Manual of Egyptian Archaeology and Guide to the Study of Antiquities in EgyptMaspero, G. (Gaston)
History
Manual of Egyptian Archaeology and Guide to the Study of Antiquities in Egypt
Maspero, G. (Gaston)
Art -- Egypt; Egypt -- Antiquities
The earliest examples of the second kind are those found at Gizeh among the
mastabas of the Fourth Dynasty, and these are neither large nor much
ornamented. They begin to be carefully wrought about the time of the Sixth
Dynasty, and in certain distant places, as at Bersheh, Sheîkh Saîd, Kasr es
Saîd, Asûan, and Negadeh. The rock-cut tomb did not, however, attain its
full development until the times of the last Memphite kings and the early
kings of the Theban line.
In these rock-cut tombs we find all the various parts of the mastaba. The
designer selected a prominent vein of limestone, high enough in the cliff
side to risk nothing from the gradual rising of the soil, and yet low
enough for the funeral procession to reach it without difficulty. The
feudal lords of Minieh slept at Beni Hasan; those of Khmûnû at Bersheh;
those of Siût and Elephantine at Siût and in the cliff opposite Asûan (fig.
150). Sometimes, as at Siût, Bersheh, and Thebes, the tombs are excavated
at various levels; sometimes, as at Beni Hasan, they follow the line of the
stratum, and are ranged in nearly horizontal terraces.[31] A flight of
steps, rudely constructed in rough-hewn stones, leads up from the plain to
the entrance of the tomb. At Beni Hasan and Thebes, these steps are either
destroyed or buried in sand; but recent excavations have brought to light a
well-preserved example leading up to a tomb at Asûan.[32]
[Illustration: Fig. 150.--Tombs in cliff opposite Asûan.]
[Illustration: Fig. 151.--Façade of tomb of Khnûmhotep, at Beni Hasan,
Twelfth Dynasty.]
[Illustration: Fig. 152.--Façade of tomb, Asûan.]
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