Tomb TT188, located in the necropolis of

El-Khokha The necropolis of El-Khokha ( ar, الخوخه) is located on the west bank of the river Nile at Thebes, Egypt. The necropolis is surrounds a hill and has five Old Kingdom tombs and over 50 tombs from the 18th, 19th and 20th dynasties as well as ...

in Thebes in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

, is the tomb of the Steward and King's Cupbearer

Parennefer The ancient Egyptian noble Parennefer was Akhenaten's close advisor before he came to the throne, and in later times served as his Royal Butler, an office which brought him into intimate contact with the king. His titles include "The King's Cup Be ...

.Aldred, Cyril, Akhenaten: King of Egypt ,Thames and Hudson, 1991 (paperback), pp 91-92, It has been excavated by the

Akhenaten Temple Project Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Echnaton, Akhenaton, ( egy, ꜣḫ-n-jtn ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning "Effective for the Aten"), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth D ...

. The work has been thoroughly published by Susan Redford with architectural study and drawings by Keith Meikle. It is one of the few tombs in 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 ...

that was carved and decorated solely during the early years of the rule of

Akhenaten Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Echnaton, Akhenaton, ( egy, ꜣḫ-n-jtn ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning "Effective for the Aten"), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth D ...

.Murnane, William J., Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt, Society of Biblical Literature, 1995 pp 64-66, The tomb is decorated with sculpted scenes, some of which were painted. The scenes were all badly damaged and the name of Parennefer was carefully removed. The decoration includes harvest scenes, the presentation of temple-staves at the inauguration of Akhenaten, and an award scene showing Parennefer before the royal couple. In the tomb Akhenaten goes by his initial name Amenhotep (IV). The scenes in the tomb of Parennefer may be the first to show Queen

Nefertiti Neferneferuaten Nefertiti () ( – c. 1330 BC) was a queen of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, the great royal wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a radical change in national religious policy, in which ...

. An unnamed royal woman accompanies Akhenaten as he worships the

Aten Aten also Aton, Atonu, or Itn ( egy, jtn, ''reconstructed'' ) was the focus of Atenism, the religious system established in ancient Egypt by the Eighteenth Dynasty pharaoh Akhenaten. The Aten was the disc of the sun and originally an aspect o ...

and sits besides the king in a scene showing Parennefer before his king and queen. The queen is thought to be Nefertiti. The scenes show some of the earliest examples of Amarna style depictions. The figures show the rounded form that will become typical in

Amarna art Amarna art, or the Amarna style, is a style adopted in the Amarna Period during and just after the reign of Akhenaten (r. 1351–1334 BC) in the late Eighteenth Dynasty, during the New Kingdom. Whereas Ancient Egyptian art was famously slow to ...

, and courtiers are shown bending from the waist with their arms hanging down. Mummies, coffins and other remains show that the tomb was later reused during the 21st and 22nd dynasties, and robber tunnels have led the way to new and unrecorded tombs, whose entrances cannot be located from outside.

Recent discoveries

By tracing the multiple robber tunnels that enter the tomb, other previously unknown tombs have been located close by. These include a small painted tomb from the

Ramesside The New Kingdom, also referred to as the Egyptian Empire, is the period in ancient Egyptian history between the sixteenth century BC and the eleventh century BC, covering the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth dynasties of Egypt. Radioca ...

period, one from the 18th Dynasty, and a tomb of the

25th Dynasty The Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXV, alternatively 25th Dynasty or Dynasty 25), also known as the Nubian Dynasty, the Kushite Empire, the Black Pharaohs, or the Napatans, after their capital Napata, was the last dynasty of t ...

. This last tomb entrance way is constructed of mud-brick, has a large open court, and a long corridor with a series of chambers and deep shafts excavated in the bedrock.

Other tomb

Parennefer also had a tomb (no 7) constructed at Amarna.N. de G. Davies, The rock tombs of El-Amarna, Parts V and VI, 1905 (Reprinted 2004), The Egypt Exploration Society,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tt188 Buildings and structures completed in the 14th century BC Buildings and structures of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt Theban tombs Akhenaten

Recent discoveries

Other tomb

See also

References