Fragment of a Tomb Wall
Plaster, straw, pigment
New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, Reigns of Thutmose IV-
Amenhotep III, ca. 1400-1352 B.C.
Thebes, Tomb of Huy, TT54
Purchased in Cairo, 1920
OIM 11047

Cattle, such as those shown in this fragment from a tomb wall, were among the most important domesticated animals in ancient Egypt. Farmers raised them for milking, or for fattening and slaughter as food. Cattle hide provided leather for products that ranged from sandals to military shields.

As draught animals, cattle could serve varied purposes. In this tomb scene they are pulling a funeral cortege - no longer visible - while an attendant purifies the funeral route by sprinkling milk on the ground. On Egyptian farms, cattle pulled plows through the moist and fertile soil created by the flooding of the Nile, while sowers followed behind scattering grain for the year's crops.

Most Egyptian people were farmers. Their main crops were the staples of life - emmer wheat and barley for making bread and beer, and flax for making linen cloth.