THE TRANSVERSE CHAMBER

This rectangular chamber consists of two bays, either side of the north-south axis, one to the (left on entry) and one to the (right on entry). As already mentioned, the whole transverse chamber measures 4.80m from one side to the other, only about 1 metre from front to back, but with a ceiling height of just over 2 metres (see and ). The left-hand bay is longer than that on the right. Because of the chamber's anticlockwise rotation (approximately 10 degrees), the north and south facing walls of each bay are also of different lengths, the north one being the longer in the left-hand bay, with the south one being the longer in the right-hand bay.

SOUTH-WEST WALL

This wall is immediately on the left on entering the chamber (see ). It includes two registers; the one at the top, entirely dedicated to Nebamon and his mother Tepu, is about twice the height of the lower one, where, in the right hand section can be seen Ipuky in the company of his wife Henutneferet.

Upper register

This can be divided into two parts: a scene of offering on the left 2/5ths and a scene of a banquet on the right 3/5ths.

The offering scene

This includes two superimposed parts: the major one being that of the upper register, and the other being that of the left-hand 2/5ths of the lower register.

Upper part

This scene of Nebamon is a substitute for the images of the entry doorway which were given over to Ipuky. A comparison of a current day photograph with that of the plan created by Davies and the magnificent water-colour by his wife Nina, shows the extent of the damage generated by the vandalism which removed sections of the scenes for display in museums around the world (see ).
The view on the left shows the virtual restoration of the couple. Nebamon from the water-colour by Nina Davies, and that of the lady Tepu from ). The other restored fragment is discussed below.

Nebamon is beautifully attired in a loincloth overlaid with a kilt having a a divided front, an embossed short skirt and a tunic of fine white linen, under which can be seen (in pale pink) the colour of his chest (see ). On his head he wears a beautiful black curly wig (without the ointment cone). Around his neck spreads a large necklace composed of multiple rows of colourful beads and probably some of gold. He wears bracelets on both upper arms and both wrists, again, these are multicoloured. He holds with both hands a large blue vase from which flows, in an orange stream, myrrh and incense, over a pile of meat offerings placed on two stands (see ). At the top of the pile, on a reed mat, are four jars, similar to the one which he is using, and possibly showing the proportions nearer to the actual size. These are filled with additional supplies for the incense oil being poured. In the pile of offerings can be seen baskets, pieces of meat, a bird, the head of an ox and clusters of grapes. Between the two stands is a disproportionate lettuce. The incense oil, being poured over the offerings, is probably not combustible in itself, but it is poured over fragments of charcoal scattered among the offerings which are already in flames.

In front of the tables was the smaller image of a servant, dressed in a white projecting kilt and having no wig on his head. With his left hand he presents a large cone-shaped object on a tray (perhaps of fragrant grease, to be burnt). In his other hand he holds a bouquet of papyrus and a bird by the wings. In the days of Davies both he and his name (in a column of text) could be seen. His name, from the now mutilated text above him, reads: "The sculptor, Nebnefer". This section of the wall, which contained the character, is currently in the museum of Hanover (see (). This has been replaced in the above restoration.

Behind Nebamon, represented at a smaller scale, is his mother, "the mistress of the house, Tepu" (see upper left of and colour image). As already mentioned, it is always her (and never Henutneferet) who accompanies Nebamon. She is clothed in a slim fitting undergarment which reaches down to her ankles. This is overlaid with a semitransparent loose garment, which covers her shoulders but is then gathered under her still visible naked breast. This is most unusual because the dress would normally have covered her chest, even though the garment was semitransparent. On her head she wears a flowing black wig which reaches over her shoulders and not the tripartite style as found at the beginning of the 18th Dynasty. The artist represented the fashionable hanging curls of the wigs of the time, and this is seen even better in that of Nebamon, the lower edge of Tepu's wig has a special trim. A cone of ointment (whose actual reality is doubtful, it could be there as an icon to designate perfume) is placed on the wig which is also encompassed by a floral headband. Tepu wears a large necklace, similar to that of Nebamon, and of also the bracelets located on her wrists and upper arms. Her right hand is raised in sign of homage, whilst in her left hand she holds one of the excellent Hathoric symbols: the menat-necklace, with its usual counterweight.

The text above the two characters is the only one of the tomb which has been inscribed in beautiful multicoloured hieroglyphs (see ). At the top of the second column was the name of the god Amon-Horakhty (frequently found at the time, as in the tomb of Kheruef, TT192) ; the name "Amon" has been erased by the zealous followers of Akhenaten.
The eleven, now badly damaged, columns of text originally read: "Pouring incense oil of myrrh on the flame for [Amon]-Horakhty, for Osiris-Khentimentiu, for Anubis, the lord, at the head of his hill, for Hathor, mistress of the temenos, for the evening bark, for the morning bark, for their crew and their rowers; for Ra who-is-in-his-disk, for the Great Ennead, the Lesser Ennead, for the gods of the necropolis, for the indestructible stars. On behalf of the chief sculptor of the Lord of the Two Lands, the child of the nursery, [Nebamon, justified, and his] mother, the mistress of the house, Tepu.".

Lower part

It is necessary to include with the offering scene the left part of the underlying register, because it represents a continuation of it. By projecting a line delimiting the last, right, column of hieroglyphs downwards (), it is sufficient to understand why.

A butcher cuts the front paw of an ox laying on a reed mat. Two men (because of the lack of space, the first is partially concealed by the butcher, which is very rare) advance toward the couple of the upper register (see the plan of Davies mentioned above, no photo is available). The first carries a small pedestal with resin as well as two stems of papyrus; the text in front of him is difficult to interpret, but it seems that he addresses his friend to tell him: (jr Sm mj r m=sA=j stp.w nA) "Act, walk behind me, charged with the choice pieces".
A vandal had tried, without success, to detach the second character. Nevertheless he caused irretrievable damage to the scene. The man - and it should be remembered that these are not servants, as one too often reads - wears a beautifully pleated loincloth, but the speech which he says is very difficult to understand, notably because of damage "For the ka of Neb[amon] please receive the offerings coming from the arms of […] who makes the sacrifice. It (the pieces) was opened (= cut?) , that you may receive the pieces of meat.".

Separated by a double column of hieroglyphs, is a small very unusual scene. Four blind men have their heads turned upwards to the sky. They clap their hands whilst chanting a hymn. Who are they? Next to nothing is known about them, but Davies thought that they were attached to a temple and that they serve as a choir to anyone making private sacrifice there. He refers to them as beggars, but it is uncertain why. Their hymn is as follows: "Words spoken. Praises in the heavens. Songs of praise in the Sektet barque. Cheering in the Two-lands of Egypt to [Amon] in all [his temples], in his holy places, south, north, west and east. The gates of heaven are open, the gates of Qebeh are open, a path is open from the necropolis to the hills. So that [Nebamon] may be refreshed, that the invocatory offering may be given to him, that the divine rations are given to him, and anthems chanted to him in the solar bark, while he presents an invocatory offering to [Amon, king of the gods], to Ra, to his eye, to his hand, to his body, and to Osiris-Khentamentet. That they may bring good fortune to the child of the [nursery], Neb[amon].".

The banquet scene

The group photograph opposite shows the present state of the wall, and requires no comment about its condition. It's a good thing the line drawing of Davies (see right-hand side of ) is available. In the image opposite the recovered pieces are shown in overlay.

The couple Nebamon and Tepu

The right hand side of the register is dominated by the image of Nebamon (which is currently in the Louvre museum, see ) in the company of his mother Tepu, seated on chairs, with high backrests, which stand on thick reed mat. The representation is very rigid in its style, but technically it is perfect.
Nebamon, wearing the small goatee beard of the living, was magnificently dressed, with a long tunic covering his shoulders and reaching down to his ankles. The broad necklace, as well as the bracelets seem very similar to those already described. His left hand tightly holds the fold of a piece of cloth, while his right hand grasps a large sekhem sceptre, which is a rather incongruous item here.

Next to him, and distinctly smaller, sits the lady Tepu (see the Mekhitarian image of 1955, on the right). The pleated top of her dress is of a bronze yellow and, according to the fashion of the time, one of the folds of the dress rests over her left elbow. The necklace and the bracelets (of both wrist and forearm) are made of colourful beads and some probably of gold. Her wig is decorated at the level of her temple with a small twisted stand of hair. Like Nebamon, she has an ointment cone on her head. Her left hand is placed on her son's shoulder (else it is raised in front of her face) and the right hand rests either on her knees or on his thigh in an enveloping protective gesture.
At her side, and a lot smaller, is seated "Her daughter, her beloved, Mutneferet"; thus she represents a girl of Tepu, and therefore a sister of Nebamon. The location of the lower missing fragment is still unknown.

The text above the seated couple is spoken by (and for) Nebamon: "Sitting down, to make merry during a pleasant day in his house of the west, in the divine pavilion of Hathor, mistress of the necropolis. That she may grant you exit to come on to the land, into the open courtyard of the tomb, so that you can see the sun at its rising and listen to the noise of livestock which moo. For the Ka of the superintendant of the scuptors of the Lord of the Two Lands, controller of the mysteries (or secrets) in the temple of Heri-her-meru, Nebamon, justified (and) his mother, the mistress of the house, Tepu.". Nebamon was therefore already dead, but not his mother, no more than his sister Henutneferet.

Henutneferet

She stands in front of the couple (see for a close-up and for a fuller view). She wears the same style dress as her mother, however her wig is not as full and has been separated into plaits. In her left hand, which hangs at her side, she holds a yellow container, plus a smaller vessel and a folded piece of cloth (both of which are no longer visible today, see the ), whilst the right one stretches out towards Nebamon holding a golden goblet, whilst saying: "Take the drink, make a happy day in your house of eternity. (Given) by the hand of your sister, Henutneferet.". Above this is a damaged text: "Gifts for your Ka: your white clothes, fine oil for your arms, the adornments around your neck […].".

The dog

In front of Nebamon's legs is a dog, identified in a text, which was located above Nebamon's knees, as: "The good guardian". The upper part of the dog had already disappeared at the time when Davies made the line drawing, so he completed it from what he did remain, the tail and hindquarters, which today are difficult to see. The text is now almost invisible due the removal of the two fragments of the couple. See and the .

The guests

The central area of the register is occupied by three small sub-registers, containing the guests at the banquet. At the top are the guests of honour, while underneath are located the men and the women, each on individual rows. The only person identified in the upper sub-register is [Mut]emwia. The text columns, of the two lower sub-registers, have been left blank. Other than being a case of negligence, it may possibly have been done deliberately. Thus, each of the families could have associated whom-so-ever they wanted.

The guests of honour

(see and )

The missing fragment is at the Hanover Museum (see ).
The scene is nearly archaic in style, judging by the table of offering garnished with vertical loaves of bread. It would not have been out of place in the Old Kingdom, no more than the obvious yellow colour of the woman's skin, contrasting with the ochre red of the husband. The text is in very damaged condition, but, using the translation of Davies and inserting what he omitted, states: "[Her father?] the favourite of [Osiris, jan]itor in the house of Pharaoh [in the city, servitor] of the goddess [in the] Iunef temple, [Amenhotep], justified by the great god, and [his wife], the [mistress] of the house, who has entered into her reward (the blissful state) , [Mut]emwia, justified.". Although the name of the man was given as Amenhotep by Davies, there is nothing to base this on. Neither is there anything in what remains of the text to indicate whose parents these are. He sits on a normal style chair, whilst she sits on a stool inlayed with ivory. They both rest their feet on small cushions. In his right hand he proudly holds the necessary emblem of a scribe at his side. The woman places her right hand on his shoulder and her left about his waist. In front of them, a girl dedicates the offerings and holds in her hand a menat necklace and a bouquet. Her name, if it existed, like her shoulders and head, is also no longer visible.

The sub-register of men

(see and upper part)

This includes seven characters of which four have a bald head. Those who wear wigs also hold a sceptre in their hand. They are all seated on a beautiful folding stool with blue legs, beneath which is a small bowl. It is thought that this is for use in case any one should over-drink and wishes to vomit. The unusual pose of the first character deserves a special mention. He seems very relaxed, his right leg bends backwards and his hands dangle on his knees. Two fully dressed girls take care of him: one fixes a necklace around his neck, the other anoints him with ointment and presents to him a goblet. His anonymity allows the visitors to identify him with which of the deceased of the tomb they wish.

The sub-register of women

(see lower part)

The contents of this register have been removed and are now in the Atkins museum of Kansas City: Stacy Davidson kindly sent us pictures (see left and ) ; Nina Davies had made a water colour painting of it. Five women were seated on chairs provided with cushions, two at the rear and three at the front, whilst two girls (this time naked except for jewelled waits bands) take care of them. The maiden at the rear takes perfumed grease from a bowl and adds it to the cone on the guests' head. The other (who actually still survives on the wall) pours liquid (certainly a psychotropic) from a small vial into the goblet held by the guest nearest the viewer. This was obviously filled from a larger vessel held in her other hand, but now invisible. Under the front seats again rested (until it was removed to the museum) a small vessel, whilst under the rear chairs (also lost) was a yellow striped cat and of which Davies said that it was "One of the very prettiest and delicately executed of the many presentations of the subject in Theban tombs".

Lower register

The 2/5ths on the left have already been dealt with as part of the "offering scene" of the upper register. However, the 3/5ths on the right are a separate scene to the one above it (that of the banquet scene of Nebamon), this is allocated to Ipuky (see )

Here, just like the banquet scene above, is another funerary scene. It is also part of the scenes which have disappeared. At the extreme right were three people, only the image of Ipuky has been preserved with any real detail (see ). He is almost a copy of Nebamon - except that he doesn't wear the small goatee beard. He is also designated as "justified", which signifies that he had died at the time this scene had been painted, had theoretically appeared before the scales of justice and his heart weighed against the feather of truth and found to be truthful. His companion was this time clearly designated in the adjacent text as "His sister, the mistress of house, whom he loves, who is in his heart, Henutneferet.". The description is distinctly different from the simple "his sister" from the scene with Nebamon.
A girl, naked except some jewels around her waist, stands at the side of Henutneferet: "Her daughter, her beloved, Tiy.". She represents the daughter of Henutneferet, no relationship link with Ipuky is mentioned.

In front of the trio stands a very classic table of offerings, on which rests loaves of bread (in orange) and, above, vegetables and lotus flowers. The associated legend is a classic offering formula of type hotep-di-nesu "for the ka of the Osiris, Ipuky.". A jar of beer is at the foot of the table.
The first character has been hammered out by the zealots of Akhenaten: it was the image of a sem-priest, banished by the religion of the sun disk, for reasons which remain little lucid; in principle this very important role for the deceased was usually filled by his son, who plays the role of Horus, for his father the deceased Osiris. The two following figures had been cut away possibly for sale (the fragment is now in the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada -thanks to Gayle Gibson for the information).
The first character carried a large bouquet formed from lotus and papyrus (the top of which can be seen to be of a beautiful blue colour). This character was identified as: "His son, sculptor in the [Sacred?] Place…].". The next one holds with his left hand a pot of ointment and with the other a firm bouquet; above him can be read: "[…] Osiris, door-keeper of the great double mansion (of Pharaoh) , life, prosperity and health, servant of the goddess, [Amen]hotep, justified, son of the controller, Hat".
Then come two women (see image, above left), adorned as all of those seen before, and wearing an ointment cone on the head (the men didn't have one). The first carries in one hand a basket filled with grapes, and in the other a bouquet (today lost). She represents "His sister, the mistress of the house (hence wife) , Mutemwia, justified, close to the great god (= Osiris) , Lord of the West.". The second holds in one hand a small dish where aromatic resins burn (whose flames head towards the trio in front) and with the other she holds a long candle (?). She is identified as: "Her daughter, Mutneferet, […], justified.".