Hidden Tombs Of Memphis
The Hidden Tombs of Memphis is the grandiose story of the internationally acclaimed discovery of the tomb of Maya, the culmination of a painstaking ten year search at Saqqara, the burial ground of Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt. Maya had been Tutankhamun’s treasurer and one of the most powerful men during the boy-king’s short reign. Exploration of his tomb, and those of other important officials in the necropolis, has opened an important new chapter in the understanding of Egyptian society dating back more than 3,000 years. This book is Professor Martin’s first-hand account of his discoveries. Since 1975, his team has uncovered a series of spectacular funerary monuments, not just of Maya but also of Horemheb – Tutankhamun’s Commander-in-Chief, and later himself pharaoh – Ramesses the Great’s sister, Princess Tia, and other courtiers of New Kingdom Egypt. The beautiful wall reliefs and paintings in the tombs discussed in this book shed new light on the knowledge of New Kingdom art, up until recently largely dominated by the treasures of ancient Thebes. Many of the isolated masterpieces in museums around the world can now be linked back to Saqqara monuments, from which they originally came, with credit due
“The alleged identification rests on the similarity of Horemheb’s titles with those inscribed in Pattenemheb’s tomb at Amarna, and the possibility that the name Pattenemheb (‘[the god] Aten is in festival’) could have been transmogrified into Horemheb (‘[the god] Horus is in festival’) after the Armana period” (Martin 37). Memphis was the administrative capital of ancient Egypt throughout most of its history. Today, much of the site is under modern settlements and cultivation; the rest is a large ruinfield undergoing archaeological excavation. A number of the finds from the site have been gathered together in one place, such as the colossal limestone statue of Ramesses II, housed it its own building. This particular statue is one of the largest of Ramesses in Egypt, although most of its legs are missing, the remains measure over ten meters. Saqqara was the necropolis of the ancient city, a vast site which sprawls over the desert sands. Not every part of Saqqara is accessible to the public, but a number of ancient tombs may be seen, such as: The Step Pyramid complex of Zoser, including the entrance colonnade, great courtyard, mortuary temple, and heb-seb court. The substructure of the pyramid and Zoser’s ‘Southern Tomb’ are not accessible to the public. The pyramid of Unas, including the substructure, its mortuary temple, and causeway are also there. A small portion of the covering of the causeway, with its walls carved in relief, is still present. All these monuments are in the south and west parts of Saqqara. Moving to the north, one can see the pyramids of Userkaf and Teti, as well as the important Sixth Dynasty mastaba tombs of Mereruka, Kagemni and Ankhmahor. to the archaeologists that uncovered these hidden tombs and funerary monuments. The first part of this book discusses Memphis and its necropolis, Saqqara. It focuses on the Step Pyramid enclosure at Saqqara, the first great monumental building in the history of mankind – the entire complex is in stone of primitive reed and mud structures. Because so few inscriptions were found in it a number of problems of interpretation remain, including the extent to which the buildings in the enclosure duplicate those in the royal palace of the Third Dynasty in the nearby capital of Memphis. None of the other pyramid enclosures of the Old Kingdom at North Saqqara such as Unas, Teti, and Userkaf – is as well preserved as the Zoser complex, yet they have all furnished valuable information on the development of royal tombs i
Some topics in this essay:
Tia Tia,
Akhenaten Tutankhamun’s,
Memphite Kingdom,
Step Pyramid,
Ramesses II,
Sixth Dynasties,
Pyramid Texts,
City Dead,
Kingdom Egypt,
Ankhmahor Saqqara,
funerary monuments,
mastaba tombs,
ramesses ii,
tomb tia tia,
accessible public,
pyramid complex,
windblown sand,
princess tia,
west wall,
mereruka kagemni ankhmahor,
mortuary temple,
pyramid unas,
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Approximate Word count = 1707
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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