. A history of art in ancient Egypt . FiG. 119.—Transverse section through theserdabs. i8o A History of Art in Ancient Egypt. platform, or roof, of the mastaba (Fig. 122). As there was neverany staircase to a mastaba either within or without, it will be seenthat the well must have been a very inaccessible part of the one single instance, namely, in the tomb of Ti, the well is sunkfrom the floor of the largest of the internal chambers, but whetherit opened upon the roof or upon the floor of the chamber, it wasalways closed with the utmost care by means of a large flat The well i
. A history of art in ancient Egypt . FiG. 119.—Transverse section through theserdabs. i8o A History of Art in Ancient Egypt. platform, or roof, of the mastaba (Fig. 122). As there was neverany staircase to a mastaba either within or without, it will be seenthat the well must have been a very inaccessible part of the one single instance, namely, in the tomb of Ti, the well is sunkfrom the floor of the largest of the internal chambers, but whetherit opened upon the roof or upon the floor of the chamber, it wasalways closed with the utmost care by means of a large flat The well is generally situated upon the major axis of themastaba, and, as a rule, nearer to the north than to the south. Itsdepth varies, but, on an average, it is about forty feet. Nowand then, however, it has a depth of sixty-five or even eightyfeet. As the well begins at the platform and ends in the rockcarved mummy chamber, it follows that it passes vertically firstthrough the mastaba, secondly through the rock upon which themastaba is founded. The built part of the well is carefully The Tomb under the Ancient Emph^e. i8i constructed of large and perfect stones, and in this we find one ofthe distinguishing characteristics of the tombs of the ancientempire. In the tomb of Ti the well takes the form of aninclined plain like a passage in the pyramids. In the commonform of well the pit could only be reached by means ofropes, When the bottom of the well is reached a gaping passageis seen in the rock which forms its southern wall. This passage,which is not high enough to allow on
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