Space was at a premium here, and tombs were used by entire families, not by individuals. Sennedjem’s tomb, for example, contained twenty bodies. Successive generations of a family might use a tomb that had been cut decades earlier, and the government might reassign a tomb to another family if the original owners died and left no heirs.
The decoration of tombs at Dayr al-Madina also sets them apart. Here, there are none of the scenes of daily life like those found in the tombs of Rekhmire, Menna, or Nakht. These tombs ignore scenes of funerary ceremonies, banquets, processions, or the Beautiful Festival of the Valley, which figured so prominently in other tombs. Instead, the decorated walls are devoted almost exclusively to texts and scenes from the Book of the Dead, borrowing from the same repertoire of religious scenes that appeared on the walls of royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings. By choosing these scenes, once restricted to royal tombs, the workmen seem to be claiming a special relationship between the royal court, the gods, and themselves.
The decorative style at Dayr al-Madina also followed different rules. Scenes are copies of vignettes from the Book of the Dead. As copies, they are by definition not original and lack the vitality displayed in other private tombs. Nevertheless, their technical quality is impressive. The artists worked quickly and confidently, applying vivid colors against a rich yellow background meant to suggest the color of papyrus. Representations of nature—of trees and shrubs, for example— show considerable attention to detail. One of the best examples of such Dayr alMadina painting is that in the tomb of Sennedjem, TT 1, which lies at the top of a flight of modern steps immediately west of his Dayr al-Madina home. Sennedjem’s tomb is one of the most interesting and best preserved at Dayr al-Madina. It was found unplundered in 1886, but its objects were shipped off around the world before any proper study was made, and consequently we know little more than that Sennedjem was a senior workman in the village.
ENTRANCE A pylon and small walled courtyard formed the original entrance to Sennedjem’s tomb, and a pyramid stood above the passageway that leads to the principal chamber. Today, the pyramid and courtyard are gone, replaced by a covered rest area. From here, you descend a steep set of badly lit stairs into the hillside to reach the vaulted principal chamber. It is small, only about 3 by 4 meters (9 x 12 feet), and has a low ceiling. The vividness of its colors and the excellent preservation of the walls never fail to astonish visitors. of the gateway into the principal chamber, a solar cat of Heliopolis sits beneath a persea tree and slashes with a large knife at Apophis, an evil serpent who is the enemy of the sun god. Blood gushes from his wounds. On the opposite wall, two seated lions, representing the hills of the western horizon, flank the setting sun. Originally, a beautifully painted wooden door was installed here (it is now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo), and both it and the door jambs were covered with a copy of Book of the Dead spell 17.
FRONT WALL (RIGHT SIDE) The mummy of Sennedjem lies on a lionheaded bed in an elaborate shrine, flanked by Isis (at the foot of the bed) and Nephthys (at the head). Both are shown as hawks. The brother of these two goddesses was Osiris, and according to New Kingdom theology, Sennedjem would have joined Osiris at death. Thus, by mourning Sennedjem, the two goddesses are also mourning the death of their brother.In the register below, two couples and another group of three receive offerings. At right, Sennedjem’s son, Bunakhtef, wearing the leopard skin of a sempriest, makes offerings to his parents. At left, another priest offers a sail, symbolizing life-renewing air. Farther left, a third priest blesses aromatic cones that sit on the heads of Khabekhnet, Sennedjem’s father, and his wives. Children kneel beside the chairs.
LEFT WALL In the upper part of the left end wall, black figures of Anubis, the jackal that guards the necropolis, flank lotus blossoms, symbols of life, and symbols of water. Below, Sennedjem and his wifeworship before an elaborate shrine. Inside the shrine, Osiris (first in the top row) and RaHarakhty (first in the bottom row) precede eleven other gods of the underworld. The text is from Book of the Dead spell 190 and it will endow Sennedjem with strength and power when he greets these gods.
REAR WALL At the far left, a priest wearing the mask of Anubis completes the mummification of Sennedjem. The mummy lies on a lion-shaped bed that has an elaborate mane and long tail placed within a shrine hung with tasseled cloth. The shrine is surrounded by excerpts from Book of the Dead spell 1, the chapter that was recited as the body was carried to the tomb for burial. At right, a figure of Osiris, holding a flail and scepter, and wearing the atef-crown on his head, stands in a shrine equipped with lotus columns and a uraeus frieze. He stands on the hieroglyphic symbol of Ma’at, meaning truth, justice, and order. On either side of his head are wadjet-eyes and, below, imiut-fetishes. These fetishes are animal skins tied to staffs and wrapped with lotus blossoms symbolizing rejuvenation and life. At right, a kneeling Sennedjem presents food offerings to the god. Another figure of Sennedjem is led forth by Anubis to be presented to Osiris.
RIGHT WALL One of the best-known scenes from the New Kingdom is on the right end wall of this chamber. In four registers, Sennedjem and his wife plough and harvest in the afterlife. This scene is common in Egyptian art—it is a standard vignette that accompanies Book of the Dead spell 110—but never was it so elegantly drawn. At the top of the wall, two baboons worship RaHarakhty-Atum, who sails through the underworld. On his bark stands a small shrine representing a temple at the Lower Egyptian religious site of Buto. There is a swallow, the symbol of eternity, and a strange object called a shemes combining a harpoon with a knife and a human leg that is said to be the symbol of the followers of Horus.
Below, agricultural scenes in the fields of iaru, the fields of the blessed, are surrounded by water-filled canals. Sennedjem and his wife kneel on a mound of sand and praise Ra-Harakhty, Osiris, Ptah, and two other gods who represent the Great Ennead. The gods sit on thehieroglyph for Ma’at. Behind them, Sennedjem’s son Rahotep kneels in a small bark while another son, Khonsu, performs the Opening of the Mouth ceremony on his father’s mummy. Three black ovals on the right of the scene represent a “battle site,” an “offering place,” and something called “the greatest.” Beneath a narrow, waterfilled canal, Sennedjem and his wife Iyneferti harvest a field of grain.
The stalks lack the realism seen in the harvest scene in Menna’s tomb, but there are some deft touches. For example, Sennedjem holds stalks of wheat in his left hand, and that hand is drawn in ordinary fashion. But his right hand, the hand holding a sickle, is oddly turned. The artist was trying to show Sennedjem holding the sickle horizontally, but the rules of Egyptian art demanded that the sickle be shown in its most recognizable form, which is from the side. Therefore, he has drawn the sickle upright, but twisted the wrist and palm so that it would appear as if Sennedjem were swinging the sickle parallel to the ground. The two lines that form a V on his wrist are tendons that become prominent when his hand is flexed. At right, the deceased kneels on a mat before an offering table laden with food and wine. He sniffs a lotus flower.
Below, Sennedjem pulls green flax stalks, which his wife then ties into bundles. His wife, Iyneferti, walks behind Sennedjem, sowing seed broadcast. Sennedjem is plowing the fields and urging two cows forward with a small flail. In front of the cattle stands a finely drawn sycomore fig tree with branches that extend through the register line into a square with four black ovals like those described above. Fertility is emphasized in such scenes. In the Book of the Dead, a part of the text accompanying this vignette reads, “I acquire this field of yours which you love, the Lady of Air. I eat and carouse in it. I drink and plow in it. I reap in it, I copulate in it, I make love in it, I do not perish in it, for my magic is powerful in it.” Another water-filled canal divides the lower register. In the upper part, dom and date palms alternate with sycomore fig trees, all heavily laden with fruit. Below, cornflowers, mandrake, and red poppies grow along the canal. At right, on a small island, a djed-tefet bark (belonging to Ra-Harakhty) has moored in a small inlet. FRONT WALL (LEFT SIDE) Sennedjem and his wife stand in separate registers and adore figures of the ten guardians of the gates of the underworld.
Each guardian sits in a small shrine. Relatives of Sennedjem and his wife bring offerings of flowers and birds. Some of the figures of relatives overlap each other in a confusing, even impossible, manner: look for example, at how the arms and ankles of the two men immediately behind the chairs overlap. Young children, drawn as miniature adults, stand beside their parents’ chairs. CEILING Scenes of formal religious activities were painted on the tomb’s vaulted ceiling. Near the door, Sennedjem and wife accept libations of water and loaves of bread from the goddess Nut, whose body emerges from a sycomore fig tree.
Scenes of such tree goddesses were very popularin ancient Egypt and a speech by the tree goddess in another Theban tomb tells why: “I am Nut, I have come to you bringing gifts. You sit under me and cool yourself under my branches. I allow you to drink of my milk and to live and take nourishment at my two breasts...” A scene of pharaoh being suckled by a tree goddess can be seen in the tomb of Thutmes III. The sycomore tree bears figlike fruit which must have small notches cut from it, an arduous process but a necessary one if the figs are to be rid of wasp larvae that render them inedible. Each of the figs on this tree has been notched and is therefore ready to nourish Sennedjem and his wife.
In another scene, Sennedjem stands before the gates of heaven. The door’s lower hinges are set in the earth, the upper in the hieroglyphic sign for the sky. Other scenes on the ceiling show the deceasedbefore various gods, adoring and praying. Two sycomore trees stand at the side of one scene, the sun rising between them. These are the “two sycomores of turquoise between which Ra comes forth,” and the reborn sun emerges from darkness, riding on the back of a calf.
From" The Illustrated Guide to Luxor" by kent R.Weeks ,published by the American University in Cairo Press. Copyright © 2005 White Star S.p.a