Henut-wedjebu [1] in hieroglyphs | |||||
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Era: New Kingdom (1550–1069 BC) | |||||
Henut-wedjebu was an ancient Egyptian noblewoman buried in the late Eighteenth Dynasty during the reigns of Amenhotep III or Amenhotep IV. She is known from her intact burial at Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, discovered in 1896 by French Egyptologist Georges Daressy. The same year, Henut-wedjebu's coffin and mummy was purchased by Charles Parsons and gifted to Washington University in St. Louis. Her coffin is on display in the Saint Louis Art Museum.
Henut-wedjebu (Ḥnw.t-wḏbw [2] ) bore the titles "chantress of Amun" and "lady of the house". [3] [4] Her name means "lady of the river banks". [5] Radiologist Sanjeev Bhalla suggests she was probably pretty in life, with "a slender face and high cheekbones". [6] Her teeth are in good condition. She may have died of an infection as there are signs of calcification in her lymph nodes and scarring in her lungs. [6] Her skull was fractured and some joints were dislocated post-mortem, possibly during mummification. [7]
Her mummy has never been unwrapped. CT scans indicate her brain, heart and lungs were not removed during mummification. [8] Small objects seen around her head in the scans are thought to be beads attached to a large wig; [6] [9] other suggestions include a beaded shroud or mummification material. [7]
Henut-wedjebu's tomb was discovered on 1 March 1896 by Egyptologist Georges Daressy at the base of Sheikh Abd el-Qurna hill. [4] [10] Cut into the east face of the hill, [11] the tomb, described by Daressy as a cave, was small and undecorated. The entrance was closed by a mudbrick wall. Four intact coffins were found in the space; a fifth coffin, placed towards the entrance, was crushed by debris. [10] The tomb belonged to Hatiay, who was titled "scribe and granary-overseer of the Mansion of the Aten". Henut-wedjebu was presumably his wife, as she was buried in a similarly styled and ornate coffin. Two other women, Siamun and Huy, were buried in the same tomb. [4]
In 1896 Henut-wedjebu's coffin and mummy were purchased by Charles Parsons through Émile Brugsch and gifted to Washington University. [4] Her coffin is now permanently exhibited in the Saint Louis Art Museum. [7]
Henut-wedjebu's wooden coffin is 64.5 inches (164 cm) long. It depicts Henut-wedjebu as a wrapped mummy wearing a striped wig and large broad collar. It has a black-based design with the wig, face and neck, collar, texts and other decoration in gilded gesso; the eyes and eyebrows are inlaid in coloured glass. Instead of hands atop the collar, breasts are modelled beneath the surface of the collar. [12] This is the only surviving example of an Eighteenth Dynasty coffin with breasts; [13] coffins with breasts are more typical of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasties when the deceased is depicted in daily life dress. [12] Below the collar, the goddess Nut kneels with wings outstretched and a prayer addressing her runs down the centre of the lid. Horizontal bands of inscriptions and texts across the lid and trough address other funerary deities including Anubis and the four sons of Horus. Nephthys and Isis are depicted kneeling at the head and foot ends respectively. [14]
The style of the coffin decoration and the mention of the god Aten in the title of Hatiay place them in the late reign of Amenhotep III or the reign of Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten). [12] Kozloff suggests it was made in the same workshops as the coffins of Amenhotep III's parents-in-law, Yuya and Thuya. [15]
Tiye was the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III, mother of pharaoh Akhenaten and grandmother of pharaoh Tutankhamun; her parents were Yuya and Thuya. In 2010, DNA analysis confirmed her as the mummy known as "The Elder Lady" found in the tomb of Amenhotep II (KV35) in 1898.
Amenhotep III, also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent or Amenhotep the Great and Hellenized as Amenophis III, was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. According to different authors, he ruled Egypt from June 1386 to 1349 BC, or from June 1388 BC to December 1351 BC/1350 BC, after his father Thutmose IV died. Amenhotep was Thutmose's son by a minor wife, Mutemwiya.
Thutmose II was the fourth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, and his reign is generally dated from 1493 to 1479 BC. Little is known about him and he is overshadowed by his father Thutmose I, half-sister and wife Hatshepsut, and son Thutmose III. He died around the age of 30 and his body was found in the Deir el-Bahri Cache above the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut.
Amenhotep I or Amenophis I, was the second Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt. His reign is generally dated from 1526 to 1506 BC.
Tomb KV60 is an ancient Egyptian tomb in the Valley of the Kings, Egypt. It was discovered by Howard Carter in 1903, and re-excavated by Donald P. Ryan in 1989. It is one of the more perplexing tombs of the Theban Necropolis, due to the uncertainty over the identity of one female mummy found there (KV60A). She is identified by some, such as Egyptologist Elizabeth Thomas, to be that of the Eighteenth Dynasty pharaoh Hatshepsut; this identification is advocated for by Zahi Hawass.
The tomb of Yuya and Thuya, also known by its tomb number KV46, is the burial place of the ancient Egyptian noble Yuya and his wife Thuya, in the Valley of the Kings. They were the parents of Queen Tiye, the chief wife of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. Their tomb was discovered in February 1905 by the Egyptologist James E. Quibell, excavating under the sponsorship of American millionaire Theodore M. Davis. The tomb was robbed in antiquity but preserved a great deal of its original contents including chests, beds, chairs, a chariot, and numerous storage jars. Additionally, the riffled but undamaged mummies of Yuya and Thuya were found within their disturbed coffin sets. Prior to the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, this was considered to be one of the greatest discoveries in Egyptology.
Yuya was a powerful ancient Egyptian courtier during the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. He was married to Thuya, an Egyptian noblewoman associated with the royal family, who held high offices in the governmental and religious hierarchies. Their daughter, Tiye, became the Great Royal Wife of Amenhotep III. Yuya and Thuya are known to have had a son named Anen, who carried the titles "Chancellor of Lower Egypt", "Second Prophet of Amun", "Sm-priest of Heliopolis", and "Divine Father".
Thuya was an Egyptian noblewoman and the mother of queen Tiye, and the wife of Yuya. She is the grandmother of Akhenaten, and great grandmother of Tutankhamun.
Tomb KV36 is the burial place of the noble Maiherpri of the Eighteenth Dynasty in the Valley of the Kings, Egypt.
Maiherperi was an ancient Egyptian noble buried in tomb KV36 in the Valley of the Kings. He probably lived during the rule of Thutmose IV, and received the honour of a burial in the royal necropolis. His name can be translated as Lion of the Battlefield. Amongst his titles were Child of the Nursery and Fan-bearer on the Right Side of the King. There is speculation that the first title signified that he grew up in the royal nursery as a prince of a vassal territory, or perhaps was the son of a lesser wife or concubine of the pharaoh. He was among the first during the New Kingdom to hold the second title, and was literally true in that he was by the pharaoh's side, likely as an advisor or bodyguard. This same title was also used to denote the Viceroys of Kush later in the New Kingdom.
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 to Sennedjem's son Khonsu. Of the three shafts associated with the chapels, only the shaft in front of Sennedjem's chapel was unrobbed. It led to a series of underground rooms, including the extensively decorated burial chamber.
The Ancient Egyptian noble, Ramose was Vizier under both Amenhotep III and Akhenaten. He was in office in the last decade of Amenhotep's III reign and at the beginning of the reign of the latter king. Ramose appears on jar labels found in the palace of king Amenhotep III at Malkata. Here appears also the vizier Amenhotep-Huy. Both viziers are also shown side by side in the temple of Soleb. In the New Kingdom the office of the vizier was divided in a northern vizier and a southern one. It is not entirely clear whether Ramose was the southern or northern one.
The tomb of Kha and Merit, also known by its tomb number TT8, is the funerary chapel and burial place of the ancient Egyptian foreman Kha and his wife Merit, in the northern cemetery of the workmen's village of Deir el-Medina. Kha supervised the workforce who constructed royal tombs in the reigns of the pharaohs Amenhotep II, Thutmose IV and Amenhotep III during the mid-Eighteenth Dynasty. Of unknown background, he probably rose to this position through skill and was rewarded by at least one king. He and his wife Merit had three known children. Kha died in his 50s or 60s, while Merit died before him, seemingly unexpectedly, in her 30s.
The Theban Tomb TT57 is located in Sheikh Abd el-Qurna. It forms part of the Theban Necropolis, situated on the west bank of the Nile opposite Luxor. The tomb is the burial place of the ancient Egyptian official Khaemhat, who was royal scribe and overseer of double granary, during the reign Amenhotep III. The relief decoration of the tomb is regarded as the best of New Kingdom art.
The Younger Lady is the informal name given to an ancient Egyptian mummy discovered within tomb KV35 in the Valley of the Kings by archaeologist Victor Loret in 1898. The mummy also has been given the designation KV35YL and 61072, and currently resides in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Through recent DNA tests, this mummy has been identified as the mother of the pharaoh Tutankhamun and a daughter of pharaoh Amenhotep III and his Great Royal Wife Tiye. Early speculation that this mummy was the remains of Nefertiti was argued to be incorrect, as nowhere is Nefertiti accorded the title "King's daughter."
The colossal statue of Amenhotep III and Tiye is a monolith group statue of Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III of the eighteenth dynasty, his Great Royal Wife Tiye, and three of their daughters. It is the largest known dyad ever carved. The statue originally stood in Medinet Habu, Western Thebes; today it is the centerpiece of the main hall of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
Mummies 317a and 317b were the infant daughters of Tutankhamun, a pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Their mother, who has been tentatively identified through DNA testing as the mummy KV21A, is presumed to be Ankhesenamun, his only known wife. 317a was born prematurely at 5–6 months' gestation, and 317b was born at or near full term. They are assumed to have been stillborn or died shortly after birth.
Theban Tomb TT72 is located in the Theban Necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile, opposite to Luxor. It was the tomb of Re, who was the First Prophet of Amun in the Mortuary temple of Thutmosis III. The tomb is located in the necropolis area around Sheikh Abd el-Qurna and dates to the time of Amenhotep II.
The Qurna Queen was an ancient Egyptian woman who lived in the Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt, around 1600 BC to 1500 BC, whose mummy is now in the National Museum of Scotland. She was in her late teens or early twenties at the time of her death, and her mummy and coffin were found in El-Kohr, near the Valley of the Kings. Damage to her coffin means that her name has been lost. The quality of the grave goods and the location of the burial have been used to argue that the inhabitant of the grave was a member of the royal family. If this is the case, it would mean that the site's mummies, coffins and grave goods would make up the only complete royal burial exported from Egypt in its entirety.