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Newly discovered embalming jars.Photos courtesy of the Spanish Mission
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The
embalming materials of Ipi, vizier and overseer of Thebes and member of the
elite during the reign of King Amenemhat I in the early 20th Dynasty, have been
rediscovered in his tomb at Deir Al-Bahari on Luxor's west bank. Written By/ Nevine
El-Aref.
Within
the framework of the Middle Kingdom Theban Project, an international mission
under the auspices of the University of Alcalá (UAH, Spain) has uncovered over
50 clay jars filled with embalming materials for the mummification of the
ancient Egyptian vizier Ipi during the cleaning of the courtyard under his tomb
number (TT 315).
Mahmoud
Afifi, head of the antiquities ministry’s Ancient Egyptian Antiquities
Department, said that the jars were first discovered in 1921 and 1922 by
American Egyptologist Herbert Winlock inside an auxiliary chamber in the
northeast corner of the upper courtyard of Ipi’s tomb, where they were left as
is.
Time
has taken its toll on the courtyard, which had been buried in sand before being
uncovered by the Spanish mission.
The
jars hold equipment such as bandages, oils and salts, which were used by
embalmers in mummification, as well as jars, bowls, scrapers, and a
mummification board decorated with ankh-signs.
“The
identification of these materials is of great importance for understanding the
mummification techniques used in the early Middle Kingdom and the assessment of
the kinds of items, tools, and substances involved in the process of
embalming,” head of the Spanish mission Antonio Morales told Ahram Online.
Morales
added that the deposit of the mummification materials used for Ipi included
jars with potmarks and other types of inscriptions, various shrouds and
four-metre-long linen sheets, shawls, and rolls of wide bandages.
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Embalming Materials Discovered
Photos Courtesy of The Spanish Mission
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There
were also other types of cloth, rags, and pieces of slender wrappings designed
to cover fingers, toes, and other parts of the vizier’s corpse.
Team
specialist Salima Ikram has identified what seems to be the mummified heart of
Ipi, an uncommon practice that no doubt deserves more investigation.
Morales
said that the deposit also contained around 300 sacks of natron salt, oils,
sand, and other substances, as well as jar stoppers and a scraper.
Among
the most outstanding pieces of the collection are the Nile clay and marl jars,
some with potmarks and hieratic writing, various large bandages six metres in
length, as well as a shroud used for covering the body of the vizier Ipi; a
fringed shawl 10 metres in length.
There
are also natron bags that were deposited in the inner parts of the vizier’s
body, twisted bandages used as mummy packing, and small pieces of bandages for
the upper and lower extremities.
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Embalming Materials Discovered
Photos Courtesy of The Spanish Mission
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The
collection should provide members of the Middle Kingdom Theban Project an
excellent opportunity for the scientific analysis of the substances,
components, textiles, and human remains found in the embalming cache, as well
as the technical procedures and religious rituals used in the mummification of
a high official in the early Middle Kingdom.
Ezz
El-Din El-Noubi, director of the Middle Area of Al-Qurna Antiquities, said that
the discovery was made during the third season of project by the University of
Alcalá Expedition to Deir El-Bahari in collaboration with the Ministry of
Antiquities and the Luxor Inspectorate.
The
main purpose of the project is the archaeological study and epigraphy of the
tombs of Henenu (TT 313) and Ipi (TT 315), the funerary chamber and sarcophagus
of Harhotep (CG28023), as well as the conservation and detailed publication of
information of these monuments and others located at Thebes.
