WEST WALL

NORTHERN PART

This part of the wall has suffered a lot (see ). On the lower register, moving from the left and after a significant lacuna, there is a big black and white cow followed by a large white and red bull. In front of it are the remaining traces of a man (see ). A legend, painted in black, says "Make a safe journey. See the sovereign…" (see ). There is nothing left of the scenes of breeding which must have continued to the right.
further right, and probably up to the north-west corner, were scenes of war, which are very rare before the New Kingdom. There only remain some feint traces. The "faithful and valiant troop of Hefat", was represented here in full action, according to the observations made at the time of the first survey of the tomb. Besides the Egyptians, are also found Medjai archers recognisable by their pigmented skin, their loincloths in coloured animal skin with a frontal sporran, their bracelets and periscelides. One scene showed a Medjai pierced by an arrow.
The troop is also represented on the east wall, which is just opposite, parading. The visitor to the tomb, without moving from his place, can therefore see the army of the nomarch in action on one side and in honour on the other.
A small niche has been cut in this wall from which the decoration has disappeared (see ).

SOUTHERN PART

(see )

Here can be found the best preserved scenes in the tomb. The colours are unusual in particular the light green, but the topics treated by the Scene of Ankhtifi and his family are of the most classic: hunting with the throwing stick, harpoon fishing. However, a particularly original scene gives us valuable indications on the local divinity, Hemen, and on the ritual which is attached to him.

1) - The hunting scene of birds in the marshes

This is located on the right side of the wall, closest to the entrance; it is limited on the right by three vertical bands, blue, white and yellow (see ).

Upper register

Ankhtifi, in heroic size is standing, turned towards the left, in a boat made from an assembly of bundles of papyrus whose bindings are represented by vertical bands of various colors. The scene is regrettably in a lacuna above the loincloth of Ankhtifi. The nomarch is accompanied by "His beloved wife Nebi" crouched down at his feet. She holds in her left hand a stem of papyrus (?) and in the right hand the beak of a duck with a tremendously long neck (see ).
At the rear of the boat is held, in a curious balance, a unidentified man whose head, neck and left arm are missing; clothed in a short loincloth, he held in his right raised hand a duck (see ().
In front of the craft, the undergrowth of papyrus, which forms, as in all the paintings of this kind, the sole decoration, is treated in a completely original way: a same stem seems to carry several umbels while, in reality, every umbel belongs to a different stalk; the artist thus wanted to translate the uniformity of the undergrowth. This one serves as shelter for many birds; with the exception of a heron, all of these are ducks (see , and ).

Lower register

This is reserved for the marshes and for the many fish of various species which inhabit them (see , , and ). Speciallly interesting is the presence - which is manifested nowhere else - of alestes dentex and hydrocyon forskalii (or dog of the Nile), deep water fish which are rarely present in the nets of the Egyptian fishermen.

2) - The recess in the wall

Immediately after the undergrowth of papyrus, the west wall makes a duplicate right-angled return that is explained by the presence of two faults (see ). The artist therefore had at his disposal between the two large surfaces a narrow band, while full height, oriented, not north-south, but west-east; in which he chose to picture four superimposed beautiful ducks (see ).

3) - The scene of harpoon fishing

(See ) This scene is on the left of the return of the wall. It is one of the most beautiful of the tomb, notably because of the iridescent colours of the fishes (see ). The place that has been assigned to fishes is however curious and translates the artist's personal inspiration. Usually, they occupy the lower register, with the exception of the two animals harpooned by the hunter. Here, fishes are all in front of the nomarch and seem to swim in open air, as if the stretch of water had been folded back in a right-angle in front of the harpooner. The absence of the arrangement in registers, just like the failure to respect a grid to arrange the hieroglyphic signs is frequent during the First Intermediate Period.

Middle register

Ankhtifi is shown on a very stylized papyrus boat // since the plant bales have disappeared to be replaced by fastenings represented in the form of multicoloured rectangles (see ).
The nomarch, in heroic size, wears a long wig covering the ears and decorated with a headband. He is dressed in a loincloth with a tab, striped vertically with alternate bands of yellow, green, white and beige, and wears a shoulder band, a belt, a necklace and bracelets. At the level of his face an inscription reads: "See harpooning fishes by the leader of the soldiers, the chief of the prophets, Ankhtifi the excellent" (see ). At waist level there is a second inscription: "Harpoon the head [?] Harpoon! (Because) Sekhet, this lady of good offerings, strikes (the victims) for the Ka of Ankhtifi, the excellent, justified" (see ).
The right arm of the nomarch has disappeared; it was obviously raised, the right hand grasping the shaft of the harpoon. The left hand holds a curious object formed from a cylindrical coil, mobile around an axis, which is itself fixed to the two extremities of a kind of ring in the shape of horseshoe (see and ). One of the extremities of a rope is fixed to the hook of the harpoon, which has already penetrated into the body of the victims - a tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and a Nile perch (Lates niloticus) (see and ) - whilst the other end is rolled up around the ring, thus allowing to return the catch.
Ankhtifi was accompanied by his wife and two of his daughters, placed on different levels. This part was still visible in the 1960s (see ) ; today it is completely in a lacuna (see also ). It should be noted the absence of the ground line under the feet of the characters who, therefore, seem to float in the air.

Upper register

Here there only remain some feint traces. One can perceive man's leg, a vertical black stripe and a horizontal black stripe, then two feet of a water bird (probably a crane), two black stripes forming an obtuse angle, and finally two other feet of a water bird (see ).One is obviously reminded of a hunting scene using the hexagonal net, but without certainty. On the left still remain traces of a net with white mesh on blue background, possibly belonging to a scene of dragnet fishing.

Bottom register

It includes a scene of dragnet fishing. Until the 1960s, one could see men standing on the bank, pulling the net, three to the right and the three to the left; one only is preserved more or less in full (see ).

More to the left, half lost in a lacuna, one can see the traces of a shrimping net, a net which has the appearance of a long conical pocket which one holds by two sticks. Three fishes have been caught in the net which in the Egyptian symbolism is the sign of the plural and therefore here means "a lot". Above the shrimping net is a keep net (Vandier) represented like a creel (an angler's fishing basket) fringed at the bottom part [NB: There may be some doubt of the fact that it was a keep net].

It is painted in red and decorated with white bands.
On the left of the creel and under the feet of Ankhtifi and his son there is an inscription (see ) : "Horus brings a (good?) flood to his son Neferkare. To inspect all navigation of Hemen". It is the only royal cartouche and the unique reference to a king in this tomb. This inscription comments the scene so-called "navigation of Hemen" described below.

The "navigation of Hemen"

(see )

The scene is quite original and because of this fact it is rather difficult to interpret.Ankhtifi, whose head has disappeared, is shown standing, in heroic size (see and , photos taken in the 60s). Tilted forwards, he leans on his cane (see ). He is dressed in a white Shendit loincloth and wears a necklace. His name was written in front of him, above the servant who presented him the offering of the khepesh, the front right leg of the ox.
The prince is accompanied by his four sons, represented on a much smaller scale; a legend identifies one of them: "[His son], his beloved, the leader of the Rural nome [in] its [entirety], Idy" (see ). The first two, including Idy, have almost entirely disappeared into a lacuna; probably the young princes each held a paddle as did their brothers, who are placed, one behind their father, and the other between the cane which he holds one-handed and the advanced leg of Ankhtifi (see ). The paddle testifies their active participation in the festivities of Hemen.

The scene of the slaughter of cattle which is found facing the nomarch, however however odd it may appear, is well in its place here (see , photo taken in the 60s). The cutting up of the ox and the offering of the foreleg, which first establishes a religious and funeral ritual, are associated here with the great scene of the inspection of the fleet which shall be seen below. The ox, an animal with white skin dotted with black, is lying on its back. The remaining butcher (three others have disappeared) holds two-handed a large knife with which he is preparing to slaughter the victim (see ).

The nautical part is to the left of the nomarch; it is very damaged. It is no longer possible to say precisely how many boats were present (see and ). The last visible craft before the big lacuna is on the left: there only remains today the cabin, a few ropes, and a part of one of the crewmen. The cabin is closed by curtains decorated with white and black checkerboards; a wooden shield, covered in leather, is attached to the side wall (see ). The only crewman who is still visible is squatting on the roof of the cabin: this man is put in charge of the manœuvering of the yard arms. After a wide lacuna, the scene of navigation resumes in the south extremity of the west wall. Two large barques with oars, heading northwards, occupy the lower register. Both are fragmentary (see and ).

The scene of hunting of the hippopotamus is located above the boats. There remains only a vague trace of the animal and of two parallel harpoons which have penetrated one in the back, and the other in the victim's hindquarter. A third harpoon is planted in what must have been the head. There is no doubt that the hunters are the nomarch himself and two of his sons (see and ), unlike what one finds in Giza and Saqqara where the master leaves this dangerous hunting to his servants.

The festival of Hemen

A few things are known about the god Hemen. It represents a falcon god close to Horus and, like the latter, an adversary of Seth. A festival was celebrated in the vicinity of Mo'alla, bearing the name (or including) the "navigation of Hemen". It is not known if the ceremony took place with a certain regularity or on the occasion of a particular event. One can admit a relationship between this "navigation of Hemen" and the god's processional exit which is several times mentioned in the biography of Ankhtifi (inscription 8).
The festival must have started with a sort of nautical jousting, during which the sailors accomplished some prowess on their boats; this is the reason why the craft, instead of parading in order as in a military inspection, some sometimes go northwards and the others southwards.
Ankhtifi, accompanied by his sons, presided over the ceremony. The paddles which the young princes hold are there to show that they actively participated in the ceremony.
The liturgical program foresaw the killing of a hippopotamus, symbolizing the defeat of Seth. It was the culminating moment of the festival. The nomarch himself, helped by some members of his family, took care of harpooning the animal, in accordance with a tradition fixed from the texts of the Pyramids, formula 235.
One will find some elements on the cult of Hemen and his ritual in Willems (see bibliography).

SOUTH WALL

The scene of navigation, described previously, continues on the south wall. There only remains a fragment of a papyriform boat with a yellow hull (see ). One notes the presence here of a superfluous pilaster (see ).