A BRIEF HISTORY OF TT99
What has happened to any ancient monument over a period of more than 3,000 years is bound to be complex, unless the archaeologist discovers something like the tomb of Tutankhamun. Such events are rather rare.
In the case of the Private Tombs at Thebes, the situation is very complex. At different periods in ancient times, it was the custom not to build new tombs but to take over and perhaps readapt older ones. Also, the tombs are not located out in the desert, a long distance from the rest of humanity, but are situated really quite close to ancient and modern centres of population. Thus they came to the attention of people who used them as homes once their original function was long past.
The following summary is based on evolving current thinking about TT99, combined with general information about tomb reuse and the development of local sites. All dates are approximate before 1895.
Last update: 1 July 1997.
Dates BC 1420 Senneferi constructs tomb 99, cutting courtyard, chapel, and shafts in courtyard. He was probably buried here, but we don't have evidence for this yet. 1400 Son-in-law Amenhotep puts his statue in tomb Late 8th cent An interest is taken in the site by various priests of Amun looking for tombs to reuse for their own burials. 705 Priest Wedjahor almost certainly buried at this time.
An uncertain number of new shafts cut at the rear of the chapel. Various elements of burial equipment come from this date. 680 Priest Horenpe, son of Wedjahor, almost certainly buried now, probably cutting a new shaft. 680-640 Other priests use the tomb for further burials, perhaps cutting other shafts. Various further elements of burial equipment date here. Dates AD 300-? Tomb used by Copts, leaving remains of roman-type bracelets, ostraca, and masses of pottery (mediaeval Islamic) Date very uncertain.
Tomb used as habitation&emdash;pottery
and glass bracelets of known Islamic types ?18th cent-1907 (Perhaps a continuation
of the last?). Growth of village of Sheikh abd el-Qurna takes off subsequent
to European rediscovery of Egypt and growth of antiquities trade. Burials
plundered for antiquities. 1895 TT99 first mentioned in the scholarly literature
1903 Excavations in the courtyard by Robert Mond 1905 Kurt Sethe copied
texts in the tomb 1907 Inhabitants, possibly Coptic weavers, expropriated
by the authorities and an iron door put on the tomb 1908-1991 Visits by
various Egyptologists, almost all unrecorded 1992 Cambridge Theban Tombs
Project begins work in the tomb.
Akhenaten
{ah-kuh-nah'-tuhn}
The Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten, or Ikhanaton, was one of the earliest monotheists, but his religious reforms did not survive. He succeeded his father, AMENHOTEP III, in 1379 BC and immediately began building a new type of roofless temple to the Aten ("Sun disk"). He soon forbade the worship of other gods, especially of the state god Amen, or AMON, of THEBES.
In 1374 BC he changed his name from Amenhotep ("Amon is satisfied") to Akhenaten ("beneficial to Aten") and left Thebes for a new capital at Tell el-AMARNA. Living there with his queen NEFERTITI, six daughters, and possibly several sons, he fostered new styles in art and literature.
Akhenaten was a complex figure whose historical significance is still debated. His physical abnormalities were exaggerated in contemporary art, and no evidence supports the charge of mental instability that is often leveled against him. He lost Egyptian -held territory in Syria and Palestine but maintained Egypt's status as a great power. Within Egypt he combined religious reform and skillful tactics to strengthen absolute royal power over the bureaucracy and the army, but his monotheism was genuine and innovative.
His religious reforms were detested, however, and after his death in 1362 his successors restored traditional religion. The Aten temples were demolished, and Akhenaten came to be called "the Enemy."
Alabaster
Alabaster, fine-grained, translucent variety
of the mineral GYPSUM, pure white or streaked with reddish brown. Its softness
makes it easily carved but also easily broken, soiled, and weathered. Quarried
in England and Italy, it is used to make statuary and other decorative
objects. The Oriental alabaster of ancient Egyptian and Roman tombs is
actually MARBLE, a calcium carbonate, whereas gypsum is a calcium sulfate.
Alchemy
Alchemy, ancient art or pseudoscience that sought to turn base metals into
gold or silver through the agency of a secret substance known by various
names (philosopher's stone, elixir, grand magistry). Emerging in China
and Egypt by the 3d cent. B.C., alchemy was cloaked in mysticism and allegory,
and in time degenerated into superstition. Revived (8th cent.) in Alexandria
by the Arabs, it reached W Europe by the Middle Ages.
In the 15th–17th cent. experimentation again
fell into disrepute, but the base had been laid for modern CHEMISTRY.
Alexandria
Alexandria, city (1986 pop. 2,917,327), N Egypt, on the Mediterranean Sea,
W of the Nile R. delta. The city is Egypt's leading port, a commercial
and transportation center, and the heart of a major industrial area with
such manufactures as refined petroleum, textiles, processed food, paper,
and plastics. Founded in 332 B.C. by ALEXANDER THE GREAT, Alexandria was
(304 B.C. –30 B.C.) the capital of the PTOLEMIES.
The city was the greatest center of Hellenistic and Jewish culture. It had a great university and two celebrated royal libraries, but their valuable collections have not survived. Alexandria became part of the empire of ROME in 30 B.C. and later of the BYZANTINE EMPIRE. The Muslim Arabs took the city in 642 A.D. After Cairo became (969) Egypt's capital, Alexandria declined. It fell to NAPOLEON I in 1798 and to the British in 1801.
During WORLD WAR II the city was the chief
Allied naval base in the E Mediterranean. At a 1944 meeting in Alexandria,
plans for the ARAB LEAGUE were drawn up. A few of Alexandria's ancient
monuments are still visible. The Greco-Roman Museum houses a vast collection
of Coptic, Roman, and Greek art.
Alphabet
Alphabet, system of WRITING, theoretically having a one-for-one relation
between character (or letter) and phoneme (see PHONETICS). Few alphabets
have achieved an ideal exactness. A system of writing is called a syllabary
when one character represents a syllable rather than a phoneme, e.g., the
kana used in Japanese. The precursors of the alphabet were the iconographic
and ideographic writing of ancient peoples, such as CUNEIFORM and the HIEROGLYPHIC
writing of the Egyptians.
The alphabet of modern Western Europe is the Roman alphabet. Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian, and many languages of the former Soviet republics are written in the Cyrillic alphabet, an augmented Greek alphabet. Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic all have their own alphabets. The most important writing of India is the Devanagari, an alphabet with syllabic features.
The Roman alphabet is derived from the Greeks,
who had imitated the Phoenician alphabet. The exact steps are unknown,
but the Phoenician, Hebrew, Arabic, and Devanagari systems are based ultimately
on signs of Egyptian hieroglyphic writing. Two European alphabets of the
late Roman era were the RUNES and the ogham. An exotic modern system is
the Cherokee syllabary of SEQUOYAH.
Amenhotep I
{ah-men-hoh'-tep}
Amenhotep I, king of Egypt from 1546 to 1526 BC, was the son of AHMOSE I, founder of the 18th Dynasty. Amenhotep undertook military campaigns in Libya and Nubia (now Sudan), extending the boundaries of his empire. The name also appears as Amenophis.
Amenhotep III
The 18th-dynasty king Amenhotep III succesor to Pharaoh thutmose IV ruled
(1417-1379 BC) Egypt at the height of its power. His extensive diplomatic
contacts with other Near Eastern states, especially Mitanni and Babylonia,
are revealed in the AMARNA tablets. He constructed the Temple of Luxor
and the great Karnak. The colosal; Memnon were built during his monarchy.
He reigned for 38 years during the period of 1400 B.C. Of the great temple he built near Thebes, only two statues, the so-called colossi of MEMNON, remain. Amenhotep's wife Tiye, a woman of humble birth, was prominently associated with him during his long and peaceful reign.
Amon
Amon ³´m…n, ä´–, , Ammon ²´m…n , or Amen
ä´mµn ancient Egyptian deity. Originally the chief god
of Thebes, Amon grew increasingly important in Egypt, and eventually, as
Amon Ra, he was identified with RA as the supreme deity. He was also identified
with the Greek ZEUS (the Roman JUPITER).
Amon-Re
{ah'-muhn-ray'}
Amon-Re was the supreme god of the Egyptian religion during the New Kingdom period (1570-1085 BC). Amon and Re were originally two separate deities. Re (or Ra) was a Sun god whose cult at Heliopolis (On) in Lower Egypt was promoted by the Egyptian kings beginning with the 5th dynasty (c. 2494-2345 BC). Represented in art with a man's body and a falcon's head surmounted by a solar disk, Re was believed to sail across the sky in a boat each day and under the world at night.
At Heliopolis he was associated with the god Horakhty, but during the Middle Kingdom (c. 2040-1786 BC) he became identified with Amon (or Amun), a god worshiped at Thebes in Upper Egypt. The Amon-Re of the New Kingdom took on the characteristics of a national deity, served by a wealthy and powerful priesthood. His temple at KARNAK is one of the chief architectural monuments of ancient Egypt.
Amorites
{am'-uh-ryts}
Frequently mentioned in the Old Testament, the Amorites were a Semitic people who flourished 2000-1600 BC. Their rule extended from ancient CANAAN as far as Egypt.
AMULETS
Amulets of different types are known from many periods of Egyptian history. They were very frequently placed in strategic places in the wrappings of the mummy, and fall into a variety of types with different uses. A large scarab is often placed over the heart, sometimes with an inscription on it, and thus known as a 'heart scarab'. Others represent protective deities, and very many are what we called 'figured amulets' which represent either a religious concept or symbolise an object which has a magical significance for the deceased.
These objects are small and easily carried, and hence very popular with tomb robbers. Thus they tend to be rather infrequent among disturbed burials like the ones in TT99. Nonetheless, we have found a few.
Winged scarabs and figures of the sons of Horus
A winged scarab
Some sons of Horus amulets
A winged scarab, son of Horus amulet, and part of a bead net still attached to some mummy bandage.
Both these types of object become popular in these forms at the end of the Third Intermediate Period, from about 700 BC onwards. The four sons of Horus have long been among the major protective deities for the deceased, and the winged scarab is doubtless associated in concept with the heart scarab mentioned earlier. In the above forms, they are usually sewn onto the outer mummy bandages (hence the holes) or are incorporated into a net of beads which was placed over the wrapped mummy. They are usually made of faience, and nor desperately well made, probably indicative of the mass production industry active at the time.
Other amulets
Cobra, scarab, and Djed amulets Steatite scarab amulet
These small amulets were placed within the mummy wrappings, sometimes being sewn to them, and they all have a symbolic purpose. The green Djed amulet is a symbol of Osiris, and also represents stability. The uninscribed steatite scarab is a continuation of the older practice of the inscribed heart scarab. Another figured amulet found in TT99 was a small black headrest, which again symbolises the support of the head of the deceased. Two small figures of deities were also found.
Antique
antique, term formerly applied only to objects of preclassical and classical
cultures of the ancient world, but now applied in common usage to artifacts
of historic, aesthetic, and monetary value that are more than 100 years
old. Antique collecting began with the preservation of religious objects
in antiquity, but today includes a vast range of decorative objects and
memorabilia.
Antiochus III
{an-ty'-uh-kuhs, suh-loo'-sid}
Antiochus III, c.242-187 BC, succeeded to the throne of the SELEUCIDS in 223, when the kingdom was controlled by a powerful minister and rebellion was spreading in Iran. He defeated the rebels, rid himself of the minister, and conquered much of Phoenicia, Syria, and Palestine from the Ptolemies of Egypt. He had to withdraw, however, after losing the Battle of Raphia (217).
During the next few years Antiochus regained much of Anatolia, where a relative, Achaeus, had proclaimed himself king. In 213, Achaeus was captured in a dramatic plot and executed. Antiochus then embarked on a major expedition (212-206) to reconquer the lost eastern provinces, ruled by independent dynasties. Marching with little fighting as far as India, he received the nominal homage of the eastern rulers without imposing firm control.
Compared by flatterers to Alexander the Great, Antiochus set himself to regain all the land held by Seleucus I. After the death (205) of Ptolemy IV, he retook what he had lost at Raphia, then advanced as a self-styled liberator through Anatolia and crossed to Thrace, where he rebuilt (196) the old capital of Lysimachus. The Roman general Titus Quinctius FLAMININUS, who had just defeated Philip V of Macedonia, then proclaimed the "freedom of all the Greeks" as a propaganda weapon against Antiochus.
After a cold war, in which both sides claimed to defend Greek freedom while negotiating for a realistic diplomatic solution, Antiochus was forced by the Aetolians to occupy a fortress in Thessaly, which they had seized against Rome. He was defeated by Roman forces in Greece in 191 and in Anatolia in 190. According to the peace agreement he had to give up Anatolia (most of it to Eumenes II of Pergamum) and to accept humiliating terms.
Rebellion in the east found him without resources, and he died while trying to seize a temple treasure.
Anubis
{uh-noo'-bis}
In Egyptian mythology, Anubis was the jackal-headed
god who took the souls of the dead to be weighed before the judge of the
infernal regions.
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship, system of learning a craft or trade from a practitioner
and paying for the instruction by working a given number of years. The
practice was known in ancient Babylon, Egypt, Greece, and Rome, modern
Europe and, to some extent, the U.S. In medieval Europe, the GUILDS supervised
the relation of master and apprentice. Although the INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
put an end to most guilds, apprenticeship continues in highly skilled trades
in Britain and the U.S., at times competing with technical schools.
In Germany apprenticeship programs train workers in a wide range of fields, not just highly skilled trades. The terms of apprenticeship are regulated by trade unions and by law.
Aquarium
Aquarium, name for any supervised exhibit of living aquatic animals and
plants. Aquariums are known to have been built in ancient Rome, Egypt,
and Asia. Large, modern public aquariums were made possible by the development
of glass exhibit tanks capable of holding over 100,000 gal (378,500 liters)
of water. Aquarium maintenance requires careful regulation of temperature,
light, food, oxygen, and water flow; removal of injurious waste and debris;
and attention to the special requirements of the individual species.
Freshwater and saltwater aquariums are often
maintained for research and breeding purposes by universities, marine stations,
and wildlife commissions.
Arethusa
{ar-uh-thoo'-zuh}
In Greek mythology, Arethusa was a woodland NYMPH and one of the attendants of ARTEMIS. Alpheus, a river god, saw her bathing in a stream and tried to embrace her. As she fled under the sea, she called on Artemis for help and was changed into a fountain. It was believed that Alpheus, in the form of a river, flowed underground to Sicily, where he was united with her in the fountain of Arethusa in Syracuse.
The story has been beautifully told by Percy Bysshe Shelley in his poem "Arethusa.".