Facsimiles of Egyptian Wall Paintings

Ipuy and Wife Receive Offerings from Their Children (substantially restored)
New Kingdom, Ramesside, Dynasty 19, reign of Ramesses II, ca. 1279–1213 B.C.
Norman de Garis Davies (1865–1941, Egyptian Expedition Graphic Section)
Egypt, Upper Egypt; Thebes, Deir el-Medina (Deir el-Medineh)
Rogers Fund, 1930 (30.4.114)

The Tomb of Family Members of Menkheperre, High Priest of Amun (MMA 60)

Egypt's New Kingdom ended in about 1070 B.C. with the death of Ramesses XI, last king of Dynasty 20. This was followed by several centuries of divided rule known as the Third Intermediate Period. At the beginning of this time, in Dynasty 21, power was shared by a family of pharaohs who were centered at Tanis in the eastern Delta, and by the High Priests of the god Amun at Thebes, who also used the title "king."
During the long tenure of the fourth High Priest of Amun, Menkheperre (ca. 1045–992 B.C.), a tomb was carved into the rocky slope just north of the enclosure wall of Hatshepsut's temple at Deir el-Bahri. This tomb was used over a number of generations by Menkheperre's family, but eventually it was entered by ancient robbers. Over the millennia, tons of debris washed into the tomb and when it was discovered in the late winter of 1924, it took many days of digging through compacted sand and crumbling rock before the Museum's excavators found the original burial chamber, which contained six coffins. One was inscribed for Henettawy, daughter of "king" Painedjem I (first of the High Priests of Dynasty 21); one belonged to a princess Henettawy, probably a daughter of the High Priest Menkheperre; a third recorded the name Djedmutesankh, probably Menkheperre's wife or daughter. These three women were also buried with boxes of shabtis—funerary figurines intended as substitute labor for the deceased in the afterlife—and with papyrus scrolls, or Books of the Dead, inscribed with spells to help the spirit negotiate the perilous journey to the afterworld.

A number of other individuals had also been buried in the tomb, but their connections with the High Priests are not known.

The Tomb of Henettawy (MMA 59)

Earlier in the 1923–24 excavation season, the burial place of yet another Henettawy (a popular name in Dynasty 21) had been found in the area north of Hatshepsut's temple. This tomb originally was prepared in the time of Hatshepsut for a man named Minmose, but his burial had been ransacked by thieves sometime before the tomb was reused for Henettawy.


Like the female relatives of the High Priests found in MMA tomb 60, this Henettawy participated in religious ceremonies as a Singer of Amun. As far as we know, however, she was not related to the High Priests. In Dynasty 21, coffins were sometimes the only piece of funerary equipment that assisted a person's spirit into the afterlife, and they were decorated more elaborately than in earlier periods. Although nothing else was found in her tomb, Henettawy's pair of nested coffins and mummy cover are superb examples of the coffin-maker's art and a visual testament to Henettawy's high status.

Lower Asasif, Thebes

In the second half of the Middle Kingdom (about 1900–1800 B.C.), a large tomb with a pillared portico and courtyard was carved into the bedrock at the eastern end of the Asasif valley in western Thebes. Eventually, the original burials were looted and the tomb itself was adapted for reuse as a cemetery that was active for several generations around the beginning of the New Kingdom (ca. 1550 B.C.). This cemetery was covered over early in the joint reign of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III (ca. 1470 B.C.), when the courtyard was filled and a causeway leading to Hatshepsut's temple at Deir el-Bahri was constructed.




In the early twentieth century, Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon discovered and excavated the northern half of the courtyard. A few years later, in the 1915–16 season, Ambrose Lansing, who oversaw the Metropolitan Museum's excavations during World War I, cleared the southern half of the courtyard. Lansing's efforts were rewarded with the discovery of numerous intact burials dating from late Dynasty 17 to early Dynasty 18.

 This important transitional period encompasses the time when a family of Theban rulers (Dynasty 17) succeeded in reunifying Egypt under a single king, Ahmose, who ushered in the New Kingdom. Objects from these excavations that came to the Museum in the division of finds may be seen in Egyptian galleries 114 and 117.

In January 1935, while excavating near the eastern end of Hatshepsut's causeway, Museum excavators Ambrose Lansing and William C. Hayes discovered the family tomb of Neferkhawt, a scribe who served Hatshesput when she was a princess during the reign of her father, Thutmose I (ca. 1490 B.C.). The tomb had been used over several generations before it was covered by a causeway built by Hatshesput's nephew, Thutmose III, in about 1435 B.C.

 
The occupants included Neferkhawt and his wife, Rennefer, both elderly when they died; their daughter Ruyu and son Amenemhat, who also lived long lives; and a man named Bakamun, perhaps Ruyu's husband. An adult woman and four children, presumably also Neferkhawt's relatives, had been placed in the tomb some years later.

Neferkhawt's tomb was cut into crumbling bedrock at the edge of the desert near cultivated land. Over the centuries, groundwater and insects had largely destroyed the coffins and other wooden tomb furnishings, but careful recording and removal of the remains allowed excavators to reconstruct, at least on paper, almost all the contents of this otherwise intact tomb. These objects reflect a gradual change in the style of funerary furnishings, personal ornaments, and possessions over a period of about half a century in the early New Kingdom.
 

the hunting of the oxen

Beer and brewery in ancient Egypt

It is no exaggeration to say that beer was of central importance to ancient Egyptian society. Beer was enjoyed by both adults and children, was the staple drink of poor Egyptians but was also central to the diet of wealthy Egyptians. The gods were often made offerings of beer and beer was mentioned in the traditional offering formula. Wages were often paid in beer (and other supplies) and the workmen living in the workers village at Giza received beer three times a day as part of their rations.

There is some evidence that as a staple foodstuff, ancient Egyptian beer was not particularly intoxicating. Rather it was nutritious, thick and sweet.

"strongly influenced by the addition of fruit or spices as flavoring."

A beer strainer being used like a straw, straight from the beer jar! Beer, called hqt by the ancients and zythus by the Greeks, was a very important Egyptian drink. It was a drink for adults and children alike. It was the staple drink of the poor (wages were sometimes paid in beer), it was a drink of the rich and wealthy, and a drink offered to the gods and placed in the tombs of the dead.

Workmen at the pyramids of the Giza Plateau were given beer, thrice daily - five kinds of beer and four kinds of wine were found by archaeologists "poking through dumps, examining skeletons, probing texts and studying remains of beer jars, and wine vats" at Giza.

In 1990, the Egyptian Exploration Society approached Scottish and Newcastle Breweries for help. This was the beginning of a partnership which, over the past five years, has considerably increased the understanding of the brewing process as it was at the time of Tutankhamen.

Beer was depicted on the walls of the tombs, as were scenes of the ancient Egyptian brewery. It was probably very similar to the way beer is still produced in Sudan today. Traditionally, beer was regarded as a female activity as it was an off-shoot of bread making - the basis of the beer were loaves of specially made bread.

Broadly speaking, the established view of ancient Egyptian brewing, drawn from tomb scenes, is as follows. Beer loaves were made from a richly yeasted dough. Malt may or may not have been used. This dough was lightly baked and the resulting bread was crumbled and strained through a sieve with water. Ingredients like dates or extra yeast might have been added. The dissolved mixture was fermented in large vats and then the liquid was decanted into jars which were sealed for storage or transport.

Beer was often known as “Hqt” (“heqet” or “heket”), but was also called “tnmw” (“tenemu”) and there was also a type of beer known as haAmt (“kha-ahmet”). The determinative of the word Hqt (beer) was a beer jug.
Enjoy a day Tour to the tombs in Luxor to explore with an Egyptologist tour guide more about this article of Beer and Brewery in ancient Egypt .