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We're going to be traveling through the Nile Delta, and one of the destinations is going to
be... we're going to be investigating the only royal tomb that was discovered intact. Now you
might say, wait a minute. I thought that was King Tut's tomb. That's the only intact royal tomb,
right? No, a lot of people don't know this, but the tomb of Tutankhamun was disturbed at least
twice in ancient times. It was not fully intact when it was discovered by Howard Carter. No,
we're going to another tomb, where three kings were buried, and the treasures were all there,
and the tomb found undisturbed. Intrigued? Well, you're going to find out more later.
The city of Djanet, better known by its Greek name Tanis, is at a place called San al-Hagar
today. Nesbanebdjed of the 21st Dynasty (known to the Greeks as Smendes) set up
his royal residence here. Pasibkhanu I of the same dynasty (known to the Greeks as Psusennes)
engaged in considerable building work here, turning the new capital into a major city.
Later the Meshwesh Libyans chose to keep the city as the center of their government too.
The royal cemetery of Tanis can be found at the southern-eastern part of the temple complex.
Compared to the New Kingdom tombs in the Valley of
the Kings, the tombs of the 21st-23rd dynasty kings are relatively small.
-We're standing here in Tanis at the only Royal tomb that was discovered intact,
and it's the Tomb of Pasibkhanu I, also known as Psusennes I in Greek,
and you're looking here into the burial chamber. It's kind of hard to see from out here,
but this tomb here contained more than just one Royal body: It had several Royal bodies,
because not only was Pasibkhanu found in there, but also two of his sons.
Many wonderful Treasures were found in this tomb because it had never been opened.
The tomb, NRT III it’s called, is closed to the general public. Archaeologist Pierre Montet
discovered it on March 18, 1939, and three days later he opened it in front of an audience that
included King Farouk I. It contains five chambers. Going through the entrance shaft, he happened
upon a chamber containing the bodies of two of Pasibkhanu’s sons: Siamun and Pasibkhanu II, both
of whom were kings after Pasibkhanu. Over here to the left were two other chambers, one being the
tomb of another son General Ankhefenmut, and the other of General Wendkebaundjed, a very important
person, but apparently not of the royal family. Also Montet found the coffin of a 22nd dynasty
king, Shoshenq II. Scientists found evidence of plant growth on the base of his coffin,
which suggests that Shoshenq II's original tomb, NRT-V, had become waterlogged, and so he needed to
be moved. So he was reinterred in this tomb. You might call it the “Shoshenq Redemption”
On February 15, 1940, Montet discovered the corridor to Pasibkhanu’s chamber. It
was sealed with a single granite plug made from a section of an obelisk of Ramesses
II. It took six days for the workmen to chip away the block and open the chamber.
Here they found an intact burial, the treasures of Pasibkhanu I.
He was interred in a granite sarcophagus that once belonged to pharaoh Merenptah from the 19th
dynasty. In the sarcophagus Montet found a silver coffin, a gold mummyboard, and a golden mask
covering the king's face. These finds are now in the Cairo museum, which we will see in a few days.
Next to the king’s chamber was that of his wife, also his sister, Mutnodjmet, but after the death
of their son Amenemope, her body was swapped out for his, and that is who Montet found.
There were other tombs discovered here not intact. Tomb NRT-IV was originally dedicated to Pasibkhanu
I’s successor, Amenemope, and it included a significant sarcophagus bearing the king's name.
This sarcophagus was found empty,
because the king's body and his funerary materials were transported to tomb NRT-III.
Tomb NRT-V was Shoshenq III’s tomb, but Shoshenq IV decided he wanted to be in there next to him.
The tomb of Osorkon II (NRT-I) was the first
discovered at the site. It has been largely looted.
-Wow
-This is incredible -Wow
-Look at the size of it
-This is the sarcophagus of Osorkon II, the King of Egypt. Look at the size of it.
-It’s huge -Isn’t it something?
-And there’s quite a little drop down here, so you can’t easily step down below.
-This particular tomb was not discovered intact, but it was a royal tomb.
-Incredible
Also interred in this tomb was his young son Hornakht, who was the high priest of
Amun at Tanis, and who had died before his father. Osorkon’s father, Takelot I,
was interred in this tomb as well. Both his and Osorkon’s sarcophagus were borrowed.
Takelot’s was from the Middle Kingdom, and Osorkon’s was from the New Kingdom.
Speaking of borrowing, we think Osorkon II’s tomb originally belonged to Nesbanebdjed (Smendes).
Tomb NRT-II belonged to Prince Pimay, Shoshenq III’s son.
Clearly at this time, the tombs were not as rich as they had been in earlier times, and kings
reused older sarcophaguses instead of paying to have new ones made. But the discovery of the royal
tombs at Tanis have given us essential information about the burial traditions of this period