religion 145
the interments in this vault must be seen in connection with the pa lace
and the royal mortuary cult even though there are neither textual material
nor archaeological finds that would offer further clarification.
the two mortuary cult complexes80 are distinguished from one another
as northern and southern.
the northern mortuary cult complex consisted of a 3.65 × 2.20 m chapel
with an entrance in the east. Visible from the entrance is a basalt statue
placed in a niche in the west wall. this sitting statue (1.42 m high, 45 cm
wide, 72 cm thick) represents an enthroned woman (pl. xViii). she wears
a crown on her head, which resembles the crown on the female figure of
the double sitting statue from the sanctuary. the figure’s lap is designed
like a table, inviting the placement of offerings; the statue’s hands rest on
its knees, with the palm of its right hand facing upward, holding a cup.
Beneath the floor of this chapel and directly in front of the statue is a
brick-lined grave shaft about 1 m deep. at its base was a clay vessel filled
with cremation remains and grave goods made from gold, bronze, and
ivory. next to the clay vessel were four bronze cups, which also belonged
to the grave goods in this shaft.
the southern mortuary cult complex was nearly square, although due to
the high level of deterioration its exact dimensions cannot be determined.
in this complex the statue of the deceased stood directly above the grave
shaft. the statue (1.92 m high, 82 cm wide, 95 cm thick) also represents an
enthroned female figure. the side-locks are especially noticeable as they
are the only ones completely carved out of the stone slab. this figure’s
lap is even more table-like than the previous one’s. Both feet rest on a
stool and both hands on its knees, the right hand once more holding a
cup. the block-like design of the figure can probably be attributed to an
inexperienced hand and is therefore dated older than the previous smaller
figure.
the 2-m-deep grave shaft was plastered with gypsum mortar and con-
tained at its base a clay vessel with the cremation remains and grave
goods. the opening of the vessel was covered with a bronze bowl. placed
next to the vessel were further grave goods made of clay and bronze, as
well as a golden mouth covering and a tripod vessel.
80 cf. on both mortuary cult complexes langenegger 1950: 159–163; Voos 1986: 34–37;
Bonatz 2000a: 154f; orthmann 2002: 52f with figs. 29 and 30; niehr 2006: 124–128; Martin
2010a.