The Apis House Project at Mit Rahinah First Season, 1982

The Apis House Project at Mit Rahinah First Season, 1982Author(s): Michael Jones and Angela Milward JonesSource: Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, Vol. 19 (1982), pp. 51-58Published by: American Research Center in EgyptStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40000433 .

Accessed: 31/05/2014 14:55

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

American Research Center in Egypt is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access toJournal of the American Research Center in Egypt.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 78.84.110.190 on Sat, 31 May 2014 14:55:48 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=arce

http://www.jstor.org/stable/40000433?origin=JSTOR-pdf

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


The Apis House Project at Mit Rahinah First Season, 1982

Michael Jones and Angela Milward Jones

The project comprises the restoration of the so-called Apis House at Memphis, a place which has a long history in the Egyptian and Classical World and is to this day one of the most substantial ruins of the ancient capital of Egypt. For this purpose, the site is being surveyed, and the unexcavated portions will have to be investigated fully, so as to ascer- tain the history and functions of the estab- lishment. It is hoped that the result of the work will present, in a comprehensible fashion, to residents as well as to visitors, the layout and meaning of a Pharaonic sanctuary in its setting of ancient Memphis.

The Apis House Project was conceived by John Dimick, who worked at the site and planned its remains intermittently during 1954-56. The Project is sponsored by the Dimick Foundation and is carried out under the auspices of the American Research Center in Egypt on behalf of the Institute of Fine Arts of New York University. The first season took place in January, 1982, and included a thorough study of the site and the survey of the northern part of the excavated building. The expedition staff included: John Dimick (Senior Consultant), Bernard V. Bothmer (Project Director), Michael Jones and Angela Milward (Field Directors) and Susan Allen and Victoria Solia (Site Assistants). We would like to thank the Egyptian Antiquities Organization for its cooperation and assistance, especially Dr. Ahmed Qadry, Dr. Ibra- him el-Nawawy, Dr. Abd el-Qader Selim and Mr. Mutawa Balbush in Cairo; Mr. Nassif

Hassan, Dr. Ahmed Moussa and Dr. Said el- Fikey at Giza and Saqqara; and Mr. Abd el- Karim Abu Shannab and Mr. Muhammad Hosny at Memphis. We would also like to thank Dr. James P. Allen, Dr. Labib Habachi, Mr. Mark Lehner and Ms. Mary Ellen Lane for their assistance and for the loan of equipment.

The building known as the "Embalming House of Apis Bulls" l at Memphis is situated on the north side of the main road from Bed- rashein to Saqqara, roughly two hundred and fifty meters south-east of the village of Mit Rahinah, and one hundred meters north- west of the famous colossal statue of Rames- ses II. The main part of the building was excavated nearly forty years ago, but the lion tables, which are the most prominent feature of the site, have never been fully recorded, and the aim of the first season was to make detailed drawings of these tables and a large scale plan of the site, prior to restoration and excavation in future seasons. Work began at the north end of the site as presently exposed, in Rooms A and B (Plan II).

The earliest monument at the site to be noted is a calcite slab which lies near the road and was first recorded by Brugsch.2 It forms part of Dimick's Table 73 and on its south face there is an inscription with the cartouches of Sheshonq I and the name of the High Priest of Ptah at Memphis, Shedsunef- ertem. The inscription records the making of a wcbt (embalming house) for the Osiris- Apls. This slab still has the remains of a

51



52 JARCE XIX (1982)

ridge around its upper surface with a narrow channel cut through on its short, west side; it measures 0.50m. X 1.90m. X 1.00m. It lies next to two blocks of similar size, the northernmost one bearing the cartouches of Ramesses II. All three are re-used, perhaps as the foundation of a wall or pavement which has since disappeared. Petrie also recorded these blocks and published a small sketch map of the area.4

In 1941 the northern end of the site was cleared by Dr. Ahmed Badawy and Dr. Mus- tafa el -Amir,5 and a series of narrow, east- west chambers was uncovered. In 1954 John Dimick, then Project Director of the Univer- sity of Pennsylvania Expedition to Mit Rahinah, mapped the area and published an overall plan of the Apis House.6 In the chapter which accompanies his plan, Dimick published descriptions of the most prominent features of the site.

The first table to be uncovered in 1941 at the north end of the site is the finest and least damaged, no. 4 (fig. 1 and pl. VIA). It lies at the east end of a narrow chamber, Room A which is now approximately 27.0m. long and between 5.5m. and 7.5m. wide. The table and its supporting platform are carved out of a single block of calcite, the whole measuring 1.20m. X 3.07m. X 5.40m. A shallow rectangular depression on the upper surface slopes down to a drain running through the north side of the table and projecting over a separate, circular basin standing on the pavement behind. On either long side a lion is carved in high relief with its head facing towards the south. Two shallow steps are sunk into the south end of the platform. West of this table, when discovered, were four small lion tables, nos. 43-46, arranged side- by-side with the lions facing south.7 Three of them, nos. 44, 45 and 46, have lions carved in high relief along the sides, their tails curled around a cylindrical vase or socket at the rear; their heads were missing when the tables were found, but must originally have been carved in the round above the upper surface of the table.8 Each table has a low, broad

ridge around the upper surface which slopes towards the basin at the rear. They are all slightly different in size: no. 44, 0.34m. X 0.49m. X 0.79m. (fig. 2); no. 45, 0.40m. X 0.56m. X 0.98m. (fig. 2); no. 46, 0.36m. X 0.50m. X 0.88m. The fourth table, no. 43, which was originally positioned nearest Table 4, is different; the upper surface is flat, there is no basin or socket at the rear, and the lions are carved in relief only so that their heads do not project beyond the sides of the block. It measures 0.35m. X 0.60m. X 0.95m. An inscription on the south face (fig. 3) records that it was dedicated to the Osiris- Apis by King Necho II (610-595 B.C.) of the 26th Dynasty.

The area behind these tables was originally paved and formed a small court on the west side of Table 4, the surface about 10- 12cm. below the level of its platform.9 West of this area is an eroded mudbrick wall, Wall BA, running north to south to the central doorway, no. 9, of Room A. The east jamb of the doorway is missing, and the denudation of this area makes it uncertain whether there was also an east-west wall here (a continua- tion of Wall AB) running towards Table 4. If there was, it would have cut off the small lion tables which all faced to the south; either the area in front of the small tables and Table 4 was open to allow access, or it may be that these small tables, already damaged, were in fact re-used as building material for the east side of Wall AB, with an entrance in front of Table 4. They have been removed from the place in which they were found and are now on a modern concrete and stone platform on the north side of Room A (pl. VIA).

When the paving stones and the small tables were removed10 another large table, no. 3, was found below. The surface of this lower limestone table is very worn, the spout is broken, and the lions carved along the sides have been destroyed; the table measures 0.60m. X 2.40m. X 4.01m. It had evidently been used as foundation for the paved court although when it was found, it lay at a con- siderable tilt and has since been levelled.11



THE APIS HOUSE PROJECT AT MIT RAHINAH 53

The east wall of Room A is marked now by a line of displaced limestone slabs, which in earlier photographs are shown upright.12 Presumably they originally lined a mudbrick wall, vestiges of which can be seen further east and more substantial remains to the south. The stonework of the north wall has survived better, although the blocks are badly fitted and include many re-used architectural elements. Two blocks, nos. 36 and 37, bear Greek graffiti roughly scratched (figs. 4 and 5), on surfaces which would not have been visible when the wall was complete. Both graffiti are upside down in their present posi- tions; one is incomplete and must originally have carried on to another block. Further west, all the facing stone has disappeared and only the mudbrick interior of the wall remains, cut well back from its original face. Two fragments of a red granite column, nos. 19 and 20, lie in the centre of Room A, and other architectural fragments are scattered in the west corner, including a fragment of a uraeus cornice block, no. 23. Some of the fragments lying near the wall may once have been used in the wall as building material. The west end of Room A has been so badly destroyed that there are no traces of the original floors. Two more tables, nos. 1 and 2, lie at this end and show evidence of the deliber- ate destruction of this part of the site in antiquity (Plate VI B). Table 1 is of limestone, 0.69m. X 1.96m. X 3.12m. and has been split along its length into four roughly equal portions. It was originally of the same type as Table 3, with a wide, shallow ridge around the upper surface, and a closed spout at the north end. Table 2 is of calcite and was once a large lion table which has been cut in half and the top and west side sawn off. It now measures 0.79m. X 1.60m. X 1.80m. All that remains of its original relief carving is the forepaw of a lion on the east face. However, an inscription on the south face is still intact, although no longer central because of the mutilation of the block, and it records that the block was brought from the quarries at Hatnub and dedicated to the Living Apis by

King Khnumibra (Amasis, 570-526 B.C.) of the 26th Dynasty.

Further examples of the re-use of stonework which may once have formed part of an earlier building here are to be seen in the south face of Wall AB, where two sockets, nos. 47 and 48, lie beside the wall, and one (no. 49), possibly two, are visible within the brickwork itself (pl. VIIA). These pieces lie in Room B, which is parallel to Room A and approximately the same size. The south wall of Room B is also of mudbrick faced with limestone, the lowest course of which has survived. There is a doorway in the south- east corner, no. 11, opposite Table 4, and more dislocated architectural fragments lie around, including a fragment of a column drum, no. 24. At the west end of this room there is a rectangular basin, no. 16, and a broken, polished basalt bowl, no. 26.

South of Room B is a third transverse room, C, with another calcite table, no. 5 (Plate VII B). This table is also decorated with lions carved in relief on the sides, which are similar in style to those on Table 4. Unlike Table 4, this table has a flat top and no spout or basin at the rear. It measures 0.60m. X 1.60m. X 3.53m. The difference in structure between Tables 4 and 5, which to all appearances are contemporary, may indi- cate a different ritual function, or possibly even that one was for the Apis Bull and the other for his mother. Strabo mentions that the Mother-of-Apis had a sanctuary near that of her son,13 and from the 26th Dynasty her body was mummified and buried at Saqqara.14

The precise use of these lion tables is not clear. The inscriptions on Tables 2 and 43 do not give any indication of their function; Table 2 is dedicated to the Living Apis, and no. 43 to the Osiris-Apls. The interpretation that they were embalming tables rests on the identification of this area as an embalming house (see above, Table 7) and on the associa- tion of the lion tables with the wooden lion beds which are frequently depicted in reliefs and on painted coffins, especially in the Late Period. These beds are shown carrying a



54 JARCE XIX (1982)

mummy or, in the case of temple reliefs, a mummiform figure of Osiris or Sokar and are often attended by Anubis, God of Em- balming.15 However, the actual process of mummification, when depicted, is always shown taking place on plain boards or slabs16 and an example of such a board has been found at Thebes by Winlock.17 In his article on mummification, Dawson suggests that lion beds were 'almost certainly not used

until the "dirty work" of evisceration and annointing had been completed'.18 This must surely also apply to the elaborate calcite and limestone tables and suggests that they had a ritual use, and that the spouts and drainage channels were for carrying off liba- tions (rather than bodily fluids) which were part of the complex ceremonies of purifying and restoring the completed mummy.

1 PM III, pt. 2 (Oxford, 1981), 841-42. 2 ZAS 16 (1878), 37-43; Thesaurus (1883), 817,

948-49. 3 The large lion tables and other important features

of the Apis House were numbered by John Dimick in a chapter entitled "The Embalming House of the Apis Bulls" which he contributed to R. Anthes et aL, Mit Rahineh 1955 (Philadelphia, 1959), 75-79, pls. 41-44, with illus. Dimick's numbers have been used in our report, and numbers higher than his are ours which continue the system begun by him. He also published an article, "The Embalming House of the Apis Bulls," in Archaeology 11 (1958), 183-89, with five illus., and a number of additional views can be found in Marion T. Dimick, Memphis, The City of the White Wall (Phila- delphia, 1956).

4 W. M. F. Petrie, Memphis I (B.S.A.E., 1909), pl. XXX (lower right).

5 Mustafa el-Amir, "The SHK02 of the Apis at Memphis," JEA 34 (1948), 51-56, pls. XV-XVII.

6 Dimick, op. cit., pl. 41. 7 El-Amir, op. at., pl. XV:3. 8 Cf. similar, complete examples: Cairo CG 1321

and 1322; L. Borchardt, Denkmdler des Alten Reiches I (CGC; 1937), 9-10, pl. 3.

9 El-Amir, op. cit., pl. XV:6. 10 Ibid., pl. XV:4. 11 Ibid., pl. XVI:1. 12 Dimick, op. at., pl. 43:b. 13 Strabo, Geography XVII, i, 31. 14 H. S. Smith, A Visit to Ancient Egypt (Warmin-

ster, 1974), 39. 15 W. Needier, An Ancient Egyptian Funerary Bed

of the Roman Period in The Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto, 1963), 4-7, with an extensive bibliography on this scene.

16 W. Dawson, JEA 13 (1927), pls. XVII-XVIII. 17 H. E. Winlock, BMMA 17 (1922), Pt. II, p. 34. 18 Dawson, op. cit., 42.




Fig. 1. Elevations and Longitudinal Section of Table 4.



56 JARCE XIX (1982)

Fig. 2. Elevations of Small Lion Tables 44 and 45.




Fig. 3. Inscription of King Necho II on Table 43.



58 TARCE XIX (1982)

Fig. 4. Greek Graffitto on Block 36.

Fig. 5. Greek Graffitto on Block 37.



JONES AND JONES: THE APIS HOUSE PROJECT AT MIT RAHINAH PLATE VII

A: South Face of Wall AB Showing Re-used Sockets, nos. 47, 48 and 49.

B: Room C Looking East; Table 5 in Center.



PLATE VIII JARCE XIX (1982)

A. Extensive salt deposition is evident in the foreground of this photograph taken from the Xth pylon, facing north.

B. Salt damage is seen at the base of the northern wall of the IVth pylon.



MAGN N 15.1.1967

PUMP 19



PUMP 1957

TRENCH I957



PLAN I

PROFILE ALONG A - B



TRENCH 1957 B

'CHU R CH



PLAN II Plan of the North End of the Apis House; Rooms A and B.

THE APIS

i

MUDBRICK

WALL BC

ROOM B

ENTRANCE

ROOM A



HOUSE

ROOM B

ENTRANCE 11



"« < * r



s^ ^ ^ T



PLAN III

ARCE FUSTAT B 1972 PRESERVED WALLS

" TRACES OF WALLS

-~~~ - COMPLETION



TJi )



Documents

The Apis House Project at Mit Rahinah First Season, 1982