Senenmout and the courageous Hatshepsut

Senenmout, was not a noble, he came from a lower background, but he rose to become the man of the utmost importance during the reign of a very determined woman, a God's wife of Amun, who declared herself a pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty, Queen Hatshepsut Maatkare ‘Foremost of Noble Ladies, Truth is the Soul of Re'  who ruled as the fifth pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. Hatshepsut was the favorite daughter of Tuthmosis 1, but on the walls of her mortuary temple, which was Senenmouts greatest achievement,  Hatshepsut asserted her birth to be divine, as she declared herself to be the daughter of the God Amun who announces on the temple walls  'Fashion for me the body of my daughter and the body of her Ka, a great queen shall I make of her'

After Hatshepsut was crowned pharaoh, Senenmut was given more prestigious titles and became high steward of the king, he was the 'Steward of the God's Wife' , he held many titles including Overseer of the Gardens of Amun', 'Steward of Amun', 'Overseer of all Royal Works' and 'Tutor to the Royal Heiress Neferure', 'Steward of the King's Daughter' (Neferure) Amazingly, during the rule of Hatshepsut Senenmout earned almost one hundred titles, including 'Great Treasurer of the Queen' he was an architect, an astronomer, and a very important government official. Hatshepsut became a Gods Wife of Amun, she knew how to obtain power and a position of strength, as this meant that she was the mortal wife of the God Amun, which is more important than to be the wife of a king

This statue expresses the strength and devotion and all encompassing protection that Senenmout offers the only daughter of Hatshepsut, the Princess Neferure.

Senenmout designed Hatshepsuts Mortuary Temple at Dier El Bahari, it was known as the Splendour of Splendours. This most magnificent mortuary temple  celebrates Hatshepsuts life, accomplishments, and her reign, it is  a masterpiece of architecture, the temple is  on three tiers, it is truly amazing  and is driven into the rock face at Dier El Bahari, the cliff face encloses it and  rises sharply above it. This temple is the  masterpiece of Senenmouts career.

             

It has colonnaded terraces with a row of tall Osiris statues of Hatshepsut that dominate the second teir and look down across the west Bank with her holding the crook and flail, signs of kingship, she is the shepard of her people, and will rule with strength. Apart from declaring Hatshepsut to be of divine birth it also records the first ever expedition to the Land of Punt, known to us as Somalia, it is an exotic country on the Red Sea coast, where  trees animals and incense for the temples were given by the Queen of Punt to Hatshepsut. The terraces of her temple are connected by long ramps which were once surrounded by gardens with frankincense and myrrh trees brought from Punt.

Senenmout was an astronomer and he created the temple axis to aligned to the winter solstice sunrise, when the sunlight penetrates through to the rear wall of the chapel, before moving to the right to highlight one of the Osiris statues that stand on either side of the doorway to the second chamber. Nine months later, at the autumn equinox, the Beautiful Feast of Opet would mark the pharaonic birth. As for the alignment of the 1st of February, it would be a marker of the date on which Amun-Ra pronounced the oracle that enthroned Hatshepsut as a female pharaoh.

Senenmout also  created a very large Red barque chapel for Hatshepsut, the chapel housed the barque to carry the God Amun to festivals from his earthly home at Karnack Temple. One festival was known as the Beautiful Feast of the Valley, and is  recorded on the wall of Hatshepsuts barque chapel, it shows Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis 111 escorting the barque of Amun across the river to make offerings in her mortuary temple that was in direct line with Karnack Temple.

Here was a queen who was obviously determined to transcend all the works of all previous kings and create the most beautiful and unusual gifts for Amun. I was not disappointed as I arrived at Hatshepsut’s creation the imposing barque chapel of Hatshepsut with its burning warm red bricks, in the open air museum inside the precints of Karnack Temple,  again Hatshepsut had deviated from the usual choice of Alabaster that previous kings had used for their barque chapels, it is believed that a sacred barque was used in a nightly journey of Amun Ra, traveling from the western horizon at sunset behind the earth to the eastern horizon where the sunrise would occur. as I looked at the chapel, it occurred  to me the symbolism of  why Hatshepsut had  possibly deviated from traditional materials and chosen  instead  to use this unusual red quartzite, it was simple,  a heart  of a man is a deep warm red, and it pumps the warm blood through the body and sustains the life, and this chapel was ‘The Heart of Amun.

Senenmut also supervised the quarrying, transport, and erection of twin obelisks, for Hatshepsut for  the Temple of Karnak,  the inscription written on the obelisk that stands inside Karnack Temple expresses hatshepsuts  devotion to Amon Ra: 'I have created this work with a heart full of love for Amon, Initiated into his secrets of origin, Instructed through his beneficial power, I have not forgotten what he has ordained, My Majesty recognizes his Divinity, I have acted on his orders, It is he who has guided me, I have never slept because I was pre-occupied with his temple, I have never turned away from what he has commanded, My heart moved intuitively with The Father, I have entered intimately into the plans of his heart, I have never turned my back on the Master of totality, But rather I have turned my face towards him. 

In Ancient Egypt an obelisk was known as a Tekenu, Hatshepsut wanted her creations to be superior to all other kings creations, so she created the tallest two obelisks in all Egypt, to rise in Karnack Temple.  The suns rays hit the pyramideon at the tip of the obelisk which is covered in electrum, a mixture of gold and silver,   and the power of the sun ignites the pyramiddion flashing down the sides of the obelisk, if two obelisks are stood together it would create a powerful force field at the entrance to a temple, this power offers regeneration, and the writing on the obelisk is regenerated and the words invoke the God Amun Ra and offer power to Hatshepsut 

Hatshepsut recognized that true power came from devotion to Amun Ra, she became a God's wife of amun, which meant that she was the mortal wife of the God Amun. Egyptian temples were symbolically created to portray Egypt itself.The temples were a symbolic impression of the universe,  a picture that has been created from stone to describe the first moment of creation, the pylons are the East and Western deserts, the gateway portals represent the path that the River Nile would flow though Egypt giving her life each and every day. Gradually the earth rises in the temple as you reach the mound of creation,  the Hypostyle halls that had huge columns portrayed as the lotus plants that came into being,  at dawn the lotus rises symbolically to worship the sun. At the going down of the sun each evening the Lotus plant submerges beneath the waters of the Nile. It encompasses all the forces of nature and lives in the four elements, its roots are bound to the earth, and its stem rises through water, it flourishes in the air and blooms in the sunlight.

Hatshepsuts Mortuary Temple was used during her lifetime and festivals were held here, In the Opet Festival recorded on the walls of the chapel, The God  Amun is carried by priests in his Barque, all the way down the avenue of sphinx that used to unite the two temples with his wife Mut and their son Khonsu to celebrate the Opet Festival at Luxor Temple which is an unusual temple as it wasnt a mortuary temple, or an earthly home of a God, it had been created  to celebrate the marriage of Amun and Mut, and to regenerate the kings power and Egypt just before the annual flood. 

The beautiful feast of the Valley was also recorded on Hatshepsuts barque chapel, it shows Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis 111 escorting the barque of Amun across the river to her mortuary temple that was in direct line with Karnack Temple.  Hatshepsut had been the royal wife to Tuthmosis 111 father and thereby was Tuthmosis  aunt and stepmother, after Hatshepsuts death he had all her cartouches  and her works vandalized, by doing this he was denying her an eternal life.

Theban Tomb 353 was the second tomb of Senenmut and is often known as the “secret tomb”. His gift for Astronomy is portrayed on the walls and ceilings.  The tomb consists of three chambers, the decorations in Chamber A consist of spells to help Senenmut’s spirit to pass successfully though the Underworld, and a number of depictions of Senenmut, his brother (Amenemhat), and his pharaoh, Hatshepsut. The ceiling is decorated with astronomical designs incorporating a calendar recording the lunar months, the constellations, and the planets. This tomb portrays the earliest known star map in Egypt.The astronomical ceiling  is divided into two sections, representing the northern and southern skies. Senenmouts tomb was vandalized during the reign of Thutmose III, possibly because he was  so well favoured by Hatshepsut. Tuthmosis 111 had Hatshepsuts gifts for the God Amun vandalized so as to eradicate her memory and deny her an afterlife, the ancient Egyptians believed if a persons name was spoken, it would offer them eternal life. Together Senenmout and His Pharaoh Hatshepsut created the most  amazing gifts for the God Amun.

The Pharaoh Tutankhamun's Personal Photographer: Harry Burton

In 1913 Theodore Davis expressed his opinion that  the "valley had been exhausted" (the Valley of the Kings) unfortunately  he was only two meters away from discovering the entrance to KV62, the tomb of Tutankhamun

In 1914, Lord Carnarvon applied for, and received a license to dig in the Valley of the Kings. The search for the tomb of Tutankhamun was on,  unfortunately the first World War interrupted the search. Howard Carter spent the war years working for the British Government as a diplomatic courier and translator, until 1917 when  together with a large workforce they enthusiastically resumed their search for Tutankhamun's tomb.  The search had exhausted over 5 years of hard work with no promise of a discovery  of Tutankhamun’s elusive resting place. As hope faded after five years of futile work,  Lord Carnarvon decided he wasn't prepared to search any further when on 4 November 1922  the most amazing day in the history of archaeology occurred, the young water boy working for Howard Carter accidentally stumbled on a stone, he immediately ran to Howard Carter to tell him, and Howard immediately instructed the workers to dig this area, and to their jubilation they had discovered the first step that lead down into the tomb of Tutankhamun. Harry Burton photographed the young water boy wearing one of the pectorals of Tutankhamun, and this photograph discreetly reminds us that Tutankhamun was only a boy of nine when he became pharaoh.

 

Carter realized that "the first and pressing need was for photography, as he would not disturb the contents of the tomb until a complete photographic record was made. In 1914, Harry Burton was hired as a member of the Graphic Section, of the Metropolitan Museum,  initially he was to photograph tomb interiors and later to record the work of the Metropolitan Museum’s excavation team, he rapidly gained a reputation as the finest archaeological photographer of his time. 

Howard Carter approached the Metropolitan museum and asked if he could have the services of their photographer Harry Burton, and so began Burtons work for Howard Carter and the Pharaoh Tutankhamun, he  recorded over 1,400 images  his first photographs were taken on 27 November 1922,  his photographs captured Tutankhamun's tomb within the first few days of the discovery, and his iconic black and white images have electrified Egypt around the  world with the amazing discovery of the only intact tomb that has ever been found with all the goods necessary for the pharaohs afterlife

Burton spent nearly ten years photographing Tutankhamun's tomb and its artifacts', his photographs were atmospheric as well as plain scientific records, in this photograph you can almost feel yourself peering into the tomb with Howard Carter, when Lord Carnarvon asked him can you see anything? and Howard carter expressed yes,  wonderful things !

For lighting inside the tomb Burton used the ancient Egyptian light effect of sunlight reflected into the tomb by mirrors, sometimes over a distance of 100 feet, the light caught by reflectors that were kept constantly in motion to disperse the light evenly on the subject.

Burton learned to operate a motion picture camera, that was on loan from  Samuel Goldwyn Productions, with this camera he recorded the opening of Tutankhamun sarcophagus in February 1924, and to show objects as they were being removed from the tomb. On 29th October 1925

The artifact photographed by Harry Burton and recorded as 317 is a small gilded box which contained two of Tutankhamun and Anaksanamun's stillborn daughters,  the smaller child died around the 6th month of pregnancy while the larger child presumably died shortly after birth. 

Howard Carter wrote to the Metropolitan Museum to thank them for the services of Harry Burton, who had completed his work 'in a splendid and admirable manner, in fact I do not know how to praise his work sufficiently. He had a colossal task which he carried out to the end in the most efficient manner possible, and I should like to convey through you my most sincere gratitude to your trustees and Director his good aid'

From 1937 Burton's health began to decline. He died of diabetes in Egypt on 27 June 1940, aged 60. He was buried in the American cemetery in Asyut.

May your Spirit Live, may you spend millions of years, you who love Thebes - Howard Carter & the Curse of Tutankhamun

 

On a cold day in March 1939 a small congregation of nine people stood around a gravestone which had the following inscription: 'May your spirit live, may you spend millions of years, you who love Thebes, sitting with your face to the north wind, your eyes beholding happiness,'  the quote was written on the gravestone of Howard Carter, and is taken from the wishing cup of Tutankhamun, 

At the age of 17 Howard Carter travelled to Egypt as a young artist hired to sketch artifacts. He went on to become an important archaeologist, and the lead excavator of the tomb of King Tutankhamun

In 1903 Lord Carnarvon was involved in a serious car accident, and was advised to seek a warmer climate in the winter months so he spent the following winters in Egypt, where his fascination with the ancient Egyptian culture was born. H​e became an enthusiastic amateur Egyptologist, and whilst in Luxor he  was introduced to Howard Carter, and  In 1907, Howard Carter  began work for Lord Carnarvon, who employed him to supervise the excavation of nobles' tombs in Deir el-Bahri, on the West Bank of Luxor.  Gaston Maspero, head of the Egyptian Antiquities Service, recommended Carter to Carnarvon as he knew he would apply modern archaeological methods and systems of recording. Carter soon developed a good working relationship with his patron, Lord Carnarvon

In 1914, Carnarvon applied and received a license to dig in the Valley of the Kings unfortunately the first World War interrupted their search. Carter spent the war years working for the British Government as a diplomatic courier and translator. until 1917 when  they enthusiastically resumed their search for Tutankhamun's tomb once more.  On 4 November 1922, their young water boy accidentally stumbled on a stone, he immediately ran to Howard Carter to tell him, and howard immediately instructed the workers to dig this area that turned out to be the top of a flight of steps cut into the bedrock. Carter had the steps partially dug out until the top of a mud-plastered doorway was found. The doorway was stamped with indistinct cartouches Carter ordered the staircase to be refilled, and sent a telegram to Carnarvon, who arrived from England a few weeks later accompanied by his daughter Lady Evelyn Herbert

The subsequent clearing of the tomb and its contents took more than ten years including the artefacts’ conservation and transport to Cairo.

Curses :

On 19 March 1923, Lord Carnarvon suffered a severe mosquito bite which became infected by a razor cut, he died of blood poisoning on 5 April 1923 in the Continental-Savoy hotel in Cairo.

The death of Lord Carnarvon six weeks after the opening of Tutankhamun's tomb resulted in many curse stories in the press. Obviously this sort of report would sell many newspapers

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, suggested that Lord Carnarvon's death had been caused by 'elementals' created by Tutankhamun's priests to guard the royal tomb. Doyle was a great believer in spiritualism. According to the press of the time, the famous author blamed Carnarvon’s death on an 'evil elemental' that guarded the tomb and had avenged its profaners. 

Howard Carter was entirely skeptical of curses, dismissing them as 'tommy-rot' and commenting that 'the sentiment of the Egyptologist ... is not one of fear, but of respect and awe ... entirely opposed to foolish superstitions. 

On the day the tomb was discovered, a cobra broke into Carter’s house and killed his canary, leading people to believe that indeed the spirit of the dead had been violated. a Cobra was a  symbol of protection of the king, it guards the gates of the underworld, wards off the enemies of the royals and guides the deceased pharaohs on their journey through the underworld. 

Skeptics have pointed out that many others who visited the tomb or helped to discover it lived long and healthy lives. Of the  58 people who were present when the tomb and sarcophagus were opened, only eight died within a dozen years 

Inside the tomb Magic bricks’  were inscribed with chapter 151 of the Book of the Dead and  placed  in niches within the tomb of Tutankhamun at the four cardinal points of the earth to form a defensive perimeter around Tutankhamun.

Egyptian curses are primarily a cultural, not scientific, phenomenon, These appear to be directed towards the ka priests to protect the tomb carefully and preserve its ritual purity rather than as a warning for potential robbers

A study of documents and scholarly sources led to conclude that it was unlikely that Carnarvon's death had anything to do with Tutankhamun's tomb, refuting another theory that exposure to toxic fungi (mycotoxins) had contributed to his demise.