The Tomb Of Irunefer

The Tomb Of Irunefer

Irunefer’s tomb, TT 290, is located at the far end of the Western cemetery in the west of the Ptolemaic temple of Hathor in Deir el-Medina, on the West Bank of Luxor. The tomb has an entrance, an antechamber, and a burial chamber.

Who Was Irunefer?

Irunefer is believed to have worked as a cemetery or a worker at the royal tombs during the Ramesside era. He is known by the title "Servant in the Place of Truth" and lived during the 19th dynasty in the village. His parents were Tausret, his mother, and Siwazyt, his father, a priest. Irunefer lived during what is considered a prosperous time in Egypt’s history.

The Discovery

Tomb TT 290 was discovered in 1922 by the French archeologist Bernard Bruyere. It’s said that the tomb’s possessions were mostly robbed, and nothing much remained when he found it. The few funerary items left were fragments of a wooden coffin and a few stele (slab) fragments.

The Tomb Today

The tomb contains a surface offering a chapel made from subterranean rock and mud bricks. It’s said that the tomb once had the typical superstructure of the small pyramid found in Deir el-Medina tombs, with almost nothing surviving presently. The above-ground chapel features deep, vaulted steles, a barrel-vaulted roof, and two stele receptacles along a short wall. The underground chambers can be reached through a rock-cut vertical shaft. The plaster inside was first covered with golden yellow paint, characteristic of tombs built in the 19th dynasty. The available space was decorated with paintings of human, divine, and animal figures.

About Tomb TT 290

Irunefer's tomb has some eye-catching features of the Ramesside era, which were differentiated due to its beautifully adorned vaulted burial chambers. Leading to the burial chamber was a short passage decorated with the lying jackal Anubis, who was facing the entrance to the tomb, and the hieroglyphs on the vault made of brick in this chamber, were adorned with colorful scenes and paintings and depicted names of the family members. The background was golden yellow. The scenes on walls included images of funerary divinities, spells from the Book of the Dead, and manifestations of the deceased’s ba (soul) and his shadow and demons.
The Tomb of Irunefer in Deir el-Medina is one of the better-preserved tombs and one of the most colorful places, depicting this era's true art and craftsmanship among three tombs in this area that are open to the public where people can see ancient Egypt's hidden treasures.