A case study on intertextuality and textual transmission from the mid-Eighteenth-Dynasty Theban necropolis: A prt-m-tȝ text in TT 95 and its later echo in TT 76

The early- and mid-Eighteenth-Dynasty Theban tombs were built for high-ranking officials from the king’s inner circle. Intertextual analyses of the inscriptions of these tombs demonstrate that the contemporary elite sought inspiration in the monuments of their peers when devising the textual program of their own tomb chapel. The decoration of the early- and mid-Eighteenth-Dynasty Theban tombs bears witness to a strong social and intellectual rivalry between the members of this group, which thus also manifests in the strong socio-cultural embeddedness of the inscriptional program of their tombs.
With the help of a case study from the textual program of two mid-Eighteenth-Dynasty Theban tombs—TT 95 and TT 76—this paper seeks to provide insights into the nature and strength of the intertextual relations of these monuments. Exploring the intertextual dimension of the inscriptions of these tombs is expected to contribute to a better understanding of the practices of textual transmission within the necropolis, to reveal some of the intentions of the ancient artists, and to bring us closer to the ancient Egyptian understanding of creativity with regard to text production.