ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORKS

Djehuty lived in the ancient city of Thebes, modern Luxor, in the early 15th
century BC, under the reign of one of the few women who served as
haraoh in !gyt"s long ancient history# $aat%are &atshesut' Djehuty held
the osition of (overseer of the Treasury( of the royal administration and
(overseer of wor%s( of the craftsmen, who decorated with metals, recious
stones and exotic woods the monuments the )ueen built on both sides of the
*ile' +t all seems to indicate that he died before &atshesut disaeared
from the scene around 1,-. BC' /nli%e the rincial dignitaries at the time,
who built their tombs on the hill of 0hei%h 1bd el2)urna, southwest of the
mortuary temle of the )ueen, Djehuty laced his monument for eternity
across the valley of Deir el2Bahari, about five hundred meters northeast, on
the hill %nown today as Dra 1bu el2*aga' 3hy did Djehuty move away
from his colleagues4 3hy did he choose that articular lace4'
The hill of Dra 1bu el2*aga stands on the western ban% of the *ile, at the
north end of the necroolis, right in front of the temle of 5arna%, which in
the early 15th century BC, with the establishment of the 16th Dynasty,
became the main temle of Thebes, and its clergy, dedicated to the worshi
of the god 1mun, gradually ac7uired greater social and economic relevance'
+n search of symbolic elements in the landscae that emhasi8ed religious
ideas and funerary concetions, Dra 1bu el2*aga seemed a suitable lace to
be buried, since the sun that in the mornings rose between the obelis%s and
ylons of the temle of 1mun at 5arna%, hid behind the hill of Dra 1bu el2
*aga at dus%'
$oreover, the most imortant event then in Thebes, the (Beautiful 9east of
the :alley (, during which the cult statue of the god 1mun was ta%en in
rocession from the temle of 5arna% and accomanied until the hill of Deir
el2Bahari, reached the necroolis recisely at the foothill of Dra 1bu el2
*aga, right where Djehuty built his house for eternity'
$ost li%ely, the religious symbolism the hill ac7uired and the strategic
osition in the most imortant annual rocession had significant influence
over the choice of the site' But other olitical or social factors could just as
well have layed a art in Djehuty"s decision, as, for examle, the fact that
the hill of Dra 1bu el2*aga had been chosen by the royal family in the
revious dynasty, the 1-th Dynasty, who were erceived as the
7uintessential Theban rulers' +t seems that the early 16th Dynasty %ings were
also buried there, &atshesut being the first ruler to brea% the tradition and
oen the :alley of the 5ings as the lace to locate the royal tomb' 1t that
time, Dra 1bu el2*aga became more accessible, while retaining intact its
religious and olitical connotations' 0o, around 1,-. BC, Djehuty decided
to find a lace for his funerary monument between the royal family and
courtiers of the revious dynasty, in an area full of religious symbolism and
Theban noble ancestry'
SECTOR 10, southwest of the courtyard entrance to the to!"cha#e$ of
%&ehuty
Djehuty built his tomb2chael at the foothill of Dra 1bu el2*aga, at ground
level, at the same height as the ath followed by the rocession of the
(Beautiful 9east of the :alley ( towards Deir el2Bahari, where the 7uality of
the limestone was better and more comact, allowing the interior walls to be
decorated in relief'
The land in this art of the necroolis was already then 7uite oulated,
occuied by burials of the 1-th Dynasty ;aroximately between 1<5. and
155. BC=, and even earlier, from the 11th and 1>th Dynasties ;ca' >... BC='
0o Djehuty had to build his monument in a narrow sace, in between tomb2
chaels carved into the sloe of the hill a few years before, as &ery"s tomb2
chael ;TT 11=, built during the reign of 1menhote +, ca' 15>. BC, and
ma%e his courtyard long and narrow to dodge the funerary shafts and mud2
bric% chaels erected in that area, a few years earlier, and which were still
receiving offerings' +n fact, the left side2wall of the courtyard had to be
deviated towards the interior to avoid going above and damaging a small
mud2bric% chael' The deviation in Djehuty"s wall indicates, from the time
that the >..< excavations unveiled the courtyard, that the little mud2bric%
chael redated Djehuty and, desite its seemingly insignificant aearance,
it must have been considered imortant enough to be resected by such a
high dignitary'
The area of the small mud2bric% chael, to the left of the courtyard of
Djehuty"s tomb2chael, that is, southwest, was occuied by the houses that
stood at the end of the modern town, stretching over the hill of Dra 1bu el2
*aga until ?anuary >..-, when the governor of Luxor, along with the
0ureme Council of 1nti7uities, demolished the entire village and relocated
the eole in new houses along *ew )urna' +n >..6 we too% the
oortunity to as% the 0ureme Council of 1nti7uities to extend our
concession towards the southwest, whilst we offered to remove the debris
iled there after the demolitions' @ur re7uest was granted, and in >..A and
>.1. we conducted a thorough cleaning of the area now under our
resonsibility'
The excavation of the new area began in ?anuary >.11, and was
named 'Sector 10'' That year"s camaign lasted half than usual, only three
wee%s, due to the riots that began on ?anuary >5th and ended u
overthrowing Bresident &osni $ubara%' The following year, in >.1>, we
were able to carry out a normal camaign, which lasted six wee%s, and,
among other things, we unveiled and excavated the mud2bric% chael that
caused the deviation in Djehuty"s courtyard side2wall' '
Ahose"sa#a(r and the trans(t(on fro the 1)th to the 1*th %ynasty +ca,
1--0 .C/
The ud"!r(c0 cha#e$ is very simle, it measures >'>. x >'>. m, and is
only .'A. m high' +n front of the chael, toed by mud2bric%s and
dislaying a standard si8e ;>',A x .'6C m= we unearthed the funerary shaft
curb associated with the chael' +nside the chael we found six wooden
funerary figurines ;shabtis=, three of them inscribed# one with an offering
formula written in cursive hieroglyhs, and including the name of the
reciient, 1hmose, and the other two just mentioning the name of Ahose"
sa#a(r, written in hieratic' +n addition, we found a linen fragment with
1hmose"s name written in blac% in%, and another linen tissue with a
erfectly legible inscrition, indicating 'da(u"$(nen for Ahose"sa#a(r''
+n >.1C, during the 1>th camaign, while digging around the edge of the
shaft curb, we found two other wooden figurines carved in a similar rough
way, one with the name of 1hmose2saair, written in hieratic over the chest
;15'5 x C x 1 cm=, and the other ;1< x >'5 x C cm= dedicated to a (rince(
;sa-nesu=, whose name, written on the right side, is hard to read, but could
erfectly be 1hmose' This year we also found two other fragments of linen
with an inscrition in blac% in%, once again difficult to read, but that seem to
mention 1hmose2saair'
The material found bearing the name of 1hmose2saair, the funerary
figurines and the linen, suggest that his chael and shaft might be very close,
even within our archaeological concession' Considering where the objects
were found, these could be associated with the mud2bric% chael and burial
shaft located just ahead' !ven if we assume that the objects were thrown out
of their original location ;due to looting in ancient times=, andDor that they
were votive objects offered after the burial ;and therefore had not been art
of the funerary e7uiment of the deceased=, the number of inscribed objects
found in such a small area allows us to thin% that 1hmose2saair could have
been buried in this area, and not at the other end of Dra 1bu el2*aga, as all
!gytologists have assumed since 3inloc% ublished in 1A>, an article in
the Journal of Egyptian Archaeology in which he located the royal tombs
using as guide the (1bbott Bayrus(, which recounts the theft and
subse7uent insection of tombs at Dra 1bu el2*aga, in year 1< of Eamesses
+F, ca' 1... BC'
1hmose2saair is a (famous( as well as enigmatic character in the history of
!gyt' &e was a rince, robably the son and heir of the first %ing of the
16th Dynasty, 1hmose' &e never came to reign, and died while still being a
child, when he was more or less 5 years old' 1ctually, no one %nows for sure
who his father was, and his body has been identified with the incomlete
and oorly bandaged remains of a child who was laced in a coffin of a later
eriod ;late 16th Dynasty=, and of which only art of the name tag (G'''H ai
G'''H( remains' +t was found in the "cachette" of Deir el2Bahari, where the
>1st Dynasty riests of 1mun moved the bodies of %ings and members of
the royal family to revent looting' But what we do %now is that, desite
dying so young and not being able to reign, 1hmose2saair received
worshi# offerings were made to him over the forthcoming years,
inscritions were devoted to him, and he was even included in the lists of
imortant members of the royal family that were recorded five hundred
years later'
The discovery, 6 m northwest, of a 1reat #ottery de#os(t w(th near$y 2,000
3esse$s, unearthed during the >.1> and >.1C camaigns, might be related to
his later veneration and with the fact that his funerary monument became a
sanctuary' The vessels were carefully laced on to of each other, covering
an area larger than 6 x , m' The first analysis reveals that most of them
belong to the late 1-th andDor very early 16th Dynasty'
The discovery, during the second season ;>..C=, of a fragment of alabaster
with the name of 5ing 1hmose within a royal cartouche, and the discovery
of four ieces of clay with art of the imrint of the (seal of the necroolis(,
used by the >1st Dynasty riests of 1mun during their tomb insections,
might fit into this interretative hyothesis' But these are only circumstantial
evidence, and all they really rove is that the area we are excavating, 0ector
1., was art of the royal cemetery of the 1-th and early 16th Dynasty' 0ome
of the burials are associated with 5ing 1hmose, and they must have been
imortant enough for the >1st Dynasty riests to carry out one or more
interventions here' &oefully, future excavations will rovide relevant
information, which will allow us to clarify these issues a little more'
The excavation of the interior of the burial shaft that oens u in front of the
mud2bric% chael, next to which we found the material associated with
1hmose2saair, has been ostoned until the next camaign' This year we
decided to continue digging around it' The shaft and the chael are a meter
away, and there we found a set comrising a bowl and four vessels of marl
clay, with long and wavy nec%s and incised decoration, tyical of the end of
the 1-th and early 16th Dynasty' ?ust 1'5. m away towards the southeast, we
uncovered the mud2bric% curb of a second funerary shaft, dislaying
conventional measures# >'55 x 1 m' The average si8e of the mud2bric%s is#
C>'5 x 15 x 1. cm' 1round this second shaft we gathered abundant ottery
of the early 16th Dynasty, mainly red burnished round based slender bottles'
Ta%ing into account the data collected by the excavations to date, it aears
that in 0ector 1. there have been no significant alterations from the 0aite
eriod onwards, ca.<5.' BC', as no materials, nor Eoman, nor Cotic, nor
+slamic have been found' The most recent material is a $ar1e o3o(d"!od(ed
Sa(te stora1e &ar' +t was found bro%en in ieces, gathered at one end of the
shaft oosite the mud2bric% chael, on a suerficial level' This fits well
with last year"s discovery, just three meters further north, of a
mummification deosit, from the 0aite eriod, consisting of a very similar
storage jar and fourteen natron linen bags' The container jar found this year
has been entirely recomosed than%s to the exertise of our ottery
secialists' +t is a eculiar object that dislays on its outer surface an
inscrition written in hieratic, with large signs in blac% in%, but
unfortunately too faint to allow reading'
The $ar1e #ottery de#os(t, mentioned above, rests on a narrow layer, where
the terrain is grayish due to the decomosition of lant remains and the soil
that was inside the vessels' This layer rests, in turn, on a wider layer, the
color being an intense white, due to the limestone within it, and is
comletely sterile' Therefore, we can say that we ha3e (dent(f(ed the
1round $e3e$ at the end of the 1)th and ear$y 1*th %ynast(es, that is,
around 155. BC' The ground shows a slight incline, following the sloe of
the hill' +n addition, the ground rises >'5 meters above the level of Djehuty"s
courtyard, which means that he dug his courtyard 7uite dee, leaving it
artially recessed' That is why, the mud2bric% side2walls that he built are C
meters high on the inner side of the courtyard, but only 1 meter high on the
outer side, as the floor remained > meters higher at both sides of the court'
Infant .ur(a$ of the 1)th %ynasty
@n ?anuary ><, at the east end of the ottery deosit, and at a slightly lower
level on which the vessels rested, we found an anthro#oor#h(c wooden
coff(n, which had been laced lying on the bedroc% without any tye of
rotection or funerary e7uiment' The coffin was left sideways, leaning on
its left side' 1lthough the sides are slightly curved, that must have been its
original location and osition, since a few mid2si8e stones were laced on
the sides, allowing it to lean and maintain its osition'
The coffin lid was carved in a somewhat rough way, following the we$$"
0nown sty$e of the rishi"coff(ns, with a fairly wide nemes2headdress
covering the head and two sheets of cloth falling from the sides to cover the
chest of the deceased comletely' The rishi2coffins are characteristic of
the 1)th and 3ery ear$y 1*th %ynast(es, what erfectly corresonds with
the stratigrahy' 3hile rishi2coffins were ainted with colors imitating
feathers, this samle only got the first layer of white2wash and it offers no
inscrition, therefore the name of the owner remains un%nown' The coffin
measures A< x >A x >6'5 cm, it is therefore significantly smaller than
normal' This lead to believe from the very beginning that it must have
belonged to a child'
+nside the coffin, indeed, was the body of an infant wraed in a shroud, tied
over the head and around the an%les' The s%eleton could be seen through the
bro%en cloth, with barely any eithelial tissue' The series of x2rays alied
on the mummy confirmed that it was an (nfant, who d(ed at the a1e of 4 or
so, but they were not able to secify the sex of the deceased, or to ostulate
a ossible cause of death' The body had been laced sideways in the coffin,
resting on its left shoulder, which is very unusual during the 1-th Dynasty'
That was robably due to the narrow inner coffin, about >. cm wide, forcing
the body to be laced sideways' Berhas to comensate for this anomaly, the
coffin was laid also on its side, so that the body of the child would end u
resting on hisDher bac%, as it should be' But the side of the coffin on which
the child was lying was mista%en, and heDshe ended u with hisDher face to
the ground, the oosite of what was intended'
1t first, it seemed as if the coffin had been left abandoned, unrotected and
without funerary e7uiment' But as the excavation continued in the
surrounding area, it became clear that it was surrounded by other
contemorary burials, in a densely occuied necroolis' Therefore, we must
assume that the coffin was intentionally laced in that very location,
accomanied by relevant ersonalities, some of them maybe even being
members of the same family'
5r(nce Intefose, at the !e1(nn(n1 of the 1)th %ynasty
Barely a meter away from the coffin of the child and just above this level,
between the base of the ceramic deosit and the to of the coffin, we found
five days before a sandstone fragment ;5A x 5, x 1C cm=' +t dislayed a
scene carved within a register >1 cm high, over which there are traces of a
molding, suggesting that the fragment must have been art of an
architectural element, erhas a lintel' The incision is very suerficial and
was carried out carelessly' The figure of a standing female deity is deicted
in the center# she is wearing a vulture2shaed diademI her right hand holds a
was2sceter of (authority( to which, on its uer end, an an%h2sign (of life(
has been attached, and in her left hand she is holding a second an%h2sign'
The inscrition accomanying the figure identifies it as (&athor, Lady of the
mountain of the necroolis(' +n front of her, but now comletely lost, should
have been the figure of a man, standing with his arms raised in a raying
osition, with the inscrition '6,,, #erfor(n1 a #rayer to7 Hathor, !y
5r(nce Intefose'' 1 third figure of a man standing has been artially
reserved behind the goddess' They are bac% to bac%, facing oosite sides,
in a mirror comosition, as he also holds in his left hand the was2sceter and
in his right hand the an%h2sign' &e is wearing the white crown and next to
him was the beginning of the inscrition that identifies him as %ing of /er
and Lower !gyt' /nfortunately, the stone is bro%en right where his name
would have been carved'
0ix days before finding this inscrition of rince +ntefmose, about five
meters further south, we found a $(estone ste$a ;,- x >- x < cm=, the uer
end being semicircular and with traces of a scene carved on one of its sides'
The incision was very suerficial and salts have eroded most of the surface,
ma%ing reading difficult' !ven so, we were able to distinguish the silhouette
of two male figures standing, facing each other, with a text inscribed
between them, identifying the right figure as 'the #r(nce Intefose 6,,,7''
The other figure has his right hand raised, which seems to indicate that it is
invo%ing an offering andDor a rayer, while the other figure, +ntefmose,
becomes then the reciient and beneficiary of such action'
+f Brince +ntefmose had been worshied in a similar way to how it aears
that 1hmose2saair was, there is a ossibility then that the large ottery
deosit would be associated with his mud2bric% chael and tomb, as it is for
the time being the nearest funerary comlex, it is at the same level on the
hill, and they are even within reach'
1lthough two inscritions mentioning the rince +ntefmose had been
unearthed to the east and south of the ottery deosit, when excavating on
the east we found a co#$e8 ud"!r(c0 structure, of considerable si8e'
This was because there were at least three different structures, belonging to
different eriods, which overla in a small sace' The oldest structure is
almost 7uadrangular ;>'15 x >',. cm=, with three sides just over a meter
high and a fourth side that barely rises above ground level, serving as an
entrance to an emty inner sace ;cf. the mud2bric% chael of 1hmose2saair
in the southern area of 0ector 1.=' The floor of this structure is at the same
level as the floor of the ottery deosit, so we can consider both to be
contemoraries' The mud2bric%s measure about >A x 15 x A cm' The outer
face of the walls still has laster remains' The structure is oriented east2west
and erfectly aligned with the shaft curb, which is located barely two meters
further east' 3e must then assume they were art of the same comlex, and
that the mud2bric% structure built next to the shaft must have served as
anoffer(n1 cha#e$'
The !ur(a$ shaft curb ;stratigrahic unit /! 11.= was built with bric%s
measuring C5 x 16 x A cm, aroximately, and the erimeter of the mouth
measures C'<. x 1'-. m on the outside, and >'6. x 1'.5 m inside' The mud2
bric%s go 1'<.D1'6. m down the shaft, which reaches a total deth of <'5< m'
The filling of the shaft was formed by loose soil, gray, and rolled stones of
considerable si8e and different materials belonging to a variety of eriods#
from 1-th or early 16th Dynasty ottery to a fragment of
fayence shabti from the Third +ntermediate Beriod or even a Btolemaic
ottery shard' &owever, in the last meter or so of the shaft, the terrain
becomes more whitish, there is an imortant increase in the number of small
and medium limestone fla%es, and a drastically reduction of materials'
1t the bottom of the shaft we found a limestone bloc%, a non2regular
octagonal rism, -. cm high and 1<'5 cm at the base' +t could have
been #art of a sa$$ o!e$(s0 that stood at the entrance of the chael above'
1fter the chael had been damaged, the shaft emtied and the tomb looted,
the bro%en obelis% would have fallen down the shaft' Two of its main sides
are 11'< cm wide, and have been carved in sun%en relief' @ne retains the
final art of an inscrition with an invocation of offerings consisting of
bread, beer, oultry, beef''' and '$(nen, for the 0a of #r(nce Intefose,
&ust(f(ed'' @n the oosite side, the figure of a standing man has been
carved' &e wal%s holding a high staff, wears a long s%irt and decorates his
chest with a broad collar' This is robably a (ortrait( of +ntefmose,
although the inscrition above the figure mentions at the end the name of a
certain *eferhote, who might have been the erson that made the offering
or gift, i'e' the donor of the obelis%'
The three inscritions found allow us to formulate the hyothesis that this
may be the tomb of rince +ntefmose' /ntil recently we only %new this
character through two objects with his name' 9linders Betrie found one in
the winter of 1A.621A.A, near our site# it is a headless statue of a scribe,
sitting with his legs crossed, and with an inscrition on the %ilt that
identifies him as (the rince +ntefmose, nic%named $estusheri(' Today this
belongs to the $anchester $useum collection ;inventory number 5.51='
The other object is a shabti, reserved today in the British $useum ;!1
1CC>A=, and with an inscrition that relates rince +ntefmose with one of the
first %ings of the 1-th Dynasty, called 0obe%emsaf'
The entrance to the !ur(a$ cha!er ;/! 111= occuies the entire width of
the western side of the shaft, and would have had a height of 1'>. m, similar
to the inside of the chamber ;with the lintel bro%en, the entry now measures
1'-. m=' Before crossing the threshold, we found the remains of a
dismembered human mummy that had been wraed in good 7uality cloth,
well finished off in the edges and with fringes'
The burial chamber measures >'-. x 1'-5 m' The walls were not well
finished' +n the middle of the floor the roc% has a recess that measures >',5 x
.'65D.'A5 m and .'-5 m dee ;/! 11>=, the exact measurements to fit inside
a wooden coffin' The coffin had disaeared, and the cavity was filled with
loose and clean soil, clear in color' *ot even a scra of wood was found
inside, but at the bottom laid the head of a statue of a man ;>C x >,'5 x 1<
cm=, carved in limestone, and according to the si8e of the s%ull, ears and
eyebrows it must have been a statue of high 7uality' There is a illar on its
bac% to record a vertical inscrition, but it remained aneigrahic, so we are
not sure it belonged to +ntefmose' &owever, there is a ossibility, yet to
corroborate, that this may be the head of the headless scribe statue belonging
to the rince +ntefmose, coming from this area and now in $anchester'
The outh#(ece of 9e0hen, Ahhote#, of the 1)th %ynasty
The floor of the burial chamber, including the area to embed the coffin, was
covered with about ,. cm of small limestone fla%es and whitish soil, with
hardly any materialI the filling being similar to the last meter or so of the
shaft' This layer was covered by a different one, C5 cm thic%, consisting of
gray earth, rolled stones, worn mud2bric%s and small items of funerary
e7uiment' This surface layer had entered into the burial chamber after it
had been looted, utterly emtied ;excet for the limestone head of a male
statue= and artially filled with fla%es and soil that came from the shaft' The
suerficial layer, however, had entered into the burial chamber, not from the
shaft, but through a 1 meter diameter hole, which was later oened at the
rear wall and connects, by means of a ram, with the burial chamber of
another tomb ;/! 11C=, located two meters above' Thus, the situation that
we faced was, at first, difficult to understand, as inside one tomb remained
art of the funerary e7uiment of another tomb not yet discovered, since,
among other reasons, the hole was closed with linen cloths iled u for this
urose' @ne of these cloths still had a legible inscrition with the title
(overseer of the granary of 1mun(, but not the owner"s name'
9rom inside the burial chamber we collected fifteen mud2bric%s, seven of
which could be associated with the mud2bric% offering chael above, as they
measure >6DC> x 1,D1< x 6DA cmI the other four mud2bric%s have similar
dimensions to the mud2bric%s found in the shaft curb, C<DC6 x 1-D>. x AD1>
cm, and the last four mud2bric%s are larger, ,,D,> x >. x 1> cm, and could
have been used to bloc% the chamber' +nside, we found the uer half of a
mummy of an adult woman who, considering the refined techni7ue with
which she had been mummified, might have lived and died during the >1st
Dynasty ;ca' 1... BC=' 1mong the funerary e7uiment found, the following
objects deserve secial mention# a set of fourteen %notted cloth bags
containing natronI a hollow faience game ball, with alternating bands in two
shades of blueI art of an ebony claer in the shae of a hand and with the
head of &athor, goddess of music, carved in the wristI art of an ebony
furnitureI a wooden false beard, which would have been art of the lid of a
good 7uality coffinI art of a stuccoed wooden board with a hieratic text
written on one sideI well2reserved remains of reed matsI and a sandal ;>> x
A cm= made of braided lant fibers, with uturned ti, and in a remar%able
state of conservation'
Certainly, the most significant set was formed by three c$ay shabtis, which
wereo$ded and #a(nted in a mediocre and uns%illful way, but the figures
do dislay a fresh and sontaneous style, somewhat naJve, very uni7ue and
attractive' @ne of them ;11 x , x , cm=, found on the surface layer of the
burial chamber, has a ainted blue wig, yellow face framed in blac% and
white body, as if it were a mummy' There is a vertical inscrition on the
chest and legs, 'The os(r(s Ahhote#', written inside a rectangle in blac%
in% on yellow bac%ground' The figurine was inside a dar% gray and
lightweight sarcohagus made of ba%ed clay ;1- x A'- x A cm=' There are
traces of white aint inside the sarcohagus and a hori8ontal inscrition that
runs through the four sides and robably along the lid' The text begins with
the offering formula, (a rerogative which the %ing gives'''( and mentions
his name, 1hhote, this time, at least on one side, receded by two
titles, '%(1n(tary and outh#(ece of 9e0hen'' These titles are fre7uent in
the 1-th and early 16th Dynasties, and relate to one of the most imortant
sanctuaries in the south, closely lin%ed to the nobility of !l%ab'
The second shabti ;11 x 5 x , cm= was found u the ram that connects the
two burial chambers' The wig and body are entirely ainted in white, but the
face was ainted in yellowI there is a blac% ribbon on the forehead, and a
yellow stain that extends irregularly over the chest and legs, over which
there is an inscrition (the osiris 1hhote(, written in big signs' The facial
features have hardly been molded, whereas the ainted eyes are larger than
normal' The clay sarcohagus that %et it is similar to the revious one, but
larger ;>A x 15 x 1. cm=, the figurine being then too loose inside' 1n
inscrition runs hori8ontally over the four sides, and on one of them we can
read# '+A #rero1at(3e that/ the 0(n1 1rants and +a$so/ Os(r(s, to 1(3e a$$
sorts of r(1ht and #ure offer(n1s for the 0a of the outh#(ece of 9e0hen,
Ahhote#'' The lid, which was found fallen and bro%en in the burial
chamber below, also reserves traces of an inscrition'
The third shabti ;11', x , x C'5 cm= was in the middle of the ram, rotected
by a small recess in the roc% wall' /nli%e the other two, this shabti does not
aear to have been deosited inside a sarcohagusI it was wraed in nine
small ieces of linen ;6D1> x 1.D1< cm= with well2toed edges, one with a
fringe ;as the big fabrics were tailored=' 3ith the hel of ultraviolet light, we
were able to see that all of them were written with the same thic% in% as in
the sarcohagi, mentioning his name and titles# 'The %(1n(tary and
outh#(ece of 9e0hen, Ahhote#, &ust(f(ed'' 1s in all other cases, the sign
of the moon used to write his name, has been written uwards, which is
tyical of the 1-th Dynasty' But as a novelty, in the fabrics his name is
followed by the eithet (justified( and, furthermore, his name has been
comleted with the semantic determinative of man, which is significant
because 1hhote was a name more common among women than among
men' The figurine is ainted entirely in white excet for the yellow face,
outlined with a blac% line, and the wig has been decorated with a grid drawn
on the flat to' The inscrition was written directly on the white bac%ground
and in a very original way, in three columns that can be read the same way
from left to right or vice versa, as in the middle column we find his titles,
(The osiris, mouthiece of *e%hen( and on both sides we find his name
written the same way, (1hhote('
The three shabtis of 1hhote of the 1-th Dynasty, two of them with their
sarcohagi and a third wraed in linen bandages, constitute an excetional
set, that is worthy of being in the most imortant museums with !gytian
collections' This tye of shabtis connects with revious examles of models
or small2scale relicas of the mummified deceased belonging to the 1>th
Dynasty ;ca. >... BC=, as for examle, those found in the excavations of
the $etroolitan $useum of 1rt, in the tomb of rincess *eferure, next to
the temle of 5ing $ontuhote at Deir el2Bahari'
The scattering of the objects found seems to indicate that most of the
funerary e7uiment came from the !ur(a$ cha!er $ocated a!o3e ;/!
11C=, which !e$on1ed to the outh#(ece of 9e0hen, Ahhote#' The
chamber is very small and measures >'6. x 1 x .'6. m, just enough to ush
inside a coffin and a limited funerary e7uiment' The walls were never
smoothened, and the innermost half of the room now has no floor, but a hole
that oens to the ram and leads to the burial chamber of +ntefmose' There is
also another hole ;5. x -5 cm= that connects to a third burial chamber ;/!
11,=, which goes through the thin wall of about >5 cm thic% that searates
both chambers' 3e have still not revealed the entrance to either descending
shafts that lead to these two burial chambers, as they have not yet been
excavated'
3hat can be seen of the third burial chamber ;/! 11,= through the hole is
that it is artially filled with soil and stones, some of considerable si8e, with
a comlete large bowl lying bac%wards on the surface and, next to it, the
face of the lid of a wooden coffin robably dating to the Late Beriod'
The offering chael of rince +ntefmose was later reused and integrated into
another architectural structure that overlas' But before that haened, the
mud2bric% wall that closes the courtyard of a tomb, robably from the late
16th or 1Ath Dynasty, touches tangentially its western corner' The faKade of
this tomb still remains buried, but we exosed the threshold of the entrance
to the courtyard' 1mong the mud2bric%s fallen near the entrance, we found a
set of thirteen small linen tissues, all with an informative label written in
hieratic, in blac% in%, but its reading re7uires further study'
SECTOR a!o3e the to!"cha#e$s TT 11:12
Twenty2five meters further north, on the third level of tombs located at the
sloe of the hill, we exosed, at the end of the camaign, a section of the
mud2bric% wall that would enclose the courtyard of a tomb located just
above the tomb of Djehuty ;TT 11=' The layout dislays recesses or niches,
imitating the design followed by (alace( faKades' The mud2bric%s have an
average si8e of C< x 1< x 1> cm' +n one of them it is clearly legible the
imression of a 7uite big 7uadrangular seal ;11 x 5 cm=' +t identifies the
owner as 'the roya$ scr(!e, %&ehutynefer, &ust(f(ed'' This erson is
robably the owner of a tomb, visited by Eichard Lesius in 16,5, in Dra
1bu el2 *aga, and recently labeled as (1<( ;B$, + ;1=, ,,A=' Lise $anniche,
in her catalogue of lost tombs ;1A66, 662A.= discusses the evidence on this
tomb and its owner, Djehutynefer, who would have held the osition of
(scribe and accountant of the livestoc% and oultry of the temle of 1mun(
andDor (overseer of the easants(, during the reign of Thutmose +++, ca'
1,5.' C', about twenty years after Djehuty'
3e found and excavated, also on the third (floor( of the tombs, over the
funerary monument of Djehuty, but about nine meters northeast, a burial
shaft cut into the roc%, the mouth being larger than usual, C'C. x 1'65 m, and
,'1. m dee' The entrance into a burial chamber was located on the side of
the hill ;i'e' west=I it is artially filled with debris and leads to and crosses
through a tomb on the second (floor(' The entrance to this tomb has not yet
been located, so we decided not to continue with the excavation'
The rogress of the excavation in the sector over the tombs has allowed us,
this year, to comletely disassemble the metal structure that was built in
>..,2>..5 to reach, from outside, the ceiling of the innermost chamber of
the tomb2chael of Djehuty and solve the roblem of falling debris inside' +n
turn, we can now easily access the Eamesside chael ;see below=, which is
located on the third (floor( above the intermediate tomb ;2CAA2=, as the
ground level is now almost at the same level as the floor of the chael'
SECTOR ;0, o3er the courtyard of the to!"cha#e$ of Ay
During the >.1> camaign we exosed the faKade of the tomb2chael of 1y,
(overseer of the weavers(, at the end of the 16th Dynasty' +t was located
northeast of the courtyard of the funerary monument of Ba%i' 3e were able
to identify the owner through the large number of funerary cones, << in total
and 5 imrint mud2bric%s, that were found fallen on the floor of the
entrance' 3hile excavating the interior we found abundant material from
Eoman times, both ottery and oil lams'
This year, >.1C, we excavated the outer area, the area that would occuy the
courtyard, and we also found here mainly material from the Lreco2Eoman
era, esecially abundant fragments of amhorae and also eight fragments of
large vessels decorated with floral motifs' $oreover, the remnants of ibis
mummies or burned haw%s also aeared, as well as the remains of straw
cribs' The deth of the soil accumulated over the courtyard area was >',. m
aroximately' 1t the end of the camaign we had dug between one and two
meters dee, leaving the level of most of the area 1'>. m above the floor of
the courtyard of 1y' 3hile on a suerficial level the material aeared to be
mixed u, modern and ancient objects all together, as we descended the
7uality of the material grew' +n the end, we gathered six comlete oil lams
and - halves' 3e also found 1> funerary cones belonging to 1y, and at least
, cones of the lady of the house, +t ;ef=, who was robably the wife of Ba%i,
(@verseer of the cattle of 1mun( and owner of the tomb attached to the
southwest of 1y"s monument'
1ttached to the northwest of the faKade of the tomb2chael of 1y, we
exosed the to of the faKade of a new tomb' 0everal rows of mud2bric%s
have been reserved above the faKade, which measures 5'A. m wide'
Towards the center there is an oened doorway, 1'1. m wide' The name of
the owner and the date remain un%nown' 0ome time later, there was a
second entrance oened in the faKade, and small walls of mud2bric% were
attached to it, but its function still has to be elucidated'
A9I<AL <=<<IES (n the !ur(a$ cha!er of Hery +TT 12/
During the >.11 camaign we discovered the existence of a funerary shaft at
the rear of the innermost room of the tomb2chael of &ery ;TT 1>=' +n >.1>
we dug the shaft, which measured >',. x 1'1. m, and turned out to be -'5.
m dee' 1t the east end the entrance to a chamber was artially closed by
rows of mud2bric%s' The interior had the walls and ceiling entirely
blac%ened by one or more fires that had been burnt there, and contained
numerous bird bones scattered all over the floor and mud2bric%s that had
been used to close the entrance'
1nother chamber oened u at the west end of the shaftI it was artially
closed by four rows of regular si8ed mud2bric%s, which measured CC x 1< x
6'5 cm', and robably dated to the end of the 16th Dynasty and were reused
during the >nd century BC' 0ince there are still remains of mortar in the
inner side of the low mud2bric% closing wall, it seems as if the entry had
been bloc%ed from the inside' The chamber is 7uite big, C x <'5 m
aroximately, and the walls and the ceiling are also blac%ened' 1 hole is
clearly visible in one of the cornersI it robably communicates with the
burial shaft of the adjoining tomb, number 2CAA2, which exlains how the
entrance could have been closed from inside' /nli%e the other chamber, this
one was filled almost to the ceiling with well wraed and %notted linen
ac%ages, some burned and others not, allegedly containing animal remains,
mainly ibis mummies' The number of animal mummies could easily exceed
one thousand'
+n this >.1C camaign, we began a systematic study of the animal
mummies, roceeding with the extraction, descrition, inventory,
hotograhy and x2rays' 1fter twelve days of wor% we comleted the
extraction of <1 mummies and x2rayed a selection of >5 secimens' 3e
started of by removing the ac%ages that were closer to the entrance' 3hile
conical ac%ages seem to contain the comlete or nearly comlete s%eleton
of an ibis, in relatively good condition, 7uadrangular ac%ages seem to
contain an amorhous mass of bird bones' The blac%ened aearance of
some of the ac%ages is not due to their exosure to fire, but a conse7uence
of the treatment with oils and resins that were alied directly to the
mummies before being wraed'
The desiccated and standing body of a dog was intentionally laced at the
entrance of the chamber, as if it was guarding the access' This custom of
lacing a erson or an animal as if it were acting as a loo%out of a burial,
either a shaft or a gallery, has been confirmed elsewhere, in the tombs
reused, in the mid2>nd century BC' The secimens already studied were
well wraed and stored in metal and wooden shelves, that were custom2
built and laced in the innermost room of the tomb2chael of &ery, next to
the shaft' 3e will continue to study them in the next season'
E5IGRA5H>
The main eigrahic tas%s were conducted in the tomb2chael of Djehuty
;TT 11=' @n the one hand, we have continued to study, register and ma%e the
inventory of the bloc%s with traces of inscrition or relief unearthed during
the excavation' +n some cases, we have been able to identify the exact lace
of origin on the wall, and we have develoed a file with all the necessary
information so the restorers can lace the bloc% bac% in its sot, when
carrying out the restoration of that art of the wall'
@n the other hand, this year we have started wor%ing with the fragments that
still have traces of inscritions and we recovered during the excavation of
the burial chamber of Djehuty' There are about five hundred fragments that
vary greatly in si8e, in the amount of text they contain and in the state of
conservation' 0ome are large and heavy stone bloc%s, while others are
simle ieces of a thin layer of stucco' Desite the difficulties and
comlexity of the wor%, we have been able ut together about fifty ieces,
and we have even identified new chaters of the Boo% of the Dead that had
been written on the two missing walls, those that were chiseled to enlarge
the chamber' +t is imortant to mention that certain assages from Chater
15C were identified, as Djehuty"s version of the Boo% of the Dead is one of
the oldest examles that include this chater'
The graffiti written in demotic scrit, using red in%, on the walls of the
monuments of Djehuty and &ery ;TT 1121>=, and also in some of the
galleries that were oened from the tombs in the mid2>nd century BC, are
now being hotograhed, coied and studied' 1s the rocess of cleaning the
walls of the monuments rogresses, the number of graffiti increases and
reading becomes easier'
TO5OGRA5H>
0ince the roject began, twelve years ago, the rule has been for the
architects to use a Total 0tation to survey a toograhic ma that includes
new architectural structures unearthed during the excavation, meaning those
built with mud2bric%s as well as those cut in the roc% of the hill'
9urthermore, they have been ta%ing the coordinates of the main findings, in
order to ma%e a scattering ma of the materials and associate them with each
other and with architectural structures of the sector'
RESTORATIO9
The restoration team consists of three 0anish and three !gytian
rofessionals' They have wor%ed in three laces and carried out three very
different interventions# on the inner walls of the funerary monument of
Djehuty ;TT 11=, in the Eamesside chael we found several years ago over
the tomb2chael of &ery ;TT 1>= and, thirdly, in the most significant objects
found during the excavation conducted this season and in revious years'
Ins(de the to!"cha#e$ of %&ehuty, the restorers have focused on the
cleaning and consolidation of the right wall of the central corridor' $ost of
the wor% has been erformed mechanically, gradually removing clay
concretions that were attached to the surface of the wall, with cotton
moistened in alcohol and a scalel' But after several tests and ma%ing sure it
was harmless as well as effective, we also made use of a vibrating cutter
with ultrasound for cleaning and removing mud ;it oerates in connection
with an air comressor=' $any graffiti in red in%, written in demotic, from
the >nd century BC have seen the light, after removing the layer of mud
from the wall, over the relief scenes' The graffiti were then consolidated
with Baraloid lowered with acetone'
3e have also ositioned and secured in lace half a do8en fragments that
had been detached from the walls naturally and were recovered in the
excavation outside, over the courtyard' Than%s to the close collaboration
between eigrahers and restorers, we are reairing the walls and thus,
comleting the inscritions and relief scenes that decorate them'
+n close collaboration, this time between restorers and architects, we have
carried out and comleted the installation of a false ceiling of iron in the
innermost room of the tomb2chael of Djehuty' The ceiling in this room was
comletely bro%en, with two big holes on the sides, which communicate
with two tomb2chaels located half a meter above in the sloe of the hill' 3e
decided to ta%e advantage of this situation and laced two iron beams from
side to side across the room, suorting them on the sidewalls' 9rom these
two strong beams we welded and hung an iron bar (s%eleton(, cut to si8e,
and covering the entire area of the room' 1nd from the bars, we soldered and
hung a mesh of iron' The latter two structures are divided into four sections,
which can descend and ascend again indeendently by a ulley system' This
design will allow us, in the unli%ely event that a bloc% of stone might fall
from the ceiling, to remove it easily ;by lowering the section where the stone
fell=, and restore the roof ;ascending the section again= now without the
stone' The system is not designed to revent the roc%s from falling# the team
of geologists estimates that this is virtually imossible due to the
unredictable behavior of the roc% of the hill, but it is designed to revent
the fallen stones from causing any ersonal or material damage, and then be
able to remove it with relative ease'
Ta%ing advantage of the installation of the false iron ceiling, we set u,
along the entire erimeter, tubes of small L!D bulbs to illuminate the wall
reliefs from to to bottomI the lights will not be visible or bother on the
floor, which is a novelty in the lighting of haraonic tombs' The effect is
wonderful, and the reliefs can now be areciated as if they were on dislay
in a museum' 3e also closed the entrance of the funerary shaft that oens on
one side of the room with an iron structure, which has a fla at one end to be
able to go u and down using the metal ladder installed'
+n the course of this camaign we have cleaned and consolidated the
decoration ainted over mortar that decorates the walls of a small
7uadrangular room, which measures >'.. m long and 1'<. m high, and
which is located on the third (floor( over the tomb2chael of &ery ;TT 1>='
The decoration is the clue to %now that the cha#e$ belonged to an'o3erseer
of wea3ers' naed Raose, who robably lived in the t(es of K(n1
Raesses II, ca, 1200 .C' 1side from a funerary scene, resided by @siris
and the goddess +sis, and the classic river ilgrimage to 1bydos, there is a
eculiar, textile2ma%ing scene, with na%ed children maniulating the looms'
/ntil now only three tombs were %nown to have this tye of scene' The
mortar on which the aint was alied had a high ercentage of straw and
was also in many oints semi2detached from the wall, so we had to reinforce
and mend the surface first, and then clean and fix the colors of the scene'
3e would li%e to highlight the wor% that we have comleted with
the o!&ects foundduring the excavation# cleaning, consolidation, wraing
and storage in stable, favorable conditions for reservation' 3e have ta%en
secial care with the inscribed fabrics, the wooden figurines and the ottery
vessels of secial value' 9urthermore, we reassembled and restored a marl
clay jug with ainted decoration of $inoan influence, dated to the early 16th
Dynasty, ca' 15.. BC, which we found in one of the chambers of the burial
shaft that oens at the entrance of the intermediate tomb ;2CAA2=, during the
>..< camaign'
9inally, we would li%e to emhasi8e that during this year"s camaign we set
u in the Luxor $useum a secial showcase to rotect and exhibit eight of
the fifty bou7uets of dried flowers that were found while excavating the
courtyard of the funerary monument of Djehuty' 3ith the bou7uets we also
exhibited one of the fifty vessels, which hels to date the collection in the
>1st Dynasty' Therefore, there are now five sets of ieces in exhibition in
the Lu8or <useu that have come from our excavation# the ainted coffin,
ottery, bows and arrows of +7er ;ca' >... BC=I the (1rentice"s Board(
;ca.1,-. BC=I the gold earrings found at the entrance of the burial chamber
of Djehuty ;ca.1,-. BC=, a linen cloth with an inscrition dating its
roduction to year > of 1menhote ++ ;ca. 1,5. BC=, and now the bou7uets,
dated to 1... BC' /ndoubtedly, the ermanent exhibition in the magnificent
Luxor $useum of five of our most significant findings is an outstanding
achievement, of which we can all be very roud'