The tomb of Pennut dates to the Twentieth Dynasty, and specifically to the reign of Ramses VI (± 1143-1136 BC.) : the cartouches of the Pharaoh are carved on the walls of the chapel
. It is now on the shore of Lake Nasser, on the site of the new Amada . Pennut was
"chief priest of the temple of Horus of Aniba (ancient Miam) ", where his wife was a singer. The chapel consists of a rectangular room with a niche that contained three statues. The burial shaft, which descended from the middle of the room, remained behind during the moving of the monument.
Much of the decoration of the tomb has disappeared today.
This present (abbreviated) description of lost areas rests on the plates of Lepsius, made in 1844.
The salvage of the chapel
1) -Original Location
The tomb was located on the site of Aniba and excavated into the south side of a sandstone hill. It was reached by a short ramp that preceded a court 7.5 x 2.5m in size. The facade included a niche, probably for a stele.
The chapel alone was saved (plan from Porter & Moss). It consists of a room carved into the rock, 5.9 × 2.7m in base area and 1.9m high. The entrance is approximately in the middle of the south wall, which thus defines two wings, west (on the left, ) and east (on the right, ).
2) - Present location
The construction of the Aswan High Dam in the early 60s, was accompanied by the creation of Lake Nasser which submerged Lower Nubia, the ""country of Wawat"". As part of the major international campaign to rescue the Nubian monuments, the tomb of Pennut was saved because of its historical importance and the quality of its decorations. It was transported in 1964 from Aniba to the site of the new Amada and reconstructed near the temples of Amada and Derr
The tomb was looted long ago, but the decorations of the chapel were almost intact in 1851-1852, as shown by the calotypes made by Felix Teynard. Steindorff still found reliefs in good condition in 1906. But today, the chapel is disfigured by the loss of at least half of the decoration, including almost all of the lower registers, the entry door jambs of the niche, and a large area of the eastern part of the southern wall… We have to rely for these areas on the plates of Lepsius.
historical context
After the glorious reign of Ramses III, Dynasty XX gradually loses control of the country. The reigns of Ramses IV and Ramses V bring their share of scandals, thefts and increases in corruption. Lawlessness and insecurity, linked to increasingly regular incursions of Libyan nomads, lead to a position of general impoverishment.
Things keep getting worse under Ramesses VI. The loss of Egyptian influence in Asia continues: the eastern border of the country recedes back from Syro-Palestine to the edge of the Delta.
By contrast, Nubia, or at least Lower Nubia remains under Egyptian control and one recognises a viceroy of it named Siesis
(or Sa-aset).
For the record, there are
four Nubian Horuses
three of which
are related to activity in fortresses since the Middle Kingdom:
Horus of Miam.
Aniba, opposite the Kasr Ibrim, was an important administrative centre of Lower Nubia, whose Horus temple dates back to the Middle Kingdom. The cult of Horus of Miam was not limited to his city: like all other Horus it was venerated throughout Nubia.
Horus of Baki is in connection with the fortress of Quban which controlled the routes for gold and was very important for Egypt.
Horus of Buhen,
an important fortress opposite Wadi Halfa
(2nd cataract).
Horus of Meha,
that is to say Abu Simbel. He is very prominent in the small temple of Queen Nefertari there.
Pennut,
his family and his ancestors
Pennut
(pA-n-njwt = one of the city ")
bears the title, repeated many times, of ""jdnw n Wawat", "Deputy of Wawat"
("Delegate", "Lieutenant") ".
Pennut was also ""Head of the quarries" "and ""High priest of the temple of Horus of Aniba."".
So, Pennut is responsible for the quarries of Wawat and responsible for property management of the temple of Horus of Miam.
His father was called Herunefer;
he is ""Priest of…""
His wife Takha was a ""singer in the temple of Horus of Aniba"."
The father of Takha is listed in the tomb entry, it is Patjaumedimontu, ""wab priest, drawer of outlines"."
Three sons are named:
Hekanakht ""his son, his beloved, the chief scribe of the Treasury of the Viceroy"". Herunefer ""his son, his beloved, the scribe"" and a second Herunefer ""his son, his beloved, the wab priest"."
There is also an unnamed grandson.
Many other persons, often anonymous, are present, they are mostly ancestors of Pennut and perhaps of Takha. In total, no fewer than 56 persons are represented in this room.
General appearance of the chapel
Here is the description of Burckhardt, dating from 1813:
""About two miles distance from the river is an insulated hill, composed of sand-stone, in which a small sepulchral chamber has been formed, seven paces in length, three in breadth, and five feet and a half in height, with a sepulchral excavation in the centre; adjoining to it is a smaller chamber, in the bottom of which is a bust placed between two seats, destined probably for mummies. The sides of the principal chamber are covered with paintings, the colours of which are as well preserved as those in the tombs of the kings at Thebes, though they are not so well executed (…) ""
According to Teynard, ""The sculptures are crude though very pleasing; they stand out against a white background, the figures and the flesh is painted brown with lots of green in the flowers, and in the ornaments: the entire decoration is very harmonious in its colours"."
The chapel is oriented north-south by the compass, its entry faces towards the Nile and the city of Aniba, and not according to the symbolic east-west axis. This scenario is common, but it is usually compensated for by a distribution of scenes according to the nominal orientation, which is not the case with the scenery in Pennut’s tomb where it follows the compass orientation.
The walls are divided into two registers 0.60m high. The two registers are separated by a strip of text that matches invocation offerings of the type ""Hetep di nesu"."
The style, with the succession of images separated by columns of text, and the scenes of a wall overflowing onto another, is typically Ramesside. In the tombs of the Eighteenth Dynasty, the system of representation is "iconic" with canonically defined topics: the funeral, the funeral meal, pilgrimages to some holy cities, hunting and fishing scenes, etc. The characters are often large, sometimes even "heroic" size. These themes are replaced in the Ramesside era with more varied scenes (often less well made), which are in the funerary world, forming a succession of vignettes generally borrowed from the Book of the Dead (BoD). The desire to explain them results in an abundant text, at times predominant in relation to the image, which then serves a merely illustrative purpose. In Pennut’s tomb there is the harmonious combination of vignettes with subjects of average size, text, and larger persons reminiscent of ancient times..
The entry
Only the left (west) side of the entrance has preserved its decoration . It shows Pennut and Takha, facing the entrance, arms raised, worshiping the sun, a very classic ramesside theme. On the opposite side would have been found a hymn to Atum and Osiris.
South wall
1) - South wall - west side
LepsiusCurrent
As we can see almost all of the lower register, dedicated to funerary rites has disappeared, except for the extreme left.
Upper register
In the first scene (at far left on the plate) the deceased enters the tomb. The inscription that accompanies it, written from right to left, is titled ""Formula for coming forth by day as a living Ba"" : we have here both the entrance and the exit evoked.
The second scene is the traditional weighing of the heart in relation to the chapters125 and 30 of the Book of the Dead . The deceased and his wife come forward through an open door, arms raised toward the scales . Anubis adjusts the steel-yard. "The devourer", a hybrid monster awaits its prey in vain as always, since the scales are balanced. Thoth, who in the role of master scribe is always ibis-headed, records the favourable outcome
The scene continues on the west wall with their introduction before Osiris.
Lower register
A procession enters the chapel from the outside. It consists of three men and six women, who, in making mourning gestures, all turn to the west. There, at the foot of the Western mountain, the mummy in its sarcophagus was stood upright at the entrance of the tomb, with a mourner at his feet (probably his wife) in the act of lamenting. Three priests officiate: a sem-priest makes a libation, the second officiant holds lotus flowers and a jar, the third is a lector priest who recites the formulas of the ritual of opening the mouth (details of this ritual can be found HERE). Some of these formulas are given in the text above the scenes, which also includes the names and/or functions of the participants.
2) - South wall - east side
This area has suffered severely when compared to pl lepsius-230c. This area has suffered severely when compared to pl Lepsius-230c. The large central inscription is a copy of a legal text. It includes the cartouches of Ramesses VI and that of Queen Nefertari. By that text, Pennut donated goods for the maintenance of the worship of a statue of Ramesses VI he had erected in a temple Aniba (probably the Temple of Horus).
The lands are divided into five plots which are carefully delineated the four cardinal points. Thus the name of the queen is mentioned is because one of the plots adjoins a field she owned. Then follows a formula of damnation - in which Amun and Khonsu are involved - against those who do not respect the arrangement presented.
In the upper register, the text is flanked on one side by the Theban triad Amon - Mut - Khonsu, and the other by Ptah and Thoth. They all serve as guarantor for the regularity of the maintenance.
Finally, the composition combines elements belonging to a stele. The representations of the gods, who often are at the top, are moved for lack of space there to the sides of the inscription.
In the register underneath is found beneath the divine triad, Pennut and the ""Supervisor of the granaries, Penre""; the latter is responsible for ensuring the proper implementation of the statue’s maintenance.
Under Ptah and Thoth, two women are visible, which belong to a scene located on the east wall.
The gift of the statue and the management of its worship reflect the privileged status of Pennut and are a source of prestige, like the authorization to represent his sovereign in his tomb.
Pennut plans to continue to benefit from this status in the afterlife, since the legal deed of gift, engraved on the walls remain visible to all visitors of the chapel and to the gods named in the tomb.
West wall
LepsiusCurrent
Both registers contain texts and vignettes from the Book of the Dead.
1) -Upper register
The first scene
This continues the weighing of the heart (Chapter 125 of the BoD) where Pennut with Takha, both justified, are presented to Osiris by Horus-son-of-Isis
Osiris is seated on a cube shaped throne placed in a shrine whose door is open. Before him is a large open lotus flower, symbol of regeneration, from which emerge the Four Sons of Horus
( more details are in the article on this subject),
the whole visually summarizing the transformation of the deceased from an incorruptible mummy into an Osiris. Behind Osiris stand the two goddesses Isis and Nephthys who protect him.
The second scene
It is, according Fitzenreiter, the next logical step (?) after Chapter 125. This is a part of Chapter 151 of the BoD, showing the completion of the mummy by Anubis in the divine tent, a guarantee of corporal preservation. The mummy is guarded by the two Great Mourners, Isis and Nephthys.
2) - Lower register
First scene
Pennut adores the mummified solar deities summarizing three states of the sun: Re-Horakhty, in all his power as the sun; Atum, the setting sun and Khepri, the young sun reborn. The deceased, whose destiny is linked to that of the sun, can therefore leave his tomb during the day to go out upon the earth and rejoin his tomb at night to undergo the same transformations as the nocturnal sun. The representation fits well with the surrounding context of renewal in the solar cult of the Ramesside period.
Second scene
This shows the couple advancing, arms raised, before the text of Chapter 110 of BoD written from right to left. This text promises a supply of agricultural produce, overburdened offering tables, freedom of movement on all paths, and before all the gods. The vignette on the right brings together and summarizes several iconic representations of life in the hereafter.
1) - The scenes located on either side of the entrance to the niche for statues
Upper west register
They are in an overall composition with one scene ‘stacked’ above another. In each scene we find the couple, Pennut and Takha in the same attitude, Pennut raises one hand and waves a bouquet in the other, while Takha also raises a hand and shakes a Hathor sistrum in the other. Before the couple in each scene, a God is sitting on a cube shaped seat place on a bevelled platform in the form of the hieroglyph Maa. These Gods are:
Re-Khepri
(west side, top, see the image to the right)
the scene is bounded behind the couple with a long stem of papyrus surrounded by a convolvulaceae plant ; here is an article on the subject.
Ptah-Sokar-Osiris
(west side, bottom see Teynard-) the scene is bounded by a pillar behind the couple.
Re-Horakhty (east side, top, ) ; the scene is bounded by a column of text behind the couple.
Osiris-Wennefer
(east side, bottom ) ; he scene is bounded with an incomplete text column behind the couple.
Thus there are two solar gods above, and two chthonic gods below. All the gods are dressed in a shroud and their hands are holding the sceptre and the whip heqa nekhakha. Before each of the gods of the upper registers is a small table, supported by a single foot, on which there are some offerings, a libation vase and a lotus flower. Before the gods of the lower registers, there is a large open flower from which emerge the Four Sons of Horus.
2) - The following scenes - west side (left)
Mid-nineteenth centuryCurrent
The upper register
Pennut kneels before the mountains of the West with both arms raised . In the accompanying text, he implores Hathor, mistress of the western desert, great of magic, one that spreads the curse, so that she allows him access to the necropolis over which reigns Ptah Lord of Ro-Setau.
The chapel is shown among
(you must understand it as one standing before it) the mountains of the West. There from it sprout many papyrus stems. The cow Hathor emerges halfway out from the mountain. She is accompanied by the hippopotamus goddess Ta-uret
(= the Great; later, the Greeks named her Thueris), who is holding a baton. Unusually, next to her appears a scarab symbolizing the god Khepri
Thueris is the protectress of pregnant women, women in childbirth and recently delivered women who are breastfeeding. Osiris is regenerated and transformed in the body of Nut-Hathor to a young person, who will be born into the world under the auspices of Thueris, as Khepri, the sun reappearing on the eastern horizon each morning. This role of being born into the world as a part of transformation connects Thueris to Hathor as a protectress of the necropolis on the one hand and on the other as a cosmic goddess.
The text of the strip that separates the two registers reads:
------
""May the king give an offering to Montu, Re, Khepri, Atum, Horakhty, Anubis at the head of the tent of the gods, Imiut lord of the necropolis, and the Great Gods of necropolis. so they give breath, myrrh and frankincense, wine, milk and all pure things for the Ka of the Osiris, the idenu, Pennut"."
Lower register
Behind the couple, there is a small building with a roof supported by pillars, in which sits Re-Horakhty . Before him stand ""Anubis, Lord of Ro-setau"" and ""Thot, master of the Ogdoad"" that purify the deceased with water from a hes vase.
3) - The following scenes - east side (right)
Mid-nineteenth centuryCurrent
Upper register
The couple appear in front of Re-Horakhty. Behind them advance son and nephews, all carrying a bouquet
Lower register
We have already seen that it was to Osiris-Wennefer that the deceased and his wife gave tribute, which closes the long series of offerings to ancestors started on the wall; this type of composition is common in Ramesside tombs. Note the commentary that accompanies the offering to God: ""For the Ka of the Osiris, the idenu, Pennut justified (and of) his wife, the mistress of the house, Takha"" which shows that Pennut identifies himself with Osiris and is thus both the provider and the recipient of the offerings.
East wall
LepsiusCurrent
1) - Upper register
The donation of a statue and its maintenance, described on the south wall, are rewarded: Pennut receives gold for the honour, which the Viceroy gives him on behalf of Ramesses VI.
At left, Pharaoh commissions the ""Royal Son of Kush"", that is to say, the Viceroy of Nubia. Curiously, he is not named: ""Words spoken by His Majesty concerning the King’s Son of Kush, 'Give these two silver cups and and anoint the idenu with ointments!"" ; what the Viceroy replied : ""He said, I will. See, this is a happy day for the whole country"."
We find the Viceroy in the centre of the register, in the company of the ""chief steward of the storehouse, Mery"" before the statue of Ramesses VI; he made an offering of two silver cups and ointment. The Viceroy addresses Pennut: ""May Amon-Re, king of the gods favour you. May Monthu, , the Lord of Armant favour you. May the Pharaoh’s Ka (Life-health-stability) your good lord favour you who caused the statue of Ramesses, son of Amon, the beloved Horus of Aniba, to be erected.
Give ear, O idenu to Amon in Karnak.
These things were spoken in the court of Pharaoh, (i.e.) (…) May the Ka of Pharaoh (l.h.s), your good lord, favour you, he who is satisfied with what you have done in the land of the Nubians and in the country of Ikati, (namely) bringing the captives before Pharaoh (hs), your good lord, in conjunction you have filled your obligations thousands of times. See, I give you these two silver cups; you will be anointed with ointments. Make sure to complete more tasks in the land of Pharaoh (l.h.s.) wherein you are"."
And that is the Viceroy who, by delegation of Pharaoh gives the gold of honour to Pennut who is represented in the usual attitude of the recipient of this award (for the ceremony see this article). Note that in each hand, Pennut holds a cup containing an ointment block. Pennut’s response is brief: ""The idenu Pennut, said […] many things were given to me by Pharaoh l.h.s, my good Lord. May Re place each province and foreign countries under your sandals"."
This is the only scene in the chapel where the name of Pennut is not accompanied by the epithet "Osiris", which is logical since the ceremony was for the living person, for whom it had been a major event. It is also the only scene where the face and hands of Pennut have been destroyed.
2) - Lower register
In three small scenes, Pennut, his wife Takhaand one of their daughters honour the ancestors. The place given to ancestor worship shows that belonging to a family whose members carry high titles, including the mayor of Aniba, played a role in the social rise of Pennut.
It is remarkable that in the genealogy of the deceased it is women who have a particular importance, while for his future life it is men who prevail: the son and nephews are in charge of worship and are found on the upper register of the wall north to the sun god, as we have seen.
The leftmost scene shows Pennut making a libation on an offering table in front of four seated couples who are shown on the north wall.
The niche
This opens in the centre of the north wall. The architrave over the entrance is preserved. One sees the solar boat in the centre and on each side, a baboon who greets the rising sun, and a fish (?). In this comparative view
(and also the calotypes of Teynard)
the two side posts, which have completely disappeared, included on each side of a representation of Pennut in adoration, surmounted by an offering formula addressed to Re-Horakhty and Khepri on the left and, to the right, Atum, Nut, as well as Osiris, Isis, Horus, Anubis and Nephthys.
The statues in the niche all represented three gods, not people. In the center is still recognisable a cow-headed goddess, Hathor of Aniba.
https://flic.kr/s/aHskNREwY7
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BREASTED James Henry : "Ancient Records of Egypt", vol IV, p. 231-235, The University of Chicago Press, 1906
BURCKHARDT John Lewis : "Travels in Nubia", chap 1 :Journey along the Banks of the Nile, from Assouan to Mahass, on the Frontiers of Dongola. E-book from the university of Adelaide.
CLAYTON Peter : "Chronique des pharaons", Casterman, 1995
DESROCHES-NOBLECOURT Christiane : "Le secret des temples de la Nubie", Stock / Pernoud, 1999
DODSON Aidan, OREL Sara : "Rescued monuments from a vanished land", KMT, 7,1, p. 52-65,1996
FITZENREITER Martin : "Ahnen an der Ostwand Notizen zum Grab des Pennut (Teil III), " in: Jürgen Thiesbonenkamp u. Helgard Cochois: Umwege und Weggefährten (Fs Heinrich Balz, Erlanger Verlag für Mission und Ökumene, p. 294-317,2003
FITZENREITER Martin : "Identität als Bekenntnis und Anspruch Notizen zum Grab des Pennut (Teil IV) ", Der Antike Sudan MittSAG15, p. 169-193,2004 Bemerkungen zur Beschreibung altägyptischer Religion. Mit einer Definition und dem Versuch
FITZENREITER Martin : "Konzepte vom Tod und dem Toten im späten Neuen Reich - Notizen zum Grab des Pennut (Teil II), " in: Fitzenreiter, M. u. Ch. E. Loeben (Hgg.) : Die ägyptische Mumie ein Phänomen der Kulturgeschichte. IBAES I, p. 27-71,1998
KITCHEN Kenneth : "Ramesside inscriptions", vol VI, p. 350-355, Oxford, Blackwell, 1983
LEPSIUS Karl : "Denkmäler aus Aegypten und Aethiopien", Band V, p. 116-122, Berlin, 1848-1859 site Uni-halle
LOEBEN Christian : "Thouéris et Bès : déesse démoniaque et démon divin ?", in "Dieux, génies et démons en Égypte ancienne", p. 47-54, Somogy, 2016
PORTER Bertha, MOSS Rosalind : Topographical bibliography of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic texts, reliefs and paintings, Second Edition, Tome VII, p. 75-77, Griffith Institute, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 1994
SAVE-SODERBERGH Torgny : "Temples and Tombs of Ancient Nubia - The International Rescue Campaign at Abu Simbel, Philae and Other Sites", Thames & Hudson, 1999
TEYNARD Félix, calotypes on the site Library of Congress
TEYNARD Félix, HOWE Kathleen Stewart, ROEHRIG Catharine H.: "Félix Teynard: Calotypes of Egypt -- A Catalogue Raisonné", University of New Mexico Press, 1992
VANDERSLEYEN Claude : "L'Égypte et la vallée du Nil", Tome 2, p. 628-633, Nouvelle Clio, PUF, 1995
Text and web page by Thierry Benderitter
English translation by Peter Sullivan
Photographs by Valérie Turmel (vt), Jeremy Steele (js)
Serge Blanc (sb), Raymond Betz (rb), anonymous (xx)
Plates : Lepsius
Support for German texts: Georges Engel
. It is now on the shore of Lake Nasser, on the site of the new Amada . Pennut was
"chief priest of the temple of Horus of Aniba (ancient Miam) ", where his wife was a singer. The chapel consists of a rectangular room with a niche that contained three statues. The burial shaft, which descended from the middle of the room, remained behind during the moving of the monument.
Much of the decoration of the tomb has disappeared today.
This present (abbreviated) description of lost areas rests on the plates of Lepsius, made in 1844.
The salvage of the chapel
1) -Original Location
The tomb was located on the site of Aniba and excavated into the south side of a sandstone hill. It was reached by a short ramp that preceded a court 7.5 x 2.5m in size. The facade included a niche, probably for a stele.
The chapel alone was saved (plan from Porter & Moss). It consists of a room carved into the rock, 5.9 × 2.7m in base area and 1.9m high. The entrance is approximately in the middle of the south wall, which thus defines two wings, west (on the left, ) and east (on the right, ).
2) - Present location
The construction of the Aswan High Dam in the early 60s, was accompanied by the creation of Lake Nasser which submerged Lower Nubia, the ""country of Wawat"". As part of the major international campaign to rescue the Nubian monuments, the tomb of Pennut was saved because of its historical importance and the quality of its decorations. It was transported in 1964 from Aniba to the site of the new Amada and reconstructed near the temples of Amada and Derr
The tomb was looted long ago, but the decorations of the chapel were almost intact in 1851-1852, as shown by the calotypes made by Felix Teynard. Steindorff still found reliefs in good condition in 1906. But today, the chapel is disfigured by the loss of at least half of the decoration, including almost all of the lower registers, the entry door jambs of the niche, and a large area of the eastern part of the southern wall… We have to rely for these areas on the plates of Lepsius.
historical context
After the glorious reign of Ramses III, Dynasty XX gradually loses control of the country. The reigns of Ramses IV and Ramses V bring their share of scandals, thefts and increases in corruption. Lawlessness and insecurity, linked to increasingly regular incursions of Libyan nomads, lead to a position of general impoverishment.
Things keep getting worse under Ramesses VI. The loss of Egyptian influence in Asia continues: the eastern border of the country recedes back from Syro-Palestine to the edge of the Delta.
By contrast, Nubia, or at least Lower Nubia remains under Egyptian control and one recognises a viceroy of it named Siesis
(or Sa-aset).
For the record, there are
four Nubian Horuses
three of which
are related to activity in fortresses since the Middle Kingdom:
Horus of Miam.
Aniba, opposite the Kasr Ibrim, was an important administrative centre of Lower Nubia, whose Horus temple dates back to the Middle Kingdom. The cult of Horus of Miam was not limited to his city: like all other Horus it was venerated throughout Nubia.
Horus of Baki is in connection with the fortress of Quban which controlled the routes for gold and was very important for Egypt.
Horus of Buhen,
an important fortress opposite Wadi Halfa
(2nd cataract).
Horus of Meha,
that is to say Abu Simbel. He is very prominent in the small temple of Queen Nefertari there.
Pennut,
his family and his ancestors
Pennut
(pA-n-njwt = one of the city ")
bears the title, repeated many times, of ""jdnw n Wawat", "Deputy of Wawat"
("Delegate", "Lieutenant") ".
Pennut was also ""Head of the quarries" "and ""High priest of the temple of Horus of Aniba."".
So, Pennut is responsible for the quarries of Wawat and responsible for property management of the temple of Horus of Miam.
His father was called Herunefer;
he is ""Priest of…""
His wife Takha was a ""singer in the temple of Horus of Aniba"."
The father of Takha is listed in the tomb entry, it is Patjaumedimontu, ""wab priest, drawer of outlines"."
Three sons are named:
Hekanakht ""his son, his beloved, the chief scribe of the Treasury of the Viceroy"". Herunefer ""his son, his beloved, the scribe"" and a second Herunefer ""his son, his beloved, the wab priest"."
There is also an unnamed grandson.
Many other persons, often anonymous, are present, they are mostly ancestors of Pennut and perhaps of Takha. In total, no fewer than 56 persons are represented in this room.
General appearance of the chapel
Here is the description of Burckhardt, dating from 1813:
""About two miles distance from the river is an insulated hill, composed of sand-stone, in which a small sepulchral chamber has been formed, seven paces in length, three in breadth, and five feet and a half in height, with a sepulchral excavation in the centre; adjoining to it is a smaller chamber, in the bottom of which is a bust placed between two seats, destined probably for mummies. The sides of the principal chamber are covered with paintings, the colours of which are as well preserved as those in the tombs of the kings at Thebes, though they are not so well executed (…) ""
According to Teynard, ""The sculptures are crude though very pleasing; they stand out against a white background, the figures and the flesh is painted brown with lots of green in the flowers, and in the ornaments: the entire decoration is very harmonious in its colours"."
The chapel is oriented north-south by the compass, its entry faces towards the Nile and the city of Aniba, and not according to the symbolic east-west axis. This scenario is common, but it is usually compensated for by a distribution of scenes according to the nominal orientation, which is not the case with the scenery in Pennut’s tomb where it follows the compass orientation.
The walls are divided into two registers 0.60m high. The two registers are separated by a strip of text that matches invocation offerings of the type ""Hetep di nesu"."
The style, with the succession of images separated by columns of text, and the scenes of a wall overflowing onto another, is typically Ramesside. In the tombs of the Eighteenth Dynasty, the system of representation is "iconic" with canonically defined topics: the funeral, the funeral meal, pilgrimages to some holy cities, hunting and fishing scenes, etc. The characters are often large, sometimes even "heroic" size. These themes are replaced in the Ramesside era with more varied scenes (often less well made), which are in the funerary world, forming a succession of vignettes generally borrowed from the Book of the Dead (BoD). The desire to explain them results in an abundant text, at times predominant in relation to the image, which then serves a merely illustrative purpose. In Pennut’s tomb there is the harmonious combination of vignettes with subjects of average size, text, and larger persons reminiscent of ancient times..
The entry
Only the left (west) side of the entrance has preserved its decoration . It shows Pennut and Takha, facing the entrance, arms raised, worshiping the sun, a very classic ramesside theme. On the opposite side would have been found a hymn to Atum and Osiris.
South wall
1) - South wall - west side
LepsiusCurrent
As we can see almost all of the lower register, dedicated to funerary rites has disappeared, except for the extreme left.
Upper register
In the first scene (at far left on the plate) the deceased enters the tomb. The inscription that accompanies it, written from right to left, is titled ""Formula for coming forth by day as a living Ba"" : we have here both the entrance and the exit evoked.
The second scene is the traditional weighing of the heart in relation to the chapters125 and 30 of the Book of the Dead . The deceased and his wife come forward through an open door, arms raised toward the scales . Anubis adjusts the steel-yard. "The devourer", a hybrid monster awaits its prey in vain as always, since the scales are balanced. Thoth, who in the role of master scribe is always ibis-headed, records the favourable outcome
The scene continues on the west wall with their introduction before Osiris.
Lower register
A procession enters the chapel from the outside. It consists of three men and six women, who, in making mourning gestures, all turn to the west. There, at the foot of the Western mountain, the mummy in its sarcophagus was stood upright at the entrance of the tomb, with a mourner at his feet (probably his wife) in the act of lamenting. Three priests officiate: a sem-priest makes a libation, the second officiant holds lotus flowers and a jar, the third is a lector priest who recites the formulas of the ritual of opening the mouth (details of this ritual can be found HERE). Some of these formulas are given in the text above the scenes, which also includes the names and/or functions of the participants.
2) - South wall - east side
This area has suffered severely when compared to pl lepsius-230c. This area has suffered severely when compared to pl Lepsius-230c. The large central inscription is a copy of a legal text. It includes the cartouches of Ramesses VI and that of Queen Nefertari. By that text, Pennut donated goods for the maintenance of the worship of a statue of Ramesses VI he had erected in a temple Aniba (probably the Temple of Horus).
The lands are divided into five plots which are carefully delineated the four cardinal points. Thus the name of the queen is mentioned is because one of the plots adjoins a field she owned. Then follows a formula of damnation - in which Amun and Khonsu are involved - against those who do not respect the arrangement presented.
In the upper register, the text is flanked on one side by the Theban triad Amon - Mut - Khonsu, and the other by Ptah and Thoth. They all serve as guarantor for the regularity of the maintenance.
Finally, the composition combines elements belonging to a stele. The representations of the gods, who often are at the top, are moved for lack of space there to the sides of the inscription.
In the register underneath is found beneath the divine triad, Pennut and the ""Supervisor of the granaries, Penre""; the latter is responsible for ensuring the proper implementation of the statue’s maintenance.
Under Ptah and Thoth, two women are visible, which belong to a scene located on the east wall.
The gift of the statue and the management of its worship reflect the privileged status of Pennut and are a source of prestige, like the authorization to represent his sovereign in his tomb.
Pennut plans to continue to benefit from this status in the afterlife, since the legal deed of gift, engraved on the walls remain visible to all visitors of the chapel and to the gods named in the tomb.
West wall
LepsiusCurrent
Both registers contain texts and vignettes from the Book of the Dead.
1) -Upper register
The first scene
This continues the weighing of the heart (Chapter 125 of the BoD) where Pennut with Takha, both justified, are presented to Osiris by Horus-son-of-Isis
Osiris is seated on a cube shaped throne placed in a shrine whose door is open. Before him is a large open lotus flower, symbol of regeneration, from which emerge the Four Sons of Horus
( more details are in the article on this subject),
the whole visually summarizing the transformation of the deceased from an incorruptible mummy into an Osiris. Behind Osiris stand the two goddesses Isis and Nephthys who protect him.
The second scene
It is, according Fitzenreiter, the next logical step (?) after Chapter 125. This is a part of Chapter 151 of the BoD, showing the completion of the mummy by Anubis in the divine tent, a guarantee of corporal preservation. The mummy is guarded by the two Great Mourners, Isis and Nephthys.
2) - Lower register
First scene
Pennut adores the mummified solar deities summarizing three states of the sun: Re-Horakhty, in all his power as the sun; Atum, the setting sun and Khepri, the young sun reborn. The deceased, whose destiny is linked to that of the sun, can therefore leave his tomb during the day to go out upon the earth and rejoin his tomb at night to undergo the same transformations as the nocturnal sun. The representation fits well with the surrounding context of renewal in the solar cult of the Ramesside period.
Second scene
This shows the couple advancing, arms raised, before the text of Chapter 110 of BoD written from right to left. This text promises a supply of agricultural produce, overburdened offering tables, freedom of movement on all paths, and before all the gods. The vignette on the right brings together and summarizes several iconic representations of life in the hereafter.
1) - The scenes located on either side of the entrance to the niche for statues
Upper west register
They are in an overall composition with one scene ‘stacked’ above another. In each scene we find the couple, Pennut and Takha in the same attitude, Pennut raises one hand and waves a bouquet in the other, while Takha also raises a hand and shakes a Hathor sistrum in the other. Before the couple in each scene, a God is sitting on a cube shaped seat place on a bevelled platform in the form of the hieroglyph Maa. These Gods are:
Re-Khepri
(west side, top, see the image to the right)
the scene is bounded behind the couple with a long stem of papyrus surrounded by a convolvulaceae plant ; here is an article on the subject.
Ptah-Sokar-Osiris
(west side, bottom see Teynard-) the scene is bounded by a pillar behind the couple.
Re-Horakhty (east side, top, ) ; the scene is bounded by a column of text behind the couple.
Osiris-Wennefer
(east side, bottom ) ; he scene is bounded with an incomplete text column behind the couple.
Thus there are two solar gods above, and two chthonic gods below. All the gods are dressed in a shroud and their hands are holding the sceptre and the whip heqa nekhakha. Before each of the gods of the upper registers is a small table, supported by a single foot, on which there are some offerings, a libation vase and a lotus flower. Before the gods of the lower registers, there is a large open flower from which emerge the Four Sons of Horus.
2) - The following scenes - west side (left)
Mid-nineteenth centuryCurrent
The upper register
Pennut kneels before the mountains of the West with both arms raised . In the accompanying text, he implores Hathor, mistress of the western desert, great of magic, one that spreads the curse, so that she allows him access to the necropolis over which reigns Ptah Lord of Ro-Setau.
The chapel is shown among
(you must understand it as one standing before it) the mountains of the West. There from it sprout many papyrus stems. The cow Hathor emerges halfway out from the mountain. She is accompanied by the hippopotamus goddess Ta-uret
(= the Great; later, the Greeks named her Thueris), who is holding a baton. Unusually, next to her appears a scarab symbolizing the god Khepri
Thueris is the protectress of pregnant women, women in childbirth and recently delivered women who are breastfeeding. Osiris is regenerated and transformed in the body of Nut-Hathor to a young person, who will be born into the world under the auspices of Thueris, as Khepri, the sun reappearing on the eastern horizon each morning. This role of being born into the world as a part of transformation connects Thueris to Hathor as a protectress of the necropolis on the one hand and on the other as a cosmic goddess.
The text of the strip that separates the two registers reads:
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""May the king give an offering to Montu, Re, Khepri, Atum, Horakhty, Anubis at the head of the tent of the gods, Imiut lord of the necropolis, and the Great Gods of necropolis. so they give breath, myrrh and frankincense, wine, milk and all pure things for the Ka of the Osiris, the idenu, Pennut"."
Lower register
Behind the couple, there is a small building with a roof supported by pillars, in which sits Re-Horakhty . Before him stand ""Anubis, Lord of Ro-setau"" and ""Thot, master of the Ogdoad"" that purify the deceased with water from a hes vase.
3) - The following scenes - east side (right)
Mid-nineteenth centuryCurrent
Upper register
The couple appear in front of Re-Horakhty. Behind them advance son and nephews, all carrying a bouquet
Lower register
We have already seen that it was to Osiris-Wennefer that the deceased and his wife gave tribute, which closes the long series of offerings to ancestors started on the wall; this type of composition is common in Ramesside tombs. Note the commentary that accompanies the offering to God: ""For the Ka of the Osiris, the idenu, Pennut justified (and of) his wife, the mistress of the house, Takha"" which shows that Pennut identifies himself with Osiris and is thus both the provider and the recipient of the offerings.
East wall
LepsiusCurrent
1) - Upper register
The donation of a statue and its maintenance, described on the south wall, are rewarded: Pennut receives gold for the honour, which the Viceroy gives him on behalf of Ramesses VI.
At left, Pharaoh commissions the ""Royal Son of Kush"", that is to say, the Viceroy of Nubia. Curiously, he is not named: ""Words spoken by His Majesty concerning the King’s Son of Kush, 'Give these two silver cups and and anoint the idenu with ointments!"" ; what the Viceroy replied : ""He said, I will. See, this is a happy day for the whole country"."
We find the Viceroy in the centre of the register, in the company of the ""chief steward of the storehouse, Mery"" before the statue of Ramesses VI; he made an offering of two silver cups and ointment. The Viceroy addresses Pennut: ""May Amon-Re, king of the gods favour you. May Monthu, , the Lord of Armant favour you. May the Pharaoh’s Ka (Life-health-stability) your good lord favour you who caused the statue of Ramesses, son of Amon, the beloved Horus of Aniba, to be erected.
Give ear, O idenu to Amon in Karnak.
These things were spoken in the court of Pharaoh, (i.e.) (…) May the Ka of Pharaoh (l.h.s), your good lord, favour you, he who is satisfied with what you have done in the land of the Nubians and in the country of Ikati, (namely) bringing the captives before Pharaoh (hs), your good lord, in conjunction you have filled your obligations thousands of times. See, I give you these two silver cups; you will be anointed with ointments. Make sure to complete more tasks in the land of Pharaoh (l.h.s.) wherein you are"."
And that is the Viceroy who, by delegation of Pharaoh gives the gold of honour to Pennut who is represented in the usual attitude of the recipient of this award (for the ceremony see this article). Note that in each hand, Pennut holds a cup containing an ointment block. Pennut’s response is brief: ""The idenu Pennut, said […] many things were given to me by Pharaoh l.h.s, my good Lord. May Re place each province and foreign countries under your sandals"."
This is the only scene in the chapel where the name of Pennut is not accompanied by the epithet "Osiris", which is logical since the ceremony was for the living person, for whom it had been a major event. It is also the only scene where the face and hands of Pennut have been destroyed.
2) - Lower register
In three small scenes, Pennut, his wife Takhaand one of their daughters honour the ancestors. The place given to ancestor worship shows that belonging to a family whose members carry high titles, including the mayor of Aniba, played a role in the social rise of Pennut.
It is remarkable that in the genealogy of the deceased it is women who have a particular importance, while for his future life it is men who prevail: the son and nephews are in charge of worship and are found on the upper register of the wall north to the sun god, as we have seen.
The leftmost scene shows Pennut making a libation on an offering table in front of four seated couples who are shown on the north wall.
The niche
This opens in the centre of the north wall. The architrave over the entrance is preserved. One sees the solar boat in the centre and on each side, a baboon who greets the rising sun, and a fish (?). In this comparative view
(and also the calotypes of Teynard)
the two side posts, which have completely disappeared, included on each side of a representation of Pennut in adoration, surmounted by an offering formula addressed to Re-Horakhty and Khepri on the left and, to the right, Atum, Nut, as well as Osiris, Isis, Horus, Anubis and Nephthys.
The statues in the niche all represented three gods, not people. In the center is still recognisable a cow-headed goddess, Hathor of Aniba.
https://flic.kr/s/aHskNREwY7
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BREASTED James Henry : "Ancient Records of Egypt", vol IV, p. 231-235, The University of Chicago Press, 1906
BURCKHARDT John Lewis : "Travels in Nubia", chap 1 :Journey along the Banks of the Nile, from Assouan to Mahass, on the Frontiers of Dongola. E-book from the university of Adelaide.
CLAYTON Peter : "Chronique des pharaons", Casterman, 1995
DESROCHES-NOBLECOURT Christiane : "Le secret des temples de la Nubie", Stock / Pernoud, 1999
DODSON Aidan, OREL Sara : "Rescued monuments from a vanished land", KMT, 7,1, p. 52-65,1996
FITZENREITER Martin : "Ahnen an der Ostwand Notizen zum Grab des Pennut (Teil III), " in: Jürgen Thiesbonenkamp u. Helgard Cochois: Umwege und Weggefährten (Fs Heinrich Balz, Erlanger Verlag für Mission und Ökumene, p. 294-317,2003
FITZENREITER Martin : "Identität als Bekenntnis und Anspruch Notizen zum Grab des Pennut (Teil IV) ", Der Antike Sudan MittSAG15, p. 169-193,2004 Bemerkungen zur Beschreibung altägyptischer Religion. Mit einer Definition und dem Versuch
FITZENREITER Martin : "Konzepte vom Tod und dem Toten im späten Neuen Reich - Notizen zum Grab des Pennut (Teil II), " in: Fitzenreiter, M. u. Ch. E. Loeben (Hgg.) : Die ägyptische Mumie ein Phänomen der Kulturgeschichte. IBAES I, p. 27-71,1998
KITCHEN Kenneth : "Ramesside inscriptions", vol VI, p. 350-355, Oxford, Blackwell, 1983
LEPSIUS Karl : "Denkmäler aus Aegypten und Aethiopien", Band V, p. 116-122, Berlin, 1848-1859 site Uni-halle
LOEBEN Christian : "Thouéris et Bès : déesse démoniaque et démon divin ?", in "Dieux, génies et démons en Égypte ancienne", p. 47-54, Somogy, 2016
PORTER Bertha, MOSS Rosalind : Topographical bibliography of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic texts, reliefs and paintings, Second Edition, Tome VII, p. 75-77, Griffith Institute, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 1994
SAVE-SODERBERGH Torgny : "Temples and Tombs of Ancient Nubia - The International Rescue Campaign at Abu Simbel, Philae and Other Sites", Thames & Hudson, 1999
TEYNARD Félix, calotypes on the site Library of Congress
TEYNARD Félix, HOWE Kathleen Stewart, ROEHRIG Catharine H.: "Félix Teynard: Calotypes of Egypt -- A Catalogue Raisonné", University of New Mexico Press, 1992
VANDERSLEYEN Claude : "L'Égypte et la vallée du Nil", Tome 2, p. 628-633, Nouvelle Clio, PUF, 1995
Text and web page by Thierry Benderitter
English translation by Peter Sullivan
Photographs by Valérie Turmel (vt), Jeremy Steele (js)
Serge Blanc (sb), Raymond Betz (rb), anonymous (xx)
Plates : Lepsius
Support for German texts: Georges Engel
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