TT38, the tomb of Djeserkareseneb also known as Djeserka

 

TT38, the tomb of Djeserkareseneb
also known as Djeserka

 

In this scene, Djeserkareseneb performs his official duties. He walks, with four assistants, along the edge of the standing corn. Down the front of his legs he wears white shin pads and on his feet he has flat white sandals, to protect himself against sharp corn stubble (see th-ewall-03-db). In his left hand he holds a long staff with a hook at the top on to which he could place his thumb, whilst in his right he carries his personal writing equipment.
Two attendants follow be...hind him, each wearing a kilt of a different design and each having a short cropped hairstyle. These kilts and hairstyles can be seen on the other assistants. The one at the extreme left carries his normal sandals and a box over his shoulder, possibly holding spare writing equipment and documents. The other, who is one of Djeserka's sons, although not named as such, is identified by a short column of roughly written hieroglyphs as "The gooseherd, Neferhebef". This one carries a roll of papyrus and a writing tablet.
Two surveyors, immediately in front of Djeserka, measure the field with a length of rope, in order to estimate the yield.

To the right, a scene appears to be divorced from the measurement of the corn field. It consists of two men, the rightmost, who may possibly be a peasant, is leaning forwards, with his hand to his mouth in a sign of respect (in the position of supplication). The man behind him raises a stick in his right hand. He either leads the suveying team or his action is related to the man in front of him (as explained below). A large area of damage surrounds this pair of men, more now than at the time when the line drawing was created.
It is suggested that this right-hand scene was related to the worship of the tree goddess, with a pile of offerings (now mostly lost) in front of the tree, consisting of white crocks of water and, in a small reed case, other smaller vases as well as goblets. Even though it has been suggested that it is a scene of worship of the goddess of the sycamore, normally her image would appear in the tree and there is none. There is certainly now no hieroglyphic textual proof of this on the wall, permitting a different hypothesis. This is undoubtedly the place where Djeserka, his inspection finished, wrote its reports whilst cooling off.
It is suggested is that the taskmaster, standing behind the peasant with a stick, is about to rebuke him, having been caught drinking water from the provisions placed in the shade of the tree.
http://www.osirisnet.net/…/djeserk…/e_djeserkareseneb_03.htm
TT38, the tomb of Djeserkareseneb
also known as Djeserka