Tomb TT188, located in the

necropolis A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' (). The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distan ...

of El-Assasif in Thebes in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, is the tomb of the Steward and King's Cupbearer Parennefer.Aldred, Cyril, ''Akhenaten: King of Egypt'', Thames and Hudson, 1991 (paperback), pp. 91–92, It has been excavated by the Akhenaten Temple Project. The work has been thoroughly published by Susan Redford with architectural study and drawings by Keith Meikle. It is one of the few tombs in the

Theban Necropolis The Theban Necropolis () is a necropolis on the west bank of the Nile, opposite Thebes, Egypt, Thebes (Luxor) in Upper Egypt. It was used for ritual burials for much of the Ancient Egypt, Pharaonic period, especially during the New Kingdom of Egyp ...

that was carved and decorated solely during the early years of the rule of

Akhenaten Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Akhenaton or Echnaton ( ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning 'Effective for the Aten'), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eig ...

.Murnane, William J., ''Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt, Society of Biblical Literature'', 1995, pp. 64–66, The tomb is decorated with sculpted scenes, some of which were painted. The scenes were all badly damaged and the name of Parennefer was carefully removed. The decoration includes harvest scenes, the presentation of temple-staves at the inauguration of Akhenaten, and an award scene showing Parennefer before the royal couple. In the tomb Akhenaten goes by his initial name Amenhotep (IV). The scenes in the tomb of Parennefer may be the first to show Queen

Nefertiti Nefertiti () () was a queen of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, the Great Royal Wife, great royal wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for their radical overhaul of state religious poli ...

. An unnamed royal woman accompanies Akhenaten as he worships the

Aten Aten, also Aton, Atonu, or Itn (, reconstructed ) was the focus of Atenism, the religious system formally established in ancient Egypt by the late Eighteenth Dynasty pharaoh Akhenaten. Exact dating for the Eighteenth Dynasty is contested, thou ...

and sits besides the king in a scene showing Parennefer before his king and queen. The queen is thought to be Nefertiti. The scenes show some of the earliest examples of Amarna style depictions. The figures show the rounded form that will become typical in Amarna art, and courtiers are shown bending from the waist with their arms hanging down. Mummies, coffins and other remains show that the tomb was later reused during the 21st and 22nd dynasties, and robber tunnels have led the way to new and unrecorded tombs, whose entrances cannot be located from outside.

Recent discoveries

By tracing the multiple robber tunnels that enter the tomb, other previously unknown tombs have been located close by. These include a small painted tomb from the Ramesside period, one from the

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 ...

, and a tomb of the

25th Dynasty The Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXV, alternatively 25th Dynasty or Dynasty 25), also known as the Nubian Dynasty, the Kushite Empire, the Black Pharaohs, or the Napatans, after their capital Napata, was the last dynasty of t ...

. This last tomb entrance way is constructed of mud-brick, has a large open court, and a long corridor with a series of chambers and deep shafts excavated in the bedrock.

Other tomb

Parennefer also had a tomb (no 7) constructed at

Amarna Amarna (; ) is an extensive ancient Egyptian archaeological site containing the ruins of Akhetaten, the capital city during the late Eighteenth Dynasty. The city was established in 1346 BC, built at the direction of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, and a ...

.N. de G. Davies, ''The rock tombs of El-Amarna'', Parts V and VI, 1905 (Reprinted 2004), The Egypt Exploration Society,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:TT188 Buildings and structures completed in the 14th century BC Buildings and structures of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt Theban tombs Akhenaten

Recent discoveries

Other tomb

See also

References