Maarten J. Raven. The Tomb of Pay and Raia at Saqqara.

Maarten J. Raven. The Tomb of Pay and Raia at Saqqara. MAARTEN J. RAVEN. The Tomb of Pay and Raia at Saqqara (EgyptExploration Society The Egypt Exploration Society (usually abbreviated EES) is the foremost learned society in the United Kingdom promoting the field of Egyptology.The Egypt Exploration Fund (EEF), as it was originally known, was formed in 1882, largely at the instigation of passionate Excavation Memoir 74). xxiv+172 pages, 12 figures,160 plates. 2005. Leiden: National Museum of Antiquities & London:Egypt Exploration Society; 0-85698-164-8 hardback 95 [pounds sterling]. This book, the seventy-fourth excavation memoir of the EgyptExploration Society, presents the results of the last project undertakenjointly by the Society and the Leiden Museum of Antiquities at Saqqara,which together have successfully explored and documented a duster of NewKingdom tombs there. The tomb which is the principal focus of thepublication was constructed for the 'overseer of the King'sprivate apartments', Pay, who lived in the late eighteenth dynasty;his second son, Raia, who succeeded his father to this office, extendedthe tomb for his own use. The publication consists of chapters (here called'Sections') by various authors, led by Maarten Raven whocontributes chapters on the tomb owners and their family, thearchitecture and decoration of the tomb (with Jacobus van Dijk van Dijk can refer to: Arjan van Dijk (born 1987 in Utrecht(, dutch football player Bill van Dijk (born 1947 in Rotterdam), dutch singer Bryan van Dijk (born 1981), dutch judoka Dick van Dijk (born 1946 in Gouda), dutch football player ), and thesmall finds. Further chapters are by Barbara Aston presenting theresults of the ceramics study, by Eugen Strouhal (with othercollaborators) on the skeletal material, and a short chapter onradiocarbon analyses of some of the wood samples, by Strouhal et al. Theadvantage of this approach is that specialist material is presented bythose best able to interpret it. It does, though, require carefuleditorial control, and in a few instances there is evidence that thishas been slightly lacking. The most noticeable example is the questionof the original burial locations: on p. 19 Raven suggests that Chamber Bwas probably the burial place any place where burials are made.See also: Burial for both Pay and Raia. However, laterAston states that the pottery accompanying Raids burial in Chamber B hadbeen thrown down into Chamber C, making it impossible 'to separatethe pottery which accompanied the burial of the father from that whichwas provided for his son' (p. 104), the implication being that, inAston's view, Pay had originally been buried with his own potteryassemblage in Chamber C. Another small tomb was also examined as part of this project, tomb96/1; it is briefly described on p. 20, and finds from there arediscussed on p. 69-70. Unfortunately, the tomb's location is notnoted on Figure 2 (p. 10), although there is a plan showing its positionrelative to the tombs of Horemheb and Iniuya (Plate 4). This highlightsanother difficulty with the publication: there is no single overall planof the site, including all the features, and the plans are ratherscattered about, some within the text and others grouped together at thebeginning of the plates. In passing, it is worth pointing out that thelocation of the shaft of the tomb is not explicitly labelled on thegeneral plan in Plate 1. The chapter on the decoration and inscriptions of the tomb is quiteextensive. It is very sad to read that the wall paintings suffered somelosses subsequent to their excavation (p. 21) and prior to theircopying. No mention is made of the presence of a conservator conservatorn. a guardian and protector appointed by a judge to protect and manage the financial affairs and/or the person's daily life due to physical or mental limitations or old age. on theteam, who might have been able to stabilise the paintings and minimisethe losses. Raven's synthetic comments on the iconography and styleof the period are useful additions to the chapter, and his reliance onobjective evidence rather than 'subjective criteria' (p. 53)is most welcome. It would be interesting to know whether the expeditionrecognised the work of craftsmen who had been responsible for decorationin other tombs of the period at Saqqara. A short chapter is devoted to the limestone sarcophagus sarcophagus(särkŏf`əgəs)[Gr.,=flesh-eater], name given by the Greeks to a special marble found in Asia Minor, near the territory of ancient Troy, and used in caskets. of Raia,reassembled from the numerous pieces found in Chambers in chambersadj. referring to discussions or hearings held in the judge's office, called his chambers. It is also called "in camera." (See: in camera) B and C. A usefullisting of comparative sarcophagi is provided (p. 57-8); made of hardstone (granite, diorite dioriteMedium- to coarse-grained igneous rock that commonly is composed of about two-thirds plagioclase feldspar and one-third dark-coloured minerals, such as hornblende or biotite. or granodiorite granodioriteMedium- to coarse-grained rock that is one of the most abundant intrusive rocks. It contains quartz and is distinguished from granite by having more plagioclase feldspar than orthoclase feldspar; its other mineral constituents include hornblende, biotite, and ), these differ from Raia'ssarcophagus, but this is not remarked upon. A diagram (Figure 8, p. 65)illustrates how the sarcophagus might have been lowered into position:the whole undertaking is a daunting prospect, and a consideration of theancient practicalities involved is very welcome. The investigations of the skeletal remains once again demonstratethe large numbers of individuals buried within the area of a singletomb. Our designation of such a tomb, therefore, as being 'of X(and Y)' leaves much to be desired in terms of accuracy to moderneyes, however the ancient Egyptians This is a list of ancient Egyptian people who have articles on Wikipedia. AAhhotep, queen (17th dynasty) Ahmose, princess (17th dynasty) Ahmose, queen (18th dynasty) Ahmose, prince and high priest (18th dynasty) themselves might have perceived it.The final chapter presents the results of 10 samples of wood submittedfor AMS-[sup.14]C dating, which broadly support what was alreadysurmised of the dating of the contexts from which they came and reallyadd very little to understanding the site. Inevitably there are some minor quibbles: for example, why hasRaven used the strange sketch of BM EA 156 (Figure 1, p. 3) rather thanan actual photograph? And the incorporation of a scale into thedrawings, rather than the words 'scale 1:6', is surely to bepreferred. Putting these and other criticisms aside, this book representsanother useful publication of one of the elite tombs of the lateeighteenth and early nineteenth dynasties at Saqqara. The presentationof individual studies of material by the scholars responsible is anexcellent format. An overall synthesis of all the material, to summarisethe results, would have made things even better, but this remains awelcome addition to the publications of ancient Egyptian burials. HELEN STRUDWICK The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, UK