royal tombs of Tanis
royal tombs of Tanis
The tombs of a number of kings of the Third Intermediate Period were built in Tanis (modern San el-Hagar). During the Third Intermediate Period, Tanis was the main seat of government and a total of seven burials of rulers from the 21st and 22nd Dynasties have been found there since 1939.
This by no means represents all the kings of these two dynasties, the notable absentees being Smendes and Amenemnisu of the 21st Dynasty, and Shoshenq I and Osorkon I of the 22nd Dynasty
royal tombs of Tanis Montet first discovered the royal necropolis at Tanis in 1939,
after concentrating for some time on the temple area of this district.
superstructures of the earlier tombs had been cleared of the Ptolemies, and the tombs of the 21st and 22nd Dynasties were largely hidden below.
The royal tombs of Tanis archaeologists had gotten clues from a gold amulet and canopic jars
van Osorkon in the area, but it came as a big surprise when Montet and his
team on February 27, 1939 found their first tomb (NRT-I) close to the southwest corner of the temple.
The well-known royal tombs of Tanis at consist of
NRT-1 Osorkon II, Takelot I, Shoshenq.
NRT-II Pami
NRT-III Psusennes I, Amenemope, Siamun, Psusennes II, Shoshenq II
NRT-IV None: Built for Amenemope
NRT-V Shoshenq III Shoshenq IV
NRT-VI Not known 21st / 22nd
NRT-VII Not known 22nd
Osorkon II was buried in a gigantic granite sarcophagus with
a lid carved from a Ramesside period group statue, but only some debris from one
hawk’s head and canopic jars remained in the robbed tomb to identify this king.
His young son Harnakht, who held the title of High Priest of Amon in Tanis and who had predeceased his father,
shared the burial chamber of Osorkon II. Takelot I was buried in a Middle Kingdom sarcophagus in a redecorated chamber of the tomb with a few remains of funerary equipment inscribed for Osorkon I.
Another room contained the remains of a reburial of Shoshenq III.
It is possible that Shoshenq V was also later buried in NRT I,
evidenced by his canopic equipment. What is interesting, however, is that an architectural study
of grave NRT-I clearly shows that it was built before NRT-III,
resulting in suggestions that the historical order normally assigned to their inhabitants
must be reversed. The outer wall of grave NRT-1 was changed to accommodate
NRT-III and also the rooms of NRT-III were arranged to avoid the earlier tomb.
Therefore, this chronological anomaly has been used to argue that Osorkon II (22nd Dynasty) actually preceded Psusennes I (21st Dynasty) on the throne. The gap in the royal range has also been used,
together with another gorge in the range of Apis bulls in Sakkara,
to support a radical revision of the relative placement of kings and dynasties during this period.
However, the question of the tomb of Osorkon II and the lack of a tomb for Smedes are closely linked to the question of the dating of the reign of these kings.
It has been shown that there is sufficient structural evidence to support the conclusion that significant changes have been made to NRT-I. Furthermore, both NRT-I and NRT-III are unique to Tanis.
Both tombs have granite burial chambers within a limestone base structure,
while all other tombs built at Tanis are made purely of limestone and are much simpler in design.
Given the change made to NRT-I, it has been suggested that this grave most likely originally belonged to Smedes.
One of his canopic jars was found near this grave,
and although there was no trace in NRT-I of any decoration belonging to him,
this means nothing, because tombs NRT-II, IV,
VI and VII all had their walls left bare.
Apparently Osorkon II added decorations to this tomb,
as well as the eastern part of the burial chamber was altered, making a sarcophagus for his father,
Takelot I, and offered a new sarcophagus for himself.
In doing so, he dismantled the western wall of the burial chamber and also added a sarcophagus for his son. Therefore we have,
instead of a radical revision of the 21st and 22nd Dynasties,
instead received an appropriated tomb which was not at all unusual in Egypt.
If we initially assign NRT-I to Smedes,
Amenemnisu still remains without a tomb. It is possible that this king was buried in NRT-VI, although given an epithet in his cartouche that names him “Ruler of Thebes”,
it is also possible that he was buried in southern Egypt. However, the next two kings of the 21st dynasty, Psusennes I and Amenemope, both have tombs at Tanis,
although Amenemope’s mummy was most recently placed in NRT-III.
The tomb of Psusennes I was a great find, with five chambers and containing the silver falcon coffin of Shoshenq II,
which was unknown to Egyptologists before the discovery of the tomb. Two completely dilapidated mummies in the antechamber of NRT-III appear, strictly based on funerary statues found with them,
that of Siamun and Psusennes II (the last ruler of the 21st dynasty). They may have been buried in this modest manner because of the eclipse of the 21st Dynasty line that accompanied the founding of the 22nd Dynasty.
The burial chamber of Psusennes I was discovered lying undisturbed behind a decorated wall. He was buried in a granite sarcophagus that once belonged to Merenptah, the ruler of the 19th dynasty and son of Ramesses II.
Inside this sarcophagus was a granite coffin, which in turn contained a coffin of solid silver,
contained a gold mummy plate and a solid gold mask covering the face of Psusennes I.
Around the sarcophagus were canopic jars, funerary statues and other grave goods, a rich find.
A room on the other side of that of Psusennes I was prepared for his mother,
Queen Mutnodjmet, but her sarcophagus turned out to contain the body of King Amenemope, encased in a coffin of gilded wood.
Another room turned out to contain the empty coffin of a general Ankhefenmut,
but it was not until excavations resumed after the Second World War now by Alexandre Lezine that a final chamber was found revealing the undisturbed burial of another soldier, Wendjebauendjed, with quantities of jewellery.
It is unclear why Amenemope was buried in the tomb of Psusennes I,
for he had prepared his own grave, NRT-IV, with a beautiful sarcophagus. After Osorkon II Shoshenq III built,
who was buried in a sarcophagus that was originally a lintel from the 13th Dynasty, his own tomb NRT-V. His funeral was probably conducted by Shoshenq IV,
whose own sarcophagus was found in this grave next to that of his predecessor. Unfortunately, nothing is known about the burials of the first Libyan kings, consisting of Osochor, Shoshenq I and Osorkon I, with the exception of the canopic coffin of Shoshenq I now in Berlin.
Possibly one of these kings could have been buried in NRT-VI, but this is a very modest tomb and it is unlikely that it belonged to Shoshenq I or Osorkon I.
A possible clue to the problem of the tombs in Tanis surrounds a third body,
belonging to Shoshenq II, which was found in the antechamber of the tomb of Psusennes I.
Shoshenq II was probably a co-regent of Osorkon I. He was buried in a silver coffin showing that he had been moved to this location from elsewhere.
Plant growth was discovered on the mummy consistent with it having originally been in water, and there is no evidence of flooding in NRT-III.
Therefore, the mummy was first buried in another grave exposed to standing water, probably far away from Tanis.
If Shoshenq II’s funeral originally took place elsewhere,
then this could also be the case with the burials of earlier members of his family, perhaps near Bubastis,
which appears to have been the birthplace of members of the new dynasty. This scenario would also explain Osorkon II’s appropriation of an old tomb instead of building a new one,
as well as the situation in which he would provide his father with a room.
It is likely that the flooding of the tombs of Shoshenq II and Takelot I, and perhaps even his own intended tomb, could have forced Osorkon II back to the ancient necropolis of Tanis.
What the tombs of Tanis give us is a wealth of information about the burial customs of this period and a clearer picture of the genealogy of the rulers and family and political relationships between Tanis and Thebes.
The kings of the 21st Dynasty liked to reuse sarcophagi or appropriate older pieces from the New or Middle Kingdom periods.
Their graves were equipped with a significant amount of equipment in the form of barrels and precious metals,
funerary statuettes and canopic jars, which may perhaps be said to indicate their attachment to
demonstrate the funeral traditions of the past.
The technical capabilities of the craftsmen and metalworkers were probably equal to those of the former New Kingdom.
However, compared to the tombs of the New Kingdom, those at Tanis are meager and there was apparently a tendency to eliminate everyday objects in favor of specific funerary and magical objects.
The Tanis tombs probably reveal the poverty of the northern kings, who apparently had quantities of precious metals at their disposal,
but sarcophagi and canopic jars from previous burials had to be reused. Today, excavation work continues at Tanis, so while many questions remain, perhaps one day the mysteries of the Third Intermediate Period will finally be solved.
Pierre Montet
Jean Pierre Marie Montet 27 June 1885 – 19 June 1966 was a French Egyptologist. Montet was born in Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, and began his studies with Victor Loret at the University of Lyon.
He excavated in Byblos, Lebanon between 1921 and 1924 and unearthed tombs of rulers from the Middle Kingdom era. Between 1929 and 1939 he excavated in Tanis, Egypt,
where he found the royal necropolis of the Twenty-first and Twenty-second Dynasties.
In the 1939-1940 excavation season in Egypt he discovered the fully intact tombs of 3 Egyptian pharaohs in Tanis: Psusennes I, Amenemope and Shoshenq II, together
with the partially plundered tomb of Takelot I in Lower Egypt at Tanis. The final tomb contained a gold bracelet belonging to Osorkon I, Takelot’s father, as well as a heart scarab beetle.
He also found the completely plundered tomb of Osorkon II and the partially plundered tomb of this king’s son, Prince Hornakht.
The start of World War II in Western Europe in May 1940 stopped all excavation work at Tanis.
After the war, Montet resumed his activities in Tanis and continued to uncover the intact tomb of General Wendjebauendjed, the commander-in-chief of the army who served under Psusennes I.
During his academic career, he was professor of Egyptology at the University of Strasbourg from 1919 to 1948 and then at the Collège de France, Paris, between 1948 and 1956. He died in Paris on June 19, 1966
