DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4191#0009
EL BEESHBH.
ZP^IR,T I.
The Tomb of ^ ' Tehutihetep,
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*~X "Great Chief op the Hape nome."
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I. INTRODUCTION.
1. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE
TOMB OF TEHUTI-HETEP.
Like most of the magnates who were buried
around him, Tehutihetep1 ( _zr^ _], the noble
occupant of the second tomb, was prince of
the nome of Hermopolis. His capital was the
ancient z Z Q Khemenu, now marked by the
mounds of Eshmiinen,2 and it is probable that
there was his residence. The city lay in the
middle of the valley, and at some distance
from the west bank of the Nile ; the nearest
point of the hills is about five miles due east,
near the site of the Roman city of Antinoe,
but for some reason the princes of the Middle
1 In the Early and Middle Kingdoms the name of Thoth
was written 9 ^J Zehuti, the ^^ z changing first to
c^3 d, and then to o t in the course of time. Tehuti being
more familiar than Zehuti, we think it will be convenient
to use the later form Tehutihetep in the place of Zehuti-
hetep, although the latter would be more strictly consistent
with our system of transliteration.
2 See map of the neighbourhood of El Bersheh, El Bersheh,
Part II., fig. 1.
Kingdom, in choosing a site for their necropolis,
went further south, and selected the north side of
a rocky valley in the hills behind the modern Der
en Nakhleh, " the convent of the date-palm."
The group of tombs is known to Egyptologists
by the name of El Bersheh, the hills being
called Gebel el Bersheh by the natives; El
Bersheh is also the name of a village and of a
der, or monastery, near by. That part of the
Gebel or hill of El Bersheh in which the tombs
of the Middle Kinp-dom nomarchs are situated
is about five miles south of Antinoe, and seven
miles from Eshmimen in a direct line across
the Nile.
The tomb of Tehutihetep is the most con-
spicuous of all that exist at El Bersheh, and
was probably the finest tomb ever excavated
there. Unfortunately, it has been much
shattered by an earthquake, which apparently
took place many centuries ago, causing the
limestone strata to slip irregularly one over
another along their south-west dip, so that
the roof of the tomb has been projected for-
ward about a foot, and the ceiling of the
outer chamber has entirely collapsed, bringing
ZP^IR,T I.
The Tomb of ^ ' Tehutihetep,
<$>
*~X "Great Chief op the Hape nome."
^ffff
I. INTRODUCTION.
1. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE
TOMB OF TEHUTI-HETEP.
Like most of the magnates who were buried
around him, Tehutihetep1 ( _zr^ _], the noble
occupant of the second tomb, was prince of
the nome of Hermopolis. His capital was the
ancient z Z Q Khemenu, now marked by the
mounds of Eshmiinen,2 and it is probable that
there was his residence. The city lay in the
middle of the valley, and at some distance
from the west bank of the Nile ; the nearest
point of the hills is about five miles due east,
near the site of the Roman city of Antinoe,
but for some reason the princes of the Middle
1 In the Early and Middle Kingdoms the name of Thoth
was written 9 ^J Zehuti, the ^^ z changing first to
c^3 d, and then to o t in the course of time. Tehuti being
more familiar than Zehuti, we think it will be convenient
to use the later form Tehutihetep in the place of Zehuti-
hetep, although the latter would be more strictly consistent
with our system of transliteration.
2 See map of the neighbourhood of El Bersheh, El Bersheh,
Part II., fig. 1.
Kingdom, in choosing a site for their necropolis,
went further south, and selected the north side of
a rocky valley in the hills behind the modern Der
en Nakhleh, " the convent of the date-palm."
The group of tombs is known to Egyptologists
by the name of El Bersheh, the hills being
called Gebel el Bersheh by the natives; El
Bersheh is also the name of a village and of a
der, or monastery, near by. That part of the
Gebel or hill of El Bersheh in which the tombs
of the Middle Kinp-dom nomarchs are situated
is about five miles south of Antinoe, and seven
miles from Eshmimen in a direct line across
the Nile.
The tomb of Tehutihetep is the most con-
spicuous of all that exist at El Bersheh, and
was probably the finest tomb ever excavated
there. Unfortunately, it has been much
shattered by an earthquake, which apparently
took place many centuries ago, causing the
limestone strata to slip irregularly one over
another along their south-west dip, so that
the roof of the tomb has been projected for-
ward about a foot, and the ceiling of the
outer chamber has entirely collapsed, bringing