coffin of Ita. From de Morgan 1903, fig. 109.
42. The dagger of Ita. From de Morgan 1903, pl. VII.
Around Ita’s neck was a broad collar with round terminals in silver and many beads of semiprecious stones, such as lapis lazuli, carnelian, and turquoise.117 The terminals were simple and undecorated. Ita’s body was adorned with several armlets and bracelets. There was a small figure of a swallow, perhaps once belonging to a girdle and not uncommon in this type of burial. From depictions it is known that such figures were attached to an apron. They also appear in the friezes of early Middle Kingdom coffins and are called zait.118 Under the head of the mummy was a small disk of black earth of unknown function.119 Ita was perhaps also adorned with a royal apron, but the short excavation report is not really conclusive on this point.120 Placed on the left side of Ita were several weapons and royal insignia, including a flail, a mace, and scepters. Again, these objects were only briefly mentioned in the publication.
In the second chamber of the burial further burial goods were found. Under a big plate there was a set of bronze tools (Fig. 43). In the southeastern corner of the chamber was an uninscribed canopic box containing a set of four canopic jars, also uninscribed. The jars have human heads; three are shown with a beard, the fourth without. From the Middle Kingdom onward, canopic jars were placed under the protection of the four children of Horus: Amset, Qebehsenuef, Hapy, and Duamutef. In the Middle Kingdom Amset was a female deity, and therefore the canopic jar under her protection had a head without a beard, while the other three—all male deities—are shown with a short beard.
43. Tools of Ita. From de Morgan 1903, fig. 106.
The burial goods also included a box containing vessels for the “seven sacred oils.”121 In fact, it contained eight vessels, seven for the oils and a further one as some kind of placeholder. The lids of the vessels are inscribed with the names of the oils. The names are “best of ash-oil,”122 “nekhenem-oil,”123 “hekenu-oil,”124 “iber-oil,”125 “best of Tjehenu-oil” (perhaps best translated as “best of Libyan oil”),126 “tuaut-oil,”127 “sefetj-oil,”128 “setji-hab” (“smell of the festival”).129 Only iber-oil does not belong to the classical list of the seven sacred oils. For most of the oils we just know the names and have only vague ideas about the plants or animals they were made from. The ash-oil came from the ash tree, not yet identified with certainty but often identified with the cedar tree. The sefetj-oil also comes from the same ash tree and was often imported from Syria. Hekenu-oil was perhaps made of peppermint and imported into Egypt.130
The seven sacred oils often appear in religious texts such as the Pyramid and the Coffin Texts.131 This does not mean, however, that these texts appear on all coffins. The Coffin Text spell 934 mentioning all oils is attested on only two coffins of the early Middle Kingdom.132 Nevertheless, the seven sacred oils are depicted on a high percentage of Middle Kingdom coffins with an inner decoration, quite often at the head end of the coffin, demonstrating the importance of the oils for the deceased.133
Another object was an incense burner or lamp consisting of a plate and a cover (Fig. 44).134 These burners are well known from depictions in Old Kingdom tombs but are rarely found as original objects. In the tomb of Ita a set of tools was also found. Such tools are typical of Old Kingdom burials of the ruling class at the royal residence.135 Is it possible that Ita copied—at least in parts—an Old Kingdom burial?
44. Incense burner of Ita. From de Morgan 1903, fig. 107.
Who Was Ita?
Ita is possibly also known from a monument outside her tomb. In Qatna (Syria), fragments of a sphinx were found and dated by style to Amenemhat II or even slightly earlier. On this monument Ita is called “member of the elite, beloved king’s daughter of his body.”136 It remains an open question whether the princesses from the two monuments are one or two individuals. The Ita from Dahshur was most likely buried under Amenemhat III. This is about thirty years after the death of Amenemhat II, something that is certainly possible or even to be expected. As the daughter of the king, Ita was one generation younger than him and likely to have died one generation after him.137 The name Ita, however, is not uncommon in the Middle Kingdom,138 and the identification remains uncertain.
THE TOMB OF KHENMET
The burial139 of the king’s daughter Khenmet140 was found next to that of Ita and was arranged along the same lines (Fig. 45). In her small burial chamber there was a sarcophagus made of quartzite. In this outer container was placed a wooden coffin that was not inscribed on the exterior but had texts written on the inside. These inscriptions are almost identical to those found on the inside of Ita’s coffin. The innermost coffin was anthropoid, but it was heavily decayed when found. Again, de Morgan did not realize that the remains belonged to a coffin and described them as part of the mummy. The anthropoid coffin must have been similar to that of Ita’s. Following the description in de Morgan’s publication, the coffin was covered with a substance described as bitumen, and the head, or more likely just the wig, covered in blue and gold. The eyes were inlaid in silver.141 Under the head was placed a clay disk.
On Khenmet’s body were found several items of jewelry. They are described in the excavation report, and many of them are shown with photographic images. There are no drawings, however, of the exact find spots of these pieces. Furthermore, the reconstruction of single items is often highly problematic.
Around Khenmet’s neck was a broad collar with falcon head terminals. The heads were made of hollow gold. The eyes were inlaid, while the eyebrows and the mouth were made of lapis lazuli. The collar proper was composed of 103 pieces in the shape of ankh, djed, and was signs.142 These are made of gold foil and inlaid with different materials. The outer edge of the collar was most likely fringed with drop-shaped beads. Perhaps coming from a choker (see Fig. 49) are two smaller falcon terminals and an array of hieroglyphic signs, many of them connected with royalty, such as two vultures, each on a neb sign, two cobras on two neb signs, or two bees. Today they have been reconstructed as a narrower form of broad collar.143 However, the small size of the terminals might better fit a choker.
45. The tomb chamber of Khenmet. From de Morgan 1903, fig. 105.
On each arm Khenmet wore five bracelets. There were two clasps adorned with the sa sign from a pair of bracelets.144 Furthermore, de Morgan mentions a massive undecorated gold bracelet and another consisting of beads of various materials. On the left side of the anthropoid coffin, a mace and several staves were found, typical of this type of burial, but again not described in detail. Outside the sarcophagus, on the southern side, were found a gilded wooden dagger and a staff, neither well preserved.
This was not the only jewelry to be discovered in the tomb; other examples were found in the small chamber next to the sarcophagus chamber. Here, there must have been a box with another set of personal adornments,145 constituting one of the most remarkable sets of gold objects ever found in Egypt.
First
