A Scene from Sennedjem's Tomb
Here we see the commoner Sennedjem and his wife Iyneferty sowing
grain in the blessed fields of the afterlife. This is one of the many scenes
painted on the walls of Sennedjem's tomb, every inch of which
is decorated with paintings, most in an excellent state of preservation.
This scene is found on the eastern wall, one of several showing Sennedjem
and his family after their successful presentation to Osiris and their
admission into the afterlife.
Sennedjem's tomb dates from the 19th
Dynasty (ca. 1280 B.C.E.) and is
located in the workmen's village at the royal necropolis of the
Valley of the Kings, near Thebes.
When it was discovered, Sennedjem's tomb contained not only its owner's
mummy, but those of 19 other members of the family, as well. All have
been removed, but the tomb and its decorations remain.
The text alongside Sennedjem reads
(Plowing)
by
the Hearer of the Summons
in
the Place of Truth,
Sennedjem,
the justified,
and that beside his wife
Mistress of the Estate,
Iyneferty,
the justified.
1. A couple of glyphs appear in their New Kingdom versions:Sennedjem's tomb was found fairly early in the history of Egyptian studies, in 1886, before much was known about Ancient Egyptian titles. For a long time, the phrase "hearer of the summons in the place of truth" was taken to imply that Sennedjem was a government official, perhaps a judge of the disputes in the worker's village. Later discoveries showed, however, that "Place of Truth" was actually the name of the necropolis compound. Moreover, the Egyptian verb sDm can mean both "to hear" and "to obey", and it was discovered that the phrase sDmw aS, or "one who obeys the summons" was a common term for "servant". Thus, Sennedjem's title did not, in fact, mean he was a judge, but instead one of the workers at the necropolis. He was probably a mason, a fact borne out by the cubit rod, try square and plumb bob buried with him in his tomb.for
m, and
for
n.
2. The symbolsmAa(t) xrw, literally true of voice, usually translated as justified. The t which marks the feminine form of the adjective, used with Iyneferty, is not written, but is assumed to be present.
3. The word sDmw is the noun of agent form of the verb sDm; although the w is not written here, other nouns of agent do show it, and it is reasonable to assume that it was present in this word.
