The Theban Tomb of Tjay

General information

Since 2006 CESRAS has been carrying out study and conservation of the Theban Tomb № 23 (ТТ 23), located in the Valley of the Nobles (Sheikh abd al-Qurna, Luxor).

Tjay – the owner of the tomb

The tomb was constructed for Tjay – the scribe of royal dispatchers under the rule of the king Merenptah (XIX Dynasty, 1213-1203 BC). In the scientific literature Tjay sometimes is called “The minister of foreign affairs”. According to the preserved inscriptions Tjay played a very important role in the political life of his time. For faithful service Tjay was awarded "The gold of honor" – a golden necklace that was presented by the king to distinguished officials and officers.

Architecture of the tomb

The tomb of Tjay is an architectural complex oriented along an east-west axis. It consists of a pylon, an open court and 20 rock-cut chambers. The whole length of the tomb (from the pylon to the burial chamber) is 87,12 m.

The pylon is badly damaged. Only the lower part with facing and fragments of reliefs remains. The passage of the pylon passes into a descending staircase that leads to the open court of the tomb. Originally the northern, the eastern and the southern sides of the court had colonnades. The court was paved with mud bricks.

The architecture of the tomb is a typical example of the tomb architecture of the Ramesside Period. The doorway of the tomb is followed by a transept hall, which gives access both to the northern and southern side-rooms and to the main gallery which ends with a "sanctuary" of worship to the deceased.

The walls and ceilings of the rooms of the tomb are very well leveled and decorated with reliefs and paintings. The inner decoration of the tomb is supplemented with sculptures.

A sloping passage leads to the burial chamber. The total length of the passage is 20 meters, and it descends 17 meters below the level of the “sanctuary”. A small pillared hall precedes the entrance to the burial chamber. The burial chamber itself is a square room having a special cavity in the floor for the massive granite sarcophagus.

From the Third Intermediate Period to Roman times the tomb of Tjay was reused for many other burials.

The tomb density in the Theban necropolis lead to this situation when the rooms of different tombs appeared to be cut through each other. The robbers eager to penetrate the tombs made new entrances.

Reliefs and paintings

The tomb of Tjay was cut in a limestone massif of uneven quality. That is why slabs of sandstone were used for leveling walls which were covered with plaster and decorated with relief and paintings. Texts, reliefs and paintings, representing the main scenes of Tjay’s life, throw light on the religious traditions and peculiarities of funeral rites during the New Kingdom.

On the eastern wall of the open court there is a representation of the king’s office which is of great interest for the study of the administrative mechanisms of the Ramesside Period. The office consisted of several departments. One of them included Tjay’s chamber and room where scribes worked. The other was the king’s archive. Both departments were connected by the open court for worship of the god Thoth known as the protector of scribes.

The tomb is also decorated with the sculptural representations of the owner. These sculptures were put in special niches.

Unfortunately some sculptures, reliefs and inscriptions were severely damaged by travelers and collectors of antiquities. In 1865 some reliefs were obtained by the Berlin museum. Unfortunately during the World War II they were lost forever.

The history of excavations

The first scientific research of the tomb was initiated by C.R.Lepsius and G.Wilkinson in the first half of the XIX century.

In 1904-1905 an English archaeologist, P.Mond, cleaned some chambers of the tomb. His workers also lifted the sarcophagus of Tjay from the burial chamber. In the course of the excavations many wooden coffins, cones, statuettes and other minor objects were found. Many artifacts were donated to museums in various countries.

In the 1980's the Egyptian Antiquities Organization carried out a primary study and conservation of the reliefs. Unfortunately, the results of this expedition's work also have not been published.

CESRAS exploration of the tomb

Since 2006 the Center has been conducting archaeological research and restoration of the monument. During 2006-2011 the slopping passage and the most part of the “Southern tomb” filled with limestone chips, fragments of mummies, sarcophagi, papyri, shabtis, amulets, pottery and other minor objects were cleaned. Copies of texts and reliefs of the tomb, description and photographing of separate blocks from various rooms of the burial complex were also made.

Great attention is paid to anthropological research, pottery analysis and the study of textile production.

A most important element of the Centre's activities is the restoration and conservation of reliefs and paintings. Specialists from the Grabar Art Conservation Center worked out special methods of restoration for these monuments in accordance with international standards. CESRAS researchers who have made extensive studies of Egyptian collections in a number of countries have found that that much too little attention has been given to conservation, resulting in the loss, or serious, truly tragic, deterioration of extremely valuable artifacts.

The first exact plan of the tomb of Tjay and surrounding structures was made in the course of the excavations. The study of the tomb's architecture and fragments of reliefs found during the cleaning allowed a precise reconstruction of the very first architectural decoration of the tomb.

The complex research of the monument has provided an opening for in-depth studies of the nature of social, administrative and religious life in Egypt from the New Kingdom until the Roman Period.