Tomb of Kha and Merit

Theban tomb TT8
Burial site of Kha and Merit
The burial chamber of Kha and Merit as discovered in 1906
TT8
Coordinates	25°43′44″N 32°36′03″E / 25.7289°N 32.6009°E / 25.7289; 32.6009
Location	Deir el-Medina, Theban Necropolis
Discovered	Before 1818 (chapel) 15 February 1906 (tomb)
Excavated by	Ernesto Schiaparelli (1906) Bernard Bruyère (1924)
Decoration	Offering and feasting scenes (chapel) Undecorated (tomb)
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The tomb of Kha and Merit, also known by its tomb number TT8, is the funerary chapel and burial place of the ancient Egyptian foreman Kha and his wife Merit, in the northern cemetery of the workmen's village of Deir el-Medina. Kha supervised the workforce who constructed royal tombs in the reigns of the pharaohs Amenhotep II, Thutmose IV and Amenhotep III (r. 1425 – 1353 BC) during the mid-Eighteenth Dynasty. Of unknown background, he probably rose to this position through skill and was rewarded by at least one king. He and his wife Merit had three known children. Kha died in his 50s or 60s, while Merit died before him, seemingly unexpectedly, in her 30s.

The couple's pyramid-shaped chapel was known since at least 1818 when one of their funerary stele was purchased by the antiquarian Bernardino Drovetti. Scenes from the chapel were first copied in the 19th century by early Egyptologists including John Gardiner Wilkinson and Karl Lepsius. The paintings show Kha and Merit receiving offerings from their children and appearing before Osiris, god of the dead. The texts of the chapel were defaced during the reign of Akhenaten and later restored, indicating it was one of the oldest chapels in the village cemetery.

Kha and Merit's tomb was cut into the base of the cliffs opposite their chapel. This position allowed the entrance to be quickly buried by debris deposited by landslides and later tomb construction, hiding its location from ancient robbers. The undisturbed tomb was discovered in February 1906 in excavations led by the Egyptologist Ernesto Schiaparelli on behalf of the Italian Archaeological Mission. The burial chamber contained over 400 items including carefully arranged stools and beds, neatly stacked storage chests of personal belongings, clothing and tools, tables piled with foods such as bread, meats and fruit, and the couple's two large wooden sarcophagi housing their coffined mummies. Merit's body was fitted with a funerary mask; Kha was provided with one of the earliest known copies of Book of the Dead. Their mummies were never unwrapped. X-rays, CT scanning and chemical analyses have revealed neither were embalmed in the typical fashion but are well preserved. Both wear metal jewellery beneath their bandages, although only Kha has funerary amulets.

Almost the entire contents of the tomb was awarded to the excavators and was shipped to Italy soon after the discovery. It has been displayed in the Museo Egizio in Turin since its arrival and the exhibition has been reworked several times, most recently in 2015, where an entire gallery is dedicated to the tomb of Kha and Merit.