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Issue Nine - November/December 2001

Editor's Column

With Amarna in mind as a result of the August Amarna Heresy Conference, it was likely that thought would turn to some of the intriguing issues raised by the period, and in particular the mysteries of the occupant of tomb KV55.

The battered funerary equipment in the tomb carries references to Queen Tiye, mother of Akhenaten. The body in the ravaged coffin has been identified variously as male or female over the years. The canopic vessels were originally made for Kiya, wife of Akhenaten, whose history is subject to much speculation, and of whom we have learned much of the little we do know since the middle of the twentieth century.

The heads of the vessels, however, were not, it was pointed out by two speakers at the conference (David Rohl and Dr Aidan Dodson) the originals: they do not fit. They were presumed, shortly after the discovery of the tomb, to represent Queen Tiye; later they came to be identified as Kiya. The body itself has been the subject of a recent investigation by experts Dr Nasri Iskander and Joyce Filer, of the British Museum. Even to this non-expert eye, the photographs of the skull that accompanied the description of the investigation in the Bulletin of the Egypt Exploration Society were strikingly those of a robust male individual with an excellent set of teeth. Separated from the body, it has been suggested that the skull is that of a different individual. However, communication with Joyce Filer suggests that both body and skull, whether of two different people or not, are the mortal remains of a young man.

As I thought of this, while examining the original photographic record of the heads of the canopic vessels, an idea began to emerge. We have been conditioned into thinking by earlier research that the heads represent a queen or princess of the period, be it Tiye or Kiya or another as yet unidentified, which has added to the mysteries of the KV55. Why do the heads have to represent a female at all?

To a modern eye, the heads do appear completely feminine in appearance, but there are numerous examples of ancient Egyptian art, from the Amarna period as well as other times, that deceive in the same way. The eyes are outlined with kohl (both men and women wore this) and the Nubian style wig gives the impression of long hair that we tend to associate more with women than

The Nubian style wig tends to be associated more with Amarna women than men. However, this is not exclusively the case; and in one of the images that is most frequently identified as Smenkhare (assuming his existence) his figure is shown wearing a similar, although shorter, wig.

Take another look at the images of the heads of the canopic vessels from tomb KV55, and remove the modern prejudices. Take another look too, at images of Tutankhamun. What do you really see?

 Miriam  A Bibby

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