• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

Originalveröffentlichung in: Nigel Strudwick, John H. Taylor (Hg.), The Theban Necropolis. Past Present and Future, London 2003, S. 53-60 The Ramesside tomb of Nebsumenu (TTi 83) and the ritual of Opening the Mouth Jan Assmann The following paper is an attempt to combine certain archi­ of the sem priest at the right has disappeared. Another scene tectural features of Ramesside tombs with certain ritual belonging to this ritual is shown at the northern end of the scenes whose representation plays a particularly important portico: this is the purification of the statue or mummy with role in their decoration. In my article 'Das Grab mit gewun­ four nemset jars. On the facade of the tomb of Paser, similar denem AbstiegV I proposed such a correlation between the purification scenes appear on wall sections in between the sloping passage and the rites for the corn­mummy in the fes­ sculptured figures of the deceased. At the southern end of tival of Sokar. In this paper, I consider a similar correlation the portico, Nebsumenu is shown adoring a mummiform between certain rites of the ritual of Opening the Mouth standing god, perhaps Ptah­Sokar­Osiris, accompanied by and the closed court, another innovation of the Ramesside two goddesses. Only the lower part of the scene is preserved. tomb. The decoration of the court must have been very remark­ The following are the three most important innovations able. Besides scenes relating to a Sed festival of Ramesses II in the architectural layout of the Ramesside tomb, as they with Amenhotep I and Ahmose­Nefertari at the west end of have been described in particular detail by Friederike and the south wall, there are scenes which belong in a more pro­ Karl Seyfried in various publications: fane context, including a herdsman with cattle and an 1. The pyramid, rare in the Eighteenth Dynasty, now African village, perhaps a 'Punt' scene. The entrance of the becomes a regular feature of a monumental Theban rock tomb is decorated with elaborate inscriptions in very care­ 2 tomb. fully carved hieroglyphs. At the bottom of the southern door 2. The forecourt or terrace of a pre­Amarna tomb gives post appears a unique feature: an inscription giving the r r way to a court closed on all four sides by a wall, preferably a name of the tomb and reading: 'the tomb chapel (m h t) of 3 sunken court, frequently with pillars and/or portico. Osiris, the leader of festivals of Amun, Nebsumenu, its 3. The vertical shaft, inaccessible after burial, gives way to beautiful name being "Amun has given it'". The thicknesses a sloping and winding passage or staircase, leading to subter­ of the entrance are decorated with the tomb owner singing 4 ranean rooms including the burial chamber. hymns to the sun, which is a rather common feature. The Except for the pyramid, which seems to have completely hymns, however, are very unusual, because they are taken 5 disappeared, TT183 shows these features of a Ramesside from the hourly ritual, a very exclusive body of texts. tomb with particular clarity (see plan in Fig. 1). The first room, a transverse hall, has a vaulted ceiling. At Before turning to the ritual of Opening the Mouth, both sides of the door to the next room, statues of the owner 6 which forms the proper subject of this paper, I will give a are again encountered in niches. At the narrower ends of the brief description of the tomb of Nebsumenu. The tomb is rooms are so­called 'entablatures', showing the deceased entered through a sequence of two courts, each closed on the adoring the Abydos fetish and raising the djed pillar. The east by a pylon. Two courts are a very rare feature in private entrance wall and the rear wall are decorated in the same tombs before the Late Period. The inner court still exhibits manner. They are divided into three horizontal sections. The traces of rich sculptural decoration. Originally, it was sur­ upper section contains scenes of the ritual of Opening the rounded on three sides by a colonnade with pillars of Mouth, the middle section shows the deceased before the sandstone, containing life­size figures of the tomb owner in gates of the house of Osiris (BD 145) and the lower section niches, and on the west side by a portico in the same fashion. contains scenes of the funerary cult. Four similar statues decorate the facade, two on each side of The two walls thus contain three cycles of scenes, each the entrance, with a stela between them. A similar arrange­ divided into four sections: west wall south, east wall south, ment is found on the facade of the earlier and much larger west wall north, east wall north. The sequence of the four tomb of the vizier Paser (TT106, time: Sety I­Ramesses II). sections results from the Opening the Mouth cycle where On the southern stela, there are remains of a scene belonging the sequence is fixed. This cycle appears in the same order in to the ritual of Opening the Mouth: Anubis stands behind the neighbouring tombs TT32 and TT184 where it is also the mummy before a heap of offerings. The officiating figure distributed on walls divided into three horizontal and four s The tomb with a sloping and winding passage', Assmann 1984, Assmann 1983, 238­44, nos 172­1758. 6 277­90, Taf. 41. The same feature appears in other tombs of the period, e.g. TT32, ? Kampp 1996, 95­109. TTi 84, TT23 and TT264, see Kampp 1996, 207. Kampp 1996, 58­81. Brandt 2000. Seyfried 1987. 53 THE THEBAN NECROPOLIS: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE ; n n '-J \ n r-, "2 TT412 ... / ; '-••> i.i { JK ; wr**. 184 e MH 673 . Frfes! !: - LA-i. i U ! J ' r'r3 ! // nZT^s-K. -64 B; 4QQOO0 Or; r> --r 32 . TT 183 48 i/;------- rnuJ ••a a 8U i\ i fe^-i 1 ji i; i Fig. i Plan ofTTi83- vertical sections. In these tombs, the scenes of the gates of ceiling is decorated with vignettes and spells from the Book the netherworld are uppermost, in the middle comes the of the Dead, spells 18 and 17 on the southern side and a col­ ritual of Opening the Mouth and below the funerary cult. lection of other spells on the northern side. On the south This is the usual disposition. Scenes taking place in the wall, we see the judgment scene, followed by a rather unu­ world of the gods are usually placed above scenes taking sual scene: Horus presenting a 'wreath of justification' to his 8 place on earth, in the cult. father Osiris. On the north wall there are limited remains We shall return to the ritual of Opening the Mouth of a funerary procession and to the west, after a long gap, which forms the main subject of this paper. But first let us another scene showing Osiris. The gap is caused by a break finish our quick survey of the tomb of Nebsumenu. in the wall. A staircase crosses our tomb, coming from a The passage shows the same vaulted ceiling, here placed neighbouring tomb in the north and continuing a long way above a cornice and torus. The same features occur also in below. At first sight, we took this to be a later intrusion. But the neighbouring tombs TT32 and TT184, as well as in soon we realised that it was Nebsumenu's masons who had tombs TT23 and TT264 which are a little further away. The broken into the sloping passage of an older tomb, dating The same scene appears in the neighbouring tomb IT184. For the scene of presenting the wreath of justification in temple reliefs of the Graeco­Roman period see Derchain 1955. 54 THE RAMESSIDE TOMB OF NEBSUMENU AND THE RITUAL OF OPENING THE MOUTH of the scenes in all of the versions plus duplicates and vari­ ants, and thus is a scientific construct but not an authentic 1-8 26—[42] Egyptian form. It is thus important to study concrete ver­ sions of the ritual. TT183 offers such a concrete version, a selection of some 40 scenes, divided into four sections. The first scenes (1­6) consist of purifications. All the per­ tinent spells begin with the exclamation 'pure, pure!', to be repeated four times. The remaining representations (scenes 3­6) show fumigations. In scenes 4­6, the statue is to be cir­ cled around four times and to be censed with several kinds of incense. In the lacuna, we must reconstruct the scene of purifying the statue with four nemsetjars, in which the statue is also to be circled around four times. This sequence has an introductory meaning. Also in the daily temple ritual, the IV presentation of offerings is introduced by libations and 9—25 43—59 fumigations. The penultimate scene (scene 7) is entitled 'Entering to Fig. 2 Distribution of scenes in the transverse hall of TT i 8 3. see him'. This scene is missing in Otto's edition. It is obvi­ ously imported from the temple ritual of the cult image where it is called 'Entering to see the god'. The ritual of perhaps to the Eighteenth Dynasty. They had then filled the Opening the Mouth is obviously performed here on the gap in the north wall with blocks, only one or two of which tomb statue which is already there. are preserved. The older and very impressive sloping passage The last scene (no. 8) is entitled 'Going to the tomb' (sm.t was used by Nebsumenu for himself.

Load more

  8

Copy Link