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Tomb 1159 at Deir el-Medina

Tomb 1159 is located in the western cemetery of Deir el-Medina, where about twelve tombs have been identified with certainty as belonging to the 18th dynasty: TT8 of Kha, TT291 of Nu and Nakhtmin, TT 325 of Simen?, TT 338 of May, TT 340 of Amenemhat (also TT354), DM 1089 of Simen, possibly also associated with TT 325, DM 1099 of Khunefer, DM 1138 of Nakhy and Amenwahsu, DM 1159A of Sennefer, DM 1166 (name lost) and DM 1352 of Setau (Demarée,2000,97). The area is located in the south-western part of the cemetery. The location of grave 1159 is marked with a red cross in the photo below.
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Tomb 1159 is a pit dug into the rock. There are two levels in the tomb. The upper level - in a 3m deep shaft - contained the burial of Hormes. His tomb was discovered and excavated by the Italian expedition that carried out the first scientific excavation of Deir el-Medina between 1905 and 1909, led by the Italian archaeologist Ernesto Schiaparelli. In the Hormes tomb they found a large piece of a painted linen shroud, which used to cover a coffin or a piece of furniture, a fragment of the base of a stele, a funerary cone, an offering table and several pieces of pottery (Matiegková, 1931, 320).
The plan of the tomb according to Bruyère's drawing
In 1928 the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology in Cairo under the direction of Bernard Bruyère discovered two pits on the western side of the tomb of Hormes during excavations in the area. The first pit did not lead anywhere, but in the second pit 5 steps were uncovered (Matiegková, 1931, 320). The steps lead 1.7 metres down to a square room with a bricked-up vaulted entrance, which meant that there could be an undisturbed grave behind it. The tomb was officially opened on 7 February 1928. This lower burial chamber was 1.25m high, almost square, measuring 2.35m along the eastern wall, 3m along the western wall, 2.70m along the northern wall and 2.65m along the southern wall. The maximum height of the ceiling was 1.9 m. The walls were roughly cut and undecorated.
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Bruyère's sketch of the interior of the tomb as found in the week of the 2nd-7th February 1928 can be viewed in his notebook published on-line by IFAO:
http://www.ifao.egnet.net/bases/archives/bruyere/?sujet=Tombe+inviol%C3%A9e+1159.+Horm%C3%A8s.+Sennefer&os=5


The tomb belonged to a workman called Sennefer who lived in Deir el-Medina towards the end of the 18th dynasty. It has been suggested by Jacques Aubert (Aubert,1974,62) that Sennefer was most likely a contemporary of Tutankhamun because the shabtis found in his tomb were made in the same style as those of this pharaoh. Sennefer's title was "Servant in the Place of Truth" as it appears on his coffin. He was one of the workmen of the necropolis who worked on the construction of the royal tombs.
 
In the south-eastern corner of the burial chamber there was a pile of 17 dried funerary bouquets attached to poles wrought in leaves. These were probably carried by the mourners during the funeral procession, similar to the scenes depicted on ancient Egyptian tomb walls. At the rear of the tomb 2 anthropoid coffins were found. Both were painted black with yellow inscriptions and decorations. The other coffin rested on a wooden trestle and was covered with a large finely woven linen shroud. A smaller piece of linen was placed on top.
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The canvas shows the profile of a seated man looking to the right.
In front of him is a pile of offerings. He wears a white, medium-length, pleated kilt, his neck is decorated with an usekh necklace. On his head is a short black curly wig topped with an ointment cone. The seat he sits on is black, with animal legs and a high curved back. He holds a piece of cloth in his right hand, while his left hand is extended towards the offerings, consisting of 3 pieces of bread, 3 pieces of vegetables and a piece of meat. In the field in front of him are two columns of hieroglyphs written in black ink. They read from top to bottom, the right one first: "Osiris, Servant in the Place of Truth, Sennefer".New Kingdom, TT1159 - the tomb of Sennefer, Deir el-MedinaEgyptian Museum Cairo, JE 54885
Photography © kairoinfo4u
Bruyère's sketch of the piece of linen can be seen in his notebook, published online by the IFAO:
http://www.ifao.egnet.net/bases/archives/bruyere/?sujet=Tombe+inviol%C3%A9e+1159.+Horm%C3%A8s.+Sennefer&os=8
The coffin closer to the entrance was smaller and rested on the floor. It was made of sycamore wood and was more expensive than the larger coffin. Another, tiny coffin, was placed near the heads of the two coffins. It belonged to a child and was made of lime-washed wooden planks. In the corner was a wooden box with a triangular lid, made of sycamore wood, containing: 2 wooden shabtis wrapped in linen, 2 cosmetic jars, 1 pair of sandals and some pearls. A wooden stool with a leather seat was placed on top. Persea branches were placed around the large coffins.
In the north-east corner of the burial chamber were 2 ceramic jars and 3 plates containing persea fruit, dum dum palm nuts and grain. There was a black wooden handle of a fan. It was inlaid with ebony and ivory. 2 walking sticks were wrapped in linen (Matiegková,1931,321-322).


Scroll down to see photographs of the human remains - the skulls of Sennefer and Neferit.

Bruyère's sketch of Sennefer's burial, found during the week of 2-7 February 1928, can be seen in his notebook, published online by the IFAO:
http://www.ifao.egnet.net/bases/archives/bruyere/?sujet=Tombe+inviol%C3%A9e+1159.+Horm%C3%A8s.+Sennefer&os=7


The large coffin contained the body of Sennefer. It was wrapped in linen and a cartonnage mask was placed over his face. Wreaths of vine, willow and lotus flowers were placed on his chest. A black stone heart scarab with gilding was attached to the wrapped body with 3 strings of blue and gilded pearls. A gilded wooden pectoral may have been attached to the strings, but came loose and was found on the side of the coffin.

Bruyère's sketch of the pectoral found in Sennefer's coffin during the week of 2-7 February 1928 can be seen in his notebook published online by the IFAO:
http://www.ifao.egnet.net/bases/archives/bruyere/?sujet=Tombe+inviol%C3%A9e+1159.+Horm%C3%A8s.+Sennefer&os=10


Further down on Sennefer's wrapped body a wooden headdress, a wooden cubit and 4 wooden rulers were found. Several bronze objects and small perfume jars were placed at his feet. Neferit's body rested in the smaller sycamore coffin. She was also wrapped in layers of linen, but there was no cartonnage mask over her face and no objects were found inside the coffin or on her wrapped body (after unpacking the body a necklace of turquoise, coral, lapis lazuli and gold, an arm and wrist bracelet and 2 rings were found adorning her body).
The child was placed in the smallest coffin, measuring 88 cm. The body was placed in a stretched position with the arms next to it. It was wrapped in linen and no traces of mummification were found. Some remains of brown skin were preserved and the fractured skull contained brown powder. The body measured 76 centimetres. On the basis of the size and the development of the teeth, the anthropologists estimated the age of the child at death to be 8-12 months (Matiegková, 1931, 327).
The Czech Egyptologist Jaroslav Černý took part in the discovery. Some objects from the tomb are now housed in the Náprstek Museum,while the human remains are part of the collection of the Hrdlička Museum of Anthropology, Charles University. Both museums are located in Prague, Czech Republic.
Sennefer's skull from the collection of the Hrdlička
Museum of Anthropology, Charles University, Prague
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Neferit's skull from the collection of the the Hrdlička Museum of Anthropology, Charles University, Prague
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I would like to express my thanks to Hans Ollermann from Holland, who improved the images of Neferit's skull.
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It was noted that the causes of death of both Sennefer and Neferit could not be established, nor could the order in which they died. There was no written evidence that Neferit was Sennefer's wife, but together with the baby found in the coffin next to theirs, all three seem to form a family unit.

The text on this page was written by Lenka PeacockPhotography © Lenka and Andy Peacock and kairoinfo4u
Sources:
1. Deir el-Medina in the third millenniuim AD : a tribute to Jac. J. Janssen / edited by R. J. Demarée and A. Egberts
Leiden : Nederlands Instituut voor Het Nabije Oosten, 2000.
2. Navrátilová, Hana : Sennefer IN : Théby : město bohů a faraónů = Thebes : city of gods and pharaohs / Jana Mynářová & Pavel Onderka (eds.)
Praha : Národní Museum, 2007. p. 128-131.
3. Bruyère, Bernard: Rapport sur les Fouilles de Deir el Medineh (1928)
Le Caire : Imprimerie de l'Institut Francais d'Archeologie Orientale, 1929.
4. Aubert, Jacques F.: Statuettes egyptiennes
Paris : Libraire dAmerique et d'Orient Adrien maisonneuve, 1974.
5. Matiegková, L., Matiegka, J.: Hrob Sen Nefera a tělesné znaky staroegyptského lidu za doby XVIII dynastie (Le tombe de Sen Nefer et les caractères physiques des anciens Egyptiens au temps de la XVIIIe dynastie
Offprint : Anthropologie IX, cis. 1. pp. 320-335.
Praha : Grafické závody V. & A. Janata v Novém Bydžově, 1931.
6. http://www.ifao.egnet.net/bases/archives/bruyere/?sujet=Tombe+inviol%C3%A9e+1159.+Horm%C3%A8s.+Sennefer&os=5 (last accessed on Oct 2 2012)
7. Tomsová, Julie: Dvojí život Sennefera z Dér el-Medíny : Bachelor degree thesis
Praha : Univerzita Karlova v Praze, Filozofická fakulta, Český egyptologický ústav, 2014.
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