Beschreibung:
During two seasons of work the EES-Leiden expedition excavated the tomb of Maya and Meryt. It is similar to the neighbouring tomb of Horemheb, except that the outer court is not furnished with a complete peristyle. The reveals of the pylon are decorated with reliefs to a height of 3.33 m, including scenes with Maya adoring Osiris, offering bearers, and an autobiographical text. The main courtyard appears to be unfinished. More reliefs were found in the inner court and on the reveals of the entrances to the cult chapel and flanking chapels. Some of these were recorded by Lepsius during his 1843 expedition, but some have since disappeared. The substructure is on two levels. The upper was reused for late burials, but the lower is exclusively the burial complex of Maya and his wife. Three finely decorated rooms survive here, though much was pulled down or smashed by ancient plunderers. New light is thrown on the mortuary cult of the tomb owners, and among the surviving textual material is a new hymn to Osiris. Many objects and enormous quantities of closely contexted pottery, some with hieratic dockets, were recovered. The skeletal remains will be examined in a forthcoming season.