Papers by Khaled Abdel Ghany
Scribe: the Magazine of the American Research Center in Egypt, 2025
Since the discovery of the tombs KV 20 and KV 38, there has been an ongoing discussion on the ide... more Since the discovery of the tombs KV 20 and KV 38, there has been an ongoing discussion on the identification of the earliest royal tomb in the Valley of the Kings and the dating of the discovery of the Amduat specimen limestone from both tombs. New perspectives result from the author’s own research in KV 38, during which another mud-plaster Amduat specimen is discovered. This article presents the preservation treatment of the paintings of the limestone slabs of Amdaut and the further exploration in the tomb KV 38 to search for more fragments of Amduat and other royal finds of the King Thutmose I.
Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde 150, 2023
In 2019 and as part of the project “Thutmose’ I Amduat-Specimen”, further research work was perfo... more In 2019 and as part of the project “Thutmose’ I Amduat-Specimen”, further research work was performed at the tomb KV 38. During last course of this exploration, I achieved to secure more small mud-plaster fragments of the Book of Amduat, of which the cliff walls of the burial chamber were decorated. These different Amduat fragments can be identified as a part of the fourth, eighth, and ninth hour of the Book of Amduat. About the ninth hour there had never been a hint or a corresponding mention of it before. Therefore, this is also a piece of new archaeological evidence. After a comparative analysis of the paleographic and iconographic features of the displayed scenes on the newly found Amduat fragments with similar scenes from the tomb KV 34, it could be proved that there is a definite development between the time of Thutmose I and his successors. Furthermore, these sections highlight the iconographic features of the Amduat version of Thutmose I – their characteristic attributes and archaic decoration style form the original basis on which all subsequent versions have been built. Thus, this version could be the earliest source of the theological underworld books of the early 18th Dynasty.
GÖTTINGER MISZELLEN 262, 2020
MDAIK 74, 2018
After analysing and publishing the different motifs of the Celestial Cow, found on the cliff wall... more After analysing and publishing the different motifs of the Celestial Cow, found on the cliff walls of the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings and on the coffins of the 21st Dynasty, my conclusion is as follows: The first evolution features of the Celestial Cow scene did not emerge at the beginning of the Third Intermediate Period but rather earlier in the middle of the 20th Dynasty. Furthermore, in the New Kingdom the abridged image or reduced motif of the Celestial Cow also appeared in the Valley of the Kings, and this motif was an archetype for similar scenes that were found on the coffins of high priests and priestesses of Amun. In consequence, during the 21st Dynasty a further evolution of different characteristic features took place and continued. These various distinct developments were illustrated by the variety of iconographic depictions of the Celestial Cow motifs during the 21st Dynasty. Evidently, in this era a new composition of religious iconography for the cosmology and the underworld was created.
Zeitschrift für gyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde, ZÄS 146/1, 2019
This article deals with the further exploration in tomb KV 38 in the Valley of Kings. In the cour... more This article deals with the further exploration in tomb KV 38 in the Valley of Kings. In the course of this exploration in early 2018 I discovered more small mud-plaster fragments of the Amduat book. These different Amduat fragments can be identified as a part of the fourth, sixth, seventh, eighth and tenth hour of the book of Amduat. Therefore, these Amduat fragments prove that possibly the cliff walls of the tomb of king Thutmose I were originally encased and decorated with a complete corpus of the book of Amduat (long version). After an examination of the displayed scenes and their comparison with similar sections of the Amduat from tomb KV 34 it turned out that both specimens show clear differences and that both tombs have manifold artistic variations. Therefore, both specimen are originate from different reigns and were not made by the same king.
Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Abteilung Kairo, Band 73, 2017
This study is dealing with a limestone fragment, which was discovered in tomb KV 37 and is dated ... more This study is dealing with a limestone fragment, which was discovered in tomb KV 37 and is dated from the New Kingdom, namely the ostracon of the Cairo museum CG 25019. The ostracon is illustrated with different inscriptions on both sides. On the front side there is a kneeling king in the offering position and on the reverse side a theme of the heavenly cow is seen, also showing the god of the sun riding in his night-shape.
Since no similar nor comparable themes were found from the New Kingdom, it is my conclusion that this theme of the heavenly cow on the ostracon is the earliest illustration of the heavenly cow theme with the ramheaded god of the sun from the New Kingdom. Therefore this can also be assumed to be the archetype for similar scenes that were found on papyri and coffins of the Late Period.
Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde 143/1, 2016
After thorough comparative examination of the Amduat limestone fragments from the tombs of king ... more After thorough comparative examination of the Amduat limestone fragments from the tombs of king Thutmose I (KV38) and queen Hatshepsut (KV20), it is my conclusion that these limestone fragments of the oldest and earliest version of the Amduat Book together are forming an entity, that this is actually one single specimen. Therefore I assume that all fragments originate from only one tomb, namely from Thutmose I (KV 38), and neither from two different tombs nor from different reigns. It therefore seems problematic to state that any of these fragments might originate from tomb KV 20. Moreover, after having discovered the earliest ever mud-plaster fragments of the Amduat Book in the tomb of Thutmose I (KV 38) in the Valley of Kings, I could prove that the Amduat Book was already known during the reign of Thutmose I.
Göttinger Miszellen 248, 2016
Eine Untersuchung von Architektur und Inventar der Gräber KV 38 (Thutmosis I.) und KV 20 (Hatsche... more Eine Untersuchung von Architektur und Inventar der Gräber KV 38 (Thutmosis I.) und KV 20 (Hatschepsut) im Tal der Könige und der Amduat-Fragmente aus KV 38 im Kairener Museum führt zu dem Schluss, dass es keinerlei Hinweise oder Merkmale gibt, die darauf hindeuten, dass diese aus der Regierungszeit Thutmosis' III. stammen könnten. Daher kann das Grab KV 38 nicht in die Zeit Thutmosis' III. datiert werden. Zudem weisen die architektonischen Merkmale und typologischen Kriterien der Gräber darauf hin, dass KV 38 das erste Grab im Tal der Könige war und dem König Thutmosis I. gehörte.
Books by Khaled Abdel Ghany
عقيدة المصريين القدماء فى وادى الملوك, 2024
يُلقي هذا الكتاب مزيدًا من الضوء على أهم سمات كتب العالم الآخر التي ظهرت في بداية الدولة الحديثة،... more يُلقي هذا الكتاب مزيدًا من الضوء على أهم سمات كتب العالم الآخر التي ظهرت في بداية الدولة الحديثة، وذلك من حيث النشأة والمسمَّى والمحتوى، وأيضًا الهيكل أو المكون الأساسي لكل كتاب من هذه الكتب ( الأمي دوات، الأناشيد شمسية، البقرة السماوية، البوابات، الكهوف، الأرض)، بالإضافة إلى التعرُّف على أهم مراحل تطور السمات الفنية للنصوص والمناظر المصاحبة لها، وذلك من حيث توزيع كل كتاب داخل المقابر الملكية بوادي الملوك، والعلاقة التي تربط كل كتاب بالأخر، إضافةً إلى أهمية توزيع الساعات داخل حجرات أو ممرات المقابر المختلفة ومغزاها الديني أو مقدار النفع الذي سوف يعود من خلالها على صاحب المقبرة، وأيضًا البحث في الحلقات المفقودة التي تربط مراحل تطور هذه الكتب بين الأسرات وبعضها البعض.
ويبحث الكتاب أيضا العلاقة التي تربط الملك المتوفي برب الشمس والمعبود أوزير، بالإضافة إلى العلاقة التي تربطهم بمعبودات ومخلوقات العالم الآخر أثناء الرحلة الليلية لرب الشمس واهم أدوار كل منهم على حدا، حيث طرأ على كتب العالم الآخر العديد من مراحل وأشكال التطور المختلفة التي بدأت مع ظهور هذه الكتب الجنائزية في بداية الأسرة الثامنة عشرة وحتى نهاية عصر الدولة الحديثة.
كما يتناول الكتاب بداية ظهور اقدم نسخة ملكية من أول كتاب جنائزي من كتب العالم الآخر وهو كتاب «الإمي دوات» داخل جدران مقابر وادي الملوك، وأهم الاكتشافات الأثرية الحديثة التي قام بها المؤلف، والتي ظهرت من خلال أقدم مقبرة في وادي الملوك، وهي مقبرة الملك تحتمس الأول.
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Papers by Khaled Abdel Ghany
Since no similar nor comparable themes were found from the New Kingdom, it is my conclusion that this theme of the heavenly cow on the ostracon is the earliest illustration of the heavenly cow theme with the ramheaded god of the sun from the New Kingdom. Therefore this can also be assumed to be the archetype for similar scenes that were found on papyri and coffins of the Late Period.
Books by Khaled Abdel Ghany
ويبحث الكتاب أيضا العلاقة التي تربط الملك المتوفي برب الشمس والمعبود أوزير، بالإضافة إلى العلاقة التي تربطهم بمعبودات ومخلوقات العالم الآخر أثناء الرحلة الليلية لرب الشمس واهم أدوار كل منهم على حدا، حيث طرأ على كتب العالم الآخر العديد من مراحل وأشكال التطور المختلفة التي بدأت مع ظهور هذه الكتب الجنائزية في بداية الأسرة الثامنة عشرة وحتى نهاية عصر الدولة الحديثة.
كما يتناول الكتاب بداية ظهور اقدم نسخة ملكية من أول كتاب جنائزي من كتب العالم الآخر وهو كتاب «الإمي دوات» داخل جدران مقابر وادي الملوك، وأهم الاكتشافات الأثرية الحديثة التي قام بها المؤلف، والتي ظهرت من خلال أقدم مقبرة في وادي الملوك، وهي مقبرة الملك تحتمس الأول.