Bab el-Gasus ( arz, باب الجسس, bāb el-gasus, lit=Gate of the Priests pies} p. 17: "Daressy’s moniker ‘Tomb of the Priests’ likely finds its origins in the local traditions of Sheikh abd el Gurnah. Indeed, this phrase could be translated directly from the dialectal form of Arabic in use by Gurnawi workmen, resulting in the local designation of the tomb as ‘Bab el-Gasawsa’, which literally means ‘Gate of the Priests’, as Egyptians traditionally see pharaonic tombs as ‘gates’ into the netherworld. This Arabic phrase was probably wrongly interpreted by Herbert Winlock, who recorded it as ‘Bab el-Gasus’, which in fact means ‘Gate of the Spies’. It is perhaps for this reason that the expression was corrected to ‘Bab el-Kusus’, certainly by scholars familiar with the Cairene form of Arabic, and eventually adapting it to the typical Gurnawi pronunciation and spelling with a -g, instead of -k, resulting in the name ‘Bab el-Gusus’."), also known as the Priestly Cache and the Second Cache, was a cache of ancient

21st dynasty The Twenty-first Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXI, alternatively 21st Dynasty or Dynasty 21) is usually classified as the first Dynasty of the Ancient Egyptian Third Intermediate Period, lasting from 1077 BC to 943 BC. History After the r ...

(c. 1070–945 BCE) Egyptian mummies found at

Deir el-Bahari Deir el-Bahari or Dayr al-Bahri ( ar, الدير البحري, al-Dayr al-Baḥrī, the Monastery of the North) is a complex of mortuary temples and tombs located on the west bank of the Nile, opposite the city of Luxor, Egypt. This is a part of ...

in 1891. It was excavated by French Egyptologists Eugène Grebaut and

Georges Daressy Georges Émile Jules Daressy (19 March 1864 – 28 February 1938) was a French Egyptologist. He worked from 1887 in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Amongst his responsibilities was the museum's move from Bulaq to Giza in 1891, and then to the presen ...

, with Urbain Bouriant and Ahmed Kamal, on the direction of Mohamed Ahmed Abd al‑Rassul, who had also revealed the location of the

Royal Cache The Royal Cache, technically known as TT320 (previously referred to as DB320), is an Ancient Egyptian tomb located next to Deir el-Bahri, in the Theban Necropolis, opposite the modern city of Luxor. It contains an extraordinary collection of m ...

in 1881. The tomb entrance was located on the flat area just outside the precinct wall in front of the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut. The find was significant for Egyptology, particularly in respect of religion, mummification, and coffin studies. It is the largest intact tomb ever found in Egypt. Today, the contents of the tomb are spread between 30 museums worldwide.The Most Famous Ancient Egyptian Site You Have Never Heard Of
, Egypt Today, 10 Jul 2016: "Yet, in the thirty or so museums abroad where the coffins are to be found" In 1893, Khedive

Abbas II of Egypt Abbas II Helmy Bey (also known as ''ʿAbbās Ḥilmī Pāshā'', ar, عباس حلمي باشا) (14 July 1874 – 19 December 1944) was the last Khedive ( Ottoman viceroy) of Egypt and Sudan, ruling from 8January 1892 to 19 December 1914 ...

presented groups of artefacts from the tomb to 16 countries, as gifts celebrating the Khedive's accession to the throne. As a result of this dispersion, the artefacts have received limited focus by scholars.Review by Marissa Stevens, University of California, Los Angeles of Rogério Sousa, Burial Assemblages from Bab el-Gasus in the Geographical Society of Lisbon. Monumenta Aegyptiaca, 14. Turnhout: Brepols, 2017
/ref> It contained 254 richly decorated coffins (101 double sets) giving 153 coffin sets in total, as well as 110 shabti boxes, 77 Osirian wooden statuettes (mostly hollow and containing a papyrus), 8 wooden steles, 2 large wooden statues (Isis and Nephthys), 16 canopic reed baskets, 5 round baskets made of woven reed. The coffins were made almost exclusively with wood from the native fig tree, the '' Ficus sycomorus''. On the 125th anniversary of the find, the Centro de Estudos Clássicos e Humanísticos of the

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; pt, Universidade de Coimbra, ) is a Public university, public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coi ...

launched the "Gate of the Priests" project, with the University of Leiden, the National Museum of Antiquities of Leiden, the Vatican Museums and UCLA, in order to reconstruct the original collection of Bab el-Gasus. A new display of the Bab el-Gasus artefacts was opened at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo in 2021 following the moving of the

. Although one of the

Theban tombs The Theban Necropolis is located on the west bank of the Nile, opposite Luxor, in Egypt. As well as the more famous royal tombs located in the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, there are numerous other tombs, more commonly referred ...

, the tomb never received a serial number.

International donations

In 1907 Daressy published a list of the 71 coffins sets that were donated overseas in 1893 by Khedive Abbas: Anonymous coffins 75 and 126 were sent to the Museum of Alexandria.

Burials

Burials in the tomb include the following, amongst others: * Children of

Menkheperre Menkheperre, son of Pharaoh Pinedjem I by wife Duathathor-Henuttawy (daughter of Ramesses XI by wife Tentamon), was the High Priest of Amun at Thebes in ancient Egypt from 1045 BC to 992 BC and ''de facto'' ruler of the south of the country. ...

* Children of Pinedjem II *

Gautseshen Gautseshen (her name means 'bouquet of lotuses') was an ancient Egyptian priestess, the singer of Montu. She lived during the Twenty-first Dynasty of Egypt. Description Her father was Menkheperre, High Priest of Amun; her mother was Princess Ise ...

Tjanefer Tjanefer (fl. 1008 BCE) was an ancient Egyptian priest during the reign of the Twenty-first Dynasty of Egypt. Description His father was Nesipaherenmut, the Fourth Prophet of Amun, and his mother was Isetemheb. According to the ''Karnak Priestl ...

List of objects found

A list of the objects found was published by Daressy in 1900:Daressy, 1900, p.144. Also in English at Sousa, Amenta & Cooney 2021 p. 9. * 153 coffin sets, of which 101 include two coffins and 52 a single coffin * 110 ushebti-boxes * 77 wooden statuettes of Osiris, most of them hollowed and holding a papyrus scroll * 8 wooden stelae * 2 large wooden statuettes of Isis and Nephthys * 16 canopic vases * 1 mat * 10 baskets of reeds * 5 round baskets * 2 fans * 5 pairs of sandals * 11 baskets with food (with meat, fruits, etc.) * 6 baskets with floral garlands * 5 large vases * 5 pots * 1 box with wooden hands and divine beards ripped from coffins

Gallery

Initial discovery

File:Émile Bayard's sketch of the 1891 Bab el-Gasus discovery, published in L'Illustration (front cover).jpg,

Émile Bayard Émile-Antoine Bayard (2 November 1837 – 6 December 1891) was a French illustrator born in La Ferté-sous-Jouarre, Seine-et-Marne. A student of Léon Cogniet, he is known for his illustration of Cosette from ''Les Misérables'' by Victor Hug ...

's sketch on the front cover of ''

L'Illustration ''L'Illustration'' was a weekly French language, French newspaper published in Paris from 1843 to 1944. It was founded by Édouard Charton with the first issue published on 4 March 1843, it became the first illustrated newspaper in France then, a ...

'' on 4 April 1891 File:Émile Bayard's sketch of the 1891 Bab el-Gasus discovery, published in L'Illustration 01.png,

's second sketch on the topic in ''

'' on 4 April 1891 File:Paul-Dominique-Philippoteaux.jpg,

Paul Philippoteaux Paul Dominique Philippoteaux (27 January 1846 – 28 June 1923) was a French artist. He is best known for a cyclorama illustrating the Battle of Gettysburg. Life and career Paul Philippoteaux was born in Paris, the son of the French artist ...

's ''Examen d'une momie - Une prêtresse d'Ammon'' File:Bab el-Gasus, 5 Feb 1891.jpg, Photograph of the excavation, 5 Feb 1891 File:Diagram of Bab el-Gasus from Daressy's "Les sépultures des prêtres d’Ammon à Deir el-Bahari" 01.jpg, Diagram of Bab el-Gasus from Daressy's "Les sépultures des prêtres d’Ammon à Deir el-Bahari" File:List of Bab el-Gasus sarcophagi from Daressy's "Les sépultures des prêtres d’Ammon à Deir el-Bahari".jpg, List of Bab el-Gasus sarcophagi from Daressy's "Les sépultures des prêtres d’Ammon à Deir el-Bahari" File:Second list of Bab el-Gasus sarcophagi from Daressy's "Les sépultures des prêtres d’Ammon à Deir el-Bahari".jpg, Second list of Bab el-Gasus sarcophagi of Bab el-Gasus from Daressy's "Les sépultures des prêtres d’Ammon à Deir el-Bahari" File:Musée d'archéologie méditerranéenne, Marseille 48.jpg, The story of Bab el-Gasus at Musée d'archéologie méditerranéenne, Marseille

Display at Egyptian Museum, Cairo

File:Bab el-Gasus display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo 01.jpg File:Bab el-Gasus display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo 02.jpg File:Bab el-Gasus display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo 03.jpg File:Bab el-Gasus display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo 04.jpg File:Bab el-Gasus display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo 05.jpg File:Bab el-Gasus display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo 06.jpg

International donations

Burials

List of objects found

Gallery

Initial discovery

Display at Egyptian Museum, Cairo

References

Citations

Sources

Further reading