The City Museum & Art Gallery,
Bristol
Petrie
Fitzwilliam
Náprstek
Ashmolean
Horemkenesi lived during the turbulent times of the 21st dynasty, around 1050 BC, in the period now
called the Third Intermediate Period. He either lived at Deir el-Medina or within the enclosure of
Medinet Habu. He had two jobs: he was an overseer of workmen at the Valley of the Kings and he
was also a part time wab priest at the temples of Karnak and Medinet Habu. During his early years
he must have attended classes and was trained as a scribe. His main duties were inspecting tombs for
damage, repairing the robbed ones and organising non-royal burials. His name can be found in several
rock graffiti around the Valley of the Kings. His signature indicated which tombs he inspected. His
name can be seen for example near the Seti II tomb.
The page was last modified on July 1st 2011
Turin
Sources:
1. Ancient Egyptians at Bristol's City Museum & Art Gallery : a KS2 resource for teachers
Bristol : Bristol's Museums, Galleries & Archives, 2003.
2. http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ccm/cms-service/stream/asset/?asset_id=32273145
Nicholson
KhM
During the 1890s archaeologists from the Egypt
Exploration Fund (nowadays Egypt Exploration
Society) were excavating the area at Deir
el-Bahri. At the time, archaeological finds not
reserved for the national collection in Cairo, could
be shared among the donors of funding for the
excavations (namely museums and universities).
The Bristol Museum sponsored the EEF and thus
received regular donations of artefacts. In 1905
the mummy of Horemkenesi in his coffin arrived
from Luxor.
It was found in the pit-tomb of Mentuhotep II's
queen Sadeh, who lived nearly 1,000 years before
Horemkenesi. The tomb was found in Mentuhotep's
mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri. The tomb had
laid undisturbed for 3 millenia.
(Pictured on the left)  
It was noticed in
1981that Horemkenesi's
mummy started to
deteriorate and the
decision was taken to
unwrap the mummy to find
information about
Horemkenesi's physical
characteristics and his
health and also about the
way the body was
mummified.
The mummy of Horemkenesi revealed a short, plump man, who was between 55 and 60 years of age at the
time of his death. He suffered from arthritis in his shoulders and in his back, which must have caused him
painful stiffness. The brain, which is normally removed, was left within the skull cavity intact. On the other
hand his heart, which used to be left in the corpse, is missing in Horemkenesi's body. His ear lobes had large
holes and several of his teeth were worn away down to the gum because the food contained sand.
The mummy was buried in a 3-piece coffin, which was in fashion at the time. It is made of wood and is
covered by a thin layer of painted plaster. Images of gods are depicted inside and out and prayers are written
to protect the dead person and to help him on his journey to the Afterlife. The design of the coffin is a
standard one, it was not made especially for Horemkenesi, but his name and titles were written into the
spaces left empty within the text.
On the floor of the bottom case is a figure of Osiris in the form of a djed pillar.
Horemkenesi's mummy was covered by a colourful painted mummy board.
The burial consisted only of the mummy within the coffin, over which garlands of plaited rush leaves were
draped, but no grave goods belonging to Horemkenesi was found in the tomb. No amulets were found inside the
linen wrappings, but feathers and small pieces of plant material were found inside his bandages. The canopic
jars were also missing. A pair of leather sandals that were too small for his feet was found in the tomb.
The panoramas below were created by Robert Gibson from Sydney, Australia. 14 photographs I took in the
gallery were rendered by him to produce these 3 wonderful images.
Scroll along the image to reveal the whole panorama
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