Tomb of Herischefhotep

Herischefhotep in hieroglyphics
	The mummy mask of Herischefhotep

The grave of Herischefhotep was found during excavations in Abusir and was not robbed. It is a typical burial of the early Middle Kingdom , around 2000 BC. The finds can be seen today in the Egyptian Museum of the University of Leipzig .

Location and description

The tomb is in Abusir, where there are pyramids of the 5th dynasty , but where there are also burials of the Middle Kingdom who belong to priests of the cult of the pyramids. The burial of Herischefhotep was found in a small chamber that had a barrel vault and was made of mud bricks. A shaft once belonged to the chamber, but no remains of it can be found. The chamber was once about 2.5 x 1.7 m and was given the number mR 6 (Middle Kingdom, 6th grave) by the excavators.

In the center of the burial chamber stood the two coffins of Herischefhotep, an inner coffin in an outer coffin. The coffins each have a line of inscriptions on the outside. Inside they are decorated with pyramid texts (on the underside of the lid and on the bottom). On the walls they show rows of objects, sacrificial formulas and a list of victims each. The mummy masked in the inner coffin lay on its left side, its head facing north. She wore a collar around her neck and there was a headrest on her head. Next to the body were bows and sticks, as well as a copper vase.

Next to the coffin were numerous wooden models, including the model of a granary with wooden figures of the workers and a kitchen with staff. There were also four ship models with crews. Two wooden statuettes represent Herischefhotep, a third figure a servant. Finally, there were wooden sandals (including models) and modeling tools.

Herischefhotep's titles were on the coffins. Accordingly, he was head of a phyle in Mensut (Mensut is the name of the pyramid of Niuserre ) and estate manager in Mensut .

Finds from the grave of Herischefhotep
Herischefhotep's coffin
Statue of Herischef-
hotep
Kitchen yard model
Granary model
Figure of an offering-
bearer
Boat model
Boat model
Boat model
Sandals
Bars
Mummy
tie

literature

Friederike Kampp-Seyfried : The sarcophagus of Herischef-Hotep / 1. A restoration concept and its financing. In: aMun. Magazine for the friends of the Egyptian museums. Issue 11, 2001 pp. 18-19.
Renate Krauspe : The Egyptian Museum of the Karl Marx University Leipzig. Guide to the exhibition . Edited by Directorate for Research at Karl Marx University Leipzig, Leipzig 1987, pp. 31–33.
Renate Krauspe (Ed.): The Egyptian Museum of the University of Leipzig . von Zabern, Mainz 1997, ISBN 3-8053-2007-8 , pp. 57-63.
Heinrich Schäfer : Priest graves and other grave finds from the end of the Old Kingdom to the Greek period from the mortuary temple of Ne-user-Rê (= Scientific publication of the German Orient Society. Vol. 8, ISSN 0342-4464 = excavations of the German Orient Society in Abusir 1902-1908. Vol. 2). Hinrichs, Leipzig 1908, pp. 42-81 ( online ).
Oliver Tietze: The sarcophagus of Herischef-Hotep / 2. A complex project is nearing its end. In: aMun. Magazine for the friends of the Egyptian museums. Issue 11, 2001 pp. 20-25.

Web links

Commons : Grab des Herischefhotep - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

^ Hermann Ranke: The Egyptian personal names. Volume I: Directory of Names. Augustin, Glückstadt 1935, p. 253.
^ Leonard H. Lesko: Index of the Spells on Egyptian Middle Kingdom Coffins and Related Documents. BC Scribe Publications, Berkeley CA 1979, ISBN 0-930548-02-7 , p. 14.

[1] Hermann Ranke: The Egyptian personal names. Volume I: Directory of Names. Augustin, Glückstadt 1935, p. 253.

[2] Leonard H. Lesko: Index of the Spells on Egyptian Middle Kingdom Coffins and Related Documents. BC Scribe Publications, Berkeley CA 1979, ISBN 0-930548-02-7 , p. 14.