The Inner Chamber

() This room measures 7.9m of depth, 6.1m wide and 4.0m high.

The ceiling (), like that on the outside chamber, is painted blue with yellow four-leaved motifs. It has suffered much from the earthquake, nearly half (at the entrance end) has fallen to the ground. The hieroglyphic band, is yellow with inscribed blue text, but this time it runs centrally from the niche to the entrance. Another change is that at its centre and either side of the text band, is a small area with a different design, a check pattern of small black and yellow squares.
The top of the walls carried the usual kheker-frieze (), the bottom of the walls having a black dado bordered above with narrow red and yellow bands.
Under the kheker-frieze and down the ends of the walls is a common border of coloured rectangles (yellow, blue, red and green). Beyond this, at the wall ends, is the rope pattern common in old Egyptian tombs.

For a panoramic view and choose the first panorama.

A- Entrance wall, right-hand side

Djehutyhotep is represented upright, his two arms at his sides, in a rigid and badly proportioned attitude. He wears a wig, a false beard and a broad necklace. A short pleated tunic hangs from his hips.
The nomarch is surmounted by his titles. Above of him and flowing out down both sides, like solid matter, two filaments of water containing natron come from the libation carried out by characters by the aid of ewers, those on the right being more damaged than those on the left. To the left of him, Nestor de l'Hôte identified the top two characters, the first (who pours the water) is the second son of the deceased, Sesostris-Ankh; the other (carrying a basket) is the third son, Nehery.
On the right, the character carrying the vessel is his third son, Shensu-em-khau-ef, but the other is not named. In 2015, the tomb has been entered and this relief has been stolen, see and these images from KU Leuven to situate the fragment ( and ).

The servants below, on the left, are preserved ().

B- Entrance wall, left-hand side

On this side, nearest to the entrance, the scene is very badly destroyed. In the little which today remains, with imagination, can be seen the nomarch advancing in full dress of pageantry, sandals on his feet while priests appear in front of him for various ceremonies. One of them is still visible at the bottom, pouring water on to his feet. The registers situated behind him probably held his sons.
The line drawing, opposite, was drawn over 100 years ago, the left-hand columns have now vanished.

C- The left wall

Decorated very richly, it can be divided in two principle registers and subdivided into lesser registers: in the upper part the scenes are connected to the huge statue; in the bottom part are the activities of the nomarch.

Upper register

This is dedicated to the very famous scene - because it is unique Egyptian art - of the transportation of a colossal statue which takes place all along the wall. Fortunately, this scene had since the very beginning attracted the attention of explorers, who had made copies of it; but, since its rediscovery by Newberry, it has suffered a lot.
The scene can be divided into four parts :

1) Djehutyhotep and his attendants follow behind the statue

()

Djehutyhotep is represented in heroic size, clothed in an ample ceremonial tunic, sandals on his feet, a necklace around his neck, and holding in his right hand a sekhem-sceptre of power, while he carries in his left a stick which is today extinct.
Behind him, the servants, of which some seem to be soldiers, transport goods, essentially weapons: bows, arrows, a stretched shield of a cow-skin and axes. Four servants, represented smaller because of space, support a sedan-chair. In the lower register, behind a porter with an axe, are represented the deceased's three sons.

2) The long descriptive inscription.

This inscription of 12 lines was the object of several reproductions, and this is fortunate because today it is no longer there. It described the transportation of the colossal statue, which takes place in front of Djehutyhotep.

3) The statue and its traction

The statue, coming from the quarries of Hatnub, must have been of alabaster and had to represent, in this case, the largest statue monument ever achieved in this stone, with a height of 13 cubits (or 6.75m). Newberry estimated its weight at 58 tons.
It is represented totally white with the exception of the head-dress and the false beard which were blue dark, like lapis lazuli, but which are missing today.
The character is represented seated on an archaic cubic seat with a small backrest with a cushion folded over it. His right hand closed on a napkin of folded material. It can be reasonably supposed that his left hand was holding a dish on his knee. With a naked torso, he is only clothed in a short loincloth. At the back is the usual vertical support from the seat up to the head.

It actually represents a statue of Djehutyhotep himself, which is specified farther along the wall. It is noticeable, however, that this monument is – in the strict sense of the term - clearly Pharaonic :
- the dimensions of the monument are considerable and required an abundant and qualified labour force both for the extraction as well as for the transportation as will be seen.
- the representation closely resembles that which would be expected for the sovereign.
- Newberry stated that the photograph of Major Brown, the only document which remains for us, seems to show a uraeus on the wig.
On the other hand, there is no mention of a sovereign on the statue nor in the text, which would have been difficult to explain if it involved the king. Furthermore, all the inscriptions lead to the idea of a statue of the nomarch himself.

The actual statue rests on an alabaster pedestal cut of the same block as itself. It is attached to a wooden sledge by a system of tensioning ropes drawn (originally) in brown. The before the sledge are attached four cables, for hauling it.
Two men are represented on the statue (). One is on the loincloth and is clapping his hands, obviously to give the rhythm to the hauliers, he is therefore a "shantyman" whose tradition remained until our days in the construction sites in Egypt. The man below, bent forward, is pouring water from his jug in front of the shoe of the sledge. It is supposed that he waters a thick layer of silt in order to permit the mass to slide. But it may only represent a ceremonial act because the quantity of water necessary to assist in slippage would be considerable. Further in front of the statue, is located a man making another ceremonial act, holding a censer and fanning the burning incense in honour of the statue.

Under the statue is a row of six characters (). Three carry yokes with goatskin bottles or vases full of water and the three following carry a large piece of wood whose top is oddly bevelled and the use of which, certainly in connection with traction, remains enigmatic. Three foremen armed with sticks follow them.
Immediately behind the statue and on the same level with it can be found four rows of three characters with a vertical inscription: "He who undertakes the work of this statue, the box painter, Nakht-ankh, son of Sepkhi". The lower row mentions the "steward Nehery".

The hauliers are divided in two groups (, and ). The two rows at the centre are reserved for young nobles, for privileged soldiers and for the ministerial class. While in the external rows one finds young men of the more common class distributed in two groups, representing the west and east part of the nome.
Some differences can be seen through the clothing. In the two external rows the men are all dressed in a close-fitting linen loincloth and a few have shaven heads. The priests have the same loincloth but are distinguished by the large proportion of shaven heads. The soldiers have a greater variety of clothing, with loincloths open at the front which is hidden by a white, brown or green piece of material, fastened to the belt. Others have a lot shorter rounded loincloth. They are not shaved and some wear ostrich feathers in their hair. To break the monotony, the artist showed some men turning their head toward the rear, to look at the statue.

The inscriptions :

Inscription of the first row (at the top) : in two vertical lines, on the right : "The troops from the west side of the Hare nome, have arrived in peace". Above of the hauliers : "Spoken words : "The west is in festival mood, their hearts expand when they see the monument (s) of their master, the heir who comes among them, his house and his father's house when he was a child".".

Inscription of the second row : in two vertical lines, on the right : "The troops of fighting men of the Hare nome, have arrived in peace". Above of the hauliers : "Spoken words : "Oh! good youths of the troops, the creation of their master, the heir who flourishes in his inheritance by favour of our lord the king; let us come, let's make his children flourish after him, our hearts expand with joy by the royal favour of the king, may he long remain on the throne".".

Inscription of the third row : in two vertical lines, on the right : "The orders of priests of the Hare nome, have arrived in peace". Above of the hauliers : "Spoken words : "Oh! beloved of Thoth, Djehutyhotep, beloved of the king, beloved of the people of his city, praised by all their gods. The temples are in festival, their hearts expand with joy when they see your favours from the king".".

Inscription of the fourth row : in two vertical lines, on the right : "The troops from the east side of the Hare nome, have arrived in peace". Above of the hauliers : "Spoken words : "preceding my load to Tcherty, the god Meti (?) rejoices in him, his fathers are in festival, their hearts expand with joy, rejoicing in his beautiful monuments".".

In the topmost register, seven groups of men head the other way, toward the statue, holding palms in their hands. Shaven heads, short and tight loincloths with sometimes a touch of colour. Above them is a line of inscription, which specifies : "[The Hare nome is] in festival and their hearts rejoice. Its old men, the children and [its] young people refresh themselves, its children shout with joy, their hearts are in feastival when they see their master and their master's sons in the king's favour, when he makes his monument".
The men holding the branches, rest them on their shoulder. A special article on the subject of these is available.

4) The building to which the statue was destined

It is very difficult to have a full idea about this scene, as so much of it is destroyed. With difficulty, a scene of the sacrifice of an ox can be recognised, and of the men and women in four rows who bring some offerings (). At the extreme right, against the other wall, was represented a great entry with a figure of Djehutyhotep and all of his titles in 11 lines of inscriptions. These mention, among other things, the name of the destination building : "Djehoutyhotep-firm-in-favour in the Hare nome".
It is here that the identity of the statue is clearly mentioned : "… offerings brought from his domains of the Hare nome for this statue of prince Djehutyhotep".

After its extraction from the quarry, the statue travelled on a stony road (whose difficulty was reported earlier in the inscriptions) then it crossed the desert to reach the valley in order to be shipped on a boat which brought it to its destination. It is the final scene of the transportation, which is shown us here, it is impossible to tell for which building the monument was destined.

Lower register

Its four rows are essentially dedicated to the yearly stock-taking of the herds. However, a space has been reserved on the left, at a height of three rows, which represents Djehutyhotep participating in a scene of capture of wild birds in a net. The vast net has not yet been raised and the still calm fowl can be seen surrounded by white and blue lotuses. The painter represented above this, probably from a lack of space, peasants hauling a net over laden with fish, from the same pool of water ( and ).
Djehutyhotep is seated on a stool, his wife Hathor-hotep standing in front of him. The nomarch holds firmly in hands the strings which he is going to pull to again close the net, assisted in this by the men who were represented initially behind him. Above these, and according to a typically Egyptian short cut, the product of this hunt is already represented in the form of birds suspended by their claws or by their wings. Their attitude shows that they are still alive, like those that have been put into a cage, next to them ().
No demarcation line separates these related scenes of the capture of wild birds from those of the stock-taking of livestock, although a small question is allowed by the existence of a lacuna. It is possible to imagine that the birds were brought to the farm and that from this fact they are assimilated with the tame animals, brought into the order of the things as conceived by the Egyptians. Henceforth, they are part of . Besides, two obviously domestic geese make the junction between the two sets of scenes. The very bottom row, in view N14 above, is part of the counting of cattle, in the bottom row of the right-hand side of this wall, discussed below.

The counting of the livestock.

At the right extremity of the wall, taking up the height of the four rows, Djehutyhotep is seated under a lightly constructed building, which protects him from the sun. It includes an Egyptian coving with an inscription, certainly at the front, which includes a band of hieroglyphs indicating the titles of the nomarch. The small construction is supported by light columns with capitols in the form of closed lotus buds.
The master is shown in profile, which is illogical but which answers to Egyptian tradition. He is represented in great ceremonial dress, a staff of command in one hand, a flail in the other. Under his traditional seat, a dog with a curly tail, his favourite animal, of which we will see more below, is called Ankhu.
Djehutyhotep is energetically "observing the great stock-taking of cattle", an important ceremony in the yearly life of the nome.
In front of him, in the top-most row, can be seen six boats. The first five are represented with their masts folded back, with the sail furled (), which indicates that they are travelling upstream, northwards. The fifth is interesting because it shows a complete crew, with a sounder at the prow, in the stern a sailor handling the oar rudder and with rowers ( and ). The last boat, smaller, is the one of the master. It includes neither mast nor rowers because it is pulled by its predecessor, by means of a tow-rope. At its centre is found a cabin with four wooden posts around it which served to support a protective material over it at the hot time of the day. At the front, the nomarch, of whom only a sketch remains, is seated on a multicoloured throne. The first boats have already arrived and are moored firmly to the bank, oars shipped. The text above reads : "Arriving in peace, approaching the place of the great stock-taking of his livestock […] of the farms of the Hare nome".

Below the boats, the first row down probably takes place some distance from the place where Djehutyhotep is located, where livestock are first gathered. It starts with two representations of two fighting bulls () while men armed of sticks try to calm them. Behind are several groups of calves on which are placed reed mats to protect them.
The herdsmen are divided into two classes. Some wear a long loincloth, the others a simple piece of material around the hips. On their arm is a piece of material or a reed mat. Similar pieces of material or mats can be seen to the left, carried on a long pole.
In the two lowest rows, the actual counting of the stock takes place. The bottom row actually extends under the scene of the capture of wild-fowl, discussed above. The scene starts on the right with the presentation of the chief herdsman to Djehutyhotep, by the steward of the domain (). The next to the bottom row shows a variety of fine fat oxen of different colours and markings, their necks are decorated with broad ornamented bands, each lead individually by a herdsman (). In the bottom-most row are dairy cows and some calves, which appear to be being held back by herdsmen with sticks. Behind these large groups of cattle, at the far left of the wall, are two individual bulls and three herdsmen bringing up the rear.

D- The rear wall

On this wall is found another scene of hunting and fishing with a net, treated differently from that found on the previous wall. In the centre of the wall is the opening to a chapel-niche. The artist had to take this opening into account in the composition of the scenes.

Rear wall, left side

()

The upper register continues along the space situated above the central opening, which fixed the height of the scene. This shows the capture, with a snatch net, of wild birds by Djehutyhotep and his eldest son. The two standing men hold the cords in their hands, which they pull as quickly as possible to close the trap, towards which they turn their heads (). They have taken the precaution of attaching the extremity of the rope to a stake in the ground. In front of them (towards the net) stands Hathor-hotep, the wife of Djehutyhotep who has been put in charge of giving the signal. Above of the nomarch are mentioned his titles, while in the three vertical lines he speaks to us of "His son of his body, the beloved one of the place of his heart, who accomplishes that which he likes, Shemsu-em-khau-ef, possessing the worthy reward.". In front of the two men is a cage filled with birds, above which is an empty elliptical basket-work cage.

The net is placed in a large pool with many birds. Those of the bottom remain immobile, either because one wanted to show the state prior to the capture, or they are too far away from the action. Contrary to this, above of the net, there is a great panic of fowl leaving in all directions : these are those nearest to the net and those which succeeded in escaping from it. Finally in the mesh of the net they, although some still try to struggle, seem resigned to their fate.

The middle register shows us a parallel scene of fishing with a net ( and ). Here it is a group of ten fishermen who pull on the two extremities of the net to land the abundant variety of fish, which have thus been trapped. This text reads :See, the goddess Sekhet given us her hand; Sekhet is good […]".

The three lower registers show us the preparation and the preservation of poultry and fish. Firstly, on the left, two scenes of cramming food down the throats of birds (cranes, geese and ducks) in the form of pellets. The scene seems to be located in what must be a low courtyard, or in any case under a roof ( and ). The register immediately below shows, on the left, the preparation of fish which, opened by the peasant, dry in the sun, and on the right of poultry. Some of the birds have already been gutted and have been plucked and hang from the ceiling, others have been hung there even whilst alive, the others wait for their sad fate in a cage. All of this takes place under the direction of a superintendent represented on the left, who leans on his staff. In the lowest register, eight servants advance towards the right, toward Djehutyhotep who is on the other side of the wall. They are heavily laden with fruit, lotus flowers, fish, birds (alive and trussed), etc.

Rear wall, right side

(, , and )

In fact, this wall continues the scenes of the lower registers of the left side of the wall, showing the groups of servants heading toward Djehutyhotep. The standing nomarch, in full dress and sandals on his feet, is accompanied by his daughter Nub-unut. She wears a tight-fitting dress, a necklace and bracelets. Her hair (or wig) is long, falling down to her breast in front and also back over her shoulders. She has a ribbon holding a lotus on her forehead, the braids of which hang down at the back. Behind them, the close servants of the nomarch carrying his weapons, a fan or batons.

E- The right wall

At the time of the discovery of the tomb the greater part of the wall lay on the floor, in the form of broken blocks (as a result of the earthquake), but part of the decoration could be restored. The only portion remaining in place being a section at the entrance, approximately one-fifth of the original wall.
The general theme of the scenes must have represent Djehutyhotep and his family observing the work of the farmers, craftsmen, etc., of his domain. Djehutyhotep would have been represented full height of the collective rows, his family somewhat smaller. He was located at the inner end of the wall, but has not been recovered.

Thus one section (), still in place, shows a farmer breaking clods of soil with a hoe and in front of him herdsmen driving a flock of rams (). The inscription specifies "ploughing", this probably consisted of the animals trampling the seed into the ground, left moist by the inundation, after the seed had been sown.
Below, other peasants are pulling flax from the ground ().
A barley field is being harvested with the sickle. It can seen that the ears are cut very high, leaving long stalks in the ground.
Below this scene, are several potters, fashioning their goods by various means (again, ). Rows of completed pots are represented above of them. To the left of the potters, are some women making bread in conical ovens.

Some distance to the left of the previous grouping, in a section of recovered wall, comprising several pieces (), can be seen six asses trampling the grain on the threshing floor.
Below this is a continuation of the bread-making scene, from above, starting with a woman placing finished loaves on mats. Behind her are two women mixing or pounding various types of grain, as indicated by the text above them.
The bottom row of this recovered section contains five men pressing the juice from grapes. Pressure is applied to the large straining bag by use of two poles, one of the men placing himself horizontally to push against them.

In a lower portion of the section of wall still in place (), some farmers plant seedlings in a field surrounded by irrigation channels (shown as a plot of land divided into squares), while others harvest grapes from a vine (again, ). This grape gathering scene is continued by the wine making scene discussed above. At the top of this row, but in front of the grapevine, are heaps of fruit, etc., on mats and in baskets; there is also a row of plants in pots.
In the two lower scenes, some women are occupied with the carding, spinning and weaving (). The top-most of these two rows involves the production of the yarn whilst the lower one concerns the actual weaving, using a horizontal loom.

Two other scenes () can partially be reconstructed, both certainly taking place in front of the figure of Djehutyhotep, who (apart from the point of his kilt) has completely disapeared. In front of him is his wife Hathor-hotep. Another row shows some women, who are the daughters of the deceased and two of his sisters, all wearing necklaces with a pectoral, their left arms are raised holding a lotus flower. Their hair is in a braid at the side, meaning youthful. In the hair of some, is a floral composition. In front of them two adult women, of which only one still exists. One of the figures has been detached from the wall and is currently in the British Museum (). Howard Carter had reproduced one of the figures in a very delicate manner ().
In the lower register, some men advance carrying weapons, batons, a casket and a chair for their master to sit on, under which is represented the faithful dog, Ankhu, mentioned previously. This dog is therefore presented twice in the tomb, which indicates the affection and devotion to his master.

The chapel-niche

The large niche measures 1.26m wide with a depth of 2.50m and a ceiling at 2.48m.
The ceiling is again painted blue, like the other chambers, but here the yellow four-leaved motifs are smaller. A longitudinal yellow band inscribed a with blue hieroglyphs extends down the middle of the ceiling. The frieze contains small khekers. Again the wall is edged with a border of coloured rectangles. The smaller black dado is separated from the scenes with the red and yellow bands. This whole design has been constant throughout the tomb.
The paintings and texts on the walls are incised and delicately painted (), but have all suffered from the ravages of time.

A- The rear wall

Although the lower half of this wall has suffered damage, the hieroglyphic text in the upper half is almost complete ()
On the left we find Djehutyhotep standing, head shaven. He is wearing a short pleated kilt and sandals, around his neck is a necklace attached to which is a rather ornate pectoral (now damaged). In his right hand he carries a sekhem-sceptre and his left hand, folded across his chest, he holds a staff. He faces the upright image of his father Kay, who is clothed in an elaborate pointed kilt and also wears sandals. In his right hand he holds a staff, whilst in the other he holds a leather thong, or a folded piece of cloth. He also wears a necklace with a splendid pectoral.
The speeches between the two are represented above of them, the signs face the one to whom the speech is destined.
Djehutyhotep : "He spoke before his father […] he from whom he came. Is this not praise indeed from my father, and before my god, that he should place his son as the Chief of his city and Great Chief of the Hare nome, as successor to the one who made him. The eldest son of this my father, he placed me as Chief of his city, the Hereditary prince, Controller of the two thrones, Great of the five, Great Chief of the Hare nome. Kay's son Djehutyhotep."
Kay : "Words spoken : Living mortals, rejoice […] who is excellent among them. When I see these things which my Lord has done for me and when I reckon those things which my god has done for me. In that he placed my son as the Chief of his city and Great Chief of the Hare nome, as successor to he who made me, the Hereditary prince of the city of pyramid-city of Sesostris, superintendent of the priests. The son of Neheri, Kay".

B- The left and right walls

The scenes and inscription of these two wall are almost identical. Although both are extensively damaged, the content of one helps in the understanding of the other.
The left wall carries the image and content relating to Djehutyhotep, the right wall that of Kay (his father). In both cases the character is seated in front of an offering table, while lists of offerings are named above in what has become known in Egyptology as "the placard". These offerings are purified by libations of water and the fumigations of incense.
Before them are five registers:

The top two are devoted to various ceremonies, the top one showing three officiants, one knee on the ground, right arm on the heart and left arm raised (view 50), who carry out the "Nini" ritual. The text says : "service sung by lector priests".

The bottom three registers show the cutting up of an oxen (including sharpening a knife), servants bring a wide variety of offerings. All of these scenes are involved in cult of the deceased.
The text (restored using both walls) states : "Bringing to the altar choice provisions, which are brought from his towns and his estates of the South and North…".

Conclusion

The tomb of Djehutyhotep gives us a good example of the power which these powerful provincial nomarchs had during the entire Middle Kingdom. The Egyptian sovereigns did not succeed in breaking the hereditary passing of responsibility. Since in spite of the appointment - certainly voluntary - of Djehutyhotep's father to a very important position in the distant city of the pyramid of Pharaoh, his son nevertheless goes on to follow his grandfather as the head of the nome. Pharaoh seems to have succeeded, however, in clearly imposing his authority while making the good fortune of the nomarch dependant on him, and by allowing him to excavate, transport and erect - in a place which still remains unknown - a huge statue of Djehutyhotep.