prayer on the ceiling of Djehuty's tomb

A Spanish and Egyptian archaeological team has been working excavating the tomb of Djehuty since the beginning of 2002. At that point the interior area apparent was the shape of a T flat on the ground with the entrance at the top of the T. Since then the central post of the T has been cleared to reveal another small chamber with a shaft down to another chamber then another shaft to yet another chamber cut even deeper. So it's a three story tomb. The final chamber is left unfinished with rubble piled up and the walls unfinished. The final chamber was being enlarged when the project was abandoned, and closer to the water table so that humidity entered the room and damaged the plaster covering the walls that were finished.

The upper area shaped like a T flat on the ground is the chapel part of the tomb. The whole place, all the chambers are covered with spells from the Book of the Dead (Book of Coming Forth by Day), never an actual book as we know them, rather, a selection of spells. A client would approach a priestly vendor and pay for his favorite sections to be included on scrolls or painted on coffins or on walls. In many cases it's clear the spells were prepared in advance with blank spaces for a future client's name to be inserted. Very famous copies are like this. And it is obvious by the spacing and by the change in handwriting and skill in execution.

These spells were intended to assist the deceased to navigate the hazards of the immediate afterlife to assure their happiness in eternity. It was a big deal.

The walls are white plaster slathered with these cursive hieroglyphs painted in black with rubrics in red. 

Until you get all the way down to burial chamber. 

The spells are identified. Egyptologists read first the transformation spells followed by Djehuty expressing his wish to join the solar barque on its journey, these are interrupted by vignettes as if inserting a photograph but actually more hieroglyphs drawn larger so that writing blends into art and art blends into writing. The writing is art, and the art is writing. 

The vignettes break up the text very nicely throughout.

Then, down in the burial chamber, the most pleasing eloquent switch.

The hieroglyphs continue along the walls that are finished and on the ceiling. However, in the center situated above where the casket would be located a prayer is written instead of spells from the Book of the Dead. Whereas the spells are written on white background, the prayer is given a yellow background. 

Variations of this prayer are seen on the insides of the lids of 18th century caskets. Sometimes on the outside. It is a prayer to Nut, goddess of the sky. The prayer is beautiful and touching. Because there are so many examples we see that the rendition on the Djehuty's ceiling is executed hastily. There are mistakes, omissions, and corrections. Either the scribe artist was rushed or he just did not care to paint on his back like Michelangelo. He did a sloppy job of it. And his haste sticks out. 

And that's why I love this so much. It means you don't have to be perfect, and you never did. Not even then. Just do it. Get 'er done. 

That's the attitude I see here.

On the ceiling. Not on the inside of a coffin. But still face to face with the deceased. As if the whole room is a casket. If events went according to plan and there is no indication they did. It's not even certain the tomb was even used as intended, although there is evidence the upper chambers were used later. Nobody really knows what happened. The shafts were filled with rubble that took years to clear and there is evidence of a fire. But there is no coffin for Djehuty left for evidence.

Here is the prayer on the inside of the casket, the coffin lid, for a woman named Ahmos.

It's the same prayer on each side of Nut. This would be centimeters from the face of Ahmose's mummy.

Here is Nut and the same prayer on the outside lid of the coffin for a woman named Ahhotep-Tanedjemet

 

This is my hand-drawing of what Djehuty's prayer to Nut is trying to be were it not so sloppily done painted with wet charcoal spattering the scribe's face while lying on his back slapping paint on the ceiling in defiance of gravity uncomfortably on his back upside down in a rock chamber three stories down scary shafts in an isolated chamber poorly lit by an oil lamp.

The birds and animals and people are facing right. So this is read right to left. The prayer is in two parts.

* Words spoken by the overseer of the treasury of the king, Djehuty: O mother Nut, spread yourself over me, may you place me among the imperishable stars which are in you, as I shall not die.

(see the dead guy conked out three glyphs from the end?)

* Raise me up. I am your son. Remove the weariness from me. Protect me from those who act against me.