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Room B - the second passageway
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Running in the same direction as the central axis, this passageway is 5.5 metres in length, and 2.5 metres in height.
Being slightly wider at its far (north) end, it is 1.5 metres wide at the entry end and 1.7 metres at the far end.
Both walls are divided into five registers and both have suffered damage.
On the left (west) wall, two uppermost registers are virtually undamaged, but what remains of the lower registers provides enough of the original imagery to fully know the content.
The right (east) wall has been less fortunate, but again the surviving content is more than sufficient to follow the themes.
The west (left) wall
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based on Davies, Amenemhet, various plates,
Room B, left (west) wall |
Even though divided into five registers, this wall is also divided into three different scene groupings.
• The first scene, on the left, occupies the part of the top two registers (view 18b).
Known as "The Pilgrimage to Abydos", this scene can be found in several other tombs (for example, that of menna, where it appears on a single register).
Confusingly, it is the second register which shows the journey northwards, to Abydos.
The sail of the first ship (on the right) is folded, as it travels with the flow of the river, also powered by oarsmen.
The second boat is being towed by the first and carries Amenemhat and his wife under an ornate canopy, in front of whom is a man cutting up an ox.
The upper register shows the return journey, to Thebes, identified by the extended sail of the first boat using the north wind to proceed against the flow of the river.
It had also been assisted by oarsmen, but they have put their oars to rest.
The second boat, carrying the deceased and his wife under their canopy and in front of whom is a table of offerings, is again being towed by the first.
In the first boat, a two sailors clamber in the sail, whilst at the rear another leans over the side filling a jug with water to quench his thirst.
• With the exception of the right-hand side of the top three registers, the major part of the wall portrays the "Funeral Procession".
These ceremonies are rarely absent from tomb decoration, and usually on the left of the passage, as here.
The procession heads towards the rear of the chapel complex (to the symbolic west), there to be met by the protective "Goddess of the West" (view 17, left-hand side), occupying the height of the top three registers and recognised by the symbol which she wears on her head.
The main focus of the procession is the hauling of the mummy, represented under "Pilgrimage to Abydos".
The mummy of Amenemhat, in his coffin, is laid on a bed placed on a support with a motif resembling the facades of palaces and tombs of the first kings.
It is protected by a canopy in the form of the roof of the divine chapels of Upper Egypt.
The sledge is hauled by two red oxen, several people are associated with this part of the convoy.
At either end of the mummy, two women personifying Isis and Nephthys show that the deceased is already assimilated with Osiris.
Behind the oxen, a drover holds an improvised whip of leaves, while behind him are two men with their arms raised, followed by six men holding the tow-rope and finally two priests, the first of whom burns incense and pours libations.
Behind the coffin are represented several men of high rank.
In the top register, in front of the Pilgrimage to Abydos, twelve servants carry funerary material to be deposited in the tomb and having a symbolic value in the beyond.
In front of the porters, a flat boat with a white naos approaches a standard displaying the symbol for the necropolis, to the right of which is a man, carrying two oars, running towards a shrine, who is possibly associated with the boat.
Finally, between the shrine and the image of the Goddess of the West, are representations of Isis and Nephthys as two kneeling mourners, presenting bowls of water before four sacred basins, symbolising fertilisation of the desert.
In the second register of the procession is a small sledge bearing a box possibly containing canopic vases, and another sledge on which is represented the tekenu.
These are preceded by two Muu dancers, while in front of the shrine is a priest who reads from a papyrus.
The bottom two registers are in a very poor condition, but they also contain part of this long procession.
• At the far right of the wall, behind the Goddess of the West, taking up the height of the top three registers, is a scene of offering, where Amenemhat and his wife are seated, facing out of the tomb. Their images have nearly been destroyed.
The scene represents a logical continuation of the funeral ceremony and rituals, because it represents the first funeral cult ceremony.
Dressed in the leopard-skin of the sem-priest, the youngest son, Amenhotep, comes to renew these first rituals at his father's chapel. His image has been totally hammered out.
Normally it is a priest who plays the son's role, but it the son who is represented here.
A tabular list of 21 items has been placed over the table of offerings (now destroyed).
From the text above the son, we find not only his name but that the offerings are to "...Geb and the Ennead of the palace of Upper Egypt...".
The east (right) wall
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based on Davies, Amenemhet, various plates,
Room B, right (east) wall |
Like the left wall, this is also divided into five registers, again it is divided into three groupings.
• This innermost scene is an almost mirror image of the one facing on the left wall and again takes up the height of three registers.
It is the offering scene, with the seated Amenemhat and his wife facing out of the tomb, again their images have nearly been destroyed.
On this wall most of the offering table has survived.
Unlike the opposite wall, sem-priest is a different son of Amenemhat, the eldest, the scribe Amenemhat (same name as his father).
This time from the text, we find not only his name but that the offerings are to "...Geb and [the Ennead] of the palace of Lower Egypt...".
Again a tabular list of the items of offering are provided.
It is useful to note that in this and the matching scene of the opposite wall, that the location of the recipients for the offerings actually relate to the geographical orientation of the tomb.
• The three upper registers display an elaborate continuation of the offering scene in front of them.
The first two registers are reserved for the musicians and guests, the third for the porters of the offerings.
This is the same organisation as the banquet in the first room, the musicians being located at the beginning of the two upper registers.
In the first register, the trio (view 22) consists here, of a seated female singer who plays the harp, a lute player (view 20) and a female musician who plays a double pipe (view 21).
In front of the open-mouthed harpist, is written the text of the song that she is singing.
The movements of the musicians' fingers are particularly well rendered, notably those of the lute player (view 21).
In the second register, a second musician plays harp. There is probably another group behind him, but these have disappeared.
The tomb of Amenemhat is one of the best New Kingdom sources with regard to the representation of musicians.
Contrary to the first banquet, the guests are not seated as couples but are distributed according to their sex, between the two registers : the men in the upper register, the women below.
The men are seated on a stools, each having a table in front of them and three servants take care of their well-being. These men are the brothers or the work colleagues of Amenemhat.
The women are knelt on mats, some images have been scratched out, but their gestures can be guessed : each stretches her hand toward the table which she has in front of her, some handmaids bring them necklaces and ointments.
In the third register, men and women bring ointments and oils in varied vases. These are not servants, but are mostly brothers (either real brothers or colleagues), sons or daughters of Amenemhat.
• The funeral procession is portrayed on the left wall of the passage, but the final ceremonies accomplished in front of the tomb, on the mummy and his statuaries, are on this wall.
Here, they occupy the totality of the two lowest registers. These are the "Opening of the Mouth" ceremonies.
They have the goal of giving back to the deceased his bodily functions and to begin to feed him, as he will be at the time of the annual cult ceremony.
The ceremonies appear in a complex liturgy which has existed since the Old Kingdom.
Unlike the funeral procession, this scene has been created in tabular form, and not all of the stages of the liturgy are represented.
In the same way, the ritual described in this liturgy, do not necessarily correspond to the reality of the ceremony.
What is represented here is the purification, the wakening, the clothing and feeding of the deceased.
The theoretical daily funeral cult repeats only these rituals, but in a more abridged form.
In the version found on this wall, the deceased is shown as a yellow mummy with a blue wig.
The ceiling
There are three yellow bands running the length of the second passageway, one down the centre and the other two along the edge, against the side walls.
The ceiling has suffered extensively, the text from the centre band being the worst effected, but the centre sections of the side bands has also been badly damaged.
The inscriptions again contain offering formulae to various gods, in the usual form.
Only one pattern (see opposite, for a section of the design) is used for the two panels.
This colourful zig-zag and diamond combination is fairly common throughout the Theban tombs.
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Doorway from room B to room C
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The door framing, taking up the whole north wall of the passageway, is painted with coloured hieroglyphs and displays the usual formulae.
The short entrance is just less than 1 metre in length, just under 1 metre wide and about 2.2 metres high.
On the southern thickness of the doorway Amenemhat was shown standing in front of Anubis. Most of the lower part of this wall has disappeared.
Anubis, being "Lord of the West", faces outwards from the region which is his home, whilst Amenemhat faces inwards.
On the northern thickness only tiny fragments of the inscription remain, though enough to show that the god again faced outwards, but not enough to know whether it was Anubis or Osiris on the wall.
The ceiling was decorated with a single, simple variety of the zig-zag design, a section of which is shown to the left.
The exit doorway framing is on the south wall of the shrine (room C), and is unusual as the blue painted hieroglyphs are on a white background.
The door-posts were inscribed with the usual formulae, but the only complete phrase on the lintel reads : "In honour of Imseti, the scribe who reckons the grain, Amenemhat, justified.".
This is the innermost room of the upper (cult) complex and much higher than the preceding passageway.
It is an almost square room measuring 3.25 metres in width and length, its height is 3.25 in the front (entrance) half, but its rear floor section is raised by about 15cm., possibly to indicate the presence of the shaft to the subterranean burial chamber complex.
The walls are decorated throughout, but again, the paintings have suffered damage.
At the rear of the room is a rather large niche measuring approximately 2 metres deep by 1 metre wide, its height varies, but the ceiling is about 2 metres above the floor level of the shrine itself.
The south (entry) wall
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Room C, south (entrance) wall
To see each of 3 parts, click in the image
To see the total image in only one large photo, click HERE
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This wall is divided into three major areas (not including the wide entrance door framing, already discussed :
• Above the door frame, and extending the full width of the room, the long tableau consists of two independent scenes (view 24, view 25, view 26 and view 27), with the deceased couple seated at the extreme ends, facing inwards.
Apart from the names and titles of Amenemhat and his wife, there is no indication as to the identity of the others participants or their actions.
On the right, the couple are seated in front of the table piled high with a large number of round white loaves.
Behind this can be seen the mummy of Amenemhat (in a white shroud and wearing a blue wig) lying under a red and yellow canopy supported by slender papyrus columns.
Beyond the canopy, the scene is divided into two registers.
In the lowest and directly in front of the canopy, stands a priest pouring libations and burning incense. Behind him, in groups of three, are nine women with their arms raised in a gesture of grief.
In the upper register are represented four mourners, the first two standing with their hair cast in front of their face, second pair squat and cover their eyes.
This scene summarises, very briefly, the funeral ceremony and funeral cult.
On the left, the couple are this time seated in front of the usual offering table.
As on the other side, the remainder of the scene is divided into two registers.
In the lower one, a priest pours libations and burns incense before the table, whilst behind him are several large vessels, followed by three women, once probably preceded by a harpist, keep time to some melody by clapping their hands.
Above, a maid-servant offers wine from five jars to the first of four women, squatting in the usual manner.
This scene is probably an abridgement of the previously seen banquets.
• On either side of the entrance doorway, are two false stelae. The one on the right has survived better than other.
It would appear that these were an afterthought on the part of the designer of the tomb, and were superimposed on scenes of which traces have again become visible, owing to the deterioration of the thin secondary coat of white plaster.
Only the western stela reveals enough detail to identify its original scene.
At the top, two men are playing a game of senet, which isn't unusual in tombs of this period, however, they are accompanied by an attendant with a fan, which would tend to indicate that this is not a funerary scene.
Below, men are filling jars with wine, behind them is a stand full of jars, then another man fans them to cool them.
All that can be observed from the eastern stela is some of Amenemhat's funerary equipment and on the left-hand side, traces of a female in a see-through dress (in front of her, nothing remains of the stela).
The actual stelae were painted in blue hieroglyphs on a white background, written from left to right on the western (right-hand) stela and right to left on the other, thus maintaining a symmetry either side of the doorway.
They both contain a biography of the deceased and both have suffered serious losses, but the one on the right contains a considerable number of lines of consecutive text.
Under the conventional symbols of the waget-eyes and water balls, written in large characters, is the date : "Year 28 under the Majesty of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Menkheperre (Thutmosis III), granted life, stability and wealth, like Re eternally".
The biographical text then follows in smaller hieroglyphs, only twelve lines surviving.
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THE BIOGRAPHY OF AMENEMHAT
GARDINER, "The Tomb of Amenemhet" |
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Lines 1-2: INTRODUCTORY PRAYER.
(1) "An offering-which-the-King-gives to Amen-re, Lord of the Thrones of the Two Lands, in 'Elect of Places' (Karnak), and to the great Ennead which is in his temple; also to Osiris in all his places and to the great Ennead which is in the Necropolis; in order that they may grant offerings of bread and beer, oxen and geese,
(2) and all things good and pure, cloth and thread, incense and ointment, what is given by heaven, which is created by earth, which is brought by the inundation (of the Nile) from his cavern which goes up upon the altar of [Amen-re, to the ka of] the scribe of the Vizier, Amenemhat, justified, born of Antefo, justified."
Line 3: BEGINNING OF THE BIOGRAPHICAL PART.
(3) "The scribe Amenemhat says: I was a servant who served his master, one capable, who performed what he said; he placed his complete estate under my command, and every seal of his was under my control; I being vigilant in accounting for his possessions, nor did I show neglect in superintending his constructions."
Line 4-6: EULOGY OF THE VIZIER USER.
(4) "The overseer of the town and Vizier, User, did that which was praised by the living ka of the King day by day. He caused Right to go up to its lord, which his Majesty loves at all seasons; he being summoned every moment on account of all his excellent qualities."
(5) "The overseer of the town and Vizier, User, did that which all the gods love, in performing the ordinances and confirming the rules, in [making] their temples, in improving their offerings, in distributing their offerings, and in performing for them the Right that they love."
(6) "The overseer of the town and Vizier, User, did what the upper and lower (classes of the) people love tending the poor as well as the rich, protecting the widow with no kindred, sweetening the spirits of the venerable and aged; he set the children in the place of the fathers, and made everyone happy."
Lines 7-12: WORKS CARRIED OUT BY AMENEMHAT AT USER'S BEHEST.
(7) "The scribe who reckons the grain, head of the weavers [of] Amun, [Amenemhat, justified, says]: The overseer of the town and Vizier, User, made many jewels for the Palace, of silver and gold, of lapis-lazuli, turquoise, and all manner of precious stones, vessels of silver [and of gold], of copper and of bronze, furniture of ivory and ebony, acacia, and mry-wood (a red wood from Syria), and he praised the god for it. It was I who undertook [the work concerning it]."
(8) "The scribe who reckons the grain, head of the weavers [of] Amun, [Amenemhat, justified, says]: The Vizier User made many statues for the Palace, out of silver and gold, copper and bronze, ebony and mry-wood, and of all kinds of fine hard granite. There was given to [the fashioners thereof, ointment of the] flesh of the god," serfs and fields .... [in (?)] every nome. It was I who undertook [the work concerning it]."
(9) "The scribe who reckons the grain, head of the weavers [of] Amun, [Amenemhat, justified, says]: This noble [made for himself] many statues of copper and bronze, and of all costly woods, and of [every kind of fine hard granite (?)], and [their] place was made to rest in the sanctuaries of the gods of Upper [and Lower Egypt] ............. cedars of the best of the terraces(??) in front of ......... It was I who undertook [the work concerning it]."
(10) "The scribe who reckons the grain, head of the weavers [of] Amun, [Amenemhat, justified, says]: This noble [made for himself a very great and beautiful garden] on the west of the Southern City, planted with all manner of beautiful [trees], and made to flourish with every kind of sweet tree, its walls adorned with ........ ....... It was I who undertook [the work concerning it]."
(11) "The scribe who reckons the grain, head of the weavers [of] Amun, [Amenemhat, justified, says: This noble] made for [himself] a great and very splendid tomb on the steep hill of the Sacred Land, made large and its walls painted, a noble sarcophagus in ........ It was I who undertook [the work concerning it]."
(12) "The scribe who reckons the grain, head of the weavers [of] Amun, [Amenemhat, justified, says: This noble made for himself a] noble ......... [its] walls [of] brick, ........ of stone, inscribed ......... It was I who undertook [the work concerning it]."
A large number of lines are lost, perhaps twenty or more.
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Of the left-hand stela not enough remains to provide any major detail.
Having presented himself on this wall of 'transition', as a man who has scrupulously accomplished his duty in this world, Amenemhat dedicates the rest of this chamber to scenes which are purely religious, festivals in which he probably took part during his lifetime and to which, more importantly, he will participate eternally thanks to these representations.
The west and east walls
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based on Davies, Amenemhet, various plates,
Room C, left (west) wall |
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based on Davies, Amenemhet, various plates,
Room C, right (east) wall |
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At first sight, these two facing walls seem to mirror each other, but a closer inspection reveals this to be untrue.
The penultimate register, is certainly different, however, the upper three registers and the lowest one of both walls really are almost (differences do exist) identical mirror images.
Because of this fact, the upper portions of both walls and the lowest register will be described together.
The east and west wall upper registers
The upper three registers of these two wall represent the "Daily Cult of the Dead".
At the north end of each wall, at the height of the top two registers, were (because, they have now almost totally disappeared, view 38 and view 39) Amenemhat and his wife, described by the usual titles and seated before a table fully filled with food.
Detail of the couple on the right-hand wall can be seen in view 32.
It should be noted that this places the couple as close to the niche as possible, through which they would magically emerge to participate in the cult feasts.
At the southern end of the walls, two registers high, was (because, these have been hammered out) the figure of the son of Amenemhat, wearing the leopard-skin and with his arm raised in a sacrificial gesture.
The text on the east wall identifies him as the son Amenemwaskhet, on the west as the son Useramun.
Between the son and Amenemhat is a large tabular list of offerings, which occupies the upper register of the two walls. More than simple menus, they are rather excerpts of the ceremonies performed during the daily cult.
Underneath, on the second register, several priests advance towards the deceased to perform various rituals, the south (left) wall is more complete than the north. The end of these two walls is contained in view 28 and view 33.
On the lowest of the three upper registers, we find the close relatives of Amenemhat. First, closest to him and seated on a chair, are his parents Dhutmose and Antef, those which follow are all squatting on a mat.
These are the four sons, then the two daughters and finally his sister (view 34).
The west (left) wall, fourth register
This register, on this wall, appears to represent the "Festival of Hathor".
To the right were originally shown the figures of Amenemhat and his wife seated as usual before a table of offerings.
In front of the table stand three priestesses who hold out for Amenemhat the symbols of Hathor, the sistrum and menat-necklace.
After a lacuna which may have contained two figures, is a group of five people, in a musical posture (view 30). At the rear are two priest of Hathor, wearing the menat-necklace and shaking human headed castanets. In front of them a man claps is hands to keep time and facing him is a woman who rhythmically clicks her fingers, in between them a man leaps into the air (view 29).
The east (right) wall fourth register
The same register, on this wall, appears to represent the rites performed on the birthdays of the gods and other days.
To the left, as on the other wall. were originally shown the figures of Amenemhat and his wife seated as usual before a table of offerings.
In front of the table stand, this time, approach seven men, each holding a lighted candle in one hand and a jar of ointment in the other.
The text in front of the first four priests are to "the birthday of .." Osiris, Horus, Isis and Nephthys respectively; the second column stating "kindling a light; ointment is given" or a variant of this.
The following two are to the "day of the New Year" and the "day of uniting the ka".
The text in front of the final priest is different : "A light for the use of every day, illuminating the road of darkness for the scribe who who reckons the grain, the steward Amenemhat, everywhere that he goes.".
The east and west wall bottom register
For all the ceremonies performed for Amenemhat after his death, whether celebrating everyday or special day occurrences, the provision of a banquet was a requirement, so the long parade of attendants bringing offerings, shown in the bottom register of both walls, is a fitting conclusion their overall themes.
The images need no real explanation, those of the west (left) wall are seen in view 28, view 30 and view 31, while those of the east (right) wall are in view 33, view 35, view 36 and view 37.
A band of hieroglyphs runs above the offering-bringers on each wall, and are of considerable interest. Although the beginning of the one from the east wall is missing it is reasonable to assume its content, the whole reading : "[Bringing all manner of good things ..... for the scribe, reckoner of the grain in] the granary of
divine offerings of [Amun], Amenemhat, for his ka, for his stela ..... for his [soul], for his illumination, for his corpse, for his shadow, and for all his modes of being. May these gods grant him to have superfluity thereof, to partake thereof, to eat thereof and to drink thereof, like the ancients eternally.".
The north (rear) wall
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Room C, north (niche) wall
To see each of 3 parts, click in the image
To see the total image in only one large photo, click HERE
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Above the opening to the niche is an ornamental superstructure of moulded plaster. The raised designs are orange on white upon a red background, and consist of knotted papyrus heads and djed-pillars.
To either side of this, and with his back to it, are figures of Amenemhat doing homage to the goddesses of the East, Iabtet, and the West, Amentet, seated on thrones and holding in one hand the was-sceptre and in the other the ankh-sign of life.
In both cases he kneels and holds two bowls of wine, for which the Goddess of the East offers him the breath necessary for life, while the Goddess of the West offers him a welcome to the necropolis (the relevant part of the text is now lost).
The lower halves of the wall, on either side of the entrance to the niche, are now totally destroyed, they may have contained images of Amenemhat offering to Osiris and Anubis.
The ceiling
There are five yellow bands running along the south to north axis of room C, one down the centre, two along the west and east edges (against the side walls) and two more running mid-way between, thus creating 4 long areas, each filled with a different design. These are shown above in the order appearing on the ceiling, left to right being west to east.
This ceiling has faired better than that in the passage, so the inscriptions on the yellow bands is quite complete.
Differing from the content of all previous ceiling bands, these do not contain the usual formulae, they are all in praise of Amenemhat; for example, on the band furthest west : "Words spoken : O steward who reckonest that which exists, the scribe Amenemhat, justified; may thy name endure within thy mansion, thy statues in their shrines ..........".
The others begin with some of his other responsibilities, such as "...who reckons the grain...".
The niche
The rear of the niche was originally occupied by the now destroyed statues of Amenemhat and his wife, which were moulded in plaster on a rough core of rock, which still remains.
The side walls were, no doubt, originally decorated with symmetrical scenes, now only small traces of inscription remain on the east wall (bottom of view 38b), including part of a small table of offerings.
The scenes would have been of Amenemhat and his wife facing outwards in front of a table of offerings, the other side of which a son was performing the funerary rite. Above the son's head, written in coloured hieroglyphs, the remaining text reads : "His beloved son, the scribe Amen..... Words spoken : An offering-which-the-King-gives to Geb and [to the gods] of the Northern Kingdom thousands of ....".
Such reduced forms of the funerary rite are quite normal in this position.
On the ceiling of the niche, only one pattern was used (see above, for a section of the design). This was divided in two by a central yellow band containing the text of the usual offering formula style (bottom of view 38b).
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Rooms D-E - and the descent to the burial chamber
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From the raised rear floor of the shrine and half way into the niche was dug the deep shaft to the hypogeum, the underground burial complex, the final resting place of Amenemhat.
The opening measures 1 metre wide by 2 metres in length, the shaft itself is about 8.5 metres deep. It is wider at the bottom than at the top.
The rooms at level of the bottom of the shaft have been described above, it only remains to say that were not decorated, or if they were, nothing remains.
After a descent down another shaft in the south-west corner of room D, a short corridor leads finally to the actual burial chamber.
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Room F - the burial chamber
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The burial chamber is entered through, what is now, a much destroyed short passage in the eastern side of the north wall.
It measures about 2.6 metres north to south and about 3.6 metres east to west and just under 2 metres high, it is far from being rectangular (see the plan view to examine its shape).
A niche punctuates the western end of the entry wall, and is raised about 0.5 metres above floor of the burial chamber.
With the exception of the entrance (view 43), the niche (view 41), and a few vignettes, all the four walls are uniformly "decorated" throughout.
A horizontal band with dark blue hieroglyphs, starting on the west wall and running continuously over all four walls, divides them into two equal parts, which are both filled with religious text written in vertical columns of cursive hieroglyphs, to be read from left to right (even though the hieroglyphs face right, this is retrograde writing).
The text is mainly written in blue (now almost black), but the dividing lines, titles and beginnings of the paragraphs are in red.
For the most part, the text is drawn from the "Book of the Dead". On all walls the text starts on the top register and where necessary continues on the lower one. The upper half of the west wall is the exception, here, the text is taken from the "Pyramid Text".
The extremely long line of horizontal text begins : "Words spoken by the scribe who reckons the grain of Amun, Amenemhat, the justified,", contains near the end : "his hatred was of falsity and he did it not; he ate not the abomination of the gods." and finishes with : "may there be illuminated for him the way of the place of darkness throughout the years of eternity.".
The north (entrance and niche) wall
(view 41, view 42 and view 43)
The main centre section of this wall contains in its upper and lower halves (between the entrance and niche, beginning to the right of the niche) only one chapter of the "Book of the Dead", chapter 125. It continues over the entrance doorway and concludes at the eastern end of the wall.
On the left of the area under the entrance to the niche, and not related to the religious texts, is a small vignette of a crouching man holding a vase of unguent in one hand and a torch in the other. To his right is a short piece of text.
To the left of the niche entrance are two vignettes which really belong to the west wall, and as such will be discussed with that wall.
The east and south walls
(view 44, view 45, view 46, view 47 and view 48)
The texts on these two wall, taken from the "Book of the Dead", start at the top left of the east wall and finish bottom right of the south wall. The chapters contained are, in order : 17, 18 (split over the two walls), 131, 188, (cf.108), 117, 96, 97, 50, 119, 63b, 8, 93, 95, 94, 66, 119, 102, 38, 132, 45, 28, 29, 56, 62, 28, 26, 27, 30a and 105 (a long list, but at least it shows the lengths to which Amenemhat went, in order to ensure his afterlife).
The west wall
(view 49, view 50 and view 41)
The inscriptions of this wall are bounded at each end by well-painted vignettes. At either end of the upper register are the four human-headed sons of Horus, in pairs. At the either end of the lower register are, Isis at the south end and Nephthys at the north.
The vignettes at the north end are, as stated previously, not actually on this wall but are on the west end of the north wall.
In the upper register, the text which is read from left to right, as always here, is taken from the "Pyramid text", Utterances 220, 221, 222, 593, 356, 357, 264 and 667.
The lower register, taken from the "Book of the Dead", Chapters 80, 133, 134 and 65.
At the bottom of this wall, under the end of Chapter 134, is the only other remaining vignette, depicting the gods of the Great Ennead in the Bark of the Sun.
The niche
Located at the west end of the north wall, the floor is about 0.5 metres higher than that of the burial chamber. Even though it is small in size (roughly 1.2m. deep, 0.75m. wide and 1m. high) and irregular in shape, its walls were fully decorated, but the condition has deteriorated during more modern times.
The side walls contain parallel scenes of Amenemhat receiving offerings from a son (view 41 and view 52):
• On the west wall, he is accompanied by his wife, Baket-Amen; both are seated in front of a table over-laden with offerings, looking towards the ritual east, out of the tomb. On the outward side of the table stands the son, Amenemhat, clad in a leopard-skin and his right arm raised in the customary gesture. Behind the son are some of the other family children, three sons.
• On the east wall, containing a mirrored version of the other side, Amenemhat is accompanied by his mother, Antef. The son, this time is Amenhotep and the squatting children are also different, two sons and a daughter.
The rear (north) wall (view 53 and view 54) contains in its upper part, Chapters 141 and 142 from the "Book of the Dead", again written in vertical columns.
Along the bottom, the vignette is the sacred bull and five (currently four) sacred cows.
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THE AFTERMATH OF TOMB TT82
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Since the time of Amenemhat, the tomb has undergone various damage.
Pre-modern era :
• During the Amarna period, which teaches us that the chapel was always open and accessible more than 100 years after its decoration.
The supporters of the god Aten hammered or chiselled out the three signs forming the name of the god Amon and the word "gods", wherever they were found in the chapel, there were some exceptions.
It is still uncertain when the representations of the priest clothed in a leopard-skin were destroyed. No records of Amenemhat endured the damnatio memoriae, as was often the case during periods of uneasy unrest.
• During Pharaonic times the chapel and the hypogeum were both reused for anonymous burials, but they were also robbed entirely, the thieves having left pieces of bodies and broken coffins, some fragments of the funerary equipment (cones, canopic vases, nearly 150 coarse ushabti) and a magic brick.
• Later, the presence of Coptic hermits in the Theban necropolis were responsible for other irreparable damage in the tombs. In TT82, the monks cut the images of the female figures in the first two rooms, possibly fearing the forbidden desires created by facing these superb paintings.
On the west wall of the second passage they doodled several signs, some crosses and a word. The chapel was then reused possibly as a church or habitation.
• In the floor of the entrance corridor, an oval hole, the size of a body; a much later summary burial - maybe post-Pharaonic.
In the transverse hall, two rooms and a recess were crudely carved, destroying paintings on the east and south walls, and the north-west corner.
On the offering scenes to the ancestors and craftsmen, the effects were probably due to natural causes, although some hammerings are present.
Then once more the chapel was abandoned to the desert and local habitation...
More recent history :
• The last period of destruction dates to the beginning of Egyptology.
The tomb complex has been visited by Robert Hay, copied by James Burton and John Carter Wilkinson. Lepsius, in his turn, visited the chapel and burial chamber, followed by others.
The increasing demand by European museums and private collectors, pushed the inhabitants of Luxor to remove fragments of the paintings, before finally, metal doors were introduced (in 1907) to protect the tombs from depredations.
No doubt many valuable fragments of paintings were thrown away in the course of excavation, probably done by native workmen, which, by careful sifting of the old spoil heaps may even be recovered and restored.
From Hay's description the only visible scenes were those still visible to Gardiner in 1914.
Finally, Norman de Garis Davies and Ernest Mackay emptied the shafts of their contents and restored the complex in 1914.
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Bibliography
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• A. H. Gardiner and N. de Garis Davies, The Tomb of the Amenemhet (No. 82), London: EEF, 1915.
• B. Porter, R. Moss, Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs and Paintings, vol. l/l, Oxford, 1960 (2nd ed.), p.163-167; plan, p.160 and map V (e9).
• F. Kampp, Die thebanische Nekropole (Theben 13, 1996), plan III.
• L. FITTON, S. QUIRCKE, "An Aegean origin
for Egyptian spiral?" in Studies in honor of Martha
Rhoads Bell, Phillipps J (ed), San Antonio, 1997, p.
421-444. |
English text by Jon J Hirst
(based upon work by
Alan Gardiner and Charlotte Lejeune)
Photomontages and drawings by Jon J Hirst
© OsirisNet 2008 |
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