Nakhtamon – TT 335
GENERAL INFORMATION
The tomb described below belonged to one of the craftsmen of the community of Deir el-Medina, who worked at the time in the creation of the royal Ramesside tombs. It belongs to the monochrome tomb group.We have written a general article about this community and its burials. It is recommended that you read this before starting your visit to this tomb: “The tombs of Deir el-Medineh”
Tomb TT335 of the sculptor Nakhtamon was discovered by Bernard Bruyère on January 16th, 1925, just to the south of TT336, of his brother Neferrenpet and to the north of the one of his brother-in-law Qen, TT4. He is mentioned in both, as well as in TT217 of another of his brothers, Ipuy. Currently, the report of Bruyère, dating from years 1924-1925, in spite of its preliminary nature, constitutes the only source of information concerning the funerary complex detailed below.
This complex originally included a courtyard, a chapel and an underground system of chambers. It is especially this last which will be examined, because the three funeral chambers and their decoration are nearly intact. This typical example of the style known as monochrome painting is of exceptional quality and makes this tomb one of the jewels of Deir el-Medineh.
THE DECEASED AND HIS FAMILY
From different cross-checks, it is known that Nakhtamon lived in the time of Ramesses II, and his tomb can be dated from before year 35 of this Pharaoh’s reign.
Nakhtamon was the son of Piay who, like himself, was a sculptor in the “Place of Truth”, and of the lady Neferetkhau , who held the title “Mistress of House”. Besides his professional function, Nakhtamon was a wab-priest (purifying priest) of the cult of the deified Amenophis I, of which he was obviously very proud.
Nebuemsheset the wife of Nakhtamon, was the daughter of Pached and the lady Makhai owners of tomb TT292.
No detail will be included here of the sons and daughters of the couple, information about them will be given progressively in the following pages, but it is necessary to note here that one of the sons was called Piay, after his grandfather, which created confusion, notably to Bruyère.
The tomb courtyard
The entrance to the funeral chapel is located to the west, and was preceded by a peristyle area raised by 10cm and with a length of 1.95m, on which rested two pillars sustaining an canopy. To the left of the entry, a very damaged group had been carved in the rocky mass: formed of an upright man and woman, in a walking stance, it seems to have never been finished.
The chapel
Its entry is in the centre of the facade. Through an opening 1.15m long, entry is made into what remains a room of 3.95m wide (north-south) by 2.95 to 3.30m in depth, and a height of 2.25m. The walls have lost all of their coating following a fire: there is now absolutely nothing.The funerary chamber descent
At 3.30m from the bottom, the quarrymen decided to enlarge the shaft in the longitudinal (west) direction, with a consequential creation, above the entry doorway, of a ceiling area of 0.95m, tilted at a 30° angle, followed by a vertical section of 1.10m from the base of the slope. The vertical portion no longer contains, at the top and on the right, some lines (features) of a hieroglyphic text formerly arranged in vertical columns on a white background.
Upper register
A goddess with sagging breasts, a sign of fertility, is knelt in a very curious manner in front of the Theban mountain. From a lack of space, the artist chose to leave the legs in a horizontal plain, whilst the rest of her body is placed perpendicularly, facing forwards, looking towards the observer. She represents Nut, who holds between her hands the disk symbolising the sun which is going to enter the west in the Duat (the underground world), where it will assure the nocturnal gestation in order to be able to return again to the world the following day. Usually, at dawn, the goddess expels from her arms, the beaming disk, as in the tomb of Nebenmaat, TT220 . A god, whose body is sheathed in a shroud, stands before the goddess on a bevelled Ma’at hieroglyph, holding two flails (whips) in his hands. This can only be Osiris.Bottom register
Nakhtamon, whose name has disappeared, and his wife “His sister, mistress of the house, Nebuemsheset”, of whom the name remained legible kneel, arms raised, in front of the entrance to the tomb, which is, at the same time, the entry to the underworld. To the right is a representation of the Ennead in an indented luni-solar disk. The names of the two standing mummiform gods have disappeared.The entrance
The south side of the entry, carries a decoration of 0.70m wide, in two superimposed registers.
The top register is surmounted by the hieroglyphic sign of the sky. Beneath this, the solar barque travels towards the east on the Nile of the underworld (stars can be seen). The young sun, still evolving, is represented by the Khepri scarab.
The rest of the wall is occupied by a large image of the deceased turned towards the entrance, arms raised, chanting a poorly preserved hymn to the rising sun. This kind of sun worship was typical on the doorposts of Ramesside chapels. It is not sure whether Nakhtamon had been named, because the name which appears at the end of the text is the one of Piay (his father).
Entry is now made into the underground funeral complex, formed of three chambers. It was once inaccessible to the living after the finish of the funeral ceremony. The two first chambers, A and B, are on the same level (approximately 20cm below the bottom step). These were the rooms of welcome, where are mentioned the deceased’s numerous family and where the offerings were placed on the day of funeral ceremony. The third room, C, 1.8m further down and accessed by another flight of steps, corresponds to the actual burial chamber.
CHAMBER A
This forms a common group with chamber B, dedicated to the welcome of the deceased, to the libations and to the perpetuation of the funeral rituals performed on earth. It is also a question of evoking here the numerous relatives of Nakhtamon and his wife: parents of the couple are honoured in the same way as those of the younger generations: sons, daughters, nephews and nieces, whilst the brothers and sisters of the deceased come to visit them “out of courtesy” and to welcome them. There is no doubt that some of their mummies also rested with them in this tomb.
This kind of hallway, which preceded the actual lower vault, was common at Deir el-Medineh, but it is exceptional if it was decorated, which is actually the case here. The rocky walls had been levelled, but, contrary to the norm, they were not lined with mud bricks. The paintings had been applied on a white distemper which stops in a rather irregular way at the junction between walls and the roughly hewn ceiling .
The east wall is pierced by the entry doorway, the wall to the right (north) by the opening leading, by a small step, to chamber B. From the west side, a staircase opens up in the floor, in the axis of that of the entrance, leading down to chamber C, through an vaulted tunnel, although, looking from the floor of chamber A, the entry has a horizontal ceiling.
The east wall
At its centre is the entry opening . On each side are placed scenes of offerings to the seated deceased couple, facing the entrance, from where the servants come.1) – The right side (south)
At the south end of the wall, where it meets the south wall, can be seen a small niche, described later with the south wall, at the end of this page.
The lower register
Towards the right are represented the deceased Nakhtamon and his wife, “the mistress of the house, Nebuemsheset”. They are shown in a very traditional style, although not in their usual dark and pale skin colours. They are seated on two chairs, side by side, the legs of which end in lion paws resting on small supporting cylindrical pillars. The artist created detail on the chairs, showing the cane-work as well as of mortise and tenon joints . The feet of the deceased couple and their chairs rest on a reed mat.Nebuemsheset embraces her husband with both arms.
The picture of the couple is very beautiful , showing a great amount of detail. The image of this young woman, clearly shows her long curly tripartite wig with twisted braids of hair extending much further than the main part. The wig is fastened at the top by a band from which projects, at the front, a lotus flower button. Her earring is positioned cleverly, and, whilst drawing the corner of her lips, the artist gave her a flicker of a smile, exceptional in Egyptian tomb paintings. This was the work of a true master artist. In contrast, the head of Nakhtamon seems almost awkward, too large, whereas the proportions are identical. Each of them wears on the top of their head the “cone of ointment”, whose physical reality is questionable: it is rather a metaphor for fragrances and/or fat (certainly scented) used as hair gel . The couple both wear ample garments. Nakhtamon wears a broad necklace and bracelets, whilst Nebuemsheset, who can be seen to wear a broader necklace, retains no evidence to indicate what adornments she wore on her arms. His right hand is folded on his chest, tightly holding the stem of a lotus blossom in full bloom, with the open corolla held up in front of his nostrils, a promise of rebirth. His left hand, is placed on his thigh, holding a folded piece of linen. His wife has her right hand on his right shoulder, her left (no longer visible) was probably holding on to his left upper arm.
In front of the couple, the ritual offerings are brought by the two eldest daughters, “Webkhet” and “Henutiamu”, as well as by the teenage son, “Ankhau”. The young ladies wear long wigs, on top of which again are placed the ointment cones, with a head-band from the front of which appears, for the first, an open lotus flower, for the second, a flower in button.
Ubkhet, the first of the girls, holds a vase with both hands. This, which has a floral decoration, she holds in front of the faces of her parents. These vases, covered with a delicate painting, are almost specific to Deir el-Medineh. Clearly this is not about a vessel for the daily use, but intended for the funeral cult . These vases would have been produced by the workers themselves on the occasion of the Beautiful Festival of the Valley, a festival of rebirth, to which the workers were very attached.
Henutiamu, the second girl, raises her right hand in a sign of greeting, whilst hanging from her left hand is a vase with a long neck, probably intended for the libations.
The young boy, Ankhau, also raises a hand, whilst in the other it is very difficult to identify the object he holds. It seems to be a bag, which contains round grains .
The boy, identified as “his son, Penkhnum”, holds a lotus stem surrounded with bindweeds . In the other hand he offers a basket containing three breads.Behind him stands his sister, “Nedjemet”, who wears the side plait of childhood, also holds in one hand a lotus, and in the other she holds a vase which is very similar to the one of Henutiamu.
The upper register
This is separated from the scene below by a yellow line edged with two narrower red lines, creating the lower boundary for the narrow top register. This displays the presented offerings. From left to right, this contains: two baskets placed on small pedestals, containing bread and fruit. Next is a jar, resting on a stand, surrounded with a stem of lotus in bud, followed by a vase of seeds in germination, a symbol of the renewal of life, corresponding well to the M37 hieroglyph already seen, demonstrating once again that the boundaries between the writing and painting are blurred. Then, resting on plants, laying horizontal, are breads, a cluster of grapes, a vegetable (cucumber ?) and various cuts of meat, of which one is a haunch.2) – The left side (north)
All of these three walls are limited at the top by a band of horizontal text and below by a thick black line above of a white space, which reaches to the floor.
It should be noted that the scenes are situated higher above the floor level on the south side of the entry wall. It should also be noted that at the very top of the wall, and beginning slightly above the adjoining wall, is a what remains of a line of text, which begins: “The seen and revered one by Amon…”.
The lower register
The upper register
The north wall
This is divided into two parts, east and west, by the passageway leading into chamber B.1) – The right side (east)
Behind the two registers just described (and, according to Egyptian conventions, it is necessary to understand that they were close by) are a third couple. This time they occupy the whole wall. This pre-eminent position is understandable, because it represents “his brother, the sculptor, Ipuy” (TT217), the biologic brother of Nakhtamon and “his sister (wife), the mistress of the house, Duaemmeres”. So this man is not only close to Nakhtamon but, like him, of the same generation. The man has a beautifully proportioned head, with a short beard and a headband out of which hangs a flower bud, whilst he holds a lotus blossom in front of his nose. His wife wears an immense wig whose lowest ringlets reach down below the elbow. In front of them, on a support, is a characteristic candle of the Festival of the New Year: conical and trimmed with ribbons with a wick which burns.
2) – Extension of the north wall (east side)
3) – The left side of the north wall (west)
The image seems to have been based on the one of the lower register, to the left of the entry. The couple, facing in the same direction as all the previous couples, consists of “the scribe Minmos (ef) ” and “his wife, Isis”. This woman was the daughter of the couple named Pached and Mekhayt (TT292), therefore the sister of Nebuemsheset, the sister-in-law of Nakhtamon, and Minmes (ef) is his sister-in-law by marriage.
The festivities are joined by a son of the couple, “the scribe Amenemipet”, who presents to his parents a bouquet like the one held in a previous scene. His father wears a heart amulet at the end of a chain, protruding under his broad usekh-necklace. Once again, the artist chose to integrate the bouquet and the lotus flower held by the deceased. This time, the feet of the son are also on the reed mat, which acts as a footrest for the couple.
Easily seen on the photo db-18 of the north-west corner, even though the direction of the writing and the facing of the people changes (indicated by an arrow), that the adjacent scene on the west wall is still part of the festive group nevertheless.
The west wall
1) – The scene on the right (north)
Note: The term “justified” (fully translated as “just of voice”), found after the name of a deceased person, refers to the result of the weighting of his/her heart on the scales of justice, where the deceased was judged as being truthful, and worthy of entering the afterlife.
2) – The central scene
3) – The scene on the left (south)
Two upright coffins (with or without mummies, it is not known with certainty) are located in front of the entry of the pyramidal funerary chapel. This scene is backed by the Theban mountain, symbolised as usual by bands edged with lines and marked with black and red spots. There can clearly be seen, near the top of the pyramidial structure, the niche destined to hold a stela carrying a solar hymn. Also, the pyramidion has been painted black at the top, which is common, especially at Deir el-Medineh, but this still remains strange. The three small columns of text above some coffins merely repeat the names of Nakhtamon and his wife. The two mummiform coffins look very much alike, each, like a mummy, being surrounded with strips of fabric. Both wear the cone of ointment; the only differences, he wears a long false beard, curved at the end like those of the gods, whilst she wears the wig surrounded by a ribbon Once again it can be seen of the symbolic character of all these representations, that there is almost no chance that Nakhtamon and Nebuemsheset are dead and have their burial at the same time.
4) – The surviving pedestal
(the one of the south side)
On the front, Anubis, the divine canine (its deity manifested by the oblique flagellum), a red ribbon around the neck, reclines on the roof of a funerary chapel of which can be seen the entrance coving, built in light wood and reed evoking purification. Once again, here is the proof that nothing stopped the artist from painting Anubis in the monochrome style, instead of in black, as was usual.
On the north face, which edges the opening, and facing eastward, can be found Isis who kneels with her hands resting on a shen sign. This emblem is associated with the fragmentary formula evoking the exit from the chamber .
On the third face (south) is a divinity who, also seated facing the east, holds a pot containing three lighted candles . This image, in combination with another, can be found in the tomb TT5, of Neferabet. The two divinities face each other, either side of the deceased. The one on the left is named Djet, the other is Neheh , both of these names translate to “eternity”. A variant of the image of Djet is in the multicolour chamber of TT3, that of the worker Pached, .
It is easy to guess the three images which were on the northern pedestal (no longer there), the one on the north side of the descent. At the front would have been Anubis, turned in the opposite direction to the image on the other pedestal. On the south end would have been Nephthys, and on the north end the other god of eternity. It is possible that a figurine of Anubis was placed on top of each of the two pedestals.
The south wall
The deceased ones, or rather their statues, are set on the sand of the Theban mountain, looking east. It is still possible to see the lower end of the staff of authority which Nakhtamon was holding, and the ankh sign of life which Nebuemsheset holds in her left hand. They are surrounded by streams of water from the hes-vase held by their son Piay, the one nearest to them. Behind him, his brother Baki plays the role of the lector priest, holding the scroll of the ritual, at the top of which is still visible the eye from the text “The Osiris, etc.”. As a scholar, he carries a scribe’s material under his arm. Finally, behind him, advances Pashedu holding in his hands the adze and the feather of Ma’at, two ritual objects with which he will conduct the ceremony. Some instruments which would also be used are, curiously, placed on a black chair, in front of Piay. Recognisable is the pesech-kaf amulet (two red ostrich feathers), a feather of Ma’at, a front leg of a beast.
The niche
The rest of the south wall, at the corner with the east wall, is occupied by a small niche whose walls have simply been whitened. Was it possibly used for storage ? .CHAMBER B
The chamber is nearly perfectly oriented according to the cardinal points. It presents, as did the previous chamber, a very roughly hewn, arched and much higher ceiling (2.42m). It is more or less rectangular, measuring between 3.07 – 3.28m long (east-west) and about 2.50m wide (north-south). The walls have been levelled fairly regularly and have been lined with mud bricks before being painted.
In the eastern part of the room, the level of the floor had been raised to form a platform of 0.65m in height and 1.80m in depth, thus covering more than half of the chamber. This was destined to receive the food offerings and amphoras. As seen in this view seen from the entry the heightened area (on the right of the image) occupies a very important place. Its front face adjoins the bottom registers of the walls in this half of the chamber, acting as if it was physically part of the distant east wall. This face will be described as part of the east wall.
The bottom of the walls, at true floor level are edged with a red band edged in black, including the front wall of the platform.
The south wall
The actual south wall, strictly speaking, contains three registers, which can best be seen in the photograph taken during the time of Bruyère , when the bottom register was more visible. The upper two registers can be seen in a more recent photo . The reading direction of the south wall is from left to right.
The upper register is entirely dedicated to the homage made by the deceased, his wife and family, to a youth who is seated (at the left) in front of a table of offerings.
The second register is dedicated to a scene of the funeral ceremony. The mourners, bearers and attendants head towards the right, where recipients await to receive them.
The wall is completed by a third register, located in the small area between the entrance and the platform. It contains three kneeling women.
1) – The upper register
The character to which the cult refers thus remains an enigma. He is designated as “The excellent spirit of Ra, Neferhotep, justified”, without any other information. It is thought that he is the same Neferhotep as the one of the tomb of Ramose, TT250, but in this last case it is possible to reconstitute a parental lineage (Davies p31-34), which is not the case here. No Neferhotep ascending or having a relational link has been found in the family of Nakhtamon (Davies family trees 14 and 24), although Nakhtamon presents himself as “your brother”; but as already discussed, the study of the meaning of “sn” is vast; in any case, this Neferhotep is venerated as if he was a important member of a the family.
In front of him stands a calcite altar, around which winds a lotus flower. Placed on top of it are round breads, a cucumber, two baskets of fruits and a bouquet. The black grains which surround the offerings remain mysterious; maybe this a way to provide fumigation with grains of incense? Under the table, to the right, are two plant offerings, a branch of palm and a Roman lettuce (?).
A libation of water and encensement are carried out by Nakhtamon, with this accompanying formula: “An offering which the king gives, pure, pure, for your ka, by the hand of your ‘brother’, whom you love, the sculptor Nakhtamon, justified (and) his wife, the mistress of the house, Nebuemsheset, justified”.
With the right hand, Nakhtamon pours water from the libation vessel (qebeh), whilst, with his left hand, he brandishes a censer in which burns wads of incense.
Nebuemsheset, with a cone of ointment on top of her wig, holds in her left hand a stoppered vase (all the women in the procession hold the same) whilst with the other she holds aloft a short vase, with a notched top edge, containing the stems in the course of germination, held together by a ribbon. This offering represents a wish for rebirth (a reference to the vegetating Osiris).
Piay holds a long stem of papyrus (tied with bindweeds) just like Penkhnum; Nedjemger holds a vessel possibly of wine; Baki is merely mentioned in front of his brother’s image (probably forgotten ?) ; the first Pached, holds a duck by its wings; Ankhau is easy to identify since he holds his scribe’s palette; the second Pached appears to be holding a bag.
The three women each have a head band with a lotus flower at the front. They each hold in their right hand a small ovoid bottle. The first, who actually wears a double cone on her wig, is Webkhet (also seen in chamber A, where she held a floral vase to her parents) who could be the wife of the Neferhotep of tomb TT216.
2) – Middle register
The register can be split into two parts, right and left of the arrow added to image ch-113, the position where the accompanying text changes direction of reading.
a) – The right-hand side of the scene: the participants
On the right, facing left, a sledge supports the barque on which is placed the catafalque, which in turn contains the deceased. This is of a classic design, with a row of “djed” symbols above another of the “tiet” symbols of Isis. A stem of palm is at the front of the barque and another at the rear (although now almost lost through damage), close to the rudders. Holding the forward palm stem is Nephthys and Isis, their images standing side by side on the front of the barque. They protect the mummy of Nakhtamon, whose name is written above the structure.
Next, to the left, the artist has attempted an amazing scene, with mixed results . First note, in a Ramesside “manner”, that one of the principal characteristics is a lack of proportion: elongated body parts and small heads. The artist wanted to give an illusion of perspective by mingling the characters.
Further to the left is a casket presented by “the wab-priest, the scribe, Huynefer” to the deceased’s wife, Nebuemsheset as well as to one his daughters, Webkhet, whose hands are enormously long (see tb-111). The casket, containing the canopic jars, is surmounted by the reclining image of Anubis. It is a reminder of the entry to the tomb (likened to the seh-netjer – the first tent of purification – or, by extension, to the temple. Cherpion p93). Although the text places the wife and daughter with the male members of the family, who merely accompany the action, they are not just observers, but are present as the mourners normally seen in this scene in other tombs.
On a small low table, situated in front of Huynefer, are placed three tall vases, probably containing ointments, symbolised by the cones which are used as stoppers (similar to those placed on top of wigs).
b) – The left-hand side of the scene: the accompanying male family members
3) – Bottom register
The east wall
This wall is a brick partition behind which is another chamber. It is part of another tomb, un-cleared. Plunderers had ripped open the wall and destroyed some of the seated characters and the accompanying text which came with them, about six out of thirteen columns.The decoration of the wall represents a scene of homage by Nakhtamon, to his elders. To make things simpler, it will be divided into two.
1) – The seated couple
It is proposed that the male character plays the game called senet. This seems questionable, because on the one hand, there appears to be the remains of a flower in front of his forehead, on the other hand, at floor level, in front of his legs, there is an upright plant, usually found next to the central leg of a table of offerings.
The text which accompanies the couple is very original in the fact that the characters remain anonymous. In what remains of the text, the man is designated as “the servant in the place of truth, the master of the house”, followed by a gap which precedes a final determinative. Then follows identification of the woman as “his sister (wife) , whom he loves, the mistress of the house” followed by another gap, before “justified”. It is necessary to see, without any doubt, homage paid to the ancestors of the lineage of the craftsman Nakhtamon, for each to be capable of seeing his own name in the spaces which were deliberately left empty.
2) – The officiant
The accompanying text proclaims that the officiant performs: “An offering which the king gives: pure, pure, of breads, beer, heads of livestock, birds, libations, wine, incense, ointments, and all good and pure things, for your ka. For the master [of the house], by your son’s hand, your heir on land, wab-priest of the Lord of the Two Lands, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Djeserkare, justified, the son of Re, Amenhotep, (Lord of) the Village. The sculptor in the Place of Truth to the west of Thebes, Nakhtamon, justified. He says: Oh you gods, the Lords [of the west are gracious?] to me in the Necropolis.”.
The name of the father not specified, and only a qualifier exists “the master of the house”, but this time there is no blank space. Nakhtamon therefore addresses himself to generations of fathers who preceded him and not to anyone in particular. It is also evident from the text that Nakhtamon was priest of the cult of the village (the so-called “Amenhotep I of the village”), a prestigious function.
3) – The platform front face
Its front face is decorated with scenes of banquet, badly preserved; it is worth noting that similar scenes can be found opposite, on the bottom part of the west wall.The left-hand section : on a black wooden chair can be seen the lower half of a statue of the deceased, of which the end of his staff remains visible. In front is another chair, of light coloured wood, on which is placed three loaves and a vase, with a round base, containing plant stems. Other loaves are found under the chair. Around all of these items are found black and red spots, indicating the water of the purification ritual. This is followed by the remains of a man who holds a censor in his hand (only a small fraction of it can still be seen). In the other hand, held lower, he pours a libation on to a piece of meat which is surrounded by flames. In front of him can can be read: “[making] libations, four times”.The right-hand section . Here several couples are seated, being served by other people. At the left, the first couple is waited on by one man (not visible in the photo). The second couple (far left in “ch-119) are now almost lost, but again they are attended by only one man. The couple on the right are served by two men and a woman. These officiants are identified as: “his son, [loved by] him, Piay”, followed by “his son, loved by him, the scribe, Ankhau”, then “his daughter, Henut-Mehyt”.
The north wall
This is divided into two parts , the one on the right (east) is above the platform, the other is the full height of the wall. The boundary between the two is represented by the pole supporting the rear of the structure surrounding a seated couple.1) – The right-hand section
It represents a scene of great symbolic importance, summarising the efforts of the theologians of the Ramesside period to unite the natures of Re, the great god of the terrestrial world and day, and of Osiris, the great god of the underworld and night. The “ba” of the two divinities become intertwined and each becomes the other at the setting and rising of the sun. This central mummiform figure, who stands on the bevelled Ma’at sign, is a combination of Osiris, covered in his shroud, and of Re, represented with the head of a ram (which is also called “ba”) on top of which is an upright snake. The accompanying text states clearly: “This Ra rests in Osiris (who) rests in Ra”; the name of Osiris is only written once, which again accentuates this idea of fusion.
Isis and Nephthys stand on either side of the mummiform image, the feet of each resting on a reed mat. They protect this phase of dangerous transition, of metamorphosis.
Isis stands in front of the god, with her back to a djed pillar, on which stands a cobra provided with legs and wearing the pschent (the double crown of ancient Egypt). The cobra is named “Iret-Ra”, “Eye of Re”.
Behind Nephthys, is found a solar falcon, wearing a disc completely surrounded by a snake, perched on the hieroglyphic sign of the West, which rises from between two hills . Here the symbol is also clear, again confirmed by the text: “It is Re who is in the Duat, the great god”.
2) – The left-hand section
This consists of two superimposed registers of very unequal size and content.a) – The upper register
Situated on the left part of the scene, the goddess takes on the form of a sycamore tree, as is often the case. Her feet actually form part of the trunk of the tree, whilst her body, identifiable in human form, leans forwards. She offers something, probably water, to the deceased and his wife, who have newly arrived in the west.
These last two, Nakhtamon and Nebuemsheset, are on the right side of the scene, seated on black chairs within a pavilion area, constructed of thin posts and roof all bound by twine. Most of his body is lost due to the damage. There is not much to say about the couple other than that they each wear on their heads a perfume cone, Nakhtamun’s head being bald whilst his wife wears a long black wig. The presence of an ointment cone on his shaven skull (this being physically impossible), enhances the additional argument making this a symbol and not a reality . Each also wear a usekh-necklace, but above his is another one with two gold rows.
The chairs of the couple rest on a watery area bordered in black, which resembles a rectangular pool, but representing the Nile as well as the primordial water of Nun. The woman, shown kneeling within it, drinks from it , whilst the man is kneeling in worship, but he has nearly disappeared. The notions of crossing the waters is illustrated, in a very original manner, on the bottom left of the scene, behind the tree, with an image of a mooring stake around which is tied a rope, assumably attached to the barque. An actual barque is shown in the register beneath with the occupants seated in front of other people . The small text next to the stake states: “to tie up beautifully”. The tree goddess is identified as: “Tauret in her name of Nut”. Tauret, the hippo goddess, protector of the women in childbirth, was very much venerated, especially by pregnant women. She conveyed the idea of birth, of gravidity, of protection.
b) – The lower register
The boat is designed with a stern and a prow both of which are decorated with umbels of papyrus at their inner turned ends. There is neither oarsmen nor a man with a pole, nor even a helms man. The couple, Nakhtamon and Nebuemsheset, are seated under a light canopy. She wraps her left arm around his shoulders, whilst he holds in one hand a sekhem-sceptre and in the other the usual piece of material. In front of them is a small offering table, but which only has on it a vase and a lotus flower, on to which an anonymous officiant makes a libation.
The character who is at the front of the boat is interesting; with his two extended arms, he holds behind his shoulders (possibly in front of, but his face must not be hidden) a “thing” bristling with small tips along its edge, and whose nature remains hypothetical. A similar representation, which portrays a larger piece of cloth, can be seen in tomb TT359 of Inerkhau ; others also exist. It has been noticed that every time the boat is close to mooring, there is never a warning sign of the shore line.
In front of the prow of the barque are accumulated food offerings.
The west wall
As with the previous wall, this is also divided into two registers of very unequal height . The bottom one is again the same height as the platform frontage, which faces it.1) – The upper register
The offering of Ma’at is the main offering which the king makes to the gods, essentially on the walls of the temples (Cauville). It is an offering of excellence, which groups together, in her, all classic ideas of ethics: including justice and truth; universal, cosmic, social and political order. This provides the divinity that which nourishes it, the principle justifying its function
In a private context, this offering has a merely funerary context, in link with the association which exists between Ma’at and Re, or to evoke the role of Ma’at in the deceased’s justification. Unlike the royal scenes, there are never associated formulas of offerings, and therefore nothing which can suggest an interaction between the gods and humanity. This context of regeneration is illustrated here by an ankh sign, that of life, which is attached to the top of the god’s was-sceptre (which he holds on his left hand) and is pointed toward the face of Nakhtamon. Whilst the deceased offers the image of Ma’at, Nebuemsheset offers, in a basket, three conical objects and incense (shown as small black grains).
a) – The god Thoth
Great god of Hermopolis, is master of the divine Ogdoad pantheon of eight principal deities, the master of language, of hieroglyphic writing, scribe of the gods and, like Seshat, he intervenes in the computation of the years. Thoth is represented with the head of an ibis (see ch-123). His naked chest is crossed by a broad strap; his loincloth is held in place by a belt from which hangs a symbol of the Isis knot. His feet rest on a bevelled Ma’at sign. He is seated on a chair of archaic structure, coloured in white, red and black. In one hand he holds the was-sceptre, as already mentioned, and in the other he holds a scribe’s palette and an ankh sign. Behind him, on a vase, which in turn is placed on a small pedestal, is a frog, the symbol of the multiplication, and possibly a sheaf of wheat.b) – The goddess Seshat
The aim of the scene is therefore to obtain, in return for one life compliance with the norm, a full number of years of life in eternity
2) – The bottom register
This is the match to the one at the front of the platform, of which it has the same height and general composition.It includes six seated couples, turned towards the entry (south). From right to left, they are: served by a man (1st – 5th), by a woman (2nd – 3rd – 4th) or by two (6th). Each couple, with an ointment cone on their wig, are seated side by side on seats painted in black, the arms of the woman enclose her husband. He, in turn, holds in one hand a piece of cloth and clutches in the other the stem of a lotus of which the flower, which reaches up to his nostrils, is either open or closed.
The 2nd couple Their names are lost, only the maids name has survived, Tabaket, who offers a vase.
The 3rd couple consist of Amennakht and Werel, attended by the lady Maatneferet. She holds towards the couple a goblet, inside which is a cone trimmed with ribbons, accompanied by three wads of incense. Also in her hand, possibly wrapped around it or the vessel, is a black object which it is difficult to identify.
The 4th couple are Hehnakhtu (?) and Nubeneferet, to whom Makhai presents a bouquet.
The 5th couple ((Khaemteri and Neferemsatet) are waited on by a man, Amenemopet, who presents a goblet including three cones (possibly breads) and wads of incense.
The 6th, final couple, located at the left end of the register, are a little different The deceased, the sculptor Rahotep, stretches a hand towards the flesh-coloured offerings consuming themselves in fire in front of him. The lady’s name is lost. They are served by a woman and a girl: “her daughter Hanu and her daughter [Tare]khnuwa (?) “.
The register ends at the contact with the narrow entrance doorway to the room, on which is found the name of deceased, Nakhtamon, in black hieroglyphs on a white background.
Now back to chamber A, to the stairway which descends towards chamber C.
THE ACCESS STAIRS TO CHAMBER C
The stairs and the corridor floor are now covered in wood boarding (see the corridor image, below, for the condition before being covered).
THE ACCESS CORRIDOR
The decoration of the walls and ceiling is very original and well-preserved, providing entry and exit of the underground world, and to the role played by the goddess Nut in the deceased’s mystical gestation.
The ceiling
Nut is standing on a reed mat and wears an archaic designed tight-fitting dress with two shoulder straps which extend to her waist, revealing a naked breast. She wears a long wig apparently plaited with gold thread and held in place by a band which is knotted at the back.
At her feet is the Theban mountain, next to the chapel of which the rows of bricks are represented by horizontal lines, whilst the stela niche is visible, indicated in black, what is illogical since the pyramid is seen in profile, with the entry on the left, above which it would be positioned
Behind the goddess’s legs stands, in the sign of the horizon, the “abydenian fetish” which is supposed to contain the head of Osiris. It is comprised of a staff topped by a spherical object surrounded by a band with a uraeus at the front. Around the top of the staff hangs a necklace with a counterweight. The sphere is topped by a composite crown, with a strong solar connotation, although rather unusual. It consists of a pair of twisted horns, a solar disk, two feathers of Shu or Ma’at and two erect uraei surmounted by a solar disk.
The group is a powerful combination of rebirth symbols.
The north wall
The previous scene, containing the deceased, is found in other tombs, but the one of his wife is exceptional.
Nebuemsheset is clothed in an full length dress and long sleeves and wears a long wig of which some sections are held in place by a large broach. On her head is a cone and from her forehead springs the flower of open lotus in a sign of rebirth. She prepares to enter the chamber, whose entrance, like the entrance to the tomb (but it could also be referred to as the false door) is indistinguishable from that of the kingdom of Osiris. It is surmounted by a kheker frieze. On the lintel is a scene imaged in black on a yellow background. This has the deceased, “the Osiris, Nakhtamon, justified”, standing arms raised, in front of “Osiris, master of the west”. He is represented sitting, wearing the atef-crown, with the two symbols of his power, the whip and the hook. Between the two is a small table supporting a libation vessel which in itself summarises the Osirian offering.
Both of these names mean “eternity”. However, they differ in definition, and are in fact linked instead to two different deities: neheh (Re = day and light) and djet (Osiris = night and the underworld of the duat). With time being cyclic, they join each other at the end of their own particular 12 hour period. The neheh time is a period which produces change (and therefore death). Whilst the djet time is the period of eternity and is thus unchangeable, a perfect time.
The south wall
The choice of the donkey led to various attempts of explanation, none of which are entirely convincing. This beast of all trades, friend (and scapegoat) on a daily basis to many Egyptians, was used for land transportation of goods and people and had a strong sexual connotation. A noisy animal, with a resonant braying sound, the donkey appears frequently in the Book of the Dead, as genius guardian of the doors and passages of the beyond. It should be remembered that the wild donkey is also an animal of the eastern desert, equated with Seth, but in the Ramesside period it was not yet the object of hatred which would be victimised in the Late Period as a murderer of Osiris.
This is what was said about the scene by Pascal Vernus: “A genius donkey exists named Hiu, which is also the name of the donkey bound to a root, to which is attached the idea of ‘to manifest loudly’, ‘to shout’, ‘to come from the west’. This genius resound is in his voice on the journey of the solar barque, standing up in front of the aggressor […] In such a context, this braying is so appreciated that the deceased also wishes to have dulled ears: ‘If I came, it is to hear the voice of the one who brays’, because he chants with his braying the course of the solar barque, he came sporadically to mark the area with it”.
Now on to chamber C.
CHAMBER C – THE WALLS
The entry corridor opens up in the east wall, towards the northern end. Its arched ceiling again (like the stairs end) has a flattened end, in order to allow for the position of the long top horizontal text border, which extends around the chamber. The text of this, however, does not flow continuously in one direction. However, even on the end walls, this border continues at the same height. The main axis of the chamber, roughtly north – south, is slightly rotated. It measures 4.75m in length, 2.24m in width. The chamber has a vaulted ceiling, the top of the arch being along the main axis, is 2.17m to the top. The actual vaulting begins at the top area of the side walls, thus they are not fully upright. The room was originally lined with mud bricks, then covered in plaster. As stated previously, the scenes of the walls are separated from the floor by a banner formed from two thick lines, yellow-ochre and red, each bordered by narrower black lines.
The two long walls of the chamber. These are both divided into four scenic areas, each corresponding (in line) with the four areas of the arch of the ceiling directly above. They are are separated (vertically) with broad yellow-ochre bands edged in black. On these broad bands are black texts which are separated from the black borders with a fine red line. Above these, is the broad band already mentioned, again containing black text with the red limiting lines. The scenic areas have a white background with the figures of the characters and all the hieroglyphs produced in the same yellow-ochre, but all edged and highlighted with red lines. The texts are not necessarily related to the scenes which they border. The east wall is dedicated to Ptah, accompanied by Ma’at, Anubis and the gate keeper. The west wall is dedicated to Osiris and the divinities who come with him.
The two end walls, have an arched, semi-circular, upper area. The one at the south is dedicated to Anubis, standing at the side of the mummy, which in sequence certainly comes before the scene of the north wall. This north end one is reserved for Thoth and the weighing of the heart.
There exists in the chamber many references to the duality of Egypt, divided between the north (Ptah of Memphis) and the south (Khnum of Elephantine). There is a more manifest will of Nakhtamon to be under the protection of the triad of Elephantine, Khnum, Satet and Anuket, because it is a question for him of being identified with the Nile. The source of the river is in the cave of Khnum, which is held under his foot. When he rises it, this is the arrival of the floods and water springs whilst bubbling from the level of the first cataract, bringing life back to the entire country.
The east wall
Panel 1
It can easily be seen, in the image opposite, that this guardian is placed in a strategic position. Just as Sokar (with whom Ptah will merge), he was guardian of the Memphite necropolis of Rosetau, he defends not only the entry to the chamber, but also the justified deceased and the goddess Ma’at, who are situated on the north wall, behind him, and who are not separated from him by a column of text.
To the right of this first panel, in the yellow-ocre band, can be read: “An invocatory offering which the master of Ma’at, the father of the gods, gives. That he may give life, health and strength for the sculptor’s ka, the servant in the place of truth, Nakhtamon, justified”.
Panel 2
In this panel can be found a curious image (but not unique) of Anubis in the form of a god with the head of a ram, thus looking like Khnum.
The decorator has subtly associated the name of Anubis, classic initiator of the deceased in the tomb, with the image of Khnum – master of the caverns (Krrt) ; equating to Ptah, who is on the other side of the door.
Here the deceased is the father of Nakhtamon “The Osiris, Piay”. He wears a short wig surmounted by a cone, as well as a heart amulet around his neck. Note should be made of the difference in proportion between the small head and the large body, a manifestation of the Ramesside mannerism. The man holds his right hand on his left shoulder, a sign of greeting and humility. Anubis-Khnum grasps his left wrist to encourage him to begin his journey.
An examination of the image of the ram god, the artist’s talent can be seen, how he has not made this hybrid being into a monstrous being . He is clothed in a tight sheath-like garment descendant to his knees and carrying a tail of bull, attached to the rear of his belt. His ram head is surmounted by an uraeus, a solar sign allowing to establish also a relationship between the nocturnal sun and Osiris.
Panel 3
Here “the mistress of the house, Neferetkhau” presents a Hathoric sistrum to Ma’at (its sound is supposed to encourage love). This scene (according to Davies) represents the mother of Nakhtamon, the wife of Piay.
She is clothed in a beautiful pleated and fringed ample dress and with a large tripartite wig, with braids, on top of which she wears the ointment cone and a headband decorated with an open lotus flower. It should be noted that the artist miss-aligned somewhat the necklace .
The goddess, designated as “Ma’at, the daughter of Re, mistress of the sky and she who is in the west”, is clothed in a slim dress supported by shoulder straps, which reveal her naked breast. In her headband are placed two feathers, a reminder that, in this context, Ma’at is double (Ma’aty), a new example of duality. In her left hand she holds a ankh-sign of life, whilst in the right she grasps the was-sceptre of power. It should be noted that the draftsman has changed the axis of the staff, which would normally have the curved top facing the holder. At the goddess’s feet is a small table, on which is placed a libation ewer, and lotus flowers, both open and closed.
Panel 4
The scene takes place in front of the god Ptah and adjoins the south-easterly corner of the chamber (see is-023).
Piay makes an incense offering to Ptah. He wears the now usual cone of ointment on a short wig. His broad necklace is only shown on one side of his chest in order to be able to represent the two chains, comprised of rounded and oblong pearls, from which hangs an udjat-eye pendant (see pm-1110986). Piay presents to Ptah a brazier, where can be seen wads of incense being burnt.
The god, “Ptah, master of the Ma’at, sovereign some Two Lands” stands on a Ma’at sign, under a canopy whose rounded roof is supported (at the front) by a column with a top in the form of a djed pillar. At the rear, the pillar top is the form of the hieroglyphic sign of bread. Ptah has his body sheathed in a shroud, out of which protrude his two hands clutching the staff, at the top of which is a composite emblem of djed, was and shen glyphs. He wears a skullcap and a long beard with a broad feature at the end (see pm-1110987).
The text of the final yellow vertical band of this wall, like Ptah in the preceding panel, faces northwards. It proclaims “Words spoken: in the south you rest, (the) Osiris, sculptor of the Lord of the Two Lands, Nakhtamon, justified.”, typical of the monochrome tombs of Deir el-Medineh
The west wall
Panel 5
In this scene, Nakhtamon, as sem-priest, makes a libation to Osiris.
Osiris, the great god of the underworld, faces north, as did Ptah on the opposite wall. Osiris also stands under a canopy, his body sheathed in a shroud and wearing the atef-crown. He holds in his hands the two emblems manifesting his power: the crook and the flail. At either side of his legs is an ‘imuit’ fetish-symbol, comprised of a vase in which stands a pole, to which is attached an inflated animal skin. This fetish is sometimes called “Son of the hesat-cow”. This skin is supposed to contain the liquids recovered at the time of the mummification.
Above the curved roof, standing guard, is the wadjet cobra, the guardian goddess of Lower Egypt, but which is also a patron of the necropolis and who resides in the Theban Summit.
In front of Osiris stands Nakhtamon, who wears the feline skin of a sem-priest over his long garment. He wears a short wig with twisted ends and a trapezoidal goatee beard. He appears to be pouring, with his right hand, a libation from the vessel on to plants located at his feet. His left hand is raised in a sign of greeting. His accompanying text states: “To make a libation for the ka of Osiris, who is in the Duat, by sculptor Nakhtamon, justified”. This text, for some reason, ends with the glyph of “Lower Egypt”.
Panel 6
Here is a scene illustrating the duality and the uniqueness of Egypt. The deceased sovereign who advances northwards is designated thus: “The perfect god, sovereign of the Nine Bows (= the traditional enemies of Egypt) , Lord of the Two Lands, the Lord of the apparitions, Amenhotep, justified, by the great god (= Osiris) “. This is therefore about the deified Amenophis I, particularly revered by the community of craftsmen The king is dressed impressively and holds a heqa-sceptre to his right shoulder. His wig is surrounded with a ribbon fastened at the rear and extending down his back, with an uraeus at the front. It wears a composite crown with a strong solar connotation.
The sovereign is escorted and protected by two goddesses standing behind him . The first is “Wadjyt”, who wears on her head a modius (normally she is portrayed wearing the red crown of Lower Egypt) from where emerges an uraeus. She encloses her two protective hands on the king’s shoulders. Behind her, stands “Satet, mistress of Elephantine”, easily recognisable by her headdress comprised of a white mitre of Upper Egypt either side of which are two gazelle horns. She was the consort goddess of Khnum, master of the Cataract, and therefore the “mother” of Anuket. In a rare gesture, the goddess not only protects the king, whose elbow she holds, but also strengthens the action of Wadjyt, with whom she seems to almost merge, whilst placing her left hand on her shoulder.
Thus is renewed the necessary union between Upper and Lower Egypt, guaranteeing the functioning of the terrestrial world and the underworld.
Panel 7
Again the imagery evokes of the union of the Two Lands. It is possible to consider that the scenes of panels 7 and 8 could be combined into one. This time the association of Tauret (for the north) and Anuket (for the south) is portrayed.
Tauret (“the great”) is a protective goddess of pregnant women and childbirth, very popular in spite of her frightening aspect. She combines a body of a pregnant hippopotamus, limbs of a lion and a tail of a crocodile. Making this representation rare, her head of hippo is replaced here by woman’s head, wearing a very large wig fastened in place by a ribbon band, from the front of which is an uraeus and on top of which is a modius headdress . She is one of the protectors of the young Horus, who will be found in the following panel
The image of the goddess Anuket in this chamber is rare in that it allows the nature of her crown to be identified. It is comprised of feathers, not of palms, which extend from her crown, around which is fixed a ribbon fastened at the rear and extends down her back . She protects Tauret, by aid of the ankh-sign of life held in her right hand and to the was-sceptre which she clutches in the left, and which can be seen crossing in front of the body of Tauret.
Panel 8
The couple Nakhtamon and Nebuemsheset greet Hor-akhty. They walk as if from the north wall, located behind them, from where they were associated with the justification (where they were proved to be truthful) of the courthouse and the test of the weighing of the heart. Both of the couple are bare-footed. He wears a long pleated skirt, overlaid by a pleated apron and has a short wig. He has four bracelets, one on each wrist and one on each upper arm. Both of his hands are raised in supplication to the god facing him. She wears a long and beautifully fringed wig, held in place by a ribbon with two lotus flowers. Broad bracelets, formed of pearls, are on her wrists, whilst others surround her forearms (see pm-1110990). One of her hands is raised, the other holds a small bottle.
The couple greet the falcon-headed god who stands in front of them, designated as ” (Re) Hor-akhty, the great god, Lord of the Duat”. The god is surmounted with a large solar disk surrounded with a snake, as if having eaten it, the sign of an eternal renewal, of triumph over death. In his hands he carries the ankh-sign of life and a was-sceptre of power.
To the right, the final vertical yellow-ochre column concludes the wall. The text, which in its own way reflects the one at the opposite end of the wall, states: “Words spoken: in the north you rest, (the) Osiris, servant of the Lord of the Two Lands, Nakhtamon”.
The south wall
1) – The lower panel
The mummy of the deceased lies, head to the west, on a bed of mummification, inside an anthropoid coffin. Anubis with his jackal head, leans over the coffin. He lays his warm hand on the deceased’s heart, whilst in the other he holds the adze with which he gets ready to open the deceased’s mouth. The text above the scene states: “Words spoken by Anubis, who is in the place of embalming: Victorious (is) the Osiris, servant of the Good God (= pharaoh) , wab-priest of the Lord of the Two Lands, Amenhotep I, justified Nakhtamon embraces you for all eternity”. It should be noted that “justified” is written before the name of the deceased, which is most unusual.
Nephthys, on the right, touches the deceased’s head and pours a libation of water from a vessel in the shape of ankh surmounted by a falcon head (see pm-1110982).
Isis, on the left, touches the deceased’s feet (in a very unnatural manner, but it is the convention of Egyptian drawing). She doesn’t make a liquid libation because her vessel doesn’t have a spout and it has a cone of fragrant ointment. This thus represents a metaphor to signify that she applies a perfume, which flows, from the edge of the vessel, which she holds at the end of a tremendously long arm
Under the bed, at far right, can be found the ushabti chest containing the canopic jars with the deceased’s viscera: surrounded with strips and criss-crossing it are two feathers of Ma’at (or of Shu). Above is the text meaning “Divine”. To its left stands another chest containing small human statues (ushabti) which, in the afterlife, would perform chores and work in the fields in place of the deceased, thus allowing him to live an afterlife of relaxation. The chest is in the shape of a primitive shrine of Lower Egypt, on which is inscribed the deceased’s name and his office as sculptor. Above the chest the legend simply states: “shrine of Lower Egypt” (“itrt”).
Next, between the legs of Anubis, is a round mirror, a symbol of Hathoric beauty, intended to stimulate the deceased’s reproductive ardour. Finally, two calcite vases which, according to the text, contain myrrh, then oils or unguents.
2) – The arch
The arch is occupied by the kneeling figure of the goddess Isis, facing east, with outspread wings suspended beneath her arms. Above her is the following text: “Words spoken by Isis, mistress of the sky, sovereign of the gods: that you are given the south (i.e. Upper Egypt) for eternity”. On each side is an udjat eye, from which emerges a cobra spitting its venom, but here it is intended to be protective.
The north wall
1) – The lower panel
In front of them, in a typically Egyptian reduced scale, is the goddess Ma’at, also very damaged, but part of her mutilated text survives: “Words spoken by Ma’at, daughter of Re, mistress of the sky […] against your enemies”. The goddess’s body and the damage conceals one tray of the balance, which would have held the shape of a heart (that of the deceased), whilst on the other is a female hieroglyph which would normally have been a feather. In the absence of the feather, this must be an image of Ma’at, the goddess represented by the feather. This scale establishes that the heart of the deceased is lighter than a feather; if it is, then the deceased has passed the test and may enter the afterlife, having been accepted as being “true of voice” (“truthful”) and therefore “justified”.
On each of the uprights, either side of the central entry, is located a baboon, traditional worshipper of the raised sun. The one of left stands on a basket with a star in front of him indicating that he is in worship. This image rests on the undergrowth of plants of the north. The text at the top states: “The gods greet you”. The imagery on the right upright, almost identical, rests on the plants of the south and the text states: “The gods acclaim you”. Thus, both Upper and Lower Egypt pay homage to the rising sun and, by extension, to the deceased.
2) – The arch
The figure of the goddess Nephthys, facing east, kneels between two inwards facing udjat eyes, only this time there are no emerging cobras. As with Isis on the south wall, spreading from under her outstretched arms are wings. The text above her states: “Words spoken by Nephthys, mistress of the sky, sovereign of the Two Lands: I come to embrace you for eternity”
CHAMBER C – THE CEILING
The bands of text
As with the two side walls, the boxes have end bands of text. All the bands are again yellow-ocre and carry black inscriptions, just as the ones on the side walls, and again have inner red lines. The distribution of these bands can be in the two drawings (above) of the east and west walls. The yellow bands, which vertically separate the panels of these two walls, then continue between the panels which form the two sides of the arch of the ceiling, until they reach the summit of the arch, where they meet two back to back thicker bands. These separating bands of the ceiling carry short simple inscriptions more or less conventional.A horizontal band is located to the junction of the wall panels and those of the ceiling, surrounding the whole room. The texts of the ones on the south and north walls have already been dealt with. Those of the east and west longitudinal bands start at the northern extremity. The one of the west is an invocatory offering to Re-Horakhty – Atum – Khepri (therefore all the forms of the sun) as well as to Hathor. All are to the profit of Naktamon and his wife. The texts of the eastern band are addressed to Ptah and Anubis, to the profit of Nakhtamon and his father Piay.
The two long central bands
Each column of text is edged along its two sides by two black lines and a middle red line. At the centre, between the two columns, the two are separated by the same three lines . Both set of texts face outwards, towards the appropriate side wall. The west band is dedicated to Nakhtamon and the god Osiris, and the east band being dedicated to his father Piay and the god Ptah.The west band : “An offering which the king grants to Osiris, who is at the head of the west, to Wennefer, king of the living, that he grants a perfect life to the one who is faithful towards him, for the ka of sculptor Nakhtamon; his son Piay, justified; his son Nedjemger, justified; his son Baki; his son Pached, justified; his son Ankhau; his son Penkhnum; his daughter Henut-shenut, justified; his daughter Webkhet, justified; his daughter Nedjem-hemsi.”
In these texts the scribe has used two forms of hieroglyphs for “his son” and , also two for “his daughter” and . This way of writing either of the second versions is unusual. Could the oval be the artists brief way of drawing the duck, in order to fit the space available?
The four central boxes
The four central panels, which are grouped in pairs, concern the Four Sons (or Children) of Horus, Hapy, Amsit, Duamutef and Qebehsenuef, to whom a special article is dedicated, therefore their symbolism will not be dealt with here. It should be noted that they all have an uraeus on their head, that of Amsit being much bigger than the others. They are all seated on the bevelled sign of Ma’at, and hold an ankh sign.
These east side boxes
The boxes are dealt with from left (north) to right:Box 1 : Thoth Ibis
The vertical band behind the panel, in the north-east corner, proclaims: “Words spoken: in the north you rest”. The text faces south, as do all the others, except the final one which faces north.
The band in front (right) of the panel: “Words spoken: the blessed, the Osiris, Nakhtamon, justified”.
Box 2 : Hapy
The vertical yellow band in front of the panel: “Words spoken: blessed by Hapy, Nakhtamon”.
Box 3 : Qebehsenuef
In front of the panel, the column proclaims “Words spoken by Qebehsenuef (to) the Osiris, Nakhtamon”.
Box 4 : The Great Cat of Heliopolis
This assimilation of the cat with Re and his confrontation with Apophis, is found in many other funerary compilations. In the text above the three bends of the snake, it is identified as: “Apophis, enemy of Ra”. It should be noted that the determinative glyph of the name on Ra in the text, is the sun centred by a red point. Like the determinative glyph of the snake’s name in the text, the body of the snake is riddled with stab wounds, from where blood flows out, whilst his head, in which is a large cut, is fixed firmly on the ground by the paw of the cat. This feline creature is identified as “The Great Cat, who appears in the image of Re”.
The great fight occurs again every night, and according to Corteggiani: “Apophis, the eternal enemy of Re, must be forever averted, since not having been created, he escapes all definitive destruction and can, every day, endlessly repeat his attacks against the course of the sun”.
Why is there this closeness between the cat and Re? The cat of ancient Egypt, was different from present day cats, it was a killer of snakes, liking to hunt at night. Besides, in Egyptian there is a connection between the word for cat “miw” and the sound it made; they thought that these things owed nothing to chance.
Something special worth noting is the face of the cat, which is so special, the oddity or even bizzarness, however, is also true with the one found in the famous scene found in another tomb of Deir el-Medineh, TT359 of Inerkhau The two are different, the one in Nakhtamon’s tomb smiles whilst killing the snake.
The yellow vertical band, which is in the south-east corner, mirrors the one at the north end: “Words spoken: in the south you rest”
The west side boxes
The boxes are dealt with from left (south) to right:Box 5 : Horus
The panel, appropriately positioned above the image of Osiris (see ch-137) shows the falcon god, with gigantic paws from which rises the uraeus wearing the Double Crown (the pschent). This represents Horakhty, “Horus of the Two Horizons”, as represented by the two oval mounds of sand seen behind his head. The text says: “This is Horus, son of Osiris, who gave Isis to the world, Wennefer, the great god”. Note that it is one of the features of monochrome chambers in relation to the multicolour ones, that there is no assimilation to the Golden Falcon, nor any form of transformation from the Book of the Dead.
Box 6 : Duamutef
This Son of Horus is represented in anthropomorphic (human) form, with the long, hooked false beard of dead gods, accompanied by the text: “Words spoken by Duamutef, (to) (the) Osiris, sculptor, Nakhtamon, come to raise your two arms above of you, for eternity”.
Box 7 : Amsit
(see ch-143)
The image of the god is almost superimposable with the previous one, with a text that proclaims: “Words spoken by Amsit (to) (the) Osiris, sculptor, Nakhtamon, justified by the great god”.
Box 8 : Anubis
This panel reaches the north-west corner of the wall . A vague smile is on the lips of the full jackal form of the god Anubis , who is squatting on the roof of a temple or the tomb. It wears a sash around its neck, and a flagellum sticking from its back. The text of the panel says: “Words spoken by Anubis, who is to the head of the Divine Pavilion, the embalmer of the Sacred Land: I came in front of you to provide you protection for all eternity”.
The final vertical band, in the north-west corner, has: “Words spoken: the blessed, the Osiris, sculptor, Nakhtamon, justified”.
FINDS
Chamber B, which acted as a storage area for the pillagers, contained some very damaged mummies, one of which could have been that of Nakhtamon. Pieces of his funeral mask have been recovered, as well as remnants of packing boxes of Nebuemsheset. The tomb also contained elements of the funerary furniture of Neferrenpet, which should have been in his TT336 chamber.
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