Maya (Treasury Manager)

Maya (treasury chief) in hieroglyphics
Mˁy3 Maya

Maya was head of the treasury under the ancient Egyptian kings Tutankhamun (from around 1333 to 1323 BC) to Haremhab (around 1319 to around 1292 BC). He was one of the most important officials among these rulers.

supporting documents

Statue of Maya and the Merit (Leiden)

In the grave of Tutankhamun ( KV62 ) there were objects with his name, which he apparently donated at the funeral of the ruler. A stele dates to the 8th year of this king and reports that Maya should tax the land and offer sacrifices for the gods. He was apparently involved in the reorganization of the country after Akhenaten's reign .

Maya led restoration work in tombs in the Valley of the Kings . In the 8th year of the Haremhab he reorganized the tomb of Thutmose IV after it was probably, but at least partially, robbed.

Maya is best known from his tomb in Saqqara . The grave has already been discovered by the Lepsius expedition . However, knowledge of the exact location of the grave was quickly lost and blocks of the grave decoration were sold to various museums. It was not until 1986 that the grave was rediscovered and then completely excavated.

Grave in Saqqara

The tomb of Maya and his wife Merit is located in Saqqara-South in the area between the Jeremias monastery and the pyramid district of Djosierteri . It is parallel to that of Haremhab , which he had built when he was still a general. In the 19th dynasty, the tomb of Tia and Tia was built between the two tombs.

The grave was first located by the Prussian scholar Carl Peter Lepsius in 1843, and the superstructure was partially excavated and documented. Since the tomb of the Treasurer of Tutankhamun is of historical interest, the Egypt Exploration Society decided in 1975 to look again for the tomb, which had long since disappeared under the desert sand. First the haremhab's grave was discovered and the search for Maya's grave only resumed in 1986. A tomb robber tunnel was discovered in the grave of army officer Ramose, which led to another grave. There the researchers made a sensational discovery: They found the Maya's grave, which also had magnificent grave decorations in the underground parts.

The superstructure of the grave

The superstructure was laid out like a temple and had a pylon and two courtyards decorated with columns. The walls were decorated with fine reliefs . The statue rooms once contained various statues of Maya and Merit. These arrived in Leiden around 1828 .

The underground grave complex

The underground part of the grave consisted of various rooms, some of which are also provided with reliefs, which is more the exception in private grave complexes. On the first level there are a number of undecorated chambers and remains of secondary burials. Only the remains of the original burial of Maya's family have been found in the lower level. Because the rock was of very poor quality at a depth of 22 meters, the builders had made the grave decoration in the form of relief panels, which were attached to the rock walls with mortar.

The almost life-size reliefs show the grave owners worshiping the gods and are of very fine quality in the late Amarna style. The coloring is special: the reliefs are executed in a warm golden yellow, only the eyes and eyebrows are additionally indicated in black. The tomb of Maya is the oldest known Egyptian private tomb with monochrome decoration, which later became more popular in the Ramesside period , especially in the 19th dynasty.

Remnants of burials

Maya and Merit seem to have been buried in wooden coffins, no traces of stone sarcophagi were found. The remains of five people were found in different rooms. The grave robbers had literally shredded the mummies.

• No. 1: Remnants of a man over 40 (probably Maya)
• No. 2: Remnants of a 30- to 50-year-old man (presumably Nahuher, his brother)
• No. 3: A woman over 50 years old (presumably Henutiunu, Maya's mother-in-law)
• # 4: A 20-40 year old woman (likely Merit)

According to the anthropological analysis, the two men are closely related and were probably brothers.

literature

• Maarten J. Raven: The Tomb of Maya and Meryt. Vol. 2: Objects and Skeletal Remains. Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden / London 2001, ISBN 0-85698-139-7 .
• Geoffrey T. Martin: In Search of the Lost Grave. von Zabern, Mainz 1994, ISBN 3-8053-1615-1 .
• Geoffrey T. Martin: The Hidden Tombs of Memphis. Thames & Hudson, London / New York 1991, ISBN 0-500-39026-6 , pp. 147-188.
• Toby Wilkinson : Who's Who in Ancient Egypt. von Zabern, Mainz 2008, ISBN 978-3-8053-3917-9 , pp. 220-224.

Web links

Commons : Maya  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files