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 STAIRWAY B2 

Although normally dealt with after the description of the upper chambers, the burial chamber and its access are discussed here in order to maintain the order of numbering given to the chambers in the publications from the beginning of the 20th century, and also used in the ACE publication released in 2008.

A recessed doorway located at the eastern end of the north wall of chamber B1 provides access to the stairs and the roof. This is what, by usage, has become designated as B2, and is not an actual chamber.

Designed as if to take a door, the recess is 1.30m wide by 0.60m deep and approx. 2.2m in height. The jambs, on either side of the actual entrance, are of 0.15m on the west (left) and 0.40m on the east. The entrance passageway itself is 0.7m wide by 0.35m deep (the thickness) and a height of 2m. This reduction in height compared with the recessed opening is due to the fact that it is constructed above the first step, which has a height of 0.2m above the floor level of the previous chamber. The passage also partly intrudes onto the second step. Like the entry to B1 from A1, holes for door bolts are positioned on either side of the recess at a height of about 0.8m above floor level. The step of the passageway is 0.7m. wide and 0.3m deep and as mentioned previously is 0.2m. high. This is the first of seven preserved steps leading to the roof. The other six steps are 1.3m wide, the width of the stairway, with risers of 0.25m, with treads depths varying from 0.35m to 0.45m.

The walls of the entry, the passageway itself and the stairway are undecorated. These walls have survived to a height of about 1.6m.

 THE SHAFT AND BURIAL CHAMBER 

The shaft :
The main shaft leading to the burial chamber is accessed from the roof, located between the stairs and chamber B5; chamber B1 being to the south.

The mouth of the shaft is 2.8m square, lined above ground level with large limestone blocks. These have survived to a maximum height of 2.35m. The shaft was cut into the bedrock to a total depth of 14.0m. The same dimension square section descends cleanly to just over 7.0m, where the rock projects by 0.25m on all sides, thus constricting the shaft for just over the next metre of descent. It is then roughly cut for another 5.8m, narrowing in its progress to the bottom, to approx. 2.3m square section.

The western face of the shaft then opens directly into the burial chamber, through an opening which is the full width of the bottom and a height of 2.3m.

The burial chamber :
The chamber is located so that the sarcophagus lies directly in front (but below) the entry to the offering alcove of chamber B5, which contains the false door. Thus, the ka (spirit) of Watetkhethor could leave her burial chamber and exit to the chamber above. The long axis of the sarcophagus is parallel with that of the false door.

The opening, just mentioned, leads to a rectangular burial chamber, the floor of which is 0.10m lower than the bottom of the shaft, creating an uneven step.
The chamber, which is roughly cut to the west and south of the opening, with an uneven floor and ceiling. It measures 5.25m north-south by 3.5m east west and has an average height of 2.1m.

Neither the chamber nor the sarcophagus were decorated. Two fault lines run throughout the chamber.

At the rear (west), at a height of just over a metre above floor level, was cut a large recess, measuring 3.75m north-south with an average of 0.9m in depth and a height of 0.65m. This was presumably to hold the sarcophagus lid before being drawn forwards on to the base.

The sarcophagus, measuring (externally) about 3m in length by x 1.5m. wide and just over a metre high, was cut from a single piece of limestone, is located in the north-west corner of the chamber. The internal dimensions are: 2.25m. long by 0.75m wide and of 0.65m depth. The lid, which stil remains in place, is about 0.5m thick. A hole was cut by robbers into the centre of the eastern side, damaging both the lid and the base.

The burial chamber was found to have been plundered but still held some human remains.

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