REVIEW BY ROGER FORSHAW
This Golden House Publication is a meticulous study of a distinct wall scene found in numerous private tombs, particularly during the New Kingdom. Kelly-Anne Diamond refers to it as ‘the Sacred District’, a map-like illustration depicting a landscape that includes trees, ponds, shrines, and garden plots. At first glance, the panorama appears to be a garden scene, but it is imaginative: it is an illustration of a mythologised realm ostensibly located on the west bank of Thebes. It is not a typical tomb garden, and its significance has been a source of debate.
The author has made a detailed investigation of nearly 40 tombs that incorporate these scenes from Thebes, Elkab, and Hierakonpolis. The Tomb of Renemy (TC7) contains one of the earliest of these. This style of composition reached its peak in popularity during the reigns of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III, but can still be found in some Late Period tombs that exhibit archaising trends.
The Sacred District scene is typically located in the passageway of a T-shaped tomb, and is the last episode before the deceased reaches the afterlife. The landscape functioned as a transitional region between the scenes of the world of the living, and those of the dead. It represents a liminal area that the dead must traverse before reaching the afterlife. It is a place where divinities reside, and where the deceased can come into contact with them on the day of burial. The Sacred District scene is an imaginative rendition of the journey of the deceased travelling from this life to the next.
Feats of engineering