KV36

KV36 Tomb of Maiherperi

KV36 is the tomb of the ancient Egyptian officials Maiherperi from the 18th Dynasty. It is located in the southwest of the eastern Königstals at half distance between the tombs KV35 and KV13 of Amenhotep II and Baja. The small undecorated shaft grave with chamber was discovered by Victor Loret in 1899 during his second excavation season and is considered the first discovery of a more or less untouched tomb in the Valley of the Kings. The chamber was found largely intact. It is long in about 3.8 m, 4 m wide and 1.6 m high. The shaft is about 6 m deep.

The grave chamber and the finds

The small chamber contained an outer box coffin and three human -shaped ( anthropoid ) coffins, with one of them not found as part of the coffin and ensembles alongside. The two outer coffins are black and gold-plated, with the innermost fully gold plated, but the coffin was found next to the ensemble is unpainted and only partially gilded. In the coffins and the mummy mask mummy of Maiherperi in which there is a young man who has clearly Nubian / Negroid features and the titles fan-bearer on the right of the king and the child were wearing cape. Apart from the discovery of a chest in the Valley of the Kings Maiherperi has not witnessed outside of this tomb. The chest was probably part of the grave goods.

At the foot of the coffin box canopic standing with four human-headed Kanopengefäßen. Here was also the Book of the Dead Maiherperi that reflects it clearly again as black Africans. In the same place you finally found numerous mummified meat offerings in wooden boxes, which have the shape of these pieces of meat. The left of the coffin was a game board and at the head of numerous pots were stacked. Other finds in the grave again include numerous vessels, some of alabaster, glass or faience. On one wall was a Osirisbett, on the second coffin, there were arrows and quiver, which are richly decorated.

The findings of the grave came to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Victor Loret it was not possible during his lifetime to publish his excavations, so that the arrangement of the finds in the small grave chamber was known only by a brief description of Georg Schweinfurth, until recently, who visited the grave shortly shortly after the discovery. Only the University of Milan bought the estate of Victor Loret and published his excavation notes that provide detailed information on the location of the grave goods.

The dating of the Maiherperi is controversial. The name of Hatshepsut appears on linen from the grave, so it was first assumed that he lived during her reign. But His grave is located near the tomb of Amenhotep II, so the recent research looks at him rather than his contemporaries, which would also fit better stylistically to the objects in the grave.

Looting of the tomb

The grave was robbed in antiquity, probably of Nekropolenarbeitern the time of the 19th or 20th Dynasty. In researching the late 19th century hardly jewelry and metal vessels were present, also found on the coffin lids traces of a violent opening. Bandages on the arms of the mummy were hacked away with an ax. The grave robbers also took not to the corpse belonging fabrics and garments, vessels with Behenöl other hand, were open but left due to the already too old. After plundering the grave of overseers who wanted to avoid an investigation and an expensive court process was prepared quickly and re- sealed.

Problem of additional coffin

With the discovery of the tomb, the mummy of Maiherperi was in two nested anthropoid wooden coffins, which were in an outer coffin box. Another small coffin lay beside it in the chamber. Probably the third was intended as the innermost coffin. When they transported the mummy after the funeral rituals in the grave, but this turned out to be too large to be placed in the second. We embedded the mummy hastily into the innermost of the two other around and let the unused transport coffin back.