The profession of the deceased is not visible in the tomb equipment. This is in contrast to several other cultures. Provincial Roman graves often contained objects related to the profession of the deceased. There are burials of dentists with their instruments,60 others with potter’s tools.61 In the burial of a painter was found a set of small vessels still containing paint.62 Other Roman burials contained different tools perhaps also relating to the deceased’s profession.63 Weapons in tombs of Celtic men might indicate that they were soldiers but might also relate to their social status in a “warrior society.”64
Funerary Objects for Passages into a New Form of Life
Death is seen in many cultures as the critical passage from one form of life to another. To secure an uncomplicated transition, rituals were performed. In ancient Egypt these are the rituals around mummification, as well as the Opening of the Mouth ritual, which had the function of bringing back to life not only statues but also the mummy. Objects connected to these rituals might be placed in the tomb. In late Old Kingdom burial equipment a set of instruments for the Opening of the Mouth ceremony is sometimes included.
There were also other rituals. In late Old Kingdom burials, pottery ensembles were often found that appear again on stelae of the same period showing the stela owner being served food. This might be a ritual ensuring the eternal food supply. The ritual of placing these vessels in the tomb was performed with a view to all eternity, guaranteeing the food supply of the deceased.65
Communication with the Dead
Especially in some burials of the First Intermediate Period letters were found written on pottery vessels placed in the burial chamber. They contain messages from family members to the deceased.66
OTHER ASPECTS OF BURIAL
Funerary Objects
In this book, funerary objects are those objects that were mainly produced for the tomb or at least for related rituals. The most important object, and one still used today, is the coffin. It is also clear that other burial goods were made solely for the tomb. These include canopic jars, wooden models of food production, and certain vessels used in rituals, but also the funerary jewelry discussed in Chapter 3. It seems evident that model vessels were not used in daily life, although it might be argued that they were utilized in temples for votive offerings and are therefore not exclusively funerary. For other pottery the line between daily life and funerary is often hard to draw. Stephan Seidlmayer noticed that in Old Kingdom burials on Elephantine most items placed in the tomb were taken directly from life; only the pottery was specially made for the tomb.67 The forms of pottery vessels placed in the burials were identical to those used in daily life, however, and these pottery vessels were also fully functional. They might therefore be better classified as daily life objects, but newly produced for a burial. For amulets it is often hard to decide to which category they belonged. Many First Intermediate Period burials often of modest size contained amulets, which it seems were worn in daily life as protection against evil spirits.68 Amulets found in New Kingdom and Late Period tombs are often regarded as specially made for burial.69 Again, this is not proven, and it might be argued that at least some of these amulets had already been worn in daily life. Another complicated case is jewelry made for the tomb. Mace and Winlock observed for the burial of Senebtisi that several of the personal adornments placed on her body were much too flimsy to have been used in real life (discussed in Chapter 3). Some of them did not even have proper clasps (Chapter 1). There are, however, other roughly contemporary court type burials where it seems that “real” personal adornments were placed on the body.
Models
A subgroup of objects of the funerary industry consists of models. Already in the Predynastic Period models were placed in Egyptian tombs.70 Most often they simply replaced more expensive objects, but they were also smaller though still fully functioning versions of bigger objects. Object types where models are attested include the personal adornments found in many of the tombs discussed and the miniature pottery found in several of them. Models of bigger or expensive objects are known from the Old Kingdom, become less common in the Middle Kingdom, and then regain popularity in the New Kingdom. Of particular note here are painted models of stone vessels and small solid wooden models from the New Kingdom.
Models placed in burials are also known from many other cultures. Chinese models of servants have already been mentioned, but there are also models of houses and other items.71 In the Middle Bronze Age Sappali culture (part of the Bactrian-Margiana culture in Central Asia) metal models of tools, weapons, household articles, and toiletry objects were placed in graves.72 Models of weapons also appear in Iron Age burials of men in Italy, where it has been noted that real weapons appear too, more often spears than swords, perhaps because placing weapons in male tombs was seen as important but spears were less costly than swords.73 This observation might confirm the impression that models are often a cheaper version of a more expensive original object.
1. Map of Egypt. Drawn by the author.
CHAPTER 1
Court Type Burials
In this chapter the category of Middle Kingdom burials known as “court type” is discussed. The first two examples described are the burial of Senebtisi and the “treasure” from the tomb of Sathathoriunet. These two burials are discussed first because both were carefully excavated and the findings published in detail. Indeed, in terms of their documentation and publication, the excavations of these burials set the standard in Egyptian archaeology. Furthermore, it was in the excavation report on the tomb of Senebtisi that the term “court type burial” was first coined. The burials discussed after those of Senebtisi and Sathathoriunet are arranged in chronological order. The last two groups of jewelry discussed are those found in two disintegrated “jewelry boxes” recovered from a gallery tomb next to the pyramid of Senusret III at Dahshur. They appear at the end because only the jewelry in the boxes is preserved; the actual burials of the women in the gallery tomb were looted.
THE TOMB OF SENEBTISI1
The burial of the “lady of the house” Senebtisi (“the one who will be healthy”)2 is among the most famous tombs of ancient Egypt, at least for Egyptologists interested in the Middle Kingdom and funerary culture. There are three reasons for this: first, the tomb was found almost untouched; second, the excavation was very carefully recorded; and third, the excavation was fully published about ten years later. In the publication, Senebtisi’s type of burial was labeled a “court type burial” because it was thought that the burial equipment was restricted to the royal court of the Twelfth Dynasty. Typical of court type burials are a set of staves and weapons, partly gilded coffins, and jewelry, all specially made for the tomb. They are mainly attested at the cemeteries at the royal court, but also at provincial cemeteries.3 The best preserved examples belong to “king’s daughters,” although this type of burial was not restricted to women at the royal court.
2. Map of Lisht. Drawn by the author.
3. Plan of the pyramid of Amenemhat I. Drawn by the author after
