Mahmoud El-Khadragy Tomb N13.1 of the Nomarch Iti-ibi(-iqer) at Asyut with collaboration of Ulrike Dubiel and Eva Gervers Reihe: The Asyut Project 17

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Ursula Verhoeven-van Elsbergen
• Subject Area: Egyptology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
• Term: from 2022 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 504173099

One of the most important results of the long-standing German-Egyptian cooperation in archaeological field research in the necropolis of Asyut was the discovery of tomb N13.1 in 2005, on geological level 7 of the limestone massif Gebel Asyut al-gharbi, which took place during a survey to measure the terrain. None of the early travelers or archaeologists who visited or worked at Asyut ever mentioned this tomb.The highly situated, almost completely spilled rock tomb with a floor area of about 80 square meters turned out to be the only source of information available so far on the hitherto unknown Siutian nomarch Iti-ibi(-iqer), who was also general of the entire 13th Upper Egyptian nome, chief of the priests of Wepwawet, and chief of the priests of Anubis. Hisperson represents very probably the connecting link between the well-known nomarch family around Khety I (Asyut Tomb V), Iti-ibi (Tomb III) and Khety II (Tomb IV), who ruled Asyut during the late First Intermediate Period, and the slightly younger nomarch Mesehti, who completed the tomb as his son. The latter is famous for his two soldier models (Cairo CG 257-8) and for his two coffins (Cairo CG 28118-9). His tomb could have been identified again only recently.The colored decoration of all walls and the two pillars of Tomb N13.1 is excellently preserved compared to other known tombs of this period. The iconographic details show four rows of soldiers behind the tomb owner, one of the earliest known examples of a mythical creature in a hunting scene in a private tomb, and the earliest example of the field goddess Sekhet acting in a bird hunting scene in a non-royal context. In addition, the tomb owner (and to some extent his wife) are depicted spearing fish from a boat and are shown viewing bullfighting, craftsmanship, agriculture, boating, crane feeding, music and dance scenes, and cattle herding and military activities.In addition to various plans of the architecture of the tomb, the publication offers complete photographic and drawing documentation of the wall decorations and their inscriptions. In the text section, all scenes are discussed in detail and the texts, which have been transcribed into standard hieroglyphics, are transcribed, translated, and commented on for the first time. One chapter highlights the use of color for hieroglyphs and depictions, and another is devoted to the historical significance of the tomb owner.Mahmoud El-Khadragy is Professor Emeritus of Egyptology, Faculty of Archaeology, Sohag University. Formerly, he was Chair of the Egyptology Department and then a Vice-Dean for Education and Undergraduate Student Affairs, Faculty of Arts, Sohag University. Later he was appointed as Dean of EGOTH Higher Institute for Tourism and Hotel Management, Luxor. He participated as field director of The Asyut Project for eleven seasons of fieldwork between 2003 and 2014.

• DFG Programme: Publication Grants