Royal Tomb of Akhenaten
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The Royal Tomb of Akhenaten is a multichambered tomb where members of the royal family, and possibly Akhenaten, were originally buried in the eastern mountains at Amarna near the Royal Wadi. [1][2] Akhenaten ("Beneficial for Aten")[3] was an Eighteenth Dynasty pharaoh who reigned for seventeen years (1355-1338 B.C.E.) from his capital city of Akhetaten ("The Horizon of the Sun's Disc"), known today as Amarna.[4] The Royal Tomb was rediscovered in the 1880s; however, the exact year and who discovered it is up for debate.[5] Excavations and research into the tomb began in 1891 and continue to this day.[6][7] The location of the Royal Tomb, the tomb itself, the artifacts contained within the tomb, and the destruction of parts of the Royal Tomb after Akhenaten's death provide researchers with valuable insights into Akhenaten's reign, including the political environment, and the Amarna Period.[8]
| Royal Tomb of Akhenaten (TA26) | |
|---|---|
| Burial site of Akhenaten and Meketaten | |
 Entrance of the Royal Tomb showing modern flood protection | |
  Royal Tomb of Akhenaten (TA26) | |
| Coordinates | 27.6262°N 30.9852°E |
| Location | Royal Wadi, Amarna |
| Excavated by | Alessandro Barsanti (1893–94) |
| Decoration | yes |
Several members of the royal family were buried in the Royal Tomb along with Akhenaten.[1] Barry Kemp,[9] Zahi Hawass,[10] and many others have conducted extensive research into the genealogy of Akhenaten. Their research suggests that he was the son of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye.[11] Evidence from reliefs, inscriptions, and texts indicate that Akhenaten's principal wife was Queen Nefertiti, whom he had six daughters with, including Meryetaten and Meketaten.[11] Research based on the line of succession suggests that Akhenaten was the father of King Tutankhamun.[9] In 2007, Zahi Hawass and a team of experts began the King Tutankhamun Family Project, which tested the DNA of 11 mummies from the New Kingdom.[10] The results appear to show that King Tutankhamun's father is the KV55 mummy, which most experts believe is Akhenaten's mummy.[10] Despite the research conducted by Kemp, Dr. Hawass, and others, not all experts agree with their reconstruction of Akhenaten's genealogy.[10]
There is a debate as to whether the Royal Tomb was first discovered in the 1880s by local villagers, or if Alessandro Barsanti discovered the tomb on his own in 1891.[5] Jewelry reportedly from the Royal Tomb, was sold to the Royal Scottish Museum in 1883, which supports the idea that local villagers discovered the tomb in the early 1880s.[11] Despite this, the official discovery is credited to Alessandro Barsanti on December 28, 1891, according to the Service des Antiquities.[11]
The first two expeditions were conducted by Alessandro Barsanti between 1891 and 1892.[12] Barsanti and his team inspected the chambers within the Royal Tomb, took measurements, made drawings, collected artifacts, and began the process of clearing some of the chambers of debris.[13] In 1893-1894, Urbain Bouriant conducted an epigraphic expedition with the intent of recording the "inscriptions and reliefs in the Royal Tomb."[14] J.D.S. Pendlebury began the task of re-examining and re-excavating the area outside of the tomb, the dumps, and the interior of the tomb, including the shaft.[15] In addition to the official expeditions, there may have been at least five unofficial expeditions prior to 1934.[16] The final expedition conducted by Pendlebury in 1934, was done in hopes of discovering a second tomb, copying all the reliefs and inscriptions, and a photographic record was also created.[15] Geoffrey T. Martin recorded the remaining inscriptions and reliefs of the Royal Tomb between 1980 and 1982 with the support of the Egyptian Antiquities Organization.[16] A survey of the tomb was conducted in 1980 by Mark Lehner.[17] In 1977, the Supreme Council of Antiquities began the Amarna Project, led by Barry Kemp. Work on this project continues to this day.[18]
Akhenaten's intention of placing the Royal Tomb in the eastern mountains was realized when the tomb was cut into the mountains and placed in the Royal Wadi, approximately 6km from the mouth, directly east of Amarna's central city.[1] The location of Akhenaten's Royal Tomb and the people he wanted to be buried with was actually decided by Akhenaten himself.[19] In a proclamation in the fifth year of his reign he stated "Let a tomb be made for me in the eastern mountain [of Akhenaten]. Let my burial be made in it...Let the burial of the Great King's Wife, Nefertiti, be made in it...Let the burial of the King's Daughter, Meryetaten, [be made] in it..."[19] In order to ensure that Akhenaten's wishes were followed, one of the boundary stelae in the mountains that surrounds Amarna was inscribed with this proclamation on it.[1] Akhenaten's chosen location for his tomb is a departure from other New Kingdom pharaohs who built their tombs in the Valley of the Kings.[17]
The Royal Tomb of Akhenaten consists of several chambers (some finished and some unfinished), a Pillared Hall (where Akhenaten's body was most likely located),[8] several staircases, and corridors that are all plastered and decorated to varying degrees.[20] The tomb of Akhenaten is a departure from other royal tombs built during the New Kingdom, because it is not located in the Valley of the Kings.[21] One of the things that stands out is that none of the reliefs or inscriptions within the tomb mention the traditional Egyptian afterlife, which is inconsistent with tombs found in the Valley of the Kings during the New Kingdom.[22] Instead, the tomb is decorated with scenes of daily life.[22]
Entrance Staircase A and Corridor B: Contains 20 steps and a central slide leading to a corridor that extends to the "innermost parts of the tomb," and leads to several unfinished chambers.[23] The corridor is "21.80m long, 3.20m wide, and 3.47m" high.[23] Both show evidence of being plastered, but not decorated.[23]
Pillared Hall E: It is the largest room in the tomb, measuring 10.36m x 10.40m squared.[8] Raised platforms can be found on the west and east sides of the hall.[8] The remains of Akhenaten's sarcophagus were found in this room, meaning this is most likely where he was originally buried, but his body was not found in the sarcophagus.[24] The tomb was initially plastered and decorated, but most of it was destroyed after Akhenaten's death due to political fallout.[25]
Shaft Room D: Leads to Pillared Hall E on west wall instead of the typical east wall.[26] On the east side it measures 3.12m deep, and on the west side it is 3.05m deep.[26] In the north corner, blocking stones were recovered.[26] The walls of the room were left unfinished.[26]
Room alpha: One of the unfinished chambers.[27] One of the things that is noticeable about this room is that it contains four niches that are craved into the walls.[27] The purpose of the niches was to "receive protective or ritualistic magical bricks and associated amulets."[27] Most of the plaster and decorations remain in various degrees of completion.[27] Reliefs and inscriptions found within the chamber suggest that it was meant for Queen Nefertiti, but this is up for debate.[28]
Room gamma: One of the unfinished chambers with unfinished floors.[29] The room was plastered and decorated.[29] Decorations indicate that this chamber was meant for Akhenaten's daughter Meketaten.[30] One of the reliefs indicates that Meketaten died during childbirth.[30]
Many of the walls within the Royal Tomb show signs of being plastered and/or decorated.[31] Since Akhenaten's death, many of the walls have been damaged by environmental factors, like flooding, and vandalism.[31] Evidence of vandalism, during ancient times, can be seen in Pillared Hall E, where Akhenaten was likely originally laid to rest.[25] In 1934, a feud between guards led to the vandalism of rooms alpha and gamma.[32] Expeditions prior to 1934, however, were able to record and photograph some of these decorations prior to their destruction.[6] Despite the damage, many decorations have survived and can be seen and studied today.[31]
Examples of the decorations can be found in the alpha and gamma rooms, which depict similar scenes.[33] In the alpha chamber, Akhenaten and Nefertiti bend over the inert body of a woman, weeping and gripping each other's arms for support.[33] Nearby, a nurse stands with a baby in her arms, accompanied by a fan-bearer, which indicates the baby's royal status.[33] The names in the scene have been hacked out.[33] In the gamma chamber, a very similar scene is shown; here the hieroglyphs identify the dead young woman as Meketaten.[34] In the same chamber, another scene shows Meketaten standing under a canopy, which is usually associated with childbirth, but can also be interpreted as representing the rebirth of the princess.[34] In front of her, amongst courtiers, stand Akhenaten, Nefertiti and their three remaining daughters, Meritaten, Ankhesenpaaten and Neferneferuaten Tasherit.[34] The presence of a royal baby has led many to believe that the young princess died in childbirth.[34]
Since excavations began in 1891, thousands of artifacts have been re-covered from Akhenaten's Royal Tomb.[6] Artifacts found within the tomb include fragments from the sarcophagus, canopic chests, shabtis, jewelry, scarabs, statues, pottery, and human remains.[35] The artifacts were made out of many materials such as alabaster, faience, glass, limestone and other stones, metal, and wood.[35] Excavations have revealed that many of these artifacts were destroyed or damaged soon after Akhenaten's death.[36] Most of these artifacts have been distributed between several museums and private collections around the world.[37] Research into these artifacts continue to this day.[7]
Akhenaten is most remembered for his radical change of the traditional Egyptian polythesim religion to a monothesim religion worshipping only the god Aten.[38] This change angered many people, which led to the destruction of his legacy in many ways.[38] After his death, many of the monuments, temples, and inscriptions with Akhenaten's name on it were destroyed or the images were damaged.[39] Akhenaten, along with three of his successors, was omitted from the official kings list.[38] In addition to his name and image being erased, the Royal Tomb also suffered from vandalism after his death, especially in Pillared Hall E.[8] This included the destruction of many of the statues and artifacts contained within Pillared Hall E.[8] One of the most noticeable things that was destroyed was Akhenaten's sarcophagus, which did not contain his body.[40] The sarcophagus has seen been re-constructed and is currently at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.[40]
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