News from Parahotep: the Small Finds from his Tomb at Sedment Rediscovered *

Abstract

In 1920/21, a team led by W. M. F. Petrie worked in the vast cemeteries of Sedment in Middle Egypt. Among the tombs discovered, tomb 201 is outstanding in size and can be compared to contemporary elite tombs at Saqqara. The complex contained the burial of the Ramesside vizier (Pa-)Rahotep. Although the vizier and his family relations have been the subject of various discussions, the small finds from his tomb, today kept at Chicago's Oriental Institute Museum, were never taken into account. This article presents the results of a re-examination of all known finds from the tomb, including the architectural elements. It focuses, however, on evidence of the people presumably buried in the tomb, as derived from the small finds. Of particular significance are two shabtis of a high priest of Osiris named Tjay. As Tjay was most probably not buried in tomb 201, the presence of these two figures points to new interpretations of the meaning of shabtis and the use of shabtis by a group of highranking officials in Ramesside Egypt.