Two parallel lines

These depict the recruits that arrive at the warehouse’s entrance with an empty bag in hand, looking for what is owed to them. Order is maintained by officials wielding sticks who make them wait in two parallel lines (note: they are in pairs, making it difficult to tell them apart). The artist has placed two trees to the third register to break up the monotony. The uniforms enable the soldiers to be recognised from one another. The top two registers’ recruits are dressed in a short kilt with a netting attachment (possibly of leather),A slightly longer, divided kilt is worn by people in the lower of the three registers. Officers wear a plain white kilt and a transparent vest, with those in the front row additionally wearing a long transparent skirt over the kilt; the officers’ better quality gear allows them to be identified quickly. Two officers are stationed among the top register’s recruits. Because two recruits “kiss the ground” in front of him, it’s possible that the officer on the right is Userhat. Because the inscriptions have not been set in the columns, it is impossible to be positive.

Object Details

Two parallel lines

New Kingdom

Dynasty 18, Reigns of Amenhotep II

1427 to 1401 BC

Egypt, Luxor, Sheikh Abd el-Qurna

Tomb of Userhat, TT56

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