Thuya (sometimes transliterated as Touiyou, Thuiu, Tuya, Tjuyu or Thuyu) was an Egyptian noblewoman and the mother of queen Tiye, and the wife of Yuya. She is the grandmother of Akhenaten, and great grandmother of Tutankhamun.

Origins

thumb|Depiction of Thuya (left) in Yuya's copy of the [[Book of the Dead]]

Thuya is believed to be a descendant of Queen Ahmose-Nefertari, and she held many official roles in the interwoven religion and government of ancient Egypt. She was involved in many religious cults; her titles included 'Singer of Hathor' and 'Chief of the Entertainers' of both Amun and Min. She also held the influential offices of Superintendent of the Harem of the god Min of Akhmin and of Amun of Thebes. She married Yuya, a powerful ancient Egyptian courtier of the Eighteenth Dynasty. She is believed to have died in around 1375 BC in her early to mid 50s.

Children

Yuya and Thuya had a daughter named Tiye, who became the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. The great royal wife was the highest Egyptian religious position, serving alongside of the pharaoh in official ceremonies and rituals.

Yuya and Thuya also had a son named Anen, who carried the titles Chancellor of Lower Egypt, Second Prophet of Amun, sm-priest of Heliopolis and Divine Father.

They also may have been the parents of Ay, an Egyptian courtier active during the reign of pharaoh Akhenaten who became pharaoh after the death of Tutankhamun. However, there is no conclusive evidence regarding the kinship of Yuya and Ay, although certainly, both men came from Akhmim.

Tomb

thumb|left|210px|A jewellry box from Yuya and Thuya's tomb

thumb|The mummy of Thuya

thumb|The Second Coffin of Thuya in the [[Egyptian Museum.]]

Thuya was interred in tomb KV46 in the Valley of the Kings, together with her husband Yuya, where their largely intact burial was found in 1905. It was the best-preserved tomb discovered in the Valley before that of Tutankhamun, Thuya's great-grandson. The tomb was discovered by a team of workmen led by archaeologist James Quibell on behalf of the American millionaire Theodore M. Davis. Ancient robbers had partially dismantled it to access her coffins and mummy, placing its lid and one long side on a bed on the other side of the tomb; the other long side had been leaned against the south wall. Her outer gilded anthropoid coffin had been removed, its lid placed atop the beds, and the trough put into the far corner of the tomb; the lid of her second (innermost) coffin, also gilded, had been removed and placed to one side although the trough and her mummy remained inside the sarcophagus. Quibell suggests this is due to the robbers having some difficulty in removing the lid of this coffin. The mummy bands that had once covered her wrapped mummy were recovered above the storage jars on the far side of the room. embalming material had also been placed into her mouth and throat. Her teeth were in poor condition at the time of her death, with missing molars. Heavy wear and abscesses had been noted in earlier x-rays. The scan revealed that she had mild scoliosis with a Cobb angle of 25 degrees. No cause of death could be determined.

Archaeological items pertaining to Thuya

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File:Thuya.jpg|Statue of Thuya, now in the Louvre

File:Outer Coffin of Thuya 2023.jpg|The large outer coffin of Thuya in the Egyptian Museum

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References

  • KV 46 (Yuya and Thuyu) - Theban Mapping Project
  • The Theban Royal Mummy Project - View 18th Dynasty Mummies from the Theban Royal Necropolis