Day
15 - Luxor : Assif and Khoka Tombs, Carter's House, and Tombs of
Roy and Shuroy.
Unfinished Tomb 192, the intended
tomb of Kheruef, royal scribe and steward to Amenhotep III's principal
wife, Queen Tiye
Well, this morning we started with the tombs
at Assif. We first visited the tombs of Ankhor Kheruef and
tombs 192, 193, 189, 194, 197 followed by that of Pabasa (tomb
279) which we thought was closed and I think was opened by
the guards because they saw we were interested. Anyway, we
saw the courtyard with the relief of the beekeeper.
Depiction of a beekeeper. Tomb of Pabasa. Chief Steward to the
Nitocris I, Divine Adoratrice of Amun, during the Saite Period
 Then we went to see the tombs of Roy and Shu Roy. The tomb
of Roy is so famous through illustrations, but I am sure you
may not have heard it talked about too much. It is very small
and the illustrations are in rows of about 15 inches height.
They are little masterpieces. On my previous visit in 1990
I bought a fake piece of tomb wall from a man who slithered
down the side of the Valley of the Kings and offered that and
two charming large carved scarabs. The "tomb wall" which
was in reality a post card applied to a pottery backing. He
knew it and I knew it, but it was a souvenir of a rather interesting
encounter and I bought it. I had searched for the scene in
all my Egypt books, and only when preparing for this trip did
I find the scene in the recently opened tomb of Roy. Also the
ceiling of the tomb is a classic patterned one, I collected
pictures of many of the ceilings.
Shu Roy's is more badly damaged but still an interesting one.
It has sections that are still in the sketch stage. The tomb
was not finished when it was used as a burial and sealed. The
artist has a deft hand and there are many partially destroyed
scenes here that I am sure I have seen reproduced in water
color reproductions. The ceiling is divided into four quadrants,
each with a different design.
Our last stop was at the Khoka Tombs of Nefersekheru, Dutmose
and Neferonpet. These tombs feature half relief statues of
the deceased, sometimes several likenesses sitting side by
side. I am now sure what the signifcance of this is.
We never got to Malqata Palace site, but I hear it is pretty
much a defined space and not much else, and we saw Carter's
house from a distance and took pictures. The house is evidently
owned by the Antiquities Service and is vacant at the present
time.
We skipped the Luxor Museum this time. We were too tired.
Nights were chilly and we weren't really looking for extra
activities in the evening.
Howard Carter's house
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