The Book of GatesIt is not certain when the Book of Gates first appeared; although some scholars suggest a date in the Middle Kingdom or even the 1st Intermediate Period, it was probably composed under Amenhotep III and was first introduced into a tomb by Horemheb, partly to replace the Amduat. Henceforth the two oldest Books of the Underworld appear together in most of the royal tombs of the 19th and 20th Dynasties. There is a complete example on the sarcophagus of Sethos I.
by Global Egyptian Museum
After the New Kingdom the Book of Gates is no longer found on tomb walls, but still appears in fragments on the papyri and sarcophagi of non-royal persons from the 21st Dynasty. Only in the 26th Dynasty does the Book of Gates reappear together with other Books of the Underworld in the richly decorated tomb of Petamenophis. In the Late Period, when coffin decoration was undergoing a new Golden Age inspired by the royal tombs and sarcophagi of the New Kingdom, private persons began to use the judgement scene in particular, as well as part of the first hour. The final illustration, which depicts the end of the journey through the night, had already begun to appear in mythological papyri and in the Books of the Dead of the 21st Dynasty.
The 22nd Dynasty and its Connections:The tomb was later visited and described separately by Wilkinson, by Dümichen, and others, before Maspero, seeing its deteriorating condition and realizing the necessity of protecting it from despoliation, had it sealed at the end of the last century. It remained closed until 1936 when W. F. von Bissing obtained permission to re-open it with the purpose of performing a definitive survey and publication. Braving the "billions of bats" infesting the place and the thick air (the ventilation shafts "left much to be desired") he persevered, and within two years (1938) published a detailed description of the finds.
Petamenophis
The California Institute for Ancient Studies
Rudolf Anthes and ~. Grapow were entrusted with making a cast of the inscription with Haremhab's cartouche and found that "the name [Haremhab] stands out quite clearly" "steht der name völlig deutlich da"). What happened to these plaster casts is a question we would like to find an answer to. Next arose the question of the tomb's date and the time of Petamenophis' career.
The archaeologists were unable to agree, except that on stylistic grounds it could not be earlier than Ethiopian time. "Unfortunately", von Bissing wrote, "in the entire vast tomb, not a single indication was found that would directly yield a date." [Bissing, Ibid., p. 24] But was not the cartouche of Haremhab just the sought-for indication? In the context of the accepted chronology Haremhab's name carved next to that of the tomb's owner was rejected as an anachronism, and since no other royal name was found, the date of the tomb was held to be in doubt. Anthes nevertheless arrived at what appears to be the correct estimate when he placed it in the time of Tirhaka. [Anthens, `Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache', 73 (1937), p. 30f]
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Is this the Horemheb who was Ramses II's ancestor [grandfather?]?
