Funerary barque in Roy’s tomb

A mural detail in the tomb of Roy shows his mummy being transported in a shrine on a sled which has the form of a boat. A large bouquet of flowers is attached to either side of the shrine which is decorated with Djed pillars (signifying endurance) and Tyet knots (signifying life). The deceased is protected by statues with raised hands of Isis en Nephthys, the goddesses who protected their dead brother Osiris according to Egyptian mythology. The sled is followed by relatives and friends who make gestures of mourning. In front of the sled a Sem priest in a leopard skin performs a fumigation with incense and a libation with water. Roy was an 18th dynasty royal scribe during the reign of Horemheb. His tomb (TT 255) can be found in the Necropolis of Dra Abu el-Naga on the Westbank at Luxor. It is one of the socalled “Tombs of the Nobles”.