Presented by 
Wm. Max Miller, 
M. A.
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About Our Project

Project Updates
See what's new at the T. R. M. P.

Quickly Access Specific Mummies With Our  
Mummy Locator 

Now Updated and Revised

      The Theban Royal Mummy Project has been online since the year 2000 and now provides data to the entries for certain mummies which incorporates more recent information obtained through the use of CT scans and DNA testing. This is especially relevant for mummies of the Amarna period and you will see that the entries for Queen Tiye, the KV 35 Younger Lady and the KV55 Mummy (Akhenaten? Smenkhkare?) now have updated information. Mummies from other periods have also received long-overdue attention. The entry for Unknown Woman D and The Mummy on the Boat, both from KV35, are now completed. Also, the location provided for the royal mummies that were moved from the Cairo Museum into the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat on April 3, 2021, has now been modified to reflect this change.
      Our special section devoted to the 21’st Dynasty coffins from DB320 has been completely revised and is now accessible from the menu bar on the left-hand side of our pages. This special section now incorporates data from the research of Kara Cooney, Carrie Arbuckle MacLeod, Rogerio Sousa, Edward Loring, Erhart Graefe, and Andrzej Niwinski. Details are given concerning stylistic features of the coffins that convey information about the social status and gender of their owners and also serve as date-indicators that help to place the coffins in their proper developmental sequence. I am especially grateful to Kara Cooney, Kate Fulcher, and Rogerio Sousa who corresponded with me and shared their insights concerning the oddly blackened coffins of Nestanebtishru.
     New banners (created by using decorative elements from the coffins of Tayuheret, Masaharta and Neskhons) appear at the tops of the pages. Many recent color images of mummies have also been added to the mummy galleries to make them more visually informative. This website was originally designed back in the days of the dial-up modem when too many images on a page slowed down its opening speed to a snail's pace. High speed internet has eliminated this problem, and you will now find larger, clearer and more numerous images (many in color) throughout this site. As always, your comments on these changes are welcomed.

             ---William Max Miller

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Don't Miss Our Other
Special Features

The Lost Treasures of KV55:
Where Are They Today?

Valley guard stands in front of the entrance to KV 55 (lower right.)
Photo from Arthur Weigall's The Glory of the Pharaohs (London, 1936)
facing page 136.

         Over a century after its discovery by Theodore Davis in 1907, KV55 continues to raise intriguing questions. An especially tantalizing mystery associated with this controversial tomb concerns the fate of the various objects stolen from it by workers during its clearance. Over the years, some of these priceless relics of the Amarna period have resurfaced. Others, however, remain elusive. It is possible to trace their movements through the hands of various collectors up to a certain point, and then the trail abruptly ends. In this special feature, some of the more rewarding trails are charted. They lead the traveler through a strange world of antiquities dealers, secretive collectors, old diaries, forgotten museum ledgers, and elite auctions.

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The Treasures of Yuya and Tuyu

 
Photo composite of the Yuya & Tuyu exhibit at the Museum
of Egyptian Antiquities by Flickr member  yacielcruz.

          Before the discovery of Tutankhamen's opulent treasures, the tomb of Yuya and Tuyu was one of the most important burials to be found in the Valley of the Kings. Discovered on February 5'th, 1905, by James Quibell and Theodore M. Davis, the tomb (designated KV 46) contained one of the most complete and beautifully made sets of funerary equipment then known. Learn about these incredible discoveries in our special feature.

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Revised 7/25/20

Tomb Raiders of KV 46!

 
Face of Tuyu's innermost coffin.
Photo credit: Flickr member  Hans Ollermann.

          All the published accounts concerning KV 46 as it was discovered are examined in this detailed analysis, and reconstructions of events in the tomb that were formulated by the excavators, as well as the one provided by C. N. Reeves, are evaluated. A whole new reconstruction of events in KV 46 is then presented which is based on a close study of Joseph Lindon Smith's diagram of the burial chamber. Through examining the diagram, certain facts emerge which seem to have been overlooked concerning the disposition of the objects in the burial chamber which supply important information regarding the number of robberies that actually occurred in the tomb.
      I originally entitled the study "Post Interment Activity in KV 46," but my son, Max, argued that this sounded too dry and technical! In order to attract more "hits" from net surfers, he suggested that I call it the more appealing "Tomb Raiders of KV 46." I've followed his advice and the paper now appears bearing the more dramatic title.

          NOTE: 7/25/20--This analysis of KV 46 has now been revised by the addition of information kindly provided to me by Dr. Marc Gabolde concerning two of the seal impressions discovered in the tomb. I would like to thank Dr. Gabolde for sharing his interpretation of these particular seal impressions and for giving me permission to incorporate it within this paper.

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Recent News From Egypt

7/14/20
The Search for Cleopatra's Tomb Continues
Mummy discovery at Taposiris Magna
rekindles hope that lost tomb of Cleopatra VII
may be hidden nearby.

Learn More Here

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5/1/20
Mummy Discovery at Draa Abul Naga
17'th Dynasty female mummy discovered laden
with rings, necklaces, and other valuable objects.

Learn More Here

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Ancient Box Provides Clue to
Possible Location of Lost Tomb
Andrejz Niwiński discovers hidden box that
may point to the location of the lost tomb
of Tuthmosis II.

Read About The Discovery Here

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Twenty Intact Coffins Discovered near Luxor

         10/15/19--The Ministry of Antiquities just announced that twenty ancient Egyptian coffins have been discovered at the Al-Asasif Necropolis on the Nile's West Bank near Luxor. The coffins, described as intact and sealed, are especially well-preserved and several photographs online show that some of them contain mummies. An examination of the stylistic features of the two coffins shown in the upper half of the photo above reveals some information not given in the tersely worded news announcement put out by the Ministry of Antiquities. Both coffins are covered with an abundance of symbolic motifs and vignettes depicting deities. The hands on the lid of the nearest coffin are clenched, the headdress is striped, and the face is depicted with ears, all features that indicate this coffin was made for a male. The face carved and painted on the coffin next to it does not include ears and the hands on the lid are made with the fingers fully extended, showing that this coffin belonged to a female. No information has yet been given concerning the dates from which these coffins derive. However, both coffins have funerary collars that extend far below the hands and into the midsections of the lids, and both display orange colored stola (i.e., crossed "mummy braces") which run between and below the hands across the lower sections of the collars. These stylistic elements place the two horizontal coffins in the photograph above within the late 21'st or early 22'nd Dynasty date-range. Read news story here .
         10/20/19--The Ministry of Antiquities has provided more information about the exciting discovery at Al-Asasif. The reports now say that thirty well-preserved coffins of men, women and children have been found. They have been dated to the 22'nd Dynasty and are believed to contain family members of the Priests of Amun who held political control of Upper Egypt at that time. See the latest news story here for more details and numerous photographs.

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Tutankhamen's Outer Coffin Restored
The gilded wooden outermost coffin of Tutankhamen
is receiving long-needed conservation.

Learn About the Conservation Work Here

Is This Actually the Face of Nefertiti?
Forensic reconstruction of KV35 mummy
causes controversy!

Learn About this Reconstruction Here