Practicalities of Elite Theban Tombs Making (in the New Kingdom) (original) (raw)

International Workshop "Tomb Construction in New Kingdom Egypt", University of Copenhagen, 21-22 September 2017. Egyptian archaeology provides us with two kinds or sets of data to investigate how private tombs were practically made in the Theban Necropolis during the New Kingdom: the monuments themselves, of course; but also, a rather sizable quantity of administrative texts (more than a hundred preserved documents, published and unpublished, are directly relevant). A systematic survey of this textual corpus allows us to suggest definitions for problematic lexemes referring to various steps of the tomb production process (such as š(ʿ)d, ȝȝʿ, dg(ȝ), ḫmʿ, etc.) and to specify the (chrono-)logical sequence of the actions referred to, investigating which activities were taking place at the same time, how the work was distributed between various categories of workmen or trades (such as the ẖrtj.w, ḫmʿ, sš-qd or sš), in which section of the tomb the work was conducted, and how its output was recorded and measured (with units of length or of volume: mḥ, dnj, nbj, trỉ.t, etc.). This emic approach can then be compared to the archaeological and material evidence of the tombs themselves. Such a combined analysis, complemented by an experimental dimension, certainly leads to some sort of a pattern or general — ideal — procedure but, maybe more importantly, also reveals a high degree of variability from case to case, according to different circumstances, including purely individual factors. It allows us as well to gauge the time-span needed to produce an excavated and decorated elite tomb of the Theban type, from a few months for the smallest to many years for the most ambitious ones, with a rather clear evolution in the invested economical means through time (including within the 18th dynasty). The different types of data converge to demonstrate the high level of specialization and expertise of the various practitioners involved in the making of such tombs, with consequences on their availability, employability and identity. At the end of the tomb making process, the painters —also responsible for the composition and so-called preliminary “drawings” of sculpted decoration — were expert in the art and technology of painting, but also in iconographic matters, showing a great ability in designing complete scenes with minimal information or indication. In this respect, the study of the Vorlagen material relating to their work sheds light on the range of freedom they could enjoy, as well as on differences to take into account between textual and iconographic production for the decoration of those tombs.