TT55
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Tomb TT55 is located in
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 ...
, part of 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 ...
, on the west bank 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 ...
, opposite to
Luxor Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt. Luxor had a population of 263,109 in 2020, with an area of approximately and is the capital of the Luxor Governorate. It is among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited c ...
. It is the burial place of the
ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...
ian
Vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...
Ramose. It has a main room originally containing thirty-two columns and a corridor with eight columns. This tomb is notable for the high quality decorations in both the traditional and
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 ...
styles. The tomb, which was featured in the first episode of the 2005
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
documentary series ''
How Art Made the World ''How Art Made the World'' is a 2005 five-part BBC One documentary series, with each episode looking at the influence of art on the current day situation of our society. "The essential premise of the show," according to Nigel Spivey, "is that of ...
'', has been open to the public, from 7.00am to 5.00pm, since 2007, as part of a 3 tomb group with TT56 Userhet and TT57 Khaemhet. Non-flash photography is permitted, with a fee of LE 300 for cameras and at no fee for mobile phones, again, on the 3 tomb group basis.


Tomb decoration

The main body of the tomb is entered from the east facing open court, into a large columned hall, with four rows of eight columns. On the east wall, there are 'traditional' unpainted reliefs, showing Ramose, Ramose's wife and others (including his brother Amenhotep and his wife May). A panther skin clothed priest gives libations for Ramose and his family, and three girls play musical instruments. The south wall has funerary scenes again, this time painted, in two registers. These show the beginning of the evolution of the Amarna art style. The upper registers seem to show the actual procession, with the coffin on a boat being dragged along with a sledge. These scenes were later plastered over for some unknown reason. The west wall has two scenes showing
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 ...
(labelled as Amenhotep IV, showing how early this tomb is in his reign) himself; the left side shows the king seated under a canopy with
Ma'at Maat or Maʽat (Egyptian: ''mꜣꜥt'' /ˈmuʀʕat/, Coptic: ⲙⲉⲓ) comprised the ancient Egyptian concepts of truth, balance, order, harmony, law, morality, and justice. Maat was also the goddess who personified these concepts, and regula ...
seated beside him. Below the throne are carved the names of vassal nations (illustrated are Nubians, Asiatics and Libyans). Ramose stands in front of the king, showing his titles. The right side shows
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 ...
and
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 ...
, seated on a balcony rewarding Ramose with gold (this scene becomes nearly a standard in the Tombs of the Nobles in
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 ...
). Both of these scenes are unfinished and some of the details are sketched in and uncarved. In the far right of the west wall, Ramose is depicted leaving the palace and being congratulated by the people. Further into the tomb, an undecorated corridor leads from the centre of the west wall to a chapel with three niches.


Burial chamber

The actual burial chamber is entered via a steeply sloping corridor in the south-west corner, and eventually leads to a four-pillared room, which is undecorated and seemingly unused, and contains an urn and an embalmed skull. There are traces of blue paint above the portal opposing the entrance.


Gallery

File:Maler der Grabkammer des Ramose 002.jpg, The funeral procession File:Maler der Grabkammer des Ramose 001.jpg, ''Lamenting Women'', from the tomb (TT55) of Ramose, c. 1411–1375 BCE File:Frise ramose TT55 medium.jpg, The funeral procession File:TT55 Ramose Burial Chamber.jpeg, View of burial chamber, showing trace paint on opposing lintel, and urn. File:Mummified skull in niche of Ramose TT55.jpeg, Mummified skull in niche of burial chamber.


See also

*
List of Theban tombs The Theban Necropolis is located on the west bank of the Nile, opposite Luxor, in Egypt. As well as the more famous royal tombs located in the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, there are numerous other tombs, more commonly referred ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:TT055 Buildings and structures completed in the 15th century BC Valley of the Nobles