Mini Episode.

In 1906 CE, a tomb came to light in the hills west of Luxor. On February 15, archaeologists Ernesto Schiaperelli and Arthur Weigall uncovered and opened the hidden burial of Kha and Merit. These middle-class Egyptians, who lived c.1450-1390 BCE, had gone to their afterlife in a well-furnished sepulchre full of items they would need in the next life.

Remarkably, this burial was sealed, intact, since the day it was first closed. Schiaperelli and Weigall stumbled on one of the greatest finds of the day – an undamaged, perfectly preserved burial from the ancient world (a feat not replicated since)….

  • Dates: c.1450 BCE and 1906 CE.
  • Figures: Kha and Meryt
  • Tomb: Theban Tomb 8 (TT8). Wikipedia.
  • Pictures: Images of Kha and Meryt are available on Flickr.com. See a gallery of treasures by Hans Ollermann, and HEN-Magonza, including the gilded coffins of Kha and Meryt.

Listen

Kha - Logo (1)

Objects from Kha and Merit’s Tomb.

Kha - Ernesto and Weigall
Ernesto Schiaperelli (left) and Arthur Weigall (right).
kha-tomb-3b.jpg
The door of Kha and Merit’s Tomb (Turin, Vassilika 2010).
Kha - Tomb (5)
The shrouded sarcophagi and assorted tomb items, in their original places.
Kha - Tomb (4)b
The tomb on opening.
Kha - Tomb (1)
Another view of the tomb; one sarcophagus at right.
Kha - Coffins Kha (1)
Kha’s outer coffin (Turin).
Kha - Coffins Kha (4)b
Kha’s outer coffin (Turin, Vassilika 2010).
Kha - Coffins Merit (3)b
Merit’s outer coffin (Turin, Vassilika 2010).
Kha - Coffins Merit (1)b
Merit’s mummy mask (Turin, Vassilika 2010).
Kha - Coffins Merit (2)b
Merit’s coffin, showing the disparity between her mummy and the container.
Kha - Coffins Study (Bianucci et al)
CAT-scanning Merit, showing the size discrepancy again (Bianucci et al. 2015).
Kha - Book of the Dead (1)
Kha and Merit’s Book of the Dead (Turin, Vassilika 2010).
kha-book-of-the-dead-2.jpg
Merit in the Book of the Dead (Turin, Vassilika 2010).
Kha - Objects (5)b
A gold cubit rod presented to Kha by Amunhotep II (Turin, Vassilika 2010).
Kha - Statuette (5)b
Kha’s statue (Turin, Wikipedia).
Kha - Objects (1)b
Kha’s chair (Turin, Vassilika 2010).
Kha - Objects (4)b
Merit’s wig (Turin, Vassilika 2010).
Kha - Objects (3)b
Shrine-shaped box for Merit’s wig (Turin, Vassilika 2010).
Kha - Objects (10)b
Merit’s eye makeup (kohl) container (Turin, Vassilika 2010).
Kha - Objects (11)b
One of Merit’s cosmetic jars (Turin, Vassilika 2010).
Kha - Objects (6)
A senet set, gifted to Kha and Merit by friends (?) (Turin, Vassilika 2010).
Kha - Stela.jpg
A stela donated by Kha and Merit’s son (Turin, Wikipedia).

Bibliography

Rafaella Bianucci (et al.), “Shedding New Light on the 18th Dynasty Mummies of the Royal Architect Kha and His Spouse Merit,” PLOS ONE 10. Online.

Peter Lacovara, The World of Ancient Egypt: A Daily Life Encyclopedia, 2016. Online.

Lynn Meskell, “Intimate Archaeologies: The Case of Kha and Merit,” World Archaeology 29 (1998). Online.

Charles Nicholas Reeves, ““Arthur Weigall and the Tomb of Yuya and Tjuyu,” (2013)  Academia.edu.

Eleni Vassilika, The Tomb of Kha, 2010.

Website: Deir el Medina online.