Restored entrance to the tomb

 Tomb ofSennedjem, Servant in the Place of Truth (Seti I, 19th Dynasty)

Sennedjem was a workman who worked upon the tombs built in the Valley of the Kings, and Valley of the Queens.

- Number TT1, discovered 1886

A major find - this tomb was discovered intact by a bedouin - Salam Abu Duhi - who had been digging under government license, soon after the discovery of the tomb Gaston Maspero hurried to investigate.

 An entrance pit descends a short 4m (13ft) down into the earth (hand holes used by the ancient builders are still visible) - at the bottom of the pit a narrow sloping passage led into an undecorated chamber, a pit from this room led into a second at the end of which lay the decorated burial chamber.

The burials had survived the years intact - in the burial chamber a total of eleven mummies were found - they consisted of:

Sennedjem, Iyneferty (Sennedjem's wife), Khons and his wife Tamakhet (son and daughter-in-law of Sennedjem), the Lady Isis wife of Khabekhnet (second son of Sennedjem).

Some funerary objects from the tomb:

Upper part of the inner coffin belonging to Khons

Sarcophagus of Sennedjem:

 

Canopic Jar from the tomb:

Although the tomb was cleared systemtically with notes taken at every stage several items from the tomb were either damaged, destroyed, lost, stolen before they even reached Maspero's steamer (only one mummy head survived the journey).

Decoration in the tomb:

The final burial chamber is covered with scenes of Sennedjem and his family - firstly there are the usual funerary scenes - Anubis attends Sennedjem's mummy:

Sennedjem and Iyneferty then face tribunals of gods - pleading to be allowed admittance:

 

 Anubis appears again - this time he leads Sennedjem forward to be judged by Osiris who stands waiting underneath a canopy:

Scenes on the eastern walls of the tomb show Sennedjem and his family in the Beyond, ploughing fields and living for eternity:

Other scenes: