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Monuments from Egypt and Ethiopia, by Richard Lepsius. Volume I, Lower Egypt and Memphis. (Original
publication of plates 1849-1859; Explanatory text from the 1897
German edition, edited by Kurt Sethe and Edouard Naville).
[part 5]
Gizeh (p.29)
Rock tombs west of the second pyramid [Nos. 10-13] [fig: plan of numbered graves]
The
rock tombs west of the second pyramid are mostly unfinished and little
preserved. It is clear that the two names of the deceased, which alone
can still be read, [glyphs] (in grave No. 10) and prince [glyphs] (in
grave No. 12) are exactly repeated in other graves, as if the same
people had first, here in an area of bad rock, made an attempt to dig
in graves, and then exchanged it for a better place.
(p.30) 10. Grave of the [fig. glyph]. [1]
The first grave described by S.
The chamber is small and simpler than any other, the
walls are quite rough, as shown by the [sign]. Want remains of a lime
coating. ---The door has no indentation, not even a bulge, but only an
architrave, which then goes directly over to the ceiling; There is also
no sign of the door being broken, but on the right side there is only a
hanging cornice, which, however, may have only been created by breaking
away (see the section at b). [figure with tomb 10 section]
As in most tombs in this group, only the architrave
is described. [fig. LD II 78c.] It is noted that the name and surname
of the deceased are the same as those of the owner of grave no. 27.
11. Tomb of [fig. glyph] ....
The first grave to the north, No. 11 is very similar to the previous
one. It also has only one architrave, no bulge above the door, and no
door lock is visible; but it is bigger. The door is in the middle of
the wall. -- On the W. side to the north there is a blind door on which
hieroglyphs can still be seen. The grave, which, judging from its rough
condition, was probably never finished, belonged to a [fig. glyph].
The next grave is also unfinished. The structure of
the door is the same, but the stop for the door leaves has been carved
out inside [fig.]
12. Tomb of the Prince [fig. glyphs]. [3]
This grave is dug almost to the ground; it is large and spacious. (Floor plans p.31)
The
rock has been pulled in [at the entrance] and has depictions and
inscriptions on the entire facing side, but they are almost completely
weathered. The name of the prince can also be found here, which is the
same as that in grave No. 86.
[footnotes]
1.Cf. Mar. Mast. p. 523 ("Second grave.").
2. According to the measurements, the floor plan of the chamber forms
an unequal square, the true shape of which cannot be reconstructed due
to the lack of a diagonal measurement.
3. Cf. Mar. Mast. p. 523-524 ("Third Grave"). Descr. de L'Egy. Antiquites Vol. V, pl. 16, fig. 3-5 (c of plan fig.2)
[end footnotes]
His brother is also mentioned (p.31) here and there (see below). [1]
The bulge (see next) and the framing of the door were also inscribed;
but all that can be read is that the deceased was a prince. The
entrance appears to have been closed from the inside with a door, the
hinges of which were supported by a crossbeam at the top. [2]
[figures p.31]
The inner walls also appear to have all been written on, but very
little can be seen. The entire room A is covered with round stone beams
hewn from the rock; they stop in room B, where the ceiling (p.32)
recovers instead.
[Footnotes]
1. The illustration according to Z 255; From the top line of hieroglyphs there is an A. 80 bis.
2) See grave 73.
[end footnotes]
The round stone beams, which are apparently intended to represent tree
trunks, are very remarkable for the history of Egyptian architecture.
On the W. side there are 2 blind doors, and in the middle the door
opens into another small room. In front of this door there is a
crookedly carved shaft that leads into deeper rooms; a second shaft
runs along the N. side of the chamber. Above the blind door in room B
there is an architrave under the ceiling that descends to the depth of
the beams.
The next two graves are also not yet finished and have generally the
same layout; the door leads into the middle of one large chamber.
The nearest entrance is just a niche carved into the rock, perhaps an intended grave.
13. This grave [1]
has a covered bulge that was painted yellow, the hieroglyphs were blue
or green, but the name is no longer legible. - This grave is also far
from complete inside; the door is not yet closed either.
From here on, no more graves were carved into the rock because it
became too bad, very torn and decayed. - Opposite the N.W. corner
of the two pyramids is an inscription from the time of Ramesses II:
[fig: glyphs] from an inspector of the buildings in Heliopolis (?)
[fig. L.D. III 142 k.]
Another inscription by the same man is written on the rock wall north
of the same pyramid of Chephren: [fig. LD III 142 i.] - The inscription
seems to refer to the removal of the rock face; Traces of this work
still remain, namely the furrows that were dug to break off the
building stones and which of course had to be deeper than the area that
was intended to be broken off.
[Footnotes]
1.Cf. Mar.Mast. p.524 ("Fourth Grave") ? - In the list of graves, For.
I. 61 it was originally referred to as the "tomb of a prophet of
Chephren", but this was then deleted.
[end footnotes]
(p.33) Burial ground west of the largest pyramid. [fig: plan of numbered graves]
On the west side of the largest pyramid, a large
grave field stretches out to the west. The graves closest to the
pyramid are of various sizes and irregular locations. Each one rises up
one after the other in an amphitheatrical manner with the terrain.
The next ones are undoubtedly the oldest; These
include the southern corner grave of [fig: glyph] [No.43], the large
one that lies behind it (no. 44], another equally large one further to
the north, which is still the best preserved of all [No.40].
To the right is the grave of [fig.: glyph] [No. 37] and behind that of
the prince [fig: glyphs] [No. 36]; even further behind is that of the
[fig: glyph] [No.45]. Behind this, a greater degree of regularity
begins; 6 ranges of graves that are 7-8 numbers deep allow regular
paths to be opened.
They are not exactly aligned with the top of the (largest) pyramid. Of
all these regularly located and lower graves, [except grave no. 49]
none open; they do not appear to have contained any chambers, but only
wells. To the right is another, more irregular grave field.
Across the back there was a very large building, the largest of all
[No. 23]; further in front of the prince's grave [fig: glyphs]
[Nol.24]. even further in front of many almost completely destroyed and
including an important one. In the middle of the regular rows there is
a grave that is different and closes the path [No.51]. Behind all of
these there are again irregular groups, of which the front one was
excavated by us [No. 15-18]. To the south the entire field is
surrounded by a large wall.
The rows closest to the pyramid now rise highest, especially to the
south, behind which is the grave of [fig: glyph], (no.45), then the
double grave no. 51, then the grave group of [fig: glyphs] (No.15),
[fig: glyphs) (No. 16), and [fig: glyphs] (No. 17), and finally the
group behind it with chambers without inscriptions [No.14]. - All the
doors that have been found so far go to O., except that of grave no.
[18], which goes to N.
See also the view of this grave field from the east: supplementary volume, plate II.
14. Western group of graves. [1]
[As just noted, the tombs of this group contain only chambers without inscriptions.]
[footnote]
1. Cf. Mar. Mast. P. 490
[end footnote]
15. Grave of the [fig. glyph] (to be read Nefer-bau-ptah according to LD II 49 a)
Floor plan (see fig. LD I 21): [figure of floor plan]
This grave belongs to a group of three grave buildings, west of the
southwest corner of the largest, north from the northwest corner of the
second pyramid (No. 15-17; cf. fig. LD 1 21 [sections]). It is the
southernmost of the 3 graves.
It faces the heavens just like the pyramids. The border around it is
[now] filled high with sand, almost to the height of the door
architrave and the inner ceilings. -- Like almost all graves in this
area, it is built on living rock. The shape is quite square; The outer
walls slope upwards, similar to the lower parts of pyramids, but these
buildings never had peaks, as the roofs show. As with the pyramids, the
inclination of the walls is not always the same. -
Here only the front wall was smooth, the three others were still rough
and should then be smoothed. A window is visible on the southern side
of the building, which opened into room E; another opening is visible
not far from the outside.
The stone is the limestone of the ground, nummulite, and in some parts
it is very exposed to destruction by the air. - Large, colossal blocks
characterize these oldest buildings; they are generally laid out in
horizontal layers, but the vertical joints are largely different; The
horizontal positions are also not always precise, but rather the
individual blocks are specially cut and fit together when they are
opened up, just as can be seen in the large pyramids. [figure of stone
blocks].
xxxx
Footnotes:
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