The Tomb of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep. At Saqqara, by Jimmy Dunn writing as Alan Winston
The Mastaba of Niankhkhnum (meaning "life belongs to Khnum") and Khnumhotep (meaning "Khnum is satisfied"), dating to the mid 5th Dynasty and probably either to the reign of Niusserre or Menkauhor, is located in the sector of the Pyramid of Unas at Saqqara. It is unusual, having been built for two officials, Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep. They shared the same titles as "Prophet of Ra in the Sun Temple of Niusserre", and "Heads of the Manicurists of the Great House".
This tomb, which is popularly know as the "Tomb of the Hairdressers" but also as "The Tomb of Two Brothers", has been the subject of some debate. Throughout the tomb, the two men appear together and sometimes in intimate embraces. According to Zahi Hawass, and therefore the official explanation, they were brothers and probably twins, though there is really little evidence for the latter. However, others have speculated as to their relationship, even suggesting that they may have been gay companions, though this hardly seems likely given the depictions of their wives and family within the tomb.
This tomb was only discovered in 1964 by archaeologists and Chief Inspector Mounir Basta, under the ramp of Unas, which had to be breached in order to reach the tomb. Meanwhile archaeologists working on the restoration of the causeway of Unas discovered that some of the stone blocks that had been used to build the causeway had been appropriated in ancient times from the mastaba.
This is one of the largest and most beautiful tombs in the entire necropolis at Saqqara, and has a complex structure, having been changed and enlarged several times during its construction. The oldest part of the tomb, a chapel, was actually carved into the rock, while three rooms with a courtyard were later added using blocks of stone.
The south wall of the vestibule shows a number of scenes. here, we find the deceased in front of their respective offering tables. Niankhkhnum is on the right and Khnumhotep on the left, facing each other. Between them, two groups, each of two servants, carve up the sacrificial animals. Underneath this scene is an offering formula, which also supplies us with a list of feast days when the funerary cult should be performed.
There is also a beautiful scene of fishing with nets and harpoons. Niankhkhnum is on the right and Khnumhotep on the left, each portrayed on an heroic scale on a small papyrus boat. One is spearing two fishes with his double harpoon, while the other brings down flying birds with his throw-stick. Between these two groups, the extraordinary richness of the marshes is depicted. Among the various fish, which are depicted very realistically, one can identify a large Tilapia nilotica and Lates niloticus. Another scenes depicts the two men cutting papyrus in the swamplands.
On the north wall, the brothers are shown once again in a scene that argues against the two men having an alternate relationship. Here, we find Khnumhotep and a boy describes as his son, Ptahshepses on the right, and on the left, Niankhkhnum with his son. They are watching, among other activities, the main stages in building a boat. Here, two woodsmen chop down an acacia tree. It is then squared and moved to the boatyard, where the boat is being built by carpenters. On the east side of the north wall, not surprisingly, we find scenes depicting manicurists, pedicurists and barbers. On the right a manicurist and pedicurist are at work, while a scribe awaits his turn. An overseer is having his fingernails done and his pose represents a most unusual one for Egyptian art. He is depicted from the front, sitting cross-legged, with only his head in profile. The left side of this register depicts the activities of a barber. These representations are followed below by market scenes, also fairly rare in Old Kingdom art.
The wall on the left-hand side of the doorway (east) shows Khnumhotep with his wife, Khenut, who was 'Prophetess of Hathor, Mistress of the Sycamore'. On the right (west) Niankhkhnum is seen with his wife Khentkaus, of the same title. On the south wall we also find a depiction of the deceased standing with their sons.
At the southern end of this chamber the tomb owners are shown enjoying offerings of food in a banqueting scene, entertained by musicians, singers and dancers. On the section of the west wall between the two openings that lead to the offerings room there is also a beautiful depiction of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep embracing each other affectionately, with two registers of their children on either side. An unfinished false door is shown at the bottom of the wall.
On either sides of the doorways there are lists of oils and scenes of offering-bringing. The two men's families accompany the men into the offering chamber in scenes of fishing and fowling, tending cattle and a number of boatmen are shown enjoying jousting games. Inside the final offering chamber on the reverse side of the entrance pillar the tomb-owners are again shown closely embracing with arms around each other. On the western wall there are two false door stelae. That of Niankhkhnum on the left is very damaged by a robbers tunnel dug in antiquity and it was through this tunnel that archaeologists first entered the tomb. At the foot of these false doors, an offering table inscribed with the owner's name, serves as a specific site for the performance of the cult.
Between the false doors the two are again shown in an embrace. Symmetrical scenes on the north and south walls of the chamber depict bearers bringing offerings to each of the owners, with offering-lists and butchers. The offering list includes: "A thousand loaves, a thousand jugs of beer, a thousand joints of meat, a thousand birds, a thousand alabaster vases, a thousand rools of cloth, a thousand vases of "merhet" oil, a thousand of every good thing every day".
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