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161-496: TT1 is the burial place of the ancient Egyptian official Sennedjem and members of his family in Deir el-Medina , on the west bank of the Nile opposite Luxor . The funerary complex consists of three pyramid-shaped chapels dedicated to, from south to north, Sennedjem's father or brother, Sennedjem himself, and Sennedjem's son Khonsu. Of the three shafts associated with the chapels, only

322-469: A corvée system. Artists and craftsmen were of higher status than farmers, but they were also under state control, working in the shops attached to the temples and paid directly from the state treasury. Scribes and officials formed the upper class in ancient Egypt, known as the "white kilt class" in reference to the bleached linen garments that served as a mark of their rank. The upper class prominently displayed their social status in art and literature. Below

483-498: A faience ring on each hand; one had the throne name of Amenhotep III on the bezel and the other had the name of Amun. Iyneferti was unwrapped in 1906 and in 1933 her body was examined in the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology , Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her mummy was skeletonised but retained her long braided hair, coloured blonde by the embalming process. She died as an elderly woman of at least 75 years of age; she

644-417: A nomarch , who was accountable to the vizier for his jurisdiction. The temples formed the backbone of the economy. Not only were they places of worship , but were also responsible for collecting and storing the kingdom's wealth in a system of granaries and treasuries administered by overseers , who redistributed grain and goods. Much of the economy was centrally organized and strictly controlled. Although

805-497: A (wooden) door closed the shaft from the rest of the sepulchre; the limestone lintel and doorjambs named Sennedjem, Iyneferti, Khabekhnet, and Khonsu. This room is divided in half by a modern brick wall built in 1890 for a barred door to secure the tomb. Continuing west, four descending steps access a further chamber measuring 3.50 metres (11.5 ft) long and wide, with a vaulted ceiling 2.50 metres (8.2 ft) high. Based on pottery found in this vaulted room, it probably functioned as

966-444: A balanced relationship between people and animals was an essential element of the cosmic order; thus humans, animals and plants were believed to be members of a single whole. Animals, both domesticated and wild , were therefore a critical source of spirituality, companionship, and sustenance to the ancient Egyptians. Cattle were the most important livestock; the administration collected taxes on livestock in regular censuses , and

1127-582: A box belonging to Ramose were bought by the Egyptian Museum of Berlin. Other pieces were sold to various museums, the exact locations of which are now unknown. Maspero purchased several ushabti and an ushabti box for his wife; these are now housed in the Louvre , Paris and the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon , France. Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt was a civilization of ancient Northeast Africa . It

1288-607: A brief but spirited resurgence in the economy and culture, but in 525   BC, the Persian Empire, led by Cambyses II , began its conquest of Egypt, eventually defeating the pharaoh Psamtik III at the Battle of Pelusium . Cambyses II then assumed the formal title of pharaoh, but ruled Egypt from Iran, leaving Egypt under the control of a satrap . A few revolts against the Persians marked the 5th century   BC, but Egypt

1449-710: A confident, eloquent style. The relief and portrait sculpture of the period captured subtle, individual details that reached new heights of technical sophistication. The last great ruler of the Middle Kingdom, Amenemhat III , allowed Semitic -speaking Canaanite settlers from the Near East into the Delta region to provide a sufficient labor force for his especially active mining and building campaigns. These ambitious building and mining activities, however, combined with severe Nile floods later in his reign, strained

1610-422: A family banquet, separated into left (east) and right (west) sides by the doorway. Seated on the left, the side of the living, are Sennedjem's probable brothers Tutuya and Messu. Messu's daughter Taia stands with him. Behind them, Sennedjem's eldest son Khabekhnet and his wife Sahti are depicted seated with their daughter Henutweret. Behind them stand the rest of Sennedjem's children led by sons Bunakhtef and Rahotep:

1771-404: A flat ceiling 1.40 metres (4.6 ft) tall. It is roughly cut and unfinished; it was probably intended to be a burial chamber, either the original burial chamber or one cut later when the existing chamber became full. The burial chamber used by Sennedjem and his family is accessed via a 2 metres (6.6 ft) deep shaft near the north wall; niches are cut into the sides as with the main shaft. It

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1932-576: A large-scale building campaign to promote the god Amun , whose growing cult was based in Karnak . They also constructed monuments to glorify their own achievements, both real and imagined. The Karnak temple is the largest Egyptian temple ever built. Around 1350   BC, the stability of the New Kingdom was threatened when Amenhotep IV ascended the throne and instituted a series of radical and chaotic reforms. Changing his name to Akhenaten , he touted

2093-453: A libation and offers them "breath" in the form of a sail; a daughter named Taashen sits under Taya's chair. Closest to the doorway is Sennedjem's father Khabekhnet, his mother Tahenu and possible grandmother Rusu who are also attended by a son named Roma; an additional daughter is seated beneath a chair. A further register is above this scene. On the left side, Sennedjem and Iyneferti adore 10 Underworld gate guardians in two separate registers. On

2254-445: A more dense population, and social development and culture. With resources to spare, the administration sponsored mineral exploitation of the valley and surrounding desert regions, the early development of an independent writing system , the organization of collective construction and agricultural projects, trade with surrounding regions, and a military intended to assert Egyptian dominance. Motivating and organizing these activities

2415-513: A papyrus skiff, and his brother Khonsu performs the " Opening of the Mouth " ritual for his father's mummy. Below is a large scene of Aaru , the ancient Egyptian afterlife. Sennedjem and Iyneferti plough the soil, and plant and harvest crops, surrounded by a familiar Nile environment of palm trees and sycamores , flowers such as cornflowers and poppies, and irrigation canals. On the right side, Sennedjem receives food offerings. The barque of Ra-Harakhty

2576-576: A period of economic and cultural renaissance known as the Middle Kingdom . The kings of the Middle Kingdom restored the country's stability and prosperity, thereby stimulating a resurgence of art, literature, and monumental building projects. Mentuhotep II and his Eleventh Dynasty successors ruled from Thebes, but the vizier Amenemhat I , upon assuming the kingship at the beginning of the Twelfth Dynasty around 1985   BC, shifted

2737-508: A piece of papyrus or an ostracon . A combination of favorable geographical features contributed to the success of ancient Egyptian culture, the most important of which was the rich fertile soil resulting from annual inundations of the Nile River. The ancient Egyptians were thus able to produce an abundance of food, allowing the population to devote more time and resources to cultural, technological, and artistic pursuits. Land management

2898-740: A queen who established herself as pharaoh, launched many building projects, including the restoration of temples damaged by the Hyksos, and sent trading expeditions to Punt and the Sinai. When Tuthmosis III died in 1425   BC, Egypt had an empire extending from Niya in north west Syria to the Fourth Cataract of the Nile in Nubia , cementing loyalties and opening access to critical imports such as bronze and wood . The New Kingdom pharaohs began

3059-457: A right-angle level and a cubit rod, and nine inscribed walking sticks. Funerary provisions included bread, fruit, and painted vases of wine. One of the largest known ostraca (stone or broken pottery used for writing on) was placed near the coffin set of Sennedjem. It is inscribed with the start of the Story of Sinuhe in hieratic text. The upper surface was polished and it was shaped to mimic

3220-608: A rival dynasty in the delta arose in Leontopolis , and Kushites threatened from the south. Around 727   BC the Kushite king Piye invaded northward, seizing control of Thebes and eventually the Delta, which established the 25th Dynasty . During the 25th Dynasty, Pharaoh Taharqa created an empire nearly as large as the New Kingdom 's. Twenty-fifth Dynasty pharaohs built, or restored, temples and monuments throughout

3381-505: A sample of representative or unique items were kept for the museum while the rest was sold. After the clearance of the tomb in 1886, the Antiquities Service closed the base of the shaft with a metal mesh door. In 1917, Jacques Lecomte du Nouÿ cleared the two other shafts in the courtyard. The complex as a whole was excavated by Bernard Bruyère between 1924 and 1930. He partially cleared the courtyard in 1924-25 and re-excavated

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3542-662: A series of stable kingdoms interspersed by periods of relative instability known as "Intermediate Periods". The various kingdoms fall into one of three categories: the Old Kingdom of the Early Bronze Age , the Middle Kingdom of the Middle Bronze Age , or the New Kingdom of the Late Bronze Age . Ancient Egypt reached the pinnacle of its power during the New Kingdom, ruling much of Nubia and

3703-503: A series of underground rooms. The tomb descended further, via a concealed shaft, to a painted doorway closed with a decorated door; the door was sealed with a moulded clay seal in the shape of the head of the god Anubis . On 31 January, Maspero was informed of the find and visited with Urbain Bouriant , Eduardo Toda y Güell and Jan Herman Insinger on 1 February. They made copies of the decorated doorframe before dismantling it to preserve

3864-662: A series of vassals who became known as the Saite kings of the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty . By 653   BC, the Saite king Psamtik I was able to oust the Assyrians with the help of Greek mercenaries, who were recruited to form Egypt's first navy . Greek influence expanded greatly as the city-state of Naucratis became the home of Greeks in the Nile Delta. The Saite kings based in the new capital of Sais witnessed

4025-466: A single doorway on the eastern side; the lintel (upper span of a doorway) depicts Sennedjem and Iyneferti worshipping the crocodile god Sobek . A stele was set into the face of the pyramid above the entrance depicting Sennedjem worshipping the rising sun. The chapel itself is a single barrel-vaulted room with a further funerary stele set into the rear wall. The entire interior was painted with colourful scenes but little trace remains. Sennedjem's chapel

4186-860: A sizable portion of the Levant . After this period, it entered an era of slow decline. During the course of its history, ancient Egypt was invaded or conquered by a number of foreign powers, including the Hyksos , the Nubians , the Assyrians , the Achaemenid Persians , and the Macedonians under Alexander the Great . The Greek Ptolemaic Kingdom , formed in the aftermath of Alexander's death, ruled until 30   BC, when, under Cleopatra , it fell to

4347-412: A storeroom for funerary offerings. Three further rooms are accessed via passages cut into the floor near the walls. The shaft against the south wall leads to another smaller storeroom approximately 2 metres (6.6 ft) long; it contained plain ceramics. A short shaft against the western wall leads to another undecorated room that measures 2.40 m × 2.90 m (7.9 ft × 9.5 ft) with

4508-519: A system of mathematics , a practical and effective system of medicine , irrigation systems, and agricultural production techniques, the first known planked boats, Egyptian faience and glass technology, new forms of literature , and the earliest known peace treaty , made with the Hittites . Ancient Egypt has left a lasting legacy. Its art and architecture were widely copied, and its antiquities were carried off to be studied, admired or coveted in

4669-459: A system still used today. He began his official history with the king named "Meni" (or Menes in Greek), who was believed to have united the two kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt . The transition to a unified state happened more gradually than ancient Egyptian writers represented, and there is no contemporary record of Menes. Some scholars now believe, however, that the mythical Menes may have been

4830-490: A tomb which family may have reentered as late as the Twentieth Dynasty to remove recyclable items. The exact positions of the objects within the burial chamber at the time of discovery is unknown. The largest pieces of furniture in the tomb were funerary in nature. These are Sennedjem's funerary bed and his funerary chair dedicated by his son Khabekhnet, and an uninscribed offering table. Eight stools were placed in

4991-514: A walled courtyard. The court is rectangular and measures 12.35 m × 9.40 m (40.5 ft × 30.8 ft). While it was probably entered via stairs through a gateway shaped like a pylon , excavations by the Egyptologist Bernard Bruyère found no trace of them. A mudbrick bench was located against the north wall of the courtyard, likely to hold funerary offerings on festive occasions. Sennedjem's chapel

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5152-425: A wooden writing tablet, although at 106 by 22 centimetres (41.7 in × 8.7 in) it is larger than its wooden counterparts. It was placed in the tomb as a burial gift; possibly the text was a favourite of Sennedjem. The tomb contained the burials of at least 20 people. According to Maspero, the burials in coffins were stacked atop each other at the western end of the chamber, with the exception of Khonsu who

5313-503: Is also the period when many animals were first domesticated . By about 5500 BC , small tribes living in the Nile valley had developed into a series of cultures demonstrating firm control of agriculture and animal husbandry , and identifiable by their pottery and personal items, such as combs, bracelets, and beads. The largest of these early cultures in upper (Southern) Egypt was the Badarian culture , which probably originated in

5474-446: Is bent over her chest. Two of her daughters are depicted kneeling and mourning under the feet of her mummy board; their pose and the position of the scene recalls the depictions of Isis and Nephthys who protect the deceased. Like her husband, she is also fitted with a mask, the design of which is almost identical to her coffin. Iyneferti's mummified body was wrapped in palm-rib matting and four layers of linen bandaging and padding. She wore

5635-402: Is covered by a broad collar, and holds a trailing ivy vine. The trough of the coffin follows the same design as the earlier coffins of her family members. This style is contemporary with the late Eighteenth Dynasty, something that lead Sousa to suggest Isis was given or reused an antique coffin. Her body was also fitted with a mask, and her mummy was wrapped in reed matting. Little is known about

5796-486: Is docked at an island on the bottom right. The ceiling is divided in half lengthwise and separated into four scenes on each side. The westernmost scene of the southern side depicts dawn, with the sun rising between turquoise trees and the star Sirius carried by a bull calf representing the young sun and accompanied by Ra-Horakhty-Atum. The next two scenes show Sennedjem adoring two groups of underworld gods, identified in their respective captions as gods of truth, and gods of

5957-574: Is escorted by Anubis into the presence of Osiris, who stands in a booth flanked by eyes of Horus and imiut fetishes . Sennedjem is depicted again kneeling before an offering table in front of Osiris. He wears a grey wig, possibly to indicate he has lived a long life and died in old age. The tympanum of the short east wall depicts the rising sun as a seated sun god on a solar barque, adored by baboons. The second register depicts several scenes. From left to right, Sennedjem and his wife adore Ra, Osiris, and Ptah, and two additional gods. Their son Rahotep sails

6118-522: Is flanked on the north side by the smaller pyramid-chapel of Khonsu. Due to lack of space, its walls are initially vertical before sloping to become a pyramid. The pyramidion of Khonsu's chapel depicts Khonsu, his wife Tamaket and their son Nekhenmut; it is now in the Museo Egizio in Turin , Italy. This is the only one of the three chapels to preserve painted decoration. The decoration on the interior of

6279-515: Is in Cairo. Like his mother Iyneferti, Khonsu's unwrapped body was transferred to the Peabody Museum and examined in 1933. He died aged between 50 and 60 years, had worn teeth and spinal arthritis. A necklace with faience beads was found on his body. He was also provided with a scarab pectoral. Isis, the daughter of Khonsu and Tamaket, was buried with her parents in her grandfather's tomb. She

6440-562: Is intended, as Khabekhnet did not live in Deir el-Medina and worked outside of the necropolis; his title "servant of Amun in the Southern City" indicates he worked in the temple complexes on the east bank. They suggest that the chapel was non-functional, given its separation from the others by a wall and its apparent lack of decoration, and was instead a physical representation of the familial line of descent. Three burial shafts were dug in

6601-406: Is known about his health or age at death. Iyneferti was buried in a mummiform coffin with a mummy board and mask. Her coffin lid depicts her as a wrapped mummy with her arms crossed over her chest and hands open. She wears a long wig with a floral fillet and ribbons, and a large collar with lotus terminals covers most of her chest. The inner mummy board depicts her in a long white dress; her left arm

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6762-473: Is the central of the three. It was constructed of a mix of mudbrick and stone, as was typical for the Nineteenth Dynasty. It has a projected restored height of 6.85 metres (22.5 ft) tall and width of 4.5 metres (15 ft) and was capped with a pyramidion of limestone , now fragmentary, depicting Sennedjem adoring the sun god Ra on his journey across the sky. The chapel was entered through

6923-525: Is the oldest of the three, being constructed entirely of mudbrick and therefore dating its construction to the Eighteenth Dynasty . The southern pyramid chapel is assigned to Tjaro, thought to be Sennedjem's elder brother or Khabekhnet, Sennedjem's father. The southern chapel was never used as the burial shaft is unfinished. The Egyptologists Kathrin Gabler and Anne-Claire Salmas suggest that this

7084-531: The Amarna Period . Around 1279   BC, Ramesses II , also known as Ramesses the Great, ascended the throne, and went on to build more temples, erect more statues and obelisks, and sire more children than any other pharaoh in history. A bold military leader, Ramesses II led his army against the Hittites in the Battle of Kadesh (in modern Syria ) and, after fighting to a stalemate, finally agreed to

7245-507: The Book of the Dead . Sennedjem's coffined body was originally placed on a funerary bed decorated with snakes within the sarcophagus. However, at the time of discovery this sarcophagus had been disassembled to allow more space for further interments; the coffins of Khonsu were placed on the bed instead. Sennedjem had a single mummy-shaped coffin and a mummy board. The coffin decoration is typical of

7406-643: The Duat (Underworld). The final scene is Sennedjem before a group of three gods headed by Thoth . The northern side depicts from west to east Sennedjem's journey to the afterlife. In the first scene he opens the "Secret Door of the Duat". The second scene is the nighttime journey of the sun, whose soul as the Bennu-bird sails in a boat accompanied by Ra-Harakhty-Atum. In the third scene, Sennedjem and Iyneferti worship five kneeling underworld gods. The fourth scene depicts

7567-501: The Great Kenbet , over which the vizier or pharaoh presided. Plaintiffs and defendants were expected to represent themselves and were required to swear an oath that they had told the truth. In some cases, the state took on both the role of prosecutor and judge, and it could torture the accused with beatings to obtain a confession and the names of any co-conspirators. Whether the charges were trivial or serious, court scribes documented

7728-454: The Levant was established during Naqada II ( c.  3600–3350 BC ); this period was also the beginning of trade with Mesopotamia , which continued into the early dynastic period and beyond. Over a period of about 1,000 years, the Naqada culture developed from a few small farming communities into a powerful civilization whose leaders were in complete control of the people and resources of

7889-971: The Mouseion . The Lighthouse of Alexandria lit the way for the many ships that kept trade flowing through the city—as the Ptolemies made commerce and revenue-generating enterprises, such as papyrus manufacturing, their top priority. Hellenistic culture did not supplant native Egyptian culture, as the Ptolemies supported time-honored traditions in an effort to secure the loyalty of the populace. They built new temples in Egyptian style, supported traditional cults, and portrayed themselves as pharaohs. Some traditions merged, as Greek and Egyptian gods were syncretized into composite deities, such as Serapis , and classical Greek forms of sculpture influenced traditional Egyptian motifs. Despite their efforts to appease

8050-496: The Near East . The New Kingdom pharaohs established a period of unprecedented prosperity by securing their borders and strengthening diplomatic ties with their neighbours, including the Mitanni Empire, Assyria , and Canaan . Military campaigns waged under Tuthmosis I and his grandson Tuthmosis III extended the influence of the pharaohs to the largest empire Egypt had ever seen. Between their reigns, Hatshepsut ,

8211-467: The Nubians to the south of Egypt, but failed to defeat the Hyksos. That task fell to Kamose's successor, Ahmose I , who successfully waged a series of campaigns that permanently eradicated the Hyksos' presence in Egypt. He established a new dynasty and, in the New Kingdom that followed, the military became a central priority for the kings, who sought to expand Egypt's borders and attempted to gain mastery of

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8372-606: The Persians and was welcomed by the Egyptians as a deliverer. The administration established by Alexander's successors, the Macedonian Ptolemaic Kingdom , was based on an Egyptian model and based in the new capital city of Alexandria . The city showcased the power and prestige of Hellenistic rule, and became a centre of learning and culture, that included the famous Library of Alexandria as part of

8533-602: The Roman Empire and became a Roman province . Egypt remained under Roman control until 642 AD, when it was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate . The success of ancient Egyptian civilization came partly from its ability to adapt to the conditions of the Nile River valley for agriculture . The predictable flooding and controlled irrigation of the fertile valley produced surplus crops, which supported

8694-619: The Thirtieth , proved to be the last native royal house of ancient Egypt, ending with the kingship of Nectanebo II . A brief restoration of Persian rule, sometimes known as the Thirty-First Dynasty , began in 343   BC, but shortly after, in 332   BC, the Persian ruler Mazaces handed Egypt over to Alexander the Great without a fight. In 332   BC, Alexander the Great conquered Egypt with little resistance from

8855-570: The Valley of the Queens . The tomb's decoration starts outside the burial chamber, with a painted doorway. The lintel depicts Sennedjem worshiping the god Atum who is seated in a barque (boat). The vertical doorjambs are inscribed with columns of text. The burial chamber was closed with a painted wooden door that is decorated on both sides. The exterior depicts Sennedjem, Iyneferti, and their daughter Irunefer before Osiris and Maat . Below, seven of

9016-549: The Wadi Natrun for mummification , which also provided the gypsum needed to make plaster. Ore-bearing rock formations were found in distant, inhospitable wadis in the Eastern Desert and the Sinai, requiring large, state-controlled expeditions to obtain natural resources found there. There were extensive gold mines in Nubia , and one of the first maps known is of a gold mine in this region. The Wadi Hammamat

9177-633: The Western Desert ; it was known for its high-quality ceramics, stone tools , and its use of copper. The Badari was followed by the Naqada culture : the Naqada I ( Amratian ), the Naqada II ( Gerzeh ), and Naqada III ( Semainean ). These brought a number of technological improvements. As early as the Naqada I Period, predynastic Egyptians imported obsidian from Ethiopia , used to shape blades and other objects from flakes . Mutual trade with

9338-451: The chaff from the grain, and the grain was then ground into flour, brewed to make beer, or stored for later use. The ancient Egyptians cultivated emmer and barley , and several other cereal grains, all of which were used to make the two main food staples of bread and beer. Flax plants, uprooted before they started flowering, were grown for the fibers of their stems. These fibers were split along their length and spun into thread, which

9499-581: The composite bow and the horse-drawn chariot . After retreating south, the native Theban kings found themselves trapped between the Canaanite Hyksos ruling the north and the Hyksos' Nubian allies, the Kushites , to the south. After years of vassalage, Thebes gathered enough strength to challenge the Hyksos in a conflict that lasted more than 30 years, until 1555   BC. The kings Seqenenre Tao II and Kamose were ultimately able to defeat

9660-523: The vizier and his court for redress. Although slaves were mostly used as indentured servants, they were able to buy and sell their servitude, work their way to freedom or nobility, and were usually treated by doctors in the workplace. Both men and women had the right to own and sell property, make contracts, marry and divorce, receive inheritance, and pursue legal disputes in court. Married couples could own property jointly and protect themselves from divorce by agreeing to marriage contracts, which stipulated

9821-572: The Assyrians. The effects of external threats were exacerbated by internal problems such as corruption, tomb robbery, and civil unrest . After regaining their power, the high priests at the temple of Amun in Thebes accumulated vast tracts of land and wealth, and their expanded power splintered the country during the Third Intermediate Period. Following the death of Ramesses XI in 1078   BC, Smendes assumed authority over

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9982-476: The Christian emperor Theodosius introduced legislation that banned pagan rites and closed temples. Alexandria became the scene of great anti-pagan riots with public and private religious imagery destroyed. As a consequence, Egypt's native religious culture was continually in decline. While the native population continued to speak their language , the ability to read hieroglyphic writing slowly disappeared as

10143-399: The Dead . The floor of the chamber is painted red. The decoration is executed on a yellow background, suggested by Hany Farid and Samir Farid to recall the papyrus used for funerary texts; The Egyptologist Kathlyn M. Cooney sees it as giving the burial chamber solar connotations, directly inspired by the "golden room" seen in royal tombs. The layout of the decoration reflects the journey of

10304-435: The Delta, seized control of Egypt and established their capital at Avaris , forcing the former central government to retreat to Thebes . The king was treated as a vassal and expected to pay tribute. The Hyksos ('foreign rulers') retained Egyptian models of government and identified as kings, thereby integrating Egyptian elements into their culture. They and other invaders introduced new tools of warfare into Egypt, most notably

10465-453: The Egyptians, the Ptolemies were challenged by native rebellion, bitter family rivalries, and the powerful mob of Alexandria that formed after the death of Ptolemy IV . In addition, as Rome relied more heavily on imports of grain from Egypt, the Romans took great interest in the political situation in the country. Continued Egyptian revolts, ambitious politicians, and powerful opponents from

10626-543: The Egyptologist Gema Menéndez suggests the decoration was done by two artists with very similar styles, presumably a master who did the bulk of the work, and an apprentice who painted parts of the ceiling. Menéndez suggests the artist responsible is Pashed, the chief draughtsman active during the reigns of Seti I and Ramesses II who worked on the tomb of Seti I in the Valley of the Kings and in tombs in

10787-504: The Greeks towards the Egyptians, some traditions such as mummification and worship of the traditional gods continued. The art of mummy portraiture flourished, and some Roman emperors had themselves depicted as pharaohs, though not to the extent that the Ptolemies had. The former lived outside Egypt and did not perform the ceremonial functions of Egyptian kingship. Local administration became Roman in style and closed to native Egyptians. From

10948-545: The Late Period, the worship of the gods in their animal form was extremely popular, such as the cat goddess Bastet and the ibis god Thoth , and these animals were kept in large numbers for the purpose of ritual sacrifice. Egypt is rich in building and decorative stone, copper and lead ores, gold, and semiprecious stones. These natural resources allowed the ancient Egyptians to build monuments, sculpt statues, make tools, and fashion jewelry . Embalmers used salts from

11109-452: The Late Period. There is also evidence to suggest that elephants were briefly used in the Late Period but largely abandoned due to lack of grazing land. Cats , dogs, and monkeys were common family pets, while more exotic pets imported from the heart of Africa, such as Sub-Saharan African lions , were reserved for royalty. Herodotus observed that the Egyptians were the only people to keep their animals with them in their houses. During

11270-437: The Naqada culture began using written symbols that eventually were developed into a full system of hieroglyphs for writing the ancient Egyptian language. The Early Dynastic Period was approximately contemporary to the early Sumerian - Akkadian civilization of Mesopotamia and of ancient Elam . The third-century   BC Egyptian priest Manetho grouped the long line of kings from Menes to his own time into 30 dynasties,

11431-525: The Near East made this situation unstable, leading Rome to send forces to secure the country as a province of its empire. Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire in 30   BC, following the defeat of Mark Antony and Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra VII by Octavian (later Emperor Augustus) in the Battle of Actium . The Romans relied heavily on grain shipments from Egypt, and the Roman army , under

11592-518: The Nile gave humans the opportunity to develop a settled agricultural economy and a more sophisticated, centralized society that became a cornerstone in the history of human civilization. Nomadic modern human hunter-gatherers began living in the Nile valley through the end of the Middle Pleistocene some 120,000 years ago. By the late Paleolithic period, the arid climate of Northern Africa had become increasingly hot and dry, forcing

11753-474: The Nile valley, including at Memphis, Karnak, Kawa, and Jebel Barkal. During this period, the Nile valley saw the first widespread construction of pyramids (many in modern Sudan) since the Middle Kingdom. Egypt's far-reaching prestige declined considerably toward the end of the Third Intermediate Period. Its foreign allies had fallen under the Assyrian sphere of influence, and by 700   BC war between

11914-499: The Nile valley. Establishing a power center at Nekhen (in Greek, Hierakonpolis), and later at Abydos , Naqada III leaders expanded their control of Egypt northwards along the Nile . They also traded with Nubia to the south, the oases of the western desert to the west, and the cultures of the eastern Mediterranean and Near East to the east. The Naqada culture manufactured a diverse selection of material goods, reflective of

12075-582: The Old Kingdom, and provided both honey and wax. The ancient Egyptians used donkeys and oxen as beasts of burden , and they were responsible for plowing the fields and trampling seed into the soil. The slaughter of a fattened ox was also a central part of an offering ritual. Horses were introduced by the Hyksos in the Second Intermediate Period . Camels, although known from the New Kingdom, were not used as beasts of burden until

12236-405: The Old Kingdom. Under the direction of the vizier , state officials collected taxes, coordinated irrigation projects to improve crop yield , drafted peasants to work on construction projects, and established a justice system to maintain peace and order. With the rising importance of central administration in Egypt, a new class of educated scribes and officials arose who were granted estates by

12397-512: The Ruler ", to defend against foreign attack. With the kings having secured the country militarily and politically and with vast agricultural and mineral wealth at their disposal, the nation's population, arts, and religion flourished. In contrast to elitist Old Kingdom attitudes towards the gods, the Middle Kingdom displayed an increase in expressions of personal piety. Middle Kingdom literature featured sophisticated themes and characters written in

12558-499: The administration, aside from the royal high priestesses, apparently served only secondary roles in the temples (not much data for many dynasties), and were not so probably to be as educated as men. The head of the legal system was officially the pharaoh, who was responsible for enacting laws, delivering justice, and maintaining law and order, a concept the ancient Egyptians referred to as Ma'at . Although no legal codes from ancient Egypt survive, court documents show that Egyptian law

12719-557: The ancient Egyptians did not use coinage until the Late period , they did use a type of money-barter system, with standard sacks of grain and the deben , a weight of roughly 91 grams (3 oz) of copper or silver, forming a common denominator. Workers were paid in grain; a simple laborer might earn 5 + 1 ⁄ 2  sacks (200 kg or 400 lb) of grain per month, while a foreman might earn 7 + 1 ⁄ 2  sacks (250 kg or 550 lb). Prices were fixed across

12880-438: The areas of lost paint on the runners. The background is entirely yellow, possibly in imitation of gold. The protective goddesses Serket and Neith , and Isis and Nephthys are depicted at the head and foot ends respectively. The sides have two registers of decoration, the lower of which depicts the usual funerary complement of the four sons of Horus , Anubis, and Thoth. Scenes in the upper register and lid are based on scenes from

13041-441: The associated shafts in 1928. A full report of his work was published in 1959. The subterranean parts of TT1 are accessed via a 6 metres (20 ft) deep vertical shaft cut into the courtyard in front of Sennedjem's chapel. Niches are cut into the walls of the shaft to allow access without a ladder. The shaft opens to the west onto an undecorated room measuring 3 m × 3.80 m (9.8 ft × 12.5 ft). Anciently,

13202-457: The burial chamber, an area of 40 square metres (430 sq ft), are entirely covered with paintings. They are well preserved and are considered by writer Alberto Siliotti to be "among the most beautiful of the necropolis and, at all events, the best known". As is typical of Deir el-Medina, the majority of the scenes have religious and mythological themes, in this case vignettes from the Book of

13363-466: The burial. Sennedjem was provided with a funerary statuette. It depicts him in daily dress, wearing a wig, tunic and long kilt. An offering passage inscribed down the front of the kilt asks that he receive "everything which goes forth upon the offering table of Amun in Ipet-sut ... for the ka of Sennedjem, justified , happy in peace". The Boulaq Museum in Cairo lacked the space to properly house

13524-481: The child and the two foetuses were given floral garlands. The most elaborate and best studied coffin sets are those of Sennedjem, Iyneferti, Khonsu and Isis. Sennedjem was buried in a wooden rectangular sarcophagus or outer coffin shaped like a shrine. This was mounted on sledge runners and fitted with four working wheels; the wheels and axles were not found in the tomb but the wheels are inferred to have been of solid wood 30 centimetres (12 in) in diameter based on

13685-469: The clearance. Having bought the discoverers out of their half of the find, the entire contents of the burial chamber, some 165 objects by Toda's count, were loaded onto the Antiquities Service's dahabeah Boulaq for transport to the Boulaq Museum in Cairo. A stool was broken and the uncoffined mummies were damaged during transport to the boat, prompting Toda to only keep their heads. Once in Cairo,

13846-661: The coffins and mummies of Sennedjem and Isis were housed in the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation . Tracing the dispersal of items is difficult as no complete inventory of the objects sold is available. 29 items from the tomb were bought by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York which included the mummies and funerary assemblages of Iyneferti and Khonsu. The coffin set of Tamaket, wife of Khonsu, as well as an ushabti each of Sennedjem and Khonsu and

14007-471: The coffins were later removed for reuse or sale by family members later in the Nineteenth or Twentieth Dynasties . Canopic chests are known to exist for Sennedjem, Iyneferti, Khonsu, Tamaket, and Isis. All the chests are shaped like a shrine with a sloping roof and are painted with figures of the goddesses Isis, Nephthys, Neith, and Serket and speeches by each taken from the Book of the Dead . Each organ

14168-410: The complaint, testimony, and verdict of the case for future reference. Punishment for minor crimes involved either imposition of fines, beatings, facial mutilation, or exile, depending on the severity of the offense. Serious crimes such as murder and tomb robbery were punished by execution, carried out by decapitation, drowning, or impaling the criminal on a stake. Punishment could also be extended to

14329-476: The contents of TT1; key pieces were placed on display while the rest was kept in storerooms or in outside areas. Maspero offered mummies and artefacts for sale, writing to his wife Louise that he hoped to get 60 or 80 guineas to fund the excavation of the Great Sphinx of Giza and Luxor's temples. Sennedjem, his coffin set and sarcophagus remained in Cairo, as did his granddaughter Isis. As of September 2019,

14490-505: The control of a prefect appointed by the emperor, quelled rebellions, strictly enforced the collection of heavy taxes, and prevented attacks by bandits, which had become a notorious problem during the period. Alexandria became an increasingly important center on the trade route with the orient, as exotic luxuries were in high demand in Rome. Although the Romans had a more hostile attitude than

14651-401: The country and recorded in lists to facilitate trading; for example a shirt cost five copper deben, while a cow cost 140   deben. Grain could be traded for other goods, according to the fixed price list. During the fifth century   BC coined money was introduced into Egypt from abroad. At first the coins were used as standardized pieces of precious metal rather than true money, but in

14812-403: The country's economy. Regional governors could not rely on the king for help in times of crisis, and the ensuing food shortages and political disputes escalated into famines and small-scale civil wars. Yet despite difficult problems, local leaders, owing no tribute to the king, used their new-found independence to establish a thriving culture in the provinces. Once in control of their own resources,

14973-403: The couple's sons worship the deities Ptah-Sokar-Osiris and Isis . The interior surface of the door depicts Sennedjem and Iyneferti playing the board game senet . The left side of the doorway depicts the two lions of the horizon ( Aker ); on the right side Ra, depicted as "The Great Cat", decapitates the snake Apep , representing victory over night. The ceiling of the doorway depicts the arms of

15134-428: The courtyard in front of the chapels. The central shaft, numbered P1182, is located at the very front of the enclosure and is 6.1 metres (20 ft) long and contains two adjoining subterranean rooms. Based on finds of fragments of statuary and pottery with inscribed names, this seems to have been the burial place of Sennedjem's older brother Tjaro and Sennedjem's son Bunakhtef. The other shaft, numbered P1183, in front of

15295-421: The criminal's family. Beginning in the New Kingdom, oracles played a major role in the legal system, dispensing justice in both civil and criminal cases. The procedure was to ask the god a "yes" or "no" question concerning the right or wrong of an issue. The god, carried by a number of priests, rendered judgement by choosing one or the other, moving forward or backward, or pointing to one of the answers written on

15456-572: The deceased through the Underworld and their rebirth into the Afterlife, with the decoration and texts flowing from west to east on each wall, ending with the depiction of Sennedjem and Iyneferti in Aaru , the afterlife. Egyptologist Rogerio Sousa takes this death-to-rebirth interpretation further, interpreting the decoration as flowing from the left side of the doorway, along the two long walls, then

15617-442: The door and entered the room. Toda described the space as "covered with bodies and masses of ceramics, bread, fruit, furniture and bouquets at the corners". The painted burial chamber contained the burials of at least 20 people and were accompanied by a wide variety of objects. Both coffined and uncoffined mummies were placed against the west wall of the chamber, while the disassembled funerary sarcophagi (or shrines) were placed against

15778-468: The door frame depicts Khonsu's brother Khabekhnet and his second wife Isis. Another preserved piece of decoration depicts two fragmentary underworld deities. The scene was likely similar to that seen in the burial chamber of TT1, where the deceased couple appear in adoration of a series of gods. The south wall featured the funeral procession. The lower register shows the funerary sledge pulled by men and two oxen and accompanied by women. The scene continued onto

15939-411: The east wall; funerary equipment such as canopic chests , and ushabti were mixed with work tools, boxes, vases, furniture, food, and bouquets. Eduardo Toda y Güell became responsible for the clearance of the tomb and Jan Herman Insinger for photography. The tomb was cleared in three days by Toda and seven workers. No plan was made to record the positions of objects and few photographs were taken during

16100-572: The economy and precipitated the slow decline into the Second Intermediate Period during the later Thirteenth and Fourteenth dynasties. During this decline, the Canaanite settlers began to assume greater control of the Delta region, eventually coming to power in Egypt as the Hyksos . Around 1785   BC, as the power of the Middle Kingdom kings weakened, a Western Asian people called the Hyksos , who had already settled in

16261-488: The eldest daughter Iutnefret, then the sons Khonsu, Ramose, Anihotep and Ranekhu who stand in pairs and finally a young unnamed girl. On the right side, the side of the dead, Sennedjem and Iyneferti are seated at the far right and attended to by their son Bunakhtef, who is dressed as a sem -priest (priest who conducted funerary rites) and pours a libation ; their two young children, Ranekhu and Hotepu, stand under their chairs. Next to them are Tjaro and Taya, whose son Roma pours

16422-450: The far corners of the world. Its monumental ruins have inspired the imaginations of travelers and writers for millennia. A newfound respect for antiquities and excavations in the early modern period by Europeans and Egyptians has led to the scientific investigation of Egyptian civilization and a greater appreciation of its cultural legacy. The Nile has been the lifeline of its region for much of human history. The fertile floodplain of

16583-524: The financial obligations of the husband to his wife and children should the marriage end. Compared with their counterparts in ancient Greece, Rome, and even more modern places around the world, ancient Egyptian women had a greater range of personal choices, legal rights, and opportunities for achievement. Women such as Hatshepsut and Cleopatra VII even became pharaohs, while others wielded power as Divine Wives of Amun . Despite these freedoms, ancient Egyptian women did not often take part in official roles in

16744-613: The first recorded peace treaty , around 1258   BC. Egypt's wealth, however, made it a tempting target for invasion, particularly by the Libyan Berbers to the west, and the Sea Peoples , a conjectured confederation of seafarers from the Aegean Sea . Initially, the military was able to repel these invasions, but Egypt eventually lost control of its remaining territories in southern Canaan , much of it falling to

16905-427: The floodwaters had receded, the growing season lasted from October to February. Farmers plowed and planted seeds in the fields, which were irrigated with ditches and canals. Egypt received little rainfall, so farmers relied on the Nile to water their crops. From March to May, farmers used sickles to harvest their crops, which were then threshed with a flail to separate the straw from the grain. Winnowing removed

17066-417: The following centuries international traders came to rely on coinage. Egyptian society was highly stratified, and social status was expressly displayed. Farmers made up the bulk of the population, but agricultural produce was owned directly by the state, temple, or noble family that owned the land. Farmers were also subject to a labor tax and were required to work on irrigation or construction projects in

17227-409: The goddess Nut holding the sun. The tympanum (semicircular register) on the west wall depicts two Anubis-jackals laying on rectangular tomb-shrines. Below them, Sennedjem and Iyneferti adore thirteen seated funerary gods, including Osiris and Ra-Harakhty. The text separating the deities appeals to funerary gods to grant the deceased strength and power. The lowest register of the south wall depicts

17388-453: The goddess Nut as a sycamore tree offering food and drink to Sennedjem and Iyneferti who kneel in adoration of her. The layout of the scenes on the ceiling is similar to that seen on coffins, with transverse and vertical bands of text addressing funerary gods in the same order. TT1 is one of few New Kingdom tombs discovered intact in modern times. However, Cooney suggests the tomb does not represent an intact Nineteenth Dynasty burial but instead

17549-412: The government, who relied on a bureaucracy of officials to manage his affairs. In charge of the administration was his second in command, the vizier , who acted as the king's representative and coordinated land surveys, the treasury, building projects, the legal system, and the archives . At a regional level, the country was divided into as many as 42 administrative regions called nomes each governed by

17710-484: The increasing power and wealth of the elite, as well as societal personal-use items, which included combs, small statuary, painted pottery, high quality decorative stone vases , cosmetic palettes , and jewelry made of gold, lapis, and ivory. They also developed a ceramic glaze known as faience , which was used well into the Roman Period to decorate cups, amulets, and figurines. During the last predynastic phase,

17871-532: The king Narmer , who is depicted wearing royal regalia on the ceremonial Narmer Palette, in a symbolic act of unification. In the Early Dynastic Period, which began about 3000   BC, the first of the Dynastic kings solidified control over lower Egypt by establishing a capital at Memphis , from which he could control the labor force and agriculture of the fertile delta region, as well as

18032-411: The king in payment for their services. Kings also made land grants to their mortuary cults and local temples , to ensure that these institutions had the resources to worship the king after his death. Scholars believe that five centuries of these practices slowly eroded the economic vitality of Egypt, and that the economy could no longer afford to support a large centralized administration. As the power of

18193-593: The kingdom's capital to the city of Itjtawy , located in Faiyum . From Itjtawy, the kings of the Twelfth Dynasty undertook a far-sighted land reclamation and irrigation scheme to increase agricultural output in the region. Moreover, the military reconquered territory in Nubia that was rich in quarries and gold mines, while laborers built a defensive structure in the Eastern Delta, called the " Walls of

18354-528: The kings diminished, regional governors called nomarchs began to challenge the supremacy of the office of king. This, coupled with severe droughts between 2200 and 2150   BC, is believed to have caused the country to enter the 140-year period of famine and strife known as the First Intermediate Period. After Egypt's central government collapsed at the end of the Old Kingdom, the administration could no longer support or stabilize

18515-441: The lucrative and critical trade routes to the Levant . The increasing power and wealth of the kings during the early dynastic period was reflected in their elaborate mastaba tombs and mortuary cult structures at Abydos, which were used to celebrate the deified king after his death. The strong institution of kingship developed by the kings served to legitimize state control over the land, labor, and resources that were essential to

18676-464: The mid-first century AD, Christianity took root in Egypt and it was originally seen as another cult that could be accepted. However, it was an uncompromising religion that sought to win converts from the pagan Egyptian and Greco-Roman religions and threatened popular religious traditions. This led to the persecution of converts to Christianity, culminating in the great purges of Diocletian starting in 303, but eventually Christianity won out. In 391,

18837-410: The names of their owners. Sennedjem has no ushabti box but has three ushabti placed in their own mummiform coffins. Most of the ushabti are shaped like mummies, while some are shown wearing clothing; the two forms likely reflect the two coffin styles in use at the time. A few ushabti are inscribed for individuals who were not buried in the tomb, such as Khabekhnet. These were probably included as gifts for

18998-479: The nearby tomb TT2 . A younger son, Khonsu, had a pyramid chapel within the TT1 complex and was buried in his father's tomb. Sennedjem and one or two of his sons lived in a cluster of houses in the newly built southern part of Deir el-Medina, close to the family tomb. TT1 is located on a low terrace at the southern end of Deir el-Medina's western necropolis. The funerary complex contains three pyramid-shaped chapels within

19159-405: The nobility were the priests, physicians, and engineers with specialized training in their field. It is unclear whether slavery as understood today existed in ancient Egypt; there is difference of opinions among authors. The ancient Egyptians viewed men and women, including people from all social classes, as essentially equal under the law, and even the lowliest peasant was entitled to petition

19320-682: The north, while a rival clan based in Thebes , the Intef family , took control of Upper Egypt in the south. As the Intefs grew in power and expanded their control northward, a clash between the two rival dynasties became inevitable. Around 2055   BC the northern Theban forces under Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II finally defeated the Herakleopolitan rulers, reuniting the Two Lands. They inaugurated

19481-676: The northern part of Egypt, ruling from the city of Tanis . The south was effectively controlled by the High Priests of Amun at Thebes , who recognized Smendes in name only. During this time, Libyans had been settling in the western delta, and chieftains of these settlers began increasing their autonomy. Libyan princes took control of the delta under Shoshenq I in 945   BC, founding the so-called Libyan or Bubastite dynasty that would rule for some 200 years. Shoshenq also gained control of southern Egypt by placing his family members in important priestly positions. Libyan control began to erode as

19642-505: The populations of the area to concentrate along the river region. In Predynastic and Early Dynastic times, the Egyptian climate was much less arid than it is today . Large regions of Egypt were covered in treed savanna and traversed by herds of grazing ungulates . Foliage and fauna were far more prolific in all environs, and the Nile region supported large populations of waterfowl . Hunting would have been common for Egyptians, and this

19803-528: The previously obscure sun deity Aten as the supreme deity , suppressed the worship of most other deities, and moved the capital to the new city of Akhetaten (modern-day Amarna ). He was devoted to his new religion and artistic style . After his death, the cult of the Aten was quickly abandoned and the traditional religious order restored. The subsequent pharaohs, Tutankhamun , Ay , and Horemheb , worked to erase all mention of Akhenaten's heresy, now known as

19964-621: The provinces became economically richer—which was demonstrated by larger and better burials among all social classes. In bursts of creativity, provincial artisans adopted and adapted cultural motifs formerly restricted to the royalty of the Old Kingdom, and scribes developed literary styles that expressed the optimism and originality of the period. Free from their loyalties to the king, local rulers began competing with each other for territorial control and political power . By 2160   BC, rulers in Herakleopolis controlled Lower Egypt in

20125-407: The pylon mirrored the hieroglyph akhet 'horizon', which was a depiction of two hills "between which the sun rose and set". Consequently, it played a critical role in the symbolic architecture of a building associated with the place of re-creation and rebirth. Pylons were often decorated with scenes emphasizing a king's authority since it was the public face of a building. On the first pylon of

20286-409: The rear (west) wall, where the mummy, supported by a kneeling man, stands before a pyramid chapel; priests administer funerary rites. A band of hieroglyphic text, preserved only in small sections, gave Khonsu's name and title, and served to divide the wall decoration from the ceiling all around the chapel. A wall divided the chapels of Sennedjem and Khonsu from the larger southernmost pyramid chapel. It

20447-493: The rest of the occupants of the burial chamber. The coffin set (consisting of a coffin and mummy board) and mummy of Tamaket were purchased by the Egyptian Museum of Berlin ; during World War II, her coffin (presumably containing her mummy) was transferred to Sophienhof Castle for safe keeping but was destroyed in 1945 when the castle was bombed. The remaining coffins, belonging to Ramose, Taashen, Prehotep, and Hathor, and

20608-419: The rest were placed on the floor. Sennedjem and his son Khonsu had the most elaborate burials, both being provided with a sarcophagus or outer rectangular coffin in addition to mummiform coffins, mummy boards and masks; these larger coffins were found disassembled and placed against a wall. For the other 11 people buried there, their exact relation to Sennedjem is unclear due to the lack of inscriptions. The tomb

20769-411: The right side is a depiction of Sennedjem's mummy on a lion-shaped funerary bed inside a tent, and flanked on either side by the goddesses Isis and Nephthys in the form of birds. The north wall is divided into two scenes. On the left, Anubis attends the mummy of Sennedjem in a tent, surrounded by text from the Book of the Dead . On the right, in a scene referencing the weighing of the heart, Sennedjem

20930-718: The role of the Egyptian temple priests and priestesses diminished. The temples themselves were sometimes converted to churches or abandoned to the desert. In the fourth century, as the Roman Empire divided, Egypt found itself in the Eastern Empire with its capital at Constantinople . In the waning years of the Empire, Egypt fell to the Sasanian Persian army in the Sasanian conquest of Egypt (618–628). It

21091-506: The shaft in front of Sennedjem's chapel was unrobbed. It leads to a series of underground rooms, including the extensively decorated burial chamber. The undisturbed tomb was discovered in January 1886 in excavations by Gurnawi local Salam Abu Duhi and three others. The single room contained 165 objects, including over 20 burials belonging to family members of Sennedjem. Nine members of Sennedjem's immediate family were placed in coffins while

21252-402: The size of a herd reflected the prestige and importance of the estate or temple that owned them. In addition to cattle, the ancient Egyptians kept sheep, goats, and pigs. Poultry , such as ducks, geese, and pigeons, were captured in nets and bred on farms, where they were force-fed with dough to fatten them. The Nile provided a plentiful source of fish . Bees were also domesticated from at least

21413-551: The southern chapel is unfinished and unused. The northernmost shaft located 1.70 metres (5.6 ft) from Sennedjem's chapel led to his burial chamber. The intact burial chamber of TT1 was discovered in January 1886 by Gurnawi local Salam Abu Duhi and three others. They had obtained permission from Gaston Maspero , the director of the Antiquities Service , to look for tombs in Deir el-Medina. After seven days of excavation, they found an intact burial shaft that led to

21574-453: The survival and growth of ancient Egyptian civilization. Major advances in architecture, art, and technology were made during the Old Kingdom , fueled by the increased agricultural productivity and resulting population growth, made possible by a well-developed central administration. Some of ancient Egypt's crowning achievements, the Giza pyramids and Great Sphinx , were constructed during

21735-401: The sycamore goddess giving water to him and his wife Tamaket in human form and as ba -birds. His inner coffin depicts him wearing an elaborate wig and short beard. He again holds the djed and tyet in his hands. Below his arms is a winged goddess. The design of the lower half of the coffin is similar to the outer one; the footboard shows solar scenes. The set was completed with a mask, which

21896-564: The temple of Isis at Philae , the pharaoh is shown slaying his enemies while Isis, Horus and Hathor look on. Other examples of pylons can be seen in Karnak , Luxor Temple and Edfu . Rituals to the god Amun were often carried out on the top of temple pylons. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon. In addition to standard vertical grooves on the exterior face of a pylon wall which were designed to hold flag poles, some pylons also contained internal stairways and rooms. The oldest intact pylons belong to mortuary temples from

22057-435: The time period but entirely yellow with coloured scenes instead of black-based with gilded bands and figures. The lid depicts him as a wrapped mummy wearing a naturalistic wig and the short beard of the living. His mummy board, placed inside the coffin atop the body, depicts him as a young man in a wig, broad collar, and white linen kilt. More specifically Sennedjem is represented as an akh , an effective spirit that has passed

22218-464: The title " servant in the Place of Truth " ( sḏm ꜥš m s.t mꜣꜥ.t ), which indicates he was part of the community of royal tomb builders at Deir el-Medina . He may have been a scribe , based on the presence of an ostracon of the Story of Sinuhe placed near his coffin. Sennedjem was involved in the cult of the goddess Hathor , bearing the title "servant of Hathor" ( bꜣk n(y) Hw.t-Ḥr ). His father

22379-546: The tomb. Five are everyday examples used by the occupants in life and three are considered to be funerary; two are inscribed for Iyneferti and one for Mose. All forty boxes and chests in the tomb were found empty; the contents were likely removed by later family members. The only jewellery found in the tomb comes from the bodies of Sennedjem, Iyneferti and Khonsu; the nine boxes thought to have held jewellery were likely emptied by family members in antiquity. Remaining personal possessions included Sennedjem's work tools, among which were

22540-475: The trials of the afterlife. His mummy was also equipped with a cartonnage mummy mask. Sousa suggests, through comparison with his coffin, that the mask of Khonsu in the Metropolitan Museum really belongs to Sennedjem but was swapped at some point before its sale. His body was equipped with three pectorals, one of which is a heart scarab . His mummy has not been X-rayed or CT scanned so nothing

22701-627: The two foetuses are now lost. The identities of the uncoffined individuals of which only the heads were kept are unknown. A skull donated by Toda to the Biblioteca Museu Víctor Balaguer is from a woman aged in her thirties who is thought to be one of Sennedjem's daughters or granddaughters; the associated mandible belonged to an unknown man. Those interred without coffins are usually thought to belong to poorer family members who could not afford them. Alternatively, Cooney suggests they were originally interred in coffins but that

22862-400: The two short walls, then the ceiling and back to the right side of the doorway, covering the death, underworld journey and eventual rebirth of the deceased following the solar cycle. The painting of the burial chamber was likely completed before the fifth year of Ramesses II's reign. The hieroglyphic inscriptions are uniformly written, indicating the work was done by a single artist. However,

23023-494: The two states became inevitable. Between 671 and 667   BC the Assyrians began the Assyrian conquest of Egypt . The reigns of both Taharqa and his successor, Tanutamun , were filled with constant conflict with the Assyrians, against whom Egypt enjoyed several victories. Ultimately, the Assyrians pushed the Kushites back into Nubia, occupied Memphis, and sacked the temples of Thebes . The Assyrians left control of Egypt to

23184-469: The west wall. His set of two nested mummiform coffins were found on Sennedjem's funerary bed. The outer coffin shows Khonsu wearing the striped wig and a divine curled beard. His arms are depicted crossed over his chest and he holds the tyet -knot and djed -pillar in his hands. The lid is divided by vertical and horizontal bands of text; the space between depicts Anubis as a jackal, mourning goddesses, and Khonsu himself adoring Osiris. The footboard depicts

23345-483: The world to fund further excavation work in Egypt. The most important items outside Egypt went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Egyptian Museum of Berlin ; the exact locations of other pieces are now largely unknown. Sennedjem was an ancient Egyptian official during the reigns of the pharaohs Seti I and Ramesses II of the Nineteenth Dynasty in the early 13th century BC. He bore

23506-404: Was Iyneferti. She was titled "lady of the house" ( nb.t-pr ) and "singer of Hathor" ( ḥs.t n(t) Hw.t-Ḥr ). Little is known of her family but her mother may have been named Mutnofret. Sennedjem and Iyneferti had at least 10 children, many of whom are depicted in their tomb and also worked in the royal necropolis. Their eldest son Khabekhnet , named for his paternal grandfather, was the owner of

23667-463: Was Khabekhnet, who was titled "servant of Amun in the southern City" ( ꜥš n Imn n Ip.t-rsy.t ). Tahenu (or Taha(y)nu) is thought to be his mother. Khabekhnet and Tahenu are depicted with an additional woman named Rusu whose relationship to the couple is not specified. She may have been a second wife of Khabekhnet or Khabekhnet's own mother. Sennedjem had three brothers: Tutuya (or Tutuia), Messu (or Mose), and an elder brother, Tjaro. Sennedjem's wife

23828-429: Was a bureaucracy of elite scribes , religious leaders, and administrators under the control of a pharaoh , who ensured the cooperation and unity of the Egyptian people in the context of an elaborate system of religious beliefs . The many achievements of the ancient Egyptians include the quarrying , surveying , and construction techniques that supported the building of monumental pyramids , temples , and obelisks ;

23989-529: Was a notable source of granite, greywacke , and gold. Flint was the first mineral collected and used to make tools, and flint handaxes are the earliest pieces of evidence of habitation in the Nile valley. Nodules of the mineral were carefully flaked to make blades and arrowheads of moderate hardness and durability even after copper was adopted for this purpose. Ancient Egyptians were among the first to use minerals such as sulfur as cosmetic substances. Pylon (architecture) In ancient Egyptian religion ,

24150-423: Was based on a common-sense view of right and wrong that emphasized reaching agreements and resolving conflicts rather than strictly adhering to a complicated set of statutes. Local councils of elders, known as Kenbet in the New Kingdom, were responsible for ruling in court cases involving small claims and minor disputes. More serious cases involving murder, major land transactions, and tomb robbery were referred to

24311-451: Was cleared quickly by Eduardo Toda y Güell and Jan Herman Insinger on behalf of Gaston Maspero , the head of the Antiquities Service . The burial goods included many ushabti , canopic chests and pieces of furniture. The contents of the tomb were transferred to the Boulaq Museum in Cairo. From there, some of the objects, including the coffins and mummies of Iyneferti, Khonsu, and Tamaket, were sold to museum and private collections around

24472-436: Was closed with a stone slab at the time of discovery. At the base of the shaft was a wooden door set into an inscribed limestone door frame. Beyond this was the burial chamber, a rectangular room measuring 5.12 m × 2.61 m (16.8 by 8.6 feet) with a vaulted ceiling 2.40 metres (7.9 ft) tall. It is lined with mudbricks and coated with plaster to provide a smooth background for decoration. The walls and ceiling of

24633-443: Was concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River , situated within the contemporary territory of modern-day Egypt . Ancient Egyptian civilization followed prehistoric Egypt and coalesced around 3100   BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology ) with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under pharaoh or king Menes (often identified with Narmer ). The history of ancient Egypt unfolded as

24794-421: Was crucial in ancient Egypt because taxes were assessed based on the amount of land a person owned. Farming in Egypt was dependent on the cycle of the Nile River. The Egyptians recognized three seasons: Akhet (flooding), Peret (planting), and Shemu (harvesting). The flooding season lasted from June to September, depositing on the river's banks a layer of mineral-rich silt ideal for growing crops. After

24955-430: Was dried and wrapped and placed in ceramic jars inside the chests. Sennedjem's mummified and wrapped organs were placed in mummiform canopic coffins instead of canopic jars . Each small coffin was wrapped in fabric and inscribed with the name of the son of Horus associated with the respective organ. A total of 24 ushabti boxes and 74 ushabti were found in the tomb. All of the boxes are decorated and most are inscribed with

25116-452: Was married to her uncle, Khabekhnet, who had his own chapel and tomb nearby in TT2. She was buried in a single coffin that Sousa characterises as "surprisingly 'archaic'". On the lid she is depicted in the dress of the living. She wears a long wig with a floral fillet topped with lotus flowers; two pairs of earrings (studs and hoops) emerge from her hair. Her left arm is bent across her chest, which

25277-577: Was never able to overthrow the Persians until the end of the century. Following its annexation by Persia, Egypt was joined with Cyprus and Phoenicia in the sixth satrapy of the Achaemenid Persian Empire . This first period of Persian rule over Egypt, also known as the Twenty-Seventh Dynasty , ended in 402   BC, when Egypt regained independence under a series of native dynasties. The last of these dynasties,

25438-615: Was placed on a bed, and the bodies without coffins were placed on the floor. The pieces of the disassembled sarcophagi were placed at the other end of the room, against the western end of the south wall. Those interred in the tomb included Sennedjem, his wife Iyneferti, and some of their children including Khonsu and his wife Tamaket, Parahotep, Taashen, Ramose, and Hathor, and grandchildren such as Isis, daughter of Khonsu. Two foetuses or infants were buried in yellow-painted wooden boxes. Nine burials were in coffins (eight adults, one child), and 11 individuals were buried without coffins. The bodies of

25599-476: Was then recaptured by the Byzantine emperor Heraclius (629–639), and was finally captured by Muslim Rashidun army in 639–641, marking the end of both Byzantine rule and of the period typically considered Ancient Egypt. The pharaoh was the absolute monarch of the country and, at least in theory, wielded complete control of the land and its resources. The king was the supreme military commander and head of

25760-499: Was toothless and had rheumatoid arthritis of the spine. She had a healed fracture ( Colles' fracture ) of her right wrist. She may have been blind towards the end of her life, based on a prayer dedicated by her to Thoth. Khonsu was buried in a sarcophagus and coffin set similar to his father. His large rectangular sarcophagus was fitted with runners but lacked wheels; the decorative scheme is similar in content but has less defined registers. It too had been disassembled and placed against

25921-420: Was used to weave sheets of linen and to make clothing. Papyrus growing on the banks of the Nile River was used to make paper. Vegetables and fruits were grown in garden plots, close to habitations and on higher ground, and had to be watered by hand. Vegetables included leeks, garlic, melons, squashes, pulses, lettuce, and other crops, in addition to grapes that were made into wine. The Egyptians believed that

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