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All underlined positions are linked
All underlined positions are linked
The Coffins of Taywheret
Wife of the High Priest of Amun, Masaharta ?
21a Dynasty, Thebes
Wife of the High Priest of Amun, Masaharta ?
21a Dynasty, Thebes
Taywheret was possibly the wife of the High Priest of Amun (HPA) Masaharta, eldest son of
the HPA and King Chacheperre Pay-nedjem I and his first wife, Isetemchebjt "A". However,
there is no concrete evidence for this hypothesis. Her coffins are now in the Egyptian
National Museum in Cairo. Both coffins and a badly damaged mummy-cover are entered
under the inventory number CG61032.
Her coffins were usurped from a lady Hattjt, Songstress of Amun. Taywheret's mummy
shows us a grey haired woman of advanced age. She doubtlessly died during the
pontificate of the HPA Mencheperre, younger son of Chacheperre Pay-nedjem I by his
principle wife, Henwttawy, and thus a half brother of HPA Masaharta.
The usurped coffin may give us an insight into a situation in the high priests' family during
Mencheperre's pontificate and most probably subsequent to the death of his father who
ruled as king for a further nine or ten years after the death of Masaharta. If we discount
the questionable, very brief pontificate of Djedchonsjuefanch, Mencheperre followed
Masaharta as HPA.
Masaharta has a bad reputation in history and his mummy indicates that he was an obese
glutton. During the later years of his pontificate, a conspiracy against the dynasty appears
to have arisen in Thebes. Upon his induction as HPA, Mencheperre quickly banished the
conspirators and restored order. This was the background upon which Taywheret's later
life unfolded. It was customary for highly placed persons to have their coffins made during
their lifetimes, selecting what scenes and texts should decorate them and having them
inscribed with the proper titles, just as the tombs of the New Kingdom had been made by
their owners during their lifetimes. This was not the case with Taywheret and we may ask
why. She is thought to have been the widow of an HPA and bore the high title of Great One
of the Heneret ("Harem") of Amun-Raw, King of the Gods. One would expect that she would
have had her own coffins inscribed with that rank. However, no coffins were made
expressly for her, although she lived to an advanced age and her death can not have been
completely unexpected. It thus appears that following the death of Masaharta, she may
have lived out her life in disfavor and Mencheperre simply usurped the next best set of
coffins to bury her. A second possibility would be that she was not the wife of Masaharta,
but merely some member of the family.
Hattjt's coffins are first class workmanship of the earlier part of the dynasty (ie.: arms
worked out). We know nothing about the lady herself, except that she was a songstress of
Amun and a surviving writing of her name is determined with sign A50, meaning a revered
person. Her name was blanked out and replaced in a sloppy manner with Taywheret's,
using several different orthographies. Taywheret's title mentioned above appeared only on
her shroud.
el/090507
CESRAS photos by Sergej V. Ivanov and Edward R. Loring
the HPA and King Chacheperre Pay-nedjem I and his first wife, Isetemchebjt "A". However,
there is no concrete evidence for this hypothesis. Her coffins are now in the Egyptian
National Museum in Cairo. Both coffins and a badly damaged mummy-cover are entered
under the inventory number CG61032.
Her coffins were usurped from a lady Hattjt, Songstress of Amun. Taywheret's mummy
shows us a grey haired woman of advanced age. She doubtlessly died during the
pontificate of the HPA Mencheperre, younger son of Chacheperre Pay-nedjem I by his
principle wife, Henwttawy, and thus a half brother of HPA Masaharta.
The usurped coffin may give us an insight into a situation in the high priests' family during
Mencheperre's pontificate and most probably subsequent to the death of his father who
ruled as king for a further nine or ten years after the death of Masaharta. If we discount
the questionable, very brief pontificate of Djedchonsjuefanch, Mencheperre followed
Masaharta as HPA.
Masaharta has a bad reputation in history and his mummy indicates that he was an obese
glutton. During the later years of his pontificate, a conspiracy against the dynasty appears
to have arisen in Thebes. Upon his induction as HPA, Mencheperre quickly banished the
conspirators and restored order. This was the background upon which Taywheret's later
life unfolded. It was customary for highly placed persons to have their coffins made during
their lifetimes, selecting what scenes and texts should decorate them and having them
inscribed with the proper titles, just as the tombs of the New Kingdom had been made by
their owners during their lifetimes. This was not the case with Taywheret and we may ask
why. She is thought to have been the widow of an HPA and bore the high title of Great One
of the Heneret ("Harem") of Amun-Raw, King of the Gods. One would expect that she would
have had her own coffins inscribed with that rank. However, no coffins were made
expressly for her, although she lived to an advanced age and her death can not have been
completely unexpected. It thus appears that following the death of Masaharta, she may
have lived out her life in disfavor and Mencheperre simply usurped the next best set of
coffins to bury her. A second possibility would be that she was not the wife of Masaharta,
but merely some member of the family.
Hattjt's coffins are first class workmanship of the earlier part of the dynasty (ie.: arms
worked out). We know nothing about the lady herself, except that she was a songstress of
Amun and a surviving writing of her name is determined with sign A50, meaning a revered
person. Her name was blanked out and replaced in a sloppy manner with Taywheret's,
using several different orthographies. Taywheret's title mentioned above appeared only on
her shroud.
el/090507
CESRAS photos by Sergej V. Ivanov and Edward R. Loring
Head end of the outer coffin: Nephthys flanked by double registers of deities, offerings and bA-birds.
Notice the careless alteration of the owner's name and inconsistent orthography beneath the
offering-plates.
To be continued
Notice the careless alteration of the owner's name and inconsistent orthography beneath the
offering-plates.
To be continued
Visit the CESRAS Taywheret photo exhibition!
New images are being posted continually (May 2007)
New images are being posted continually (May 2007)