Tetisheri
Encyclopedia
Tetisheri was the matriarch of the Egypt
ian royal family
of the late 17th Dynasty
and early 18th Dynasty
.
She was selected by Tao I the Elder
, despite her non-royal birth, to be not only his wife but his Great Royal Wife
. Tetisheri was the mother of Tao II Seqenenre
, Queen Ahhotep I
and possibly Kamose
.
Pharaoh Ahmose I erected a stela at Abydos
to announce the construction of a pyramid and a "house" for Tetisheri. Ahmose refers to the Queen as "the mother of my mother, and the mother of my father, great king's wife and king's-mother, Tetisheri"(Breasted)
and she may have been reinterred in the royal cache in TT320.
No tomb at Thebes has yet been conclusively identified with Queen Tetisheri, though a mummy that may be hers was included among other members of the royal family reburied in the Royal Cache (DB320
).
Pharaoh Ahmose had a memorial structure or cenotaph
at Abydos
erected in her honour, in the midst of his own extensive mortuary complex at that site. This mud brick structure was discovered in 1902 by the Egypt Exploration Fund, and was found to contain a monumental stela
detailing the dedication by Ahmose I
and his sister-wife Ahmose-Nefertari
of a pyramid and enclosure (or shrine) to Tetisheri.
Its discoverer, C. T. Currelly, believed the textual reference to a "pyramid" of Tetisheri to refer not to the building in which the stela was found, but rather to the more imposing pyramid associated with a large mortuary temple at its base discovered in 1900 by A. C. Mace. Based on recent discoveries, however, this view can no longer be maintained. The foundations of the structure, originally described by Currelly in 1903 as a "shrine" or "mastaba
," was demonstrated in 2004 through the renewed excavations of the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago under the direction of S. Harvey to have actually formed the lowest courses of a brick pyramid, the last queen's pyramid to have been built in Egypt. Portions of the limestone pyramidion or capstone were discovered as well, demonstrating conclusively that this structure was pyramidal in form. Magnetic survey also revealed a brick enclosure some 70 by 90 meters in scale, a feature not detected by earlier archaeologists. These accordingly may now be identified as the features described in Ahmose's stela found within: a pyramid and an enclosure, built in the midst of Ahmose's own mortuary complex.
A statuette long in the collections of the British Museum
bearing an inscription naming Tetisheri was identified as a forgery by W. V. Davies, based on the slavish imitation of its inscription from a fragmentary lower portion of a similar statue of the queen (now lost). However, some scholars question this attribution, and have been raising questions as to the potential authenticity of the statuette itself, if not the inscription.
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian royal family
Royal family
A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
of the late 17th Dynasty
Seventeenth dynasty of Egypt
The Fifteenth, Sixteenth and Seventeenth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title, Second Intermediate Period. The Seventeenth Dynasty dates approximately from 1580 to 1550 BC.-Rulers:...
and early 18th Dynasty
Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt
The eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt is perhaps the best known of all the dynasties of ancient Egypt...
.
Family
Tetisheri was the daughter of Tjenna and Neferu. The names of Tetisheri's parents are known from mummy bandages found in TT320.She was selected by Tao I the Elder
Tao I the Elder
Senakhtenre Tao I was a Pharaoh of Egypt of the Seventeenth dynasty of Egypt based in Upper Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period. He was born c.1605 BC and died c.1560 or 1558 BC at the latest. His prenomen Senakhtenre means "Perpetuated like Re."...
, despite her non-royal birth, to be not only his wife but his Great Royal Wife
Great Royal Wife
Great Royal Wife or Chief King's Wife is the term used to refer to the chief wife of the pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. While most Ancient Egyptians were monogamous, the pharaoh would have had other, lesser wives and concubines in addition to the Great Royal Wife...
. Tetisheri was the mother of Tao II Seqenenre
Tao II the Brave
Seqenenre Tao II, , called The Brave, ruled over the last of the local kingdoms of the Theban region of Egypt in the Seventeenth Dynasty during the Second Intermediate Period. He probably was the son and successor to Senaktenre Tao I the Elder and Queen Tetisheri...
, Queen Ahhotep I
Ahhotep I
Ahhotep I , was an Ancient Egyptian queen who lived circa 1560- 1530 BC, during the end of the Seventeenth dynasty of ancient Egypt, she was the daughter of Queen Tetisheri and Senakhtenre Tao I, and was likely the sister, as well as the wife, of pharaoh Seqenenre Tao...
and possibly Kamose
Kamose
Kamose was the last king of the Theban Seventeenth Dynasty. He was probably the son of Seqenenre Tao II and Ahhotep I and the full brother of Ahmose I, founder of the Eighteenth Dynasty. His reign fell at the very end of the Second Intermediate Period...
.
Pharaoh Ahmose I erected a stela at Abydos
Stela of Queen Tetisheri
The Stela of Tetisheri is a limestone donation stele erected by Ahmose I in the construction of his mortuary complex that included a cenotaph to his grandmother Queen Tetisheri....
to announce the construction of a pyramid and a "house" for Tetisheri. Ahmose refers to the Queen as "the mother of my mother, and the mother of my father, great king's wife and king's-mother, Tetisheri"(Breasted)
Burial, Cenotaph, and Pyramid
Tetisheri was likely buried in ThebesThebes, 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:...
and she may have been reinterred in the royal cache in TT320.
No tomb at Thebes has yet been conclusively identified with Queen Tetisheri, though a mummy that may be hers was included among other members of the royal family reburied in the Royal Cache (DB320
DB320
Tomb DB320 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.-Usage of tomb:The tomb is thought to have initially been the last...
).
Pharaoh Ahmose had a memorial structure or cenotaph
Cenotaph
A cenotaph is an "empty tomb" or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been interred elsewhere. The word derives from the Greek κενοτάφιον = kenotaphion...
at Abydos
Abydos, Egypt
Abydos is one of the most ancient cities of Upper Egypt, and also of the eight Upper Nome, of which it was the capital city. It is located about 11 kilometres west of the Nile at latitude 26° 10' N, near the modern Egyptian towns of el-'Araba el Madfuna and al-Balyana...
erected in her honour, in the midst of his own extensive mortuary complex at that site. This mud brick structure was discovered in 1902 by the Egypt Exploration Fund, and was found to contain a monumental stela
Stela of Queen Tetisheri
The Stela of Tetisheri is a limestone donation stele erected by Ahmose I in the construction of his mortuary complex that included a cenotaph to his grandmother Queen Tetisheri....
detailing the dedication by Ahmose I
Ahmose I
Ahmose I was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the founder of the Eighteenth dynasty. He was a member of the Theban royal house, the son of pharaoh Tao II Seqenenre and brother of the last pharaoh of the Seventeenth dynasty, King Kamose...
and his sister-wife Ahmose-Nefertari
Ahmose-Nefertari
Ahmose-Nefertari of Ancient Egypt was a Queen of Egypt. She was a daughter of Seqenenre Tao II and Ahhotep I, and royal sister and the great royal wife of pharaoh, Ahmose I. She was the mother of king Amenhotep I and may have served as his regent when he was young...
of a pyramid and enclosure (or shrine) to Tetisheri.
Its discoverer, C. T. Currelly, believed the textual reference to a "pyramid" of Tetisheri to refer not to the building in which the stela was found, but rather to the more imposing pyramid associated with a large mortuary temple at its base discovered in 1900 by A. C. Mace. Based on recent discoveries, however, this view can no longer be maintained. The foundations of the structure, originally described by Currelly in 1903 as a "shrine" or "mastaba
Mastaba
A mastaba, or "pr-djt" , is a type of ancient Egyptian tomb in the form of a flat-roofed, rectangular structure with outward sloping sides that marked the burial site of many eminent Egyptians of Egypt's ancient period...
," was demonstrated in 2004 through the renewed excavations of the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago under the direction of S. Harvey to have actually formed the lowest courses of a brick pyramid, the last queen's pyramid to have been built in Egypt. Portions of the limestone pyramidion or capstone were discovered as well, demonstrating conclusively that this structure was pyramidal in form. Magnetic survey also revealed a brick enclosure some 70 by 90 meters in scale, a feature not detected by earlier archaeologists. These accordingly may now be identified as the features described in Ahmose's stela found within: a pyramid and an enclosure, built in the midst of Ahmose's own mortuary complex.
A statuette long in the collections of the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
bearing an inscription naming Tetisheri was identified as a forgery by W. V. Davies, based on the slavish imitation of its inscription from a fragmentary lower portion of a similar statue of the queen (now lost). However, some scholars question this attribution, and have been raising questions as to the potential authenticity of the statuette itself, if not the inscription.