.
At the end
of XIth or at the beginning of XIIth Dynasty, one of the successors of
Mentuhotep Nebhepetra (Mentuhotep Sankhkara? Mentuhotep Nebtauira? or Amenemhat
I as suggested by Dorothea Arnold?) started building his mortuary complex
at Western Thebes, in a valley behind Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, known in Egyptology
as the Third Valley or The Valley of the Last Mentuhotep. This project,
perhaps planned as resembling the tomb complex of Mentuhotep Nebhepetra
at Deir el-Bahari, was never finished. Remains of the terrace with some
constructions, including the royal tomb (TT 281), are preserved in the
southern part of the valley. They were excavated by Herbert Winlock in
1921. It is not clear whether the ruler was buried in the tomb. Some of
his officials, however, who located their tombs in the slopes of hills
surrounding the valley, were buried there, the best known one being Meketra
(TT 280). Two of the officials hewn their tombs in the small hill south
of the royal complex. They must have been two of highest nobles since their
burials are the two closest to, and on the right-hand side of the king
resting in his eternal residence. These tombs, named MMA 1151 and MMA 1152
were many times reused after the Middle Kingdom, and in 6th-8th centuries
AD they were the site of a Coptic hermitage.
Since 2003
this site is under research by the Polish Archaeological Mission at Sheikh
Abd el-Qurna, directed by Tomasz Górecki from the National Museum in Warsaw.
Till 2015 the work concentrated on excavation and research of the Coptic
hermitage. Remains of mudbrick constructions were unearthed, including
a storeroom/refugial tower in front of the tomb. Among the finds there
were thousands of amphorae and objects of craftsmanship made by monks,
but also parchment and papyrus books with oldest Christian texts.
The richness
of the material from the hermitage, as well as other circumstances, caused
that research of the Pharaonic remains, and especially the substructures
of the tombs, had to be delayed. Finally, however, in February 2015 the
project of research of Pharaonic structures and objects started, led by
Andrzej Ćwiek from the Adam Mickiewicz University and the Archaeological
Museum in Poznań, deputy director of the mission, assisted by Patryk Chudzik
from the University of Wrocław.
During the
excavations made at the site of MMA 1151 and MMA 1152 in 2003-2014 were
found many artefacts dated to the Pharaonic period, either belonging to
interments in the tombs (mummies, fragments of coffins, funerary figurines,
offering pottery, amulets), or brought from outside by the monks with the
purpose of re-use (funerary cones to be used as stoppers for amphorae,
fragments of stelae to make floors, wood for fire or as material for crafts,
etc.)
At last, after
twelve years of work in the hermitage, the time has come to go down and
check, what is at the bottom of the shaft of MMA 1152 excavated partially
by somebody (archaeologists? robbers?) in the 20th century. It was not
Herbert Winlock, who excavated in 1921 the shaft and burial chamber in
the neighbouring tomb MMA 1151. Writing on MMA 1152 in his notes, Winlock
stated only: 'pit undug. French concession'. However, at some point later,
somebody (French mission at Deir el-Medina?) excavated the shaft down to
almost 18 meters, leaving no published record of these activities.
The team excavating
in February and March 2015 the shaft of MMA 1152 directed by A. Ćwiek,
included Arkadiusz Ostasz, conservator with engineering and climbing skills,
who invented and organized a safe and efficient system of exploration of
underground structures, and Marta Kaczanowicz, student of archaeology at
the Adam Mickiewicz University, documenting the finds. To explore the shaft
safely and efficiently, a special construction of wooden beams was built
over the mouth of the shaft, for protection and as a support for special
devices aimed at vertical transport of people and material. Climbing equipment
of the latest generation was used, and everybody working in the room was
secured by harnesses and lines.
The shaft is
over 18 meters deep and its section is 3.5 x 2 m.
At its bottom,
a sloping corridor opens that leads for some 4.6 m to the beginning of
another shaft, to be explored in the next season. In 2015 the team started
removing the fill of the lower part of the shaft and the corridor starting
at
its bottom. The debris was pulled up in special leather sacks and then
transported outside the tomb on wheelbarrows. Sieving enabled finding even
smallest items. Typical finds from the bottom of the shaft included pottery,
pieces of sandstone, granite tools, fragments of mud-bricks, pieces of
wooden coffins and cartonnages, linen, and human and animal bones.
Faience beads,
fragments of faience amulets and small clay shabtis dated to the Third
Intermediate Period come from secondary burials in the tomb, the question
if it was used for its original owner’s burial in the Middle Kingdom is
still open.
A highlight
of the season 2015 was the discovery of a fragment of linen with remains
of text written in ink. Two columns of the text contain cartouches of Ptolemy
XII, the right-hand column starts with the name of Isis. Most probably
it was a velum, i.a. a veil for the sacred image, in the temple
of Deir el-Medina.
Ptolemy XII
Auletes’ activity at Deir el-Medina is well attested. To his reign is dated
the decoration of the gate. Probably rebuilding and embellishing of the
temple was also an occasion for donation of items of ritual equipment,
including linen veils. This may explain the cartouches and the name of
the goddess.
The linen was
found by Coptic monks and brought to the hermitage. Most probably they
tore the small 'dirty' part of the linen, using the rest as a sheet or
cloth. By their fortunate activity (cf. T. Górecki, 'It Might Come in Useful'.
Scavenging Among the Monks from the Hermitage in MMA 1152, Etudes et Travaux
XXVII (2014), pp. 129-150), a rare ancient Egyptian object has been preserved.
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Polish Archaeological
Mission at Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, Egypt works under the auspices of the Polish
Center of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, in cooperation
with Adam Mickiewicz University.
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