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Royal Tomb of Akhenaten

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The Royal Tomb of Akhenaten, located in the Royal Wadi at Amarna, is the burial place of the Eighteenth Dynasty pharaoh Akhenaten.[1]


(The part above this is the original lead section, and the section in bold below is my updated version.)

Akhenaten was an 18th Dynasty pharaoh who reigned for seventeen years (1355-1338 B.C.E.) from his capital city of Akhetaten ("The Horizon of the Sun's Disc"), known today as Amarna.[2] He was the son of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye.[3] He was married to Queen Nefertiti and his son is the infamous King Tutankhamun.[4]

The Royal Tomb of Akhenaten is located in the eastern mountains, near the Royal Wadi, in the city of Amarna.[5] [6] There has been some debate as to when the Royal Tomb was rediscovered; however, most people agree that the tomb was rediscovered in the 1880s.[7] Excavations began in 1891 and were completed by 1935.[8] Since the completion of the excavations, the artifacts that were contained within the Royal Tomb have been distributed between several museums and private collections.[9] Although the excavation of the Royal Tomb has been completed, research into the artifacts recovered continue to this day.

(Note to self: Create links for the terms Akhenaten, Eighteenth Dynasty, Amarna, Amenhotep III, Queen Tiye, Queen Nefertiti, and King Tutankhamen, and wadi. In addition, try to figure out how to get more 4th source into this part of the article to cite the final sentence in lead section)

Rediscovery of Royal Tomb

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As previously mentioned, there seems to be a debate about when the Royal Tomb of Akhenaten was rediscovered.[7] In his recounting of the discovery in 1892, Petrie mentions that there are several different versions as to what happened.[7] In one version, Alexandre Barsanti discovers the tomb on his own in December of 1891. In another version, the local villagers discover the tomb years prior.[7] Jewelry from the Royal Tomb was sold to the Royal Scottish Museum in 1883, which indicates that the tomb was rediscovered before 1891.[10] However, the tomb's official discovery is listed as December 28, 1891, by Alexandre Barsanti, according to the Service des Antiquites.[10]

(Note to self: Create links for Petrie, Alexandre Barsanti, Royal Scottish Museum, Service des Antiquites. Figure out how to add the accent bar)

Expeditions

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The first two expeditions were conducted by Alessandro Barsanti between 1891 and 1892.[11] Barsanti and his team inspected the chambers within the Royal Tomb, took measurements, made drawings, collected artifacts, and began the process of clearing some of the chambers of debris.[11] In 1893-1894, Urbain Bouriant conducted an epigraphic expedition with the intent of recording the "inscriptions and reliefs in the Royal Tomb."[12] J.D.S. Pendlebury began the task of re-examining and re-excavating the area outside of the tomb, the dumps, and the interior of the tomb, including the shaft.[13] In addition to the official expeditions, there may have been at least five unofficial expeditions prior to 1934.[14] The final expedition was conducted by Pendlebury in 1934 in hopes of discovering a second tomb, copying all the reliefs and inscriptions, and a photographic record was also created.[14] After work was completed, a stone wall was built in front of the entrance with a locked steel door, allowing for limited access.[15]

(Note to self: Create links for Barsanti, Bouriant, Pendlebury. Also, find out the correct spelling of Barsanti's first name; I have seen different versions)

Location and Architecture

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The location of Akhenaten's Royal Tomb and the people he wanted to be buried with was actually decided by Akhenaten himself. In a proclamation in the fifth year of his reign he stated "Let a tomb be made for me in the eastern mountain [of Akhenaten]. Let my burial be made in it...Let the burial of the Great King's Wife, Nefrtiti, be made in it...Let the burial of the King's Daughter, Meryetaten, [be made] in it..."[16] In addition to this proclamation, a boundary stelae was created with his requests on it.[5] The eastern mountain is "a high plateau of limestone beds cut by steep-sided wadis (desert valleys) and ending in the cliffs and escarpments that form the backdrop to Amarna."[5] The Royal Tomb was cut into the limestone rock near a wadi, and several other tombs were started nearby.[5]

In addition to Akhenaten's burial chamber, the tomb also contained another finished burial chamber and one unfinished chamber.[5] The finished chamber was for his daughter Meketaten and the unfinished chamber could have been for his other daughter Meryetaten or for Queen Nefertiti.[5] The interior of the tomb contains an Entrance Stairway that has twenty steps and a central slide.[17] There is a corridor that leads to the "innermost parts of the tomb" that is "21.80 m long, 3.20 m wide, and 3.47 m high."[17] To the right of the corridor is a door that leads to several unfinished chambers.[17] There is also a Shaft Room that leads into the Pillared Hall.[18] The Pillared Hall was the largest room in the tomb, measuring 10.36 m x 10.40 m squared.[18] The Pillared Hall is the room that contained the body of Akhenaten.[18] Most of the decorations and artifacts in this room were destroyed after Akhenaten passed away.[18] This was mostly likely politically motivated.[18] Most of the walls within the tomb were plastered and decorated.[17] Many of these decorations have survived, except in the Pillared Hall, and have been copied and photographed.[17] These images are still being used by researchers today.

(Note to self: Create link for Shaft Room and Pillared Hall. Figure out how to get the fourth source into this part of the article to cite for the final sentence.)

Decoration

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Scene from the tomb

It is believed that the second suite of three chambers (referred to as Alpha, Beta and Gamma) was used for the burial of Meketaten, Akhenaten's second daughter. Two of the chambers (Alpha and Gamma) are decorated and depict very similar scenes: in the Alpha chamber, Akhenaten and Nefertiti bend over the inert body of a woman, weeping and gripping each other's arms for support. Nearby, a nurse stands with a baby in her arms, accompanied by a fan-bearer, which indicates the baby's royal status. The names in the scene have been hacked out. In the Gamma chamber, a very similar scene is shown; here the hieroglyphs identify the dead young woman as Meketaten. In the same chamber, another scene shows Meketaten standing under a canopy, which is usually associated with childbirth, but can also interpreted as representing the rebirth of the princess. In front of her, amongst courtiers, stand Akhenaten, Nefertiti and their three remaining daughters, Meritaten, Ankhesenpaaten and Neferneferuaten Tasherit. The presence of a royal baby has led many to believe that the young princess died in childbirth.[19]

(Above is from the original article. I was able to find a source that matches the information that was already provided. I did remove the sentence about Akhenaten being the father of his daughter's baby since there is no proof of this. I do want to add more in this section. Maybe provide more examples of the decorations.)

Large amounts of the decoration have been destroyed by flooding.

After burial

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Reconstructed sarcophagus, Egyptian Museum

His body was probably removed after the court returned to Thebes, and reburied somewhere in the Valley of the Kings, possibly in KV55. His sarcophagus was destroyed, but has since been reconstructed and now sits in the garden of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

(Note to self: still need a source and more information for this section.)

(Final notes: Need to add another section for just the artifacts. Need to figure out what I am doing wrong for the bibliography. Remember to create the necessary links.)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Amarna Royal Tomb". UCL. Retrieved 2006-12-19.
  2. ^ Kemp, Barry (2014). The City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti: Amarna and its People. London: Thames & Hudson. pp. 14–17. ISBN 978-0-500-29120-7.
  3. ^ Kemp, Barry (2014). The City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti: Amarna and Its People. London: Thames & Hudson. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-500-29120-7.
  4. ^ Kemp, Barry (2014). The City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti: Amarna and Its People. London: Thames & Hudson. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-500-29120-7.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Kemp, Barry (2014). The City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti: Amarna and Its People. London: Thames & Hudson. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-500-29120-7.
  6. ^ Martin, Geoffrey T. (1974). The Royal Tomb at El-Amarna. Vol. 1. London: Egypt Exploration Society. p. 1.
  7. ^ a b c d Martin, Geoffrey T. (1974). The Royal Tomb at El-Amarna. Vol. I. London: Egypt Exploration Society. p. 4.
  8. ^ Martin, Geoffrey T. (1974). The Royal Tomb at El-Amarna. Vol. 1. London: Egypt Exploration Society. pp. 5–9.
  9. ^ Kemp, Barry (2014). The City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti: Amarna and Its People. London: Thames & Hudson. p. 11.
  10. ^ a b Martin, Geoffrey T. (1974). The Royal Tomb at El-Amarna. Vol. 1. London: Egypt Exploration Society. pp. 4–5.
  11. ^ a b Martin, Geoffrey T. (1974). The Royal Tomb at El-Amarna. Vol. 1. London: Egypt Exploration Society. pp. 5–6.
  12. ^ Martin, Geoffrey T. (1974). The Royal Tomb at El-Amarna. Vol. 1. London: Egypt Exploration Society. p. 6.
  13. ^ Martin, Geoffrey T. (1974). The Royal Tomb at El-Amarna. Vol. 1. London: Egypt Exploration Societ. p. 7.
  14. ^ a b Martin, Geoffrey T. (1974). The Royal Tomb at El-Amarna. Vol. 1. London: Egypt Exploration Society. p. 9.
  15. ^ Martin, Geoffrey T. (1974). The Royal Tomb at El-Amarna. Vol. 1. London: Egypt Exploration Soiety. p. 10.
  16. ^ Kemp, Barry (2014). The City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti: Amarna and Its People. London: Thames & Hudson. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-500-29120-7.
  17. ^ a b c d e Martin, Geoffrey T. (1974). The Royal Tomb at El-Amarna. Vol. II. London: Egypt Exploration Society. p. 17.
  18. ^ a b c d e Martin, Geoffrey T. (1974). The Royal Tomb at El-Amarna. Vol. II. London: Egypt Exploration Society. p. 21.
  19. ^ Martin, Geoffrey T. (1974). The Royal Tomb at El-Amarna. Vol. II. London: Egypt Exploration Society. pp. 45–48.

Bibliography

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Martin, Geoffrey (1974). The Royal Tomb at El-Amarna: The Rock Tombs of El-Amarna, Part VII. Vol. 1. London: Egypt Exploration Society.

Martin, Geoffrey T. (1974). The Royal Tomb at El-Amarna: The Rock Tombs of El-Amarna, Part VII. Vol. 2. London: Egypt Exploration Society.

Kemp, Barry (2014). The City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti: Amarna and Its People. New York: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 978-0-500-29120-7.

Lemos, Rennan. "A New Fragment from the Amarna Royal Tomb". The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology. 106(1-2): 249–253 – via School library database.

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