TT320 | ||
---|---|---|
Royal Cache | ||
Location | Deir el-Bahari, Theban Necropolis | |
Discovery | 1871 (technically), 1881 (officially) | |
Excavation | Emil Brugsch | |
Status | Initially intact, closed to the public | |
Dynasty | 21st Dynasty | |
Occupants | 50 royal family members | |
Type | Rock-cut tomb | |
Layout | Shaft entrance, 3 chambers | |
Decoration | Undecorated | |
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Theban Tomb 320 (TT320) or simply the Royal Cache is a rock-cut tomb located in the cliffs of Deir el-Bahari, in the Theban Necropolis, opposite the city of Thebes.
It contains an extraordinary collection of mummified remains and funeral equipment of more than 50 kings, queens, and other royal family members of the New Kingdom, as it was used as a cache for royal mummies during the Twenty-first Dynasty.[1] The eleven pharaohs found there include 1 of the 9 pharaohs of the Seventeenth Dynasty, 5 of the 15 pharaohs of the Eighteenth Dynasty, 3 of the 8 pharaohs of the Nineteenth Dynasty, and 2 of the 10 pharaohs of the Twentieth Dynasty. The tomb was originally used as last resting place of High Priest of Amun Pinedjem II, his wife Neskhonsu, and other close family members.
The royal cache was discovered as early as 1871 by the Abu-Rassul family, who did not report the discovery to authorities to rob and sell its contents. When items started appearing on the antiquities market with their names on them began, local authorities started to investigate the items and were able to trace them back to the Abd el-Rassul family. Authorities interrogated and tortured the two brothers until one of the brothers eventually gave up the location of the tomb. Upon the tomb's official discovery by authorities in 1881, the mummy of Ramesses I had already been stolen and sold only to be rediscovered more than 120 years later.
Occupants[]
Here follows a list of all the occupants of the tomb:
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ Bickerstaffe 2006.
Bibliography[]
- Bickerstaffe, D., 2006: The Royal Cache Revisited. Journal of the Ancient Chronology Forum, Vol. 10.