There exists a profound and radical change in the concept of the hereafter even regarding its existence as an independent entity. If references to Amun still existed at the start of the reign of Akhenaten, Osiris, sovereign of the dead and of the Underworld, on the other hand, disappears immediately. The deceased cease to become Osirises. There is no longer a place for the great god in the Amarna system because, as the nocturnal sun, he risked becoming a dangerous rival for the Aten. [appendix 6]. This makes the discovery of shabtis (funerary servants) in the tomb of Akhenaten even more mysterious, as they correspond with a purely Osirian conception of the hereafter.

 

We have already mentioned the problem of the significance of the night, the dark side of the world, which can no longer correspond with anything and is likened to death; men "sleep as though they were dead". We do not know what happened to the Atenian sun at night. Apparently, one was content to notice that it was no longer there... It is, of course, out of the question in this context to imagine the awakening of the dead by the sun entering the underworld, which disappeared. Thus, the abandonment of the orientation to the west of the sepulchre entrances, which were now turned towards the east.

 

But we should also ask: why is a sepulchre still needed? Tombs were still excavated at Amarna, even for the king himself. They seem to have been conceived as simple empty shells, which no longer participated magically in the survival of their owner. Nevertheless, their existence is capital as is their architecture, since they are the real "kingdom" of the deceased who no longer benefited from that of Osiris.

 

One of the major problems of the Amarna system is exactly that it offers no clear answer to the fundamental question: what happens after death?

 

We know almost nothing. Nothing appears to have been formally proposed by the king...

 

It is supposed that men would have to wander in a more or less ghostly fashion on earth close to the great temple of Tel el Amarna (or, failing that, to the nearest temple of the Aten), their Ba taking advantage of the offerings sacrificed to the Aten each morning. It was therefore vital to become a "Living Ba ". Thus, as the tomb of Tutu tells us, the main event is the matinal awakening, parallel to the appearance of the rays of the Aten. No more need for the "field of offerings" and the "field of reeds", any more than for the traditional funerary books.

 

...One of the major problems of the Amarna system is exactly that it offers no clear answer to the fundamental question: what happens after death?

So the hereafter develops on earth, essentially at the site of Akhetaten (Meryre proclaims himself "justified in Akhetaten") and it all depends on the king who is the bestower of life on the earth, whether the individual is alive or dead. It was he who decided if an individual was "maa-kheru" (justified) or not. The king WAS Maat, those who had acted in accordance with his regulations –and they alone- were justified, as we have already seen.

 

The problems posed by this post-mortem destiny appear in a glaring fashion from year 14, when one of Akhenaten's daughters, Maketaten (and maybe later, the queen Nefertiti) dies. We see great disarray surrounding the king, materialised in his tomb by the celebrated scene where the royal couple are lamenting the death in childbirth of their daughter who has just (perhaps- let's be very prudent) given life to the future Tutankamun (fig 45).

 

In addition, the king, perhaps sick, is very conscious of the problem of his successor. Though the Great Royal Wife Nefertiti had indeed given six daughters to the king, there was no male heir. The lady Kiya, whose role remains uncertain, but who seems to have succeeded Nefertiti as Great Royal Wife (though without the religious role) could also have given birth to Tutankhamun.

 

Whatever the situation, Akhenaten knew that his successor would have problems of legitimacy and that he would need to look to the traditional clergy for support.

 

The result of all this is that the royal attitudes began to soften, to the point where one wonders if, at the end of his reign, the king still really believed in his system. It is impossible to give an answer. We can only observe that, in two late Amarna tombs, -which could possibly date from after the death of the king- the name of Amun reappears beside that of the Aten. Some, like Alain Zivie, wonder if Akhenaten had not been removed from real power by this time.

 

In any case, he had a tomb made himself, on a new model similar to those of the Valley of the Kings. Some external and internal sarcophaguses have been found. The external sarcophagus in stone has been partially reconstituted (see "the tomb of Akhenaten"). The king's internal sarcophagus was found in Bavaria and has just been given back to Egypt. See HERE (sorry, French only) and HERE.

 

All these preparations are those usual for a king of Egypt. It is probable that the king gave them a particular significance, but we are unaware of what.

 

In the same way the mummification of the bodies is maintained, and in particular, we are sure that Akhenaton himself was mummified, probably buried initially in his tomb at Amarna, then subsequently re-buried in Thebes. Some believed to see in the mysterious mummy of tomb KV55 of the Valley of the Kings that of the king, but the debate remains open.