Maia (wet nurse)

Maia (also spelled Matia ) was the wet nurse of the ancient Egyptian king Tutankhamun . She is best known from her rock tomb in Saqqara .

To person

The Maia's grave (I.20) is located in the area of the Bubasteion and was discovered in 1996 by Alain Zivie. Little is known about the Maia as a person. Her parents are not mentioned in the grave. In the grave, a “head of the magazines”, Rahotep, is named, but he is probably an employee of the Maia. Three other people named by name are the “high priest of Thoth ”, ... emkaef (the beginning of the name is not preserved), the “scribe of the head of the economic complex” Tetinefer and the “scribe of the sacrificial table”, Ahmose. They are also likely subordinates. Maia bears the title "nurse of the king" and "educator of the body of God". Both titles come in variants. On the fragment of a canopic vessel , she is referred to as the "great one of the harem". In the grave there is the representation of the Maia with Tutankhamun on her lap, with which she is secured as the ruler's wet nurse. Another very destroyed scene shows her in front of the ruler.

The grave

Maia and Tutankhamun

The grave is one of the largest among the burial grounds of the Bubasteion. It is struck into a cliff. A small, half-open antechamber leads to the first room of the cult complex. It was originally 4.1 mx 2.2 m. The representations on the walls are mainly dedicated to the life of the Maia. On the east wall there is a relief that shows Tutankhamun on the lap of the Maia. She is sitting on a chair under which a dog is depicted. Behind her stand various dignitaries or servants who are not named. The wall is only partially preserved. The right half is completely destroyed. There are only four blocks left of the image on the opposite wall. Tutankhamun was apparently seated here, Maia in front of him and dignitaries behind him. The north wall takes the door to the second room. The wall shows Maia and Osiris . On the door frame you can see Maia in front of Anubis as a jackal. The second room (4.47 m × 2, 57 m) is dedicated to the cult of the dead. In the first scene on the east wall, Maia can be seen in front of a sacrificial table and offering bearers. In a second scene you can see the Maia's mummy performing the mouth opening ritual . On the opposite wall, Maia sacrifices to Osiris. Behind the god are the goddesses Isis and Nephthys . The north wall is in turn occupied by a door, the frame of which shows Maia in front of Anubis and Osiris, as well as Maia in front of Anubis as a jackal. There is a picture of a certain Rahotep on the doorway. His connection with Maia is uncertain. Room 3 is the largest of the facility (7.92 m × 8.2 m). It is supported by four pillars. Only the pillars and parts of the north wall are decorated. The pillars each show the standing Maia. On the back (north) wall you can find the images of the standing Maia, two deities and in the middle a stele carved into the rock, which shows Maia in front of Osiris in the upper field. In the lower part you can see a priest in front of Maia and how she is "cleansed".

All representations are in the first room in the recessed, in the second room in the raised and in the third again in the recessed relief. The reliefs were once painted, but the colors are only better preserved on the blocks that were detached from the wall in the rubble of the grave.

A staircase leads from room 3 to the three burial chambers, which were found heavily robbed. Some of them are decorated with a simple coat of paint. The complex was heavily rebuilt in Greco-Roman times and parts of the decoration were destroyed.

In December 2015, the tomb was opened to the press in the presence of the discoverer Alain Zivie and officials from the Antiquities Authority. The restored grave will be accessible to visitors some time later. Zivie also stated that, in his opinion, Maia is identical to Meritaton , Tutankhamun's half-sister.

literature

Alain-Pierre Zivie: La Tombe de Maia, Mère Nourricière du Roi Toutankhamon et Grande du Harem. ( Les Tombes du Bubasteion à Saqqara. No. 1), Caracara, Toulouse 2009.

Web links

National Geographic: King Tut's Wet Nurse (Video)

Individual evidence

↑ Alain-Pierre Zivie, the excavator of her grave would like to equate her with the Amarna Princess Meritaton : Zivie: La Tombe de Maia. Pp. 109-113.
^ Civilian: La Tombe de Maia. Pp. 48-49.
↑ Mada Masr: After 3,300 years, tomb of King Tut's wet-nurse opens to visitors. ( Memento of the original from December 22, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. accessed December 21, 2015 @1@ 2

↑ The Guardian: Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun's wet nurse might have been his sister. accessed on December 21, 2015

personal data
SURNAME	Maia
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Matia
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Nurse of Tutankhamun
DATE OF BIRTH	14th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH	14th century BC BC or 13th century BC Chr.

[1] Alain-Pierre Zivie, the excavator of her grave would like to equate her with the Amarna Princess Meritaton : Zivie: La Tombe de Maia. Pp. 109-113.

[2] Civilian: La Tombe de Maia. Pp. 48-49.

[3] Mada Masr: After 3,300 years, tomb of King Tut's wet-nurse opens to visitors. ( Memento of the original from December 22, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. accessed December 21, 2015 @1@ 2

[4] The Guardian: Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun's wet nurse might have been his sister. accessed on December 21, 2015