Papyrus with the will of
Neskhonsu
From Thebes,
Egypt
Ptolemaic period, reign of Ptolemy II,
265-264 BC
The distribution of property of a Theban woman
to her eldest son
A number of document archives have survived
from the area around Thebes. These archives belonged to the
'choachyte', a type of priest who took charge of
the
mummified
body and found a suitable tomb: either a newly-built brick tomb, or
a reused rock tomb from an earlier period. In return for these
services the choachyte received a fee. After the burial the priest
carried out prescribed rites until the descendants of the deceased
stopped paying them. At this point it is likely that the mummy was
quietly moved to a repository of bodies and no further rites were
performed.
The mummies and
tombs in the choachyte's care were a major asset and a
considerable source of income. In this will Neskhonsu gives her son
Panas half her rights as a choachyte as well as one and a half
houses in Thebes and half a house on the west bank of the Nile. In
return Panas is expected to look after her while she lives and give
her a good burial when she dies. It does not seem likely that there
were female choachytes; Neskhonsu probably inherited the rights to
tomb fees from her husband.
C.A.R. Andrews, Catalogue of demotic papyri in (London, The British Museum Press, 1990)
S. Quirke and A.J. Spencer, The British Museum book of anc (London, The British Museum Press, 1992)