Tomb of Kha and Merit

The tomb of Kha and Merit, also known by its tomb number TT8, is the funerary chapel and tomb of the ancient Egyptian foreman Kha and his wife Merit, in Deir el-Medina. Active during the mid-Eighteenth Dynasty, Kha supervised the workforce who constructed royal tombs in the reigns of pharaohs Amenhotep II, Thutmose IV and Amenhotep III (r. 1425 – 1353 BC). Of unknown background, he rose to this position through skill and was rewarded by at least one king. He and his wife Merit had three known children. Kha died in his 50s or 60s, while Merit died before him, seemingly unexpectedly, in her 30s.

The couple's pyramid-chapel was known since at least 1824 when one of their funerary stele entered the collection of the Museo Egizio in Turin, Italy. Scenes from the chapel were first copied in the 19th century by early Egyptologists including John Gardiner Wilkinson and Karl Lepsius. The paintings show Kha and Merit receiving offerings from their children and appearing before Osiris, god of the dead. The texts of the chapel were defaced during the reign of Akhenaten and later restored, indicating it was one of the oldest chapels in the cemetery.

Kha and Merit's undisturbed tomb was discovered in February 1906 in excavations led by the Egyptologist Ernesto Schiaparelli on behalf of the Italian Archaeological Mission, dug into the base of the cliffs opposite the chapel. This separation contributed to its survival, allowing the entrance to be quickly buried by debris. The burial chamber contained over 400 items including carefully arranged stools and beds, neatly stacked storage chests of personal belongings, clothing and tools, tables piled with foods such as bread, meats and fruit, and the couple's two large wooden sarcophagi housing their coffined mummies. Merit's body was fitted with a funerary mask; Kha was provided with one of the earliest known copies of Book of the Dead. Their mummies were never unwrapped. The use of X-rays, CT scanning and chemical analysis has revealed neither were embalmed in the typical fashion but are well preserved. Both wear metal jewellery beneath their bandages, although only Kha has funerary amulets.

Almost the entire contents of the tomb was awarded to the excavators and was shipped to Italy soon after the discovery. It has been on display in the Museo Egizio in Turin since its arrival and has been redisplayed several times, most recently in 2015, where an entire gallery is dedicated to the exhibition of TT8.