The aim of the present study is an evaluation of the sources related to the “osirification” (rdit r Wsir) carried out on some royal mummies in the Theban necropolis at the beginning of the Third Intermediate Period. Under the pontificate of Paynedjem I, the osirification becomes a “phenomenon,” not only historical but also political, to reaffirm the power of the new dynasty of priests of Amun in Thebes. The “temporary” or “definitive” cache is not only a suitable site for storing royal mummies, but it is a proof of the organizational capacity of the management system of the necropolis. At the center of this phenomenon is the activity of the royal scribe Butehamun and his family to participate at the osirification operations and to define new sites and operating methods for the transfer of the royal mummies in caches.
Osirification; caches; royal mummies; Paynedjem I; Butehamun
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