Sarcophagus lid of Tjentwerethequa, “Priestess of Amun”

The Sarcophagus lid of Tjentwerethequa, “Priestess of Amun”. Third Intermediate period, Early 22nd Dynasty, c. 1000- 901 B.C.

It is believed, Tjentwerethequa’s grandson, a senior priest of Amun-Re named Iufenamun, was of the priesthood responsible for the reburial of the old kings into the secret caches, which hid the past rulers of Ancient Egypt away from tomb robbers which had sadly already caused much damage to the tomb content of past royals and elites.

The Egyptians hoped to be able to continue to enjoy their lives, even after death, through their belief in an afterlife. To ensure this happened, a person needed to be given a proper burial and provided with food, drink and other provisions for the afterlife.

Wealthy individuals sought to ensure their survival for eternity by having their body preserved through the process of mummification and their likeness and name preserved through monuments like statues and decorated tomb chapels. Funerary beliefs and practices did not stay the same however; they changed over thousands of years of Egyptian history.

The National Museum of Scotland writes;

“The royal pharaohs reburied by Iufenamun were rediscovered in 1881. The story is told in Egyptian director Shadi Abdel Salam’s 1969 film Al-Mumiyaor The Night of the Counting Years.”

Both Tjentwerethequa’s sarcophagus and her grandson Iufenamun’s sarcophagus were donated to the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, and are currently on display there.

Photograph by peterdin