TT8

The chapel during Schiaparelli's 1906 excavations

The now-ruined tomb chapel of Kha and Merit is located in a shallow bay at the northern end of the Deir el-Medina necropolis.[8] It has been known since at least 1824, when Kha's funerary stela was removed to Turin by Bernardino Drovetti.[4] The small, slightly rectangular (4.66 by 4.72 metres (15.3 ft × 15.5 ft)) mudbrick pyramid-chapel sits at the back of a rectangular courtyard 12.45 by 7.60 metres (40.8 ft × 24.9 ft) that is surrounded on three sides by tall rocky walls.[9][10] The sides have an incline of 75 degrees, giving the structure a projected total height of 9.32 metres (30.6 ft); the exterior was plastered and whitewashed.[9] The chapel was topped by a whitewashed sandstone pyramidion decorated on all sides with sunk bas-reliefs of Kha worshipping Ra and inscribed with hymns to him at the stages of his journey: the east and damaged north faces adore Ra at sunrise, the south face praises him as he crosses the sky, and the west face worships Ra as he sets. The pyramidion was reused for a small, anonymous pyramid-chapel in the courtyard of the tomb of Pashedu (TT3), a few metres south-east of TT8 and was rediscovered by Bernard Bruyère on February 8 1923.[7]

The façade of the chapel is oriented to the northeast and is entered through a single doorway with prominent doorposts. These support a lintel that was likely topped by a sandstone cornice, of which nothing remains. Like other pyramid-chapels in the necropolis, there was probably a niche cut into the face of the pyramid, above the door, into which a small stele was set. The interior of the chapel measures 3 by 1.6 metres (9.8 ft × 5.2 ft) with a vaulted ceiling 2.15 metres (7.1 ft) high; a small relieving chamber was probably present above. The back wall has a central niche which housed the stele now in the Museo Egizio, Turin. This wall is badly damaged, probably as a result of the removal of the stela.[9]

Unusually, the chapel is not directly associated with the tomb itself.[9] In 1924, Bernard Bruyère conducted excavations in the courtyard of the chapel to see if the presence of another burial shaft close to the area was the reason for the separation. On the right side of the courtyard, 3 metres (9.8 ft) from the entrance of the chapel, in the expected location of a burial shaft, he found a pit 0.75 metres (2.5 ft) deep and 1 metre (3.3 ft) wide lined with mudbrick. Schiaparelli suggested that this pit was where Kha's additional copy of the Book of the Dead and other funerary items, known before the discovery of the tomb, were originally deposited. Bruyère suggests the separation of chapel and tomb is instead due to the very poor quality of the rock beneath the chapel and courtyard.[10]

Funerary stele of Kha, now in the Museo Egizio, Turin

The interior of the chapel is plastered and decorated. Where preserved, the colours are still vibrant. The decoration has drawn attention, having been copied by several Egyptologists in the 19th century, including John Gardiner Wilkinson and Karl Lepsius.[6] The ceiling is covered with stylised floral motifs arranged in geometric patterns. A central band of blue hieroglyphs on a yellow ground divides the ceiling into two halves along its length; the design on each half of the ceiling is different. Another band of text runs around the walls, further dividing the vault from the upper frieze of alternating lotus flowers, buds, and grapes. All of the wall scenes are executed on a yellow background.[9]

The back wall, now badly damaged, is divided into three registers around the stele niche that occupies the centre of the wall. A pair of Anubis jackals with red collars and seated on white shrines face each other across a large bouquet in the uppermost, semi-circular register. Unlike the rest of the decoration, this is executed on a light grey ground. In the second register, two men, one on the left and one on the right, offer bouquets and raise their hand in adoration. The left side of the lowest register shows a seated man and woman, who are identified as Neferheb and Taoui, with offerings before them and receive ministrations from a man, on the right side of the register, dressed as a sem-priest. He is probably their son but his identity is unknown as the inscription is badly damaged.[9][1]

The left wall is dominated by a depiction of Kha and Merit seated before an offering table. Their daughter, also named Merit, bends to adjust her father's collar and one of their sons presents them with a goose and lotus flowers. The text above this scene gives a list of the offerings given. Below this scene, a narrow register depicts and additional offering of four amphorae, garlanded with flowers and fruit attended by a servant. The rest of the wall is divided into two registers. The upper depicts guests and musicians moving towards the larger scene of Kha and Merit. The lower register depicts a man and two women advancing in the opposite direction, towards a seated couple who are mostly obliterated.[9][1]

The right wall has the same layout as the left. The large scene depicts Osiris, enveloped in a red feather-patterned shroud, seated in a raised kiosk; he receives offerings from Kha and Merit, accompanied by their daughter and son. In the two smaller registers, servants approach with offerings of a long-horned goat (upper) and a white ox wearing a floral garland (lower).[9][1]

The chapel was the target of the agents of Akhenaten, with the name of Amun being hammered out wherever it occurred. It was later restored, but in a hasty way that does not match the original text.[9]

The entrance to TT8 at the time of its discovery

The partially ruined chapel was what drew Ernesto Schiaparelli's attention to this area. It was known to date to the Eighteenth Dynasty, based on the content of the scenes, and the erasure then restoration of the name of Amun.[10] He noted that the rubble below the opened and looted Twentieth Dynasty tombs in the cliffs to the north of the chapel was unlikely to be the product of the construction of these tombs alone. The excavator reasoned that "presumably other older tombs had been dug at the bottom of the mountain but were not visible because of being hidden by the debris."[11] Excavation began at the mouth of the valley and proceeded towards the end. More than 250 workers, divided into several gangs, excavated for four weeks, uncovering "openings or doors of tombs, shaft and chamber ones, but they had all been violated"; the discoloured limestone fill was mixed with bone, pottery, and cloth. At the end of February 1906, after clearing two thirds of the valley, and 25 metres (82 ft) north of Kha and Merit's chapel, an area of clean, white limestone chip was encountered.[11][12] A further two days of digging uncovered an irregular opening with a set of stairs that "descended steeply into the bowels of the mountain."[11] An intact blocking constructed of stones cemented with mud plaster was encountered at the bottom of the stairs. Wanting to make sure that the tomb was as intact as it appeared, a hole was made and the reis (foreman) Khalifa wriggled through it "and an immediate exclamation of joy on his part assured us that our hopes would not be dashed."[11] Evening was falling so work was suspended for the day; that night the tomb was guarded by the supervisor Benvenuto Savina and Count Alessandro Casati.

The following morning, with the Inspector of Antiquities of Upper Egypt, Arthur Weigall, in attendance, the first wall was demolished, revealing a horizontal corridor. Less than 10 metres (33 ft) ahead was another intact blocking wall.[11] This opened into a taller, carefully cut passage.[13] This corridor contained overflow from the burial chamber, these items included Kha's bed with bundles of persea branches underneath, a large lamp stand, baskets, jars, baskets of fruit, a wooden stool, and a whip with Kha's name written on it.[11][13] The passage was sealed by a wooden door which "looked for all the world as though it had been set up yesterday" and locked with a wooden lock; the spring for the bolt was carefully sealed with clay.[13] A thin saw was inserted between the two planks of wood and used to cut the crossbars on the back of the door, allowing entry into the burial chamber and preserving the lock.[11]

Weigall was the first to enter the room, followed by Schiaparelli, Dr Ballerini, Count Casati, Professor Lucarini, Savina, and the dragoman Ghattas. The newly revealed burial chamber was rectangular, with smoothed and plastered walls, painted yellow but otherwise undecorated. The contents, which "looked new and undecayed" were carefully arranged, "everything was in perfect order in the chamber, just as the relatives of the deceased had arranged it before leaving the tomb."[13][11] Kha and Merit's black wooden sarcophagi were placed against the back and right walls respectively, both were covered with linen palls still "soft and strong like the sheets of our beds."[13] Against the left wall was Merit's bed, "made up with sheets, blankets, and two headrests."[11] At its foot was her toilet box, and near it was her large wig box. Opposite, garlanded and standing on a chair, was a wooden statue of Kha. The rest of the space was filled with stools piled with linen, tables laden with bread, sycamore, and persea branches, pottery, alabaster, and bronze jars on stands and tables, stacked boxes, nets of doum palm fruit, and another lamp stand, similar to the one found outside the room.[11]

The tomb and its contents were recorded and photographed, then packed and transferred on 18 February 1906 to QV55, tomb of Amun-her-khepeshef before being shipped to Cairo and ultimately to Italy.[5][14]

The items found in the tomb show that Kha and Merit were quite wealthy during their lifetime. Unlike the more chaotic burial of Tutankhamun, the burials of Kha and Merit were carefully planned out. Important items were covered by dust sheets and the floor was swept by the last person to leave the tomb.[15]

The tomb was furnished with all the objects necessary in the afterlife. Ointments and kohl were regarded as a necessary part of hygiene and these precious materials were held in a variety of lidded alabaster, glass and faience vessels. Egyptians protected themselves from flies and from sunlight by wearing dark kohl under the eyes, depicted as a long cosmetic stripe on sculptures. Other objects in the tomb include sandals, jar vessels and more than 100 garments.[16]

The bodies of Kha and Merit were buried in two nested coffins; Kha's mummy was tightly wrapped and several items of jewelry were included within the wrappings. The two anthropoid coffins of Kha are excellent examples of the wealth and technically brilliant workmanship of the arts during the reign of Amenhotep III. Kha's outer coffin "was covered with black bitumen, with the face, hands, alternate stripes of the wig, bands of inscriptions and figures of funerary gods [all] in gilded gesso."[17] Kha's inner coffin was:

entirely covered in gold leaf, except for the eyes, eye-brows and cosmetic lines, which are inlaid--quartz or rock crystal for the whites of the eyes, black glass or obsidian for the irises, blue glass for the eyebrows and cosmetic lines. The eye sockets themselves are framed with copper or bronze. His arms are crossed over his chest in the pose of Osiris, lord of the dead. He wears a broad collar with falcon-head terminals. Below this is a vulture with outstretched wings grasping two shen-signs in its talons.[2]

Included in one of Kha's coffins is one of the earliest examples of the Egyptian Book of the Dead.[15] An x-ray of Kha's mummy shows that it was "adorned with a gold necklace and heavy earrings, one of the earliest examples yet found of men wearing earrings."[6]

Merit was buried in a single outer coffin with one inner anthropoid coffin and a cartonnage mask. Her mummy was loosely wrapped with funerary jewellery. A tomb of this magnitude would have taken years to prepare, a process that Kha certainly oversaw during his lifetime. Unexpectedly predeceased by Merit, Kha donated his own coffin to his wife. Since it was too big for Merit's mummy, Kha was forced to pack linens, monogrammed for him, around her mummy. Merit's single coffin combines features of Kha's inner and outer coffins; "the lid is entirely gilded, but the box is covered with black bitumen, with only the figures and inscriptions gilded."[2]

Both Kha's and Merit's anthropoid coffins were contained within Middle Kingdom style "rectangular outer coffins covered with black bitumen and having vaulted, gable-ended lids."[2] Kha's coffin was mounted on sledge runners, notes Ernesto Schiaparelli in his 1927 publication report of the discovery.[18]

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  Bowls, vases and jugs from the Tomb of Kha
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  Statue of Kha and in the background, probably a chair
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  Toilet box and vessels of Merit