Online Activities: Ancient Egypt
Tomb with a View: A Short Epigraphic Season in Thebes
By Roberta L. Shaw & Lyla Pinch-Brock
The ROM Foundation has graciously supported us in addressing this problem as well, and now one more precious ancient story is in the process of being told. While epigraphy is, in the strictest sense, the study of inscriptions, Egyptologists have broadened the definition to include the study of tomb paintings and reliefs as well. Indeed, since the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs are in many instances pictographic, separation of inscription and painting/relief would prove difficult.
The first season of the ROM Epigraphic Project (23 December 1995 - 5 January 1996) was preceded about a year earlier by a short expedition to the west bank to view five tombs by permission of the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt. We chose these five by browsing through the Topographical Bibliography. Criteria for choice were: late 18th dynasty, reasonably good condition, and little previous recording. Theban Tomb #89, which belonged to a courtier by the name of Amenmose, fit the bill. It dates from the time of Amenhotep III, whose reign (1391-1353 B.C.) saw some interesting development in artistic style.
The tomb had been cleaned by Egyptian conservators in 1988 and has remained closed to the public since then. This means it has escaped contamination from touching and breathing. A few of the more important scenes of the wall paintings have been published but it has never been comprehensively recorded. Our first season made great strides in filling that void.
Description of the Tomb
The tomb is cut into the shaley limestone escarpment and contains two chambers separated by two pillars and two pilasters. The ceiling of the inner room is lower and its length shorter than that of the outer. The door is centred and there is a niche at the back which may have been meant to hold a statue of the tomb-owner. It is also possible that it might represent an aborted attempt to enlarge the tomb. Around the door are rudimentary frames moulded in mud-plaster and the flat rock serving as a step into the tomb seems to be original. A secure iron-grate door was installed early this century to protect the tomb from robbers and vandals.
Scene showing food preparation.
Horse and chariot.
