A Study of the Architecture of the Cemetery of El-Hawawish at Akhmim in Upper Egypt in the Old Kingdom * jfe * Elizabeth M. Thompson, B.A., Dip. in Ancient Documentary Studies (Macquarie University) Thesis submitted for the Degree of Master of Arts within Macquarie University, Division of Humanities, School of Ancient History, Sydney. November, 2001 * * * I, Elizabeth M. Thompson, certify that the work presented here has not been submitted for a higher degree to any other university or institution. SUMMARY The thesis examines the architectural features and measurements of the rock hewn tombs in the necropolis of El-Hawawish at Akhmim, the capital o f the ninth province in Upper Egypt and a major administrative centre. The cemetery contains the burials of high and middle rank officials who administered the province in the Old Kingdom from the Fifth to the Eighth Dynasties (c. 2400-2160B.C.). The tombs are examined firstly, to determine whether architectural features could assist in the dating of their owners and secondly, whether certain features and measurements are indicative of the rank of these officials. Comparisons are made with tombs in the Memphite and provincial cemeteries and a study of the various elements of tomb architecture at El-Hawawish showed a chronological development similar to that observed in the tombs of the royal necropoli at Giza and Saqqara. Particular features which were introduced in certain reigns here can be found in what appear to be contemporary tombs at El-Hawawish and other provincial cemeteries. The rank of tomb owners is clearly revealed in the larger or smaller dimensions of chapels and burial chambers, and by the inclusion of certain features. Using the styles and features found occurring at a particular period, an estimate for dating large and obviously important, but uninscribed tombs, is also given. Acknowledgements I am greatly indebted to many people for guidance and assistance in the preparation and completion of this thesis. I particularly thank my supervisor, Professor Naguib Kanawati for his encouragement and support from the beginning of my studies in Egyptology. To Prof. Kanawati and my assistant supervisor, Dr. Boyo Ockinga, especial thanks for the opportunity to work on many sites in Upper Egypt and at Saqqara with the Expeditions of the Australian Centre for Egyptology. The knowledge of tomb architecture and decoration gained from this participation has been invaluable in preparing this thesis. I am indebted also to the Expedition’s architect, Mr. Naguib Victor, whose detailed drawings and measurements form the basis for this study, and to Dr. Ann McFarlane for her meticulous architectural descriptions of the sites. To these and to many friends and my family, especially my husband, I acknowledge with heartfelt gratitude their unstinting support, encouragement and enthusiasm throughout all my Egyptological studies and dig seasons. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 The TOMBS a. Alphabetical Order of Inscribed and Uninscribed Tombs 5 with References b. Chronological Order of the Tombs 9 LIST of FIGURES 11 PLAN and SECTION of a TOMB 17 The STUDY Forecourts 21 Facades 27 Porticos 37 Entrances 41 Chapels 55 Shrines • 83 Secondary Chambers and Pillared Recesses 95 Niches 99 Burial Shafts and Passages 105 Burial Chambers 141 SUMMARY and CONCLUSIONS 159 ABBREVIATIONS and BIBLIOGRAPHY 247 TABLES 1-18 APPENDIX - Dating Criteria i-xiii INTRODUCTION The necropolis of El-Hawawish is found on a spur of the desert escarpment on the eastern bank of the Nile, some 450 kilometres south of Cairo. It covers an area of 0.50 square kilometres with the lowest tombs at 126 m above sea level and the highest at 230 m above sea level, although the mountain itself reaches a height of 309.75 m.1 The escarpment consists of conglomerate limestone, a poor-quality rock formation which, together with the large nodules of flint found throughout, forms a difficult medium for the cutting of tombs. El-Hawawish is the principal cemetery of Akhmim, capital of the ninth Upper Egyptian nome, and contains more than 884 tombs, the greater number of which are uninscribed, unfinished or damaged. Sixty-seven tombs were selected for the base study of the architecture of the cemetery. These consisted of all the inscribed tombs, 59 in number, and 8 uninscribed examples, which are of major proportions and/or are closely situated to an inscribed tomb.2 The tombs are all cut into the face of the escarpment; none are free-standing mastabas, although one of the earliest tombs, G84 of Mnw-nh, has a mastaba-like fa9ade.’ Many consist only of a single room but a number have additional rooms excavated further into the mountain. All have burial passages and chambers cut into the floor or walls of these rooms as well as into facades and forecourts. Most of the tombs are of small dimensions, but in the areas of more compact rock formation on the southern and south-western side of the mountain, larger tombs of the earlier and more important tomb owners are found.4 There are no other architectural monuments on the mountain although remnants of a causeway defined by irregularly-laid large stones 1 See the survey of the site in Kanawati, El-Hcnvawish, Vol. X, 24, figs. 12-21. In the present study the tombs are referred to by the number allocated to each in the survey 2 The publication of these tombs is found in ten site reports: Kanawati, N., The Rack Tombs o f El- Hawawish: The Cemetery o f Akhmim, Vols 1-X (Sydney, 1980-1992). 3 HI, pi. 1(a); H X, pi. 6. Tomb G84 is below the H group of tombs, to the left of the centre 1 ascending from the base of the mountain possibly indicate a processional way. The rock- cut tombs, which form the basis of this thesis, are the burial places of the highest provincial officials including two known viziers and eight governors of Upper Egypt, as well as numerous middle-and lower-rank officials. Inscriptional and stylistic evidence indicates that these tombs date from the Fifth to the Eighth Dynasties. Early in 1912, twenty-eight tombs in the cemetery of El-Hawawish were visited by Newberry who reported the tomb owners’ names and titles with some mention of scenes but only minimal architectural information. Vandier published a further tomb following his visit in 1936.5 A complete recording of the tombs was undertaken by Kanawati between 1979 and 1992 and published in ten site reports (see Footnote 2). The detailed study of the administration of the province^ which followed these reports, proposed a chronological order for the officials buried in the inscribed tombs and this order is followed here.6 Features and measurements of uninscribed tombs are also listed since the data from the base group may provide a guide in placing the remaining uninscribed examples in a chronological sequence. In addition, the tombs of the three major groups of officials concerned with the administration of the province, i.e., the Nomarchs, the Superintendents of Priests and the Overseers of Fields and Serfs, are also isolated in order to discover whether certain features were peculiar to, or reserved for, one or more of these groups of officials. While the plans, sections and dimensions of these tombs are provided in the published site reports, in this thesis the various architectural elements and measurements are compared and analysed with the aim of forming a base of information for further research into provincial funerary architecture in the Old Kingdom in Egypt. An See H X, pi. 6 3 Newberry, l.AAA 4 (1912), 99-120; Vandier, ASAK 36 (1936), 33-44 6 Kanawati, N., Akhmim in the Old Kingdom. Part I: Chronology and Administration (Sydney 1992). 2 exhaustive study of the tombs of all the provincial cemeteries is beyond the scope of the present thesis. The architectural aspects of the tombs are analysed in the following order: forecourts, fasades, porticos and entrances, chapels, shrines, secondary chambers, burial passages and burial chambers, that is, proceeding from the exterior of the tomb to the burial chambers usually cut below the chapels. Features such as lintels, drums, pillars and niches are studied as they occur within each of these areas. The study uses the original architectural drawings which are reproduced in a reduced form in the ten volumes of the El-Hawawish cemetery , photographs, and the detailed descriptions prepared for the publications, as well as extensive on-site notes. The references to the El-Hawawish site reports are abbreviated as follows: H VIII, 17, pi. 6, fig.8, which refers to Volume VIII of the El-Hawawish publications, page 17, plate 6, figure 8. Basic data on measurements, architectural elements and features etc.,is provided in a series of Tables (1-18) at the end of the study. Throughout the study reduced drawings of plans, sections and elevations illustrate the features being studied and are listed under Figures, pp. 11-15. In the final section, comparisons are made with tombs in the Memphite necropoli, particularly Giza and Saqqara, and with burials in other provincial cemeteries although this is often limited due to the lack of published information for many of the tombs. Lastly some uninscribed tombs will be analysed to discover whether a comparison of their measurements and features with those in inscribed tombs indicates a particular dating period for these unknown tomb owners. 3 4 The TOMBS Part A Alphabetical Order of the Inscribed and Uninscribed Tombs with their architectural references from the reports, The Rock Tombs o f El-Hawawish, Vols. I-X. Base group of INSCRIBED TOMBS (including some selected, but uninscribed, tombs) Tomb No. Name Volume Pages Plates Figures B6-B7 B3wj IX 34,35 la 16 B12 Mmj VII 20 9a B62 IX 38 19a B83 B3wj IX 40,41 20 C3 Bhn I 38, 39 23 C8 X 17-19 7,8 C9 JjjlMrjjlJdjj VII 15 7a FI Hzjj-Mmvl Zzj/Dd wjj VI 10, 11 1 F12 M rn\’.