al-Asasif
Coordinates: 25 ° 44 ′ 6 ″ N , 32 ° 36 ′ 43 ″ E
al-Asasif ( Arabic العساسيف, DMG al-ʿAsāsīf , underground corridors that lead into one another ) is a necropolis in Thebes-West east of Deir el-Bahri . Tombs for officials of the Middle Kingdom , the New Kingdom and the Late Period were laid out in al-Asasif .
The monumental tombs of the 25th and 26th dynasties, for which there are no parables in Egyptian history, are a specialty. Owners are mostly upper domain manager of God's Wife of Amun .
The plains of al-Asasif and the valley of Deir el-Bahri have been sacred places for the Egyptians since the earliest times. The local Hathor cult and the “ Beautiful Festival of the Desert Valley ” achieved cultic importance . Al-Asasif served as a festival venue and cult stage for the valley festival. During the festive visit of the god Amun in the royal millennia in Thebes-West, the living visited the dead in the necropolis and celebrated extensive feasts and drinks in the burial chapels overnight.
location
Al-Asasif lies between the rock basin of Deir el-Bahari and the edge of the fruiting land, south of the Dra Abu el-Naga necropolis and north of el-Chocha and the necropolis of Sheikh Abd el-Qurna . Until the 18th dynasty and the investment of Hatschepsut - causeway the Asasif was passed through a ridge ( height 104 divided) into a northern and southern area.
Historical development
Middle realm
The earliest relics date from the 11th dynasty and belong to the way of Mentuhotep II , who led to his mortuary temple in Deir el-Bahari. The processional street was around 960 m long, 46 m wide and was built in at least three main construction phases. Most of the remnants of the mud brick paving have been preserved from this. The stone boundary walls were largely dismantled and used as stone material as early as the New Kingdom z. B. used for the construction of the Ramessid temples.
At the most favorable, flattest point, Mentuhotep II broke through the blocked access to Deir el-Bahari and made a straight, slightly uphill path from the valley. A corridor was chiseled through the table area in eastern Asasif. The newly created rock faces offered favorable conditions for rock graves, which were made there from the 11th to the early 18th dynasty. While the southern flank of the path remained for a long time and was still used, Thutmose III. Chisel away some graves on the north flank.
Subsequently, rock graves were dug on both sides of the path by high officials from the time of Mentuhotep II and the following years, usually at right angles to the connecting path. These graves continued as far as the Deir el-Bahari basin. Some of the grave structures are probably a bit older as they were damaged by the access road. The location of the graves was mainly influenced by the social position of the grave owner. High officials had certain preferred places , similar to the arrangement of the mastaba graves around the pyramids of the Old Kingdom.
The 11th dynasty is considered to be the first heyday of Asasif due to the dense occupation of graves. The Saff grave , which had special pillars and corridors, served as a typical grave shape .
New kingdom
In the 17th and early 18th dynasties, burials mostly took place as new occupations of older complexes. From this period mainly ceramic vessels and coffin fragments were found, but also large collections of intentionally broken vessels, which were probably part of the ritual “ breaking the red pots ”. The design and development of the Asasif was largely determined in the New Kingdom by the construction of the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut , which gained in importance again in the late period and was considered particularly sacred. In contrast to the ascent of Mentuhotep II, the ascent of Hatshepsut was preserved and also served as the preferred processional route during the great festivals, especially the valley festival, in the late period. The mortuary temple itself remained in operation until Ptolemaic times .
Thutmose III. was forced by the location of the Hatshepsut temple to chisel the 32.5 m wide path to his temple through the Asasif plain north of the path of Mentuhotep II. Since there was not enough space, the height 104 in the south was clearly decimated and some Saff graves were capped. In the bed of the pathway, the remains of some graves from the Middle Kingdom were discovered, which were "shaved off" by the construction. The path was bordered by an avenue of trees, the plant pits of which were carved out of the rock up to 10 m deep. The pits were filled with dark lumps of Nile mud and mud bricks. Dried up root remains show that the trees were already shortly after the death of Thutmose III. were no longer cared for and died. The avenue of trees was probably laid out in the 54th year of the government, but was not completed. According to the available archaeological findings, some pits were not completely carved out and were not given a white plastered bed made of Nile mud . Apparently only the eastern oneway district was closed. Until the end of the New Kingdom, the access road existed at least in sections and was not built over. In the course of the late Third Intermediate Period (around 750 BC), the north wall was capped for the construction of graves.
.jpg)
During the late 18th dynasty, more and more graves were dug in Asasif, especially under Amenhotep III. Large-format private graves were built (e.g. the grave of Cheruef ), as the grave owners mostly sought proximity to the nearby valley festival during this time, similar to the 25th and 26th dynasties. In the Ramesside period , smaller structures were built by middle-class officials who made use of existing walls and colonnades . In the 21st dynasty , these grave structures were again occupied, this time by simple coffin burials with a few accessories, which were housed in the older pits.
Third intermediate time
In the 20th dynasty , the monumental 240 × 60 m temple of Ramses IV was built in the eastern area , which covered the routes of Mentuhotep II and Thutmose III. destroyed. The temple was built by Ramses V and Ramses VI. continued, but never completed and served as a quarry at the end of the New Kingdom. The demolition of the temple initiated the further destruction of the two access roads, on whose newly reclaimed area densely populated grave structures were built from the Third Intermediate Period. These were first in the by Thutmose III. The resulting southern steep drop of height 104 is placed in it and built over with simple adobe houses. Over time, the graves expanded into the plain and were given grave superstructures of different sizes depending on the status of the grave lord. In the Saïten period , these facilities and some earlier shaft graves were reused several times and in some cases expanded and served as dwellings, stores and cattle sheds until the Coptic and Islamic times.
Late period
During the late period, new grave structures were built and older graves were reused. From this time comes z. B. also the grave of Nespekaschuti , which was placed in the forecourt of a grave from the Middle Kingdom. The Asasif served again as the burial place of the highest officials of the state. A cemetery was set up with a high occupancy density, which included monumental grave palaces, but also small structures with free-standing superstructures and shaft graves.
necropolis
Late-time graves
_in_2006.jpg)
In general, the large Theban graves of the late period are not ideal because of their many different designs. The grave owners were able to design their graves according to their own ideas and had to adapt to the given topography and space.
Otherwise, the characteristic features of the late-period graves in Asasif can be assigned to the location on the plain, a free-standing superstructure made of mud bricks, and usually an entrance pylon. The superstructure was oriented exclusively east-west, mostly divided into niches and adorned with grave cones . It was also designed with plants and trees or palm trees. Access to the underground rooms was axial and direct in the 25th and early 26th dynasties, later with multiple changes of direction. The underground, quite large cult and burial rooms were carved out of the rock and were accessible via a staircase. Most of the buildings had an "atrium" (courtyard open at the top), which probably represented a Re - Osiris cult site and developed from the pillared courtyards of large graves of the late 18th dynasty and the Ramesside period in Saqqara .
The connection between the late period and the origins and norms of prehistoric times can also be clearly seen in the architecture of the grave. The most diverse building traditions were expressed in the tombs. Royal designs were adopted, such as B. the niche-structured surrounding wall in the superstructure and based the burial complex on the concept of the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings . The graves of Pedamenopet , Pabasa and the Mutirdis were decorated with guides from the hereafter , which in the New Kingdom were used exclusively for royal graves. Aspects of archaic royal tombs, the Osiris tomb , the royal mortuary temples and the concept of the private rock tomb were also processed and expressed through the architecture.
As a rule, all rooms of the monumental graves were decorated except for the burial grounds. The superstructure was also decorated, and there were often inscriptions on the stone door walls with the name and title of the owner, but the plastered wall surfaces could no longer be labeled. As the most important place of worship, the niche was decorated first, then the door frame, the cult target and the "Lichthof" ( grave of Basa ). The grave owner was often depicted in the atrium at the reception of the victims, but there are also texts from the Book of the Dead , sun hymns and scenes from everyday life.
Alignment of the plants
The development of the Asasif during the late period was directly related to the growing importance of the valley festival and the role of Deir el-Bahari as a holy place of the "First Time " ( sp tpj ). As the most important processional way, the Hatshepsut Way led across the northern Asasif. Since the New Kingdom at the latest, it has been proven that the graves were preferentially moved near the processional streets. The intersection of the Mentuhotep-Aufweg and a necropolis path that led towards Medinet Habu served as a particularly prominent place for the construction of the rock graves in the Middle and New Kingdom . The tomb of Harwa ( TT37 ), around which the late-period necropolis developed , was also located in this place .
The orientation of the large graves of the late period was mainly determined by the proximity to Deir el-Bahari and the reference to the processions of the valley festival. At grave TT196, the pylon turned off its axis and was aligned with a point on the Hatshepsut access path where the barque became visible again for the first time after level 104 . In the vicinity of this point there were also the remains of a small station chapel .
During the Saitenzeit, a necropolis road followed the former Mentuhotep-Aufweg, the western end of which was marked by TT36 and TT196 . The superstructures blocked access to other western graves, such as B. the tomb of Harwa. Another necropolis path ran along the eastern flank of TT33 , the large surrounding wall of which blocked off the former access roads, and established a connection with the Hatshepsut access path. This path served the real cult direction as well as the daily rituals in the grave area and referred to the Hatshepsut path during the valley festival. Due to the conceptual connection through the orientation, the grave owners of the preferred places were guaranteed continuous, eternal participation in the valley festival.
List of the most important tombs
| dig | owner | time | location | description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TT188 | Parennefer | 18th dynasty | Architecturally important preliminary stage to rock tombs in Amarna . Unfinished interiors, wide space with eight columns. | |
| TT192 | Cheruif | Temple-like grave type with sunken, open pillar courtyard. | ||
| TT34 | Montuemhat ( Mayor of Thebes under Taharqa ) | 25th Dynasty | Near the Hatshepsut Way, Northern Asasif | Abandonment of the strict axial principle of the Kushite period, access to the courtyard via the northern exit from the pylon. Upper structure oriented towards the tip of el-Qurna . Underground facility with two courtyards and a cross room. |
| TT37 | Harwa (chief steward under Amenirdis I. ) | Northern Asasif | First monumental tomb of the 25th dynasty. Location at the intersection between the Aufweg des Mentuhotep II and a necropolis. Unusual access from the south. Without a superstructure, corridor running around the rocky spaces. Semi-sculptural Osiris statue as a cult site in the sanctuary . | |
| TT404 | Achamenru (successor of Harwa) | Achamenru occupied part of the tomb of Harwa, access via atrium from TT37. | ||
| TT27 | Scheschonq (chief steward of Nitokris II and the Anchnesneferibre ) | 26th Dynasty | Eastern Asasif | Well-preserved superstructure with niche structure, used by Copts as a residential building. Niche-structured pylon outer walls, access via stairs. Small pyramid on the south flank. Classically constructed underground system (exit, forecourt, atrium, niche, pillar hall with side rooms, at least one shaft). |
| TT33 | Pedamenopet (Chief Reading Priest) | Northern Asasif | Largest and best-known system in Asasif. Inhabited up to modern times. Axial plan, structure in pylon, forecourt, several pillar halls and corridors, atrium and burial chamber. Block-shaped sarcophagus carved from the rock over the burial chamber. Sarcophagus decorated with figures of protective goddesses on all four corners, shape is reminiscent of sarcophagi from the time of Akhenaten to Haremhab . | |
| TT36 | Ibi (Chief Chamberlain of Nitokris II.) | Palm pillars in the courtyard as formal archaism . Three courtyards in the superstructure with an irregular shape due to the proximity to neighboring graves. Several extensions of the rock spaces due to the promotion of Ibi from the high priest of Hathor in Thebes to the chief steward. The main cult destination is unusually in the courtyard, directly above the coffin chamber. | ||
| TT196 | Padihorresnet (Mayor of Thebes) | Hill foot of el-Chocha | Particularly narrow superstructure. Due to the hindrance of the older system (22nd – 23rd dynasty), rock spaces are oriented differently than the superstructure. Pillar hall not completed, only central nave designed as hall. Unusual funeral complex, access via a shaft from the mezzanine. | |
| TT197 | Padineith (Chief Steward of the Anchnesneferibre) | Between TT34 and TT279 | Irregular floor plan. Small square brick pyramid with a base length of 5 m in the superstructure replaces the third courtyard. | |
| TT279 | Pabasa (successor to Ibi) | Northern Asasif | Strange shape of the superstructure and unusual orientation of the underground system, as the tomb of Monthemhet had to be taken into account. Missing gate niche (main cult target in late period graves ). Coffin chamber in the vertical axis below. | |
| TT389 | Basa (Mayor under Psammetich I. ) | Area of the Intef grave | Unconventional underground facility with numerous cult sites and an angled floor plan. For the first time since the 18th dynasty, scenes from the valley festival are shown. | |
| TT410 | Mutirdis (senior follower of Nitokris II ) | Axial superstructure, rich decoration, but economical underground system. Relatively small and only shallowly recessed atrium. Combination of free-standing superstructure with an extension set in front of a rock face according to an older tradition. | ||
| TT414 | Anchhor (chief steward of Nitokris II.) | Eastern Asasif | Superstructure with irregular shape, consideration for the small neighboring grave. Superstructure with two pylons, classic division into three uncovered courtyards. First pylon door flanked by two trees. First wing of the underground facility up to the atrium is identical to TT36. Change of cult direction in the atrium: entrance in the south wall, exit on the west side, L-shaped pillar walkways. Beekeeping scenes on the fourth pillar. Missing grave cones, possibly not a complete execution of the system. |
(TT = English Theban Tomb = Theban grave )
More buildings
Valley temple of Hatshepsut
At the eastern end of the Hatshepsut Way are the last remains of the valley temple belonging to the mortuary temple , which were excavated by Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter between 1908 and 1911. The architecture of the valley temple is reminiscent of the terrace temple and consisted of an upper and a lower courtyard, which were separated by a pillar hall. The lower courtyard was planned as a flat, square courtyard that ended with the pillar hall. The upper courtyard was an open square, on the north side of which there was a 6 m high limestone wall and a through gate.
The builder is Puimre , whose grave was in the necropolis of El-Chocha. Other objects were also found during the excavations, such as B. a very fine example of an antique hoe , a stonemason's hammer , and bricks with the cartouches of Thutmose I and Hatshepsut. The valley temple was probably not completed at the time of Hatshepsut's death. Many blocks were built into other structures in ancient times (e.g. in the temple of the Ramessids and in the Ramesseum ). Today the part excavated by Carnarvon and Carter has been buried again or destroyed.
Temple of the Ramessids
- See also: Temple of the Ramessids (Asasif)
Further south-west, at the end of the pathways of Mentuhotep II and Thutmose III. Ramses IV built a 240 × 60 m temple that served as a million year house . The temple was built by Ramses V and Ramses VI. continued, but never completed. It consisted of a large entrance pylon in the east, two pillared courtyards and a western sanctuary, of which only a few blocks have survived. What is remarkable is the huge foundation basin, the height of which decreases from west to east and which was filled with pure sand.
Colonnade Temple of Ramses IV.
Near the valley temple of Hatshepsut, the remains of a colonnade temple of Ramses IV were discovered in 1911, also by Carter and Carnarvon, which presumably served as a boat station . Some large limestone blocks of a pavement were found below Ptolemaic cupola tombs , which were on the same level as the upper courtyard of the valley temple. The colonnade was 82 m south of the surrounding wall of this temple. In the northeast a foundation pit was discovered which contained 143 plaques made of faience and electrum with the name of Ramses IV.
The colonnade probably consisted of seven pairs of columns, of which eleven columns could be reliably identified. It is perhaps comparable to the colonnade of Tutankhamun in the Luxor Temple , which also had seven pairs of columns and served as a station shrine. Due to the close proximity to the valley temple and the orientation along the Hatshepsut avenue, which also served as a processional path, the temple of Ramses IV was probably closely related to the valley festival.
Cults
Various cults and rituals took place in al-Asasif from the Middle Kingdom to the Ptolemaic period, which were mainly related to the burials and the valley festival.
Valley festival
The course of the valley festival in the area of the Asasif is particularly evidenced by numerous relief representations and texts. Accordingly, the dead in the private tombs played an important role and were included in the celebrations. The border between this world and the hereafter was abolished during the festival. First, a burnt offering for Re-Harachte or Amun-Re was made in the respective grave forecourt . Then hour priests , singers of the Amun temple , harem ladies of the Hathor and a choir of singers entered the grave and presented bouquets of flowers from the Amun temple. This was followed by an extensive feast with drinks, dance and music . The drinking parties probably took place in the graveyard or in the superstructure.
Others
In the superstructure and in the shafts of graves of the New Kingdom, further ritual acts were found, which also included a solemn feast during the ancestral cult. The ceramic material found indicates that vessels were intentionally smashed during the burial, possibly in connection with the ritual “breaking the red pots”. From the Late Period and the Ptolemaic Period, the "killing" of vessels occurred particularly frequently. The vessels were rendered inoperable through perforations and buried in the superstructure. They should therefore probably only be usable for the dead.
In Ptolemaic times hundreds of small incense burners and sacrificial chalices were deposited in the courtyard of the Harwa tomb and, according to Francesco Tiradritti, may indicate a burnt offering. These can be compared with similar finds in the Osiris tomb in Umm el-Qaab . The Harwa tomb itself was probably associated with the Osiris tomb and was therefore an important place of worship within the Asasif.
Another important cult act is the “extinguishing of the torches in milk”. During the night, the Amun barque was at the “Golden Lake” and, according to illustrations in Deir el-Bahari, was surrounded by four milk basins and torches. In the morning, the torches were dipped in the milk before they were crossed for Karnak . In ancient Egypt, milk was considered to be regenerating and invigorating. Perhaps the role of a mother goddess (Hathor) in connection with the valley festival (aspects of the “distant goddess”, the myth of the sun's eye and the flood of the Nile ) came into play in this ritual .
From the 26th dynasty onwards, numerous Bes vessels are also documented in the debris of late-time grave structures . These are not grave goods, but cult ceramics , which in this case were verifiably provided with milk residues. It is possible that these vessels were related to milk sacrifices , which, due to the position of the find, presumably took place in the grave superstructures or outlets.
See also
literature
- Jan Assmann : excavation in the Asasif 1963-1970. Volume 2: Das Grab des Basa (No. 389) (= archaeological publications of the German Archaeological Institute in Cairo. (AV) 06). Mainz 1973.
- Jan Assmann: The Egyptian processional festival. In: The Feast and the Holy. Religious counterpoints to the everyday world (= studies for understanding foreign religions. Vol. 1). Gütersloher Verlags-Haus Mohn, Gütersloh 1991, pp. 105–122.
- Manfred Bietak : Theben-West (Luqsor). Preliminary report on the first four excavation campaigns (1969–1971) In: ÖAW meeting reports 278, 4th Vienna 1972.
- Julia Budka: The temple complexes of Ramses IV. In Thebes-West. In: The 20th Dynasty, Kemet issue 2/2001. ISSN 0943-5972 , pp. 28-32.
- Julia Budka : The Asasif. In: Deir el-Bahari, Kemet issue 2/2006. ISSN 0943-5972 , pp. 44-50.
- Earl of Carnarvon, Howard Carter: Five Years' Explorations at Thebes. A Record of the Work done 1907-1911. Oxford University Press, 1912.
- Diethelm Eigner : The Theban grave of Amenhotep, vizier of Lower Egypt: the architecture. In: Communications from the German Archaeological Institute, Cairo Department. (MDAIK) Vol. 39, 1983, pp. 39-50.
- Diethelm Eigner: The monumental grave structures of the late period in the Theban necropolis (= investigations by the Cairo branch of the Austrian Archaeological Institute. Vol. 6). Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1984, ISBN 3-7001-0666-1 .
- Kevin Kaiser: Egyptian and Syro-Palestinian Bes-Vessels from the New Kingdom through the Graeco-Roman Period. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of California, Berkeley 2003.
- Saphinaz Amal Naguib: The Beautiful Feast of the Valley. In: Roald Skarsten, Else Johansen Kleppe, Ragnhild Bjerre Finnestad: Understanding and History in Arts and Sciences. Solum, Oslo 1991, pp. 21-32.
- Lisa Kuchmann Sabbahy: Observations on Bes-pots of the Late Period. In: Journal for Egyptian Language and Antiquity. (ZÄS) No. 109, 1982, pp. 147-149.
- Anne Seiler: Archaeologically tangible cult practices in grave contexts of the early 18th dynasty in Dra 'Abu el-Naga / Thebes. In: Theban Official Necropolis (= Studies on the Archeology and History of Ancient Egypt. (SAGA) Vol. 12). Heidelberg 1995, 185-203.
- Silvia Wiebach-Koepke: The meeting of the living and the deceased in the context of the Theban valley festival (= studies on ancient Egyptian culture. [SAK] vol. 13). Hamburg 1986, pp. 264-291.
- Herbert E. Winlock : Excavations at Deir el Bahri, 1911-1931. Macmillan, New York (NY) 1942.
Web links
Remarks
- ^ Based on an ostracon discovered by Dieter Arnold, Budka: Kemet 2/2006. P. 45.
- ↑ Hieratic inscription on the underside of the stone blocks of the surrounding wall.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Gardiner, Alan Henderson; Weigall, Arthur EP: A topographical catalog of the private tombs of Thebes. - London: Quaritch, 1913. - p. 13, footnote 1.
- ^ Budka: Kemet 2/2006. P. 44.
- ^ Budka: Kemet 2/2006. P. 45.
- ↑ Owner: The Theban tomb of Amenhotep. P. 49.
- ^ Budka: Kemet 2/2006. Pp. 45-46.
- ^ Budka: Kemet 2/2006. P. 46.
- ↑ Owner: The monumental grave structures of the late period in the Theban necropolis. 1984, p. 50.
- ^ Budka: Kemet 2/2006. P. 48.
- ↑ Assmann: The grave of Basa (No. 389) in the Theban necropolis. 1973, p. 45.
- ↑ Owner: The monumental grave structures of the late period in the Theban necropolis. 1984, p. 195.
- ↑ Assmann: The grave of Basa (No. 389) in the Theban necropolis. 1973, p. 11.
- ↑ Owner: The monumental grave structures of the late period in the Theban necropolis. 1984, p. 18.
- ^ Budka: Kemet 2/2006. Pp. 46-47.
- ^ Budka: Kemet 2/2006. Pp. 48-49.
- ^ Budka: Kemet 2/2006. P. 47.
- ↑ Valley Temple of Hatshepsut at www.maat-ka-ra.de
- ^ Budka: Kemet issue 2/2001. Pp. 28-32.
- ^ Budka: Kemet issue 2/2001. P. 31.
- ^ Assmann: The Egyptian processional festival. 1991, pp. 105-122.
- ↑ Wiebach: The meeting of the living and the deceased as part of the Theban Valley Festival. 1986, p. 284.
- ↑ Wiebach: The meeting of the living and the deceased as part of the Theban Valley Festival. 1986, pp. 264-291.
- ↑ Seiler: Cult Practices. 1995, pp. 185-203.
- ↑ Naguib: The Beautiful Feast of the Valley. 1991, p. 23, Figure 2
- ^ Budka: Kemet 2/2006. P. 49.
- ↑ Kaiser: Bes-Vessels. 2003.
- ↑ Kuchmann Sabbahy: Observations on Bes-pots. 1982, pp. 147-149.