Page 49 - اثار مصر الفرعونية2

inscriptions were found fragments which the French
archaeologists have spent many years piecing together. Many
interesting details have been revealed during the restoration of
the texts, including Pepy's earlier throne name Nefersahor, which
he must have later changed to Meryre.

The king's black stone sarcophagus was situated against the
west wall of the burial chamber and contained a line of Pyramid
Texts around both the interior and exterior surfaces. After
thorough investigation, it is suggested that this may have been a
substitute sarcophagus, the original being damaged before the
burial. A fragment of mummy was found in the underground
chambers, but it is not known whether this belonged to the king,
although a piece of linen was also found bearing the inscription
'Linen for the king of Upper and Lower Egypt' with Pepy's names
and titles (now in Cairo Museum). Excavators also found a pink
granite canopic chest set into the floor in front of the
sarcophagus, with fragments of alabaster canopic jars. A packet
of viscera for one of the canopic jars lay nearby, tightly wrapped
in linen and still holding the vessel's shape.

Pepy's mortuary temple follows what had become a fairly
standard plan and has now under gone clearance by the French
Mission. It had suffered extensive damage by ancient stone-
robbers (there are even remains of a lime-burning kiln), but the
ground plan is clearly marked out. A narrow entrance hall

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