The Theban Tomb TT96 (sometimes known as the "Tomb of the Vineyards" due to its decoration) 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 ...

. It forms 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 ...

, situated 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

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 ...

. The edifice 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 noble,

Sennefer The ancient Egyptian noble Sennefer was "Mayor of the City" (i.e. Thebes) and "Overseer of the Granaries and Fields, Gardens and Cattle of Amun" during the reign of Amenhotep II of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Being a favourite of the king ...

and wife Meryt.

Tomb

The tomb is entered by a steep tunnel, which opens into a low chamber covered with painted decoration. This small chamber shows Sennefer entering the Underworld, with servants carrying boxes and a bed for his tomb. Passing through this chamber, the main burial chamber is reached through a doorway guarded by jackals The south wall show the funeral procession, the west wall shows offerings and the ritual journey to Abydos. The north wall shows Sennefer and his wife worshipping

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wikt:wsjr, wsjr'') was the ancient Egyptian deities, god of fertility, agriculture, the Ancient Egyptian religion#Afterlife, afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...

and

Anubis Anubis (; ), also known as Inpu, Inpw, Jnpw, or Anpu in Ancient Egyptian (), is the god of funerary rites, protector of graves, and guide to the underworld in ancient Egyptian religion, usually depicted as a canine or a man with a canine hea ...

, it also shows the embalming chamber, and purification of Sennefer and Meryt by a priest of the mortuary temple 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 ...

. One of decorations has a graffito added at a much later date, showing that the tomb was open during the Greco-Roman period. The east wall again shows scenes of offerings and libation, the false doorway, through which Sennefer and Meryt are shown 'going forth by day'. The ceiling has three lines of hieroglyphic on the ceiling, two between the pillars, and further lines of text at the top of three of the pillars. The pillars show scenes of Meryt offering

myrrh Myrrh (; from an unidentified ancient Semitic language, see '' § Etymology'') is a gum-resin extracted from a few small, thorny tree species of the '' Commiphora'' genus, belonging to the Burseraceae family. Myrrh resin has been used ...

, food offerings and lotus flowers to Sennefer, and scenes with Sennefer seated in the shade of trees with a table of refreshments, the fourth pillar shows Sennefer surrounded by priests while he stands on a hill of sand, part of the

opening of the mouth The opening of the mouth ceremony (or ritual) was an ancient Egyptian ritual described in funerary texts such as the Pyramid Texts. From the Old Kingdom to the Roman Period, there is ample evidence of this ceremony, which was believed to give the ...

ceremony.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:TT096 Buildings and structures completed in the 15th century BC Theban tombs

Tomb

See also

References

Further reading

External links