TAA i.3.23.28.recto

were put together in the Sarcophagus Chamber. The roof sections, 

with one exception (see first shrine, ...), were tongued to the upper 

edges of the crowning cornice members. The cornice members, in 

some instances the cornice and frieze/<chief beam> in one piece, were <also> tongued 

and mortised to the upper edges of the frieze/<chief beam> or panel of the under-

structure; their meeting edges were in each case <being/were> rebated.

The side and end sections of the under-structure comprise 

either a frieze/<chief beam>, panel, and dado in one, or panel and dado, 

or panel and dado in separate pieces: their horizontal meeting 

edges being always rebated, tongued and mortised together; their 

vertical meeting edges being rebated and tenoned to fit into

corresponding mortises in the corner posts. The corner posts of the 

under-structure are/<were> mortised to receive the tenons of the side and 

end sections, and they also have stub tenons to secure them 

to the chief beam or over door frieze, and sill. In the case

of the smaller shrine of this series, the whole of the back end 

of the under-structure (i.e. frieze, panel, dado, and two corner posts), 

and the whole of the front-framework (i.e. the chief beam or over 

door frieze, the doorposts, sill, and the doors), were made up 

into complete sections.

          The shrines were stood directly upon the rock floor of the

chamber, and in place of a “skirting” the bottom edges of the 

under-structure were bound with copper<(?)> painted a dark greenish-

blue. D^R Alexander Scott examined a piece of this metal binding. 

His analysis showed the composition of the alloy to be:- copper 97.2%,