Tomb of Kairsu discovered in Abusir (AC 33)
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PES XXV/2020 35REPORTS Tomb of Kairsu discovered in Abusir (AC 33) Miroslav Bárta – Lucie Jirásková – Jaromír Krejčí – Martin Odler – Vladimír Brůna – Petra Brukner Havelková – Zdeňka Sůvová aBstract The tomb of Kairsu is located north of the pyramid of Neferirkare and is part of aso far unexplored cemetery dating to the reign of Neferirkare – Nyuserre. The mastaba features several highly unusual characteristics. Basalt blocks had been used for the pavement in front of the façade and in the chapel. To date, it is the only attestation of such apractice in anon-royal tomb in the Old Kingdom. Some of the titles of Kairsu show that he was ahigh ranking official. Kairsu was overseer of all royal works of the king and foremost of the House of Life. There was avery close link established between this institution, which was in fact acentre of knowledge and wisdom in the Old Kingdom, and the god of creation Khnum. It is also important that the House of Life appears from the reign of Nyuserre when Osiris is attested for the first time. Another important feature of the tomb is the fact that the statue of the tomb owner was placed in front of the sarcophagus. This only confirms the previous assumption that ancient Egyptians were placing statues not only in different areas of tombs’ superstructures but also in the burial chambers. There is astrong possibility that the owner of the tomb may be identical to the famous sage of Egyptian history, who, according to amuch later tradition, was author of the Loyalist teaching, Teaching for Kagemni and Teaching of Kairsu and also father of the early Sixth Dynasty vizier Kagemni. Keywords Abusir – Fifth Dynasty – Neferirkare – Kairsu – overseer of all royal works of the king – House of Life – Khnum – sage
36 PES XXV/2020 TOMB OF KAIRSU The tomb designated as AC 33 in Central Abusir belongs to an official, Kairsu, and was fully excavated during the fall–winter season of 2018.1 This season continued the preliminary survey carried out in 2015 during which the basic outlines of the structure were documented. However, an unpublished photograph kept in the archive of the Swiss Institute for Architectural and Archaeological Research on Ancient Egypt, Cairo (see fig. 7a) indicates that it was already Ludwig Borchardt at the beginning of the twentieth century who carried out some limited excavation in the area.2 architecture The tomb is located in the heart of the royal necropolis, north of the pyramid of Neferirkare (fig. 1 and p. 15). Therefore, the high status of its owner could be anticipated from the very beginning. The masonry of the mastaba and its decoration were largely destroyed already during antiquity and so were individual burial installations. The tomb is oriented in a north-south direction, with an entrance from the east. Its ground plan measures approximately 29.20 × 16.10 m and does not include the missing casing of white limestone blocks which is preserved intact in afew places (figs. 2 and 3). Given the (mostly) missing casing, it may be estimated that the original size of the ground plan could have been about 31.00 × 17.50 m. The tomb’s superstructure consists of an outer perimeter wall built of local limestone about 0.75–0.80 m in thickness. Inside there is mud brick core masonry, 0.90–1.40 m wide. The space in between them is 1.00 m wide and is filled with sand and rubble. The majority part of the western superstructure of the mastaba comprised sand and rubble that were covered with adense layer of limestone chips. The superstructure of the mastaba is domin ated by the main cult chapel (Chapel 1), occupying, unusually, the very central position within the structure, accomp anied by aserdab and asmaller cult chapel (Chapel 2), whose mud brick walls were apparently built into the masonry of the tomb secondarily – in connection with the construction of the second burial installation (see further). In the substructure, three burial installations were found. One of the most extraordinary features of the mastaba is that both the pavement of Chapel 1, as well as the pavement of its entrance recess and the passageway to it, consisted of basalt blocks. The blocks have been preserved within the entrance area, while inside the chapel itself they are largely missing. 1 The authors are indebted for critical comments and several references to two anonymous reviewers. 2 We tender our thanks to Cornelius von Pilgrim, director of the Swiss Institute for Architectural and Archaeological Research on Ancient Egypt, for his kind permission to publish the photograph. The work on this scientific output was enabled by the Progres Q11 grant Complexity and resilience. Ancient Egyptian civilization in amulti-disciplinary and multi-cultural perspective at Charles University and VEG 2020 subsidy, Ref. No. MSMT-40214/2019-1. Fig. 1 View of the tomb from the top of the pyramid of Neferirkare (photo P.Košárek)
PES XXV/2020 37TOMB OF KAIRSU façade The casing of the eastern façade of the tomb made of carefully worked fine white limestone blocks was found largely destroyed or missing (figs. 4a–b). In its centre, there was an entrance portico which was 3.00 m wide (each wing being about 2.12 m long) and 2.05 m deep. The entrance leading into the main chapel (Chapel 1) was 1.70 m long and 0.75 m wide. The maximum preserved height of the eastern wall of the tomb reaches 2.40 m. It was in this area that quite alarge portion of the fragments of relief or painted decoration of the chapel and portico were found (see below). Two cult niches were built into the eastern façade (see figs. 2 and 3). Again, similarly to the central location of the chapel within the superstructure of the tomb, the fact that two niches feature in the façade of the mastaba is also rather unusual. The southern niche, largely destroyed, was 1.40 m wide with acentral recess 30 cm wide and 15 cm deep. The northern niche still preserved its ground plan and was even wider – 2.03 m with asingle recess (32 cm wide and 5 cm deep) and 2.33 m deep. Its floor is 0.50 m above the floor of the corridor running along the eastern façade. In the limestone masonry remaining in situ, construction lines for the positioning of the false doors were found. Their existence was also documented by several fragments found in the area to the east of both niches. Starting on the floor and running parallel to the eastern wall of the tomb, there was asmall step in front of the northern niche which was 1.30 m long, 0.40 m wide and 0.30 m high – however, its northern end is missing. It was built of mud bricks, small limestone chips and pottery sherds. chapels During the construction of the mastaba, two cult chapels were built in its masonry. An internal part of Fig. 2 Ground plan of Tomb AC 33 (drawing M. Odler, M. Bárta, J. Krejčí, K. Arias Kytnarová, L. Jirásková, L. Vařeková) 1 N 0 2 3 m SHAFT 1 SHAFT 2 SHAFT 3 SHAFT 4 SHAFT 5 SHAFT 6 BURIAL CHAMBER 1 BURIAL CHAMBER 2 BURIAL CHAMBER 3 CHAPEL 1 CHAPEL 2 SERDAB SOUTHERN NICHE NORTHERN NICHE CORRIDOR ENTRANCE ENTRANCE ROOM 1 ROOM 2 66.02 66.21 66.40 67.57 67.12 65.95 65.32 66.46 66.3 66.57 65.99 65.90 65.86 67.92 66.29 67.48 67.65 65.6 66.32 67.86 67.89 67.64 66.96 66.66 67.44 67.65 65.37 65.94 65.92 65.95 66.05 66.01 65.89 66.29 67.91 66.30 68.39 68.6 64.07 65.52 68.42 65.36 67.62 67.51 68.09 66.26 66.09 67.47 65.8 65.84 66.76 68.36 67.75 67.48 BASALT MUD BRICK WALL MUD BRICK FLOORS MUD BRICK PASSAGES
38 PES XXV/2020 TOMB OF KAIRSU the original plan was the construction of Chapel 1, the ground plan of which measures 4.15 × 1.97 m and its longer axis is oriented in anorth-south direction. The walls of the chapel were cased with white limestone blocks measuring 0.30 m in thickness. Most of the southern part of the chapel is taken by amonolithic, well-dressed basalt block which measures 1.27 × 0.80 m, being 0.35–0.53 m high. It probably served as an altar for aserdab, located to the south of the chapel. The western wall was taken up by arecess for alarge false door, probably made of red granite. The width of the recess was 3.10 m and it was 0.42 m deep in its maximum (fig. 5, pl. I: 1). To the north of Chapel 1, there was a1.40 m wide entrance into smaller Chapel 2 built of mud bricks, which was related to the burial in Shaft 2 (see below), situated directly to the west of it. In its western wall, there was asimple niche and the chapel’s ground plan can be estimated at 1.20 × 2.28 m, being oriented eastwest. Unfortunately, the architecture of this chapel was badly damaged. Despite this, it may be said that this chapel was added later into the masonry of the tomb. serdaB This structure is located to the south of Chapel 1 and separated from it by a0.95 m wide wall. It measures in ground plan 3.50 × 0.92 m. Its walls were covered with a3 cm thick layer of black Nile mud plaster with astrong organic admixture. The plastered walls were coated with athick whitish paint. The floor is largely missing, Fig. 3 Three-dimensional visualisation of the eastern part of the tomb and of entrance rooms, view from the east (author V. Brůna) Fig. 4 Eastern façade of the tomb from south-east (a) and north-east (b) (photos P.Košárek) a b
PES XXV/2020 39TOMB OF KAIRSU originally probably only coated with mud plaster. There is astep, probably secondary, in the eastern wall, some 0.40 m above the original floor and extending to the east for 0.80 m. enclosure wall and open corridor Amud brick retaining wall 1.00 m wide was built along the eastern face of the mastaba. This wall created an open corridor 1.52 m wide, running along the eastern façade of the mastaba. The faces of the wall were covered with athick layer of plaster and whitewashed. The floor of the corridor was repeatedly coated with thin Nile-mud layers and also white-washed. This corridor could be entered, in the first stage of the development of the tomb, from the north by an entrance 1.28 m wide, which was at alater stage blocked and converted into Shaft 6 (see below). Aligned with the entrance into Chapel 1, the enclosure wall was originally interrupted by a3.14 m wide opening. This opening was later blocked up by amud brick wall of the same width and anew, much narrower entrance (0.70 m) – slightly off the axis – was created, giving access to the major chapel. entrance rooMs Together with the construction of the enclosure wall, a mud brick appendix was also constructed to the east of it, in front of the opening in the eastern wing of the wall. This construction consisted of two rooms used during the lifetime of the mastaba, which were labelled as entrance rooms. Entrance Room 2, the easternmost part of the tomb, was found completely empty, measuring 4.18 × 2.12 m, with walls preserved to aheight of 0.65 m (fig. 6). It was entered from the outside of the compound by anarrow doorway in the northern wall, at its eastern end. It was 0.70 m wide and it was found walled up by amud brick wall and masonry (see below for discussion on the dating of this blockage). Asmall passage in the western wall of the room, at its northern end, gave way to Entrance Room 1 measuring 4.20 × 3.60 m. Both rooms had afloor made of thick mud coating, which was better preserved in Entrance Room 2 contrary to Entrance Room 1. In the southwest corner of Entrance Room 1 stood a limestone purification basin measuring 0.82 × 1.10 m in ground plan, 0.65–0.74 m high (figs. 7a–c). Slightly off the center of the room’s western wall, there is the above-mentioned passage giving access to the corridor and the cult chapel. In the area to the north and south of the entrance rooms, numerous fragments of relief and painted decoration were found. In Entrance Room 1 and in the area to the north of the entrance rooms, several large fragments of basalt were found. shaft 1 Opening: 1.25 × 1.35 m, lined with mud bricks Depth: 6.25 m This shaft is located to the southwest of Chapel 1 and provides access to the principal burial belonging to Fig. 5 Western wall in Chapel 1 (photo P.Košárek)
40 PES XXV/2020 TOMB OF KAIRSU Kairsu and the relieving chamber above it. In the northern wall of the shaft there are two entrances, one above the other, separated by several limestone roofing blocks about 70 cm in thickness. The floor of the shaft was originally paved with limestone chips. Both rooms were built in an open pit and are separated by several large white limestone blocks creating at the same time the floor for relieving chamber and ceiling for Burial Chamber 1 (figs. 8–9). Building burial chambers in open pits was aparticular technique of the period used in some other places in Abusir as well. For instance, the burial chamber of the princess Khekeretnebty and other owners of tombs in the cemetery were built in the same fashion (Verner – Callender 2002), and so were some of the tombs in the cemetery east of the mortuary temple of Nyuserre, excavated by Ludwig Borchardt at the beginning of the twentieth century (Borchardt 1907: 109–134). Relieving chamber is entered by a narrow passage 0.60 m wide, 0.80 m long and 1.40 m high, which was originally bricked up; however, this mud brick partition was broken by tomb robbers. The chamber consists of two parts (pl. I: 2). The eastern one is 5.50 m long and 1.70 m wide while the western one, which has its floor 0.20 m lower, measures 2.00 × 2.50 m. The whole room was built of mud bricks and has an intact mud brick vault. The height of the room is 1.20 m. Lying loosely in the fill, the upper part of the statue of Kairsu (79/AC33/2018_a) was found, left here by tomb robbers. The room functioned as arelieving chamber for Burial Chamber 1, supporting thus the weight of the mud brick masonry and the fill of the mastaba core above its vaulted ceiling. This technological solution can be seen in the already mentioned Mastaba of Princesses or in the Khekeretnebty’s mastaba. Burial Chamber 1 starts about 0.45 m above the shaft’s floor. It was accessible by means of anarrow entrance 0.80 m wide, 1.05 m long and 1.00 m high. Its floor is 0.50 m lower than the entrance passage. Immediately behind the entrance there is aramp descending to the north, which is 1.20 m long, 1.00 m wide with amax. height of 0.40 m. The room consisted of an eastern part that was 5.12 m long and 1.60 m wide, with afluctuating height of about 1.88 m (fig. 10). Its floor was paved with small, irregular limestone blocks plastered white. The side walls of the room were built of nicely polished local limestone blocks plastered white as well. The western sarcophagus recess was 2.50 m deep and 2.48 m long. The western part of the sarcophagus recess was taken by aledge 0.85 m wide, which was used to accommodate the lid before the burial. The greater part of the recess was occupied by the limestone sarcophagus. The chest is 2.40 m long, 0.80 m high and 1.10 m wide. The lid is 2.40 m long, 1.20 m wide and up to 0.32 m high, slightly rounded (fig. 11). In front of it, standing in the original position the lower part of the seated statue of Kairsu was found (79/ AC33/2018_b; see pl. II.1), featuring some other titles of the official which are listed below. The statue – when put together – is 0.73 m tall, with abase 0.41 × 0.23 m, 0.28 m high (pl. IV). Fig. 6 Entrance Room 2 from the south (photo J. Krejčí)
PES XXV/2020 41TOMB OF KAIRSU Fig. 7c Entrance Room 1, purification basin (drawing J. Krejčí, L. Vařeková) A‘ A LEVEL OF THE FLOOR IN ER 1 A‘ A 65.34 m a.s.l. LIME MORTAR N0 0.25 m LIMESTONE IN SECTION MUD BRICKS A‘ A LEVEL OF THE FLOOR IN ER 1 A‘ A 65.34 m a.s.l. LIME MORTAR N0 0.25 m LIMESTONE IN SECTION MUD BRICKS Fig. 7a Entrance Room 1, purification basin as discovered by Ludwig Borchardt (Courtesy of the Swiss Institute for Architectural and Archaeological Research on Ancient Egypt, Cairo, photo no. A2034) Fig. 7b Entrance Room 1, purification basin after cleaning in 2018 (photo J. Krejčí)
42 PES XXV/2020 TOMB OF KAIRSU Besides the statue some parts of the burial equipment were also found – fragments of limestone canopic jars, fragments of travertine model vessels, pottery, etc. (see below and Arias in this volume). shaft 2 Opening: 1.63 × 1.53 m, lined with mud bricks Depth: 3.94 m This shaft is located to the west of Chapel 2. The shaft opening measures 1.63 × 1.53 m. There is anarrow entrance in its western wall, cased with amud brick wall, 0.85 m wide and 1.10 m long with a height of 0.85 m, which leads to a vaulted burial chamber (fig. 12). Both the shaft and the chamber were constructed in an open pit. The entrance into the burial chamber was originally blocked by amud brick wall, now destroyed. Most of the chamber’s space is occupied by alarge limestone sarcophagus. The chest measures 2.48 × 1.12 m and is at least 0.80 m high (its lower part is under the level of the Nile mud floor of the burial chamber, so its total height could not be measured). The lid is 2.48 m long, 1.12 m wide and max 0.40 m high, slightly vaulted (fig. 13). Both on the southern and north ern side of the lid there is ahandle in the centre. The room measures 3.28 × 1.82 m, oriented in anorth-south direction and was originally cased with small limestone blocks of 0.10 m in thickness except for the western wall where they were of double thickness. These limestone blocks made in this way a plinth running along the walls of the chamber. The plinths reached to aheight of 0.85–1.00 m. It is from here that the mud brick vault start ed (fig. 14). The total height of the chamber is 2.10 m. During the excavation of the burial chamber, parts of the burial equipment were also found – limestone canopic jars, travertine model vessels, pottery, etc. Fig. 8 Shaft 1, relieving chamber and Burial Chamber 1, north-south cross-section (drawing M. Bárta, J. Krejčí, L. Vařeková) ROOFING BLOCKS DESTRUCTED MUD BRICK MASONRY ORIGINAL FILL ORIGINAL FILL 60.45 metres a.s.l. 66.66 metres a.s.l. WHITE PLASTER PLASTER SAND FILL LOOSE DARK GREY SAND MUD BRICKS MUD BRICK IN SECTION MORTAR WHITE LIMESTONE LIMESTONE IN SECTION 0 0,5 1m N ROOFING BLOCKS DESTRUCTED MUD BRICK MASONRY ORIGINAL FILL ORIGINAL FILL 60.45 metres a.s.l. 66.66 metres a.s.l. WHITE PLASTER PLASTER SAND FILL LOOSE DARK GREY SAND MUD BRICKS MUD BRICK IN SECTION MORTAR WHITE LIMESTONE LIMESTONE IN SECTION 0 0,5 1m N ROOFING BLOCKS DESTRUCTED MUD BRICK MASONRY ORIGINAL FILL ORIGINAL FILL 60.45 metres a.s.l. 66.66 metres a.s.l. WHITE PLASTER PLASTER SAND FILL LOOSE DARK GREY SAND MUD BRICKS MUD BRICK IN SECTION MORTAR WHITE LIMESTONE LIMESTONE IN SECTION 0 0,5 1m N ROOFING BLOCKS DESTRUCTED MUD BRICK MASONRY ORIGINAL FILL ORIGINAL FILL 60.45 metres a.s.l. 66.66 metres a.s.l. WHITE PLASTER PLASTER SAND FILL LOOSE DARK GREY SAND MUD BRICKS MUD BRICK IN SECTION MORTAR WHITE LIMESTONE LIMESTONE IN SECTION 0 0,5 1m N ROOFING BLOCKS DESTRUCTED MUD BRICK MASONRY ORIGINAL FILL ORIGINAL FILL 60.45 metres a.s.l. 66.66 metres a.s.l. WHITE PLASTER PLASTER SAND FILL LOOSE DARK GREY SAND MUD BRICKS MUD BRICK IN SECTION MORTAR WHITE LIMESTONE LIMESTONE IN SECTION 0 0,5 1m N
PES XXV/2020 43TOMB OF KAIRSU Fig. 9 Shaft 1, relieving chamber and Burial Chamber 1, east-west crosssection (drawing M. Bárta, J. Krejčí, L. Vařeková) LOOSE FILL ORIGINAL FILL MORTAR MUD BRICKS WHITE LIMESTONE WE LIMESTONE IN SECTION 60.45 metres a.s.l. 0 0,5 1m LOOSE FILL ORIGINAL FILL MORTAR MUD BRICKS WHITE LIMESTONE WE LIMESTONE IN SECTION 60.45 metres a.s.l. 0 0,5 1m LOOSE FILL ORIGINAL FILL MORTAR MUD BRICKS WHITE LIMESTONE WE LIMESTONE IN SECTION 60.45 metres a.s.l. 0 0,5 1m Fig. 10 Shaft 1, Burial Chamber 1, looking to the south (photo P.Košárek)
Pl. II: 1 Shaft 1, Burial Chamber 1, view with the statue in situ (photo P. Košárek) Pl. II: 2 Fragment of a limestone false door (11/AC33/2018) (photo P. Košárek) Pl. II: 3 Fragment of relief decoration mentioning Sahure’s pyramid complex (98/AC33/2018) (photo P. Košárek) II Bárta et al., The tomb of Kairsu
Bárta et al., The tomb of Kairsu Pl. III: 1 Fragment of relief decoration (265/AC33/2018) (photo P. Košárek) Pl. III: 2 Fragment of relief decoration with a palanquin scene (99/AC33/2018) (photo P. Košárek) III
IV 010 20 cm Bárta et al., The tomb of Kairsu Pl. IV Granite statue of Kairsu (79/AC33/2018_a–b) (photo P. Košárek)
V Bárta et al., The tomb of Kairsu Pl. V: 1 Shaft 2, Burial Chamber 2, canopic jars (146/AC33/2018) (photo P. Košárek) Pl. V: 2 Fragments of a granite false door (17/AC33/2018_a–b) (photo P. Košárek) Pl. V: 3 Fragment of granite false door with signs ra and m (26/AC33/2018) (photo P. Košárek) 010 20 cm
Bárta et al., The tomb of Kairsu Pl. VI: 1 Shaft 1, Burial Chamber 1, fragments of travertine model vessels (109/AC33/2018) (photo P. Košárek) Pl. VI: 2 Shaft 2, Burial Chamber 2, almost complete set of travertine model vessels (148/AC33/2018) (photo P. Košárek) VI
VII Bárta et al., The tomb of Kairsu Pl. VII: 1 Shaft 3, copper model implements (209/AC33/2018, 211/AC33/2018, 213/AC33/2018, 216/AC33/2018 and 217/AC33/2018) (photo P. Košárek) Pl. VII: 2 The so-called Daressy’s block with the figure of the sage Kairsu (photo P. Košárek)
PES XXV/2020 49TOMB OF KAIRSU bears part of ahorizontal hieroglyphic text reading from the right to the left: ...nb.f nb KA-i[r.s(w)]. The size of the hieroglyphic signs is rather large in comparison with most of the remaining relief fragments. Fragment 98/AC33/2018 (36.5 × 26.0 × 12.0 cm), found to the north of the entrance rooms, features three lines of horizontal text: …cnwt…, ....w zS nfr…, …£a bAw [CAHw-Ra]…. 267/AC33/2018 (22.1 × 13.5 × 4.7 cm) (pl. II: 3). It was found during the cleaning of the entrance recess leading to Chapel 1, below the level of the damaged floor. The relief bears afragment of the htp-di-ncwt formula – …jmj sH…. As their decoration was executed in sunken relief, these fragments were used in the façade of the mastaba, probably the part above the recess of the doorway to Chapel 1. In the area to the east of the southern niche, alarge block (166/AC33/2018, 1.54 × 0.26 × 0.50 m) of white limestone casing was found (see its position on the plan of the mastaba, fig. 2). It is another example of ahieroglyphic inscription executed in sunken relief, but in this case, its form was monumental; the width of the vertical inscription was 0.52 m. The fragment bears part of one of the titles that belonged to the tomb owner – cmr-waty. Due to its position close to the southern niche, it is possible that it once decorated the eastern façade in this area. The size of the apparently vertical inscription shows that there were at least two formats of sunken inscriptions – one in the area of the recess for the entrance to Chapel 1 and another used in other parts of the mastaba’s eastern façade. Afragment, 99/AC33/2018 (34.0 × 25.5 × 23.5 cm), which was found to the north of the entrance rooms, features figural decoration. This fragment is also made with ahigh degree of craftsmanship and depicts the lower part of apalanquin scene with an oversized tomb owner (pl. III: 2). Of his figure, only abent leg and outstretched arm have been preserved. The man beside the palanquin is depicted in amuch smaller scale, carries ascribe’s board and apalette in his right hand. He bears the following titles: (j)r(j)-mDAt, Hm-kA. His name is CDw-k(A.j). loose BlocKs with the naMe of Kairsu as atoMB owner dated to the old KingdoM To date, two more blocks are known from arelatively close distance to Abusir, both of them being reused during New Kingdom building activities.3 The first block was discovered by the Japanese mission working on the “Lion’s Hill” in southwest Abusir and published in 2001. There the limestone block decorated in low relief was found reused in the masonry and covered with mortar (Yoshimura 2001: 292–293, pl. 13,2).4 The preserved inscription reads from the right to the left and is arranged in three partially preserved columns: 1. Xry-Hb – lector priest; 2. Hr(j) sStA n @r – keeper of secrets of Horus; 3. (j)m(j)-r kAt nbt nt nzwt – overseer of all royal works of the king; 4. imAx(w) n nb.f KA-ir.s(w) – well provided by his lord, Kairsu. While the first two titles and the epithet are unattested from the tomb of Kairsu in Abusir, the title of the overseer of all royal works features on fragment 11/AC33/2018. The high rank of the title and the same name of its holder indicate that its holders could be the same person. The second location is the New Kingdom Temple “A” of Ptah in Memphis. The fragment(s) originate from adoorway leading to atemple court. Its sidewalls and the lintel were, according to the British excavation report, carved from amassive red granite false door of acertain Kairsu. According to Jaromír Málek, its original dimensions were quite impressive – the false door was about 3.06 m wide and 2.15 m tall (Smith – Jeffreys – Málek 1983: 38; for the line-drawing of the part with the inscription see Malek 1992: 61, 64, fig. 1). In this case, the two fragments of columns bear the following inscription reading from the right to the left: 1. …nb … [jma]xw xr nTr-aA, cmr-watj, KA-ir.s(w) Lord…[well-pro]vided before the Great God, sole friend, Kairsu 2. … n pr-[anx?] … mrwt, KA-ir.s(w) … of the House of [Life?] … beloved, Kairsu. Both columns end with astriding figure of the tomb owner. Despite their few details, it can be said that the figures are proceeding to the right, with arms along the body, dressed in short kilts with frontal pieces and tight wigs. The false door, if Málek’s calculations are correct, could easily fit into the western wall of the chapel which is some 15 cm wider. The existence of ared granite false door in the Abusir mastaba is supported by aconcentration of red granite fragments found in front of the southern niche. These could be the result of smashing the originally monolithic block into smaller pieces. stone finds Most of the stone artefacts were discovered in individual burial shafts where they were part of the burial equipment. Burial chaMBer 1 All the canopic jars originally coming from Burial Chamber 1 were made of limestone and were collected in fragments. Most of them were found in the burial chamber (76/AC33/2018, 103/AC33/2018 and 108/ AC33/2018), some in the shaft (56/AC33/2018 and 65/ 3 We tender our thanks to Andrés Diego Espinel who drew our attention to these two fragments. 4 We are indebted to our colleague Ayano Yamada for her kind translation of the Japanese text of the monograph.
50 PES XXV/2020 TOMB OF KAIRSU AC33/2018). The most weathered one, 29/AC33/2018, comes from the north part of Entrance Room 1. Only the rim parts 65/AC33/2018 and 76/AC33/2018 were possible to glue together. Although their state of preservation was not good, the dimensions that were possible to measure point to large pieces in comparison to the average size of canopic jars. The rim diameter of 65+76/AC33/2018 is 18 cm, and the base diameters of 29/AC33/2018, 103/AC33/2018 and 108a/AC33/2018 range between 13.0 to 14.0 cm. Unfortunately, no complete profile survived, and their heights remain unknown. However, judging from the above presented dimensions and surviving heights of fragments, these must have far exceeded 30.0 cm. Although they were found broken and empty and no stains were detected on their bodies, there is evidence that they originally had contents. From the debris that filled the burial chamber of Shaft 1, quite hard pieces of linen mixed with abrown substance were collected. Asimilar material was later recognized still preserved in the interior of the canopic jars from Burial Chamber 2. No analysis has been performed on this material yet, and therefore it is not possible to say if it contains any human tissue. Since the burial chamber of Shaft 1 was severely looted in antiquity, only remains of the original assemblage of model stone vessels were collected. All were made of travertine. Two halves of two bowls were found first in the shaft (64/AC33/2018 and 123/AC33/2018). The latter one was later glued with another half from alarger group discovered in the burial chamber itself (109/AC33/2018, pl. VI: 1). Only one jar belonged to this group (109_4/ AC33/2018) and 11 bowls. All of the vessels were of average shape and dimensions, as well as craftsman - ship. Burial Chamber 1 was originally equipped not only with canopic jars and model stone vessels. Also, numerous fragments of alarge travertine offering table were brought to light (113/AC33/2018_a–j). Its original size was reconstructed to be 38.0 cm in diameter. Atravertine headrest (117/AC33/2018) was once supporting the head of Kairsu, but only a1/3 of its base survived. Burial chaMBer 2 Shaft 2 was almost destroyed by looters in its upper part and the entrance to Burial Chamber 2 was found broken. However, the robbers were apparently interested only in the jewellery of the deceased and copper objects. As usual, they broke into the sarcophagus and pulled out the body. Although the body had completely disappeared in this case, some remains of the ornaments survived in the southern part of the chamber (157/AC33/2018). To the north of the sarcophagus, most of the original burial equipment was still lying in several layers. Also, in this part, it was evident that the robbers went through all of the objects, partly mixed them and collected copper tool blades (just their wooden hafts survived). Aset of travertine model vessels (some pieces broken), pottery and canopic jars were found in situ. One of the jars was unearthed in adifferent place. It was discovered to the east of the sarcophagus. Only this piece was found empty (146_1/AC33/2018, pl. V: 1). The others (146_2,3,4/ AC33/2018), standing to the north of the sarcophagus, still contained amixture of linen and brown substance. They were completely filled with this material of so far unknown origin. All of the canopic jars were of regular size, measuring between 25.0 and 27.0 cm in height. Also, all of them were at one time restored, having large patches of plaster on their bodies. Moreover, 146_4/ AC33/2018 had part of the body at the base completely broken off and glued back together with fine white plaster (for afurther discussion on these features, see Jirásková 2015). The assemblage of travertine model vessels (148/ AC33/2018, pl. VI: 2) contained altogether 80 pieces. There were 60 complete bowls, 6 more broken into pieces, 1 beaker/basin, 1 stand and atable top (originally glued together), 3 shouldered jars, 4 cylindrical jars, 3 beer jars (with wavy rim parts) and 1 wine jar (with aband around the body). Although there was alarge number of these vessels, the assemblage does not seem to be complete. One would miss particularly aone handled jug. It usually created aset with 6 cylindrical jars for seven sacred oils. Shouldered jars are usually found in numbers of 4, beer jars in numbers of 5 and wine jars in numbers of 2 in the sets of the latter part of the Fifth Dynasty. If there is abeaker/basin present, an ewer should be expected to make apair with it. As there are traces of restoration in the case of the canopic jars coming from the same context, it is possible to also find such traces on some of the model vessels. Three cylindrical jars had once been broken in two pieces and later glued together with abrown substance, probably akind of resin (148_9,10,11/AC33/2018). This must have happened in antiquity, before they were buried in the chamber with the deceased. Two of them were found broken again, one was still in one piece (146_9/AC33/2018). Burial chaMBer 3 The situation in Burial Chamber 3 was complicated due to its unstable roofing. Some fragments of canopic jars were collected there (207/AC33/2018_a–m); however, they were largely destroyed, and only three incomplete jars were possible to restore from the fragments (jars 1, 2, 3). All of them were of regular shape and size. Their heights ranged between 27.0 and 28.0 cm. As the canopic jars from Burial Chamber 2, these were also largely restored, still having patches of plaster on their bodies. These had no contents at all, and nothing similar to the linen pieces from Shaft 1 was found in Burial Chamber 3. copper Model tools and their wooden hafts Tomb AC 33 provided several important finds in the burial equipment from the category of copper model tools. An axe blade was found at the upper edge of the entrance to the burial chamber of Shaft 1, in the ceramic
PES XXV/2020 51TOMB OF KAIRSU context 22.AC33.2018. It has find no. 66/AC33/2018 and rather small dimensions 36 × 22 mm. It is of avariant common in Fifth Dynasty contexts (Odler 2016: 150–154, Fig. 143, type A). In Shaft 2, the copper model blades found were of regular Fifth Dynasty size: an adze blade 150/ AC33/2018_a (55 × 9 mm), and a saw blade 150/ AC33/2018_b (79 × 10 mm). Together with these, an unusual find of four model adze hafts was found (149/ AC33/2018_a–d) on the floor level in compact dark sand by the northern side of the limestone sarcophagus. These hafts of most probably msx.tjw-adze blades (Odler 2016: 129–132) were made of yet undetermined wood and covered with white plaster. Complete specimen 149/AC33/2018_a had alength of 145 mm, height of 46 mm and thickness of 14 mm, and complete specimen 149/AC33/2018_b was even bigger (175 × 45 mm). In addition, two hafts of axe blades were found, also unusually large (149/AC33/2018_f, length 118 mm, max. diameter 8 mm, 149/AC33/2018_g, length 121 mm, max. diameter 8 mm), as well as presumably ahandle of achisel (149/AC33/2018_e, length 65 mm, width 10 mm). Thus, it can be concluded that these artefacts are remains of acopper model tool kit of unique size among the known Fifth Dynasty contexts (cf. Odler 2016: fig. 30). The adze hafts are unusually large, although comparative material was found east of the pyramid of Nyuserre, in the tomb of Weserkafankh (AC 5) and its main burial chamber, where 29 handles and hafts of model tools were found, including amsx.tjw-adze haft (Borchardt 1907: 114–115, Abb. 94). The largest number of such finds from the Old Kingdom was discovered in Saqqara, in the pyramid of the so-called western queen, from the reign of Pepy I, with 86 specimens. However, this deposit has not yet been sufficiently published (Leclant – Clerc 1997: 364–365, Fig. 37). The largest deposit in Tomb AC 33 was found in Shaft 3 of an anonymous owner. The model tools with their handles and hafts were dispersed in the northern half of the burial chamber, above the floor level, apparently disturbed by tomb robbers. Except for adzes, all three other classes of the artisan tool kit were found: chisels (25 specimens of flat and cross-cut chisels, the longest having 101 mm, amaximal diameter of handle 10 mm), axes (10 specimens, the longest having 100 mm and width 17 mm) and saws (5 specimens, all detached from the miniature wooden handles, the largest blade having 71 × 6 mm). The model tools were divided into several find numbers, hoping that the excavation would uncover some patterns to the concentration, but none were discovered. The conspicuous absence of adzes might refer to their removal from the burial equipment by tomb robbers. None of the adze hafts were found, although they might still be among the unprocessed wooden fragments from the burial chamber. Thus, the assemblage includes finds 209/AC33/2018, 211/ AC33/2018, 213/AC33/2018, 216/AC33/2018, and 217/AC33/2018 (pl. VII: 1). The closest parallel to this assemblage in time and space is the assemblage of copper model tools with blades from the burial chamber of Kahotep, son of vizier Ptahshepses, in the Mastaba of Princesses (AC 10) (Borchardt 1907: 129–130, Abb. 109). The models from the burial chamber of Kahotep were, however, bigger. In addition to the traditional documentation, five specimens of the models were sampled in spring 2019, and they were analysed at the laboratory of the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology (Institute français d’archéologie orientale, IFAO) in Cairo, within the framework of the IFAO action spécifique no. 19463 “Restarting Archeometallurgy in Modern Egypt”. Sections were prepared from the samples by Jiří Kmošek, and the samples were then measured with aportable X-ray fluorescence machine Bruker Tracer III-SD and were examined with ametallographic microscope present at IFAO. The samples 12711–12715 were from this deposit. Three of them were made of copper with admixtures of arsenic, two of copper without admixtures. Since alarger comparative corpus is missing, the interpretation of this observation lies in the future. Further processing of the samples is planned as well. anthropology In Tomb AC33, human skeletal remains of only three individuals were unearthed. All of them were analysed using contemporary, well established anthropological methods (see Havelková 2014). Awell preserved robust skeleton of ayoung male (8/ AC33/2018) was found in asand layer in front of the southern part of the supposed entrance to the tomb. These human remains were of pinkish colour with remains of soft tissues. The body was oriented with the head to the south, left arm alongside the body, right arm above the head. The atypical position of the body is not compatible with burial practices and rather points to some kind of ad hoc burial, probably an accident. It is very likely that the skeleton was “buried” in amuch more recent period than the Old Kingdom. The male probably died at avery young age (25–35 years), and despite his robusticity, his living stature estimation is only around 166–167 cm based on the length of the femur (Raxter et al. 2008; Trotter – Gleser 1952 and 1977). Several anomalies were recorded on the skeleton. One of them was the occurrence of acromial bones on both scapulas (Case et al. 2006; Miles 1994). Acromial bone is the accessory bone occurring when the fusion of the acromial epiphysis does not follow its normal ossification pattern, resulting in the retention of aseparate epiphyseal end to the acromial process (Hunt – Bullen 2007). Two main aetiological hypothesis are presumed (Yammine 2014) – the bone represents agenetic defect (Angel et al. 1987; Sammarco 2000) or it resulted from mechanical stress on the developing acromion (Stirland 1987). Athird hypotheses combining genetic predisposition with mechanical stress was suggested by Case et al. (2006). This feature is very uncommon among ancient Egyptians living and dying during the Old Kingdom – it has been recorded in only two cases on the left side
52 PES XXV/2020 TOMB OF KAIRSU (from 78 preserved scapulas) and in no case on the right side (from 73 evaluated scapulas). Both cases occurred among low status individuals. The presence of both-side acromial bone supports ahypothesis that the male skeleton very probably cannot be dated to the Old Kingdom period. Among other interesting anomalies, it is worth mentioning a complete inter-articularis spondylolysis of the L3 and L4 vertebrae and afracture of the right first metacarpal bone with post-traumatic changes. The most important burial was unearthed in the burial chamber of Shaft 1, which belonged to the owner of the tomb – Kairsu (80/AC33/2018). Scattered bones of one individual were found in five different archaeological contexts – in the fill of Shaft 1, in the burial chamber (both in the fill of the chamber and sarcophagus) and in the relieving chamber. The robust infracranial skeleton was almost complete, unfortunately the skull and vertebrae (except for Th1-2) were lost. The human remains belonged to amale (Brůžek et al. 2017) who probably died between 35 and 45 years of age. Despite Kairsu’s high social status, he probably was not of high stature (163 cm). His body was found partially mummified and included alot of textile and remnants of soft tissues at the joints. The presence of resin residues cannot be excluded. Based on the preserved bones, Kairsu probably enjoyed good health. The most serious injury was afracture of the left distal fibula showing apost-traumatic deformation of the lateral ankle (fig. 17) and associated antero-posterior infracture of the inferior articular surface of the left tibia (fig. 18). Fusion of the medial and distal phalanges of the left foot could also be connected to this traumatic process. On the right hip bone, there occurred aslight partially healed fissure inside the dorsal part of the acetabulum (3 cm long). Afracture in this area is unlikely; unfortunately, aprecise diagnosis is impossible without x-ray examination. To complete this list of interesting changes, fusion of the 5th sacral vertebra with the 1st coccygeal should be mentioned. In Burial Chamber 3 of Shaft 3, human remains of one or two individuals were excavated. Fragments of thoracic vertebrae are listed under excavation number 191/AC33/2018. Two complete thoracic vertebrae, two fragments of bodies and two fragments of arches were found scattered in Burial Chamber 3. The vertebrae are very long in the antero-posterior direction with slight degenerative changes (spondylosis and osteochondrosis). As it is not possible to prove or exclude, it is very probable that these bones belonged to ahuman bone concentration unearthed at the north wall of Burial Chamber 3 (206/AC33/2018). The bone assemblage contained fragments of a skull (occipital bone), fragments of long bones (mainly lower extremities) and bones of hands and feet. Given that all bones suitable for sex diagnosis especially hip bones were missing, asex estimation was not possible to carry out. The age-atdeath estimation was based only on the spongy structure of the proximal femur (Szilvássy – Kritscher 1990) and the degree of degenerative changes. It could be concluded that the individual died in adult age between 30 and 50 years. The length of the femur was used for calculation of the presumed living stature. Based on Torstein Sjøvold’s (1990) independent analysis of sex equations, the individual was approximately 177 cm tall. If afemale sex were supposed, the body height would be around 170 cm; in the case of amale, 174 cm. Concerning the estimated living stature of the Abusir population during the Old Kingdom period, which is 155 cm for females and 169 cm for males (unpublished), it is much more probable that the individual buried in Burial Chamber 3 (Shaft 3) was amale. This is also supported by the length of the left femur, which was 485 mm. Average length in females is only 414 mm (range 340–487 mm), while male femurs measured on average 463 mm (range 412–536 mm). Only insignificant changes were registered on the preserved bones, concentrated mainly on the feet – degenerative changes (exostosis) on the plantar surface of the right and left calcaneus, acompressed facture of the proximal articular surface of the 1st metatarsal bone Fig. 17. Fracture of the left distal fibula with post-traumatic changes to the lateral ankle (photo Š. Bejdová) Fig. 18. Antero-posterior infracture of the inferior articular surface of the left tibia (photo Š. Bejdová)