Bericht über die 2. und 3. Grabungskampagne in der Nekropole von Dra' Abu el-Naga/Theben-West

Abstract

The German Institute of Archaeology, Cairo (DAI) has conducted five more excavation seasons in the Necropolis of Dra' Abu el-Naga/Western Thebes in the years 1998-2002. The seasons of I998-2000 were carried out in cooperation with the University of California, Los Angeles. For technical reasons the preliminary report on the newly discovered mud brick pyramid of king Nub-Kheper-Re Intef was excluded from the current report and will appear as vol. 24 of the Institute's Sonderschriften (SDAIK). A report on the first two seasons' work in the Coptic monastery of Deir el-Bakhit is published separately in this volume of the Mitteilungen (see above, pp. 4I-65). Over the past five seasons archaeological work in Dra' Abu el-Naga concentrated on two major areas: between 1998 and 2000, the excavations of the large tomb-complex K93.II near the top of the hill were continued. In 200I work commenced in a newly defined area in the plain called Area H. In chapter 2 UTE RUMMEL describes the archaeological work in the forecourts of K93.II and discusses some details of the architectural layout of the building during late Ramesside times when the complex was intensively reused by the High Priest of Amun, Ramsesnakht. In addition, she presents a number of selected finds from the complex such as wooden dovetails, fragments of decorated ivory inlays from the New Kingdom, and two large fragments of a woman's granite sarcophagus. She also presents several more fragments of decorated sandstone blocks, which were once part of the Ramesside casing of the inner court of K93.II. One block shows a depiction of Ramesses VI and thus provides an exact date of Ramsesnakht's chapel. RUMMEL also discusses the purpose of Ramsesnakht's building inside the older tomb-complex. Since there is no evidence whatsoever that K93.II served as the tomb for Ramsesnakht, a different interpretation seems to be more likely: Ramsesnakht erected his building as a chapel in connection with the cult for the Theban Triad - including the hmt ntr Ahmes Nefertari as several indications (like the Hathor capitals) imply - and the numerous festival processions which passed Dra' Abu el-Naga on their way to the temple at Deir el-Bahari. ANNETT RICHTER introduces a very peculiar stone vessel of the 'ring-bottle' type which is a special variant of the well-known 'pilgrim flasks'. ANNE SEILER analyses the pottery from tomb-complex K93.II and concentrates on two distinct phases, namely the early I8 t h dynasty pottery and the late Ramesside pottery. The amount and types of early I8 t h dynasty pottery vessels clearly indicate that these were used in connection with the funerary cult for the individual who was originally buried in the tomb-complex. This result supports our tentative assignment of this tomb to the second king of the I8 t h dynasty, Amenhotep I. In chapter 3 ELKE MAHLITZ reports on the documentation and analysis of the material from several 26 t h dynasty burials, which have been excavated over the past few years along the walls of the courts of K93.II. She especially focuses on the architecture of these altogether seven intrusive burial shafts and chambers and the reconstruction of their original contents. The burial chamber of K93.II.4 contained substantial remains of coffin ensembles of a male and a female individual. In K93.II.5 another coffin ensemble was preserved.