DB320

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Tomb DB320 (now usually referred to as TT320) is located next to Deir el-Bahri, in the Theban Necropolis, opposite modern Luxor contained an extraordinary cache of mummified remains and funeral equipment of more than 50 kings, queens, royals and various nobility.

Contents 1 Usage of tomb 2 Discovery and clearance 3 References 4 See also 5 External links

[edit] Usage of tomb

The tomb is thought to have initially been the last resting place of High Priest of Amun Pinedjem II, his wife Nesikhons and other close family members. Pinudjem II died around 969 BC in a time of decline of the Egyptian kingdom. In this time the mummies from former dynasties were vulnerable to grave robbery and were moved here to protect the remains of these royal personages.

The list of mummies in the tomb is as follows;

Ahhotep I Ahmose-Henutemipet Ahmose-Henuttamehu Ahmose-Inhapi Ahmose-Meritamon Ahmose-Nefertari Ahmose-Sipair Ahmose-Sitamun Ahmose-Sitkamose Amenhotep I Ahmose I Bakt Djedptahiufankh Duathathor-Henuttawy Funerary remains of Hatshepsut Isetemkheb

Maatkare-Mutemhat Masaharta Merymose Nebseni Nesikhons Nesitanebetashru Nodjmet Paheripedjet Pediamun Pinedjem I Pinedjem II Rai Ramesses I Ramesses II Ramesses III Ramesses IX

Seniu Seqenenre Tao II Seti I Siamun Siese Sutymose Tayuheret Tetisheri Thutmose I Thutmose II Thutmose III Wepmose Wepwawet-mose plus 8 other unidentified mummies (one of them known as "Unknown-Man E", which has been studied by Bob Brier, who thinks the mummy in question, might be Pentewere, one of the sons of Ramses III).

[edit] Discovery and clearance

Initially the discovery of the tomb was concealed and a local family, the Abd el-Rasuls, used the mummies as a store of precious articles that were then sold on the antiquities market. This caused the local authorities to investigate and locate the source of these items.

It was cleared in a hurry (with 48 hours of its official discovery in 1881) by Émile Brugsch, in order to ensure no more antiquities were sold.

The chamber is reached by a nearly vertical chimney, which was left open in 1881, and has since filled with rocks and other debris (in fact every object that was left in the tomb has now been damaged in some way). It was reinvestigated in 1938. Since 1998 a Russian-German team lead by Erhart Graefe has been working on reinvestigating and preserving the tomb.^[1]

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• KV35 – Mummy cache in tomb of Amenhotep II
• The Night of Counting the Years – A 1969 Egyptian film based on the story of the Abd el-Rasuls

[edit] External links

• CACHETTE of the Royal Mummies - TT320
• Plan of the tomb from recent re-exploration
• William Max Miller's Theban Royal Mummy Project