Aline's grave

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As grave of Aline one is ancient Egyptian - ancient grave from the time of the Roman emperor Tiberius referred that during excavations in 1892 Hawara was found.

Findings, finds and dating

With the ever-growing interest in the history, culture and not least the art treasures of ancient Egypt in Europe, a competition between several European nations began in the second half of the 19th century with the aim of building their representative national museums and collections of antiquities to secure the best pieces possible. In the course of such an excavation campaign by the German archaeologist Richard von Kaufmann , who was briefly on excavations in Hawara in March 1892, the so-called grave of Aline was discovered as the most important find . A shaft led to a simple, mud brick-lined 2.8 x 3.5 m pit. Such chamber graves were rarely found. Eight mummies were found in it. Three of them were undecorated, two had cardboard masks and three mummies were adorned with mummy portraits . The grave had no superstructure.

At the bottom were the three mummies with the painted portraits: the wife Aline and two female children. Across it lay the two mummies with cardboard masks, a man and another, older girl. Once more across it lay the three undecorated mummies. The discovery of the mummy portraits and the cardboard masks proved that both forms were used at the same time and were probably due to the taste of the client. On the mummies of the man, the woman and the three girls, clay seals were attached to the ends of the bandages, which were sealed with various gems . One seal shows Heracles fighting the Nemean lion , others show heads. However, not all seals have been preserved. As grave goods, flower arrangements were found in a clay pot, a typical addition. In addition, a roughly hewn stele was found that bore an inscription:

ΑΛΙΝΗΙ
Η ΚΑΙ ΤΈΝΩC
ΗΡΩΔΟΥ ΧΡΉC
ΤΗ ΧΑΙΡΕ ΠΟΛΛΑ
ΕΤΟΥC Ι ΛΕ Λ
ΜΕΣΟΡΉ Ζ
Aline
which was also called Tonos
was the daughter of Herod
and died in the year 10
at the age of 35
on the 7th mesore

The grave got its name from this inscription . Most researchers suspect that Aline is the woman with the mummy portrait buried in the grave. Likewise, researchers generally assume that the man buried in the tomb was her husband and the three girls were their daughters. However, there is no definite certainty because the age and gender of the undecorated mummies are not known. The separation of the two-part date of birth of the inscription by the age of the deceased is unusual. Since the dating in ancient Egypt started from scratch with every new ruler, an exact dating is quite easy, not least because of the hints of the portrait in the hairstyle. It must be the tenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius , i.e. the year 24. Since the hairstyle of the portraits came into vogue again at the turn of the century, dating to the tenth year of the reign of Emperor Trajan would also be possible, but in research the earlier date is mostly preferred. The thin and hatched style of painting that was typical of the early second century, the color of the robes in the lilac tones that were particularly popular at the time, the portrayal of somewhat stout people and the hair and beard of the man's mask would speak for the later dating . Comparative pieces were found in Pompeii for Aline's vividly reproduced collar and the also vividly depicted hollow hump earrings of the older daughter and are therefore more likely to indicate a later date. However, it is not clear when the mummies were buried and whether they died in the same generation. But since the portraits are so stylistically close to each other that they were probably created by a painter within a relatively short period of time, a closely spaced period of death suggests itself.

Today the finds from the grave are in the Egyptian Museum Berlin in the Neues Museum . The children's mummies were completely sent to Berlin by the finders. The mummies of Aline and the man were unwrapped on site and only the portrait and the mask made it to Berlin. Aline's skull was sent to the anthropologist Rudolf Virchow , who was supposed to find similarities between skull and portrait. In addition, it should complement his pathological collection. However, it was only possible to partially match the procedures at the time. There were also no diseases or other pathological findings. Only post-mortem changes caused by brutal embalming were recognized, which shows that although the art of embalming was still known in Roman times, it was no longer as well mastered as in Pharaonic times. The skull was lost in the turmoil of World War II and is therefore no longer available for further research.

Mummy portraits and mummy masks

Aline

Portrait of Aline

The portrait of Aline, like the other two portraits of the little girls, was painted in tempera style on canvas. It has a height of 40 cm and is 32.5 cm wide. Unevenness under the painted cloth was leveled out with pieces of canvas that were pressed firmly onto the face. So the picture looked almost like it was. Some portraits were probably painted before the people died. With Aline, where it was applied to one end of the shroud, it appears to have been made after death. The model was probably an existing picture. As was customary with mummy portraits, the image gives the impression of a three-dimensional depth, which was quite new for Egyptian art and can be attributed to Greek and Roman influences. Likewise, images showing people head-on were uncommon for most of Egyptian history. Her center parted wavy hairstyle is simple but carefully done. The small curls that are arranged over the forehead (ring-curly hairstyle) are striking. The face looks full, but not fat. It gives the impression that this woman, who apparently belonged to the middle to upper class in Egypt, had led a good life. Your jewelry is elaborately made, but looks simple. The chain is attached to the portrait in gilded stucco. Aline wears a white tunic , thin, lilac-colored decorative stripes ( clavus ) run over her shoulder . The color is quite warm. The somewhat sad, wistful look is typical of the mummy portraits. The portrait of the middle-aged lady is masterfully done.

Aline is one of the rare cases where ancient people who were not part of the ruling class are known by name and possibly appearance.

children

Portrait of the elderly girl

The two mummies of the younger girls have not yet been opened. In the early 1990s, they were examined using modern technology. The portrait of the older girl, probably the middle one of Aline's three daughters and her husband, is depicted similar to her mother. However, since the canvas picture is still on her mummy, it is not that easy to see. In addition, it is fitted into the portrait window somewhat to the right. Like all children and the man, the name is not known. She, too, apparently wears precious but simple jewelry and a ring-curly hairstyle.

Portrait of the younger girl

For a long time, researchers mistook the younger girl for a boy. The chubby child with the slightly protruding ears can clearly be recognized as a girl according to recent findings. It wears a lunula pendant on a leather cord around its neck , an apotropaic amulet that girls and women wear. The chiton has a pale purple color that was worn exclusively by women and girls. He has also fallen over his left shoulder and bares it. This is an attribute of the goddess Aphrodite , which is supposed to emphasize her erotic charms (" Venus pose "). In this context, it is also adopted by women and even when depicting young girls. Thus there can be no doubt about gender, which was even emphasized in several ways.

Cardboard masks

In contrast to the painted portraits, the cardboard masks placed less emphasis on individual representation. The mask of the male mummy is gold-plated. The discovery of the masks and the portraits show that both forms of burial not only existed at the same time, but could even be common within a family.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ on the circumstances of the find and the grave equipment, see Barbara Borg: "The most delicate sight in the world ..." Egyptian portrait mummies. Mainz 1998, pp. 17-20.
  2. ↑ a b c d Andrea Rottloff: Life pictures of Roman women. Mainz 2006, p. 62.
  3. ↑ Barbara Borg: "The most delicate sight in the world ..." Egyptian portrait mummies. Mainz 1998, p. 20.
  4. ↑ for the dating to the later period Barbara Borg speaks out at last : "The most delicate sight in the world ..." Egyptian portrait mummies. Mainz 1998, p. 20.
  5. ↑ Inventory numbers: Portrait of Aline: 11411; Middle Daughter Mummy 11412; Mummy of the youngest daughter: 11413; Man's cardboard mask: 11414
  6. ↑ Description according to R.-M. Hagen, R. Hagen: Egyptian art. Cologne u. a. 2007, p. 94
  7. ↑ a b H. Kischkewitz: Mummy portrait of Aline. Mainz 1991, p. 106.
  8. ↑ Barbara Borg: "The most delicate sight in the world ..." Egyptian portrait mummies. Mainz 1998, p. 20, description of the picture 23.