S. B. Borutskaya, S. V. Vasilyev, S. V. Ivanov, N. V. Kharlamova

Osobennosti raspredeleniia mumii drevnikh egiptian v pomeshcheniiakh grobnitsy TT-23 v Luksore (Egipet) [Features of the distribution of human mummies within the premises of tomb of Tjay (TT 23) in Luxor, Egypt]

The Theban tomb 23 is located in Luxor, on the western bank of the Nile in the Valley of the Nobles, in el-Khokha area. The tomb was built for the head of the royal chancellery Tjay, who took this office at the time of the king Merenptah. Shortly after burial of the main owner, the tomb was used for secondary burials that took place for the next fifteen centuries. During the work of the Russian Archaeological Mission to Luxor that included cleaning the tomb of debris, a large number of mummified human remans were collected. A total of 197 human mummies were identified by sex and age. Most of the mummies belonged to adults aged 30–45 years. The peak mortality rate for men was between 30 and 45 years of age. The age of death of most women was 30–35 years, in addition, many female mummies aged 20–25 years and 40–45 years were found in the tomb. The final age cohort is quite representative; many mummies of older men and women have been discovered. 16,76% of the mummies were children. Moreover, almost 60% of the children buried in the tomb were no older than 5 years. Very few mummies of young people aged 15–20 have been discovered. At the same time, no female mummies of this age of death were found in the tomb at all. Judging by the gender and age composition of the ancient Egyptian mummies discovered in the tomb of TT 23, it is possible to suggest that despite a mixed context, in which the mummies were found, they were deposited in within or in close proximity to the place of their original burial.

Keywords:
sarcophagus, mummy, individual, tomb, gender and age definition, peak mortality, age cohort.

Original language — Russian.

DOI: 10.24412/2686-9276-2024-00010.

Referring: Borutskaya S. B., Vasilyev S. V., Ivanov S. V., Kharlamova N. V., Features of the distribution of human mummies within the premises of tomb of Tjay (TT 23) in Luxor, Egypt [in Russian] // Egypt and neighbouring countries 3 (2024): 3–26. DOI: 10.24412/2686-9276-2024-00010.

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