The Tomb of Sinnefer is famous for its grapevine-decorated ceiling. It was uncovered in 1826 and is one of the largest tombs of nobles from the 18th Dynasty in the Taiba Necropolis.
The tomb is located in the so-called South Hill at the top of a hill. Sinnefer was a high-ranking official during the reign of King Amenhotep III around 1413 BCE. Due to his family ties and influential positions, he held titles such as hereditary prince, mayor of the southern city (Thebes), overseer of the grain stores of Amun, overseer of the bulls of Amun, and supervisor of the farmers. He was also the overseer of the beautiful cows of Amun-Ra and the overseer of the fields of Amun.
Sinnefer married three wives, all royal nurses: Senai, the king’s nurse who had a statue found in “The Hidden of Karnak”; Sen-um-Aah, the chief nurse of Pharaoh Amenhotep II; and Sinnefer, the nurse of the pharaoh and singer of Amun. However, his beloved wife was Meret, one of the singers of Amun, who was ordained with him.
Notable Features
The tomb is distinguished by its ceiling decorated with grapevines. Much of the ceiling shows a trellis or vine depiction, creating the impression of standing under a grape arbor heavy with large grapes. This makes it the first tomb in history to use a form of three-dimensional technology. The tomb consists of a single chamber.
On the surface, there is a burial niche made up of three transverse rooms with columns. It is noteworthy that in 1905 this niche was used to store antiquities found in other tombs of the region. The most famous of these is the tomb of Tutankhamun.
The tomb’s walls contain many scenes and drawings in beautiful colors. One of the most famous depictions in the tomb is the harvest festival. Another large scene shows the grain storage of Amun, supervised by Sinnefer.