DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.22370#0015
THE TOMB OF REKHMARA
I. INTRODUCTION
I. SITUATION OF THE TOMB.
Opposite to the modern town of Luxor, and on
the edge of the western desert, there still
stands, though in ruinous condition, the temple
which Rameses II. built in honour of the
Theban god Amen. A short distance behind
this temple there rises a limestone hill, called
by the Arabs El Gebel Sheikh Abd el Kurneh
—the hill of the Sheikh named Abd el Kurneh,
a holy man whose ruined brick-constructed
tomb is built upon its summit. On the western
side many rock-cut tombs have been excavated,
but these are for the most part uninscribed, and
consequently of little interest. The south-
western face, however, is thickly honeycombed
with richly painted and inscribed tombs; of
these the greater number belong to officials of
the famous rulers Hatshepsut and Thothmes
III. Several of the Vezirs and Chancellors
of these monarchs were buried here. Here,
too, are still to be seen the last resting-places
of many officers of lower rank, including
Generals and Governors of Towns and Dis-
tricts, Superintendents of the Royal Granaries
and Storehouses, Overseers of Canals and
Fields, as well as of Architects, Scribes, and
Priests. Among this wealth of private monu-
ments, one stands out prominently before all
the rest. This is the tomb of the famous
Rekhmara, the Governor of Thebes and Prime
Minister of his illustrious sovereign Thothmes
III.
Situated about half way up the hill, this tomb
is easily reached from the temple of Rameses
II.—generally known as the Ramesseum—by a
well-beaten path which threads its way to the
north-east, among the many mummy pits sunk
in the ground along the desert edge. The
entrance is nearly in a line with the axis of the
temple, but it is hidden from the view of any one
approaching from the plain by the crude brick
walls of the house of the Todrus family, which
is built immediately in front of it. The visitor,
however, can have no difficulty in finding the
tomb, even though he be unaccompanied by a
dragoman, for all the inhabitants of the Kurneh
village know its precise position. It is gener-
ally called among the Arabs " el bab khamsa'
we telatin " (Tomb No. 35), thirty-five being
the number given to it by Wilkinson as far
back as 1825. At present it is in charge of a
guard appointed by the authorities of the Gizeh
Museum, and can only be seen on the produc-
tion of a Government " tourist's ticket."
II. PREVIOUS WORK AT THE TOMB.
Unknown to the members of the great
French expedition under Napoleon, the tomb
of Rekhmara appears to have been first visited
by the explorer Cailliaud, who travelled in
Egypt and Nubia during the years 1819 to
1822. He has unfortunately left us no descrip-
tion of this historic monument, but from the
fact that he copied several of the scenes illus-
trative of the arts and manners of the ancient
Egyptians, it is clear that he recognised the
importance of the paintings which have since
I. INTRODUCTION
I. SITUATION OF THE TOMB.
Opposite to the modern town of Luxor, and on
the edge of the western desert, there still
stands, though in ruinous condition, the temple
which Rameses II. built in honour of the
Theban god Amen. A short distance behind
this temple there rises a limestone hill, called
by the Arabs El Gebel Sheikh Abd el Kurneh
—the hill of the Sheikh named Abd el Kurneh,
a holy man whose ruined brick-constructed
tomb is built upon its summit. On the western
side many rock-cut tombs have been excavated,
but these are for the most part uninscribed, and
consequently of little interest. The south-
western face, however, is thickly honeycombed
with richly painted and inscribed tombs; of
these the greater number belong to officials of
the famous rulers Hatshepsut and Thothmes
III. Several of the Vezirs and Chancellors
of these monarchs were buried here. Here,
too, are still to be seen the last resting-places
of many officers of lower rank, including
Generals and Governors of Towns and Dis-
tricts, Superintendents of the Royal Granaries
and Storehouses, Overseers of Canals and
Fields, as well as of Architects, Scribes, and
Priests. Among this wealth of private monu-
ments, one stands out prominently before all
the rest. This is the tomb of the famous
Rekhmara, the Governor of Thebes and Prime
Minister of his illustrious sovereign Thothmes
III.
Situated about half way up the hill, this tomb
is easily reached from the temple of Rameses
II.—generally known as the Ramesseum—by a
well-beaten path which threads its way to the
north-east, among the many mummy pits sunk
in the ground along the desert edge. The
entrance is nearly in a line with the axis of the
temple, but it is hidden from the view of any one
approaching from the plain by the crude brick
walls of the house of the Todrus family, which
is built immediately in front of it. The visitor,
however, can have no difficulty in finding the
tomb, even though he be unaccompanied by a
dragoman, for all the inhabitants of the Kurneh
village know its precise position. It is gener-
ally called among the Arabs " el bab khamsa'
we telatin " (Tomb No. 35), thirty-five being
the number given to it by Wilkinson as far
back as 1825. At present it is in charge of a
guard appointed by the authorities of the Gizeh
Museum, and can only be seen on the produc-
tion of a Government " tourist's ticket."
II. PREVIOUS WORK AT THE TOMB.
Unknown to the members of the great
French expedition under Napoleon, the tomb
of Rekhmara appears to have been first visited
by the explorer Cailliaud, who travelled in
Egypt and Nubia during the years 1819 to
1822. He has unfortunately left us no descrip-
tion of this historic monument, but from the
fact that he copied several of the scenes illus-
trative of the arts and manners of the ancient
Egyptians, it is clear that he recognised the
importance of the paintings which have since