The underground structures are large in size but they hardly received decorations and no inscriptions.
We have already seen that the site chosen as the tomb was situated on the former site of mastabas of the Vth Dynasty, the dismantled fragments of which were used in the construction. In the same way, two of the original funeral wells (at least) already existing were used: well I from the first courtyard and well IV from the second courtyard. Wells II and III didn't receive burials dating from the time of Horemheb, and could even have been dug at an earlier time.

Well I

The well is situated in the northwest corner of the first courtyard. It descends to a depth of 17.24m.
At this level, it opens south directly into the funeral chamber of the mastaba of the Old Kingdom demolished by the architect of Horemheb. It contains a sarcophagus made of red granite of 2.80m. long set into a pit carved in the floor. It is registered in the name of the occupant of origin: Khoy-Wer. The chamber had been reused in Coptic times by Anchorites.

At 8.55m. from the surface a second funeral chamber opens up, from the Old Kingdom but this was also reused during the Ramesside period by the Copts.
The adjoining rooms to this well contained the funeral material of the 19th Dynasty, including two shawabtis with the name of princess Bentanath, one of the daughters of Ramesses II.

Wells II and III

These present themselves symmetrically in relation to the structures of Horemheb, who constructed the walls joining the offering room and the chapels over them.
Dating from the Old Kingdom, they had been reused during Ptolemaic times (many shawabtis of this period have been recovered). Holes made by thieves allow access from well shaft III into well shaft IV.

Well IV

The well descends from the northwest corner of the second courtyard.
This is the main well. It is here that General Horemheb and his first wife, the lady Amenia, would have been buried.
Ultimately this complex will serve for burial of his second wife, the Great Royal Wife Mutnedjemet. She died without having given an heir to the king. At least, there was no living heir at the sovereign's death.

Here more than elsewhere, the subterranean architecture posed great problems during creation. On the one hand, because of the remains of previous mastabas (very similar to those of well I), moving away of the area within the surface superstructure entailed the risk of coming into collision with a pre-existing tomb. On the other hand, to remain within the plan of the surface area, but to spread itself too much, it would risk that of penetration by a later tomb.
The architect chose to reach the required depth of 28m. by extending from the original 10m. well shaft using a rotating system. He achieved his work by a series of well shafts, corridors and rooms.

The main well shaft descends to a depth of 10m. At its base, a high corridor opens up southwards. The blocking if this was achieved in limestone blocks and plaster. The official seal of the necropolis (a reclining jackal, Anubis, on the Nine Bows symbolising the nine enemies of Egypt) had been impressed in several places on the damp plaster coating. Of course, this blockage didn't resist the succession of pillagers.

On continuing along the corridor, one is in antechamber A, a great, roughly cut uncharacteristic room 5m. along the same axis. At its end and to the left (east) is a smaller chamber B.

Turning right leads to a new well shaft C (of about 6m.), at the base of this (in the west wall) is an opening to corridor E, which was once blocked, thus preventing access to the funeral chamber F of the General's first wife. This burial would have taken place during the course of the reign of Ay (1325-1331 BC). The only remains of the objects of the robbed tomb are fragments of pottery and shawabti figures. The sarcophagus of wood had been placed in a site carved into the floor. It turned into dust during the centuries.

Chamber F

is remarkable and is clearly distinguished from the substructures of the Theban tombs of the time.


The ceiling is arched with bands decorated in the direction of its length: black, white, empty and red.
At the centre of the north and south walls is found a false door carved into the rock, the contact point between the living and the deceased, allowing the variable components of his personality to have access to the superstructure of the building and in particular to the table of offerings. The outside frame is highlighted by a black features while the "doors" are roughly painted in red. A cornice and architrave is painted above. A unique archaeological discovery was made in this room: it contains a sort of table cut in the rock, supported by columns, with an upper ledge and a small basin for libations, measuring 0.68 x 0.48m.

An unnamed short corridor (2.75m. long) opens on the north side of well shaft C, leading to well shaft D (3.78m. deep). The bottom of well shaft D opens up to another short corridor G, leading to what would have constituted the funeral apartments of General Horemheb himself.
We arrive first of all in chamber H which includes two false doors sculpted in the rock with cornice and architrave. The ceiling is painted, and the floor is very uneven.
The walls of this chamber have been sculpted with panels which alternately go in and out. The achieved aspect evokes the serekh of a facade of the royal palace and the decoration of a gigantic sarcophagus. It is certainly here that the sarcophagus of the General was intended to be placed. The architect then widened the project, probably to make it altogether vast, almost royal, either when Horemheb became regent or to welcome the remains of the Great Royal Wife Mutnedjemet.

An opening and stairway I descend 3.60m. under the north false door to a new chamber J which includes niches destined for protective amulets. This chamber serves by way of an antechamber to pillared hall N.
At the extremity of chamber J a new opening is surmounted by an elaborate tympanum (view J 1 and J 2).

A flight of steps leads to a short passage K leading then into chamber N, whose ceiling is supported by four pillars, and which once emptied of rubble showed itself to be very impressive. It measures 6.58m. north-south (narrowing to 6.00m. at the eastern end) x 6.40m. east-west (narrowing to 6.05m. at its northern end).
The pillars are squat, averaging 1.08m. to 1.15m. in height. Each is surmounted of a cornice and architrave. Work in this room was hurried, roughly sized and in the decoration, and it remained incomplete. Remains of the decoration are nevertheless visible to several places, in particular in the southern area, essentially in the form of black lines.

The workers had begun the digging of the passage which had to descend to the final burial chamber P when the order to stop work after accession to the throne of Horemheb was given. It is just as possible that the death of Queen Mutnedjemet imposed the cessation of work. Nineteen dolerite hammers were found on the ground, 3500 years after they had been abandoned there by the workers of Horemheb.

Well shaft O

descends from the southern part of the chamber.


Hewn directly in the hard rock stratum, it measures 7.05m. in depth.
It leads to the final burial chamber P which was destined to receive the mortal remains of General Horemheb. Notice that it is situated within the bounds of surface chapel E. It measures 4.75m. north-south by 2.60m. east-west. There is no trace of painted decoration.

Thus supplemented by imposing underground structures, this tomb-temple was certainly the most prestigious monument of its kind in Egypt at the time, exceeding by far all the tombs which the Pharaohs had realised for their wives. It is thus not really astonishing that the Great Royal Wife Mutnedjemet was buried here rather than in Thebes: no burial of this quality could have been offered to her there.

Thanks to fragments of wine amphora, we know that the queen died in year 13 of her spouse's reign (1309 BC), which also gives the highest known date to date of the king's reign.
The remains of her skeleton were found in situ, as well as those of a foetus or newborn child. The queen could have died in childbirth. The experts having examined her pelvis concluded that she had had "several pregnancies". The queen was therefore not sterile, no more than Horemheb himself.
Had he only girls ? They would have been mentioned somewhere. Did all children die at a young age ? Didn't Horemheb have a secondary wife likely to give him an heir?
The fabulous destiny of this great soldier ends on a question today without an answer.

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