Butehamun | |
---|---|
Born | Before 1070 BC In or around Deir el-Medina, Egypt |
Died | Before 960 BC |
Occupation | Scribe |
Years active | c. 11th century BC |
Butehamun [1] in hieroglyphs | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Era: New Kingdom (1550–1069 BC) | |||||||||
Butehamun (fl. 11th century BC) was an Egyptian scribe born and raised in or around Deir el-Medina [2] during the reign of Ramesses XI, the tenth and final pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt. Butehamun was the son of Thutmose [3] [4] (or Dhutmose) [5] of Deir el-Medina, who was also a scribe, and a member of a family of scribes dating back to the early Twentieth Dynasty.
Under the orders of the High Priests of Amun who maintained the temple complex of Karnak in Thebes, Butehamun was involved in the relocation and reburial of royal mummies from the Valley of the Kings to the Royal Cache (TT320). [6] Throughout his life, Butehamun earned several titles, including "Scribe of the Necropolis", "Opener of the Gates of the Necropolis", "Overseer of Works in the House of Eternity", and "Overseer of the Treasuries of the Kings". [4]
Much of what is known about Butehamun is derived from graffiti and from letters between Butehamun and his father. [7] Though Polish archaeologist Andrzej Niwiński proposed the existence of three scribes, each named Butehamun, connected to the Theban Necropolis, [8] this view is considered discredited. [9] Butehamun died during the Twenty-first Dynasty of Egypt. [10]
Butehamun's residence was located at Medinet Habu, [11] [12] a site near the foot of the Theban Hills on the west bank of the Nile River. Four columns of the adobe remain, bearing inscriptions and images of the god Amun and the pharaoh Amenhotep I, as well as Amenhotep I's mother, the Great Royal Wife Ahmose-Nefertari. [12]
Butehamun died during the Twenty-first Dynasty of Egypt, [10] which lasted from 1077 BC to 943 BC. The whereabouts of Butehamun's mummy are unknown. [13] A set of coffins belonging to Butehamun—an outer coffin, an inner coffin, and a "false lid"—were probably [13] found in the tomb of Nakhte-Min (TT291), a workman from the Eighteenth Dynasty. [10] Butehamun's outer and inner coffins are housed at the Museo Egizio in Turin, Italy. [13] [14]
Thebes, known to the ancient Egyptians as Waset, was an ancient Egyptian city located along the Nile about 800 kilometers (500 mi) south of the Mediterranean. Its ruins lie within the modern Egyptian city of Luxor. Thebes was the main city of the fourth Upper Egyptian nome and was the capital of Egypt for long periods during the Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom eras. It was close to Nubia and the Eastern Desert, with its valuable mineral resources and trade routes. It was a cult center and the most venerated city during many periods of ancient Egyptian history. The site of Thebes includes areas on both the eastern bank of the Nile, where the temples of Karnak and Luxor stand and where the city was situated; and the western bank, where a necropolis of large private and royal cemeteries and funerary complexes can be found. In 1979, the ruins of ancient Thebes were classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
Ahmose I was a pharaoh and founder of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, classified as the first dynasty of the New Kingdom of Egypt, the era in which ancient Egypt achieved the peak of its power. He was a member of the Theban royal house, the son of pharaoh Seqenenre Tao and brother of the last pharaoh of the Seventeenth dynasty, Kamose. During the reign of his father or grandfather, Thebes rebelled against the Hyksos, the rulers of Lower Egypt. When he was seven years old, his father was killed, and he was about ten when his brother died of unknown causes after reigning only three years. Ahmose I assumed the throne after the death of his brother, and upon coronation became known as Nebpehtyre, nb-pḥtj-rꜥ "The Lord of Strength is Ra".
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.
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.
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.
Deir el-Bahari or Dayr al-Bahri is a complex of mortuary temples and tombs located on the west bank of the Nile, opposite the city of Luxor, Egypt. This is a part of the Theban Necropolis.
Piankh was a High Priest of Amun during the 21st Dynasty.
The necropolis of Draʻ Abu el-Naga' is located on the West Bank of the Nile at Thebes, Egypt, just by the entrance of the dry bay that leads up to Deir el-Bahari and north of the necropolis of el-Assasif. The necropolis is located near the Valley of the Kings.
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.
The necropolis of Sheikh Abd el-Qurna is located on the West Bank at Thebes in Upper Egypt. It is part of the archaeological area of Deir el-Bahari, and named after the domed tomb of the local saint. This is the most frequently visited cemetery on the Theban west bank, with the largest concentration of private tombs.
The necropolis of El-Khokha is located on the west bank of the river Nile at Thebes, Egypt. The necropolis is surrounds a hill and has five Old Kingdom tombs and over 50 tombs from the 18th, 19th and 20th dynasties as well as some from the First Intermediate Period and the Late Period.
The Valley of the Kings, also known as the Valley of the Gates of the Kings, is an area in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the Eighteenth Dynasty to the Twentieth Dynasty, rock-cut tombs were excavated for pharaohs and powerful nobles under the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt.
Masaharta or Masaherta was the High Priest of Amun at Thebes between 1054 and 1045 BC.
Anen or Aanen was an ancient Egyptian nobleman and official of the Eighteenth Dynasty. A priest and administrator, his period of royal service occurred largely during the reign of his brother-in-law, Amenhotep III.
The ancient Egyptian official named Menna carried a number of titles associated with the agricultural estates of the temple of Karnak and the king. Information about Menna comes primarily from his richly decorated tomb in the necropolis of Sheikh Abd al-Qurna at Thebes. Though his tomb has traditionally been dated to the reign of Thutmose IV, stylistic analysis of the decoration places the majority of construction and decoration of the tomb to the reign of Amenhotep III.
The Department of Ancient Egypt is a department forming an historic part of the British Museum, with Its more than 100,000 pieces making it the largest and most comprehensive collection of Egyptian antiquities outside the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
The tomb of Kha and Merit, also known by its tomb number TT8, is the funerary chapel and tomb of the ancient Egyptian foreman Kha and his wife, Merit. They are known for their undisturbed tomb discovered in 1906 which is considered the best preserved non-royal burial in Egypt. Kha was an "overseer of works" at Deir el-Medina in the mid-Eighteenth Dynasty, where he was responsible for royal tombs constructed in the reigns of pharaohs Amenhotep II, Thutmose IV and Amenhotep III. Of unknown background, he rose to his position through skill and was ultimately rewarded for his work by at least one king. He and his wife Merit had three known children, one of whom also worked in the royal necropolis. Kha died in his 50s or 60s, while Merit died before him, seemingly unexpectedly, in her 30s.
Isetemkheb D was the sister-wife of the Theban High Priest of Amun Pinedjem II during the Twenty-first Dynasty of Egypt.
The Theban Tomb TT97 is located in Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, part of the Theban Necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile, opposite to Luxor. The tomb belongs to an ancient Egyptian named Amenemhat, who was the High Priest of Amun at Karnak, during the reign of pharaoh Amenhotep II of the 18th Dynasty. Amenemhat was the son of the wab-priest and "Overseer of the sandal makers of Amun", Djehutyhotep.
The Theban Tomb TT358 is located in Deir el-Bahari, part of the Theban Necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile, opposite to Luxor. The tomb belongs to the king's wife Ahmose-Meritamun, the sister and the wife of Pharaoh Amenhotep I. The tomb was later used for the additional burial of the King's daughter Nany, who was a daughter of Pharaoh Pinedjem I.
In 1984 A. Niwiński published an article in which he postulated the existence of no less than three scribes called Butehamun. Although his hypothesis was very soon afterwards falsified, the problems with the funeral equipment of Butehamun which led him to his remarkable theory have never been adequately dealt with.