Kha (Egyptian)

Kha
Chief in the Great Place
Overseer of works in the Great Place
Wooden statuette of Kha, placed on a chair in front of his outer coffin (Suppl. 8335).[1]
Egyptian name
N28
a
Y1
DynastyEighteenth Dynasty
PharaohAmenhotep II
Thutmose IV
Amenhotep III
DiedReign of Amenhotep III, aged 50–60[2]
BurialTT8, Deir el-Medina
SpouseMerit
ChildrenAmenemopet, Nakhteftaneb, Merit

Kha was an ancient Egyptian foreman and official of the Eighteenth Dynasty, active at Deir el-Medina during the reigns of Amenhotep II, Thutmose IV and Amenhotep III.[3] He is also commonly described as an architect, but his attested titles were "chief in the Great Place" and "overseer of works in the Great Place"; as foreman of the royal-necropolis crew, he directed workers engaged in the construction and decoration of royal tombs.[3][4][5]

Kha was married to Merit, with whom he had three children, and died during the reign of Amenhotep III at an estimated age of between 50 and 60.[2][6]

The burial chamber of Kha and Merit was discovered intact in 1906 by the Italian Archaeological Mission led by Ernesto Schiaparelli. Its funerary assemblage comprises more than 460 objects.[7][9] The grave goods form the most abundant, complete and best-preserved non-royal Egyptian funerary collection yet discovered.[8]

Life and career

Detail of Kha's inner coffin (Suppl. 8429).[10]
The mummy of Kha; a gold-disc shebyu collar and other jewellery remain beneath the wrappings (Suppl. 8316/02 = Suppl. 8431).[11] Radiographic examinations revealed the skeleton, dentition and jewellery beneath the wrappings.[11]

Kha was active at Deir el-Medina, the settlement of the workforce employed on the royal tombs, and worked in the Valley of the Kings during the reigns of three pharaohs, Amenhotep II, Thutmose IV and Amenhotep III.[3][12] His duties were primarily supervisory: he oversaw the construction of royal tombs and led the crew responsible for their construction and decoration.[5][4] Surviving lists record crews of 26–30 men during the reign of Amenhotep II and about 44 during the reign of Amenhotep III; in one list Kha's personal mark appears first, probably because he was the foreman.[13]

Kha and Merit had three children: Amenemopet, Nakhteftaneb and a daughter also named Merit. Amenemopet bore the title "Servant in the Royal Necropolis", while his sister Merit was a chantress of Amun.[5][6] Merit died before her husband. The dimensions of the anthropoid coffin in which she was buried, together with funerary texts naming Kha, suggest that it may originally have been prepared for Kha and subsequently used for Merit; empty spaces around her body were filled with linen bearing Kha's name.[14][5]

Kha died during the reign of Amenhotep III, between the ages of 50 and 60. He was buried wearing a gold-disc shebyu collar, part of the "Gold of Honour" awarded by the king to distinguished officials; other jewellery also remained beneath the wrappings.[15]

Medical condition

His skeleton shows spondylosis, a degenerative condition of the spinal column, with osteophytes in the lumbar region; mild degenerative changes are also visible in the knees, and an enthesopathy is present at the insertion of the right triceps brachii.[16] During life he had lost almost all of his upper premolars and molars, as well as several lower teeth, greatly reducing his ability to chew; no injuries attributable to fatal trauma were identified, and the cause of death remains unknown.[16]

Titles and office

Royal cubit rod of wood covered with gold leaf, inscribed with the name of Amenhotep II (Suppl. 8647).[18]

Kha is described in inscriptions as "chief in the Great Place" (Egyptian: Hry (m) st aAt) and "overseer of works in the Great Place" (Egyptian: mr kAt st aAt); the "Great Place" referred to the royal necropolis.[3][19] The first title appears on a wooden statuette, while the second occurs on most objects from his funerary equipment.[20] On a bronze basin (Suppl. 8225), a dedication to his vital essence (Egyptian: ka) calls him "overseer of works".[21] The gilded royal cubit rod bearing the name of Amenhotep II (Suppl. 8647) was a token of the king's appreciation for Kha.[18] Neferhebef and Khaemwaset, who also bore the title "director of works", gave Kha two inscribed canes that served as signs of authority.[22]

Tomb

The burial chamber at the time of its discovery, photographed by Francesco Ballerini in 1906 (C02070).[26]

The burial chamber of Kha and Merit (TT8) was discovered on 15 February 1906 by the Italian Archaeological Mission led by Ernesto Schiaparelli, about 25 m north of the family chapel.[5][27] A landslide had sealed the entrance in antiquity, protecting the chamber from looting; its funerary assemblage comprises more than 460 objects.[7][28] It forms the most abundant, complete and best-preserved collection of non-royal Egyptian grave goods yet discovered.[8] In terms of wealth, the tomb is considered the richest non-royal burial of the New Kingdom, second only to that of Tutankhamun.[29]

Kha's body lay within three nested coffins. The outer coffin was shrine-shaped and enclosed two anthropoid coffins, modelled on the human form; the middle coffin had elements covered with stucco and gold leaf, while the inner coffin was fully gilded.[30][31][10] Almost all of the grave goods were transferred after the excavation to the Museo Egizio in Turin; a small group remained at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.[32]

Other evidence

Funerary stela of sandstone from the family chapel, acquired by the Museo Egizio in Turin with the Drovetti collection in 1824 (Cat. 1618).[35]

A funerary stele from the chapel of Kha and Merit (Cat. 1618) entered the collections of the Museo Egizio in Turin in 1824 through the purchase of the collection of Bernardino Drovetti.[35]

A limestone stele in the British Museum (EA1515) has been associated with Kha, but its attribution is disputed. The upper register depicts Thutmose IV offering flowers and incense to Amun-Ra and the deified Ahmose-Nefertari, while a man named Kha kneels in adoration below.[36] The British Museum currently identifies this Kha as the foreman (Inher)kha, or Inherkhau, associated with TT299.[36] Marianne Eaton-Krauss proposed that the stela had originally been commissioned for the Eighteenth-Dynasty Kha of TT8 and was later restored and adapted for Inherkhau.[37]

Soliman identifies Kha's personal mark on five inscribed sherds (ostraca). Two of them, ONL 6330 and ONL 6369, were found at Deir el-Medina and appear to be "name stones"; Soliman cautions, however, that it is not certain whether these two pieces refer to Kha himself or to a member of his family.[12]

The Louvre holds a sandstone pyramidion bearing Kha's name (E 13988), with Kha shown kneeling in worship on each of its four faces.[38] The object, originally from Kha's funerary chapel (TT8), was discovered on 8 February 1923 in the courtyard of TT326, associated with Pashedu, by the French archaeological mission led by Bernard Bruyère.[38][39]

The Bibliothèque nationale de France holds the Book of the Dead of Merit (inv. 53.2), a funerary papyrus 197 cm long donated by the Duke of Luynes in 1862; its precise findspot is unknown, though Deir el-Medina has been proposed.[40] The papyrus is attributed to Merit because her name occurs more often and precedes Kha's, although it may originally have been prepared for Kha.[39]

References

  1. ↑ "Statuette of Kha". Museo Egizio. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  2. 1 2 Bianucci et al. 2015, pp. 2, 6.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Trapani 2010, p. 6.
  4. 1 2 Soliman 2019, pp. 468, 471–472.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Bianucci et al. 2015, p. 2.
  6. 1 2 Trapani 2010, p. 9.
  7. 1 2 "TT8 Project". Museo Egizio. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 4 La Nasa et al. 2022, pp. 1–2.
  9. ↑ Different counts occur in the scholarly literature: La Nasa et al. give more than 440 objects,[8] while Bianucci et al. give more than 500.[5]
  10. 1 2 3 "Inner coffin of Kha". Museo Egizio. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  11. 1 2 "Mummy of Kha". Museo Egizio. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  12. 1 2 Soliman 2019, p. 502.
  13. ↑ Soliman 2019, pp. 502, 504.
  14. ↑ "Inner coffin of Merit". Museo Egizio. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  15. ↑ Bianucci et al. 2015, pp. 2–4, 6–7.
  16. 1 2 Bianucci et al. 2015, p. 7.
  17. ↑ "Box decorated with pictures of Kha and his wife receiving offerings from their son, Nakhttaneb". Museo Egizio. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  18. 1 2 "Royal cubit rod inscribed with the name of pharaoh Amenhotep II". Museo Egizio. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  19. ↑ Soliman 2019, pp. 471–472.
  20. ↑ Trapani 2010, p. 8.
  21. 1 2 "Basin with a painted inscription: "For the ka of the overseer of works Kha"". Museo Egizio. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  22. ↑ "Cane with bronze tip and inlaid handle, inscribed with Kha's name". Museo Egizio. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  23. ↑ "Bowl with an incised cartouche of Amenhotep III and a painted dedication to the ka of the overseer of works Kha". Museo Egizio. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  24. ↑ "Cane with bronze tip and inlaid handle, inscribed with Kha's name". Museo Egizio. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  25. ↑ "Axe with Kha's monogram incised on the upper face of the blade". Museo Egizio. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  26. ↑ "Burial chamber of the intact tomb of Kha and Merit, at the time of discovery. Schiaparelli excavations". Museo Egizio Photographic Archive. 1906. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  27. ↑ La Nasa et al. 2022, p. 2.
  28. ↑ Different counts occur in the scholarly literature: La Nasa et al. give more than 440 objects,[8] while Bianucci et al. give more than 500.[5]
  29. ↑ "Life and Death at New Kingdom Deir el-Medina". Egypt Exploration Society. 2025. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  30. 1 2 "Outer coffin of Kha". Museo Egizio. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  31. 1 2 "Middle coffin of Kha". Museo Egizio. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  32. ↑ Trapani 2010, p. 15.
  33. ↑ "Original door to the burial chamber of Kha and Merit". Museo Egizio. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  34. ↑ "Book of the Dead of Kha". Museo Egizio. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  35. 1 2 "Funerary stela of Kha". Museo Egizio. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  36. 1 2 "stela". British Museum. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  37. ↑ Eaton-Krauss 1999, pp. 127–128.
  38. 1 2 3 "pyramidion". Louvre Collections (in French). Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  39. 1 2 "From Paris for Kha and Merit. Two masterpieces for the 120th anniversary". Museo Egizio. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  40. ↑ "Papyrus funéraire de la Dame Merit". Bibliothèque nationale de France (in French). Retrieved 25 August 2026.

Bibliography

Sources

Further reading

  • Ferraris, Enrico (2018). La tomba di Kha e Merit (in Italian). Modena: Franco Cosimo Panini. ISBN 9788857014388.
  • Hobson, Christine (1987). Exploring the World of the Pharaohs. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0500050465.
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