The Treasures of Tanis at the Egyptian National Museum

We headed over to the Egyptian National Museum on Tahrir Square one afternoon last week specifically to see the treasures of Tanis, the town which we visited a number of days ago.


There was a very large crowd in place with their tour guides leading them from spot to spot.  I realize now how we have missed this room in the past.  The sign is mounted high above the door and you are distracted by looking at  King Tut's large shrine enclosures as you pass the Tanis Room.



Remember that the world has been focused on King Tut while the golden masks, ornaments and other items found in Tanis are equally as beautiful and important in Egyptian history. Don't blame the guides for neglecting this room; they were merely bowing to tourists' requests.

In his eleventh year digging in the area, French archeologist and professor at the University of Strasbourg, Pierre Montet, discovered the tomb complex at Tanis.  While the first tomb had been partially robbed, as new unplundered tombs were opened up, the world began to take notice.  The Associated Press filed at least eight stories in the fourteen months following the initial discovery in February of 1939.  This story in the Minneapolis Tribune in early 1940 is typical.
 

Interest ran high.  Stories ran under headlines like, "DISCOVER TOMB OF SOLOMAN'S FATHER-IN-LAW".   King Farouk came to the site twice to personally help lift the lids on the coffins.  This was believed to be the city from which Moses had led the Exodus (See Zoan in several verses in the Old Testament) and the treasures were exquisite.

Two of the biggest problems with the Egyptian National Museum are that the lighting ranges from bad to awful and exhibit labels are sometimes missing entirely.  The Tanis Room is a good example.


Here, Roshdy holds up his cell phone so we can read the description of the room contents.  Pierre Montet receives minimal credit for his eleven years of excavation.






There was (and possibly still is) some confusion about who the tombs were built for, whose names are on the coffins and who is inside.  This list and "cemetery plot" is about the best that I have found.

But there is no issue with the documentation of the major treasures on display.  The silver sarcophagus of Sheshonq II retained a nice polish after three thousand years.  The Hieroglyphics are very clear.



 

The highlight of the room is the funerary mask of King Psusennes. Since the Tut treasures have been removed to the new museum, the Tanis room receives more visitors and and the admiration that it has deserved all along.




Several items of his jewelry are on display.







I think this incision cover must have been nailed to a a wall at some time.