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EL BEESHEH
PART I.
PERCY E. NEWBERRY
WITH PLAN AND MEASUREMENTS OF THE TOMB
BY
LONDON:
SOLD AT
The OFFICES OF THE EGYPT EXPLORATION FUND, 37, Great Russell Street, W.C.,
and 15, Blagden Street, Boston, Mass., LT.S.A.
and by KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & CO., Paternoster House, Charing Cross Road;
B. QUARITCH, 15, Piccadilly; A. ASHER & Co., 13, Bedford Street, Covent Garden.
/
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5*7
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EGYPT EXPLORATION FUND.
IprestDent.
Wcesffiresioents.
Sir Charles Newton, K.C.B., D.C.L. The Hon. Edward G. Mason (U.S.A.).
R. Stuart Poole, Esq., LL.T). {Ron. Sec). The Hon. John Geo. Bourinot, D.C.L
(Canada).
E.Maunde Thompson, Esq., C.B., D.C.L., LL.D.
Prof. G. Maspero, D.C.L. (France).
Charles Dudley Warner, Esq.,L.H.D., LL.D.
(U.S.A.). Josiah Mullens, Esq. (Australia).
The Rev. W. C. Winslow, D.D., D.C.L. M. Charles Hentsch (Switzerland).
(Hon. Treats, and Hon. Sec, U.S.A.).
1bon. treasurers.
H. A, Grueber, Esq., F.S.A. The Rev. W. C. Winslow, D.D., D.C.L. (Boston, U.S.A.).
Clarence H. Clark, Esq. (Penn. U.S.A.).
1foon. Secretary.
Members of Committee.
The Rt. Hon. Lord Amherst ofHackney.F.S.A. The Rev. W. MacGregor, M.A.
T. H. Baylis, Esq., M.A., Q.C. Prof. J. H. Middleton, M.A., Litt.D., D.C.L.
Miss Bradbury. A. S. Murray, Esq., LL.D., F.S.A.
J. S. Cotton, Esq., M.A. D. Parrish, Esq. (U.S.A.).
M. J. de Morgan (Birecteur General des Anti- Francis Wm. Percival, Esq.
quites de Vfigypte). Lieut.-Col. J. C. Ross, R.E., C.M.G.
Sir John Evans, K.C.B., D.C.L., LL.D. The Rev. Prof. A. H. Sayoe, M.A., LL.D.
W. Fowler, Esq. H. Villiers Stuart, Esq.
Major - General Sir Francis Grenfell, Mrs. Tirard.
G.C.M.G., K.C.B. The Rev. H. G. Tomkins, M.A.
F. L. Griffith, Esq., B.A., F.S.A. The Rt. Rev. The Lord Bishop of Truro.
T. Farmer Hall, Esq. Hermann Weber, Esq., M.D.
Pbof. T. Hayter Lewis, F.S.A. Major-General Sir Charles Wilson, K.C.B.,
Mrs. McClure. K.C.M.G., F.R.S.
CONTENTS.
PAGE PLATE
I. Introduction —
1. General description of the tomb of Tehutihetep . 1-3
Ceiling 13 VI
Right and left-hand walls 13 VII
Inner wall .
14-15 VIIL-IX
5. Inner chamber .
15-38 X.-XXXI
Outer wall .
15-16 X.-XI.
Inner wall .
30-32 XX.-XXIII.
Right-hand wall . 32-38 XXIV.-XXXI.
39
XXXII.-XXXIV.
XXXIII.
Inner wall .
Index 41
The Survey of the Middle Kingdom tombs in the Gebel el Bersheh was
made during the winter 1891-2. The party, consisting of Messrs. P. E.
was finished on the 2nd January, 1892, when Mr. Newberry returned to
England. Mr. Carter also left to join Prof. Petrie in his work at
Tell el Amarna.
The Survey of the hill and tombs was completed by Messrs. Fraser
and Blackden in February, 1892. In May, 1893, Mr. Howard Carter again
went to El Bersheh, and stayed there till the end of June, making water-
the Gebel el Bersheh, together with the general account of the group,
The plan, elevation, and sections, and the details of the doorways and
columns, are published from drawings made on the spot by Mr. G. W. Fraser.
Vlll
PREFACE.
Blackden.
The coloured from an excellent facsimile made by Mr.
frontispiece is
The Tomb op v
-y ^o _ Tehutihetep,
D % ^T -
" GEEAT OhIEP OP THE HAEE NOME."
I. INTRODUCTION.
1. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE Kingdom, in choosing a site for their necropolis,
TOMB OF TEHUTI-HETEP. went further south, and selected the north side of
a rocky valley in the hills behind the modern Der
Like most of the magnates who were buried
en Nakhleh, " the convent of the date-palm."
around him, Tehutihetep l
( & ^^)» tne n °ble
The group of tombs is known to Egyptologists
occupant of the second tomb, was prince of by the name of El Bersheh, the hills being
the nome of Hermopolis. His capital was the called Gebel el Bersheh by the natives ; El
Bersheh is also the name of a village and of a
ancient - - $L Khemenu, now marked by the
der, or monastery, near by. That part of the
mounds of Eshmimen, 2 and it is probable that
Gebel or hill of El Bersheh in which the tombs
there was his residence. The city lay in the
of the Middle Kingdom nomarchs are situated
middle of the valley, and at some distance
is about five miles south of Antinoe, and seven
from the west bank of the Nile ; the nearest
miles from Eshmimen in a direct line across
point of the hills is about five miles due east,
the Nile.
near the site of the Roman city of Antinoe,
most con-
The tomb of Tehutihetep is the
but for some reason the princes of the Middle
spicuous of all that exist at El Bersheh, and
was probably the finest tomb ever excavated
In the Early and Middle Kingdoms the name of Thoth there. Unfortunately, it has been much
shattered by an earthquake, which apparently
was written Zehuti, the "1 * changing first to
\\
took place many centuries ago, causing the
<-=-a d, and then to a t in the course of time. Tehnti being
more familiar than Zehuti, we think it will be convenient
limestone strata to slip irregularly one over
to use the later form Tehutihetep in the place of Zehuti- another along their south-west dip, so that
hetep, although the latter would be more strictly consistent the roof of thetomb has been projected for-
with our system of transliteration.
ward about a foot, and the ceiling of the
2
See map of the neighbourhood of El Bersheh, El Bersheh,
Part II, fig. 1.
outer chamber has entirely collapsed, bringing
;
EL BERSHEH.
main or inner
another rectangular hall-the
the architrave and columns
of
down with it
measuring about twenty-five feet
reach the tomb from the
chamber—
the portico. To feet in breadth,
and from front to back, by twenty
river best to land opposite Raramun
it is in height. The
and thirteen feet six inches
through the
walk across the cultivated land, also covered with
to the edge walls of this chamber were
Coptic village of Der en Nakhleh,
sculpture and painting above a plain black
of the desert. A Coptic cemetery lies at the the
dado. On the front wall at either side of
foot of the hills. the slope, due east of
Up
door curious scenes of purification.
we have
road or
Der en Nakhleh, can be discerned a the
side by large On the upper part of the left-hand wall is
dromos, marked out on either on a
summit, celebrated painting of the "Colossus
boulders. It ascends the hill to the
terrace, on to sledge," ahuge alabaster statue of Tehutihetep
and near the top passes the men on
the Middle being dragged by nearly two hundred ;
father Kay. 1 Tehutihetep generally calls him- difficulties, owing to the mutual jealousies of
self " son of Kay " in his inscriptions, but the local governors and the disorganized state
none of the scenes in the larger chambers of of the country. Labourers could hardly be
the tomb refer to Kay. obtained, and it was chiefly by their own
The age of the tomb is clearly indicated by exertions that these travellers, half-starved as
the cartouches engraved on the outer corners of they were by the refusal of the people to supply
the facade, according to which Tehutihetep lived them with food, at length excavated the door-
in the reigns of Amenemhat II., Usertsen II., way of the great temple and for the first time ;
and Usertsen III., so that it was probably in for many centuries man set foot within its
the long reign of the last-named king that this brilliantly decorated halls. Those who had
tomb was completed and the nomarch died. hoped to find portable treasures within were
It is interesting to find amongst the sculptures doubtless disappointed, but our travellers
the names of the principal workmen employed sought adventure and discovery. On their
upon the excavation and adornment of this homeward voyage they broke their journey at
masterpiece of Middle Kingdom workmanship. several points where they heard of the exis-
The " director of the work " was jg tence of important remains. At El Kab they
a
J j
" Ab-Kau's son Sep," and the admired the tomb of Paheri. 3
On the 26th
^, © artist
of August, 1817, they reached Raramun, and
c~~ £A VX
employed to decorate it (j
i
(j
T %\
guided presumably by Mr. Brine, the English
"Amena-ankhu." These men's handiwork was founder of the sugar factory there, they dis-
well worthy to carry down their fame to covered the tomb of Tehutihetep, and were
posterity. much struck by the interesting character of
its paintings. 4 Messrs. Bankes and Beechey
revisited it at an early opportunity and made
2. PREVIOUS WORK AT THE TOMB. drawings, which probably exist to this day,
but have not yet been traced to their present
The group of tombs at El Bersheh was
unknown
owners. A copy of Mr. Bankes' outline of the
quite to the members of the great
colossus has, however, been seen by us amongst
French expedition under Napoleon, as well as
to their predecessors. Its discovery, how- 3
Published in the Xlth Memoir of the Egypt Exploration
ever, dates back to 1817, and we owe the first
Fund.
account of it to two naval officers, Captain 4
" Before we leave Egypt I should inform you that we
Mangles and Lieutenant Irby. 2 These two discoveredan interesting tomb opposite Mr. Brine's, at
Kadimore [Karamun]. The sides were covered with paint-
travellers, after a voyage up the Nile to the
ings, among which are two groups, of a description very
first cataract, joined an expedition consisting rarely, if ever, to be met with ; one of them represents the
of Messrs. Bankes, Beechey, and Belzoni, who removal of a colossus between thirty and forty feet high,
EL BEESHBH.
1
From this it getting the principal part of the subject of greatest
Sir Gardner Wilkinson's papers.
interest Mr. Arundale has made a plan and
would appear that not much attention was sections,in which will be seen the situation of the
not
paid to detail, so that the drawings would subjects.
" Yours, etc.,
be of much importance for scenes of which " J. Bonomi."
other records exist.
Many of the great groups of tombs in Egypt The drawings mentioned in this letter are
are situated in conspicuous places. That of still preserved.
6
They comprise a plan and a
7
Wilkinson in his early publications, nor Burton, of the inner walls of both the inner and outer
nor Champollion, has left any independent chambers; 8 a copy of the inscription behind
the colossus scene; the colossus itself, partly
9
record of it. Rosellini, however, the head
of the Tuscan expedition and a companion of in colour;
10
and the doorway of the building
11
Champollion in most of his journey, published towards which the statue was being dragged.
the scene of the colossus on a sledge in 1832,
2
Five years later, in December, 1838, Nestor
12
from a drawing by Dr. Eicci, one of his col- de l'Hote gave, in one of his letters, a brief
leagues ; but it is certain that Champollion description of the tomb, and probably copied
In 1833 Bono mi and Arundale were sent by greater part of his drawings and squeezes were
Robert Hay of Linplum, then living in Egypt, lost at sea. In 1841, however, he again visited
make a plan and drawings of the tomb of Egypt and the tombs at El Bersheh. He then
to
made a number of useful notes upon this tomb,
the colossus, and the following unpublished
letter from Bonomi to Hay, referring to this which are preserved among his manuscripts in
13
visit, is preserved amongst the Hay manuscripts the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris.
3
in the British Museum.
6
Add. MS. 29,814. ' Ibid., fol. 3 and 4 ;
our pi. ii.
in hisManners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians, 1837, by the editor in 1888).
as well as in the later edition, and in the com- Vol. iii., fols. 246-267, gives a brief but orderly descrip-
p. 328,
mentary to Rawlinson's translation of Herodotus. tion of the tomb, with slight extracts from the subjects.
2
Rosellini, I Monumenti delV Egitto e delta Nubia, Mon. Fols. 246-7, the shrine, especially the inscriptions on the
text, torn, 246. back wall (our pi. xxxiii.). In the succeeding folios are
Civili, torn, ii., tav. xlviii. 1 ;
ii., p.
notes of the main chamber, including on fol. 250 the
3
Add. MS. 29,859, fol. 30.
on the ceiling (our pi. vi.). Fol. 248, the
4
The successor of Mr. Brine, who is referred to above, inscription
right-hand side of the inner wall (our pi. xx.). Fol. 249,
p. 3.
5
Bonomi had lived in Egypt since 1824. inscriptions on the right-hand jamb of the portico (oar
PREVIOUS WORK AT THE TOMB.
In 1837 Wilkinson published a drawing of Since Sir Gardner Wilkinson's visit in 1850
the colossus on a sledge in his Manners and hardly anything appears to have been done
6
Customs of the Ancient Egyptians, the source
1
in the way of preserving the inscriptions.
of which was Mr. Bankes' lithograph. He had There however, one exception.
is, Major
searched for the tomb, but had failed to find Brown, of the Egyptian Irrigation Department,
it,
2
and it 1841 that he arrived
was not until took a photograph of the scene of the colossus
at the spot. Some valuable sketches made on on a sledge in 1889. Of this one print was
this occasion are preserved among his papers taken, which Major Brown kindly gave us, but
7
at Oalke Abbey, Derbyshire, and copies of the negative itself is lost.
subjects were selected for copying, including, cut away, and many other parts of the tomb
the scene of purification, with the inscriptions (our pi. x.). sent hither to rescuesome of the most important
Fols. 264-267, description of the tomb, with notes of the records of ancient Egypt from oblivion was
inscriptions, including a slight sketch to show the restora-
just too late to effect much of what was pur-
tion of the plan : strange to say, although he states that
no trace remains of the columns, he recognizes that they posed, yet not too late to save a great deal
must have existed the inscription on the thickness of the
: that was valuable from its impending fate.
wall (see p. 15), and the names of the sons from the scene Fortunately, the copies of Lepsius, Hay,
of spearing fish (our pi. ix.), now partly destroyed, are also
Nestor de l'Hote, and Wilkinson, enable us
given.
Vol. xi., p. 25, scene of the colossus, with inscriptions. to restore much of what has been recently
a second edition in 1847. destroyed, and the present volume will show
1
Vol. iii., p. 328 ;
2
Modem Egypt and Thebes, vol. ii., pp. 64, 65.
that a goodly harvest has been gathered from
These drawings of Wilkinson are bound up with other
3
large ones, chiefly of a very early date, but with some later ones
this tomb.
and the volume is labelled " Egyptian Sculpture."
inserted,
Between fols. 2 and 3 are a number of added leaves, the
first (a) with the scene of dragging the colossus (coloured), from the hunting scene, our pi. vii. b, d, and e were selected
and some of the inscriptions on the back. On the second no doubt to illustrate the costume.
drawn by'Eirund. (a, b, c, d) Inscription on the
leaf (b) is a coloured copy of the portion of the right-hand Bl. 135,
wall still standing, including the gardening scene, &c, in "gateway" on the west wall, our pi. xvi. (e) Part of the
our pis. xxv.-xxvi., but without the top row. On the third title of Kay from the right-hand wall of the shrine, our
leaf (c) are some fragments of inscriptions from the same pi. xxxiv. (/) The inscription belonging to the figure of
tomb, and on the fourth (d) the inscriptions of the colossus Nub-unut from the back wall of the inner chamber, our
pi. xx. (g) The inscription
with royal names, from the right-
scene (our pi. xv.).
4 Lepsius' Letters from Egypt, No. 15. hand jamb of the portico, our pi. v.
5 Published in the Denkmdler, Abth. ii., Bl. 134, 135. Bl. 6
We are pleased to hear from Dr. Spiegelberg that some
Scene of the colossus
by E. Weidenbach. copies probably exist at Strassburg among the papers of the
134, drawn (a)
indefatigable Professor Diimichen, whose recent loss we so
on a sledge, without the short inscriptions, but with the
long inscription behind it. (b) Tehutihetep seated in the much deplore.
seh, our pi. xix. (c) The inscriptions on the back wall of
1
Theprint has been re-photographed, in order to preserve
the shrine, our pi. xxxiii. (d) The large standing figure of the record, and copies can be obtained on application to the
Tehutihetep, in our pi. xx. ; and (e) Another of the same Secretary, Egypt Exploration Fund.
— —
EL BERSHEH.
Lastly, the fourth
3. THE NOMARCH TEHUTIHBTEP third place in point of time.
AND HIS FAMILY. inscription names Usertsen III.; but the indica-
tion of Tehutihetep's rank at this time is again
As is so often the case with Egyptian tombs,
destroyed. "We may fairly believe that it was
the inscriptions in that of Tehutihetep throw
and descent. in the course of this long reign of over thirty
but little light upon the owner's life
years that Tehutihetep died and was buried,
Regarding the earlier history of his family, a
from having seen the rule of three kings; but he
good deal of information can be gleaned
1 may have survived into the reign of Amenem-
inscriptions in other tombs at El Bersheh, and
hat III. 4
from the valuable collection of hieratic records
This is all that we possess of the chronology
recently copied in the quarries of Het-nub and
2 of Tehutihetep's life. His titles are very fully
published by Messrs. Blackden and Fraser;
recorded elsewhere in the tomb. Most of them
but, as Tehutihetep himself is not referred to in
are to be found on pi. xvi. The civil ones
any of them, it will be best to defer the con-
are:
sideration of this part of the subject until the
tombs are published. 1. Er-pd, " .EVya-prince."
inscriptions of the other
present therefore we shall confine 2. Ha, " ffa-prince."
For the
3. Sahu bdti, "Treasurer of the King of Lower
ourselves to those facts regarding Tehutihetep
Egypt."
and and family that are recorded
his parentage
4. Semer udti, " Confidential friend of the King."
in the inscriptions of his own tomb.
5. Bekh seten, " Royal acquaintance."
On the jambs of the facade were four in- 6. her tep da en Unt, " Great Chief of the Hare
scriptions,which were intended to give in a nome."
very succinct form the main landmarks in 7. a " Gate of every foreign country."
set neb,
prince Tehutihetep had been "a child of the 10. her tep NeMeb, " Chief of the city of Nekheb."
king," under Amenemhat II. At Beni Hasan, 11. dri Nekhen, " He who belongs to the city of
Tehutihetep had been educated in the palace The most remarkable of these are No. 6,
the title of the nomarch of the Hare nome,
with the royal children of Amenemhat II. Next,
two of the inscriptions refer to Usertsen II.,
and No. 7, which perhaps means that Tehuti-
In one we find hetep had the right to give passports over all
who reigned nineteen years.
the frontiers of Egypt. Those numbered 1-5
that Tehutihetep held the high position of
" sole royal friend " under this king on the ;
and 8-11 were commonly held by the great
other only the royal name is recognisable, but men of the period.
must have recorded some ad- The religious titles were very numerous;
the inscription
is impossible to decide which of
they are :
vancement. It
mer henu neter, " Superintendent of the priests."
these two inscriptions took the second or the 1.
p. 10.
allowing for co-regency.
THE NOMAECH TEHUTIHETEP AND HIS FAMILY.
3. Merp nesti, "Regulator of the two thrones.". and the inscriptions on the inner wall of the
4. her [se]-sheta ne reu pern, " Set over the mysteries shrine, in recording that Tehutihetep succeeded
of the temples." to the princedom held by his paternal grand-
5. her [se~\sheta ne neter em est zesert, " Set over father, imply that he was Great Chief of the
the mysteries of the god in sacred places." Hare nome. We shall have more to say
6. her se-sheta ne medu neter, "Set over the mysteries about Nehera in the second part of this
of the divine formulse." memoir.
7. her se-sheta ne Met neter, "Set over the mysteries
The names of \J I (jA Kay, 3 Tehutihetep's
of the divine secrets."
9. Mer heb her tep, " Chief lector." mother, are several times found in the inscrip-
10. sem Merp shenzet nebt, " $em-master of all the tions, but only the chief titles of the former
tunics." are recorded. He was " /^-prince of the city
11. SeMem neteru, "Who influences the gods." of the pyramid called Jcha of Usertsen," 5 and a
12. Merp
" hut net Net, "Regulator of the temples of
3
Net." Vide pis. vi., x., xvi., &c.
uncommon but which of them this pyramid kha belonged. It has hitherto
of those numbered 4-7 are not ;
his personal character, we know scarcely any- age early in the reign of that king.
The only other evidence with regard to the names of the
thing. The scenes in the tomb are mostly of
pyramids referred comes from Prof. Flinders Petrie's
to
the ordinary type of the period. All the discoveries at Kahun. It will be recollected that the town
nomarchs were devoted to hunting, fishing, of Kahun was built in connection with the pyramid of
Usertsen II., commonly known as the Illahun pyramid, and
and fowling, and took delight in the excellence from
that on its site were found numerous papyri and seals
of their gardens and farm-yards. The quality other documents now destroyed. Several of the seals name
of the sculpture and the loving detail in the princes of the city of the pyramid called Hetep- Usertsen
gardening and other scenes indicate, perhaps, (vide Prof. Petrie's Kahun, Hawara, and Gurob, pi. x.,
Nbs. 21-24). The same locality is also frequently named
some special characteristics of Tehutihetep, and it cannot be questioned that this was the
in the papyri,
and the great scene of the conveyance of the name of the pyramid city of Usertsen II. Can, then, the
colossus is probably a record of an act un- pyramid of Usertsen II. have had two names, hetep and
rivalled by any of his contemporaries. khal In one or two papyri from Kahun the hetep of
Usertsen and the kha of Usertsen are mentioned together ;
1
Diet. Geogr., 1361. The identification of the £7ia-pyramid is therefore a
Compare Brugsch's
2
Vide pi. xxxiv., and cf. p. 39. matter of extreme uncertainty.
—
EL BBKSHEH.
^ ^ anMeL
"superintendent of the priests."
1
So far as his concubines, the title "p
which
we can tell, bis exalted office took him away is preserved with one of them, being of un-
from the Hare nome, so that he did not hold certain meaning.
3
the princedom which his father Nehera had His children were eight in number three —
We may suppose, also, that his tomb was Of the sons
held. sons and five daughters.
not at El Bersheh, but perhaps at the royal
% lbs.
S ^*L&- Shemsu-em-khau-ef was
^
city of Memphis; and it is probable that for
the eldest; his portrait is given several times
this reason Tehutihetep commemorated him,
in the wall-paintings. The two younger ones
together with himself, in the shrine of his own
tomb as with a cenotaph. Of the titles and were named (1 P T H] "f IT Usertsen-ankh
parentage of Sat-kheper-ka nothing is known, and ~<r Nehera. Of the five daughters
the inscription (over her portrait on the right- the names of the three eldest only are pre-
hand
being
wall),
lost.
2
which may have recorded them,
served. These were (^ ^ ? Nub-unut,
* D
The name of Tehutihetep' s wife
^ D
U Sat-kheper-ka, and n^J^ | ^ D
occurs three times, but her Sat-hez-hetep. Mutilated portraits of the two
Hathor-hetep
youngest, and apparently portraits of two
parentage is not given. She was a hen-neter
" of Hathor," and a nebt per, sisters of Tehutihetep, are found among those
Eether, priestess
Next to her, in the of his female relatives on the right-hand wall
"lady of the house."
representing the female relatives of of the inner chamber.
scene
The relationships recorded above may be
Tehutihetep on the right-hand wall, are two
smaller figures of women, who may have been tabulated thus :
Nehera =
(Great Chief of the Hare nome)
= Sat-kheper-ka
*
Kay
(/fa-prince of the Ma-pyramid
city of Usertsen)
1
Vide pi. xxxiv. Vide pi. xxviii., and cf.
2 p. 36.
meaning
3
A slight correction of the original into -^ would produce the known female title ankh-en-net,
tomb, its original plan can be restored with The depth of the portico behind the abacus
certainty. It was as follows :— is nearly 10 feet, and we have called this space
" the Outer Chamber " in the plates and in the
(1) A deep portico, supported by two
detailed description of the scenes. The ceiling
columns, with palm-leaf capitals.
is In the centre of the back wall is a
flat.
(2) A rectangular main chamber. doorway 10£ feet high by 4 feet wide, the
(3) A small shrine beyond. threshold of which is raised about 6 inches.
(4) A shaft or gallery for the mummy, The architrave of the door projects about an
driven horizontally below the chambers. inch. The entrance was closed by a door
has been trimmed back only a pivoted on the right side. The thickness of
1. The cliff
the wall nearly 5 feet.
few feet for the facade. The excavation for the is
portico was broad and high (nearly 23 feet by 2. The main chamber, or as we have called
15 feet), leaving only a very narrow band of it in the plates, &c, " the Inner Chamber," was
faced rock, about 9 inches at the top and about rectangular, measuring 20 feet broad by nearly
2 feet at the sides. 26 feet deep and 13 feet high, with flat
The depth of the portico from front to ceiling.
back was 14 feet. A massive architrave of 3. At the middle of the back wall a flight of
square section crossed the roof at about three low steps leads into a shrine, which was
2 feet from the front, and was supported by closed by double doors, the pivot holes for
two columns of circular section with broad which remain at each side. The shrine itself
is slightly narrower than this doorway,
and
circular bases and palm -leaf capitals (for
details see pi. iv.). In these columns the shaft hardly exceeds 4 feet in width. Its depth and
tapers upwards ; at the base it is 26 inches in height alike are 8 J feet.
diameter, at the top 21^ inches. The leaves 4. In front of the left-hand jamb of the
only be described as annulets. The columns the left-hand wall of the tomb where a part of
;
10
EL BER6HEH.
was consequently driven in slightly beyond the been dug in four places through the debris
shrine. The latter, being of small dimensions, and into the solid rock; probably some of
space, as soon these pits date from very ancient times.
One
left the tomb constructor ample
the end great hole in the axis of the chamber had
as the gallery had been carried beyond
of the main chamber, to make an
extension or been extended right and left until it touched
the the lower gallery probably the tomb chamber
niche on the east side of the gallery in ;
direction of the shrine, perhaps for the recep- was robbed through this forced entrance. It
tion of the coffin or its furniture. The depth was utilised by the expedition in clearing the
of the niche was 2^ feet, and its height was mummy-pit, working from it first to the inner
not more than half that of the gallery
itself. end and then outwards to the ancient entrance,
In the middle of the gallery at this spot was a which had probably been hidden for many
small square excavation in the floor, which centuries.
greater part of the debris in the tomb
perhaps was intended to receive part of the The
funeral outfit. was successfully cleared, and its nature ascer-
tained; the rubbish was thrown outside, and
Present Condition. the sculptured and painted fragments sorted.
The principal injuries to the architectural Only a few large blocks had to be examined
features of the tomb are due to the earth- without being raised or moved. Of the columns,
in the the bases were found in situ ; portions of
the
quake, which drove the upper strata
capitals still clung to the fallen and
ruined
tomb south-westward ; the columns were
dis-
placed, and the whole mass of rock over the architrave, and the shafts lay shattered amongst
portico, including its painted ceiling, has
fallen the debris.
The ceiling of the portico was richly painted The frieze consisted of the usual Jcheker
up to the edges with ornament painted red, blue and green (see
yellow quatrefoils upon a fig.3). Beneath this and at the
blue ground (see fig. 1), sides of the walls is a border of
and across the centre coloured rectangles (yellow, blue,
of it ran transversely a red and green), separated by black
Fig. 3.
yellow band, in which lines enclosing a white line. Be-
Fig. 1.
the hieroglyphs given in yond this is the peculiar roped pattern so
pi. vi. were incised and coloured blue. common in old Egyptian tombs.
The hheker frieze of the outer chamber is The dado is painted black, and is
almost entirely destroyed. It was painted only. bordered above by narrow bands of
The scenes below were sculptured in very low BLACK
red and yellow (see fig. 4). At the
relief, and probably were painted, though no right-hand end of the dado of the
trace of colouring can now be distinguished. left-hand wall was a false door, now
The hieroglyphs around the doorway were much mutilated.
incised. The inner surfaces of the jambs of The inner surfaces of the jambs of
Fig. 4
the doorway to the main chamber were pro- the doorway to the shrine are painted,
bably coloured pink, like the architrave and like the jambs of the outer doorway, with
columns. The large hieroglyphs incised upon horizontal bands of colour. The bands here
them were painted green. The whole of the are blue and yellow, separated by black lines.
thickness of the wall from the inside of the The ceiling is coloured blue and covered
jamb to the surface of the outer wall of the with yellow quatrefoils as in the other
main chamber was decorated with horizontal chambers, but here the quatrefoils are much
bands of blue, red, yellow, and green, about smaller (see fig. 2); they measure 2\ inches
3 inches wide, separated from each other by across. Longitudinally down the middle of the
black lines, each \ inch wide. ceiling is painted a narrow yellow band, upon
The ceiling of the inner chamber was deco- which are hieroglyphs (see pi. vi.) ; they are
rated similarly to that of the portico, except incised and coloured blue.
that the narrow yellow band was painted longi- The frieze consists of small khekers, and
tudinally down the centre of the ceiling. The beneath them is the usual border of coloured
hieroglyphs upon this band were painted blue rectangles.
(see pi. vi.). In the centre of the ceiling there The dado is painted black.
is a rectangular space of a different pattern, The style of painting is uniform throughout
crossed by the beam and bordered by a black the tomb, and the paintings are everywhere
line. This space is filled with a black and very carefully executed. The human figure (for
yellow check pattern (see diagram of ceiling, a specimen see frontispiece) is always conven-
fig. 2). tionally drawn according to the standards of
proportion in vogue at the period. The quadru-
YELLOW Ql/ATPEFOILS UPON * BLUE GROUND
peds are somewhat stiffly outlined but the birds ;
SMALL BLACK
ANO
and fishes, especially those on the inner wall of
YELLOW SQUARES
BL,UE HIEROCLVPI- the main chamber, are beyond praise. The
SMALL BLACK
AND
YELLOW SQUARES hieroglyphs on the left-hand and inner walls of
the main chamber, and in the shrine, are very
YELLOW QUAT RETAILS UPON /i BLUC GROUND
12
EL BERSHEH.
status of
as usual, thus at once giving a decorative the central portions referring to the
appearance to the inscription. By another Tehutihetep in these reigns are completely
device possible in hieroglyphics he contrived destroyed.
" [The devoted one,] the king's son under the hawk
1
on the front
The architrave is inscribed
praised (?) in truth Nub-kau-ra (Amenemhat II.),
the Zio-prince, great of five, Tehutihetep."
:
and back, but not below the colouring is the
;
In
same as that of the jambs (see pl. iv.).
the middle of both the front and back is
the
1
See Beni Hasan, Part I., pl. xxxi. < =>
central word 5 er-pd, from which two almost
*
For the reading Tehutihetep, see note on p. 1
— —
13
SCENES, &c, OUTER CHAMBER.
the front is :
reads :
Er-pa ha ur dua Zehutihetep mes en Sat-kheper-ka (1) [maa] ah hut set dsth asha urt er Met nebt
" prince, the /ia-prince, great of five, (2) [an er-pa] ha sem kherp shenzet nebt sab ad mer
The hereditary
Tehutihetep, born of Sat-kheper-ka."
Dep
(3) [ ] maa ua
her sesheta en
On the back is the same legend, with the (4) [ur dua] em per Zehuti ur qedet em perui mater (?)
" regulator of the (5) [semd] nef semdu ensen kherp hetep neter
variation of ft
§ Merp nesti,
Maat
[semer ua ne me]rut dri Nekhen hen neter
two thrones," for
It will be observed that the double
^ E ur dua.
title (ur
(6)
(7)
dri (?) pe [neb]
ha her tep aa en Tint Zehutihetep neb dmakh
(6) [confidential
friend] of the (king's) choice, he
4. OUTER CHAMBER. Pls. VI.-IX. who belongs to the city of Nekhen, priest of Maat
(goddess of truth)
Ceiling Inscription, pi. vi. (see Key Plan, a).
(7) the /^-prince, great chief of the Hare Nome,
Tehutihetep, possessing the reward of worth."
The transverse inscriptions on the ceiling of
the outer chamber are similarly arranged.
The In front of Tehutihetep we see two parallel
hieroglyphs are incised and painted blue on a lines of netting (placed upright on the
wall),
yellow ground. The right half of the inscrip- one end being closed by poles, and a cord or
tion names Tehutihetep's father Kay ;
the left,
scare put in place by the huntsmen ; the other
his mother Sat-kheper-ka. He is described as
end at the top of the wall is destroyed. The
her tep da en Tint, "great chief of the Hare enclosed space with sculptured details
is filled
Nome," and her sesheta en reu-pcru-es, " chief representing the surface of the desert covered
of the mysteries of its temples," &c. with bushes, wild animals, and huntsmen. The
Egyptian draughtsman has arranged them all
Key Plan in distinct rows, oneabove the other; seven of
Right-hand Wall, pi. vii. (see g).
winter. This representation is probably unique. ceived reports from subordinates, themselves
had to report
14 EL BERSHEH.
sons of Tehutihetep, with their names, Shernsu- In the sixth row are the heads of four stags
em-khau-ef, Usertsen-ankh and Nehera, shoot- or fallow deer, nobly posed, and other game;
ing arrows. It is much to be deplored that we can also see the characteristic curled tail of
the colours have entirely gone from this an Egyptian hound.
interesting sculpture, and that it has been In the bottom row men are setting up posts
much injured in other ways ; yet what remains and driving back large wild oxen 1 with staves.
of it is very intelligible. They wear ostrich feathers in their hair, like
In the top row we see a man armed with the Egyptian soldiers.
bow and quiver advancing from the left
towards a galloping animal (bubale?) accom- Left-hand Wall (see Key Plan, k).
panied by its calf, while a man crouching on
The wall on the left-hand side is completely
the ground appears to be securing the end of
destroyed. We may conjecture that the subject
a bolas or lasso to a stout peg by a slip-knot.
was a scene of wrestling and fighting corre-
The bolas has no doubt caught the horn of the
sponding to the hunting scene on the opposite
animal, the upper part of which is destroyed.
side.
The legs of numerous animals are seen behind.
At the right-hand end of the row an archer
Inner Wall, right side, pi. viii. (see Key
pursues a bubale (?) to the fence. Just below
Plan, h).
is a row of bushes, with a hare crouching.
Tehutihetep, wearing a collar, a fillet round
In the next row on the two oryxes, left are
the head and a short tunic, is in a canoe,
and a man pulling at a bolas which has pro-
bably caught the hind leg of one of them
fowling with a throw-stick. Two women, pre-
then six bubales and a calf and a man whirl- sumably his wife and daughter, are with him in
;
Tehutihetep's head relates to the hamu en apdu of the right-hand end remains in situ. At the
an er-pd, " catching of wild-fowl by the erpa- top of it two horizontal lines of inscription
ing fish. His dress is nearly the same as sible. On each jamb are four vertical lines of
in the picture just described, but he wears a hieroglyphs, terminated by a single horizontal
different waist-cloth. The harpoon is poised line, giving the name and titles of Tehutihetep.
in his hands ; the right-hand edge of the Very little remains of all this. At the bottom
picture is destroyed, but usually in these scenes of each jamb was a figure of Tehutihetep
the harpoon has a double point, on which are standing with a staff in his left hand and a
transfixed two fishes. A female relative kneels hherp-sce])tre in his right hand.
in the middle of the boat, and another stands In the thickness of the wall are traces of a
holding a spare harpoon. In the field behind vertical line of inscription in large hieroglyphs
are the figures of the three sons ; the top as follows, repeated on each side :
seMet seshu pehu meru an er-ph "The erpa-prinee, the Tia-prince, the sab-ad-mer,
\_kkens~\
ha seiner uati en merut dri NeMen Zehuti-hetep great of five, Tehutihetep, possessing the reward
translate.
and false beard, a broad necklace and a short
pleated tunic ; his feet are bare. His titles are
Inner Wall, centre, pi. ix. (see Key Plan i). above him. On each side of him are corre-
is very much destroyed. Of the lintel a fragment Reimi at El Kab (XVIIIth Dynasty).
— — — —
16 EL BERSHEH.
sponding figures, those on the right being much [mer upf] (1) ent hetep neter se-hetep neteru her-
(2) es aa en set neb ur dua em
hetu (3) Zehuti ent
mutilated. In the copy by Nestor de l'Hote her se-sheta en
qema meh kherp hetep neter (4)
the names of the two top figures on the left reu-peru hen neter en Khent- (5) hesert
are preserved. The first, who pours the water, (6) her tep nekheb (7) [see plate] ha kherp
is the second son of Tehutihetep, Usertsen- nesti Kay sa Zehutihetep neb dmakh
ankh ; the second, carrying a basket, is the "[Superintendent of the distribution?] of the divine
On the other side we offerings, pacifying all the gods with them, the
third son, Nehera.
gate of every foreign country, great of five in the
see that the eldest son, Shemsu-em-khau-ef, is
temples of Tehuti of the South and North, regu-
carrying the vessel, but the figure pouring on lator of divine offerings, set over the mysteries
this side is not named. The vessels contain of the temples, priest of Khent-hesert (Thoth)
cleansing materials, for on the left is the in- chief of the city of Nekheb, the ha-
prince, regulator of the two thrones, Kay's son
scription erdet bed-neter, " giving natron," but
Tehutihetep, possessing the reward of worth."
on the right the name of the substance is
destroyed.
Outer Wall, left side, pi. xi. (see Key Plana).
In the next row on the left the kher heb
Mehti (?)-em-hdt, " lector Mehti (?)-em-hat," On the other side of the door is a corre-
a hen en...(?), "box of. ..(?)." On the left a second from the bottom is dressed in a long
similar figure brings a hen [en] hebsu udb, "box tunic and holds up an egg-shaped object in
of clean clothes." his hand. perhaps named Tehutinekht
He is
The titles of Tehutihetep were very fully ar en Sat-hez-hetep, " Tehutinekht, born of Sat-
given, but are now much destroyed. In the hez-hetep." The inscription in front of him is
1
"
lmiiiii
^
v-^j- *A U J:
tomb."
Before Tehutihetep' s feet a man pours water.
^^ The inscription in front reads
seth an hen-neter, " the priest cleanses."
11! 1
[
o
S3
S
AAAAAA
1
U
0© The left-hand wall of the inner chamber is
AY ~1
scenes running from end to end. The uppermost come the three sons of Tehutihetep in order
is the famous scene of dragging a colossal Shemsu-em-khau-ef, Usertsen-ankh, and Ne-
statue, occupying five rows. The subject hera. They wear loin-cloths, pointed in front
divides itself into the representation of a very unusual decoration, namely, a long
(1) Tehutihetep, with attendants, following the bead necklace, is seen round the neck of the
statue; (2) the inscription of thirteen lines second, and may once have figured on the
describing the scene ; (3) the colossus dragged others.
by rows of men ; (4) the temple or building to In the third row is the sahu kefa ah kherp as
which it was brought, and the sacrifices made Ab-lcau sa Sep, " servant who conceals (?) the
on the occasion. heart, he who superintends [the construction
of] thetomb, Ab-kau's son Sep." He holds a
1. Tehutihetep, with attendants, following the spear and battle-axe. Next there is another
statue (pi. xiii.). spear-holder, then a sedan-chair borne on the
^JT
_=£> holds either a baton v or a censer a burning
•D © fl^f"^ D
[Er-pa ha] semer uati en merut her tep dat Mentet
incense. The second has a long staff ; the
sekftem neteru [dripe neb ha Zehutihetep neb dmakli] inscription before him seems to read, udh,
"pure " The inscription before the third
"The erpa-prinee, the /m-prince, confidential friend
of the (king's) choice, chief of the high offices,
probably reads, dnti udh, " pure frankincense;"
who influences the gods, he who helongs to every that before the fourth, hebs udh, "pure clothes."
town, the /ia-prince, Tehutihetep, possessing the These figures probably carried boxes containing
reward of worth."
the materials mentioned.
Behind him an armed
in the bottom row is
attendant carrying a battle-axe and with a 2. The Long Inscription (pi. xiv.).
peculiar garment (?) hanging at his back
Immediately before the large standing figure
three spaces behind him are left blank, then
of Tehutihetep is an inscription of twelve
lines, referring to the transport of the colossal
Restored from the inscription on the right-hand jamb statue, as figured in the scene that follows.
of the doorway to the temple on pi. xvi. Its importance was long ago recognised by
c
18 EL BERSHEH.
ah-sen Meper 6. aui-sen nekht ua dm her drtpeht
Chabas, 1 who in 1873 made the first attempt
2 se Ma
to translate it. In 1878, Professor Maspero shau Met
dsth tut-pen dfd em per em du aa em 7. er
Professor Erman3 printed a partial translation meshau-d ne neferu zamu (for neferu ne zamu?)
8. Merseku dep maa-ef dept re-sen em
duaut-d em
in1885; Professor Brugsch did the same in
hesut-dent Mer seten mesu-d 9. Man ?]
7
Meher
1891 4 and Maspero revised his own trans-
[
photograph, without finding any error. The was the road upon which it came, more than any-
inscription is now all destroyed, excepting a thing. Behold, wonderful 2. to the minds of men
show was the dragging of valuable stone along it on
scrap of the first line. The earlier copies
account of the stone (the rocky way from the
lacunae at the tops due to the of the lines,
quarry?), (and) difficult (would it have been even)
earthquake fortunately, in clearing the tomb,
;
for a mere square block (or " foundation block ") of
we found amongst the debris two inscribed sandstone. I caused to come 3. troops
11
of goodly
fragments, which complete the text from the youths in order to make for it the road, together
with the guilds (or " orders") of tomb-sculptors
second to the eighth line. These fragments
and quarrymen, the foremen with them 4. knowing
have been presented, with others, to the British "say") the strong-armed.
10
how to point out (lit.
way :
by all the copies and the photograph. that confirmation of his reading we cannot feel sure that
TRANSPORT OF THE COLOSSUS. 19
I came to bring it, my heart enlarged, the towns- only clothing is a head-dress and loin-cloth.
men all rejoicing : exceeding good was it to see
The chief interest centres in the former, the
more than anything.
5.
copies of which vary considerably. The head-
The aged one among them leaned upon the boy, the
strong-armed was with the trembler (palsied), their
covering was painted blue, with black ribbing.
hearts rose, 6. their arms became strong, each one The questions had the
to decide are, whether it
of them displayed the force of a thousand men. uraeus in front, so representing a king, and
Behold, this statue, well squared, was coming forth whether had a twisted pig-tail behind. None
it
as a rock (or, " when coming forth from the block
of the early copies show the uraeus, but the
of stone "), more 7. costly than anything. A fleet
had been equipped and filled with valuable things ;
photograph strongly suggests it. The copies
the foreheads (?) of my army, the goodly youths of my by Ricci and Weidenbach show a short and
troops were 8. with the feats of its foreheads (?).' thick prolongation of the head-dress behind the
Their speech was my praises (and)
full of of
plinth, bound round at the end with a cord.
my favours of-before-the-king, my children 9. in
splendour adorned after me. My country-folk
The photograph partly confirms this, but the
(?)
devised these things that I did, in that I had made with legs and seat indicated in sculpture the ;
20 EL BERSHEH.
Sepd
Another figure standing on the base pours He who undertook the work of this statue, the box-
water from a jar in front of the sledge, perhaps painter (?), Nekhta-ankh's son Sepa.
only a ceremonial act, since even in large quan-
The leader of the fourth row is the mer per
tities water poured upon the ground could not
assist the dragging. In front of the statue is Nehera, " steward Nehera."
a man holding a censer and fanning the burn- With regard to the men dragging the statue,
scription reads : art seneter, " censing," Over reserved for the youths of the privileged military
Behind them three men carry on their (2) The priests wear the same dress as the
shoulders a great block of wood with curiously last, but are distinguished by the large pro-
jagged outline at the top. The inscription portion of shaven heads amongst them. Two
above reads only have their hair frizzed, and about a dozen
have smooth hair.
fat Met ne seta an hemtiu (?)
The dress
(3) of the warrior class shows
Carrying logs of conveyance by the workmen (?).
more variety, and is altogether the most note-
Behind them are three overseers, armed with worthy ; the neat white loin-cloth of civil
sticks. costume appears nowhere. All the dresses
are open in front, in order to give freer action
1
Wilkinson's copy shows a water-skin upon his back to the limbs, and are completed by a separate
slung from his neck, but this is not traceable in the photo-
piece of stuff hanging from the belt. In many
graph, nor in any other copy.
2
cases the tunic is long, white, and cut square
This is Prof. Erman's new reading of the group i j)
the nature of the pendant piece. 1 Its colour The inscription over the military draggers
may be green, brown or white, generally reads
marked with paler spots. In two cases there zed medu neferu ne zamu dr ne dau uaz em
yieb-ef
are coloured cords hanging down from the hestu dthy neb iu-en se-uaz-en mesu-ef em Met-ef
girdle and terminating in tassels, and a few db-en fu em hes[t^\u net seten men uah
have a pointed white object — probably a Speech : Oh ! goodly youths of the troops, the
The troops of the West side of the Hare nome, Speech : Oh, beloved of Thoth ! Tehutihetep, beloved
arrival in peace (i.e. dragging the statue to its of the king, beloved of the people of his city,
1
A very similar costume is worn by the huntsmen at In the top row seven groups of men are
Beni Hasan, vide Beni Hasan, Pt. I., pis. xiii. and xxx. seen advancing to greet the arrival of the
2
The colours in Wilkinson's copy appear untrustworthy, statue. The details of the figures are much
and our remarks on the colours are based upon careful
two the
destroyed. The men in the second group from
facsimiles by Mr. Howard Carter of pairs of
22 EL BERSHBH.
shaven heads (yellowish, speckled with black), must have been offerings brought to the statue
and hold palm branches. Their loin-cloths are by men and women occupying four rows which
similar to those of the soldiers but the white ;
reach to the frieze. At the end of the wall and
tunics are much shorter, and alternate with the corresponding to these four rows a great in-
scribed doorway was shown, displaying a figure
rounded brown tunics;
1
they also have tassels
black ends. Some of or standing statue of Tehutihetep within. On
or white strings with
the lintel and jambs of the doorway we read
the other groups are more like the civilians
row an inscription the name and full titles of Tehutihetep in no
and priests. Above this is
troops who refresh its children are rejoicing-, their can be recovered. The signs composing the
hearts in feast, when they see their master and
line of inscription on the left of the scene of
their master's son in the favour of the king,
offerings are faint and mutilated, but they are
making his monument.
all identifiable and read :
4. The temple or building to which the statue sekhepet hat uzhu dnent hesept-ef dmt Unt en tut
From will be (3) mer henu neter, sent kherp shenzet nebt, dri
injured even then. pi. xii. it
Nek/ien,
found that there was at the base of all, in the sab-dd-mer,
(4)
fifth row, a scene of sacrificing oxen ; above it (5) her tep heseput (?) qemau, sekhem neteru
1
Copied in colours by Howard Carter. the house of Tehuti, chief lector,
2 Brit. Mus. Add. MS., 29,814, Ms. 3 and 4. (2) Regulator of the divine offerings, regulator of
3 Brit. Mus. Add. MS., 29,814, fol. 6. the two thrones,
4 Lepsius, Denkmaler, Abth. ii., Bl. 135, a-d.
5 The two jambs of the doorway, which were cut away in
6
This given in Bonomi's copy, vide Brit. Mus. Add.
1888 or 1889, are now preserved in the Florence Museum, is
and were photographed there by Prof. Flinders Petrie in MS. 29,814, fol. 6.
(3) Superintendent of the priests, ^em-master of all trained to combined action. They appear to
the tunics, he who helongs to the city of Nekhen.
have been all drawn from the Hermopolite
(4) Sab-ad-mer,
nome, and are represented as giving their
(5) Chief of the southern estates, having power with
the gods. services joyfully in honour of their prince. "We
now know with tolerable certainty the situa-
On the left-hand jamb : — tion of the quarry from which the colossus was
(1) her tep act ne Tint, her sesheta ne mezu neter,
obtained. The eastern mountains for a long
1
sentation of its conveyance, are all of singular but the two tracks must have joined after a
importance ; in fact, there is no other scene few miles. Perhaps for the execution of so
depicting the method of transport by land of large a work as this colossal statue Tehuti-
the enormous monuments that the Egyptians hetep may have preferred to resort to the
were accustomed to erect. earlier (northern) quarry, but his inscription
A seated statue of arragonite, 13 cubits in lays stress on the difficulties of the stony road,
height (about 22 feet), must have weighed at " such as would have been difficult even for
least 58 tons. Granite statues weighing fifteen the conveyance of a square block of sand-
times as much are not unknown in Egyptian stone." would have been impossible to
It
archaeology. Although the El Bersheh colossus convey the statue over hill and ravine in a
was so far inferior to these in size, the difficulty direct line north-west to El Bersheh or Her-
of removing it was increased by the softness mopolis. The usual road must have been
and delicacy of the material. It seems that no followed, taking advantage of the wadys, and
machinery whatever was used, and the method running nearly due east. When the soft sandy
employed was the same as that for conveying edge of the desert was reached, a firm track
statues of very moderate bulk.
The conveyance of the monument was 1
Vide El Bersheh, Part II., Introduction.
effected by obtaining large bodies of men 2 Tell el Amarna, 1894, pi. xxxiv.
—
24 EL BERSHEH.
pavement such as is still discernible about the royal type, and the photograph shows signs
quarries at Aswan and when the procession
1
;
even of the emblem of the royal uraeus, so that
arrived at the alluvial clay of the cultivated we have been strongly tempted to see in this
land, free use would be made of great statue a representation of one of theUsertsens.
wooden beams laid longitudinally upon the There is, however, much evidence on the
enormous, and probably the engineer would appears to specify the statue as that of Tehuti-
economise his forces by making all the use hetep, and it is only by inserting an extra sign
2
he could of the current of the Nile. If the that we can attribute it to anyone else.
statue was destined for Hermopolis itself, it Secondly, as Professor Petrie has pointed
of large monuments was of course well under- inscriptions ; and this would be strange if the
stood in Ancient Egypt, and we may feel sure statue actually represented one of the Pharaohs.
that this mode of transport was used in convey- Fourthly, the analogy of scenes in the
ing the colossus of Tehutihetep, and that it tombs representing the conveyance of statues,
floated down the stream for several miles. as well as the whole drift of the scenes and
The whole task must have occupied a very inscriptions in this tomb, point distinctly to
large force of men for many weeks. The scene its representing the nomarch Tehutihetep.
in the tomb no doubt represents the last stage After full consideration, therefore, we have
of the journey and the arrival of the monument no hesitation in accepting the view taken by
at its appointed place. all previous writers on the subject.
There is no evidence to be found that so was the custom in Ancient Egypt to place
It
large a block of alabaster was ever again in the tomb of a great man one or more statues
quarried, and it seems at first sight almost representing him, and serving as the material
incredible that it should have been taken by basis for his "shade" or lea to rest upon.
any person of lower rank than the sovereign Numbers of such statues of the Ancient Empire
have been found in the tombs. The statues
1
In the survey of the quarries at Aswan, M. de Morgan were capable of receiving offerings ; they might
has explained the method of conveying granite blocks from gods
also find a place in the temples of the in-
the quarry to the river, stating also that the tracks them-
selves were left bare, and that only
stead of in the tombs, and such portrait-statues
piles of stones are to be
found at the sides of the tracks (see Catalogue cles Monu- have often been discovered in temple ruins.
ments, I., i., p. 64). The Editor wrote the above from re- In the tomb of Hep-zefa at Asyut is a record
collection of what he took to be stone-paved tracks in the
Eastern desert in 1887, but it is possible that the deep sand
deceived him as to their nature.
•
As the copy stands at present, the inscription reads :
2
According to Prof. Petrie's suggestion, the piece of "Bringing offerings to the statue of the prince Tehutihetep,"
of ten contracts with the priests of the local each drawn by twelve men and a leader. The
divinity for offerings to be made to the prince's head-dress of one of these is very similar to
statues. One of these statues is stated to be that on our colossus, 5 and its form is un-
in the temple of Anubis, another in that of doubtedly to be explained by the fact of the
Up-uat, the chief god of the nome ; a third deification of the dead man.
was apparently at the foot of the flight of In the tomb of Tehutihetep the statue is
steps which led up the hill to his tomb; and being dragged in the direction of a great in-
a fourth was in the pleasure grounds, which scribed gateway. Between this and the statue
consisted, no doubt, of gardens with a reservoir are scenes of offerings. It may be doubted
at the edge of the desert. 1 whether the statue was to be placed within the
In the tombs of the Ancient and Middle building represented by the gateway, or was to
Empire we find a number of scenes of the remain where it was outside. The gateway may
transport of statues, either to visit a temple or represent the entrance of Tehutihetep' s palace.
to be placed for the first time in their ap- The position of the nomarch's figure within it
pointed situation. The transport was always is curious, for, according to the method usually
accompanied by certain ceremonies the pour- — followed by Egyptian artists, if it were a figure
ing out of water on the ground before the standing upon the ground, it should be placed
sledge, and the burning of incense. The on the level of the floor of the entrance ; in
former ceremony may have had the practical reality it is raised half-way up the side.
object of easing the passage of the sledge and Tehutihetep himself is figured in the pro-
reducing the heat caused by the friction. In cession behind the colossus, so that there is
several of the tombs at Beni Hasan a small little doubt that this figure in the gateway
shrine containing a figure is being conveyed in represents a sculpture, possibly a statue raised
procession, followed by a number of attendants, in a niche or upon a high pedestal. Or,
while dances and acrobatic feats are performed again, the artist may have broken through the
2
before it. usual rules, and endeavoured to produce a view
In the earlier tombs of the Vth Dynasty we in perspective.
also see statues. In the tomb of Ptahshepses, The building was named Zehutihetep-men-
discovered by M. de Morgan, 3
there are pro- meru\f\ em JJnt, "Tehutihetep-firm-in-favour in
cessions of several standing statues, with and the Hare nome," and we may conjecture that
without shrines. In another tomb at Sak- it was either the nomarch's palace or a country
kara, that of Rashepses, published by Lepsius, 4 residence of his, or a chapel intended only to
there are figured four colossal statues, all of receive his &a-statues.
different types (two standing and two seated), From the monuments and debris in the
granite quarries of Aswan, and the sandstone
4
Denkmaler, Abtb. ii., Bl. 64 bis. 5
It has not the uraeus.
EL BBESHBH.
26
out a cloth in his two
the net by stretching
reference to
the inscription, by its le-
picture, and only a fragment of this
remains,
makes it probable that it has arms ;
and
the stony road, in his hand,
hutihetep holds the cord
from the qnarry through
been dragged straight of probably eight
floated down to the behind him was a row
side,
the desert to the river fowlers ready to pull.
The end of the cord is
up to its place.
city, and then drawn Over the signal-
it is to be noted
secured to a peg at the back.
this subject
Before leaving
is a fragment of
the usual inscription,
" the praises-of-before- man
that the expression the
« to catch"; and above
introduced into the redet se®et, causing
the-king" is frequently fowlers, det her ne uhau
em
probable that Tehutihetep row of kneeling
inscription, and it is assistance (?)
Pharaoh either for the semt aptn an hd, &c, "giving
was indebted to the wild-fowl by the ha-
permission to set it up to fowlers in netting
for
gift of the statue or
prince," &c.
to his own memory. are displayed
The results of the capture
other birds are
above, where avocets and
wings or
bunches from a pole by the
hung in
are clearly still
Capture of Birds and Fish
(pis. xii. and xvii.).
feet, and from their attitudes
or cages. At
wall are aliv'e other birds are in crates
rows on this ;
STOCK-TAKING OF HERDS. 27
rows. The sell has an ornate Egyptian cornice, boat, which towed his own finely-furnished
supported by light columns, with lotus-bud dahabiyeh, the latter being without mast or
capitals and small circular bases; below the oars.
cornice are inscribed the titles of Tehutihetep, At the left-hand end we see on one of these
starting in the middle and running right and dahabiyehs a pilot standing with his sounding-
left to the ends. No doubt this represents the pole in and the steersman ready to
front,
traditions, this part of the subject is given in the noble seated in it is faintly traceable, and
profile. The great man is seated on an elegant he holds a large fly-flap. Nearer the stern is
wooden chair of the usual Egyptian pattern, a rectangular mat-work cabin, and over it is a
dressed in his fine robes and holding a long pole placed horizontally in two forked uprights,
staff and feather fly-flap. A reed mat covers probably in order that an outer shade might be
the floor, and a little dog of turnspit type thrown over the cabin in the hottest weather.
stands beneath his master's chair. The in- A tow-rope connects the dahabiyeh with its
scription reads : tug, which here shows eight oars on one side ;
nebt, de-ef hesut er [sedem Mesef-ef en sedem ?] ward with the stream, the mast is therefore
dp-ef set ne seten ne zet zet an ha. ur dua Merp unshipped (with the sail wrapped round it),
nesti Zehutihetep mes ne Sat-kheper-ka neb dmakh and rests on two wooden props and on the roof
"Seeing the making of a great counting of his cattle of the cabin. This boat also has a cabin of
[of-before-the-king (of the king's gift) with his The next boat
mat-work like the last. is
cattle] of the house of eternity, being indeed very
larger and has ten oars on the side
still, ; its
numerous more than anything, he gives praise to the
obedient, [he punishes the disobedient ?], he counts rudder-post is of enormous size. From the
it to the king for ever and ever : by the /ta-prince, action of the pilots in these three boats it is
the great of five, the regulator of the two thrones, apparent that they are close to their destina-
Tehutihetep, born of Sat-kheper-ka, possessing the
tion. In front of them is a smaller boat, with
reward of worth."
its oars (six to the side) already shipped and
The row of boats is somewhat injured, but its In front of this again are three
crew gone.
presents many curious details. We learn first large boats, very much like the first group, one
that it was the custom for a great man, in of them being a dahabiyeh. They are moored
order to avoid the unpleasant neighbourhood to the bank, the oars shipped and strong
of the sailors, to put the crew into a separate punting-poles driven into the muddy bottom
to hold them tight. The inscription above
them reads :
1
The building here shown in elevation from the front is
sometimes (e.g. in the tomb of Paheri, of the XVIIIth iut em hetep sper er seh ne art thenut dat em dderu-
Dynasty, at El Kab, see pi. iv. in the Eleventh Memoir of ef ne Mer-seten hend dderu-ef [ne per] zet em
the Egypt Exploration Fund) represented in section |_j
•
heseput Tint an ha Merp nesti ur det semer uati
From these pictures we ascertain that the seh was a summer- ne merut est db seten sab[-ad-mer ha.
house of wood, open in front and probably at the sides, the
roof supported in front by two light columns.
?
The restoration is from the inscription over the boats. 3 For ivory and ebony; shown in a coloured facsimile.
— — —
28 EL BERSHBH.
Kay sa Zehutihetep mes en Sat-kAeper-ha neb The chief herdsman, as well as the introducers,
am at are provided with the neat loin-cloth that we
'•Arriving in peace, approaching to the hall of the see on most of the officials represented in the
of-before-the-king
great counting of his cattle
tomb. The under-herdsmen have the same
and his cattle of [the house of] eternity from
two varieties of clothing as before.
the farms of the Hare nome by the /m-prince, :
of five, beloved
Behind, in the second row, are several
regulator of the two thrones, great
confidential friend, resting-place of the heart of the groups of calves, each group led by a herds-
king sab[-ad-mer, the /ia-prince, Kay's man. Reed mats are thrown over the backs
son Tehutihetep, born of Sat-kheper-ka, possessing of the young animals to protect them from
"
the reward of worth]
the cold. Following them is a man with
This inscription implies that the noble in the a long tunic, who carries a tray of conical
boat is Tehutihetep himself. loaves and some lotus flowers. Two others
The second row seems also to be at a certain bear six rolls of reed matting between them
distance from the seh, and probably represents on a pole. 3
the assembling of the cattle. In front are two Anumber of fine fat oxen of different
pairs of long-horned bulls fighting. In the colours, some them having horns artifi-
of
group the animals have just crossed horns,
first cially shaped, are brought up in the third row.
1
and are testing their powers of pushing in j Their necks are decorated with broad orna-
the second group one of the bulls has suc- mented bands, and each is led by its herdsman.
ceeded in getting below the guard of the The beginning of this row is destroyed, but
other, and its sharp horn has probably pene- the nearest official was a mer per,
to the seh
trated the neck. The inscription reads :
" steward." Next came the an neferyt, " the
sefeM lea nekht, perhaps "let loose (?) mighty scribe Neferyt," the top of whose writing
2
bull!" tablet we can just see. Then comes the mer
Asusual in this tomb, the dresses are of per en hesept, "the steward of the domain."
interest. The herdsmen generally wear long An officer with his stick introduces one of the
tunics, ribbed horizontally, and long hair; a chief the legend over him reads
herdsmen
;
The two lowermost rows begin with the pre- prosper!" Over the procession of fat oxen is
the cows !
" (In Beni Hasan, Pt. II., pi. vi., the attendants
3
The longitudinal lines of the reed-stems are too fine to
calves, and behind them two bulls, one of We have several representations of shipping
which is dappled. The hindmost has a bundle belonging to the Middle Kingdom in the tombs
of reeds upon its horns. Three herdsmen of Beni Hasan. The earliest of these is in the
1
bring up the rear. The titles and figures at tomb of Khety, where there is a coarsely-
the head of this line are broken away ; one of drawn scene of probably the same nature as
the figures, probably the fourth, is the an hen, the present, with three rows of cattle at the top,
" the scribe of the box;" next is the mer aderu and two of ships on the water below. In the
;"
seten, " superintendent of the royal herds upper row are two dahabiyehs, each drawn by
the third is the mer per ne per zet, " super- a tug with numerous oars. In the lower row
intendent of the house of eternity." Three are four vessels with masts, the sails faintly
herdsmen armed with sticks, and directed by indicated; in one of these the sail is being
two officers, appear to be keeping back the lowered, while two men on the bank are
cows. The inscription over the officers is driving in a mooring-post with heavy mallets.
difficult to restore; it can hardly be hesebu In the later tombs of Amenemhat and Khnem-
kau, " counting the bulls." The legend beyond hetep II. the drawing is better and the boats
is also difficult and imperfect. It is the song are of a more developed design. In that of
of the herdsmen, and seems to read: Amenemhat 2 we see the mummy of the prince
under a seh, apparently being conveyed up the
zed medu an shemsu kau : he ne then
sha, Mem-then semu, un-then shenu, \a\u ,s<x- Nile to Abydos. The funerary barge on which it
then nefer ne hdu-then kcma tut-then is carried is of a peculiar shape, and is furnished
peh-then seub db-then behesu with two rudders it is towed by two sailing
;
ha Zehutihetep in em hetep large sail, the second one with a small sail and
re er h
er then numerous oarsmen. In this case we may take
" Uttering a speech by the followers of the oxen : it that the second boat with the oarsmen is the
ye stamp the sand, ye tread the fodder, tug proper, on which, aided by the current,
ye browse on the herbage, your back, good for down stream
they would depend for going
your body your haunches, healthy
and that the leader is the war-ship, which has
your belly, your calves evil is voyage,
pleasant is your disembarking
taken the other boats in tow to increase the
opening the mouth of the shutting the speed up stream with its large sail. Again, in
mouth for the greedy the ha-prince, the 3
same tomb, and corresponding to the last
Tehutihetep, comes in peace to you."
scene on the other side of the doorway, the
harim of Amenemhat is going down the stream
to Busiris. The war-ship takes the lead with
NOTE ON THE SHIPPING. itscomplement of rowers, then comes another
We will here gather together a few remarks rowing boat, and lastly the dahabiyeh with the
on the constitution of a princely flotilla during harim; the tow-lines are not shown. In the
the Middle Kingdom. We see that the ships tomb of Khnemhetep II.
4
we have the same
described above belong to the prince Tehuti- boating scenes as those of Amenemhat; but,
hetep, and form the flotilla with which he went although it is of later date, the boating
to perform his great official functions. Pro-
bably three vessels would constitute a unit, 1
Beni Hasan, Part II., pi. xii.
namely, the dahabiyeh, the tug, and the war- 2
Beni Hasan, Part I., pi. xiv.
ship as a convoy. 3
Ibid., pi. xvi. 4 Ibid., pi. xxix.
— —
30 EL BERSHEH.
There are only two boats in each scene. The right into eight equal rows of scenes, on the
funerary barge is towed by one sailing-ship left the divisions are unequal.
The width of the top scene is fixed by the
containing soldiers; and the harim boat, in
which the officers of the harim are shown, has height of the space above the door. The whole
its own oarsmen, and is preceded, but not of this row is occupied by one subject: the
of wild fowl with a clap net by
towed, by a second boat containing the male capture
portion of the family. Probably the dangers Tehutihetep and his eldest son. Above the
of navigation were so much increased by the two figures is the inscription, reading :
towing that it was found preferable for each hu mer henu neter vekh seten seiner uati ur dua
its own crew.
boat to carry Kay sa Zehutihetep neb dmakh
Many parts of these boats in the tombs of " The /^-prince, superintendent of the priests, royal
Amenemhat and Khnemhetep II. are brilliantly acquaintance, confidential friend of the king, great
of five, Kay's son Tehutihetep, possessing the reward
coloured, especially the rudders.
of worth."
A passage in a story current at the end
of the Middle Kingdom illustrates, and is To the right are three vertical lines of
despatched his son Hor-ded-ef to visit the Shemsu-em- khau-ef, neb dmakh
" Then was prepared " His son of his body, the beloved one of the place of
magician Deda : a flotilla
his heart, doing that which he praises, Shemsu-em-
for the king's son Hor-ded-ef. He sailed
khau-ef, possessing the reward of worth/'
southward to Ded-Seneferu, and when the
flotilla moored at the quay, he went up by Tehutihetep' s wife stands before the two
land seated on a sedan-chair of ebony, with figures,and perhaps gives the signal to pull.
its staves of ses-nezem
2
wood, and spangled Several lines, destined, no doubt, for the descrip-
with gold." tion of the scene, have been left blank. The
The white and black colours used in depict- signs below, a jackal followed by the hieroglyph
ing the sedan-chair of Tehutihetep point to for a pool of wild-fowl, &c, are difficult to inter-
so often mentioned in Egyptian texts as the possibly some epithet of the wife ; or they may
most luxurious materials for furniture. describe the action. In front of Tehutihetep
and his son are a crate full of birds, and an
elliptical cage of basket-work above it. The
end of the rope, pulled tight by the prince and
Inner Wall, pis. xx.-xxiii. (see Key Plan, s, t). his son, is fastened to a peg in the ground;
the moment represented is when they have just
On the back wall is represented the netting
closed the net. They are advancing towards
of fish and fowl, a subject we have already
the right, whilst their faces are turned towards
seen illustrated on the west wall ; but here it
the net. The net itself (see pi. xxi.) is laid in
is differently treated, with the addition of a
&c, a large pool full of wild-fowl, with blue and
scene of bringing the captured game, to
white lotuses dotted over it. The edge of the
pool is conventionally represented by spaces of
1
Erman, Pap. Westcar, pi. vii. grass?), alternating
vertical green lines (for
2
The wood of the carob tree or locust bean, Ceratonia
siliqua, according to Loret.
with a small-leafed plant. As to the working
— — — ; ;;
of the net, the rope is formed into a large loop, birds. This seems to take place under cover.
round which the edges of the net are bound; A roof-pole is supported by three forked up-
the end of this loop is fastened to a peg in the rights, which divide the space into four com-
water, and the net was no doubt laid open partments. In the first a man is feeding a
upon the surface. When the signal was given crane, zat, four others of the same species are
that the flock of birds had settled upon it, the waiting their turn, and above them is seen a
rope was suddenly drawn tight, thus closing vessel of food. In the next three divisions
up the loop and drawing the edges of the net there are three species of geese called respec-
together and enclosing the birds. Among the tively re, [therp], and set.
2
In front and above
birds we recognise the avocet and numerous the feeder is a basket full of pellets, either a
last, and represents a net full of large fish, captured fish and birds. At the left-hand end
pulled to land by ten men, eight of whom have the superintendent of the fishers and fowlers
over their shoulders straps fixed to the rope, leans on his staff and watches, whilst a man
while only one man at each end is free to act splits the fish down the back upon a sloping
independently. board, and lays them open to dry in the sun.
The inscription above reads : The fish are brought to him by a man who has
ser a-ek hesy, mak de nen Sekhet ci-es nefer\t\ two baskets hung on a yoke over his shoulders
Sekhet heb-nes " at em hetep " ne serner pen ur dua one of these baskets he holds upside down
em per Zehuti hes-es mer-es ha Zehutihetep to turn out the contents. To the right is
" Raise thy arm, please ; behold thou the goddess a frame formed of a long cross-bar and two
Sekhet 1 has given us her hand; good is Sekhet, she uprights, and upon the former are slung several
has captured a "welcome" (i.e. in fish) for this royal
trussed geese, a bunch of live avocets, two
friend, the great of five in the temple of Thoth
whom she praises, and whom she loves, the ha-
wicker cages, and three skins. A man is
priuce Tehutihetep." kneeling and taking out birds from a small
crate, and two large crates containing live
In the middle of the scene are two short
geese are placed before him. In the bottom
vertical lines of hieroglyphs, reading :
forcing food down the throats of domesticated daughter Nub-unut standing before him, wear-
ing bracelets, anklets and collar, besides the
1
Sekhti, sekhet, Sekhet. — Sekhti means a person con-
cerned with or living on the sekhet flflfl , i.e., in its primary- In the Ehind Mathematical Papyrus the re, therp, and
2
32
EL BERSHEH.
tight-fitting dress, slung from her shoulders as box," and the mer a-khenuti, " chamberlain."
usual. Her hair or wig is long, falling to the In the fourth row is sa-ef ne Met-ef mer-ef
breast, and a fillet passes round over the fore- Nehera, " his son of his body, whom he loves,
Nehera," followed by the mer aht, "the super-
head, with a lotus in the knot at the back.
Above her are her titles and name : intendent of the arable fields," and the shemsu
avert, "attendant of the court." The fifth
sat-ef net Met-ef avert heses[t]-ef ru neb Neb-[unut],
row headed by the mer saht Nefer ar ne
is
nebt dma kh
Zehutihetep, "treasurer Nefer, born of Tehuti-
" His daughter, of his body, doing what he praises
hetep." Behind him is a mer per, " steward,"
every day, Nuh-unut, possessing the reward of
and a mer per ne per " steward of the zet,
worth."
house of eternity." The sixth and seventh
Tehutihetep is Over his
in his usual garb.
rows continue the subject of the bottom row,
head are the remains of his titles, and behind
and end with two lines of hieroglyphs :
he is the sahu kefa ah Apa sa Nehera, " servant the inner end is still in place. The great
who conceals (?) the heart, Apa's son Nehera." panel from which pis. xxv., xxvi., and xxvii.
The fifth holds two rolls of papyrus, and his are taken is still standing at the side of the
name was perhaps Tehutihetep. The sixth tomb, and it has been only slightly shifted
holds staff and sandals, and the seventh is by the earthquake. 1
Behind him are the an hen, "scribe of the has been introduced into the small scale plate and pi. xxvi.
— ;
of the scenes : a fragment of the tunic is however, can only be placed at the end of the
visible on a block, pi. xxviii. 3. In front of vintage scene in the second row.
this figure must have been the row of large III. Making bread, &c— In the third row,
figures of his wife, mother, daughters, &c. next to the potters.
The general scheme of the wall therefore IV. Gardening. — Outer
end of fourth row
consisted of Tehutihetep with his family followed by the vintage scene in the same
watching the occupations of his farmers, row, continued in the middle of the third row.
gardeners, artificers, &c. A narrow band at Y. Spinning and weaving. — In the fifth and
the base, below the feet of the large figure sixth rows at the outer end.
and continuing to the outer end of the wall, Very little can be found of the upper rows
shows the household officers of the prince. In of the inner end. The great block already
fact, the entire wall was intended to display mentioned (p. 32) will probably give us im-
the magnificence of Tehutihetep's family and portant information in regard to this, if means
estate; his sons and daughters, his retainers, can be found to raise it.
his serfs, and the artificers employed by him. There is a fragment of the titles of Tehuti-
At the inner end of the wall, in front of hetep in large hieroglyphs (pi. xxviii. 1), which
the colossal figure and above those of his must have been placed over his head or slightly
family, were displayed the choice unguents in front of him upon this wall in fact, there is ;
and precious vases and other products, which no other position for it in the tomb. The same
constituted an important part of the treasury is the case with fragment No. 2, pi. xxviii., in
gether on the different rows, but it is difficult of the wall does not give room enough for this
to make such a reconstruction of the fragments to have been placed behind Tehutihetep.
as will be free from all incongruity. The position of the fragment, pi. xxvii. 1,
Thus the gardening scene in the fourth row is uncertain. The upper row seems to repre-
is followed by the gathering of grapes, and sent gleaners in a harvest scene, in which case
this correctly enough by a scene of pressing it should be placed at the left-hand end of
out the juice in a cloth or bag ; but in the next the second and third rows of pi. xxv., but the
row above is undoubtedly recognizable the second row fits better with pi. xxix. 1.
treading of the grapes. We can only suppose The figure of Tehutihetep must have occu-
that the disposition of the figures of the pied nearly the full height of the wall above
attendants on the daughters required a certain the bottom row. The numerous female figures
amount of space, and forced the end of the standing before him, with their names above,
vintage scene out of the fourth row into the occupy the height of three of the rows of the
row above. outer end. Several female attendants are
The principal divisions of the subjects are ranked in two rows beyond them.
as follows : Lastly, in the bottom row of all, at the outer
I. Agricultural subjects. — The two top rows end, a number of officials are standing facing
towards the outer end of the wall, and a tiny to the left ; then, after a wide gap, are seen
compartment on the extreme outer end of the the heads of the three sons of Tehutihetep,
34 EL BERSHEH.
of the animals are seen weeds. Behind the the third has a table in front of him, upon
herdsmen is a man with a hoe, and behind which, according to Wilkinson's copy, a vase is
these again are two or more ploughs drawn by being formed. Beyond are two assistants ; one
oxen (pi. xxxi. 8-12). The use of the hoe was of them appears to be taking away a vase, the
probably to break up the clods after the plough other kneading the clay. Over the last are
had turned them up. Several remnants of the signs forming the word qed, meaning "to
inscriptions are left, but are too mutilated for make pottery." Above are two rows of pots.
translation, excepting that over the rams, which For the termination of this scene we have to
inscription over them is probably part of the &c. (pi. xxv.). First is a man crouched, with
song of the threshers, of which we can read his hands on a table in front of him ; above is
of the water after the inun- above may be read men at, "a roll of wheat-
1
I.e., the field is coming out
dation. dough(?)."
2 In the XVIIIth Dynasty tomb of Paheri, the seed
After a gap we see loaves of bread on stand of a vase, 1 they do not admit of repro-
mats (pi. xxxi. 7), then a woman mixing or duction.
pounding grain called art dget set at. The Further on is a group of five men pressing
two kinds of aget called set and at are fre- the juice from the grapes (pi. xxxi. 7) : the
quently found in lists of offerings. In the latter have been put into a great straining bag,
"
next picture " the white and green sliest which is being energetically twisted by means
are being prepared. of poles put through the looped ends ; four
men twist the poles, while another places him-
self horizontally between them to push them
IV. Gardening Scene.
apart, and so keep the bag at a full stretch.
In the fourth row are the remains of a The tub into which the juice should fall is
gardening scene. At the right-hand end is a broken away. Behind the group are jars, no
tree, growing, surrounded by a ring of earth doubt full of liquid. 2
to retain the water, a stream of which is being Another method by which the juice was
poured upon its roots (pi. xxvii. 9). A gar- extracted from the grapes is shown in the
dener is carrying a yoke of water-pots on the next row above (pi. xxvii. 2), after the bread-
right (pi. xxvii. 10). Beyond is a plot of making scene. A horizontal pole is placed
ground (pi. xxv.) divided into squares by upon supports over a wine-press, and men
channels for irrigation, as is still done in clinging to the pole tread the grapes.
Egypt. This is all coloured green. Above it
D 2
—
EL BERSHEH.
36
1
As at Beni Hasan (Part II., pis. iv. and xiii.). Thus we appear to have four groups of the
2
Cf. Dumichen, ResuMaie, pi. viii. Virey, Tombeau de female relations, and it may be said at once
for scenes of rope-making.
that the inscriptions confirm the evidence
Rekhmara, pi. xiii., of
3
With the same action as in Beni Hasan, Part I., pi. xii.
to the left of doorway). the pictures. The first two represent the wife
and xxix. (fourth row
— — —,
Hathorhetep, and presumably the mother, Sat- one represented elsewhere in the tomb ; she
kheper-ka, of Tehutihetep. Next, the third to was therefore the favourite and the eldest, and
the fifth are adult figures, not easy to identify. would naturally be put first among the
Then follow evidently four daughters (the sixth daughters. The inscription of the Aiikhet-l&dy
to the ninth), and presumably two sisters of whatever the meaning of the Egyptian word
Tehutihetep (the tenth and eleventh). may be, must therefore be applied to the fifth
1
As to the inscriptions, that above the first figure ; and the third and fourth are doubtless
figure may be restored : of similar rank or relationship. Possibly that
group represents the favourite concubines of
«<=»
Tehutihetep.
c* <=>
day, Sat-kheper-ka.
1. 2. 5.
For the last two figures we have a fragment
^ The fragment,
n an inscription over No. 11.
/wvws.
of
<0
? pi. xxx. 1, almost certainly belongs here,
AA/WW o n AAAAAA
o although the 11 [<=>] is written in the opposite
o
% direction to the mer-ef (sic) below.
the inscription should be read sew[£] ef
Probably
mert
ra
ef, "his (i.e. Tehutihetep's) sister who
a D
loves him."
Beyond these groups there are female atten-
o -o <* o dants, facing them, in two rows. In the upper
drert hesest (3) -ef em khert heru (4) ent ra action of her left arm is uncertain ;
probably
neb Neb-Unut (5) dm Met mert-ef drert (6) hesest- she assists in upholding the box which is over
ef em khert heru ent ra neb Zehutihetep
(7)
her shoulder. This must also be supported by
"
(1) His daughter of his body, his beloved one (2) of the next figure, who holds down in her right
the place of his heart, who does that which he
hand a boomerang-shaped instrument, which
praises (3) in that which belongs to the day (4)
(5) The AnTchet, his beloved one, (6) who wins tanets. The first of these figures seems to be
his praise (7) daily (as before), Tehutihetep."
1
See above, p. 8.
The original position of this block is quite 2
Of. Beni Hasan, Part I., pi. xii., behind the harpers on
certain. The daughter Nub-Unut is the only the left of the false door.
—
38
EL BERSHEH.
sible to say.
The tenth, the mer lean Shedes sa Sep,
" superintendent of the oxen, Shedes' son
In the bottom row we note that the figures
at the inner end face down the tomb, and all Sep."
The eleventh the mer did Aha-nekht,
of these represent personal attendants on
is
the female members of the family and their [maa dn dnu-sen ne tenu renpet] hena dnu-sen ne
attendants having been represented above. Mert heru net ra neb dp ne seten ne set zet d[n
ha Merp nesti sab-]ad-mer mer qemhu dri pe neb
First there are the three sons of Tehuti-
[Zehutihetep neb dmakh\
hetep— Shemsu - em - khau - ef, Usertsen - ankh, " [Seeing- the bringing of their offerings of each year],
and Nehera. Then there is a great lacuna,
together with the offerings of each day, counted to
representing space for ten or twelve figures. the king for ever and ever by [the /;a-prince, the
Twelve figures follow, and there is a space for regulator of the two thrones, the sab-] ad-mer, the
at the end, so there must have been superintendent of the South, he who belongs to
two more
every town [Tehutihetep, possessing the
twenty-five figures in all behind the sons.
reward of worth]."
The inscription belonging to the first is
second is named Nekhta, and carries a spear On the right is represented a standing figure
and a bow. of Tehutihetep's father Kay, clothed with an
There is another gap here, sufficient for five elaborate pointed skirt, and wearing sandals.
or six figures. Then come three attendants with In his right hand he holds a staff, and in his
long tunics, and at the inner end of the wall left a leathern thong (?). A pectoral in the
is a scribe carrying two rolls of papyrus. He is shape of a panther's head, with two loops
the an hen kherp Jcatu nebt, " scribe of the above and a tassel below, is suspended from
box, superintendent of all the works," and is his neck by a long variegated band. Above
named " Nekhta's son Sepa, born of Sepa." him is the inscription reading as follows :
with a small skirt and wearing sandals. He Great Chief of the Hare nome, as successor of him
who made me (the) Aa-prince of the kha pyramid-
holds in his right hand the v baton of office,
city of Usertsen I. (?), superintendent of the priests,
and in his left hand a staff. Hanging from Nehera's son Kay."
his neck is a collar, attached to which is an
elaborate pectoral (mutilated).
Left and Right-hand Walls, pis. xxxii., xxxiv.
Above him is an inscription in eight lines
zed-ef medu kher te-ef ren per-nef khent ef The scenes and inscriptions on the two sides
en uru dau hesut-d dpten kher tef-d kher neter-d of the shrine are almost identical ; both are
det-ef sa em her en net ef her tep da en Vnt considerably mutilated, but the one helps to
em seti en utet su ti (?) pu en tef-[d] pen (?) erde-
!
1
with an altar before him and lists of offerings
rl jl masc. substantive derived from rl , meaning a person
holding a place. The inscription is difficult to translate.
above. The figures are arranged in five rows.
2
It will be recollected that these two titles are those of
3
the high priest of Thoth in the Hare nome. Vide note supra.
—
: —
40
EL BERSHEH.
sentations of the
tomb of Amenemhat doing as you will." In the corresponding
compared with those in the
1 row of the left-hand wall are two inscriptions :
at Beni Hasan.
Row 1 is divided into two compartments. (1) maa en ka-ef, "offering to his ka" and
de nenshem, " give a nenshem joint."
In the we can trace the sem-priest, and
first (2)
Row Servants bringing offerings of flesh,
5.
behind him a lector named Heru-amen-ankh.(?)
fowl, fruits, &c. The inscriptions over these
In the next compartment are three kherheb
rows on the two walls are mutilated, but, as
priests, kneeling, and above them the inscrip-
se-aM an Mer-heb asha, "singing services they are identical, we can restore the text from
tion :
4th. Se-neter, " incense," and fire. prince, regulator of the two thrones, great of five,
Rows 3 and 4. Cutting up oxen and bringing On the left-hand wall we have also three
wall there is a good example of pedet des, (1) maa ne ka-ef, " offering to his ha."
"sharpening the flint knife." In the fourth uab [ne Jca ne] hct Merp nesti Zehutihetep, "pure
(2)
row of the same wall, over the ox, is de-na afui offerings [for the Tea of] the Aa-prince, regulator of
Ab-kau, father of Sep, " director of the work " of the Brugsch, H., his translation of colossus scene 18.
tomb, 3, 17. Bubales, hunting of, 14.
Ameua-ankku, decorator of the tomb, 3, 20. Ceremonial of purification, scene of, 15.
Amenemhat II., 6, 12. Chabas, F., his translation of colossus scene, 18.
Ankhet (?), title of, 8, 37. Children of Tehutihetep, 8.
Anlch-en-net, title of, 8, 37. Clap-nets, 26, 30.
Ankhu, hound, 38. Colossus on sledge, its position in tomb, 2 ; described by
Antelope, shooting of the, 14. Rosellini, and drawn by Ricci, Bonomi and Arundale,
Antinoe, city of, its site, 1. 4 ; scene of its transport, 17-22 ; description of, 19 ;
Apa, father of Nehera, an attendant, 32. temple for reception, 22 ; sacrifices to, 22 ; its size,
Apa, mother of Nekht-nekhen, 38. construction, transport, &c, 23-26.
Architect of the tomb, 3, 17. Cranes, feeding of, 31.
Architectural features, 9.
Bankes, W. J., opens temple at Abu Simbel, 3 ; visits El Dresses of royal personages, priests, warriors, &c, 13, 15,
Kab, 3 ; discovery of tomb of Tehutihetep, 3 ; his 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 28, 32, 36, 39.
drawing of the colossus scene, 5. Ducks, capture of, 31.
Beechey, H. W., opens temple at Abu Simbel, 3 ; visits
El Kab, 3 ; discovery of tomb of Tehutihetep, 3. Eirund, one of Lepsius's draughtsmen at El Bersheh, 5, note.
Belzoni, G. B., opens temple at Abu Simbel, 3 ; visits El El Bersheh, tombs of, situation, 1, 4 ; discovery of, 3.
Beni Hasan, tombs of, scenes, 2, 25, 28, 29, 33, 36, 37, 40. Erman, Ad., translates colossus scene, 18.
Birds, capture of, 26, 30; feeding of, 31. Eshnrunen, mounds of, 1.
Boats and boating scenes, 14, 27, 29. Facade of tomb, description of, 12.
Bonomi, J., his drawings of colossus scene, &c, 4, 18, 22. Family of Tehutihetep, 6.
INDEX.
42
18.
Maspero, G., his translation of the colossus scene,
Fishing scene, 15.
Mehti (?), god, 21.
Fowling, mode of, 30, 31.
Mehti-em-hat, lector, 16.
Fowling scenes, 14.
Lion, hunting of the, 14. Rashepses, tomb of, its colossi, 25.
Sacrificial scenes, 40. purification, 15; transport of colossus, 17; statue of,
Sakkara, tombs of Ptahshepses and Rashepses at, 25. in temple for colossus, 22; stock-taking of herds,
Sat-kez-hetep, motber of Tekutinekkt, " maker of tke 26-29; superintending agricultural, &c, labours, 33;
tomb/' 16. capture of birds and fish, 26, 30 ; figures of, in shrine,
Sat-bez-hetep, daughter of Tehutibetep, 8, 37. 39.
Sat-bez-hetep, the fan-bearer, 38. Tehutihetep, family of, 6-8 ; its genealogy, 8 ; figures of,
Sat-kheper-ka, mother of Tehutihetep, 7, 8, 13, 15, 27, 28, 37. 37, 38.
Sat-kheper-ka, daughter of Tehutihetep, 8, 37. Tehutihetep, tomb of, general description, 1, 2, 9; approach,
Sebek-a-na, the «a&-priest, 16. 2 ; date and discovery, 3 ; destruction, 5 scenes and
;
Sedan-chair, 17 ; its construction, 30; bearers of, 38, note, inscriptions, 9-40 ; architectural features, 9 present
;
Seh (summer bouse), 26 ; form of, 27, note. state, 10; decorations, 10, 11 ; cartouches in, 12.
Sekhet, goddess, 31. Tehutibetep, son of Sep, superintendent of treasury, 38.
Sekhti, i.e. fishermen, 31. Tehutinekht, son of Sat-bez-hetep, "maker of the tomb," 16.
Sep, father of Tehutihetep, superintendent of treasury, 38. Tell-el-Amarna, quarries near, 23.
Sep, father of Nehera, steward of the nome, 38. Tbereta, town of, 21.
Sep, son of Ab-kau, " director of the work" of the tomb, Thoth, titles of the high priest of, 7, 13.
3, 17. Titles of Tehutihetep, 6, 7, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 22, 32, 33.
Sep, sou of Shades, superintendent of oxen, 38. Transport of the colossus, how effected, 23, 24; various
Sepa, son of Nekhta, superintendent of the works, agricul- scenes of, 25.
Sepa, son of Nekht-ankh, "constructor of the tomb," 16, TJaz-kau-es, mother of Tehutihetep, " superintendent of
treasury," 38.
20, 32.
Shades, father of Sep, superintendent of oxen, 38. Usertsen II., 6, 12.
scene of purification, 16 ; transport of colossus, 17 Usertsen-ankb, son of Tehutibetep, 4, note, 8; hunting, 14;
;
hunting, 13; fowling, 14; fishing, 15; ceremony of Zamu (troops), 18, note.
PRINTED BY GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, LIMITED, ST. JOHN'S HOUSE, CLERKBNWELL ROAD, E.C.
LIST OF PLATES
(WITH REFERENCES TO THE PAGES ON WHICH
THET ARE DESCRIBED).
PAGE
PLATE
Inner Chamber (continued),
I. Frontispiece. Portrait of a daughter of
11 16-32
xn. Left-hand wall (entire) [H.C.]
1
Tehutihetep [M.W.B. ] .
9-10 [H.C
II.
ill.
Plan, sections, and elevation [G.W.F.]
9-10
xiii.-xvi.
26-30
[G.W.F. & xvii.-xix. Left-hand wall (lower rows) [H.C]
iv. Details of column (restored)
9-10 [H.C] 30-32
M.W.B.] xx. Inner wall (entire)
v. Inscriptions on jambs and architraves xxi. Inner wall : The pool of wild fowl
14-15
xxv.-xxxi. Right-hand wall, Fragments
&P.E.N.] .
[H.C
32-39
vili, Inner wall (right side) [H.C.]
(left side) [H.C.] 15
ix. Inner wall .
Shrine.
[H.C] 39-40
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