November has begun, and the 2025 season in the Asasif has already come to a close. Our work was carried out from 20 September to 16 October 2025. The main objective of the 2025 season was to continue cleaning, consolidating and documenting the large quantity of artefacts unearthed from TT 414, the impressive tomb of Ankh-Hor, High Steward of the Divine Adoratrice Nitocris (26th Dynasty). As in the 2024 season, the focus was on wooden coffins and cartonnage elements from TT 414, including pieces from both the Late and Ptolemaic periods.

This year, a number of fragments of cartonnage elements and cartonnage coffin fragments was consolidated. One example is K02/209 is a fragment of the back part of a head cover for the mummy with the common motif of Isis and Nephtys mourning Osiris as personalised Djed-Pillar.

In general, significant progress has been made in the study of the cartonnage coffins from TT 414 – both regarding consolidation and matching pieces together. One of the most important results of the 2025 season was the identification of the lid of the cartonnage coffin of Wesjr-Wer (Reg. 23/05 fitting to Reg. 23/04). This now confirms that this new Wesjr-Wer III also had a bivalve cartonnage coffin with a zodiac on the inner part of the lid (see already an earlier blog post prior to the matching of the lid and the lower part).

On 14 October 2025, one box containing 30 wooden objects (34 individual pieces in total) was transported to the study magazine of the SCA. The objects were fully documented and 3D scans were taken prior to transportation.

Two days of work were carried out on the West Bank study magazine of the SCA. The aim of the documentation was to update the records of the objects in the magazine. A total of twelve objects were studied, primarily to document items transferred to the magazine using photogrammetry (3D scans with the Scaniverse app) and, where necessary, infrared photography. Five coffins transported in 2019 and seven other objects from one box transported in 2021 were studied.

A day’s work was carried out in the section of the magazine dedicated to registered finds. First, the register book of the Austrian Mission was examined, resulting in the creation of a priority list of all remaining objects from the tomb of Ankh-Hor (TT 414). A total of 22 object numbers were examined. Most of these derive from the intact, in-situ burial of Wah-ib-Re in Room 10.2 of TT 414.

For me, it was a very special moment to be able to study these important finds, which were published in exemplary fashion by Bietak and Reiser-Haslauer. However, it really makes a difference to hold them in your own hands, for example dozens of the shabtis of Wah-ib-Re!

In conclusion, the seventh season of the LMU Ankh-Hor Project was a success, with significant progress made in the consolidation and documentation of wooden and cartonnage coffins from TT 414. However, as not all fragments have been consolidated and documented yet, our work will need to continue into the next season. Joining pieces together is particularly time-consuming, but worthwhile. It was also important to continue work on the study magazine and gain an overview of all objects from TT 414 currently stored in the registered area.

We would like to thank our inspector, Mr Hassan Khalil, for enabling us to work according to the programme of work and for all his support during the 2025 season. The same applies to our conservation inspector, Mrs Iman Ibrahim Zaghlol.

I would also like to thank all the team members who worked with us during the 2025 season: Hassan Aglan and Patrizia Heindl from LMU Munich, Ladina Soubeyrand from HU Berlin, and Iman Ibrahim Zaghlol and Mohamed Mahmoud Mohamed Mahmoud, who worked as conservators, as well as Ashraf Hosni Teegi, who was in charge of logistics.

I’m very much looking forward to our next season in 2026, which I’m sure will be great!