Minmose_Hist-Data

Minmose

last update: 25.12.2010

Historical Data

Name	Title	Statues	Origin	Tomb
Minmose (Min-mose) mnw-msjw	Overseer of the Granary		?	MMA59 (later reused during the 21st Dynasty by the "Mistress of the House" Henettawy)
Wife: unknown
Parents:
Father: unknown
Mother: unknown
Brothers:
none known
Sisters:
none known
Children:
none known

Sources:
Naville, Temple of Deir el-Bahari, Part VI, 1908;
Hayes, W. C., Ostraka and name stones from the tomb of Sen-Mut (no. 71) at Thebes, PMMA 15, 1942;

A person called Minmose is testified several times during the reign of Hatshepsut - if it is the same persons.

The inscription of the southern wing of the first (lower) portico mentions an "Overseer of the Granary" called Minmose who participated in the transportation of the obelisks from Aswan to Thebes (see figure below).

Scene from the temple Djeser djeseru which shows the transportation of the obelisks (taken from: Naville, Temple of Deir el-Bahari, Part VI, 1908, plate CLIV). The "Overseer of the Granary" Minmose is the person in the middle of the three which were depicted gesticulating, in the case of Minmose using a stick or a tool - most likely to give command - at the stem of the barque which transport the obeliisks.

According to Naville the names (from right to left) of the "Head of the Domains of the Queen", Tetaenra, the "Overseer of the Granary", Minmose, and the prince of This, Satep-ah, appears to be inscribed over others which had been erased. Remains of some signs support this.

This Minmose has also been identified with the donator of a pot whose fragments had been discovered by Donald Ryan in KV60, which was assigned to the tomb of the nurse of Hatshepsut, called Sat-Ra (= Si-Ra). The docket of the jar fragments that once contained olive oil had been donated by the "Overseer of the Granary, Minmose" and was the reason to date the tomb into the reign of Hatshepsut (in contrast to H. Carter who dated the tomb at its discovery into the time of Thutmos IV).

Among the inscribed ostraca from the area of the tomb of Senenmut, TT71, Hayes (Hayes, 1942) listed under no. 115 (on plate Tafel XXI) the names of two person, Ahmose and Minmose. However, the short inscription gives no titles for the persons, nevertheless this may have been the same Minmose who has been mentioned at Deir el-Bahari and in KV60.

During his excavation in the temple of Hatshepsut Winlock discovered during the season 1930-31 an inscribed limestone flake in the 2nd (middle) court (see below, left a photo, right a copy of the text, both figures taken from: Hayes; Thutmoside Ostraca from DeB, 1960, Tafeln IX und IXa), which reports about "serfs making a corvée". i.e. they had to transport stones. Furthermore, the inscriptions tells that these workers were in the charge of Minmose.

1.	Regnal year 10, month of Shomu, day 20. Making a corvée for hauling stone
2.	i[n] Djeser-djeseru: the serfs who are in the charge of Minmose.
3.	[the Scribe?] Pachrod,	(blocks of) stone,	42
4.	the Scribe Ahmose,	"	28
5.	Yauef	"	28
6.	Nebamin;	"	7
7.	Ibi	"	7
8.	Total	"	112
9.	the Scribe Iy	"	56
10.	the House of the King's Wife, the justified	"	56
11.	Total (blocks of) stone,	"	112
12.	Combined (total)	"	224

Translation of the inscription by Hayes (loc. cit.)

Again the inscription gives no title for Minmose. Certainly, his is in charge for some workers so it may be assumed that he had an official position but this ostracon does not testify that he is identical with "Overseer of the Granary" with the same name.

Winlock (BMMA - Egyptian Expedition 1923-24) identified the owner of tomb MMA59 with the "Overseer of the Granary, Minmose" who is depicted participating in the transport of the obelisks. Tomb MMA59 is located north of the temple area directly next to the enclosure wall of the lower court of the DeB-temple of Hatshepsut, there were west of the small gate the old enclosure wall of the temple of Mentuhotep II is crossed by the newer wall of the Hatshepsut precinct.

Winlock reported that this is an old tomb from the 11th Dynasty (Winlock, Excavations at DeB 1911-31. New York 1942, S. 208). If so Minmose had reused the tomb.

Location of the tomb MMA59 (red oval) according to Winlock (1942).

According to Winlock (loc. cit.) the burial of Minmose was most likely plundered and later reused during 21th Dynasty by the "Mistress of the House, Henettawy" whereby not only the most likely empty tomb had been reused but also remains from the coffin of Minmose had been used to block the entrance.

However, the report published by the MMA does not contain any information on what findings (inscriptions?) Winlock had identified this Minmose with the "Overseer of the Granary, Minmose" who was shown participating in the transport of the obelisks.

On the Sinai on a small stela the scribe Minmose immortalized himself as: "Oversser of the treasury and Head (xrp) of [….] of the "God's Wife" (Černı, J., The Inscriptions OF Sinai by Alan H. Gardiner and T. Eric Peet. 2nd ed., London 1952, no. 233). The reference to the "God's Wife" may date him into the time of the regency of Hatshepsut (Helck, Verwaltung, 1958), but finally again it is not possible to identify this men with certainty with the "Overseer of the Granary, Minmose".