Qurna

Village of Qurna
Village of Qurna
Qurna or Kurna, the  main  private  cemetery  in  the  center  of  the  Theban  necropolis (25°44'N, 32°36'E). The name is an abbreviated version  of the toponym Ilwet el-Sheikh Abd el-Quma ("the hill of Sheikh  Abd el-Quma") that refers to a sheikh of the modern village, which  still  covers  an  unknown  number  of  tombs  on  the  hill.  The  term  Quma seems to be a derivation of el-Qurn ("the peak"), which may  refer  to  the  mountain  that  is  482  meters  (1,450  feet)  above  sea  level,  overlooking  the  Theban  necropolis.  In  older  terminology,  Quma  referred  to  the  area  in  the  north-western  pan  of  the  necropolis, around and including the mortuary temple of Sety I (the  Temple of Quma), which is now occasionally called "Old Qurna,"  as opposed to Quma ("the hill") or New Quma (the modern village  designed and built by the Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy, some 3  kilometers [2 miles] east of the necropolis and close to the Fadiya  Canal).

Quma is the central part of the New Kingdom private necropolis  in  Thebes.  It  consists  of  the  hill  proper  and  the  plain  east  of  it,  which is defined as the area southwest of Khokha (El-Khokha) and north of the  mortuary temple of Ramesses II (Ramesseum). In the hillside  and the plain, there are far more than 150 decorated tombs, more  than half of which date to the eighteenth dynasty. Of the remaining  tombs, between twenty and thirty date to the eleventh and early  twelfth  dynasties,  with  the  rest  dating  to  the  Ramessid  (nineteenth and twentieth dynasties) or to the Saite period (twenty- sixth dynasty). Many of the tombs of Qurna were known to early  travelers, and selected tomb-wall scenes and inscriptions had been  copied by members of the Napoleonic expedition (1798-1799).

Today,  exact  figures  or  statistical  analyses  of  the  spatial  and  chronological distribution of the tombs in Quma are still difficult to  determine,  since  the  majority  of  them  have  not  been  investigated  thoroughly.  In  addition,  since  their  original  construction  and  decoration,  many  tombs  had  been  extensively  remodeled,  redecorated,  or otherwise  reused.  Yet  the  immense  importance  of  the  tombs in Qurna is  based  on  the  large  number  that  still  have  substantial parts of their original decoration (painting on plaster, or  relief,  or  both)  well  preserved.  The  decoration  has  provided  abundant information both on aspects of daily life and on religious  ceremonies,  allowing  for  detailed  studies  of  the  development  of  style  and  iconography.  The  tomb  inscriptions  have  shed  light  on  theological conceptions, social stratigraphy, administration, and the  family relationships of those buried in the tombs.

Studies  have  revealed  that,  contrary  to  previous  conclusions,  there  are  patterns  by  which  the  site  for  a  tomb  was  chosen,  the  manner in which it was decorated, and the way that the burials were  equipped. At times, especially during the eighteenth dynasty, certain  areas were used for the construction of tombs  by members of  the  same  social  class.  Sometimes  elements  of  decoration  and/  or  the  textual program of one tomb were slightly remodeled and used in  another. Generally speaking, the private tombs in Quma belong to  the  elite  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty.  Among  the  tomb  owners  are  viziers  (the  highest  nonroyal  position  in  the  administration),  high  priests of Amun and other  high-ranking  members  of  the  clergy,  overseers  of  the  granaries  of  the  Two  Lands,  mayors  of  Thebes,  high-ranking  military  officers,  and  royal  stewards.  The  Quma  hill  has  yielded  some  of  the  best-known  private  tombs  of  Western  Thebes and thus of ancient Egypt.

The tomb of the vizier under Thutmose III, Rekhmire (tomb 100  in Western Thebes), is halfway up the hill. It is considered to be the  best example of the T-shaped tomb type and is the most completely  decorated extant tomb of the eighteenth dynasty. It also shows the  general  distribution  of  the  wall  scenes  and  texts  of  the  time  most  clearly:

the broad hall (corresponding to the horizontal stroke of a T) mainly  contains  the  daily  life  scenes,  which  depict  various  activities  in  which the vizier was involved during his lifetime. The scenes and  texts of the passage, or transverse hall, are mainly devoted to topics  of  the  netherworld,  oriented  toward  representations  of  gods  and  goddesses, which are depicted on the western end of the hall.

The  subterranean  burial  chamber  of  the  tomb  of  Sen-nefer  (a  mayor of Thebes during the time of Amenhotpe II; tomb 96) is well  known for its unique ceiling decoration, of vine leaves. The tombs  of Nakht (tomb TT 52) and Menna (tomb 69) were built for middle- class  officials  under  the  reign  of  Thutmose  IV  and  are  vivid  examples of smaller tombs with painted decoration.  Another vizier and mayor of Thebes at the end of the eighteenth  dynasty.  Ramose  (tomb  55),  had  his  tomb  built  in  the  plain  of  Quma during the reigns of Amenhotpe III and Amenhotpe IV. His  tomb  contains  one  of  the  finest  examples  of  wall  decoration,  in  raised  relief,  in  New  Kingdom  times.  It  also  shows  the  drastic  change  of  style  that  took  place  after  Amenhotpe  IV  changed  his  name to Ak-henaton and moved to his new city at Amama. Some  of the walls in Ramose's tomb were decorated in the new, Amama  style.

Today,  the  Quma  hill  remains  one  of  the  primary  targets  of  Egyptological  investigation.  Since  the  end  of  the  nineteenth  century,  numerous  projects  were  dedicated  to  the  excavation,  recording, and documentation of the tombs of Quma. To a certain  extent, the history of archaeological and epigraphic research in the  tombs  of  Quma  parallels  the  history  of  Egyptology;  and  every  major  Egyptological  institution  has,  one  way  or  another,  con- tributed to their investigation. This part of the Theban necropolis is  still far from being thoroughly investigated, however. Almost every  year, new tombs have been discovered and long-known tombs have  been reinvesti gated under the new, scientific-scholarly approach.
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