Sixth Dynasty shaft deposit from tomb AS 84b

PRAGUE EGYPTOLOGICAL STUDIES XXVI/2021, 7–22 Sixth Dynasty shaft deposit from tomb AS 84b Katarína Arias ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to discuss asingle context from asmall mud brick tomb, AS 84b, built immediately south of large wooden boat (AS 80) at Abusir South. This context is exceptional due to the fact that the rela‑ tively small Shaft 2 contained avery large number of fully preserved vessels found in situ at diverse depths of the shaft, as well as hundreds of additional fragments in the general fill. The vast majority of the pottery belonged to asingle type, namely beer jars with atall slender body with asharp pointed base (Abusir J‑1c). Among them, at least half of the examples exhibited an intentional hole made in the base of the jar. This paper also offers ashort typological and morphometric study of these beer jars and an interpretation of the deposit as awhole within our current knowledge of diverse funerary contexts. KEYWORDS Abusir– tomb– shaft– pottery– beer jars– deposit– morphometric analysis ةسداسلا ةرسلأا نم AS 84b ةربقملا رئب ةعيدو سايرأ انيرتاك صخلم بونجلا ىلإ عقت ،نبللا بوطلا نم تديش )AS 84b( ةريغص ةربقمب هيلع رثع دحاو قايس ةشقانم وه ةقرولا هذه نم فدهلا نإ رئبلا نأ ةقيقحل ًارظن ًايئانثتسا قايسلا اذه ربتعي .ريصوبأ بونجب هيلع رثع ىذلاو )AS 80( ريبكلا ىبشخلا بكرملا نم ةرشابم نم ةفلتخم قامعأب لماكلاب ةظوفحم اهيلع رثع ىتلاو ةلماكلا ةيراخفلا ىناولأا نم ًاريبك ًاددع تمض ،ام ًاعون ةريغصلا ،2 مقر عون ىلإ فشتكملا راخفلا نم ىمظعلا ةيبلاغلا دوعت .رئبلا نم جرختسملا ميدرلاب ةيفاضلإا تارسكلا تائم ىلإ ةفاضلإاب ،رئبلا .)Abusir J‑1c :فينصت( ةداح ةببدم ةدعاقب زيمتتو ،عيفرلاو ليوطلا ندبلا تاذ ةعجلا ىناوأ ىهو ،ةيراخفلا ىناولأا نم دحاو ةسارد ًاضيأ ةقرولا مدقت .ءانلإا ةدعاق ىف عونصم دمعتم بقث ،ةلثملأا فصن ريدقت لقأ ىلع تغلب ،ىناولأا نم ريبك ددعب دجويو .ةفلتخملا ةيزئانجلا تاقايسلاب ةيلاحلا انتفرعم نمض لكك ةعيدولل ًاريسفتو ،ةفشتكملا ةعجلا ىناولأ ةيلكشو ةيفينصت ةلادلا تاملكلا ىلكش ليلحت – عئادو – ةعجلا ىناوأ – راخف – رئب – ةربقم – ريصوبأ INTRODUCTION Small structures AS 84 and AS 84b were discovered in 2015 during the exploration of the area south of the Third Dynasty tomb AS 54. One of the most outstanding features is a20 m long wooden boat (AS 80; see Bárta 2019) that is associated with this tomb, based on the ceramic sequence from both structures (Arias 2019 and forthcoming). Tomb AS 54 can be tentatively dated more precisely to the reign of King Huny, appertaining to an inscribed stone vessel with his name, found in the burial chamber (Bárta 2011; Jirásková 2011). The whole area underwent 8PRAGUE EGYPTOLOGICAL STUDIES XXVI/2021 Fig. 1 Plan of the area of the Third Dynasty boat (AS 80) with neighbouring structures, including small anonymous tombs AS 84 and AS 84b (drawing V. Dulíková, L. Jirásková, M. Peterková Hlouchová, L. Vaře‑ ková) Fig. 2 Partially uncovered mud brick tomb AS 84b with four visible shafts (photo V. Dulíková) 9KATARÍNA ARIAS significant development during the later Old Kingdom– between AS 54 and AS 80, three mastabas were built during the course of the late Fifth Dynasty (AS 76, AS 77 and AS 78, see Dulíkováetal. 2017); however, all three of them (and their enlargements AS 76b and AS 78b) respected the layouts of both mastaba AS 54 and the boat (fig. 1). On the other hand, the boat was partially disturbed by the two small tombs AS 84 and AS84b, which were built south of it in alater period. Besides pottery, no significant finds were found in these two tombs, and we do not know the names or titles of the owners and the deceased. Both structures were very small and likely irregular, built with mud bricks. Tomb AS 84 was composed of acontinuous but irregular line of six shafts south of the boat and two more shafts that were built partially into the boat and which had disturbed it. Tomb AS 84b is situated at the west edge of boat AS 80. So far, only four shafts have been uncovered, all with rather small diameters and lined only with mud brick (fig. 2). The super‑ structure is preserved only minimally and includes anorthwest corner and aritual niche exhibiting traces of white ‑washing and plastering in several layers. It is possible that the tomb continues towards the south, therefore the layout and dimensions of the whole tomb remain unknown at this point. The ceramic finds from both tombs clearly point to aSixth Dynasty date– many vessels of identical type were found in situ in diverse shafts (see below). This paper concentrates on the interpretation and analysis of one of the larger contexts, namely Shaft 2, which held ahomogenous assemblage of pottery and thus belongs among the more interesting examples of aSixth Dynasty shaft deposit. SHAFT 2 IN AS 84B There was avery large amount of pottery (context 9.AS84b.2015), especially given the relatively small size of the shaft. It had amouth of 0.60 × 0.60 m and reached adepth of 3.80 m (fig. 3). From diverse depths of the shaft, 20 vessels were collected in afew clusters, mostly in complete or almost complete shape and often with apreserved false filling of Nile mud inside (tab.1). In addition, the shaft brought to light 17 baskets of ceramic fragments of various sizes, from large to relatively small, all with clean breaks without traces of erosion. Atotal of 69 vessels and an additional 32 rims were drawn from this context. During the excavation, in situ vessels and clusters were assigned letters for easier identi‑ fication (Ato J). During subsequent documentation, all the ceramics from the context were numbered according to the Abusir ceramic system1 as they were being reconstructed from sherds or available for full analysis. It must be stressed that as such, the vessel numbers do not correspond to the order of their uncovering but to the order of their documentation. At adepth of 1.30 m from the preserved crown of the shaft, acomplete beer jar (vessel A) was discovered lying in ahorizontal position roughly in the north ‑west corner (ca. 20 cm from the north wall and 10 cm from the west wall; see fig. 4a). It exhibited an intentional hole made before firing, situated just above its base. 1 Ceramic numbers from Abusir customarily have the following form: e.g. 9‑1.AS84b.2015, namely “context number ‑vessel number.tomb number.year of excavation”. 10 PRAGUE EGYPTOLOGICAL STUDIES XXVI/2021 Fig. 3 Profile of Shaft 2 with specifications of the individual ceramic clusters (drawing M. Peterková Hlouchová, L. Vařeková) 11KATARÍNA ARIAS Depth Vessel/Cluster Ceramic number (Abusir type) 1.30 m Vessel A 9‑6.AS84b.2015 (J‑1c) 1.50 m Cluster B 9‑11.AS84b.2015 (J‑1c), 9‑13.AS84b.2015 (J‑1c), 9‑21.AS84b.2015 (J‑1c) 1.70 m Cluster C 9‑5.AS84b.2015 (J‑1c), 9‑8.AS84b.2015 (J‑1c), 9‑23.AS84b.2015 (J‑1c), 9‑29.AS84b.2015 (J‑1c) 1.70–1.80 m Cluster G 9‑1.AS84b.2015 (B‑6), 9‑12.AS84b.2015 (J‑1c), 9‑14.AS84b.2015 (J‑1c), 9‑16.AS84b.2015 (J‑1c), 9‑19.AS84b.2015 (J‑1c) 2.00 m Vessel D 9‑10.AS84b.2015 (J‑1c) 2.00 m Vessel E 9‑3.AS84b.2015 (J‑1c) 2.20 m Vessel F 9‑17.AS84b.2015 (J‑1c) 2.20 m Vessel I 9‑22.AS84b.2015 (J‑1c) 2.30 m Vessel H 9‑7.AS84b.2015 (J‑1c) 2.30 m Cluster J 9‑4.AS84b.2015 (J‑1c), 9‑9.AS84b.2015 (J‑1c) Asmall cluster of two complete beer jars and another fragmented one (cluster B, see tab.1), was uncovered slightly deeper, 1.50 m under the crown of the shaft, in the south ‑west corner (fig. 4b). All three vessels bore an intentional hole in the lower base and considerable remains of Nile mud filling inside. Additionally, two baskets of ceramic fragments were collected from the level immediately underneath these vessels. Another concentration was identified at adepth of 1.70 m, with four almost complete beer jars lying horizontally in the shaft (cluster C, see tab.1). Where enough of the base was preserved, an intentional hole was observed and vessels had remains of mud filling. Between the depths of 1.70–1.80 m, afurther four beer jars were found, mostly in large fragments, in addition to sherds of finer ware preserved in full profile (cluster G, tab.1). In‑ terestingly, one of the jars (9‑19.AS84b.2015) was filled with Nile mud in its lower part and contained asmall amount of charcoal and possibly other burned organic matter in its upper part. The finer vessel (9‑1.AS84b.2015) was ashallow bowl of type B‑6, made of Nile silt B1, partially covered with ared slip inside and on the outer rim, and additionally, scraped with arelatively hard tool on the outer base. At adepth of 2 m, two separate beer jars were found– one was standing in an upright position and leaning against the wall of the shaft in the southwest corner (vessel D), while the other (vessel E) was lying horizontally at the northern wall. Both were preserved fully, with awell ‑articulated false filling of Nile mud, but only the first jar had an intentional hole. An almost complete beer jar came from adepth of 2.20 m in the shaft, lying horizontally in the north ‑east corner (vessel F). Slightly lower, alarge beer jar base came from adepth of Tab. 1 Identification of individual vessels found in situ at various depths of Shaft 2 in tomb AS 84b 12 PRAGUE EGYPTOLOGICAL STUDIES XXVI/2021 2.30 m in the south ‑east corner (vessel H). The last cluster (J, see tab.1) consisted of two beer jars from adepth of 2.30 m, both almost complete and the second with an intentional hole and awell ‑articulated filling of Nile mud. TYPOLOGICAL ANALYSIS The pottery from this shaft is surprisingly homogenous from the viewpoint of its typological sequence. By far the most common ceramic group was that of beer jars (Abusir J‑1). Despite their large number (almost 100 individual vessels), over 80 were bases or fully reconstructed vessels that belonged to asingle type, namely J‑1c (see also Arias 2017: fig. 5.2). Its most prom‑ inent feature is avery slender body, often with amaximum diameter of only about 12.5–14 cm, and asharply pointed base (fig. 5). Afurther 100 diagnostic pieces of rims and larger rim plus shoulder fragments were identical in shape, quality and size to those fully preserved vessels of J‑1c type; therefore, they can also be seen as representative of this group. Altogether 16 beer jars were preserved in full shape or at least in complete profile, en‑ abling adetailed morphometric study. When looking at the height of these vessels, they usu‑ ally reached between 34 and 36.5 cm, with one outlier each of 33 and 37 cm. The width was even more uniform– the chart clearly shows that most examples had maximum diameters of 13.5–14 cm, with only two examples being slightly wider (chart 1). In one such case, vessel 9‑7.AS84b.2015 was highly deformed during drying or firing, thus resulting in an oval rim and body with amaximum diameter of 15 × 12 cm. Its regular width would probably also be around 13.5–14 cm. By contrast, late Fifth Dynasty ovoid beer jars of type J‑1b from diverse contexts (such as the ones from the complex of Princess Sheretnebty [AS 68], shown in chart 1) often reach 16–18 cm in diameter. The morphometric comparison of J‑1c beer jars to other types shows that while they have similar heights to e.g., beer jars of type J‑1b (namely 33–36 cm), they always have much slenderer bodies with maximum diameters of most commonly only 13–14 cm. The chart also showcases low tubular beer jars of the Sixth Dynasty (Abusir type J‑1g) to emphasise the morphometric differences between these three types. Fig. 4 Vessel A and cluster B of the ceramic context 9.AS84b.2015 in Shaft 2 of tomb AS 84b, containing in situ beer jars (photos V. Dulíková) a b 13KATARÍNA ARIAS Fig. 5 Selection of beer jars of type J‑1c with slender body and pointed base from the deposit in Shaft 2 of AS 84b (drawing K. Arias, L. Vařeková) 14 PRAGUE EGYPTOLOGICAL STUDIES XXVI/2021 Among vessels of type J‑1c, two main forms were identified, based on the shape of the rim, namely vessels with asimple neck (see fig. 5, 9‑15.AS84b.2015) and those with athickened rim, usually underlined with aslight groove (e.g., fig. 5, 9‑6.AS84b.2015). Both forms were represented almost equally in this context, and thus it seems that such differentiation is not chronologically significant for the cemetery at Abusir South. The beer jars of this type were made by hand, in three different parts. The base was usu‑ ally formed by hollowing and pinching apiece of clay. Subsequently, the body of the jar was built up in individual coils that were later smoothed from the outside, leaving characteristic diagonal or (especially in the case of type J‑1c) vertical traces. With many vessels, the joint between the body and base is clearly visible. The rim was added separately, and in some cases may have been turned on aslow wheel (compare also Rzeuska 2006a: 48, pl. 6). As far as the inner surface of the jars is concerned, the most common traces of the shaping techniques consist of horizontal smoothing on the base and vertical smoothing on the middle and upper Chart 1 Amorphometric comparison between three diverse types of beer jars from Abusir South: Fifth Dynasty ovoid beer jars with a low neck (J‑1b: squares), Sixth Dynasty tall slender beer jars (J‑1c: dots), and Sixth Dynasty low tubular beer jars (J‑1g: triangles). The clear morphometric differentiation between these three types is highlighted in circles 15KATARÍNA ARIAS body. None of these beer jars had any remnants of additional surface treatment, unlike other types of Sixth Dynasty beer jars.2 Most vessels were only roughly wet ‑smoothed and the very base was left untreated. With regard to the typological representation, it must be noted that type J‑1c is not very frequent in the cemetery of Abusir South, especially when compared with the high occur‑ rences of Fifth Dynasty beer jar types (such as J‑1a and J‑1b). Still, almost 90 examples have been unearthed in diverse tombs and contexts. From the complex of Princess Sheretnebty (AS 68), we uncovered two fully preserved vessels, with afew other fragmented examples. Abeer jar from the fill of Shaft 6 in AS 68c (64‑1.AS68c.2013, Arias 2017: figs. 3.206–3.207) had amodelled rim and acharacteristic tall slender body, with aheight of 36 cm. It exhibited the already mentioned intentionally made hole in its lower body and at the same time contained broken remains of the original filling of Nile mud. The second vessel was found broken to pieces in Shaft 5 of tomb AS 68c but was reconstructed to full profile (63‑3.AS68c.2013, Arias 2017: fig. 3.201). It was slightly shorter, with aheight of 33 cm, and was slightly deformed from being compressed during drying or firing. Besides the two named shafts in AS 68c, sharply pointed bases of this type were also uncovered in the fill of the burial chamber of Shaft 6 in AS 68c and in the chapel of the same tomb. Other contexts include the upper fill in Shaft 3 of the courtyard and the fill of the chapel in the tomb of Shepespuptah (AS 68b). Type J‑1c also appears in almost 20 individual examples in the fill of Shaft 3 in the tomb of Ptahwer (AS 76b, Dulíkováetal. 2017: fig. 17, third row), in some cases preserved to more than ¾ of the profile. All of them had tall bodies with amaximum preserved height of 33 cm and an estimated full height of around 38 cm and very slim maximum body diameters of only around 14 cm. Additional fragmented examples were uncovered in the disturbed area above both Shafts 3 and 4 in the tomb of Ptahwer, as well as in diverse contexts in the tomb of Kaisebi (AS 76, see Dulíkováetal. 2017: 19–21). Further documented cases include the unpublished ceramic material from the cemetery at the Lake of Abusir (see also Kytnarová 2009: 145–149). There, such tall and slender beer jars were found e.g., in Shaft 2 of tomb AS 15, in the secondary Shaft 2 in tomb AS 11 and at its western wall, close to the secondary shafts. They also bore intentional holes in their bases (Arias 2017: fig. 3.207). As far as other sites are concerned, this type of beer jar is not very frequent. From the cemetery of Giza, the preserved examples were found in shafts 4082 and 4269 (Junker 1950: 15). At Dahshur, the excavation from the mixed layers at the valley temple of Snofru brought to light at least one such beer jar (Simpson 1961: 110, nos. 2–3). Some other cases may include beer jars that were preserved only partially, judging by the tall and slender shape, e.g., from the late levels of the temple of Menkaure (Reisner 1931: fig. 64, no. 1). The most significant parallels come from the tombs of Pehenptah and Seshemnefer at Saqqara West (Rzeuska 2006a: pls. 29–30). The majority of these examples came either from ceramic deposits in the superstructure (such as deposit 4/1999) or burial shafts, and afew 2 Some Sixth Dynasty beer jars are red ‑slipped on the outer walls, especially the low jars with atu‑ bular body and rounded base (type J‑1g) and some tall tubular beer jars with arounded base (type J‑1f; Arias 2017: 233–234). Compare similar cases from the Saqqara West cemetery, especially forms 3 and 6 (Rzeuska 2006a: pls. 13–14 and 19–20). 22 PRAGUE EGYPTOLOGICAL STUDIES XXVI/2021 Rzeuska, Teodozja Izabela 2006a Pottery of the Late Old Kingdom. Funerary Pottery and Burial Customs, Varsovie: Neriton [Saqqara II]. 2006b “The Case of Beer Jars with Ashes”, in: Czerny, Ernst– Hein, Irmgard– Hunger, Hermann– Melman, Dagmar– Schwab, Angela (eds.). Timelines: studies in honour of Manfred Bietak. Vol. 1, Leuven– Paris– Dudley: Uitgeverij Peeters [Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 149], pp. 291–298. Simpson, William Kelly 1961 “Corpus of the Dahshur pottery”, in: Fakhry, Ahmad. The Monuments of Sneferu at Dahshur. Vol. II: The Valley Temple. Part II: The Finds, Cairo: General Organization for Government Printing Offices, pp. 103–140. Valloggia, Michel 1986 Le mastaba de Medou ‑Nefer, Fascicule I: Texte, Le Caire: Institut francais d’archéologie orientale [Balat I]. Verner, Miroslav– Callender, Vivienne G. 2002 Djedkare’sFamily Cemetery, Prague: Czech Institute of Egyptology, Faculty of Arts, Charles Univer‑ sity– Set Out [Abusir VI]. Katarína Arias Czech Institute of Egyptology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University; [email protected]