About the Tomb of Menna

The most surprising aspect of the ancient mural at Menna’s tomb is the storytelling capacity of the illustrations. I truly spent 15 minutes re-creating the scene in my mind and trying to discover all the symbolism represented.

Humans have developed technologies according to the development of the economy and society. This wall represents the vibrant commerce activity of the time. Reading Hans Barnard's document about “Surveying in Egypt” helped me to identify measurement representations like the “knotted rope” on the upper level and the angle suggestions on the lower level.

I could almost hear the noise of the place where the image shows how the men on the left offer the measurement of the wheat field plus fruits, birds represented with the three trees and fish, which is carried by one of the characters with a lower hierarchy (if smaller size represents lower category). Encountering these men, there are the people on the right who are offering some grains and animals.

The two questions I have are:

-          Do they represent actual quantities in this mural? You can estimate the number of knots on the rope and the grains inside the containers. Are these containers representing quantities, too? Like weight or volume?

-          The other question is also regarding the symbols and the measurement. What does it mean that in the bottom image, 3 men on the left of the grains, holding 3 white devices. 4 men on the bottom holding 4 devices, and 5 men holding 5 devices, as the men on the left. Does this relate to the 4-3-5 proportions?

-          The last question is about the old man in the bottom right side. What is he doing? He looks older because he is depicted with grey hair and a little belly.

In conclusion, this image represents a complex system of measurements that includes: distances, angles and weights. Nevertheless, it shows only the exchange of commodities; it doesn’t show any symbol that represents money as an element of exchange.