Iufaa

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Iufaa was an ancient Egyptian priest and palace administrator who lived in the late 26th Dynasty (before 525 BC). In February 1998, Czech archaeologists discovered an intact grave in Abusir that contained his mummy . The mummy showed some signs of disintegration, as the grave was at the level of the water table. However, many of the grave goods were in relatively good condition.

The grave

As early as the late 1970s, a team of Czech archaeologists from Charles University in Prague, headed by Miroslav Verner , discovered the shaft grave of the Udjahorresnet southwest of the pyramid field of Abusir , but it had already been looted. In 1994 the investigation of a second large shaft grave began a few meters further south-east. Two years later, a five by three meter burial chamber was located on the floor of the shaft, about 20 m below the desert floor. A few meters above the burial chamber, the team found several tunnels that were apparently unsuccessfully created by grave robbers . Because the shaft was only supported by dry, crumbling clay walls and was therefore in danger of collapsing, the team reinforced the burial chamber with a concrete shell .

The burial chamber originally had a domed dome composed of white limestone blocks . The 55-ton outer sarcophagus , which filled almost the entire chamber, is also made of this material. The grave was still intact, making it the first unlooted shaft grave to be discovered in Egypt since 1941. It is dated to the late 26th Dynasty (before 525 BC).

Around the sarcophagus were 408 shabtis , symbolizing the servants of the deceased, next to which the grave contained stone vessels, wooden furniture, ceramic vessels and papyrus scrolls . Some of the ceramic vessels are of Aegean origin. The grave walls were decorated with various other texts ( pyramid texts , Egyptian book of the dead , books of the underworld), further inscriptions identified the grave owner as a high-ranking priest and palace official.

The sarcophagus was opened by archaeologists in February 1998. It contained another, dark gray basalt sarcophagus , which was shaped like a mummy and covered with fine engravings and hieroglyphics . In the second sarcophagus was a rotten wooden coffin that contained the remains of Iufaa. The mummy was covered with a net of blue, glazed ceramic beads . Since the chamber was at the level of the groundwater level, the resulting moisture led to the dissolution of the shroud and the mummy bandages, so that only a “more or less complete” skeleton remained. The scrolls also only survived in a relatively poor condition.

family

In 2001, the archaeologists examined the east side of the tomb and discovered two smaller shafts with a sanctuary between them . Three corpses were buried in the shafts. According to the inscriptions, the names of these mummies were Imachetcherresnet, Nekawar and Padihor. By palaeopathological investigations that Imachetcherresnet (female, age of death between 35 and 45) and Nekawar (age of death 55 to 65) could be detected, with iufaa blood relatives were. Imachetcherresnet may have been Iufaa's sister since, according to the tomb inscriptions, both had a mother named Anchtisi. Nekawer was probably Iufaa's father or brother. Padihor, who died at an estimated age of 28 to 32, had no features that would suggest a relationship with the other mummies.

mummy

According to the characteristics of the skeleton, Iufaa was between 25 and 35 years old at the time of his death. The skeleton showed signs of serious tooth decay as well as an "advanced ossification of the skull sutures " ( synostosis ). It exhibited pronounced biparietal thinning, a rare disease that only affects 0.4 to 1.3% of the population in Europe today. Iufaa continued to suffer from mild arthritis and noticeable bone loss , which presumably also led to his death.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d e E. Strouhal, A. Němečková, M. Kouba: Paleopathology of Iufaa and Other Persons Found Beside his Shaft Tomb at Abusir (Egypt) . In: International Journal of Osteoarchaeology . tape 13 , no. 6 , 2003, doi : 10.1002 / oa.689 .
  2. a b c Lyla Pinch Brock, Jaromir Krejci: Czech Egyptologists Open Shaft Tomb, Identify Royal Burial at Abusir . In: Archeology . May 27, 1998 ( online [accessed November 13, 2007]).
  3. a b c To Unplundered Tomb . In: Discover Magazine . September 1, 1998 ( online [accessed November 14, 2007]).