Trabajos de Egiptología. Papers on Ancient Egypt

The Mummification Deposit in the Courtyard of TT 209

Pía Rodríguez Frade — 2024-11-28

This study offers a detailed analysis of the contents of five ceramic vessels, predominantly of the type known as “sausage jars”, which make up a mummification deposit that appeared in the courtyard of the Theban Tomb 209. They were found on the west side of the entrance to its underground chambers, although the specific context of the find showed that they had slipped from an adjacent area. The association of the objects with the tomb would allow us to assign them to the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty. The procedure used to individualize and catalogue each piece of fabric is described, as well as conservation and storage. From the analysis of the fabrics and their spatial arrangement inside the jars, practical aspects of the mummification ritual are addressed and the specific functions of the different types of fabrics in this context are reflected upon.

Pleistocene Artefacts Inside an Ancient Egyptian Tomb

Cristo Manuel Hernández Gómez — 2024-12-31

The Wadi Hatasun comprises a palimpsest of huge numbers of lithic archaeological remains located there due to the proximity of the Theban Eocene calcareous formation with silicifications, and to the desert processes of deflation and flash floods. The Theban tomb 209 is situated in this wadi. Due to these flooding events, the tomb was virtually filled; this silting process lasted several centuries and concluded approximately two thousand years ago. Within the alluvially deposited sediment, there exists a knapped lithic record with highly varied technical features, alluding to numerous periods of occupation of the wadi. Many of these materials are attributable to the Middle Stone Age. We carried out both lithological and technological analyses in order to characterise this lithic record, and to try to identify the represented technocomplexes and link them with their time frames. The postdepositional sorting of the lithic assemblages on and within the tomb occurred naturally, and thus without any human bias. This offers an opportunity to study a material set representative of the Pleistocene hominid record that can be found on surface all over this area of the Egyptian low western desert, and to point out the value of its necessary preservation.

A Funerary Cone of Ray on the Upper Terrace of TT 209

José Miguel Barrios Mufrege — 2025-02-17

During the excavations on the upper terrace of the superstructure of TT 209, located on the northern slope of Wadi Hatasun, a stamped funerary cone appeared among other objects from different chronological contexts. Based on its inscription, the cone appears to have been part of the tomb of a high-ranking official identified as Ray, a scribe, overseer of the treasury, and overseer of the double granary of Montu in Iwny (Armant). This study aims to publish the object and present the results of the research conducted on its materiality, its inscription, and the owner of the tomb where it was used. Evidence has been analyzed, including the uncommon shape of the imprint and the locations where other examples mentioning the same individual have been found. The study also examines statues from a similar chronological period depicting individuals with the same name, in case they refer to the same person. It also addresses the presence of officials in the necropolis who held titles corresponding to those belonging to Ray. Using this information, efforts have been made to clarify the chronology of the cone, determine the original location of the tomb, and reconstruct the administrative career of its owner.