The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston recently opened The Secrets of Tomb 10A, an exhibition displaying artifacts from the tomb of Djehutynakht, the governor of Deir-el-Bersha province in 2000 BC Egypt. The 1915 expedition by the Museum of Fine Arts excavation team was sponsored by Harvard University and led by George Rasher, a pioneer of a new and detail-oriented form of archaeology that made extensive use of photography throughout the
process. The team suffered outbreaks of illnesses and was disheartened at finding no astounding discoveries. They were just about to terminate their excavation when they suddenly came across the tomb of Djehutynakht and his wife. Although tomb robbers left the tomb in total disarray stealing many expensive artifacts and hacking off pieces of coffins, there still remained amazing wooden treasures, including a huge fleet of model ships, remnants of the mummies, jars, wooden weapons, and model food.
Ancient Egyptians believed that the afterlife was just like the present life, and a person’s life force, or “ka” required sustenance and guidance. Therefore they buried many objects such as food, drinks, and wooden models of daily necessities along with the dead. What was most astonishing about this particular exhibition was the model boats found in the tomb. Boats in ancient Egypt were essential for transportation up and down the Nile to various riverside communities. In the afterlife, they were believed to help transport the dead in their new life. This particular tomb has the largest fleet of boats ever evacuated, with a total of 58 boats. The restoration of these models was a particularly daunting task because the pieces were discovered strewn all across the tomb. Archeologists spent years completely reconstructing the boats and modeled people on them by looking for distinctions in foot spacing, facial features, and scale.
Another extraordinary feature of this exhibit is the distinctive paintings on the coffins, which are unlike any coffins ever excavated. While Egyptian art is usually associated with a 2D quality and is mostly defined by outlines and undifferentiated tones, the artist of the Djehutynakht tomb was way ahead of his time in that he painted his subjects with 3D features. He used dark red paint in order to add dimensions in skin tone and was very specific in the shading and details. Also in most Egyptian coffins, the names of the items presented to the deceased are written in black on the coffin, but in this particular tomb multicolor ink was used. Furthermore, the coffin of the Djehutynakhts has a of the Djehutynakhts is his head or his wife's; it is the only remnant of the mummies archaeologists uncovered. Since important bones that could help differentiate whether the
skull was of a man or a woman were removed from the head before the body was embalmed, archeologists have difficulty identifying the gender of the mummy. However, this head was important in that it is one of the earliest mummies to show evidence of how embalmers in ancient Egypt removed the brain through the nose. The mummified head is displayed in a separate small room and was preserved well enough to distinguish skin.
The exhibition is well-organized and allows guests to gain a deeper understanding of not only the excavation process and the tomb of Djehutynakhts, but also to learn the background on other tombs and their distinguishing characteristics. When compared with many other ancient Egyptian exhibitions, this one has enough unique exhibits and artifacts to still give an entirely new perspective on Egyptian burials. Whether it’s an interest in ancient Egyptian art that tempts you, or a morbid interest in mummies, this exhibit has both and displays them in an educational, organized and fascinating way.
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