Nefertari, 'Iaret' and Mutemwia: Wives of Thutmose IV

Queen Tia

Tomb of Menna Plan - Nobles Tombs- Egypt, Luxor - Part XI

Tombs of the Nobles, Luxor, Egypt.

This famous tomb of the scribe of the fields under Thutmose IV has some of the most beautiful representations to be found of harvests, feasts and hobbies. It is a fine tomb and the colors are brilliant, particularly on the ceiling of the inner chamber.

On the left-hand entrance wall (a) Menna can be seen before a table of offerings and further along the wall (b) are agricultural scenes with step-by-step portrayals of the grain being measured, recorded, winnowed and trodden. The ploughing and sowing is followed by reaping and, as in so many tombs, the artist has managed to add a human touch; in th is case a young girl removing a thorn from a friend's foot (bottom row) and two girls quarreling (immediately above). At (c) Menna stands before a ship coming in to dock with a cargo of stores.

On the left-hand wall of the rear corridor (d) are funerary scenes of the voyage to Abydos in fine detail and brilliant colour. Menna's heart is weighed before Osiris (the tongue of the balance has been destroyed). On the right-hand wall (e) is the famous fishing and fowling scene among the papyrus thickets. The deceased nobleman is enjoying his favorite pastime. Colored fowl rise from the rushes. Crocodile, duck and assorted fish can be seen in the water. Menna's little daughter kneels to pluck a lotus flower from the rushes. The mural is a magnificent example of the importance laid on depicting good things for the hereafter. It is spoiled only by the fact that Menna's face has been carefully hacked out of the wall.

The murals of the nobles' tombs have passed through three major eras of destruction. In very early times, when ancient tomb-robbers extracted the valuable funerary equipment, the enemies of the deceased also entered the chambers to destroy some of the happy representations that the deceased wanted to repeat in the hereafter. What other reason could there be for the severing of a boomerang, the destruction of a water-jar or the blinding of the eyes?

In the Christian era when many of the tombs were used as hideouts, some of the monks carefully plastered over the wall drawings and thus preserved them for us in excellent condition, so it wouldn't distract them when they pray, while others scraped the distracting representations completely off the walls. At the turn of the 20th century, before proper security measures were enforced on the necropolis, antiquity dealers removed whole sections of the invaluable murals and some of the most beautiful scenes may, consequently, be seen today in many of the museums of the world.

To the right of the fishing scene (f) is a ship (top row) from which one of the sailors leans over the side to fill a bowl of water from the river.

On the right-hand entrance wall (g) it can be seen that Menna usurped this tomb. Where his stucco has fallen off, the paintings of the original owner can be seen beneath. Perhaps it was the descendants of that owner who destroyed Menna's face as an act of vengeance.

Tomb of Nakht Plan - Tombs of the Nobles - Luxor, Egypt. Part II

Tombs of the Nobles, Luxor, Egypt.
This is the simple tomb of the scribe of the granaries under Thutmose IV. It comprises two chambers and only the first is decorated. But in this single room are such detailed activities, executed with such infinite charm and in such a good state of repair that the tomb of Nakht will always rank as one of the finest. The more detailed the earthly activities depicted in the tomb , the easier for them to be repeated in the hereafter; that much isclear. But this tomb has, in addition, extraordinary and remarkable irrelevances that both surprise and charm.
We will turn to the left after we enter the doorway. On the first wall (a) is a series of agricultural scenes including ploughing, digging, sowing, etc. In the upper row the deceased superintends three stages of the harvest: the measuring and winnowing of the grain , the reaping and pressing of the grain into baskets - with a charming drawing of a man leaping in the air so that the weight of his body might press the grain tightly-and, in the lower row, the laborers being organized by the deceased for ploughing in two teams. Note that the ploughman has ragged hair, the ox is piebald and that, in the midst of the strenuous work one of the workers
takes a moment's respite to drink from a wineskin on a tree.
On the rear left-hand wall (b) there is a delightful scene showing the deceased and his wife (in the lower row) being brought flowers and geese by their son whilst three women play music to them. These female musicians are sensitively painted in perfect detail. The graceful nude lute-player dances to the accompaniment. of.a
no less graceful flautist and harpist. The body of the one girl is given front-view treatment while her head is turned to speak to her colleague. Above is a blind harpist playing to guests and attended by an audience of women seated on the ground, who are apparently more interested in local gossip than in watching the dancers, and a naked young girl leaning to put perfume before the nostrils of three women. Below Nakht's chair is a bristling cat who has just stolen a feast.

On the right-hand rear wall (c) the deceased is seated with his wife in an arbor (lower row), while flowers, poultry, grapes and fish are brought to them by their servants. Servants were of course a regular feature in the homes of Egypt's noblemen. Each had a specific chore: cleaning the bed-chamber, washing the laundry,
acting as nanny.
On this same wall (c) birds are being caught in nets and plucked. The filled net is a complex of wings and colors. Grapes are being picked and turned into wine (lower rows) and in the upper row the deceased enjoys his hobbies. He is spearing fish and shooting fowl. The fishing scene was never completed. Though the fish them-selves are drawn, Nakht has no spear in hand. His wife tenderly holds an injured bird in her hand. His little daughter holds his leg to prevent him from losing balance.
It is interesting to note that, in contrast to the twelve dramatic zones of the underworld traversed by the deceased Pharaohs in their tombs in the Valley of the Kings, the deceased noblemen had simple intercourse with the gods. On each side of the entrance doorway Nakht followed by his wife and three rows of servants,
makes offerings to Amon, whose name was obliterated by Akhenaten whenever it occurred.
In the second chamber, in a shaft descending to the mummy chamber, was found a small and exquisite statue of Nakht in a kneeling position and holding an inscribed stele. This little masterpiece is now lying on the floor of the Irish Sea, on which it was being transported was sunk in World War I.
Nakht the man has emerged from the paintings in his tomb. We know about his official career with its emphasis on organization, efficiency and production, his family life with its show of harmony and plenty, his entertainments with their air of light-hearted gaiety and the pastimes that gave him most pleasure.

Pictures from the tomb of Nakht:

(His wife tenderly holds an injured bird in her hand.)

(Birds are being caught in nets and plucked. The filled net is a complex of wings and colors.)

(Three women playing music to them)

(Naked young girl leaning to put perfume before the nostrils of three women)

Egypt: Tomb of Amenhotep II Plan - Valley of the Kings part IV

Valley of the Kings, Luxor, Egypt.

This tomb was excavated in1898. The attention of Loret, the French archeologist, was drawn to it by local farmers. It was a remarkable find. For one thing it was the first tomb ever opened in which the Pharaoh was found where he had been laid. Secondly, there was a windfall of mummies in a sealed-off chamber, including nine of royalty. Thirdly, the burial chamber proved to be one of the most beautiful, certainly the most original, in the entire Valley of the Kings. But more important, the tomb was nearly complete and contained a complete and unspoiled set of texts from the Book of the Dead.
The first corridors are rough and undecorated. They lead to a shaft (now bridged), a false burial chamber (J) created to confuse robbers, and finally to the actual tomb chamber (2). This is supported by six pillars and the sarcophagus of the Pharaoh lay in the crypt-like section at the rear. The mummy was festooned and garlanded and the sandstone sarcophagus was all that the grave-robbers had left . Everything else had been ruthlessly plundered.

As one enters the tomb chamber one is immediately struck by the originality and beauty of the decorations. The figures on the columns -for the most part depicting Amenhotep and the gods of the underworld - are outlined in black with only his crown, jewelery, belt and the surrounding decorations in color. The drawing is exquisitely fine and the blue roof is covered with stars. The walls are painted yellow and the traditional religious formulas are so drawn as to give the impression of papyrus texts having been pinned to the walls. There is not too much detail and the use of the pigment is beneficially restrained. As already explained, the Book of the Dead was a development of the magical formulas inscribed on the inside of the coffins of the Middle Kingdom. With the aid of these formulas the deceased would overcome the foes to his eternal
triumph in the underworld. Only with the magic inscriptions could he hope to make his heart (conscience) acceptable in the awesome presence of Osiris when it was weighed against the feather of truth; and only thus could he hope to live securely forever.
On each side of the chamber are two small rooms. Three mummies lay in the first to the right (3), and in the second (4) were nine royal mummies including Thutmose IV, Amenhotep III, Seti II and Ramses IV, Ramses V and Ramses VI. All have been taken to Cairo Museum. Not surprisingly this quickly became known as the
Safety Tomb and this is undoubtedly what the priests had intended it for. When they found that Amenhotep II's tomb had been violated they reasoned that the robbers would not return to its ravaged corridors. In fact they never did. The royal personages remained in peace for centuries.
When Loret excavated the tomb quite a controversy arose as to whether the mummy should be left on site or whether it should be removed with the others to the museum. It was finally agreed that it should remain on site but with an armed guard. Nearly three years later the tomb was rifled when, deliberately or otherwise, the backs of the guards were turned. The mummy of Amenhotep was found on the floor, in a very much poorer condition as a result of delving and prying hands in search of overlooked treasures in the folds of the cloth. There was now no question about it. The mummy of the Pharaoh was placed in Cairo Museum. The marvellous sandstone sarcophagus stands on site.