The tomb No. 15 (
Plates 38, 39 )
Tomb No. 15 is that
of Suti I, who may be distinguished by a numeral from Suti, or Sutau, who was
Overseer of the Treasury, and whose tomb is No. 19 . This tomb is of the
cross-corridor type, with the head of the T coming first, and the columned hall
forming the leg behind, and with the addition behind of a large columnar hall,
or at least the rough commencement of one .
The exterior door-framing, the
entrance, and the corridor are executed with care and well-finished ; but no
part has received decoration, except the façade . Here the prayers on the jamb
are still extant, though much weather-worn ( Plate 39 ) . The texts on the jambs
are translated as follow :-
The first columns (a,
e) contain salutations of the three Powers .
" A dy hetep seten of the living Aten ",
(b) ( Right jamb )
" .... May he grant .... that which is offered in the Presence " .
(c) " .... [ like?
] the Light, lord of food, great in Niles, by food of whose giving the land
liveth . May he send the pleasant breezes of the north wind " .
(d) " .... of
lofty plumes, gleaming with the diadem (?), beloved (?) of the Lord of the Two
Lands . Mayest thou ( fem. ? ) grant a sight of Aten .... May he grant .... "
.
(f) " .... who
illumines all the land by his ka . May he give a fair burial after .... old age, and my rest in the
necropolis (?) of Akhetaten (?), a fitting seat " .
(g) " who
illumines (?) all the land by his rising . May he grant the bounty of the good
god, the daily offering in the Presence, that which is set out on the ........
a reception of that which he giveth and his food (?) " .
(h) " .... Do
thou grant departure in the morning from the Underworld to see Aten as he rises
daily without ceasing " .
" For the ka of the standard-bearer of the guild of Nefer-kheperu-ra, Suti, maakheru, possessor of the good guerdon " .
A beginning has been
made of excavating the interior of the portals at each end of the corridor, no
doubt with the intention of forming shrines containing statues, as in the
larger tombs . These portals are of the double form met with in the last tomb .
The chamber behind was to have been square in shape, and divided into three
aisles by two rows of four columns each ; but it was scarcely more than begun .
On the left, only the capitals of three columns have been separated from the
mass . On the right, a little more has been achieved, less in the hope of
completing the tomb than in order to secure a makeshift resting-place for the
dead . A well and a little gallery to the South were hewn out for this purpose .
Suti was
standard-bearer of " the guild of Nefer-kheperu-ra ", which does not
sound an important office . We have already met with guilds such as these,
which were wont to take some royal epithet as a designation, Huya, the steward
of Tyi, having become at a later date the marshal, or perhaps even the
standard-bearer of one such .
*****************************
The tomb No. 16 (
Plates 6, 7, 8, 24 )
Had this tomb been
completed, it must have ranked as one of the most splendid and finest rock-hewn
burial-places in Egypt, and fortunately the part of the central aisle and the
south side of one of the cross-aisles of the great hall is sufficiently
complete to allow the fancy to supply what is lacking . Unlike the rest of the
tombs, it faces eastwards . The cornice of the outer portal is lacking, and the
approach has never been completely hewn through the rock-slope . But as soon as
one enters the hall, blank even of a graffito, but with walls as yet unstained
and smooth, its spaciousness and the grace of its slender columns make ample
amends . One wonders at the feverish energy and courage which could, as if by a
magic wand, change this spot in the vast dead wilderness of rock into a hall of
subtle grace and mystery, and then, before the toil could well serve any
purpose, hasten away to new enterprises, as far in motive as in distance from
the world of busy life and human needs . This tomb is not known for whom this
splendid burial-place was being made .
Columnar Hall :- The great hall is of imposing proportions, 53 feet long, 29 feet
wide, 14 feet high . By setting the tomb low down, the architect gave thickness
to the roof and could almost ignore its weight . He supported it, therefore, on
twelve columns, which by their comparative slimness and free spacing are more
than usually pleasing . Only the four columns of the central aisle ( Plate 24 )
and those of the south side of the first cross-aisle are in any measure carried
out . The rest are in the state of incompleteness shown by two columns in the
Section, ( Plate 8, and cf. Plate 24 ) . On the more finished columns the
inserted bunches of stems are not separated below the capital, nor divided into
three above it . A capricious feature is the introduction of three ribs on each
of the eight stems, thus dividing each stem into four, a feature which is
carried a step further in Tombs 6, 25, 7c . The tablets are, as usual, so set
as to face the visitor as he walks down the aisle . Each of the two rows of
columns terminates in square pilasters, furnished with base ( generally in a
rough state ), roll, cornice, and abacus .
Wall-decoration :- The breaking up of the extensive wall surfaces is one of the most
pleasing elements of the architecture . The mode was suggested by the need for
providing a shrine or shrines which the deceased, represented by his sitting
statue, might occupy at his ease . These were set provisionally at each end of
the first cross-aisle ; then in succeeding aisles, if such were provided ; and
in the back wall of the main hall or of the further chamber . Each one was
furnished with a corniced door-frame, and in lofty halls a superstructure,
itself furnished with a cornice, was added above the door . Hence the wall at
both ends of each aisle of this tomb is corniced, yet in different ways . In
the nearest aisle the cornice is double ; probably an entablature would have
intervened . In the second there is a single cornice set lower down ; no door,
however, is yet hewn out . In the third the single cornice is at the roof, and
the door was to be correspondingly raised and reached by a little flight of
steps, protected by a low ramp . The door in the back wall also is adorned with
a double cornice with intervening open-work, on the ink design of which latter
a beginning has been made with the chisel . This diversity of application of
the same feature is both striking and successful, and it is still further
exemplified in the case of the Southern Shrine ( Plate 7, Section on AB ) .
Here the lower cornice ( which is separate and fixed in a rebate ) is
interrupted over the doorway and its place taken by a rectangular slab(?), the
setting for which alone remains . Whether it was sculptured or inscribed, or
indeed was ever supplied, cannot be determined .
Additional Chambers :- The two shrines in the first cross-aisle contain rough blocks of
stone which were to be transformed into sitting statues . The room to which the
West Door gave entrance is only just begun, but the work done indicates a low
chamber with slim, thickly-clustered columns . Perhaps the tomb was needed
hurriedly for burial; for the owner did not wait for the inner room to be
completed, but excavated a long flight of steps in the south-west corner of the
hall, which, turning completely on itself in its descent, ended in a small
landing and an unfinished burial chamber, twenty-six feet below the floor of
the hall .
*****************************
The tomb No. 17 ( Plate
12 )
This little tomb
presents no interesting feature, except that, being apparently undisturbed, it
showed sherds and pottery lying in a layer upon the original drift sand . The
tomb owner's name has not been preserved .
*****************************
The tomb No. 18 ( Plate
13 )
Tomb No. 18, also
without a name . This tomb is of the direct corridor type, like the tomb of Any
( No. 23 ) ; but the corridor is of the shortest . Yet simple as the hall is
and neatly finished off above with a ridge-pole roof, the back part is still
shapeless rock for a third of its height . So soon as a tomb was within
measurable distance of completion, Akhenaten or his architects seem to have
lost all interest in it . In this case the shrine which was to be excavated at
the end of the corridor is little better than a hole . Nevertheless, as in so
many other cases, an inscription was written on the left jamb of the outer
door, and even cut for half its length . The lower half, with the name and
titles of the deceased, is lost to us, but the rest ( now injured by thieves )
contains the opening of the salutations . The texts on the left jamb are
translated as follow ( Plate 13 ) :-
Col. 1 - " Life to the Divine and Sovereign Father, Horakhti-Aten .... "
.
Col. 2 - " Praise to thy ka, O living Aten, according to that which thy son says to thee ; he who
proceeded from thy body, thy child who knows thee and extols thee .... " .
Col. 3 - " Praise to thy ka, O Ruler of Truth who ( art ) eternal like Aten, thriving and living
and conducting things to which the living Aten has given birth .... " .
Col. 4 - " Praise to thy ka, O great royal wife of Ua-en-ra, tall in the plumes and gleaming in
apparel (?), charming of voice in the palace .... " .
*****************************
The tomb No. 19 ( Plates
14, 15 )
Tomb No. 19 is the
tomb of Suti II, or Sutau . This tomb, which is of the same type as the last,
but has a vaulted roof, is still more incomplete both without and within, and
even the little loculus for burial high up in the south wall is probably a later provision .
Yet so hopeless was the owner of seeing further progress made, that he prepared
to commemorate himself and his king on the only finished wall-space in the
entrance . Here on the left hand he caused the usual design, showing the Royal
Family at worship, to be traced in ink ; but this has now almost disappeared .
Beneath this his own figure and his prayer were copied in thick black ink, and
this has come down to us in a fragmentary state, preserving to us little more
than his name, Sutau, Overseer of the Treasury . The texts on the North
Thickness are translated as follow ( Plate 15 ) .
" ....... (9)
........ Ua-en-ra .... (10) ....... serviceable to the Father (?) . Do thou
grant to me (?) my eyes to see thee (11) ........ those who hear thy voice (?),
the King of the South and North, who lives in Truth, Lord of the Two Lands, N.,
(12) Son of the Sun, A., [ great in his duration ], and the chief wife of the
King, whom he loves, Nefertiti, who lives for ever and ever . (13) The Overseer
of the Treasury, [ Sutau, says ] .... my lord(?), who made me into a man . Thou
fosterest me (14) by thy bounty, though I was of no account, [ enlarging (?) ]
me and building me up, O Ruler ! Thou settest me (15) at the head of the
........ daily with workmen ........ exceedingly [ numerous (?) ], (16) saying
unto me : ' Do (?) ........ so that ( when ) I call to one of ten, answer
(thou) at (17) the order ' . O Ruler ........ production (?). Thou madest me
Overseer of the Treasury of the Lord of the Two Lands, Servant of
Him-who-is-great-in-his-duration, (18) the King's [ Keeper (?) ] (19) of
silver, gold, unguents, (20) oils, gums, (21) ........ (22) a courageous man
(?), thy favourite handservant (?), the Overseer of the Treasury of the Lord of
the Two Lands, Sutau " .
*****************************
The tomb No. 20 ( Plate
12 )
Tomb No. 20 is unfinished
. The approach to this tomb has not been carried through to the outer level,
and this incompleteness foretells the state of the interior . The door-framing,
however, is in order, and its lintel has received the only effort at decoration
that was made ( Plate 15 ) . Not that even this conventional design of the
adoration of Aten by the Royal family was carried to a finish . The sculptor
abandoned it, and by some caprice of his the figures of the Queen and her three
daughters have been omitted on both sides . The one princess who is visible is
the Queen's sister Mutbenret ; she seems to have been fan-bearer to the Queen,
for she always carries a fan .
Inside, the
cross-corridor has been roughly excavated, and measures have been taken for
carrying the hall farther back, leaving a row of four columns in the centre .
That the latter were projected is shown in addition by a rough sketch of a
column in red ink on the west wall, 5 feet high .
*****************************
The tomb No. 21 ( Plates
16, 35 )
Leaving the little
bay of low rock where only unpretentious tombs were admissible, we come to a
hall which, if unsightly, affords a unique architectural feature . This tomb is
unfinished . There is, as usual, a rough approach through the rock-slope to a
portal which is uninscribed, equally with the interior . After the
cross-corridor had been hewn and shrines with double-corniced portals set at
the ends, the central aisle was run out and a single row of three columns
arranged for and partly detached on either hand . ( The greater part of the
mass has been removed from behind them on the west side, but on the other a
beginning only was made under the ceiling ) . The square shape of the room,
which allows a greater number of columns in the depth than in the width, is an
innovation for the outer hall ( cf. 38 ) . It is more surprising to find the
longitudinal architrave arrested at the first column, and furnished with a
cornice ( Plate 35 ) . The effect is in itself pleasing, yet bewildering ; for
it can only give the suggestion of colonnades in an open court . This idea is
supported by the provision of a cornice to the entrance on the inside, as if it
were a gateway in an outer wall . It would certainly be permissible to regard
this part of the funerary chapel as a colonnaded court with private rooms
opening out of it ; but it is more probable that the owner of Tomb 21 was
struck with the novelty which his neighbour Any ( No. 23 ) had provided in his
corniced portico, and, without regarding its significance, adopted it as an
internal feature of his tomb . The cornice is carried round to the side walls,
where the architraves rest on pilasters of the usual type ; but in the aisle it
has not yet been completed past the second column on either side .
*****************************
The tomb No. 22 ( Plates
16, 17, 36 )
This tomb is similar
in external appearance to the last, but the interior conforms to the usual type
of columnar hall . The shape is oblong, admitting two rows of four columns each
. Of the first row only two are detached and given their approximate outline .
The rest have only acquired their abaci or are still to be formed by the
removal of the rock . The ground-plan shows little space cleared beyond the
cross-corridor ; but near the ceiling the central aisle is carried out to its
limit, and there the cornice of a door gives promise of a further room or
shrine in the axis .
A fragment of the
design has been carried out on the lintel of the façade, and shows the King,
Queen, and three daughters worshipping Aten, and the Queen's sister in
attendance ( Plate 16 ) .
*****************************
The tomb No. 24 ( Plate
13 )
This is only the
entrance to a tomb, for it has progressed no further . Even the approach has
not been hewn out, so that one descends to it by rough steps . It is now
destitute of any record ; but, when first excavated, the ends of the columns of
inscription, written in ink on the jambs, were visible and furnished us with
the name of the too sanguine owner . He was named Pa-aten-em-heb, and was a
Royal Scribe, Overseer of the soldiery of the Lord of the Two Lands, Steward of
the Lord of the Two Lands, and Overseer of Porters in Akhetaten . The last
title, however, may be a misreading for ' Overseer of Works ' .
Plates :-
Part ( 27 ) .. Coming SoOoOon .....
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