THE CHAPEL - continued

North wall

Like the south wall, it has a length of 7.25m and a height of 4.65m, with its decor beginning 1.50m above floor-level. At its bottom right corner, the wall has the entry from the second corridor and, as already mentioned, this is extremely narrow, about 0.70m wide by just over 2m in height. At this chapel end it widens to form a recess for a door, which would have opened into the chapel (see ). This recess was undecorated.

The wall has retained much of its high-quality decoration, which sometimes has its colour. From convenience, the wall is best divided into four parts (see ) :

Firstly, register 1, the bottom one, which extends across the whole width of the wall, up to the doorway.

The left part, which represents almost half of the surface (see ).

The central part, showing Ty on a reed boat in the papyrus undergrowth.

The right part, above the doorway.

Register 1 : The parade of the domains

(see and ).

This covers the whole width of the wall, without interruption, up to the entrance doorway. It is located directly above the usual broad red band, which separates the decorated upper part of the wall from the dado area. It includes thirty-six women who head from the entry towards the false doors of the west wall. They are clothed identically with completely transparent long dresses, with a naked breast; they wear bracelets on their wrists and ankles, and a necklace and choker around the neck. They transport products from the domain of Ty, again it is uncertain whether these are fictional or partially fictional domains, this question has not yet been resolved.
At the front (left), four texts (see ) explain: (A1) "bringing invocatory offerings (A2) from the places in the domain (A3) which are in Lower and Upper Egypt, (A4) for the unique friend, Ty".
At first glance, the attitudes of the women seem varied, but they are actually limited to three: twenty-six women have their right arm raised and holding their load; five have an animal at their side on a leash, and three have an animal or bird in the crook of their arm. Only seven women have their left arm raised, whilst three have both raised.
The offerings include various animals: ducks, geese, sheep, goats, a calf on a leash (at the beginning of the parade), and a small horned animal (a cervid). The baskets are filled with fruits, vegetables, cereals and breads, the vessels contain beer and wine.

The texts in front of each woman identified the contribution which she brings or where it is from; each containing the name "Ty" at the top, and the hieroglyphic determinative for "town" or "estate" at the bottom, thus indicating that each is of "the estate of Ty". Most translations of the items or locations which follow have been proposed by H. Jacquet–Gordon; where there are some differences, they reflect the present state of the dictionaries (for example: carob, in text (15)). Others, where no translation can be found, have been left in their transliterated form:

See  : (1) "the abundance of the estate of Ty" by the woman holding on to a calf on a tether, (2) "the shelter (?) of the estate of Ty" by the woman carrying a goose, (3) "the field of the estate of Ty" the animal being carried is a small cervid or antelope, (4) "the iAm-tree of the estate of Ty" by the woman holding a duck by its wings, (5) "the fishery estate of Ty" by the one holding a small vessel in her left hand.

See : (6) "the island estate of Ty" by the woman who holds an ibex on a tether, (7) "bringing water from the estate of Ty" by the one who strangely does not carry any vessels in her basket and only a bundle of wheat or barley in her hand, (8) "the two houses of the estate of Ty" by a woman who holds her basket with both hands, (9) "the two sycamores of the estate of Ty" by the one who holds a small vessel in her left hand, (10) "iAgt of the estate of Ty" which obviously includes the hedgehog which she carries in a small box, (11) "bAbA.t grain of the estate of Ty" by the one who has a large box on her head and a goose under her arm, (12) "the establishment (established property) of the estate of Ty" by a woman who carries a dish-shaped pannier laden with fruit on her head and a small basket in her hand, (13) "beer of the estate of Ty" by the one with long poles or rolls of fabric in her spare hand, but apparently no vessels for the beer.

See : (14) "fig of the estate of Ty", (15) "carob tree fruit from the estate of Ty" (The carob is an elegant tree and is the great chocolate impersonator. Carob is a delicious low fat food often referred to as fake chocolate. Note that the ancient Egyptians liked this 'chocolate' flavour long before the cocoa plant was discovered in the Americas about 4000 years after Ty existed.), (16) "the tomb chapel (or house of the kA) of Ty", (17) "the orchard of the iSd tree of the estate of Ty", (18) "the cultivated fields of Ty", (19) "psn bread of Ty", (20) "Hbnnt bread of the estate of Ty", (21) "milk of the estate of Ty".

See : (22) "irp wine from the estate of Ty", (23) "nbs fruits of the estate of Ty" by a woman who only carries birds, both in her basket and under her arm, (24) "bringing the roasted barley of the estate of Ty", (25) "bst bread of the estate of Ty", (26) "pAt cake of the estate of Ty", (27) "sXt grain of the estate of Ty", (28) "iSd fruits of the estate of Ty", (29) "ear of wheat of the estate of Ty" (30) "fish of the estate of Ty".

See : (31) "the foundation of Ty" from where the woman brings, among other things, an animal on a tether, (32) "HtA bread of the estate of Ty", (33) "vineyards of the estate of Ty", (34) "a collection of goods of the estate of Ty", (35) "funeral offerings of the estate of Ty", (36) "produce of the estate of Ty".

Left (west) part of the wall

See also and
Photography is nearly impossible in this area because of the presence of the pillar, which prevents standing far enough back.

Register 2

A - Left-hand part

(see )

A group of officials head towards the entry of the chapel. On the left are two sub-registers, the top one containing a monkey being led on a lease by a dwarf waving a stick (or possibly a sceptre) in his hand. Below are two hounds with pointed ears and curly tails, again on leashes, being led by a naked young man. On the left, at the end of the main parade is: (1) "a follower". Next is (2) "the overseer of linen", then (3) "a hairdresser", then (4) "a manicurist", next (5) "the porter of the seal". In front of him is another (6) "follower" and finally (at the front) is (7) "an archivist".

B - Central part

(see right-hand edge of )

Divided into two sub-registers, they show part of the process of the manufacture of papyrus sheets from the fibres. At the bottom, two women kneel facing each other on a mat; they are dealing with the fibres. The text (9), above them, states: "it is cleaned, now you weave it", obviously referring to the man above them. He is sitting a ground level seat with a backrest (typically post-Unas, according to the dating criteria of N.Cherpion.), weaving the fibres which are attached to a peg fastened into the ground; the text (8) clearly states: "weaving the papyrus".

C - Right-hand part

(see and )

This is dedicated to the crossing of a ford by a herd of nine cattle: a calf held on tether, is followed of two cows and six oxen with horns. Two papyrus craft contain between them six men, who organise and supervise the crossing, which is always perilous. According to a tried method, on the first boat, a peasant holds in rope which is attached to the neck of the calf, which doesn't fail to bellow from fright. Dragging it along with the boat will encourage the two cows to follow it and thus the oxen behind them.
The men are nervous and watch the water with anxiety. The enemy, which are crocodiles, of which two specimens are represented, is what they must look out for (see ). On the river bank, the overseer (as always, being the one who looks at the scene without participating in it or taking the risks), gives his advice: (1) "Don't make your voice heard!" or probably more exactly "Lower your voice". On the left, the man warned to be quiet, says in reply: (2) "Put 'your' hand in the water" or more probably "Don't just stand there, 'you' get your feet wet". Above the cattle is a warning coming, according to the direction of writing, from someone in the left-hand boat, (3) "Herdsman, beware of the water creature which is on (although apparently 'under') the water and who comes unseen". If it a warning from the man at the front of the right-hand boat, then the text faces the wrong way. One of the men in the right-hand boat says to someone (4) "Herdsman!, your hand is on the water" (see ), but nobody appears to have their hand anywhere near the surface.

Register 3

(see and the top of )

On the left, five scribes, some of whom carry their material, head towards the chamber entry. Behind them, two types of chests which have already been encountered on the central part of register 4 of the south wall, where the scribes recorded the parade of various animals (see right-hand end of the upper register of and ). These chests serve to store the papyrus scrolls.

The remainder of this register is dedicated to scenes of raising cattle, except for a small sub-register directly in front of the scribes. This shows a collection of vessels, poultry, breads, and small transportable furniture, to which a calf approaches from the right-hand side. It is possible that this relates to rewards granted for their (the scribes) work. Underneath, a seated man feeds, by hand, a reclining "ox". Behind him, back to back, another drover offers a calf a drink from a large vessel. This shows an expression of tenderness shown by the ancient Egyptians to their animals.

An overseer leans on his staff and asks of the man in front of him the question (2) : "Do you have the greenery to decorate the neck of the calf?". The question may seem absurd, because the herdsman already seems to have difficulty controlling the small animal, who probably wants to suckle, trying to join its mother.
Meanwhile, the cow is tethered by the hind legs and a man is in the process of (3) "pulling milk" into a wide-necked vessel. In front of the cow, another of its calves moos, probably wanting attention.
Next, in the middle of the greenery and on two sub-registers, calves have been tethered by one of their front legs. Whilst in front of them, a man bends down. In his left hand he holds a stick and a coiled piece of rope, with which he is going to attach the calf immediately in front of him to a stake in the ground. The overseer, behind him, although facing the other way, addresses the man with the words (4) : "Restrain the calf", followed by "Give it to him", probably meaning some grass.
Finally, on the right, is the birthing of a calf. The poor beast, tongue hanging out and tail up, bellowing in pain, while her calves are being born, is helped by a herdsman, who is kneeling on one leg. The text above him and the cow simply states "delivering (actually 'releasing') the large cow by the herdsman". Or perhaps it's a command by the overseer to the herdsman: "Deliver the large cow, herdsman!"

Register 4

(see )

A - Ty and his family

At the left extremity of this register is all that remains of a large image of Ty and his family, inspecting the works which take place in front of them. This representation would have originally extended to the top of register eight, with his titles and name being listed above him. All that remains of the figures is the legs of Ty, his wife and the whole figure of his son, extending only to the height of this register. Ty's naked son stands in front of him, holding a bird in one hand and the staff of his father in the other. Separating this scene from the registers on the right is a column of text, of which only the bottom part has survived: "… all the work of Lower Egypt".
To the right, the rest of register four is dedicated to activities of fishing.

B - Gutting fish

Two men are seated back to back on low cushions in front of very low tables. Between them appears to be some swap plants, indicating that they are located in the marshlands. They cut and gut fish, then place them to dry. Above them are represented the already prepared fish, opened and laid out to dry (see a photo ). Below them are baskets full of fish awaiting their attention.

C - Fishing with a dragnet

(see main section of )

The Egyptians always show the final phase of the action, in this case the closure of the dragnet; whereas the preparation is not normally represented. A careful examination of the net shows the existence of two types of additions: the lower part of the surrounding rope is weighed down with stones, whilst triangular floats are fixed to the top section.
Ten men are divided into two groups of five controlling the two ends of the net. In the centre of these two groups stands (5) "the overseer of the fishermen", leaning on his staff, wearing the pleated kilt with the triangular front piece. The fishermen pull with all their strength on the ropes of the net, sometimes with the help of straps which they have around their shoulder, but which some of them have chosen not to use. The comments in the hieroglyphic texts above them express the admiration of the men for the abundance of the catch: (1) "There are fish to wish (offer) to him", (2) "Here it comes. What a beautiful pile it brings", (3) "What 'it' brings!".

The man in front of the overseer, who turns his head round to face him, states (5)) : "I create perfection". To which the overseer replies (6) : "You are something, (but) you are great".
The men on the right make their own comments. The one behind the overseer, says (7) : "A good catch". Another says: (8) "Here it comes". The man at the far end asks (10) of the man behind him "Aren't you going to put your back into it? Go! Move!", to which he gets the reply (9) : "I'm doing as you wish". Among the large sample of fish in the net can be found the . This particular fish is known to swim on its back and is often referred to as the "upside down catfish". Most species of fish which can be found in the Nile are also represented.

The fate of all these fish is not clear. Indeed, they are almost never represented in the offerings to the deceased (an exception being in the , (see ). In some mastabas, it is clearly stated that the fish are intended for the workers of the domain. It should not necessarily be concluded too quickly that fish were not consumed by the rich, because offerings of goats or pigs are also never found, but their remains are found in the rubbish, and certainly consumed by everyone in great quantities. Rather than the food being considered as impure, it was more probable that it is considered as a food not worth representing, which didn't have its place at the time of a festival meal.

Registers 8 to 5

(see )

The main concern of these registers is the capture and after-treatment of various birds. In register eight the net for their capture is erected, in register seven begins the actual capture, register six the capture is complete and the birds are being extracted. Finally, in register five, the birds are prepared for food.
That three registers are dedicated to this form of hunting is very unusual and shows the special interest which it gave to Ty, who also directs the operations in person.

Register 8

This scene involves the setting up of the trap net. To the left of a central thicket of papyrus, which gives an axis of symmetry to the register, three characters are said to be: (1) "extending the rope", whilst further to the left, porters of materials (notably the pegs for anchoring the net) arrive on the scene.
To the right of the thicket, several men are working, as the text states: (2) "setting the net". Some mount the solid parts of the frame to a stretched rope. This is fastened around the thicket at one end and to a large peg, being placed into the ground by another man, at the other end.

Registers 7 and 6

These two registers are connected together by the figure of Ty, who stands at the centre next to a tall papyrus thicket.

Ty is identified by the simple text (3) "The unique friend, Ty". He is clothed simply in the pleated kilt with a triangular protruding front piece. He is bare-footed and wears a broad necklace. He turns towards the men behind him on register seven, saying, probably to his team leader (2) "Go, you, together, there are enough birds in it", thus instructing them to pull the rope that will close the net which is shown at the other side of the thicket. One of the men says: (1) "Oh, what it has brought!". In the upper of the two registers, the net is in place over the surface of the water and is covering the fowl which are represented as quiet and orderly.
The lower of the two registers continues with what happens next. Once the order given to the team leader (often represented wearing a sash, but not here), the men all pull together suddenly on the rope, which makes them fall on their backs. The front man, next to Ty, turns around and says to his comrades (2) "Hang on to it, you, after after all, the net is [heavy?]".
The spectacle is now very different: although it is, illogically, still represented as a hexagonal net, the birds within it are in the great confusion, trapped by the net which has engulfed them. A man, who has rushed to catch a duck which is about to escape, is amazed by the abundance of the catch, he exclaims: (3) "All of this is for the ka of Ty". Montet has devoted many pages to the operation of the trap, but this detail will not be covered here.
In the upper sub-register on the left, which separates the men struggling with net from the register above, a man squats on the ground occupied with the wings a duck that is fastened to the ground by its legs. Ty instructs him to (1) "Come to immobilise the birds". Seemingly asking him to leave what he is doing, in order to help with the net.

Register 5

(see bottom of )

This scene shows men busy performing various tasks under the cover of temporary shelters, possibly to protect them from the sun. This is located in the marshland and almost certainly close to where the fishing and bird capture takes place.
On the left, is what remains of possibly five men, squatting on the ground, probably repairing the damaged nets: the first spins thread with the help of a spindle, whilst the second collects this thread on his shuttle. They are accompanied by a text of which only the beginning has survived: (1) "Hurry yourselves, work-mates, don't…". Above their shelter are various items, such a baskets of bread and possibly pegs, a bottle of something to drink, a container (probably for wearing over the shoulder) and a low seat (two of which can be seen being used by the men at the right end of the shelters).
To the right is a much larger shelter, supported by several poles. From the top hang various items: opened fish (hanging to dry), gutted and plucked birds, bottles and equipment, including pegs (small and large) designed for use in trapping birds, and other equipment. These are taken for granted by the men who work hard to catch the produce.
Several cages contain healthy birds, which no doubt will be used to populate the bird farms of the master. On the left, a man attempts to force two unwilling birds into such a cage, whilst to the right of the cage, another man brings the birds which have already died at the time of the capture, or are in too bad a state, to two men who remove the feathers.
These sit back to back, either side of one of the support poles, on low seats (like the one seen above the net mending). The one on right has the text (3) "plucking the birds" above him, whilst the one on left, who twists the neck to a dying bird, confirms that (2) "These (the birds) are from the mistress of the marshland". Indeed, in the Old Kingdom, this goddess of the marshland seems to have had a certain popularity with the poor workers, for whom she assured their subsistence.

Central part of the wall

This area, which occupies the space from the top of the parade of the domains to the frieze at the top of the wall, contains only one scene which provides the focal point of the wall. There is no text whatsoever. I has a very large image of Ty standing, legs astride, on a reed boat in the middle of the papyrus marshland. All of the activities which are represented on this wall take place in the swampy area which edge the banks of the streams, more especially in Lower Egypt. Indeed, the papyrus plants which are several metres in height, at the middle of which Ty is located, are only found in the region of the Delta.
Ty seems minuscule (see ) standing on the raised deck of his frail papyrus reed boat in the midst of the gigantic papyrus. It can be seen that the boat doesn't have the archaic shape, with the bow and stern raised to the same height, but an asymmetric shape, which did not prevent the archaic sign to remain in writing as the determinative of the word "mariner" (see comparison by ).
Ty is standing, with the same costume and attitude which he has when he is on the ground, even holding his great staff of office in front of him. At the rear, a mariner controls the craft with the help of a long pole, whilst in the front, almost made invisible by the confusion caused by a smaller craft and its occupants, is a man who turns respectfully towards his master, probably warning him of what is happening in front of his craft.

Ty is not alone on the water. On the left, a fisherman with a hand-held line, whom the artist didn't seem to know where to represent him from a lack of space, is seated in a comfortable reed chair. He has captured a splendid fish which he gets ready to stun as soon as it comes out of water (see ). Once again, a great variety of fish are represented in the middle of the blue zigzag lines which represent the waters of the Nile. They share this habitat with a group of hippopotamus represented on the right. Their accompanying presence owes nothing to chance, because these species, which live hidden in the waters of the river, symbolise the enemy, hostile forces, although some are considered as beneficial.

The scene of hunting the hippopotamus became traditional in the Old Kingdom, and would continue for a long time into the New Kingdom. Its significance may have been dual from the outset, but in any case, it certainly became so.

On the one hand, it was about a very real hunt, to which the master of a tomb is always associated, at least as far as Ty was concerned. Because it was a particularly dangerous activity, the master preferred to delegate it to his underlings. These are here, four in number, on a frail craft which somehow has managed to retain the pilot at the rear. The two men at the bow are armed and are ready to throw their harpoons at the animals; the weapons are provided with a hook and the tips are surrounded with ropes (the reeds floats to which they are connected are not represented with Ty). The front hippo, already struck by five harpoons, turn around furiously toward its adversaries, and opens wide its mouth. A crocodile tries to attack the front leg of the one behind, which has already been pierced by the two harpoons held by the third man in the craft. He is already pulling on the ropes, in spite of the danger. The leg of the hippo will easily be severed by the powerful jaws of the crocodile. Finally, at the rear, a female turns towards a younger hippo, frightened by the uproar.

The hippopotamus hunt also had a apotropaic value (i.e. the ability to ward off evil). Like the crocodile, the hippo belongs at the world of wild animals, a world which the Egyptians encountered every day, but didn't control. The forces of chaos and evil (known as 'isfet') are dominant here. It is therefore about fighting them and destroying them so that Ma'at ('order') can reign in the world.

At the top of the central area, lined with papyrus, where the umbels of the plants are open, are played out other dramas. The nests of the birds are numerous, but alas, in spite of the efforts of their parents, the chattering fledglings who have to stay there have very little chance of escaping the intruders which use the stems of the papyrus to climb up to them (see ). One such mongoose (ichneumia albicauda) is visible on the photo, on the left; in fact there are two.

Right (east) part of the wall

(See and )
The bottom register is occupied by the parade of the domains, which has already been dealt with. The remaining seven registers (2 to 8) can be sub-divided into two groups of activities.

The first group are those directly appropriate to the marshland. These are on the upper registers five to eight.

The lower registers, two to four, involve animals (in particular cattle) and farming.

Registers 5 to 8

(see )

Register 5

This is dedicated to three scenes of fishing with keep nets; so, only the fishing with a standard net is not represented in Ty. The keep net is a contraption about the same width as a man, blocked at one end, and into which fish enter through the open end through a reed cone which doesn't allow their exit. There also exists a longer version, whose main section is completed as a long cylinder.

At the extreme left, fish have already been caught and the action takes place out of the water. The man on the left tells his friend (1) to "Make them fall. Hurry!", whilst he tries to get the fish into the basket below the opening. The other, who is holding the net firmly, is, according to the text above him (2) : "shaking the net".

Next, two men are standing in shallow water. A net of the same design has been laid down at the bottom of the water by one of them. Fish are already hurrying into the net (perhaps there is some bait inside). The dialogue between the two men seems strange. The one on the right could be the eldest, he wears a beard and holds fish in his hands, possibly stolen from a net. He ironic tells the other to (4) "Place the net firmly, friend! So that the fish can then glide into the body". Angrily, the other replies (3) : "You can't teach me, thief ! I know this better than you".

In the final scene, a long keep net (see ) is being placed at the bottom of the water by two experienced fishermen, who lean out of the two craft. Floats (of which only one can be seen) will allow easier recovery of the contraption. It was necessary for the rower, at the rear of each craft, to show evidence of precision and force in maintaining them stationary in the current. The young boy on the right-hand boat, who holds a bag in his hand, tells the oarsman to (*and 9) : "Row strong, friend! Make them (the boats) stay together". As if an echo, the rower of the other craft exclaims (5) : "Rowing, I'm rowing strongly. Like the other man". The two older men, with beards, adjust the position of the float; the one on the right tells the one opposite (7) : "Pull to you!", but the other is too occupied to answer, and it is his aide who addresses both men (6) : "Plunge it in this area" (although it could be translated: "It's full this time").

Seven different species of fish illustrate the variety of catches hoped for.

Register 6

(see )

This is dedicated to jousting between mariners in light-weight reed craft. It is a great pity that these scenes are so high up the wall, and difficult to see, because they are of a remarkable quality of sculpture, even though the colours have nearly disappeared. They probably take place in the shallows of deep ponds, symbolised by the bottom border which was probably originally blue, where there can be found the flowers of open lotus blossoms and others in still in bud.
With these rough and strong men of the marshes, it is likely that the action was a thin line between fun and a fight, and accidents were probably numerous, even though they were certainly not intentional.

The four boats are in two groups.
In the group on the left, the small craft on the left (see ), holds three men, each with a stick whose extremity is forked. The one at the rear uses his as a punter's pole, the one in the middle, almost kneeling, waves his above his head in order to strike with it, whilst encouraging the man at bow, whose adversary has seized his stick, with the words (1) : "Put it in his chest (actually 'heart') ". In an attempt to escape, he replies (2) : "Come to me, so that he doesn't hit me!". Although the texts appear in the wrong place, The man holding his opponent, says to to him (4) : "Come to me, you idiot!" and he is encouraged by the one behind him, who says (3) : "Use your arm against him, I'm happy".
During the second confrontation, one of the boatmen nearly falls into water. He clings as hard as he can on to the bow of one boat with one hand, whilst he has succeeded in seizing the stick of his adversary in the middle of the other boat. He is encouraged by one of his two mates (5) : "I'll save you from him". Meanwhile the man at the front of the boat opposite says (6) : "Make a hook of his leg". During this time, the rower of the second craft also exhorts to his mate (7) : "Pull it to him, he's lost the boat (that is, 'he's falling in the water') ".

Register 7

(see )

This is dedicated to the manufacture of small craft produced from papyrus reeds, of which three are in assembly. All the men are occupied with binding the bunches of plants together. The only surviving conversation between the workers are: (1) "Bind it together well", (2) "Do it excellently" and (3) "Pull it to you".

Register 8

Only the right-hand side of this has survived, showing the men who bend under the weight of large bundles of papyrus. The last turns around to exhort his friend, who is down on one knee, and says to him: (2) "Get up", to which the poor wretch answers: (1) "I'm doing what you wish". He obviously tries to straighten himself, assisted by the man behind him, who takes the weight of his load.

Image of Ty

On the right-hand side, extending to the height of registers 7 and 8, and overlapping the scene of manufacture of the boats, stands (4) "the unique friend, guardian of the crowns, Ty", who is occupied (3) "overseeing the work", and leaning on his staff of office. This time he does not have his wife nor a son with him.

Registers 2 to 4

(see )

The scenes of these three lower registers take place a away from the marshes, but nevertheless happen close by. They all involve animals. Register 2 is foreshortened by the presence of the entry doorway, on the right; the top two, which are related in their content, will be dealt with as a pair.

Register 2

(see )

The scene of crossing of the ford, which is found here in the shortest of the three registers, is famous, and reproduced often. On the left, a naked and bearded drover carries a piece of cloth (a "blanket" or a "mat") diagonally across his chest. He brandishes a stick with which he stimulates four horned cattle, with the legend: (1) "leaving the papyrus marshland", making reference, of course, to the small marshy area at the centre of the scene. Things did not go fast enough to his liking, and he vehemently attacks his aide, who guides three beasts without horns, with the words: (2) "Hey, shit! (yes, this is a profanity) Make the oxen move". On the right, close to the bank (and to the doorway), a naked and bearded drover bends forwards under the weight of the calf which he transports on his back (see ). This scared animals turns around and call its mother, which is attempting to catch it up, dragging with her the rest of the herd. She appears to moo in despair. This is probably the reason why the herdsman in the middle of the scene tells the other one to (3) "Throw (meaning: turn around) this calf of these nursing (cows) ". The cow in front has begun to browse.

Registers 3 and 4

(see )

(See ) It is best to examine these two registers together, because they describe the same activity, the work of preparation of the land for the sowing of seeds. They are therefore complementary to the scenes of the south wall which represented the harvest. In the mastaba of Ty, these scenes are separated, whilst in other mastabas, the whole group of agricultural activities have been gathered on a same wall. They have not been placed by chance in the middle of the scenes appropriate to the marshlands. In fact, the land is worked immediately after the withdrawal of the flood waters, when it is still in a muddy state. It wasn't rare to find fish trapped in small pools, which probably explains the song of the disillusioned man (in register 3) who drives his flock of sheep in the area, whilst sowing it with the grain coming from his bag which is slung on his shoulder: (1) "The shepherd is in water in the middle of fish, He speaks with the catfish, he exchanges greetings with the Oxyrhynchus. West! Where is the shepherd? The shepherd of the West!". In such company, it already seems to the shepherd that he is living in the West, the kingdom of the dead.
The peasant's work at this time of the year consisted of only two ongoing things: sowing and treading in the grain. They did this either with a plough (on the common land), or with the hand held plough (on the uplands, where the flooding had less prevalent), or by using a herd of sheep (in the very wet lands).

Register three (see and ). This shows, at the left-hand side, four men waving a thick whip with the right hand, to drive the herd of sheep, which have horizontal and twisted horns. Among the sheep is at least one ram (see ). The men hold a short stick with their left hand, that of the first herdsman being longer than those who follow him. A fifth man, on the far left, follows with a bag hung from another stick which he rests on his right shoulder, probably their provisions. In front of the heard a man holds a bag over his shoulder and seems to be feeding the leading animal, possibly encouraging it to keep moving forwards.
To the right are three men, handling the hoe under supervision of an overseer (see ). The very well known contraption is very simple. It includes a handle and a blade, both made of wood, braced by a third piece, the whole thing being bound tightly with rope. With such a tool it is not possible to get deep and the absence of a true cutting edge forces the men to use extreme effort, which explains the cry of from this effort by the one on the left: (3) "Hey". The one in front of him, who has already driven his hoe into the ground shouts: (4) "I, strike!". The words of the overseer are incomprehensible because of damage.

Register four (see upper ). This includes three work groups, consisting of two cows and two men each, ploughing the land. One of the peasants pushes on the handles of the plough, whilst the other man encourages the the animals with large strokes of a stick. It should be noted that the plough is rudimentary, only permitting the surface scratching of the soil. The accompanying texts are, from left to right: (1) "covering the grain with the plough"; (2) "Heave-ho! They go down for the two workers"; above the second group (view cm_59) it again says: (4) "covering the grain with the plough" and (3) "Drive them under, worker". Similar phrases (5) are found above the third group.

The scene which completes the register, on the right, corresponds, according to Maspero, to larceny (see ). What can actually be seen is: a mature, naked but old man, who, one-handedly holds the tethered hind legs of a cow, and conceals a small vessel in the other. Meanwhile, a child is busy milking the animal. The legend seems to have the sense: (6) "Pull, hurry you, before the governor himself comes!". Such representations of pilferage, by men or animals, are known elsewhere. It is perplexing, on the other hand, as to the reason which guided the choice of this scene by Ty.