| Henutmehyt[1] inhieroglyphs | |||||||||
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Henutmehyt | |||||||||
Priestess from the time ofRamesses II | |||||||||
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Henutmehyt was the name of aTheban priestess ofancient Egypt, who lived during the19th Dynasty, around 1250 BC. The excessive use of gold, and the high quality and detail of her coffins indicates that Henutmehyt was a wealthy woman.
Henutmehyt was buried in a set of gilded coffins and a two-part gilded mummy-cover made of cedar of Lebanon and sycomore, which are now in theBritish Museum.[2]The outer coffin is only partly gilded (yellow paint has been applied to mimic gold on the lower part of the lid). On the front of the coffin, the Sky-Goddess Nut spread her wings. Thefour sons of Horus, Isis andNephthys occupy the compartments in the lower part of the lid. Grains of wheat and barley have been found embedded in the resin on the underside of the coffin. The reddish color of the mummy-cover could be due to tarnishing.[3]
A woodenshabti box which was painted with a scene showing Henutmehyt adoring two of thecanopic deities[2] and receiving food and wine from the goddessNut. There were four shabti boxes in total, containing a total of 40 brightly coloured shabtis made of both wood and pottery.[4]
A funerarypapyrus was included in her burial as well. The text is Spell 100 from theBook of the Dead (a spell about worthiness and permission to go aboard the bark of Ra) and is written rather unusually in red and white ink. The papyrus was placed over the outer wrappings of the mummy, as it should have been (spell 100 must be placed on the breast of the deceased without touching its flesh). These types of texts became more common after theNew Kingdom.[4]
Magic bricks made of unbaked mud must have been placed in niches in the burial chamber. Henutmehyt's magic bricks were well preserved. They supported amuletic figures: aDjed pillar, the figure ofAnubis, a wooden mummiform figure, and a reed. The bricks themselves were inscribed with magic spells.[4]
A wooden box, painted black and containing fowl wrapped in linen and meat possibly from a goat may also belong to the funerary equipment of Henutmehyt. The box contains enough food for a meal.[4]
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