Category of Astronomical Heritage: tangible immovable
The Tomb of Senenmut at Western Thebes, Egypt
Format: Short Description (ICOMOS-IAU Case Study format)
Presentation
Geographical position
At the site known as Deir el-Bahari, municipality of Luxor (West Bank), province of Qena, Egypt. It is site TT353 within the Theban necropolis.
Location
Latitude 25° 44′ 10″ N, longitude 32° 36′ 45″ E. Elevation 105m above mean sea level.
General description
The tomb itself was never finished and consists of a long descending corridor leading to a pair of successive chambers. Of these, the first, Chamber A, is extensively decorated with paintings and high reliefs.
Brief inventory
Fig. 1. Funerary texts mentioning the ‘imperishable stars’. Photograph © Juan Belmonte
The four walls are decorated with religious texts, including archaic versions of the pyramid texts where, for example, the ‘imperishable stars’ are mentioned among other ancient Egyptian star groupings. However, the most important component of the chamber is the astronomical ceiling containing the oldest version of an Egyptian celestial diagram ever discovered. The diagram is divided into two sections, a northern and a southern one. The former includes the earliest known mention of the 12 months of the Egyptian civil calendar and representations of the northern constellations, including Meskhetyu. The southern section includes a putative list of decans and a list of the Egyptian versions of the planets visible with the naked eye, apart from Mars, which is surprisingly absent. It has been argued that the diagram could be a monumental version of a papyrus scheme prepared for the construction of a clepsydra.
Fig. 2. The celestial diagram in the astronomical ceiling of the tomb of Senenmut includes a list of the decanal stars. Photograph © Juan Belmonte
Fig. 3. The celestial diagram in the astronomical ceiling of the tomb of Senenmut also includes the earliest representation of the planets, with the notable exception of Mars. Photograph © Juan Belmonte
History
At the site known as Deir el-Bahari, municipality of Luxor (West Bank), province of Qena, Egypt. It is site TT353 within the Theban necropolis.
Location
Latitude 25° 44′ 10″ N, longitude 32° 36′ 45″ E. Elevation 105m above mean sea level.
General description
The tomb itself was never finished and consists of a long descending corridor leading to a pair of successive chambers. Of these, the first, Chamber A, is extensively decorated with paintings and high reliefs.
Brief inventory
Fig. 1. Funerary texts mentioning the ‘imperishable stars’. Photograph © Juan Belmonte
The four walls are decorated with religious texts, including archaic versions of the pyramid texts where, for example, the ‘imperishable stars’ are mentioned among other ancient Egyptian star groupings. However, the most important component of the chamber is the astronomical ceiling containing the oldest version of an Egyptian celestial diagram ever discovered. The diagram is divided into two sections, a northern and a southern one. The former includes the earliest known mention of the 12 months of the Egyptian civil calendar and representations of the northern constellations, including Meskhetyu. The southern section includes a putative list of decans and a list of the Egyptian versions of the planets visible with the naked eye, apart from Mars, which is surprisingly absent. It has been argued that the diagram could be a monumental version of a papyrus scheme prepared for the construction of a clepsydra.
Fig. 2. The celestial diagram in the astronomical ceiling of the tomb of Senenmut includes a list of the decanal stars. Photograph © Juan Belmonte
Fig. 3. The celestial diagram in the astronomical ceiling of the tomb of Senenmut also includes the earliest representation of the planets, with the notable exception of Mars. Photograph © Juan Belmonte
History
Latitude 25° 44′ 10″ N, longitude 32° 36′ 45″ E. Elevation 105m above mean sea level.
General description
The tomb itself was never finished and consists of a long descending corridor leading to a pair of successive chambers. Of these, the first, Chamber A, is extensively decorated with paintings and high reliefs.
Brief inventory
Fig. 1. Funerary texts mentioning the ‘imperishable stars’. Photograph © Juan Belmonte
The four walls are decorated with religious texts, including archaic versions of the pyramid texts where, for example, the ‘imperishable stars’ are mentioned among other ancient Egyptian star groupings. However, the most important component of the chamber is the astronomical ceiling containing the oldest version of an Egyptian celestial diagram ever discovered. The diagram is divided into two sections, a northern and a southern one. The former includes the earliest known mention of the 12 months of the Egyptian civil calendar and representations of the northern constellations, including Meskhetyu. The southern section includes a putative list of decans and a list of the Egyptian versions of the planets visible with the naked eye, apart from Mars, which is surprisingly absent. It has been argued that the diagram could be a monumental version of a papyrus scheme prepared for the construction of a clepsydra.
Fig. 2. The celestial diagram in the astronomical ceiling of the tomb of Senenmut includes a list of the decanal stars. Photograph © Juan Belmonte
Fig. 3. The celestial diagram in the astronomical ceiling of the tomb of Senenmut also includes the earliest representation of the planets, with the notable exception of Mars. Photograph © Juan Belmonte
History
The tomb itself was never finished and consists of a long descending corridor leading to a pair of successive chambers. Of these, the first, Chamber A, is extensively decorated with paintings and high reliefs.
Brief inventory
Fig. 1. Funerary texts mentioning the ‘imperishable stars’. Photograph © Juan Belmonte
The four walls are decorated with religious texts, including archaic versions of the pyramid texts where, for example, the ‘imperishable stars’ are mentioned among other ancient Egyptian star groupings. However, the most important component of the chamber is the astronomical ceiling containing the oldest version of an Egyptian celestial diagram ever discovered. The diagram is divided into two sections, a northern and a southern one. The former includes the earliest known mention of the 12 months of the Egyptian civil calendar and representations of the northern constellations, including Meskhetyu. The southern section includes a putative list of decans and a list of the Egyptian versions of the planets visible with the naked eye, apart from Mars, which is surprisingly absent. It has been argued that the diagram could be a monumental version of a papyrus scheme prepared for the construction of a clepsydra.
Fig. 2. The celestial diagram in the astronomical ceiling of the tomb of Senenmut includes a list of the decanal stars. Photograph © Juan Belmonte
Fig. 3. The celestial diagram in the astronomical ceiling of the tomb of Senenmut also includes the earliest representation of the planets, with the notable exception of Mars. Photograph © Juan Belmonte
History
Fig. 1. Funerary texts mentioning the ‘imperishable stars’. Photograph © Juan Belmonte
The four walls are decorated with religious texts, including archaic versions of the pyramid texts where, for example, the ‘imperishable stars’ are mentioned among other ancient Egyptian star groupings. However, the most important component of the chamber is the astronomical ceiling containing the oldest version of an Egyptian celestial diagram ever discovered. The diagram is divided into two sections, a northern and a southern one. The former includes the earliest known mention of the 12 months of the Egyptian civil calendar and representations of the northern constellations, including Meskhetyu. The southern section includes a putative list of decans and a list of the Egyptian versions of the planets visible with the naked eye, apart from Mars, which is surprisingly absent. It has been argued that the diagram could be a monumental version of a papyrus scheme prepared for the construction of a clepsydra.
Fig. 2. The celestial diagram in the astronomical ceiling of the tomb of Senenmut includes a list of the decanal stars. Photograph © Juan Belmonte
Fig. 3. The celestial diagram in the astronomical ceiling of the tomb of Senenmut also includes the earliest representation of the planets, with the notable exception of Mars. Photograph © Juan Belmonte