Tag: Burial chamber

Ancient Egyptian tomb of Karakhamun at Assasif: a major tomb for a minor priest?

TT223 Tomb of ancient Egyptian priest Karakhamun at Assasif Archaeologists have rediscovered the ‘lost’ tomb an ancient Egyptian priest at the Theban Necropolis in Egypt.It was announced today by Egypt’s Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosny, that the team excavating and conservating the tomb has now cleared the burial shaft of tomb and reached its burial chamber.

The tomb is located at Qurnet Murai, south Assasif, on the west bank of the Nile opposite to Luxor, and belonged to a priest named Karakhamun. It dates to the 25th Dynasty (the Reign of Shabaqo, circa 700BC) and is referenced as TT223 (Theban Tomb 223). The el-Assasif area is a well known archaeological site, containing nobles tombs from the New Kingdom, as well as the 25-26th Dynasties.

Dr Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), said that the team discovered the burial chamber of Karakhamun at the bottom of an 8m deep burial shaft. He added it is in very good condition and contains beautifully painted scenes.

The entrance to the chamber is decorated with an image of Karakhamun and the ceiling is decorated with several astrological scenes, including a depiction of the sky goddess, Nut.

Ancient Egyptian Priest Karkhamun

Not much is known about Karakhamun. There is no information about his family, and he himself did not seem to have any important administrative positions. His priestly title, First ‘k Priest, does not signify any particular importance.

Yet Karkhamun’s tomb consists of two spacious pillared halls and a five-room burial chamber, and isthe largest tomb excavated at the South Assasif Necropolis so far. This suggests he had close connections to the royal court or family.

As we know only little about his life, the tomb’s dating to the 25th Dynasty or Nubian dynasty, when Egypt ‘s rulers originated from the Kingdom of Kush is based largely on the priest’s Nubian name.

The tomb’s architectural features as far as they are known also confirm this date. Karkhamun’s serpentine shabti is of a Nubian type with facialeatures that suggest a pre-Taharqo date, probably Shabaqo, writes the South Asasif Conservation Project (ACP) on its website.

TT223 Discovered Thrice

After its initial discovery in the 1820s by Wilkinson, Hey and Burton and again in the 1940s by Lepsius the tomb of priest Karkhamun at Assasif was left open and unprotected. It was photographed in the 1970s by Eigner. Some time after Eigner’s visit,its ceiling collapsed and the tomb became buried once more by the sand.

It was considered ‘lost’ until in 2001 archaeologists started exavating what was a mere crack in the sand,and foundwall carvings with a life-size figure of Karkhamun in front of an offering table.

In 2006, an Egyptian-American team lead by Dr. Elena Pischikova started carrying out conservation works at the tomb as part of the ACP.

Because of the exceptional preservation of colour of the wall paintings, and the quality of the scenes, Dr Pischikova believes the tomb of Karakhamun could be one of the most beautiful tombs from Dynasty 25.

Queen Behenu’s burial chamber discovered at Saqqara

What is left of the north wall of Queen Behenu's wall, with the pyramid texts clearly visible. A French archaeological team digging at Saqqara has discovered the burial chamber of 6th Dynasty Queen Behenu, wife of either Pepi I or Pepi II. The burial chamber was revealed while the team was cleaning the sand from Behenu’s pyramid in the area of el-Shawaf in South Saqqara, west of the pyramid of King Pepi I.

The burial chamber uncovered by the French mission is badly damaged, apart from two inner walls which contain engraved Pyramid Texts. Those texts were widely used in royal tombs carved on walls as well as sarcophagi – during the 5th and 6th Dynasties (circa 2465-2150BC).

Click the photo for a larger view.

Pyramid Texts are religious texts composed of spells primarily concerned with protecting the king’s remains, reanimating his body after death, and helping him ascend to the heavens. The spells delineate all of the ways the king could travel through the afterlife, including ramps, stairs, ladders, and most importantly, flight. The spells could also be used to call on the gods for help, even threatening them if they did not comply. Unlike the Book of the Dead, into which parts of the pyramid texts later evolved, these Old Kingdom texts were not illustrated.

Dr. Philippe Collombert, who heads the mission, said that further excavation inside the burial chamber led the team to the queen’s sarcophagus. He adds that although the sarcophagus is in good condition, it still stays unclear if this queen was the wife of Pepi I or Pepi II: “It is a well-preserved granite sarcophagus engraved with the queen’s different titles, but says nothing about the identity of her husband”.

The French mission has been working within the necropolis of Pepi I at Saqqara, where they discovered the 25 meter long pyramid of Behenu and Pyramid Text fragments, since 2007. They have located a total of seven ‘queen pyramids’ dating to the reigns of Pepi I and Pepi II rulers of the 6th Dynasty – since the beginning of their project in 1989. The pyramids have been attributed to Queens Inenek, Nubunet, Meretites II, Ankhespepy III, Miha, and a yet unidentified queen.

Sandro Vannini’s Photography – Tomb of Seti I (KV17): The Crypt’s Side Chamber

In 2008, an archaeological team found that the Tomb of Seti I (KV17) was in fact larger than originally thought. Where the original discoverer,Giovanni Battista Belzoni had found the tomb to be 100 metres long when he entered in 1817, recent archaeological excavations overseen by the Supreme Council of Antiquities’ Director Dr Zahi Hawass (You can meet Sandro and Dr Hawass at the British Museum tonight, or meet Dr Zahi at his London book signing on Thursday) have uncovered a mysterious tunnel leading from the Crypt which further extends the tomb by another 36 metres at least (Watch a video with Dr Hawass on the mysterious tunnel in the Tomb of Seti I).

But a smaller room is adjacent to the left of the burial chamber, which like the rest of KV17, is adorned with beautiful tomb paintings which the Tomb of Seti I is famous for. The Pharaoh oversaw the artistic peak of the Ancient Egyptian era, and it is therefore fitting for his tomb in the Valley of the Kings to contain some of the finest and diverse works of art.

Several intense excavations in KV17 during the 1950s and 1960s caused structural damage in the tomb which led to the closure of the tomb to the general public, and protective conservation measures being put in place. So while we may not be able to go down and explore one of the finest examples of Ancient Egyptian art, the renown Egyptology photographer Sandro Vannini has taken his lens down into the tomb and emerged with several beautiful images which Heritage Key brings to the internet.

The mysterious tunnel at the end of the burial crypt in KV17 has reignited the interest in the Tomb of Seti I, as excavations continue to see what is at the end of the corridor. Heritage Key’s video interview which you can watch below, shows Dr Zahi Hawass explaining the latest on the dig inside KV17, and what he thinks may lie at the end of the mysterious tunnel. The side chamber (one of the five side chambers in this tomb) in which Sandro’s photographs were taken is located to the left of the burial chamber, in a room which has two columns.

Sandro Vannini’s Photography

Several of Egypt’s fascinating tombs have been photographed by the skilled archaeology photographer Sandro Vannini, who has spent over a decade taking stunning photography of some of the most famous artefacts and tombs in history, such as the elusive Golden Mask of King Tutankhamun. Using his Hasselblad ELD Ixpress 528C, Sandro took these photographs of the amazing wall paintings in Tomb KV17’s burial chamber of King Seti I and even though the tomb has now been closed to the public, we can still enjoy the magnificence of the Tomb of Seti I through Sandro’s lens.

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This post is part of a series focussing on amazing photographs from ancient Egypt. Keep checking back as well keep adding new images by Sandro Vannini. To make sure you don’t miss out on any of the updates, simply subscribe by email to receive notifications when new images are uploaded. For the more digitally advanced, there’s also an RSS feed with updates available.

See More Amazing Photography by Sandro

Have a look at some of the other stunning photographs by Sandro Vannini here at Heritage Key:

Sandro and the Lost Tombs of Thebes

If you love these photographs of the Tomb of Seti I by Sandro Vannini, then you’ll love his captures of the Theban Tombs in his new book with Dr Zahi Hawass – “The Lost Tombs of Thebes:Life in Paradise“. Click here to watch our Heritage Key video on the Theban Tombs, featuring Dr Hawass and Dr Janice Kamrin, as well as reading Sandro’s account on shooting the Lost Tombs.

The Crypt’s Side Chamber of the Tomb of Seti I (KV17)

The Book of the Dead was one of the most popular funerary scriptures amongst the New Kingdom Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt, with several adopting to have it portrayed within their tombs. The scripture itself acts as a guide to help the spirit of the deceased Pharaoh reach the afterlife safely, and covers the ritual of the weighing of the heart. The heart of the King would have remained inside the mummified corpse for preparation of this stage of the ceremony, as it is weighed to decide if the sins of the heart outweigh the goodness of the feather. Should the feather be heavier, than the Pharaoh will enter the afterlife, as the mummy figures in Sandro’s photograph represent “those who are in peace”.

The scenes shown on the tomb walls in this room however, come from the Amduat, meaning “that which is in the Netherworld”. Also known as the Book of the Secret Chamber, it describes the journey of the sun god Re and his ventures through the twelve hours of the night, or the Twelve Divisions. The ram-headed sun god is is often shown inside a shrine and is typically accompanied by an entourage of divinities. These include Sia (the god of mind and thought), the opener of the ways Wepwawet, Kherepwia who captains the boat and Horus Hekenu who pilots it, and Nehes – the destroyer god who protects the boat from enemies.

The corpse of Re is shown inside a five-headed snake in this side chamber, which is a scene taken from the sixth hour of the Book of Amduat.Having crossed the waters of the Nun which have existed since the dawn of time and were pivitol in the creation of the world, the sun god is united with Osiris in this scene, and as a result, gains the needed energy to be reborn and continue the journey.

The Book of Amduat portrays a vision of the Ancient Egyptian’s land of the beyond through words on beautifully woven tapestries and tomb wall paintings. This Book of the Secret Chamber laid the foundation for many Netherworld scriptures that would be written in subsequent dynasties.

HDVideo: Dr Zahi Hawass and the Mysterious Tunnel in the Tomb ofSeti I (KV17)

Over the past couple of years, Dr Zahi Hawass has been overseeing a team excavating in the Tomb of Seti I, exploring a mysterious tunnel which was found in the burial chamber. The purpose behind the tunnel and what it leads to is unknown, but Dr Hawass shares what he believes could be at the end of the tunnel and updates the progress on the excavation inside KV17.

You can see the transcript of the movie over on our Video Page, as well as seeing other fascinating films from the Valley of the Kings shot by Sandro in our weekly series. Additionally, you can find out more about Ancient Egypt on Heritage Key, as well as being able to explore the Valley of the Kings and the fascinating KV62 – King Tutankhamun’s tomb – in 3D in our exciting virtual experience! Also be sure to keep up to date on all new postings about Sandro’s photography from Egypt by subscribing to our feed, simply by entering your email address above.

Sandro Vannini’s Photography – Tomb of Seti I (KV17): The Burial Chamber

Seti I’s reign over Egypt is thought to have lasted between 13 to 20 years, and during this time he opened the kingdom up to trade with foreign nations and committed to the development of construction projects. This led to stability which united the country after the fragile rule of the previous Amarna kings. The sheer number and scale of building projects thatSeti I oversaw during his reign would go on to be one of the greatest artistic periods in Egyptian history. One of Seti I’s major accomplishment of the era was the completion of the Great Temple of Abydos, known also as the Temple of Seti as regarded as one of the finest temples built in Egypt.

Perhaps then, it is fitting that Seti I has the longest and deepest tomb that has been discovered to date in the Valley of the Kings. It is one of the few that was completed, and possibly the most impressive in terms of its beautiful wall paintings and intricate planning. The Tomb of Seti I (KV17) was discovered by Giovanni Battista Belzoni in 1817, but due to damage caused by ongoing excavations in the 1950s and 60s, it was closed to the public. Acclaimed Egyptology photographer Sandro Vannini went into the tomb and took several photographs in the various chambers of this stunning tomb. Sandro’s no stranger to capturing stunning tombs, as his new book “The Lost Tombs of Thebes: Life in Paradise” shows (also keep an eye out for the upcoming art book ‘A Secret Voyage’), in which hundreds of his beautiful photographs feature.You can also read Sandro’s own account of taking the Theban tombs photographs in this Heritage Key article, as well as watch the Lost Tombs video with Dr Zahi Hawass and Dr Janice Kamrin. In previous weeks, we’ve concentrated on the First Pillared Room and the Antechamber of the tomb, and this week, we’re looking at the ceiling of the Burial Chamber.

The Burial Chamber is separated into two sections – the front of the chamber consists of a six pillared room, and the rear has a crypt where an empty alabaster sarcophagus was discovered. The burial chamber does not form the end of the tomb though, as a mysterious tunnel leads down from the crypt to the water level – excavations continue in this section of the tomb, and you can watch the progress of it in this fantastic video with Dr Zahi Hawass.

Sandro Vannini’s Photography

Hundreds of amazing tombs across Egypt have been photographed by the skilled archaeology photographer Sandro Vannini, who has spent over a decade taking stunning photography of some of the most famous artefacts and tombs in history, such as the elusive Golden Mask of King Tutankhamun. Armed with his Hasselblad ELD Ixpress 528C, Sandro took these photographs of the beautiful wall paintings in Tomb KV17’s burial chamber of King Seti I and captured the breathtaking ceiling in this room. Although the tomb has now been closed to the public, we can still enjoy the magnificence of the Tomb of Seti I through Sandro’s lens.

Don’t miss out on new treasures!

See More Amazing Photography by Sandro

Have a look at some of the other stunning photographs by Sandro Vannini here at Heritage Key:

Ask Sandro

We’ll be sitting down with our favourite photographer for an extended chat soon, so if you have any questions for Sandro we’ll send the answers straight to you!

The Burial Chamber of the Tomb of Seti I(KV17)

Symbolically, the ceiling of the burial chamber is adorned with astronomical ideologies of the Ancient Egyptian era, bearing constellations and enforcing the strong influence that the night sky had on this civilisation. The interest in, and significance of astronomy is shown in many remnants of Egypt’s past (as well as in other culture’s pasts, such as that of the Mayans) it proved useful in their daily life. By observing the skies, the Egyptians were able to determine the best time to predict the annual flooding of the River Nile, which fertilised the soils, ready to grow crops on. Similarly, by devising a calendar based on these astronomical cycles, they would be able to work out when to harvest the crops.

This importance of astronomy is reflected on the roof of the burial chamber of Tomb of Seti I. The northern sky depicted a group of stars in Ancient Egyptian times which neither set or rose, and circled around the North Pole. The stars were then grouped into clusters, and portrayed with images of the gods. The constellations used were not the same the zodiac signs which we are used to today, which are based on Babylonian and Hellenistic models. You can find out more about Archaeoastronomy in Sean’s short guide.

The “Decans” were of particular significance to the Ancient Egyptians, as they represented thirty-six clusters of stars which would drop below the horizon and rise back up throughout the year.These Decans were listed on various sarcophagi discovered in other tombs, of which eleven are shown on the roof of the KV17 burial chamber.

The high vaulted ceiling of this chamber is the first found of this kind, although the tomb itself was designed with Horenmeb’s tomb as a template. Representing the direction of the sky and hence the gods, the ceiling painting shows the goddess Serket, the godess Tawaret (shown with a crocodile on her back) and the falcon headed god An.

HDVideo: Dr Zahi Hawass and the Mysterious Tunnel in the Tomb ofSeti I (KV17)

One of the most intriguing features of the tomb of Seti I is a long, descending passageway from the burial chamber, which goes down to an undetermined depth. It may be a passageway to mythical waters of the God Nun, or lead to somewhere completely new – Dr Zahi Hawass sheds some light on what may be in at the end of this mysterious tunnel in this fantastic must-see video!

You can see the transcript of the movie over on the Video Page, as well as seeing other fascinating films from the Valley of the Kings shot by Sandro in our weekly series. Additionally, you can find out more about Ancient Egypt on Heritage Key, as well as being able to explore the Valley of the Kings and the fascinating KV62 – King Tutankhamun’s tomb – in 3D in our exciting virtual experience! Also be sure to keep up to date on all new postings about Sandro’s photography from Egypt by subscribing to our feed, simply by entering your email address above.

Wicker Man Found In The Scottish Highlands is Valuable Bronze Age Discovery

A set of unusually well preserved human and other organic remains discovered in the Highlands of Scotland wrapped in animal hide or furs, with a wicker basket curiously encasing the skull have been described by archaeologists as an extremely rare and valuable find that have the potential to tell a great deal about contemporary life and burial practice in the Bronze Age.

They were uncovered last February by landowner Jonathan Hampton, while digging peat with heavy machinery at a farm at Strath Oykel, in Sutherland. Local police were first on the scene and according to an angry Hampton made a botched job of investigating the tomb.

Their carelessness resulted in the removal of a number of parts of the skeleton (including the skull) and a few artefacts, only some of which have been returned. Nevertheless, a full survey was later carried out by Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division (GUARD), which has returned very positive results.

“[It is] so well preserved for being 4,000 years old. These things don’t normally survive.

Even in its partial state, this assemblage has the potential to shed valuable light on the person buried and the materials used to dress the body, states GUARD’s report. Tests are ongoing on the skeletal remains to establish the sex and specific age of the individual, who is estimated to have died between 2500 and 2000 BC. Research on organic items found in the grave such as the basket (which features representations of plants and animals of the time), some possible food remains and the fur or hide wrapping the body is hoped to lend some further insights into burial practice at the time. They may have comprised objects or garments used in everyday life, or that were created especially for the burial, the report notes.

What about the wicker headgear? A tenuous parallel for this may exist at Cairnapple, suggest GUARD, where a piece of carbonised oak sliced from a sliced from a large log had been placed over a face of an extended inhumation burial. It was interpreted as a possible ceremonial mask, which might have been carved or painted.

The site is very significant in terms of the condition of the human remains, Andrew Puls an archaeologist from Highland Council, who has also been involved with the investigation told The Scotsman. There is certainly evidence of the burial practice of the Bronze Age in the area. [It is] so well preserved for being 4,000 years old. These things don’t normally survive.

Photos Historic Scotland, courtesy of GUARD.

Scottish Archaeologists Invite Public to Visit “Textbook” Bronze Age Burial Site

A team of archaeologists, archaeology students and volunteers have made a major discovery in rural Perthshire, Scotland, and are opening it up to the public this Sunday.

The removal of a four ton sandstone slab, discovered last summer at Forteviot, revealed a meticulously constructed Bronze Age-period burial chamber, containing a number of metal and crucially organic remains. The tomb is thought to have belonged to a dignitary of significant importance who lived between around 2300 and 2100 BC, in a region rich with historical connections stretching from the Neolithic period through to medieval times.

The dig was headed up by Dr Gordon Noble of Aberdeen University one of two institutions, together with Glasgow University, lending its weight to the Strathearn Environs & Royal Forteviot (SERF) project, of which this excavation is a major part. Speaking to The Big Issue in Scotland, he summed up the significance of their discovery: None of us [working on the site] have ever come across anything like this before, he commented. Its the sort of site you read about in textbooks.

The human remains found laid on a bed of quartz pebbles and a woven birch bark lattice are a particularly unique find. Normally the Scottish soil and climate erodes all such material; on the rare occasions when traces are found, its usually by accident, so they therefore arent handled correctly. This excavation presented the rare occurrence of a major discovery of long-decayed grave wax human remains made under tightly-controlled conditions. The remains have the potential to speak volumes about the environment in which this mysterious individual lived and died. Other objects found in the tomb include a copper dagger with a leather scabbard, bits of a wooden bowl and a wooden and leather container.

It was no mean feat shifting a hulking stone slab in Bronze Age Scotland. Clearly only an individual of substantial repute would warrant such back-breaking labour.

The amount of blood, sweat and tears that must have been expended in making the chamber is, as with so many ancient-structures, a firm indicator of the social standing of the person for whom it was created. It was no mean feat shifting a hulking stone slab two metres-by-two metres wide and 40 centimetres thick in Bronze Age Scotland (the SERF team needed a heavy crane to aid them in lifting it). Clearly only an individual of substantial repute would warrant such back-breaking labour. Additionally, the slab bears some quite intricate engravings of a spiral and axe shape on the bottom (facing into the tomb), while the cist itself has been decorated with similar markings around where the head of the person buried there would have lain.

Inevitably, theres an urge to place this discovery within a wider historical context. The markings in the tomb bear a striking resemblance to similar engravings found at Kilmartin Glen in Argyll the site of a Neolithic timber henge dating from 2600BC which would dwarf Stonehenge according to Dr Kenneth Brophy of Glasgow University, another of SERFs project directors. Brophy agreed that the newly-discovered Bronze Age chamber was clearly the final resting place of someone highly significant, for better or for worse. Something, whether negative or positive, picked the individual in this cist burial out for this special treatment, he added, speaking too to The Big Issue in Scotland.

Forteviot is also believed to have been the site of a palace where one of the very first kings of a united Scotland, Kenneth MacAlpin, is buried. Is it purely coincidence that the burial site of another person of major social standing has been found at the same site, dating from 3,000 years before it became a major power centre in Scotland? Or is it evidence of some kind of distant continuity, stretching over the millennia? Decide for yourself by following the dig on the SERFblog, or heading along for a look theres an open day for the public at Forteviot on Sunday August 16.