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Tomb of Ramose (TT55) |
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Ramose was 'Governor of the Town' (Thebes) and Vizier during the
Dynasty XVIII transition of the reigns of Amenhotep III and IV. His
tomb in the village area of Sheikh 'Abd el-Qurna reflects his
important position in the royal court and it is interesting because it
represents the change in style towards 'Amarna art'. It is uncertain
whether the deceased was ever buried in this tomb, or whether he
followed Akhenaten to his new capital, Akhetaten, but no tomb has been
found for Ramose there.
The plan of the tomb is a traditional T-shape but built on a very
large scale with some of the most beautiful relief carvings of any
Theban tomb.
A wide stairway leads down to the courtyard in front of the tomb and
the entrance leads into a large transverse hall, its roof once
supported by four rows of eight papyrus columns. Some of these have
recently been restored. There has been a great deal of damage to the
tomb, to the reliefs depicting Akhenaten, but also because of a
collapsed ceiling, although this probably contributed to the
preservation of the remaining reliefs. The tomb was also usurped by
another individual at a later date. |
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The wall on the left of the entrance shows Ramose, wearing the gown of
a vizier consecrating offerings to Amun-Re, Re-Horakhty, Atum and
Khepri and followed by his attendants. The scenes of the banquet on
this wall are particularly beautiful, carved with very fine detail on
limestone and left uncoloured except for the eyes of the figures. Each
guest, some of them the relatives of the deceased, is named in the
accompanying texts. These say that Ramose married his brother's
daughter, Meryt-Ptah. |
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The end wall on the south side portrays the funeral procession in two
long registers. The floor at this wall slopes steeply down into the
burial shaft below, which is sometimes accessible. This wall was not
carved but its paintings show very good colour and detail of the
funerary goods being transported to the tomb with the procession of
mourners moving towards the Western Goddess. The canopic jars in their
shrine are taken with the sarcophagus to the tomb on sleds. Before
them is an unusual scene of the 'teknu' - a mysterious part of the
funerary ritual. There are many opinions about what the 'teknu' was:
one idea is that it was a priest wrapped in skins and transported on a
sled in some kind of ritual of rebirth, while others suggest it was
the wrapped internal organs of the deceased which were not placed in
canopic jars. The 'teknu' in this scene can be seen clearly to be the
shape of a man crouching, with his feet showing. |
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The second register shows more of the procession with the tomb
furnishings and burial goods being carried to the tomb. A group of
mourning women dressed in white robes with their hair loose, are shown
in a well-known scene at the centre of the procession. Further on nine
kneeling women wail and cover their heads with ashes and bare-chested
women dressed in yellow and red beat their breasts. Unfortunately the
captions for these scenes are incomplete. At the end of the wall the
two registers are linked together ending before the Western Goddess
where the deceased is before his tomb entrance. |
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The west wall is damaged and difficult to recognise but has four
unfinished figures of Ramose, the last offering a bouquet to a king in
a kiosk with the traditional nine enemies on its base. The cartouche
is that of Amenhotep and the damaged epithet 'great in his time',
suggests that the ruler was Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) portrayed in his
earlier years in the formal style of his father Amenhotep III. Behind
him sits the goddess Ma'at in the classic style. In the centre of the
west wall is the entrance to the unfinished inner chamber where Ramose
is portrayed entering the tomb, with an autobiographical text
appealing to the gods to recognise his good character.
On the right of the entrance Ramose can be seen kneeling prostrated
before Amenhotep IV and his queen Nefertiti, who are shown in the
'Window of Appearances' with the rays of the Aten showering down on
them. This relief is executed in the new style of Amarna art and was
defaced, presumably after Akhenaten's reign ended. Ramose is shown
receiving the 'Gold of Honour' one of the highest awards in the land,
and many courtiers and officials are bowing low before the royal
couple. Beyond this scene the wall is unfinished. Drawings have been
sketched in but were left uncarved. These show foreign delegates (four
Nubians, three Asiatics and a Libyan) coming to pay homage and offer
tribute to the king. |
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The north wall of the tomb is undecorated, but the wall to the right
of the tomb entrance is again decorated with traditional fine reliefs.
There is an Iun-mutef priest dressed in a panther skin with a
comprehensive list of offerings for the soul of the deceased. Many
family members are again shown on this wall. A statue of Ramose
dressed in his long vizier's robe with a heart amulet around his neck,
is being purified by two priests. In the scene above, Ramose and his
wife face three girls holding out sistra and menat to the deceased in
another beautiful relief. Next to the entrance Ramose and his wife are
depicted with offering bringers burning incense. |
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| Entrance |
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| The tomb of Ramose is open from 7.00am to 5.00pm. |
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