter  are  not  worked 
equally  on  the  two  sides,  being  for  the  most  part  flat 
on  the  under  side,  while  the  flint  is  worked  in  long 
flakes  down  the  length  of  the  implement ;  the  saw- 
edge,  however,  is  prominent  in  them  all.  Another 
object  of  special  interest  is  the  forked  lance,  which 
appears  in  the  centre  of  the  lower  photograph.  Its 
workmanship  in  the  lower  half  containing  the  forks 
(below  the  notches  about  the  middle)  is  particularly 
fine,  the  dressing  of  the  edge  being  uniform  and 
close.  The  special  interest  of  this  object,  however, 
appears  in  another  fact  From  one  of  the  graves  of 
the  cemetery  at  Alawniyeh  there  were  taken  out  the 
pieces  of  a  lance  which,  when  put  together,  resembles 
this  one  in  every  respect,  even  in  the  blunted  top.  It 
had  not  been  restored  at  the  time  the  Pl.  V.  was 
prepared ;  but  now  that  the  two  lie  side  by  side  in 
the  Pitt-Rivers  Museum,  the  resemblance  is  remark- 
able. The  one  here  figured,  from  the  settlement,  is 
browned,  presumably  from  exposure ;  but  that  from 
the  cemetery  is  of  a  pale  and  unpolished  appearance. 
The  former,  it  may  be  added,  was  found  in  a  small 
black-topped  pot,  itself  placed  inverted  in  a  large 
dark  pot  of  domestic  character.  The  other  flint 
objects  pictured,  while  of  interest  from  their  prove- 
nance, call  for  no  special  comment.  The  large  and 
bolder  pieces  seem  to  have  been  used  in  the  settle- 
ment concurrently  with  the  implements  more  finely 
wrought 

23.  Unsatisfactory  and  inconclusive  though  this 
examination  of  the  much-disturbed  settlement  may 
be,  there  yet  remain  one  or  two  points  of  interest  to 
be  noted.  The  site  was  probably  on  the  edge  of 
water,  on  a  prominent  rise  which  commanded  a  wide 
view  on  all  sides.  The  houses  or  shelters  were  con- 
structed of  wattle  and  daub,  and  were  arranged  with 
some  show  of  system.  Fish  and  small  animals  were 
used  as  food  ;  the  cooking  was  done  in  large  earthen- 
ware pots,  over  fires  of  twigs.  Arrow-heads,  knives, 
weapons  and  implements  generally  were  of  flint :  the 
working  of  these  was  not  uniform,  but  the  art  of  fine 
working  (of  the  neolithic  class)  was  already  known. 
Copper,  though  not  unknown,  was  extremely  rare, 
occurring  in  only  two  small  pieces  (the  one  apparently 
a  drill).  The  domestic  vessels  were  coarse,  but  fine 
work  in  pottery,  flint  and  stone  was  accomplished 
and   reserved   for  the  graves  of  the  dead.      Their 


cemetery  was  two  miles  distant,  to  the  south,  in  a 
site  not  physically  related  to  that  of  the  settlement. 
To  judge  from  their  art,  in  outline  and  in  form,  this 
people  was  essentially  civilised :  that  is  to  say,  but 
for  the  absence  of  written  language  (about  which 
there  is  little  indication),  the  people  of  this  time 
were  as  advanced  in  industrial  processes  as  those  of 
the  earliest  dynasties.  Hence  it  seems  more  fitting 
to  speak  of  them  as  a  pre-dynastic  but  not  a  pre- 
historic people.  And  yet  in  date  they  must  be  placed 
at  the  beginning  of  the  period  which  has  now  been 
archaeologically  but  not  yet  historically  treated. 


THIRD    DYNASTY   TOMBS    AT 
BET    KHALLAF. 

With  Pls.  VI.-XXI. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  TOMB  OF  NETER-KHET,   K   I. 

Plates  VI.-XVI. 

24.  The  superstructure  of  the  tomb  of  Neter-Khet, 
described  in  the  opening  chapter,  rises  some  33  feet 
(8  metres)  above  the  present  level  of  the  desert 
upon  which  it  is  built.  It  stands  prominent  upon  a 
rise  of  sand  a  mile  or  more  behind  the  village  of  Bet 
Khallaf,  conspicuous  from  the  surrounding  country, 
and  visible  even  from  the  farther  bank  of  the  Nile. 
Its  south  end  and  western  side  were  found  clear  of 
sand,  but  to  the  north-east  it  was  partly  hidden  by 
some  accumulated  rubbish.  It  is  about  280  feet 
(some  85  metres)  long,  and  153  feet  (or  45  metres) 
in  width.  Its  axis  is  12°  W.  of  magnetic  north,  which, 
from  data  supplied  by  the  Department  of  Surveying 
was  at  the  time  40  5'  W.  of  true  north,  giving  as  the 
real  angle  160  5'  W.  Its  sides  and  ends  had  an  average 
batter  of  5  feet  at  the  top,  but  the  slope  is  not  uniform. 
The  base  line,  from  corner  to  corner,  was  straight ; 
but  at  the  top  the  side  curved  slightly  inwards  to  the 
extent  of  20  inches  at  the  middle.  The  side  was  built 
up  symmetrically  to  this  curve.  The  systems  of 
bonding  employed  were  not  uniform :  externally  the 
west  side  is  almost  entirely  faced  with  "  headers," 
with  occasionally  a  course  on  edge  to  adjust  the 
levels ;  on  the  south  end  nine  courses  of  headers 
appear  below  three  of  stretchers,  with  four  of  headers 
above.    Internally,  except  in  special  cases,  the  system 


THE   TOMB  OF   NETER-KHET. 


was  more  generally  two  or  three  of  stretchers  to  one 
of  headers. 

25.  The  structure  was  approximately  solid:  It 
was  built  in  sections,  in  both  directions,  which  fitted 
up  to  and  sometimes  into  one  another  in  a  manner 
the  plan  of  which  could  not  have  been  recovered 
without  seriously  destroying  the  tomb.  In  the  centre, 
where  a  clearance  was  necessary,  some  notion  of  the 
system  was  disclosed  and  will  be  described.  Except 
at  this  point  the  bricks  employed  were  in  nearly  all 
cases  sun-dried,  of  dimensions  averaging  J 1  inches  by 
5  by  3i  (or  28  cms.  by  12-5  by  9). 

On  the  eastern  side,  towards  the  north  end,  a 
sloped  way  gave  access  to  the  summit  of  the  building. 
It  was  possibly  ancient,  but  more  probably  dated  only 
from  Roman  times,  since  its  lowest  point  was  level 
with  a  mound  of  that  date.  It  is  marked  L  in  the 
plan  on  Pl.  VII.  From  the  point  E,  near  to  which 
it  leads  up,  a  stairway  begins  to  descend,  in  a  northerly 
direction.  After  (approximately)  8  steps,  it  turns  a 
right  angle  to  the  left  at  the  point  F,  and  so  descends 
at  a  distance  of  30  feet  (or  9  metres)  to  the  level  of 
the  desert,  at  the  point  G.  This  main  portion  of  the 
open  stairway  consists  of  a  flight  of  30  steps,  each 
50  inches  (125  cms.)  wide  for  two-thirds  of  the 
descent ;  the  remainder  wider,  being  56  inches  (or 
140  cms.).  Its  walls  are  uniformly  battered,  so  that 
the  total  increase  of  width  at  a  height  of  24  feet 
(7*2  metres)  due  to  the  inclination  of  both  walls  is 
3  feet  10  inches  (or  no  cms.).  At  points  marked 
a,  b,  c,  in  its  sides  are  recesses  descending  almost  to 
the  steps.  They  appear  to  be  originals  in  part,  but 
their  purpose  is  not  clear  ;  no  deposit  was  found  within 
them.  The  foot  G  of  this  portion  of  the  stairway  is 
not  exactly  on  the  middle  line  of  the  structure,  being 
19  metres  from  the  western  side  and  26  from  the 
eastern.  The  descent,  which  turns  south  at  this 
point,  parallel  to  the  sides  of  the  building,  is  thus  by 
some  three  or  four  metres  out  of  the  true  axial  line. 

26.  The  stairway  from  this  stage,  descending  under 
the  desert,  is  covered  by  a  barrel  roof  of  brick,  built 
upon  a  slope.  The  opening,  visible  as  an  archway, 
is  not  well  preserved,  having  been  partly  destroyed 
by  plunderers  in  their  efforts  to  force  the  passage 
from  the  recess  c  at  its  side :  but  the  photograph  of 
PL.  VI.  shows  fairly  well  its  method  of  construction 
and  the  outline  of  the  middle  vault  in  the  shadow 
below.  The  arch,  like  others  of  the  same  period  that 
have  been  found,  was  built  of  the  ordinary  form  of 
bricks,  placed  edge-wise,  side  to  side,  and  packed 
above  with  pebbles  and  mud-mortar  to  provide  the 


necessary  wedge  form.  Some  of  the  bricks  of  which 
it  was  formed  bore  distinct  trace  of  special  hardening, 
as  by  fire.  An  arch  in  better  preservation  and  of 
more  perfect  technique  was  subsequently  found  in  the 
adjoining  tomb  of  Hen-Nekht,  and  others  are  plentiful 
in  the  necropolis  of  Reqaqnah. 

Reverting  to  the  plan  and  section  BA  on  Pl.  VII., 
the  passage  is  seen  to  continue  under  the  ground  at 
an  angle  of  about  300  (such  that  in  proceeding  2  units 
the  actual  descent  is  1  unit),  to  a  point  approximately 
under  the  centre  of  the  mastaba,  where  it  gives  access 
to  a  series  of  galleries  and  chambers  at  a  depth  of 
91  feet  (about  27  metres)  below  the  summit,  and  of 
54  feet  (or  16  metres)  below  the  surface  of  the  desert. 

27.  The  descending  passage  was  found  to  have 
been  closed  at  six  separate  points  by  large  slabs  of 
limestone  placed  across  it.  One  had  been  designed 
to  protect  the  opening  below  the  archway  at  G,  but 
owing  to  having  only  one  guide  (d),  it  had  not  been 
truly  adjusted  and  had  fallen  backwards  aslant  against 
the  northern  wall  of  the  passage.  Its  dimensions  in 
feet  are  n  by  5  by  1  foot  6  inches  (or  in  metres  3  ■  3 
by  1  "5  by  "45).  The  other  five  stones  had  been 
lowered  into  position,  portcullis-wise,  by  means  of 
shafts  provided  for  the  purpose.  The  stones  were  in 
general  wider  than  the  shafts,  in  the  sides  of  which 
grooves  had  been  cut  for  the  slabs  to  slide  in.  When 
finally  in  position,  being  thus  wider  and  higher  than  the 
passage  and  being  sunk  also  partly  into  the  floor,  they 
effectively  barred  the  way.  Any  attempt  to  dig  round 
them  or  over  them  could  only  be  attended  with  danger 
of  subsidence.  In  some  cases,  as  will  be  seen,  their 
very  width  provided  a  means  of  evading  their  design. 

The  stones  are  of  increasing  size  as  they  are 
nearer  to  the  chamber  entrance.  The  second  stone 
encountered  (the  first  within  the  passage)  was  as 
large  in  area  as  the  first,  with  the  greater  thickness 
of  2  feet  6  inches  (or  65  cms.).  The  third  was  wedged 
in  a  position  so  insecure  that  its  size  could  only  be 
estimated  from  that  of  the  shaft :  the  fourth  was 
found  broken,  possibly  by  plunderers.  Owing  to  its 
proximity  to  the  final  shaft,  the  fifth  was  not  ex- 
cavated ;  while  that  which  guarded  the  mouth  of  the 
chambers  was  17  feet  by  11  with  a  thickness  varying 
from  1 J  to  2  feet  (or  5  metres  by  3  by  45  to  60  cms.). 

From  the  bottom  of  this  ponderous  mass  a  small 
piece  had  been  chipped  away,  presumably  by  the 
Roman  plunderers,  and  by  further  scraping  the  sand 
from  below  its  centre,  leaving  the  ends  supported,  a 
sufficiently  large  opening  was  thus  formed  to  enable 
the  excavation  to  proceed  within. 


10 


THE  TOMB  OF   NETER-KHET. 


28.  The  narrow  and  sloping  doorway  changed 
almost  at  once  to  a  spacious  passage,  cut  in  a  hard 
stratum  of  the  desert  subsoil.  On  either  hand  were 
two  small  chambers,  both  filled  with  sand  and  dust. 
Proceeding,  on  the  right  hand  a  narrow  doorway  led 
to  a  side  gallery  (g)  with  further  chambers,  which 
proved  to  have  been  stored  with  grain  in  sacks. 
Opposite  was  another  doorway,  leading  to  a  series  of 
rooms  and  ante-rooms  (As)  in  which  were  piled  in 
confusion  innumerable  fragments  of  alabaster  vessels 
and  stone  bowls.  The  main  passage  hereabouts  was 
strewn  with  similar  pieces,  mingled  with  large  wine- 
jars  and  pots,  all  thrown  back  from  the  room  beyond. 
Passing  by  a  small  chamber  on  the  left,  there  opened 
out  a  spacious  stone-walled  room  (/)  16  feet  (or  5 
metres)  square,  and  10  feet  (or  3  metres)  in  height, 
with  a  roof  naturally  domed  in  the  desert-gravel.  Its 
walls  were  built  of  large  blocks  of  stone  carefully 
dressed  and  adjusted  but  without  decoration.  The 
contents  were  hopelessly  disordered  and  in  confusion. 
Passing  on  again,  two  large  chambers  similar  to  one 
another  (m  and  «)  appeared  on  the  left  hand,  seem- 
ingly quite  empty ;  and  a  further  turn  on  the  right 
led  on  to  the  last  chamber  (p)  some  80  feet  (or  25 
metres)  from  the  entrance.  The  sides  and  roofs  of 
all  these  rooms  seemed  to  have  been  prepared  by  some 
process  of  burning.  The  position  of  the  chambers  is 
indicated  on  the  general  plan,  and  they  are  distin- 
guished from  wells  which  open  to  the  surface  by  a 
line-hatching  diagonally  across  them. 

29.  The  shaft  by  which  access  had  been  gained 
to  these  chambers  was  dug  without  support  through 
the  desert  strata.  To  relieve  its  sides  so  far  as 
possible  from  pressure,  it  was  found  necessary  to 
clear  out  a  considerable  mass  of  brick-work  from  the 
centre  of  the  superstructure  about  its  mouth.  In  so 
doing  the  system  of  sections  in  which  the  structure 
was  built  was  partly  disclosed.  It  appeared  that  the 
outer  sections  had  been  first  completed,  and  that 
the  building  had  gradually  drawn  up  to  and  around 
the  mouths  of  the  shafts.  A  long  portion  of  masonry 
over  the  line  of  the  passage  seemed  to  have  been 
inserted  last  of  all,  being  fitted  nicely  between  two 
sections  on  either  hand  with  finished  faces  and 
battered  sides. 

30.  Upon  the  surface  of  the  tomb  were  two  recent 
deposits  :  the  one  was  Arabic,  of  some  centuries  ago, 
consisting  of  a  series  of  decorated  wooden  boxes,  a 
metal  bowl  and  a  fragment  of  chain-mail.  It  was 
placed,  without  a  burial,  over  the  spot  marked  G. 
The  other  deposit  was  of  Roman  times,  a  few  large 


pots  decorated  with  colours  in  patterns  of  the  period  ; 
they  were  found  in  the  mouth  of  the  northerly  well  K, 
and  were  probably  in  relation  to  a  small  recess  of  the 
same  period  cut  in  the  eastern  face  of  the  tomb,  and 
some  fragments  of  a  broken  stele. 

Once  below  the  surface,  owing  to  the  character  of 
the  tomb,  the  deposits  were  free  from  all  chance  of 
mixture.  The  original  filling  of  the  stairway  had  to 
be  hewn  out  with  pick  and  crowbar.  The  clearing 
of  the  steps  was  done  carefully  by  hand,  but  all  the 
more  fragile  vessels  had  perished  anciently  with  the 
throwing  in  of  the  tenacious  mud  filling.  The  vessels 
had  fallen  in  many  cases  from  step  to  step  as  the  mud 
poured  down,  and  those  which  had  thus  reached  the 
bottom  had  been  further  pounded  by  the  lowering  of 
the  portcullis.  The  solid  cylindrical  model-vases  of 
alabaster,  however,  were  preserved  for  the  most  part 
entire,  to  the  number  of  several  hundred.  They  were 
similar  in  all  respects  to  the  types  selected  and  illus- 
trated on  Pl.  XXII.  The  alabaster  tables,  too,  the 
typical  forms  of  which  were  outlined  on  Pl.  XXIX., 
were  in  some  cases  little  broken,  and  could  be  readily 
put  together.  The  fragments  of  bowls  were  all  sorted 
piece  by  piece  by  the  nature  of  their  stone,  whether 
alabaster,  breccia,  diorite,  porphyry,  or  steatite  ;  they 
were  then  re-sorted  in  lots  according  to  their  forms, 
the  nature  of  their  rims,  their  circumference  and 
height.  The  comparing  of  results  led  in  a  few  cases 
to  the  restoration  of  the  bowls  as  shown  in  the  photo- 
graphs on  Pl.  II. ;  in  others  to  the  recovery  of  their 
forms,  which  are  outlined  on  Pls.  XII.-XIV. 

31.  A  copper  axe  and  two  castings,  with  a  few 
implements,  were  found  towards  the  bottom  of  steps. 
Higher  up  a  find  of  some  interest  was  that  of  the  two 
flint  knives  shown  in  the  left  hand  photograph  at  the 
bottom  of  Pl.  XV.  The  one  has  lost  its  handle,  the 
other  has  been  worn  down  on  its  edge  by  scraping  ; 
but  the  character  of  the  flaking,  and  the  forms,  are 
readily  discernible.  Other  objects  found  in  plenty  in 
the  stairway  were  wine  jars  of  the  forms  shown  on 
Pl.  XXXI.,  Nos.  21-26.  They  were  sealed  with 
various  devices,  but  the  impressions  5A  and  5B  on 
Pl.  IX.  were  perhaps  the  most  frequent.  The  seals 
1  and  2  on  PL.  VIII.  seem  also  to  have  been  rolled 
over  the  caps  of  vessels  of  this  form. 

32.  The  same  types  of  deposits  prevailed  in  the 
different  sections  of  the  passage  ;  and  the  same  pro- 
cess of  work  was  carried  out  in  regard  to  them  as  to 
the  objects  from  the  different  chambers  when  finally 
they  were  reached.  In  the  chamber  immediately  to 
the  left  of  the  entrance  (e)  were  found  some  small 


THE  TOMB   OF   HEN-NEKHT. 


II 


beads  of  glaze.  In  the  large  room  (J)  also,  were  a 
couple  of  unworn  examples  of  the  crescent  flints  of 
which  numerous  specimens  from  the  neighbourhood 
are  pictured  on  Pl.  XV.  These  two  from  within  the 
tomb  appear  separately  in  the  left  hand  photograph 
at  the  bottom  of  the  same  plate. 

33.  Of  the  sealings  represented  on  Pls.  VIII.-X. 
(which  though  done  with  care  are  not  exact  facsimiles), 
those  numbered  1-6  and  No.  11  were  all  impressed 
upon  the  conical  caps  of  mud  which  covered  vessels 
of  such  forms  as  21,  29  (PL.  XXXI.).  The  smaller 
impressions  on  hard  black  clay,  similar  to  some  on 
PL.  X.,  were  in  the  main  the  sealings  of  vessels  of 
alabaster. 

The  one  sealing  of  Per-ab-sen,  No.  8  on  Pl.  X., 
which  occurred  in  one  instance  only,  was  found  in  the 
small  remote  ante-chambers  on  the  eastern  side.  The 
sealings  of  Hapi-n-maat  were  eight  in  all,  and  occurred 
both  in  the  stairway  and  in  the  passage  ef.  Of  the 
nine  different  sealings  bearing  the  royal  name  Neter- 
Khet,  there  were  numerous  instances  of  each  kind  in 
the  different  parts  of  the  tomb.  The  first  one,  for 
example,  giving  suten  bity  title,  occurred  on  twenty 
to  thirty  pieces,  while  fragments  bearing  the  Ka-name 
numbered  more  than  a  hundred. 

34.  The  quantity  of  alabaster  recovered  from  the 
chambers  was  so  great  that  it  has  been  found  im- 
possible up  to  the  time  of  publication  to  work  through 
and  sort  it.  Doubtless  at  some  future  time  it  will  be 
found  desirable  to  publish  a  few  addenda  to  the  types 
pictured  on  PL.  XII.-XIV.  In  making  this  selection, 
however,  an  attempt  was  made  to  leave  no  con- 
spicuous type  unrepresented,  and  to  reproduce  ex- 
amples of  those  which  in  form  or  in  quality  differed 
from  one  another,  whether  among  those  vessels  which 
were  found  entire  or  those  which  were  found .  in  frag- 
ments and  are  here  in  part  restored. 


CHAPT 


THE  TOMB   OFlHEN-NEKH 


[With  Pls 


K   2. 


35.  On  a  mound  just  to  the  north  of  the  tomb 
last  described,  from  which  it  is  separated  by  some 
300  metres,  was  found  the  ruined  superstructure 
of  a  tomb  built  upon  a  similar  principle  ;  it  proved 
to  be  the  burial  place  of  a  king  whose  name  is 
new  to  history,  tentatively  read  during  the  excava- 
tion Hen-Nekht,  and  now  by  Professor  Sethe   Sa- 


Nekht.  In  detail  of  its  construction  it  showed  some 
marked  differences  from  the  larger  tomb  to  which  it 
is  near.  It  consisted  essentially  of  two  parts  alike, 
with  common  superstructure,  each  with  its  own  stair- 
way and  set  of  chambers  underground.  The  one 
group  to  the  north  was  supplementary  and  empty  ; 
its  portcullis  had  never  been  lowered,  nor  its  purpose 
fulfilled.  But  the  stairway  of  the  central  and  deeper 
portion  was  barred  with  two  great  slabs,  and  in  the 
chambers  was  found  the  funeral  furniture  of  a  man 
whose  bones  and  coffin  remained  in  one  of  the  larger 
rooms. 

36.  The  superstructure  of  this  tomb  was  not,  ap- 
parently, a  mastaba  of  ordinary  character.  Though 
so  ruinous  that  it  was  difficult  to  discern  more  than 
its  outline  amid  the  mass  of  brick-work,  yet  it  had 
seemingly  been  built  up  originally  in  steps,  after  the 
manner  shown  in  the  photographs  of  its  eastern  side, 
on  Pl.  XVII.  Its  analogy  with  the  form  of  the  step 
pyramid  at  Saqqara  is  striking.  The  whole  rested 
upon  a  low  platform  of  brick  laid  upon  the  desert. 
On  the  east  there  was  some  sign  of  an  ancient  path- 
way leading  towards  but  not  up  to  the  building. 

At  the  southern  end  two  narrow  walls,  projecting 
perpendicular  to  the  face,  enclosed  between  them  (as 
may  be  seen  in  the  plan  on  Pl.  XVIII.)  a  recess  the 
use  of  which  was  not  apparent.  A  smaller  enclosure, 
built  of  a  single  thickness  of  bricks  in  the  angle  formed 
where  the  easterly  wall  joined  the  main  building, 
was  found  to  contain  deposits  of  various  forms  of 
pottery.  The  divisions  marked  E  F  on  the  plan 
represent  the  position  occupied  by  the  rising  portion 
of  the  steps,  as  illustrated  by  the  section  C  D. 

37.  The  main  passage  begins  to  descend  at  the 
point  a,  which  is  somewhat  confused ;  then  turns 
southward  at  b,  descending  from  that  point  below 
the  desert  level.  At  c  it  is  blocked  by  a  great  mass 
of  stone,  neatly  fitted  into  position,  as  shown  in  the 
photograph  on  Pl.  XVII.  It  was  found  by  excava- 
tion from  within  that  this  stone  covered  the  mouth  o 
an  arched  passage,  which  led  down  from  this  point  to 
the  well  beyond,  where  another  slab  d  further  barred 
the  way.  This  stone  was  of  great  size,  being  17  feet 
high  and  8  to  9  feet  wide,  with  a  thickness  in  places 
of  2  feet.  By  scraping  a  hole  under  its  middle, 
leaving  the  outer  edges  resting  upon  the  sand,  it  was 
possible  to  creep  through,  and  so  enter  the  chambers 
beyond.  These  are  outlined  by  a  white  line  in  the 
plan,  and  their  vertical  depth  is  shown  on  the  section 
A  B  below. 

38.  After  entering,  the  passage  widens  out,  and  is 

C  2 


12 


THE  TOMB  OF  HEN-NEKHT. 


high  enough  to  enable  one  to  walk  upright  within. 
Three  small  chambers  branch  off  on  each  side.  A 
long  narrow  room  lies  at  the  end,  but  turning  to  the 
right  hand  (the  west)  just  at  its  door,  a  short  passage 
leads  into  the  spacious  burial  chamber.  Here  were 
found  in  confusion  the  remains  of  a  stout  wooden 
coffin  (its  fragments  destroyed  by  the  white  ant)  and 
the  bones  of  a  man.  Dr.  C.  S.  Myers,  who  has  ex- 
amined these  in  detail,  and  whose  notes  thereon  are 
appended  to  the  end  of  the  present  chapter,  writes 
that  "  the  skull  is  extraordinarily  massive,  remarkably 
long,  and  with  marked  grooves  and  ridges.  .  .  .  We 
shall  not  be  far  wrong  if  we  conclude  that  the  stature 
of  Hen-Nekht  was  i860  millimetres  (or  6  feet  1  inch). 
The  skeletal  stature  thus  appears  to  have  been  200 
millimetres  greater  than  that  of  the  average  pre- 
historic or  early  empire  Egyptian." 

The  tomb  contained  deposits  of  alabaster  and 
copper  vessels,  illustrated  on  PLS.  XX.,  XXI.  and 
XXII. ;  also  some  flint  and  copper  implements  and 
pottery  ;  which  will  be  comparatively  treated  of  in 
Chapter  VII. ;  and  further  a  few  fragmentary  seal  im- 
pressions, bearing  a  royal  name,  possibly  Hen-Nekht,  as 
shown  in  facsimile  on  PL.  XIX.  One  fragment,  No.  7, 
may  be  part  of  an  oval  cartouche ;  if  so  it  is  the 
earliest  yet  recorded,  but  unhappily  it  falls  short  of 
giving  the  necessary  clue  to  the  identity  of  this  king. 

39.  The  very  stature  indicated  by  his  bones,  how- 
ever, may  provide  a  clue.  A  height  of  20  cms. 
(nearly  8  inches)  more  than  the  average  of  his  time, 
must  have  constituted  him  conspicuous  among  men. 
Professor  Sayce,  upon  seeing  the  bones  before 
measurement,  was  so  struck  by  their  remarkable 
strength,  that  he  immediately  recalled  the  passages 
in  Manetho  and  Eratosthenes  giving  mention  of  one 
(or  two)  giant  kings  of  the  period.  The  names  given 
by  these  historians  are  Sesochris  and  Momcheiri ;  but 
the  question  of  his  identity  from  this  coincidence  is 
hardly  an  archaeological  problem. 

40.  As  in  the  other  case,  the  chambers  were  plun- 
dered and  disturbed,  and  their  contents  were  confused 
and  broken.  So  far  as  could  be  determined,  every 
class  of  offering,  whether  alabaster,  hard  stone  pottery 
or  copper,  had  been  represented  in  the  burial  chamber. 
In  the  process  of  sifting  the  sand  within,  two  scraps 
of  jewelry  were  recovered,  being  pieces  of  thin  gold- 
foil  doubled  over  to  a  triangular  form,  possibly  as 
pendants.  Further  than  this  there  is  no  special 
feature  to  record,  and  the  archaeological  types  will 
be  referred  to  in  comparison  with  others  in  a  later 
chapter. 


41.  The  other  series  of  chambers  in  the  northern 
portion  of  the  tomb,  as  has  been  indicated,  contained 
no  deposits.  The  descent  to  them  was  similar  and 
better  preserved  :  it  showed  that,  as  in  the  tomb  K  1, 
the  original  direction  of  the  first  few  steps,  g-g,  was 
to  the  north ;  at  h  there  was  a  similar  turn  to  the 
south,  but  no  stone  blocked  the  passage  at  K.  Here 
was  (and  still  remains)  an  archway  of  singularly 
perfect  construction  and  preservation.  It  consists  of 
fifteen  bricks,  most  of  which  have  been  purposely 
shaped  as  voussoirs.  This  has  been  effected  in  a  few 
instances  by  chipping  the  ordinary  form  of  brick,  but 
more  often  by  adding  a  wedge-thickening  of  mud 
and  allowing  it  to  dry  on  and  harden  before  use  for 
building.  They  fit  together  nicely,  and  form  an  arch 
which  is,  roughly,  the  third  of  a  circle.  The  course 
is  single ;  and  the  bricks  of  the  wall  are  built  up  to  it 
in  horizontal  courses,  the  interstices  being  filled  with 
broken  pieces  and  hard  mud.  Passing  down,  it  is 
seen  that  the  barrel  roof  consists  of  three  successive 
descending  portions,  to  follow  the  steep  angle  of  the 
passage  floor. 

Beyond,  a  few  steps  spirally  in  a  corner  lead  down 
to  the  bottom  of  the  main  shaft,  where  another  inter- 
esting feature  presented  itself.  A  great  portcullis- 
stone  remained  supported  above  the  entrance  by 
slender  walls  of  brick  built  under  its  edges,  about 
four  feet  above  the  floor  of  the  passage,  leaving  the 
way  clear.  The  tomb  within  had  never  been  used, 
and  the  door  in  consequence  had  not  been  closed. 
By  this  instance  the  whole  process  by  which  these 
tombs  were  designed  to  be  protected  was  made  clear. 
The  funeral  ceremony  performed,  and  the  pathway 
laden  with  offerings,  the  slender  walls  of  brick  were 
removed,  and  the  great  stones  fell  into  position  before 
the  successive  doors,  sliding  in  their  grooves.  The 
wells  were  then  filled  with  mud  of  a  hard  and 
tenacious  quality.  The  surface  over  all  was  pro- 
bably bricked  up,  to  finally  conceal  the  approaches 
to  the  tomb.  In  this  way  the  broken  and  pounded 
state  of  many  of  the  objects  is  accounted  for ;  for 
these  passages  had  not  for  the  most  part  been  pre- 
viously dug  out  so  as  to  clean  the  steps,  former 
plunderers  having  been  content  to  make  speculative 
holes  through  the  solid  mass  in  the  hope  of  reaching 
the  burial  and  its  jewels. 

42.  With  regard  to  the  bones  recovered  from  this 
tomb,  Dr.  C.  S.  Myers  kindly  furnishes  the  following 
statement : — 

"  The  skeleton  of  Hen-Nekht  is  particularly  inter- 
esting ;    for  he   is  by  far  the  earliest   king  whose 


THE  TOMB   OF  HEN-NEKHT. 


13 


remains  have  been  found,  and  they  are  the  first 
which  can  with  fair  certainty  be  attributed  to  the 
Illrd  Dynasty.  The  Cairo  Museum  now  possesses 
his  skull,  two  tibiae,  his  left  femur,  left  clavicle,  and 
left  humerus,  together  with  fragments  of  pelvis, 
scapulae,  and  fibulae. 

"  The  skull  of  Hen-Nekht  is  extraordinarily  mas- 
sive and  capacious.  The  roof  is  perfect,  save  for  a 
gap  in  the  left  parietal  bone.  Its  shape  corresponds 
to  the  term  Beloides  used  by  Sergi  {Specie  e  Variety 
Umane,  p.  84).  The  parietal  eminences  are  very 
strongly  developed  ;  the  frontal  eminences  are  promi- 
nent. The  face  is  intact,  save  that  the  zygomatic 
arches  are  broken  and  the  maxilla  is  worn  and  tooth- 
less. The  occipital  bone  is  much  broken  around  the 
foramen  magnum.  The  squamous  portions  of  the 
temporal  bones  are  much  damaged  at  the  upper 
margins.  In  side-view,  a  depression  is  seen  in  the 
profile-line  of  the  forehead  between  the  strong  frontal 
eminences  above  and  the  glabella  below.  The  supra- 
orbital ridges  are  indicated  only  over  the  inner  half 
of  the  orbits.  The  nasion  is  deeply  sunk.  The  nasal 
bones  are  short :  the  shape  of  the  nose  is  slightly 
concave  near  the  root,  but  distinctly  convex  towards 
the  free  end  of  the  nasal  bones.  The  nasal  spine  is 
moderately  developed.  The  lower  jaw  is  unusually 
massive,  and  marked  by  strong  ridges  giving  attach- 
ment to  powerful  muscles.  The  chin  is  triangular, 
and  very  prominent.  The  angle  of  the  jaw  appears 
almost  a  right  angle.  Three  right  lower  molar  teeth 
are  present.  The  face  seems  orthognathous.  The 
temporal  crests  are  strongly  indicated  ;  the  mastoid 
processes  are  also  very  powerful.  The  pteria  are  in 
H.  The  profile  curve  of  the  skull-roof  is  a  long  low 
arc  traceable  from  the  frontal  eminences  backward. 
The  hinder  half  of  the  parietal  region  is  more  flattened  ; 
but  the  supra-occipital  part  of  the  occipital  bone  is 
well  developed,  and  protrudes  noticeably  in  side-view 
beyond  the  parietal  region  that  lies  above.  Seen 
from  behind,  the  occipital  region  is  of  a  rounded 
pentagonal  shape,  the  two  upright  sides  being  un- 
usually long  and  vertical.  The  parieto- occipital 
sutures  contain  numerous  large  Wormian  bones. 
The  outer  surface  of  the  occipital  bone  is  exceed- 
ingly rugged.  One,  in  particular,  of  its  many  ridges, 
stretching  across  the  greater  part  of  the  width  of  the 
bone,  at  the  level  of  the  superior  nuchal  line,  is  so 
prominent  as  to  form  a  spur  projecting  nine  milli- 
metres beyond  the  surface  of  the  bone  beneath  it. 
On  this  spur  the  skull  naturally  rests,  when  placed  in 
a  horizontal  position.     In  a  view  from  below,  little  is 


noteworthy.  There  are  deep  depressions  behind 
and  internal  to  the  mastoid  processes.  The  palato- 
maxillary and  inter- maxillary  sutures  are  open. 
Seen  from  the  front,  the  forehead  is  high,  full,  but  a 
little  narrow.  The  nose  is  high,  but  its  bridge  is 
broad.  The  lower  margins  of  the  nasal  apertures  are 
well  defined.  The  cheek-bones  are  massive,  rugged, 
and  broad.     The  internal  bi-orbital  distance  is  wide. 

"The  long  bones  are  very  massive,  remarkably 
long,  and  well  marked  with  grooves  and  ridges.  The 
olecranon  fossa  of  the  humerus  is  imperforate.  The 
femur  is  very  broad  at  its  lower  end.  The  tibiae  are 
highly  platycnemic,  very  massive,  and  have  a  strongly 
convex  bend  forwards. 

"The  following  are  the  several  measurements 
given  by  the  skeleton  of  Hen-Nekht,  and  by  that  of 
another  Egyptian  of  the  same  dynasty  described  in 
sections  44,  45. 


SKULLS. 

HEN-NEKHT. 

K.  3. 

num. 

m.m. 

Glabello-occipital  length 

193 

194 

Maximum  breadth       .... 

153 

152 

Minimum  frontal  breadth 

97'S 

93-5 

Basio-bregmatic  height 

147 

Nasio-alveolar  length  .... 

67" 

64 

Nasio-mental  length    .... 

108-5 

Nasal  length       ..... 

52"' 

5i 

Nasal  breadth    ..... 

27 

23'5 

Orbital  height     .         .         .         . 

38 

/  33  (r.) 
I  34  (1.) 

Orbital  breadth 

/  32      (r.) 

\  30-5(1-) 

/  39  (>■•) 
I  40  (1.) 

External  bi-orbital  breadth  . 

no 

100 

Internal  bi-orbital  breadth    . 

25 

17 

Basio-nasal  length       .... 

100 

Basio-alveolar  length  .... 

96 

Bizygomatic  breadth    .... 

131 

Bi-malar  breadth          .... 

89 

Bi-mastoid  breadth      .... 

107 

95 

External  bi-maxillary  breadth 

63 

Bigonial  mandibular  breadth 

105" 

90 

Palatal  length     ..... 

57-5 

Orbito-malar  arc          .... 

104 

Bi-auricular  arc            .... 

35i 

343 

Horizontal  circumference 

547 

552 

Cranial  breadth  index. 

79'3 

78-4 

Cranial  height  index    .... 

... 

75'8 

Upper  facial  index       .... 

48-9 

Lower  facial  index       .... 

828 

Gnathic  index    ..... 

96-0 

Nasal  index         ..... 

gi-9 

/  84-2  (r.) 
\  8o-3(l.) 

46' 1 

Orbital  index      ..... 

/  84-6  (r.) 
1  85-0  (1.) 

LONG  BONES.* 

Humerus  (maximum  length) 

{     -   (r.) 
I  344  (1.) 

/334  (r-) 
\328  (1.) 

Radius           „              »               • 

(266  (r.) 
\26o  (1.) 

Ulna               ,,              m               ■ 

(  -  (r.) 
\285  (1.) 

*  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  these  measurements  were  not  taken  with 
a  properly  devised  osteometer  :  they  may  nevertheless  be  regarded  as 
sufficiently  accurate  for  most  anthropological  purposes. 


14 


THE  TOMBS. 


LONG  BOXES— (c-tfin*nfi. 


Tibia  (maximum  length)      (excluding     ~\ 

spine)/ 

Femur  „  „ 

Tibia  (ant.  post.  diam.  at  nutrient^ 
foramen)         .... 

Tibia  (transverse  diam.  at  nutrient\ 
foramen)         .... 


Femur  (maximum  breadth  of  lower  end) 
Clavicle  (maximum  length)  . 
Platycnemic  index       .... 


K.3. 


f4i8  (r.) 
Ui8  (L) 


335  ('•) 
345  0) 
21 -0  (r.) 

20- S  (1-) 


62-7  (r.) 
59-4(1-) 


"The  accompanying  Table  makes  it  clear  that 
the  relative  bone-lengths  of  Hen-Nekht,  as  indeed 
those  of  the  early  Egyptians  generally,  correspond 
more  nearly  to  what  is  met  with  among  negroid  than 
among  European  races,  if  Broca  and  Humphry's 
figures  can  be  accepted  as  true,  and  if  one  is  justified 
in  taking  the  mean  bone-lengths  in  a  series  as  repre- 
senting the  average  skeletal  measurements.  The 
same  fact  seems  indicated  if  we  attempt  to  construct 
the  stature  of  Hen-Nekht  from  his  humerus,  femur, 
tibia,  and  femur  and  tibia  conjoined,  by  multiplying 
each  bone-length,  first,  by  a  factor  calculated  for 
Europeans,  and,  secondly,  by  another  calculated  for 
negroes.  The  statures  in  the  series  obtained  by  the 
second  method  are  far  more  closely  identical  than 
those  obtained  by  the  first.  The  humerus  of  Hen- 
Nekht  is  exceptionally  short.  His  leg-bones  give  a 
skeletal  stature  of  1858  millimetres.  To  this  have  to 
be  added  a  few  centimetres  for  the  conversion  of  the 
skeletal  into  the  living  stature ;  from  it  have  to  be 
deducted  a  few  centimetres  to  allow  for  over-estimation 


Ratio  of  Bone-Lengths. 


Humerus  x  loo 
Femur  and  Tibia 

Clavicle  X  too 
Humerus 

Tibia  x  100 
Femur 

Radius  X  100 
Humerus 


Hen- 
nclcht. 

Euro- 
peans.* 

Ne- 
groes.* 

Prehistoric 

Egyptians-^- 

36-56 

40-11 

38-20 

38-64 

49-40 

44-63 

46-74 

46-73 

84-10 

80-52 

84-78 

82-67 

... 

73-93 

79-40 

78-78 

Egyptians, 

VI.-XII. 

Dyn.J 


37-90 

47-20 

84-60 
79-20 


•  Cf.  TopinARD's  Anthropology  (Eng.  Trans.),  p.  303. 

t  From  the  Monograph  by  E.  Warren  (Phil.  Trans.  R.  S.  L., 
set.  B,  vol.  189,  p.  173). 

\  Prepared  from  Randall-Maclver's  figures  in  Prof.  Petrie's 
Dtndereh. 


due  to  excessive  macroskely.*  We  shall  not  be  far 
wrong  if  we  conclude  that  the  stature  of  Hen-Nekht 
was  i860  millimetres,  or  73*23  inches.  Beddoe's 
formula  gives  a  closely  similar  result.f 

"  Thus  the  skeletal  stature  of  Hen-Nekht  appears 
to  have  been  about  200  millimetres  greater  than 
that  of  the  average  prehistoric  or  early  kingdom 
Egyptians." 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE  TOMBS,   K   3,  K  4  AND  K   5. 

[With  Pls.  XXV.-XXXI.] 

43.  Situated  slightly  to  the  east  of  the  tomb  of 
Neter-Khet  were  three  private  tombs  of  the  same  age. 
They  were  related  to  it  in  the  nature  of  their  con- 
struction, by  the  character  of  their  deposits,  and  also 
in  the  references  on  the  sealings  within  them.  Of 
these,  two  were  at  a  distance  of  some  four  or  five 
hundred  metres  only.  The  third  was  farther  removed, 
by  half  the  distance  to  the  cultivated  lands  ;  it  was  of 
more  elaborate  character,  both  in  construction  and  in 
furniture,  and  proved  to  be  the  burial-place  of  a  Ha- 
Prince  of  the  time. 

Of  the  two  that  are  near  to  one  another,  numbered 
K  3  and  K  4,  the  former  is  the  larger,  its  super- 
structure covering  twice  the  area  occupied  by  the 
latter.  In  both  cases  the  surface-bricks  had  been  so 
far  removed  that  it  was  impossible  to  recover  the  plan 
of  any  chapel  or  accessory  building  that  had  been 
raised  upon  the  tomb  ;  but  in  each  case  a  quantity  of 
chipped  limestone  on  the  east  side,  towards  the  south 
end,  gave  indication  of  a  former  construction  built  of 
that  material.  The  smaller  tomb,  K  4,  was  sur- 
rounded by  the  foundations  of  a  wall  enclosing  it  on 
all  sides,  with  an  internal  stuccoed  face ;  its  position 
is  shown  on  the  plan  of  PL.  XXV.  In  both  tombs 
the  descent  to  the  chambers  was  direct,  and  the  door 
below  was  closed  by  a  large  stone  dropped  down 
from  above  by  means  of  guides  grooved  in  the  sides 
of  the  shaft.  In  the  larger  tomb  the  passage  was  cut 
down  through  the  firm  desert,  and  its  floor  was  nicked 
horizontally  at  intervals  to  prevent  slipping.  In  the 
smaller  tomb  the  steeper  descent  was  built  of  brick 
at  the  top,  with  thirteen  steps  below  cut  out  in  the 
desert.     Both  of  these  approaches  are  illustrated  by 

•  Cf.  La  determination  de  la  taille,  etc.,  by  L.  Manouvrier  (Mem. 
de  la  Soc.  d'Anth.  de  Paris,  1892). 

t  "  On  the  Stature  of  the  Older  Races,"  etc.  by  J.  Beddoe  (J.  Anth. 
Inst.,  XVII.,  p.  202). 


THE  TOMBS. 


IS 


the  photographs  shown  on  PL.  XXIV.  The  sides  of 
both  passages  are  cut  down  at  a  slight  slope,  which 
becomes  conspicuous  as  the  shafts  deepen. 

44  In  the  tomb  K  3  there  are  three  chambers : 
two  open  out  from  the  passage  which  leads  from  the 
door,  and  were  found  to  contain  vases  and  tables  of 
alabaster,  pottery,  and  some  copper  implements,  of 
the  types  illustrated.  The  third  chamber  was  larger, 
formed  by  the  widening  out  of  the  passage  at  its  end, 
and,  as  in  the  tomb  K  2,  was  on  the  western  side. 
This  was  the  burial  chamber:  a  small  recess  had 
been  cut  in  the  floor  to  receive  the  coffin,  which  had 
apparently  been  of  wood,  but  was  destroyed.  The 
bones  and  skull  of  the  burial  remained  in  fair  pre- 
servation. The  furniture  of  this  tomb  was  chiefly 
remarkable  for  the  unusual  size  of  some  of  the  vessels 
and  tables  of  offerings  ;  an  example  of  each  kind  is 
outlined,  the  former  on  PL.  XXVIL,  No.  14,  and  the 
latter  on  PL.  XXIX.,  No.  6. 

In  the  other  tomb,  K  4,  there  was  a  slight  differ- 
ence in  the  arrangement  of  the  chambers,  but  the 
same  general  plan  was  carried  out.  Within  these 
were  three  small  recesses  for  offerings,  and  the  burial 
chamber  opened  out  in  a  similar  situation  beyond. 
A  single  sealing  of  rough  characters  only  was  legible, 
giving  reference  to  the  King  Neter-Khet. 

45.  Of  the  bones  recovered  from  the  tomb  K  3, 
the  measures  of  which  have  already  been  tabulated  in 
section  42,  Dr.  C.  S.  Myers  writes : — 

"The  skull  is  intact  save  for  a  broken  mandible 
and  left  pterion,  and  the  loss  of  teeth.  It  is  capacious, 
but  somewhat  lightly  built.  It  is  of  the  forma  beloides 
(Sergi)  in  vertical  view.  The  frontal  region  is  very 
narrow,  the  parietal  region  is  correspondingly  broad 
between  the  eminences.  In  side  view  the  frontal 
eminences  are  strongly  developed ;  between  them 
and  the  well  marked  glabella  is  an  obvious  depres- 
sion. Ill-defined  supra-orbital  ridges  are  present  over 
the  inner  third  of  the  orbits.  From  the  glabella  the 
profile  line  passes  without  sensible  depression  down 
to  the  nasion.  The  nasal  bones  are  short,  and  highly 
concave.  The  nasal  spine  is  moderately  developed. 
The  face  is  orthognathous.  The  temporal  crests  are 
very  faintly  marked.  The  mastoid  processes  are  of 
average  size.  The  profile  curve  is  long  and  low, 
taking  an  almost  vertical  direction  below  the  parietal 
foramina  down  to  25  m.m.  below  the  lambda,  whence 
it  passes  in  a  long  straight  line  downwards  and  for- 
wards. The  pterion  on  each  side  is  in  H.  Seen  from 
behind,  the  parietal  eminences  are  high,  large,  and 
round,  giving  the  norma  occipitalis  a  rounded  pen- 


tagonal shape.  The  parieto-occipital  sutures,  like  the 
anterior  part  of  the  interparietal  suture,  are  very 
complicated.  The  superior  nuchal  line  is  exceedingly 
prominent,  terminating  at  its  middle  in  a  projecting 
spur.  Seen  from  below,  the  skull  presents  unusually 
deep  depressions  behind  the  occipital  condyles.  The 
inter-maxillary  and  palato-maxillary  sutures  are  open ; 
the  basi-sphenoid  suture  is  closed.  The  third  right 
upper  molar  is  just  appearing  ;  the  corresponding  left 
upper  molar  is  absent.  All  the  remaining  molars  and 
two  left  upper  bicuspids  are  present.  From  in  front 
the  forehead  appears  high,  full,  but  narrow.  The 
nasal  bones  are  very  narrow,  rounded,  and  somewhat 
flat.  The  lower  margins  of  the  nasal  apertures  are 
well  defined.  The  cheek-bones  are  small  and  widely 
set ;  the  zygomatic  arches  are  not  powerfully  de- 
veloped. The  mandible  is  a  slight,  weakly-ridged 
bone." 

46.  TheTsmaining  one  of  these  three  tombs, 
number  IK5,  b  situated  apart,  somewhat  conspicu- 
ously upbo_±he  plain,  between  the  group  of  tombs 
and  the  cultivation.  It  is  in  every  way  larger  than 
the  group  of  tombs  K  3,  K  4,  covering  an  area  almost 
as  great  as  that  of  Hen-Nekht,  K  2,  and  in  several 
parts  of  its  construction  showing  features  of  interest 
not  preserved  by  any  of  the  others.  Like  the  other 
private  tombs,  the  descent  to  its  chambers  was 
straight,  or  that  portion  of  it  which  may  have  existed 
in  the  superstructure  had  been  denuded.  It  consisted 
of  two  flights  of  stairs,  with  a  horizontal  footway  in 
the  middle,  the  portion  marked  be  in  the  section  AB 
on  Pl.  XXV.  The  sides  of  the  passage  were  strongly 
walled  with  brick  to  a  depth  of  about  10  feet,  to 
support  a  roof  which  had  covered  its  whole  length. 
In  the  course  of  time  this  had  collapsed,  and  its 
bricks  were  found  lying  upon  the  floor  of  the  passage. 
Sufficient  remained,  however,  of  the  courses  from 
which  it  sprang,  to  show  the  manner  in  which  it  had 
been  constructed ;  a  photograph  is  reproduced  on 
PL.  XXIV.  It  was  built  on  the  principle  of  the 
false  arch,  of  overhanging  bricks,  the  opposite  sides 
supporting  one  another  when  united  by  mutual 
pressure. 

47.  As  usual,  a  large  stone  protected  the  doorway. 
It  was  avoided  on  this  occasion  by  forcing  an  entrance 
from  above  it,  a  course  which  the  nature  of  the  desert 
did  not  permit  in  all  cases.  The  chambers  within 
were  found  to  have  been  anciently  plundered  by  a 
vertical  hole  sunk  from  above.  [The  same  course  is 
found  to  have  been  taken  in  some  of  the  tombs  in  the 
necropolis   of  this   period   at   Reqaqnah,  some  two 


16 


ARCHAEOLOGICAL  TYPES  OF  THE  THIRD  DYNASTY. 


miles  to  the  north,  which  was  excavated  in  the  fol- 
lowing year.  It  was,  as  a  rule,  the  plunderer's  most 
expeditious  method  of  reaching  the  burial-chambers, 
and  so  preserved  considerable  portions  of  the  tombs 
undisturbed.]  In  this  case  only  there  seems  to  have 
been  provision  made  for  a  double  burial ;  the  one  in 
a  chamber  as  usual  at  the  end  of  the  underground 
passage,  to  the  west ;  another  in  a  large  chamber  to 
the  immediate  east  of  the  entrance. 

This  latter  had  been  apparently  a  secondary  con- 
sideration ;  its  two  chambers  contained  deposits  of 
alabaster  and  pottery  of  the  characteristic  forms  of 
the  Illrd  Dynasty,  but  no  sealings  or  well-fashioned 
bowls  such  as  furnished  the  chief  burial  in  the  re- 
moter chamber.  From  this  one  there  came,  on  the 
other  hand,  some  vessels  of  finer  quality  than  any 
others  found  on  the  site.  These  are  illustrated  by 
the  photographs  on  PL.  XXV.,  and  the  typical  out- 
lines appear  in  numbers  1-8  on  Pl.  XXVII.  The 
three  syenite  vases  with  small  handles,  while  re- 
taining the  weight  and  solidity  characteristic  of  the 
period,  are  of  special  quality  of  work  and  of  stone. 
Two  of  them  were  selected  for  the  museum  at  Cairo. 
The  other  forms  of  the  period,  in  alabaster  and 
pottery,  were  plentiful ;  a  number  of  sealings  refer 
to  Nezm-Ankh,  apparently  a  Ha-Prince  of  the  time. 
The  name  of  Neter-Khet  also  appears  on  an  inter- 
esting sealing  reproduced  on  Pl.  XXVI.,  No.  8. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

ARCHAEOLOGICAL    TYPES    OF   THE  THIRD  DYNASTY. 

The  Tombs. 
Pls.  VII.,  XVIII.,  XXV. 

48.  With  only  five  tombs  of  the  Illrd  Dynasty 
excavated,  at  the  time  this  chapter  was  written,  and 
these  confined  to  one  locality,  it  is  impossible  to 
speak  of  the  types  found  in  them  as  necessarily  pre- 
vailing throughout  the  whole  period,  or  indeed  to 
regard  the  results  as  otherwise  than  tentative  and 
perhaps  local.  The  excavation  of  the  necropolis  at 
Reqaqnah,  two  miles  to  the  north,  will  probably 
show,  when  the  results  are  analysed,  to  what  extent 
and  throughout  what  period  the  types  here  illustrated 
may  be  considered  to  have  prevailed.  But  the  fact 
that  no  other  tombs  of  the  Illrd  Dynasty  have  pre- 
viously been  recognised,  and  the  complete  blank  that 


has  been  hitherto  in  the  history  of  that  age,  render  it 
desirable  to  publish  these  results,  so  far  as  they  lead, 
independently,  even  though  some  of  the  questions  of 
detail  have  not  yet  received  that  consideration  which 
must  ultimately  be  given  to  them. 

49.  The  tomb  of  Neter-Khet  is  first  to  be  noted, 
alike  on  account  of  the  complexity  of  its  design,  as  of 
the  great  size  and  new  features  observable  in  its  con- 
struction. The  change  from  the  characteristic  forms 
of  the  largest  tombs  of  the  1st  and  Ilnd  Dynasties  is 
apparently  so  great  that  at  first  glance  it  is  difficult 
to  perceive  any  relation  between  them.  The  smaller 
tombs  K  3  and  K  4,  however,  help  materially  to  show 
the  connection. 

It  is  unnecessary,  and  it  would  be  speculative,  to 
attempt  to  trace  the  development  in  detail :  a  glance 
at  a  few  characteristic  earlier  tombs  in  sequence,  how- 
ever, is  interesting.  In  the  season  1900-01  Messrs. 
Randall-Maclver  and  Wilkin,  working  at  El  Amrah, 
to  the  south  of  Abydos,  were  enabled  to  follow  the 
links,  and  connecting  the  simple  form  of  the  pre- 
dynastic  grave  with  a  class  of  tomb  which  in  the 
1st  Dynasty  seems  to  have  been  typical  of  the  more 
important  burials,  they  were  able  to  trace  the  stages 
by  which  the  burial  chamber  became  enlarged  and 
made  rectangular,  and  finally  divided  into  separate 
compartments,  the  larger  one  for  the  chief  burial,  the 
smaller  for  the  accessories.  The  whole  was  roofed 
over  with  timber  and  mud,  and  in  many  cases  a 
descending  passage  led  down  to  it  from  without. 
The  tombs  of  Den-Setui  and  Qa-Sen  at  Abydos 
show  a  further  development  of  this  form,  as  may  be 
seen  in  Professor  Petrie's  Royal  Tombs,  II.,  PL.  LXIL, 
and  I.,  Pl.  LX.  After  descent  of  the  stairway,  the 
effect  of  entering  the  tomb  (roofed  over  as  it  was 
with  wood  and  mud,  and  covered  probably  with 
drifted  sand)  must  have  been  exactly  that  of  entering 
an  underground  chamber.  The  difference  between 
this  type  and  that  of  the  tombs  K  3,  K  4,  becomes 
one  of  construction  only  ;  the  chamber  was  hollowed 
out  in  the  desert,  leaving  a  natural  roof  above  it. 
Possibly  the  ease  with  which  a  wooden  roof  might  be 
entered,  and  the  tomb  robbed,  had  led  to  the  change. 
The  same  cause  probably  led  to  the  closing  of  the 
doorway  by  a  stone,  and  to  the  deepening  of  the 
passage,  so  securing  a  greater  thickness  of  roof.  The 
tomb  K  1  is  exceptional,  yet  it  is  already  linked  with 
the  type.  Its  every  feature  is  a  development  on  the 
same  principles,  prompted  by  the  same  causes.  Only 
the  chambers  are  more  numerous,  the  passage  is 
larger  and  deeper,  the  doors  are  more  ponderous  and 


ARCHAEOLOGICAL   TYPES   OF   THE   THIRD   DYNASTY. 


*7 


frequent,  and  the  superstructure  is  built  up  high 
above  all  to  give  final  strength  and  effect  to  the 
tomb.  Thus  protected,  with  its  passages  and  shafts 
sealed  up  and  disguised,  it  may  well  have  been 
regarded  as  the  most  secure  burial  place  existing  in 
Egypt  at  the  time.  A  stone  pyramid  could  hardly 
have  been  more  deceptive  or  difficult  to  enter  than 
this  great  tomb,  which,  though  it  had  been  once 
previously  opened,  at  this  the  second  attempt,  with 
a  gang  of  sixty  men,  for  seven  weeks  defied  an 
entrance. 

The  Hard  Stone  Bowls. 

Plates  XL,  XII. ;  XX. ;  XXIV.,  XXVII. 

50.  There  was  a  general  similarity  between  the 
bowls  from  all  the  tombs.  An  exception  perhaps  was 
the  case  of  three  vases  of  syenite  found  in  tomb  K  5, 
of  a  form  not  appearing,  in  that  stone  at  any  rate,  in 
the  other  tombs.  Syenite  of  various  qualities  was  the 
most  abundant  of  all  the  hard  stones  :  porphyry  also 
was  common,  but  breccia  was  more  rare.  There  are  in 
the  main  three  chief  features  distinguishing  the  types, 
(a)  the  curve  of  the  outline,  (b)  the  shape  of  the  rim, 
and  (c)  the  proportional  height  of  the  vessels.  Among 
the  vessels  discovered  the  first  of  these  features  showed 
little  variation,  nearly  all  being  worked  to  a  slight  but 
regular  convex  curve,  increasing  towards  the  top. 

The  second  feature  was  represented  by  two  classes, 
the  one  provided  with  an  in-curving  lip  on  the  inner 
side,  the  other  having  no  such  lip,  but  ending  smoothly 
from  the  inner  as  well  as  the  outer  sectional  curve. 
The  shapes  of  the  lips  in  the  former  class  showed  some 
variety ;  and  this  variation,  together  with  the  third 
chief  feature,  which  was  also  variable,  serves  best  to 
define  the  types.  The  essential  difference,  for  in- 
stance, between  the  forms  10  and  12  on  Pl.  XII., 
apart  from  the  quality  of  the  material,  lies  in  the 
nature  of  their  rims :  but  between  12  and  7  it  lies  in 
the  differing  proportional  heights,  as  between  10  and  8. 
The  bases  of  all  these  vessels  were  flat,  some  by 
obvious  design,  as  Nos.  4  and  6 ;  others  seemingly 
with  the  outer  curve  merely  flattened  at  the  bottom, 
as  No.  2  on  the  same  plate.  With  regard  to  this 
series  of  bowls,  numerous  though  they  were,  it  is 
noticeable  how  small  is  the  essential  variety  in  their 
types.  Their  forms  also  are  not  new,  being  prevalent 
also  generally  during  the  1st  and  Ilnd  Dynasties ; 
even  at  that  early  date  they  may  be  regarded  ,as 
survivals  of  still  earlier  forms  of  the  pre-dynastic 
period,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  numerous  examples 
found  at  Abydos  (PETRIE,  Royal  Tombs,  II.)  and  at 
Naqada  (Petrie  and  Quibell). 


The  three  forms  in  syenite  outlined  on  PL.  XXVII., 
numbered  1,  2,  and  3,  from  tomb  K  5,  and  the  breccia 
bowl  from  the  tomb  of  Hen-Nekht,  Pl.  XVII.,  are 
also  of  known  types,  lasting  an  earlier  date,  and  con- 
tinuing to  prevail  in  general  through  the  time  of  the 
Old  Kingdom. 

The   Vessels  and  Tables  of  Alabaster. 
Plates  XIIL,  XIV. ;  XXL,  XXII. ;  XXVII.,  XXIX. 

51.  The  same  remarks  apply  to  the  vessels  of 
alabaster :  the  forms  outlined  on  Pl.  XIII.  and  XIV. 
(excepting  those  numbered  9,  13,  14  and  25),  as  well 
as  those  on  Pl.  XXL,  as  far  as  number  8,  are  in  many 
cases  almost  the  same  as  the  prevailing  types  of  the 
hard  stone  bowls.  But  this  alabaster  being  far  com- 
moner has  proportionately  a  greater  variety  of  form. 

The  tall  cylindrical  vessel  of  alabaster,  numbered  9 
of  finely  polished  surface,  with  a  rope  pattern  below  the 
rim,  is  of  a  type  well  known  in  the  preceding  dynasties. 
It  occurred  only  in  a  few  examples  in  these  tombs, 
though  models  of  this  type,  with  surface  hardly 
smoothed  and  the  inside  in  many  cases  hardly  worked 
at  all,  abounded  by  hundreds :  a  selected  series  of 
types  of  these  is  given  on  Pl.  XXII. 

Spouted  vessels  are  features  of  the  deposits  ;  they 
occurred  in  both  large  tombs,  but  in  particular  were 
noticeable  in  that  of  Hen-Nekht,  both  of  alabaster 
and  of  copper.  The  shape  of  spout  is  not  always  the 
same  :  in  the  cases  numbered  13  on  Pls.  IX.  and  XXI. 
they  are  short  and  open ;  that  numbered  14  on  the 
former  plate,  from  tombs  1  and  2,  is  smaller  and  with 
narrower  channel.  But  a  more  prevailing  and  interest- 
ing form  occurs  in  the  cases  10  and  12  on  Pl.  XXI.  as 
it  does  in  the  copper  vessel  found  in  the  same  tomb. 
In  these  cases  the  spout  has  two  channels,  connected 
with  the  inside  by  small  round  holes,  and  being  pro- 
longed externally,  extend  some  way  without  cover. 

The  tomb  K  5  on  the  whole  revealed  the  greatest 
variety  of  types.  In  the  alabaster  vessels  numbered 
5  and  6  on  Pl.  XXVII.  there  is  a  noticeable  resem- 
blance to  forms  dating  so  far  back  as  the  graves  of 
Naqada.  The  large  base  15  again  is  indicative  of  the 
large  vessels  of  alabaster  that  have  been  recovered  at 
various  times  from  the  necropolis  of  Abydos. 

Another  feature  of  these  deposits  of  the  Illrd 
Dynasty  was  the  great  number  and  variety  of  the 
tables  of  offerings.  They  were  always  made  of 
alabaster ;  in  some  cases  the  stem  was  cut  in  one 
block  with  the  table ;  in  other  cases  it  was  a  separate 
piece  attached  sometimes  by  cement.  The  tables 
were  in  nearly  all  cases  found  shattered,  particularly 

D 


IS 


ARCHAEOLOGICAL  TYPES  OF  THE  THIRD  DYNASTY. 


those  which  had  the  leg  as  an  intrinsic  part.  They 
had  evidently  been  piled  with  offerings,  and  the  liquid 
Nile  mud  had  poured  down  the  stairway  (in  which 
they  chiefly  abounded)  and  had  splintered  them  the 
more. 

The  Implements  of  Copper. 
Plates  XVI.  and  XXIII. 

52.  The  two  royal  tombs  contained  an  interesting 
series  of  small  copper  implements  in  considerable 
quantity.  The  real  objects  were  more  plentiful  than 
the  thin  models  which  abounded  in  the  earlier  kings' 
tombs.  On  PL.  XVI.,  amongst  those  from  the  tomb 
of  Neter-Khet  may  be  specially  noticed  the  three 
knives,  1,  2,  and  14,  the  first  of  which  had  become 
bent  and  corroded,  while  the  last  has  a  nicely  riveted 
handle.  Among  the  chisels,  23  and  24  are  the 
strongest  forms,  recurring  in  the  examples  13,  30,  31. 
Numbers  6,  10,  II,  25,  and  26  form  another  type  of 
which  7,  19,  and  29  appear  to  be  rough  castings  to 
which  parts  of  the  mould  still  adhere.  The  axes  2 1 
and  22  are  so  thin  that  they  are  possibly  to  be  regarded 
as  models.  The  implements  are  arranged  in  groups 
according  to  the  chambers  in  which  they  were  found. 
Numbers  14-18,  for  instance,  marked  [a],  and  23-31, 
marked  [b],  are  from  consecutive  portions  of  the  main 
passage  leading  to  the  burial  chamber. 

The  group  from  tomb  K  2  figured  in  PL.  XXIII. 
includes  a  number  of  similar  types  ;  the  two  axes  25 
and  26  are  thicker  and  of  more  serviceable  character, 
and  there  are  also  some  riveted  fittings,  possibly 
from  the  coffin  itself.  The  two  chisels  from  the 
tomb  K  4,  however,  are  the  best  of  all  that  were 
found,  and  the  fine  saw-model  from  tomb  K  5  is  also 
of  special  interest. 

The  Flint  Implements. 
Plates  XV.,  XX. 

53.  From  the  vicinity  of  Neter-Khet's  tomb  there 
came  a  variety  of  rough  flints  (palaeolithic  in  appear- 
ance) ;  while  from  within  the  tomb  came  some  of  finer 
workmanship  and  interesting  in  form.  They  are  all 
figured  on  PL.  XV.  Of  the  two  knives  shown  in  the 
left  hand  photo  at  the  bottom,  that  with  a  handle, 
which  is  upright,  is  somewhat  rough,  and  one  edge 
has  been  worn  down  as  though  by  scraping.  The 
back  of  the  blade  is  noticeably  concave.  The  other 
(in  the  top  of  the  same  photograph)  is  of  better  finish, 
the  cutting  edge  being  worked  somewhat  finely  ;  but 
the  handle  is  broken  away,  anciently,  as  it  seems. 
These  two  knives  were  both  found  in  a  deposit  on 
one  of  the  steps  descending  through  the  superstructure 


of  the  tomb,  low  down  near  the  first  archway.  Small 
flakes  or  worked  pieces  like  those  shown  at  the  top 
on  the  right  hand  are  already  known  in  the  earliest 
dynasties  :  see,  for  instance,  Royal  Tombs,  II., 
PL.  XXXIII. 

The  crescent-shaped  flints  below  are  of  special 
interest.  Not  only  were  they  found  in  great  quantity 
and  variety  near  to  the  tomb,  and  particularly  to  its 
east,  but  four  of  a  similar  shape  were  discovered 
within  the  burial  chamber  itself.  A  selection  of 
these  "Flints  from  the  vicinity  of  the  tomb"  is 
shown  in  the  group  photograph  on  PL.  XV.  They 
are  all  brown  in  colour,  with  a  surface  polished  by 
continual  drift  of  sand  blowing  over  them.  The  two 
found  within  the  tomb,  on  the  other  hand  (shown  on 
a  larger  scale  with  the  knives  already  mentioned),  are 
pale  in  colour  and  of  rough  surface,  having  been  sub- 
jected to  none  of  the  natural  agencies  that  had  affected 
the  others.  Similar  crescent  flints  were  found  during 
the  past  season  by  Professor  Petrie  within  the  early 
temenos  of  Abydos  (see  PETRIE :  Abydos,  XXVI., 
305-314) ;  while  Drs.  Grenfell  and  Hunt  have  ob- 
served them  commonly  in  the  Fayum  lying  about  on 
the  open  desert 

Below  is  a  group  of  larger  hand  weapons  of  flint, 
with  rough  point  and  edge.  They  were  found  on  the 
surface  of  the  desert  in  the  neighbourhood  (in  which 
natural  flint  is  plentiful),  but  they  are  not  necessarily 
connected  in  date  with  the  tomb. 

Another  interesting  flint  is  that  which  is  figured 
on  PL.  XX.,  on  the  left  hand  side  at  the  bottom.  It 
may  be  conveniently  called  a  "gun  flint,"  from  its 
shape.  Several  good  examples  were  found  in  the 
burial  chamber  within  the  tomb  of  Hen-Nekht.  It  is 
of  rectangular  form,  with  each  edge  cleanly  bevelled, 
without  rippling :  its  exact  use  is  not  apparent. 

The  Pottery. 

Plates  XXX.,  XXXI. 

54.  As  in  the  case  of  the  vessels  of  stone,  so  with 
the  pottery,  the  numerous  fragments  seemed  to  be- 
long to  a  few  standard  types.  The  three  forms  at 
the  bottom  of  PL.  XXX.,  numbered  18,  19,  and  20, 
seem  to  be  more  unusual ;  but  the  remainder  are 
found  freely  in  earlier  times.  The  type  31,  for 
instance,  a  rough  pot  of  porous  brown  earthenware, 
of  which  32-38  are  deviations,  has  its  prototype  in 
the  pre-dynastic  period.  No.  28  occurs  in  the 
1st  Dynasty  (cf.  Petrie's  Royal  Tombs,  I.,  No.  27),  as 
do  13  and  17  {ib.  146)  and  16  (ib.  19). 


REMARKS  ON   THE   INSCRIPTIONS. 


19 


CHAPTER  VII. 

REMARKS   ON   THE    INSCRIPTIONS 

By  Prof.  Kurt  Sethe. 

[The  transliterations  given  here  have  been  added   to  the  phonetic 
equivalents  used  by  the  author. — F.P.] 

55.  The  sealings  from  the  wine  jars  found  in  the 
tombs  K  1-5  at  Bet  Khallaf  are,  some  official,  and 
others  private.  The  official  seals  bear  the  king's 
name  and  the  title  of  the  office  or  official,  but  never 
the  personal  name  of  the  latter;  the  private  seals 
bear  the  name  of  the  owner  and  his  titles.  The. 
names,  whether  royal  or  private,  appear  either  once 
or  thrice  on  the  seal.  If  repeated,  the  rest  of  the 
inscription  is  placed  between  the  names,  a  custom 
maintained  till  the  Vlth  Dynasty.  The  titles  and 
name  of  the  king  are  almost  always  written  in  a  direc- 
tion contrary  to  that  of  the  other  words,  apparently 
as  a  mark  of  respect.  The  same  custom  appears  in 
Ptolemaic  temple  inscriptions,  where  the  names  of 
deities  are  thus  reversed. 

56.  Sealings  of  Neterkhet,  K  1,  Pls.  VIII.-X. 
No.  1.  Official  seal  of  a  priest,  with  royal  titles  and 
name  facing  the  priestly  titles.  The  royal  titles  are 
as  on  the  architrave  of  the  doorway  from  the  step 
pyramid  of  Saqqara  (Berlin  1185 ;  Leps.  Denk.  II. 
2,/):- 

(1)  Suteny  bati  (dtnj-bjtj)  "  King  of  Upper  and 
Lower  Egypt " ; 

(2)  nebti  (nbtj),  a  title  signifying  the  identity  of 
the  king  with  the  "two  mistresses"  of  the  united 
double  kingdom,  the  vulture  goddess  of  El  Kab  and 
the  uraeus  goddess  of  Buto ; 

(3)  Neter  khet  (Ntr-ht)  the  Horus-name  of  king 
Zeser,  here  belonging  to  the  nebti  title,  and  therefore 
not  enclosed  in  the  usual  frame  of  the  Horus-name ; 

(4)  fw"|  "gold,"  which  here  takes  the  place  of 
the  "  golden  "  Horus-name  of  later  kings. 

On  the  door  from  the  step  pyramid  J==L  appears 

instead;  and  in  the  Sehel  stele  jws,    (Erman,  A.Z., 

f>rrT?l 

1900,  120).     But  here  Neterkhet  being  placed  over 

the  f55"\  may  possibly  mean  "  Neterkhet  who  has 

conquered  the  god  of  '    2  (Set  of  Ombos)."     This 

would  agree  with  the  Rosetta  translation  of  avrnrakmv 

vireprepos  for  the  royal  title  JsV.     The  rendering  of 

this  as  bdk  en  nub  (fy'k  n  nb)  "golden  hawk"  in  later 
texts  (Moret,  Rec,  XXIII.,  23)  has  no  appearance  of 


conveying  the  original  meaning,  and  does  not  agree 
with  usage  just  described. 

The  titles  of  the  priest  begin  with — 

(5)  The  name  of  the  jackal  god  Up-uat  ( Wp-wlwt), 
followed  by  his  figure  on  a  standard,  a  jackal  with 
only  two  legs  visible  as  in  prehistoric  drawings 
(De  Morgan,  Rech.  sur  origines).  Before  the  animal 
is  an  enigmatical  object  @ — ,.  which  is  often  on  the 
front  of  standards.     In  the  pyramid  texts  it  is  called 

^  ^  8=3  A  \  \  V    (shed-shed  am   upt,  idtd 

Imj'wpt),  "the  shed-shed  which  is  in  front"  (T.  31, 
32) ;  and  it  is  on  this  that  the  dead  king  was  sup- 
posed to  ascend  to  heaven.  Behind  this  was  the 
uraeus  serpent  (obliterated),  seen  also  in  R.  T.,  II., 
XV.,  108,  iog,  where  the  serpent  is  mistaken  for  a 
leg  of  the  jackal.  A  mace  is  placed  across  the  pole 
of  the  standard.  Figures  of  Upuat  as  here  described 
are  usual  in  the  Old  Kingdom  (L.,  D.,  II.,  2,  39)  and 
in  pyramid  texts  for  the  god's  name. 

(6)  The  title  sam  (dm),  which  follows,  must  be 
connected  with  the  god,  as  "  the  high  priest  of 
Upuat " ;  the  divine  name  preceding  the  title,  the 
usual  mark  of  respect.  In  later  times  sam  (dm)  was 
only  the  title  of  the  high  priest  of  Memphis ;  but  it 
was  more  widely  applied  in  the  Illrd  Dynasty,  as  in 

0  f\    ^v  rftjh  =^==  \J  P  1  sam   hat  neter  Anpu 

khenty  Ta-zeser  (dm  ht-ntr  Inpw  fyntj  Tl-ddr)  "  high 
priest  of  the  temple  of  Anubis  lord  of  Ta-zeser " 
(Berlin  13502-3,  reign  of  Nebka). 

(7)  The  title  khery-a  (hrf-t)  usually,  though  in- 
exactly, translated  "assistant";  see  " kherya  of  the 
white  house,"  R.  T.,  I.,  XXIII.,  40. 

The  next  seal,  VIII.,  2,  is  an  official  one  of  the 
same  period.  The  Horus-name  of  the  king  is  thrice 
repeated,  and  between  these  are  titles  written  in  the 
opposite  direction. 

(1)  Uty  ( Wtj)  "  he  of  the  town  of  Ut,"  a  title  of 
Anubis,  followed  by  the  jackal-god  above  the  front 
view  of  his  shrine  (as  in  Berlin  13,502,  above).     As 

Uty  is  also  a  priestly  title  (usually  ia.  q  v\),  the 

"  Uty  priest "  or  "  Uty  priest  of  Anubis  "  might  be 
the  meaning  (see  R.  T.,  II.,  XII.,  5). 

(2)  A  fortress  named  Neru-taui  (Nrw-tlwj),  "  the 
terror  of  the  two  lands,"  enclosed  in  a  fortification  ; 
then  the  title  amy  ab  (imj'-lb)  "  favourite,"  probably 
connected  with  it,  and  to  be  read  as  "  favourite  of 
Neru-taui "  or  of  the  Nerutauite ;  finally  the  title 
kherya  forf-')  described  at  the  end  of  the  last  seal. 

(3)  The  epithets  mery-seten  (mrjj  dtnj),  "  beloved 

D  2 


20 


REMARKS   ON   THE   INSCRIPTIONS. 


whose  name  seems  to 
Mtrw). 


of  the  king,"  and  dua  neter  ra  neb  (dwl  ntr  r*  nb), 
"  he  who  praises  the  god  [i.e.  the  king]  every  day," 
or,  "  he  who  daily  thanks  the  king." 

K  i.  3A.    This  is  the  private  seal  of  an  official 

be  *W    \  \\  Ncz-neteru  (Nd- 

I? 

(i)  He  is  called    o  0  •      This    group    however 

occurs  in  K  2,  11, 12,  but  reversed,  6  o  ,  consequently 

ntfer  (nfr)  "  good  "  must  be  connected  with  ankh  ('nb) 
"  life,"  and  neter  (ntr)  "  god  "  with  uz  (wd)  "  com- 
mand." (This  view  is  supported  by  R.  T.,  II., 
Pl.  XXIV.,  212,  where  the  signs  nefer  ankh  {nfr  lnh) 
occur  together  by  themselves  in  the  same  relative 

position  0  ).     The  meaning  of  the  two  epithets  is 

perhaps  "good  in  life,  a  god  [or,  godlike]  in 
commanding." 

(2)  1  \   ren   nezem   (rn   ndm).      The   first 

word,  written  with  the  phonetic  signs  ren  (rn)  and 

the  sign  _L,  is  found,  with  the  masculine  termination 

*  (w)  *  -  -  v  renu  (rnw)  m  sea^  K  1.  13,  and 
R.  T.,  IT,  Pl.  XXIV.,  213  (reign  of  King  Kha- 
sekhemui),  where  also  it  occurs  as  a  title  or  epithet. 
The  same  group  of  signs,  in  a  different  sequence 

_L         ,  is  to  be  found  on  the  Palermo  stone,  in 

a   passage  which  has  been   much   discussed    and, 

hitherto,    always    misunderstood,     v\.    n««««     Tn 

1  ^  1     1S111.     Here  the  word  introduces  the 

name  of  the  king's  mother    FSPIpppp,  and  must 


mm?/ 

mean     something    like    "  child  "  :    "  King    Horus 

Neter-en  (Ntr-n)  the  child  of  Nub (Nb )" 

(see  the  corresponding  inscription  in  the  preceding 
line  of  the  same  monument,  where  only  the  end  of 

the  mother's  name  #§§§#  J4  rt  remains). 

It  is  obviously  identical  with  the  word  <  >  ren  (rn) 
"the  young  of  animals,"   written   in    later    times 

<==>  w  7T%  reru  ^rrw^  (Brugsch»  Dict-  8™S->  7J4)» 
and 


rer  (rr)   "boy"    (demot.  Iwl,   Copt. 
aiaoy    or    aaot,    Brugsch,     Wbrterb.    867),    the 


feminine  of  which  is  ««a  o  renent  (rnnt)  "  heifer  " 

(ib.   Suppl.   729),    i^T  ^  J)    renent    (rnnt)    "  girl " 

(translated  TrapOh-os  in   the    Decree    of   Canopus). 

The  sign  J.  in  the  seals  of  Bet  Khallaf  and  Abydos 

follows,  and  in  the  Palermo  stone  precedes,  the 
phonetic  signs  rn.  It  cannot  be  used  therefore  in 
these  instances  in  its  later  phonetic  value  of  ny  (nj) 
or  n,  but  must  be  a  word-sign  for  rn.     And  as  the 

si^n  I  m  'tself  represents  apparently  an  unblown 
southern  plant  %,  the  original  meaning  of  the  word 
ren  ("child,"  "young")  must  have  been  "a  young 
plant,"  "shoot,"  or  "sprout."  The  title  or  epithet 
ren  (rn),  renu  (rnw),  on  the  sealings  is  certainly  not 
this  word  itself,  but  rather  a  derivative  of  it.  From 
ren  (rn)  "  child,"  etc.,  was  derived  in  the  first  place 

the  verb  "^  &$  renen  (rnn)  "  to  suckle,"  "  to  bring 

up."     It  was  written  <=>  ^ |_  in  the  Old  Kingdom, 

<==>  8$  rer  (rr)  in  later  times  (cf.  the  Greek  -rraiSevio 
from  Tratf).  From  this  verb  comes  the  feminine  noun 
"Zz^obB  renent  (rnnt)  "nurse"  (see  L.,  D.,  III., 
196,  10,  rnnt-f,  "his  nurse"),  which  is  written  later 
<==*  °  reret  (rrt)  or  ^  K  (the  female  hippo- 

potamus, as  nurse  of  the  gods).  Apparently  it  is 
this  feminine  form  to  which  the  title  ren  (rn)  renu 
(rnw)  belongs,  and  is  a  synonym  for  the  later  word 

4=1 °  menay  (mn'J)  "teacher,"  which  is  derived 

in  an  exactly  similar  manner  from  menat 

(mn't)  "nurse."  The  whole  expression  ren  nezem 
(rn  ndm)  should  therefore  mean  "pleasant  teacher." 
(For  the  archaic  form  of  the  sign  \  nezem  (ndm)  cf. 
seals  K  1.  15,  K  5.  7). 

(3)  "^  Y  (I  neza  (ndj),  a  form  of  the  verb  nez  (nd) 

"to  ask  advice,"  "to  make  enquiries,"  "to  consult"; 
perhaps  the  3rd  pers.  sing.  masc.  of  the  pseudo- 
participle,  as  a  circumstantial  clause  to  the  preceding 
phrase,  "  a  pleasant  teacher,  when  asked  for  advice." 

(4)  j^  sesh  (si)  "  scribe."  For  the  writing  with 
— •—  as  sole  phonetic  complement  instead  of  the 
usual  ^  ^  sesh  (si)   "to  write,"    see  •—  jjjij , 

l.,  d.,  11.,  7 b  (IIIrd  Dyn>- 

Thus  the  whole  inscription  should  be  translated 


REMARKS  ON   THE   INSCRIPTIONS. 


21 


— salvo  errore — as  follows :  "  One  who  was  good  in 
his  life,  a  god  in  commanding,  a  pleasant  teacher 
when  asked  for  advice,  the  scribe  Nez-neteru  {Nd- 
ntrw)." 

K  i.  3B.  Private  seal  of  an  official  Ra-khuf  (R'- 
\w-f).  This  name,  which  occurs  elsewhere  in  the 
Old  Kingdom  (Mar.,  Mast.,  430),  is  formed  with  the 
name  of  the  sun-god  Ra  in  the  same  way  as  other 
well-known  Old  Kingdom  names,  e.g.  Khnum-khuf 
(Hnm-l}w-f)  the  name  of  King  Cheops,  and  Her-khuf 
(Hr-l}w-f)  the  famous  explorer  of  the  Sudan,  which 
are  compounded  with  the  names  of  the  gods  Khnum 
and  Horus.  The  name  of  Ra-khuf  (R'-fyw-f)  is 
repeated  three  times,  with  his  titles  between. 

(1)  Incomprehensible  titles,  obviously  having 
some  connection  with  the  ornaments  |"W\  and 
clothing  ^rp  of  the  king. 

(2)  rag  sesh  semt  {si  smi)  "  scribe  of  the 

<Q<  — » — 

and-mer  semt  [<nd-mr 


desert "  (cf.  the  titles 


smi\  "  district-chief  of 

100  b] , 


the  desert"  [L.,  D.,  II.,  3, 

-  rv^o 
<=*  mer   semut  \mr-smwt\ 

"superintendent  of  the  deserts"  [L.,  D.,  II.,  100  £]). 
If  the  —*—  s  belongs  to  sesh  (ss),  as  in  seal  K  1.  3A, 
the  word  smt  would  be  written  in  its  ordinary  abbre- 
viation t^O.  If  however  the  — *—  s  belongs  to  smt, 
the  word  would  then  be  written  q^^,  and  would 

and  the 


differ  from  both  the  usual  later  writing 


f^^i 


rare  0^3  of  the  Illrd  Dynasty  (L.,  D.,  II.,  3)  only 

by  the  omission  of  the  feminine  termination,  a 
common  omission  in  the  earliest  times  (cf.  K  1.  7). 

(3)  An  illegible  title. 

K  1.  4.  Official  seal  of  an  administrator  of  the 
vineyard  of  King  Zoser  (Dsr).  The  Horus-name  of 
the  king,  Neter-khet  {Ntr-ht)  is  repeated  three 
times ;  between,  and  in  a  contrary  direction,  are  the 
following  words : — 

(1)  The  name  of  the  vineyard,  and  the  title  of 
its  administrator.  The  sealing-inscriptions  from  the 
Royal  Tombs  at  Abydos  show  that  every  king  of  the 
early  dynasties  possessed  a  special  vineyard,  which 
supplied  wine  to  the  tombs  of  himself,  his  family, 
and  his  servants.  The  names  of  these  special  royal 
vineyards  are  usually  enclosed  within  a  wall,  as, 
probably,  were  the  vineyards  themselves.  According 
to  the  present  inscription,  the  name  of  King  Zoser's 

(Dir)  vineyard  was  *  ^  rjlji  *=«  Dua-Hor-khenti- 

pet  {Dwl-Er-\ntj-pt)  "  Praised  be  Horus  who  is  in 


the  front  of  heaven  "  (cf.  the  similar  name  of  King 
Kha-sekhemui's  vineyard :  Dua-bau-Hor  \_Dwl-blw- 
Hr]  "  Praised  be  the  souls  of  Horus."  R.  T.,  II., 
Pl.  XXIII.,  199,  200).  The  vineyard  of  King  Zoser 
appears  to  have  been  exceptionally  famous,  for  it  is 
mentioned  in  many  instances,  even  in  much  later 
times.  Peh-er-nefert  {Ph-r-nfrt),  who  may  have  been 
contemporary  with  King  Zoser,  is  called  in  his  tomb 

at  Sakkara    and-mer  (Knd-mr)  of  this  vineyard 

(Maspero,  Etudes  egyptiennes,  II.,  267),  which  post 
existed  in  the  vineyards  of  the  earlier  kings  (cf.  jar- 
sealings,  R.  T.,  I.  and  II.).     The  same  title,  written 

without   the    enclosing  wall,      ic  v\    [j{[| 


is  frequently  found  in  the  tomb  inscriptions  of  the 
IVth  and  Vth  Dynasties  at  Gizeh  and  Sakkara  (see 
Maspero,*  ibid.,  269).  In  the  Middle  Kingdom, 
many  of  the  old  titles  were  revived,  often  without 
being  understood,  and  thus  the  name  of  King  Zoser's 
vineyard  in  the  title  above  mentioned  was  mistaken 
for  an  independent  title,  "  He  who  praises  Horus, 
who  is  in  the  front  of  heaven,"  and  used  without  the 
accompanying  and-mer  (cnd-mr)  (cf.  L.,  D.,  II.,  121 ; 
Griffith,  Siut,  I.,  83,  II.,  12,  etc.).     Finally,  wine 

of  this  famous  vineyard,  0  ^  -AA.  (*  ^,  dill  ^J 
drep  Dua-Hor-kkenti-pet  (irp-Dwl-Hr-l}ntj-pt),  is  men- 
tioned in  a  list  of  wines  in  the  temple  of  Abydos  as 
late  as  the  XlXth  Dynasty  (Mariette,  Abydos,  I., 
35«)- 

The  title  II  ^  za-her  (d;-hr),  which  follows  the 

name  of  the  vineyard,  occurs  frequently  on  vineyard 
sealings  of  the  earliest  dynasties,  often  in  reversed 
order  (R.  T.,  I.  and  II.).  The  first  sign  is  read 
— a—  hetep  (htp)  by  Mr.  Griffith  and  Mr.  Thompson 
(R.  T.,  II.,  p.  52),  but  it  should  surely  be  |  za  (d:) 
(cf.  R.  T.,  I.,  Pl.  X.,  9).  The  title  may  perhaps 
consist  of  the  expression  zay-her  {dlj-hr),  "  to  turn 
the  face  towards,"  "to  assent  to,"  and  thus  mean  an 
"overseer." 

(2)  The  name  of  a  second  vineyard,  also  enclosed 
within  a  wall,  Sen-Dua-Hor-khenty-pet  {Sn-Dwi-Hr- 
l}ntj-pt),  "the  brother  or  the  'fellow'  of  the  above- 
mentioned    vineyard    Dua-Hor-khenty-pet   (Dwi-Hr- 

*  Maspero  is  mistaken  in  denying  the  identity  of  the  titles.  When 
\fii±  sab  {sib}  "judge"  does  not  occur  before  the  title,  the  words 
following  and-mer  (fnd-mr)  must  contain  the  name  of  the  place  ad- 
ministered by  the  and-mer  (^nd-mr).  Where  not  followed  by  such  a 
place-name,  the  and-mer  {"-nd-mr)  title  is  invariably  preceded  by  the 
judge-title,  sab  {sib)  in  inscriptions  of  the  Old  Kingdom. 


22 


REMARKS  ON   THE  INSCRIPTIONS. 


^Mtf'-pf)"  The  meaning  of  the  inner  transverse  curve 
over  the  sign  khent  (font)  is  doubtful. 

(3)  The  god  ^  Horakhti  (Hr-ll tyj)  "  Horus 
of  the  horizon,"  represented  as  a  human  figure  with 
a  hawk's  head,  holding  in  his  hands  the  symbols  of 
life  ■¥•  and  happiness  j.  In  front  of  him  are  the 
words  dd-ef  ankh,  uas,  dedet  {dj-f  in\  wli  ddi)  "he 
gives  life,  happiness,  and  stability,"  viz.  to  the  king, 
whose  name  is  opposite  to  the  god  (see  R.  T.,  II., 
Pl.  XXII.,  179;  Pl.  XXIII.,  199,  200,  for  similar 
representations  on  sealings  of  earlier  royal  vineyards; 
also  K  5.  8). 

K  1.  5A,  b.  Two  similar  official  seals  of  public 
vineyards.  The  Horus  name  of  King  Zoser  is  re- 
peated three  times;  between,  and  in  a  contrary 
direction,  are  the  following  words  : — 

(1)  "W  W*  W*  kanu  (kmw)  "  vineyards." 

(2)  I  ^""1  as  zefau  (is  df;w)  "  provision  office," 
to  which  apparently  the  vineyards  were  subject. 

(3)  The  name  of  the  place  where  the  vineyards 

were  situated.    It  is  in  a,  J^  |j  zert  (drt)  "  Wall," 

the  feminine  termination  being  omitted  as  usual.     It 

is  probably  the  same  as  the  later  3  E  (Brugsch, 

Tkes.,  V.,  951),  or  f|  ^  {Diet,  geog.,  56),  which  is 

believed  to  be  a  name  for  Memphis.  In  b,  \  \\  \ 
sebtiu,  or  anbw,  hezu  (ibtjw  or  xnbw  hdw)  a  tt 
"  the  white  walls  "  (Xevxov  Tet^o?),  the  common  °p  jj 
name  for  Memphis  in  the  earliest  times,  before  it  was 
superseded  by  the  name  of  King  Phiops'  pyramid, 
Men-nefer  (Mn-n/r),  Memphis.     For  the  irregular 

position  of  cSl  before  the  third  q  |,  cf.  the  writing  of 

nezem-ankh  (ndm-'nfy)  in  K  5.  7. 

Sealings  with  inscriptions  similar  to  5B  were 
found  in  the  tomb  of  King  Kha-sekhemui  at  Abydos 
They  differ  only  in  the  name  of  the  king — Kha- 
sekhemui  instead  of  Zoser — and  in  the  relative 
positions  of  the  three  interposed  columns  of  words 
(R.  T.,  II.,  Pl.  XXIII.,  193).  From  the  close  agree- 
ment of  these  inscriptions  it  appears  probable  that 
the  reigns  of  these  two  kings  occurred  near  together, 
one  succeeding  the  other.  Other  facts  pointing  to 
the  same  supposition  will  be  found  below  (K  1.  6,  7. 
Note  also  an  injured  sealing  from  the  tomb  of  King 
Kha-sekhemui,  which  seems  to  show  the  name  of 
King  Zoser,  R.  T.,  II.,  Pl.  XXIV.,  211). 

K  i.  6.  Sealing  of  another  government  vineyard. 


u  W 


The  Horus  name  of  King  Zoser  is  thrice  repeated ; 
between,  and  in  the  same  direction,  are  the  following 
words,  now  almost  destroyed : — 

(1)  ^    "  the  Western  nomes,"  i.e.  of  the  Delta 

ia  (cf.  K  5.  8  and  R.  T.,  II.,  Pl.  XXL,  172.). 

a  The   only  legible   sign   has  the   shorter 

vertical  line  doubled,  as  in  K  5.  8,  and  placed  before 

the  longer  one,  as  in  R.  T.,  II.,  Pl.  XXIV.,  203. 

(2)C«a         per-seten  per-desher  kanu  (pr-itnj  pr- 

X  dir  kinw)  "  King's  house,  red  house, 

vineyard."    Cf.  R.T.,  II.,  Pl.  XXIII., 

191 ;  Pl.  XXIV.,  206.    For  the  "  red 

house,"   see    Mr.   Thompson's    very 

Ingenious  interpretation,  R.  71,  II.,  pp.  54,  191. 

(3)  1(?)Q  ^>  ©  A  place  name.  The  same  name 
apparently  occurs  as  1  D  ^fc*  on  a  sealing  of 
King  Kha-sekhemui  in  an  inscription  similar  to  those 
discussed  above,  K  1.  5A,  b  (R.  T.,  II.,  Pl.  XXIV., 
202,  204). 

The  first  sign,  of  which  in  every  case  the  upper 

part  is  lost,  might  with  equal  probability  be  |  waz 

{w;d),  in  its  early  form  which  is  like   I   sen  {dn)  (see 

the  name  of  the  uraeus  goddess  f  j^  Uazit  ( Wldjt), 

R.  T.,  II.,  Pl.  XXIII.,  192,  196 ;  and  the  word  |  ^ 
Uaz-ur  ( Wid-wr)  "  sea,"  ib.  Pl.  XIX.,  152). 

The  three  columns  should  perhaps  be  read  in 
this  order,  2,  3,  1 :  "  Vineyard  of  the  red  house  of 
the  king's  house  in  the  town  of  Sen(?)pu  in  the 
Western  nomes."  The  inscription  would  thus  cor- 
respond very  nearly  to  the  inscriptions  K  1.  5A,  b. 
The  seal  R.  T.,  II.,  Pl.  XXIV.,  203,  may  have  the 
same  inscription,  but  with  the  name  of  King 
Kha-sekhemui  instead  of  King  Zoser. 

K 1.  7.  A  sealing  of  the  famous  queen  Ne-maat- 
Hap  {N-miU-Hp),  whose  name,  "Truth  belongs  to 
•  Apis,"*  is  remarkable  for  its  apparently  Memphitic 
character.  The  name  of  the  queen  is  repeated  three 
times,  and  is  followed  (as  is  shown  by  the  vertical 
line  before  the  name)  by  her  titles  : 

(1)  Mut-suten-bati  {mwt-itnj-bjtj)  "  mother  of  the 
king  of  Upper  and  Lower  Egypt."  On  an  earlier 
sealing  of  the  reign  of  King  Kha-sekhemui  (R.  T.,  II., 
Pl.  XXIV.,  210),  she  bears  another  title,  mut  mesu 
seten  {mwt  miw  itnj)  "mother  of  the  king's  children," 
i.e.  "wife  of  the  king  "  ;  which  title  she  receives  also 
in  the  somewhat  later  tomb  of  Meten  in  the  reign 

•  A  name  like  Ne-maat-Ra  (N-m'St-r*)  =  Lamares  (Amenemha 
III.). 


REMARKS  ON  THE  INSCRIPTIONS. 


23 


of  Snefru  (L.,  D.,  II.,  6).*  This  latter  appears  to 
have  been  her  chief  queenly  title,  which  she  bore  in 
the  reign  of  her  husband — presumably  Kha-sekhemui 
— and  by  which  she  was  known  in  later  times ; 
whereas  the  former  was  her  title  as  queen-mother, 
which  she  assumed  in  the  reign  of  her  son.  Hence 
she  was  probably  the  mother  of  King  Zoser,  who 
was  the  son  of  Kha-sekhemui.  This  conclusion 
would  entirely  agree  with  what  we  suggested  from 
the  sealings  K  1.  5A,  b. 

(2)  Zedet  akhet  nebt  ary-n-s  (ddt  \\t  nbt  \rj(w)-n-i) 
"if  she  says  anything,  it  is  done  for  her."  The 
feminine  terminations  to  zedet  (ddt)  and  nebt  (nbt) 
are  omitted  as  usual.  The  same  title  is  found  on 
the  queen's  sealing  of  the  reign  of  Kha-sekhemui 
(R.  T.,  II.,  Pl.  XXIV.,  210). 

(3)  An   injured    title  which   one   would   gladly 

complete  as  v\    _      Khet-Hor  (fyt[t"?]-Hr)  "servant 

of  Horus  "  (cf.  Maspero,  Etudes  igyptiennes,  II.,  265), 
a  title  borne  by  the  queens  of  the  IVth  Dynasty 
(De  Rouge,  Inscr.  hierogl.,  62,  77;  Mar.,  Mast.,  183). 
But  in  Mr.  Garstang's  judgment  the  traces  which 
remain  do  not  correspond  to  o-a.     One  may  also 

suggest  the  title  V\  'kJ  Jp  <S^  mat  Hor-Set  (m,'t 
Hr-&t)  "  she  who  sees  Horus-Set "  (the  king)  which 
was  borne  by  the  queens  of  both  the  1st  and  the 
IVth  Dynasties  (cf.  R.  T.,  II.,  Pl.  XXVII.,  95,  96, 
128,  129,  written  without  the  feminine  termination). 

K  1.  8.  Remains  of  a  sealing  with  the  name  of 
King  Per-ab-sen  (Pr-ib-in)  of  the  Ilnd  Dynasty,  the 
inscription  being  incomplete  both  at  the  top  and 
bottom.  As  in  the  Abydos  inscriptions  the  name 
Per-ab-sen  (Pr-ib-in),  though  the  personal  name  of  the 
king,  is]enclosed  in  the  usual  frame  of  the  Horus-name, 
and  is  preceded  by  the  name  of  the  god  Set,  as  a 
royal  title  corresponding  to  Horus.  This  method  of 
writing  the  king's  personal  name  as  a  counterpart 
to  his  official  Horus-name  has  as  yet  been  found  only 
in  the  case  of  Per-ab-sen  and,  in  a  slightly  different 
manner,  in  that  of  Kha-sekhemui,  the  probable 
predecessor  of  Zoser.  This,  then,  would  seem  to 
be  the  fore-runner  of  the  later  custom  of  enclosing 
the  king's  personal  name  in  an  oval,  which  arose  in 
the  Illrd  Dynasty.  The  signs  per-db-a  (pr-lb-<) 
placed  opposite  the  king's  name  may  be  either  a 
place-name  or  the  name  of  a  building  (see  the 
corresponding  sealings  from  the  tomb  of  Perabsen 
at  Abydos,  R.  T.,  II.,  Pls.  XXL,  XXII.). 

*  For  the  extraordinary  writing  of  mesu-suten  (miw-itnj)  with  C\ 
instead  of  fli,  compare  Mar.,  Mast.,  256. 


K  i.  9.    Private  seal  of  a  scribe,   whose   name 

/wvwv  should  probably  be  read  Hotep-(uy)n  (Htp- 

[wj]n)  (pseudo-participle  1st  pers.  plur.),  the  meaning 
being  "  We  are  satisfied,"  which  expresses  the  feelings 
of  his  parents.  Between  the  three  repetitions  of  the 
name  were  the  man's  titles,  now  entirely  destroyed 
with  the  exception  of  the  first.     This  may  have  been 

either  |J  ~~*~  sesh  (si)  "  scribe  "  (cf.  K  1. 10;  R.  T., 
Pl.   XXII.,    189),    or    m  sesh  semt  (si  smt) 

"  scribe  of  the  desert  "  (see  above  K  1.  3B). 

K  1.  10.  Official  seal  with  the  Horus-name  of  King 
Zoser.  Opposite  the  king's  name  are  the  incom- 
prehensible signs  khet-ekh  (&/-&). 

K  1.  11.   Private  seal   of  a  scribe  whose   name 

Y  J    is  apparently  an   archaic  writing  of  the  later 

A/WSAA 

Y  ««« ■¥•    Ne-ankh-Sekhemt    (N-'nb-Sfymt)    "  life 

belongs  to  Sekhmet,"  which  occurs  in  the  Vth 
Dynasty  (Mar.,  Mast.,  203)  and  is  of  a  very  usual 
type  of  personal  names  of  the  Old  Kingdom.  (For 
the  peculiar  order  of  the  signs  see  the  writing  of  the 
name  Mer-ab  [Mr-lb]  in  K  5.  6).  Between  the 
three  repetitions  of  the  name  are  the  following 
words : — 

(1)  The  title  jjQi  sesh  (si)  "scribe."  See 
above,  K  1.  9. 

(2)  The  name  of  the  Memphite  nome  i  E  T  _~*| 

Sebety-hez  (Sbtj-hd)  (see  Davies,  Ptah-hetep  II., 
Pl.  XV.) ;  probably  connected  with  the  preceding ; 
"  Scribe  of  the  Memphite  nome." 

(3)  If  Mr.  Garstang's  restoration  of  what  remains 

is    correct,    probably    J  F^l  Het-nub   (Ht-nb),  the 

name  of  the  place  where  the  alabaster  quarries  were 
situated,  near  El  Bersheh  in  Middle  Egypt. 

K 1.  12.  Official  seal  with  the  Horus-name  of 
King  Zoser  facing  the  following  words :  ♦  sa  (s,') 

"guard,"  (J  n  J|WV  arep  (irp)  "wine,"  an  unre- 
cognisable sign,  and  an  enclosing  wall  containing 
perhaps  a  vineyard  name,  which  cannot  be  de- 
ciphered. 

K  1.  13.    Private   seal   of  a  man   whose   name 

^2>-  p  \   Ary-sen  (Irj-in)  is  repeated  three  times ; 

between  the  repetitions  of  the  name  are  the  following 
titles  or  epithets : — 

(1)    T  A     5>     nefer  medu   maa    (nfr    mdw    ml1) 


24 


REMARKS  ON  THE  INSCRIPTIONS. 


"  truly  beautiful   of  speech,"  (cf.   the   synonymous 

epithet  J^J^^i—  ±^ltl 
nefer  tnedu  en  un-tnaa  [nfr  mdw  n  wn-m>"]  bestowed 
on  the  Eloquent  Peasant  (sekhti  [i1}tf] )  under  King 
Neb-ka  of  the  Illrd  Dynasty,  in  the  well-known 
story.     L.,  D.,  VI.,  108,  75). 

(2)  I  \  ^"^  senezem  zed  (sndm  dd)  "delighting 

by  saying,"  an  epithet  that  would  agree  well  with 
the  preceding.  The  indistinct  sign,  which  is  pre- 
sumably <=>  d,  was  actually  so  read  by  Mr.  Garstang 
in  his  first  hand-copy. 

(3)  4-  V  renu  (rnw)  "  teacher,"  see  above 
K  1.  3A. 

The  three  epithets  are  perhaps  to  be  read  in  this 
order,  3,  1,  2,  and  to  be  connected  together,  thus : — 
"A  teacher,  beautiful  of  speech  and  delighting  by 
saying." 

K  1.  14.  Official  seal  with  the  Horus-name  of 
King  Zoser  repeated  three  times.  Between,  and  in 
the  contrary  direction,  are  the  following: — 

(1)  The  incomprehensible  titles  ^.   v  i^p-L 

en  seshem  upt ny?  (n  sim  wpt nj?).     The  sign 

J.,  which  here  as  well  as  in  the  next  column  con- 
cludes the  titles,  might  be  the  name  of  the  office- 
bearer, were  it  found  on  any  other  official  sealings 
(see  above,  p.        ). 

(2)  The  words  "        setep-sa  (itp-si)  "to  make  the 

mm  v        ' 

body-guard,"  viz.,  of  the  king  (see  R.  T.,  II.,  Pl. 

XXIII.,  198),  "Ul  zed  (dd)  "to  say,"     °     ra-neb 

(r<-nb)  "every  day,"  and  the  sign  \.     How  these 

words  are  to  be  connected  is  not  clear,  but  the 
general  sense  must  be  something  like :  "  He  who 
makes  the  body-guard  of  the  king  every  day  "  (see 
setep-e/sa  er  seteny  ra  neb  \itp-f-si  r  itnj  r<  nb]  in  an 
Old  Kingdom  inscription.  Brugsch,  Tkes.,  VI., 
1210). 

K  1.  15.    A   sealing  almost   destroyed,  only  the 

first  word  \|T>    nezem  (ndm)  "pleasant,"    being 

legible ;  behind  it,  perhaps  the  enclosure  of  a  vine- 
yard or  place-name. 

57.     Pl.  XIX.     Sealings  from  tomb  K  2. 

K  2.  1-10.  Fragmentary  sealings  from  one  or  two 
official  seals.    The  inscriptions  give  a  Horus-name 


hitherto  unknown,  enclosed  in  the  usual  frame ; 
fig.  5  is  a  restoration  from  various  fragments.  The 
name   itself  consists   of  three   signs,  the   last   two 

being  clearly  ,  nekht  (n\t)  "  strong,"  written 
without  the  phonetic  complements  ®  <=>  khet  (l}t). 
This  archaic  writing  occurs  sometimes  in  the  in- 
scriptions of  the  Old  Kingdom,  see  L,  D.,  II.,  62, 
71a;  Berlin  7722;  Brugsch,  Thes.,  1470  [in  the 
title  nekht-klieru  (nfy-brw)] ;  Mar.,  Mast.,  366  [in 
the  name  Nekht-sa-es  (N}$t-sl-s)\.  The  first  sign  pre- 
ceding the  word  nekht  (nfyt)  is  read  by  Mr.  Garstang, 
and  by  other  scholars   as   he   informs  me,  as  the 

hieroglyph  y  hen  (fin).  I,  however,  cannot  assent  to 
this  view.  The  shape  of  the  sign  does  not  agree 
with  that  of  y  hen  (hn),  and,  moreover,  the  top  of 
the  sign  is  distinctly  an  open  loop,  while  V  hen  (hn), 
which  is  probably  a  mallet,  is  always  solid.  Hence 
the  sign  cannot  be  \|  hen  (hn),  but  rather  the  hiero- 
glyph M  sa  (si),  the  archaic  form  of  which  it  resembles 
closely  (see  Pl.  XXVIII.,  14;  Griffith  in  Davies' 
Ptah-hetep,   I.,   Pl.  XVI.,  353.     Cf.  ib.  362,   0  hen 

[hn]).  Other  royal  names  written  with  this  sign  are, 
(1)  the  personal  name  of  King  Merenra,  Mentu-em- 
sa-ef  (Mntw(f)-m-s;-/),  and  (2)  the  name  of  a  king 

of  the  Old  Kingdom,  ( ^  J  ^J  Nefer-sa-Hor  (Nfr- 

s>-Hr),  correctly  read  by  Dev6ria  (Petrie,  History, 
I.,  106;  Mar.,  Pap.  de  Boul.,  I.,  39).  The  Horus- 
name  in  the  present  inscription  must  therefore 
certainly  be  read  Sa-nekht  (sl-nl$t),  meaning  "  strong 
protection."     (Compare  the  Old  Kingdom  personal 

name   ^¥  1  or   ^M  I   Nekht-sa-es   [JVy-s^] 

"  strong  is  her  [i.e.  the  mother's]  protection,"  Mar., 
Mast.,  366.) 

The  question  now  arises  as  to  which  King  of  the 
later  lists  of  Kings  does  this  Horus-name  belong. 
In  fragment  7  it  appears  to  be  faced  by  a  royal 
cartouche.  Now  this  cartouche  was  not  used  before 
the  Illrd  Dynasty;  the  personal  name  of  King  Kha- 
sekhemui,  presumably  the  immediate  predecessor  of 
King  Zoser,  is  not  enclosed  in  any  such  cartouche 
(see  above,  K  1).  Hence  the  King  of  the  Horus- 
name  Sa-nekht  (S;-nbt),  which  is  here  the  name  of 
the  living  King,  cannot  be  earlier  than  the  Illrd 
Dynasty,  and  is  probably  later  than  King  Zoser. 
All  the  other  tombs  of  Bet  Khallaf  are  of  the  reign 
of  King  Zoser,  whose  name  occurs  also  on  the  sealing 


REMARKS  ON  THE  INSCRIPTIONS. 


25 


K2.  21,  found  in  the  same  tomb  as  those  which  we 
are  now  considering.  It  seems  therefore  very  prob- 
able that  the  King  of  the  Horus-name  Sa-nekht 
(S;-nl}t)  was  one  of  the  immediate  successors  of 
Zoser.  The  cartouche,  on  which  this  conclusion  is 
based,  contains  a  name  which  is  almost  broken  away 
on  the  sealing,  but  some  traces  of  the  last  sign  are 
still  visible.  From  examination  of  the  original  I  am 
led  to  believe  that  it  can  hardly  be  restored  other- 
wise than  as  LJ  ka  (kl)  in  its  archaic  form  with  a 
curved  base,  which  was  the  usual  form  in  inscriptions 
of  the  three  earliest  dynasties  (R.  T.,  I.  and  II. 
passim ;  L.,  D.,  II.,  39a,  b,  from  the  reign  of  Neb-ka). 
Among  the  personal  names  of  the  kings  of  the  IUrd 
Dynasty   two   end  with   the   sign   t_l  ka   {kl),  viz, 

f^^LlI  Neb-ka  {Nb-kl),  and  (©Jul  Nefer-ka-Ra 

(Nfr-kl-r1).  Judging  by  the  other  sealing  inscriptions 
the  cartouche  could  not  extend  above  the  head  of 
the  hawk  of  the  Horus-name  opposite.  The  remain- 
ing space  within  the  oval  would  not  then  be  sufficient 

for  the  signs  O  and  T ,  even  if  they  were  written  beside 
instead  of  the  usual 


each  other, 


u 


I 

u 


There 


would,  however,  be  just  room  enough  for  the  smaller 
sign  <^7.  I  think  therefore  that  we  are  entitled  to 
regard  the  royal  name  within  the  oval  as  that  of 
King  Neb-ka,  who,  according  to  the  Turin  Papyrus 
and  the  Abydos  tablet,  was  the  predecessor  of  Zoser, 
or,  according  to  the  Westcar  Papyrus  and  the  Sak- 
kara  tablet,  one  of  his  immediate  successors.  But 
whether  the  Horus-name  Sa-nekht  (Si-nty)  belonged 
to  the  same  Neb-ka  or  to  a  later  king,  cannot  be 
decided  yet. 

Between  the  repetitions  of  the  Horus-name — 
probably  three  as  usual — stand  the  titles  of  the 
official,  written  in  a  contrary  direction.  What 
remains  is  as  follows : — 

(6)  The  word  kha  (&•)»  which  means  "  to  appear," 
"to  rise,"  "to  be  crowned  as  king,"  "festival,"  or 

"  crown " ;  and  the  word  n  I  shems  (imi)  "  to  ac- 
company, to  follow." 

(7)  [(  ^^]TJ|  I  i\Q/in/3/hnQ/1  hen  shenut  Neb- 
ka  (hn-inwt  Nb-kl)  "  servant  of  King  Nebka's  gran- 
aries." The  sign  y  hen  (hn)  is  quite  clear  in  the 
original.    (For  the  peculiar  use  of  hen  (hn)  "servant," 


cf.  the  title  of  Meten  ""n-"  i  V\  hen  per  mut  seten 

[hn  pr  mwt  £tnj~\  "  servant  of  the  house  of  the  king's 
mother."     L.,  D.,  II.,  120). 

(8)  I  nekht  kheru  (nh/t  \rw)  "  strong  of 

voice,"  a  title  frequently  borne  in  the  Old  Kingdom 
by  officials  of  the  granaries  (Maspero,  Etudes 
egyptiennes,  II.,  135-139.  Examples  of  the  Illrd 
Dynasty  are  L.,  D.,  II.,  5;  Berlin  13,503).  The 
horizontal  line  above  the  ~vw«  is  perhaps  the  margin 
of  the  inscription. 

(9)  The  signs  ^Z  |  t...sh  (t...i);  below  them, 
what  appears  to  be  the  lower  margin  line.  This 
fragment  possibly  gave  the  continuation  of  the  titles 
on  7  or  8. 

(10)  Apparently  the  hieroglyph  <=»  r.  This 
may  fit  on  to  the  lower  part  of  fragment  8  or  the 
upper  part  of  fragment  9. 

11-16,  18,  19.  Fragments  of  sealings  made  by 
the  intermingled  rolling  together  of  two  separate 
seals  on  the  clay.  Both  seals  belonged  to  the  same 
man,  Anpu-hotep  (Inpw-htp),  a  common  name  in 
the  Old  Kingdom  (Mar.,  Mast.,  203,  327 ;  Davies, 
Ptah-hetep,  II.,  Pl.  XX.). 

The  inscription  on  the  first  seal  apparently  reads 
^—  fk  Aa,  ^  f  •  The  name  comes  first,  as  on 
"V'  -*^  "**'   '  0   the  seal  of  queen   Ne-maat-hap 

=  <=ft  1  "¥"  W"mP*ffl*  Kl-  7!  then  the  titles 

'  follow : 

(1)  Mer shent  Anpu  (mr int  Inpw)  "chief  of  the 
shent  (hundred  ?)  of  Anubis."  (For  the  title  mer  shent 
(mr  int),  a  common  one  in  the  Middle  Kingdom,  see 
Spiegelberg,  A.Z.,  XXXVI.,  138.  For  the  writing 
of  the  god's  name  [jackal  and  temple]  see  above, 
K1.2). 

(1)  Neter  uz  nefer  ankh  (ntr  wd  nfr  'nty  "a  god 
in  commanding,  good  in  life"  (see  above,  K  1.  3A). 

The  second  seal  gives  the  name  Anpu-hotep 
repeated   three  times   between  the  titles.     To  this 

inscription  belong  also  the  signs  ^^  *  n  ^a^  on 
fragment  12,  the  signs    ^^  on  fragment  11 

(below,  to  the  right),  and  fragment  19. 

K2.  17.  A  few  signs  er-neb-ary  (r  nb  \rj)  from 
another  sealing. 

K2.  18,  19.   See  above,  11-16. 

K  2.  20.  Fragment  of  an  official  sealing  contain- 
ing a  Horus  name ;  the  frame  in  which  the  name 
was  enclosed  has  a  different  ornamentation  from 
those  on  the  other  sealings.     In   addition  to  the 

e 


26 


REMARKS  ON  THE  INSCRIPTIONS. 


frame,  only  the  phonetic  signs  s  and  *  (s  and  d)  are 
visible. 

K2.  U.  Fragment  with  traces  of  King  Zoser's 
Horus-name,  Neter-khet  (Ntr-fyt) ;  cf.  above,  1-10. 

K  2.  22-24.  Three  fragments  of  sealings  with 
very  large  writing,  all  apparently  from  the  same 
seal.  In  22  and  23,  the  title  rekh-seten  (r^j-itnj) 
"  acquaintance  of  the  king,"  is  quite  clear.  The 
other  signs  may  be  part  of  the  name  of  the  owner 
of  the  seal,  which  name  was  probably  repeated  as 
usual  three  times.     If  this  suggestion  is  correct,  the 

name  would  begin  with  Y  sekhem  (sfyn)  in  23,  then 

would  follow  the  sign  in  22  which  was  apparently 
mery  (mrj)  and  which  recurs  in  24.     Thus  the  name 

may    have    been   Y  v   J/  Mery-Sckhmet-maat 

(Mrj-S^mt-mH)   "  Sekhmet  loves  truth,"   $  h   ^ 

I       \  /www 

Mery-her-en-Sekhmet  [Mrf-hr-n-^mt]  "  Loved  is  the 
face  of  Sekhmet,"  or  some  similar  compound  con- 
taining the  word  mery  (mrj)  "to  love,"  and  the 
name  of  the  goddess  Sekhmet  written  in  the  same 
archaic  and  abbreviated  manner  as  in  K  1 .  1 1  (see 
Mery-Ra-maat  [Mrj-rl-m;ct],  Mar.,  Mast.,  316,  also 
Mery-her-en-Ptah  [Mrj-hr-n-Pth],  Mar.,  Mast.,  270). 

The  sign  J  kheru  (fyrw),  which   stands   beside  the 

•■ex.  mery  (mrj)  in  24,  must  belong  to  a  title ;  it  may 
perhaps  be  all  that  remains  of  nekht-kheru  (nl}t-l}rw), 
see  K  2.  8. 

K  2.  25.     Private   sealing    with    large    writing ; 

greatly  injured.     The  isolated  words  \  J)  an  (In) 

www 

"to  bring,"  — ^   maa  (ml1)  "true"  (cf.  K  1.  13.),  and 

•  (?) 
^     kheml  (bm)  "  to  forget  "?  are  still  recognizable. 

58.    Sealings  from  tombs  K  3-5.     Pl.  XXVI. 

K3.  1.  Fragment  of  an  official  sealing  with  the 
Horus-name  of  King  Zoser. 

K  3.  2.   Isolated  signs,  of  which  the  two  first  may 

perhaps  be    p^  up  (wp). 

K  3.  3.   Disconnected  signs. 

K4.  1.  Official  sealing  with  the  Horus-name  of 
King  Zoser  repeated  three  times  as  usual. 

K  5  1.  The  royal  titles  seten-bati  nebti  (stnj-bjtj 
nbtj)  from  an  official  sealing,  like  K 1.  1. 

K  5.  2.  Fragment  of  the  frame  of  a  Horus-name ; 
beside  it  is  the  word  •!««<•  sa  (si)  "  protection." 


K  5.   3.    The   isolated   group 


,(?>  <=>    khaten 


K  5.  4.    Perhaps   the   sign  het-neter   (ht-ntr) 

"  temple." 

K  5.  5.  Fragment  of  an  official  sealing  with  the 
Horus-name  of  King  Zoser,  written  in  the  same 
order  as  in  K  1.  5A,  b. 

K5.  6.   Private  sealing  of  a  scribe,  whose  name 

\\ 
appears   to   be  <~>  Mery-ab   (Mrj-lb),   a    common 

name  in  the  Old  Kingdom  (L.,.D.,  II.,  18-21, 
Text,   I.,  90 ;    Mar.,  Mast.,  435-441 ;  Louvre,   Inv. 

3389).  For  the  peculiar  position  of  the  final  1  b, 
cf.  the  writing    \\    for    Ne-ankh-Sekhmet    (JV-'n)}- 

/WW\A 

sfymt)  in  K  1.  11.,  and  the  usual  Old  Kingdom  writing 

«£-J^,  for  merhet  (mrht)   "oil."     The   I  s  behind  the 

name  probably  belongs  to  a  title,  and  therefore  it 
would  be  incorrect  to  restore  it  in  the  repetition  of 
the  name.  The  titles,  which  were  placed  between 
the  repetitions  of  the  name,  are  wholly  destroyed 

with  the  exception  of    PB  ,  which  may  be  either  sesh 


(si)   "scribe,"  or  sesh  sh(d)  (si i\j\)  "scribe  of  the 
lake." 

K  5.  7.   Private  sealing  of  a  priest,  whose  name 


f\ 


is  to  read  Nezem  ankh  (Ndm-'nh,)  "sweet-life," 


a  very  common  Old  Kingdom  name  (L.,  D.,  II.,  107  ; 
Mar.,  Cat.  dAbyd.,  359,  538,  Louvre,  Inv.,  3389 ;  as 
a  woman's  name,  Mar.,  Mon.,  div.  i8a).     For  the 

archaic  form  of  the  sign  \  nezem  (ndm)  see  K  1.  3 A, 

13,  15  ;  for  its  irregular  position,  cf.  the  writing  of 
Sebtiu  hezu  (Sbtjw  hdw)  in  K  1.  5B,  and  of  kherp 
shemsu  (lyrp  imdw)  in  K  5.  8.  Between  the  three 
repetitions  of  the  name  are  the  following  titles  : — 

(1)  §  ffi  J  Kher-keb (hrj-hb)  "lector-priest";  and 

a  title  which  must  obviously  be  restored  as  n  u 
nezerl  or  akeh  ?  ams  (ndrl  or  ikhl  imi.)  This  title 
occurs  occasionally  in  inscriptions  of  the  Illrd 
Dynasty  (Louvre,  A  39 ;  Mar.,  Mon.,  div.  18-20), 
and  is  the  only  Old  Kingdom  title  compounded 
with  •»*  that  agrees  with  the  remaining  signs.  The 
meaning  of  this  archaic  title,  which  contains  the 
name  of  the  ams  (imi)  sceptre,  is  very  obscure. 


REMARKS  ON   THE   INSCRIPTIONS. 


27 


(2)  °=^  hety-a  (htf-()  (see  my  remarks  in  A.Z. 
XXXIX.)  "prince,"  and-  ©  *$  ary  Nekhen  (trj  Nfct) 

"  guardian  of  Hierakonpolis,"  i.e.,  of  the  capital  of 
the  Kingdom  of  Upper  Egypt  in  prehistoric  times. 
These  two  titles  often  occur  together  in  inscriptions 
of  the  Old  Kingdom. 

(3)  1^.    ww   {dm)    "high-priest"   (see   above 


1 — lo-ffl  ••••lm®T con- 

taining  the  word  hur  (ftwr)  "small,  little,  weak." 

2 08  ^  &  $1    fi]      containing     the 

archaic  word  haau  (ht'w)  "young  men,  adolescents." 


3.  The  upper  line  Q 


crz] 


K  1.  1.)  and 


D 


ary  Pe  (Irj'P)  "guardian  of  Buto," 


i.e.,  of  the  capital  of  Lower  Egypt  in  prehistoric 
times;  a  parallel  title  to  that  of  Hierakonpolis 
mentioned   above.      This   latter  title   is   frequently 

written       g,  or  0   ©  in  Old  Kingdom  inscriptions. 

K5.  8.  Official  sealing,  with  the  Horus-name 
of  King  Zoser  repeated  three  times  ;  between  and  in 
a  contrary  direction  are  the  following : — 

(1)  A  title,  now  completely  obliterated ;  and  then 

the  title  □  8  kherp  skemsu  (Jyrp  bniw)  "leader  of  the 

servants."     In   the   Illrd   Dynasty  this    is  written 

Y^\  (Louvre  B  1)  or  |  fl  \  \  (Berlin  13,502-03),  and 

in  these  instances  it  is  followed  by    t=l  meru 

(mrw)  "  waters."     Note  the  form  of  the  sign  0  which 

clearly  shows  that  the  word  "  leader  "  is  not  to  be 
read  sekhem  (fym),  as  some  scholars  believe,  but 
kherp  (brp).     For  the  inversion   of  the   two  signs, 

§  kherp  (Jyrp)   following  n  shems  (jhni),  see  above, 

K5-7- 

(2)  An  obliterated  word,  and  then  ^  Amentiut 
(Imntjwt)  "  the  western  nomes,"  viz.,  %apm  of  the 
Delta.     See  above,  K  1.  6.  IS 

(3)  A  goddess  in  human  form,  holding  the  symbol 
of  life  ■¥•  and  happiness  j  in  her  hands  (cf.  K  1.  4  for 
similar  representations). 

59.     Pl.  XXVIII. 

The  cursive  ink-written  inscriptions.  These  are 
so  much  injured  that  only  isolated  words  can  be 
distinguished.  Nevertheless,  as  the  first  examples 
of  the  cursive  writing  (hieratic)  of  the  Illrd  Dynasty, 
they  have  a  special  value. 


)  may  have  given 

the  name  of  the  place  from  which  the  contents  of 
the  vessel  originally  came.     The   lower   line   gives 

the  contents  themselves :  c^>  J    <R\    0  deba 

...2  {dbi)  "  figs,  2  measures." 

4.    [j    .     This   is   perhaps    Sebetyu-kezu   (Sbtjw 

Mw),  the  old  name  of  Memphis  (see  K  1.  5B). 

7.  <=>  j  "qX  J    "  sound."      It    is    evidently    a 

woman's  name  Rudet  {Rwdt)  written  without  the 
feminine   termination ;    a   corresponding   masculine 

name    v\  <>  (1    Ruda  {Rwdj)  is  known  in   the  Old 

Kingdom  (Mar.,  Mast.,  96;  L.,  D.,  II.,  io£). 

8.  Q^^ooc^Ptt  1111  ashed  des (lid 

di )  "ashed  fruits,  des  measures."    This  is  merely 

a  note  of  the  contents  of  the  vessel  (cf.  R.  T.,  II., 
Pl.  XXV.  16). 

10.  0  \\  khu  {h,w). 

11.  ^\  u  (w). 

12.  ^   . 

14.   T^=^  sa-ef(sl-f).    This  may  be  either  ths 

rare  personal  name  Sa-ef  (j.'-/)  (Mar.,  Mast.,  327)  or 
part  of  a  name  like  Sebek-m-sa-ef  (&bk-m-s?-f), 
Mentu-em-sa-ef  (Mntwl -m-sl-f),  Ahy-em-sa-ef  (Jhjj- 
m-s;-f)  (L.,  D.,  II.,  65),  etc.,  "The  god  N.  is  his 

protection."     Note  the  archaic  form  of  the  sign  v 

sa  (ss),  which  has  been  discussed  above  (K2.  1- 10). 

15-  i||!^2>-5rk!^    ***•&   ( irwf)< 

probably  the  end  of  a  personal  name. 

16.   Two  vertical  lines,  very  difficult  to  read  in 

the  original.    The  first  line  seems  to  begin  with  <z=> 


■■*/• («/• )? 


hert  {hrt),  the  second  ends  with 


^(?> 


kanu  (klnw)  "  vineyard."     (For  similar  torms  of  this 
word,  see  Sethe's  Das  Aegyptische  Verbum,  I.  §  227). 


E  2 


THE   CEMETERY  AT   MAHASNA. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  TOMBS  AND  BURIALS. 

(a).  Character  and  Construction  of  tfie  Tombs. 

60.  The  general  features  of  the  necropolis  which 
was  found  to  lie  between  the  village  of  Mahasna 
and  the  Maslahet  Harun  have  been  already  outlined. 
This  cemetery,  extensive  though  it  is,  does  not  seem 
to  have  commenced  definite  growth  before  the  time 
of  the  Old  Kingdom,  so  that  the  few  earlier  tombs 
must  be  regarded  as  original  and  isolated  examples. 
The  second  and  third  dynasties,  for  instance,  are  not 
plainly  represented,  whereas  the  first  dynasty  char- 
acteristics are  found  in  a  fine  tomb,  which,  being  the 
first  excavated,  is  called  Mi.  Its  plan  is  given  on 
PL.  XXXIII.  It  is  of  the  simple  character  of  the 
earliest  stairway  tombs,  with  three  recesses  or  ante- 
chambers leading  from  the  main  chamber.  The  stair- 
way descends  from  the  north,  between  walls  of  brick. 
To  judge  from  analogy,  it  was  probably  roofed  over 
with  timber  and  mud,  of  which,  however,  the  traces 
are  lost  The  objects  found  in  the  dtfbris  of  this 
tomb  (which  had  been  previously  excavated  by  De 
Morgan),  were  of  uniformly  early  character.  They  in- 
cluded the  dishes  of  slate  and  limestone  numbered 
12  and  15  on  Pl.  XXXV.,  the  fragments  of  stone 
bowls  numbered  16  and  17,  and  the  more  perfect 
vase  of  alabaster  numbered  19.  The  piece  of  polished 
ivory  shown  on  PL.  XXXIII.  is  fitted  with  a  copper 
cap.  The  tomb  M  2,  with  two  sets  of  antechambers 
leading  out  respectively  from  two  wells,  was  less  in- 
structive, having  been  quite  cleared  out  in  recent 
times  by  the  fellaheen. 

61.  The  character  of  the  five  hundred  or  six 
hundred  tombs  of  the  general  necropolis  will  become 
evident  in  considering  the  details  concerning  the 
burials  placed  within  them  ;  but  something  in  their 
construction  enables  them  to  be  reduced  to  a  few 
types  which  may  be  briefly  summarised. 

Examples  of  the  familiar  well  or  pit-tomb  were 
numerous.  The  vertical  shaft  was  usually  from  three 
to  five  or  six  metres  in  depth,  and  with  a  length  and 
width  uniform  in  the  same  case,  but  varying  in  differ- 


ent instances  from  two  to  two-and-a-half  metres,  and 
from  half  a  metre  to  one-and-a-half  metres  respec- 
tively. These  were  uniformly  placed  north  and 
south  (in  general  tendency),  and  had  usually  one  or 
two  burial  chambers  leading  out  from  the  bottom  of 
the  shaft,  one  at  each  end.  Sometimes  there  were  no 
chambers,  the  burial  being  placed  in  the  shaft  itself. 
Sometimes,  too,  but  more  rarely,  a  small  recess  was 
hollowed  under  the  side  of  the  shaft,  and  after  the 
interment  the  opening  was  then  bricked  over.  In  the 
better-constructed  pits,  the  sides  were  walled  with 
brick  down  to  a  considerable  depth,  until  a  firm 
stratum  of  desert  gravel  was  reached  ;  in  the  majority 
of  cases,  however,  a  few  courses  only  through  the 
drift  sand  were  employed. 

Another  distinctive  class  of  tomb  was  of  simpler 
construction.  Commonly  no  brickwork  whatever 
protected  it.  A  hollow  in  the  sand  (corresponding 
to  the  shaft  of  the  pit  tombs)  gave  way  to  a  recess 
along  its  side,  generally  the  western  side.  Undoubt- 
edly this  form  is  linked  directly  in  development  with 
that  in  which  a  bricked  shaft  leads  to  a  chamber  in 
its  side ;  but  so  completely  was  all  trace  of  archi- 
tecture wanting  in  general,  that  it  becomes  a  class  by 
itself.  Other  tombs  were  for  the  most  part  mere 
modifications  of  these  forms.  Sometimes  there  was 
only  one  chamber,  which  was  generally  to  the  south 
(as  in  tombs  elsewhere  of  the  Old  Kingdom) ;  in  two 
or  three  instances  the  number  of  chambers  exceeded 
two,  in  which  case  they  were  arranged  one  above  the 
other  at  the  ends ;  but  the  strata  of  gravel  were  rarely 
of  sufficient  strength  for  this  purpose.  There  were 
isolated  cases  of  burials  differing  in  character — some 
few,  for  instance,  being  found  in  shallow  round  graves 
like  those  of  pre-dynastic  times. 

(b).   The  Undisturbed  Burials. 

[Pls.  XXXII.-XLIIL] 

62.  On  account  of  the  unusual  number  of  burials 
found  undisturbed  in  this  necropolis  of  Mahasna,  it 
has  been  found  convenient  to  select  a  certain  few  for 
description  in  detail,  and  to  regard  these  severally  as 
types  with  which  to  compare  the  three  hundred  others 


THE  TOMBS   AND  BURIALS. 


29 


that  were  recorded.  This  selection  has  been  made 
with  a  double  aim,  chiefly  to  secure  an  average  repre- 
sentation of  the  burials  accompanied  by  deposits,  but 
partly  also  to  illustrate  in  detail  the  features  of  one 
or  two  burials  of  exceptional  interest.  Thus  the 
thirteen  diagrams  on  PL.  XLIII.  convey  a  correct 
impression  of  the  more  interesting  burials,  but  are 
not  an  average  general  selection  from  the  whole 
number.  A  great  majority  of  the  graves  contained 
burials  that  were  undistinctive,  being  unaccompanied 
by  any  deposit,  and  so  were  less  directly  instructive. 
The  furnished  burials,  however,  were  sufficiently 
numerous  to  provide  cumulative  evidence  as  to  their 
own  special  character.  In  addition  to  those  remark- 
able for  richness  of  their  tomb  furniture,  the  features 
generally  characteristic  are  deposits  of  stone  vases  or 
the  presence  of  beads  and  amulets.  Before  making 
any  general  comment  as  to  the  distribution  or  dating 
of  these  features,  it  will  be  best  to  examine  more 
closely  the  details  of  the  cases  selected  on  PL.  XLIII. 
They  are  assigned  numbers  merely  in  working  routine, 
and  arrange  themselves  only  roughly  and  by  accident 
in  anything  like  sequence. 

M  70.  The  first  diagram  on  Pl.  XLIII.  shows  a 
skeleton  in  a  somewhat  unusual  position,  the  right 
hand  only  being  before  the  face,  and  the  left  leg  fully 
bent  at  the  knee.  The  body  lay  on  its  left  side,  with 
its  head  to  the  north.  It  was  in  a  recess  in  the  west 
side  of  a  shallow  pit  dug  in  the  sand,  walled  about  on 
the  two  exposed  sides  with  brick.  Under  the  head, 
and  wholly  hidden,  was  a  mirror  (PL.  XL.  17) ;  while 
the  other  tomb  furniture  consisted  of  a  deposit  of 
four  alabaster  vases,  whose  forms  are  outlined  on 
PL.  XXXVL,  the  numbers  12-15  corresponding  to 
the  a,  b,  c,  d,  respectively  in  the  diagram.  Photo- 
graphs of  these  objects  appear  on  Pl.  XXXIV. 

M  87.  This  burial  lay  in  a  small  chamber,  one 
metre  high  and  wide,  and  two  metres  long,  in  the 
south  end  at  the  bottom  of  a  pit  tomb  three  metres 
deep,  of  which  the  upmost  metre  was  strengthened 
with  brick  walls.  The  tomb  was  not  furnished  with 
any  large  objects,  but  around  the  neck  of  the  burial 
were  two  necklaces  of  uncommon  quality.  The  one 
consisted  chiefly  of  white  beads,  with  which  pen- 
dants of  carnelian  and  green  glaze  were  occasionally 
threaded  with  good  effect,  as  shown  in  the  left  hand 
of  the  diagram.  The  other  contained,  as  a  special 
feature,  a  series  of  gold  pendants  (shown  in  the 
photograph  on  PL.  XXXIV.)  which  were  threaded 
on  a  string  with  other  pendants  (Pl.  XXXIX.),  beads, 
and  a  seal  (Pl.  XXXIX.),  as  shown  in  the  right  hand 


of  the  diagram.  The  arrangement  shows  a  pendant 
of  carnelian  between  two  white  beads  in  a  string  of 
black  ;  then  follows  another  bird-pendant  of  carnelian 
between  two  pairs  of  white  beads  ;  after  which  comes 
a  gold  pendant  of  the  vulture  and  uraeus  combination, 
representing  the  sma-wti,  uniter  of  the  two  Egypts. 
A  crowned  figure  of  gold  follows,  between  a  bead  of 
carnelian  and  two  glazed  beads,  after  which  comes 
another  sma-wti  pendant  of  gold  between  a  similar 
combination.  A  hieroglyphic  sign  as  a  golden  pen- 
dant and  a  glazed  seal  complete  the  portion  of  the 
necklet  represented  in  the  diagram.  The  remainder 
was  continued  in  the  same  fashion,  the  alternation  of 
gold  and  carnelian  pendants  with  small  beads,  and 
ended  in  a  long  thread  of  black  glazed  beads.  It  is 
noteworthy  that,  although  the  seal,  as  usual,  is  of 
somewhat  conventional  geometrical  pattern,  without 
any  use  of  hieroglyphs  as  on  the  scarab  of  later  times, 
yet  the  use  of  special  hieroglyphic  signs  as  pendants 
is  quite  familiar.  The  burial  lay  almost  extended  on 
its  back,  with  the  head  to  the  north,  and  face  towards 
the  east. 

M  100.  In  the  case  of  the  burial  represented  by 
the  third  diagram  on  Pl.  XLIII.,  there  is  an  absence 
of  larger  objects,  but  it  is  noticeable  on  account  of 
some  special  features  among  its  smaller  ornaments. 
The  head  was  to  the  north,  as  was  invariably  the 
case,  and  the  burial  lay  in  the  northern  chamber, 
which  was  just  large  enough  to  receive  it,  in  a  shaft 
some  four  metres  deep.  The  body  lay  in  a  usual 
position,  extended,  and  chiefly  on  its  back,  being  only 
partly  turned  over  on  its  left  side.  The  face,  as  usual, 
lay  on  the  left  side  also,  and  in  this  position  partly 
rested  upon  a  mirror  (a).  Probably  the  head  had 
been  originally  upon  its  back,  with  the  mirror  sticking 
vertically  into  the  sand,  but  had  fallen  in  time  into 
the  position  in  which  it  was  found.  The  remains  of 
a  wooden  handle,  rotted,  were  found  associated  with 
the  mirror.  Around  the  neck,  and  over  the  breast, 
lay  a  necklace  {b),  consisting  of  beads  of  carnelian 
and  glaze  on  different  threads,  and  in  the  centre  some 
small  beads  and  bird-pendants  of  gold.  A  long  string 
of  glazed  beads,  with  which  was  threaded  also  the 
button  seal  shown  on  Pl.  XXXIX.,  seems  to  have 
been  held  loosely  in  the  left  hand  (c).  With  the  right 
hand  was  found  one  large  carnelian  bead  (d) ;  but  it 
had  fallen  away,  and  so  it  cannot  be  said  whether  it 
had  been  the  chief  ornament  to  a  thread  ring  or 
bracelet,  or  whether  it  had  been  held  in  the  hand. 
Around  each  ankle  (e,f)  was  a  string  of  medium- 
sized  carnelian  beads,  and  threaded  with  each  a  pen- 


3o 


THE  TOMBS  AND  BURIALS. 


dent  leg  also  of  carnelian,  shown  on  Pl.  XXXIX. 
These  pendants,  in  the  form  of  a  leg  and  foot,  gener- 
ally of  carnelian,  were  not  uncommon,  and  were  in- 
variably found  attached  to  the  ankle.  Similarly 
small  pendent  forearms,  made  of  the  same  stone, 
were  occasionally  found  attached  to  the  wrist,  either 
alone,  or  threaded  to  a  string  of  beads  or  other 
charms.  This  burial  typifies  a  considerable  class, 
accompanied  by  beads  and  charms,  but  without 
larger  tomb  furniture. 

M  107.  The  furniture  of  the  unique  burial  num- 
bered 107  (the  fourth  of  PL.  XLIII.)  is  more  fully 
illustrated  by  photograph  on  Pl.  XXXVII.  and  in 
outline  on  PL.  XXXVIII.  The  tomb  was  of  an 
ordinary  character ;  its  shaft  was  three  or  four  metres 
deep,  with  a  little  brickwork  at  the  top.  The  chamber 
mouth,  to  the  south,  was  bricked  up  ;  and  on  opening 
it  the  usual  small  recess  was  disclosed,  being  little 
larger  than  was  necessary  for  the  interment.  After 
clearing  away  the  dust  and  sand  which  lay  upon  the 
surface  of  everything,  the  group  of  vases  was  disclosed 
in  the  southern  end  of  the  chamber,  and  special  care 
was  taken  accordingly  with  the  further  stages  of 
clearing  the  burial.  The  body  lay  in  a  contracted 
position,  with  hands  in  front  of  the  face,  and  the 
knees  drawn  up  so  that  the  upper  leg  made  a  right 
angle  with  body,  while  the  lower  leg  was  also  doubled 
under  as  much  as  possible.  The  head  was  to  the 
north,  and  the  body  lay  on  its  left  side.  The  objects 
which  furnished  the  burial  included  thirteen  vases, 
eleven  being  of  alabaster,  of  varying  forms  and  sizes, 
an  alabaster  head-rest  with  fluted  column,  a  copper 
mirror,  a  chain  necklet  of  delicate  workmanship,  five 
feet  long,  with  necklace,  bracelets,  etc.,  of  carnelian, 
gold,  and  glazed  beads.  The  group  A  includes  all 
the  vases,  in  their  relative  situations  as  found  ;  but  it 
seems  probable  that  nearly  all  of  them  had  been 
placed  upright  with  their  points  in  the  sand,  and  had 
fallen  to  the  positions  in  which  they  were  found. 
The  numbers  by  which  they  are  indicated  in  the 
diagram  correspond  to  those  on  Pl.  XXXVIII.  when 
their  forms  are  outlined.  The  head-rest  lay  some 
few  inches  removed  from  the  head  :  it  is,  like  the  rest 
of  the  group,  of  beautiful  finish  and  proportion.  The 
mirror  also  did  not  lie  opposite  the  face  as  was  usual, 
but  just  above  the  hands.  The  necklet  of  gold  chain- 
work  is  sufficiently  illustrated  by  the  photograph  of 
PL.  XXXVII.  Its  two  small  lockets  were  connected 
apparently  with  the  two  long  tube  beads  of  gold  upon 
the  other  necklace,  which  are  separated  from  the  cen- 
tral carnelian  pendant  by  three  large  beads  on  either 


side.  The  arrangement  of  this  second  necklace  is 
also  fairly  clear  from  the  photograph.  Its  larger 
jewels  are  separated  from  one  another  by  smaller 
beads  of  gold  which  occur  symmetrically  in  threes  or 
singly  or  in  pairs.  The  string  is  fairly  uniform,  the 
beads  decreasing  regularly  in  size,  the  smallest  of  all 
being  small  and  of  green  glaze.  The  bracelets  were 
less  splendid,  but  were  none  the  less  of  appropriate 
character.  On  the  left  wrist  (6)  small  beads  of  blue 
glaze  and  carnelian  alternated  in  groups  with  beads 
of  gold  and  green  glaze,  alternating  also  in  themselves. 
The  other  bracelet,  c,  followed  the  arrangement  indi- 
cated in  the  plan,  in  which  gold  and  glaze  beads 
alternately  in  twos  and  threes  separate  long  beads  of 
carnelian  and  ribbed  beads  of  glaze,  which  also 
alternate  with  one  another.  The  whole  of  this  tomb 
group  was  selected  by  the  authorities  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Antiquities  of  Egypt  and  occupies  a  case  in 
the  Museum  at  Cairo. 

M  114.  This  burial  lay  in  a  shaft  of  ordinary 
character,  about  two  metres  down,  with  head  to  the 
north,  lying  half  over  on  its  left  side.  Around  the 
neck,  a,  was  a  string  of  beads  miscellaneously  com- 
posed. It  included  for  half  its  length  beads  of 
carnelian  with  both  long  and  round  beads  of  green 
glaze,  and  for  the  other  half  dark  glazed  beads  with 
pairs  of  light  shell  beads  occasionally.  From  the 
vicinity  of  the  left  wrist,  b,  came  one  large  bead  of 
carnelian,  the  original  position  of  which  cannot  be 
definitely  assigned.  Similar  single  beads  have  been 
found  indubitably  as  the  ornament  of  finger  rings, 
threaded  with  a  few  small  beads  or  otherwise. 
Around  the  right  wrist,  c,  were  some  small  beads  of 
green  glaze.  Around  the  ankles,  d  and  e,  were 
strings  of  large  carnelian  beads,  with  leg  pendants 
also  of  carnelian.  In  the  position  /,  behind  the  right 
humerus,  was  found  the  fine  vase  shown  in  outline 
on  PL.  XXXVI.  (No.  6),  and  by  photograph  on 
PL.  XXXIV.  It  is  made  of  good  alabaster  with  a 
vein  of  pink  around  the  rim. 

M  349.  This  burial  lay  in  fully  extended  position. 
Its  chief  interest  lies  in  a  representative  group  of 
objects  with  which  it  was  furnished.  The  deposit 
was  laid  above  the  head.  1  and  4  are  two  pots  (the 
latter  of  black  ware).  The  dish,  with  spout,  num- 
bered 2,  is  of  red  polished  pottery  ware  ;  a  photograph 
of  it  appears  on  Pl.  XXXII. :  3  is  a  copper  mirror 
(number  2  on  PL.  XL.).  The  numbers  5,  6,  7,  and  8 
are  given  to  four  vases  of  alabaster  which  appear  in 
outline  also  on  PL.  XXXVI.  A  special  feature  is 
the  small  group  of  copper  implements,  numbered  7 


THE   TOMBS   AND   BURIALS. 


31 


in  the  diagram,  and  represented  more  fully  on 
PL.  XXXIII.  They  include  a  needle,  spatula, 
tweezers,  and  other  small  objects.  There  were  no 
beads  or  pendants  accompanying  this  burial.  The 
tomb  itself  was  merely  dug  out  in  the  sand,  to  a 
depth  of  two  metres,  with  the  burial  placed  under  the 
western  side  in  a  recess  prepared  for  it. 

M  386.  The  seventh  diagram  represents  a  burial 
which  was  found  lying  in  a  recess  under  the  west  side 
of  a  shaft,  amidst  the  traces  of  a  decayed  coffin  of 
wood.  It  lay  on  its  left  side,  with  hands  in  front  of 
face,  and  left  leg  slightly  bent.  It  was  furnished  with 
a  mirror,  b,  to  which  the  remains  of  a  wooden  handle 
still  adhered,  and  a  group  of  vases,  of  which  the 
largest  is  shown  in  outline  on  PL.  XXXVI.,  No.  4. 
In  the  ear  was  a  round  green  glaze  bead,  the  hole 
through  which  was  very  small.  Around  the  neck 
and  over  the  breast  were  the  pendants  grouped 
together  on  PL.  XXXIX.  They  are  entirely  of 
glaze  or  carnelian,  occurring  largely  in  duplicate, 
representing  birds  and  small  animals,  bees,  human 
faces,  weeping  eyes,  hands,  etc.  Of  chief  interest  is 
perhaps  the  pair  of  small  beetle  or  scarab  pendants, 
on  which  the  back  of  the  beetle  is  well  shown  as  on 
the  scarabs  of  later  times,  but  the  front  or  under  side 
is  provided  only  with  a  small  raised  threading  hole. 
Outside  the  coffin  were  two  unpolished  pots,  one  of 
them  large. 

M  401.  This  was  a  burial  in  a  wooden  coffin 
placed  in  the  chamber  of  a  pit  tomb.  The  position 
is  as  usual,  half  over  on  the  left  side,  with  head  to 
the  north.  The  legs  are  slightly  contracted,  and  the 
right  arm  is  bent  across  the  front.  Two  alabaster 
vases,  a  and  b  (PL.  XXXVI.  25,  26),  and  a  mirror,  c, 
lie  grouped  in  front  of  the  face ;  but  there  are  no 
beads  or  pendants.  Outside  the  coffin,  on  the  eastern 
side,  is  a  largish  pot,  d. 

M  420.  The  ninth  diagram  represents  another 
burial  which  had  been  placed  in  a  coffin  under  the 
side  of  a  pit.  Its  position  was  not  quite  usual :  the 
knees  were  partly  contracted  in  an  ordinary  way,  but 
the  forearms  were  crossed  in  front  of  the  body,  in  a 
manner  less  common.  A  piece  of  the  coffin  bore  a 
hieroglyphic  sign  :  in  front  of  the  face  were  a  mirror, 
d,  two  vases  of  alabaster,  b,  c  (Nos.  7  and  10  on 
PL.  XXXVI.  and  PL.  XXXIV),  and  a  large  pot 
with  flat  bottom  (Pl.  XLL,  type  K  1).  A  few  glazed 
beads  of  tubular  form  were  found  on  the  under  por- 
tion of  the  neck. 

M  421.  This  burial,  like  the  rest,  lay  under  the 
side  of  a  pit,  but  one  of  a  differing  type,  being  only 


a  little  more  than  one  metre  deep,  and  unsupported 
by  brickwork.  There  was  no  trace  of  a  coffin :  the 
burial  lay  on  its  back,  inclined  as  usual  to  the  left 
side,  with  its  knees  doubled  up  and  the  lower  legs 
completely  bent  back.  A  mirror  (PL.  XL.  1 5)  lay  in 
front  of  the  face,  with  two  alabaster  vases,  b,  and  a 
small  cup,  c,  containing  some  beads.  Around  the 
neck  was  a  string  of  glaze  beads  and  a  few  pendants 
of  glaze,  shown  on  Pl.  XXXIX. 

M  424.  The  eleventh  diagram  illustrates  a  simple 
type,  in  which  the  only  noticeable  feature  is  the 
curious  position  chosen  for  depositing  the  group  of 
vases.  The  attitude  is  usual,  with  knees  partly 
contracted  and  arms  straight.  A  mirror  rests  in  a 
vertical  position  before  the  face,  sticking  upright  in 
the  sand.  Three  alabaster  vases,  marked  2,  3,  and  4, 
corresponding  to  8,  9,  and  10  on  PL.  XXXVI.  (see 
PL.  XXXIV.),  lie  grouped  behind  the  knees. 

M  441.  This  burial  presents  one  unique  feature, 
in  that  the  vases  (in  this  case  an  unusual  set)  were 
collected  together  in  a  small  box  placed  at  the  foot. 
The  burial  was  placed  under  the  side  of  a  pit  two 
metres  deep ;  the  hands,  as  usual,  were  in  front  of  the 
face,  and  the  head  seems  to  have  lain  upon  a  wooden 
rest  which  was  found  behind  the  neck.  The  right 
knee  was  partly  drawn  up,  seemingly  to  accommodate 
the  box  below  the  foot.  In  this  box,  of  which  only 
the  traces  remained,  had  been  placed  the  set  of  vases, 
made  variously  of  steatite,  diorite,  alabaster,  as  well 
as  the  shell  knife  and  beads  that  made  up  this  group 
of  offerings.  The  bowl,  1  (Pl.  XXXV  3,  and 
PL.  XXXIV.),  was  made  of  steatite,  and  over  it  was 
inverted  the  cup  of  diorite  numbered  10  (PL.  XXXV 
10,  and  PL.  XXXIV).  Nos.  2,  3,  4,  5  (PL.  XXXV) 
are  vases  of  alabaster ;  6  is  a  small  shell  containing 
some  pink  material.  A  large  bead  (7)  was  seemingly 
placed  away  by  itself  in  the  corner  ;  while  a  long  thin 
knife,  8,  lay  alongside  the  vase  number  3.  A  bracelet 
of  wood  (a)  had  encircled  the  right  arm,  and  a  string 
of  beads  (b)  lay  round  the  left  wrist. 

M  442.  The  last  diagram  of  PL.  XLIII.  represents 
a  simple  burial  again  in  somewhat  irregular  attitude, 
the  knees  being  drawn  up  square,  but  the  arms 
stretched  out  to  their  full.  It  lay  inside  a  wooden 
coffin,  of  smaller  size  than  was  usual,  a  is  a  bowl  of 
alabaster  (PL.  XXXVI.  2),  b  a  vase  (number  3  on  the 
same  Plate),  and  c  a  mirror  of  copper. 

63.  On  Pl.  XXXII.  there  are  reproduced  photo- 
graphs of  two  burials,  and  it  has  not  been  thought 
necessary  to  supplement  them  by  diagrams. 

M  31  is  a  burial  partly  contracted,  accompanied 


32 


THE  TOMBS  AND   BURIALS. 


by  a  numerous  deposit  of  pottery  characteristic  of  the 
period  between  the  Old  and  Middle  Kingdom.  It 
lay  in  a  built  rectangular  tomb,  like  the  top  part  of 
an  ordinary  shaft,  but  only  one  metre  in  depth.  The 
head  is  to  the  north,  and  the  body  lies  on  its  left  side. 
M  501.  The  photograph  shows  a  fully  contracted 
burial,  lying  in  the  attitude  and  shallow  grave  familiar 
in  predynastic  times.  This  is  an  exceptional  case, 
but  it  is  useful  in  showing  that  no  special  form  of 
tomb  was  rigidly  adhered  to.  It  was  accompanied 
by  the  seal  with  "  labyrinth "  pattern  shown  on 
PL.  XXXIX. 

64.  The  burial  last  described  is  sufficient  deterrent 
against  any  attempt  to  point  out  a  definite  alliance 
between  the  different  kinds  of  tombs  and  the  varying 
types  of  burials  and  deposits.  It  is  only  possible  to 
indicate  a  general  impression  which  was  formed 
during  the  process  of  the  excavation,  and  is  borne 
out  by  a  majority  in  tabulating  a  number  of  repre- 
sentative burials.  The  cemetery  seems  to  have 
definitely  begun  with  the  IVth  Dynasty  in  the  por- 
tion marked  M  2  on  PL.  II.  The  graves  were  dug 
roughly  rectangular  in  the  sand,  to  a  depth  of  a 
couple  of  metres,  and  the  burial  was  laid  under  the 
west  side  in  a  recess  provided  for  it.  A  deposit  of 
stone  vases  generally  was  laid  in  some  convenient 
position  with  the  burial.  A  few  tombs  then  were 
added  in  the  patch  M  1,  but  a  more  steady  expansion 
began  and  continued  in  the  opposite  direction,  towards 
the  north.  In  the  portion  M  3  are  mostly  pit-tombs 
with  partly  bricked  shaft  and  one  or  more  chambers 
at  the  bottom,  to  the  south  or  north.  In  these, 
burials  were  laid  in  coffins  in  an  extended  or  partly 
contracted  position :  they  were  commonly  decked 
with  beads,  pendants,  mirrors,  or  a  seal.  These  seem 
to  represent  a  period  about  the  Vlth  Dynasty.  The 
tombs  still  spread  onwards  (more  numerously  than 
the  plan  shows),  and  are  characterised  by  burials 
unaccompanied  by  tomb  furniture  of  any  kind,  with 
the  exception,  maybe,  of  a  few  unpolished  pots.  On 
the  knoll  which  rises  in  the  portion  M  4  were  found 
a  few  deposits  suggestive  of  the  approach  of  the 
Middle  Kingdom,  indicated  in  particular  by  the  large 
globular  beads  of  green  glaze  familiar  in  that  period. 
It  is  thus  possible  that  the  necropolis  is  representative 
of  a  continuous  local  history  from  the  IVth  Dynasty 
onwards  to  the  advent  of  the  Middle  Kingdom. 

65.  In  spite  of  their  poverty  in  museum  objects, 
there  are  some  features  of  the  burials  in  this  inter- 
vening period  of  extreme  interest.  They  illustrate 
by  more  than  a  hundred  instances  the  origins  and 


development  of  stucco-covered  burials  described  in 
the  last  Report  of  the  Egyptian  Research  Account 
(El  Arabeh,  pp.  IO,  11).  A  number  of  burials  lying 
in  rectangular  walled  graves  about  one  to  two  metres 
deep,  were  found  preserved  by  a  thick  coating  of  hard 
Nile  mud.  The  mud  must  have  been  prepared  by 
some  process  for  the  purpose,  being  of  peculiar 
tenacity  and  adhesive  properties,  so  that  it  was  found 
impossible  to  clean  the  bones  without  damage  to 
them.  In  some  cases  the  superfluity  of  mud  con- 
cealed the  form  of  the  body ;  in  others,  which  were 
commonly  within  the  chamber  of  a  simple  pit-tomb 
the  coating  of  mud  followed  more  the  outline  of  the 
body.  Some  of  these  burials  were  accompanied  by 
pottery,  chiefly  of  the  type  A  on  PL.  XLI. ;  but 
more  often  they  were  entirely  unfurnished.  Another 
stage  shows  the  body  concealed  also  within  a  wooden 
coffin,  the  inside  of  which,  as  well  as  the  mud  cover- 
ing of  the  body,  was  plastered  white.  One  instance 
showed  the  plaster  hidden  below  a  further  coating  of 
the  mud,  which  was  again  whitened.  But  the  ten- 
dency was  to  reduce  the  thickness  of  the  mud,  so  that 
the  outline  of  the  form  was  better  preserved.  One 
burial  showed  on  the  crumbling  surface-plaster  the 
fingers,  hands,  and  face  outlined  in  green  upon  the 
white,  while  some  rectangular  pattern  in  green  had 
decorated  the  interior  of  the  coffin  also.  This  method 
was  observed  in  other  cases,  but  the  collapse  of  the 
wooden  coffin,  caused  by  the  action  of  the  white  ant, 
had  in  most  instances  rendered  it  difficult  to  recover 
the  traces  on  the  thin  plaster.  One  or  two  instances 
occurred  in  which  the  mud  was  seemingly  absent,  but 
the  body  was  covered  by  a  thicker  coating  of  plaster, 
in  some  cases  plain,  in  others  decorated.  On  one 
instance,  instead  of  the  features  being  delineated  in 
paint,  the  face  had  been  separately  modelled  in 
plaster  and  fixed  before  the  real  face  in  the  wet 
plaster  to  which  it  had  adhered. 

Note  on  the  Skeletons  from  the  later 
Tombs  of  the  Early  Kingdom. 

By  Dr.  MYERS. 
66.  Many  skulls  were  found,  but  comparatively  few 
were  sufficiently  whole  to  be  utilised  for  measurement. 
Even  these  were  so  brittle  and  so  much  worn,  that 
they  could  only  be  packed  for  removal  with  consider- 
able risk  of  breakage.  Accordingly,  I  decided  to 
measure  a  few  long  bones,  and  nearly  forty  skulls  ; 
after  which  the  remains  were  re-interred  at  a  known 
spot,  possibly  to  undergo  further  examination  in  the 
future. 


THE  TOMB   DEPOSITS. 


33 


These  skulls  date  between  the  fifth  and  the 
eleventh  dynasties.  Their  number  is  too  small,  the 
period  covered  by  them  too  wide,  and  our  present 
craniological  knowledge  too  scanty,  to  warrant  the 
full  publication  of  these  measurements  in  the  present 
report.  They  may  advantageously  be  set  out  later, 
when  a  further  discovery  of  skulls  from  the  same 
periods  is  made.  Suffice  it  here  to  say  that  in  all 
characters  the  skulls  show  remarkable  variations. 
The  cranial  breadth-index  of  the  series  extends  from 
68*3  to  82-9,  the  cranial  height-index  from  70*9  to 
79-3,  the  gnathic  index  from  91  "j  to  103  '2,  the  nasal 
index  from  42-7  to  56*8,  the  upper  facial  index  from 
47'6  to  61  "j,  and  the  orbital  index  from  82^9  to 
ioi#4.  Equally  wide  divergencies  were  noted  by 
Mr.  Randall  Maclver  in  the  far  larger  series  of  con- 
temporary skulls  found  at  Dendereh.  It  is  curious 
how  nearly  the  mean  cranial  breadth,  the  mean  nasal, 
and  the  mean  gnathic  indices,  agree  in  the  two  series. 
In  the  Dendereh  series  they  are  respectively  74  "4, 
50*6,  and  95*6;  in  the  present  series  they  are  75-3, 
49-0,  and  96-8. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

THE     TOMB     DEPOSITS. 
(a).  Inscribed  Objects. 

The  Stones:  Pls.  XXXII.,  XXXIII. 

67.  The  table  for  offerings  from  tomb  M  336  is 
inscribed  with  the  name  of  (?)  Thyes,  Veteran,  First 
under  the  King.  This  title,  seten  tep  kher  (says 
Mr.  Newberry),  is  fairly  common  for  the  Vlth 
Dynasty,  and  does  not  appear  to  signify  any  great 
rank.  The  photograph  shows  the  character  of  the 
monument,  and  the  facsimile  of  the  inscription  shows 
an  irregularity  in  cutting  and  grouping  the  hiero- 
glyphs, some  of  which  are  of  crude  and  unusual 
form. 

The  longer  inscription  of  PL.  XXXIII.,  from  tomb 
M  41,  is  translated  in  this  way  by  Mr.  Newberry : 
"  May  the  King  give  an  offering  to  Anubis  upon  his 
hill,  within  the  Oasis,  and  Lord  of  Ta-zeser  in  all  his 
good  places,  for  perkheru  offerings  for  the  Mayor,  the 
Royal  Sealer,  the  Royal  Friend,  the  Veteran  in  the 
service  of  the  Great  God,  Lord  of  Heaven,  Heny." 
The  hieroglyphs  are  incised.  This  stone  is  of  rough 
surface ;  it  probably  formed  the  lintel  of  a  door- 
frame, some  smaller  pieces  of  the  jambs  also  being 
found. 

68.  The  button-seals.     Pl.  XXXIX. 


This  series  of  twenty-eight  seals  was  found  almost 
exclusively  with  those  burials  which  are  assigned  to  the 
Vlth  and  following  dynasties.  They  were  sometimes 
threaded  to  a  string  of  beads  and  pendants  in  the 
manner  followed  in  the  burial  87  ;  but  more  were 
found  attached  to  a  finger  by  a  thread  (on  which 
might  be  a  few  small  beads  only),  or  held  within  the 
left  hand.  The  deposits  associated  with  them  in  each 
case  will  be  found  in  a  subsequent  list. 

The  designs  upon  these  seals  differ  in  each  case, 
and  are  also  unlike  those  with  which  they  have  been 
compared  in  the  hands  of  private  collectors,  and  not 
yet  published.  They  were  thus  almost  certainly 
signets.  The  patterns  upon  them  are  in  nearly  all 
cases  conventional,  in  many  instances  symmetrical, 
whether  labyrinthine  or  naturalistic.  In  cases  of 
symmetry  the  likeness  may  occur  in  opposite  halves 
merely,  as  in  those  numbered  100,  28,  400 ;  or  may 
appear  in  opposite  quarters  as  417,  43  ;  or  the  sym- 
metry may  be  perfect  in  each  quarter,  as  in  Nos.  316, ' 
76,  348. 

The  motive  for  some  of  the  designs  is  clear. 
No.  343  seems  to  be  possibly  a  seated  figure  with 
arms  outstretched  ;  Nos.  427,  348,  76,  316,  are  derived 
from  beetle  or  spider  patterns,  while  112  is  possibly 
evolved  from  a  similar  idea.  The  figures  of  animals 
appear  symmetrically  on  each  half  of  417,  43,  and 
470,  and  singly  upon  Nos.  348  (2)  and  389.  This 
last  is  of  exceptional  form,  being  on  the  obverse  dis- 
similar in  character  to  the  rest,  and  having  the  simple 
threading-hole  usual  on  the  reverse  replaced  by  a 
small  animal  figure  in  model.  The  other  designs  are 
chiefly  geometrical  or  tortuous.  In  no  case  does  a 
hieroglyph  occur,  nor  any  definite  sign  of  a  known 
script.  The  analogies,  however,  with  some  designs 
of  Cretan  or  proto-vEgean  characters,  are  strikingly 
close.  Compare,  for  instance,  No.  440  with  two  from 
the  Hagios  Omtphrios  deposit,  pictured  on  p.  108  of 
Mr.  A.  J.  Evans'  Cretan  Pictographs.  No.  72A  on 
p.  76  of  the  same  work,  an  object  of  black  steatite 
bought  at  Candia,  implies  a  conventional  expression 
of  the  class  to  which  417  and  43  on  Pl.  XXXIX. 
belong  also.  The  four-sided  seal  numbered  319,  on 
the  left,  is  so  particularly  of  interest  in  this  connection 
that  an  enlarged  photograph  of  the  impression  in 
plaster  of  each  side  is  here  reproduced  from  a  block 
kindly  lent  for  the  purpose  by  the  Keeper  of  the 
Ashmolean  Museum  and  the  Clarendon  Press  at 
Oxford.  The  analogy  in  detail,  however,  is  not  so 
convincing  as  that  of  general  motive.  The  sym- 
metrical  forms   and    spider  patterns   shown   in   the 

F 


34 


THE   TOMB   DEPOSITS. 


plates  of  the   same   writer's  Further  Discoveries  of 
Cretan  and  Algean  Script,  are  worthy  of  careful  com- 


parison ;  but  at  present  the  published  material  is 
insufficient,  and  the  collected  specimens  are  not 
available  for  the  purpose.  It  cannot,  therefore,  be 
said  whether  the  similarity  is  accidental,  or  due  to  a 
common  or  mutual  influence,  or  the  result  of  direct 
copy  from  one  side  or  the  other.  With  regard  to  this 
present  series,  it  is  seen  that  they  are  found  (as  in 
tomb  87)  in  association  with  signs  strictly  Egyptian 
in  origin,  in  a  cemetery  which,  but  for  these  objects 
alone,  might  have  been  said  from  analogy  to  be 
thoroughly  representative  of  a  certain  period  of 
Egypt's  history. 

(6).  Copper  Implements. 
[PL.  XXXIII.] 

69.  There  is  some  paucity  in  the  number  of  copper 
implements  and  objects,  but  among  their  number  are 
two  somewhat  exceptional  in  form.  These  are  repre- 
sented on  Pl.  XXXIII.  That  numbered  M  131 
was  found  without  anything  else  in  the  filling  of  an 
ordinary  pit  tomb.  The  long-pointed  portion  is 
square-edged,  but  the  wider  part  is  more  like  a 
double-edged  blade,  the  central  ridge  suggesting  the 
finish  of  a  "  hollow  ground "  razor.  The  remainder 
had  presumably  been  fitted  to  a  handle.  The  other 
object,  M  347,  is  even  more  curious.  It  might 
suggest  a  broad  cutting-knife  with  double  edge ;  but 
the  bones  with  which  it  was  found  are  undoubtedly 
those  of  a  female,  an  indication  further  borne  out  by 
the  pendants  of  Pl.  XXXIX.,  and  the  bodkin  with 
wood  handle  which  accompanies  it.  It  seems  possible, 
therefore,  though  no  trace  of  polished  surface  remains, 
that  this  object  is  really  a  tarnished  mirror  of  peculiar 
form.  The  group  of  small  copper  implements  from 
tomb  M  349  has  been  already  referred  to.  It  was 
found  with  the  polished  red  pots  of  Pl.  XXXI., 
the  stone  vases  of  Pl.  XXXVI.,  and  the  mirror  on 
Pl.  XL. 


The  copper  mirrors  are  shown  in  outline  on 
Pl.  XL.,  after  the  manner  regularly  adopted  by 
Professor  Petrie,  and  those  whom  he  has  trained. 
The  use  of  this  systematic  record  of  details  may  not 
be  immediately  obvious,  but  it  is  none  the  less  a  duty 
which  each  excavator  owes  to  the  student  of  the 
future.  These  forms  require  no  comment ;  the  use 
of  rivets  on  those  numbered  6  and  14  from  tombs  386 
and  j6  respectively  is  a  noticeable  feature. 

(c).  Grouping  of  the  Tomb  Deposits. 

Predynastic.     Site  L.,  Alawniyeh.     Pls.  III.,  IV. 

Tomb. 

202.  Slate  palette  (Pl.  IV). 

209.  Four-legged   dish,   clay  models  of  arrows   and 
figures  (Pl.  III.).     Slate  shuttle  (Pl.  IV). 

212.  Ivory  bracelet  and  bead  (Pl.  IV.). 

215.  Slate  palette,  and  hour-glass  stone  (Pl.  IV). 

229.  Bone  pin  and  bracelet  (Pl.  IV). 

Illrd  Dynasty.     Site  K,  Bet  Khallaf  (Pls.  VI.- 

XXXI.). 

K  1.  Sealings  (Pls.  VIII.-X.).  Alabaster  vases  and 
stone  bowls  (PLS.  XI.-XIV.),  copper  and 
flint  implements  (Pls.  XV.,  XVI.),  cursive 
inscriptions  (XXVIII.),  pot  marks  (XXVIII.), 
alabaster  tables  (XXIX.),  pottery  (XXX.- 
XXXI.). 

K  2.  Sealings  (Pl.  XIX.).  Vessels  and  vases  of 
stone  (XX.-XXII.),  flint  implements  and 
wood  handle  (XX.),  implements  of  copper 
and  fittings  (Pl.  XXIII.),  cursive  inscriptions 
(XXVIII.),  alabaster  tables  (XXIX.),  pottery 
(XXX.-XXXI.). 

K  3.  Sealings,  fragments  (XXVI.).  Fragment  of 
large  alabaster  vessel  (Pl.  XXVII.),  cursive 
inscription  (XXVIII.). 

K  4.  Group  of  alabaster  vessels,  two  stone  vases 
(XXIV),  sealings  (XXVI.),  five  alabaster 
vases  (XXVII.). 

K  5.  Vases  of  hard  stone  and  alabaster,  copper  and 
flint  implements  (XXIV.),  sealings  (XXVI.), 
stone  vessels,  base  of  large  alabaster  jar 
(XXVII.),  cursive  inscription  and  pot  mark 
(XXVIII.),  alabaster  tables  (XXIX.),  pottery 
(XXX.-XXXL). 
IVth-XIth   Dynasty   (chiefly),  site   M,   Mahasna 

(Pls.  XXXII.-XLIII.). 

Tomb. 

1.  Polished    ivory   (XXXIII.).      Bowls    of    stone 
(XXXV).     Plan  (XXXIIL). 


THE   TOMB   DEPOSITS. 


35 


'3  (2). 


4  Vase  (XXXVI).  Mirror  (XL.).  Glazed  beads,  343. 
small  carnelian  pendants,  small  copper  fit- 
tings and  needle.  3/)/], 
Beads  and  small  pendants  of  green  glaze,  347. 
including  some  unusual  "  tie "  forms  (Ed- 
wards' Library  Collection,  University  College,  348. 
London).                                                                  349. 

13  (3).  Seal  (XXXIX.). 

31.  Burial  (XXXII.). 

41.  Inscribed  stones  (XXXII.-IIL).  360. 

43.  Seal  (XXXIX.).     Beads.  379. 

50  (2).  Mirror  (XL.).     Pottery.  386. 

53,  56,  58.  Pottery  (XLI.-IL). 

70.  Vases  (XXXIV,  XXXVI.).  Mirror  (XL),  389. 
Burial  (XLIIL). 

78.  Seal  (XXXIX.).  Beads  of  green  glaze  and  disc  400. 
beads  of  carnelian. 

82.  Seal  (XXXIX.).   Alabaster  vases.    Small  glazed     401. 
pendants,  small  beads  of  green   glaze  and 
carnelian. 

87  (1).  Gold  pendants  (XXXIV).  Seal  (XXXIX.).  4U- 
Burial  (XLIIL).  Beads  of  shell  and  blue  418. 
glaze  and  a  few  carnelian  pendants.  420. 

96.  Pottery  and  mirror. 

100.  Seal  (XXXIX.).    Pottery.    Mirror  (XL.).   Burial     421. 
(XLIIL).      Gold  beads  and    pendant  Ibis. 
Beads  of  green  glaze  and  carnelian  ;  pendant 
carnelian  legs.  424. 

104.  Polished  pottery  (XXXIL). 

107.  Vases,     jewels,     pendants,      beads     (grouped)     427. 
(XXXVII.-VIIL).     Burial  (XLIIL) 
Seal    (XXXIX.).      Beads    of    carnelian    (Ash-     432. 
molean  Museum).  435. 

Vases  (XXXIV,   XXXVL).    Burial  (XLIIL). 
Beads  of  blue  glaze,  carnelian  leg  pendants, 
glazed  tube  beads,  and  small  beads  of  car-     438. 
nelian.     Large  pendant  (calcite).  440. 

130.  Mirror  (XL.).     Beads  of  glaze. 

131.  Copper  dagger  (XXXIIL).     Cairo  Museum.  441. 
150.  Pottery  (XLL). 

200-299.  See  under  site  L. 

300.  Pottery  (XLL).  442. 

316.  Seal  (XXXIX.).     Beads  of  glaze. 

322.  Tendants  (XXXIX.);  some  glazed  beads.  443. 

327.  Seals  (XXXIX.).  445- 

329.  Seal  (XXXIX.).     Beads  of  glaze  and  carnelian. 

Black  shell  beads,  long  carnelian  and  green     448. 

glaze  pendants. 
336.  Stone  table  (XXXII.-IIL).  460. 

338.  Vases  (XXXIV,  XXXV.). 
341  (3).  Pendants  (XXXIX.).  461. 


112. 


114. 


Seal  (XXXIX.).    Beads  of  black  glaze,  carnelian 

leg  pendants, 
Mirror  (XL.).     (Burial  of  a  male.) 
Copper  implements  (XXXIIL).     Pendants  and 

needle. 
Seals  (XXXIX.). 

Polished  red  pottery  (XXXIL).     Copper  imple- 
ments     (XXXIIL).       Vases      (XXXVL). 

Mirror  (XL.). 
Gold  pendants  (XXXIV.). 
Pendants  (XXXIX.). 

Vase  (XXXVL).     Pendants  (XXXIX.).     Mir- 
ror (XL.).     Burial  (XLIIL). 
Seal  (XXXIX.).     Beads  of  carnelian,  blue  and 

white  glaze. 
Seal  (XXXIX.).     Pendants  (XXXIX.).    Beads 

of  carnelian  with  pendant. 
Vases      (XXXVL).       Mirror     (XL.).        Burial 

(XLIIL).      Small     alabaster     vases     and 

beads. 
Seal  (XXXIX.).,  with  beads.     (Cairo  Museum.) 
Vases  (XXXVL). 
Vases  (XXXIV,  XXXVL).      Pottery  (XLL). 

Burial  (XLIIL).     Beads  of  glaze. 
Pendants    (XXXIX.).      Mirror   (XL.).      Burial 

(XLIIL).      Alabaster    vases,     beads,    and 

glazed  pendants  offish  and  two  dwarfs,  &c. 
Vases   (XXXIV.-VL).      Mirror   (XL).     Burial 

(XLIIL). 
Seal  (XXXIX.).     Beads  of  carnelian  and  blue 

glaze  (Cairo). 
Polished  red  pottery  (XXXIL). 
Gold   pendants    (XXXIV).     Seals  (XXXIX.). 

Mirror   (XL.).      Beads    of    carnelian,   blue 

glazed  quartz  and  amulets. 
Pendants  (XXXIX.). 
Seal  (XXXIX.).    Beads  of  blue  glaze,  carnelian  ; 

blue  glass  pendant. 
Vases    (XXXIV-XXXV)       Burial    (XLIIL). 

Oval  beads  of  carnelian,  blue   glaze :   ass's 

head  amulet. 
Vases    (XXXIV,    XXXVL).      Mirror    (XL). 

Pottery  (XLIL).     Burial  (XLIIL). 
Pottery  stand  (XXXIV). 
Pendants  (XXXIX.).     Pottery  (XLIL).     Small 

beads  of  carnelian,  blue  glaze  and  gold. 
Pendants  (XXXIX.) ;   blue  glaze  amulets,  two 

blue  glazed  cowries. 
Pottery    (XLIL).      Small   carnelian    and    blue 

glazed  beads. 
Pendants  (XXXIX.).     Beads  of  carnelian  and 

r  2 


36 


DESCRIPTION   OF   PLATES. 


glaze ;   two  amulets  of  crystal,  lion,  shell, 

crocodile,  &c. 
470.  Vases  (XXXIV.,   XXXV).     Seal   (XXXIX.). 

Mirror  (XL.).    Pot  with  spout,  beads  of  gold 

and  carnelian.     (Philadelphia.) 
476.  Seal    (XXXIX.).      Inscribed    mud    figure,   not 

deciphered  (Ashmolean  Museum). 
478.  Vases  (XXXVI.).      Carnelian  and  blue  glazed 

pendants,  one  shell  and  two  jackal  heads. 
490.  Pottery  (XLI.).     Beads  of  blue  glaze,  bell  and 

disc. 
493.  Vase  (XXXVI.).     Beads  of  carnelian  and  shell, 

glazed  pendant. 
499.  Seals  (XXXIX.).     Pottery  (XLII.).     Beads  of 

black  glaze. 
501.  Burial  (XXXII.).     Pendants  (XXXIX.). 
560.  Blue  glazed  hippopotamus. 

CHAPTER   X. 
DESCRIPTION   OF  PLATES. 

PL.  I.  El  Mahasna  and  BSt  Khallaf— the  district 
explored,  season  1900-1901. 

The  map  shows  the  main  contours  of  the  lower 
desert  and  edge  of  the  higher  desert  for  a  distance  of 
fifteen  kilometres,  with  Mahasna  as  centre.  Along 
the  edge  of  the  cultivation  are  the  villages  Alawniyeh, 
Bet  Allam,  the  Maslahet  Harun  (enclosed),  Mahasna 
W,  B£t,  Ilg,  Bet  Khallaf  and  Sararwah.  The  sites  of 
excavation  are  enclosed  in  a  double  rectangle  and 
marked  with  letters  as  follows. 

Site  L.     Near  Alawniyeh,  Predynastic  Cemetery. 

P.  5- 

„    M.     Near  Mahasna,  Predynastic   Settlement 

(S).  Pp.  5-8. 

„      „      Near     Mahasna,    IVth-XIth     Dynasty 

Necropolis.  Pp.  28-35. 

„     N.     In    Mahasna.      ?VIth-XIth    Dynasty 

Burials.  P.  2. 

„     K.     Near  Bet  Khallaf,  Illrd  Dynasty  Tombs. 

Pp.  8-27. 

To  the  south  of  the  site  lies  the  Bay  of  Abydos, 
the  spur  of  limestone  which  bounds  it  to  the  north 
being  visible  on  the  map.  On  the  north  it  adjoins 
the  scene  of  further  excavation  of  a  Illrd  Dynasty 
necropolis  discovered  in  the  following  season  near 
Reqaqnah — the  results  of  which  are  incorporated  in 
another  volume. 

The  tracing  from  which  this  map  is  prepared  was 


kindly  supplied  for  the  purpose  by  Capt.  Lyons,  from 
the  Survey  Department  of  Public  Works. 

Pl.  II.  The  sites  excavated  at  El  Mahasna  (M) 
and  Bet  Khallaf  (K). 

Site  M.  Position  of  the  tombs  at  El  Mahasna. 
This  plan  shows  on  a  scale  of  1  :  3600,  the  relative 
situation  of  the  500  tombs  to  one  another  (p.  2),  and 
of  the  more  defined  portions  of  the  predynastic 
settlement  to  their  surroundings  (pp.  1,  2,  5).  Only 
those  tombs  are  inserted  which  are  mentioned  in  this 
volume,  as  the  number  was  great  and  the  tombs 
closely  crowded  together,  while  many  of  them  yielded 
no  information  of  present  interest.  The  survey  points 
A,  B,  C,  D,  are  arbitrarily  chosen  in  a  straight  line 
upon  prominent  mounds,  with  the  points  E  and  F  not 
collinear  to  serve  for  a  base  line  when  necessary.  All 
the  tombs  were  inserted  by  plane  table  with  reference 
to  three  base  points. 

Site  K.     Situation  of  the  tombs  at  B£t  Khallaf. 

In  this  map  are  shown,  on  a  scale  of  1  :  15,000, 
the  relative  positions  of  the  five  great  tombs  of  Bet 
Khallaf  with  regard  to  one  another  and  to  the  village 
itself.  The  prominent  contour  lines  are  roughly 
indicated. 

K  1  is  the  tomb  of  Neter-Khet  (p.  8). 

K2  is   the   tomb  of  Hen-Nekht    (or   Sa-Nekht) 

(p.  II)- 

K  3,  K  4,  are  tombs  of  servants  of  Neter-Khet 

(P.  15). 

K  5  is  the  tomb  of  Nezem  Ankh,  Ha  Prince  of 

the  time  of  Neter-Khet. 

K  6  was  an  unfinished  stairway  of  a  tomb. 

Pl.  III.  El  Mahasna.  Dish,  flint  objects  and 
kiln,  predynastic. 

(a).  Two  views  of  four-legged  dish  of  pottery, 
decorated  in  white  lime  with  human  figures,  &c. 
1:2.     L  209.  P.  5. 

{b).  Flint  arrows,  bracelets,  &c,  from  settlement 
(S  1)  and  vicinity  at  Mahasna.     1:3.  P.  7. 

(c).  Clay  models  of  flint  arrows,  figures,  &c.  1  : 4. 
L  209.  P.  5. 

(d).  Kiln  of  firebricks,  with  large  vessel  in  posi- 
tion, from  the  settlement  (S  1).  Two  photographic 
views.  P.  7. 

PL.  IV.     Prehistoric  Settlement  and  Cemetery. 

(a).  Plan  of  Prehistoric  Cemetery  (S  2).  The 
numbers  1-42  are  explained  in  the  letterpress.  The 
survey  points  B  2,  F  2,  are  points  triangulated  with 
B  and  F  in  the  general  plan  on  Pl.  II.,  and  were  used 
as  base  for  plotting  the  objects  found  in  situ.  The 
Settlement  is  named  S  2  to  distinguish  it  from  another 


DESCRIPTION  OF  PLATES. 


37 


portion  (probably  of  the  same)  named  S  I,  being  in 
the  arbitrary  divisions  M  2  and  M  i  respectively  of 
the  whole  site  (PL.  II.).  ■  Pp.  5-8. 

(&).  Graffito  of  giraffe  (1:2)  scratched  in  surface 
of  a  large  polished  pot  (1:14)  from  the  Settle- 
ment. 

(c).  Bone  objects,  pins  (?),  horned  head  and  brace- 
let, tomb  229  of  the  Cemetery  (L). 

(d).  Ivory  bracelet  and  bead  from  tomb  209. 

(e).  Slate  shuttle  (?)  from  tomb  209  (p.  5). 

(/).  Stone  objects  from  tombs  202,  215  and 

(g).  Marks  on  pots  from  the  Cemetery  L. 

Pl.  V.  Flints  and  other  objects  from  Predynastic 
Settlement. 

(a).  Vessel  in  form  of  a  frog  (lower  surface  re- 
flected). P.  6. 

(b).  Mace  heads  and  fragments  of  stone  vases,  &c. 

P.  6. 

(c).  Deposits  of  curious  natural  flints  (a  selection). 

P.  7. 

(d).  Hoes  and  small  knives  of  flint  found  in  the 
Settlement.  Pp.  7,  8. 

(e).  Flint  lance  and  implements  found  in  the 
Settlement.  Pp.  7,  8. 

(/).  Flints  collected  from  the  desert,  at  the  south 
of  the  site.  P.  7. 

PL.  VI.  Bet  Khallaf.  Tomb  of  Neter-Khet. 
Architectural  features. 

(a).  General  view  of  superstructure ;  photograph 
taken  from  the  south-west,  afternoon.  At  the  south 
end  are  some  small  huts  built  by  the  workmen  and  a 
tent,  and  against  the  left  side  some  quantity  of  rubbish 
thrown  out  from  above  during  the  excavation.  The 
scale  is  roughly  1  :  2,000.  P.  8. 

(6).  Archway  in  descending  passage,  scale  ap- 
proximately 1  :  20.  P.  9. 

(c).  West  side  of  the  tomb,  view  from  the  north- 
west, in  course  of  excavation. 

■(d).  South  end  of  the  tomb,  from  south-east,  on 
day  of  arrival. 

(e).  Internal  masonry  of  brick,  showing  the  method 
of  building  in  sections  without  bond.  P.  10. 

(/).  The  necessary  excavation  of  the  internal 
masonry  to  relieve  pressure  from  about  the  mouth 
of  the  shaft  by  which  the  descent  was  made.        P.  10. 

PL.  VII.  Tomb  of  Neter-Khet.  Plan,  with  longi- 
tudinal and  transverse  section  of  superstructure  and 
substructure  combined.  The  letterpress  explains  the 
reference-letters.  It  may  further  be  noted  that  in  the 
plan  those  parts  of  the  structure  which  are  open  to 
the  sky  are  left  blank,  while  those  parts  which  are 


under  masonry  or  below  the  desert  surface  are  indi- 
cated by  a  hatching.  The  section  AB  shows  also  the 
descent  EF  (which  is  not  in  the  section  line,  but 
parallel  to  it),  and  in  a  similar  way  such  features  are 
shown  in  the  section  CD  as  do  not  obscure  the  main 
purpose.  Pp.  8,  9. 

PLS.  VIII.,  IX.,  X.  Sealings  from  the  tombs  of 
Neter-Khet  —  the  impressions  of  cylindrical  seals 
rolled  over  caps  of  hard  mud  placed  upon  the  pottery 
and  stone  vessels.  These  drawings  are  enlarged  from 
the  originals  ;  they  are  as  nearly  as  possible  facsimile, 
but  the  great  difficulty  of  reading  and  arranging  the 
signs  and  groups  from  broken  and  crumbling  frag- 
ments, must  be  an  excuse  for  any  deviation  from  the 
original.  In  many  instances  the  recovery  of  a  single 
sign  involves  the  examination  and  fitting  of  twenty 
or  thirty  pieces.  Pp.  11,  19-24. 

Pl.  XI.  Types  of  alabaster  vases  from  tomb  of 
Neter-Khet,  with  a  small  group  selected  from  the 
adjoining  tomb  K2,  and  including  twelve  vases 
photographed  on  a  larger  scale.  This  selection  was 
made  with  a  view  to  showing  the  forms  typical  of  the 
period.  P.  17. 

PLS.  XII.,  XIII.,  XIV,  contain  scale  diagrams, 
showing  the  true  outline  and  section  of  the  different 
forms  and  varieties  of  stone  vases  from  tomb  K  1, 
pictures  of  which  appear  on  Pl.  XII.  The  series  is 
published  to  a  scale  of  1  :  3,  uniformly  with  similar 
diagrams  in  the  volumes  of  the  Research  Account 
and  Exploration  Fund.  To  some  of  the  forms  the 
name  of  the  material  has  been  tentatively  added  ; 
but  a  more  minute  examination  made  subsequently 
by  and  with  the  help  of  Professor  Miers,  has  shown 
that  the  varieties  of  stone  employed,  though  often 
superficially  alike,  were  more  numerous  than  at  first 
supposed.  Stone  of  igneous  character,  as  granite, 
porphyry,  syenite,  diorite  and  basalt,  is  most  common, 
while  the  aqueous  group  is  represented  chiefly  by 
limestone  in  many  varieties  of  colour  and  quality. 
The  Egyptian  "  alabaster  "  is  to  be  included  herein. 

Pp.  17,  18. 

PL.  XV.  Copper  and  flint  implements  from  tomb 
of  Neter-Khet.  The  copper  implements,  a  selected 
group  of  models  and  serviceable  instruments,  are 
figured  to  a  scale  of  1  : 6  (p.  18),  and  a  group  of  five 
from  a  deposit  in  the  stairway  of  the  tomb  is  shown 
1  : 4.  The  flint  implements  include  two  knives  from 
the  stairway,  shown  with  the  deposit  (K  4)  and  on  a 
larger  scale  (2  :  3)  below  ;  two  crescent-shaped  flints 
(2  :  3)  from  the  burial  chambers,  and  a  large  group  of 
similar  form  (1:5)  from  the  vicinity  of  the  tomb.    The 


38 


DESCRIPTION   OF    PLATES. 


remaining  photograph  shows  some  miscellaneous  flints 
of  paleolithic  character  found  near  the  tomb  (i  :  4). 

P.  18. 

Pl.  XVI.  shows  the  types  of  copper  tools  and 
implements  from  the  tomb  of  Neter-Khet  in  diagram 
outline  to  a  scale  of  1:2.  The  dots  indicate  a 
sharpened  or  cutting  edge.  P.  18. 

PL.  XVII.  Tomb  of  Hen-Nekht.  Architectural 
features.  Six  photographs  illustrating  the  external 
and  internal  construction,  including  two  views  of 
superstructure,  showing  steps  of  the  Mastaba  (p.  1 1). 
Corner  of  descending  passage  (p.  11)  and  external 
chamber  attached  to  the  south  end  of  the  Mastaba, 
with  deposit  of  pottery  (p.  n),  and  two  views  of  drop- 
stone  door  in  position  at  foot  of  descent  to  chambers 
(pp.  11,  16).  Pp.  11,  12. 

PL.  XVIII.  Tomb  of  Hen-Nekht  (Sa-Nekht), 
K  2.  Plan  and  sections.  In  the  plan  the  position  of 
the  underground  chambers  is  indicated  by  a  white 
line  on  the  black  which  denotes  the  superstructure. 
The  sections  show  also  the  positions  of  the  various 
openings,  &c,  along  and  near  the  section  line. 

Pp.  11,  12. 

PL.  XIX.  shows  in  enlarged  form  the  impressions 
of  seals  rolled  on  the  mud  caps  of  jars  from  the  tomb 
K  2.  No.  s  shows  the  restoration  (to  double  seals)  of 
the  fragments  1  to  4,  from  which  is  derived  the  name 
of  this  king  Sa-Nekht  (Professor  Sethe,  p.  24)  or 
Hen  Nekht  (as  read  during  excavation,  p.  11). 

Pp.  24-26. 

PL.  XX.  The  skull  of  Hen-Nekht,  four  views 
(p.  1 3).  Photographs  of  stone  bowls  from  the  tomb 
(pp.  12,  17),  and  a  copper  vessel  (p.  17)  and  flint 
implements  (p.  18). 

PL.  XXI.  The  outlines  and  sections  of  types  of 
stone  bowls  from  tomb  K  2,  produced  as  before  to  a 
scale  of  1  -.3.  Nos.  10,  12,  13,  14  present  features 
found  less  commonly  or  not  at  all  in  the  other  tombs 
of  the  site.  P.  17. 

PL.  XXII.  There  are  here  figured  the  outlines 
and  sections  of  thirteen  selected  "  model "  vases  of 
alabaster.  These  were  for  the  most  part  of  rude 
surface  and  form,  and  not  finished  inside.  Excava- 
tion both  at  this  site  and  in  the  neighbouring  necro- 
polis of  Reqaqnah  and  in  other  sites  of  this  period 
(see,  for  instance,  '  El  Kab,'  Quibell),  has  shown  that 
these  vases  are  characteristic.  The  number  found  in 
the  tomb  of  Neter-Khet  was  great,  being  in  all  eight 
or  nine  hundred  (p.  10),  while  the  number  from  the 
other  tombs  was  almost  proportionate  (p.  17). 

PL.  XXIII.  shows  the  outlines  of  various  imple- 


ments and  fittings  of  copper  from  the  tombs  K  2,  K  4, 
K5.  P.  18. 

Pl.  XXIV.  illustrates  by  photograph  architectural 
features  of  the  tombs  K  3,  the  stairway,  of  K  4,  the  long 
descending  passage,  and  of  K  5,  the  stairway  covered 
by  false  arch  (pp.  14-16).  There  are  also  figured 
some  of  the  vases  of  hard  stone  and  alabaster  (p.  17), 
and  the  flint  and  copper  implements  from  tombs  K  4, 
K5(p.i8). 

Pl.  XXV.  Plans  and  sections  of  the  tombs  K  3, 
K  4,  K  5  (pp.  15,  16).  The  scale  of  K4  is  twice  that 
of  the  other  tombs. 

PL.  XXVI.  Sealings  from  the  tombs  K  3,  K  4, 
K  5  (pp.  26,  27);  Three  fragments  are  from  tomb 
K  3,  one  only  from  K  4,  and  the  remainder,  including 
the  more  perfect  impressions,  7  and  8,  are  from  the 
tomb  of  the  Ha  Prince  Nezm-Ankh. 

Pl.  XXVII.  shows  in  outline  and  section  the 
various  and  varied  types  of  vases  found  in  the  tombs 
K3,  K4,  K5(pp.  15,  17). 

PL.  XXVIII.  The  cursive  ink-written  inscrip- 
tions and  pot  marks,  from  the  tombs  of  the  Illrd 
Dynasty  at  Bet  Khallaf.  P.  27. 

PL.  XXIX.  shows  in  outline  and  section  the 
forms  of  alabaster  tables  of  offerings  from  the  five 
tombs.  P.  17. 

PLS.  XXX.,  XXXI.  Pottery  types  of  the  Illrd 
Dynasty.  In  this  series  is  included  a  representation 
of  each  variety  of  pottery  observed,  in  some  cases  in 
fragmentary  condition,  during  the  excavation.  With 
the  exception  of  type  Nos.  21-26,  the  variations  of 
each  type  within  a  certain  limit  are  not  illustrated. 
The  numbers  of  the  tomb  from  which  the  type  figured 
is  taken,  is  in  each  case  written  at  the  bottom  ;  and 
to  some  examples  a  few  initial  letters,  explained 
under  the  title,  tell  of  the  nature  and  condition  of  the 
ware. 

PL.  XXXII.  El  Mahasna.  Burials,  pottery,  &c. 
The  previous  plates  have  dealt  with  the  predynastic 
and  proto-dynastic  periods.  The  remainder,  from 
XXXII.  to  XLIII.,  illustrate  the  excavation  of  a 
Vlth-XIth  Dynasty  necropolis.  Two  contracted 
burials  of  Vlth-VIIIth  Dynasty,  M  51  (pp.  31,  32), 
M  501  (p.  32).  Stone  tables,  M  336,  and  jamb,  M  41 
(P-  33)-  Pottery  from  tombs  M  349,  432  and  104,  of 
the  IVth-VIth  Dynasty. 

PL.  XXXIII.  Copper  implements,  inscriptions,  &c. 
Two  copper  implements  (p.  34).  Table  of  offerings 
(facsimile),  M  336  (p.  33).  Plan  of  tombs,  M  1,  M  2 
(p.  28).     Inscriptions,  M  336,  M  41  (p.  33). 

PL.  XXXIV.     Gold  pendants,  M  87  (1)  (p.  29), 


DESCRIPTION   OF   PLATES. 


39 


360,  435.  Vases  from  tombs,  M  441  (p.  31),  442 
(p.  31),  70  (p.  29),  420  and  424  (p.  31). 

PLS.  XXXV.,  XXXVI.  Groups  of  stone  vases 
and  alabaster  vessels,  chiefly  illustrating  diagrammatic- 
ally  the  photographs  of  the  previous  plate.  The 
objects  are  numbered  in  sequence,  and  their  tomb 
register  number  is  also  written  at  the  foot  of  each. 

PLS.  XXXVII.,  XXXVIII.  Group  of  vases,  head 
rest,  necklet  jewels,  &c,  from  burial  and  tomb  deposit 
M  107,  photographs  and  diagram.  P.  30. 

Pl.  XXXIX.  Button  seals,  armlets  and  pendants, 
from  various  tombs  at  Mahasna.        Pp.  29-31,  33,  34. 

Pl.  XL.     Outlines  of  copper  mirrors.  P.  34. 


PLS.  XLL,  XLII.  Pottery  types  of  the  Vth-XIth 
Dynasties  from  Mahasna.  These  types  are  designated 
by  letters,  and  the  variations  of  each  type  (the  limit 
being  determined  by  practical  usefulness  of  the  selec- 
tion during  excavation)  are  denoted  by  suffixes.  For 
example,  four  pots  of  type  A  are  shown,  two  from 
the  tomb  150  (2),  and  one  from  each  of  the  tombs  53, 
50.  The  variations  in  form,  which  though  slight  are 
distinct,  are  denoted  by  the  figures  below  the  A,  1-4. 
Thus  the  pot  from  tomb  M  53  falls  into  type  A, being 
variation  No.  3  of  the  average  form.  The  pottery 
was  very  plentiful,  particularly  in  forms  A  to  H. 

PL.  XLIII.    Diagrams  of  burial  types.  Pp.  28-31. 


(     4C    ) 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Abydos i,  4,  17 

Alabaster    .      .       2,  3,  10,  15,  30,  31 
Alawniyeh,  village       ....       1 
„  predynastic  cemetery  at      5 

Amrah,  E1-,  village  ....  16 
Analogies  with  Cretan  designs  .  33 
Ankle,  pendants  on  ....  29 
Anpu-hotep  (P.  N.)     ....     25 

Anubis,  a  tide  of 19 

Arabic  mediaeval  deposit  .      .      .10 

Arch,  false 15 

Archway  (earliest  recorded)    .      .       9 

„       tomb  of  Hen  Nekht.     .     12 

Arrows  of  flint,  barbed      ...       5 

Ary-sen  (P.  N.) 23 

Ashmolean  Museum  .  .  .  .  33 
Axe  of  copper 10 


Balfour,  Mr.     . 
Beads  with  burials . 
Berlin  Museum 
Bersheh,  E1-,  quarries 
Bet  Allam,  village  . 
BSt  KhaUif,  village 
Bird  pendants  . 
Borchardt,  Dr.. 
Bowls  of  hard  stone 
Box,  deposit  in  wooden 
Bracelets  on  burials 
Breccia,  use  of . 
Bricks,  fire- 
Brickwork  of  pit  tombs 
Burial  chambers,  separation 
Burials,  contracted 

„      stuccoed    . 

„      predynastic 

„      Vlth-XIth  Dyns. 

„  undisturbed  . 
Buto,  guardian  of  .  . 
Button-seals      .     .     . 


of 


•      7 
29-32 

4 
23 
i,5 
,3.8 
29 
4 
17 
3i 
30 
10,  17 

7 
28 
16 
32 
32 

5 
28 

9-32 

27 

33 


PAGE 

Cairo  Museum.  .  .  2,  13,  16,  30 
Camelian,  use  of  .  .  .  2,  29-31 
Cartouche,  oval  ....  3,  25 
Castings  of  copper      .      .      .      .     10 

Cave  tomb 1 

Celt,  polished 6 

Chain  of  gold 2 

Chamber,  burial- 3 

Cheops  (royal  name)  ....21 

Chisel  of  copper 18 

Clarendon  Press 33 

Clay  models 7 

Coffin,  decayed  wood  ....  31 
Colour  of  sand  indicative  ...       6 

Column,  fluted 2,  30 

Contracted  burials 32 

Cooking  vessels,  predynastic  . 

Copper  axe 

Copper  implements     .      .15 
Crescent-shaped  flints .      .      . 
Cretan  pictographs 
Crocodile  hide 


Dynasties,  IVth  and  VI  th 
Xlth  .  .  . 
XXVIth     .      . 


PAGE 

I,   2 

2 

4 


34 
11 

33 
6 


Davies,  Mr. 23 

De  Morgan 2 

Den  Setui  (R.  N.)       ....     16 

Dendereh 33 

Department  of  Antiquities 
„  Surveying . 

Deposits,  grouping  of  tomb 
Depression  of  artistic  sense 
Der  at  Bet  Khallaf      .      . 

Diorite 10-31 

Dish,  four-legged 5 

Door-frame  of  glazed  tiles      .      .       4 

Doors  of  stone 3 

Dua-Hor-khenti-pet,      name      of 

vineyard 21 

Dynasties,  1st  and  Ilnd    .      .       2,  28 
„         Illrd    .     .     .    3,  4,  8-27 


•     3° 

8 

34,35 
2 

3 


Egyptian  Research  Account  .      .  1 

Eratosthenes 12 

Evans,  Mr.  A.  J 33 

Fayum,  flints  from 17 

Flint,   arrow-heads    and    models, 

chippings 7 

Flint  implements    .      .     .      .       7,  17 

„     knives 17 

„  saw,  lance  head  ....  8 
Flints,  crescent-shaped      .      .      .11 

„       deposit  of  curious  natural .  7 

Frog,  vase  in  form  of  a     .      .      .  6 

Furniture  of  tomb  M  107.      .      .  30 


Glaze 2,  32 

Gold,  chain  necklet  of  2,  30 

„      pendants  of 29 

Grain  in  sacks 10 

Granaries  of  Neb-ka  (?)...     25 
Graves,  round,  recurrence  of  .      .     28 

Grenfell,  Mr 18 

Griffith,  Mr 21 

"Gun-flint" 18 

Hagios  Onuphrios  deposit      .      .  33 

Handle,  riveted 18 

„        wooden 29 

Hapi-n-maat  (R.  N.)    .      .      .      .  n 

Ha-Prince 3,  16 

Hard  stone  bowls 17 

Head-rest,  fluted  column  ...  2 

Hen  Khet(?),  (R.  N.).      ...  3 


INDEX. 


41 


Hen-Nekht  (R.  N.)     .      .      .      .  3 

„          skull  of 13 

„           stature  of .      .      .      .  12 

„          tomb  of    .     .     .      .  11 

Heny(P.  N.) 33 

Her-Khuf  (P.  N.) 21 

Hierakonpolis,  "  guardian  of "      .  27 
Hieroglyphs  as  pendants  .      .      -29 

Hoes  of  flint 7 

Horakhti,  the  god 22 

Horus,  the  god 21 

Hotep  (uy)  n  (P.  N.)  .      .      .      .23 

Hunt,  Mr. 17 


Ilg,  village 

Implements  of  copper  and  flint 
„  from  Mahasna     . 

Inscribed  objects  from  Mahasna 
Inscription  between  names 
Inscriptions,  remarks  on  the  . 
Ivory,  polished,  use  of 


1 
18 
34 
33 
19 
19 
28 


Jars  for  wine 10 

Jewelry,  scraps  of 12 

Kha-sekhemui  (R.  N.)       .      .     21,  23 

Khnum,  the  god 21 

Kiln,  pottery 7 

Knife,  shell- 31 

Knives  of  flint 17 

Lance,  forked  flint 8 

Mahasna,  village 1,  2 

„        cemetery  at.      .      .      .28 

Manetho 12 

Mariette 21 

Maslahet  Harun     .      .      .      .       1,  28 

Maspero,  M 21 

Mastaba 3 

Memphis 22,  27 

Mery-ab  (P.  N.) 26 

Meten,  tomb  of 23 

Minutoli 4 

Mirrors 29,  30,  32 

Model  vases  of  alabaster  .      .      .      10 

Models  in  clay 7 

„        copper 18 

Mud,  Nile,  prepared  as  cement   10,  32 
Mummy 4 


PAGE 

Museum,  Ashmolean  33 

„        Berlin 4 

„  Cairo  .  .  2,  13,  16,  30 
„        Pitt-Rivers    .      .      .      .  7,  8 

Myers,  Dr.  C.  S.    .      .      .     12,  15,  32 

Ne-ankh-Sekhemt  (P.  N.)       .      .     23 
Neb-Ka  (R.  N.)     .      .      .      .     24,  25 

Necklaces 29 

Necklet,  gold  chain     ...       2,  30 
Necropolis  of  IHrd  Dynasty  .      .       4 
Needle .      .      .      ...      .      .      .31 

Nefer-Ka-Ra  (R.  N.)  .      .      .      .     25 

Ne-Maat-Hap  (R.  N.) .      ...     22 

Neqada 27 

Neru-taui,  favourite  of.      .      .      .     19 
Neter-Khet  (R.  N.)     .      .      .  3,  4,  19 
„  tomb  of    ...      .       8 

Nezem-Ankh  (P.  N.)   .      .      .      .      16 
Nez-neteru  (P.  N.)      .      .      .      .     20 

Nile  mud 3,  10,  32 

Nomes,  western 22 

Oasis,  reference  to 33 

Official  sealings 19 

Ombos,  Set  of 19 

Ornaments  of  burials  .      .      .     29-32 
Orthognathous,  face  of  Hen-Nekht     13 


Palermo  Stone,  the      ....  20 

Patterns  on  seals 33 

Peh-er-nefert  (P.  N.)    .      .      .      .  21 

Pendants  of  earn elian  and  gold    .  29 

Per-ab-sen  (R.  N.) 23 

Petrie,  Professor    .      .      .      .       7,  17 

Pictographs,  Cretan     ....  33 

Pit-tombs 28 

Pitt-Rivers  Museum    .      .      .      .  7,  8 

Plunderers 3 

Plundering,  methods  of     .      .      .  16 

Polished  pottery 2 

Porphyry 10 

Pottery 18 

Priest,  official  seal  of  .      .      .      .  19 

Prince,  Ha- 3,  14 

Private  sealings 19 

Private  tombs  of  IHrd  Dynasty  .  14 

Protective  construction  of  tombs  .  17 

Ptolemaic  period 4 

Pyramid  age 3 

Pyramid,  step-,  at  Saqqara      .      .  3,  4 


PAGE 

Qa-sen  (P.  N.) 16 

Quibell,  Mr 17 

Ra,  sun  god 21 

Ra-Khuf  (P.  N.) 21 

Rain,  help  of 1 

Randall-Maclver,  Mr. .  .  .  .16 
Reqaqnah,  village  ....       9,  15 

Research  Account 1 

Rivet  in  handle 18 

Robbery,  tomb-,  precautions  against    4 

Roman  plunderers 3,  9 

Rope  pattern  on  vase  .  .  .  .  17 
Royal  title  of  Neter-Khet.  .  .  19 
Rudet  (P.  N.) 27 

Sa-ef(P.  N.)     .     .     .     .     .     .     27 

Sa-Nekht  (Hen-Nekht)      .      .       3,  11 
„        identity  of    .      .      .      .     24 

Saqqara,  step  pyramid,  door  .      .     19 

Sayce,  Professor 12 

Sealings  of  Neter-Khet      .      .      .19 

„       of  Sa-  (or  Hen-)  Nekht    .     24 

Seals,  button 2 

„     impressed  on  mud  .      .     10,  15 
Sebetyu-hezu  (Memphis)   .      .      .27 

Sehel,  stele  at 19 

Sekhmet,  the  god 26 

Sen  (?) -pu,  town  name  .  .  .22 
Sequence  dates,  predynastic    .      .       5 

Sergi     .      .' I3 

Set  of  Ombos 19 

Sethe,  Professor  .  .  .  .  3,  19 
Settlement,  predynastic     .      .      .   1,  5 

Shell-knife 31 

Skeletons  from  Mahasna  .  .  .32 
Skull  of  Hen-Nekht     .      .      .      .     i3 

„    from  tomb  K  3  .      .      .      .     15 

Snefru  (R.  N.) 23 

Spatula 31 

Spider  pattern 33 

Spouts  to  vessels 17 

Stairway,  concealed     ....       3 

Steatite,  use  of 10,  31 

Stele,  broken 10 

Step  pyramid 3,  4 

Steps,  construction  in  .      .      .      .     n 

Stone  doors 3,  9 

Structure  in  sections    ....       9 

Stuccoed  burials 32 

n         walls I4 

Syenite,  bowls  of 17 

Symmetry  in  design     •      ■      •      •     33 

G 


INDEX. 


FAGE 

Tables  of  alabaster  .  .  .  10,17 
This  (ancient  Thinis)  ....       4 

Thompson,  Mr. 22 

Thyes  (P.  N.) 33 

Tomb  construction,  development  in  16 
Tomb  of  1st  Dynasty  ....  28 
Tomb-deposits,  grouping  of  .  34,  35 
Tradition,  growth  of    ...      .       4 

Tweezers 31 

Types    of    bowls,    distinguishing 


PAGE 


Up-uat,  jackal  god 19 

Ut,  "he  of  the  town  of"  ...     19 


Vase  in  form  of  frog    . 

Vases  of  alabaster  .      .    10,15, 

Vessels  for  cooking  purposes  . 

„       of  alabaster 
Vineyard  of  Neter-Khet    . 


-9 


6 

3i 
6 

17 
21 


features 17     Voussoirs 12 


PAGE 

Wattle  and  daub,  construction  in    1,6,7 

Western  nomes 22 

Whorls,  spinning 6 

Wilkin,  the  late  Mr.  A.      .      .      .      16 

Wine  jars 10 

Wrist,  pendants  on      ....     30 

Zeser  (R.  N.) 19 

„      vineyard  of 21 

„      parentage  of      ....     23 


LONDON:    PRINTED  BY  WJJ.    CLOWES  AND  SONS,   LIMITED,    DUKE  STREET,   STAMFORD  STREET,   S.E.,   AND  GREAT  WINDMILL  STREET,   W. 


1:60,000       EL  MAHASNA  AND  BET  KHALLAF.     THE  DISTRICT  EXPLORED,  SEASON  1900-1901.         I. 


THE  SITES  EXCAVATED  AT  EL  MAHASNA  (M)   AND   BET   KHALLAF  (K). 


II. 


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1:15,000    SITUATION  OF  THE  TOMBS  AT  BET  KHALLAF. 


EL  MAHASNA.       DISH,   FLINT  OBJECTS  AND   KILN;   PRE-DYNASTIC. 


III. 


FLINT    ARROWS.   BRACELETS,  &c. 


S  d) 


N4  CLAY    MODELS    OF    FLINT    ARROWS.   FIGURES.  *0.  L2C 


KILN    OF    FIRE-BRICKS    WITH    MASUR    IN    POSITION.     FROM    SETTLEMENT    S   (i.) 


EL  MAHASNA.       PREHISTORIC  SETTLEMENT  AND  CEMETERY. 


IV. 


PREHISTORIC  SETTLEMENT,  S2                 -#s* 

IN   SITE   M2   AT   MAHASNA. 

1:600   B2.F2,  SURVEY  POINTS  IN  GENERAL  PLAN 

1.    MAOUR 

2,  3.  4,  10,  II,  12,  18,  20,  21,  22,  23,  27,  28,  34.    DOMESTIC    POTS. 

18,  14,  15,  16,  IT,  19.  24,  25,  26,  29.  30,  31,  32,  S3,  35,  WOODEN    PILES. 

40,  41,  42,  CIRCULAR   MUD   RECEPTACLES    ?  POT  STANDS. 

.* 

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1:600    PLAN    OF    PREHISTORIC   SETTLEMENT,  S2 


1  :  2     SLATE    PALETTES,  OBJECTS   OF    BONE    AND    IVORY,  AND    MARKS   ON    POTS    FROM    CEMETERY    L 


EL  MAHASNA.      FLINTS   AND  OTHER  OBJECTS   FROM    PREDYNASTIC  SETTLEMENT.  V. 


VESSEL    IN    FORM    OF    A    FROG. 
Lower  surface  reflected. 


S(i-) 


MACE-HEADS    AND    FRAGMENTS 


S  (I.) 


i:4 


DEPOSIT    OF   CURIOUS    NATURAL    FLINTS  S(i)  1  ! 5  HOES    AND    SMALL    KNIVES    OF    FLINT.  S  U./ 


1:3  FLINTS    COLLECTED    FROM    THE    DESERT.  S  Hi.)  1:3 


FLINT    LANCE    AND    IMPLEMENTS. 


Sft-; 


BET  KHALLAF.      TOMB  OF  NETER-KHET:  ARCHITECTURAL  FEATURES. 


VI. 


GENERAL    VIEW    OF   SUPERSTRUCTURE. 


ARCHWAY    IN    DESCENDING    PASSAGE. 


3*2 


%■« 


WEST    SIDE    OF   THE    TOMB. 


SOUTH    END    OF   THE    TOMB. 


!,  i 


INTERNAL    MASONRY. 


EXCAVATION    OF    THE    TOMB. 


480 


BET   KHALLAF.       TOMB    OF    NETER-KHET. 


VII. 


PLAN 


SCALE  OF   100   FEET 


SECTION    A.B. 


BEFEHENCES. 


SECTION   CD. 


A  B,C  D      SECTION    LINES 

E      TOP  OF  STAIRWAY,  BROKEN    AWAY 

EFG      OESCENOINO  STAIRWAY 

G      STAIRWAY    PASSES  SOUTH    UNDER   ARCH 

M~H    SHAFTS  FOR   LOWERING  PORTCULLIS  STONES 

K  K      WELLS   FOR   OFFERINGS 

L      SLOPED  WAY   OF   ACCESS 

F  G      STAIRS    FILLED  WITH   OFFERINGS 

ab      RECESSES   FOR   OFFERINGS 

0      RECESS   USED    BY   PLUNDERERS 

d      GUIDE    FOR   PORTCULLIS   STCNE 

O  e      PASSAGE    DESCENDING  UNDERGROUND 

f     LARGE    STONE-WALLED  CHAMBER 

g     GALLERY    STORED   WITH   GHAIN    IN   SACKS 

k      CHAMBERS   FILLED   WITH   VESSELS  OF  OFFERINGS 

m  n  p      CHAMBERS   FOR  OFFERINGS 

S      r-M&unta    IN    WHirH    WAfi   KFALINd  OF    PER-AB-BEN 


3:  2 


BET  KHALLAF.        SEALINGS  FROM  TOMB  OF  NETER-KHET,   K1. 


VIII 


3(o) 


^ 


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4:3 


BET  KHALLAF,   K1:  SEALINGS    FROM    TOMB   OF   NETER-KHET  («). 


IX. 


1 


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BET  KHALLAF.  K1.    TOMB  OF  NETER-KHET:  TYPES  OF  ALABASTER  VESSELS,  lllRD  DYN.       XI. 


TYPICAL    GROUP. 


SELECTED    GROUP. 


1;3 


ALABASTER    DISH. 


K.1  1:4 


STONE    BOWLS. 


ALABASTER   VESSELS 


STONE    BOWLS. 


1=3       •      BET  KHALLAF:  TOMB  OF  NETER-KHET.    TYPES  OF  STONE  BOWLS,  MlRD  DYN.,  K  1.  XII. 

1  3 


PORPHYRY 


SYENITE 


v--.. 


PORPHYRY 


PORPHYRY 


SYENITE 


SYENITE 


PORPHYRY 


PORPHYRV 


12 


SYENITE 


11 


PORPHYRY 


FINE    SYENITE 


13 


LARGE  CRYSTALS 
SYENITE 


14 


15 


17 


SYENITE 


PORPHYRY 


19 


18 


BRECCIA 


1:3     BET   KHALLAF:  TOMB  OF  NETER-KHET.     TYPES  OF  ALABASTER  VASES.   IIIRD  DYN.  XIII. 

1 


VAS/s-sssss'/s's'//; 


K1 


13 


K  2 


:3    BET   KHALLAF:  TOMB  OF  NETER-KHET.    TYPES  OF  ALABASTER  VESSELS  (CTD.)  IIIRD  DYN.       XIV. 


15 


16 


17 


18 


20 


21 


23 


25 


24 


BET  KHALLAF,  K1.      COPPER  AND  FLINT   IMPLEMENTS   FROM  TOMB  OF  NETER-KHET.        XV. 


i:«        SELECTED   TYPES    OF   COPPER    IMPLEMENTS. 


1:4  DEPOSIT    OF   COPPER    AND    FLINT    IMPLEMENTS. 


^~  &*&  y^.  ^? 


v*  v 


FLINTS    FROM    VICINITY    OF    TOMB. 


2  =  3  FLINT    KNIVES    AND    CRESCENT    FLINTS    FROM    TOMB. 


FLINTS    FROM    DESERT    NEAR    TOMB 


1:2  BET   KHALLAR      COPPER  TOOLS  AND   IMPLEMENTS  FROM  TOMB  OF  NETER-KHET.  XVI. 


10 


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12 


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BET    KHALLAF.       TOMB   OF    HEN-NEKHT:    ARCHITECTURAL    FEATURES. 


XVII. 


TWO    VIEWS    OF    SUPERSTRUCTURE,  SHOWING    STEPS    OF   THE    MASTABA. 


MMiHH^^H 


CORNER    OF    DESCENDING    PASSAGE. 


EXTERNAL    CHAMBER    WITH    DEPOSIT. 


«' 


PORTCULLIS-STONE    IN    POSITION 


AT    FOOT    OF    DESCENT   TO    CHAMBERS. 


1  :480 


BET  KHALLAF:  TOMB  OF  HEN-NEKHT,   K2.      PLAN    AND   SECTIONS.       XVIII. 


PLAN 


Low  Platform  of  Britk 


Low  Platform  of  Brick 


UO )W 


SCALE  OF  IOO  FEET 


SECTION    A.B. 


Detert  Gravel 


Ji    • -l»i       j   ■      i    I       I  :  t  J,  !>• 


SECTION    CD. 


ARCHWAY    AT    K 


>.Ji.  'M»  ■*.      I- 


Desert  Gravel 


Desert  Gravel 


*Mr- 


3:2 


BET   KHALLAF:  SEALINGS    FROM    TOMB    OF    HEN-NEKHT,    K2. 


XIX. 


*       JfrV 


BET   KHALLAF.       TOMB  OF  KING   HEN-NEKHT:  SKULL,  VESSELS   AND   IMPLEMENTS.        XX. 


THE    SKULL    OF    NETER-KHET    IN    FOUR    POSITIONS. 


BOWL    OF    STEATITE. 


VEINED    ALABASTER 


ALABASTER 


2:3         FLINTS    AND    WOOD    HANDLE. 


i:3  COPPER    VESSEL. 


1:3  ALABASTER    VESSEL 


1  :3    BET  KHALLAF:  TOMB  OF  HEN-NEKHT.    TYPES  OF  ALABASTER  VESSELS,  lllRD  DYN.,  K  2.  XXI 

1 


to 


12 


SI 


14 


1:3  BET  KHALLAF:   MODEL  CYLINDRICAL  VASES  OF  ALABASTER,   lllRD   DYNASTY. 

[TYPES   SELECTED    FROM    TOMB    K2], 


XXII. 


e 


7         CS 


V 


T 


10 


c 


12 


1:2     BET  KHALLAF.    COPPER  IMPLEMENTS  AND  FITTINGS  FROM  TOMB  OF  HEN-NEKHT.  K  2.      XXIII. 

[TWO  CHISELS,  K4-:  SAW-MODEL,  K5]. 


% 


13 


27 


9 


28 


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29 


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15 


25 


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16 


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34 


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36 


37 


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38 


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BET   KHALLAF.       TOMBS   K  3.    K4,   AND   K5  (OF  THE   HA-PRINCE). 


XXIV. 


mm 


STAIRWAY    OF    TOMB 


STAIRWAY    WITH    FALSE    ARCH. 


PASSAGE    DESCENDING    TO    CHAMBERS.         K4 


TWO   STONE    VASES. 


GROUP    OF    ALABASTER    VESSELS. 


K4 


VASES    OF    STONE    AND    ALABASTER. 


2:3  COPPER    AND    FLINT    IMPLEMENTS.  KS 


BET  KHALLAF:  TOMBS   K  3.   K4   AND    K5.      PLANS    AND    SECTIONS. 


XXV 


K4,    PLAN 


1:480 


o .♦  ic 


K  3,    PLAN 


SCALE   OF   IOO   FEET 


SECTION    A.B. 


Desert  Gravel 


TftpffiS^gj,-'.;  t  J% 


ws^g&r*1***  onr*"- 


Desert  Gravel 


1  I  240 


«.y«f 


SCALE    OF  50  FEET 


SECTION    A.B. 


Desert  Gravel 


ws^~'-'-?'y-'-/~r'y-''^/'\'''*'. 


% 


:v2£. 


-_■- .     '-     ,'*  --..',■ 


Desert  Gravel 


1:480 


K5.   TOMB   OF   THE    HA    PRINCE 
PLAN 


SCALE  OF   IOO  FEET 


SECTION    A.B. 


-*—:;■.: -**.--ii»v^y--  -  v 


Desert  Gravel 


3:  2 


BET   KHALLAF:  SEALINGS    FROM    TOMBS    K3,   K4.  K5. 


XXVI. 


.     3 


/V-3. 


— -O 


n 


oo 


W 


r\    s\s 


-**=w 


no 


x*. 


A"-5- 


L 

n 

A 


ft 


:f  :;  |  II 


\7         t7 


//"■ 


l 


1«3     BET  KHALLAF:  TOMB  OF  THE  HA  PRINCE.    TYPES  OF  STONE  VESSELS,  IIIRD  DYN.,  K  5.      XXVII. 

TYPES  OF  ALABASTER   VESSELS   FROM   TOMBS   K  3,    K  4. 


SYENITE 


WHITE    8YENITE 


S 


ALABASTER 


SYENITE 


ALABASTER 


^T 


IX 


KB 


FIVE    ALABASTER    VASES   FROM    TOMB    K4. 

10  (      ■  j     11 


v^ 


12 


14 


K3,    FRAGMENT   OF   LARGE    ALABASTER   VESSEL. 


K  S 


C 


r^=f  T 


13 


J 


K  5.  BASE  OF  LARGE  ALABASTFP  iao 


4:3     BET  KHALLAF:  CURSIVE   INSCRIPTIONS  WRITTEN  IN  INK,  AND  POT  MARKS.  IIIrd  DYN.     XXVIII. 


\^&^ 


ox  a 


O 


X   / 


> 


^V       POT 


POTTERY     FRAGMENT 


fir  ^0 


a 


FRAGMENTS     OF     POTTERY 


ALABASTER     BOWL 


1—7,  CURSIVE   INSCRIPTIONS   FROM    TOMB   K1 


&       1 

4 


12 


9 


14 


£ 


11 


13 


9-15,  FRAGMENTS   OF   ALABASTER    TABLE,  K3 


17 


K  1  ^ 


•  •  • 


24- 


K  6 


¥ 


•»  %  • 


£1" 


at 


21 


POT 


c 


(r 


8,  POT    FROM    TOMB    K2 


Q 


16 


ill 

n 

% 

.«*.. 
* 

TT 

16,  ALABASTER    TABLE,   K5 

\ 


28 


26 


25 

O        K' 
17—28,    MARKS   ON    POTTERY,   TOMBS    KI,  K5 


27 


Kf 


1:3  BET  KHALLAF:  ALABASTER  TABLES  OF  OFFERINGS,  TOMBS   K  1-K5,   lllRD   DYN.  XXIX. 


Li 


Kt 


K1 


K  B 


^: 


37 


^z 


Z? 


Ki 


K  1 


1  :6 


BET  KHALLAF:  POTTERY  TYPES  OF  THE  |„RD  DYNASTY.  TOMBS  Kl,  2  5 

1*0* :  i  is  dull;  p>polished;  r,  rough;  s>  smooth;  H  Uack;  br>  ^^  ^  ^iow;  ^  ^ 


XXX. 


P,  rd. 


d,  rd. 


d,  rd. 


\ 


d,yl. 


d,  rd. 


K2. 


d.yl. 


P,  rd 


P,  rd. 


K-s: 


r,  d,  br. 


M-2. 


r,  d,  br. 


d,  yl-br. 


11 


s,  bl 


12 


*•/. 


g    13 


d,  r,  br. 


Hi, 


*,  yl- 


d,  rd. 


rr 


17 


d,  r,  br. 


d,  rd. 


d,  rd 


K2, 


1  :  6    BET  KHALLAF:  POTTERY  TYPES  OF  THE  IIIrd  DYNASTY  (Ctd.)  TOMBS  K1,  2,  3,  5. 

[Notes:  d  is  dull;  p,  polished;  r,  rough;  S,  smooth;  br,  brown,  yl,  yellow:  rd.  red]. 


XXXI. 


K-r. 


KS. 


«■/ 


Nos.  21-26,  of  smooth  surface,  and  yellow-brown  colour. 
28 


p,  br. 


d,  br. 


H-S. 


30 


d,  r,  br. 


t-f 


d,  r,  rd. 


d,  r,  rd 


d,  r,  br. 


d,  r,  br. 


d,r,  br. 


EL   MAHASNA.        BURIALS,    POTTERY,   &c. 


XXXII. 


POLISHED    RED    POTTERY. 


M10*  1:2     ANOTHER  VIEW  OF  POT.  SHOWING  STUDS   IN  THE   NECK.    M1Q4 


1:3  EL  MAHASNA.       COPPER   IMPLEMENTS,   INSCRIPTIONS,   &C,  VlTH-XlTH 


XXXIII. 


• 


M  347 
1:3    TWO  COPPER  IMPLEMENTS,  131-347 


y  i 


GROUP  OF   COPPER    IMPLEMENTS,  349 

IVORY    FITTING,  M1 


<?: 


N. 


& 


WOODEN    HEAD-REST    IN    FORM    OF   A    LION 


gsagdv-1  J  i-^;-  ■  ■'ag-*«g  ^J-l'-Ty  -  :■■  ■; "- 


l2§ 


ItSOO    PLAN    OF   TOMB,  M2 


^ 


1:6   TABLE   OF   OFFERINGS,  M  336 


t:300    PLAN   OF  TOMB    Ml 


TWO  POTTER'S  MARKS 


I 


j%*j*  *.-tm*$.  flTfi 


4       ~~ 


1 


1:3  INSCRIPTIONS   ON    THE   ABOVE    TABLE,    M  336 

*{+■£ /*Tf  AA~* 


INSCRIPTION,    M41 


EL  MAHASNA.      GOLD   PENDANTS.    VESSELS  OF  ALABASTER  AND   HARD  STONES.     XXXIV. 


81, 


to 


» 

tf  * 


1  I  3  441 


DIORITE    AND    STEATITE. 


443  1=3         441 


1  I  3  424 


1  :  3 


EL  MAHASNA.       GROUPS  OF  STONE  VASES  AND  ALABASTER  VESSELS: 
TOMB  DEPOSITS  OF  IVth-VIth  DYNS. 


XXXV. 


t^l(H-) 


tt'Ci)- 


WW 


PORPHYRY  Ittt. 


14K0 


DIORITE 


lO 


l*-7*fii.. 


DIORITE 


12 


13 


ft  I.     IGNEOUS 


Ml-    SLATE 


GREY    LIMESTONE  338. 
19 


*/■     ALABASTER 


1:3 


EL  MAHASNA.       ALABASTER  VESSELS  OF  THE  IVth-VIth  DYNASTIES. 


XXXVI. 


J   1 


I 


'tis 


//*. 


*7*rw 


:    H 


He/x) 


To.  7* 

17  < ]     18  1» 


47«n/ 


W. 


>-*«W 


29 


23 


24 


26 


26 


28 


EL    MAHASNA.       TOMB    DEPOSIT    FROM    BURIAL    M  107,    IV    V    DYN. 


XXXVII. 


:5     GROUP    OF    ALABASTER    VESSELS    AND    HEAD-REST,   COPPER    MIRROR.  &C 


1:3  EL  MAHASNA:  TOMB    GROUP   OF   ALABASTER    VASES    107. 

1  2 


13 


12 


14- 


^  -^ 


EL   MAHASNA.        BUTTON-SEALS,    AMULETS    AND    PENDANTS. 


XXXIX. 


BUTTON-SEALS. 


IMPRESSIONS    OF   THE    SEALS. 


AMULETS    AND    PENDANTS    OF    CARNELIAN,  &0 


1:2  AMULETS    OF    GLAZE.  &c 


3      EL  MAHASNA.      COPPER   MIRRORS  OF  THE  OLD   KINGDOM   AND   SUBSEQUENT   PERIOD. 


1  :  6 


EL    MAHASNA.        POTTERY   TYPES   OF   Vth-XIth    DYNASTIES. 


XLI. 


/srofrj. 


37* 


120. 


K. 

33 


?74 (*1 


w 


37H'l 


1:6 


EL   MAHASNA.       POTTERY  TYPES   OF   Vth-XIth   DYNASTIES  (Ctd.). 


XLII. 


*n 


36s; 


14? 


1  :27 


EL  MAHASNA.       DIAGRAMS    OF   BURIAL   TYPES. 


XLIII. 


G>k 


M70 


-      3 


I 


M  100 


<*■<* 


.      AvV,-..,\(k,VlvV,AAvV 


M114 


I 

! 


I 


_      i-  \ 

1' 


f 

M349 


W\N  *  X  NX  vXX\x\  W* 


M  336 


M421 


M4-24 


M401 


\\\\\\\\ 


W^^hvv^Vv^^ 


I" 

i 

I 

i 
I 


( 


13 


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