In an interview on Ancient Egypt

The Chapel of Ptahhotep – this is really cool. It’s a photographic study of a single tomb space, an Old Kingdom tomb in the necropolis of Saqqara, near Cairo. There are hundreds, thousands of books and catalogues on Egyptian art, and most offer a good sense of visual culture, but this one is different. It is a detailed study of the tomb of one individual, taking you through the space and allowing you to examine all aspects, from the modelling of the dominant figure of the tomb-owner, to tiny details such as how the harpist’s fingers move over the strings, how the lips of the flautists are wrapped around the flute. You can begin to see decisions made by individual artists from the master craftsmen to trainees who are less skilled and have perhaps been given less important areas to concentrate on. I have actually worked with this team in Egypt and Paulo, the photographer, is just brilliant at capturing Egyptian scenes; the grainy stone surface, the curve of shoulder, the feathering of a bird’s wing. In the commentary Yvonne identifies the components of each scene and explains possible meanings. But she also discusses practical aspects such as problems encountered when taking the photograph and also, crucially, conservation issues. Tombs like these are deteriorating rapidly; in the photos you can see paint flaking away and other indicators of damage. These tombs are so vulnerable and books like this provide a permanent record for the future.

Do you have a favourite bit?

The photos I love are of the musicians, such as one of the musicians’ fingers – it’s almost as if they’re really playing. The artists are trying to create music through their work and you can almost hear it.

Do we know what it might have sounded like?

Scholars have tried to reconstruct aspects of it from the instruments represented and the words of the songs sometimes inscribed nearby, but we can’t know exactly what it sounded like.

I am always struck by the fact that they had such low life-expectancy and the people in the paintings must have been so young. Is that true?

Egypt was a brutal peasant society, so if you were working in the fields or as a local craftsman you would have probably lived into your thirties or forties maximum and, of course, there was very high infant mortality and many women died in childbirth. But if you were an official of higher status you could live into your seventies and eighties. These were the sorts of people building these tombs, like Ptahhotep’s; the elite with long-standing careers. As soon as you had the money and status you would start building your tomb but, even then, a lot of them aren’t finished. Some people didn’t quite make it!

During the building process it is likely that people came to visit – you could show it off to your friends and peers. There are texts that mention processions through and inspections of workshops, so in a sense you were saying; ‘Look what I can afford!’ The construction of a tomb was a significant indicator of rank and prestige. And then once you were dead the tomb would be part of an ongoing cult in your memory, for rituals, celebrations and feasting. People seemed to have visited tombs to be with their relatives as well as enjoying the beauty of the space.