The Dry Moat, the South Rock Wall of the Inner South Channel
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THE DRY MOAT, THE SOUTH ROCK WALL OF THE INNER SOUTH CHANNEL Nabil Swelim I am honoured to contribute to the Festschrift of greater trench (dry moat) surrounding the step pyra- Manfred Bietak. He has thrown light on a dark epi- mid complex. Since then the inner south channel sode of our Ancient History; very exciting were appeared as 2 depressions on aerial photographs in Minoan paintings which he found at Tell el-Dabaca. publications by: Goneim and Emery4 and on the map These paintings were the subject for a seminar in the Le Caire, H-22. summer of 1997 at the beautiful island of Corfu in The present plan of the inner south channel of the the Ionic sea; apart from the pleasure of our work at dry moat (Figs. 1, 2) will help find positions mentio- the lecture hall we had a wonderful time. ned in the text by their names or coordinates it goes My present article considers little evidence from as far as the pyramid of Unas. Some distances are the site of the dry moat. In fact: the tip of an iceberg estimated with respect to the monuments in the buried in the desert surrounding the step pyramid background of reference photographs. complex. In the late seventies – of the last centaury, Similar to the other channels it is an artificially during my visits to Saqqara and investigating aerial rock cut trench measuring about 410 metres in length photographs, I noticed the presence of a great trench and 40 meters in width. Over the centauries it was fil- surrounding the step pyramid complex. It reminded led with debris and wind blown sand; but at 2 places me of medieval moats; but with no water! I thought it had been filled up intentionally as foundations for of it as a ‘dry moat’. In 1985 I presented a paper in 2 groups of mastabas in the positions B–C, 7–9 and Munich, in 1988 an article in London, and in 1995 the 2–5 on the plan. They are referred to as the ‘eastern meaning of the plan was discussed in Rhode Island.1 filling’ about 100 metres and the ‘western filling’ The dry moat is a subsidiary to the step pyramid about 90 metres. Alternating with the fillings are the complex, and its diagonal, axis and corners have ‘eastern depression’, about 80 metres and the remarkable relationships with the monuments of the ‘western depression’ about 140 metres. early Old Kingdom at middle Saqqara.2 Adding to The eastern limit cannot be determined: it is those studies, my present article points out that: somewhere near the mastaba of Bebi, in an area At the bottom of the south rock wall of the inner which has not been investigated. The western limit is south channel; some spectacular compartments were the southwest corner of the dry moat, a short distan- tunnelled at 4 levels. ce from the complex of Sekhemkhet. The inner south channel was completely buried A short investigation of the north bank of the chan- and could not be seen on the maps of Lepsius and de nel is followed by a more detailed one of the south bank Morgan, and does not appear on early aerial photo- of the channel. Both banks are divided into 3 areas. graphs in: Capart, Firth–Quibell, Lauer and Breasted Jr.3 It was due to the large-scale excavations by the THE NORTH BANK OR ROCK WALL OF THE DRY MOAT late Selim Hassan in 1937–1938 and the late Zaki To the north of the channel-bank are the rock foun- Saad in 1939–1943 that some parts of this channel dation-platform and the temenos wall of the step were reviled, though never considered as part of a pyramid complex.5 The channel extends beyond the 1 N. SWELIM 1988 The Dry Moat of the Netjerykhet Com- XIV; June 1924 in C.M. FIRTH and J.E. QUIBELL, 1935, The Step plex, in: J. BAINES, T.G.H. JAMES, A. LEAHY, A.F. SHORE Pyramid II pl. 6 #1; December 1927 in: J.PH. LAUER, La Pyramid (eds.), Pyramid Studies and Other Essays Presented to I.E.S. à degrés II, 1936 pl. II # 1 and 1933–1934 in: BREASTED JR., Field Edwards; 1995, F.D. FRIEDMAN, JARCE 32, 41. Museum of Natural History Bulletin, November 1981, 3. 2 4 N. SWELIM, Some Remarks on the Great Rectangular Mon- Z. GONEIM, 1957 Horus Sekhemkhet, pl. 1; W.B. EMERY, uments of Middle Saqqara, MDAIK 47 Festschrift Für Wern- JEA 51, 1965, pl. 2. 5 er Kaiser, 389–402, Mainz, 1991. J.-PH. LAUER, 1962, Histoire monumentale des pyramid d’Egyp- 3 Before 1924 in, J. CAPART, Memphis à l’ombre des Pyramides, pl. te I, 182, fig. 55, note that channel (cc) is 40 metres wide. 364 Nabil Swelim Fig. 1 Fig. The Dry Moat, the South Rock Wall of the Inner South Channel 365 Fig. 2 Fig. 366 Nabil Swelim limits of the temenos to the east and to the west; see The first area runs for about 100 metres; 40 position B 0–9 on the plan. metres of which were excavated. See position C 9–7 The first area runs for a distance of about 100 on the plan. By the south rock wall are a series of metres, along the mastabas of Simery, Nykauptah, deep and narrow compartments in line. At the east- Bebi, (X), (W) probably built on rock,6 to the masta- ern end rubble partly covers the eastern compart- ba of Kairer, partly built on the ‘eastern filling’; see ment and at the western end the western compart- position B 9–7 on the plan. ment is blocked with rubble. The second area runs for a distance of about 170 The only work conducted on these compartments metres along a row of rock tomes of: Iarti, Ankhi, was during the excavations of Selim Hassan in Snofruhotep, Nedjem, and the mastaba of Mehu in 1937–8. By his death in September 1961 the report the ‘eastern depression’; and the mastabas of: Seshse- had not appeared, and not until February 1974 did shet, Idut, Unasankh, Iynefret and Haishtef, on the the late Zaki Iskander rescue some field notes and ‘western filling’; see their positions B 7–2 on the plan. edit a manuscript which appeared in 3 volumes. They The third area runs for a distance of about 140 saved a lot of primary material from being lost. metres along the ‘western depression’; from west of Unfortunately the volumes were not as good as the the mastaba of Haishtef to the inner south west cor- author or the editor would have liked them to be. In ner of the dry moat. No investigations have taken the editor’s note he mentions ‘The unprepared pages place here and in modern times it became a conve- were in most cases those dealing with the description nient low level area for archaeological dumps. See ...’ it was such descriptions that would have provided position B west of 2 on the plan. information and perhaps measurements of the com- partments.8 Important photographs from this report, THE SOUTH BANK OR ROCK WALL OF THE DRY MOAT however, are referred to. They will help understand To the south on the opposite bank are several relative positions at the site and appreciate the mag- mastabas of high officials, at least 2 underground nitude of such an excavation, but they cannot be galleries of tombs of 2nd dynasty kings, 2 mastabas copied. of 5th dynasty queens, one mastaba of a princess and the pyramid complex of Unas;7 see position C 0–9 on The eastern compartment the plan. No one knew of this compartment until it was exca- At this site the apparent sections made in the vated in 1937. In S. HASSAN’S report two pho- desert rock, reviled that at the surface and at a few tographs, taken before the clearance began, show the metres below are hard rock strata of limestone, rails of his decauville going over a flat area towards below each are soft layers. These hard rock strata mastaba (Z). 9 In other words, over the completely serve as foundations, roofs and lintels throughout. buried mastaba of Ankhi, 10 shafts the eastern and They will be referred to as the ‘upper hard rock stra- middle compartments. The clearance of the eastern tum’ and the ‘lower hard rock stratum’. compartment brought 3 rock walls to light, the 4th to the east, if it exists is still buried, see Pl. 1. The first area along the south rock wall The north rock wall is directly under the south The ancient project of constructing the dry moat was wall of the mastaba of Bebi which was built on the probably left incomplete. Patches of rock were not ‘upper hard rock stratum’. Under it is: a long hori- removed from the east of the channel. Later when zontal and a short square cavities, with shoring of the site became vulnerable, the mastabas of Bebi, wood and bricks to support the roof. Beyond the cor- (X), (Y), Hotep and 10 shafts were founded in such ner of the mastaba to the east is a cut in the rock patches; while the mastabas of Kairer, (W), and (Z) wall, patched up with bricks which disappear in the were partly founded in the ‘eastern filling’. rubble. 6 In the references on this area there are a few unnamed referred to in the present plan as (V), (W) and (Y). mastabas or they are given uncertain names.