Textiles from Tomb II in Deir el-Bahari: preliminary report from season 2012/2013

In the 2012/2013 season, the Polish–Egyptian Archaeological and Conservation Mission of the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari (PCMA UW) continued work in a tomb (Tomb II) cut into the cliffs bordering the temple of Tuthmosis III from the west. The work focused on a shaft and two subterranean chambers (C and D), which yielded together more than 300 pieces of funerary linen and equipment. Despite the disturbed archaeological context, the finds constitute an important corpus of seldom studied and published Pharaonic textiles. Some of the textiles are of very high quality, up to 2 m in length and preserved with their original colors. Importantly, they portray characteristic features of Pharaonic Egyptian textiles. Several pieces have inscriptions, including one with a fragmentary cartouche.