Senenmut (, sometimes spelled Senmut, Senemut, or Senmout) was an

18th Dynasty The Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XVIII, alternatively 18th Dynasty or Dynasty 18) is classified as the first dynasty of the New Kingdom of Egypt, the era in which ancient Egypt achieved the peak of its power. The Eighteenth Dynasty ...

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient h ...

Egyptian architect and government official. His name translates literally as "brother of mother".

Family

Senenmut was of low commoner birth, born to literate provincial parents, Ramose and Hatnofer (or "Hatnefret") from Iuny (modern

Armant Armant (; or ''jwn.w-šmꜥ.w''; Coptic_language#Bohairic, Bohairic: ; Coptic_language#Sahidic, Sahidic: ), also known as Hermonthis (), is a town located about south of Thebes, Egypt, Thebes. It was an important Middle Kingdom of Egypt, Middle ...

). Senenmut is known to have had three brothers (Amenemhet, Minhotep, and Pairy) and two sisters (Ahhotep and Nofrethor). However, only Minhotep is named outside chapel in his tomb

TT71 Theban Tomb TT71 is located in the Theban Necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile, opposite to Luxor. It was the tomb chapel of Senenmut, who was the steward and architect of Hatshepsut. The chapel is located in the necropolis area around She ...

and in his hypogeum TT353, in an inventory on the lid of a chest found in the burial chamber of Ramose and Hatnofer. More information is known about Senenmut than many other non-royal

Egyptians Egyptians (, ; , ; ) are an ethnic group native to the Nile, Nile Valley in Egypt. Egyptian identity is closely tied to Geography of Egypt, geography. The population is concentrated in the Nile Valley, a small strip of cultivable land stretchi ...

because the joint tomb of his parents (the construction of which Senenmut supervised himself) was discovered intact by the Metropolitan Museum in the mid-1930s and preserved. Christine Meyer has offered compelling evidence to show that Senenmut was a bachelor for his entire life: for instance, Senenmut is portrayed alone with his parents in the funerary stelae of his tombs; he was depicted alone, rather than with a wife, in the vignette of Chapter 110 from the

Book of the Dead The ''Book of the Dead'' is the name given to an Ancient Egyptian funerary texts, ancient Egyptian funerary text generally written on papyrus and used from the beginning of the New Kingdom of Egypt, New Kingdom (around 1550 BC) to around 50 BC ...

in hypogeum numbered as TT353 and, finally, it was one of Senenmut's own brothers, and not one of his sons, who was charged with the execution of Senenmut's funerary rites.

Career

Senenmut first enters the historical record on a national level as the "Steward of the God's Wife" (

Hatshepsut Hatshepsut ( ; BC) was the sixth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, Egypt, ruling first as regent, then as queen regnant from until (Low Chronology) and the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Thutmose II. She was Egypt's second c ...

) and "Steward of the King's Daughter" ( Neferure). Some

Egyptologists This is a partial list of Egyptologists. An Egyptologist is any archaeologist, historian, linguist, or art historian who specializes in Egyptology, the scientific study of Ancient Egypt and its antiquities. Demotists are Egyptologists who speciali ...

place Senenmut's entry into royal service during the reign of

Thutmose I Thutmose I (sometimes read as Thutmosis or Tuthmosis I, Thothmes in older history works in Latinized Greek; meaning "Thoth is born") was the third pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, 18th Dynasty of History of Ancient Egypt, Egypt. He re ...

, but it is far more likely that it occurred during either the reign of

Thutmose II Thutmose II was the fourth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, and his reign is thought to have lasted for 13 years, from 1493 to 1479 BC (Low Chronology), or just 3 years from around 1482 to 1479 BC. Little is known about him, and he ...

or while Hatshepsut was still regent and not pharaoh. After Hatshepsut was crowned pharaoh, Senenmut was given more prestigious titles and became '' high steward of the king''. Senenmut supervised the quarrying, transport, and erection of twin

obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...

s, at the time the tallest in the world, at the entrance to the

Temple of Karnak The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (), comprises a vast mix of temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Construction at the complex began during the reign of Senusret I (reigned 1971–1926 BC) in the ...

. Neither stands today though they were commemorated in the Chapelle Rouge. Karnak's Red Chapel was intended as a

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts of which the fore mast, mainmast, and any additional masts are Square rig, rigged square, and only the aftmost mast (mizzen in three-maste ...

shrine and may have originally stood between the two obelisks. (The remaining obelisks of Hatshepsut were erected in Year Fifteen as part of her Heb

Sed Festival The Sed festival (''ḥb-sd'', Egyptian language#Egyptological pronunciation, conventional pronunciation ; also known as Heb Sed or Feast of the Tail) was an ancient Egyptian ceremony that celebrated the continued rule of a pharaoh. The name is ...

; one still stands in the Temple of Karnak whilst the other is in pieces, having fallen many centuries ago.) Senenmut claims to be the chief architect of Hatshepsut's works at

Deir el-Bahri 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. History Deir el-Bahari, located on the west ...

. Senenmut's masterpiece building project was the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, also known as the Djeser-Djeseru, designed and implemented by Senenmut on a site on the

west bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

of the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

, close to the entrance to the

Valley of the Kings 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 power ...

. The focal point was the Djeser-Djeseru or "the Sublime of the Sublimes" mortuary temple-('Holy (of) Holiests'), a colonnaded structure of perfect harmony built nearly one thousand years before the

Parthenon The Parthenon (; ; ) is a former Ancient Greek temple, temple on the Acropolis of Athens, Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the Greek gods, goddess Athena. Its decorative sculptures are considered some of the high points of c ...

. Djeser-Djeseru sits atop a series of terraces that were once graced with

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

s. It is built into a

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff or rock face is an area of Rock (geology), rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. ...

face that rises sharply above it. Djeser-Djeseru and the other buildings of the Deir el-Bahri complex are considered to be among the great buildings of the ancient world. The building complex design is thought to be derived from the mortuary temple of Mentuhotep II built nearly 500 years earlier at Deir-el-Bahri. Senenmut's importance at the royal court under Hatshepsut is unquestionable: :he was able to lay immediate claim to prime construction sites at

Sheikh Abd el-Qurna The necropolis of Sheikh Abd el-Qurna () is located on the West Bank at Thebes, Egypt, 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 v ...

and Deir el Bahri itself for the excavation of his tomb chapel and burial chamber. Tomb-of-Senenmut

Senenmut's Theban Tomb 71 was started late in Year 7, "shortly after Hatshepsut's accession, the death of Hatnofer, and Hatnofer's interment with the exhumed remains of several family members", while the "excavation on the chapel seems to have continued until after Year 7" of the female pharaoh's reign. Senenmut's tomb appears to have enjoyed Hatshepsut's favour and "his portrayal in the Punt reliefs certainly postdates Year 9" of Hatshepsut. The earliest known astronomical ceiling in Egypt is found as a main part of a decor in the hypogeum-cenotaph of Senenmut. The astronomical ceiling in Senenmut’s hypogeum (numbered as TT 353) is divided into two sections, representing the northern and southern skies. This indicates another dimension of his career, suggesting that he was an ancient astronomer as well.Novakovic, Bojan. Senenmut: An Ancient Egyptian Astronomer. http://publications.aob.rs/85/pdf/019-023.pdf TT353

Some Egyptologists have theorized that Senenmut was Hatshepsut's lover. Facts that are typically cited to support the theory are that Hatshepsut allowed Senenmut to place his name and an image of himself behind one of the main doors in Djeser-Djeseru, and the presence of

graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

in an unfinished tomb used as a rest house by the workers of Djeser-Djeseru depicting a male and a

hermaphrodite A hermaphrodite () is a sexually reproducing organism that produces both male and female gametes. Animal species in which individuals are either male or female are gonochoric, which is the opposite of hermaphroditic. The individuals of many ...

in pharaonic regalia engaging in an explicit sexual act. Although it is not known where he is buried, Senenmut had a tomb constructed for himself and a cenotaph-hypogeum. The unfinished tomb is at (

) in the Tombs of the Nobles and his cenotaph-hypogeum (numbered as TT353), near Hatshepsut's mortuary temple, and contains a famous star ceiling. They were both heavily vandalized during the reign of

Thutmose III Thutmose III (variously also spelt Tuthmosis or Thothmes), sometimes called Thutmose the Great, (1479–1425 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt. He is regarded as one of the greatest warriors, military commanders, and milita ...

, perhaps during the latter's campaign to eradicate all trace of Hatshepsut's memory. Neither tomb by itself was complete, as would be expected of an Egyptian tomb for a person of high standing. TT71 is a typical Theban Tomb with a shaft and unfinished burial chambers. His cenotaph-hypogeum (numbered as TT353) is fully underground without any overground chapel. They complement each other and are only, together, a full burial monument. However, the work carried out on the hypogeum TT353 by the Archaeological Mission of the Instituto de Estudios del Antiguo Egipto (2000-2008), proves that it is a hypogeum to perform Senenmut transformation rites.

Image gallery

Ostraca depicting Senenmut

File:Artist's Gridded Sketch of Senenmut MET 36.3.252 EGDP013666.jpg,

Ostracon An ostracon (Greek language, Greek: ''ostrakon'', plural ''ostraka'') is a piece of pottery, usually broken off from a vase or other earthenware vessel. In an archaeology, archaeological or epigraphy, epigraphical context, ''ostraca'' refer ...

found from the dump below Senenmut's tomb chapel (SAE 71) thought to depict his profile. Now in the

Metropolitan Museum The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the third-largest museum in the world and the largest art museum in the Americas. With 5.36 million v ...

. Image:Ostracon-ThoughtToDepictSenenmut02_MetropolitanMuseum.png, Ostracon of Senemut found from the dump below Senenmut's tomb chapel (SAE 71) thought to depict his double profile. Now in the

. Image:Ostracon-ThoughtToDepictSenenmut03_MetropolitanMuseum.png, Ostracon found from the dump below Senenmut's tomb chapel (SAE 71) thought to depict his profile. Now in the

Works from his tombs

Image:Senenmut-BrownQuartziteSarcophagus_MetropolitanMuseum.png, The only known example of a private sarcophagus made of the same stone normally reserved for royals. It is unlikely that Senenmut was ever interred in it, due to its unfinished nature. Now in the

. Image:Senenmut-CeilingPaintingsFromTombChapel01_MetropolitanMuseum.png, Painted ceiling decoration from the tomb of Senenmut (SAE 71). Now in the

. Image:Senenmut-CeilingPaintingsFromTombChapel02_MetropolitanMuseum.png, Painted ceiling decoration from the tomb of Senenmut (SAE 71). Now in the

. Image:Senenmut-CeilingPaintingsFromTombChapel03_MetropolitanMuseum.png, Painted ceiling decoration from the tomb of Senenmut (SAE 71). Now in the

. Image:Senenmut-Grab.JPG, Bottom portion of Astronomical chartFull version a
Met Museum
/ref>

Sculptures

Image:BlockStatueOfSenenmutAndNeferura-LeftProfile-BritishMuseum-August19-08.jpg, Seated Senenmut holding the princess Neferure in his arms, on display at the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

. Image:Senenmut-KneelingStatue_MetropolitanMuseum.png, A kneeling statue of Senenmut, now in the

. Image:Senemut-KneelingStatue_BrooklynMuseum.png, A kneeling statue of Senenmut holding a

rebus A rebus ( ) is a puzzle device that combines the use of illustrated pictures with individual letters to depict words or phrases. For example: the word "been" might be depicted by a rebus showing an illustrated bumblebee next to a plus sign (+ ...

of Hatshepsut's name, now in the

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...

. Image:Chief steward of Amun, Sen-en-mut, and princess Neferu-re - Neues Museum - Berlin - Germany 2017.jpg, A block statue of Senenmut with the head of Hatshepsut's daughter Neferure appearing below his. From the Ägyptisches Museum, Berlin. Image:StatueOfSenenmutAndNeferura-BritishMuseum-August19-08.jpg, Statue of Senenmut and Neferura, originally from the

at Thebes, now on display at the

References

External links

UNESCO "ICOMOS-IAU case study: The Tomb of Senenmut at Western Thebes, Egypt
includes map, documents and case study
The Sen-en-Mut project, current archaeological work on TT 353Hatshepsut: from Queen to Pharaoh
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Senenmut (see index)
The Tombs of Senenmut: The Architecture and Decoration of Tombs 71 and 353
fully digitized text from The Metropolitan Museum of Art libraries {{Authority control Ancient Egyptian high stewards Ancient Egyptian architects Officials of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt