WADI C A (Carter 60), NEFRURE ? Wadi Gabbanat el Qirud ends in the two forks of Pl.62A and Fig.19 on the left, Wadi D with the chimney and chief tomb; on the right, Wadi C and the fissure of Tomb A. Of the latter Carter says:
" In a fissure in the cliff, below a water-course, is a cliff-tomb, open and of considerable size, about fifteen meters above the bed of the valley [Pl.62B] ... A cartouche
upon a large block of fallen limestone, leads one to think that possibly the cliff-tomb may have belonged to Princess Nefrure'... or that, if not, her tomb is to be found in this vicinity. "
His sketch plan (Fig.18) follows that of the Nefertari, Merytamen, and Hatshepsut tombs only in the right turn, in contrast to the left in en-Nisr A; in detail it is highly individual.
The "inner chambers were plastered; the tomb has a slight descent and is 200 to 225 cm. in height; the floor was covered with about 50 cm. of rubbish."
At the extreme left his open rectangle indicates a "slight depression in the rook"; the projection on the left is "a small niche in the wall." From his "plundered" in the key to Fig.19, an interment seems indicated.
To these details Mr. Greener, who examined the tomb for me, adds the following:
" The walls of the entire tomb appear to have been plastered. Light grey in color it was applied in great globs, then smoothed off. Most of it has now fallen, to reveal rough walls beneath. In the patches that still remain in place there is never any inscription, or decoration of any kind.
The ceilings are fairly smooth, as would be expected if plaster was not anticipated here. Just inside the entrance the tomb has been cleared to the rock floor; elsewhere it is covered with about 50 cm. of stone chips. No broken pottery was found, nor any other relic of occupation or use. There is no sign of any pit or hole, though one is possible under the rubble at the end of the passage. "
Evidently the latter is Carter's "slight depression," whether natural or not; or whether he believed it had held a sarcophagus or had served in its stead. The sarcophagus of Hatshepsut is the only one yet discovered in the Queens' Cliffs.
The Nefrure cartouche was not located by us; Professor Cerny tells me that he, too, failed to find it. Perhaps it can now be recovered with the aid of Fig.19, unless it is to be identified with the "statue-fragment of deceased with cartouche, found near [tomb], in Cairo Museum, Ent. 45930."
Except for this evidence, the tomb might be construed as that of Merytre as suggested above.
After speaking of the "low sloping arm of rocks" that divides Wadi C from Wadi D, Carter turns to the pit tombs "on the south-east face of the slope of the arm." "Two of them are open and have been plundered." The two are still accessible, but they could only be examined from above, the shafts (Fig.18) well cut in good rock. At least one other, now filled, probably exists.
In the omitted sentence before the Nefrure cartouche above, Carter says: "Though at present there are no visible traces, I believe there must be other tombs in this bay."
The position of this comment suggests cliff tombs. No others are yet indicated, but a cleft 10 m. south of Tomb A, for example, warrants examination. Below it are a number of the wadi's graffiti.
Near the pit tombs Carter discovered a small mimic burial. It was only a few inches beneath the sand, and consisted of three very rough clay Osiride figures, wrapped in linen and lying upon a linen bed stuffed with barley, the whole being protected with rush-matting, this is an inferior specimen of the votive burials. ...