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Royal Cache

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Theban tomb TT320
Burial site of Royal cache
LocationDeir el-Bahari, Theban Necropolis
Discovered1881 (Officially)
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Tomb DB320 (now usually referred to as TT320) is located next to Deir el-Bahri, in the Theban Necropolis, opposite modern Luxor, and was found to contain an extraordinary cache of mummified remains and funeral equipment of more than 50 kings, queens, royals and various nobility.

Usage of tomb

The tomb is thought to have initially been the last resting place of High Priest of Amun Pinedjem II, his wife Nesikhons and other close family members. Pinudjem II died around 969 BC in a time of decline of the Egyptian kingdom. In this time the mummies from former dynasties were vulnerable to grave robbery and were moved here to protect the remains of these royal personages.

The list of mummies in the tomb is as follows;

Dynasty Name Title Comments
17th Tetisheri (?) Great Royal Wife
17th Seqenenre Tao Pharaoh
17th Ahmose-Inhapi Queen
17th Ahmose-Henutemipet Princess
17th Ahmose-Henuttamehu Great Royal Wife
17th Ahmose-Meritamon Great Royal Wife
17th Ahmose-Sipair Prince
17th Ahmose-Sitkamose Great Royal Wife
18th Ahmose I Pharaoh
18th Ahmose-Nefertari Great Royal Wife
18th Rai Royal nurse Nurse of Ahmose-Nefertari
18th Siamun Prince
18th Ahmose-Sitamun Princess
18th Amenhotep I Pharaoh
18th Thutmose I Pharaoh
18th Baket (?) Princess possibly Baketamun (?)
18th Thutmose II Pharaoh
18th Iset Great Royal Wife Wife of Thutmose II, mother of Thutmose III
18th Thutmose III Pharaoh
18th Unknown man C Possibly Senenmut[1][2]
19th Ramesses I Pharaoh
19th Seti I Pharaoh
19th Ramesses II Pharaoh
20th Ramesses III Pharaoh
20th Ramesses IX Pharaoh
21st Nodjmet Queen Wife of Herihor
21st Pinedjem I High Priest of Amun
21st Duathathor-Henuttawy Wife of Pinedjem I
21st Maatkare God's Wife of Amun Daughter of Pinedjem I
21st Masaharta High Priest of Amun Son of Pinedjem I
21st Tayuheret Singer of Amun Possible wife of Masaharta
21st Pinedjem II High Priest of Amun
21st Isetemkheb D Chief of the Harem of Amun-Re Wife of Pinedjem II
21st Neskhons First Chantress of Amun; King's Son of Kush Wife of Pinedjem II
21st Djedptahiufankh Fourth Prophet of Amun
21st Nesitanebetashru Wife of Djedptahiufankh
? Unknown man E has been studied by Bob Brier, who thinks the mummy in question, might be Pentawer, one of the progeny of Ramses III
? 8 other unidentified mummies; funerary remains of Hatshepsut

Other mummies possibly buried in the tomb:

Discovery and clearance

TT320 Cache Tomb Shaft

Initially the discovery of the tomb was concealed and a local family, the Abd el-Rasuls, used the mummies as a store of precious articles that were then sold on the antiquities market. This caused the local authorities to investigate and locate the source of these items.

It was cleared in a hurry (within 48 hours of its official discovery in 1881) by Émile Brugsch, in order to ensure no more antiquities were sold.

The chamber is reached by a nearly vertical chimney, which was left open in 1881, and has since filled with rocks and other debris (in fact every object that was left in the tomb has now been damaged in some way). It was reinvestigated in 1938. Since 1998 a Russian-German team led by Erhart Graefe has been working on reinvestigating and preserving the tomb.[3]

See also

References

Bibliography

  • Dylan Bickerstaffe, The Royal Cache Revisited, JACF 10 (2006), 9–25 [1]