The tomb of Menna (TT 69) is a private tomb located on the West Bank at Luxor (ancient Thebes). The tomb resides in the hill of Sheikh Abd el- Qurna, in the area known as the Tombs of the Nobles. The hill Sheikh Abd el-Qurna was named for a mythical Muslim sheikh. It has 146 numbered tombs, most of which are from the 18th dynasty. It contains some of the most beautiful private tombs of the West Bank. These tombs are referred to as being T-shaped, where you find an entrance corridor that leads into a wide vestibule, then a short corridor that leads into the long chapel, with a small niche at its rear. Officials in this area occupied most of the Tombs of the Nobles.
The tomb of Menna is dated from the New Kingdoms 18th dynasty. The approximate age of this tomb is 3,400 years old. It was constructed in approximately c.1400-1390 BC. This was the reign of Tuthmosis IV and his successor Amenhotep III which Menna worked below.
Menna held the title, Scribe of the Fields of the Lord of the Two Lands of Upper and Lower Egypts, as well as field overseer of Amun. He is thought to have worked for the Temple of Amun at Karnak, supervising the measuring of fields, inspected the work on the land, prosecuted defaulters and recorded the crop yield. This was of great importance because the grains that were being harvested were for the entire state. Being a scriber (someone that can read and write in heiroglphes) was a trait that not many people had. The fact that so few people could read and write gave Menna very high prestige in this ancient Egyptian society. It was, in fact, one of the most important occupations in ancient Egypt. His wife, called Henut-Tawy (the lady of the two lands), held the function of Chantress of Arnun and the couple had at least three daughters and several sons.
The reason for the importance of this tomb resides in the sophisticated paintings which are one of the most complete in the Theban necropolis. The paintings depict Mennas everyday lifestyle, with an emphasis on his family (mainly his wife) and agriculture. The artist of the paintings depicts Menna's closeness with his family very definably. The artist does this by making the people that were most valued (wife and children) the same size as Menna in the paintings, showing that their status was similar. Many of the painting had scenes of life in the marsh, which were depicted in many New Kingdom tombs, but had a deeper meaning. The Nile marshes were growing out of the fertile mud of the river and the abundant wildlife supported by the environment symbolized rejuvenation and eternal life.
The original discoverer of the Tomb of Menna is unknown. But between 1914 and 1916 Robert L. Mond and Ernest J.H. Mackay started to conduct a photographic survey of the Theban private tombs at Sheikh Abd el-Qurna. The First World War interrupted their work.Their survey is made up of around 3300 black and white photographs covering 18 tombs, one of which was Menna. Mond used several small photographs and pieced them together to form a mosaic showing an image of the whole wall.He used photographic techniques to make the prints 3 dimensional like they would appear in the tomb.
