The Tomb of Harwa

Attended a lecture at the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) given by Dr. Francesco Tiradritti, director of the Italian Archaeological Mission to Luxor. Supported by an excellent powerpoint presentation, Dr Tiradritti outlined the Mission's excavations in the Tomb of Harwa near Luxor, Egypt since 1995. "Harwa was an important official in 7th Century BC Egypt, during the reign of the Nubian pharaohs of the 25th dynasty. Harwa held the position of Great Steward of the Divine Adoratrice of Amun, controlling huge resources of the temple estate of god Amun-Re in Karnak. "
Dr Tiradritti explained how the tomb was a metatext for the journey through life, death and rebirth. With detailed examples, he explained how the 7th century BC can be considered the Egyptian Renaissance. He related how a biscuit wrapper and newspaper left in a robbers lair in the tomb during the Second World War helped his team recover stolen fragments of wall decoration.