Tombs. Treasures. Mummies. Book Two

Book excerpt: This is the second of five volumes in the updated revised version of 1998's Tombs. Treasures. Mummies. Seven Great Discoveries of Egyptian Archaeology by the Author. It deals with the finding and clearances of the Tomb of Maiherpri in the Valley of the Kings (KV36) and the Tomb of Kha & Merit (TT8), husband and wife, at Deir el Medina, both dating to ancient Egypt's mid-18th Dynasty. KV36 had been minimally robbed in ancient times, but TT8 was found completely undisturbed and intact. Maiherpri was a part-Nubian courtier, possibly a king's bastard son; Kha was a royal-tomb architect with the title "Chief in the Great Place" (Valley of the Kings) and Merit was a housewife. Maiherpri's well-preserved mummy and tomb treasures are today in the Cairo Egyptian Museum; Kha & Merit and their complete tomb treasures are to be found in the collection of the Museo Egizio in Turin, Italy.