The Theban Tomb TT96 (sometimes known as the "Tomb of the Vineyards" due to its decoration) is located in

Sheikh Abd el-Qurna The necropolis of Sheikh Abd el-Qurna ( ar, شيخ عبدالقرنة) is located on the West Bank at Thebes in Upper Egypt. It is part of the archaeological area of Deir el-Bahari, and named after the domed tomb of the local saint. This is the mo ...

. It forms part of the

Theban Necropolis The Theban Necropolis is a necropolis on the west bank of the Nile, opposite Thebes (Luxor) in Upper Egypt. It was used for ritual burials for much of the Pharaonic period, especially during the New Kingdom. Mortuary temples * Deir el-Bahri ...

, situated on the west bank of the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...

opposite

Luxor Luxor ( ar, الأقصر, al-ʾuqṣur, lit=the palaces) is a modern city in Upper (southern) Egypt which includes the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of ''Thebes''. Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open-a ...

. The edifice is the burial place of the ancient Egyptian noble,

Sennefer The ancient Egyptian noble Sennefer was "Mayor of the City" (i.e. Thebes) and "Overseer of the Granaries and Fields, Gardens and Cattle of Amun" during the reign of Amenhotep II of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Being a favourite of the king ...

and wife Meryt.

Tomb

The tomb is entered by a steep tunnel, which opens into a low chamber covered with painted decoration. This small chamber shows Sennefer entering the Underworld, with servants carrying boxes and a bed for his tomb. Passing through this chamber, the main burial chamber is reached through a doorway guarded by jackals The south wall show the funeral procession, the west wall shows offerings and the ritual journey to Abydos. The north wall shows Sennefer and his wife worshipping

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wsjr'', cop, ⲟⲩⲥⲓⲣⲉ , ; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎𐤓, romanized: ʾsr) is the god of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...

and

Anubis Anubis (; grc, Ἄνουβις), also known as Inpu, Inpw, Jnpw, or Anpu in Ancient Egyptian () is the god of death, mummification, embalming, the afterlife, cemeteries, tombs, and the Underworld, in ancient Egyptian religion, usually depict ...

, it also shows the embalming chamber, and purification of Sennefer and Meryt by a priest of the mortuary temple of

Thutmose III Thutmose III (variously also spelt Tuthmosis or Thothmes), sometimes called Thutmose the Great, was the sixth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Officially, Thutmose III ruled Egypt for almost 54 years and his reign is usually dated from 28 ...

. One of decorations has a graffito added at a much later date, showing that the tomb was open during the Greco-Roman period. The east wall again shows scenes of offerings and libation, the false doorway, through which Sennefer and Meryt are shown 'going forth by day'. The ceiling has three lines of hieroglyphic on the ceiling, two between the pillars, and further lines of text at the top of three of the pillars. The pillars show scenes of Meryt offering

myrrh Myrrh (; from Semitic, but see '' § Etymology'') is a gum-resin extracted from a number of small, thorny tree species of the genus ''Commiphora''. Myrrh resin has been used throughout history as a perfume, incense and medicine. Myrrh mi ...

, food offerings and lotus flowers to Sennefer, and scenes with Sennefer seated in the shade of trees with a table of refreshments, the fourth pillar shows Sennefer surrounded by priests while he stands on a hill of sand, part of the

opening of the mouth The opening of the mouth ceremony (or ritual) was an ancient Egyptian ritual described in funerary texts such as the Pyramid Texts. ''PeseshKaf'' is an instrument used for this ritual, ''psš'' (“an instrument for Opening of the mouth”) + '' ...

ceremony.

Tomb

See also

References

Further reading