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The lecture was great and there was a capacity crowd. In fact I don’t think there was a seat spare. He divided the talk into 2 parts. The preceding 2005 season where they discovered the top of the shaft and this season where they had discovered the actual tomb,
Although some people might think they had stumbled across the tomb it was actually the result of deliberate and serious excavation. The first slide showed the hillside in 1995 when there was a huge amount of rubble on the hill next to KV10; this rubble had built up over 67 years. In 1994 more rubble had accumulated when there was serious flooding n the valley.
The team had begun looking for foundation deposits in order to resolve the problem of succession around Amememese. KV10 was decorated by Amenemese but never used. Unfortunately no foundation deposits were found but lots of ostraca and tools were.
By 2004 they had excavated and found next to KV10 there was a man made chunk dug out of the hillside and they excavated it and stopped at the workman’s huts they found. Some of the huts were disturbed right down to the gebel (mountain) and Otto related how one tour guide told his group that this was the burial of the high priest!!! They dug the hut right down but did not follow the wall of the hut as this led into the floor of the valley under the roadway. However some of the floors of the huts had never been disturbed and therefore what was underneath them was not known. The last person to excavate in that area was Theodore Davies and they found a New York Times of 1907.
They then got to the Howard Carter 1 layer where he dug between KV10 and KV9. The Howard Carter 3 level actually rests on the gebel (mountain). The workman huts were late 19th dynasty and the walls of the intact floor went into the valley. So they asked the SCA for permission to extend the field of operations just a bit so they could look under this floor. The inspector drew a line with his feet on the floor and said they could work up to that line.
[...]
On March 9th 2005 as they dug into the dark Howard Carter 3 level white chips appeared so they knew there was something there. Then they saw one side of the shaft.
The shaft was filled with white chips and larger stones, at this point they called the inspector and reported the find as significant, really big. The shaft has an over hang very similar to that of Yuya and Thuya and KV55 so that was one clue that it was 18th dynasty. It is almost possible that this was the signature of the architect. We know a lot about the workman of the 19th dynasty but little about those of earlier times. A workman could be operational for 40-50 years.
At this point the huts still remained and the area was refilled and covered with sand bags and a retaining wall built.
That is how it was left at the end of the 2005 season.
(At this point the slides switched to power point on the PC)
At the beginning of this season they spent a month digging out the area and getting back to the shaft. They had no idea what they were dealing with.
Otto showed a slide of the tomb area which is quite large and goes back from the shaft towards the hillside. The shaft dimensions are 1.95 by 1.53.
At 2 metres down they were still finding rock chips and the occasional stone. They found rocks that were almost like those used to block a robber’s tunnel and fragments encased in plaster and these were a good sign that they were dealing with something. But sadly they also found evidence of termites however termites would not be going down there unless there was something there, so that was both a good and bad sign.
The termites were actually dated to the 19th dynasty as they start at the huts. Further down the shaft they found ostraca, one piece was a man with long straggly hair and bald top of the head with a carrying pole over his shoulder with bags hanging from it. The piece was very approx 10 by 40 cm
On the 10th February Dr Zahi Hawass made the official announcement and came to the tomb. At that stage the doorway was still blocked on the lower third and all the photos were taken through the top 1/3 of the doorway.
Otto mentioned the marvellous cooperation he has had from the SCA and thanked them profusely.
[...]
There is a child coffin with a lovely yellow face. Speculation that this might be female is just that at this point, speculation. Inside the child coffin it looks like there is some kind of stuffing leaking out between lid and bottom. The termite damage is extensive and the result is like black tooth paste.
The coffins are surrounded by pots which are both leaning on it and the pots are approximately 75 cm high and there are loads of them. There is one alabaster pot next to a coffin. The top is sealed with plaster and underneath there is a layer of mud. Inside one they have found loads of little pots. There is natron everywhere, some inside little sacks. One coffin has glass inlaid eyes. There is one with crossed arms and a black face. The ones that have the resin on them might have to have this cleaned off to identify them, It is possible that this obscures the identify marks. The pots have been whitewashed while standing in sand and the bottoms show the original clay,
The first pots have been removed and have been wrapped in bubble wrap and hoisted to the surface. (Part of the hoist is the old pipe that Howard Carter laid the electricity through when there was a generator in Rameses X tomb).
They have opened 4 or 5 jars so far and found 40 miniature vessels, natron and scraps of material. It is a long drawn out process and they only get one shot so they have to take it bit by bit. They do not want to draw premature conclusions as this might close their mind to other possibilities. Otto doesn’t even want to guess how long it will take. They are using KV10 as a store room but this might prove too small. They are very anxious to find names. He has no idea when the season will end.
[...]
There were other pieces of ostracha found as well as a scrap of papyrus with a lotus flower drawn on it.
They found a free hand lotus drawn in the middle of stylised flowers
The miniature vessels are mainly simple cups and some bowls
They have opened 5 jars 23 to go and they weigh about 40-45 kilos
The termite damage is huge but they hope to save at least the faces and collars.
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