CHAMBER G

This second major chamber, which is oriented at right angles to the first, is reached by a descent of four steps, entering through a central doorway in the southern (theologically east) wall. Its floor level is 1.70m below that of chamber F. The walls of the small downward corridor were decorated, in the days of Lepsius, on the left by images of Inerkhau and his son Hor-Min and on the right by Wabet and a small daughter, all facing to enter into the tomb; these images have almost completely disappeared.

Even with the change in axis of this chamber (see plan on page 1) the walls again are not aligned as they should be - on a precise cardinal points. Therefore, for simplicity, the theological cardinal points will be used for the descriptions. This means assuming the entrance to be in the east wall, the long left wall on entry to be the south, etc.

The room is arched, faced with plastered mud bricks and then painted. The almost pointed arch was reinforced at its summit by a long beam running from the "east" wall to the "west" wall, down the full length of the chamber. It was formed from two palm trunks bound by a rope. Although missing today, the imprint of wood and ropes nevertheless remained in the mortar in the days of Bruyère ().

The decoration of the second chamber is, to its full height, a superposition of scenes from the funerary world arranged in three registers. The multicoloured images, ornamented with hieroglyphic legends, are borrowed to the vignettes of the Book of the Dead (BoD) and place the deceased of the tomb in different surroundings to those of the first room (chamber F).

East wall

This wall was cut out and transported to Berlin by the Prussian expedition of Lepsius (thanks to JJ-Hemmes for the photograph). It can be compared to the image in the and to the present state of the wall ().

Inerkhau-East wall-Berlin Museum Inerkhaou-caveau mur est-Musée de Berlin

On both sides of the arched doorway are represented, in large size, Ahmes-Nefertari and her son Djeser-ka-Ra / Amenhotep I, protectors of the community of the craftsmen. The care taken in the execution of the paintings is an excellent example of the Ramesside craftsmanship of the 20th Dynasty. This is shown in the transparency of the clothes (dresses with ample sleeves, that of the son being multi-layered) allowing glimpses of the skin of the characters. Both stand on a mastaba and face the entrance.

The king carries the attributes of his power in his hands. His head is covered by a wig (shown in blue, but it is not the Kepresh helmet, which is the colour of the lapis lazuli) surmounted by an elaborate headband with two uraei (three if one exists on the hidden side). On his feet he wears sandals with hooked tips, which are a small reminder of the poulaines of the Middle Ages. He wears an usekh-necklace around his neck () and the front of his kilt is richly decorated. Above the sovereign's head is a reddish sun disk surrounded by a double uraeus.

Queen Ahmes-Nefertari, ("Royal mother, Great royal wife") once again with black coloured skin, wears an ample pleated dress, tied at the waist by a long multicoloured ribbon. Her wrists and her upper arms are decorated with bracelets, a large necklace hangs around her neck. On her head she wears a composite headpiece composed of a red coving supporting two cobras and a vulture (images of Nekhbet, tutelary vulture goddess of Upper Egypt and an Uadjit, tutelary cobra goddess of the Lower Egypt). The whole surmounts a vulture-form headdress (), also discussed on page one.

On the mutilated tympanum was a goddess with expanded wings. The removal of the beam has unfortunately disfigured this.

North wall

This wall is organised in three registers and fourteen scenes. The wall should be "read" of east to west (right to left) because the deceased couple follow their downward path from the entry toward the west wall which holds Osiris (on the right). The journey to ascension starts on the left half of the west wall with Ptah, the creator, and will then head towards the east by continuing on the south wall.

The top two registers concern life in the funerary world () and are inspired of the Book of the Dead (BoD), the lowest register concerns the domestic cult rendered to the deceased ().

Throughout this chamber, Inerkhau is clothed in an almost identical manner. He wears a voluminous dress which reaches to his ankles, with large pleated sleeves and a triangular pleated apron at the front. He wears a large curly wig. This is fringed at the bottom edge which descends at an angle toward the front. He doesn't wear any jewelry.

1) - The upper register

Scene I

() This is situated at the contact with the east wall. The deceased looks toward the rear of the chamber. Standing, he pays homage to his own Ba-bird perched on his tomb, which returns his salutation. This falcon with a human head is very finely drawn, especially the face. This "bird", the "living Ba", represents the being's spiritual form which is usually referred to as the "soul", for want of a better understanding of the concept. Its role is extremely important since it is that which moves between the world of the living and the underworld. It is able to see again the house in which he lived, to feel the soft breath of the breeze from the north, …, and to return these sensations to the mummy in its chamber. Inerkhau specifies in the text his desires : "Words for transforming into a living Ba, to be able to enter and leave, and to remain at those places which he desires, for the Ka of the Osiris, Foreman in the Place of Truth, Inerkhau, justified and (for) his sister (= here, his wife) , the mistress of house, chantress of Amon, Wab (et).".

Scene II

() This represents the deceased paying homage to the god Ptah, creator god who carries in his hand his usual insignias,  : the was-sceptre, the ankh-cross and the djed-pillar. He stands on the chamfered sign which signifies Ma'at (see page). Ptah, god of the craftsmen, always had special relations with the workers of Deir el-Medina. The text contains the beginning of §82 of the BoD : "Words for taking the form of Ptah: I eat bread, I drink beer.".

Scene III

() This represents a table in twenty columns where each part of the deceased's body is either dedicated to or likened to a different divinity, which is named and represented at the bottom of a column. This section is based on §42 of the Book of the Dead.

Scene IV

() This small representation is like a summary of the chapters of the transformations to which the deceased aspires. It is based directly on §86 of the BoD : "Formula to take the form of a swallow". The swallow is especially dear to the craftsmen of Deir el-Medina and is almost never present in other tombs. Here it is perched on a hillock shown by concentric red bands.

Scene V

() Finally, the register ends at the west wall at the rear of the chamber, where Inerkhau kneels doing homage to the rising sun represented by the akhet-sign of two hills between which rises the celestial star. This is the representation of the horizon in ancient Egypt. Hanging from it can be seen the ankh-sign of life and on either side are two lions facing away from each other. They are designated by the text (derived from §17 of the BoD) as "Ra". They are a representation of "yesterday" and "tomorrow".

2) - The middle register

Returning to the entry end of the wall, the scenes once more progress towards the rear of the chamber

Scene VI

() This shows the representation of a goddess holding an ankh-sign in her right hand. From the text, today destroyed, Lepsius identified her as Hathor. She is turned toward the east wall where it originally held queen Ahmes-Nefertari.

Scene VII

The following scene represents Inerkhau, standing, his arms raised in a sign of worship. An immense snake, named Sata (= literally "Son of the land"), faces him ().
These reptiles play an ambiguous role in Egyptian mythology. Sometimes, they embody hostile, dangerous and unverifiable strengths, sly adversaries of the created world; sometimes they are the embryonic shapes of divine beings, or even the greatest gods imaginable before the spreading of the creation of the universe. Sata belongs to this last category, and §87 of the Book of the Dead (to which this image could serve as a vignette but which doesn't correspond to the text reproduced here) has clearly assimilated the nocturnal sun, which it then regenerates in the beyond before being born again at dawn. This is why Inerkhau addresses a hymn to it and venerates such a great god.

Scene VIII

The deceased kneels, hands elevated in adoration before four black jackals walking toward him. They wear four red streamers around their necks, which appear to actually circle all four necks at once, the ends of which hang in front of them in two groups of four.
The jackals present only one complete silhouette, the one of the nearest animal. The other three are indicated by the progressive overlapping of the contours. There only appears to be two pairs of ears, unless only one is shown for each jackal.
It represents the four sab-jackals that pull the barque of Ra in the underworld. The text above of the jackals includes a prayer which asks that the deceased is transported in the wia (or sacred-barque) toward Khefet-her-neb-ankhet, a mythical place. It also asks for the food offerings reserved for the Ba of Ro-setau (the necropolis) in the great wesekhet, the great hall of the justified.
The text above of Inerkhau mentions the family members. This text allows the connection of tomb TT299 to our Inerkhau, son of Hay.

Scene IX

() This shows the opening of the mouth ceremony as it would have happened on the day of funeral ceremony (if unfortunately this had not been the case, this representation would compensate for it). In front of an altar supporting a libation vase and two breads, a priest wearing the head mask of the falcon holds in his hand an adze which he applies on the mouth (then to the other openings of the face). The ceremony is practiced on the mummy (more precisely the internal sarcophagus). This includes a white base on which were drawn red bands representing bandages, this is a classic image in the 20th Dynasty.
The ritual is accompanied by the text from §23 of the BoD : "The formula to open the mouth of the Osiris Inerkhau, justified. Your mouth is open. Your mouth was open by Ptah with this chisel made of celestial metal. Horus opens your mouth. He opens your eyes for you.".

Scene X

() What remains of Inerkhau is seated on a chair with legs ending in the paws of a lion. One of his hands is stretched toward the hieroglyphic Ka sign which stands in front of him on a stand. This scene is mutilated by the removal of the central portion. It offers difficulties with its interpretation because the deceased would have been making libations and offerings to his Ka. The accompanying text doesn't relate to the vignette : "Formula to bring the food of the fields of Iaru (= reeds) , to move among the gods who nourish themselves on it.".

Scene XI

At the extremity of the wall is the hieroglyphic sign for the "West", the Amentit (a falcon on a mast, with a ceremonial feather), accompanied by the text : "Formula to begin the path toward the beautiful horizon (kingdom of the dead, which one enters by the west) , to be among the gods who are there.".

3) - The bottom register

This register is continuous, there are no physical division markers, but the separation of the individual scenes can nonetheless be distinguished.

Scene XII

() At the extreme right is a scene showing the deceased couple seated in front of an offering table and looking towards the entrance (which is also the exit !). His wife presses her left hand on to the shoulder of her husband, in a gesture of protection.

Scene XIII

Again facing towards the entrance. The decease, Inerkhau, is seated alone on a chair, again with legs ending in the paws of a lion. He holds the sekhem-sceptre in his left hand against his chest, stretching the open right hand palm downwards in the direction of a pedestal on which stands a box possibly holding colour for the eyes ().

This eye paint is contained in a large white casket divided in eighteen partitions decorated with a right udjat-eye, painted in blues and reds. It is possible that there are eighteen small boxes or similar sachets stored in three rows of six or that the top of the pedestal is shown according to Egyptian perspective to show its decoration, which may be essential in the ritual represented here.

Eleven people advance toward the deceased or toward his effigy ().

The first is a sem-priest with a shoulder-length wig, fringed at the bottom. His naked chest is crossed by a pleated white band, on top of which is a pendant necklace. Over his shoulders and trailing down his left side is a panther skin. His hips and legs are hidden by a long white skirt with a pleated triangular apron, fringed at the bottom. In his right hand he waves a "weret hekau", a bent stick decorated with gold rings and ending with a rams head, which is the ritual instrument for the opening of the mouth. In his hanging left hand he holds a censer with a falcon's head. His feet are shoed with papyrus sandals.
Behind him, in pairs, are eight men with the naked upper torsos, wearing long white pleated skirts, wigs similar to that of the leading priest, but they have naked feet. They all have their left hand raised in front of their face in a ritualistic style. The first two carry nothing in their right hand, which is held down in front of their skirt, the others carry sheaves of papyrus or lotus bound in bunch. At the end of the parade are two women, again side by side, holding small oval bottles with a long neck in their right hand, whilst the left is also raised in front of their face. They wear very long dresses with large sleeves and a long divided wig which hangs down in sections to their waist, these are again fringed at the bottom.

Along with the eleven figurative characters in the representation, the text above them also mentions a further thirteen men and eight women, among which can be found two engravers. One of them, Neb-Nefer, was probably later the well known chief of works

All of these people carrying the title sa=f or sat=f but cannot all be the sons and daughters of the deceased. It is only people of the next generation, who were able to however, because of the small number of households of craftsmen, have family ties between themselves and the deceased.
Those which do not have any indication of relationship are probably of the same generation as the deceased and it can be deduced that Inherkhau was contemporary to Hor-Min, Neb-Nefer, Nefer-Hotep, etc…, which is not unimportant for the dating of the tomb.

Scene XIV

() Another large scene with numerous characters finishes this register and contains some realistic details of domestic intimacy which, being added to the harmony of the composition and the care of execution of this group, makes this tableau the most successful ( and ).

The two deceased receive on behalf of the first character, a "wab-priest in the place of beauty" (= the Valley of the Queens), Ken, who holds a statuette of Osiris and an ushabti casket. The casket bears the title but not the name of Inerkhau due to lack of space. In front of Osiris, the two deceased will need these funeral servants to save them from having to carry out the laborious tasks in the beyond.

Next, the second man presents a small pitcher. The third man is probably the engraver Mesu; he holds a hes-vessel with which he makes a libation offering, and a censer. His chest is crossed by a white band of fabric, his skirt is richer and he wears sandals. Behind these three men stands a woman, chantress of Amon, who carries a small tapering bottle possibly containing a fragrant oil or an anointing balm.
Notice the pedestal supporting a round bread (?) (Bruyère says "a pie of figs and acacia pods" and Sigrid Hodel-Hoenes speaks of a "basket of figs").

Inerkhau, seated facing the (theological) east, has his chin decorated with the short square beard of the living. He has sandals on his feet. He wears the long white dress which balloons out in front. His wife, who surrounds him with her two arms, sits like him on a chair with the feet of a lion. She has earrings which look like ivory discs.

Inerkhau plays with a lock of hair of one of his daughters who stands in front of him, totally naked but wearing a thin necklace and bracelets on her arms, wrists and ankles, and a circular earring. She gives a white pigeon with black speckles to one of her younger sisters crouching at her father's feet.
A small boy stands, without clothes or jewelry, and places his hands on his mother's knees. Finally, another naked girl stands behind the chair of her mother and holds in her hands a bird, pigeon or crest and a young small bird.
The girls seen in right profile have on their temple a lock of hair analogous to the volute of the sem-priests and royal children. The rest of their hair is cut in three flat locks on the forehead and a volute-shaped lock at the back of their head. Only the girls have earrings, necklaces, bracelets and anklets. The small boy has a hairstyle like that of his sisters, except the temporal lock, he wears no jewelry.

Inerkhau and his wife are thus represented with four very young children. In accordance with Egyptian conventions, and whatever their real age which they had attained at the time of the execution of this painting, they are represented naked and have the characteristic lock of hair, but are decorated with jewelry (earrings and or necklaces).