The Tomb of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep was discovered by Mounir
Basta in 1964 in Saqqara. Basta found the tomb by crawling through a series of
passages in the escarpment facing the causeway to the pyramid of Unas. The tomb
has been a curiosity, areas of it have been reconstructed and the tomb has been
studied, however, very little has been written about it. Mr. Greg Reeder,
contributing editor to the Egyptology Journal KMT, is hoping to remedy
this soon (personal communication).
When the mastaba was reconstructed, the archaeologists found two
hieroglyphic inscriptions, one for each of the men who share the tomb. Each
inscription was the same, though each was addressed to one of the men- the
right for Niankhkhnum and the left for Khnumhotep.
These men also shared titles in the
palace of King Niuserre of the
Fifth
Dynasty. The shared titles were "Overseer of the Manicurists in the Palace
of the King, King's Acquaintance and Royal Confidant."
Throughout the tomb there are scenes of the men embracing each other. It has long been debated as to what their relationship was; brothers, twins, close friends, lovers or all of the above. Whatever their relationship was, it is obvious from the scenes that they were close. Even their names show their closeness. It is unclear when they changed their names, however, the names they took have been translated. Niankhkhnum means "joined to life" and Khnumhotep means "joined to 'the blessed state of the dead'" and together the names can be translated as "joined in life and joined in death"
They
were so close, in fact, that there is a scene showing them in the most intimate
embrace possible in Ancient Egyptian art. Niankhkhnum holding Khnumhotep's
right forearm and with Khnumhotep's hand on Niankhkhum's left shoulder; the
tips of their noses touching. One of the interesting aspects of this picture is
that the waist ties of their kilts appear to be tied together, perhaps
symbolizing their unity.
From some of the other pictures in the tomb it is known that Niankhkhnum had been married in life, and had children. It is believed that the pictures of the wife were scratched out so the men could be the main guests of honor in the tomb.
You can email Greg All photos are copyright 1998, Greg Reeder. Used by permission.
Sources
Reeder, Greg. Email to the author. 21, November 1998.
The Tomb of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep http://www.egyptology.com/niankhkhnum_khnumhotep/
The Dallas Morning News- Evidence of Gay Relationships Exists as Early as 2400 B.C. http://www.egyptology.com/niankhkhnum_khnumhotep/dallas.html
Dena Connors-Millard