Meretseger was a Theban cobra-goddess in ancient Egyptian religion, in charge with guarding and protecting the vast Theban Necropolis — on the west bank of the Nile, in front of Thebes — and especially the heavily guarded Valley of the Kings. Her cult was typical of the New Kingdom of Egypt.
The Turin Papyrus Map is an ancient Egyptian map, generally considered the oldest surviving map of topographical interest from the ancient world. It is drawn on a papyrus reportedly discovered at Deir el-Medina in Thebes, collected by Bernardino Drovetti in Egypt sometime before 1824 and now preserved in Turin's Museo Egizio. The map was drawn around 1150 BCE by the well-known Scribe-of-the-Tomb Amennakhte, son of Ipuy. It was prepared for Ramesses IV's quarrying expedition to the Wadi Hammamat in the Eastern Desert, which exposes Precambrian rocks of the Arabian-Nubian Shield. The purpose of the expedition was to obtain blocks of bekhen-stone to be used for statues of the king.
A pyramidion is the capstone of an Egyptian pyramid or the upper section of an obelisk. Speakers of the Ancient Egyptian language referred to pyramidia as benbenet and associated the pyramid as a whole with the sacred benben stone.
The Institut français d'archéologie orientale, also known as the French Institute for Oriental Archaeology in Cairo, is a French research institute based in Cairo, Egypt, dedicated to the study of the archaeology, history and languages of the various periods of Egypt's civilisation.
Sennedjem was an Ancient Egyptian artisan who was active during the reigns of Seti I and Ramesses II. He lived in Set Maat, contemporary Deir el-Medina, on the west bank of the Nile, opposite Thebes. Sennedjem had the title "Servant in the Place of Truth". He was buried along with his wife, Iyneferti, and members of his family in a tomb in the village necropolis. His tomb was discovered January 31, 1886. When Sennedjem's tomb was found, it contained furniture from his home, including a stool and a bed, which he used when he was alive.
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 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 mortuary temple of Hatshepsut is a mortuary temple built during the reign of Pharaoh Hatshepsut of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Located opposite the city of Luxor, it is considered to be a masterpiece of ancient architecture. Its three massive terraces rise above the desert floor and into the cliffs of Deir el-Bahari. Hatshepsut's tomb, KV20, lies inside the same massif capped by El Qurn, a pyramid for her mortuary complex. At the edge of the desert, 1 km (0.62 mi) east, connected to the complex by a causeway, lies the accompanying valley temple. Across the river Nile, the whole structure points towards the monumental Eighth Pylon, Hatshepsut's most recognizable addition to the Temple of Karnak and the site from which the procession of the Beautiful Festival of the Valley departed. Its axes identify the temple's twin functions: its central east-west axis served to receive the barque of Amun-Re at the climax of the festival, while its north-south axis represented the life cycle of the pharaoh from coronation to rebirth.
The Theban Tomb TT39 is located in El-Khokha, part of the Theban Necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile, opposite to Luxor. It is the burial place of the ancient Egyptian official, Puimre.
Qen was an Ancient Egyptian artisan. Qen lived in Deir el-Medina on the west bank of the Nile, opposite Thebes, during the reigns of Ramesses II. His titles included Servant in the Place of Truth, meaning that he worked on the excavation and decoration of nearby royal tombs. He was buried in a tomb in the village necropolis.
Paser was an ancient Egyptian noble who served as vizier during the reigns of Seti I and Ramesses II in the 19th Dynasty. He would later also become High Priest of Amun.
Theban Tomb TT2 is the burial place of the ancient Egyptian official Khabekhnet and his family in Deir el-Medina, part of the Theban Necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile, opposite to Luxor.
The tomb of Kha and Merit, also known by its tomb number Theban Tomb 8 or 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 during the reigns of the pharaohs Amenhotep II, Thutmose IV and Amenhotep III in the mid-Eighteenth Dynasty of the early New Kingdom of Egypt. Of unknown background, he probably rose to his position through skill and was rewarded by at least one king. He and his wife Merit had three known children. Kha died in his 60s, while Merit died before him, seemingly unexpectedly, in her 20s or 30s.
Ramose was an ancient Egyptian scribe and artisan who lived in Deir el-Medina on the west bank of the Nile, opposite Thebes, during the reigns of Ramesses II. He held the position of Scribe of the Tomb, the highest administrative position for a scribe in Deir el-Medina, from around years 5 to 38 of Ramesses II's reign. He was buried in a tomb in the village necropolis.
The Theban Tomb TT32 is located in El-Khokha, part of the Theban Necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile, opposite to Luxor. It is the burial place of the ancient Egyptian official, Djehutymose.
Khawy was a guardian in the Place of Truth and servitor of Amun of Opet (Luxor) from the reign of Ramesses II. He lived in the workers village Deir el-Medina. Khawy is known from his tomb TT214, his house and several other inscriptions.
"Khonsuemheb and the ghost", often known simply as A ghost story, is an ancient Egyptian ghost story dating back to the Ramesside period. Its protagonist is a priest named Khonsuemheb and the story revolves around his encounter with a restless ghost.
Tomb A.6 is the modern number given to a now lost Theban tomb in Dra' Abu el-Naga'. The burial dates to the ancient Egyptian 18th Dynasty and belonged to the overseer of the marshland dwellers Dhjehutinefer, who is also called Seshu. The place was visited by the expedition of Karl Richard Lepsius, who copied the tomb owner's title overseer of the marshland dwellers of the lord of the two lands, but not the name. It seems that the tomb was then already heavily destroyed. Before 1906 the French Egyptologist Henri Gauthier visited A.6 and described the few remains of the decoration and published a short note. Gauthier recorded some further titles of Dhjehutinefer, such as scribe and counter of cattle and fowl of the temple of Amun. A fragment belonging to the tomb is a wall painting that is today in the Metropolitan Museum in New York. On the fragment in New York also mentioned the wife of Djehutinefer, a woman called Benbu. Several funerary cones belonging to the tomb are known. They provide the name of Djehutynefer's father who was the scribe Mesu.
Sennefer was an Ancient Egyptian official with the title "servant in the Place of Truth" at the end of the 18th Dynasty. He is mainly known due to his unlooted burial found in 1928 by excavations under Bernard Bruyère at Deir el-Medina. The burial chamber of Sennefer was found within the tomb of the servant at the place of truth Hormes. The small chamber contained the inscribed coffins of Sennefer and his wife Nefertiti. Both were found wrapped in linen. Sennefer was also adorned with a mummy mask. He had a heart scarab and was adorned with a pectoral. On his coffin was placed a painted piece of cloth, showing Sennefer before an offering table. Furthermore, the burial contained different types of furniture, including a bed, a box, a head rest and several pottery as well as stone vessels. The burial of a child in an undecorated box was found, too. Two shabti figures are datable by style to the end of the 18th Dynasty.
TT217, or Tomb of Ipuy, is the tomb of the ancient Egyptian artisan Ipuy and members of his family in Deir el-Medina, near modern Luxor, Egypt. Ipuy was a sculptor active in the reign of Ramesses II of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt.
Kathrin Gabler is a German Egyptologist. She is the current professor of Egyptology at the University of Mainz, a German U15 research university, and a specialist on Deir el-Medina prosopography, Hieratic script, and Egyptian archaeology.
