Biography
Yuya (also known as louiya) was a powerful egyptian courtier for Amenhotep III during the 18th Dynasty of Egypt (circe 1390). Yuya came from the Upper Egyptian town of Akhmim, where he owned an estate and was a wealthy member of the town's local nobility. He was married to Tjuyu, an Egyptian noblewoman associated with the royal family, who held high offices in the governmental and religious hierarchies. Their daughter, Tiye, became the wife of Amenhotep III. Yuya also has a son, Anen, who carried the titles Chancellor of Lower Egypt, Second Prophet of Amun, sm-priest of Heliopolis, and Divine Father.
Mummification
The tomb of Yuya and Tjuyu was discovered by James Quibell and Theodore M. Davis in 1905 and was considered one of the most spectacular discoveries in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes, until the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb. Both the mummies were largely intact and were in an amazing state of preservation. Their faces in particular were relatively undistorted by the process of mummification, and provide an extraordinary insight into the actual appearance of the deceased while alive. Yuya is believed to have died around 1374BC in his mid 50s.The goods buried with Yuya and Tjuyu constituted probably the finest ensemble of high-class New Kingdom furniture, etc., recovered before the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun seventeen years later.
General step by step process of mummification:
- Pull brain out of nose using a hook
- Make a cut on the left side of the body near the tummy
- Remove all internal organs
- Let the internal organs dry
- Place the lungs, intestines, stomach and liver inside canopic jars
- Place the heart back inside the body
- Rinse inside of body with wine and spices
- Cover the corpse with natron (salt) for 70 days
- After 40 days stuff the body with linen or sand to give it a more human shape
- After the 70 days wrap the body from head to toe in bandages
- Place in a sarcophagus
G. E. Smith describes the mummy of Yuya as one of the finest examples
of the embalming practices of the 18'th Dynasty. The mummy is that of an
old man, and Maspero stated that Yuya was probably in his sixties when he
died. His thick, wavy hair is a yellowish color, and was probably bleached by
the embalming materials rather than being naturally blonde. Smith says the
hair was white when Yuya died. His body cavity was packed with balls of
linen soaked in resins, and his perineum is thickly coated with resinous
material to such an extent that his genitals are completely covered. Yuya's
arms were crossed over his chest, with the fingers of the hands extended.
His eye sockets were packed with linen and the eyelids had been pulled
closed.
Studies
The mummy of Yuya was found along with that of his wife, Tjuya. When found, Yuya was still in his coffins, but the lids had been removed and the mummy had been rifled by thieves in search of valuables. In spite ofthis, Yuya's mummy was not substantially damaged, and a few objects remained on the body or in the torn bandages. Quibell noted that Yuya had gold fingerstalls covering his fingers, and X-rays taken by Harris show finger-rings still in place on Yuya's hands.
Pathology
The cause of his death is unknown.
Additional Info
The mummy of Yuya was one of the few non-royal burials in the Valley, and indicates the high esteem in which Yuya and Tuyu were held by Amenhotep III, their son-in-law.
External Links
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuya
http://www.mylearning.org/a-step-by-step-guide-to-egyptian-mummification/p-1681/