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 TT81 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 official, Ineni

Ineni

Ineni was an Ancient Egyptian architect and government official of the 18th Dynasty, responsible for major construction projects under the pharaohs Amenhotep I, Thutmose I, Thutmose II and the joint reigns of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III...

 and his family.

Family

Ineni is depicted in the tomb with his father who is also called Ineni and his mother Sitdjehuty. Ineni's wife is named Ahhotep and nicknamed Thuiu. A brother named Pahery in an inscription in the passage to the shrine. The shrine contains four statues depicting Ineni, his wife and his parents.

Layout

The tomb consists of a gallery cut into the rock, the roof of which is supported by 6 square pillars. From this gallery leads a chamber, at the end of which is a shrine which contains a group of 4 statues.

Decoration

The tomb of Ineni as part of an earlier group of tombs from the time of Tuthmosis III which were decorated using a blue background color. This may be an imitation of nearby color schemes of tombs from the Middle Kingdom. The tomb is known to contain an inscription relating to the role of Hatshepsut

Hatshepsut

Hatshepsut also Hatchepsut; meaning Foremost of Noble Ladies;1508–1458 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty of Ancient Egypt...

 as a regent in relation to her step-son Tuthmosis III. The inscription mentions how king Tuthmosis II had gone "forth to heaven, having mingled with the gods." His son Tuthmosis III is then said to have "stood in his place as King of the Two Lands, while Hatshepsut

Hatshepsut

Hatshepsut also Hatchepsut; meaning Foremost of Noble Ladies;1508–1458 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty of Ancient Egypt...

 "settled the affairs of the Two Lands".

The tomb retains some of its decoration. The rear of the pillars show a variety of scenes:

• The southern most pillar of which has hunting scenes, in which Ineni was depicted running (his figure has been largely destroyed) which a bow, hunting with dogs and catching a female Hyena.
• The next column shows Ineni in an orchard and garden.
• The third column shows Ineni seated before offerings, including baskets of grapes, bread, meat, vases of wine, etc.
• The fourth pillar shows similar scenes but the decoration is largely destroyed.
• The fifth pillar show Ineni in fields, sowing and plowing and pulling an ax.
• The sixth and final pillar on the north shows the harvest. Grain is heaped, oxen are threshing the grain, and corn is carried off the field.

The gallery further shows Ineni with his staff and contains two stela with an autobiographical text. Ineni is shown with his attendants doing inspections. One scene shows the weighing of the treasure of Amun

Amun

Amun, reconstructed Egyptian Yamānu , was a god in Egyptian mythology who in the form of Amun-Ra became the focus of the most complex system of theology in Ancient Egypt...

 and records a list of temples. In another scene Ineni is again shown doing inspections. Scenes include the transportation of produce to the temple of Amun

Amun

Amun, reconstructed Egyptian Yamānu , was a god in Egyptian mythology who in the form of Amun-Ra became the focus of the most complex system of theology in Ancient Egypt...

. Ineni is depicted with his wife while fishing and fowling. the cenes show hippopotamus, birds and fish.

The passage to the inner chamber depicts Ineni before the gods and records rites that were performed before the statues of Ineni. Ineni's brother Pahery is shown offering to Ineni and his wife. Other scene sinclude a pilgrimage to Abydos, a sarcophagus being dragged by oxen and a funeral procession.

The inner chamber is decorated with scenes of Ineni and his family receiving offerings. The chamber ends with a group of four statues, depicting Ineni, his wife Thuau, his father, also called Ineni, and his mother.