The Theban

Thebes, Egypt

Thebes is the Greek name for a city in Ancient Egypt located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean, on the east bank of the river Nile within the modern city of Luxor. The Theban Necropolis is situated nearby on the west bank of the Nile.-History:...

 Tomb TT55 is located in Sheikh Abd el-Qurna

Sheikh Abd el-Qurna

The necropolis of Sheikh Abd el-Qurna is located on the West Bank at Thebes, Egypt.Named after the doomed tomb of the local saint. This is the most frequently visited cemetery on the Theban west bank, with the largest concentration of private tombs....

, part of the Theban Necropolis

Theban Necropolis

The Theban Necropolis is an area of the west bank of the Nile, opposite Thebes in Egypt. It was used for ritual burials for much of Pharaonic times, especially in the New Kingdom of Egypt.-Mortuary Temples:* Deir el-Bahri** Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut...

, on the west bank of the Nile

Nile

The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...

, opposite to Luxor

Luxor

Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt and the capital of Luxor Governorate. The population numbers 487,896 , with an area of approximately . As the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of Thebes, Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open air museum", as the ruins of the temple...

. It is the burial place of the Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...

ian Vizier

Vizier (Ancient Egypt)

The vizier was the highest official in Ancient Egypt to serve the king, or pharaoh during the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms. Vizier is the generally accepted rendering of ancient Egyptian tjati, tjaty etc, among Egyptologists...

, Ramose

Ramose (TT55)

The Ancient Egyptian noble, Ramose was Governor of Thebes and Vizier under both Amenhotep III and Akhenaton. His tomb is located in the Sheikh Abd el-Qurna – part of the Theban Necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile, opposite to Luxor, and is notable for the high quality decorations in...

. It has a main room originally containing 32 columns and a corridor with 8 columns. This tomb is notable for the high quality decorations in both the traditional and Amarna

Amarna art

The Ancient Egyptian art style known as Amarna Art was a style of art that was adopted in the Amarna Period , and is noticeably different from more conventional Egyptian art styles.It is characterized by a sense of movement and activity in images, with figures having raised heads, many figures...

 styles.

The tomb is (as of 2007) open to the public from 7.00am to 5.00pm, but as with all Egyptian tombs, it is not permitted to take photographs inside it.

Tomb decoration

The main body of the tomb is entered from the east facing open court, into a large columned hall, with four rows of eight columns. On the east wall, there are 'traditional' unpainted reliefs, showing Ramose, Ramose's wife and others (including his brother Amenhotep and his wife May). A panther skin clothed priest gives libations for Ramose and his family, and three girls play musical instruments. The south wall has funerary scenes again, this time painted, in two registers. These show the beginning of the evolution of the Amarna art

Amarna art

The Ancient Egyptian art style known as Amarna Art was a style of art that was adopted in the Amarna Period , and is noticeably different from more conventional Egyptian art styles.It is characterized by a sense of movement and activity in images, with figures having raised heads, many figures...

 style. The upper registers seem to show the actual procession, with the coffin on a boat being dragged along with a sledge. These scenes were later plastered over for some unknown reason.

The west wall has two scenes showing Akhenaten

Akhenaten

Akhenaten also spelled Echnaton,Ikhnaton,and Khuenaten;meaning "living spirit of Aten") known before the fifth year of his reign as Amenhotep IV , was a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt who ruled for 17 years and died perhaps in 1336 BC or 1334 BC...

 (labelled as Amenhotep IV, showing how early this tomb is in his reign) himself; the left side shows the king seated under a canopy with Ma'at seated beside him. Below the throne are carved the names of vassal nations (illustrated are Nubians, Asiatics and Libyans). Ramose stands in front of the king, showing his titles. The right side shows Akhenaten

Akhenaten

Akhenaten also spelled Echnaton,Ikhnaton,and Khuenaten;meaning "living spirit of Aten") known before the fifth year of his reign as Amenhotep IV , was a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt who ruled for 17 years and died perhaps in 1336 BC or 1334 BC...

 and Nefertiti

Nefertiti

Nefertiti was the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a religious revolution, in which they started to worship one god only...

, seated on a balcony rewarding Ramose with gold (this scene becomes nearly a standard in the Tombs of the Nobles

Tombs of the Nobles (Amarna)

Located in Middle Egypt, the Tombs of the Nobles at Amarna are the burial places of some of the powerful courtiers and persons of the city of Akhetaten....

 in Amarna

Amarna

Amarna is an extensive Egyptian archaeological site that represents the remains of the capital city newly–established and built by the Pharaoh Akhenaten of the late Eighteenth Dynasty , and abandoned shortly afterwards...

). Both of these scenes are unfinished and some of the details are sketched in and uncarved. In the far right of the west wall, Ramose is depicted leaving the palace and being congratulated by the people.

Further into the tomb, an undecorated corridor leads from the centre of the west wall to a chapel with 3 niches.

Burial chamber

The actual burial chamber is entered via a steeply sloping corridor in the south-west corner, and eventually leads to a four-pillared room, which is undecorated and seemingly unused.