Saqqara Mastabas [1]

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EGYPTIAN RESEARCH ACCOUNT TENTH YEAR 1904

SAQQARA MASTABAS PART

I

BY

MARGARET WITH DRAWINGS BY

F.

MURRAY

A.

HANSARD AND

J.

MOTHERSOLE;

AND

GUROB •

BY

L LOAT,

F.Z.S.

LONDON

BERNARD QUARITCH,

15,

1905

PICCADILLY, W.

'/

\

EGYPTIAN RESEARCH ACCOUNT TENTH YEAR 1904

SAOOARA MASTABAS PART

I

^^^s^^-^^^' BY

MARGARET

A.

MURRAY

LONDON

BERNARD QUARITCH, 1905

15,

PICCADILLY.

W

.1372

f:

3e>

TO

.20

/

^

LONDON PRINTED BY GILBERT AND RIVINGTON LTD., ST. JOHN'S HOUSE, Cl.KRKEN WELL,, E.G.

/O

EGYPTIAN RESEARCH ACCOUNT. ©cneral Committee.

Lord Avebury,

D.C.L., F.R.S., &t.

Sir

Walter Baily. Henry Balfour. Rt. Hon. James Bryce, D.C.L., J.

Edward Clodd. fW. E. Crum. Prof. Boyd Dawkins,

*J. G.

Milne, M.A.

Sir Colin Scott Moncrieff, K.C.M.G.

Prof. Montague.

F.R.S.

Walter Morrison. Dr. Page May. Prof. H. F. Pelham, F.B.A., F.S.A.

Dr. Gregory Foster.

Dr. Pinches.

G. Eraser.

Alan Gardiner.

Dr. G.

Percy Gardner,

W. Pkothero,

Litt.D., F.B.A.,

LL.D.

William Richmond, R.A. W. Ridgeway, F.B.A. Mrs. Strong, LL.D. Sir

Prof. F.

F.S.A.

George

T. Goldie,

KC.M.G.

Prof. Gowland, V.P.S.A.

fMRS. Tirard.

Mrs. J. R. Green. Dr. a. C. Haddon, F.R.S.

fE.

Jesse

Litt.D.,

F.B.A.

*tPROF. Ernest Gardner.

Rt. Hon. Sir

F.S.-A.

Prof. Mahaffy, D.D., D.C.L., &c.

*MlSS ECKENSTEIN.

Prop-.

[Chainiian).

W. Macan.

Dr. R.

Prof. S. Dill, Litt.D.

J.

Robert Hensley

Sir Richard Jebb, O.M., D.C.L., .M.P.

tPROF. Macalister, F.R.S.,

.\I.P.

B. Bury, LL.D., Litt.D.

*tS0MERS Cl.^rke, F.S.A.

Dr.

F.R.S.

Dr. a. C. Headlam. *SiR

Prof. T. G. Bonney, LL.D., F.R.S., F.S.A. Prof.

Henry H. Howorth, K.C.LE.,

fSiR

Ha worth.

TowRY Whyte,

M.A., F.S.A.

Charles Wilson,

K.C.B.,

F.R.S.

CCrcasurer.

*tF. G. Hilton Price, Director of the Society of Antiquaries.

Sicector.

Prof. Flinders Petkie, D.C.L., F.R.S., F.B.A., &c.

IbonocarB Secretaries.

Mrs. H. F. Pktrie *Dr.

J.

H.

Walker

* Executive Committee.

» )

University College,

Gower

Street,

London, W.C. t Also on Exploration

Fund

Committee.

D.C.L.,

CONTENTS CHAPTER

PAGE I.

......

SECT. 1.

Introductory

2.

Description of cemetery and of work

CHAPTER

.

The West Wall, south

side of stele

PAGE

17.

I

18.

,,

,,

,,

the south side

I

ig.

,,

,,

,,

the north side

H.

9 9 10

....

20.

South, East, and North Walls

10

21.

Outer Walls Construction of tomb

10

22.

10

.

Steles of Seker-kha-bau and Hathor-

CHAPTER

nefer-hetep.

VII.

Tomb of Ptahhetep

3.

Seker-kha-bau

4.

Hathor-nefer-hetep

.

.

.

II.

.

.

tomb 24 Painted chamber 25 Chamber B 26 Chamber C

23

II

Description of

II

.

CHAPTER Tomb

HI.

of the Sheikh-el-Beled.

tomb

5.

Description of

6.

The

7.

Construction of tomb

.

and table of

statues

.

.

.

.

offerings

.

.

CHAPTER

4

tomb

Description of

g.

Construction of tomb

5

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

11.

Use of

Entrance.

I.

13.

and

.

CHAPTER

30

Farm-women and

Ptahhetep and

his son

13 13 their

iffer

.

31

The upper

register

14

32

15

33

East Wall P""arm-w omen North Wall. and their offerings

34

The upper

.

.

.

7

.

17 17 17

VIII.

Tomb of Ateta.

6 .

.

.

CHAPTER

6

.

17

..... .

15 16

register

Doorways

5

Portico and chambers

Construction of tomb

29

Dwarf animals

12

Stele

South Wall.

Chambers D and E 37 Fragments 38 Construction of tcmb

Stele

Portico and chambers

plaster

12. Ptahhettp-desher.

The

35 36

V.

Ptahhetep-desher. I.

27 28

14

Double Tomb of Ptahhetep Ptalihetep

12

IV.

CHAPTER

10.

.

4

...

Tomb of Ka-em-hest. 8.

.

12

tomb Construction of tomb

3g. Description of

18

40.

19

VI.

CHAPTER

Tomb of Sekhemka.

IX.

Tomb of User-neter. 14.

Description of tomb

15.

The West Wall

16.

,,

„

„

.

.

.

north side of stele

.

.

41.

Description of

42.

Chamber A

.

tomb

19

19

CONTENTS.

VI

Chamber

A.

44-

"

"

45-

))

"

4647.

48.

49. 50.

CHAPTER

AGE

SECT.

43.

The

19 20

South Wall East Wall North Wall

»

,,

Stele

21

Doorway Chamber B Chambers C and D Construction of tomb .

Miscellaneous Objects and Inscriptions. I'AGE

SECT.

22

62. Stele

23

63.

^3

64.

......

Coptic remains J,

By W^

Inscription.

24

CHAPTER

X.

Tomb of Ptahshepses

53. 54.

Construction of tomb

I.

24

Stele

25

decoration of the Walls

25 25

.

Hj'aenas

65.

Lotus Papyrus Sacred oils and perfumes

67. 68.

6g. Lists of offerings

55 56 57'

58 59.

....

Description of Stele

tomb

South Wall North Wall Outer Walls and doorway .

.

60. Architrave 61.

Construction of tomb

.

II.

26

.

71.

List of Seker-kha-bau List of Hathor-nefer-hetep

72.

Lists of

XI.

Tomb of Ptahshepses

....

65.

70.

CHAPTER

XIII.

Offerings.

tomb

The The

52.

E. Cruin

23

CHAPTER

51. Description of

XII.

Vth Dynasty

.

.

.

28 28 29

LIST OF PLATES. PLATE I.

II.

III.

Stele of

Sekerkhabau

Stele of Hathor-nefer-hetep

Inscriptions

Ka-em-hest,

of

khun, Sheikh-el-Beled IV. Inscriptions of Ptahhetep

V. Stele of Ptahhetep

I

.

VI. Ptahhetep-desher

VII.

.

I .

.

4,

35

.

•

.

.

6

.

•

II.

Stele

.

South Wall

14 ,,

,,

„

East Wall. North Wall

,,

,,

Akhet-hetep.

,,

,,

Doorways

,,

,,

,,

,,

XII.

woman XIV. XV. XVI.

7

29 12 13

X.

XIII.

6,

8,

IX.

XI.

4> 5

.6

.

Sekhemka

VIII. Ptahhetep

32

Ptah-

.

.

3,

•

.

.

15 15

Farm-

.

.

.

.

13, 16 •

17

Chamber. II, 12 N.S.W. Walls Chamber. Painted .11 E. Wall Doorways. Altar. Painted

.

XVII.

,,

,,

Fragrhents

XVIII. Ateta.

12, 15, 17

19

Stele

XIX. Statue ,, XX. User-neter. Stele

19 .

.

.

-19

SAQQAEA MASTABAS PART CHAPTER

I

House, and to Prof.

I.

Kurt

Sethe for his valuable

translations, to be issued later; also to Miss

INTRODUCTORY.

Slater for help in finishing

Our work during the winter of 1903-4 lay at Saqqara for, owing to two lady artists having 1,

;

volunteered to join the

partj-, Prof. Petrie

obtained

and copy some of the many sculptured tombs which were excavated by

for us permission

to clear

middle

Mariette about the

19th century.

of the

some

Phoebe

of the drawings,

and to Mr. R. A. Yule for his assistance in drawing the plans. It is due entirely to Mrs. Petrie's sugges-

made a

of the colours of the hiero-

tion that

I

glyphs

these early tombs.

am

in

list

sincerely grateful to her.

For

this suggestion

I

Mr. Weigall has given

amount of time and attention to assisting our work in many ways and the thanks of our party are specially due to him on behalf of the Research a large

;

tombs were published

Mariette's notes on these his death

after

title o{ Lcs Masand are the only record of

by M. Maspero under the

tabas de VAncieii Empire,

The

these early monuments.

notes consist of ground-

Account.

The cemetery

2.

of Saqqara dates back almost to

plans of the tombs, and rapid hand copies of the

the limit of the historic period, but the bulk of sculp-

and there a sketch of some

tured tombs belongs to the Vth Dynasty. Through the middle of the cemetery is a slight ridge running

inscriptions, with here

specially interesting piece of sculpture.

publication in iSgS of the

tomb

Since the

of Ptahhetep by the

Egyptian Research Account, followed by Mr. Davis' for the Egypt Exploration Fund, it has been

work

that facsimile

felt

copies of the smaller and less

known mastabas were very

desirable,

and with two

copying it was a good opportunit}' to start the work. We opened and copied nine tombs at Saqqara. and copied one in the Cairo artists to help in the

Museum. Our party

consisted of Miss Hansard, Miss Jessie

Mothersole, and myself; and the division of labour \\as that the

two

artists

copied the figures, animals,

was responsible for It is owing to the steady work and skill of these two ladies that the Egyptian Research Account is able to publish

and

tables of offerings, while

I

more I Vth gently to the south. To the north Dynasty tombs which we copied, though the most northern one of all is of the Vlth Dynasty, dated by the cartouches of Unas and Teta. The valley to the south of the ridge is broad and flat and constantly used by tourists as a road from Mariette's House to the tombs of Mera and Kagemni to the south of the valley is the high ground on which the Step-pyramid stands. It is on the northern slope of the ridge and on the south side of the valley that, with one exception, our Vth Dynasty tombs were found. User-neter is due north of the and west, sloping steeply

east

to the north, lie all

the

facsimile copies often tombs; three of these are not

PtahStep-pyramid, close to the enclosure wall hetep II and Ateta adjoin the great mastaba of Ptahhetep and Akhethetep published by the Egyptian Research Account and the Egypt Exploration

recorded by Mariette, whose records of the rest are, as I said before, only hand copies of the inscriptions.

and

The tombs recorded by A 2, C 6 and 7, C E2.

which looks

all

the hieroglyphs and the plans.

are

My

Mariette which 8,

D

i,

D

62,

we opened

D

63,

and

thanks are due to Prof. Petrie for much kindness and help, to Mrs. Petrie for kindly copying some inscriptions lying in the yard at Mariette's

;

the tombs of Ptahhetep I, Ptahshepses I Ka-em-hest, and the Sheikh el Beled are on the northern slope; but Sekhem-ka's tomb lies north-west of Ptahhetep II and Ateta in ground

Fund

;

II,

httle

if

at all disturbed.

excavations were conducted nominally by Reis Khalifa, working for the Museum authorities, and I was therefore obliged to employ a native reis.

The

B

STELES OF SEKER-KHA-BAU AND HATHOR-NEFER-HETEP. though this is not the custom of the Egyptian Research Account. Under the circumstances, as we were not finding objects, the system worked well, though I must say, having seen both systems, that I prefer working without a rc'is and having the workmen under my own direct control. M. Maspero very kindly gave directions to Re'i's Khalifa to assist me in every way, and as it was difficult to find out which were the best tombs to took the easier course of visiting Rei's Rubi, all the tombs for Mariette, and Reis Rubi, whose memory of asking his advice. these mastabas was still as keen as ever, then gave open,

I

who had excavated

c

SEKER-KHA-BAU.

There

was removed to Gizeh.

is

no record of the

middle piece, Mariette neither publishes nor

men-

and though he presumably found it, there The size of the this point. is no certainty on fragment and its complete similarity in style and workmanship to the stele of Seker-kha-bau make it tions

it

;

that

absolutely certain

Hathor-nefer-hetep.

part of the

is

it

The beauty

of the

stele

of

sculpture

must be seen to be appreciated drawings given here it is impossible to show the delicate modelling which is such a

on these two

steles

:

in the outline

monument.

characteristic feature of this

Seker-kha-bau

the middle portion,

In

Stele of Seker-kha-bau.

represented seated before a table

is

wears a long robe down to the ankles, it is brought under the right arm and over the left shoulder, where it is fastened with a ribbon, the ends of which hang down on each side of the

He

of offerings.

arm and shoulder are left bare. it is a loose cloth is shown by the left arm being so swathed in it that the outline is lost. The garment is so like a woman's dress that had the

arm That

;

the right

head been lost it would have been impossible to say He wears a short if it were a man or a woman. wig elaborately curled, and he also has a slight moustache, like Rahotep, showing that the fashion of clean-shaving

was of

His chair

Dynastj-.

is

later date

than the Hlrd

of the usual design with legs

resembling those of a bull

the framework of the

;

shows the cross-lashing by which the was fastened to the woodwork. Above the

seat itself

seat

lashing there

is

a

just visible

cross-

piece of the

little

His dress consists of a short kilt, of which the upper is "wave-pleated''; one end is fastened under a belt by a buckle, while two small ends fall from below the kilt at the knee. He wears a short, elaborately-curled wig, beneath which the lobe of the The most remarkable part of his ear is just visible. costume, however, is his necklace. This consists of two parts, probably separate from each other. The under part fastens round the throat with a flat piece fold

of metal

this

to

;

are attached

three

zigzag

flat

which reach from the throat to the chest the middle strip is finished by a wide loop, the two Attached to these strips side-pieces by small knobs. and reaching from shoulder to shoulder is another strips,

long piece of metal intended to represent a jackal. The animal has two arms raised in the attitude of worship, and

it

also has six legs placed at intervals

The whole ornament must have been absolutely rigid, judging by the width of the metal strips. Over it comes a necklace of interlaced chains which are threaded through small circular The chains are so arranged disks and ankli-sxgxvs. as to show the zig-zag strips of metal below them at

along the body.

the neck and again on the chest.

On

Pl.

XXXVI

later date.

It

is

a similar necklace, but of

on a broken granite statue

is

much now

being used as a door-stop in the yard of Mariette's house at Saqqara. Mr. 'Weigall suggested to me

would be as well to copy it for the sake of In this late example the rigid part of the ornament is worn above the chains the zigzag that

it

comparison.

;

prominent,

very

are

pieces

but

the

jackal

has

cushion on which he sits. The table of offerings consists of a stand with two spreading legs, over which fits the socket of a wide flat dish, probably

degenerated into a perfectly plain strip of metal which turns at an angle to the shoulders and disappears beneath the wig. The chains are inter-

those of the same period which

laced through circular disks and (Z«M-signs, and a

of alabaster like

Mr. Garstang

Mahasna,

found at Bet Khallaf (Garstang,

pi. \.\i.\).

like objects

On

which Mr.

the dish are laid the leafGriffith

Above the names and titles, and

42) supposes to be slices

p.

(Petkie, Dendcreh,

of bread.

head of Seker-kha-bau are his titles by a horizontal

divided from the list

of offerings.

the stele

is filled

The two

The lower by a long

line

is

a short

part of this portion of

list

of offerings.

sides are precisely similar in

arrangement

though differing in some of the detail. Seker-khabau is represented standing upright, holding in one hand a long staff, in the other the papyrus sceptre. Above him are his titles, which vary on the two Seker-kha-bau and also his names, sides, and Hethes while below is a list of tweh'c offerings. ;

which starts from under the wig and ends nowhere passes through a small cylinder. The back of the statue was kindly copied for me by Mrs.

single chain

Petrie,

which

and shows a number of curious raised I

take

to

be the spots on

his

circles

panther

skin.

As the necklace appears in two instances separated from each other by so great a space of time, it is probable that it was the badge of some office held by Seker-kha-bau and, centuries afterwards, by the In the Museum at Florence (Schiaparelli, Miiseo Egizia di Fireuse, p. 197) there is a statue of Ptahmes, high priest of

original of the granite statue.

Ptah, the

who wears

The Erman, A.Z.,

a similar collar.

XVIIIth Dynasty

(cf.

statue

is

of

1895, p. 22).

TOMB OF THE SHEIKH-EL-BELED. The

4.

of Hathor-nefer-hetep

stele

is

arranged

and two side-pieces. The upper part of the back is broken away, the head, the names and titles, and precisely like that of Seker-kha-bau, with a back

list of offerings having completely disappeared, but enough remains to show the seated figure of Hathor-nefer-hetep, wearing a long and very

part of the

elaborately-curled

wig.

Her

spotted dress in this age, beside Median

The main

the stele of Seker-kha-bau.

though arranged

like

list

xviii.

The

same

as in

of offerings,

that of Seker-kha-bau, differs

named. The side-pieces, which are precisely

alike,

show

Hathor-nefer-hetep standing, clothed in a long dark-

down

and fastened over the She wears no ornaments,

to the ankles

shoulders by wide straps. is

the same elaborate construction as

that of the seated figure.

the wig

is

seen

her

band of incised hieroglyphs, large and

a single

is

boldly cut, which go across the band of the stele (PL. HI,

5).

6.

The

statue of the Sheikh-el-Beled

the recess to the south, and about the centre

in

chamber was found

of the

but states this

it

to be of limestone.

table of

offerings

The drawing

of

has been sorted into the

and elaborate tomb (D 6o). The one which is in the Cairo Museum, and which I have copied (Pl. hi, 4), is of alabaster, and I conclude that really found with the wooden statue, and it was dossier of the very interesting

Across the forehead under hair brushed smoothly

own

that

copy

the

of

impossible to say whether the

It is

Sheikh-el-Beled

is

negative,

and that

one very remarkable point about the personal ornamentation in vogue at the time the face, from the eye-brow to the base of the nose, is painted with a wide band of green, the rest of the flesh being

only one

title,

;

The mummy of Rahotep had green paint, a quarter of an inch wide, round the eyes and green eye-paint was commonly used in prehistoric times. Above the head of Hathor-nefer-hetep are her two names and her only title, while below is a list of six

painted the usual yellow. p. i8)

;

only

name

of the

to be found on the stele or on the

The only

of offerings. is

that the

piece of evidence

owner of the

" Chief Kheri-heb priest," and

is

had

stele

it

is

natural to suppose that he would have been

represented in the distinctive costume of his

but the Sheikh-el-Beled

is

office,

clothed in the ordinary

dress of the time, holding a staff of office in his hand,

which would well accord with belonging to Nekheb." not generally

It is

known

his position as

"Judge

that the head of the

was coloured when found, but it was sent to the Paris Exhibition in 1867, and there a mould was statue

taken from

offerings.

has been misplaced in the

it

Mastabas.

table

Mednm,

also a circular alabaster

with the name Akhet-hetep-her. Mariette figures a disk with the same inscription, of offerings

table

down. The statue of Nefert, which is of this period, shows the hair worn in the same manner. There is

(Petrie,

was found

of Akhet-hetep-her

as to the objects

and her wig

tion

is

chair and the table of offerings are the

green robe

point to its being of the great period of art at the beginning of the IVth Dynasty. The only inscrip-

robe, which reaches

shaped like her husband's, passing under the right arm and fastened on the left shoulder, It is so that the right shoulder and arm are bare. thickly spotted with black, the only instance of a to the ankles,

formed of a single block. The grand proportions, the fine workmanship, and the simplicity of style, all

it

without either

the

permission

The wet

knowledge of the authorities. used for the mould removed

all

dimmed

eyes, apparently

the brilliancy of the

or

material

the colour,

and by

" oxydizing the bronze rims."

CHAPTER

There is a letter extant from Mariette deploring and lamenting the amount of damage inflicted on this unique work of art.

HI.

(Wallon,

TOMB OF THE SHEIKH-EL-BELED.

Vic de Mariette,

Appendix

xiii,

Institut

de France.) 5.

The tomb

of the

" Sheikh-el-Beled "

(Mar.,

The

added a small outer chamber, also in brick. The chamber on the east and south are greatly ruined, but the west wall is in good condition,

wooden statue of the so-called wife was found, Reis Rubi told me, in the doorway leading northward out of the Unfortunately nothing more was distomb. covered, for the tomb must have been plundered

and against

anciently.

Mast.

C

8) is

a huge mud-brick mastaba to which

is

walls of the

it

stands a magnificent red granite stele

beautiful

of the Sheikh-el-Beled

CONSTRUCTION OF TOMB. Black

Walls.

7.

X

15 in.

7

X

mud-brick.

Size

of

bricks,

Not

here and there,

made no

I

but as the plaster lay

5.

systematic investigation

I

;

smooth

without think there could have

perfectly

hollows or irregularities,

Destroyed.

Roof.

5

been nothing under it. The doorway has a round drum, not inscribed. In the roof of the doorway, cut through the lintel stone, are two rectangular holes, for which I can find no reason. They measure 15^ in. X 12, and CHAPTER IV. i5i in. X 13, and are at almost equal distances from the ends of the stone and from each other. TOMB OF KA-EM-HEST. The stone of which the tomb is built is very fine white limestone. The masonry is not particularly 8. The tomb of Ka-em-hest (Pls. Ill, XXXIII) was opened by Mariette, who has, however, left no' good, as the joints do not fit accurately, and the spaces are filled with a pinkish cement. It lies a little north of west from the record of it. Floor.

seen.

and we cleared merely the one small sculptured chamber. There may be more chambers which we left untouched, but Reis Rubi, Reis Khalifa, and my own Reis, considered I was wasting my time if unsculptured chambers were excavated, and these were therefore left severely

tomb

of Ptahhetep

I,

Walls.

9.

South.

The

false

2),

a decoration

commonly. used in the Ilird and IVth Dynasties. There is no inscription whatever in the inner chamber, but on the jamb south of the doorway are two vertical lines of exquisitely-worked hieroglyphs, giving the name and titles of Ka-em-hest. The hieroglyphs are remarkable for the accuracy and vigour of the drawing, and for the delicacy of workmanship, which far exceeds anything I saw at Saqqara, and is only equalled by the work on the stele of

evidently

serdab.

of a single block.

The

false

doors and the inscription

show traces of plaster, and the outer walls leading to the doorway were thickly covered with the characteristic

pinkish plaster of the Saqqara tombs.

Unfor-

had not then realized that plaster might hide inscriptions, and though I scraped the walls

tunately

I

iQf

x if,

in.

of

Single block.

Destroyed.

Roof.

The

Paved.

Floor.

doorway

floor of

10

is

in.

higher than the chamber.

A

small, roughly-cut libation tank of limestone

tomb. Size 20 in. x 15 x 5J inner measurements were 13-^ in. x 8f x 30-. found

in this

CHAPTER

;

was the

V.

DOUBLE TOMB OF PTAHHETEP

I

AND PTAHHETEP-

DESHER. 10.

intended to be the opening to the This still has the original outline marked in red paint, and the slit itself has been only just begun, being cut out roughly to the depth of nearly five The north and south walls are each made inches.

slit,

North.

Seker-kha-bau.

The tomb appears to be unfinished, for on the south wall (Pl. XXXIII elevation) is a long, narrow

Unfinished

block. serdab,

door.

doorway, smaller blocks above.

characteristic of the

lotus-blossoms tied together (Pl. Ill,

to

False

depth, 4I. East. Two blocks on each side

doors have that beauty of proportion

IVth Dynasty. They cover the whole of the west wall, and have a slight The design is simply an batter of if inches in 36. of straight lines, vertical and horizontal, arrangement with nine small panels at the top containing the two is

Single

opening

alone.

which

Two blocks. West. Traces of plaster.

The double tomb-chapel

of

Ptahhetep and

Ptahhetep-desher(MAR., J/rti-/'. 6 and 7) is in the North cemetery, and remains partially open. Mariette places

it

in the

IVth Dynasty, but from the

tions Prof. Sethe dates later

it

to the

dating agrees also

sculpture,

which

is

with

more

Dynasty than of the IVth.

the

like It

inscrip-

Vth Dynasty.

is

style

that

of

of the

built

Prof.

Petrie,

who saw

it,

the

Vth

against the

outer wall of a mastaba, which has a batter of 7.

The

thinks

that

i in

the

mastaba, and the false door which stands against it, belonged to the father, and the chapels opening north and south from the main entrance were built

by

the

two

sons.

Mariette concludes

that

the

DOUBLE TOMB OF PTAHHETEP

6

tomb

southern seen from

The main

is

the more ancient.

As

the plan, the construction

be

will

peculiar.

is

entrance which leads to the false door

open, and has never been roofed.

is

was here that

It

Mariette found the stele (Pl. V) 13'ingon the ground.

This

stele is of limestone, so

roughly worked as to

justify Mariette's opinion that

The

hieroglyphs

are

merelj'

it is

quite unfinished.

hacked

without

in

sharpness or delicacy, and the workmanship of the

shows the same want of

surfaces of the stone

flat

This

care.

stele is

now

in the

Cairo Museum.

Its

tomb is unknown, possibly it belonged to the inner chamber A, or to one of the chambers, now almost level with the ground, which lead westward out of chamber A. exact position in the

I

AND PTAHHETEP-DESHER.

very tedious and laborious. It was probably put on coat by coat when clearing up the tomb every few years. On each side of the main entrance which leads to the false door are two pillars, forming the entrance to two other tombs. On the north side is the tomb of Ptahhetep, on the south that of Ptahhetep-desher. The two sides of this entrance are therefore quite uns3'mmetrical, and must be conis

sidered separately.

Ptahhetep I. The two pillars on the north form the portico of the tomb of Ptahhetep I. This portico was roofed with slabs of stone which rested on the wall and on the stone architrave which was supported by the pillars, overhanging the latter by yh inches so as to form eaves one stone only is in position. The pillars are inscribed from top to bottom with the titles and name of Ptahhetep (Pl. l\'), the only inscription found in this part of the tomb. The large chamber A has been roofed in, and part of the roof still remains in a ruinous and dangerous condition the two pillars which support a massive stone beam also remain. To the west a narrow doorway leads to two other chambers according to Mariette's plan, but the walls are so ;

U. The false door, which faces east, is roughl}' hewn in limestone. The tomb was partially uncovered when I tirst went to Saqqara, and I was therefore able to examine the false door carefull}before the

workmen entered

the tomb.

to be blank, being covered with

what In

I

It

appeared

a smooth coat of

afterwards found to be coats of whitewash.

one place, however,

I

was able

almost obliterated lines of a figure (Pl. the lower band (Pl. IV,

showing traces of a penknife

I

i)

trace

to

I\", 2)

there were a few hollows

brilliant blue below.

gentU' scraped

the

and on

away some

With

a

;

greatly destro3'ed that

was no

as there

we

did not excavate further,

likelihood of finding inscriptions.

of the plaster

of whitewash, and found an inscription below, the

12.

Ptahhetep-desher. To the south is the tomb of Ptahhetep-desher

hieroglyphs being incised and coloured blue. With Mr. Weigall's help I cleared the two inscriptions; it

portico leading to the

then became necessary to try the rest of the false door, but though Mr. \\'eigall and I spent some

stone resting on the wall and on the stone archi-

we found nothing more only rough uninscribed stone appearing when we had dug

of the

time over

it,

;

through the successive coats of whitewash. This system of obliterating inscriptions by whitewash appears to have been not unusual, though the reason for it does not appear. I found plastered-up

and traces of plastering in the tombs Sekhemka, Ka-em-hest, User-neter, and Ptahshepses I and II, as well as in this tomb that is to saj-, in six out of the nine tombs which I opened, whitewash had been used. The whitewash was laid on in successive coats until the hollows of the sculpture were almost filled, and the walls appeared blank. In colour it is slightly pinkish, and though it comes oft sometimes in large flat flakes which bear on the underside a cast of the sculpture which it has inscriptions

of

;

covered, \et, as a rule,

it

breaks off in small pieces,

and the work of scraping an obliterated inscription

this, like

trave,

;

the portico opposite,

which

is

roofed with slabs of

is

supported by the

pillars

;

three out

four roofing-stones remain in position, the

Along the whole length of the wall above the doorway is an inscription carved on a band of stone which projects The hieroil inches from the wall (Pl. VI, i). glyphs, which are incised, are boldly and deeply cut, and are coloured blue. Where the roof remains, the inscription is in good condition, but to the east side where the roofing stone has been removed the hieroglyphs are much worn so much so that it is fourth

has entirely disappeared.

;

only in certain lights that the dcsher bird can be recognized.

The doorway

to this

the opposite one; the

tomb drum

is

more elaborate than

(Pl. VI, 3) is inscribed and the roof of the door-

with the name and titles, way is painted red to imitate granite. Though I did not clear this tomb completely, I found another

chamber

besides

that

on

Mariette's

plan.

In

CONSTRUCTION OF TOMB.

chamber C the west wall was simply the face of the The north wall was greatly original mastaba. destroyed, the best part being to the west, where the rough stones still retain their coat of mudplaster on which had been a painting of the deceased

remains

now

wall has also been covered with

mud-

seated

(Pl. VI,

;

very

of

little

this

Ptahhetep-desher. Portico.

Architrave, inscribed. angular, uninscribed.

Roof. Three out of four stones

still

scribed

and

in position.

Drum,

Doorway.

in-

painted

roof

;

to imitate granite.

Very indistinct traces remained of a scene of donkeys and men, too inand a heavy rainstorm distinct and faint to copy swept away even those few traces. At the west end of both north and south walls is a low mud-brick wall, about j ft. high and 2 ft. Against the north wall it lies imme3 in. long. diately below the remains of the painted figure of Ptahhetep-desher. As to the reason of these mudHad there been walls, I can give no explanation. be the tables on supposed to a stele, they might be preparatory to being which the offerings were piled presented but there is no stele, and I could see nothing to warrant the conclusion that there had

plaster

Limestone, rect-

Pillars.

2).

The south

Limestone.

Wall.

S.

painted.

Chamber

C.

W.

Wall. Face of a mastaba, built in hori-

;

zontal courses, batter

S.

which

built

undecorated.

of rough-hewn

Of the

roof, four out of the five stones

it

I

was digging only

traces

of

painting.

mud-brick wall

Floor.

and not for plans, I did not follow up the doorway which leads southward out of this room. As

on which are at

west end. Roof. Destroyed.

lay at an angle uncomfortably suggestive of a sudden fall.

plaster,

Low

is

mud-

with

covered

quite

kept in position only by the sand underneath, and

of

x 4^ x 2j. end, a low

At west mud-brick wall. Horizontal Wall. E. rough blocks. Limestone Wall. N. blocks, originally

The chamber

are in position, though at the east end the block

Size

mud-bricks.

remains of a coating of white stucco, but no traces itself is

upper part,

;

bricks, loi

Chamber D and the doorway leading to it from C shown in Mariette's plan. The doorway has

is

of

traces

are

painting

are not

blocks and

part,

rough blocks with mud-plaster, on

been one.

painting or inscriptions.

Lower

Wall.

covered

;

of either

i

in 7.

for inscriptions

Not

Doorway

seen.

to D.

originally

Covered

with

white

stucco. 13. Ptahhetepl. Portico. Walls. Limestone,

Chamber

unin-

Roof. Four

on

inscribed

laid

horizon-

tally.

Limestone, rect-

angular,

Rough limestone

blocks,

scribed. Pillars.

D. Walls.

of five

south face. One stone in posi-

Floor.

Roof.

still

Not

stones

out

in position.

seen.

tion.

Floor.

Not

seen.

Chamber A. Walls. Limestone

blocks,

CHAPTER

uninscribed. Pillars.

Limestone,

rect-

VI.

TOMB OF SEKHEMKA.

angular, uninscribed.

Roof.

Two

stones

position.

Floor.

Not^een.

in

14.

Sekhemka is the most important which we copied and which Mariette left

The tomb

of the three

unrecorded.

of

TOMD OF SEKHEMKA. tomb of Ptahhetep II on which Mariette's House stands. It is on the flat ground in a part of the cemetery where there appear to be few tombs. It was impossible to estimate the size of the tomb from the small part of it that we excavated. It may be It lies

north-west from the

at the foot of the slope

Ateta with a small sculptured chapel and

like that of

a large pillared hall

;

or like that of Ptahshepses II,

belo\\- the feet of the large figures. A little scraping with a penknife showed that here was another instance of the obliteration of scenes and inscriptions by whitewash. The registers in the central panels

were sculptured, those at the side were painted. It is a tedious and delicate business to clear the plaster off sculpture,

merely a chapel built at the side of the mastaba; in'in aref? As I have observed elsewhere, vay business being inscriptions and not plans, I did not pursue my investigations be3-ond the sculptured

plaster

part.

places, but

The workmanship

thoroughly good, not up to the standard of Ptahhetep II or Ka-em-hest, but better than any of the others and the inscriptions is

;

Some

remains on the with a little }-elIow the blues and greens have disappeared. The figures and inscriptions are in relief with the are interesting.

hieroglyphs,

chiefly

colour

red

and

still

black

;

exception of the

list

of the offerings, which

is

incised,

and the two lowest registers of the outer columns, which are painted. The tomb, at least as much as I cleared of it, consists of a sculptured chamber, a doorway, and an outer wall along which was the sculptured architrave

The

(Pl. VII). litic

limestone,

stone of the west wall full

of

little

fossils

is

a

which

nummufall

out

where the stone is worn, leaving a hollow, some of the edges of which are so sharp as to make it difficult to determine whether it is a natural hollow or part of an incised hieroglyph. When two or three little fossils, which are close together, happen to fall out, a ridge is left which is soon worn away by the action of the sand, and thus the surface is defaced more quickly than

is

The West Wall (Pl. \TI) with sculpture. The upper part

The

list

panel

offerings

is

is

is

very

When

the

is

entirely covered

is greatly weatherof festivals having almost disappeared.

also greatly

fairly

has suffered very there

more

far

it is

scraping

to scrape a

difficult

too hard, the paint

is

comes off; if not hard enough, the plaster remains and obscures the outlines. The little stone seat was also covered thickly with

down

scraped

I

;

could

must have been placed finished, as

behind

An

the stone in several

to

no

find

on

inscription

it.

It

in position after the wall

was

the painting appears to

be complete

it.

architrave extends right across the wall

;

it

is

quite illegible in the middle with the exception of a

few signs

but at the beginning a good deal of the

;

inscription can be deciphered. figure of greatl}'

It

ends with a seated staff. This is

Sekhemka holding a long

damaged, the upper part of the

figure being

completely destroyed, but enough remains to show what was there originalh-. The middle part is the stele proper,

though the whole of the west wall

sculptured.

Below the architrave

is

ings in incised hieroglyphs, in very

a

of

Sekhemka

seated before a table of offerings towards which he stretching out

hand.

his

Behind

is

of offer-

good condition

Then comes a figure

except at the top.

list

this

is

is

another

Sekhemka seated in his him is his little son Kaa, who with outstretched arm is touching his father in order to call his attention. Below are two lines of hieroglyphs ending in the name of Sekhemka. figure, barely discernible, of

lion-footed chair

;

in

front of

the case with ordinary limestone.

15.

worn, the

but

If the

painting.

little

damaged, but the

The

complete. little,

list

of

rest of the wall

and though worn

in places,

which cannot be deciphered.

tomb was

first

cleared, the decoration

of the wall appeared to end at the feet of the large figures in the central panels below was a blank ;

space the whole length of the wall broken at the south end by a low stone seat. It was not until I

examined the stele ver)- carefull}^ that I discovered traces of what appeared to be a line of inscription

16. The stele now divides into two panels, one on each side of the false door. The false door has a long stripe of red on each side as a border, and the drum has a stripe of red at the top. The panels on each side are occupied by figures of Sekhemka which,

appear gigantic when compared On the right-hand side, Sekhemka is represented standing, he has a short beard and wears a skull cap and a starched

though not

life-size,

with the other figures near them.

and holds a long staff and a rope (?) in his Before him is a diminutive figure of his wife she is dressed in a robe with two shoulder-straps and wears a long wig. Before her is a still more kilt,

hands.

diminutive figure of the

;

little

son Kaa,

the lock of youth and holds his father's

who wears

staff.

THE WEST WALL, SOUTH SIDE OF STELE.

A

register of five bearers of offerings finishes this

man having his name above him, and in front of him the name of the object he is carrying. The first man carries a bird and a spouted vessel the

two pieces of cloth the fourth holds a his arms and the fifth, who from exigencies

pointed nose, but with a tightly curled tail like a pug's. He has a ribbon round his neck, the two

the second

is

uncovering the burning incense

third has

goose in of space in his

Under

her ornaments are a necklace and bracelets.

Sekhemka's chair lies his dog asleep with its head on its paws. It is one of the hunting dogs like that in Ptahhetep (Quibell, Raincsseiim, pi. xxxiii), rather like a greyhound with prick ears and a long

panel; each

;

;

;

much

is

smaller than the others, has a stick

hand and a

on

jar of .water

ends lying

Below

his head.

flat

on his back, and his name

this scene are five registers

is

Pesesh-

four sculptured,

;

the lowest painted. 17. The left panel shows a standing figure of Sekhemka holding a long staff in his left hand and a

cloth

(?)

His wig

in his right.

is

of short curls, and his necklace

He

wears a starched

kilt,

the case of User-neter,

is

is

of the leopard, as in

The

shoulder, though

skin

method

the

shown, and the ends of the the shoulder.

tie

not

is

on each side of

mother

of the

figure figure in the

opposite panel, though not so tiny as that of the

young

brother.

Sekhemka

the Little

dressed like

is

and

his father except for the leopard skin,

offerings, their

say,

are

he, like

five

bearers of in front

of

each one the name of the object he is carrying. The first brings a jar of water the second a bird whose beak and legs he holds firmly the third has a deer ;

;

across his shoulders a

young hyaena with

the

fifth

the fourth carries in his arms

;

its

Sekhemka the Little, or, as we should Sekhemka Junior; he is a grown man wearing a

short curled wig and a starched

He

hind legs securely tied

;

and

is

rest of the wall

on

each side of the stele

sculptured also, beginning immediately below the

On

architrave.

Sekhemka

the

left,

seated on

or south, side

a high-backed

find grandchildren

is

a figure of

chair

with a

with three

tails

;

hand

is a short stick which he twirls in his wears a wig with long straight curls, a starched kilt, and a wide collar. At his feet, with her right arm round his knees, is his wife Khent-

He

is a portrait from life, the from the ordinary type. She wears a wig with long straight curls hanging over I

contains

register

priests bringing birds.

The

first

five

servants

two are

in the

or act

which they carry the third brings a goose in his arms the fourth carries a crane, whose long beak he holds firmly to prevent of killing the

birds

;

;

its

the fifth has three live birds in his' hand, and three dead ones in his right arm.

struggling

left

The

first

;

names, Uashka and Uay, The hieroglyphs are roughly though by an unskilled hand. In many of

two have

their

the tombs at Saqqara one sees these roughly incised or scratched hieroglyphs, giving the name of a servant, side tions.

It is

think that this

face being different

the shoulders, and her dress has two shoulder-straps

;

by

side with finely sculptured inscrip-

evident that the servants wished to have

names perpetuated also, and inserted the names when the artist had omitted them. The third register has unnamed bearers of offerings. The first carries two vases the second has a vase themselves

kaues.

;

are noted.

their

in his left

commemorated in a tomb as a own generation and the

generations immediately preceding and succeeding

him

In his right hand he holds a fingers.

Kaa,

brother

general rule, only a man's

high square arm, over which he leans his right arm. fly flap

his father.

like

;

incised as

18.

kilt

3-ounger

his

inscribed before them.

brings a goose in his arms.

The

by

followed

is

The second

names above them, and

;

comes the

First

eldest son,

his little brother, holds his father's staff.

In the register below there

daughters.

and the amulet of childhood, he carries a bird in his hand. Then come the two daughters, Khenut and Antha and behind them are three more children, the first of the three being " His son's son, Sekhemka." The other two are probably also It is very rare to grandchildren, but are unnamed.

Sekhemka is a small Sekhemka the Little. This

rather smaller than that

two

below the on the left

of fastening fall

Sekhemka

register contains the family of

and

represented as quite a child, with the lock of hair

In front of

of his eldest son, is

is

little

tied

first

down

placed about half-wa\'

the back of the animal, and comes a

waist of the wearer.

most elaborate.

and has a leopard skin

The head

over his shoulders.

of horizontal rows

The

two sons

;

and a tray of fruits and vegetables the third brings two joints of meat, and a tray of figs and loaves the fourth holds a bird in one hand and a vase in the other; the fifth carries a tray of loaves and ;

vegetables on his right shoulder, lotuses over his arm,

and the

ribs of the sacrificed

ox

in his left

hand. c

TOMB OF SEKHEMKA.

10

The fourth register contains a scene of sacrifice. One butcher, whose name Kednes has been roughly incised,

engaged

steady.

removing the

in

membered

hind leg of the ox which The other butcher is

the

fla3'ing

is

his assistant holds

ribs of the partially dis-

victim, while the assistant

is

sharpening

the knife.

meat

one hand, and the

in

The

plastered up

;

one of those that the lower part is hidden by the register

was

is

seat described above.

a scene of sacrifice

It is

little ;

the

figure carries the leg of the victim the second has the heart and some indeterminate object. The first

;

of

whom

The

the right, or north, side the scene at the

register

20.

S.

He

holds a fly-flap of three

while his right

is

tails

in

hand,

his left

stretched out towards the piles

He

accompanied by his dog Pesesh, who in this scene is wide awake, with his head up and the ends of his neckof offerings lying

front of him.

in

is

ribbon sticking out.

Below

this scene there are five registers as

on the

The first register gives seven priests, dressed alike in short-curled wigs and starched kilts, all in the same attitude with the right hand opposite side. all

hanging down, and the shoulder.

left

The name and

The second

hand clutching the

shows

register

right

of each one are given.

titles

five bearers of offerings,

whom

the first one only, Nesua, is named. He two vases balanced on his hands. The second has a bird and a fiat basket of large figs. The third brings meat and a tray of vegetables. The fourth is heavily laden with a vase, lotuses, and a tray containing a trussed goose lying on two large loaves. The fifth carries a haunch in his hand, and a loaf (?) on his shoulder. In the third register none of the bearers of offerings are named. The first bears a vase and a tray of loaves and vegetables the second, a haunch, and a tray of loaves and vegetables the third has a bird and a tray piled with various objects the fourth has a fish and a tray on which the most conspicuous object is a calf's head the fifth carries joints of of

large hole has been

Wall.

E.

rough

This wall

traces of paint were

could

make out

were too

the leg of

off

a third has

;

;

also

with

evidently in search built of blocks

mud-plaster.

more connected, and

of

The

fancied

I

I

a scene of sacrifice, but the traces

The door is

faint to copy.

of this wall

made

is

plastered

stone

its

roof

at the

south end

painted to imitate granite.

is

X. Wall. This is built of rough blocks covered with mud-plaster which shows traces of paint here

and

there.

21.

Outer Wall.

Right across the wall above

the door which leads into the sculptured the architrave (Pl. VII).

It

chamber

is

consisted originally of

three lines, of which the top line has disappeared entirely; the middle line

lowest line with

its

list

is

not

much

better

of festivals

;

but the

practically

is

It ends, like the architrave above the with a seated figure of the deceased holding a

complete. stele,

long

staff.

22.

W.

Wall.

Limestone, 10

ft.

Measurements of Wall. E. Wall. S.

sculptured.

Height

5 in.

seat, 2

ft.

5 in.

x

i ft.

x 6J

in.

Rough blocks. Rough blocks covered with mudplaster, traces of painted scene.

Doorway.

;

N. Wall.

Rough

blocks covered with mud-

plaster, traces of paint.

;

;

firm

plaster has gone, leaving the blocks of stone exposed,

carries

;

it

Wall. This is the only wall that has any great amount of damage. The mud-

chair,

He wears a wig of short curls, a starched and a necklace of which some detail is shown.

was

;

for the serdiib.

kilt,

of those which

painted with a scene of

It is

bowl containing the blood of the victim and the fourth carries a leg which has already been

top shows

arm.

one

is

the animal while another holds

and a

Sekhemka seated in his straight-backed over the high arm of which he leans his left

the assistant sharpening

is

and shows one butcher cutting

sacrifice,

suffered

On

Behind

it off.

fifth

removed.

19.

holds the front leg of the ox while the

covered with plaster.

fellows the fourth sharpens the knife. The hieroglyphs above their heads are in outline, those at the side in solid colour. ;

the butchers, one

his knife.

a large

his

An

sacrificial victim.

named Nefer superintends

official

figure is a butcher who is cutting up the animal, and turning round makes some remark to

third

o.\ in

fourth register, like the one seen opposite,

shows the dismembering of the

other cuts

The lowest

ribs of the sacrificed

the other.

Roof. Floor.

Destroyed.

Paved.

DESCRIPTION OF TOMB.

CHAPTER

The tomb

of Ptahhetep

II.

II.

(D

62) lies to the

north of the great Ptahhetep (D 64) mastaba published by the Egyptian Research Account and the

The two almost

touch, being

only separated by a very narrow passage.

It is quite

Archjeological Survey.

by the plan (Pl. XXXIV) that there is even some communication betvveen the two mastabas the unexplained doorway at the east end of the southern strdab may perhaps be connected with the chapel of Akhethetep or with the pillared hall of possible, judging

;

Ptahhetep. in

To

leading to three other rooms.

VII.

TOMB OF PTAHHETEP 23.

II

Mariette writes with enthusiasm of the sculpture " Ce tombeau se recommande a this tomb.

I'attention par la disposition exceptionnelle de son

the north

is

a

chamber which I did not open, and the door to which has been walled up with mud-bricks in recent times. To the west is the small painted chamber A, and to the south is the sculptured chamber C. On the opposite,

way east

i.e.

the south, side of

leading to an undecorated

C

is

another door-

room D, from the

end of which runs a skew passage leading to E,

room with a This doorway does not Mariette's plan, and, as usual, I would not

a curiously long, narrow passage-like

doorway

the east end.

at

appear in continue the excavation

for the

sake of the plan, but

had to leave it unfinished. Mariette gives a similar chamber, probablj' a serdab, on the north side of the building; the proportions are the same as E, but apparently there is no entrance. There is, however, no explanation in his notes, and nothing to show whether anything had been found there.

plan, et surtout par la perfection des sculptures qui

decorent

chambre

la

further on he says:

And

principale."

— " L'empleur

et

a

little

du

I'elegance

24. Chamber A. Mariette dismisses this chamber few words. " Ouelques traces de peinture se

in a

partie superieure des bas-reliefs n'avait disparu, cette

font remarquer dans le chambre B et dans le corridor " (meaning the doorway) " qui le precede." All

chambre

the walls have been covered with brilliantl3'-coloured

style sont d'ailleurs frappantes.

serait I'une

puisse montrer

aggeration

tomb of

une moitie de

la

des plus remarquables qu'on

comme

anciennes dynasties."

Si

echantillon de I'art sous les

Mariette

is

not guilty of ex-

paintings representing offerings and the bearers of offerings, of

which a certain amount remains. One is still in place, and under this the

when he speaks

in these terms, for the

roofing stone

Ptahhetep

without exception, the

colours are better preserved than at the unprotected

Though

end.

this

most beautiful

is,

Saqqara.

in

the scenes are

not so interesting as in the mastabas of

Thy and

West Wall

(Pl.

XV

This wall, being the

i).

Ptahhetep (D 64), yet in the workmanship and the drawing it surpasses them. For beauty of line, design, and decorative effect there is nothing finer in

roof,

ligypt-

colour remain very often, but where the outline

On

the north and south walls the figures are on an

unusually large scale, as will be seen by comparing

them with the

figures

on the east wall (Pls. IX, X,

XI, XII). This being a large tomb, rated portions

;

most exposed since the

destruction of the has also suffered the most, and the paintings partial

are very indistinct and difficult to follow.

destroyed

Traces of is

impossible to be certain what object

it is

was intended to be represented. where the outlines were certain

I ;

have copied only

patches of colour,

without outline, are not shown. I

excavated only the deco-

the pillared hall and other uninscribed

chambers were left untouched.

Mariette's plan

shows

South Wall

(Pl.

XV

Here again under the

2).

protection of the roof the colours remain to a great extent.

The

blue lotuses, the yellow

figs,

the red

a large pillared hall to the east of the sculptured

vases with black tops, and even the bearers of offer-

chamber C, with an entrance from chamber B. The west wall of the hall must be the original height, for it was therefore cleared it was close to the surface

distinct

destroyed either the stucco

to the depth of a few inches until the corners

paintings have disappeared.

;

were

reached, in order to verify Mariette's measurements.

The main entrance is

to

to the

on the east side of the it is

plan.

B

is

at

birds,

vases,

the eastern end

East Wall

(Pl. XIII).

;

and lotuses are fairly but where the roof is is

broken away or the

Over the doorway the

mastaba from the outside

paintings are in very fair condition, being covered by

immediately opposite

the uninjured portion of the roof, and the objects

hall

;

the entrance to the chamber marked

This room

ings, carr3'ing

in reality a little

B

in

my

ante-chamber

can be distinguished with very little difficulty. The which pale yellow and blue predominate,

colours, in

TOMB OF PTAHHETEP

12

are very harmonious, and contrast well with the dark

red

on each side of the doorway

of the figures

II.

chamber of the tomb

The

are found.

the upper part of

below.

North Wall

XV

On

Like the south and east walls the upper registers are filled with pictures From the patches of red, which still of offerings.

well.

remain,

third

it

is

(Pl.

3).

evident that the lowest register repre-

sented bearers of offerings

the scheme of decoration

;

The

being the same as on the south wall.

cross-

as

and damaged as

the walls greatl}'

all

and south

north

the

here that the sculptures

it is

roof has been entirely removed,

walls

had on the

there

originally been three registers of sculpture

;

north wall, two registers remain and traces of a but on the south side the upper register has ;

been completeh^ removed, and of the middle register there are only fragmentary pieces. The north wall, too, has lost the

westernmost block, thereby making

round the chamber, as it appears on all the walls except the west, on which the painted stucco is

the procession of

women

entirely destroyed at the top.

the

lashing of black appears to have formed a frieze

In the centre of the west wall

all

a rectangular

is

stone block running out into the middle of the room. It lies a.xis

a

little

skew

being slightly

chamber, its As this chamber,

to the walls of the

N.W. and

S.E.

judging by the paintings, was the place where the offerings were made ready before being presented in front of the stele or the y^a-statue, it is probable that this stone block

was the

table

on which the

vessels

containing the offerings were arranged. 25.

Chamber A and B

between

B.

The reveals of the doorway XVII 2, 3) have been painted

(Pl.

with a figure of the deceased on each

side.

He

is

represented standing with a long staff of office in his

hand, and his

titles

and name above and

in front of

him. The stucco and paint have scaled off to such an extent that it was difficult to decipher very much. About the middle of the figure the stucco has been completely broken away, leaving the rough stone visible. This was probably caused by the passage of bearers of offerings, carrying cumbrous loads through the door.

The damage

is

greatest just at the height

The

incomplete.

north, south, and east walls are

same way (Pl. XXXIV): rough

horizontal

blocks of fine

are large upright

not too

all

built in

courses

of

above these white limestone

blocks painted red,

sculptured and painted. it is

three

much

And

of these three walls

to say that they have the finest

and most beautiful sculpture

in

Saqqara.

Acccording to the usual 27. West Wall. custom the stele (Pl. VIII) is placed at the west end of the chamber, facing east. It is formed of a single block of fine limestone, and stands on another massive block which is painted red. It is surrounded, as in the stele of User-neter, with an imitation of a framework lashed together, the cross-lashing being faintly visible here and there. On either side of the stele

is

a

probably a that

it is

A

painted list

inscription

of the sacred

impossible to

saj-

great deal of colour

stele

;

oils,

now

barely visible,

but so

little

remains

with certainty. is

still

to be seen on the

the figures of Ptahhetep are coloured red with

black hair, and

many

show patches Beside the centre column of

of the hieroglyphs

of brilliant colouring. inscription

is

a sign in orange-red paint, apparently

which a load would be if carried by two men with their arms down, in the attitude of the two men in the tomb of Ptahhetep (Ouibell, Rainesseum, pl. xxxviii, 2nd register from the top). The slightest swerve would cause the load to strike the side of the narrow doorway, to the detriment of the painting and the stucco. This room is remarkable as having a door on every wall and though the north-east corner of the wall is greatly ruined every doorway is intact. The doorways between A and B, and between B and C, are

the papyrus-roll determinative

painted, the others are undecorated.

always carefully worked, though the ears are of and the vulture and hawk the conventional size are both rendered with spirit.

at

;

Two

out of three roofing stones

of

it is

C.

This

is

the

(as

the only explanation appears from the east wall) the ;

tomb was copied

in later times, the master sketched papyrus sign on the wall to illustrate the difference between the early and late forms of the The red paint of this sign is, however, hieroglyph. not the same colour as the squares on the east wall,

the

which have a more pinkish hue. The hieroglyphs on this stele are very interesting, and one at least the determinative of the sazfestival

still

remain

in

—

—

is

new

to

me

(Pl.

XXXIX).

The

Iier-s\%n

;

The

Chamber

when

is

position.

26,

that

most important

his

principal titles of Ptahhetep are given, with name, on the drum of the false door, " Judge of

CHAMBER the

High-court,

vizier,

SOUTH WALL.

C.

confidential

Ptah-

friend,

PTAHHETEP AND HIS SON.

13

open with both hands.

held

farm-women

Dividing him from

a vertical line of hieroglyphs

But the costume of the figures at the base of the stele shows the scarf peculiar to the kheri-heb

the

announcing the bringing of

offerings.

Ptahhetep being " the chief k/icri-heb.'" The figures are precisely alike on both sides of the stele, the only difference being that those on the north side are not quite finished, and the middle figure on the north is empty handed, while the middle figure on the south has a roll of papyrus (?). All are dressed alike in starched kilt and scarf of office, with a short beard, long-curled wig and elaborately designed necklace. The first on each side carries a long staff and a papyrus sceptre the second has nothing in his hands on the north, and a roll of papyrus on the south, side the third has a long staff and a piece of

a procession of seventeen

women

cloth.

colour, with the

hetep."

priest,

;

;

The

is

Then

follows

from the on their

farms heads

baskets of produce, and the greater

either

lead or carry an animal

number The name

of the

Ptahhetep,

belonging to

bearing

or a bird.

farm from which she comes is the first five names are compounded each figure with names of kings, the others are preceded by Ptahhetep's own name. The women are dressed in red or dark green

inscribed in front of

;

robes

their necklaces, bracelets,

;

and anklets are of

blue and green beads, and their wigs are black flesh-colour

dark

a

is

brown

yellow.

This

;

the

scheme

of

of the animals, the brilliant

and the dark grey, almost black, background, must have had a rich and

surrounded by an imitation of a framework of reeds lashed together. This lashing has been represented in colour which now appears only as a dark shade, with here and there a tiny

tints of the hieroglyphs,

fleck of the original brilliant blue.

29. The animals brought by the women (Pls. IX, X, XII) are worth studying. Their extraordinarily small size, which exceeds all artistic

is

South Wall.

28. wall

stele

damaged

at

The lowest complete,

practically

is

names

of the priests

the position deceased.

of a

Of

the

only a

The middle

the east end.

greatly mutilated, but

register of this

being

little

register

is

enough remains to give the and servants, and to indicate

colossal

upper

seated

the'

west end of the wall

is

a standing figure

;

the

stone,

that

neither

photograph

nor

drawing gives a quite satisfactory idea of the original. Akhethetep, who holds the title of " First under the King," presents to his father the account of the offerings which the farm-women are bringing. He, also, wears the short starched kilt and the wide collar, and he carries the scribe's outfit two pens, one behind each ear, a writing palette from which hangs a plummet under his right arm, and a scroll :

is

drawn

in proportion to the figures

impossible also to believe that a man,

;

who was

it

so

tomb, could not have made an equally fine design in which animals and human figures were not so utterly disproportionate. It was one of the conventions of art at that period to make the animals slightly

towards him, and considerably larger than the other figures. He wears a short starched kilt, a wide collar, and a chain from which hangs an amulet he has a short beard, and round his head he has a wide ribbon tied in a bow at the bach. In front of him are two rows of hieroglyphs giving his titles and name. Facing him is his eldest son, Akhethetep (Pl. IX). This is evidently a portrait, the features being carefully drawn unfortunately the paint has become so rough owing to the disintegraof

pigeons, are

fragment

of Ptahhetep, facing the procession that advances

tion

cannot have been from want of knowledge The birds, both geese and

or exigencies of space.

great a master of decorative art as the artist of this

of

remains.

At

license,

effect.

the

figure

register, not a

magnificent

human figures with probably in order to make the human figures more important, just as the figure of the owner of the tomb is made larger than any other that it may be the most prominent and smaller in comparison with the

which they are associated

;

On the east wall (Pl. XI) an example of how this particular artist treated a subject where the animals were of the ordinary size the donkeys, though slightly small in proportion, strike the eye at once. is

are not noticeably so.

We

are therefore forced to

the conclusion that the animals in the procession of

farm

women were

a special breed, whose beauty lay

In our times, Shetland ponies,

in their smallness.

and toy dogs, are bred simply for bantam the more diminutive the animal the their smallness more it is admired and as these animals are of no fowls,

;

;

use in themselves it is only people of a certain amount of wealth who can afford to have them.

We

know

that the Egyptians devoted

great attention

TOMB OF PTAHHETEP

14 to the breeding of animals,

and there

is

no reason

suppose that toy animals were unknown, and that then as now it was only the wealthier memAmong the bers of society who possessed them. to

animals in the procession are some quite young

and nth women); these are

calves (ist, 3rd,

easily

distinguished from the full-grown oxen with and without horns (2nd, 5th, 7th, and 14th women), but the calves give the scale of size. Another point to be

noticed

is

that the toy animals are usually led by a

hind leg, the neck, or the horns, animals have the rope fastened

rope round the while full-sized

II.

tail, feet, and ear of another animal. which she holds in her hand, has been fastened originally to the neck of the animal, but now it is partly chiselled away and its direction is changed in order that it may come to the hind leg

are traces of the

The

rope,

The

of the calf.

calf has

the surface of the stone

From

hardly noticeable.

was

cularly interesting, for

woman

30. The first her arms, and on her head an usek/i-ha.sket

young

carries a very

calf in full

of

The second leads a full-grown hornless which has a rope twisted four times round its neck, and from the end of the rope hangs an object which may be a shell (Davies, Ptakhetep I, pi. xvi). She carries a crescent-shaped basket of offerings. The she third leads a young calf by a rope tied to its leg has an «j