The shaft tomb of Iufaa at Abusir in 2001

ZÄS 129 (2002) L. B areä, M. D vo fä k, K. Sm olä rikovä , E . Strouhal: Shaft tomb of Iufaa 97 L ADISL AV B ARE S, MART IN D VO R ÄK, KVE T A SMOL ÄRIKOVÄ, E UGE N STROUH AL The shaft tomb of Iufaa at Abusir in 20011 Archaeology (L.B.) Since the year 1998, when the intact double sarcophagus of Iufaa was opened2, two more archaeological seasons were conducted in this tomb. D uring the Spring of 2000 3, the work in the tomb concentrated mostly on the study of the texts inside the burial chamber. T he texts and representations in incised relief, situated inside the chest of the inner sarcophagus, were traced onto sheets of transparent plastic. T he copies of texts and representations on the sides of the burial chamber and on the outer sarcophagus, that had been traced previously in much the same way, were collated with the originals. At the same time, the rather difficult task of photographing those texts was completed4. 1 Our thank go to Dr. Vivienne Gae Callender who checked the E nglish of this paper. The plans were traced by Eng. M. Balik, K. Smolärikova and P. Vlikovä. 2 See L . B ares and E . Strouhal, ZÄS 127 (2000), pp. 5 - 14 . 3 The season in question lasted from January 11 till April 1, 2000. The team members were Ladislav Bareä, V. Gae Callender, Kvfita Smolärikova, Jaromir Krejii (E gyptologists), E ugen Strouhal (Anthropologist), Martin Dvofäk (Conservator) and Kamil Vod6ra (Photographer). The SCA was represented by Nasir Ramadan, the workmen were headed by the most experienced and retsin Muh. Talaal el-Kereti and Ahmad elskilful Chiefytsrnliheb Kereti. To all of them we extend our warmest thanks. At the same time, we acknowledge with gratitude the support and cooperation of the officials of the SCA, in particular its Permanent Secretary, Prof. Gaballa A. Gaballa, Dr. Zahi Hawass, Undersecretary of State and Director General of the Pyramid Zone and Muh. Hagrass, Director of the Saqqara area. 4 It has to be remembered that most of the texts and representations are situated in a very narrow corridor, only some 50 cm wide, between the walls of the burial chamber and the outer side of the outer sarcophagus. This has made both copying and photography of the reliefs very difficult. B ecause of minor technical problems, the planned removal of the lid of the inner sarcophagus to another, more suitable place inside the burial chamber had to be postponed. For that reason, only a hasty hand copy of the texts amply covering the inner side of the lid of the inner sarcophagus could have been achieved. T he texts in question are arranged into 14 columns, each dedicated to a separate part of a human body, namely: the head, ears, eyes, tongue, back of the head, neck, hands, breast, side, heart { lb), heart (hity), spine, phallus and feet5. In many places also, minor cracks caused by the omnipresent humidity were consolidated and repaired in the decorated sites of the burial chamber and of the outer sarcophagus. At the same time, the relief decoration was cleaned and inspected by our conservator in order to prepare its thorough consolidation in the future. In addition to the activities mentioned above, a brief re-examination of the skeletal remains of Iufaa was concluded. B esides this, the upper layers of the mound of sand and debris situated in front of the eastern facade of the tomb of Iufaa were removed. In Spring 2001, the broader area east of the enclosure wall surrounding Iufaa's main shaft was cleaned down to the bedrock6 . Under alter5 The number in general and the individual columns of the text pertain to the parts of Osirian body, see H . B einlic h, Die " Osirisreliquien" . Zum Motiv der Körperzergliederung in der altägyptischen Religion, Wiesbaden 1984 (ÄgAbh 42), pp. 35, 52, see also p. 296; Η. Altenm üller, s.v. " Gliedervergottung" , LÄ II, cols. 624-626, and E . Winter, s.v. " Abaton" , LÄ I, cols. 1-2. 6 The season lasted from January 9 till April 12, 2001. The team members were Ladislav Bareä, Kv£ ta Brought to you by | INSEAD Authenticated Download Date | 11/18/18 2:22 AM 98 L. B areS, Μ. zywvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZWVUTSRPONMLKIHGFEDCBA D vo fä k, Κ. Sm o lä riko vä , Ε . St ro uha l: Shaft tomb of Iufaa ZÄSyxwvutsrqponmlkjihg 129 (2002) nating layers of sand and more or less crushed mud bricks, sloping from west to east and from south to north7 , a rather vast structure consisting of rooms, corridors and a courtyard was unearthed that covers the area of about three hundred square metres. T he western edge of this structure is situated only some five metres east of the eastern facade of the enclosure wall of Iufaa's main shaft. T he complex comprises sixteen rooms that were all dug direcdy into the soft shale (tafl) bedrock (see the sketch plan in fig. 1). T he only access to the whole complex was through a narrow and irregular staircase leading from the south and closed originally by wooden doors, of which only remnants of the door jambs were preserved. T he staircase, dug directly from the bedrock again, starts only some eight metres east of the south-eastern corner of the enclosure wall of the main shaft. In fact, the whole complex is divided in two parts, connected through a narrow corridor (R-f) in the west. T he southern part, cruciform in appearance, is situated to the east of the vestibule (R-e) that directly adjoins the entrance staircase. It consists of three rooms (R-a, R-c, R-d) axially arranged around a square-shaped central room (R-b) that might have served as a light well. In the easternmost room (R-a), a rectangular niche about 1 metre wide and 1.1 metres high was dug in the centre of each of the northern, and southern sides. In the eastern side, the niche is somewhat smaller. O riginally, the niches were all inlaid with thin ( 7 - 8 cm thick) Smolärikovä, Petra Vlökovä (E gyptologists), Michael Balik (Architect), Martin Dvofäk (Conservator), E ugen Strouhal (Anthropologist) and Kamil VodSra (Photographer). Our SCA representative was again Mr. Nasir Ramadan, the workmen were headed by Chiefsrnie reisin Muh. Talaal el-Kereti and Ahmad el-Kereti. To all of them, our special thanks are due. We are most grateful to the higher officials of the SCA: Prof. Gaballa A. Gaballa, Permanent Secretary of the SCA, Dr. Zahi Hawwas, Undersecretary of State and Director General of the Pyramid Zone, and Mr. Adel Hussein, Director of the Saqqara area. The funds for the work were provided by the Ministry of E ducation of the Czech Republic (project LN 00A064). We also thank The Friends of the Petrie Museum for their help and support. 7 The upper half of this mound, originally about four metres high, was removed during previous archaeological seasons, see also above. slabs of white limestone8 . O nly tiny remnants of such slabs were found in the northern niche, but remains of white mortar clearly prove that similar slabs were set in the other niches as well. T he rooms placed to the south and north of the central room (R-c, R-d) were only plastered with Nile mud. In the floors of both rooms, however, shallow (about 10 cm deep) depressions were dug that had been originally lined with low and narrow fittings of white limestone. It may be disputed whether those depressions represent possible basins for the ritual washing or foundations for a piece of furniture, equipment, or the like. In the entrance ways of the rooms, thresholds of white limestone were preserved, as well as substantial portions of wooden door jambs. T he other, northern part of the complex, much bigger in fact, is arranged around the eastern, southern and western sides of a large and evidendy open courtyard (R-j). T o the south of it, almost exactly in the axis of the whole tomb, a room was placed with a large and originally vaulted niche in its southern side (R-h). T he niche, approximately 1.8 metres wide and with its base about one metre above the floor of the area, was accessible through four steps of the same width. In both the south-western and south-eastern corners of the room, corner pillars of mudbrick were built that adjoin the uppermost step. T o the east and west of this room, in each case, there was always one room situated (R-g, R-i). T wo successively arranged rooms (R-k, R-l) adjoined the courtyard from the east and three from the west (R-m, R-n, R-o). In the southernmost of these (R-m), a low bench of mudbrick abutted on its western side. T he walls of all the rooms were originally plastered with a thick layer of Nile mud mixed with chopped straw. For the most part, the plastering was surprisingly well preserved. Judging from tiny traces of white lime here and there, it cannot be excluded that the walls (at 8 In 1994, remains of white limestone slabs of about the same thickness were found in the stonecutters' workshop inside the pyramid of Neferefre. Despite the fact that the slabs lining the niches were most probably made from re-used blocks, they might come from monuments other than this pyramid. (T owe this remark to Dr. V. Gae Callender). Brought to you by | INSEAD Authenticated Download Date | 11/18/18 2:22 AM ZÄS 129 (2002) L. B areS, M. D v o f i k , K. S mo läriko va, E . S t ro uhal: Shaft tomb of Iufaa 99 F ig.l. Iufaa — Season 2001 Brought to you by | INSEAD Authenticated Download Date | 11/18/18 2:22 AM 10 0 L. B a reS, Μ. D vo fyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZXVTSRPNMLKIHGFEDBA äk, Κ . Sm o lä r iko vä , Ε . St ro uha l: Shaft tomb of Iufaa Z ÄS 129 (2002) least in some rooms) had been whitewashed'. All rooms seems to have been covered with mudbrick vaults, except perhaps for the wide and open courtyard and the entrance staircase. In many places, substantial portions of the vaults have been preserved and it is hoped that they could be reconstructed in the future. T he floors of the rooms consisted mainly of a rather thin layer of Nile mud spread directly over the roughly levelled bedrock. In the northern part of the courtyard, several fragments of flat limestone slabs were found that might represent remnants of the original pavement. T he filling of all the rooms was rather similar, consisting mostly of crumbled mud bricks coming from the destroyed vaults, crushedtplfa tafl and sand. Immediately above the floor, a layer of clean yellow sand was usually found that differed in thickness. In some places only, rather thick layers of limestone chips were preserved directly above the remnants of the vaults. Most probably, therefore, the vaults were originally covered with such a stone chip layer intended to diminish the pressure on the vaults from above10. Whether or not the vaults were further covered with a layer of tafl cannot be said for sure at the moment. In such a case, the tips of the vaults might have been hidden under the ground and the area in front of the facade of the enclosure wall might have been left completely free — perhaps to leave visible the impressive stela that was once embedded in the large niche just in the middle of this side (and in the axes of other sides of the enclosure wall as well)" . T he number of separate finds, as might have been expected, was rather limited. Perhaps the most interesting and historically important as well, are several pieces of papyri, written in early D emotic and more or less preserved. One of them, much crumpled, was even found inside the niche ' I owe this comment to E ng. M. Balik, architect of the mission. 10 A similar technique appears in the mastabas of princesses and high dignitaries at Abusir where potsherds serve the same purpose, e.g. in the tomb of Princess Khekeretnebti - see M. Ve r n e r , ZÄS 105 (1978), p. 158. 11 SeeL . B areS, GM No. 151 (1996), pp. 8- 9. in the northern wall of room R-a . O n two papyrus fragments, traces of a date are recognizable that mention perhaps regnal years 17 and 22 respectively (apparently without the king's name)13. In the sand and debris covering the northern part of the complex, several fragments of white limestone blocks with relief decoration came to light. The most important among them were perhaps two fragments of a round topped stela, one of them coming from its very top14, that were unearthed in sand above the south-western corner of the courtyard. On other fragments, remains of a scene with offering bearers are preserved, coming either from the same stela or from the slabs that might have decorated the lateral sides of the large niche15. Smaller fragments of frieze work with various designs, such as stars, zigzag lines imitating water, or geometrical patterns, as well as tiny and badly weathered remnants of a concave cornice (?) and of a torus most probably come from similar panels or fittings that might have flanked the large niche in the enclosure wall16. 12 E xcav. no. 114/ R/ 01, measuring about 10 by 8 cm and always written with three lines of texts on both sides of the papyrus. 13 If the preliminary reading is true, they most probably belong to the reign of Darius I, though both his successors Xerxes and Artaxerxes also reigned long enough to be considered. H E xcav. no. 100/ R/ 01 a, 68 cm long and about 18 cm high, that shows part of the winged sundisk (? only the end of a wing is preserved) under a large curved heaven-sign (pt); on the side, a pair of baboons is shown in an adoring position. Both fragments of the stela were found in sand under a thick layer of crushed mud bricks that came from the destroyed masonry. In the same layer of sand, long pieces of wood (fragments of a trunk of a tree about 2 metres long and several thick branches) were found that were most probably used as levers. Similar limestone fragments, among them another piece with a rounded top, were discovered just in front of the eastern facade of the enclosure wall, see L. B a reä , GM No. 151 (1996), pp. 9 - 10 . 13 The fragments in question (excav. nos. 117/ R/ 01 a, b, unearthed in sand above the courtyard) are almost identical except for the fact that the offering bearers walk in opposite directions. Thus, the fragments seem to be symmetrical. 16 Fragments of semi-columns about 30 cm wide were uncovered in front of the large niche in the axis of the eastern wing of the enclosure wall in 1995, see L . B ares, GM No. 151 (1996), pp. 9 - 10 . The general arrangement might perhaps resemble the shape of the cult niches known from the Late Period burial com- Brought to you by | INSEAD Authenticated Download Date | 11/18/18 2:22 AM ZÄS 129 (2002) L. B areä, M. D vo f äk, K. S mo läriko vä, E . S t ro uhal: Shaft tomb of Iufaa Only a few items can be c onnec ted with the daily life o f the c ommunity settled in the c omplex. In its southern part, two circular mats of knotted grass were found (in room R-b) that certainly would have served as stands for pottery vessels and, rather surprisingly, a pair of well preserved sandals made of papyrus" . In room R-b, a fireplac e was found. F inds o f pottery were rather less numerous (see further the report by K. Smolärikovä). T wo burials o f superficially mummified children and a c offin mask o f solid wood that were found here and there in the upper layers of the sand and debris inside the c omplex are certainly intrusive. T hey show, however, that the place was not c ompletely abandoned in later times, though their precise dates c annot be given at present. T he dating of the whole structure is rather uncertain. In general, however, nothing speaks against the assumption that it is more or less c ontemporary with the tomb o f Iufaa 18. Because of the remarkably fine state of preservation of the mud plastering on the walls, it can be c on- plexes of high dignitaries in Western Thebes, see, e.g., K . P. K uhlmann and W. S c henkel, Das Grab des Ibi, Obergutsverwalters der Gottesgemahlin des Amun, Mainz 1983, Vol. I, Text, p. 153 and Pls. 50, 118a, 119, and, in a more general way, D . E igner, Die monumentalen Grabbauten der Spätzeit in der thebanischen Nekropole, Wien 1984 (Untersuchungen der Zweigstelle Kairo des Osterreichischen Archäologischen Institutes, VT), pp. 120-123. 17 The sandals were found in room R-d, close to its eastern wall. That might suggest that this room served for ritual washing during which the sandals were taken off. 18 The absolute dating of the tomb of Iufaa is open to debate, see L. B areä and E . S t ro uhal, ZAS 127 (2000), p. 5. Most probably, it is either of the same date as the neighbouring tomb of Udjahorresnet, or only slighdy younger. According to present knowledge, Udjahorresnet started to build his tomb in about the regnal years 4 0 - 4 2 of Amasis, see L. B areä, Demotic Sources from the Saite-Persian Cemetery at Abusir: A preliminary evaluation, in: J . F randsen and K . R yho lt (eds.), Acts of the Seventh Demotistic Conference (Copenhagen 2001), pp. 3 7 -3 8 . See also L . B areä, The Shaft Tomb of Udjahorresnet at Abusir, Prague 1999, pp. 42—43 for the possible date of Udjahorresnet's death and burial (around 510 BC or even later?). In any case, the absolute dating of the tomb is of litde interest in respect to the purpose of the newly unearthed structure. 101 eluded that the period of use fo r the c omplex was rather short, certainly not exceeding a generation. Judging from the small number of finds, moreover, it can be assumed that it would have been abandoned relatively suddenly and, most probably, also intentionally19. T he underground position of the whole c omplex is rather surprising. It might point to the idea of an Osirian tomb or, perhaps, be in some or other way connected with some similar situation that was found in great L ate Period tombs at el-Assasif in Western T hebes 20 . In spite of the paucity o f finds and the fac t that none among them can be unambiguously connected with possible cult activities, there is little doubt about the purpose of the structure that obviously served the mortuary cult o f Iufaa. It is situated on the eastern side of the tomb, exactly in the place where any cult installations could be expected. Moreover, the room with a niche, accessible through a staircase and positioned exactly in the axis of the whole c omplex, can hardly be explained otherwise, although the southern orientation of the niche might raise some doubts 21. In the absence o f any clear and indisputable parallel, no other arguments seem available either in favour of such a hypothesis or against it. 19 On the other hand, the door opening between rooms R-k and R-l, as well as the opening leading from the courtyard (R-j) westwards to room R-n were found walled up with mudbrick walls. The obvious explanation for this blockage is that the rooms behind those door openings went out of use even before the whole complex was left deserted, though the precise length of the period of time cannot be ascertained. 20 In those tombs, substantial portions of the whole structure were situated just under ground level. The open courtyard (R-j) especially finds clear parallels among the tombs at el-Assasif, see, e.g., D . E igner, Die monumentalen Grabbauten der Spätzeit, pp. 116— 120: " Lichthof" . 21 Could the southern orientation of the niche be connected with the direction of the large religious centre at North Saqqara that began flourishing again in about the same time? Or was it due to the general layout of the whole tomb complex and the necessity of keeping the communication open between its two parts? One should perhaps also bear in mind the fact that even the mummy of the owner of the tomb pointed with its head to the east, in sheer contradiction to the E gyptian habit of the time. Brought to you by | INSEAD Authenticated Download Date | 11/18/18 2:22 AM 102 L. B a reS, Μ. D vo f ak, K. zyxwvutsrponmlkjihgfedcbaZWVUTSRPONMLIHFECBA Sm o la riko vä , E . St ro uha l: Shaft tomb oflufa a ZÄS 129 (2002) Regardless of the fact that the purpose of this structure cannot be identified with certainty, it raises the question again of the existence of cult installations connected with huge Late Period shaft tombs22. In other Late Period shaft tombs, unfortunately, none of the areas surrounding the enclosure of the central shaft has been properly excavated or sufficiently published. O nly future excavation will show, therefore, whether possible cult installations similar to the complex described above existed in more Late Period shaft tombs other than the tomb of Iufaa at Abusir23. B etween the complex of rooms mentioned above and the enclosure of Iufaa's main shaft, a sloping trench was unearthed that is dug directly in the /^bedrock. T he trench starts in about the centre of the eastern side of the enclosure and goes in a southward direction, almost parallel to the eastern facade of the enclosure. T he southern end of this trench is closed by a massive, 90 cm thick wall of mud bricks that reaches from the bottom of the trench to its top at ground level. T he rectangular space behind this wall thus forms a shaft about four metres deep. From its bottom, in a direction perpendicular to that of the open trench, an opening gives access to a subterranean corridor dug in the bedrock. O riginally, the opening was closed by a wall of limestone ashlars of which only tiny remnants were preserved to the north of the entrance. This corridor, some 90 cm wide and 230 cm high, goes in a west-south-western direction for 22 See the summary of previous discussion in L . B areS, The Shaft Tomb of Udjahorresnet, pp. 23—24 and, recently, L . B a res, Some remarks on cult installations in the Late Period shaft tombs in E gypt (in press in the Bulletin of the Australian Centre for E gyptology 12, 2002). 23 In view of the situation east of the enclosure of Iufaa's central shaft, it cannot be excluded now that a similar structure might exist in the as yet unexplored area far east from Udjahorresnet's enclosure. Certainly no traces of any building activity were found in front of the eastern facade of Udjahorresnet's tomb within a range of ten metres. The results of the geophysical examination done on this spot in 1980 are rather inconclusive, see V. H a sek, F . O br, A. P fic hys t a l and M. Ve r n e r , Application of geological and geophysical methods in archaeological research at Abusir, Przegtad Archaeologiczny (Warsaw) 35 (1988), p. 195 and plan on p. 194. some 26 metres, descending to a depth of about ten metres. T he corridor was found almost completely filled with clean yellow sand. Just behind the entrance, a set of four canopic jars of white limestone, unfinished and definitely not used, was found discarded in the sand about one metre above the floor of the corridor24. In the southern wall of the corridor, two large niches (more resembling separate burial chambers) are dug. T he first of them, situated closer to the entrance (15.5 metres behind it) is finely lined with thin (9 - 1 0 cm) and finely smoothed slabs of white limestone. O riginally, the entrance to the niche was blocked with white limestone ashlars that, except for the lowermost course (still in situ), were found discarded in the sand that filled the corridor in front of the niche. O n the limestone floor of the niche, remnants of a stucco face mask of a mummy were found, as well as a number of small faience beads, now blackened with soot (?), that might have come from a net covering a mummified body. No other remains of any burial were found inside the niche. T he other niche, situated far to the west (18 metres behind the entrance), was only roughly dug in the bedrock. In both niches, several large pottery storage jars were uncovered. T o the rear of the dead end of the corridor that originally had been walled up with mud bricks25, two wooden coffins were placed. T he first, situated nearer to the entrance and thus a later insertion, was found almost completely rotten because of humidity. Judging by the traces of wood, this coffin must have been anthropoid. Inside, the skeleton of an elderly man was placed26. In the badly decomposed remains E xcav. no. 121/ R / 01a- d. The jars, about 25 cm high and with lids in the shape of human faces, were only roughly smoothed and bear no traces of any use. Moreover, one of the jars was found pierced by a hole made evidendy during the smoothing. The only decoration were black lines around eyes. N o traces of any inscription were found either on the jars or on the lids. 25 At the moment of its discovery, the upper half of this mudbrick wall that has been plastered with Nile mud on its eastern side, was found broken. The wall, situated about one metre behind the westernmost niche, was 38 cm (i.e. the whole length of a brick) thick. 26 E xcav. no. 139/ R/ 01, for the anthropological details see further the report of E . Strouhal in this article. 24 Brought to you by | INSEAD Authenticated Download Date | 11/18/18 2:22 AM ZÄSzyxwvutsrponmlkjihgfedcbaTSONJIHEBA 129 (2002) L. B areS, M. D v o f i k , K. Sm o la riko va , E . St ro uha l: Shaft tomb of Iufaa 103 of the mummy wrappings, a few faience beads tide as Iufaa, namely hrp hwwt (" Administrator and a small stone scarab were found. In the of the palaces" ). O n both sides of the head end remnants of resin that originally had filled the of her coffin, two pairs of canopic jars were thoracic cavity, a heart scarab of steatite was again put in niches dug into the sides of the cordiscovered. B oth scarabs were uninscribed. Near ridor31. O n the foot end of the coffin of this lady to the head of the skeleton, two small niches and in the sand around it, 405 small and rather were dug in the sides of the corridor that con- roughly made faience shabtis were found scattered32. O f the whole number, only four pieces tained two inscribed canopic jars each27. T he other coffin, in fact a pair of nested sar- were inscribed on the crudely worked rear side, cophagi (both parts being rectangular) contained under the glaze. T wo of them bore the name by the a mummy of a middle-aged lady originally cov- Nkiw" or, perhaps, Nkiw-wrpreceded ered with the remnants of a badly damaged net tide it-ntr. O n the remaining two inscribed of faience beads that comprised even the face. pieces, the signs are illegible. In the wrappings, several small amulets were Because of the identical maternal name, the lady found, among them a headrest and a heart can be tentatively identified as a sister of Iufaa to scarab, again uninscribed. O riginally, the coffin whom the main burial chamber in the tomb bewas also enclosed behind a mud brick wall of longed. According to the preliminary anthropowhich only tiny remnants of Nile mud were logical examination (see further the report by found preserved on the uneven ceiling of the E . Strouhal), both deceased found in this corridor corridor28. O n the totally flat lid of the outer show a number of features similar to the mummy coffin, a coloured face mask bordered by the of Iufaa and thus belong to the same family. lappets of a tripartite wig was faindy painted on Just in front of the damaged mudbrick wall a thin and fragile layer of white stucco. B elow that closed both the burials, a lateral branch goes the face, five columns of the text were preserved in coloured hieroglyphs. O n the side of the chest of the outer coffin, traces of inscriptions written — D. Arno ld, in: C. B erger and B. Ma thieu (ed.), by means of white stucco were preserved. Ac- E tudes sur l'Ancien E mpire et la necropole de Saqqara cording to the inscription on the lid (a variant of dediees a Jean-Philippe Lauer, Montpellier 1997 (Orientalia Monspeliensia, 9), pp. 3 1- 3 3 (= G. D a re s s y, the Nut formula), the coffin belonged to a lady ywtsrpnmlkihSNJ ASAE 4, 1903, pp. 76- 82) who, however, held another 2 r Jmiht-hr-(t)-rsnt \ born to a lady nhty-sy. E ven tide than " Administrator of the palaces" . Because of the the name of the maternal grandfather appears paucity of sources, the identification of Iufaa's grandhere, called Hr-imyih-bit 30 . He held the same father with any of the dignitaries of the same name 27 E xcav. no. 139/ R/ 01 a—d. The jars, including the lids that were shaped as human faces, were about 29 cm high. The inscriptions, written in black ink, were almost effaced. 28 Most probably, the mud bricks of this wall were later on reused to build the wall that closed both the burials. 29 The name is not attested in R anke, Personennamen. 30 R anke, Personennamen I, p. 247, 15 (see also 247, 16), see also II, p. 378. The name is rather common in the Late Period, see R. el- Sa yed, Documents relatifs ä Sai's et ses divinites, Cairo 1975 (BdE , 69), pp. 2 3 2 - 2 3 3 (§ 10), 237 (§ 17), 274 (§ 77). All those held the same tide " Administrator of the Palaces" . Though the writing of the name on the newly found coffin is not completely preserved, it seemingly does not correspond to the forms of the name quoted by R. el- Sa yed. See also another Hor-kheb from Saqqara known so far cannot be proven at the moment, neither can it be rejected. Moreover, the tide is quite common even during the Late Period, see E . J e li n ko vi , ASAE 55 ^1955), pp. 7 9 - 12 5 . 1 E xcav. no. 143/ R/ 01 a - d, made of pink limestone and about 30 cm high, including their lids. The lids represented the F our Sons of Horus (a human head in addition to those of a baboon, a jackal and a falcon). 32 E xcav. no. 142/ R/ 01. The dimensions of the statuettes show a considerable variety — their length fluctuates between 4.7 and 7.2 cm, their width between 1.5 and 2.3 cm. See also L. B a re l, Shabtis from the Late Period tombs at Abusir (Preliminary remarks), in: H. Gyö ry (ed.), Melanges offerts ä E dith Varga, Budapest 2002, p. 27. 33 Ranke, Personennamen I, p. 213, 16, see also II, p. 372. 34 The name is not attested in R anke, Personennamen. It forms, however, a parallel to the form Nklw-Sri ( Ranke, Personennamen I, p. 213, 17). The reading of the final sign, that recalls the hieratic sign of a swallow, as -wr has been suggested by P. Vlikova. Brought to you by | INSEAD Authenticated Download Date | 11/18/18 2:22 AM 104 L. B areä,utromlhfbaSI Μ. D vo f äk , Κ . S mo lär iko vä, Ε . S t r o uh al: Shaft tomb of Iufaa ZÄS 129 (2002) off the main corridor to the north. Its opening, about 1.85 metres high and one metre wide, thus starts just in front of the westernmost niche in the southern side. In this place, remnants of pottery vessels that bore traces of fire were found. Further north, the lateral corridor descends sharply and turns several times. After about five metres, it opens into the bottom of the southern adjacent shaft of Iufaa in its south-western corner. In sand that filled the lateral corridor, four large pottery storage jars were found with traces of linen and smaller pottery vessels stored inside. Most probably, these were the materials and vessels that had been used during the mummification of the family members of Iufaa. T he northern lateral corridor ends at the foot of the adjacent western shaft of Iufaa, in its southern wall. Quite surprisingly, the bottom of the main shaft of Iufaa and his burial chamber were thus accessible through three different ways - two shafts and a sloping corridor. The chronological sequence of the burials found in the corridor and that of Iufaa can be assumed only tentatively. Almost surely, the digging of the corridor preceded the burial of Iufaa. One may even speculate that the two niches in its southern wall were intended as burial chambers for the members of his family that subsequendy had to be buried in the dead end of the main corridor. Due perhaps to the untimely (though expected?) death of Iufaa, the lateral branch had been hastily dug to secure an easier access to his burial chamber. Most probably, however, the two burials situated in the dead end of the main corridor precluded the use of this lateral branch35. If that is true, both burials must have been earlier than that of Iufaa, though perhaps only briefly. Inside the burial chamber of Iufaa, removing the plaster that surrounds the chest of the inner sarcophagus was begun as a first step in its planned lifting from the cavity in the outer sarcophagus. After removing some of the plaster36, 35 Judging from the fact that both the burials were separated from the main corridor by means of a (successively built, removed and built again) mudbrick wall. 36 This delicate task proceeds rather slowly, as the plaster is mixed with pebbles that in some cases are as large as the gap between the sides of the sarcophagi. This gap varies between 8 cm (behind the head) and parts of the decoration on the outer side of the chest of the inner sarcophagus became visible. Under the upper edge, a procession of almost 70 deities, demons and religious symbols is arranged axially, starting from the head. The respective names are always inscribed above their heads. Under and behind this procession, several dozen columns of hieroglyphic texts in incised relief follow. Judging from the upper ends of some columns that became visible, they contain, among other texts, a series of Coffin Texts spells that are well known from other Late Period tombs37: CT 151, CT 625, CT 208, CT 716, the so-called "text L" 38, CT 179, the so-called "text M" 39, CT 215, CT 353 and the so-called "text C" 40. On the foot end, a complex offering list has been partly uncovered. Near to its northern only one cm (on the southern corner of the foot end). Some of the pebbles are wedged so tighdy that extreme care is needed to extract them. Judging from the dimension of the chest of the inner sarcophagus, the height of this gap can be tentatively estimated to be around 60 cm. During this season, the plaster was removed to a maximal depth of about 25 cm in some places. 37 The following sequence of texts that appear on the southern side of the inner sarcophagus chest is identical with texts written on the southern side of the burial chamber of Padinese at Saqqara, lines 488 ff., see G . Maspero , ASAE 1 (1900), pp. 255-258. 38 See, e.g., the tomb of Padinese at Saqqara, southern wall of the burial chamber, lines 496—499: G . Maspero , ASAE 1 (1900), p. 256. 39 See, e.g., the tomb of Padinese at Saqqara, southern wall of the burial chamber, line 501: G . Maspero , ASAE 1 (1900), p. 256. See, e.g., the tomb of Padinese at Saqqara, southern wall of the burial chamber, lines 507—510: G . Maspero , ASAE 1 (1900), p. 256-257. - Recendy, the use of all those texts in Late Period tombs has been thoroughly studied by L. G estermann in her (as yet unpublished) work Die Überlieferung ausgewählter Texte altägyptischer Totenliteratur ("Sargtexte") in spätzeitlichen G rabanlagen. At first glance, the wording of the texts used on the outer side of the chest of the inner sarcophagus of Iufaa seems to be rather close to the version that appears in the tomb of Psammetik at Saqqara (P o rter — Mo ss — Malek, Topographical Bibliography, Vol. I ll, 2nd ed., pp. 670-671, texts published by G . D are s s y, RecTrav X VII, 1895, pp. 1 7 25). The beginning of this series of texts, namely CT spells 151, 625 and 208 also appear on the western side of the burial chamber of Panehsi at Heliopolis, see A. el- S awi and F . G o maa, Das Grab des Panehsi, Gottesvaters von Heliopolis in Matariya, Wiesbaden 1993 (ÄAT, 23), pp. 2 3 - 4 0 . Brought to you by | INSEAD Authenticated Download Date | 11/18/18 2:22 AM ZÄS 129 (2002) L. Ba r e S , M. D v o f a k , K. S m o l a r i k o v a , E. S t r o u h a l : Shaft tomb o f Iufaa corner, the name o f Iufaa appears, again accompanied by his (only?) titlewtrph hrp hwwt\ T o the east o f the structure situated in front o f the eastern facade o f Iufaa's central shaft and almost directly adjoining its eastern side, another shaft tomb was unearthed. The tomb, originally surrounded by a thin mud brick wall o f which only tiny remnants were preserved, consisted o f two shafts: a bigger one (4.8 by 3.2 metres) and a smaller one (measuring 1.2 by 1.5 metres) that gave access to its bottom from the east. Both shafts, 12 metres deep, were connected through a short (2.80 metres long) horizontal corridor dug directly in the bedrock, without traces o f further building activities. At the foot o f the bigger shaft42, there was a small vaulted burial chamber built o f limestone ashlars. T h e short (about half a metre wide) gap between the eastern wall o f the burial chamber and the eastern side o f the shaft had originally been covered with a mudbrick roofing that might have been pierced either after the burial or by the tomb robbers. The burial chamber, inside only some 240 cm long, 90 cm wide and 125 cm high, is decorated with religious texts cut in incised relief and remarkably well preserved. Among the texts, excerpts from the Pyramid Texts (e.g. spells 25, 77, 78 and 81 on the western wall) and the Coffin Texts (spells 151, 625, 208 and 716 in a series on the southern wall) appear. In some cases, the incorrect hieroglyphic signs already cut in relief were subsequently rewritten in black ink. The burial chamber was found robbed and almost empty. Remains o f a badly damaged burial and decomposed wood with traces o f black varnish coming perhaps from an anthropoid coffin were found in front o f the entrance to the burial chamber and in sand that filled the shaft above it. O f the original burial equipment, only fragments o f perhaps 11 or 12 shabtis43 41 This title appears otherwise only on Iufaa's shabtis and, once, also in the decoration of the net o f faience beads that covered the mummy. 42 Judging from the clear traces of wind erosion, the shaft must have remained open for a certain period o f time after the tomb robbers had cleaned it. 43 The exact number can only be judged from the complete items, as well as loose heads and foot ends. 105 were found scattered in sand in front o f the burial chamber and above it44. A number o f shabti fragments was found even in the surface layer close to the opening o f the bigger shaft. All shabtis belong to the type commonly found at Abusir, with glaze coloured in various shades o f light blue-green45. They were all inscribed with a shortened version o f the usual shabti spell written on the wig and the rear side46. In addition to these fragments, there were found tiny remnants o f thin golden leaves in the filling o f the bigger shaft. They might have come from the sheaths covering the finger and toe tips o f the mummy or, less probably, from the decoration o f the coffin. According to the texts inside the burial chamber and on the shabtis, the tomb belonged to a certainywtsrpnmjihdPNB Ρί­dj­hr1.zywvutsrqponmljihgfedcbaUTOKJIA The name appears within the burial chamber in several variants o f writing. The form Pi­dj­pi­hr that is attested on a small scarab from the tomb o f Udjahorresnet 48 does not, however, appear among them. In two places, the name o f his mother Ndm­Bistt­n­irt is also added49. Only once, on the ceiling, the name o f the owner is preceded by the title iry­ ht­nswt "the royal acquaintance". Judging from a short inscription in Kufic Arabic found on the wall o f the short horizontal corridor between its two shafts, the tomb must have been opened and visited during Islamic Due to the absence of any joints, it is sometimes impossible to decide whether they come from one and the same piece. 44 The shabtis were made of blue-green faience. Their heights varied between 11.8 and 13.8 cm. In some cases, even the parts of a single shabti (e.g. excav. no. 1 3 1 / R / 0 1 b ) differed sharply in its colours, most probably because of the different conditions in which they were preserved. 45 See also L . BareiS, in: H. G y ö r y (ed.), Melanges offerts ä Edith Varga, Budapest (2002), p. 27. 44 For parallels, see, e.g., H . S c h n e i d e r , Shabtis, Vol. Ill, fig. 5, Version VILA.. Rather surprisingly, the shabtis coming from the certainly much bigger and better equipped tombs of higher dignitaries Udjahorresnet and Iufaa were much simpler in that respect. 47 R a n k e , Personennamen, vol. I, p. 124, no. 19. 48 L . B a r e § , The Shaft Tomb o f Udjahorresnet, p. 68. 49 The name is not attested in R a n k e , Personennamen. Brought to you by | INSEAD Authenticated Download Date | 11/18/18 2:22 AM 106 L. B a reS, Μ. D v o f i k , Κ. zyxwvutsrqponmlkihgfedcbaZXWVTSRPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA Sm o la riko vä , Ε . St ro uha l: Shaft tomb of Iufaa Z ÄSzyxwvutsrqponmlkji 129 (2002) times50. This inscription, and the fragment of a bowl glazed in yellow and brown with remains of a green decoration51 that was found in the same corridor, represent the latest traces of human activity in this part of the necropolis. Conservation and restoration (M.D.) In the tomb of Iufaa, the finds were cleaned and consolidated. Special attention was paid to a set of papyri coming from the structure east of Iufaa's enclosure. The papyri, mostly torn and crumpled when found, had to be cleaned and preliminarily restored. At first, an optimum level of humidity had to be achieved in a special box. Following that, the fragments were flattened and put between two glasses. Shabtis from the tomb of Padihor, found mostly in fragments, were cleaned and the adjoining pieces glued together. Inside the burial chamber of Padihor, the relief decoration was stabilized by a 3 - 5 % dispersion of Paraloid B-72. In the burial chamber of Iufaa, the conservation and consolidation of the relief decoration continued. A few small and loose fragments were fixed to their original places. In addition to that, the surface was thoroughly cleaned and examined. Special attention was paid to places where, due to the very high level of humidity, the surface of limestone blocks starts to depreciate. The levels of humidity and temperature were registered continuously. T o this effect, three data loggers were fixed that registered the respective levels of temperature and humidity in fifteen minutes intervals. The measurements continue even in the absence of the mission. Pottery (K.S.) Finds of pottery were extremely numerous and survived in remarkably good condition, particularly pottery from the intact burial of the 50 The text has been recorded by our colleague Dr. F. OndraS, an Arabist, and is presently being prepared for publication. 51 E xcav. no. 129/ R/ 01, tentatively dated to the early Islamic period. Lady Imakhet-kher-(t)-resnet. Only a very small part of the ceramic material was of the Coptic Period; most finds of pottery belong to the Late Period, with a significant proportion of imports (transport amphorae, for example) from E astern Greece52. Noteworthy was an unambiguous preference for the category of large storage vessels as a whole. The material that can be surely associated with the mortuary cult of Iufaa is small in amount (it seems that the cult installations were in use for a rather short period of time) and consists mainly of the siltware bowls and bottles of medium size53. Some plates and potstands were also found, all in a fragmentary state of preservation. The imports of transport amphorae from Chios, Clazomenae and Lesbos come predominantly from the western part of the complex that was unearthed in front of the eastern facade of the enclosure wall of Iufaa's main shaft. The site — or a part of it at least - was very probably inhabited during the Coptic Period as well. The Coptic material occurs mostly in the upper layers of the complex; a small part of it was retrieved from the surface debris. T he burial equipment of the Lady Imakhetkher-(t)-resnet contained a number of storage amphorae54 and medium size bowls and jars, some with traces of Demotic inscriptions in black ink. Relatively numerous were bakers with 52 F or parallels, see W. M. F . P e t rie , Tanis II, 1888, PI.XXXIII/ 2, 10, 12, P l.X X X VI/ 5; K. Mysliwiec , Keramik und Kleinfunde aus der Grabung im Tempel Sethos' I. in Gurna (AV 57), Mainz 1987, pp. 75- 79: nos. 8 0 4 - 8 2 1, 8 3 3 - 8 4 1; P. D u p o n t and J . - C . Go yo n , Amphores grecques archai'ques de Gurna: ä propos d'une publication recente, in: Sesto Congresso Internazionale di E gittologia, Atti, Torino 1992, pp. 15 3 - 16 5 ; D. O re n, Migdol: A new fortress on the edge of the E astern Nile Delta, BASOR 256 (1984), pp. 7 - 4 4 ; K. L . Wils o n, Cities of the Delta, Vol. II, Mendes, Malibu 1982, PI. X I X / 3, 4. 53 F or parallels, see J . B o urria u and D. As t o n , in: G. T . Ma rt in, The Tomb Chapels of Paser and Ra'ia at Saqqara, London 1985, pp. 51- 55, PI. 37, figs. 10 4 - 12 2 . 54 F or parallels, see P. F re nc h, Late Dynastic Pottery from the Berlin/ Hannover E xcavations at Saqqara, 1986, MDAIK 44 (1988), pp. 79-89, fig. 1, that corresponds to items on p. 86; P. F re nc h, Late Dynastic Pottery, in: B. J . Ke m p (ed.), Amarna Reports III, London 1986, pp. 147-188. Brought to you by | INSEAD Authenticated Download Date | 11/18/18 2:22 AM ZÄS 129 (2002) L. B areS, M. D vo f äk, K. Sm o lä riko vä , E . St ro uha l: Shaft tomb of Iufaa the carinated base; torches for illumination were also plentiful55. T he majority of complete shapes of the above-mentioned items come from the two niches in the southern wall of the east-west corridor and from the area of the north-south corridor. Anthropological and Palaeopathological Research (E .S.) As a continuation of my previous investigation of the mummy of the priest, Iufaa, unearthed by the Czech archaeological mission in his unviolated burial chamber at Abusir in 1998, I took part in the Czech Institute of E gyptology field work in the area east of the tomb in the first half of March, 2001. In the corridor continuing from the bottom of the shaft situated four metres to the east of the south-western corner of the enclosure wall, two relatively well preserved burials, unmolested by any robbery, were found. Remains of a third burial, damaged by the tomb robbers, was discovered in a smaller tomb at a distance of 25 metres further to the east of the enclosure wall of Iufaa's central shaft. T he three originally mummified individuals who had turned with time into mere skeletons were examined. T he first among them was that of Imakhetkherresnet, a 35—45 year old female with a not very gracile, well mineralized skeletal build, well developed muscular relief and small stature (about 151 cm). T he second one, buried soon after her, was of Nekawer, " the G od's father" , a 55—65 year old male, with an ex- 55 F or parallels, see P. F re nc h and H . Gha ly, Pottery chiefly of the Late Period, from excavations by the E gyptian Antiquities Organization at Saqqara, in: P. B a lle t (ed.), Cahiers de le Ceramique egyptienne, Vol. 2, Cairo 1991, pp. 9 3 - 12 4 ; P. F re nc h, A preliminary study of pottery in Lower E gypt in the Late Dynastic and Ptolemaic Periods, in: P. B a lle t (ed.), Cahiers de la Ceramique egyptienne, Vol. 3, Cairo 1992, pp. 83—93; K. Sm o lä riko vä , in: L . B are§ , The Shaft Tomb of Udjahorresnet, pp. 87- 103, fig. 16; K. L . Wils o n, Cities of the Delta, Vol.11, Mendes, Malibu 1982, PI. X VI/ 2, 3, 5; J o h n S. H o lla da y, Jr., Cities of the Delta, Vol. I ll, Tell el-Maskhuta, Malibu 1982, PI. 22/ 6. 107 tremely gracile body build, and signs of senile atrophy, but still retaining features of an originally strongly developed muscularity, who also had low stature (159 cm). T he third one, Padihor, " the royal acquaintance" , a 2 8 - 3 2 year old male, showed a thick-vaulted skull, a very robust postcranial skeleton, high stature (173 cm), but only moderate muscular relief. T he craniometries of the first two individuals were compared with that of the 25—30 year old Iufaa, " the administrator of the palaces" . T his analysis showed that neurocranic and facial breadth measurements were similar in both Imakhetkherresnet and Nekawer, but different from Iufaa, who showed platycrany. At the same time, other facial dimensions proved to be similar in all three persons. Similarities were revealed also in half of the cranial indices, the majority of facial profile angles and in several cranioscopic features. Blood relationship between them was further enhanced by the joint share of several congenital anomalies (biparietal thinness, cranial variation of the spine with sacralization of the fifth lumbar vertebra, foramen arcuatum atlantis, the absence of Schmorl's nodes, etc.). T he relationship between Iufaa and Imakhetkherresnet was, at the same time, ascertained also by textual evidence concerning their mother with the identical name Ankhtisi, indicating that they were brother and sister. T he closely related Nekawer could have been (hypothetically) either their father, or another brother, least probably a son of Imakhetkherresnet56. In distinction to these findings, Padihor's skull was preserved only in fragments and could not be compared metrically, while his few preserved cranioscopic and all postcranial features revealed no apparent similarity with the three persons previously mentioned. In all three studied skeletons, several palaeopathological changes were revealed57. Imakhetkherresnet had suffered from an infected 56 See also E . St ro uha l, Relation of Iufaa to persons found beside his shaft-tomb at Abusir (E gypt), Anthropologie (Brno), in press. 57 See also a more detailed report, in: E . St ro uha l, Paleopathology of Iufaa and persons found beside his shaft tomb at Abusir (E gypt), Archiv Orientälni 70 (2002). Brought to you by | INSEAD Authenticated Download Date | 11/18/18 2:22 AM 108 L. Bar eS, Μ. D v o fa k , Κ.yxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYUTSRPNMLIFEA Sm olär ik ovä, Ε. St r ou h al: Shaft tomb of Iufaa ZÄS 129 (2002) spiral fracture o f th e right crural bon es wh ich h ealed well with out major dislocation , probably th anks to medical intervention. Sh e h ad degen erative osteoarth ritis, especially in her hip joints. Furt h ermore, a ben ign tumour (n eurilemmoma) h ad left a large cavity in her sacrum. Nekaw er sh ow ed a severe degree o f osteoarthritis in his right hip joint, less pr ogr essed osteoph ytosis of th e spin e and less teeth abrasion than expected for h is high age, but he did h ave several t oot h caries. Padih or w as affect ed already in his youn g age by degen erative omarthritis an d coxarth ritis. Severe attrition o f th e enamel developed on th e anterior side of h is lower fron tal teeth, caused probably by som e workin g or habitual activity. SU M M A RY In Spring 2001, a rather vast complex of rooms, dug in thetlfa tafl bedrock and originally vaulted, was unearthed in front of the eastern facade of the main shaft in the tomb. Most probably, this complex served the funerary cult of the tomb owner. Thus, for the first time, the cult installations are archaeologically attested in any of the Late Period shaft tombs. In a corridor that partly surrounds the main shaft, two undisturbed burials in wooded coffins were found that belonged to the close relatives of Iufaa. In addition to that, documentary and restoration works continued in the tomb, as well as the study of the pottery and anthropological examination. East of the tomb of Iufaa, a small shaft tomb with a decorated burial chamber was excavated. Th e tomb has been robbed and only small remnants of the burial equipment were found. Brought to you by | INSEAD Authenticated Download Date | 11/18/18 2:22 AM