THE TRANSVERSE CHAMBER (continued)

THE NORTH WING (continued)

Concluding the description of the north wing of the first (transverse) chamber.

The west wall

This wall is approximately 3.96m long and over 2m in height. Like the facing east wall, it is edged with the usual border of coloured rectangles reaching down to the broad horizontal bands separating the scene area from the bottom dado. The frieze is also of the same design and it is again positioned above the top border.

The scenic decoration is divided into two registers, each having an area which is further sub-divided. There is no descriptive text on this wall, not even any columns created for possible addition. There does however exist an outlined list placard above the offerings being presented to them on the left side of the lower register.

Upper register

This upper register includes, at the left extremity, a seated image of Menna and his wife receiving offerings. The area to the right is divided into two sub-registers.
A good line drawing is available .

Left extremity. Here, Menna and his wife, Henuttawi, are seated on chairs, black for the husband and a pale wood colour for the wife. These rest on a green reed mattress with yellow bindings.

Once again Menna's face has been destroyed. He wears the usual black wig surmounted by the cone of grease, a large white necklace (with a small band of colour) and bracelets of blue and green. He has a white kilt and a long short-sleeved semi-transparent over-garment. In his left hand he holds a kherep-sceptre across his chest, whilst he holds his right hand above his legs.
His wife, who sits next to him, has suffered damage at the level of her eye. She has her left arm around his back, with the hand resting on his shoulder. In her right she holds a sistrum and two lotus flowers. Her black wig is held by a headband and with a lotus at the front, whilst on top is the cone of grease. Once again she is adorned with a large multicolour necklace, bracelets and armlets. Her tight-fitting white dress has the now common low top line, under her left breast.

In front of them stands a man with dark red flesh. He has a shaven skull and his face is partially lost. With his right hand he makes a gesture as if to to say "these offerings are yours" (although there is no text). In the other hand he holds upright a large multicoloured bouquet of papyrus and lotus flowers.

Between Menna and the man is a large pile of offerings, supplies for the couple for their journeys in the afterlife (see the image above). Standing on the ground are four jars on supporting stands, under which are bunches of dates. Green foliage lies across the tops of the vessels and also hang between them.
Various other offerings are piled above the vessels, separated by a reed mattress. These include various breads (oblong and round), baskets of various fruits (grapes, figs and dates), a white goose, bunches of grapes, a gourd and cuts of meat. At the top is a looped bouquet of four lotus blooms and three buttons.
Again separated with a reed mat, are more offerings. Here are three vases of different shapes, at the sides of which stand bouquets of lotus flowers, with the blooms laying towards the couple. The three vessels are (from the left) : a chalice with the top in the shape of petals; next is a slim cylindrical blue vase (possibly containing ointment or balm) ; the final one, in the shape of a goblet with a narrow stem, possibly contains fat or a cream.

Upper sub-register. This is further divided into three scenes.

Click on either image to enlarge it.

Left sub-division. Here the faces of the seated couple have not been hammered out, which would tend to indicate that they are not Menna and his wife. Also with no text, it is difficult to identify them. In other tombs there are often family feasts. These could in fact be family members. They are both seated on chairs resting on a reed mat, facing left. The man's chair is a pale wood colour, whilst that of the woman is black. The back of her chair, the only one seen, is low and cushion covered for comfort.
The colour of man's wig has been lost, but it still has the fragrant cone on top. He has a large necklace and wears his usual white pleated kilt and long semi-transparent garment. In his left hand he holds a folded piece of cloth on his knees. The other is held forwards towards a blue alter stand on which are placed upright tall thin sliced loaves. On either sides of the leg of the stand is represented a red jar with a white conical top. Around each of these vessels winds the stem of a lotus flower, the bloom facing upwards.
Next to him, although portrayed behind, is probably his wife. She, as usual, wears a wig with a headband with a lotus at the front and the fragrant grease cone on top. She has large round golden earrings (only one being visible), a large multicoloured necklace, an armband and a bracelet (only visible on her left arm). Her dress is a white tight fitting one. Her right hand is placed on his right shoulder, whilst her left grasps his left upper arm.
At the other side of the offering (to the left), stands the man who presents it. He his simply dressed in a white kilt fasted with a white belt. The colour of his wig is almost lost.

   Middle sub-division. Here again the faces of the seated couple have not been hammered out, which would again tend to indicate that they are not Menna and his wife. This time the couple are seated on identical chairs to those seen in the scene in front of this one. The colour is again missing from his hair, but again his face is intact. The couple wear similar costumes and jewelry to those before them. However, the dress of the wife is somewhat different. Her dress is still the tight-fitting one, but the lower part is white and the upper is two tones of yellow, also having large folds. Her hair has retained its black colour. Again her right hand is placed on the man's right shoulder, but in her left hand she holds a lotus flower above her knees.
The offering, in front of them, is the same as before, only much smaller and this time there are no vessels beneath it.
A young woman stands in front of the couple, making the offering, perhaps a daughter. She wears a long white dress, almost reaching the floor. Her black wig has the headband and lotus, with a cone on top. Part of her head has been lost through damage, but not her face. Most of her legs have also suffered damage, but naked feet remain. In her left hand she holds a gold sistrum and in the other a gold menat-necklace.

   Right sub-division. At the extreme right, three men and a woman progress to the right, carrying offerings to a pile placed in front of the image of the tomb entrance. The area has suffered a great deal of loss from the artistic content, mainly the upper parts of the bodies of the first three people, however, almost all of the last has survived.

The group is composed (right to left) of a man, a woman and two more men. All that remains of the first are his legs over which can be seen a white semi-transparent over garment covering a white kilt, which joins at the front. Of the woman, only the lower half of her white tight-fitting dress, on one of her forearms a bracelet, and her hand which holds a golden sistrum and a menat-necklace. The third, a man, wears a short kilt with a front opening, overlaid with a triangular front-piece. In his visible hand he holds the stems of lotus flowers. Part if his forehead and black wig are still visible. At the end, behind the others, the man is clothed in a white kilt with a semi-transparent one over it, which extends further at the back. In his left hand he holds a bouquet of possibly lotus flowers, whilst of what he held in the other only traces remain.

The offerings have been placed on two reed mats, one above the other. On the bottom one is represented an ox, possibly two pieces of red meat and on top is a leg of meat. On the top one are two baskets filled with blue grapes, between which are two round flat breads and to the right two oblong ones. On top of these are two blue clusters of grapes, a white goose and in between is a tray on which are probably figs. Above those are three lotus blooms with their red stems curled and finally, at the top, is another white goose and a green gourd.

The doorway, and its coving at the top, was painted white with red markings. In the upper half have been drawn five stelae with curved tops, surmounted by two haunches of cattle and by two cutlets.

Lower sub-register. This contains another, yet different, scene of the presentation of offerings of provisions for the deceased's journey in the afterlife. The right-hand side is taken up with five seated servants who are bringing offerings to be added to the pile seen on the left. These will be presented to the man who stands facing them, who has his back to the mass of offerings behind him. These, in turn, would eventually be added to those in front of Menna, at the extreme left of the main register. This sub-register will be described from right to left, from the bringing of offerings to the eventual piled offerings.

   The bringers of offerings. All five men are portrayed identically and are shown sitting on the usual green reed mattress, but this one extends the whole length of the sub-register, with its yellow ties at regular intervals. The repose of each is that of resting on the left leg, with the right knee raised. All wear only a white kilt, a broad necklace and having a short black wig, the colour of which is missing on the ones furthest to the right. Each wig has a head band fastened at the back, with the ends extending down the back of the men. The headband of the first (on the left) is red, then alternately white, then red. On top of the wig is a cone of fragrant grease. Each holds in his right hand the stem of a lotus flower, the umbel of which of which they place to their nose in order to inhale the perfume.

In front of each is a multicoloured basket of offerings, the offerings being the same in each case: loaves of bread (two round and two long), vegetables (gourds and onions), fruits and various cuts of meat. In front of each basket are two pink ovoid jars with side handles. Another basket appears in front of the jars of the man on the left and in front of the one receiving them (described below). This basket is plain red in colour but the contents are the same. Perhaps this was already left by a man who has left the scene.

   The recipient of the offerings. The man who receives these offerings/provisions, stands with his right hand raised towards those bring them, possibly saying "Now you!", but with no text in the sub-register, who knows? His left hand has been lost through damage, but was possibly placed on the offerings in front of him. The colour of his wig no longer exists, but there was no cone on top. He wears a white kilt, over which he has the short-sleeved, long, semi-transparent one. In front of him is the red basket described above.

   The received offerings. This is a very detailed scene consisting of three baskets, the outer two being red and the inner one being a multicoloured woven one. On top of each basket are round and oblong loaves of bread, joints of meat and cucumbers, topped with a bunch of Lotus flowers (two buds and a blossom). Between the baskets are three sealed pink jars with handles. between the pink vessels on the left, are very small red containers. Above both sets of pink jars, is an almost identical pile of yet more provisions. These consist of vegetables and also another woven basket of yet more fruit, the contents of the one the left being a different colour to the other.

Lower register

This register has, at both its left and right extremities, a single scene involving Menna and his wife in front of offerings, presented by a sem-priest, recognised by his leopard skin, worn over his other clothes. Between these two scenes, and taking up a large part of the register, the area is divided into two sub-registers. The upper one is associated with the seated couple on the left. The lower one is actually further sub-divided: the major left-hand section is again associated with the couple on the left, the right-hand side belongs to the image of the couple on the right. There is a total absence of descriptive text, thus making any identities of those present uncertain.

A good line drawing is available .

Left extremity. This image of the seated couple is similar to the one above it.

As already mentioned, the upper sub-register and the left-hand side of the lower one are related to it. Menna and his wife, seated, are receiving offerings from a sem-priest.

The face of both Menna and his wife have been destroyed. Both are clothed in the same garments as the image above. Menna's wife once again has her left hand on his left shoulder and her right on his right upper arm. In Menna's right hand he holds a kherep-sceptre, his left hand is placed on the top of the pedestal table of upright breads.
To the right of the altar is a woven basket and an ovoid jar, both of which are now becoming common in these scenes. Above the breads is another pile of provisions, placed on the usual reed mat. These include: breads, baskets of fruits, a haunch of meat, grapes, a gourd and onions.
Above the offerings/provisions, is a painted placard on a white background. This is divided into two rows of ten columns, at the bottom of each is a small red container. Whatever inscriptions were originally added are now unreadable. This would have been a list of the offerings.

In front of the couple and the offerings again stands the sem-priest. His face has been destroyed, as is that of the priest at the other end of the register. With no descriptive text to confirm it, could he have been a son? He wears a short white kilt with a longer outer transparent one, over which extends, from the shoulders, a yellow panther skin with black spots, the tail of which extends to the floor. The panther skin is the identifying garment of a sem-priest. He has his right arm raised in the gesture of presentation, whilst in the other he holds a white scroll on which would be inscribed the formulas for him to recite.

Behind the priest, in the upper sub-register, is a procession of ten porters, whilst in the left side of the lower one seven men perform a special ritual.

Upper sub-register. Ten men are portrayed walking towards the sem-priest with more offerings.

All have a short wig and are dressed identically in a short white kilt. With the exception of three of them (the second, fifth and ninth) they carry two blue vases with red tops. The second and ninth each hold a flat tray on top of which are placed two small white canvas sacks. On the tray carried by the fifth are large gold rings. The vases carried by the seventh man have almost disappeared due to a large area of damage, which has also removed his upper body.

Lower sub-register - left-hand section. Here are seven men,

again with a short black wig and wearing a white kilt with a white shoulder strap. The first kneels on the ground, with a white box-shaped object in front of him, which he holds with his hands. Standing behind him, this man leans slightly forwards holding a yellow vessel with a spout. He pours purifying water onto the hands of the man kneeling in front of him. Next are four men who kneel next to each other (count the eyes in the image). They hold their right hand across their chest and the other raised behind them in a ritualistic gesture. The man at the rear of the group stands with his right hand almost touching those of the men in front of him. His left is extended down his side, apparent holding something which is now lost.

Right extremity. As on the opposite side of the register, but facing left, Menna is accompanied by his wife, both seated and receiving the offerings, presented to them by a sem-priest. Behind the priest, advance eight men portrayed in the right-hand side of the bottom sub-register (described below). Only limited parts of this total scene are available in colour photos.
Menna (whose face is almost totally destroyed by a large area of damage), is seated close to his wife. Again they are clothed and decorated as in most of the other scenes. He holds a lotus flower to his nose in his right hand, breathing the perfume, whilst in the other he holds a folded piece of white material. His wife, Henuttawi, who is dressed in her usual tight-fitting white dress, has her face intact. Her right hand is placed on Menna's right shoulder, whilst in the other she holds a bouquet of a lotus flowers and buds.

In front of them is a single legged table of offerings, containing breads and baskets of fruits, portions of meat (leg and ribs), gourds and a wreath of lotus flowers (the red stems form a loop.
Standing, facing the couple, is another sem-priest. His face has suffered deliberate damage, which, like the one at the other end of the register, may indicate that he was one of Menna's sons. He is dressed identically to the sem-priest on the other side of the register: a short black wig, a short white kilt a longer outer semi-transparent and also wearing his yellow panther skin with black spots. His right hand holds a ewer, from which he pours water to purify the offerings. In his other hand, hanging at his side he holds a yellow censer.

Lower sub-register - right-hand section. Behind this officiating priest, advances four other sem priests, themselves followed by four other characters. Between them they bring the utensils and necessary products for this ceremonial presentation.
[The quality of available colour photos is not very good.]

The sem-priests which lead the eight men of the lower sub-register, although seen at a much smaller size, they wear their usual garments. A damaged area affect the middle two. They each hold a yellow vase on their right shoulder and have their left sloping downwards, in front of them (see ).
Following these four priests are four men with a naked upper torso, wearing a white kilt (see ). The black colour of all their wigs has gone. The first two hold a large red cone-shaped object against their right shoulder. The third man has his head turned to face the man behind him. Between these last two is a portable altar, which is decorated with two floral garlands and edged with two umbels of papyrus, the heads of which extend above each side. The altar has shelves, on which have been placed bowls, a red coloured vase and a jar of indeterminative colour.

Thus the description of this first chamber is completed.