Chapter 3 The Unnamed Princess in the Tomb of Bint-Anath: A Reconsideration

In: Rethinking Ancient Egypt
Author:
Heather L. McCarthy
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Chapter
Pages:
49–71
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004708402_004

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Abstract

QV 71, the tomb of Bint-Anath, the eldest daughter and great royal wife of Ramesses II, is located on the north flank of the Valley of the Queens. As with all other decorated Ramesside queens’ tombs in the valley, QV 71 possesses a rich, complex program that reinforces the tomb’s cosmographic value as the deceased royal woman’s netherworld landscape. However, unlike these other tombs, which are adorned with scenes depicting the tomb owner alone amongst the gods, QV 71’s program represents another human being along with the deceased queen. This person is an unnamed princess, who is shown twice in the sarcophagus chamber. The presence of these two princess figures in the tomb has led scholars to speculate that they represent a daughter of Ramesses II and his daughter-wife Bint-Anath, a notion that, while possible, is not the near certainty that present scholarly consensus suggests and not the only explanation for their inclusion in QV 71’s decorative program. In this paper, I will provide a close reading, reexamination, and analysis of the two princess figures and their programmatic contexts in order to present alternative interpretations of their meaning and function within the tomb.

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Rethinking Ancient Egypt

Studies in Honor of Ann Macy Roth

Series:  Harvard Egyptological Studies, Volume: 22
Cover Rethinking Ancient Egypt
E-Book ISBN:
9789004708402
Publisher:
Brill
Print Publication Date:
24 Sep 2024
Front Matter
Part 1 New Interpretations
Part 2 Rethinking Methodologies
Part 3 New Evidence
Back Matter

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