Pražské Egyptologické Studie (Dec 2015)
Burial shafts and chambers of Nefer and Neferhathor in tomb AS 68d. A comparative evaluation of the ceramic finds
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to compare two sets of ceramic finds from the two southernmost shafts uncovered in tomb AS 68d, namely Shaft 1, belonging to the main tomb owner named Nefer, and Shaft 2, which very likely belonged to his wife, Neferhathor. These shafts are interesting due to the fact that although both their burial chambers were robbed and thus the shafts must have been disturbed, a large number of typologically and metrically similar vessels and their fragments were uncovered in the fills. In both shafts, we were able to uncover a large amount of fragments belonging not only to certain ceramic classes (especially stands, platters and jars) but also to the same groups, such as the tall hour-glass stands or the low ring stands. Also, numerous examples from both shafts were able to be glued together to at least full profile, if not to full diameter. Thus it is possible to assume that these shafts were back-filled with either their original contents or at least an unknown fraction of it, and the ceramic finds uncovered in them were originally part of intentional burial shaft deposits.
