Mysteries still surround Egyptian chamber

Q: I realize you don’t have hours to do this, but I wonder if you could go through some of the top questions you’re trying to resolve.

A: Well, the top question is in part, was this KV-63 used as a tomb at any point? And then, if so, who was it meant for? Then, we know there’s embalming materials, so the question is, when did these date back to? It’s looking closer and closer that it has to fall right around the Tutankhamun era. We still have many jars to open, those big storage jars, so there’s always a chance that sooner or later we will come upon a cartouche, which will give us a definite bit of information. But the evidence is pointing to somewhere around Tutankhamun’s time when this thing was closed.

The origins of the tomb could go back some decades, so that’s another aspect that we have to work at. We know the tomb has been entered several times in antiquity. So we have a host of questions. We’d like to know for whom these coffins were made. Most of them are so poorly preserved and covered with resin that thus far we’ve had no inscriptions surviving.

Even if there are no mummies, if we knew who the coffins were made for, this of course would tell us a lot. But so far we’ve had no inscriptions in coffins. One in the back does have inscriptions, but it’s covered with this resin and dust, so we’re going to have to wait until we get there.

Q: Does it appear as if the inscription is on top of the resin, or is it being hidden by the resin?

A: No, it’s incised into the wood, and the resin covers it, so the resin fills it in. You can tell there’s something there but you can’t read it.

Q: When you mention that the tomb had been entered more than once in antiquity because of the placement of the stones there, are you tending to think that the tomb had been entered before these mummification supplies were put in, or after?

A: It’s possible it’s a combination of things, because we know that the tomb was cut at one point, and it may not have been used right away. And there’s rubble that developed in there, down in the shaft. And also what we call dauber wasps, they make these little nests, and the secretions are just like stones, they’re very hard. And these occur in the doorway and inside the tomb, so it was open for a while for these wasps to come in.

Then things apparently were brought in, and at some point the coffins were all piled up, storage jars brought in, and many of them may be filled down in the chamber. And then it’s possible that when the shaft was partly filled, they reopened it, cut a tunnel and went back in and maybe added something. They may have actually poured gypsum plaster on the jars to close them. ...

We have a lot of little things that we have to try and fit together. But if we can get a few names, especially royal names, it will be much easier to fill in the skeleton. It’s like trying to put something together without the bones. Once we get a few definite points to work with, then it’s easier to fill in the gaps.

Q: Are there any supplies that might shed light on the process or ritual surrounding mummification.

A: Well, the natron is the main ingredient in the embalming of the corpse, and then they use some wheat chaff as fill also. We find some of that. For some reason, they store a lot of pottery which they have to break to get into these storage jars, and they break it when they throw it into the coffins. For some reason, the things that they’ve used during the period [of mummification], they simply can’t throw it away, but they bury it away. Somehow, it’s sacred. You don’t put it in the tomb, but you can’t just throw it away. That’s another aspect that’s very strange.

Q: So there are lots of those ceramic containers that have to be explored, and I suppose this could keep you busy for a long time.

A: Oh, yeah, at least another season. And then the coffins that have been removed, and those that will be removed will still require some conservation and restoration work. A few of them can be restored to some extent. One of the coffins just needs a little bit of consolidation here and there, and cleaning, and it’s in good shape. They all require some work.

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