The Abbott Papyrus deals with the tomb robberies, but the underlying puzzle is the scandal between two rivals, Paser, the mayor of the East Bank of Thebes and
Pawero, the mayor of the West Bank of Thebes, and according to Peet, it was written from the point of view of Pawero. As stated above, the content of the Abbott Papyrus is broken down into descriptions of events in a four-day time period from the 18th to the 21st of the third month of the inundation period during the 16th year of
Ramesses IX's reign. On the 18th day, the Abbott Papyrus describes a search of the tombs claimed by Pawero to be violated. The commission searched ten royal tombs, four tombs of the Chantresses of the Estate of the Divine Adoratrix, and finally the tombs of the citizens of Thebes. The result of the search is the tomb of King
Sobekemsaf II, two out of the four tombs of the Chantresses of the Estate of the Divine Adoratrix, and all of the citizen tombs were disturbed. On the 19th day, the Abbott Papyrus states that there was another search of tombs in the
Valley of the Queens and the tomb of
Queen Isis. The ones in charge of conducting the search brought with them a coppersmith named Peikharu from the Temple of
Usermaatre Meriamun (Medinet Habu), who confessed in year 14 to stealing from the tomb of Isis and tombs from the Valley of the Queens. While searching, the coppersmith could not point to the tombs he violated, even after being brutally beaten. The rest of the day was spent searching the tombs, and the results showed that none of the tombs were vandalized. Also on the 19th day, there was a celebration for the tombs being undisturbed. Paser believed and stated to officials that the celebration was a direct aim at him, and he was going to report to the Pharaoh five charges against them. On the 20th day, the Abbott Papyrus describes a conversation between Pawero and the
vizier Khaemwaset. The conversation ended in an investigation into the five charges claimed by Paser. On the 21st day, the Great Court of Thebes convened. After examining the charges made by Paser about the 19th and questioning the coppersmith, Paser is discredited.
Connections The Abbott Papyrus is important in the grand scheme of political trials dealing with tomb robberies. The Abbott Papyrus with relation to the
Papyrus Leopold II helps to form a more complete picture of the tomb robberies of the twentieth dynasty under Ramesses IX. The Abbott Papyrus connects with the Papyrus Leopold II through the tomb of King Sobekemsaf. In the Abbott Papyrus, the tomb of King Sobekemsaf II was investigated and found vandalized. The Papyrus Leopold II records the confession of thieves charged with vandalizing the tomb of King Sobekemsaf. The second connection also deals with tomb robberies and is made between the Abbott Dockets and a later series of tomb robbery trials which took place during the first two years of the era known as the
Whm Mswt. From this era, which started in year 19 of the reign of
Ramesses XI, several tomb-robbery papyri have survived, most notably:
Papyrus Mayer A, Papyrus B.M. 10052, and Papyrus B.M. 10403. The list of thieves in the Abbott dockets foreshadows two trials described in Papyrus Mayer A. The first trial foreshadowed from the Abbot Dockets in Papyrus Mayer A is the trial concerning the thieves of the tombs of
Ramesses II and
Seti I. The other trial connection deals with thefts from tombs in the Necropolis of Thebes. The connection of the Abbott dockets with Papyrus B.M 10052 also deals with the trial of the thefts in the tombs of Thebes, but deals with information leading up to the trials. Lastly, the connection with the Abbott dockets and the Papyrus B.M 10403 deals again with trial of the thefts in the tombs of Thebes, but Papyrus B.M 10403 gives more detail on the evidence. ==Theories==