TT8

The tomb Kha and merit

One of the seven great discoveries of ancient Egypt Tomb of Kha, Architect of the Pharaoh (Amenhotep II 18th Dynasty) Kha was responsible for building projects not just in the reign of Amenhotep II, but also in the reign of 3 or 4 kings: Tuthmosis III, Amenhotep II, Tuthmosis IV and Amenhotep III.One of the few noble tombs to have survived intact down through the centuries - it was discovered by Arthur Weigall and Ernesto Schiaparelli (the discoverers had 250 workers digging for weeks in pursuit of the tomb). The tomb held the funerary equipment of Kha and his wife Merit - the items found in the tomb shows the couple certainly to have been quite wealthy during their lifetime. Unlike the chaotic burial of Tutankhamen, the burial here was very carefully laid out, the more important items had been covered by dust sheets, and the floor had been swept when the last person had left.Coffins of Kha and Merit Kha had been buried in a rectangular and two nested coffins, his mummy had been tightly wrapped with several items of jewelry included within the wrappings. Also included in one of his coffins is one of the earliest examples of the Book of the Dead.Meryet was buried in a rectangular outer coffin with one inner anthropoid coffin and a cartonnage mask. Her mummy was loosely wrapped with funerary jewellery.A tomb of this magnitude would have taken years to prepare, a process that Kha certainly oversaw during his lifetime. Unexpectedly predeceased by his wife Merit, the mourning widower Kha gave his own coffin to his wife. This was too big for Merit’s mummy, so that he was forced to pack linens, monogrammed for him, around her. Kha and Merit’s tomb was furnished with all the objects they used in this life, necessary in the Afterlife. Ointments and kohl were regarded as a necessary part of hygiene and these precious materials were held in a variety of lidded alabaster, glass, and faience vessels. Egyptians protected themselves from the flies and from sunlight by wearing dark kohl under the eyes (depicted as a long cosmetic stripe on sculptures). The Architect Kha was indeed found in Egypt but his discoverers transferred him to the Egyptian museum in Turin. He was found at the same time when the tomb kv55 was found so his items are scatted in the museum of Turin and in Europe. Before the Cairo Egyptian museum took over the discoveries.